Nodding once at both of them, Hermione Granger set back to work on the rest of the pile, her mind swiftly lost to anything but the magnetic words on the page. It was very well organized, this list, and painful care had been taken to be both concise and descriptive. There was both ample evidence and persuasive reasoning for the danger that these would continue to pose, after the war was over.
Sipping gently at some tea, Malfoy eyes rested gently upon Miss Granger. Unbeknownst to her, with every folder that she turned, Draco Malfoy's tension increased. No longer did he look like Peter Pan, magical and happy in a sparkling world. Instead, he looked like Oliver Twist, with nerves wound ever tighter, his muscles tensing with each page turned. Waiting for this all to go wrong. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, if it did - it depended on her reaction, of course. His muscles relaxed, slightly, as he rifled through ten different plans in his head, checking and rechecking plans that would do no good if they were needed, he thought grimly. This was my best shot, he thought; but don't think for a moment I won't take another, if needed. The question, as always, was what to aim for. As a child, all he had wanted was his father's pride. Now, now that seemed foolhardy in the extreme. He knew his father better now, and the best way to get recognition from the man was pulling the rug out from under him. Far be it from Draco to be that petty, of course, but petty vengeance was still vengeance to be savored. As a teenager, he had wanted nothing more than to wipe those smug grins, erase those sanctimonious words off the Gryffindors' faces. It had been a balm to him, as he felt himself slipping into the abyssal dark. Now? Well, if he were a Goyle, or a Crabbe - a Weasel or a Granger, he'd simply run. He wanted out, Draco thought - the well-worn realization still ringing with the solidity of truth. But everyone knew that Malfoys didn't run - and at any rate, being Bound to the Dark Lord would make running rather difficult, though surely not impossible.
"Podmore too," Granger muttered, as she continued to look through Draco Malfoy's notes. The Death Eater names were known to her, one and all. Few were subtle in their lunacy or sadism, after all. An unleashed dog was little to be feared, but a pack could bring down a reindeer. The ones on her side, though, were painful, each and all.
Granger stiffened, as she came to the file on Tonks -one of her few girl friends in the Order. But Tonks had traces of the Black temper,and it looked like she was taking it out on the prisoners. Even the Carrows didn't deserve to be bound and tortured, Granger thought indignantly. "I think Nymphadora might need some lessons, more than she needs to be taken out of the gene pool..."
Narcissa chimed in sweetly, "What did lessons ever do for Bellatrix, other than make her contrary and even more mean-spirited? It is difficult to contain a Black in the first place, and nearly impossible if they don't want it themselves. Unlike Bella, Nymphadora's unlikely to be swayed by love, as it wasn't her motivation in the first place."
Hermione looked straight on at Narcissa as she lifted her cup slowly, asking, "Vengeance?"
Draco nodded sharply and said, "Vengeance precisely. Or imprecisely, in her case. It wouldn't matter if it was just known troublemakers from the other side - I couldn't care a whit if someone murders Dolokov "accidentally on purpose". But she's been after harmless housewives." And Draco Malfoy broke off, noting the icy glare of his mother from across the table. Feeling like a child again, he fought the urge to duck, and then bolt from the room. There are no exits, where would I go?
Hermione Granger flipped over the second to last folder, opening the last one as Draco Malfoy deliberately loosened his mucles, one by one. "Molly Weasley," Hermione Granger ground out, her voice cold as ice.
And then she began to read.
[a/n: Did anyone guess that? Draco certainly didn't - he was expecting fireworks as soon as Granger saw the name!
Reminder: the limited third person narrator knows more than Draco...
Please comment and review, in the next chapter I hope to give you some Snape!]