Chapter Four: Making a U-Turn
A few days later, they finally found the time to speak with Dumbledore without it attracting undue attention. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so most of the castle was empty of activity. As they left the Great Hall after breakfast, Hermione finally asked the question that had been on her mind nearly since the beginning.
"Draco, how is it that you've been able to be so public about our fake relationship without your father knowing?"
He swallowed visibly. "Well, he does know."
"What? Then why hasn't he broken down the castle doors and killed me? Or you?" She frowned deeply.
"I may have told him it was a plan to spy on the enemy or something of that nature," Draco muttered, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably.
Hermione stopped dead in the middle of the entrance hall. "Really? That's actually quite brilliant, you know."
"It is?" he questioned unsurely.
"Absolutely!" she enthused. "It will throw your father so far off the mark that he won't suspect a thing, and you'll be safer."
Draco shook his head, a small rueful smirk appearing on his features. "You are remarkable, Granger."
She shrugged. "Well, I do try."
They resumed their trek across the castle to Dumbledore's office in silence, until Draco broke it by murmuring, "Is that all this is?"
"What?" She looked at him, startled.
"You said before that this relationship was fake," he explained quietly, not meeting her gaze.
She gulped. "Well, isn't it?"
"I guess I just thought—I mean, everyone else thinks it's real, so—" Draco stuttered to a stop, both in speech and movement. "Never mind; just forget I said anything." His expression turned angry.
"Hey," Hermione said, her brow furrowed. "Tell me what you were thinking, please."
He glared at her. "It's not important. Let's just go."
She pursed her lips in frustration, but nodded and began walking to Dumbledore's office again. Draco remained in a sullen silence. Hermione felt bewildered, to say the least, that his mood had soured so rapidly. He'd been more open and kind with her in the last several days than he had been throughout their whole "relationship," and she couldn't fathom what had caused his abrupt about-face. For a moment there, she had hoped he would say that he had feelings for her and that he wanted their relationship to be real. But now, with the way he was acting, she was suddenly worried that he would end their deal once he'd secured his mother's safety. She didn't like that thought one bit.
They reached Dumbledore's office without another word spoken between them. Hermione muttered the password dejectedly, and the gargoyle jumped into life before stepping aside and revealing the spiral staircase. She and Draco stepped on and rode the stairs up to the office door, which they found was open already. Dumbledore stood just inside, smiling congenially at them and holding his right hand behind his back.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy; what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you this morning?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow at his use of the word "surprise." He had been waiting for them—surely it was no surprise. "Well Professor, Draco has a bit of a problem that we're hoping you can help him with," she explained, suspecting all the while that he knew what was going on.
"Ah yes. Come in and have a seat," Dumbledore said to Draco. They entered the office and Dumbledore moved behind his desk. "Severus informed me of your predicament."
Draco's mouth dropped open. "What?"
Dumbledore grinned. "Oh yes, he knows all about it. Your mother sought out his help over the summer, and his first move was to inform me of what had happened."
"Wow," Hermione breathed.
"I don't understand," Draco muttered, his face a mask of frustration. "Why didn't you offer to help me if you knew?"
"You had to come to me," he explained somewhat sadly. "If I were to approach you, there would likely be someone that would notice, and your life would be in further danger than it already is."
Hermione sank into a chair in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk. "What now?"
Dumbledore's happy demeanor faltered, and he sat in his chair with a heavy sigh. "Now I have to ask something very difficult of you both."
Slowly, Draco approached the other chair in front of the desk and sat down. "What?" he asked, his voice quavering.
"First, I must ask you not to repeat what we discuss in this room," Dumbledore started. "If this information were to fall into the wrong hands, many lives would be in danger. If I have to, I will extract Unbreakable Vows from each of you."
"I promise, Professor," Hermione said quickly. "I'll do whatever I can to help."
Draco nodded. "I won't do anything that would put my mother at risk."
"All right." Dumbledore took a deep breath, then said, "I'm dying."
Hermione gasped. "What?"
He nodded gravely and placed his right hand upon the desk. "The details are unimportant right now, but I've been cursed, and my time is running out."
"Professor . . ." Hermione bit back the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes.
Dumbledore just shook his head. "Do not be sorry, Miss Granger. There is nothing to be done. Professor Snape is doing what he can to slow the curse's progress, but I will probably be dead before the end of summer."
"Not to be rude, Professor," Draco said, "but how does this have anything to do with my situation?"
"Good question, Mr. Malfoy. It has a complicated and lengthy answer, but I'll give you two the summary. I have asked Professor Snape to finish the task you have been given by Voldemort."
Draco's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. "What?" he choked out.
"What job—" Hermione started.
"Voldemort has tasked him with bringing about my demise," Dumbledore interrupted.
The room fell silent for a very long time. It was tense and awkward, and Hermione didn't want to be the one to break it. She knew that the rest of this conversation had to be between Draco and Professor Dumbledore.
"Sir, what does this mean?" Draco finally asked.
"It means that you do not have to kill me," he answered sagely. "But you do still have to put up the appearance of trying. I know you are trying to repair the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement. Continue to do so, and fulfill your task to the best of your ability. But do not kill me when the time comes."
Draco sagged in his chair, looking undeniably relieved.
"I can give you a few hints on how to repair that cabinet if you wish," Dumbledore added.
"Thank you, sir," Draco whispered. "But I do have one thing I need you to do."
Dumbledore smiled. "What is that?"
"Keep my mother safe. I don't care what you have to do, but get her out of the manor. Get her away from the Dark Lord. I won't go through with this plan if her life is still in danger." His voice hardened as he spoke, and Hermione was awed by his dedication to his family.
"I promise to get her to a safe house. I will notify you when she has been extracted. Do you want your father retrieved as well?"
"No," Draco said, his tone gruff. "My father is too far gone to be helped anymore. Besides, if both of my parents were to suddenly go missing, then suspicion would fall on me anyway."
"This is true," Dumbledore conceded. "What if we were to fake your mother's death? That would keep Voldemort and his followers from trying to find her, and you wouldn't be suspect."
"Do it."
Draco didn't speak to Hermione again for three days. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but figured that he was just anxious about his mother. Once that had been handled, he would probably be back to normal. Or at least his new normal. It wasn't until the article appeared in the Daily Prophet that she finally reached her breaking point.
Even though Hermione knew the incident was fake, she still felt great sorrow as she read the account of Narcissa Malfoy's supposed death.
Malfoy Matriarch Slain
Last night, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were attending a dinner in Diagon Alley when they were ambushed by unknown assailants. It is well-known that the Malfoys were aligned with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named during the First Wizarding War, although they adamantly stated that they were under the Imperius Curse. No charges have ever been filed against the Malfoy family. The Auror Department stated that this is the reason Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were attacked.
Details are scarce about the actual incident, as Lucius Malfoy was not in a state to discuss what had happened. He was so distraught, in fact, that he required overnight hospitalization. Narcissa Malfoy was not so fortunate. Her body was discovered at the scene. It appeared that she had been hit by the Killing Curse in the midst of the attack. She was taken to St. Mungo's, but the healers were unable to revive her.
The only information Aurors were able to obtain from Mr. Malfoy was that their attackers were well disguised under hooded cloaks and black masks. As far as Aurors can tell, the attackers were not Death Eaters, nor were they aligned with You-Know-Who.
A private funeral for Narcissa Malfoy will be held this coming Saturday. She will be entombed in the Malfoy family mausoleum. All those who wish to pay their respects are asked to send flowers to the Ministry, addressed to Lucius Malfoy.
Hermione was unable to maintain her distance from Draco after that. She dropped her copy of the Daily Prophet on the table, startling Harry, Ron, and Ginny, then stormed over to the Slytherin table. Draco glanced up at her from his own copy of the newspaper, then simply stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. With a deep scowl, she stomped after him.
"Draco, stop!" she shouted when she was halfway across the entrance hall.
He paused where he stood at the entrance to the dungeons. "What do you want now, Granger?"
Her eyes widened. "So it's back to my surname now, is it?" she asked angrily.
"What do you want from me?" Draco snarled as he spun around to face her.
"The truth!"
"The truth?" he asked as he took a single step toward her. "You want the truth? Fine. I'm done with this. I am done walking around this school pretending to be in love with you. I'm done being your little boy toy." And then he disappeared into the dungeons before she could say another word.
Hermione was speechless, which was a rare occurrence. She slowly walked outside to the edge of the lake, pondering what he had said. Their deal hadn't ever really been to pretend to be in love, just to pretend to date. So why had he worded it like that? And what did he mean by saying he was done being her boy toy? Their deal was mutual, yet he was acting like he was some kind of victim.
She sat down on the shore of the lake, pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her chin on them. A heavy feeling settled in her chest, something she couldn't quite put a name to. And then she began to cry.
Had Draco really just broken off their arrangement? Hermione couldn't help but feel as though she had been well and truly dumped. What had she done wrong? She angrily swiped the tears from her face. Perhaps she was the problem. She had developed feelings for Draco sodding Malfoy; that was her first mistake. Her second was thinking she could trust him, and her third was hoping that he would want to keep up their charade once his mother was safe.
But Hermione Jean Granger was never one to take mistreatment lying down. She scrubbed the remains of her tears from her cheeks, stood up and straightened her robes, then marched back into the castle. She was going to find Draco and give him a piece of her mind. She would find out what had caused him to return to his former cold demeanor. And she would fix things between them, no matter the cost.
