Harry Potter and all of its settings and characters belong to JK Rowling.

XXX

Narcissa pulled the hood of her cloak tighter around her face as she walked down the narrow road leading to her destination with the small figure of a house elf walking at her side. House elves were, in her personal opinion, the greatest creatures to ever grace this earth. She had discovered something invaluable upon taking the title of Lady Malfoy and that was that all of the Malfoy house elves were technically hers. As the running of a household was considered women's work the elves were bound to follow her orders above all others. Which meant that when Lucius ordered them to report on the events of her day and she ordered them to lie it was her order they followed. When he ordered them to stay away from the dungeons and she ordered them to bring food and pain potions to the prisoners it was her order they followed. When he ordered them to keep his secrets and she ordered them to tell her everything they overheard in the manor it was her order they followed. They had been absolutely essential to her survival over the years. But the most important service they offered her was freedom. When she needed to get out of the manor she not only had an instant and untraceable way to do so, she also had a loyal squad of lookouts and an equally instant way to return if it turned out Lucius was in the mood to seek her out.

When the cheerily lit house at the end of the lane came into view she quickened her steps, eager to start the plan that had been nearly two decades in the making. Her hand shook as she knocked on the door and when it flew open to reveal the kind smiling face of her sister she almost lost control of her emotions for the second time that night. She was ushered inside and then enveloped in a hug so tight it almost let loose the tears threatening the corners of her eyes.

"Cissy, are you well?" Andromeda pulled back to look into her eyes with a worried crease to her brow, "Has something happened?"

"Mistress is very well!" Padme beamed after closing the door tightly, "I's seen her smiling all evening and kissing her secret ring!" The elf was practically bouncing on her little toes and Narcissa sent her a fond smile. She had never revealed anything of her past or her plans to the elves but she suspected they knew a great deal more than they let on. "I's going to find Mr. Ted and poke him to be making you some tea. I knows you like his the best."

"Dromeda," she waited until Padme had disappeared into the kitchen before she turned back to her sister, her confidante, the only other soul who knew everything she'd done, "It's time."

"Oh!" Andromeda clasped her hand and squeezed, "Do you know who it is?"

"No," but she had her suspicions, "It happened not more than an hour ago."

"I suppose you want to meet with Dumbledore as soon as possible?"

"Yes, tonight if you can manage it. I'm going to need allies."

Her sister arched her eyebrow playfully, "And what am I then?"

Narcissa smiled again, so very grateful not only for a reason to smile but the freedom to do so without fear. "You are my most treasured accomplice and always will be. But in terms of clout and influence I think I'm going to have to rate the man in charge of the Order of the Phoenix a bit higher than you." She sobered a bit then, "Draco and his mate are going to need protection of a kind that neither of us can offer him and once I tell Dumbledore about the prophecy he'll jump at the chance to provide it."

Andromeda shook her head sadly, "I've been telling you for years that Dumbledore would protect both of you just for the reason that you asked him to."

"And I've been telling you that I've been through too much to put that kind of trust in the charity of strangers. It's best altogether if he knows there's an advantage to be had along with the liability so he doesn't get any ideas about sacrificing my son for the greater good. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. I'll speak to him tonight and soon all of this can be over."

"Are you going to tell him?"

Narcissa had trouble swallowing past the lump in her throat. "I don't know," she replied softly, "He's lived without me all these years it seems a bit cruel to bring it up now."

Andromeda narrowed her eyes a bit, "What's cruel is leaving him thinking he's in love with a dead woman."

She sucked in a sharp breath around the pain that particular thought caused, "I didn't know that was going to happen," and then the tears did start to well before she could stop them and her sister's eyes softened.

"I know, love. I know you didn't," Andromeda soothed, "But you can't let your fear stop you from making it right. He deserves to know."

"I know," Narcissa forcefully gathered control of herself, "But I know without a doubt that bearing his hatred will break me and I still have work to do. I will tell him... after. I'm not at liberty to fall apart just yet."

Andromeda squeezed her hand again, "He's not going to break you." Narcissa tried to block out that hope. It would be infinitely worse if she let herself entertain the notion that he might ever forgive her.

XXX

After many rounds of questions about soul bonds and Draco's activities over the last few years even Potter seemed to accept the situation.

"And now," Dumbledore said, "I would very much like to know the story of how we came to be here tonight. Miss Granger, if you would please tell your side of it?"

Draco listened as Hermione explained waking to a strange hollow feeling which led to the investigation that revealed her obliviation, the scene in the Potions hallway when she'd realized he had something to do with it, all the tests she'd run on herself, confronting Snape, and finally the spell she found that restored her memory. She started telling the story of that first night and he stared at her in astonished shock as she told the most watered down, abbreviated version of events imaginable. It was unconscionable to let it stand.

"If by 'giving you a bit of trouble' you mean knocking you around so hard he gave you a concussion and attempting to rape you right there in the corridor, then yes, I suppose Nott was giving you a bit of trouble." That set off a whirl of emotion as both Potter and Weasley again jumped to their feet with angry shouts and started in on Snape and Dumbledore for covering something like that up and Hermione shot him an indignant glare.

"Bloody hell, woman, don't look at me like that! How is anyone supposed to protect you when you deliberately hide the danger you're in?"

"They're not!" She flung her hands in the air, "That was rather the point entirely. What exactly do you suppose the two of them are going to do with this information? Sit around calmly planning a strategy as to the best way to deal with it? No, they're going to go off all full of righteous bluster and get themselves hurt. Nott is dangerous in a way they're not prepared for. In a way I'll admit I wasn't prepared for but I certainly am now. I could see it in his eyes. He looked like..." She broke off with a sharp exhale and he could see her chewing on something she didn't want to say. Finally she let it out. "He looked like your father." His father. The monster all and sundry reminded him at every turn that he was the spitting image of. For a moment he felt like he would drown in the loathing he felt at those words. Then she pulled him out of the abyss. "In a way that even when you were at your worst you never could."

Her hand came up to cup his face and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist, pressing into the contact and just basking in her very existence. She saw him. This fierce brilliant creature looked at him and saw more than the mask of Lucius Malfoy he'd been wearing his entire life. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to shut the world out and hide somewhere with her. To be tucked away where the war and his name and her friends couldn't touch them. He didn't know how long they stood that way, locked together and saying a thousand things in silence, until Hermione gasped and he realized that it wasn't only them that had gone silent. He looked around and was shocked to find them encased in what appeared to be some sort of shield. Judging by the way Snape and Dumbledore were both waving their wands at it with no discernible effect and he could see but not hear Potter pounding on it with his fists it was not an ordinary shield.

"How did you do this?" Hermione was eyeing the shimmering sphere around them with curious wonder.

"I honestly don't know. I didn't consciously cast anything I just was thinking how much I wanted-"

"What?"

"To be somewhere where nothing could touch us."

The corner of her mouth lifted, "Apparently you created one."

"Hang on, I'll try to take it down."

"No, don't." She lifted her hand towards the curved wall, "I want to run some tests."

"Of course you do."

She waved at everyone on the other side to stop trying to interfere and then attempted to touch it. Her hand went straight through. "Fascinating." She pulled her hand back and grabbed her wand, aiming it at one of the chairs on the other side with a soft, "Wingardium Leviosa" and beaming when it began levitating. After putting the chair down she gestured at Potter indicating he should try to hit her with something.

Draco saw Potter's mouth forming what looked to be a tickling charm but the magic that shot from his wand hit the shield and was absorbed with a pulse of light.

Hermione gestured again, this time with a motion that indicated he should try a harmful spell.

"No," Draco pulled her back and pointed firmly at himself, "I think it's my turn to be test subject."

Potter apparently agreed and cast a slicing hex directly towards his chest. It too dispersed and was absorbed as soon as it hit the wall. Then Hermione was walking through the shield to shout at Potter and he was surprised to find that he could hear her.

XXX

"Harry James Potter what on earth do you think you're doing?"

"You told me to try something dangerous!"

"Yes, but I told you to aim it at me and I meant something that might cause pain not something that might cause bleeding to death on the floor!"

"Hermione." She heard Draco's voice and whirled around to find him still behind the shield.

"I can hear you!" She said in wonder and then looked around and gained confirmation from the look on the others' faces that they still couldn't.

"Remarkable." Dumbledore was looking between them at the shield. "Miss Granger would you please ask Mr. Malfoy to step out? I wish to see if it is self contained or if it will break if neither of you are inside." She did so and when Draco stepped through the wall it stayed in tact. "Absolutely fascinating." The headmaster reached out and knocked on the still completely solid shield. "How did you raise this?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

"Can you bring it down?"

"Hang on." She saw Draco close his eyes and a moment later the shield dissolved.

"Mr. Malfoy, you have just created something that I have never before seen the likes of. A shield that is not only completely impenetrable by magic, sound, or object, but is specifically attuned to allow the both of you to disregard it. I think it would be wise to spend as much time as possible exploring this new ability and the others that I am sure will manifest in time. I don't precisely know how we're going to accomplish that in secret but that is a problem for a later date. Now, I believe we have careened off course yet again and should attempt to regain our footing." He motioned for everyone to again take their seats. "Would you care to finish the tale of what brought us here?"

Hermione listened as he started with where she had left off. Telling how he'd dealt with Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini (she saw Harry, Ron, and Sirius all share almost identical nods of approval) and carried her to Snape's office to be healed, his decision the next day to take the Soul Deadening potion, his feeling today that something was wrong and the discussion in Dumbledore's office that lead to the theory that she was bonded to him, taking the antidote, realizing she was dying and using her magic to track her through the floo, and then finding her passed out on the floor almost drained of power.

"Yes, I am curious about that." Dumbledore interjected, "Miss Granger should not have been in that state so soon."

"I think it was the potion," Snape said, "It dampened Draco's soul which made it impossible for Miss Granger's magic to find. It reacted as if he'd died, reaching out to follow him and draining her at an alarming rate. While she would eventually have weakened if Draco had been denying the bond naturally, her magic sending stronger and stronger calls, it would have been a much more gradual decline. I do wonder how you seemed perfectly fine in my office this evening." His tone seemed to imply he knew exactly how and was chastising her for foolishness.

She winced inwardly, "Heavy glamours and multiple doses of Pepper Up."

"Hermione you promised!" Ron's outrage burst from him and both he and Harry were now glowering at her.

"I can see we're going to have to discuss your propensity to see danger as it applies to everyone else around you and completely disregard it in relation to yourself." She felt the low tone of Draco's voice wrapping itself around her and she knew she had to retaliate or he'd be attempting to lock her in a room under one of those shields until the war was over.

"Yes, well the next time you find yourself with an overwhelming urge to kiss someone you think probably wants to murder you we'll see if your need for answers outweighs your sense of self preservation. Besides none of it would have happened if you'd just trusted me in the first place instead of having Professor Snape obliviate me."

His eyes narrowed, "Merlin's bloody beard, woman, it had nothing to do with trusting you! It had to do with not adding further problems to your life. Not to mention a giant target on your back. I was trying to protect you!"

He didn't want a target on her back? The absurdity of that statement caused a fit of hysteria in her and she couldn't contain her giggles.

"What could possibly be funny?" He was not amused.

"I'm sorry but did you just hear yourself? You don't want a target on my back? I'm the muggle born best friend of the Chosen One. I'm fairly certain I was born with a target on my back." She sobered and went to stand directly in front of him. "I know I've done a poor job of showing it the past few days but I promise I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself. I need you to fight at my side, not sweep me behind you."

He clenched his jaw but he nodded. "I make no promises not to stand in front of you but I will promise not to do so without your knowledge."

She smiled. "I can work with that."

"An excellent compromise," Dumbledore interjected, "And now I think there is just one last bit of business. Draco, I must ask that you reconsider your stance on anonymity and let me introduce you to the Order."

XXX