Chapter 8 – Control

A/N Here's the next installment, as I realize I have not updated since December… But the good news is I graduated!

They walked in a comfortable silence all the way down to the dungeons, and Draco opened the passageway into the damp common room.

Hermione moved as quietly as possible, afraid to touch anything less it is still heavily anti-muggleborn, while Draco searched in the corner they saw Corey loiter in.

"Muffliato," Hermione whispered. "Do you see anything?"

"No, but he is proficient at hiding his messages."

"Maybe it's enchanted, hold on –finite." Suddenly, a piece of parchment appeared. "Woah, that was too easy."

"Well maybe not, it's blank." Draco lifted the paper and turned it over. "All that did was dissipate the glamor hiding it. Now I believe it will only reveal its message to the intended."

"That's some really intricate magic. I've tried enchanting parchment to send secret Order messages before. I almost got it, but then, well it wasn't needed anymore." Hermione explained.

"Well then I doubt it's that simple." Draco held the parchment over the light from Hermione's wand and revealed what looked to be water marks. "It looks like Invisible Ink…"

"Oh! Aparecium." Hermione muttered. "That should do it, then."

Suddenly, words started to appear.

E –

Clearly, this is the worst way to communicate. I spend most of my time helping other people sneak around. Why should we keep us a secret? It's not like it would be terrible scandalous that we're together; neither of us are from proper families. Why don't you want to be seen together? Write soon, I miss you.

-C

"Well, this is clearly someone else's," Draco chuckled. He wasn't sure who 'E' was, but he was quite certain she was the object of Corey's attention.

"Who's E?" Hermione asked.

"I've no idea, but Corey's whipped." Draco laughed as he let the words fade and hid the parchment again. "I'd take the paper but it looks as though Corey's not in need of a deeper hole."

"Well fine. Looks like Ron's not leaving secret messages. Time for bed." Hermione turned to leave the common room and Draco followed. As they were about to reach the door, they heard another open from one of the dormitories and extinguished their wands.

"Wait! That might be E!" Hermione whispered and went to turn back. Draco had to nudge her through the door and let the stone wall close behind them before he burst into laughter.

"Why are you laughing?" Hermione asked once they were around the next corner.

"Because you never seemed like the type to be so caught up in gossip that you'd risk getting caught in the Slytherin common room, in the dark, two hours past curfew and with me no less, just to find out who this mystery E is."

"I'm just a naturally curious person, I don't gossip," Hermione said a little too indignantly. "I just wanted to know who they are."

"Because they are secretly involved with someone you didn't even know existed up unit and hour ago?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "Sure, you hate gossip."

"Let's go through the kitchens to get back to the tower. It's quicker and I'm starved." Hermione changed the subject as they approached the painting of fruit bowl that led to the kitchen.

"Sure, I'm hungry too. But you still enjoy gossip; I'm not letting that one go."

"Oh, I do not!" Hermione huffed as she tickled the pear to get to the kitchens.

"Mhm, sure." Draco was still chuckling as they stepped inside. The kitchen was not very busy and the few house elves they did see were either tidying up or asleep by the fire.

With a hushed whisper, Hermione asked one of the house elves still awake, Dusty, which door led back to their tower, and the pair followed the elf to a door in the corner. Opening it, all they saw was inky blackness until Dusty snapped his fingers and the candles lit along the length of the hall, illuminating the spiral stair way at the end. With a silent thank you to the elf, they closed the door behind them.

"I forgot how late it is!" Hermione squeaked. "It's probably past midnight!"

"12:27 to be exact," Draco said with a yawn.

"I felt too bad to ask for food. They would have happily made us a feast if we asked for so much as toast, but I didn't want them to dirty everything again!"

"We're lucky they didn't insist, I thought they would with how loud my stomach growled." Draco kept laughing as they continued down the hall.

"Mine to," Hermione giggled. Just then her stomach roared, as if to prove a point, which only made the pair laugh harder.

They were still trying to stifle their laughter when they opened the door next to Remus' portrait into the dark common room, but movement on the couch in front of the fire's dying embers stopped them short. In a second, both their wands were drawn and pointing at whoever was there.

"Lumos!" Hermione whispered and suddenly Ron's face came into view,

"Bloody fucking hell, do you always have to bling me with that fucking light, Hermione?" Ron swore, shielding his eyes.

"Oh! Sorry Ron, here," Hermione dimmed her wand and went to walk towards her boyfriend to say goodnight.

Ron's face hardened as his eyes landed on who she was with, and the fact that they were both in pajamas.

"What the fuck are you doing with him?" Ron bellowed.

"Nothing, Ron. Nothing," Hermione attempted to explain. "We borrowed the map from Harry and I saw some first years out of bed in the dungeons. After sending them back to bed we took a shortcut back up through the kitchens. Just head business."

"Yeah, great." Ron was steaming, but seemed to believe her. "Fucking head business."

Draco took the opportunity to escape through the portrait to the Head Dorm. Once the door was closed behind him, Ron pushed passed Hermione and started for his own room.

"Ron, I'm serious. It was purely official business," Hermione said, miffed she had to explain herself.

"I get it. Head shit. I just wish you didn't have to live with the Ferret," Ron spat. "All of your 'Head Business' involves that git, and takes away from time you should be spending with me."

"I know I have a busy schedule, Ron, but term starts tomorrow. I knew what I signed up for when I accepted the position."

"Yeah, well I didn't agree to this shit," Ron's voice started to rise again.

"You weren't offered Head Girl, so why would you agree to it? It's my role, my life, my decision!" Hermione was pissed now.

"But you're MY girlfriend!" Ron rounded on her. "That mean I get a say!"

"No. No you fucking don't. I get one hundred percent of the say in my own damn life, Ronald." Hermione glared at him, hoping he would back down. She was tired of the fights. "I do not expect you to make every decision of your life with my say. Even if I had discussed it with you before I accepted the Head Girl position, I still would have accepted because I know what is best for me, and my life."

"And you think I don't? If I had known you being head girl meant you have to be roomies with the World's Wimpiest Death Eater, I would never have let you accept the position."

"YOU DON'T GET TO LET ME DO ANYHTING!" Hermione screamed and spun around to go up to her dorm.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, red faced and fuming. "I'm not done talking to you!"

"Yeah well I'm done listening to you spew bullshit. I'm too tired to deal with anymore of your pigheadedness. I'll see you in the morning if you want to attempt to have an adult conversation."

Without letting another word in, she closed the portrait and went upstairs, leaving Ron to stew in the common room and realize all their shouting had woken up a few inhabitants of the surrounding portraits, Lupin included.

"You know she is a very strong woman, right Ron?" he asked, hoping to calm the boy down.

"Too strong if you ask me."

"Ron! She is Hermione Granger! She helped alongside you in the war and she loves you! Why do you think she needs you to do anything more than lover her back?" Lupin was concerned where Ron's attitude may lead him. "Stand beside her, son, not in front of her."

"Yeah, whatever," Ron shrugged off the portrait's words and went up to bed, thoughts of how strong Hermione could be racing through his head.

When Hermione had composed herself enough to open the door to her common room, she was exhausted and starving. Making her way into the kitchen, she was surprised to see Draco still awake and pouring her a bowl of cereal. He looked up when she walked in and smiled slightly.

"I hope you like this kind," he said, gesturing to the box in his hand. "I've always been a fan of corn flakes."

"Me too," Hermione sighed as she sat down. Draco noticed she wasn't smiling with her eyes again as he passed her the milk.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"I – no. I'll just get myself all worked up again and I won't be able to sleep." Hermione sighed again. "Thank you though; I just might take you up on that offer in the morning."

"I'll hold you to it then," Draco offered her another small smile and they finished their snack in silence.

Hermione yawned and Draco cleared both of their bowls to the sink.

"Thank you," Hermione said again.

The pair said their goodnights and headed to bed. As Draco turned to shut his door, he noticed Hermione's shut with a soft click, and watched shimmer slightly. He would notice the ripple of warding magic anywhere. It's the same he sees on his own door every night since the Dark Lord took up residence in his childhood home. He lay in bed that night thinking of why Hermione felt she needed to ward herself anymore. Her side had won, hadn't they?

Sleep would be fickle tonight

On the other side of the wall, Hermione lay staring at her ceiling, thinking of all the oddities of the last few days, not the least of which being Ron's behavior. Why had he become so distant, yet territorial all of a sudden? This kind of behavior wasn't spoken of in the books Hermione read about grief. It was worrying her to no end. She understood he was hurting, they all were. She was brought back to that day. The Final Battle. She remembered the look on Ron's face as he watched his brother die.

It hit Hermione then why Ron had been in that corridor. Fred had died around the next bend from where they found him. Hermione's heart broke for Ron again, and she wept, feeling guilty for even questioning his motives that night. He was visiting the place his brother died.

Hermione cried herself into a fitful sleep.