Green and Silver Tie

Hello again, and thank you for waiting. I am grateful for those who still believes in this story (and my other one, of course). I thought it was well in time for you to receive your Christmas gift.

Chapter Nine

is still defect. Draco and you should have found the pieces… Hermione squinted, and carefully let her finger swipe over the ashy writing on the letter. Looking closer, she continued reading, I reckon you are hard trying to fix it in time, as …

Hermione was beginning to regret not waiting until the repairing spell was finished. She did not know what had come over her that night, which caused her to run away and break the spell. And it did not help that she, just the day before, had discovered Ron Weasley as a quivering mess in the Owlery.

The reason of her quick disappearance from the Owlery may have been all the confusion, or the fear of getting caught. It may have been the whirl of overwhelming emotions that had hit her, watching Weasley's breakdown.

It had all been too much. Too much to handle. She had freaked out, unsure of what she should do and should not. Tangled up in all the what if's and all the possible scenarios that could have happened.

She had been engulfed in too much doubt and fright, and had followed the instinct deep inside her that screamed run!

…which was exactly what she was regretting now, sitting in the library, and hoping that squinting would make the letter easier to decode.

And after a day filled with schoolwork, and a busy morning, her brain was overworked and tired.

Her eyes lighted up as she read, before her eyebrows met in a confused frown, I expect the two of you to meet up with Yaxley again, and inform him on how your Mission is going. I will not tolerate that the Mission is not finished before this meeting. It is of great importance.

I assume you are nearly finished as I write.

Arthur Weasley

Hermione shuddered. Arthur Weasley was definitely not a man you were to fool with. He was a snide man, and had managed to slither himself out of Azkaban too many times to count. Never had he been properly locked in the prison, but he had been quick in and out. Because of his many connections with the Ministry, he would always walk out of court a free man.

He was not a powerful man because of his money, because it was a well-known fact that his family did not have any money to spare, like the Malfoys'. On the other hand, Arthur Weasley was an important man because of his connections in the Ministry. He could flash you a smile in the elevator, and before you reached your floor, you would be laying on the ground, wheezing through punctured lungs.

She had to admit that she could not picture him as a family father. However, she already knew that the Weasleys were far from a functional family. They were Death Eaters, every single of them.

Ginny Weasley did not count.

She didn't quite understand the content of the partially burnt letter. They had talked about fixing something, but said thing was never mentioned as anything other than 'the Mission'. For all she knew, 'the Mission' could be a person.

Then, there were words which were written with a little more edgy writing and was dug a little longer into the paper, creating a deeper run where the quill had written out the words. Just like Arthur Weasley had been angry when he had written it.

She brushed it off, her brows knitting again. Everything about the Weasleys, and Malfoy for that matter, was a shady mess.

Followed by the dull sound of several books making contact with the floor, a resonant yell echoed in the almost empty school library.

"Bloody hell,"

She recognized the voice – and the swearing – immediately.

Another voice added to the conversation, "You're clumsy, you know that?"

"Shut your mouth, you ferret,"

Malfoy snickered, although it sounded more like the sound when a heel meets the concrete floor repeatedly. Like a person running. Cold and dry.

Hermione glanced up and with gracious fingers took a grand book from the pile in front of her and expertly dropped it down and hid the half-burnt letter beneath the heavy covers.

Around the corner, a mop of flame-coloured hair appeared, before it ducked back into the darkness.

She heard some shuffling, the sound of clothing shifting, before Weasley muttered from the other side of the shelf.

"Granger's here,"

Hermione was beyond surprised that the comment following didn't contain any Mudblood references. Instead, Malfoy answered grimly, "We're going,"

She heard the door to the library slam shut, and slammed shut the book in front of her too. Tucking it under her arm, with the fragile letter placed between the two covers, she rushed out of the library. Not to follow them, but to get some fresh air.

On the way, she hurried past Harry and Neville. Neither turned to greet her as she passed them, but she did not intend to do so either. It did not require a degree in rocket science to understand that their friendships had turned sour.

Once again, Hermione only had herself, and plenty of time to enjoy her own company. Sending a last glance over at Harry and Neville, she turned around to go, but not before she noticed the glamorous red-headed girl prance over to Harry and kiss him lightly on the cheek.

Hermione gritted her teeth – Ginny Weasley was her new replacement.

A/N: Thank you for waiting, and thanks to Guest for giving me a bit of critic, and for pointing out my mistakes. Also, a big thanks to my hella awesome reviewers! Happy Christmas holidays!