Laying the still unconscious Hermione down on the love seat Draco turned walking to the unconscious boy laying on the couch. Standing above him he took the opportunity to study him. While he was the spitting image of himself when he was younger he could now see the resemblance to Hermione as well. The boy's hair wasn't as blonde as his it was mixed with a smattering of light brown streaks too. The boy's nose was certainly not his and had to have come from Granger. Hearing rustling coming from behind him Draco turned around to see Hermione slowly opening her eyes. As she turned her head and caught sight of him she sat up quickly groaning in the process as she clutched her head.
Walking to the opposite end of the couch Draco laughed as he sat down, "Careful there Granger. To much blood to the brain could cause a hemorrhage."
Glancing up at him then to the other side of the couch she glared back at him, "Shut up Malfoy. I was hoping it was a dream."
Leaning back against the couch Draco flung one arm over the back as he smiled wide at Hermione, "Nope no dream Granger. Looks like the two of us are going to be getting it on in another six months."
Rolling her eyes at his lewd comment she stood up, "I'm going to ignore that," she said placing her hands on her hips as she looked around the room. "What we need are answers."
"Well you're going to have to be content sitting back and waiting like the rest of us till the kid here wakes up," Draco replied watching her shake her head at him and walk across the room and kneel down next to a pile of filthy clothes.
"One thing you should learn Malfoy is that I'm not a sit around kind of person. He traveled through time so don't you think he would have something with him? Did Theo say if he found anything on him when he was cleaning him up?" she asked as she picked up the kids shirt and shook it out.
"Well between you fainting and Weasley attempting to beat the shit out of me I didn't really get a chance to ask any questions. You know I was trying to avoid having your little boyfriend rearrange my face," he said snidely.
"He's not my boyfriend," she said distracted as she picked up his pants and let them unravel as a small purple beaded bag fell to the floor. Sucking in air she crawled to where the bag had fallen and picked it up in wonder.
"What's that you've got there? Looks like you found something," Draco asked sitting forward.
Settling herself Indian style on the floor Hermione pulled the drawstrings apart, "It's my bag. It has an extension charm on it. I just figured out how to do it this past summer," she said as she started pulling books out of the bag.
"Is there anything in it?"
Shaking her head she replied, "I don't know yet. All I'm finding are text books or books from the libraries that we have upstairs." As she placed them in two piles next to her she glanced up at Draco who was looking like he wanted to come closer but was afraid to show a reaction. Rolling her eyes she pulled out the next book which was smaller than the others to find her copy of Tales of Beedle and the Bard. Inhaling she ran her hand down the front and then flipped through it, "Malfoy, I think I may have found something."
Moving from the couch to the floor in front of her he held out his hand as she handed the book to him. Reading the title he shrugged, "It's just a book of children's fairy tales. You have the same book upstairs so what?" he asked handing it back to her.
Sighing she flipped to the highlighted page, "Well I'm pretty sure this is the same book from upstairs. Except in my copy nothing is highlighted. Why do you think he highlighted the story of The Three Brothers?" she asked.
Shrugging his shoulders he leaned back on his hands, "Who knows Granger."
Placing the book to the side she reached into the bag again and pulled out something small and round. Holding it out she showed Draco, "It's Harry's snitch." Placing it to the side she reached in again to pull out Ron's deluminator. "This is creepy," she said to herself as she plunged back in and pulled out Harry's invisibility cloak. Breathing deeply she glanced at Draco before plunging back in and pulling at several fangs, "I'm starting to freak a little here," she said placing them to the side. Picking one up Draco asked, "What the hell are these?" "They're Basilisk fangs. My research found that basilisk venom is one of the ways to destroy a horcrux. He must've figured that out too," she answered glancing at the little boy laying on the couch.
Once again feeling around the bag she clamped down on another object and pulled it out. "It's a wand," she said holding it up in front of Draco. She was taken back when he scooted back and yelled, "Oi where the hell did that come from?" Squinting at him she asked, "Do you know who's wand this is, Malfoy?" "Yes and put it down before it does something to you," he exclaimed grabbing it out of her hand. Quickly he laid it on the floor, "Don't touch it again. It's my aunt's wand." "Your aunts wand? Do you mean Bellatrix?" she asked watching him nod. "How in merlin's sake did a ten year old get her wand?" she said staring at the innocent looking boy laying on the couch. Shrugging his shoulders he replied, "I don't know but I think I'm starting to freak a little here too," as he watched her plunge back into the bag and pull out a small box.
"What's that?" Draco asked sitting up straighter. Shaking her head she answered, "It's a jewelry box." Opening it she found a gold ring with four small diamonds surrounding a larger diamond in the middle. "With a truly gorgeous ring," she said handing the box to him. When he didn't take the box Hermione looked up to find Draco staring at the ring like he had seen a ghost. "Malfoy what's wrong?"
Shaking himself he looked from her to the box to the boy and back to her face before he took a deep breath and whispered, "That's my mother's ring." Reaching to the necklace he wore around his neck he pulled it out from under his shirt to reveal at the end of the chain the same ring currently sitting in the jewelry box. "It was the only thing Snape could get before the death eaters took her."
"Draco, I'm," before she could finish what she was going to say he had jumped up and started pacing.
"Don't don't even say you're sorry Granger or I'll put my fist through something. If this kid has all this shit then where are we? What the hell happened to us?," he said agitated.
"I don't know," she whispered as she placed the box down and went back to the bag. Reaching in she found another smaller book and pulled it out. "Oh god," she said staring at the leather bound book with the letter H engraved into it. Turning Draco asked, "What? What is it now?" Holding the book up so he could see she replied, "It's my journal. I have the same sort of extension charm on it as the bag. There's no last page you just keep writing and writing. " Flipping through it she was surprised when a piece of loose leaf paper fell into her lap. Placing the journal aside she opened the letter. As she read her hands started to shake and after a few sentences she looked up with tears in her eyes, "Draco you should come sit down. I found a letter." Waiting till the agitated blonde was once again sitting in front of her she cleared her throat and started to read the letter from the beginning.
"To Whom It May Concern,
If you are reading this then I'm more then likely dead. My name is Damon Richard Malfoy and my parents were Draco Lucius Malfoy and Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy. In my world they are dead. Everyone is dead. I attempted to come back through time to change that future. I'm hoping that the information that you will find enclosed in this bag and journal will help you make a better world. The journal was my mother's. If you read the journal from the beginning you will know my mother by the end, even if you've never met her. My mother was a truly remarkable witch. I took over her journal when she died. Amongst my entries you will find my research. Once I reached Hogwarts I found everything I needed to figure out the rest of the horcruxes. Enclosed are the names and locations of everything you need. In my future the order eventually found one and I found another. However, even if we could've gotten the last one it didn't matter because Harry Potter was already dead. Harry needs to be protected at all costs, he quite simply is the key to it all. I must also warn you of possible traitors amongst your ranks. The first came when I was five years old.
"What's the matter. Why did you stop?" Draco demanded. Taking a deep breath Hermione wiped the tears and continued: Lavender Brown was deeply upset at Uncle Ron and Aunt Pansy. She sold out Grimmauld Place and death eaters attacked. We lost Teddy's parents Remus and Tonks Lupin, grandma Molly, Uncle Ron, Aunt Ginny, Aunt Luna, and Uncle Fred in that attack. Taking a deep breath Hermione looked up at Draco. "Are you ok?" he asked. Nodding she answered, "There's more to the letter." "Granger, Hermione if you don't want to read it you don't have to," he whispered. Shaking her head she answered, "It's okay. We have to know."
The second traitor surfaced after the Gringrott's break-in. During the fighting Aunt Astoria and Uncle Neville went missing. I honestly don't blame what Aunt Daphne did. She was only trying to save her sister and her husband. She went to the Dark Lord and gave up every safe house we had to get them back. As soon as she gave up the information though I've heard rumors that all three were excuted anyway. The first safe house they attacked housed me and my father. They took him out first. They knew keeping him alive would be a mistake. Now they're going to wish that they had killed me instead because with the information I have you'll be able to destroy them and pay them back for taking everything that I loved away from me. Please use this information wisely. With hope. Damon Malfoy.
By the time she finished the letter she had tears streaming down her face as she set the letter down she looked up at Malfoy. "He's just a kid. He shouldn't have to deal with all this," she whispered looking at the child laying on the couch.
Shaking his head Draco scooted forward and wrapped his arm around the crying girl, "First you need to stop crying, I really hate when girls cry. Second, this" as he picked up the letter, "will never happen. We'll call the order tomorrow and go through this one by one. We'll get every horcrux and finally rid our world of that demented fuck. Because again this," as he waved the letter, "will never happen. I mean imagine a world that has Pansy married to the Weasel and Daphne married to Longbottom. I mean seriously," he exclaimed.
Chuckling Hermione pulled away wiping her face with the back of her hands, "That's not very nice. Besides we may not be able to stop that from happening anyway. I've been wondering why Neville's been coming here after missions instead of at the Burrow where he was." "Oh don't tell me that," Draco groaned making a face of disgust.
"Well I don't want to totally gross you out but since I room with Pansy I should tell you that most nights she disappears for hours at a time after everyone's in bed. Only to return right before sunrise." Sticking his fingers in his ears Draco started singing, "Lalalalalalala. I'm not listening Granger."
Laughing Hermione pulled his fingers out, "Anyway, it's getting late I think I'm going to stay here, sleep on the love seat just in case he wakes up. Would you mind letting Harry know what we've found?" she asked as she carefully put everything back into the bag.
Standing he held out his hand, which she took hesitatingly, and helped her to her feet. "No, you'll never get any sleep laying on that. Help me move these things that Nott has on him," he said indicating the IV coming out of Damon's arm, "up to my room to the spare bed."
Opening her mouth to say something she thought better of it as she simply nodded her head, "Okay."
Moving him was not a simple feat. While Draco levitated him Hermione had the IV stand and bags of potion in her hand. She couldn't go far due to the fact that it was hooked into his arm. Eventually they made it up the steps and into Draco's room. Using her wand to turn down the sheets she placed the IV stand next to the bed as Draco slowly lowered Damon to the bed. Sighing she moved to pull the sheets up and sat next to him on the bed. Nodding her head in acknowledgement when she heard Draco mention that he was going to find Harry.
Draco had been gone for thirty minutes. Stepping back in his room he was surprised to find Hermione in the exact same spot he had left her in. Steadily she was stroking Damon's hair as she hummed quietly to herself. "Granger," he whispered trying not to startle her.
Jumping slightly Hermione turned to face Draco, "Sorry, I know it's late and you probably want to get some sleep," she said as she moved off the bed tucking the covers a little farther around the sleeping boy.
Going on impulse he grabbed her hand as she went to walk by, "You can stay here with him if you want. Use my bed and I'll sleep on the chair," he said indicating the armchair in the corner of his room.
The surprise at his suggestion was evident on her face, "Umm….if you don't mind I would like to stay with him." Shrugging his shoulders he motioned towards the bed as she turned and summoned her pajamas from her room across the hall. Grabbing clothes from his dresser he told her to get comfortable as he was going to change in the bathroom before he walked out of the room closing the door behind him. Changing quickly she pulled back the covers and climbed in not wanting to be caught standing in her pajamas when he came back. She had just turned to her side and had gotten comfortable when he came back in closing the door once again behind him. Watching him he grabbed the quilt from the end of his bed and went to make himself comfortable in the chair. "Night Granger," he said as he spread the quilt and covered himself. Feeling immensely guilty Hermione sat up sighing, "Malfoy I don't see why we can't just share the bed. It's utter nonsense for you to try and sleep in that chair."
Freezing Draco opened one eye and watched the witch sitting in his bed. "You sure about that Granger?"
Rolling her eyes she pulled the cover back, "I think I can maintain my oh so growing urge to jump you Malfoy," she said dryly.
Rising he threw the quilt to the side, "Well when you put it like that. Who can resist jumping in bed with you Granger?" as he climbed into bed next to her. Laying back down she pulled the covers up. "Well apparently you couldn't," she said cryptically. A full thirty seconds after she said it she heard him chuckling softly. "Touche Granger. I guess I couldn't since the proof is laying five feet to your left."
Emboldened by the dark Hermione turned to her side to face Draco and asked, "Do you think we really loved each other?" Smiling in the dark Draco answered, "I'm sure we did," before he turned away from her and whispered, "Goodnight Granger." Smiling sadly Hermione turned back so her back was facing the Slytherin and she could see her son laying in the bed next to her, "Goodnight Malfoy."