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CHAPTER 6/EYE OF THE STORM/26 AUGUST 2008

Draco awoke with the distinct, unsettling feeling he was being watched. He scanned his bed chambers and almost jumped out of his skin when he met Theo's gaze.

"Mother of Merlin, Theo, what the fuck are you doing?" he hissed.

"A question better asked of yourself, if you ask me," Theo's voice was mirthful, "Canoodling with our resident Gryffindor poodle, what's next? Going blind and borrowing St Potty's glasses?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Draco grumbled, making to turn over and go back to sleep, "It's too early for shenanigans, Nott, go away."

"Too early? Draco, it's 11am."

That got his attention. He sat bolt upright, cursing.

Theo took a step back, arms raised in surrender. He noticed he was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet in one hand, and the covering photo had glimpses of the distinct Malfoy hair.

"Wait, give me that." He snatched it from Theo when he offered it tentatively, read the cover story, and promptly burst out laughing.

"So you're not upset?" Theo eyed him, and Draco wiped a tear of mirth from his eye.

"Merlin and Morgana, I needed a laugh. Thanks Nott."

Nott raised an eyebrow. Draco examined the photo more closely, his cheeks colouring as he watched the sheer emotion play over his face. He was certainly not, as the headline claimed, conducting a sordid affair with Granger, but he didn't like the emotional display printed on the front page of the national paper.

"When did you start calling her a poodle and why?"

Theo laughed, "That's what you take issue with? Have you seen her hair? Poodle, all the way. And she's cute – extra poodle-y."

"Keep it in your pants, Nott." He rolled his eyes, and then rolled out of bed and padded over to his wardrobe.

"Afraid I'm going to encroach on your steamy love-affair?"

Draco scoffed, "Hardly. I lost Scorpius in Diagon Alley and she found him and met with me to return him."

"And you all just happened to walk to the same Muggle fast food chain in London?" he asked slyly. Draco shot him a warning look.

"Just a thank you lunch, Theo. Stop trying to make something out of nothing."

"I know what you must be thinking-"

"-I assure you I'm not."

"How did I, Theo Nott, pureblood heir-"

"Oh shove off, Theo, honestly-"

"Spot you, Draco Malfoy, notorious anti-Lion, with your Gryffindor poodle-"

"-Eating lunch like two civil adults?"

"-in Muggle London, of all places," he continued as though Draco had not uttered a word, "In McDonalds? Draco, I'm appalled, I thought you had better taste."

Draco rolled his eyes again. He'd long since learned that Theo responded most eagerly to denial and could be shut down with silence.

Tap tap tap

A large owl waited semi-patiently at the window, a bone and wand emblazoned across the navy seal.

Dear Mr Malfoy,

Please be advised Healer Hermione Granger has contacted the Department of Spells, Curses, and Genetic Maladies, a subbranch of the Spell Damage wing, regarding your case.

Astoria Greengrass has allowed full disclosure from this point forward regarding Granger Consultancy investigating her illness.

No action is required by you at this time.

Sincerely,

Priscilla Podmore, Medi-Witch assistant to Healer Alban Matthews

Draco let out a satisfied huff, folding the letter and ignoring Theo's questioning expression. Another owl swooped in the already open window.

"Is this a bloody Owlery?" He grumbled, even as he recognised his mother's eagle owl. The short, elegantly lettered note invited him to lunch with her, and he scribbled his assent on the back and sent it on its way.

"Lunch with Mother?" He offered Theo, who nodded eagerly.

"I hope Tippy is cooking again, the Nott elves just don't do it quite like him."

"Theo, Tippy always cooks. I tried to make myself a sandwich one day and he almost beheaded me with a saucepan."

"To be fair, you probably deserved it."

"What? Fine, see if I make you anything next time you're here and hungry."

"Pfft, I'll just ask Tippy, he loves me."


"Draco," Narcissa rose from her seat and proffered a cheek for him to kiss, "And Theo, how lovely."

Narcissa Malfoy was a beautiful woman, sharp angles and aloofness aside. She was also a tired, broken one.

Lucius's imprisonment and Draco's concurrent absence from the family home in the year following the War had been hard on her, and she now stood frail with sunken cheekbones. Still, she beamed at him with genuine love and he couldn't help the easy smile that slipped onto his face in reply.

"Tippy," she called, and the wizened house elf in a crisp toga made from a silk pillowcase appeared with a crack, "We're ready to take tea. Theodore is here, as you see, so a little more than expected."

Narcissa looked apologetically at Tippy, but he was delighted, "Yes Mistress Cissy. Right away. Good afternoon Master Draco, Master Theodore." His nose scraped the floor as he bowed, and he disappeared with another crack.

"Hmm, so Draco," Narcissa put the teacup she had been drinking from to her lips, eyeing him critically, "Is it true was they say? Has my son bedded a Gryffindor? A Mud-"

"Mother," Draco said warningly.

"-gleborn of all people," Narcissa finished, "Pardon me, I still slip up. But Miss Granger, of all the options available to you?"

"Weasley," He corrected, almost unconsciously, "She's still married, mother, and the paper is making a mountain out of a niffler hill."

"Pray tell, what misunderstanding had you embracing Miss Granger in the middle of Diagon Alley?"

"I've been meeting with her in her professional capacity," he replied stiffly, "So she recognised Scorpius when she found him wandering lost in the Alley and was able to return him to me. Much to my, as you can see, obvious gratitude."

"What business do you have with Granger?" asked Theo, genuinely curious.

"She's taking Astoria's case." Draco scuffed his shoe on the shiny marble of the tea room, and Narcissa let out a sniff.

"Will you and Miss Greengrass resume your marital obligations once a cure has been found?"

"No, Mother, we've already been through this." He sighed, and Narcissa, very un-ladylike, rolled her eyes.

"I just want you to b-"

"Be happy, yes I know Mother. Maybe you should have thought of that before you contracted me into an arranged marriage."

Hurt crossed her features. "Draco, I-"

He sighed again, "I'm sorry Mother. The press is getting to me and I'm worried about Astoria. That was rude of me."

He sat in the chair facing her, and poured himself a cup of tea, adding honey and a dash of milk. He took a sip, and immediately calmed. Stereotypically British as it were, he did love a good cup of tea.

"Granger is a Healer who takes on special cases through her Consultancy business." He explained, "I've hired her to take on Astoria's case, she thinks it's likely a genetic curse."

"There are a number of books in the library pertaining to Pureblood curses," offered Narcissa, "They may be of use to you and Miss Granger."

Draco took that as a peace offering, nodded, and took another sip of tea.

The remainder of the meal steered clear of the topic.

"Well, Mother, it was lovely to see you." Draco rose, kissing his mother's cheek, "I have an appointment I must attend."

He nodded to Theo, who also stood to leave.

"Look after yourself Draco, please." Narcissa looked exhausted and tiny, sitting in the vast tea room that sat within the vast Manor. Draco's eyes softened.

"I'll come visit soon, Mum." He used the informal title he hadn't used regularly since he was a boy.

Theo followed him out of the room, "Do you really have an appointment or are you just making excuses?"

"I do, Theo. I'm seeing Granger about the case," He rubbed his hand across his eyes, suddenly exhausted, "You can see yourself out?"

Theo nodded affirmative, taking a handful of Floo Powder and shouting, "Nott Manor."

Draco did the same, stating, "Granger Consultancy."


"Healer W- Granger, your 1.30pm client is here."

"Thank you, Isabel, send them through."

She continued scribbling on a piece of parchment, notes on the Broadmoor case now that she had all the files.

There was a polite knock on the door, and Hermione looked up to find Malfoy (Draco, she mentally corrected herself) leaning on the door frame casually.

"Come in, hi, Draco. Just a moment." She finished her sentence, dotting it with a flourish, and placed it to the side.

"That's quite a cold greeting for a man you're conducting a sordid affair with." Draco commented, and Hermione couldn't stop herself snorting.

"Beg your pardon, what I meant to say was Oh Draco, please come in, close the door and remove your clothes."

Draco sniggered, "Davies probably thinks she has the story of the year there."

"Oh, absolutely. A real scoop."

"Never truer." He quipped.

There was a beat of silence before she caught his eye. She tried to swallow the quirk of her lips, unsuccessfully, and his eyes shimmered with mirth, before they both promptly burst into peals of laughter.

"Passionately embracing," howled Hermione, holding her stomach as she laughed.

"Fortescue's quote," choked Draco, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, "Bugger off, he says."

The next few minutes were spent trying to get their laughter under control. They would almost have it, and then accidentally catch sight of the other and go off all over again.

"Okay," Hermione said, flustered but mostly under control, "I have an idea about your case."

Draco's face was pink from the laughter, and his eyes were sparkling, even as his expression turned business-like.

Hermione cast an appraising eye over him, allowing herself to acknowledge his attractiveness. The Daily Prophet would have a field day with my thoughts, she thought wryly.

"Excellent. Astoria isn't worsening on Muggle blood thinners, but she isn't improving either, so I'd like to make some headway."

"I'm glad she's not worsening. I have an idea, it's another Muggle-based treatment called a blood transfusion."

Draco leaned forward, eager.

"So, all humans have a blood type. I won't go into details, it took me a couple of months of university level biology to understand the intricacies," Draco nodded, and she continued, "This means it is possible for us to replace the blood of someone who is sick with donated blood that is healthy, as long as the donated blood is the same "type" as the patient."

Draco's brow furrowed, and Hermione resisted the urge to lean across the desk and smooth it with her hand.

"Muggles can't replace the entirety of the blood in a patient, because they don't have the ability to keep a human alive through it. But we can, because we have stasis charms and sanguis charms."

"So, if the curse is in her blood-"

"-we can potentially-"

"-replace the cursed blood-"

"-with healthy donor blood and-"

"-that could cure her. Granger, you're a genius, I could kiss you."

"What would the Daily Prophet make of that?"

He snorted again, "They would have a field day."

"You see Astoria often, don't you?"

"Yes, every other day."

"Why did you divorce?" she blurted out, then clapped a hand over her mouth with a horrified squeak, "Oh Godric, I'm sorry. Ignore that."

"No, it's okay," He laughed, "Actually, it's because she didn't want me bound to her when-if- she dies. Our marriage was arranged."

Hermione nodded.

"What did Weasel think of the article?"

Hermione blushed a deep shade of pink, "Asked for details."

"Ha!"

"Actually, it kind of made us both realise that we were clinging onto a relationship because we were stubborn."

"How-"

"Not because we're actually... having an affair." she blushed again, "It just made us both realise we were lonely and not fulfilled – he was honest Merlin ready to accept our "affair" if it was making me happy."

"So you-"

"We've separated for good, yeah."

"Are you okay?"

Startled, Hermione looked up from her lap where she had been twining her fingers together. He looked sincere.

"Actually, yes. It's quite a relief." she admitted, "God, we were so stubborn for so long that it's actually a relief to admit it wasn't as easy as we'd made out, and that we aren't happy anymore."

"Then I won't feel guilty about asking you to dinner next week."

"What?" Her eyes flew to meet his, and he looked nervous.

"Only if you want to, of course," he assured, scratching the back of his neck and scuffing his shoe on the carpet, an infuriatingly picturesque scene of bashfulness.

"I want to," she surprised even herself with the sincerity of her answer, "You can owl me details? My next appointment will be here soon."

"Of course."

"Bring Astoria to our next appointment, we can discuss our plan."

Draco nodded, a smile on his lips. He turned, and opened the door, and found Harry Potter on the other side of it, his hand raised as though to knock.

"Malfoy," Potter spoke, paling considerably, "Hermione. I need to speak to both of you."

"Harry," Hermione looked worried, "What's wrong?"

He gave a pained look towards Malfoy, and swallowed.

"There's been another murder. Same MO. Looks like the same perp."

"Why do you need to speak to me?" pressed Draco, his skin losing its colour, "Who was it, Potter?"

"I'm very sorry, Malfoy. We were alerted to a situation at Malfoy Manor about 20 minutes ago. A house elf led us to Narcissa Malfoy's body."


AUTHORS NOTE: I'm so sorry this took so long. It took me a while to get the dialogue where I wanted it to be, but I'm really really happy with the chapter.

Please read and review! Can't wait to hear what you think!

~Alycat