BETA READER: Thanks to the wonder caladhiell for their hard work!
THE PLOT: When Draco Malfoy struggles to complete his mission to kill Dumbledore, he's offered another chance to repair his tattered soul. When it comes to picking sides, Draco must choose between darkness and the opportunity to help save the wizarding world. AU from the end of OOTP. Slow burn Dramione. Eventually Smut Horcrux Hunting!Draco.
CHAPTER TWO
Hermione, Remus, Ginny and Tonks travelled back to Hogwarts on the night bus. It was a bit of a journey, but Hermione was happy for the quiet and the peace. Her tears had dried, but her heart was still shattered and broken. Hermione couldn't cry anymore, there were no tears left to fall. Even Ginny had gone quiet, apart from the occasional sniffle. Remus and Tonks kept a close eye on both the young Gryffindors and even they appeared drained from the night's events.
Remus and Tonks took Ginny and Hermione to the Gryffindor tower, promising to be back soon. They were going to retrieve the rest of the Weasleys, when Hermione and Ginny were free to join them. Hermione didn't want to go; she couldn't face seeing Mrs. Weasley's heartbreaking sobs as she heard of her son's death. It would be too much.
Ginny left for her bed as soon as they got into the Gryffindor tower. She raced up the stairs, and Hermione could hear the girl's sobs as she went. Hermione took a seat on the couch, feeling lost and broken.
Tonks came back half an hour later for Ginny, and they went to join the rest of the Weasley family. Ron had brought Harry and Hermione into his family, and they had embraced them both. All the Weasleys had been so loving and caring towards Hermione and Harry. Despite the few bumps in the road with Mrs. Weasley, Hermione cared for them. She didn't feel strong enough to see them, not when emotions were so raw. Hermione wanted to give the family time to grieve together, so she remained behind.
"Hermione?" A voice called some time later as Hermione sat on the couch in the darkness. She had no idea how much time had passed, and her emotions were too raw to distract herself with reading or knitting.
"Sirius?" Hermione asked, squinting in the darkness. The figure came closer, and Hermione saw his outline and weary expression. "Did anyone see you come up?"
Sirius shrugged despondently and took a seat on the couch beside her. "I don't think I'm at the top of Fudge's list tonight. He knows the truth and Dumbledore believes I don't need to be concerned about it anymore, so I'm not." He glanced at her, his silver eyes reflecting the emotional toll of the night. "Harry's pretty broken up, he's spent some time with Dumbledore going over the prophecy and can't face the Weasleys, so I'm taking him home, to Grimmauld. I think you two need to be there for each other."
"I don't want to intrude," Hermione said, her voice soft. She wanted to see Harry; they would be good for each other. Harry and Hermione had always had a sibling-like bond.
"Don't be silly; you're part of Harry's family, go get some things to sleep in, and we'll go over there. If you want to come back for the rest of the term, we'll let Dumbledore know, but there is no need to make any decisions tonight." Sirius stood and offered his hand to Hermione to help her stand, "I'll grab some things for Harry, he's not feeling strong enough to head up to his dorm."
"Oh- do you want me to do it?" Hermione offered. "Some of the other boys are up there, and they might have a bit of a shock if they wake up and see you."
Sirius waved off Hermione's concern and went up to Harry's bedroom to collect some things. She hadn't thought of how hard it would have been to see the bed Ron slept in and to see his things scattered around the floor. Thankfully, Sirius had refused her offer.
Hermione went upstairs and collected some things to wear over the next few days. She packed a small bag and was careful not to wake the other girls. The year wasn't up, but all the exams were out the way, and Hermione could at least spend the weekend away from Hogwarts, away from all the memories of Ron.
Hermione went down to the common room and waited for Sirius who arrived a few minutes later. The Marauder looked rather relaxed in his old common room. "Is it strange being back here?" Hermione asked.
Sirius glanced around the room, "It's full of memories," Sirius noted, his misty eyes betraying his calm exterior. "Good memories. Ready to go?"
Sirius led Hermione to Dumbledore's office. The headmaster wasn't there, but Harry was stood by the desk, staring at the floor with his hands in his pockets. He glanced up when Hermione walked in with Sirius, his eyes red from the fallen tears.
Without thinking, Hermione crossed the room and threw herself into his arms. Harry hugged her tightly, their bond stronger than ever.
"I'm so sorry," Harry whispered. "I never should have taken us-"
"Don't, Harry," Hermione interrupted, pulling back. "We all knew the danger when we agreed to go with you and Ron-" Hermione released a few tears at his name. "It wasn't your fault; Bellatrix fired the spell, not you. Blame her Harry; that's what we have to do."
"I should have known it was a trap," Harry spat, the anger evident in his voice.
"How?" Sirius asked. "You were right about Arthur; I would have done the same thing if it had been the other way around. Voldemort planned this Harry; it's not your fault. No one will blame you; do not start beating yourself up."
"He's right, Harry," Hermione agreed that Harry should have tried to close his mind to Voldemort, but it had been a trap. It had been planned out to trick him, and Voldemort had used Harry's biggest weakness; his godfather, his family. Bellatrix killed their best friend. She had muttered the killing words and pointed the wand. She was to blame, not Harry.
"We can go in circles all day about ' what if,'" Sirius said. "What if I hadn't stepped out the way? It would have been me instead of Ron. Believe me, Harry, if you spend your life thinking of what could have happened, you'll drive yourself mad." Hermione looked over at Sirius, grateful he was here to support Harry. She hadn't spent that much time around the man and had been hesitant about his influence, but today, he'd been a pillar of support, for the both of them. He knew how to manage the loss of a best friend; he had been through it twice more than he should have in the past. Despite how hard it was at the moment, at least they both had Sirius and Remus to help them cope.
Sirius, Harry, and Hermione travelled to 12 Grimmauld Place using a floo Dumbledore had opened. The Headmaster was with the Weasley family, helping them through the night. Remus and Tonks had gone to support them as well, but Sirius had mentioned that Remus was coming over later, to spend the night at Grimmauld Place with them.
"You can have my brother's room," Sirius offered to Harry as they made their way into the house. "If you don't want to sleep in the other room." The room he'd shared with Ron, full of memories and heartbreak.
Harry shrugged sadly, and made his way into the kitchen. Hermione followed, trying hard to ignore the way Sirius shouted Kreacher's name like he was ready to strangle the elf. She couldn't watch or hear that, not after the terrible night they had been through. Hermione wasn't ready for a fight; she wasn't strong enough.
Hermione took a seat in the kitchen and stared at the packet of biscuits in the middle of the table. It was a silly thought, but her mind went straight back to Ron, the way his eyes glazed over, the stillness of his body. If he'd been here, Hermione would have already been shouting at him about manners as he tried to scoff the entire packet of biscuits.
"Hermione," Harry said, suddenly beside her. Tears were streaming down her face, and she released a sob as grief overwhelmed her.
"I can't," Hermione whimpered, hugging Harry. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her face into his shoulder. "I don't know how we'll ever get over it."
"I don't know either," Harry admitted, his voice full of emotion. "We'll work it out together."
0o0o0o0o0
Hermione fell asleep with Harry on the couch in the living room. They had a blanket over them when she woke. Sirius and Remus were sat by the fire, facing away talking in soft voices.
"He's already lost so many," Sirius said to Remus. "How am I supposed to get him through this?"
"The only way you can," Remus replied, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "It was almost you, Padfoot; your death would have broken the boy just as much. Stop blaming yourself; I can see it in your eyes. It's not your fault. Her spell getting Ron was just terrible luck."
"I'm going to kill her-"
"Padfoot-"
"No," Sirius cut him off. "When it comes to an end, I'm going to kill her. For Frank and Alice, for Ron and all the other lives she's cut short. I owe my friends that. The hell she's put people through, I'm going to get her in the end."
Remus didn't speak for a moment; his eyes focused on Sirius. Hermione felt a twitch beside her and glanced up to see Harry awake and listening.
"We won't be able to hold Molly off long," Remus said, "She spent the night at the Burrow, but she wants to see them today. Tonks is over there trying to settle them down. I gave them all calming drafts and some vials of dreamless sleep potion before I left." He paused for a moment, "Did Dumbledore mention anything about clearing your name? He promised Fudge you would remain in the castle."
"Dumbledore told him the story, gave him the quick version, but Fudge has more pressing matters. Dumbledore's not worried, but he asked me to keep a low profile until he can get Fudge to clear my name. Hopefully, it should be in the next few weeks, once things have settled."
"Can I live here?" Harry spoke up, moving slightly on the couch. Hermione glanced up at Harry, seeing the hope on his face for the first time in a long time. "I can't go back there; I don't think I can face them."
"Yes," Sirius said, not looking at all surprised that they were both awake and listening. Remus turned with a sad smile; his heightened hearing picked up their changes of breathing, knowing they were awake too. "Once I'm cleared we'll find somewhere to live. I'm not spending any longer in this place than I have to. They can keep it as the headquarters. Kreacher has gone to Hogwarts, I'm not having him in this house, not anymore. He's too much of a risk."
"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked, surprising herself with the question. She didn't need to explain; they both knew what she meant.
"The ministry has to keep his-" Remus paused, "Ron will be with the Ministry for a few more days while they carry out an investigation. After that, he'll be released to the Weasleys, and they can arrange things. How are you both feeling? Can you manage something to eat?"
"I'm not hungry," replied Harry.
"You need to eat," Hermione insisted, then blushed as the two remaining Marauders chuckled.
Sirius stood, squeezing Harry's shoulder as he passed. "I'll cook you both something to eat, I don't want Remus to poison you lot. His taste in meat is a bit rawer than ours."
0o0o0o0o0
It was the middle of the day when Hermione checked the time. She and Harry had slept about twelve hours, but they had both needed the rest. They all managed to eat, even Harry who hadn't felt hungry managed to get something down.
When Hermione picked up her cup, she eyed the glass with suspicion. There was a slight flavour to the water, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. "What's in this?" Hermione asked, eyeing the drink.
Sirius nodded in Remus' direction, and the werewolf blushed under her gazes.
"Calming draft," Remus said, eyeing Harry's empty cup.
"Why?" Harry asked, sitting up straighter.
"The Weasleys will be coming over today," Remus explained.
Hermione glanced at her cup, swirling the water around. Then, she moved it to her lips and drank down the full glass. She needed the calming draught, more than ever before.
0o0o0o0o0o0
As promised, the Weasleys came over a few hours later. Mrs. Weasley was the first through the door and threw herself at Harry, hugging him as she cried. Ginny was by her mother's side, her eyes dry but her red eyes proved she'd spent the majority of the night crying. The twins were there too, not quite themselves as they shuffled into the house.
"Granger," Fred nodded, pausing at her side.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, not sure what else there was to say. She'd never felt so awkward and lost for words. There wasn't anything she could say to make the whole thing better. George picked up on it.
"It's alright," George said with a soft smile. "Charlie's ugly mug is here to keep us all distracted."
"Ugly enough to frighten Kreacher away," Fred joked. "We might have to keep Charlie around a bit longer."
Charlie walked over just in time to hear the twin's conversation and he rolled his eyes at his two younger brothers. "Ignore them, Hermione, they're just jealous I got the beauty and brains in this family," he teased. He moved over and pulled her into a hug, despite the fact Charlie hadn't been around as often as his younger brothers. They were all hurting, though, it was evident on their faces. He pulled back, his gaze on her face. "I'm going to be around for a few days if you need to talk."
"Thank you," Hermione replied, astonished at his words. He was trying to be strong for the family, when the twins weren't themselves.
"Arthur and Bill have gone to the Ministry," Molly said, pulling away from Harry. Tears were streaming down her face. She had bags under her eyes, evidence of her lack of sleep. "Hermione, dear." She walked over and pulled Hermione into a hug, a warm and firm hug. After holding herself together for a little while, Hermione broke once more, tearing falling down her face as she returned Molly's hug.
"That's because your face scared her," Hermione heard one of the twins whispering to Charlie, a small smile creeping onto her face.
"You should have come with Ginny, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling back. "You are family, you both are, and you always will be." Her voice hitched at the end despite her efforts to hold herself together, but not managing very well. Mrs. Weasley pulled back, her gaze going towards the kitchen. "I'll just go-"
Remus came to her rescue, stepping forward, "I need a quick word, Molly, let's go into the kitchen."
"Of course, dear," Molly said, moving quickly out the door with Remus. They heard her crying a few seconds later, her sobs affecting the entire Weasley clan.
"Thought Perfect Percy would bother to show his face today," Charlie sighed.
"He's probably too busy helping the Minister," Fred offered. "We don't need him."
"This place is ugly enough without his face making it worse," George agreed.
"Come on kids," Sirius pointed to the living room, then glanced towards the twins. "Let's hear about the chaos you two caused for Umbridge this year. I want to live vicariously through you two. I saw the swamp lads, very impressive."
The twins faces instantly brightened, and they all made their way in. Settled, they spent the afternoon chatting about Hogwarts and the trouble the twins had carried out before leaving. They were working in their shop, which they were eager to tell Sirius all about. Things were coming together rather well and they'd already created quite a bit of stock. For now, things were going to be put on hold.
"Dumbledore's going to make an announcement tomorrow," Ginny stated, looking towards Hermione. "He asked Mum first, but he wanted the rest of the house to know about it. He's going to tell them the truth."
"The front page is enough for everyone to believe now," Charlie insisted, "Fudge has taken back every word he's been saying about Dumbledore and Harry over the last year. The whole wizarding world knows that Harry's been telling the truth all along."
Harry looked a bit surprised at the information; his gaze went to his godfather. "He's not trying to deny it?"
Hermione had been there when Fudge had discovered the truth, but with so much trouble over the last year, she wouldn't put it past him to deny the whole thing.
"He can't," Sirius told his godson. "He'll work out a plan with Dumbledore, he knows how wrong he's been now. After that, the Order will just have to prepare itself, and we'll get ready. We've done this before; we'll be better prepared this time." A chill ran through Hermione at his words. This was only the beginning, the start of a war that had been building for a while.
Mrs. Weasley spent a few hours in the kitchen with Remus, and briefly with Charlie who went to check on his mother. When they had finished, she headed upstairs to one of the bedrooms she'd used previously. They all stayed the night, upon Sirius' insistence.
Remus handed out a few glasses of dreamless sleep potion before they all turned in for bed.
"Can we share?" Ginny asked, her eyes looking lost as she stood in the doorway.
"Come on," Hermione insisted, pulling the younger girl to her room. They shared a bed, kept each other in company in the darkness. Neither of them wanted to be alone, not tonight.
Coming up: Harry and Hermione prepare for the future and Dumbledore's plans upset everyone.