Hermione awoke the next morning to blazing beams of sun falling across her face. Despite what happened the day prior she decided to get up and attempt to find some normalcy. Rummaging through her luggage she retrieved a pile of clothing and tiptoed from her room in search of a shower. A tour might have been beneficial, she thought, noting how huge the second floor alone was. She opened various doors going down the hallway; a closet, another closet, an office, a spare room, another office, and finally, a bathroom!
After a long shower she headed back to her room, Draco was standing at the door. "I was wondering if you were awake." he said, as she went to put away her towel and pyjamas. "Breakfast is ready for us downstairs if you'd like, my parents won't be joining us quite yet, father has the day off... they like to sleep in." He broke off awkwardly as she followed him down the stairs and into the dining room. Two places were set across from each other, along with heaping platters of different foods.
"This looks great." Hermione said, admiring the assortment of fresh fruit. Helping herself to some orange juice, she noticed Draco was watching her. "So we can look for my cat today?" she asked feebly, feeling rather self-conscious under his gaze.
"Yeah, we can go after breakfast. Eggs?"
"Sure." Hermione filled her plate, amazed at how hungry she was but then remembered that she had barely had anything the day before.
After breakfast the two headed out into the yard. "Crookshanks!" Hermione called, making little cooing noise while looking under some shrubs. Malfoy stared at her dumbfounded.
"Are you a witch or not?" He sneered. "Why not use a revealing charm to see if it's here?"
"We're not allowed to use magic outside of school." Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone. She saw Draco roll his eyes. For the next several minutes Hermione searched under hedges, but when she straightened up and looked around she then fully grasped the vastness of the Malfoy property. It was a very well manicured green lawn that stretched the length of an enormous property surrounded by tall wrought iron fencing. A variety of fancy hedges and decorative trees lined the inside of the fence so it was difficult to see beyond it. Towards the middle of the lawn in front of the manor she saw a large round fountain of pristine white stone.
This will take forever! she thought helplessly.
"Is that it?" Draco suddenly yelled, Hermione followed his gaze to see-
"Crookshanks!" she ran over and scooped up the cat that had dashed out from the fenceline. She hugged him to her chest.
"Happy now?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"I suppose." she replied, her initial elation quickly subsiding. She headed towards a small stone bench and sat down, listening to Crookshank's loud purring.
"Did you want to talk?" Draco questioned in a softer tone, sitting down next to her.
She felt everything she was holding inside, threatening to take hold of her, it was too much... She couldn't help herself.
"Well... of course I do, but at the same time I don't want to even think about it. Yesterday, the life I knew and loved was taken from me and destroyed. My parents were hours late picking me up from school and when they arrived they were cursed. I eventually discovered that we weren't ever going home. We came here where the two people I called mom and dad were instantly killed, I never got to truly see them before they died, they had no idea what was happening. I get forced inside this unknown house where I'm met by the boy who has caused me nothing but grief throughout school. I am then told that my life has basically been a lie, my parents are not actually even my true parents, that I was a 'mistake' and, here's the best part, that I am the daughter of the darkest wizard of our time, though my real mother is dead. And he has done so many people so much harm and murdered the parent's of my best friend, how will I ever look Harry in the eye again? And now he's supposed to train me to become his evil little sidekick and I can do nothing but go along with it or else be killed. So evidently I did need to talk about it, so thank you!" She took a deep breath and felt a small weight being lifted, a tiny relief.
Draco stared at her, unsure of what to say. He then lifted the sleeve of his left arm and revealed to her his recently acquired brand.
"You're a Death Eater now?" she gasped, staring at the mark with dismay and pity, it looked inflamed and painful.
"Just since the Christmas holidays. As you can probably see, it's quite new." He said, pulling his sleeve back down.
"Do you have anything for it, a salve or potion to make it heal faster?" Hermione asked.
"Ran out a while ago, and haven't been bothered to get the right ingredients to make some." He shrugged. "It's doesn't hurt too much anymore. It was not my choice to join. I actually hated the thought of it; I wanted to finish school first. But being as my father is one...and the Dark Lord wanted me to join as soon as possible. So I kind of had to accept it. But luckily I haven't had to do anything yet, just attend meetings and stuff like that. Father offered up our house for you, to try and get back on his good side. Mother is still mad at him for doing it. I mean, the Dark Lord is not a guest one regularly wants."
Hermione nodded, smiling a bit. He hasn't even called me a mudblood yet. "I didn't think you were capable of civil conversation, Malfoy. Thank you, I needed someone to talk to."
"Well I couldn't very much be mean now could I? I wouldn't want someone running to daddy telling on me, I'd probably be killed." He added sarcastically. Hermione giggled but at the same time felt a bit repulsed at the truth in his joke. My father is a murderer