Work Text:
The kidnapping of Draco Malfoy on a random Tuesday afternoon, the sky overcast and gloomy, had not exactly been planned. If asked, Hermione would tell anyone that Harry doesn't plan much of anything he does, preferring to "go with the flow" as he's taken to saying lately. So when he apparates into her living room with a tied up and slightly bloody Malfoy on a random Tuesday evening, the moon just beginning to crest the horizon, she couldn't say she was surprised. In fact, she felt a rather concerning amount of nothing when faced with this problem.
"I don't know what to do, Hermione. I just, I saw him in Diagon Alley and he looked like a little lost Crup and I just had to help." His eyes were wild, with fear or anger or excitement she couldn't exactly be sure, but she would bet money on the latter.
Brown eyes swept over the figure prone on her floor, Malfoy having finally gone still, giving up against his bindings. "I know you did, Harry," she says, running an exasperated hand through her unruly hair.
Silence enveloped them as she tried to think about next steps. They could oblivate him, remove the memory of this ever happening and send him on his way. Harry would likely do this again the next time he saw the blonde git looking anything but enthusiastic about life.
And there in lied the issue. Harry would never give Malfoy up, not now that he has him. She'd gotten used to his flights of fancy years ago, and the war had done nothing to quell his impulsive decisions. In the last 6 months since the Battle of Hogwarts Harry had joined and quit the Aurors, purchased multiple residences around the world, in case he wants to visit Paris or Munich any time soon, tried and failed to adopt multiple war orphans, and had now shown up in her living room with a kidnapped Ex-Death Eater. She wonders if he understands what he puts her through, but she'll never bring it up to him.
"Sweetie, no one is going to care about a missing Death Eater-"
"Ex-Death Eater," Harry interrupted, his eyes dark.
"Yes Dear, Ex-Death Eater. They will notice him missing, but they won't do anything about it. Take him to one of your places outside of Wizard London, keep him there, and wait for him to remember that he's in love with you anyway."
"You really think that'll work?"
She considered him for a moment before responding. "Do a little bit of Beauty and the Beast, if you catch my drift. Stockholm syndrome can be useful with pretty blonde captives."
"But won't people notice if I leave Wizarding London?" He seemed to be trying to throw a wrench in her ideas, but he never would.
"Yes, but you'll visit Ronald and I once a week for dinner and we'll parade you around town. If anyone asks, you're stepping away to work on your trauma from the war. They'll be annoying as anything for a while, and then it'll die down. Now, which one of your estates has a magical library for you to offer him?"
Green eyes fitted around the room as he thought, as they often do. Harry has always thought best when moving, even just a little. "Paris," he said, his answer also a question.
"Keep Paris as a reward for good behavior. He had a home in Paris as well and likely knows the area. You want somewhere he wouldn't be able to find help even if he did escape." She watched the realization cross his face, and then fade as he continued to think.
"Then, uh, Portugal? I bought a place in Sesimbra a few months back. Secluded little beach front home, extension charms on the inside of course."
A small smile graced her lips as she responded. "That's perfect, Harry." She watched as his face flushed red for a moment at the praise, waiting for it to die down. "Now you head off with him. I can pop by your place and send you anything you need, and we will see you on Wednesday for dinner. Ron is planning a banana curry, I believe. He insists it will be amazing."
Relief filled Harry's body, his expression and posture changing as he pulled Hermione in for a hug. "Thanks 'mione," he muttered in her ear.
"Whats he done this time," Ron moans minutes later as he appears from the floo, his shift over for the day.
"Nothing an Auror needs to worry himself with," she says with a smile, taking a break from the blood stain on her floor. "It's been dealt with and we will see him later this week. He's excited for that curry you mentioned."
Ronald beamed at her, pulling her into his arms and squishing her against his warm chest. His breath tickled the shell of her ear as he bent close to her. "Funniest thing. Draco Malfoy seems to have gone missing. Taken right off the street in Diagon Alley, though no one seems to have seen a thing. You would know anything about that. Would you?"
She pulled away slightly, just enough to look into his eyes and offer her most innocent smile. "Of course not dear. What would I want with a disgraced former Death Eater? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish with the floor before the stain sets. How about you go get started on dinner, and I'll bring us drinks in a moment."
"Wicked," he replied, his grin lopsided and his pupils blown. He leaned down and picked her up into a crushing kiss before realizing her gently on the floor and walking off towards the kitchen. "How does pizza sound? I got a new dough recipe from Fleur that I want to test out."
"Perfect, Darling. Just perfect."