:) my readers/reviewers, you all make me so happy. Keep reviewing, that's all the I ask!
My last chapter for 2007! Merry Christmas!! I'll update sometime during January. (Whoa. I actually updated before Christmas like I promised! So reward me with lots of reviews!)
Warning: this chapter is different than the other chapters, more serious.
Here I go!
Chapter Ten:
Hermione gladly fell onto the large Gryffindor spirited bed she rarely used, the Head Girl was squeezing in a bit of rest before conducting a Prefects meeting. Amused, Hermione realized she couldn't recall when she last spent a night in her Heads Suite. Even when Malfoy's bed lacked his presence due to his injuries, his girlfriend still claimed her usual spot. At the thought of Malfoy, her eyes traveled to nightstand. Several picture frames were immaculately arranged beside her lamp, frames housing moving pictures of herself, Ron, Harry and her other housemates. Although the largest frame held a muggle photograph from the day her parents met Malfoy, this photograph was most treasured by Hermione. The picture was taken at Antoinette's, the couples posed almost identically. The Granger women were leaning against the men (all facing the camera), Mr. Granger had an arm tightly embracing his wife's shoulder while Malfoy had a loose arm draped over Hermione's shoulder- she loved the picture because everyone was smiling, including her boyfriend. Knowing the Heads Suites were charmed to allow only the Head Boy and Head Girl entrance, she freely displayed the picture of Malfoy with her family.
The conversation Malfoy had with her parents after the picture taking ceased was one Hermione could never forget…
Flashback:
Across the table her parents were making a poor effort to keep their discussion quiet. Hermione absently prodded her chocolate soufflé with her fork as she listened, knowing her father was preparing to end the series of light conversation topics her mother had chosen throughout their meal.
"Sweetheart, your attempts to keep me quiet during this luncheon have been blatantly obvious. Honestly, you've jumped on every subject the boy's brought up, no matter how dull, to keep you talking and me silent!"
"Utterly a coincidence, Daddy…" She sarcastically muttered under her breath.
Under the table, he placed a hand on her thigh nearest to him, briefly squeezing it with a faint smirk. "Relax, Granger."
"But if she had just followed the list of conversation topics I prepared for today instead of 'jumping on every subject' you brought up, he would have been oblivious to her blatant attempts!" Hermione grumbled childishly.
He chuckled openly in response. "You prepared a list?"
Just as Hermione prepared to snap at her boyfriend, Alexander Granger cleared his throat loudly, wordlessly requesting their attention, while he unfolded a piece of paper.
"Now Draco my boy, I've brought a list of predetermined questions that at once came to my mind when I was informed of your relationship with my daughter."
"I see you take after your father." Malfoy whispered, amused, before nodding at Alexander to begin dictating the list to him. "I'm very intrigued."
His eyes scanned the list briefly before looking up. "How long have you been interested in my daughter?"
"I've always been interested in her. Interested in taunting her relentlessly for five years, interested in being the victor in our rivalry to be the best in our class, interested in her flaws… ultimately my interest in her was anything but romantic until sixth year."
"I appreciate your honesty." Alexander gave a small smile before moving on. "Some of these questions are a bit trivial, I apologize in advance. Have you gotten any unusual parts of your body pierced?"
"No he certainly has not." Hermione confidently answered for him.
Jacqueline Granger eyed her daughter mischievously and Hermione looked away with a slight blush- her father saw this. He quickly caught the implication his wife had made with her eyes. Hermione and her mother maintained a very close relationship even while she was away at Hogwarts, they wrote to one another at least once a week. Needless to say, Jacqueline was up to date on the intensity of her daughter's relationship with Malfoy.
Gulping loudly, Alexander continued, trying to disregard the exchange he just witnessed. "Tattoos?"
She knew tattoos were not a popular trend in the Wizarding World. Hermione also knew her boyfriend preferred to have his "immaculate" body unmarked; with a smile she recalled the evening Malfoy recited the types of markings he allowed.
"Bruises from a victorious Quidditch match. Hickies, from you, of course. And scratches on my back produced by your perfectly manicured nails. Only while we're having sex when you're completely overwhelmed by pleasure."
The ongoing silence brought her mind back to the conversation, she realized Malfoy had yet to respond to her father's question.
"I suppose I do, sir."
Silver and hazel, their eyes met at once. With horror she watched him caress his left forearm. "I've cast a concealing charm on it. It's a small skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue, it'll grow to be much larger and much darker than it is now once I've turned eighteen."
"…how lovely. Sounds creative!" Jacqueline complimented slowly.
Hermione stood abruptly. "Excuse me." She stormed off, looking back only to send apologetic glances at her parents.
"Granger!" He was following her with an impressive pace, frantically her tear blurred eyes searched for an escape from Malfoy. Spotting the ladies room to her right, without hesitance Hermione entered. Almost immediately she found herself locked in one of the stalls of the elegant ladies room of Antoinette's. Miserably, sat on the toilet's edge, Hermione watched her tears as they fell on the tile flooring.
Someone had entered the bathroom rather loudly, she absently noted as she blew her nose.
"Sir!" Came an offended squeal of a woman. "This is the ladies room!"
This statement caught her attention.
"Oh piss off hag."
Hermione recognized the irritated drawl…
"Chivalry is quite dead, you've certainly proven that to me young man!" Hermione then heard angry stilettos pounding against the tile flooring, next the slamming of the bathroom door behind her.
"All right, Granger. I've rid the premises of any innocent bystanders that may get injured during the colossal battle we're about to have."
"Battle you say? A Death Eater in training against an aspiring Order member… the way it was intended between us." She finished with an uncontrolled sob.
A Death Eater in training was marked with a miniature Dark Mark until their eighteenth birthday; formal initiations took place when the trainee turned eighteen. The miniature mark on their left forearm then became the true Dark Mark with a spell cast by Lord Voldemort, only if he found the trainee worthy, of course.
"Oh good one, baby." Malfoy snarled sarcastically.
Hermione cried noisily, unable to control herself. "Draco…" She began through sobs. "We… our relationship… cannot work. We're on opposing sides…"
There was a light knocking on her stall door. "Stop crying."
"You're training to become DEATH EATER, Draco. I'm sorry if I'm getting emotional over it." Round three of her tears began, actually speaking the ugly truth helped her realize the significance of her words.
"I've got to prove my loyalty to the winning side."
"We've got differing views on which side is the winning side, Malfoy." Hermione growled with unadulterated resentment.
She heard him sigh deeply. "Not at all, Hermione. We're fighting for the same cause…"
Sniffing quietly, Hermione furrowed her sculpted eyebrows. "I suppose… we're both fighting to win, to stay alive. But one side has to fall in defeat."
"I'm on your side, Hermione. If you fall in defeat, I must as well. "
"What?" Her heart was suddenly pounding wildly.
Malfoy did not reply at once, there was a tense pause. "Open the door." He finally demanded in a whisper.
Biting her lip, Hermione reached for the lock with a shaking hand. Slowly, the stall door opened, revealing her boyfriend leant against the bathroom wall across her stall.
Pushing off the wall, Malfoy reluctantly approached her, crouching to meet her gaze. "I've been working with the Order since my father's death."
Hermione was unsure how to react, she was experiencing a surge of numerous emotions. Understandably, happiness, relief, and astonishment were dominating everything else. She wrapped her slim arms around his neck, allowing herself to cry against him, the tears were falling for her relief and happiness.
"It would have been appreciated if you told me that before mentioning that awful Dark Mark you're branded with." Came her muffled complaint, her speech impeded by his shoulder.
"You think I planned to have this conversation with you today, Granger?"
Hermione pulled away from him slightly, just enough to be able to meet his eyes properly. "Go on."
She felt him shrug loosely.
"That old fool Dumbledore told me I'd know when the time was right to reveal my position in this war to those close to me. Today, as I ate my superb meal, I suddenly realized why it's taken me ages to tell you about my involvement with the Order… Although we've been together three months, I haven't been considering you as someone I'm close to. And you are, Hermione, you really are. I just needed to admit that to myself. I imagine I'm just not entirely adjusted to having a serious girlfriend.
"Well, when your father asked me if I had any tattoos, I decided to begin the process of telling you."
Nodding softly, Hermione moved closer to him, smiling as their lips met.
…several minutes later, she found herself pinned against the stall door as a topless Malfoy locked its door.
"This isn't sanitary." Hermione moaned, his lips overwhelming her neck with tiny kisses.
"Neither was having sex in the changing room showers." He reminded her in a husky whisper as she unfastened his belt.
000
….Alexander Granger nearly choked on a chocolate truffle when the young couple returned to the table thirty minutes after their episode in the bathroom stall. Their slightly tousled appearances completely exposed Malfoy and Hermione's afternoon frolic in the ladies room.
End Flashback.
Hermione and Malfoy relived the memory of their lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Granger together before she fell asleep in his arms the previous evening. The issue of informing Zabini of Malfoy's involvement with the Order was then brought up and discussed. He knew Zabini had earned the right to know before Hermione, although Malfoy did not respect that. Very recently the best mates had grown much closer to one another, the Head Boy understood he needed to allow Zabini to know the remaining secret Malfoy kept from him.
000
Floating sixty feet above the lake on his Titan 3100, Malfoy glanced down at Zabini twenty feet below him. Before heading to the Prefects meeting he was leading with the Head Girl, Malfoy decided to unwind a bit, inviting his best mate on a fly around the Hogwarts grounds. Of course Zabini wanted to continue hearing about Malfoy's stay with the Grangers, but there would be none of that yet.
Balthazar and Esmeralda Zabini, parents of Blaise Zabini, were mysteriously murdered when their son was merely nine years old. The orphaned Slytherin spat on the thought of supporting either Voldemort or Dumbledore, being one of the few who knew the cause behind the deaths of his parents. Death Eaters infiltrated the Zabini Estate on a January evening, killing Balthazar and Esmeralda as they slept; young Blaise was sleeping over at the Malfoy Manor. After the fall of Voldemort, the Zabinis no longer openly supported the Dark Lord nor did they anticipate his return, this did not sit well with some of the grief-stricken Death Eaters. Both Malfoy and Zabini were aware Lucius was among the Death Eaters present at the Zabini Estate, but they never spoke of it. It was rumored the Order of the Phoenix had known about the ambush, informed by their underground source. If the rumor was true, obviously Dumbledore sent not even one person to help the unknowing couple. Out of respect for his dead parents, Zabini decided not to support anyone as the war approached, both sides watched his parents die. In return for their futility, he would simply watch both sides suffer deaths.
Retrieving his wand from his cloak pocket, Malfoy then expertly waved it as he muttered the counter spell to his concealing charm. With disgust he watched his little Dark Mark appear on his left forearm.
"Blaise. Come here."
Zabini lazily rose beside him on his Titan 2500. "Hurray, you're continuing with the- Oh fuck…" His dark eyes sighted the stain on Malfoy's pale forearm. "My best mate, the Death Eater." He paused. "My best mate, the soon to be SINGLE Death Eater. I'm assuming Granger doesn't know."
Malfoy smirked. "She knows. I don't know why you're so surprised. You've got connections in the Death Eater network. I've been training for nearly a year now."
"You know I try not to believe rumors…"
Sighing Malfoy met Zabini's intense gaze. "Here's a rumor you'll never hear. I've been enduring Voldemort's fucked up training methods to prove myself worthy of becoming a spy for the Order of the Phoenix."
Zabini literally almost fell off his broom. "Bloody hell…Malfoy a spy for the Order… Holy fucking shit-" He exhaled deeply. "All right, go on and explain this to me, maybe I'll comprehend it better if I hear details."
"It began when my father died. Everyone assumed I left to be with my mother but the truth is I was taken to the Order headquarters. I really did plan to be with Mother but Dumbledore asked me to see him before I left. He told me since my father is gone, I can finally protect my mother. The old fool then guaranteed my mother's safety. A guarantee Voldemort would never give to me."
Suddenly Zabini understood, Malfoy treasured his mother, her safety was always her son's first priority.
"It was no secret to anyone Voldemort was expecting me to carry on the family business. Voldemort's expectations of me becoming a Death Eater combined with his trust in an Order spy dangerously wavering, it just made sense to Dumbledore that I train to become a spy. Surviving my training to become a Death Eater is the training I need as a spy. Voldemort uses Legilimency on us trainees every chance he can. So I practice Occlumency every chance I can… One fuck up, Blaise…and he can get in my head, quickly learning I'm betraying him and where my loyalty truly lies… He'd obtain the knowledge of my relationship with Hermione…
"I've got to earn Voldemort's trust, I've got to earn the Order's trust… I don't secure my position as a spy until my initiation as a Death Eater."
There was a tense silence; Malfoy honestly did not know how Zabini was going to react to his confession.
"Quite a colossal declaration, my friend. But truthfully your relationship with Granger stunned me just a tad more than this one. After hearing that, nothing could really shock me anymore."
The best mates shared amused grins.
"And you're pretty fortunate. I never told you but I'm exceptionally skilled in the art of both Legilimency and Occlumency." Zabini continued. "I'd be honored to train you, mate."
"The Order could certainly find you useful." Malfoy flew around him slowly, observing him with a smirk.
"Oh they've got you recruiting members too?"
"Fuck off, Zabini."
They flew in each other's company for twenty more minutes before Malfoy hurriedly said goodbye to his best friend, he was late for the Perfects meeting.
000
Malfoy watched the Head Girl erase the few notes she had written on the lone blackboard hung on a wall of the Prefects lounge. The planning for the Hogwarts annual Winter Ball had been launched during the meeting, both Head Boy and Head Girl assigned the Prefects their tasks for the ball. The remaining crowd of Prefects made their exit, leaving Hermione and Malfoy alone.
Yawning, Malfoy expertly flicked his wand. The blackboard was spotless at once. Dropping the eraser, Hermione walked to the Heads table (where they both sat facing the other Prefects during meetings), smiling.
"Thank you."
He kissed her quickly in response. "You forget you're a witch sometimes, Granger." Malfoy pulled away with a slight grin, shoving his belongings into his bag.
Shrugging, she too packed up her belongings. "How was the day of the Wizarding World's most eligible underage bachelor?"
Hermione laughed loudly, seeing him openly roll his silver eyes. "I see you read that rubbish as well." Malfoy paused. "The article's blatant mentioning of our prospective future together shouldn't frighten you."
She slung her bag over her shoulder before replying. "Why? Is it because you're frightened enough for the both of us?"
"If there's a future for me to be frightened about. There can't be a future between us if I don't survive the war, Hermione."
"Or if I don't survive." She added weakly.
A solemn quiet filled the room, Hermione appreciated her boyfriend for not denying her statement. For his denial would have been empty, offering her no comfort. She placed her hand on his hand laying limp on the table.
"I've got training tonight. Don't wait up, I'm serious." Malfoy laced their hands briefly before letting go, walking towards the exit. "I'm staying in the dungeons when I return. I'm not training for the Order tonight, Granger. You don't need to see me bloodied and bruised."
Hermione at once went to him, embracing him tightly. "I love you."
Malfoy kissed her deeply in response, replying to her statement with his tongue.
Their contact abruptly ended.
"Snape's waiting." His lips brushed her forehead before he made his exit.
000
It was two in the morning.
Severus Snape aided a slightly injured Malfoy climb down the few steps the Slytherin Common Room had.
"I'm fine, really." Malfoy groaned as he freed himself of his professor's hold, walking to the dark emerald leather sofa on his own.
"He used the Cruciatus Curse on you a number of times… Yaxley kicked you so hard you were unconscious for nearly thirty minutes, boy!"
At the mention of being kicked, Malfoy touched his pounding head. It was drenched, he just assumed it was sweat. He felt a wound above his eyebrow, bringing his hand down, Malfoy saw it was covered with blood.
"Fuck, I'm bleeding." He eyed the Head of Slytherin annoyed. "A healing spell of some sort would be nice right now."
"I'll brew you a potion for the affects the Cruciatus may have on your body, otherwise you'll be so sore later on today that the simple task of breathing will be difficult. As for the wound on your forehead, I suggest that you clean it up nicely. I'll be back later on this morning with the potion. Extract your memories from tonight for the Headmaster. He'll be wanting to see everything for himself in addition to hearing you give a detailed recap of the nights events tomorrow."
As Snape's footsteps faded, Malfoy retrieved his wand and a glass vial from his cloak pocket as he laid back on the sofa. Closing his eyes tightly, he pressed his wand to his temple, extracting the memories of the evening and placing them into the glass vial. With a loud groan he then stood up, shoving both wand and vial back into his cloak pocket. Unsteadily, Malfoy began the difficult task of walking to the boys' dormitories. He needed to use their lavatory to clean himself up.
Eventually he made it to the lavatory Zabini shared with a few other male seventh year Slytherins. Malfoy wobbled through their dormitory, all were asleep. The pain he experienced earlier from the Cruciatus Curse was causing extreme soreness all over his body, just as Snape told him. Malfoy eyed his beaten reflection, dried blood painted the right side of his forehead. The source of the blood was a gash the size of his index finger above his eyebrow. Training with the Death Eaters was always tough, their brutality towards Malfoy intensified, knowing his eighteenth birthday was drawing closer. After washing up and caring for his wound, he headed back to the Common Room.
Zabini was seated on an armchair facing the dark emerald leather sofa. "Did we schedule a sleepover I've forgotten about?" He questioned yawning.
The Head Boy gingerly seated himself on the sofa. "Not at all. How did you know I was here?"
"You treading about my dormitory wasn't exactly quiet, mate. I figured you'd be sleeping out here if you were planning to stay the night." He eyed Malfoy carefully. "Is that cut from Granger?" Zabini whispered through a chuckle. "Makes sense why you're spending the night here, you two got into another row, didn't you?"
Malfoy lazily cast a silencing charm on the Common Room to ensure no one unintentionally walked into their conversation. "Nice deduction, but you're wrong." He sighed loudly when he saw the look of confusion manifest itself on Zabinis face. "I had my weekly training session with the Death Eaters. Honestly, I'd rather not speak of it anymore, if you don't mind mate."
Zabini gave a weak nod of acceptance. "Let's continue our talk about your weekend with the Grangers!"
Before replying, Malfoy made himself comfortable as he thought of which portion of the visit was an appropriate continuing point.
He retold the bit about telling Hermione about his involvement with the Order…
…Zabini was grabbing his toned stomach from the pain he felt due to the amount laughter the last bit of Malfoy's story solicited from him.
"The scent of sex was probably overwhelming. And the poor bloke smelled it!"
Malfoy couldn't help but laugh along with him. "Hermione insisted we both looked fine as she pulled me out of the bathroom."
"I repeat, your appearances didn't give you away, it was the smell of sex."
Once their laughter subsided, Malfoy went on.
" We all headed to the Granger home…"
Flashback:
Sometime during the drive to Hermione's home, Malfoy fell asleep. When he finally woke, all the occupants of the vehicle, other than him, were exiting simultaneously. Before exiting himself, he surveyed the large residence located on the highly desirable residential address of Biddulph Road, situated at the heart of leafy Maida Vale. The home stood high with three floors; a small iron gate and a brick walkway brought him to the simple front door of the inviting home.
"This home has been in my father's family for years." Hermione was waiting for him at the partially open front door; Alexander and Jacqueline already inside.
"It's superb." Malfoy replied, entering the Granger residence with his trunk dragging behind him.
The foyer held two paths; an arched entry led to the remainder of the main floor while an impressive staircase led to the second level.
"Leave your trunk there. I'll have Daddy help you carry it upstairs later."
After placing his trunk down as Hermione instructed, they then walked through a large open living room which flowed into their formal dining area. Two caramel couches, complemented nicely by the wooden flooring of the home, were situated around a fireplace. Above the mantle of the fireplace was a flat object, what Malfoy supposed was a painting. Amused, Hermione noticed the intrigue in Malfoy's eyes.
"That's a television."
In response, Malfoy shook his head, confused. "A television is supposedly a cube-like apparatus, from what I've heard."
Hermione gave a hearty laugh, wrapping her slender arms around his waist. "Yes, older models. Muggle technology has allowed the creation of flatter, rectangular televisions. Plasmas, they're called plasma screens. My parents just had to have one. We'll have to watch a movie tonight so you can be fascinated…
"Unless you want to engage in a different activity tonight. " She finished in a whisper.
He smirked down at his girlfriend, returning her embrace. "The alternate activity you're suggesting will result in your father hating me a bit more than he already does."
"Nonsense, he doesn't hate you. Since when did Draco Malfoy care about someone hating him anyhow?"
"Unfortunately since I started seeing Hermione Granger."
Smiling broadly, she stood on the tips of her toes, eager to reward him for this reply…
"Draco boy!"
The couple immediately separated at the sound of Alexander Granger's voice.
Briefly observing him, Malfoy noticed the older man looked rather uncomfortable. Shaken by witnessing the affection he and Hermione were showing to one another, perhaps.
"Jackie's finally happy with the arrangement of our guest bedroom. The woman rushed up the stairs once we got home to make certain it was perfect. I'd be happy to show you to the room, I'm sure you're eager to situate yourself."
"I appreciate that, Alexander."
"Well off we go then."
000
Wordlessly, the pair hauled his Hogwarts trunk up the exquisite staircase, heading to the guest bedroom.
"The third floor comprises of Hermione's room and the guest bedroom." Alexander told Malfoy as they bypassed the second floor, continuing to climb the second flight of stairs. Having reached the third and final level of the Granger home, Alexander placed the trunk down. Malfoy then followed his actions.
Cursing inwardly, the younger of the two men realized his elder was preparing to have a talk with him.
"Draco…let's not pretend you won't be sleeping in Hermione's bedroom tonight, okay? Originally, we had you sleeping in the guest bedroom on the first floor… but two floors will not separate you from one another, I've realized it." Malfoy could not read Alexander's emotion.
"Alexander, so far you've been exposed only to the physical side of my relationship with your daughter… and I've got to admit it's strange saying that. With my previous girlfriends, there wasn't another side to the relationship, usually we were just a physical couple. No depth, just physicality. With Hermione, yes, the physical attraction is undeniable but I assure you our relationship is hardly this physical at Hogwarts. Today we found the first opportunity we've had to freely show affection for one another." He paused, chuckling. "Honestly, I'm not one to flaunt my relationship in public and I'll acknowledge our behavior at the restaurant was unacceptable. If it means anything, we nearly broke up due to a misunderstanding. Although our reaction to not ending the relationship was improper."
His girlfriend's father studied him skeptically for what felt like an eternity, but Alexander finally nodded with a nearly undetectable smile.
"I'm grateful for your honesty and respect, Draco. I've just got to adjust to the idea of my baby having a boyfriend. Oh, I don't think I've told you how much Jackie and I appreciate your visit with us, the gesture means a lot to us." He then proceeded to give the young man a brief hug, an action Malfoy was not accustomed to; his own father never displayed such affection to him. The simple gesture affected Malfoy greatly…
…while his girlfriend laid alone in her bed, waiting for him to join her, Malfoy remained in the guestroom out of respect for Alexander.
End Flashback.
"My visit to the Granger residence allowed me to form fantastic relationships with her parents, most especially with Alexander. For the last seven months he's been a father to me. Because of him I learned to respect my male elders, not fear them."
"Fuck, Malfoy. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but you make me want to be a better man. Who you were to me yesterday and who you are to me now… a boy to a man… a Death Eater to a member of the Order… an equal to an inspiration…
"…did you mean it when you said the Order could find my skills useful?"
Ahh. Different tone for the chapter huh? It was time that I introduce some seriousness to this fic. ;-) don't worry. The story is still going to be happy, this is not a dark fic. I just wanted to remind everyone Voldemort is still living and yes, there is still a war.
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