DISCLAIMER: Refer to the previous chapter!
Chapter Ten
Still Day Ninety…Draco and Blaise looked at each other then back at a furious looking Ron and Harry. Hermione and Ginny seemed to be rooted to the spots they were standing as the people around them were suddenly starting to disappear. The others who had gone with Harry and Ron were at the Healers tent getting checked over with McGonagall with them.
"Well?" snapped Ron glaring at the two.
"Erm," said Ginny before looking at Hermione helplessly, "Mione?"
"Perhaps we should go talk in our tent," said Hermione as calmly as possible, "Please?"
Harry gave a silent nod as Ron looked from Draco and Blaise stiffly to a helpless Hermione and Ginny. He finally nodded and started in the direction of Hermione's old tent.
"Not that way. Follow us," spoke up Ginny, "Zabini, Malfoy – you know the drill."
"Yeah we go wherever you two go," sighed Blaise as him and Draco started following the four keeping a decent distance between them and Harry and Ron, "This is awkward."
Draco nodded before muttering, "Potter is yet to really react."
"And Granger has to dump the Weasel."
"Oh that'll be fun."
Blaise shot Draco a curious look, "Fun? Fun because you will finally have Granger to yourself or because you want to see someone else miserable?"
"Why on earth do you keep thinking I like her?" cried Draco loudly causing the said person to look at him with a frown and earn a look of pure disgust from Ron.
"Bit of an over reaction, wouldn't you say?"
"Shut up, Blaise," sighed Draco as they reached the tent and walked in behind the other four.
Harry and Ron sat down as Draco and Blaise stood by the bookcases silently. Ginny and Hermione however sat across from them both wondering where to begin. Ginny however really couldn't say anything as it all began with Hermione and the letter writing.
Hermione took a deep breath, knowing that simple fact, "Well… it starts pretty simply actually."
"Is that so?" said Ron glaring over at Draco and Blaise who returned the look.
"Yes it is," snapped Ginny, "So just be quiet!"
"Just listen Ron," said Harry quietly.
Ron gave a noise of annoyance but turned his blue-eyed gaze to a nervous Hermione.
"Well the day after you two left with the others I got a letter," said Hermione calmly, "From someone I didn't know. They were really depressed and lonely and were obviously in need of some supportive contact… so… I wrote back."
Ron opened his mouth to talk but Ginny gave him a sharp look, her brown-eyed gaze staring at him coldly from her flour covered face.
"They wrote back and so the letter writing continued. Throughout that we started giving each other clues about ourselves… Grey-Eyed learnt who I was and I picked up on who they were soon after. It was Malfoy," said Hermione with a sigh, "After a lot of thought… I wrote back to him. Before you start screaming at me like a mad man, Ron – hear me out."
Ron, who was going red in the face, turned to Harry gesturing for him to say something. Harry looked at Ron then at Hermione.
"I'm not saying anything until I hear the entire story," said Harry, "And breathe Ron."
Draco bit back a laugh as Ron let out a long breath, his face losing some of its redness.
"It wasn't an easy choice to keep writing to Malfoy," continued Hermione, "I knew you both would hate me… but other then Ginny I had no one to talk to. Not about the going ons of the Order but what was happening to me and the same goes for Malfoy."
"Alright so how did Malfoy and Zabini wind up here?" asked Ron forcing calmness into his voice.
"A group of Death Eaters attacked the guard at Hogwarts," said Ginny picking up where Hermione let off, "Hermione and I joined the group in heading to Hogsmeade and we out numbered the group of Death Eaters. So after capturing them, ten of us headed to Hogwarts to find the others. We did and returned to Hogsmeade staying over night. Hermione knew that You-Know-Who would send out a group to get the captured Death Eaters. So… after discussing it with me, Hermione wrote to Malfoy telling him they had captured the Death Eater's and that we were smart enough to know that You-Know-Who would have sent out a group to kill us and get back those we captured."
"You told the enemy you had them?" cried Ron angrily.
Hermione turned from Ron and looked at Harry, even he looked furious, "We haven't finished. Malfoy wrote back telling us the plan and what time they would arrive. This gave the Order the upper hand! We set up a really… obvious trap and captured the Death Eaters – including Greyback. Malfoy and Zabini kind of knew what was happening but I don't know… they followed us."
"Okay," said Harry glancing over at Draco and Blaise who merely gazed back at him with slight smug looks, "Why aren't they in the cell tents with the others?"
"I got them both a hearing arranged. What… Harry," Hermione took a deep breath and glanced down at her hands, fiddling with a brown bracelet, before looking at Harry again, "What did Dumbledore offer Malfoy before… you know?"
"Protection," muttered Harry.
"You know Malfoy would have taken it, don't you?"
Harry nodded slightly but said nothing.
"Under the influence of Veritaserum both Zabini and Malfoy told us everything and they aren't guilty. Shut it Ron!" snapped Ginny who was speaking again, "They were forced into becoming Death Eater's, and they are now under the protection of the Order. Hermione and I are in charge of them. They can't escape with the camps high protection and haven't got their wands back."
No one said anything. Blaise gave a sigh and leant on the desk behind him as Draco rocked back and forth on his feet, hands in his pockets. Ginny tried to wipe some flour from her shirt to no avail as Hermione glanced at her two best friends nervously.
"So," said Ron, "You're all buddy like with Malfoy and Zabini now?"
Ginny gave a sigh and looked at Ron angrily but he was focused on Hermione.
"You write to Malfoy… and what? Become his friend?" asked Ron.
Hermione looked up at Ron in surprise, "We understand each other. That's all."
"Harry! Don't you find this a bit… wrong?"
Harry stood up and gave a sigh, "I don't know what to think at the moment."
Draco and Blaise watched as Harry walked out of the tent. Both glanced at each other and headed to their bedroom as Ginny muttered something about needing a shower.
Draco sat on his bed as Blaise flopped onto his with a sigh.
"Did you see the look on Snape's face?" asked Blaise, "He looked crossed between anger and being shit scared."
"The guy killed Dumbledore. He is entering a camp full of Dumbledore supporters," pointed out Draco, "If I were him I'd be crapping my pants too."
Blaise gave a nod of agreement and peered towards the door casually, "Do you reckon they are breaking up?"
Draco shrugged and yanked off his robe shaking it.
The flour flew everywhere from the black robe as Hermione's voice drifted in sounding upset.
"- a chance! I'm sorry!"
"If Malfoy hadn't written to you none of this would have happened!"
Blaise looked at Draco with a raised eyebrow. Draco merely folded his robe up and focused on cleaning the rest of his clothing.
"Ron I wanted to tell you the truth the moment you kissed me!" cried Hermione, "You had to leave before I could!"
"Do you like him?"
"Who?"
"Malfoy!"
"No! Nothing like that is going on between us! Why are you assuming that?"
"You live with the guy!"
"It's my job!"
"Likely story. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if Ginny is getting it on with Zabini!"
There was silence with the sound of the bathroom door opening. Draco and Blaise looked at each other silently, neither knowing what to do. Get involved or just stay in the room where it was reasonably safe?
"So," came the Weaselette's voice, "Getting it on with Zabini?"
"I shouldn't have said that," came Ron's much calmer voice.
"But you're free to assume Hermione and Malfoy have something happening? She told me as soon as you left that she didn't have time to tell you she didn't like you in that manner! And her and Malfoy… honestly Ron! There is no time to consider romance!"
"Ginny," came Hermione's quiet voice, "Don't worry about it. I'm going to shower… Ron, perhaps you should just leave."
--
Draco and Blaise stepped into the centre tent behind Hermione and Ginny and hour of so later. It was full of people eating lunch that Molly had managed to finish whilst cleaning up the flour. The four sat together at the end of the table. Draco spotted Harry and Ron at the other end talking with Lupin, Tonks, and Molly.
"How is Charlie?" asked Ginny looking over at her brother Bill.
"He'll be fine. How are you?"
"Fine. I missed you and the others though. When will we be told anything?"
"Tonight I assume. McGonagall is going over the information we gathered and studying the Horcrux with Moody and Flitwick."
"What was it again?"
"Rowena Ravenclaw's mirror."
"How will they destroy it?" asked Hermione scooping some more pie onto her plate.
"Wait… what is a Horcrux?" asked Draco in confusion before looking at Hermione, "You said we would understand and I don't."
Bill frowned at Draco, "Not to sound rude, but I thought living with the Death Eater's you would know this sort of thing?"
"Depends on how far in the circle you are," answered Blaise, "Draco's father would know a fair bit but they escaped."
"So I heard."
"Well, what is a Horcrux?" asked Draco again.
"A Horcrux is… well its horrible really," said Hermione looking at her meal before looking directly at Draco, "What it is, is an object which holds part of a persons soul."
Both Draco and Blaise frowned in confusion. Hermione gave a sigh and Draco could tell she was switching to her encyclopaedia mode.
"You see Voldemort – oh not you two as well – Voldemort spilt his soul into six pieces, with the seventh part remaining in him."
"How… how did he do it?" asked Blaise.
"To do such a thing a person needs to do the most horrible act of evil possible – murdering someone. Doing something like that damages the soul. The person takes the torn piece and well… places it in an object."
"And so Potter has been tracking these bits down?"
"In his second year Harry found one- the diary Malfoy's father purposely gave Ginny," said Hermione, "It was destroyed, obviously. Dumbledore destroyed Marvolo Gaunt's ring. Then there was the pocket watch… Helga Hufflepuff's cup, his snake, and now the mirror."
"So that was why he was so angry when the snake went missing," mused Blaise, "Always did wonder why he kept it so close by."
"So destroy the mirror and then him?" asked Draco
"We hope that's the way it goes," said Hermione shifting in her seat uncomfortably, "But enough talk about that."
Blaise and Draco swapped curious looks. Draco glanced at Hermione to see her focusing on eating her pie. He turned and looked down at the other end of the table meeting the suspicious stare of Harry Potter. Draco gave him a raised eyebrow look before turning back to his meal.
--
"You must love this log or something," said Draco jokingly as Hermione settled herself on it once more with him sitting beside her.
"No one else comes this close to the boundary really," replied Hermione as they heard another explosion, "So you never heard of Horcruxes before?"
"Not a word of them. But it sounds horrible like you said, so no wonder I haven't until now."
Hermione just nodded, "I was with them when they found the pocket watch and the snake. Then they left when I was out fighting to try and locate the mirror. They got word of where it was and came back to inform McGonagall before leaving again."
"And leaving you behind," added Draco.
Hermione gave a nod and sighed, "After this… its all up to Harry."
"So he is the Chosen One?"
Hermione nodded but said nothing more of it as an owl hooted in a nearby tree. Both turned as they heard voices and saw Harry and Ron walking along talking. Both spotted Hermione and Draco and froze. Draco stood understanding what was going through the friend's minds. From their position it would look they were holding hands or something.
"Maybe you should take me to the tent and leave with me the Weaselette," said Draco, "Then you could go talk to them?"
Hermione turned away from the pair who were heading in the opposite direction, "No point anyway. The meetings about to begin."
The two walked back to the camp and into the centre tent, which had been set up similar to how it looked when Draco had his hearing. Draco and Hermione sat in a middle row with Blaise and Ginny. Silence fell around the room as McGonagall took her place.
"Good evening all of you," she said in her brisk tone, "As you are all well aware of, members of the Order returned to us today with the murderer Severus Snape and also the last Horcrux. Tonight it will be destroyed leaving only Voldemort to be defeated by Harry himself.
"However, if Voldemort is defeated that does not mean the war is over. His Death Eaters will rise against us in revenge for destroying their leader. Thankfully we will have the Australian Order members arriving at the end of this month, they will aide us in bringing down this evil for good."
The discussion continued about the war and how the Order was going. By midnight it ended with everyone standing to either return to the battlefield or go to bed.
"Have you spoken to Harry?" asked Hermione walking alongside Ginny.
"He won't talk to me," sighed Ginny.
Draco hung back with Blaise as the two women walked a few steps ahead talking.
"Horcruxes," said Blaise shaking his head, "You know I vaguely remember my mother mentioning them when I was little. I don't remember much but I do know she said it was something no one should do."
"Especially when you have to kill people to achieve it," pointed out Draco, "But I reckon there is more too it."
"What do you mean?"
"Granger won't discuss the final battle between Potter and You-Know-Who."
"Would you discuss a fight your friend might die in?"
"No, but still. It has something to do with the whole Chosen One thing I reckon."
"Hurry up you two!" barked Ginny looking over her shoulder at the pair, "Enough with checking out our backsides!"
Both Blaise and Draco looked at Ginny wide eyed who merely chuckled at the pair and turned around with Hermione hitting her on the arm with a laugh.
Once inside the tent all parted ways either using the bathroom, getting changed, or going to bed. Draco exited the bathroom to find Hermione sitting on the lounge reading the Evening Prophet.
"Can't sleep?" asked Draco.
"No. Not with Snape's trial on tomorrow and Wormtail's," sighed Hermione lowering the paper, "Just so you know, you are yet to be threatened."
Draco sat across from her frowning, "Threatened?"
"By Harry and Ron. Once they cool down they will warn you to not try anything on Ginny and I or hurt us."
"I was wondering when that would come," admitted Draco with his normal drawling tone, "Don't you get tired of them playing your protector?"
"My protector?"
"Well like you said, they won't let you fight because they think you're too fragile with what happened."
"Malfoy," said Hermione sounding a little frustrated, "It's only natural of them to protect me."
"Just admit it. You did in the letter's, you want to fight, and they won't let you."
"I-I have to stay here and keep an eye on you and, and Zabini."
"But you would rather be fighting like everyone else."
Hermione frowned at him, though Draco merely looked at her pointedly, "I… you," she gave a sigh and looked down at the paper.
"Scared to admit I am correct?"
"No."
"Then answer the original question."
"We all protect each other. I would protect them the same way," said Hermione looking up at Draco.
"But?"
"But fine! I do get sick of it-sometimes."
"And if you had the choice between watching over me and fighting, which would you rather do?"
Hermione shifted on the seat a little, brushing some lint off her yellow with thin white stripes pyjama pants, "I'd rather be fighting."
"Wasn't so hard now, was it?"
Hermione shot him a glare, "Alright, what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Would you like to be out there fighting?"
"Depends on which side I was fighting on," shrugged Draco sliding down a bit so he was half sitting up.
"Alright, the Order's side."
Draco glanced at Hermione, "Well… yeah."
"But you would be stumped if it came to facing your father, right?"
"Would you like to have the choice of killing your father or not?"
"No. No one would."
Draco just nodded, "Even if he is an evil bastard. He's my father no matter what."
Hermione just nodded and looked at the paper. Draco watched her silently before standing and going to bed. She was annoying him with her uncanny knack of understanding his thoughts. He was the same way with her, but that was Hermione's fault, right? She made her self easy too understand despite her so-called guard.
Day Ninety-one"We need a word with Malfoy and Zabini."
Draco and Blaise exited their room to see Hermione step away from the door to let Harry and Ron in. She turned to face the pair before heading into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Draco and Blaise eyed Harry and Ron as they did the same to them.
"Well, get on with it," sighed Blaise finally, crossing his arms.
"No touching either of them in anyway," said Harry, "You try and hurt them and I swear – we both swear – you both will live to regret it. And believe me when I say we both will be watching you two closely regardless of the protection the Order is giving you two."
"Does that cover it?" asked Draco.
"What do you mean does that cover it?" snapped Ron.
"One: We both knew this was coming long before you two calmed down," said Draco, "And two: Granger even knew it was coming. I bet you anything she is standing at that closed door listening, right Granger?"
The door opened and Hermione stepped out looking a little sheepish. Her two best friends looked at her incredulously as she shrugged.
"So are the threats finished with?" asked Blaise boredly.
"They are," said Hermione stopping Ron from opening his mouth.
Draco flopped down on the lounge to read the paper as Blaise returned to the bedroom. Ron looked at Hermione silently before leaving.
"He's hurt," said Harry as if that explained it all.
"I know," replied Hermione, "I can't force myself to like him in that way, you know that."
Harry nodded, "And I get why you didn't tell him before we left."
"Are you angry though, with everything?"
Draco shot the two a glance. If anyone else walked in they would assume something was happening between the two friends but after years of observing the pair Draco knew it was a platonic thing.
"I still don't know," admitted Harry, "I know… you Malfoy, didn't do anything willingly despite how cocky you acted at school. But it's just something I need time to completely understand and accept. I guess Ron's the same."
Draco looked up at the Potter once more and gave a short nod as Hermione did the same. Draco turned back to the paper drowning out the two as the talk moved onto something different causing the pair to laugh every now and then. The female Weasley soon arrived and joined the pair announcing that Charlie was doing much better.
Draco flicked through the paper absently remembering Hermione's truthful comment the night before: "But you would be stumped if it came to facing your father, right?"
It was true, he would be. He wouldn't know what to do if it came to facing his father on the battlefield. Would he duel him? Would he stand there and let his father kill him? Would he run like a fool? Or would someone jump in and take over the duelling for him, saving him from making the crucial decision? Draco didn't know. He sat upright wanting to go for a walk and think out the matter but he wasn't allowed. He looked over at Hermione and briefly wondered if she would see he needed some time out of the tent, but the choice was gone with her looking at him.
"Care for a walk, Malfoy?"
A/N: Well the next chapter returns to being fully on Hermione… well the next five do! Anyway, review!
Until next time…
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