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SUMMARY: It's approximately three months after Dumbledore's burial, and Harry has paid his last respects to Privet Drive and the Dursleys. He decides that he needs a home to live in, and so buys a flat in Muggle London, disguising his name and his appearance and effectively disappearing from the Wizarding World as he plans his search for the Hor-Cruxes, doing research at night and searching during the days. He has a desk job for an accounting firm that turns its head the other way when he comes in late or disappears for days at a time, knowing that the job barely pays over minimum wage as is, and all the work still gets done. Harry overworks himself, trying to forget the girl who made him truly happy that he avoided so entirely during Bill and Fleur's wedding. When not burying himself in work, he searches for comfort in anyone and anything that he can find. In short, Harry Potter is so wrapped up in searches for Voldemort that he has almost forgotten to love.
Hermione, meanwhile, hopes that her parents will not be hurt if she stays far away from them, and shares the flat with Harry. She also disguises her name and appearance during the day, and has a job with a high-flying law firm, having learned enough to pass the bar in two months and impressing considerably during her application. At first, she kept in close contact with Ron, who stays at the Burrow, but lately she has broken off correspondence, horribly depressed, because Ron wrote to tell her of one of Fred and George's new assistants he's now seeing. Hermione had cried for a solid week, and as a result, Harry had suspended his search for that week and comforted her. Something, then, had sparked between them, and when Hermione had stopped screaming and crying one night, and Harry was too tired think straight in any case, he had kissed her without thinking.
Ron and Ginny, both unaware of the emotional turmoil in Harry and Hermione's flat, stay at the Burrow. Ginny, desperate for a rebound from Harry and a way to make him jealous, has a new boyfriend as well, but one that she doesn't care about much. She writes to Hermione, however, glowing letters about how well they're hitting it off, which buries Harry further in his search and work.
Malfoy and Snape, however, have both taken refuge at Malfoy Manor, awaiting Voldemort's next orders. Draco is terrified of the Dark Lord's revenge for having failed his master, but knows nowhere else to go. Snape, having done what he swore to do, decides to stay with Draco in the hope that he can train the boy and strengthen him to complete the next task by the Dark Lord, which would most likely be far worse even than the previous of killing Dumbledore.
Two weeks after Harry and Hermione's awkward kiss, never mentioned again, we begin
our story with a new girl and my personal favorite, Mr. Draco Malfoy.
Bruised
By Pyro92689
Chapter 1– Alexandra Singleton Picks a Side
Alexandra Singleton was intensely confused. It was a fairly normal occurrence as of late, and one that most likely resulted from the fact that Voldemort had killed both her parents a few weeks ago, leaving her old enough to fend for herself, but bewildered as to why her parents had to die. Both of them were Purebloods, both of them supported Voldemort's cause wholeheartedly, and both of them had been casually killed one evening while Alex had gone to her friend's house for dinner. At first, she had cried quite a bit, and asked anyone who would listen, of the Death Eaters, why the Dark Lord had chosen to kill her parents at this particular time. All of them simply told her that they must have made a mistake or shown some sign of disloyalty. The only possible explanation was that her parents had spoken openly about how they disagreed with the death of Albus Dumbledore. Alex remembered meeting him once and finding him extremely offbeat, and undoubtedly an immensely powerful wizard, but he seemed like a nice man. He certainly didn't deserve to be backstabbed by his Potions Master.
Alex stood outside Malfoy Manor, holding the slip of paper in her hand that said simply, I can help you. Stare at this piece of paper and say, "Malfoy Manor". She had done so, and immediately found herself standing outside the largest mansion she had ever seen. It looked more like a palace than anything else, except palaces were usually made of some soft, beautiful color and looked glitzy. Malfoy Manor was dark and intense. Why on earth was she sent to Malfoy Manor? She knew Draco, of course, by sight at least. His father was in Azkaban, and his mother was insane, but he seemed like a nice enough boy. She had seen him at various functions among the families of the Death Eaters, but only spoken to him once or twice. Alex supposed that the note was from him, and that he would offer her shelter. Considering that her house had been burned down in the process of her parents' death, shelter anywhere was welcome. Hell, she'd go to Harry Potter's house and beg if it came right down to it. Anything for a roof over her head.
Without warning, the gate swung open, and Alex carefully walked through and up the long walk to the huge, magnificent mansion. When she reached the gargantuan front doors, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lifted the huge knocker. The deep booms resonated throughout the building, and after a moment, Draco himself opened the door. "Hello, Alexandra," he said softly.
The first thing Alex noticed was how bone-tired he looked. His usually perfect hair was shaggy and left untended. His collar was partially turned down, and his black pants were wrinkled. Most striking of all were his grey eyes, which now had deep purple circles under them, and the characteristic smirk that his lips barely even hinted at anymore. He leaned on the door, as if trying to gather up the strength to walk again, and then jerked his head. "Well, come inside."
Obediently, Alex followed him inside. He hurriedly shut the door and locked it, as well as murmuring an incantation, undoubtedly for extra security. The blonde master of Malfoy Manor started to walk further into the home, past the spacious entrance hall, oddly illuminated by lamps that cast strange shadows on the stone they walked upon. Alex stopped and folded her arms over her chest abruptly. "Draco Malfoy, I'm not going a step further until you tell me why I'm here."
Draco whirled, his grey eyes boring into hers. They stared at each other for a minute before he relented and said, "Please, Alexandra–"
"Alex!" she interjected.
"Very well, Alex. Please follow me into the sitting room, where you have my word that I'll explain everything."
She smirked slightly. "The current gossip is that your word isn't worth anything these days."
"Look," Draco snapped, his voice taking on a tinge of irritation for the first time, "You trusted me enough to get this far, and I haven't hurt you yet. Either you can stay here and irritate my family, or you can follow me into the sitting room so I can make my proposition."
Once again they simply stood there, the tall blonde girl staring up at the even taller blonde boy, daring him to back down. Finally her blue eyes broke away from his, and she muttered. "I'm sorry I insulted your family. I'll come to the sitting room with you now."
"All right," he said calmly, as if he hadn't just looked like he would murder her gladly.
Alex, at 16, was still bewildered as to why Malfoy would want her there. She was home schooled and quite good at hexes, but she had no real talent to offer him. And if he tried to make her a Death Eater, she might jinx him on the spot. Or she might kiss him and tell him that was what she always wanted. At the moment, Alex really had no idea if she wanted to be one or not. Her parents had brought her up to hate Muggles and Mudbloods and blood traitors, and she did, but those same parents had just been killed by the man they looked up to most. Surely she wanted to kill Voldemort for killing her parents?
They reached a smaller room, with cushy velvet chairs. Alex sat down without invitation in one of them, and Draco sat across from her. He smirked as she settled in her chair and nearly fell out of it in her haste to straighten her skirt, but otherwise his face showed no emotion. Once she was settled, he spoke firmly. "Alex, you're here because you need a home, and I can give you one. But I am asking rather a lot in return for room and board." He took a deep breath. "I need protection from the Dark Lord, as he is most displeased with me. I rather think that's why Snape left the house. He figured it was safer to beg a home off someone else than stay in such a tainted house. You're pretty good at hexes and jinxes, so you'll be able to protect yourself if he attacks us. I'm hoping, however, that you'll be more useful doing something else for me. Quite simply, if I can take out Hermione Granger or the younger Weasleys, Ron and Ginny, the Dark Lord will accept me back with open arms. He did not give me that task– the Dark Lord would not speak to me or have any contact with me, but it is clear that if I can take out someone very close to Potter, I can save myself." He paused, looking into her eyes to see how she reacted to this news. "The problem is not finding them– I know where they are– the problem is that I simply cannot bring myself to kill them. I need you to become their friend and see if you can figure out a way to make one or more of them... disappear. They do not need to die– if it appears that they have died, it will be enough."
"You can't kill any of them?" Alex asked cooly, looking him over skeptically. "It seems like you have plenty of reasons to hate Potter, and they're the easy road right to him. Why on Earth can't you kill them?"
Malfoy looked ashamed. "I just can't, Alex. I could hex any of them to oblivion, hurt them horribly and torture them until they're insane, but I can't bring myself to kill."
When he finally met her eyes after staring at his shoes for a long time, he saw that she was smiling. "I'm glad to hear you say that," she said gently. "That's what separates you from the other Death Eaters, isn't it? You can't bear to really end someone's life."
He nodded slowly, embarassed at how intense this talk was getting, and wishing she'd just agree one way or another so that he could leave her for awhile. Alex nodded as well, and then added, "I have a better plan than making them disappear. Take them as hostages and hold them over Potter's head. Tell the Dark Lord when you have them, and then have him lying in wait for Potter. It's gonna take me awhile to befriend them, though," she whispered. "Hey," she whispered, suddenly remembering something. "Potter needs a rebound, doesn't he?"
"What?" Draco asked, honestly confused.
"I'll seduce Harry Potter, and make the little Weasley girl he dated so jealous she challenges me to a duel. I'll name the place, and it'll just happen to be the place where you'll be waiting to ask her a few questions about why Potter keeps disappearing from his home for days at a time."
Draco's jaw dropped, and then he slowly began to smile, and then laugh. "Alex, you know way too much for your own good."
She smiled winningly. "I know I do. So can I stay, or what?"
Draco nodded and stood up slowly. "I'll show you your room."
Harry Potter walked into his shared flat with a large bag of groceries in his arms, having apparated to the outside of the door, but wishing to give Hermione warning that he was home. As he walked in, his breath caught in his throat. Hermione was standing in the living room that was just past the kitchen in a long evening gown. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and she was levitating a mirror with one hand and applying make-up with the other. She looked up as he walked in the door. "Oh, hi Harry. I was just..." her cheeks flamed deep crimson when she noticed the look on his face.
Harry was looking her over, inch by inch, having carefully set down the groceries on the kitchen counter. His green eyes lingered at the low neckline and fancy heels. "Where are you going?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Of all the things he had expected after a long day of catching up on a month's worth of accounting business, Hermione in an evening gown that she looked absolutely stunning in was definitely low on the list.
"Nowhere," she squeaked, her voice higher than usual and rather frightened. "Ginny and Ron invited us to come to a little party next week, and I was trying out this new dress."
Harry hurriedly yanked his mind, which was now imagining her offering to take it off right then and there (to change, of course, he mentally added hurriedly)– she had obviously changed here in the first place, he noted, seeing the business clothes draped over the couch. "Well," he said after a moment longer of staring. "You look quite nice in it," he said in a decidedly friendly voice.
God, she looked perfect. Why the hell did Ron get such beautiful girls to fall for him left and right? Not that Ginny wasn't gorgeous... no, mustn't think of Ginny...
If it was possible, she blushed even deeper, and, gathering up her other clothes, she quickly disappeared into her bedroom. Harry tried to busy himself with putting away the groceries and getting things ready for dinner, but his hands kept shaking. She was absolutely stunning, and of course he'd noticed it before, he'd noticed it when she'd been crying, how pretty she looked even when sobbing her eyes out.
Hermione's heart was pounding; she had the sense to know the look Harry gave her. It was an almost animal look that clearly stated his intentions, and they weren't exactly loyal to his best friend. Of course, Harry had been so understanding when Ron had broken her heart like that. He had taken her on little excursions, walking in the park and even gotten them both into a bar once. Most importantly, however, he had listened to her when she needed to rant and let her get it all out. She knew it tortured him to see his two best friends this torn apart, but didn't know how else to deal with Ron saying he loved her one day and then dating a little blonde whore the next. Sighing, and hurriedly quashing the desire to just walk up to Harry and snog him senseless because she knew she wouldn't be here without him... and there was no doubt that he was gorgeous... she pulled on jeans and a sweater, leaving her hair carefully piled on her head.
She returned to the kitchen to find Harry on the phone, ordering pizza. So much for any kind of romantic dinner. Hermione tried not to shiver when he turned his smile on her, mouthing, "Just a second," and busied herself with whipping together a salad.
Harry thanked the man and hung up the phone, leaving a ringing silence in its wake. "Umm..." Harry said, "Do I need a tux or anything for the party?"
"I think a s-suit will be just fine," Hermione said, annoyed that her voice was suddenly quavering.
Even when he was tired and harassed-looking, Harry looked good. She knew that when he spoke now, it had the same glint of nerves he did. They had been sharing a flat for nearly two months now, but ever since their kiss (why had he kissed her, she still wondered. Was it something in the wine they'd tasted earlier?) they had both looked at each other differently. The tension, the emotional strain in their flat was nearly tangible.
For a moment, neither said nothing, and then Harry asked Hermione about work, and the feeling in the room gradually relaxed as they talked about normal things again. The pizza came again and was eaten, and then Harry and Hermione settled down in front of the TV, watching the news. Generally Hermione curled up on one end of the couch and read the paper, while Harry sat on the other, reading through ancient texts, or sat in the kitchen and made phone calls. Tonight, however, Hermione sat next to him, and they watched the news together, sitting close enough that Hermione's leg occasionally brushed his, sending rushes of heat up both of them, and causing Hermione to blush faintly.
Hermione was now deliberately playing to the fact that Harry obviously found her attractive. She touched and bumped him unnecessarily as she reached for various objects. Finally, after getting her coffee, she slumped onto the sofa in such a way that she almost lost her balance and fell against his chest. This time, she felt strong hands grab her shoulders gently and sit her back upright. Harry abruptly switched off the TV and cupped her chin in one hand. "Hermione, I know what you're doing."
She shrugged. "You haven't exactly stopped me, have you? Or led me to believe that it isn't what you want?"
"It is what I want, that's the whole problem!" said Harry, exasperated. "You can't keep torturing me like this or I'm going to break."
"Ron's with someone else," she said firmly. "This isn't immoral at all. Besides, we haven't done anything..."
"Don't pretend that kiss didn't happen, Hermione!"
"Well, why exactly did you kiss me?" Hermione demanded hotly.
Harry blushed dully and looked down. "I– I couldn't help it. You looked so beautiful right then and there, and I just couldn't stop myself."
She nodded slowly. "All right then."
"All right, what?" Harry asked suspiciously, still with his hand gently on her face.
Without warning, she took his hand and moved it from her face to the back of her neck. Understanding completely, he bent his head down and kissed her. After a moment, they broke apart. "Still interested?" Hermione asked.
He nodded, unable to speak. "What will Ron say when we come to the party together?" he asked, finally, a mischievous grin on his face.
"I'd say he'll be fairly jealous," said Hermione, with a similar smile.
"So let me get this straight," Harry said slowly. "You want to go out because we both desperately need some way to let it all out–"
"Release emotional frustrations–" supplied Hermione.
"Yeah, and so you can make Ron realize just how much he cares about you?"
Hermione nodded. "Harry, this doesn't do a whole lot for you..."
"I know, but I'm not much of a guy to date."
When she raised an eyebrow in question, he added, "Because I could disappear one day and never come back. I run a far higher risk of death than the average guy you'll date, and I don't even have time to go on any real dates, and I disappear for days at a time without telling anyone where I go so if you don't know you can't get the answer tortured out of you and..."
She shushed him gently. "I know, Harry. So even if we don't love each other, at least we both know exactly what we're getting."
"Yeah," he said, and then kissed her again, taking his time on this one and deepening it when he felt Hermione kissing him back.
When they broke apart, Harry turned the TV back on with a grin, and wrapped his arm around her. "Why don't we watch a TV show or something for once? Take a break from work."
"That sounds fabulous," Hermione replied, snuggling contentedly into his chest.
END OF CHAPTER 1. So... what do you think?
See you in Chapter 2, A Visitor and What Could Have Been a Hor-Crux