Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long. End of uni semester = busy busy busy. This chapter's probably a little short, but I like it better that way. Anyway, thanks to my 'beta', the irrepressible Madolyn, AKA my younger sister. Really all she does is tell me if she likes the chapter, because she has pretty much zero understanding of spelling, grammar and punctuation, but she demanded a mention.
Chapter 2: Not You
May 24th, 1998: 3:16pm
Hermione sprawled back onto her bed at Grimmauld Place and sighed, savouring being alive for just a moment or two. It was a wonderful feeling. Fantastic. Best feeling in the whole world. It had been a month since Harry Potter had triumphed over Voldemort, and Hermione's life was falling into place better than she could have dreamed. She sighed again and allowed her memories to fill her up for a while. Watching Harry bring down the most evil wizard of all time, and without using Avada Kedavra either – she couldn't have been more proud of him if she'd tried. Celebrating for three days straight at Hogwarts Castle, a celebration that was as much a wake as it was a party. Going to Australia to find her parents had been difficult – not just because she had to find them, but also because she was terrified they'd be furious, wouldn't want her anymore because of what she'd done. She couldn't have been more wrong. Her parents were overjoyed to see her, understanding completely why she did what she did. Her mother cried with happiness as she told them what she'd accomplished, and her father looked so proud he could burst.
Her parents had decided to remain in Australia, because Oh Hermione, you should see the Harbour Bridge and the beaches and the desert, and the Opera House and the ocean and the warm summer nights, and Hermione was fine with that. If she wanted to visit, she could Apparate, although it was nearly as tiring as taking a plane there because of the distance. And they were right – the beaches were fantastic.
Hermione wanted to dance and scream and cheer, a feeling she'd had since she arrived at the former Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and so she went and found Harry and Ron, and that's exactly what they did. Unfortunately, all the noise set Pigwidgeon twittering in a wild spin around the drawing room, and also brought Mrs Weasley out from the kitchen. She hurried into the room, wand at the ready, and was startled to find three teenagers swinging around the drawing room with their hands joined, screaming and laughing as they went. Mrs Weasley flopped down on the lounge, clutching her chest.
"Goodness gracious, you three nearly gave me a heart attack!" she gasped, giving them an irritated but somehow affectionate glare. "I thought Death Eaters were invading, at the very least!"
It was true that there were still a few Death Eaters at large, having somehow evaded capture in the pandemonium that followed Harry's defeat of Voldemort. However, they had by and large decided to go into hiding, rather than actively continuing to follow orders from their dead master, and as such didn't pose much of a threat. The three teenagers stopped laughing long enough to look slightly guilty, though the giggles still escaping them ruined the effect somewhat.
"Sorry, Mrs Weasley", Harry chuckled, letting go of Ron's hand and sending him sprawling back onto the Black family tapestry. Ron clambered back up, rubbing his shoulder, and smacked Harry on the back of the head as Mrs Weasley left the room, shaking her head in bemusement. As soon as she'd gone, the three friends dissolved into wild laughter.
"Oh, that was absolutely hilarious!" Hermione giggled, clutching the stitch in her side.
"Did you see Mum's face?" Ron added, tears of laughter streaming down his face. "Priceless!"
They paused for breath, and it was at that moment that they heard the front door open. The former Golden Trio picked themselves up off the floor and piled through the drawing room door.
"I hope that's Kingsley", said Ron as they pounded down the stairs. "I want to ask him when the applications for Auror training close."
They spilled into the hallway and discovered it was indeed Kingsley Shacklebolt, who paused halfway through pulling off his midnight blue cloak and looked inexplicably apprehensive.
"Hello, you three", Kingsley said, removing the rest of his cloak. It was then they noticed that someone had backed into the hallway behind him, hauling a large trunk.
"Er", said Kingsley, now looking very nervous. "There was an attack today, and-"
The rest of Kingsley's sentence was drowned out as a tall young man stepped out from behind him. Shiny black shoes and charcoal dress pants were covered by a black fur cloak with silver trim, which rested on the lean shoulders of a teenager with grey eyes and white-blonde hair. Kingsley had just entered the former Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix with none other than Draco Malfoy.
Harry and Ron instantly began shouting, raising their wands as the portrait of Mrs Black woke, adding her screams to the din. Hermione could not hear any of it. The roaring of her own hatred rang in her ears, drowning every other sound as she raised her own wand. Her voice cut through the noise and Malfoy's eyes snapped to her as she spoke to Kingsley.
"What", Hermione ground out, her body shaking with fury, "is he doing here?"
Harry and Ron broke off yelling and both turned their accusing glares to Kingsley too, clearly waiting for a response. None of them lowered their wands. Kingsley rubbed a large hand over his face.
"I knew you'd react like this", he sighed, "but I had no choice. There was a Death Eater attack today. We think it could be Rabastan Lestrange, though we can't be sure. Anyway, he somehow got into Malfoy Manor." Malfoy turned away as Kingsley continued.
"Narcissa Malfoy was murdered as she walked out of the drawing room", Kingsley said heavily. Hermione gasped, and Harry's expression softened for a moment.
"Lucius Malfoy is, as you know, serving time in Azkaban, and is therefore safe – for the time being, at least. Draco, however, is in grave danger until we catch whoever was responsible for this."
"How do you know?" Harry said, a little roughly. "They could have been only after Narcissa. It's common knowledge after her trial , what she did for me."
"We know from the inscription that was left on her chest." Kingsley looked faintly disgusted now, and Malfoy growled behind him, though he still didn't turn around.
"What? A message?"
"A message", Kingsley confirmed, "written in Permanent Ink on her body." Hermione covered her mouth with her hands, feeling horrified and dreading what was next. Ron looked slightly pale as he spoke.
"What did it say?"
Malfoy's shoulders tightened for a moment, and then he whirled around, anger only partly masking the pain in his grey eyes and the evidence of unshed tears.
"It said", growled Malfoy, his voice rising with every word, "on my mother's body, 'You're next, Draco'. On my mother's body." In the silence that followed, Malfoy looked at Hermione again, and though she still glared at him, inside she felt sorry. Sorry for his loss, sorry they hadn't prevented it, and sorry, like she had many years ago, that his life had turned out the way it had.
"Draco will be staying here, under the protection of the Order." Kingsley narrowed his eyes at them, and it was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that none of them made any objections. "Harry, is anyone using Regulus' old room?"
"I don't think so. We offered it to Percy, but he wouldn't go in there. Said it didn't feel right."
"Alright, we'll put Draco in there. Draco, the room's on the third floor. Sign on the door says something like 'do not enter'. It's got Regulus' name on it somewhere. And you three might need to lower your wands and let him pass."
Hermione looked down, startled to realise her wand was still trained on Malfoy's face. She lowered it, and on either side of her Harry and Ron did the same. They stepped aside and, after levitating his trunk, Malfoy marched past them and up the stairs. They watched him out of sight, and then Harry turned back to Kingsley.
"How long?"
"I'm not sure", said Kingsley. "It depends how long it takes us to find out what happened." Kingsley turned to leave and then paused, looking at each of them in turn.
"Try to go easy on him, won't you? He's not had a wonderful day."
Kingsley refastened his cloak and left. Hermione looked the two boys, lost for words. They stood in silence for a few moments, and then Ron spoke, looking faintly annoyed.
"Damn", he grumbled. "I forgot to ask Kingsley about the Auror training."
Harry looked at his in bemusement, and Hermione, despite the situation, couldn't help herself. She laughed as she led the way back upstairs.