Chapter 2 – My fireplace, my room, my manor
„Malfoy Manor," Hermione muttered with low, but clear voice, hoping that no one in the Leaking Cauldron understood her words.
She closed her eyes and discovered once more that she hated it. Using fireplaces for travelling came right after flying on broomsticks, Thestrales and Hippogriffs on second place of her Never-travel-like-that-again list. But it was unavoidable.
Finally she stopped spinning und Hermione tumbled out of the fireplace. She got up, brushed the ashes off her cloak and looked around.
"Oh," she gasped. The first thing she saw was the fireplace. Not only was it large, black and gleaming, but also ornate with silver snakes, which were perfectly carved to the finest detail. Each one of them had eyes of brilliant emeralds and seemed extremely valuable.
Hermione looked around the room. There wasn't any doubt that she was at the right place. Slytherins were living here, rich Slytherins. The room was also held in green and silver and furnished expensively, but classy.
Before Hermione could examine the furniture any further, she heard footsteps. Her heart was beating rapidly. Now that she was standing here, she thought her plan to be the stupidest thing she had ever done.
Merlin! Now I am dead.
The steps were definitely coming nearer. Hermione looked around for an adequate hideout, when something caught her attention. It wasn't human steps. No normal person would walk this way, if anything little children with their small steps.
An idea came to her mind, who or what it possibly was, when it was confirmed immediately.
A house elf had opened the black wood door opposite the fireplace and peered into the room.
"Uh… good day, Miss," he squeaked, apparently surprised to find someone like Hermione here.
"Uh, hello," Hermione said. She felt out of her element.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the elf was asking now, as he closed the door behind him silently.
"I… well, is Malfoy home?" Hermione asked nervously.
"You mean the young Mr. Malfoy?" the elf responded.
Hermione nodded.
"He hasn't told Todd that he is expecting visitors, Miss," the elf named Todd explained and eyed Hermione suspiciously.
"Well, he doesn't know that I would stop by today."
"Who are you?"
"I know… Malfoy… from Hogwarts," Hermione stuttered.
"Todd will fetch him. Please stay here, Miss," Todd said.
„Not necessary," a voice called from the door.
Hermione gave a surprised shriek, she hadn't seen Malfoy enter. Todd turned around too.
„Shove off, Todd," Malfoy commanded. He took a step forward, opened the door and let the elf leave the room. Then he closed the door again.
Hermione suddenly realized how tall Malfoy was. Without her wand she wouldn't stand a chance, which was why she grabbed for it in her pocket and didn't take her eyes off Malfoy. He looked like always, black cloak with small details in Slytherin colors, only without the Hogwarts badge. Solely his face seemed… different. Something in his eyes had changed.
"Granger," he drawled. "Did you take the wrong fireplace? Or is this supposed to be a suicide attempt? How can you just show up here, here?" He shook his head.
Hermione didn't know what to say. The only thing she knew was that he apparently didn't intent to let her walk out of this alive – suicide attempt. What was that supposed to mean?
Great, Hermione. Really great.
"You did take the wrong fireplace, didn't you? You just can't be that stupid. Surely you know that this fireplace is recently often used by Death Eaters? You could have burst into a meeting…"
Hermione stood there petrified. What should she do? She wasn't able to think straight. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, her hands were damp, while she tried hard not to panic.
Malfoy rolled his eyes, when she still wasn't speaking.
"Fine, you didn't take the wrong fireplace. You wanted, Merlin knows why, to come here."
Hermione decided to nod.
"What do you want?"
Hermione hesitated briefly, but plugged up her courage and said: "Talk."
"Talk?" Malfoy repeated surprised and laughed. "A mudblood is falling out of the fireplace and wants to talk. If my mother –"
"Listen, Malfoy! Either you kill me now or you talk to me or I'll go immediately." She had managed it: her fear was fading slowly.
Malfoy stared at her. "You are sure that you didn't take anything? I've heard Muggles take pills and –"
"Malfoy, don't be stupid!" Hermione tried to sound certain, but in reality she felt small, weak and out of place.
"Okay, fine. Come with me." He opened the door.
"What?"
"If my mother ever finds out that a Mudblood spent at least five minutes in this room… we are going to my room."
Hermione thought it best not to say anything and followed him. Here along a corridor, there up a broad staircase, past several doors, portraits and paintings. Hermione had to think of Hogwarts. Like in the castle you could lose your way here too. The estate had to be gigantic. Hermione walked behind Malfoy anxiously and silently. Amazed, which didn't escape Malfoy.
Eventually they arrived at Malfoy's room. The door was black as any other. The room behind it was huge. Hermione's mouth gaped wide open as she looked around. The room was flooded by bright daylight from the large windows on the opposite side. Hermione cast a fleeting glance through the glass, where she saw a big meadow and was almost sure to make out Quidditch hoops.
The curtains were green; the bed sheets on the large wood bed were also green and silver. All pieces of furniture consist of black wood; cushions, carpets and coats were green or silver.
There was a big shelf on the left wall, completely filled with books. With lots of books.
Wow.
Only when Hermione noticed that Malfoy stared at her grinningly, she closed her mouth which had been wide open from awe. Her fright had vanished for the moment.
"I would love to see Weasel's face, when you are telling him about this." Malfoy sat in one of the armchairs, which were grouped around a small table in front of the book shelf.
"Shut up," Hermione murmured. She also took a seat.
"Don't say anything," she warned, when Malfoy opened his mouth. "You don't have to tell me, how horrible it is to have a Mudblood sitting on your holy antique pure blood furniture."
Malfoy didn't answer, but continued to smile his Malfoy- grin.
"Well," Hermione said. Now that she was sitting there, now that he seemed to be willing to listen to her, she didn't really know where to begin. Somehow everything was so different from what she had imagined, somehow he was so civil. Perhaps he was just someone else, who had taken Polyjuice potion? Or this was a trap. How could he just invite her into his room?
"You… shouldn't you kill me, torture me or take me to… Voldemort?"
Malfoy's grin vanished abruptly.
"Why should I?" he asked.
Hermione froze. Did he take her for a fool?
"Because of the mark on your forearm maybe?"
Malfoy was silent for a short moment.
"Nothing escapes you."
"Harry has suspected you the whole last year."
"He is a specialist in this area," Malfoy replied bluntly.
"He was there, Malfoy. He was under his Invisibility Cloak on the astronomy tower."
Hermione had no idea, why she was telling him that. It was the only thing that came to her mind at that moment.
„He was WHAT?" Malfoy yelled.
"Didn't you notice?"
"I had other things on my mind."
"Anyway, Harry was there from the beginning. He overheard your conversation and watched Snape… Snape…" She didn't have to complete the sentence.
Malfoy was silent and Hermione wasn't sure how to continue. She was afraid of him, no matter how he behaved.
"Didn't you want to or weren't you able to?" she asked quietly as the silence persisted. She knew that he understood what she meant.
"Does it make a difference?" he asked staring into emptiness.
"Of course there is a diff-"
"You can only kill somebody, if you want to. To be able to, you have to want to. Only if you want to, if you really want to, you are able to."
"But Harry told me that he wanted to hit Bellatrix with the Cruciatus- curse and he couldn't. But in that moment he hated her so much that he wanted to!"
„That was the day that Black died, right? Potter just… has a hot temper. But he is the good guy, the chosen one. It's not possible for him to want it so badly to be able to." Hermione didn't miss the mockery in his voice.
"Uh… does that mean that you didn't want to… kill Dumbledore?" Hermione asked. It felt peculiar for her to be sitting in Malfoy Manor, having the first civilized conversation with Malfoy and talking about this subject.
"You know what it means. Why do you ask?"
"I… well… actually I am asking because I… want to know more. Has Voldemort forgiven you?"
Malfoy stared at her incredulously. "Forgiven me? The Dark Lord does not forgive. He doesn't forgive anyone."
"Did he… punish you?" Hermione asked with horror in her voice.
"No, not yet. But he will." Malfoy paused briefly, but continued because he knew that Hermione would press further anyway. "He doesn't favor our family at the moment. My father is in Azkaban, my mother let Snape do the Unbreak… did something the Dark Lord does not approve. And I have failed three times. My father stays in Azkaban. He granted my mother and me two more weeks. He told us to think during that time, while he crows over Dumbledores death. But he hinted… that he will… kill me and my mother. He seems to think that it is more effective to know everyday that you will die soon… to warn other new Death Eaters, he cannot forgive my… faults."
Hermione stared at him aghast. "Why don't you escape?" She had completely forgotten to marvel that the boy in front of her was willing to answer her questions.
"He would find us. Besides my mother is…" He paused.
"He is trying to find Harry for seven years now! He didn't succeed!"
„He did find Potter. Potter just had the unbelievable luck to survive each time. "
„Hmmm… which brings me to why I came here in the first place," Hermione murmured.
"Which is?"
„Actually there isn't any reason for you to say no. Well… Harry, Ron and I have learned from Dumbledore how Voldemort can be destroyed. We know how to steal his immortality from him!"
Malfoy examined her, as if she had just revealed that he in fact wasn't human, but a pink ferret, whose brain had been hexed.
The only thing that he produced was: "Potter and Weasel agreed?"
"Uh, well. I… I haven't… talked with them yet…" Hermione said, getting quieter from word to word. That would be the next big problem.
Suddenly Malfoy laughed.
"You are really sure that no one spiked your drink? You come here, through the fireplace; you don't know if I or another Death Eater might kill you at once? And you ask me if I would help you finding the Horcruxes?"
Hermione knew exactly what part of the idea he found so crazy, but now she had another thing on her mind.
"You know about the Horcruxes?" she gasped.
"Yeah."
"How? Who else?"
„My mother got it from Snape. He spilled the beans when he argued with Bellatrix. Unbelievable, isn't it? I mean, it's Snape!"
"So Bellatrix, your mother, Snape und you know about them?"
"That's right."
"And Snape learned it from Voldemort because he is probably the closest to him. At least at the moment."
"Probably."
"What do you say?"
"What do I say to what?" Malfoy asked.
"Well, are you coming?"
Malfoy stared at her incredulously.
"You really think I want to live under the same roof with a Mudblood, Potty and Weasel?"
"You would at least live, Malfoy," Hermione answered quietly.
He shook his head.
"My mother would never do that. But… she won't do anything anymore. She…"
"And you?" Hermione asked.
"Me? I think now it's my turn to save the human race," he murmured sarcastically.
„Does that mean – "
„Come back tomorrow, same time as today. I will talk to my mother. Then I'll go with you… or I won't."
Hermione couldn't believe it. But before she could feel glad (she didn't even know whether it really was a reason for celebration), something came to her mind.
„Apropos mother… I should go home."
"Come with me."
Hermione followed him back into the parlor.
"Did you notice that this was our first humane conversation for seven years?" she asked without registering that she was talking to Draco Malfoy in an almost chatting tone. She was too relieved to pay attention to it.
"Yes, I did."
"I didn't know that you were capable of it," Hermione said.
"You never tried."
"Uh… yes, you didn't either."
„I knew it," Malfoy said.
Hermione took some floo pulver out of a bowl next to the fireplace and climbed in.
"One more thing," Malfoy said. "Why did you think I would even talk to you?"
„You didn't manage to kill Dumbledore." Then she grinned. "And I know that you cried your eyes out in Myrtle's toilet. Leaky Cauldron!"
Hermione caught a short glimpse of Malfoy's distraught face and couldn't keep a grin off her face.
By the time she got home, she thought that it went much better than expected. She had assumed that they would, provided she survived their reunion, yell at each other and fight or do something even worse.
But what isn't yet may well still be.
AN: Please tell me what you think of it so far! It would mean so much to me! Thanks!