Thanks everyone for your patience! It has been a crazy start to 2019. I present to you, dearest readers, chapter 10, and hope you enjoy it.
***I have used some direct quotes from JK's own writing of the first Apparition Lesson for the dialogue to keep to canon.***
Special thanks to hmweasley for picking up on my ridiculous mistakes.
Daphne had whispered to Draco in the common room the next morning that Pansy had cried herself to sleep last night. Her devastation had turned into rage, and Draco did not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath. She might not have been a particularly talented witch, but she could cause plenty of damage with her verbal talons. Draco sat down as far as inconspicuously possible and ate his breakfast, doing his best to keep his head down and ignore the glares directed at him by Pansy. Theo and Blaise tried to alleviate the awkward atmosphere by making light conversation, mostly revolving around the disaster that was Macmillan in Potions. Theo regaled the Slytherin table with an account of the latest attempt at brewing antidotes.
"... and then," Theo snorted, "the idiot added in powdered Erumpet Horn to his mixture."
Only Draco smiled. Very few of their year had chosen to continue Potions, not that many Slytherins were particularly good at it, despite Snape's obvious bias. The addition of Erumpet Horn was disastrous, but he was certain no one else had any idea just how disastrous.
Blaise chortled in amusement. "So what was once a gloopy, dark brown slime immediately turned a bright purple! And then—"
"Boom!" Theo threw his arms out dramatically. "The cauldron exploded, and the purple gloop went everywhere. Including over Boot and Corner!"
The owls swooped in at that moment to deliver that morning's post. Crabbe and Goyle blinked in surprise as two large and scruffy-looking owls landed in front of them. Neither of them had received letters in months. They both opened their letters, ripping off the wax seals and reading their letters as Draco turned back to his food.
"So, my corpulent comrades," Theo said. "What is the news from the world outside?"
Goyle looked at Theo suspiciously. "What does 'corpulent' mean? Are you tryin' to be funny with me?"
Theo grinned but was cut of by Blaise before he could say anything else. "It means 'dignified', Goyle."
Goyle nodded, appeased. "My dad says Draco needs to let us help him."
Draco summoned a sneer. "Help me with what? My homework? I can manage on my own, thank you very much."
"No not with that," Crabbe said, scanning the hall. "With the other… thing."
"Sod your fathers. You are both too stupid to help anyone, and you certainly aren't discreet enough."
"We're not stupid." Goyle half stood.
"Fine then. You aren't stupid. You're asinine."
"What—"
"Means 'thoughtful', Gregory," Theo interrupted. "Anyways, let's get back to the common room. We have our first Apparition lesson in less than an hour."
Draco made his way back to the hall sometime later with Crabbe and Goyle. He had told them over and over again that he had no intention of letting them help.
"We can keep watch for you," they had said. Draco had paused, unable to think of a good excuse. He simply said, "No." There was no way he would allow them anywhere near Hermione. He stood at the back of the Great Hall, far away from the eyes and ears of the teachers and the strange translucent, frail-looking man, presumably their instructor for the morning.
"Now keep quiet," Draco hissed. "Don't talk about it here."
"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" Professor McGonagall glared at him. The lesson had apparently started, and he hadn't noticed. He felt the rush of blood as it traveled up his neck and across his cheeks. He glanced quickly at his godfather, who arched a questioning eyebrow. Draco shook his head subtly.
Draco looked to the instructor, who had carried on as if nothing had happened. "I would like each of you to place yourselves so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."
Chaos ensued as the students spread out around the hall. Crabbe chose that moment to push Draco further. "Well, how much longer is it gonna take?"
"I don't know how much longer, all right? It's taking longer than I thought it would." He stopped, realising he wasn't getting anywhere.
"Look, it's none of your business what I'm doing. Please, just stay out of it. Stay safe."
"It's nice to see that you care about your friends after all." Draco spun around. Potter was standing just a few feet away, listening to every word they had said. "I always thought you just used people and spat them out when you were done with them."
"Quiet!" The Heads of House shouted. Potter smirked at him and moved to stand by a wooden hoop that appeared a few feet in front of him.
Draco was unable to do anything more than glare at the back of Potter's head for the rest of the lesson. He hadn't managed to Apparate, but neither had Wonder Boy. As the students began talking and making their way out of the hall, Wonder Boy himself approached him.
"What do you want, Potter? I could do without this conversation." Draco glanced around the room to check where Crabbe had gone.
"I don't care what you could or couldn't do without," said Potter. "But I do care about my friends."
"Of course you do. Every Gryffindor has a bleeding heart."
Potter ignored the quip and pressed on. "Just know that, should one of my friends feel… unhappy, there will be consequences."
"Well, bully for them! Why are you sharing this particular piece of information?"
"You know why." Potter took two steps towards him until they were practically breathing the same air. Draco stood tall and let his hands fall to his sides in a casual way, his fingers twitching to grab his wand at the first sign of trouble. "If you hurt her," Potter muttered. "When you hurt her, I will tear you apart."
Draco struggled to find the words he needed to deny any understanding, but was rescued by a most unlikely person.
"Harry, is this git bothering you?" Weasley had plodded over. Draco didn't think he'd ever be pleased to see him, even if it was to be rescued from an awkward conversation.
"No," said Potter. "We're all good here. Just setting something straight."
"Let the record show," Draco drawled. "Something had been set straight."
"I'm not joking, Malfoy."
"Neither am I, Potter." Draco took a step back. "We're done here." He turned and walked out of the Hall.
Draco could not stop thinking about Potter's warning. He had sat with his friends in the common room, his leg bouncing in a manner that his mother would have frowned upon. When his restlessness got the best of him, he paced in front of the fireplace.
Hermione. Hermione. Hermione.
No, he really didn't want to hurt her. That was the last thing in the world he wanted. What he did want was… to talk to her. Yes, he wanted to talk to her. But he didn't remember when he was meant to see her next. He darted back to his room, ignoring the calls of his friends. He slammed the door shut behind him. He threw open his trunk and ran his hand along the inside to the hidden pocket at the back where he found the charmed schedule.
Shit. The next session was not until Monday. He sat down on his bed and stared at the square for 'Saturday', left empty for homework. She probably wouldn't even notice if he added a rendezvous to the schedule. He sighed deeply. He could always try. If that didn't work, well, he'd get some work done figuring out the blasted cabinet.
Ron had commandeered Harry's attention after the Apparition lesson, leaving Hermione alone. She didn't mind though. It was about time she went to the library for some new material on the Horcruxes. She was desperate to tell Draco her thoughts on the cabinet, but there was no way that she'd be able to talk to him at the moment. It would just have to wait until they next saw each other.
She dropped her bag on her favourite table at the back of the library, hidden in an alcove beside the roped-off entrance to the Restricted Section, and stepped neatly over the rope. Deeper and deeper down the aisle she went, noting the books she'd looked at already. At the very end of the aisle, on the oldest and dustiest shelf she had found, was a gap. There was a layer of dust on the space left by the missing book, but it was not as thick as the dust that lay on the areas around it. The book had clearly been removed from the library a long time ago. Hermione wondered what horrors it must have contained to have necessitated removal; the other books in the restricted section were terrifyingly grotesque.
Hermione pulled out a dusty old book bound in grey leather with faded embossed lettering. She blew away the dust to read the title: Charms, Jinxes and Curses for the Discrete Magic Wielder by Prudens O'ccultatum. She had read it before. First, to help Harry with the Triwizard Tournament, then again to find some useful material for Dumbledore's Army. There was absolutely nothing she could have used either time, as most were either too horrible, dangerous or illegal. She had found the Undetectable Extension Charm there though.
She was fairly sure there was nothing in it, but it wouldn't hurt to check. I'll save that one for last.
Along with a few other books, Hermione made her way back to the table and began the painstaking task of combing through each and every page. She found nothing at all. She closed the second to last book and tossed it onto the pile of discarded books before pulling Charms, Jinxes and Curses towards her. She picked up her bag and placed it on the table, pulling everything out of it and arranging it on the table.
Hermione paused with her wand held over the bag. She looked around her quickly, making sure that no one could see her. She was completely hidden. Hermione leaned over Charms, Jinxes and Curses and squinted at the tiny,handwritten instructions. The ink had almost faded. The charm itself was simple enough, but the complicated wand movement had to be just right to mimic the expansion of the internal dimensions and the shape of the object being charmed.
There's no way I'll get this done today.
Hermione gave her wand a practice wave. The complex motion of grand waves and tiny flicks as she moved her arm created the image of a conductor leading an orchestra through a musical masterpiece. Beethoven's 9th, she thought with a smile.
Feeling confident that she'd made a good start, she returned the books with a flick of her wand (another trick learnt from Madam Pince) and gathered her things. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor as she stuffed her books and parchments back into her bag. It was the work schedule she had created for Draco. As she picked it up, it suddenly warmed in her hands. She unrolled it quickly and scanned it for changes. There, under 'Saturday', was the message:
Are you free? Same time, same place? - DM
She smiled. Her chest fluttered briefly. She told herself it was the excitement of sharing her idea, nothing more. She wrote a quick response and decided that a shower was in order, to get all the dust off, of course.
Hermione was so excited to let Draco know what she had discovered that she got to the Room of Requirement almost half an hour early. She quickly sat in one of the armchairs closest to the crackling fireplace facing the door. She pulled her still slightly damp braid over her left shoulder. Then her right. Then her left again. Frustrated, she put her hands underneath her legs. A glance at the small clock on the mantelpiece told her she still had twenty minutes to wait.
Her knees bounced, seemingly out of control. Even placing her hands on her knees to force them down didn't work. Annoyed, she stood and began pacing, wringing her hands in an effort not to play with her braid. She wandered over to the bookshelf, hoping to be distracted by books, but was unable to organise her stream of consciousness into a coherent thought. It was then that she heard the door open.
Draco paused outside the door to the Room of Requirement. It had already appeared, which meant Hermione was already inside. He combed his hair with his fingers and adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. He breathed deeply and opened the door.
His breath caught in his throat. Hermione was exquisite. As she stood by the bookshelf, the light from the fireplace painted her skin a glowing gold. Her eyes widened as he walked in.
"Good evening, Hermione," said Draco, feeling strangely formal.
"Hello, Draco," said Hermione. She took a few small steps towards him. "How are you?"
"I'm well, thank you." He waved towards the armchairs in front of the fire. "Shall we sit?"
Hermione chose the armchair facing him and perched on the very edge of the cushion, her hands clamped between her knees. Draco sat, awkwardly crossing and recrossing his legs.
"So what did you want to talk about?" said Hermione.
"Hmm?" Draco looked at her blankly.
"You added this meeting to our schedule. Is there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"
"Actually, there is, but its not strictly academic."
"Oh?"
"I spoke to Potter today." Draco picked at an imaginary piece of lint on his trousers. "He's very worried about you. And protective. He seems to care for you. More than I expected."
"Yes, we love each other very much. I'm an only child, you see. So is Harry. He does have a cousin who he grew up with, but he's dreadful. So we're lucky to have found a brother and sister in each other."
"A brother?" Draco felt confused.
"Yes, Harry is very much the brother I never had growing up. I love him dearly and would do almost anything for him. And he feels the same."
A silence fell around them as Draco pondered the significance of this conversation. What in Merlin's name should I say next?
"I—" Hermione started. Draco looked up quickly. She tucked a strand of flyaway hair behind her ear. "I may have found something that could help us fix the cabinet."
Grateful for the change in conversation, Draco asked, "What is it?"
"I was doing a little reading, and I came across a book about wands." She paused and looked at him as if waiting for him to say something.
"I'm listening," Draco said.
Hermione went on. "I think the problem we've had so far is that we're assuming that the cabinet is spelled to Vanish things. I think that's only part of it. I think that the cabinet itself is magic. It is, in fact, made from magical material, a magical wood."
"So you think that it is made from a magical wood similar to that of wand woods?"
"Yes, exactly!" Hermione stood. "Each wand wood has very particular properties, which is why different wands suit different people. The personalities of the person match the properties of the wand wood." Her arms swung around, her motions wilder as she got into the flow of her explanation.
Draco stood. "I suppose you've identified which wood it is?"
Hermione smiled. "I think I have. At first, I thought it might be made from Black Walnut. Wands made from that wood are extremely sensitive to the emotions of their owners and can lose their power or fail to work properly if the owner has any sort of self-doubt. It seemed to make sense until I saw Maple. Look." Hermione waved her wand and summoned a heavy book towards herself. She quickly opened it to a page marked with a faded bookmark with a drawing of a girl in a yellow dress. "Here. 'Maple wands often choose the adventurous wizard. Challenges and travelling strengthen the wand and cause it to shine brightly, burnishing itself. This is not the wand for a sedentary witch or wizard.'"
"Hermione, you are so brilliant! I could kiss you!" Draco clamped his mouth shut quickly. He was suddenly very aware of how close they were standing. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that, you are—"
Hermione leaned into him and brought her lips to his. Draco closed his eyes. Her lips were so soft and her kiss feather-light.
She pulled away. "Draco, I—"
"Kiss me," he whispered hoarsely. "Kiss me again, Hermione." He opened his eyes. "Please."
Hermione took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. She gasped as he tugged her a half step, enough to close the gap between them. She placed her free hand on his chest. Draco held his breath, and she fisted his shirt in her hand to pull him closer.