Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I make no money here.

AN: Many thanks to my wonderful betas, Shiv5468 and Talesofsnape, for all of their help and encouragement. And extra thanks to deemichelle and clairvoyant, who helped to polish it up afterward.

Hermione wheeled around the corner and pulled into her drive, hitting the button to pop open the garage door.

After the war Hermione had found her parents and restored their memories, but in the end they had decided to stay in Australia. They'd signed her childhood home over to her, and she'd also been gifted with her dad's precious baby, his '96 Ferrari F355 convertible. Bright red and an extravagance he could easily afford. Her mother had called it his mid-life crisis, and said that she could deal with an expensive toy better than him turning to a younger woman. It was sleek and fast. For a witch who hated flying, she'd learned that she had no such aversion to speed on four wheels. She had talked her way out of a number of speeding tickets and usually without even having to use magic.

Shutting the side door to the garage behind her, she stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing a welcoming committee sitting on her back step: a blond, a brunet, and a redhead. She knew immediately this meant trouble and she wanted no part of it.

"Oh no, it's Larry, Moe and Curly. Whatever you stooges want, the answer is no," she stated firmly, hands on her hips.

"Now, Mione, don't be like that," whined Ron. "Maybe we just stopped by because we miss you."

"If you missed me, you'd owl me more often, or meet me for drinks and dinner when I ask you. Lately, the only time I see any of you, if I don't initiate it myself, is if you want something from me. I'm telling you up front, the answer is no. Whatever it is, no, no, no!

"The last time you conned me into helping you, I wound up stranded in Borneo during the rainy season for five days with no wand, and you know what happens to my hair in humid weather! I have a busy life of my own, thank you very much. I don't need you three coming in and mucking it up," she concluded as she pushed past them, pulling out her wand to drop her wards.

"You're right, Hermione. We know you're right," said Harry in an attempt to placate her. "And we're sorry we haven't dropped by or owled you or Floo'd, but we're here now. Could we come in and visit for a bit?"

"Yeah, look, love, let us come in for a bit, won't you? I've brought this lovely bottle of wine to share," wheedled Draco, holding up a bottle of Merlot, which he knew was her favorite.

Hermione's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she eyed the bottle and the three friends. "You're not fooling me, Draco Malfoy; you probably stole that from your dad's wine cellar," she said with a sniff as she opened the door and billowed past them. "Of course, your dad does have very nice wine. Well, don't just stand there; come on in," she ordered.

"She's been hangin' around Snape too long. She's starting to act like him," whispered Ron.

"I'm right here in the same room, Ronald. I can hear you."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Harry, Ron and Draco were all Aurors and very good friends these days. Things had changed a great deal in the ten years since the war had ended.

Hermione had worked at the Ministry herself for a couple years in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. However, while the boys' jobs as Aurors had been legitimate, her position at the Ministry had been nothing more than a token for PR purposes. No one in the good-old-boys network had taken anything she proposed seriously. She'd eventually come to the conclusion that she was never going to accomplish anything she really wanted to, so she'd quit. But then she'd stupidly let herself get talked into going into the MLE with the hope of changing things through legal means. Once again, all her efforts had been thwarted time and time again. She realized eventually that, though the Ministry liked keeping her there as a figurehead, they were never going to let her initiate the kinds of idealistic policies she'd always dreamed of.

Three years ago, after quitting one day in a glorious display of fury, throwing all of her things helter-skelter into a box and shrinking it down, she had stormed out of the Ministry for good. Afterward she'd been drowning her sorrows in a drink or four when she'd run into Severus Snape. He'd invited her to join him at his table in the Leaky Cauldron, and after listening to her bitch and moan for the better part of the night, he'd made a proposition. She should start her own business; in fact, he had one in mind and he was looking for a partner. And that was how she'd ended up in a partnership with Severus Snape. They'd formed Grasna Security, specializing in personalized wards for home or business. Ward making was tricky. While most witches and wizards could toss up simple wards, really secure warding took a bit more finesse, and both Hermione and Severus were very skilled at it.

After a couple of years of building their business and reputation as the best in the private community, Snape had gone after the big guns. Gringotts. He'd convinced the Goblins—who better to help find the best way to protect their banks than the very witch who had engineered a break-in into the impenetrable fortress while still in her teens? So they were now co-owners and partners in an international wizarding firm that handled security for Gringotts branches around the world in addition to all of their other clients.

"So cut to the chase," she demanded. After setting her briefcase on the kitchen table, she kicked off her heels and loosened the top buttons on her blouse. She'd had a meeting with a potential client and had dressed to impress. Reaching up into the cupboard, she got down four wine glasses and handed them to Draco. "What exactly is it you guys want this time?"

"Couldn't we just want to spend some time with our good friend who we haven't seen in a long time?" asked Harry innocently. "You know it's not just us. You're so busy all the time with your business and Snape that it's hard to get a hold of you."

Hermione took a sip of her wine and looked pointedly into her friend's eyes. "Is that so? Tell me, Harry, have you honestly ever tried to reach me when I've not gotten back to you?"

He looked down and flushed guiltily. "Okay, you win. We're all horrible friends. But we really are sorry."

She studied them all closely. They looked everywhere but at her, avoiding her gaze. There was more going on here than them just wanting to pay her a visit, she was sure of that. "So you three just popped over here on a whim, then. Just for a visit?"

The three looked surreptitiously at each other. The guilt lay so thick in the room, if it had been shit she could have fertilized her mum's prized rose bushes for a year. "Just spit it out," she finally demanded, deciding to put them out of their misery.

"We need your help," admitted Harry.

"I knew it! I knew you wanted something all along!"

"It would only be for a week, Hermione," added Ron. "No more than two at the most. Maybe three."

"Three weeks!"

"Probably not that long," Harry said quickly, shooting Ron a look to shut him up.

"We have someone who we need to hide in a safe house," explained Draco. "Someone's tried to kill him, twice already. He's been damn lucky so far."

"Yea, but we need a place to hide him out, just until we catch the perp who's trying to off him."

Ron's really been watching too many American-Muggle cop shows, thought Hermione. "So you want me to design the wards for this safe house?" she asked. It seemed like a reasonable assumption; she should have known better than to assume that these three would ever suggest something reasonable.

"Well, no… err… that is… Well, we thought we could bring him here. Hide him in your house," explained Draco.

"WHAT!" she screeched. "Are you insane? You want to bring a wizard here, to stay in a Muggle neighborhood. A wizard who has already had two, not one, but two attempts made on his life by some crazy psycho. And you want to bring him here? Where whoever is trying to get him could follow? What about my Muggle neighbors? They could be in danger. Hell! What about me? I could be in danger. Do you even care about that?"

"Hermione, of course we care," assured Harry. "It would be safe. We'd be guarding the house. And besides, your wards are impenetrable. We tried to break them while we were waiting for you to get home, and we couldn't even come close. If three of the top Aurors in the department can't break them, I'm sure this stalker can't."

"You tried to break into my house?"

"Just to test the wards, Granger," Draco explained. "They really are top notch."

"Well of course they are. It's what Severus and I do, for Merlin's sake. Still, you can't expect to just bring a stranger in here and dump him on me."

"He's not exactly a stranger," blurted Ron, as both Harry and Draco made faces and shook their heads frantically at him.

Hermione turned in time to catch them and gave them a glare that could have melted steel. "Who?"

"Granger…" said Draco.

"Who is it?"

Harry sighed. "It's Lucius."

"NO!"

"Mione, we really need your help on this," pleaded Ron.

"No, no, no!"

"Hermione, at least think about it," begged Harry.

NO! N. O. No! No, no, no, and no. What part of that don't you understand?"

"We need to keep him safe. You're the best at what you do. Your security here can't be breached. Besides, no one would ever think to look for Lucius Malfoy in a Muggle house. It's the perfect set-up." Harry listed all the reasons, trying to convince her.

"Harry, it's Lucius-fucking-Malfoy. Lucius-I-Hate-Muggles-and-Mudbloods-Malfoy. How can you even suggest this to me?"

Draco stepped in front of her. Laying his hands on her shoulders, he looked her right in the eyes. "Granger, he's not like that anymore. He's changed. I promise." Silver-grey eyes met brown. She could see the turmoil inside him and the fear. His voice held a desperate tone. "Granger, he's my dad… I don't want this guy to kill him… He's missed twice but only by pure luck. Hermione… Please."

She closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose. Draco never called her Hermione. It was always Granger. It wasn't said nastily or sarcastically. It was just his nickname for her, a term of endearment, so to speak. So when he called her Hermione and said "please" so sincerely, she knew she was lost. "Oh shit! I am so truly fucked!" She gritted her teeth and growled out, "All right, yes, he can stay here."

Draco wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. "Thank you."

"There will be rules," insisted Hermione.

"That seems reasonable…" agreed Ron readily.

"Maybe…" replied Harry, his eyes narrowed.

"What kind of rules, exactly, Granger?" asked Draco uncertainly.

"He'll have to turn his wand over to me when he gets here," she demanded.

"What? No way!"

"Now, Hermione. Be reasonable," said Harry.

"Granger, there's no way he's giving up his wand. There's someone trying to murder him. You wouldn't agree to that if it were you and you know it," Draco rationalized.

Hermione had known they would never agree to that, but by putting such an outrageous proposal out there first off, she hoped it would make them willing to agree more readily to any other things she demanded. "All right then, he can keep his wand, but no magic here in my house unless he's under attack. This is a Muggle neighborhood and I do not want to have to go around Obliviating my neighbors. And he has to take care of himself while he's here; I'm not his maid, cook, housekeeper or his mommy."

"No problem, he'll just bring a house-elf from the Manor," said Draco.

"What part of no magic didn't you understand? No magic means no magic, none at all. Not inside this house."

"But he's not used to getting by without using any magic at all. He's bound to slip up, make mistakes," wheedled Harry. "You can't hold that against him."

"Hmmm… I've been working on some special wards to protect delicate Muggle electronics from magical interference. Maybe I can work from home and do some testing while he's here. I could ward certain areas to make them techie friendly, but I definitely can't have any magic around my computers or any electronic equipment, until I've perfected the wards. Okay then, maybe I'd be willing to allow it, but only in certain designated areas, and only once my experimental wards are in place. But house-elves are still forbidden."

"Great," replied Draco, "now all we have to do is convince my dad."

Hermione snorted. "So he doesn't even know about this brilliant plan you've concocted? Well good luck with that. He'll never agree to come and stay here. It looks like I have nothing to worry about, after all," she said with a smile.

"I'm not leaving my home, Draco, and that's final," declared Lucius emphatically.

"It would just be for a few days… a week… maybe two at the most."

"Draco, there's nowhere safer than the Manor."

"Is that so? The last attempt took place right on our own grounds. Perhaps next time they'll manage to get into the house. By the time the Aurors get here, it could be too late."

"Honestly, Mr. Malfoy, it would be in your best interest," said Harry, trying to reason with the man. "I know you feel safe here, but the Manor is just too large for us to secure. The safe house is smaller. We can guard it more easily, and it's somewhere that no one would ever think to look for you."

"Let me guess, it's in Muggle London," Lucius stated jokingly.

"Who told you?" asked Ron. Harry and Draco were making faces and waving their hands, trying to get Ron to stop talking, but he didn't notice. "It's a brilliant plan, isn't it?"

"What? Surely you jest?" Lucius looked up from where he was standing by the fireplace. "Draco, he's not serious." Draco just swallowed and gave him a helpless look. "Oh, no… No, no, no… Absolutely not," declared Lucius.

"Dad, please be reasonable," begged Draco. "We need time to find this guy. We've got some really good leads, but we can't chase them down if we're spending all our time guarding you. If you agree to go to the safe house, then I won't have to worry about you."

"It's the truth, Mr. Malfoy. Like I said, it would just be for a short time," coaxed Harry.

"But Muggles! Honestly, I wouldn't even know how to behave among them."

"No worries, sir," said Ron. "It's just in a Muggle neighborhood, but you'd be staying with a witch."

"A witch? Living in a Muggle area?"

"Well, she's Muggle-born, you see. So she's used to it there. It's where she grew up," explained Ron.

Lucius turned to look at Draco and Harry. "How could a Muggle house be safer than here at the Manor? And why would this Muggle-born witch be willing to allow me to stay in her home? Why would any Muggle-born care what happened to Lucius Malfoy? I would think they might hope this maniac kills me."

Draco stepped toward his father and admitted, "It's Hermione, Dad. The witch is Hermione Granger, and to tell you the truth, she didn't want to let you go there. That was all our idea, but she agreed to it as a personal favor to us… to me. And her house is warded so tight, even the three of us together couldn't break in. And we honestly tried. Her wards are unbreakable."

"From what I hear she and Severus are the best there is in security ward design. I've been thinking of hiring them for Malfoy Industries." Lucius sighed in defeat. "All right, Draco. I don't like it but I'll agree. Only for a short while, though. You three had better find this madman, and in a timely manner, or you may have a different murder investigation on your hands. I'm just not sure if it will be my murder or Miss Granger's."

Lucius had no idea how close to the truth his words were.

tbc