Prologue - 25th July 2000.
Hermione smiled softly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she turned back to the friends who were here to wish her goodbye. She was moving to France for a while until the war was well and truly over. Her family was one under threat and the safety of their daughter was imperative, it had been told. She would not return to England until the end of the war had been officially announced. She closed her eyes and sniffled as she felt Harry's arm embrace her in a warm hug. "I'll miss you, Mione, always. Don't forget that."
Hermione nodded gently as Ron stepped forward, wrapping her in a tight hold, unable to form any words. She turned to face the young girl who stood beside her, tears streaming down her face. "Come here you." Hermione whispered.
Ginny rushed forward, tackling the older girl in a squeezing hug. "Mione, what am I going to do without you? You're leaving me alone with six brothers and Harry! Who am I going to look up to now? I need you to help me through the O.W.Ls."
Hermione let out a small giggle before faced the group. "I'll miss you all." She said in what was almost a whisper. "I'll try to write as much as possible." She quickly spun around and ran to the flight attendant that checked her ticket and hurried her onto the plane. Hermione glanced behind her for a moment only to see the retreating backs of her three closest friends.
20th August 2001.
Hermione, as she was usually called, smiled nervously at the tall man that sat beside her. He wasn't really a man when you considered that he was only seventeen years old but he was as mature and intelligent as one. He grasped her hand in his, kissing the small ring on her finger lightly.
He grinned inwardly as he observed the girl that he loved. A year in France and a year as his wife had changed her greatly. She had grown from the quiet bookworm she had been to a petite, outgoing beauty. Her now blonde hair fell to the small of her back in soft ringlets and her sapphire eyes sparkled with anxiety. Her skin had darkened a few shades from the sun that they hadn't been able to escape and her figure was delicately curved.
His girl was model material. In a mere year, she had clambered up the ranks to hold a respected position in society. Her delicate looks and amazing body had gained her a high place in the pureblood society. Not only was she this, but she had been one of the most respected students at their school. She had graced the other students with her beauty as well as her passionate, considerate and studious nature. She had been loved by all, teachers and students alike. She was truly amazing, especially in his eyes.
They were finally going home. Having spent a year overseas and attending a completely different school to before, Beauxbatons, it had been a mutual decision that they would return quite contently to the school they had once attended, Hogwarts. The war had been fought with his wife and him safely in France at the request of their families and now that it was safe to return, they were doing just that. The fact that they were travelling by Muggle means, an aeroplane, worried him though he tried his hardest to conceal that fact. It was all-to-natural that his wife was able to pick up on that small fact.
"Honey, you have nothing to worry about. I've travelled on planes almost as much as I've been on brooms. You'll be completely safe." He sighed surrendering, as he noticed many Muggles shooting them awkward glances at Hermione's mention of travelling on brooms.
He smiled confidently as Hermione squeezed his hand; pushing forwards their tickets for inspection and resumed their place on the aeroplane.
22nd August 2001.
The crowds parted slightly staring after the pair that were naively making their way through the crowds. Whispers flooded into their ears; 'Isn't that Araminta Hermione Evans and her boyfriend?', 'Draco Malfoy is back and he's with that rich pureblood girl!' Hermione plastered a soft smile as she quickly pulled Draco into the nearest bookstore.
Sighing heavily, she muttered with ire. "I guess we'll be using the elves."
Draco smirked at her anger. "Well at least they still don't know that we're married." He said, lightening the mood.
Harry's ears seemed to perk up at the whispers that were cascading from person to person. He had tuned out of Ron's jabber a while back as had Ginny but the accelerated gossip of the two girls in the booth behind him had caught his attention. "No seriously, May. Didn't you see them? They were there, walking right past us!"
The younger girl stared at her and then scoffed. "I think I would've noticed if Draco Malfoy had walked past me, okay, I mean especially if he had that Evans girl with him!"
The name had made him snap to attention. Draco Malfoy had gone 'missing' at the same time as Hermione had left them. They hadn't been given any news of her which had hurt him especially after her last promise of 'I'll try to write as much as possible'. Apparently she was just too plain busy to do so.
But Ginny's subscription to the French Teenage Wizarding Magazine, 'C'est la vie!' had given them more than enough news. Draco Malfoy had become a student at Beauxbatons as had the Araminta Evans, whose facial features had shocked Harry as being strikingly similar to Hermione. Of course, her eye and hair colour was different but it wasn't anything a simple concealment charm couldn't do. If Malfoy was here, perhaps he had news on Hermione. It would be up to Harry to go to the Malfoy Residence. "Harry? Harry!" Ron's calls brought him out of his reverie.
"What, Ron?" He asked in a surprisingly nasty voice. Ron looked at him incredulously and sat back sulkily. Harry sighed softly. "Sorry, mate. I was just thinking."
Hermione growled as a loud knock on the Malfoy Manor door rang loudly, waking her up from her slumber. "Twinky! Answer the door please!" She called out to the main house-elf. Draco walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. "You're already dressed!" Hermione asked incredulously. Sure enough, Draco was already in a pair of dark jeans and a white button-up shirt.
He opened his mouth to retort smartly when a pop announced the arrival of Twinky. "Master Draco Sir, two men and a miss is waiting to speak to you." Draco nodded and quickly exited the room, sparing a wink in the direction of his wife. Hermione giggled softly, dragging herself out of bed and into the bathroom.
Draco sauntered down the hallway, Twinky running to keep up with him. "And Twinky was not knowing what to do with the visitors and then, Twinky is putting them in the Lounge Room where the sirs is waiting for Master Draco." Draco smiled softly at the house-elf.
"Thank you, Twinky." He said, smartly. It was obvious to himself that his wife's views on the treatment of house-elves had become his own. "And how many times to I have to tell you, you don't need to refer to me as Master Draco?"
Twinky blushed slightly, bowing her head. "Twinky is sorry, sir." And with that and soft pop she had gone. Draco grinned at the house-elf's humility, shaking his head softly.
He turned the corner and jogged lightly down the stairs, walking rapidly until he had reached the door of the Lounge Room. He stopped, hoping that their visitors weren't very important and wouldn't be offended at his choice of attire. With a deep breath he pushed open the doors.
Harry muttered to himself as the three made their way back from Hogsmeade. "Harry, mate. You seem a bit distracted." Ron observed. Harry groaned and ignored him, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
"Yeah I'm just thinking." Ron and Ginny shared worried glances, their journey home falling prey to a dark silence. They had reached the Burrow before anyone had dared to speak. "Come to my room after dinner." Harry whispered before opening the door and seating himself at the table where the rest of the Weasley family were.
"Come on now guys! Close the door now, would you?" Fred asked, perturbed by the cold night wind that was sweeping into the room. Reluctantly Ron and Ginny entered quickly.
It was quite late before the three made their way upstairs and as soon as they were safely in Harry's room, Ron's patience burst. "So hurry up and tell us! What's up?"
Ginny rolled her eyes but turned her attention to Harry who shot them a soft smile. "I think we'll be able to find out about Hermione. I heard rumours that Malfoy is back and if he is, he might have news on Hermione."
Ron looked at Harry as if he had grown a second head. "Why on earth do you think that Malfoy would have any idea about where Hermione is? You really don't think that she would've contacted him and not us, do you?"
Ginny looked up, understandingly. "No you dolt. But they both left at around the same time and they both went to France and we know that for a fact. We also know that Hermione is truly a pureblood and pureblood families mingle. Also, that Araminta Evans girl looks a lot like Hermione and I know that Harry has seen it too. Not to mention her second name is Hermione."
Harry smiled at his girlfriend and nodded. "You're right. He's even brought Evans with him. It's a long shot but I'm going to the Malfoy's tomorrow morning and I'm going to ask. You two can come with me if you want but I'm not letting this opportunity pass."
Harry and Ron had Apparated to the gates of the large manor that loomed ahead of them, Ginny in tow. The gates seemed to shudder for a moment before disappearing to allow their entrance. The walk up the long pathway to the looming black doors seemed to last an eternity. He knocked on the door rapidly, urgently calling any one to answer the door. The door swung upon quickly. "Can Twinky help Sirs and Madame?"
They looked in shock at the small elf. Their recollections of Malfoy greatly contradicted the elf that they were seeing now. She was dressed finely in an elf-size, conservative sun-dress and was surprisingly clean with a sparkle to her eyes. "Uh yeah. Could we speak to Malfoy?" Ron asked impatiently.
The elf's eyes widened with horror before she replied shakily. "My Mister Lucius is not awake at the moment and Mister is not seeing any visitors. Twinky is not able to be helping you. Twinky is not letting you hurting Mister Lucius. You is needing to get Twinky before you is hurting Mister Lucius." She was about to shut the door, her eyes still filled with fear but conviction.
"Oh no. We're not looking for Lucius Malfoy but we want to talk to Draco Malfoy. We believe that he has returned here." Ginny offered in a kind voice, easing the fears of the trembling house-elf.
Her eyes shined with pride. "You is wanting Master Draco! Oh Master is being a very nice master. But Twinky is thinking that Master Draco is asleep as is Mistress and Missus. Will miss and masters be waiting in the Lounge Room?" She ushered the three teenagers in and lead them to a warm room before quickly popping away.
Ginny walked slowly around the room, mouth agape with awe. The carpet was black with deep green walls and a black ceiling. The dark grey leather couches were extraordinarily comfortable, a fire nearby warming the room. The wooden coffee tables, writing desk, desk chair and frames were a dark oak colour. She moved over to the fireplace, eyeing the pictures atop the wooden shelf.
Pictures were lined in the middle, a silver candle at either end. The display of family photos surprised her. The Malfoy family had always struck her as cold-hearted, unloving people but the photographs contradicted her beliefs. There were pictures of a small Draco on his father's shoulders as they both grinned at the camera. Others were of Lucius and Narcissa on their wedding day framed by a photograph of Lucius' family and Narcissa's family, with her arms around both Sirius and Andromeda.
There was one other picture on the shelf, in the middle. It was of Draco holding a girl of his age in his arms. They were twirling around a crowded ballroom, solely focused on each other. The girl had long blonde curls and a charming smile. She looked amazingly familiar but the pair was moving too fast between the other dancers for Ginny to gain a proper look at her. She turned to point the picture out to the two boys who sat nervously on one of the sofas but the door opened.
Draco stopped with shock at the three people in the Living Room. He managed a faint smile and a raise of an eyebrow as he greeted them softly. Harry stood up with purpose. "Look here, Malfoy. We don't want to waste our time or yours for that matter so we'd appreciate it if you cut the crap and didn't go into your lame taunts. We're over that, by far."
Ron let out a bark of amused laughter as Ginny glared deeply at him. "Like he'd be able to do that, Harry! What a dumb request!" He said with a smirk, which failed miserably.
It was Draco's turn to laugh. "Really, Weasley, you should know that I too am over the name-calling. If you haven't noticed, I didn't begin with any. We're far too old for that. Well, despite the fact that I don't usually spend my breakfast in such company, would you like anything to eat or a drink?" He smirked inwardly at their shock but restrained the comment that was on the verge of escaping his mouth when he thought of how happy Hermione would be with him.
"Er, no thanks Malfoy. Um, we…er… heard that you went to France and went to school, and um stuff, and we were sort of wanting to ask you a question." Ginny said, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, feeling underdressed when in such a house.
Malfoy nodded slowly, eyeing them suspicious. "I'll answer the questions that I want to, but some I won't. I'm pretty sure that you'll want information on Granger, am I right?" They seemed to snap to attention at her name and nodded quickly. He opened his mouth. "I'm really sorry, I am, but I can't tell you anything. You yourselves should know that I wasn't close to Granger."
The three seemed dejected, sighing softly. Draco grimaced to himself. He knew that he would be desperate to find information if one of his friends had suddenly fallen off the face of the Earth. He hadn't really lied when he had said he couldn't tell them anything. They had taken if as if he didn't know anything but he had really said that he couldn't, as in wasn't allowed to, tell them anything about her. They got up and followed him silently to the door. "I thought I heard you here."
Ginny spun at the familiar voice that rang down the hall above the stairs. Harry and Ron seemed to into their thoughts to realise that someone had spoken. "Draco, lets go out for breakfa- Ginny!" A petite blonde girl raced down the stairs as Ginny squealed with delight and raced towards her. There was no mistaking it. Araminta Evans looked even more like Hermione from up close and her voice was exactly the same. Hermione crashed into her as they both fell to the ground in a sobbing embrace.
Harry and Ron seemed to snap out of their thoughts at the sound of the shrill squeal. They turned in time to see Ginny being knocked down by a blonde flash. They looked at Draco in a puzzled way. Was this some sort of deranged cousin or unknown sister? Draco looked guilty before quickly looking away to the floor where the girls were crying uncontrollably. "What on earth is this racket? Is everyone alright?"
Draco looked to the stairs to see his mother looked quite perturbed. When she saw the two girls, her mouth formed an 'O' shape before she smiled softly. "Minty, what have I always told you? Malfoy's do not sit on the floor, dear." Hermione quickly stood up, dusting her robes quickly. With one glance at the two boys who stared at her in a shocked manner, she barrelled into them as they both shouted with surprise and glee. She pulled away quickly as Ron let out a snarl of anger.
He turned to Draco, glaring heavily. "You idiot!" He race towards him as the blonde braced for the impact. If there was one thing that Hermione would value, it would be him not fighting back with Ron. But before the red-haired boy could touch him, he seemed to bounce off thin air, flying back into the wall behind him. He looked up, an angry grimace on his face. "You told us you couldn't tell us anything about Hermione! You lied!"
Draco gulped at the realisation on the faces of both Ginny and Harry and looked to Hermione for help. Hermione smiled softly, stepping in front of him. "Firstly Ron, I will not have you attacking Draco in this house. And secondly, he said he couldn't tell you because he didn't know if he were allowed to, which if he had asked he would have known that he was allowed to." She ended, looking at her husband with a smile.
But Ron didn't seem to have heard the end of her scolding. "Why the hell are you looking at him like that! And why on earth did you call that scum Draco!"
Draco opened his mouth to retort but shut it quickly, looking anxiously at Hermione. She rolled her eyes before nodding at him with allowance. "Because, you blundering fool, she couldn't possibly call me Malfoy as it would be hard to know who she was referring to. There are four Malfoys in this household."
Ginny frowned. It was a well known fact that the Malfoys had escaped the war leaving Draco, Lucius and Narcissa unharmed. Twinky's earlier statement popped into her head. She had mentioned four people; the Master, the Mistress, the Missus and the Mister. The Missus and Mister were always called that after their heir had succeeded and taken over control of the house. If what Twinky had said about Lucius Malfoy not seeing any visitors was true, it mean that he had almost definitely passed on the house and the role of Master to Draco Malfoy. It hit her suddenly. Draco Malfoy had gotten married, probably to the blonde in the photograph.
Harry seemed to realise this as well. "You're married! Who in their right mind would ever marry you!" He asked, before realising that he was insulting Malfoy in the Malfoy Manor. The portraits upon the wall frowned angrily at him, grumbling at his lack of manners and his heritage.
Draco stepped closer to Hermione, grasping her by the waist; causing Ron to frown. Hermione grinned, raising her left hand. "Me."