two at the most. They were running low on funds too.
Not that she could stay riled for long with the boy. He was like his father, too soft-hearted by far, which happened to be the reason why she had retired her grandson and taken on his boy as her new partner.
"Rest assured it's not the spell that has him angry," Nana said.
"I like him," Arne admitted. "If only because he's the complete opposite of me."
"I know," she gave him a fond smile. Her knitting needles clicked amicably, soothing her. "You were such a sweet, placid child. Do you want any orange in your sweater, dear? I just remembered you detest orange."
"Nana, I'm worried about what he'll do." Arne could not shake the fact that Draco was Death Eater progeny. Hopefully, this particular acorn had fallen very far indeed from the tree.
"They'll be fine," she told him. "Why, I haven't known a couple to not be fine under true Fida Mia."
Arne snorted. "What about you and great-grandad?"
The needles paused. "Yes? What about us?"
"Well, there's the time you tried to poison him and then there was the attempted drowning. Father says he burned down your house once."
"Oh that." She made a 'pish' noise. "That was just us courting, dear. If it hadn' t worked out in the end, you wouldn' t be here, would you? Now, will you have any orange or not?"
Arne wasn't entirely satisfied. He had seen the fear and rage in the young man' s eyes and he wondered if the girl had enough fortitude in her to calm him. When Fida Mia struck true, it did so with blinding force.
"No, no orange, thank you."
They were freakishly bright, the both of them. He could tell. They also had too much common sense. Sometimes it was better to throw common sense to the wind. What was instinct good for if everyone listened to their head all of the time?
**
Draco ignored the questions she threw at him.
"What's the matter? What did he say?"
She got nothing out of him, not a hint. Though perhaps the anger she was seeing ought to have been the biggest clue of all.
They pushed past the doors of the Cobblestone and then continued upstairs.
"Will you stop!" she called out.
He didn't stop. He almost kicked open the door in his haste. When they were inside their room, he slammed the door shut and picked up his bag.
"We're leaving," he said. "Now."
Hermione couldn't believe he was shouting at her. Also, she didn't think he noticed.
"My God, it can' t be that bad?" She walked up to him. It was her future on the line too and she was sick to death of being continually dismissed by him. "Will you stop and tell me what' s happened? Where is our cure? You didn' t pay him, did you? I didn't see you give him anything when-"
He whirled on her. Startled, she retreated until the back of her knees were against the bed. She got a good look at his face then. This was no teenager throwing a tantrum. This was full blown Malfoy-rage. For a moment she thought he might actually strike her.
"Shut up," he said, holding up a finger. "For once just shut up!"
Hermione sidestepped him. Shaking, confused, but still determined to garner his complete attention, she took out her wand and aimed an Incendio at the bed.
The corner of the bedspread caught on fire.
Draco stared at it for a moment before seeming to snap out of his daze. He tossed the bedspread to the floor and stomped out the fire.
And then he stared at her as if she'd gone mad. "You crazy bitch"
She raised her wand and aimed at him this time. He lunged at her, pulling her roughly by her forearms.
"What do you think you are to me?"
"What?" she squeaked, because she was alarmed and because the question was as stupid as it was unexpected. She would answer him, however, if he would just calm down. "Don't put your hands on me Malfoy@"
He shook her until her teeth rattled. "You are nothing, do you understand? You are nothing to me. You are a bothersome, tiring, boring distraction at best!"
And then he said foul things. Some very foul things. None of it was about the circumstances of her birth, though, which really should have been an indicator about his state of mind at the time. He did not call her a Mudblood, but he called her other, vile things and it was not until he started mentioning