Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter. All Harry Potter involved material belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Thanks to Larkspur for beta-ing!
The threesome finally caught up with the Headmistress as she reached her office – the gargoyle had just jumped aside.
"What are you three doing here?" shot McGonagall.
"I don't want to take my eye off Malfoy," argued Harry. "He's –"
"I think I'm perfectly capable of keeping my own eye on Malfoy, Harry." Several teachers had just arrived. "And now we most definitely don't need your help. Make your way to your common room. Miss Granger," she added, "please go down to the Great Hall and direct all the houses to their house common rooms."
"Professor," Hermione said hastily, "now that it's finally out in the open, I think I should tell you that I knew Malfoy was in the castle…" Hermione thought that perhaps she shouldn't have said that at all, as all the teachers murmured gravely and Harry and Ron both blurted, "What?"
Professor McGonagall's mouth became thin. "I think you should join me in my office."
"Professor – "
"You two as well," she told Harry and Ron.
"My Lord." Lucius was kneeling at his snake-faced master, uttering sweet flattery.
"Lucius," said Voldemort simply, "where is your son?"
"Well…" began Lucius.
"He's not here, is he?"
"My Lord, I've exhausted all possible places he could be."
"Oh, really," said Voldemort derisively. The other Death Eaters snickered. "Well, I've just received notice that Draco Malfoy is at Hogwarts, captured."
"Hogwarts?" repeated Lucius.
Voldemort nodded. And with that, Lucius was gone.
The Hogwarts gates weren't so tough to get into anymore. It seemed that Dumbledore was the heart of this castle, and with him gone, everything seemed to feel less magical. The hard part for Lucius was getting into the castle unseen. He had no clue where his son could be, but figured he'd start in the most logical place – the Headmistress' office.
"Tell me, Miss Granger, how you have been aware of Mr. Malfoy's presence and not told a soul."
"I told Ginny, Professor," admitted Hermione. She looked down at her fidgeting hands; truthfully she didn't have a feasible reason at all. She couldn't help but look at the rope-entangled figure behind the desk. He was floating upright, swiftly darting his eyes in every direction.
"Ginevra Weasley is not good enough, Miss Granger. You should have come straight to me. He could've severely harmed students!"
"It's him, isn't it," said Ron. Hermione braved looking at Ron in the eyes; they were glazed and hurt. "It wasn't Justin, it was him!"
"Ron, please…" begged Hermione.
"You don't deserve to live," Ron snarled at Malfoy.
Ron whipped out his wand, though just as he spoke his first syllable Professor McGonagall magically confiscated it. "Mr. Weasley!"
Professor McGonagall untied Malfoy's bonds with a flick of her wand, and each and every person in the office stared expectantly. He stood alert for a couple of seconds, as though there may be a chance he could escape, however he knew that wasn't possible in a room full of Professors and the famous Harry Potter.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Mr Malfoy?"
Malfoy didn't speak, though he looked to Hermione desperately. He had saved her life before; the least she could do was return the favour.
"Professor he's – he's different!" she exclaimed desperately.
"Are you joking?" asked Harry.
"He saved me earlier in the year from being killed by the Death Eaters."
Professor McGonagall's aged eyebrows rose slightly. "Just because he saved you, Miss Granger, does not mean he'd save any other soul."
Perhaps this was true. Hermione looked down to the ground once again and then eyed Malfoy. Perhaps it was lust that was controlling her words. After all, she didn't have any real feeling for Malfoy; just desire.
"I can't believe you, Hermione!" yelled Harry. "After all these years of torture and teasing, and you're willing to say Malfoy's different. Did he do something to you?" he asked. "Did he charm you?"
Before Hermione could answer, a large explosion erupted from the stairs below. As Professor McGonagall began to stride towards the office door, it was barged open by none other than Lucius Malfoy. Draco Malfoy quivered and simpered, hiding behind the Headmistress.
"Stand aside," Lucius ordered, "I've come to take Draco."
"Don't let him," begged Malfoy, "please don't…"
Professor McGonagall's wand was prominently pointed at Lucius Malfoy; all the other staff followed.
"What is she still doing alive?" asked Lucius, with a jab of his wand arm towards Hermione.
"I –" began Malfoy.
"Couldn't succeed once again," finished Lucius acidly.
"If you're talking about killing one of my students," voiced Professor McGonagall, but the rest of her sentence was drowned out as a large bang issued behind Lucius.
Another hex was shot and Lucius descended back down the stairs; the staff followed. Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed in the office staring at Malfoy; Hermione stood by him so he wouldn't be harmed.
"I don't believe you, Hermione!" argued Harry. "What is wrong with you?"
"Harry," said Hermione seriously, "I know we haven't got along with Malfoy in the past, but he's changed."
"Changed!" blurted Ron. He was furious. "Malfoys don't change!"
"He saved me from death! He's had plenty of chances to kill me," she told him.
"Well, there must be a good reason why he hasn't," pointed Harry.
Hermione looked to Malfoy. He was silent and petrified. His pale blonde hair was loosely messy and his robes were ruthlessly worn and dirty. He had food on him, perhaps from living in the kitchens, and for once he wasn't wearing an expression of repulsive smugness. Hermione turned back to Harry.
"I – I think he's under the Imperius curse."
Harry became frustrated and rubbed his head. "He's not under the Imperius curse!" he yelled. "He's perfectly fine, aside from the fact he's not shooting horrid remarks and hexes at us, he's fine and normal."
Malfoy looked to Hermione, ignoring what Harry had said. "How do you know I'm under the Imperius curse?"
"When I was leaving your mansion I heard your father."
"I don't remember being cursed," admitted Malfoy.
"And you shouldn't remember," Hermione told him, "it's part of the curse."
Harry rubbed his head exasperatedly. "Hermione, this is ridiculous. We have one Death Eater running around the castle, and another just standing in front of us, and we're not doing anything!"
"I'm NOT a Death Eater!" yelled Malfoy. Harry stood dumbfounded. "Is that too much for the famous Harry Potter to comprehend?" he sneered. "You may not believe this because I'm Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, the son of Lucius Malfoy and your worst enemy, but I'm not a Death Eater. Everyone has a choice in this world," he told Harry. "You can choose good or bad. If you have a problem with that, then fine, but at the moment, I'm standing here on your side."
Silence prevailed for a few moments. "I think he's under the Imperius curse," voiced Ron.
Harry didn't speak for a while. He looked from Hermione to Malfoy and then exited the office. The three of them followed, chasing Harry down the halls. He was following the loud bangs and explosions. When they reached the ground floor, they found Lucius cornered by Moody, Lupin and Professor McGonagall. He was cowering ashamedly with his robes and hair askew.
"Can't believe you'd show your face," Moody growled at Lucius.
"Help me," Lucius hissed at his son. "Don't just stand there. I cursed you, you should be under my rule!"
"That's the strange thing about the Imperius curse," laughed Moody, "repeated use can cause different effects." He clapped Lucius on the shoulder abruptly. "And I don't think your heart was entirely in it, Lucius. I don't blame you for not being able to effectively curse your own son." He looked to Malfoy and smiled broadly. "Doesn't look like he's even Imperiused anymore."
Moody laughed once again and Lucius Malfoy graced his face with his familiar sneer. Suddenly he was placed into a magic unconsciousness. "Do I have to do the same to you?" Moody asked Malfoy.
"Moody," begged Hermione. But she didn't have anything to plead. She knew underneath it all that Malfoy was horrible, cynical, unforgiving. It was perhaps just the memory of his body against hers that fooled her into thinking that maybe Draco Malfoy didn't have such a black heart after all.
Harry, Hermione and Ron left first thing in the morning for Godric's Hollow. Hermione couldn't help but empathise for Malfoy. He seemed to have changed, but as the curse wore off completely, he'd become the same old Malfoy. It was just the Imperius curse that caused him to act as obsessed as he did. It made her wonder, at what point did the Imperius curse start to falter and fade? After all, the sole purpose of the curse, to bring about Hermione's death, never succeeded.
A month passed and the threesome was successful in finding two Horcruxes; they also had clues as to where to find the others. The venture together had taken its toll. Ron and Hermione were at each other's throats when they were talking, and when they weren't it was just uncomfortable for all three of them.
"I know you hate me," said Hermione one night, "but we should still have a friendship. We had a friendship in the beginning, and we should have one in the end."
"Hermione, you don't deserve my friendship."
Hermione became fiery once again. "You seem to think this was all my fault –"
"I'm not the one that slept with Draco Malfoy."
"Well, maybe you should have tried harder in our relationship."
"Probably should have, huh?" he said sadly. After that Hermione and Ron had a silent agreement not to talk about Malfoy or their relationship ever again. It seemed to be the only way they could get along, and it seemed they worked better in strategising when they were civil.
Their next stop after Godric's Hollow was the Leaky Cauldron; the three of them were to meet with part of the Order.
"Moody," said Harry, "thank God." He heaved himself into a chair. "It's good to see a familiar face."
"I thought you were travelling with Hermione and Ron?" he growled.
"They've become too familiar." Lupin placed a cup of tea in front of Harry as Ron and Hermione traipsed through the door.
They spent the night discussing the upcoming war, until eventually everyone departed to their own rooms for a well deserved night's sleep.
As Hermione went to shut her large, wooden oak door, she saw a tall familiar figure drift up the stairs. He stood in front of Hermione, staring provocatively. "Malfoy…" she said. Opening the door slightly, she took a step forwards. "What are you doing here? Aren't you meant to be in Azkaban?"
Malfoy seemed he was about to sneer, but he relaxed his expression. "I have a deal with the Order," he told her.
"What sort of deal?"
"A deal I can't speak of." Hermione nodded slightly. "My father's in Azkaban– I'm sure he'll be out soon enough, though. The worst is still to come, after all."
"So… the curse has been removed?"
Malfoy nodded slightly. "It was barely there in the first place…"
Herrmione couldn't help but smirk a little. "So, us… was that part of the curse? Or was that Draco Malfoy?"
Malfoy looked down to the ground before braving Hermione's dark brown eyes. Her eyes were his weakness. Although a faulty Imperius curse was what brought on this affair in the first place, without the curse, the lust was still there and the same emotions still existed. Malfoy took a couple of steps towards Hermione, ushering her through the door. "Why don't we find out," he told her.
Hermione closed the door behind her and once again took Malfoy's lips in hers. The longing was relieved and the lust was satisfied for the both of them. It was an even better feeling knowing that a curse had nothing to do with it this time. After six years, two different worlds had come together and it felt so right, or at least the desire did; it was unmistakably fucking amazing.
A/N: Thanks to anyone who reads/reviews this story. Keep an eye out for my next Dramione fic, it'll be up soon!