Death Eaters and Mudbloods Chapter 1
A/N: Trigger Warnings – a dark and violent fic that focuses on the brutal truth of war and, thus, prisoners of war. Draco/Octavia & Blaise/Hermione. Not for the faint of heart.
Hermione and Octavia Granger sat opposite each other at the chipped table. They avoided each other's gazes. Ginny hadn't returned to Grimmauld Place from her latest assignment. A particularly dangerous mission, the Granger twins knew. For Ginny Weasley performed a unique, but extremely effective, role in the second wizarding war against Voldemort and his ruthless army of Death Eaters. She was the Black Widow. A term coined by the Death Eaters themselves, not by the Order. But it was a term that stuck.
Ginny Weasley devoured poly-juice potion before her missions, venturing out to lure a particular Death Eater into a false promise of licentious activities, only to kill them before such acts could be done. A brutal method of assassination, but effective nonetheless. At present, Ginny's kill-rate sat in the high twenties. At first, Octavia was concerned for the red-head and the affects her missions had on her mental stability. But it appeared that Ginny had grown accustomed to the act of murder over the years. Something Octavia could never quite understand.
Octavia Granger had never taken another's life before. And she wasn't sure she could if the situation ever called for it. But one day, she may not have a choice. Although her assignments were rather safe, given her participation in the ranks of the Order as a muggle. She was merely an observer. Drinking the putrid poly-juice potion prior to each mission, her appearance transforming into that of a random muggle's each time. Before she would venture out and stalk the Death Eaters that roamed London. The Death Eaters that appeared to follow their ruthless raids and attacks by celebrating at muggle bars. Fucking muggle women, occasionally killing the women afterwards. Depending on the Death Eater, that is. Some were far worse than others.
It was the particularly ruthless ones that Octavia would be assigned to watch. Study their moves and behaviour, assess their routines before reporting back to headquarters. With Octavia's observations, joined with the information of their spies, they would construct files and cases on the Death Eaters. Following that, Ginny would then be issued her mission. Her mission today was none other than the merciless rapist, Anton Dolohov. Octavia shuddered.
Their methods did not sit well with many members of the Order. But they were effective, nevertheless. So they continued.
Hermione was by far the most vocal about her opposition to the operation. But Octavia suspected that it was merely because it put Octavia in danger. Not much danger, but enough to make her twin concerned. For if Hermione had it her way, Octavia would be sent off to Australia to live with their obliviated parents. Something that Hermione had initially intended on doing, and would have done if it weren't for Harry's opposition.
For Harry needed Octavia. His girlfriend of four years. Well, that is what Octavia thought to be the reason for Harry's insistence at having her at Grimmauld Place throughout the war. But sometimes she questioned that.
When Ginny was around. For when the red-head was around, Octavia could see the longing and lust in Harry's green eyes. Something that filled Octavia with envy and jealousy.
Regardless, Octavia was pleased to be with the Order, fighting for the light side in the war. For the war affected muggles, as well as magical folk. She felt a sense of entitlement. She should be allowed to participate in the war. Fight for her people. Even if it was just observing Death Eaters whilst in disguise. It was better than hiding out on the other end of the world, not knowing who lived or who died. Not knowing who was winning or losing.
But being at Grimmauld Place, Octavia was aware of those things. She knew who had lived and who had died.
And she knew that the light side was losing.
Octavia jumped up and down excitedly as her father ordered her an ice cream from the vendor, her blonde curls bouncing brilliantly as she held her dad's hand. Her twin, Hermione walked with her mother by the huge rocks that Octavia couldn't care less about. She just wanted chocolate chip ice cream.
They had visited Stonehenge that sunny Sunday as Hermione had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, at age six. Octavia was dragged along, kicking and screaming, only ceasing her tantrum when her dad promised her ice cream upon their arrival at the scattered boulders.
Snatching the ice cream cone from her dad greedily, Octavia squealed with glee as she clasped it in two hands before running off to her sister and mum, John Granger following her with a smile.
"Ninny!" Octavia yelled, running toward her unidentical twin. "Ninny! Look!"
Hermione frowned as she pulled her attention from the archaeological site, turning to watch her sister prance toward her.
"I got two scoops!" Octavia grinned as she extended the ice cream cone in her hands. "Wanna share?"
"No." Hermione scowled, hating that her sister called her 'Ninny'. But nothing could really be done about it, Hermione knew. For Octavia could not pronounce her name, even at age six. It was rather bothersome.
"But I got two scoops," Octavia frowned, the ice-cream cone still extended towards her scowling sister. "So you can have some."
Hermione ignored her sister, turning her eager attention back to the prehistoric monuments that surrounded them. The site was bustling with people, some on tours, others merely enjoying a family outing much like the Grangers. But Octavia could not be less interested in the boring rocks. She didn't understand their significance. She was there for the ice-cream.
Octavia shrugged as she set to lapping at the melting ice-cream, the sticky chocolate substance running down her hands. She didn't mind.
Fighting her sleepiness, Octavia forced herself to pay attention to the Italian Death Eater that sat at the dining table in Grimmauld Place. A double-agent. A spy. Blaise Zabini.
Apparently he had gone to Hogwarts with Ninny and a few of the others, but had offered his services as a spy after saving Ninny during an attack on Hogwarts six years ago when the war began. It had taken the Order many years to totally trust the handsome Slytherin, but Octavia was not convinced. She was certain that he shared the beliefs of Voldemort, only assisting the Order due to his palpable crush on Hermione.
Nobody else seemed to be aware of Blaise's feelings for Ninny, which entirely frustrated Octavia to no end. So she did not speak of it. Especially considering Hermione's hot-headed boyfriend, Ronald Weasley. Ron was unbearable at the best of times. So if he caught wind of Octavia's suspicions, he would be entirely intolerable to live with. Something Octavia was not prepared to deal with. So she kept her thoughts to herself.
"So we have only have two options then?" Harry sighed, adjusting his spectacles.
"It appears so," Blaise drawled, his fingers tapping on the wooden dining table absentmindedly. Glancing briefly at a weary Hermione. Octavia smirked.
"Well," Hermione sighed. "We either break into Gringotts for the Gryffindor Sword, or we sneak into Hogwarts for the Basilisk fangs."
"There must be another way." Lupin frowned, rubbing his hands over his weary face. A full moon was coming. Octavia felt a surge of pity for the werewolf.
"They're the only things that will destroy the Horcruxes," Harry muttered, shaking his head slightly. "We have to destroy the locket and the diadem. It is too risky to have them here. If our location is discovered …"
"Ok then," Octavia nodded, placing her hand on Harry's thigh. "Hogwarts will be the best option, I think."
"It's swarmed with Death Eaters," Ron spat. "You want to break into their headquarters?"
Octavia scowled at the man, her distaste for Ronald Weasley evident in her eyes. But he was truthful in what he said. His concerns were justified. For Hogwarts was no longer a school. It was the headquarters of the Death Eaters, plain and simple. A dangerous place for them to venture into. However, Gringotts was hardly any better. Death Eaters swarmed the place, given what lied inside. The Gryffindor Sword. Countless charms and curses were constructed around and throughout the building, making it far more troublesome for the Order to break into.
"It's better than breaking into Gringotts," Octavia shrugged. "At least we have Blaise to help us with getting in and out of Hogwarts undetected. And Harry can use the invisibility cloak. I have the choker."
Octavia tapped her finger to the thick black choker around her neck, a turquoise stone clasped onto the middle of the band. The choker is essentially what kept Octavia safe, as it was magic resilient. It's resistance to magic faded quickly with dark curses and hexes, but lasted long enough for her to escape danger. It was really the only reason Ninny allowed her to fight for the Order.
"Hogwarts does appear to be the better of two terrible options," Hermione sighed, running her fingers through her frizzy brown curls.
Blaise nodded, pulling a piece of parchment out of his robes, placing it on the desk.
"That," Blaise drawled, "is the roster for Hogwarts. It details exactly who will be on watch, when and where. All shift changes, and the nights that I will be on duty in the main office."
Hermione scowled. The main office. Formally Dumbledore's Office. The greatest man she had ever known. The man who did not deserve to fall at the hands of Draco Malfoy. By far the worst Death Eater of them all. Voldemort's right-hand man. His protégé. His heir.
"How does having you on duty aid us?" Minerva asked, her thin lips pressed together.
"I believe Potter is familiar with the Marauder's Map?" Blaise smirked, eyeing the green-eyed boy knowingly. "The Map that was confiscated in your seventh and final year?"
Harry nodded once, placing his hand on top of Octavia's. The very year the war truly began.
"That is how we know of intruders in the castle," Blaise drawled, his eyes flickering briefly to an interested Hermione. "It is framed on the wall by Professor Snape's portrait, informing us of all persons on the grounds. Perhaps, on the night that you retrieve the Basilisk fangs, I may just find myself a little too distracted to observe the Map."
Harry nodded thoughtfully, assessing his options. Octavia's wide hazel doe-eyes fixed on her pensive lover. Observing him.
She knew instantly. He agreed.
And he would allow her to join their mission. She could hardly contain her nerves and excitement. Perhaps a little hurt too. But she pushed that aside.
"Some archaeologists believe the site to be a burial mound," Jane Granger spoke to her bushy-haired daughter.
Hermione hummed as she tilted her head, her eyes alight with interest and curiosity. Octavia merely frowned, her eyes scanning the mass of people visiting the boring rocks. She would much rather be at the carnival in East London.
"I just do not understand how it was constructed," Hermione sighed, eyeing the boulders thoughtfully.
"Magic," Octavia nodded, entirely believing her explanation.
"There's no such thing," Hermione frowned, annoyed at her sister's stupidity. Octavia spend far too much time obsessing over fairy-tales, convincing herself that magic existed. Stupid girl.
"Yes there is," Octavia frowned. "You do magic."
"I do not," Hermione raised her chin, not tearing her narrowed eyes from the boulders.
"I saw you," Octavia whined. "You made the flower blossom at school."
Hermione scoffed, turning to glare at her sister. Her sister who had pinky-promised to keep that a secret from their parents. For Hermione knew that it was abnormal to be able to do things like that. She did not wish to concern her parents.
However, Octavia did have a point. Hermione was able to do strange things at times. Not when she wanted to, only sporadically. At random times. It was definitely odd. But … magic? No.
That was just ridiculous.
Octavia, clad in flannel pyjama pants and a white tank-top, crept out of the bedroom, making her way to the old staircase in pursuit of her boyfriend. Feeling particularly unsatisfied that night, requiring Harry's immediate sexual attentions.
She stopped at the top of the staircase, her wide hazel eyes narrowing instantly. Her loose blonde curls framing her exceptionally pretty face, her plump pink lips pressing together.
Watching silently as Harry and Ginny whispered in the foyer of Grimmauld Place. It was likely that they were discussing the success of the mission Ginny had returned from that day. But Octavia suspected otherwise.
Ignoring the jealousy inside of her, Octavia turned and made her way back to the bedroom she shared with her emotionally absent lover. Entering their bedroom. Alone.
As always.
Her pink plump lips smeared with sticky chocolate ice-cream, Octavia's wide hazel eyes scanned the people taking in the site of the boulders. Her sticky fingers clasped the waffle cone as she licked the melting chocolate substance absentmindedly, her brows furrowing as she spotted a handful of people in odd attire.
A beautiful blonde woman, her poker-straight hair cascading down her back as she spoke quietly to her husband. The man had similar hair to his wife, both appearing rather cold and distant. But that's not what caught Octavia's attention. It was their clothes. They wore immaculate, expensive-looking cloaks. But normal clothes underneath. The woman wore a silk dress beneath her cloak, the husband wore a suit. Weird.
Octavia shrugged, assuming they were playing dress-up like she liked to do. It was a fun game. So she paid it no further mind.
Oh.
Her attention was captured once more by the odd people. There were two boys with them, both holding chocolate ice-creams like her. About her age, she assumed. One tanned boy with black hair. He was very handsome. His eyes were so dark they were almost black. He was laughing at something the other boy was saying. The blonde boy with pale skin. Octavia smiled as she watched him talk to the tanned boy. She liked the blonde. He was very handsome.
Her smile quickly faded as his eyes locked with hers, a fierce blush spreading over her face. He didn't smile. He didn't do anything. He just looked at her. And she stared back, clutching the waffle cone in her chocolate covered hands. Her wide hazel eyes blinking at him as his silvery orbs locked with hers. The tanned boy was looking between the two, speaking words that Octavia could not hear. But the blonde didn't take his eyes away from her.
Octavia shuffled her feet anxiously, torn between running away from the boy and running towards the boy. Unnerved by his intense gaze, but enthralled by it at the same time.
She yelped as a few children ran passed her, bumping into her, sending her crashing to the grassy ground. Octavia lay face down in the grass as her ice-cream splattered in front of her very eyes. Sitting herself up on her knees, Octavia burst in tears, crying as her mother rushed toward her distressed daughter. Hermione scowling as she followed, her father behind her. But Octavia didn't see that. She kept her eyes on her ruined ice-cream as she cried loudly, tears streaming down her face. Not knowing that the very minute she fell, the blonde boy ran toward her.
Only seeing her ice-cream splattered on the grass.
Until two shiny expensive shoes stepped into her blurred vision.
Octavia lay on her side in the bed, pretending to be asleep as Harry quietly entered their bedroom. She remained perfectly still as she heard him undress before slipping into the bed silently. Trying not to wake her. Octavia thinned her lips.
His efforts to not wake her were not for her own benefit. It was for his.
She knew that. But it didn't hurt her. She merely felt a surge of jealousy.
For the reason Harry tried to not wake her was for his own benefit. Afraid that if his girlfriend awoke, she would make advances on him. Like she had done so every night for the past month or so. Advances that he did not entertain or reciprocate.
Because of her. Ginny Weasley. The Black Widow.
The witch that held Octavia's boyfriend's affections.
Octavia cried as the person knelt before her, her watery eyes gazing at a pale handsome face. The face of the blonde boy. He was frowning at her, tilting his head as he observed her curiously, Octavia wailing at the loss of her chocolate ice-cream.
Abruptly, Octavia stopped crying as the boy held out his own ice-cream cone, offering it to her. She sniffed as she took it from his extended hand timidly, her teary hazel eyes fixed on his curious expression. His silvery orbs observing her with interest.
Suddenly, the blonde boy stood, helping Octavia up as he did so. Octavia snivelled as she gave the boy a watery smile. A smile he did not return. He merely regarded her, tilting his head slightly. She licked at the ice-cream, entirely content again, as he watched her.
"We can share," Octavia smiled, extending the ice-cream to the handsome boy.
He furrowed his brow at her before shaking his head. She pouted, stepping closer to the boy, her hands still offering the ice-cream to him.
"Share," she whined, her eyes locked with his cold silvery orbs.
He frowned as he leaned forward slightly, licking the ice-cream before straightening himself again. She grinned widely at him.
Hermione sighed as she tossed and turned in the queen size bed, a snoring Ronald by her side. She frowned as he murmured in his sleep, finding him rather irritating at that moment. Perhaps it was just her own crankiness. Perhaps it was her anxiety over the war and not finding the remaining two horcruxes. Perhaps it was her suspicions that Harry was a horcrux himself.
Whatever it was, she found herself more and more irritated by her boyfriend of six years with each passing day.
As they always did when she lay awake at night, her thoughts travelled to a tanned Death Eater. Blaise Zabini.
Questioning his true loyalties. Questioning her own feelings for the man. Hoping that she was right to put her trust in him. Hoping that the butterflies would dissipate. For even if he was worthy of their trust, and his loyalties remained with the Order … she could never act on her feelings for the man.
She had read his file.
The things that he had done … The things that he still did to this day.
"Draco!" His mother snapped, waltzing toward them with her furious-looking husband. The tanned boy walked with them, but his eyes were on Hermione who stood with her arms crossed over her chest, narrowed eyes on her beaming sister. Always throwing tantrums and always getting her way. The tanned boy smiled at Hermione, but she didn't notice. Her narrowed eyes were on her sister.
"Draco," the woman repeated, approaching them. "We do not consort with muggles."
"What's a muggle?" Octavia frowned, licking at her ice-cream, her eyes fixed on the boy.
He didn't respond. He merely thinned his lips slightly, hesitantly raising his pale hand to her face. He frowned fleetingly, his parents and the tanned boy watching with undiluted awe and disapproval, before he brushed his slender index finger over her cheek, wiping away her tears.
Octavia merely continued to lap at her ice-cream as the boy stepped closer to her, wiping away her tears with more confidence, both of his hands brushing against her damp cheeks. Her parents watching with gentle smiles, his parents watching with expressions of pure incredulity and shock. The tanned boy staring at a frowning Hermione.
"Come, Draco." His father drawled, his eyes alight with fury. "We are leaving."
Draco merely nodded once to indicate that he understood. But his eyes did not leave her face. Octavia frowned and pouted, finding that she would rather the boy would stay. She liked him.
She blushed as he kissed her on the cheek, before turning and stalking off with his angry family. The tanned boy waving goodbye to Hermione, who merely raised her eyebrows in response.
Octavia scowling as the blonde boy walked away. Leaving her.
She didn't like that. Not one bit.
