Thank you for commenting about Draco's 'reveal'. I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter. Alpha love to MykEsprit and beta love to mcal. All remaining mistakes are my own.
From year-to-year, Hogwarts hardly changed. It was the same entryway she recalled from her first year that she landed in. There was not a brick out of place. Nearly Headless Nick floated over her head, his features morphing into a wide grin as he took in the sight of her. "Hermione?"
"Nick," she greeted. She paused a moment to smooth down her hair, and then her rumpled shirt due to being whisked out of her bedroom. "How are you? Looking forward to new first years to prank?"
He floated beside her as she made her way down the corridor and up the stairs. "Summer is always boring, not enough kids to scare."
"You shouldn't scare them anyway. It's not very nice." Her fingers slid along the railing of the stairs as they swung around, bringing her to the next level. "You're eager for the beginning of term, then?"
He bobbed his head, which was a sight considering it appeared to be seconds from falling off. "Always. The teachers get so stuffy toward the end of summer hols. Snape is locked away in his dungeon. He stopped coming for dinner after I put muggle medicine in his pudding last week."
Her head tipped back as she laughed. "What kind of medicine?"
"Well," he drawled, looking both ways before continuing. "I got the idea from a Muggleborn last year. He was being bullied, relentlessly too, by some Slytherins. I overheard him say that Muggles refer to it as a laxative."
She tilted her head to the side. While Hermione knew several things about all things muggle because of Harry, she'd never heard of that. Luckily, she didn't have to ask since the friendly ghost continued.
"It gives you the runs, zero control over your bowel movements." Nick said bluntly.
Hermione nearly toppled off the edge of the stairs. Even as a ghost, Nick reached for her, his hand slipping right through her abdomen. "You did that to Snape?" She gaped at him. "You're lucky you're already dead."
He waved his hand. "The best part was that potions didn't work to stop it. Considering it was muggle medicine…"
"Yes. Sometimes there are adverse side effects when combining muggle and magical medicines," Hermione deadpanned. "That's exactly why you're not supposed to do it. How did you even slip it into his pudding? You couldn't have done it."
He gave her a sheepish look. "A good ghost never gives away his secrets."
Her eyes narrowed. "All right, I'm not going to ask anymore because truthfully, I don't really want to know." She stopped in front of the Headmaster's office, casting a look over her shoulder. "It was nice to see you again."
Nick grinned before floating away with a flourish.
Hermione whispered the password, still wondering where the conversation would take her, and pushed open the heavy door. The headmaster's office appeared as it always did, an organised piece of total and complete chaos. There were rolls of parchment sitting in a cylindrical container on the desk, the seals still intact. Fawkes was free of his cage, perched on the back of his owner's chair.
Headmaster Dumbledore sat in his chair calmly, his fingers laced together as he gave her an easy smile. "It's been a while, Princess Nott."
Hermione sat in the chair he motioned to while tucking her hair behind her ears. "Just Hermione will do, sir."
"Hermione, then," he repeated. They'd done this several times before, and she already knew that the next meeting would begin with her official title. "If you'll look up, all of the portraits have vacated my office for the night, and shall not return until after your visit."
She gazed up, taking note of the empty rows of portraits, all of the former headmasters kicked from their homes. Squaring her shoulders, she nodded. "I hope it isn't a problem that I asked Harry to deliver a message for me."
He shook his head. "Not at all. I'm quite honoured to receive a summons from you, but what could it be that you can't present to your father? I'm aware of the ties that you have, Hermione, so the urgency is worrying."
She didn't want to think of what would have come if she had told her father. The image of Aurors, and wizards that her father employed for protection, was clear in her mind. They would tear through the forest outside her home and murder her savior in cold blood.
"I need help. It's a lot to ask, but I need a place to hide someone."
His eyes widened, just a fraction, and the familiar twinkle in them vanished. In a second, Headmaster Dumbledore's stare hardened. "Harry mentioned a werewolf, specifically one that saved you the night you were attacked?"
The hair on her arms stood on end as the memory swept through her, the branches digging into her dress, and claws raking down her back. "Yes." Hermione cleared her throat. "Yes, sir. However, it's not just any werewolf. I know him very well. I've known him my entire life."
He blinked. "He attended Hogwarts then?"
She nodded. "Yes, sir. Before I tell you, I want to be sure that his identity will remain completely confidential. I believe he'll be hunted if the secret was ever revealed."
Headmaster Dumbledore tapped his fingers against the table, giving a sharp nod. "Very well, do you require an Unbreakable Vow, Hermione?"
She'd considered it. "No, sir. If Harry trusts you, that's enough for me." Hermione's nails dug into the leather upholstery of her chair as she crossed and uncrossed her legs. "Draco Malfoy is alive."
Seconds ticked by, and she sunk into her seat. It was soft, comfortable below her as she waited for a reaction.
She wasn't disappointed.
Headmaster Dumbledore was a calm wizard, not one to grow angry as some of his fellow staff would. At the exact moment, however, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He spluttered as his fingers gripped the edge of his desk. "Alive?" He echoed.
With her heart hammering in her chest still, Hermione nodded. "Yes, sir. Considering how Lucius Malfoy was admanent no one search for Draco in France… I believe Draco was Obliviated."
His fingers tapped against the aged wood, and his head tilted to the side. "A grave accusation," Dumbledore remarked.
She knew that, of course. While sitting in a cave with Draco, and then while formulating a plan to sneak him into her bedroom for the night until she found a safe place, Hermione asked him if there were any memories. If perhaps he'd truly been thought dead, and Lucius hadn't Obliviated him.
But he didn't remember her. He didn't remember racing through the corridors of the castle with Theo while Hermione was close behind after they'd nicked her sweets. He didn't remember her being picked on for her abnormally sized teeth when she was a second year.
He didn't remember anything.
"Can you help me?"
"Where is he?"
Hermione stared at him. "I can bring him to wherever you intend to house him," she said carefully. While she knew that he was likely safe from the headmaster, it was dangerous to allow anyone else to know. "You understand?"
The headmaster sighed. "There's a safehouse that is under a Fidelius Charm from the war." He began, opening the bottom drawer of his desk on the right side. "It's the best hiding place I know of, and I will make you the Secret Keeper."
She lifted her head, staring across the table. "You won't let this slip to Harry? I understand it's not my business, whatever missions you're sending him on, but he can't know. It would put him in a position where he would feel—" Hermione cut herself off, her eyes widening as she realised she'd allowed herself to ramble.
He chuckled under his breath. "I understand it would make him obligated to tell Prince Nott." Just how had he known about Harry and Theo? "You forget that they were both students here once upon a time. It's not only prefects that patrol the corridors after curfew."
Her nose crinkled at that. Gross. "Thank you, sir."
Following the meeting, Hermione moved quickly. Luck was on her side as she returned home to an empty entry hall via the personal Floo in Dumbledore's office. Her father was still gone, fortunately, and due to her taking the sneakiest way to her chambers, Hermione heard Harry and Theo in the kitchen.
She swallowed, pressing herself tightly against the wall. The door to the kitchen was ajar, a tiny bit of light streaming through the crack. Rolling her eyes as she knew they were likely raiding the liquor cabinet, she started to creep past.
"—lying to me," Theo said gruffly.
Hermione froze.
Harry's voice was softer, but if Hermione hadn't known him so well, she would have believed him. Yet it was an inevitable lie that left his mouth. "If Hermione were hiding something, she wouldn't tell me."
Her heartbeat quickened in her chest, and she bit the inside of her cheek hard to prevent discovery.
"I'm not stupid,"
"I never said you were!" Harry snapped. "The fact remains that you want someone to blame for her keeping things from you, and you're placing the blame on me now." Several beats of silence passed, seemingly agonisingly slow. "I'm not going to stay for this."
There were footsteps, angry, coming toward her quickly. She shot a glance down the corridor, and prepared to disappear around the corner.
Theo's voice calling out saved her from the door flying open. "Wait!" The footsteps stopped, replaced by Theo's, likely nearing Harry. "I don't want to argue. You're lying; we both know it, Potter, but there's no point in arguing about it now. You'll be gone in the morning. I'd rather—"
Harry snorted. "You'd rather what?"
Hermione escaped before Theo could reply, disappearing around the corner as quickly as she could. Already weighed down by the guilt of forcing Harry to keep secrets, she now knew Theo had probably gotten his hands on the redacted report. It couldn't mean anything good for her at all.
She took the opportunity while they were still in the kitchens to sneak into Theo's room. Hermione dug through the large wardrobe, cramming as many clothes as she could into the beaded bag she carried with her. Thanks to the Undetectable Extension Charm, Hermione snuck out of the room with enough clothes to last Draco a long while.
Letting the door shut softly behind her, Hermione made her way to her own room. It was well into the early morning hours now. She'd gone straight to the safehouse once leaving Hogwarts, cleaning it as quickly as she could, considering it wasn't as if Draco would care whether it was dusty or not. It had been a good idea. Clearly, no one had stepped inside the safehouse since the end of the war.
She found him sitting on her bed, the album she'd left him clutched in his pale fingers. "I thought you weren't coming back." Draco cleared his throat, his finger holding his place in the album. "Which is ridiculous."
Stopping dead in her tracks, her spine meeting the door behind her as it sealed shut, Hermione exhaled. How stupid could she have been to have left for so long? Of course he didn't fucking care about the cleanliness of the safehouse.
Tapping a foot against the floor, Draco glanced around the room. "I figured you'd have no choice but to come back here since you live here."
She crossed the room in five strides, given her shorter stature, and she came to stand in front of him. Poised in between his legs, Hermione reached out with a shaking hand to lift his head. The man in front of her was a far cry from the one she knew, and it broke something in her chest, smashing against it until there was nothing left at all.
Surely the Draco she remembered was somewhere buried beneath it all.
"It was cruel of me to leave for so long. I wasn't thinking," she whispered. "I don't know what I was thinking."
His hand covered hers, the rough calluses of his hands sliding against smooth skin. Tears stung her eyes as he looked up at her. "It wasn't cruel." He replied, his voice a low rasp as he traced the rings on her fingers. "I've lived outside for years, sleeping in forests, and abandoned houses. I've scavenged for food. You're not cruel."
Hermione didn't agree. "There's a safehouse you can live in. I can take you there now."
He traced the lines in her palm. She'd noticed how affectionate he was by then, how he tended to constantly touch her in one way or another. She wondered if it was due to the bond between them, but she wasn't likely to bring it up herself.
Still, the featherlight touches nearly caused her knees to buckle. Before she could embarrass herself, Hermione sat beside him, turning her hand over. The bracelet on her wrist caught in the light, and it served as a hefty reminder of the secret she was currently keeping from her brother downstairs.
"You're upset," he murmured. "Why?"
Admittedly, there were a lot of reasons. None of them she wanted to discuss with anyone. Hermione swallowed. "Just a lot on my mind recently."
"Does that shite line work on everyone who knows you?"
She lifted her head as her lips parted. "Not usually, but once I say it, no one pushes the subject."
He smirked. "They're not very bright."
It earned a laugh from her. "I don't want to talk about it."
Draco nodded, letting her hand fall from his. "We should leave, shouldn't we? Before anyone discovers me?"
She'd slept in the safehouse on the first night he stayed there, unable to help herself when he asked her to. He gave her a smile, one that made her freeze in place as he looked at her. So Hermione had slept in the bed, and he had slept on the far opposite side of it, promising that he would keep his hands to himself.
It was a lie, but it was difficult to remain angry when Hermione woke draped across his chest. He'd peeled his shirt off at some point, and she let herself lay there, listening to his relaxed breathing. Still asleep, she thought, and Hermione traced a jagged scar that went up his right side, and across his stomach to his left pectoral. It was waxy to the touch, an old scar that would have still scarred even if he'd had access to dittany.
Pretending to still be asleep when he'd stirred hadn't worked, most likely, but Draco hadn't said anything at all. Instead, he chose to leave her in bed, covering her with the blanket, and leaving the room with one last look at her.
That had been a week ago.
She passed Theo in the corridors of the castle, plastering a smile on her face as they made small talk before she would return to her potions lab. She was quick to make batches of Wolfsbane that month, knowing how quickly time would pass before the full moon was on them once again.
Not one day went by without going to the safehouse, and she was certain the tangling feelings in the pit of her stomach were leading her somewhere. Akin to a crush, which she was familiar with, Hermione did her best to scrub it from her mind. He would get his memories back—she was still working out the how—and she would return to being Theo's little, swotty, sometimes annoying sister.
Hermione passed Harry in Diagon Alley as she hurried down the street. Brushing shoulders with him even, but she neglected to say anything at all. He called her name, his voice quieting as she bustled into Ollivander's.
The bell dinged above her head as she stood at the back of the room, watching as eager children waited to get their wands. With all that had happened in the prior weeks, she'd forgotten that the term was starting. Quietly taking a seat on a stack of wooden crates, Hermione patiently waited.
She created a game of it for herself, scrutinising each young witch or wizard from her seat, wondering who in the world they would turn out to be. So far, she'd guessed for three Gryffindors, four Ravenclaws, two Slytherins, and six Hufflepuffs. If she were right, at least. Eventually, someone noticed her, a parent of one of the children. Hermione smiled, waving to the small crowd as they poured out of the exit.
Mr Ollivander beamed as he enveloped her in a hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you, Princess. However can I help you today?"
Hermione smiled, swallowing her nerves, as well as the lump in her throat. "Oh, I just need to pick up a replacement wand. You're terribly busy. Could I just…?" She trailed off.
He took another glance at the crowd, and she thought he might put up more of an argument. "I suppose, but be careful! There's a large stack of wands that might topple over at any given moment,"
She flashed him a smile. "Of course, Mr Ollivander. I'll be gone in a moment."
The box housing the wand fit snugly into the inner pocket of her cloak, and Hermione made her way to the Apparition point before Disapparating with a crack.
Draco didn't look up from his book as she landed in the living room, only a few steps away from where he lounged on the sofa. "Can you cast a Patronus charm?" He asked, still not looking up.
"Yes, we learned the mechanics in our seventh year, but it was Harry who practiced with us. He started a club outside of classes since our Defence Against the Dark Arts was grossly incompetent." She sat next to him, unclipping her cloak and letting it fall to the sofa. "Are you reading my old textbooks?"
He nodded, turning the page. "The Defence Against the Dark Arts position is cursed, isn't it?"
"They say it is," Hermione replied, leaning forward and peering over his shoulder. "I've never seen any proof of it."
Draco finally looked at her, but his head snapped up so quickly she jumped in her seat. He arched an eyebrow. "You mean to say that you haven't been convinced by the fact that no one could stay for longer than a year?"
Hermione shrugged. "Well, when you put it that way."
"Where did you go?"
She shuffled, pulling the box from her cloak. "Here," Hermione held it out to him, her heart clenching as he reached for it.
Draco slowly opened the box. He carefully laid the lid on the coffee table before moving the tissue paper to the side. "This is mine?" His voice was thick, and for a moment, she feared that she'd overstepped.
That he wasn't ready.
"Yes. It's a near replica of the one you had before you vanished. I thought you might like to have it." Hermione laced her fingers together. "But if I was wrong, I'm sorry. I can take it back if—"
An arm wrapped around her shoulder, easily pulling her across the sofa and into the curve of his hard body. Her breath caught in her throat, and she nervously slid her arms around his waist. He smelled of sandalwood, and a cologne she knew he'd found in the back of the bathroom cupboard over the sink.
But there was something else. Pulling back with a light laugh under her breath, Hermione asked, "Did you use my shampoo?"
Silence.
"I bought you your own." She laughed. "You like it then?" Hermione gestured toward the wand.
Draco's fingers wrapped around it, his index finger resting against the top of the wand. Experimentally, he flicked it toward the wall. Nothing happened, but it did nothing to wipe away the smile curving his lips. He nodded. "Thank you. It means… it means a great deal to me that you go to so much trouble."
The fact of it was that Hermione had constantly found herself eager to go through 'trouble' for him, but it wasn't any trouble. She cared.
"Something is bothering you again." He spun the wand between his fingers, staring at it instead of her as he spoke. "Still don't want to talk about it?"
"No, but there is something." Hermione fell quiet, watching his turn to her, watching his eyes darken as he took in her hesitation. "Theo is visiting Malfoy Manor tomorrow. He's making the visit to Lucius in my father's place. I've been invited as well, for the sake of being polite."
Draco's nostrils flared, seeing right through her. "What are you planning to do, Hermione?" Perhaps he felt the anxiety sloshing around the pit of her stomach, or maybe she wasn't as good at keeping secrets as she thought.
Well, she was planning to drug his father with Veritaserum and steal a slew of memories that would prove Lucius Malfoy was guilty, but she didn't say that. "Nothing bad," she lied.
"I hardly believe that." He muttered, raking his fingers through his hair. "Any chance I can convince you not to go?" Draco's finger slid along her arm, and he smirked when she shivered.
She shook her head. "But I'll come back here to you immediately after." Hermione promised.
Thanks for reading another chapter! The next has one of my favorite Draco and Hermione scenes, and picks up right where this left off.
Next Chapter Sneak Peek: She feigned a sheepish look. "You know I've always loved this library." Not turning her back to him, Hermione reached his desk in two strides. "I actually had a few questions if you wouldn't mind sitting with me?"
Lucius waved his hand, taking a seat on one of the leather couches. Seizing the chance as it presented itself, Hermione withdrew the vial from her dress in a solitary movement, dumping the contents into his tea.