Draco's face got almost bright pink from all the rage and emotions that battled inside him. Gently, Narcissa touched his arm, trying to comfort him, but at her touch Draco jumped and let out a strangled breath.
"Y-you can't do that." he said breathlessly, clenching his fists tightly, pressing his nails into his palms, hoping the pain will somehow help him focus.
"As a matter of fact I can and I have." Narcissa told him in a soft, but slightly firm tone.
She had been taken back by his reaction. Knowing him, she expected to hear yells and loud protests, just like he did when he was younger and didn't want to do something at home. That's how he'd always acted in front of her, feeling safe enough to complain and show her his feelings, but the man she saw in front of her was very different from the kid she knew.
The Draco that stood in front of her now, breathing heavily, looked as if he poured everything he had into composing himself. She was torn between feeling proud of his maturity and feeling sad that her son has changed so much.
"Mother, you don't understand." Draco said slowly, desperately trying to even his breathing, clenching his fists harder in the process. "You can't… not her. Not her."
Draco's voice brought Narcissa back to reality. Or perhaps it was the emotions behind it what struck her harder. Her eyebrows shot up in honest surprise. She looked at Draco, trying to figure out if what she thought she heard in his voice was true or not. It seemed as if Draco's reaction could have a different reason behind it, a more personal reason than she had initially thought. But it couldn't be that, could it?
Carefully and slowly, as to not frighten him, she got even closer to him and gently touched his face, placing her pale hand on his cheek.
"Draco darling," she said in a soft voice, "do you, by any chance, have… certain feelings towards Miss Granger?"
For a moment she dreaded his reaction but seconds later Draco put her mind at ease. He scoffed and took a step away from his mother.
"I hate her!" he said scathingly. "I hate that creature with all of my being."
After finishing that statement he started pacing the room, mumbling to himself. That was more like the Draco she knew from home and Narcissa let out a small sigh. She didn't know what she would have done, had her suspicions been correct, but for now his pacing put her mind at ease.
"I don't care if you hate her or not, Draco. All I care about is for you to get better and receive all the help you need." Narcissa said matter-of-factly.
"Then why her?" Draco asked irritably through gritted teeth. "Why not hire someone else?"
"At this moment you need someone strong and forceful, someone who wouldn't have a problem to fight you if necessary." Narcissa added with a frown, then she continued firmly. "And I believe that her display from earlier has proven she is the best candidate.
Draco opened his mouth to say something but Narcissa cut him off quickly.
"Besides, she also has experience in counseling. Apparently she's been working for St. Mungo's for a while now, helping people who've suffered traumas during the war. That and the fact that she went back to finish her studies make her highly qualified for the job."
"Finished her studies." Draco repeated mockingly, grimacing at his mother, "Why would that matter? She is still…"
"The brightest witch of her age." Narcissa finished for him, cutting him off with a tint of reproach.
She hadn't been able to forget the fact that her son was always second best to Hermione in school.
"Why are you bringing that up?" Draco asked, looking away from his mother, embarrassment all over his face. He hadn't forgotten either.
"I knew you would never be able to stand a stupid person." Narcissa said firmly, ignoring his question, "So it had to be someone smart, bright and strong. Therefore, Hermione Granger is the perfect choice. Don't get me wrong," she added quickly, seeing Draco's surprised look, "I would have preferred if you didn't need this kind of help in the first place."
Draco remained quiet. He knew his mother was worried about him and that she was doing what she thought was best, but the solution she got to was simply too much for him to bear. It was eating him alive.
Having to live with Granger, to see her every day and having to talk to her, especially considering their past interactions, all of this seemed like torture to him, and he was pretty sure it would seem like that to her as well. Didn't she hate him? Then again, if she did, why would she agree to this insanity? Was she looking for a way to get back at him, get revenge for the past? Or was there something else?
There had been so much animosity between them, so much pain and torment, so much hate and meanness, mostly on his side, true, but it wasn't like she took it gladly without retorting. How could his mother think they would be able to survive in the same space for even a day?
That, and the memories he had from when he saw her at the manor on that horrific day when she, Potter and Weasley had been caught by Snatchers, seemed a good enough reason to avoid each other for the rest of their lives. She had been tortured in front of him.
Regardless of who she was or how much he disliked her, he still had nightmares about that day, about her screams, about the blood and death that followed their escape. The whole thing had been engraved on his mind and he didn't think he could ever forget.
No matter how he looked at it, it was impossible. He had to do something to change his mother's mind, regardless of how futile he knew it was. He had gotten that stubbornness from her, after all. Once she set her mind to something, Merlin save the one who stood in her way.
In a desperate attempt to convince his mother to let go of this silly idea of him and Hermione living together, he even accepted to go to counseling sessions.
'Anything so that he won't have to live with that annoying woman.' He thought desperately to himself.
Narcissa on the other hand was firm in her decision. She knew her son all too well. If left alone and unsupervised he would succumb to his bad habits once more in a heartbeat. Therefore, no matter how much he pleaded and whined or what he promised, she refused to listen.
Finally, after almost an hour of trying and fighting, Draco threw his hands into the air and huffed in exasperation.
"Fine!" he exclaimed, angrily, "Fine! I will do as you say, but don't accuse me if I end up killing that creature."
Narcissa threw a menacing look his way and then left the room without a word.
"Or maybe I'll transform her into a squirrel." he shouted after her, breathing heavily from the effort of the past hour, "With that bush of a hair she could easily pass as one."
Draco grumbled and frowned. He remembered Hermione having a blast when Moody had transformed him into a ferret, back in fourth year.
"Stupid creature!" he said angrily, throwing himself on his hospital bed.