Bittersweet and Strange
Chapter 6: The Breakthrough
"Cho, this could mean all sorts of things. Are you positive Katie is the one who sent it?"
"Positive!" Cho declared. "Neville, Katie and I have been corresponding for four years now. I know her style."
"Still, messages can be faked very easily," Neville countered, giving Cho a tired look. "I know this is important, but losing our heads over this message and rushing into a trap set by the Death Eaters is the last thing we need to do, especially with Hermione and Dennis out there somewhere."
Katie Bell's owl had been simple: Subject has been located. Can't disclose details in note. Meet at Rook house tomorrow at 9 PM. Cho had become excited upon reading it, but Neville had his doubts.
"How could anyone know about this?" Cho pressed. "And how would they know who Katie was looking for anyway?"
Neville sighed in frustration. "They could have caught her looking for him, or they could have used Legilimency on her. Someone could be intercepting your messages even! Cho, if the note didn't ask us to meet her somewhere, I'd be more inclined to believe. But Katie has not once asked us to meet her since the War. It puts us and her in a lot of danger."
"What is this Rook house anyway?" George asked, shifting in his seat.
Neville shrugged. "That's another thing, Cho. I have no idea where Katie wants us to meet her, and I don't think we should make any sloppy guesses."
"She obviously expects someone here to know what she's talking about," Cho argued. "Let's just ask around until we can figure out what it means."
Neville shrugged again. "All right, go ahead. But no one is allowed to make a move until we all know for sure what's going on."
Cho nodded firmly. "Agreed."
Hermione's guess that she wouldn't see Draco for a while had been correct. It had been four days since she had last seen him.
It was best that way, Hermione told herself. Though the polite thing to do would be to thank him for the books he had left at her door, Draco was obviously not comfortable around her, and Hermione had no intention of going out of her way to thank him. Sure, maybe she had spent the last four days practicing what she would say if she happened to bump into him, but didn't she do that with everything? Hermione was a planner, and her over-analysis of the situation was normal for her. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
However, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the facts. Ever since the last time she saw him, Hermione had been unable to keep Draco Malfoy out of her thoughts. Despite monumental efforts to keep her mind on her work, Hermione always seemed to drift back to ideas about him. Theories, questions, and imagined scenarios kept popping unsummoned and unwanted into her mind, and she was powerless to stop them. Living in his house certainly wasn't helping, either.
Contrary to her first impression, Hermione had found the Draco's books to be immensely entertaining. She had already read two of the history books and one biography, but the others were intriguing, and Hermione found herself staying up later than usual to read. Novels weren't her favorite, either, but the adventure book Draco had given her was beyond interesting. Even the magical instruction manuals were informative, though she couldn't use them.
Despite what she wanted to admit to herself, Draco had picked out the exact books he knew she would like. Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it was at least better than being in constant conflict.
But a new problem had arisen. Hermione had run out of things to do.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and Hermione tapped her toes on the floor distractedly, her chin in her hand as she surveyed the living room and entry hall. In the nearly two weeks she had been in Draco's manor, Hermione had scrubbed, mopped, swept, dusted, and rearranged every single room in the house that she had access to. The kitchen had taken two whole days to finish, but Hermione found herself bored stiff without anything to do. The rooms would surely need cleaning again sometime, but what was she supposed to do until then? Apparently Draco had run out of ideas as well, because Hermione had found no note on the outside of her bedroom door in two days.
Hermione mentally listed all the rooms in the house, trying to picture each one in her head. She twisted her mouth to the side and shifted her position in an armchair, turning to face the staircase. She briefly wondered if she should try to look for Draco, but she guessed he was probably in one of the locked rooms. There was no reason to disturb him if he didn't want to be found.
Hermione sighed and stood from her seat, pacing the room aimlessly before suddenly striking on an idea. She couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face as she dashed up to her room to look for a specific book. It was one of the spell books she had found in the tower while eating lunch. Opening one of the drawers in her bureau, Hermione selected the book she was searching for, sat on the edge of her bed, and began rifling through the pages quickly.
She smiled triumphantly as she found what she had been looking for: a map. She had found it several days ago when it slipped out from between the pages of the spell book, somewhere in a section on wandless magic. She couldn't be sure, but Hermione suspected it was a floorplan of the house.
Hermione planned to visit the basement first. Though she hadn't found the entrance to it yet, she knew it existed. While scrubbing the house-elf room, Hermione has discovered a small hole in the wooden floor – the only one in the entire house. By peering through the hole, Hermione was almost positive she had seen another room down there.
Hermione examined the map carefully. It was fairly crude, as most wizards' maps seemed to be, but it was legible enough. Hermione noticed that another tower had been sketched on the east side of the manor, but that it had been scratched out and replaced with the tower on the west side, which was drawn in slightly darker ink. A quick headcount told Hermione that there were approximately four rooms that she was locked out of – two on the third floor, the one next to the broom closet on the second floor, and the basement. None of the rooms were named on the map, so Hermione decided not to worry about the three upstairs rooms. If Draco didn't want her going in them, she wasn't going to risk making him angry.
Still, the basement was a puzzle. There was only one staircase marked on the floorplan, and it stretched from the third floor hallway, through the second floor, and landed halfway between the first floor's sitting room and entry hall. Three doors to the outside were scattered through the first floor, but Hermione had already tried them all and been blocked by the thorns. Every other room that appeared on the map seemed to lead to a room that Hermione already knew was there. Where was the door to the basement?
Then it hit her. A secret entrance! If Hermione had learned anything at Hogwarts – and she most certainly had – it was that secret entrances were everywhere, and in the least expected places. Hermione scanned the map for any signs of a trapdoor or moving wall. She came up with nothing, so she decided to do the next best thing – look for it herself.
Hermione started with the first floor. It seemed to be the most logical thing to do; secret entrances were usually at least close to their destinations, and the first floor was obviously the closest thing to the basement. The entry hall, sitting room, house-elf room, ballroom, kitchen, and dining room all proved entirely unproductive. Peering through the hole in the floor gave Hermione nothing to go on, as well, since the room below seemed to be completely darkened.
It wasn't until she tried every step on the staircase and found nothing that she had another idea. Perhaps the entrance to the basement was in one of the locked rooms, and that was why Draco didn't want her going in. The thought gave her pause. If he didn't want her in the basement, maybe she shouldn't even look for it. It was entirely possible that it was the basement that he disappeared off to every day.
Hermione shook her head in annoyance. So many questions, not enough answers.
Pulling out the map and taking a seat on the staircase, Hermione perused the boxes that represented the locked rooms on the map. The two on the third floor showed nothing, but the one on the second floor – the one that Draco had emerged from the day Hermione hid herself in the broom closet – showed promise. In the upper righthand corner of the room, a tiny, almost-invisible square had been sketched. Hermione smiled triumphantly. She had found it.
Twisting herself around to look at the door in question, Hermione wondered if it was safe to go inside. She stood and crept toward the door, peering in the small keyhole. It was hard to see, but Hermione didn't see Draco anywhere inside the room. In fact, it looked rather bare.
Hermione thought for a moment, then decided to take the risk. After all, what else was there to do? She had spent the last four days polishing candlesticks and reading novels; she was ready for a little adventure. Hermione smiled fondly as a wave of nostalgia washed over her; she could very easily imagine Harry and Ron and herself sneaking around Hogwarts, looking for a secret something or other.
Hermione pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind to save for another time. This was not the time to reminisce.
The first step was to pick the lock. Hermione didn't have any hairpins, so she went down to the kitchen and selected a small butter knife from the silverware drawer. Having never actually picked a lock before, Hermione started slowly, trying her best to be quiet. It wasn't long before she started to get the hang of it, and after only about ten minutes of tinkering, the lock clicked and the doorknob turned.
Hermione held her breath as the door slowly swung open. At least the hinges aren't creaking, she thought. She supposed she could run into the broom closet again if she needed to, but Draco would know she was he one who had come in. And there were only so many places she would be able to hide before he found her.
Her curiosity overcoming her fear, Hermione peeked inside the room, surveying the surroundings. Draco was nowhere to be seen, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. There was very little inside the room at all. A small card table sat in one corner, set off by two plain wooden chairs. Dark green curtains hung around the single, vine-blocked window, and a plain light fixture dangled from the ceiling. A fringed rug decorated the middle of the floor.
Hermione frowned to herself as she walked to the righthand corner. The floor, walls, and ceiling were solid stone, and no furniture or marks on the wall indicated any sort of oddity in the corner. Hermione pulled out the map and studied it. She had the right corner, but there was no indication of any secret entrance.
However, Hermione had never been one to give up. She started feeling around the corner, where the two walls met, looking for some sort of crack or indentation. Her fingers brushed a tiny lump in the wall. She was just about to lean in to examine it when she heard Draco's voice.
"What are you doing?"
Hermione gasped, startled after her intense concentration on the wall had been interrupted. Draco looked furious, his scarred face radiating his displeasure as he stood just outside the door. Hermione couldn't think of a single word to say in response.
"Well?" he demanded, taking a step inside the room. "I asked you a question, Granger. Answer it."
Her words failed her. "I…"
Draco strode forward, coming nearly halfway across the room before stopping. Hermione wanted to step back, but she didn't dare show him any fear. Besides, the wall was blocking her way.
"How did you get in here?" he said, his voice rising in anger.
Hermione swallowed hard and forced calmness into her voice. "I… I picked the lock."
Draco gave her an incredulous look. "With that?" he asked, gesturing towards the butter knife lying at Hermione's feet.
"Yeah," she replied. "I hope you don't mind."
"Don't mind?" he echoed scornfully. "If you have to pick a lock to get into a room in my house, do you think I mind you going in? I lock my doors for a reason, Granger! You had no right to do that."
"I'm sorry," Hermione said sincerely. "I honestly didn't mean to offend you."
Draco glared at her a moment longer, then seemed to calm slightly. "What are you doing in here anyway?"
Hermione shrugged. "Just looking around."
"Oh, please," Draco snorted. "You don't do anything without having a reason. You were looking for something, weren't you?"
"W-what makes you say that?"
"I saw you feeling around the corner, Granger. I'm not an idiot."
Hermione frowned. "Fine. I was looking for something."
"Such as what?"
She paused, wondering if she should tell him. Finally she decided to go ahead and spit it out; she had come this far, hadn't she? "I was looking for the entrance to the basement."
A look of sheer confusion came over Draco's face. "The… the what?"
"The basement. I saw it through a crack in the floor."
"What floor?"
"The house-elf room," Hermione said. "The one next to the kitchen."
Draco shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I thought I fixed that hole."
"It's not a bad one," she commented. "I can fix it, if you'd like."
"Don't worry about it," Draco sighed. "Anyway, there is no basement. I don't know what you saw, but the first floor is as low as the house goes."
"But –"
"I don't know what you saw," he said, cutting her off. "But it wasn't a basement."
Hermione set her jaw and gave Draco a defiant look. "I know what I saw, Malfoy. I can show it to you if you don't believe me."
"I don't have to see it!" Draco said, a bit rougher than necessary. "There is no basement. Even if there were, why would you be looking for it in here?"
Hermione faltered. "I, uh… I just kind of thought, maybe… um…"
"Granger, tell me," he said seriously. "I want to know."
Hermione gave an impatient sigh. "Fine. If you must know, I was looking for a secret entrance and saw that there was an extra square in this room on the floorplan of the house –"
"What?!" Draco screeched. "What floorplan? Granger, what have you been doing?"
"I haven't been doing anything wrong! I just found it in a spell book –"
"What spell book? I didn't give you any spell books!"
"You didn't give it to me; I found it."
"You found it?"
"Yeah, in the tower."
Draco suddenly looked angry enough to punch a wall. "The tower?! Granger, you dirty little sneak! You're not allowed up there! How many locks have you picked?"
"I didn't pick that lock!" Hermione retorted. "The tower door was unlocked when I went up to clean it."
Draco didn't stop glowering, but he did slow his torrent of accusations. "All right, maybe I didn't lock that one. But still, I didn't give you permission to go in there, and I didn't tell you to clean it, either."
"This was before you started leaving the notes on my door," Hermione shot back. "And I only went in to clean."
Draco nodded his head dismissively. "Fine, it was unlocked, you went in, found a spell book. Where did you get a floorplan?"
"It was inside one of the books. I was flipping through it one night –"
"You go up there at night?"
"No, I took it to my room and –"
"You took my books out of the tower?!" Hermione thought Draco might actually combust. "Granger!"
"Let me finish!" she shouted back. "I was flipping through one of the spell books and found the floorplan in the pages. I didn't have anything to do today, so I thought I'd look for the basement and see what I could do down there."
"There is no basement."
"I heard you the first three times," Hermione said irritably. "Anyway, I was looking for the basement entrance and saw a little square drawn in this room. I didn't want to bother you and I didn't know where you were, so I just picked the lock to look around."
Draco glared at her. "Where's the floorplan now?"
"Why?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Where is it, Granger!?"
"It's right here!" Hermione shouted, pulling the map out of her pocket. "Merlin, you're such an impatient, entitled git!"
Draco reached for the floorplan, but Hermione held on to it. "And why do you want this so bad? I wasn't hurting it."
"Just give it here, Granger. I don't have to explain myself to you."
Hermione glared back. "You're sure acting strange, Malfoy. You sure I didn't stumble onto some kind of secret plot? Secret Death Eater convention or something?"
Hermione knew her words stung Draco just by the look on his face, but she couldn't stop them. "I can assure you, Granger, that anything I want to keep a secret will remain a secret. I have no interest in baring my soul to you, so kindly hand me my map and let me leave you to the rest of your day."
Hermione pressed her lips together and gave Draco a look that could have melted diamonds. "Fine. Take your precious –"
She was just extending the map, moving her fingers slightly to get a better grip on it, when suddenly, the world started spinning. Hermione was vaguely aware of Draco's terrified expression and a faint sensation of queasiness, and then the whole world went black.
"Nope, I don't know anybody named Rook," Oliver Wood declared. "Maybe check with Romilda, or even Nigel. They've been doing a lot of bookkeeping since Hermione… left."
Cho nodded her head, looking somewhat downcast. "Okay. Thanks anyway, Oliver."
Oliver smiled. "No problem. Let me know if you find out anything, okay?"
"Okay."
Cho sighed as she put Katie's message back in its folder. She had been asking around for several hours now, and no one in the Order knew anything about anyone named Rook, or any establishment called Rook. Cho was positive the message was legitimate, but Neville was in charge. They couldn't do a thing until he said so.
Cho returned to the main meeting room, dragging her feet slowly. She dreaded telling Neville that no one had recognized the Rook house, but she had no choice. Oliver was the last one she hadn't asked.
As she approached the meeting room, Cho heard quiet voices drifting from the table. "He said a girl matching Hermione's description was killed by her owner just a couple of weeks ago," Seamus whispered. "Benedict Goyle owned her. Apparently she was Theodore Nott's before that."
"Hermione hasn't been gone that long," Neville replied, his voice sounding somewhat hoarse. "The timeframe doesn't match up. Even if Goyle was the one who bought her, Nott would have had to have bought her at least a month ago. Knowing him, probably longer."
"I know," Seamus agreed. "It just worried me, is all. Hermione's in a dangerous spot right now."
Cho decided to make her move. As she nudged the half-open door, Neville and Seamus looked up. "All the more reason we need to meet Katie," she said meaningfully.
Neville sighed. "How long have you been listening, Cho?"
"Just a second," she replied. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
Neville nodded, and Seamus gestured to the file in Cho's hands. "Find out anything?"
Cho shook her head. "No. No one knows anyone named Rook, and no one has heard of a restaurant or a business called Rook."
"So we can't do anything," Neville pointed out. "Not if we don't know where to meet her."
Cho collapsed into a chair across from Seamus, setting the file on the table. "I know. I just… Katie wouldn't have sent this if she didn't think we'd understand what she meant."
Neville shrugged. "Yep. And that's why I don't want to rush into anything. If it's not Katie waiting for us, we'll be walking into a trap."
"I know," Cho sighed. "I just got excited, I guess. If it is Katie, I hope she understands why we don't meet her."
Neville nodded again, giving Cho a sympathetic smile. "I'm really sorry, Cho. I know how much this meant to you. I just don't want to take any chances." When Cho gave an understanding smile, Neville continued. "Well, since you're here, you might as well be the first to know. Seamus went into the Ministry to try to get some information on muggle girls sold recently. It would seem that at least seven girls have been bought in the main slave rackets, but there's no telling with the independent dealers. Considering Hermione went to Diagon Alley to look for Dennis, that's probably where she was captured, but there's no way of knowing for sure right now."
Seamus nodded. "What had me worried was hearing that a slave girl matching Hermione's description was killed just a few weeks ago. She belonged to Goyle's dad. Before that, Theodore Nott owned her."
Cho shook her head. "Poor Hermione. I hope so much she's all right."
The three of them sat in silence for a moment, staring into space, each lost in their own thoughts. They all looked up when they saw Luna Lovegood approach the door and poke her head in.
"Just got back from checking the wards," Luna said softly. "They're all secure."
"Great," Neville replied, giving her a tired smile.
"Luna!" Cho exclaimed, her eyes widening. "I forgot you weren't here!"
Luna smiled distractedly. "Hmm, that's comforting," she drawled.
Cho shook her head. "No, I… that's not what I meant. I've been asking around if anyone knows what Katie is talking about in her message."
"I'll be glad to help if I can," Luna said, taking a seat next to Neville.
Cho hurriedly pulled the message out of the folder and handed it to Luna. "This is the message from Katie Bell. We need to know if you know anyone named Rook or a building called Rook."
Luna tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"It says here," Cho read, "Meet at Rook house tomorrow at 9 PM. Do you have any idea what that means?"
Luna thought for a moment, then broke out in a grin. "Well, of course I do. That's my house."
"Your house?" Neville asked incredulously.
"Yeah," she replied. "My house is shaped like a rook, the chess piece."
"That's it, Neville!" Cho shouted, jumping to her feet. "Now we know!"
Neville held up his hand. "One more thing, Luna. Did Katie Bell ever see your house? Did she know it was shaped like a rook?"
"Oh, yes," Luna mused. "She came once for a garden party my father threw for all the Quibbler subscribers. If I recall, she got there early with her mother and –"
"That's it," Cho interrupted, too excited to wait. "It's got to be Katie."
Neville furrowed his brow as he looked between Cho, Luna, and Seamus. Finally he spoke. "All right, Cho. Go get a team together. We'll do it."
The first thing Hermione remembered was cold, gray stone. At first she thought she was looking at the floor, but she soon realized she was staring up at the ceiling. A glance around her told her she was in her bedroom, lying on her bed. She frowned. Was it morning?
The day's previous events slowly began coming back to her, and Hermione shook her head to clear it. For reasons unknown, she had collapsed in the locked room after handing the map to Draco. Had the map somehow been jinxed? Could Draco have done it himself? Surely she hadn't just fainted!
Hermione had no time to ponder the dilemma any more, for no sooner had she raised her head to look around the room did Draco come around the corner, stopping short in her bedroom doorframe when he saw that she was awake.
"Oh, you're up," he said, sounding surprised and relieved at the same time.
"Yeah," she croaked, her voice sounding detached. "How long have I been out?"
Draco shrugged. "Maybe two hours." He hesitated, but added, "I was afraid you might not wake up."
"Have you really gotten that desperate, Malfoy?" she asked, trying to make a joke.
He gave her a half-smirk. "No. But I don't want a dead girl in my house. Merlin knows what kind of trouble you can get into as a ghost."
Hermione tried to laugh but found that her voice wasn't strong enough. Draco was slowly edging his way out the door again, so Hermione quickly asked, "What happened?"
Draco stopped his shuffling and swallowed hard. He looked very nervous. "Um… I guess you just kind of… passed out." At Hermione's suspicious look, he added, "You're probably just overworked."
Hermione shook her head. "I didn't pass out, Malfoy. Something happened, and I want to know what it was." He started to shake his head, but Hermione broke in before he could start. "I've been honest with you. The least you can do is tell me why I collapsed."
For a moment, Hermione thought Draco was about to give her a snarky comment and walk away. But he didn't. Instead, he gave her an almost pleading look before sighing and turning his gaze on the floor. "I know. I guess… I guess there's no point in keeping it from you any longer. I don't know why I haven't told you; I guess I thought you wouldn't believe me."
Hermione pushed herself up so that she was leaning on her elbows. Draco's behavior was beyond unusual, and Hermione was anxious to hear his explanation. "Go on. I'm listening."
He raised his eyes to stare into hers. Hermione felt a sudden wave of… something… come over her. She honestly thought she would believe anything he told her in that moment.
"It's a portkey," Draco said bluntly.
Hermione couldn't believe her ears. "A… a what?"
"A portkey. The map of the house is a portkey. Only one little part of it is, though. I don't know how you didn't hit on it before that, but you must have put your finger on it when you were handing me the map."
"A portkey?" Hermione repeated. "A portkey to where?"
"Well…" Draco mumbled. "This is the tricky part." He opened his mouth to speak, then changed his mind and said something else. "I guess when you touched it, it tried to transport you, but your magical bond to the house kept you from leaving. I'll admit, I tried it myself years ago. I was out cold for hours before I woke up. I guess it just doesn't work against such strong bonds."
"Okay," Hermione interjected. "I get it. But you didn't answer my question. Where does the portkey lead?"
Draco sighed again, then began slowly walking across the room to her bed. Hermione pushed herself into a sitting position, trying to look defensive. Draco was not deterred, however, and knelt down next to the bed, staring into her eyes with a heavy-lidded gaze. Hermione found herself almost entranced. Was he hypnotizing her? Or had his eyes always been a crystal-clear gray? Did she see her reflection in the milky scar in his right eye?
Draco finally spoke, his voice thick and hushed. "The portkey leads to Grimmauld Place."
Hermione frowned. "Grimmauld Place? But that's been abandoned for years."
"I know," he replied. "That's why it was perfect. My contact and I used to meet there, and we used Portkeys to stay undetected."
"Your contact? Undetected?" Hermione echoed. "Malfoy, what are you talking about?"
Draco's eyes bore into hers with an intensity Hermione didn't know he possessed. It was as though he were staring directly into her soul. Hermione felt her pulse quickening, her throat getting dry.
"Hermione," he said softly. Hermione. Had he ever called her by her first name?
"Hermione," he said again. "I hope you'll believe me when I tell you this."
"Tell me," Hermione said wonderingly.
Draco implored her with his eyes as he spoke. "Hermione, the reason I have this portkey, the reason Voldemort cursed me in this house… the reason for all this is, I betrayed the Death Eaters. I tried to lead an uprising. Hermione, I know about the Order, and I almost did it. I almost made it right. I almost set you all free."
A/N: Well, how about that! I hope the twist came out as well as it did in my head. I also hope it's satisfactory. I'm sorry this chapter took a while to publish as well. I probably will get a chapter done per week, so I hope that's all right. If not... well, that's all I got!
Once again, thank you so much for reading this story. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. To all my followers, reviewers, and lurkers, you are the absolute best and I hope your week is filled with all your favorite things! Until then!
