A/n: It's late, I know darlings. My great-grandmother died this past weekend, so I haven't really been motivated to write. But I sat down today- because I had the day off- and this chapter came to be. It's actually not what I planned at all, but I like it. Hope you do too! I also hope you darlings can forgive me for being late! Thanks to my amazing betas Tessa Cresswell and JDeppIsMyLovely!

The Binds

Shivers coursed through Hermione again as the trees closed in around them. Perhaps last time their minds had been a bit over reactive over whatever they saw, but it did nothing to ease her mind. She hovered right behind Draco, barely allowing air to pass between them. Maybe the voice she kept hearing was a figment of her imagination as well, and if she stayed close to the blonde the thoughts wouldn't return. She didn't really believe any of that, but it was nice to consider as they walked.

"You're walking quite close tonight Granger," he said after some time, glancing over his shoulder as spoke. She backed off slightly, having not realized she was practically on top of him.

"Sorry, I guess my mind is someplace else."

"Well refocus it here," he said, turning away again. "We don't know what's out here, but it will be helpful if you have all your wits about you."

She pressed her lips together, fighting down a retort. The pair continued together until they came to a fork in the road, and Draco paused.

"We went left last time," he remembered, dropping a hand to rub his head. In the light of her own wand she could see that his hands were paler than normal. Perhaps he was afraid as well. "This time, we should try exploring right."

"Whatever you say," she agreed, unwilling to argue. This was his land; he may as well make the directional decisions. But if he led them back to that horrific creature again, she was not going to let him lead the way anymore. For now though, she needed to let her emotions cool down, and settled for the blonde leading the way.

The pair continued to walk, and Hermione finally putting some decent space between them. The path was beginning to widen when those chills returned to her body, accompanied by a familiar voice.

"You're treading on dangerous land Princess. Turn back."

Hermione jumped at the sound, pressing her lips firmly together to suppress a yelp as she rushed forward and snatched the blonde's hand. He spun around, looking at her strangely.

"Are you alright?"

She closed her eyes, irritated again. He still wasn't hearing a damn thing. It had to all be in her head.

"Go now, Hermione Granger. Leave this place before you make us angry."

The girl continued to grasp his hand, spinning around in search of a source. Her mind worked a mile a minute, trying to figure out what to do with what was being told to her. So maybe it wasn't just her mind playing tricks. Maybe something dangerous really was out there, and she should heed its word.

She watched as the blonde's head whipped around suddenly, grasping the side of his face as he surveyed their surroundings as well. His features appeared scrunched up, as though a headache was now plaguing his mind.

"Are you alright?" she asked in return, watching him look over the space. His calm composure was no longer there, and he looked very on edge at this point.

"Fine," he hissed, letting go of her hand. "I was wrong," he continued, beginning to backtrack. "We need to go the other way."

"Why?" she asked again, eyebrows shooting up. Perhaps he did hear voices.

But Draco just shook his head and spun away. "Don't ask questions- let's just go back."

She remained where she was standing for a moment, watching him retreat. Something certainly was spooking the boy, but what, she didn't know. Vaguely, she recalled that just a few days prior she had wanted to discuss if the man was a Legilimens. Now she was more curious than ever, since he appeared to grasp his scalp as though a sudden pain had taken over. The brunette was about to take off after him when her breath caught in her throat.

A hand locked around her neck, the owner an unknown threat. She had not heard anyone approaching, and now that something had gotten its claws around her so easily fear swept over her. How could she be so careless so quickly? Just a moment ago she had been very alert.

The grip tightened, and she felt her airway cutting off. Ahead of her Draco was still retreating quickly down the long path, unknowing that the girl he brought with was being strangled by an unknown intruder. She angled her wand to attack the person with a silent spell, but fast reflexes from another… hand, perhaps- knocked the item from her grip. She gasped, choking, and the soft sound seemed to draw the blonde's attention in the silent woods. She distantly saw the figure turning around in front of her, but she was too far away to see the expression on his features. She did see him quickly accelerating towards her though.

As quickly as the grip appeared, it was gone, and she fell to the ground with a thud, gasping to refill her airways. Behind her, she thought she heard people shuffling around for a moment before the noise was gone. Draco was near now, and she could see horror taking over all of his face. Something was terrifying the blonde out of his wits, and she was interested to know what it was.

Run.

The voice echoed in her mind again. She almost had her breath back when Draco came up to her, dragging her ruthlessly to her feet. "Get up," he gasped, and the voice was barely audible, even in the quiet world. He held out his hand and a moment later her wand appeared in his grip as he attempted to steady her. "We're leaving- now!"

"What's going on?" she asked, as he grabbed her hand again and pulled her away from the scene. Snatching her wand from his hand- despite how lightheaded she felt- she lit it and glanced back, even as they got further away. She saw nothing.

"I don't know," he panted, accelerating with every step. "But I'm not going to stand here and figure it out right now."

She trailed behind him, his grip painfully tight on her wrist. As they ran, she noted that he was grasping his head again, his wand angled to light their path. He was acting strange, and she wanted to know why just as soon as they got away from whatever that was.

"Don't return here Princess. Next time we shall not be as forgiving."

The girl didn't try to look around for the voice; she wasn't sure she wanted to find the owner anymore.

"Check those in your home, Hermione Granger. All is not safe when you go tampering with things that should be left alone. Stop avoiding the problem before you, and help him. He shall need it in the coming days."

Blinking, she continued to let Malfoy drag her along. Not only did she not appreciate having her mind invaded, but she did not enjoy these riddles either. Did the voice mean Malfoy, or someone else? She lived alone; there were no boys at her house.

She stopped thinking, making sure she was very alert now. She didn't want anything sneaking up on her again, and until the protective wards of the Manor closed around them she didn't think she had enough time to think about things. When they were safely concealed, she would have to consider everything that happened on this short trip.

None of these trips had proven to be very productive.

He checked her neck twice, wincing at the marks.

"That bad?"

"Well, they aren't very becoming Granger." They were sitting in his living room, the girl having already surveyed her neck once. She didn't want to look at it, not really. The skin was incredibly sensitive and spells did little to get rid of bruises. Now she would have some bloody marks on her neck for the next several days until they faded away. Concealment charms were going to be her best friend.

"They are oddly shaped," she continued, touching the skin of her neck again. The finger marks were unusual, long, with something adjacent to nails having left small punctures along the surface of her neck. Malfoy had healed those easily enough before she got a chance to look, and now she wished he had left them alone. More than anything right now, she wanted to study them.

"I know," he grumbled, standing up. They had arrived back at the Manor barely an hour ago, and since then neither adult had calmed down. He continued cracking his knuckles each time he stepped away from her, as though this was a stress relief. She watched him repeat the pattern, saying nothing. She didn't really know what to do- or say- right then. She had that voice replaying in her mind.

"I'm going to check on my son," he said, interrupting any thoughts the brunette may have had. She waved him off, knowing now would be a good time to check on the boy from a Healer's perspective, but she doubted she would be any use just then. He shrugged and left her alone, the girl barely glancing up at his departure.

Draco gripped his head the entire time he walked towards his son's room. His head felt as though it was about to burst, but that was the least of his worries. Bracing the wards in his mind to keep out intruders had been difficult out there, but he managed it. Surveying Granger on the way home, he wondered if she had the ability to do so. And if she did not, then what was she hearing out there? He intended to ask.

Scorpius seemed much the same to his father as he reached out to brush the child's hair. The adult didn't need to tell the elves to leave them alone and now in the silence of the room he felt his heart breaking a bit again. The whole point of endangering himself by going out to the forest was to find an answer to what happened to the child, but each time he was interrupted by something disturbing that lurked in the shadows there. He shuddered at the memory of turning around and witnessing a suspended Granger hovering above the ground, something inhumanly pale- much like himself- choking her from behind. He recalled the same glittering eyes from before, watching him now with intensity, as though something was checking to see if he would do anything about this attempted murder. He didn't understand the motionless figure as he ran towards it, intent on saving his son's Healer. Did the creature really intend to only watch and see if he would save her, or was there an underlying message there that he continued to miss?

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, stroking the child's hair. The boy struggled against his binds, tearing the father's heart apart as he watched his son fight to no avail to get free. How could he do this to him? Dimly, he noted that there appeared to be red marks in the light on his skin, as though the binds were too tight. He bent a bit closer.

What's this?

Peering closer at his son, he noted something else clearly disturbing. His eyes widened as he brushed the long hair his child adored away from the boy's neck, peering down at the horror opening before him. His opposite hand came up and rested lightly on the old wound of his own, the unknown marks on his neck. As his mind began racing, he spun away and quickly moved to the door.

"Granger!" he called down the hall, "I have something you need to see!"

"They're just like yours," she said in awe, looking between the two Malfoy men. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes when she walked in and observed the same bite marks on Scorpius Malfoy's neck that mirrored the wounds his father had gotten days before. It was almost unbelievable. "I wonder how this happened."

"Yes, so do I," the blonde seethed from her side. She knew he was unhappy to discover that something or someone had harmed his child yet again, and this time in the same sort of way he had been hurt. And the last time he acquired those fang-like bite marks, he couldn't' recall how they came to be. Did his son even recall what happened?

Draco leaned over his son's bed. "Why won't you talk?" he said tiredly, sighing in defeat. "Why won't you speak to me- us? We could help you Scorp, you just have to give us the chance."

She watched him softly brush the child's hair, her mind working slowly. "He's probably scared of the conditions he is living in."

The blonde spun around, glaring daggers at her. "Yes, I would assume so. But it was you bloody Healers after all that reasoned that he needed to be bound down. This is not my fucking decision."

Slowly, she held her hands up. "I understand," she said quickly, knowing that the blonde could get very defensive when it came to his son. "I never said this was your call. I'm simply saying that with whatever is going on with his body, on top of new faces and new procedures with what he can't and can do- like move off a bed- he's probably completely freaked out for a little boy Malfoy. I wouldn't speak either."

"Then take the binds off," he argued, pointing at the machine that operated the binds around his son. "I don't want him scared Granger. This might go against your protocol from what you should do under these conditions, but I don't care. You and that bloody co-worker of yours, Lincoln, have accomplished nothing in the time you have been here, short of your bloody vampire theory. And guess what? I wouldn't call your idea so far-fetched anymore after what we encounter in the woods! After these bite marks on my neck, and those strangle marks on yours, nothing seems too unorthodox to be realistic anymore. I don't even know what to think about this anymore." He took a step closer to her. "But I do know what I think about my son, and after what we just escaped in the woods I would say a four year old boy is nothing too dangerous to handle. I say those initial Healers sent here are cowards, binding a little boy. And you're just as awful to keep following this procedure, and so am I. But I'm sick of it Granger. I'm sure after everything we can survive this. Now take the fucking binds off; let my son breathe. If being bound to a bed is doing nothing to improve his current condition, then it does no good at all. Remove them."

Hermione was a bit stunned by how angry he sounded. She knew he hated this treatment, but until now she had never heard him speak so outright about things and his son in general- or at least to her. Obviously the woods were having an effect on him in more than just one way, and she wasn't entirely sure it was good for any of them. Nonetheless, she couldn't argue that she didn't agree with this treatment either.

"If I take the binds away, I can't monitor his health without attaching something to him again, else at least casting a few spells," she said slowly, holding up her hands. "When Adam arrives in the morning, he shall be livid about this-"

"I could give a fuck less about him," Draco retorted.

She shrugged. "My point is, this won't blow over easy. Adam is hard-headed, even more so than me, and he won't adjust to this abrupt change. He will try and force me to put the binds back on with him."

"I'll handle him for you if you want Granger, but please hurry up. If I knew how to take the binds off without destroying that blasted machine and possibly harming my son, I would've done it by now. I don't care what he has to say, and I'm fully prepared to tell him to fuck off if he has an issue with it. Now, please, just remove the binds."

The girl relented, glancing away from the blonde. She knew at some point this conversation would come up. The binds might be there for the protection of everyone, but she very well knew a father would not see them as such. He had to hate them as much as his son did. But the problem was that she didn't know what the boy would be like when released, and she wasn't in the mood to be cut up after the terrifying event in the woods, again. However, if she waited until morning it would be too close to the time Adam would arrive, and they both knew it would cause more problems.

Hermione looked over at him. "Just stand back. We don't know what's going to happen, so we better be safe Malfoy. I'm not asking you to hex your son, so don't give me that look. I'm just saying put up a protective barrier if he seems angered at all; we don't exactly know what those nails and teeth will do on a small boy, though I'm sure they can do some damage." He nodded once, not even looking at her now. His eyes remained completely focused on Scorpius, unwilling to look away. She just hoped he had paid enough attention to her words to be somewhat prepared.

She moved to the opposite side of the bed, immediately putting up a barrier. She was close enough after all for those talons to just reach out and cut her, and as the only Healer in the room it seemed logical for her to remain unharmed. It seemed doubtful that the blonde adult in front of her would know enough healing spells to save her life anyway. Flicking her wand a few times and muttering the spells beneath her breath, she watched the binds disappear into the air, and the boy sprang into a sitting position, eyes looking around fearfully. Alarm bells rang in her head as his eyes- eyes that were so much like his father's-melted into the glittering orbs that they encountered in the forest some nights ago. Glancing at Malfoy, she could see the same terror taking over his features. Well that wasn't good.

The child jumped off the bed, and though she took a step away Malfoy remained in the exact same spot, not bothering to put up any form of protection. It was bothersome to see someone so young walking with a hunch, but she thought perhaps that was something new about his body was well; those talons certainly weren't there when he was born.

Instead of the rambunctious child she heard stories about from the first day, the boy was very calm. She watched him walk around slowly, sniffing the air. The actions didn't make much sense to her, but then, she supposed they weren't meant to. Her theory rang in the back of her head, but she shushed her own thoughts. No notes right now; she wanted to watch with only her eyes. After all, if this were to be a tender moment between father and son, she thought it best not to interrupt it with the shuffling of paper.

And if it was to be vicious, she could at least be prepared to help Malfoy, hypnotized by his son's strange physique. Nothing had really changed aside from the few things she noted already, but internally she knew there were differences now. She just didn't understand them yet.

"Scorpius," Malfoy said, breaking her scattered thoughts. Her eyes focused in on the adult across the room from her, his expressions masked as usual. He was walking slowly, matching the uneven steps of his son as he crossed the floor. "Scorpius, it's just me, father."

She wrinkled her nose. The term father seemed so formal. But aside from that, she could hear the desperation in his voice, and her heart went out to him just a tad. He was clinging to strings, hoping against hope that he could break through to his son now, when everything so far since the attack seemed to do nothing to help the young boy.

"It's just me," he whispered again when the boy stopped walking. She tensed at that, watching those inhuman eyes study the man speaking. She wanted to know what was going on in that little head- not just so that she could understand the process unfolding before her very eyes- so that she could know whether or not to be concerned about the boy attacking. Hermione couldn't just stand back and watch Malfoy get shredded while he tried to have a one-sided conversation with his son. She didn't think that would help very much. "It's just me."

She wished she understood what the child was thinking.

Malfoy knelt down until he rested on his knees, and she took a step forward. This seemed like a dangerous move to her, but he had other ideas. Without even looking her way, he held up a hand as a sign for her to stop walking. She did so, though it seemed like a foolish idea. Nonetheless, she would trust Malfoy with this child for a second.

"It's just father," he said again, extending a hand now to the suddenly timid offspring. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Those big eyes studied the man. She couldn't read the expression there either.

"Just me." Draco extended a hand, and in that moment his son chose to move. Lashing out, Scorpius' long nails cut the extended palm, causing blood to swell up there. Unlike the first time his son cut him, the man didn't flinch. He vaguely saw the girl in the corner tense, but he wasn't about to have her interfere, not when this was the closest he had been to his son in weeks.

One of those sharp hands remained nearby, and he snatched it up in his own bloodied grip, Granger's reminder to keep his wand ready echoing in his head, but he did not tighten his hold there. "Just me Scorpius. Just Daddy."

He thought for a moment that his son would lash out again- this time at his face- but nothing of the sort happened. Eyes widened for a brief moment, before the lingering thread of childhood innocence shone in the small boys eyes, glittering or not.

"Daddy?"

And to her side, she stood perplexed as the little boy stepped forward and hugged his father, small nails appearing to dig into his father's skin. And if the older man minded, he never showed it.

She backed away slightly from the precious scene, turning away to allow some privacy. If that was the first time Malfoy had been able to hug his son in weeks, then who was she to look on at the scene? She could talk to him in a bit, when things settled down, but before Adam arrived.

As she reached for the door handle that same voice began talking in her head, but for once there was a softer undertone to the usually cool voice.

You're making progress little Princess.

And maybe if she had turned around before opening the door, she would've seen the blonde's eyes fly open, the same words echoing in his mind as he gripped the small boy tighter.

Later, she sat alone in the blonde's living room, the bedroom having been reserved for family only. He didn't ask for her to leave really, but she felt that the family deserved privacy. She had fallen asleep at some point, and just woke up several minutes before and recalled everything that happened last night. It seemed that more happened now during the night than the day.

Glancing at the time, alarm set in. Adam would be arriving in only twenty minutes- if that- and if Malfoy and his son were parading around the room then things might get out of hand. She knew that the blonde wanted to handle Adam, but maybe it would be best to leave things a secret between them for now. After all, the blonde was the only one who really had any time with the boy. Who knew if he would be as accepting to other people?

Unhappily, she made her way back to the bedroom. It was kind of heartbreaking to go and ruin such a sweet family moment, but it had to be done. She really needed to talk to the older man as it was, considering that they had such a mass amount of questions now. And on top of that, she was dying to know if he really was a Legilimens. It would explain a lot of things after all.

But those weren't important things at the moment. Right now, she just needed to make sure that Adam didn't have a fit. If she knew anything about her co-worker, it was that he did not like it when people snuck around behind his back. Knocking on the door, she didn't wait for a response and barged in, worried about time.

Scorpius scurried back behind his father's form when she appeared. The usually hostile figure of a small child was now replaced, and it was surprising how simply removing a restriction could make the boy seem so loveable again. But looks could be deceiving, and on quick glance in Malfoy's direction told her that her presence was not appreciated.

Clearing her throat, she focused her attention on the unhappy parent. "We need to talk a moment."

"Can't it wait?" he snapped, and she could see despair clouding his eyes. That took her aback, considering how little she saw of real emotion from the blonde. But apparently even the idea of leaving his son now was tragic, and she suspected that the only reason she saw that betrayal of emotion was because his son was there, and he was vulnerable at the time because he could actually hold the boy.

She shook her head once, ignoring the guilt that was quickly clouding her head. "It can't Malfoy," she said, looking again at the young boy. "It's important, and it will only take a moment."

He grumbled, and beneath his breath the man said something she didn't understand, but his son's ears seemed to twitch at the word. "Fine," he relented, standing, and the moment he did so the boy at his side jumped forward, attaching himself to the adult's leg.

"Don't go," he said quietly, though the words were a bit slurred. If she looked at the boys' mouth as he spoke, she would've noted the way his vampiric teeth cut into his lip when his mouth moved. "Don't go."

Now why did he hold off speaking for so long? As far as she knew, Scorpius wasn't even speaking to his father since the attack, not until today.

"I'll just be a moment," he assured, reaching down to ruffle the boy's hair. Her eyebrows shot up, multiple questions dancing in her head. The two acted so natural, yet the circumstances were anything but. "I promise."

It took several more tries to convince the boy, and the longer it took the more Hermione's worry increased. When Draco did finally end up leaving his son to follow her into the hall, a scowl had taken over his features.

"You have to do this now? Merlin Granger, I've been waiting for a chance to hug my son and speak with my son again, and now an opportunity arises and here you are ruining it. What is so important anyway?"

She frowned as he lectured her. He may have been concerned about her health hours ago, but now he seemed to want to get away from her as quickly as possible, and she wasn't enjoying his new attitude one bit. She was there to help after all, and so far she thought she was doing at least a fairly decent job.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said sarcastically, too tired to try and be the civil one in this mess. "But Adam will be arriving soon, so I think it might be in your best interest to put Scorpius back in the bed, at least until he leaves."

Immediately, she saw the fury clouding his eyes. "I will do no such thing! I finally have my son with me, and I refuse to put him back the same way."

She shook her head. "He's not as forgiving about things Malfoy, he won't understand-"

"I told you, I'll handle him."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she snapped. "I'm concerned about all the loose ends we have with things, from the bite marks on the both of your necks to the bruises on mine. We can't just expect all those things to go unnoticed forever. Adam is a jerk, but he's observant- and more so, he likes to get ahead. Trust me, if he sees that I'm not doing my job and Scorpius is out of bed, not only will he report me to St. Mungo's and get me fired, but he will also probably try to get your son away from this place. He will come up with some sort of ridiculous reasoning for everything Malfoy, so long as it benefits him. So long as something is done behind his back, he will go to any extreme to ruin that person. Trust me on this; I've seen it happen at work with him. I just never expected I would have a situation like that with him here, when the case was so strange. He will make things more difficult Malfoy, so please just help me here. I'll stay and help you get Scorpius off the bed later. But for now, we really just need to keep as much from him as possible."

"You're delirious," he argued, stepping closer to growl in her face. "You think that I will do that to my son-"

He paused as the floo roared to life off in the living room, and they both held their breath as someone stepped out, paused for a moment, and began walking. They held eyes briefly as the steps grew closer, and then he looked away to spot someone familiar.

"Merlin's balls, what happened to the two of you?"

A/n: Thoughts? Do you think Draco will let Hermione bind his son again? Let me know :)