Once McLaggen was brought into the house and thrown onto his bed, Hermione made quick work of his clothes. As soon as an article left his body she threw it casually over her shoulder around his bedroom. She stripped him of his undershirt and of his underwear briefs, and when she caught sight of the man's knob she couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't as…impressive compared to his reputation. She left his sock with his garters only to portray a frantic romp between lovers. When she threw the covers over him, she heard several desk drawers slam down the hall. Sighing angrily, she took her heels off and made her way down the hall towards the small staircase where McLaggen's study was right across from

The desk faced the window and was flanked by two bookcases with another one covering at least the half side of the wall. Glancing at them only briefly, Hermione noticed that most of them have never been touch and haven't had a good dusting in ages. The rugs, lined against the wall leaving half a foot of hard wood floor visible but then covered by a similar square rug in the middle, were rich in red coloring and looked almost new. It seemed as though he only used this room for the sake of the desk that, by standing in the doorway, she could see Draco standing next to searching through the papers that littered the desk.

"Draco!" she hissed, "You're not suppose to make it look like a robbery!"

"Calm down and get over here, I think I found something,"

With a groan she made his way over to his side standing a considerable distance away from him but close enough to see what was in his hands. It was a memo of sorts given to McLaggen by Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Defense, with CONFIDENTIAL stamped in red in the right corner.

Dear Mr. Cormac McLaggen,

It has come to my attention that certain files have been misplaced from their corrective file placement. These files were supposed to be under lock and key in the privacy of the vault near your office. We suspect that they were missing between the beginning and end of the second week in April Nineteen Thirty-Three. They are as follows:

-File No. 345-6732

-File No. 326-6732

-File No. 327-6732

We request that you attended the meeting we have arranged for this Friday, April twenty third, along with the other Members of Defense to control the situation. Please be punctual, and hopefully with everyone's cooperation we will easily fix this drawback.

Sincerely,

Cornelius Fudge

Minister of Defense of Britain

Hermione frowned at the letter, fingering the heavy necklace around her neck, "Well, Fudge knew that the files were missing, he could have suspected McLaggen but meeting him last night…it didn't seem that there was anything that would suggest otherwise."

"He might suspect but he could just be trying to play the part before they convict him," Draco answered, setting the paper down and looking through the next pile. "It could just be a ruse to get him to confess."

"Maybe," she said absentmindedly, looking through McLaggen's bookcase and fingering the necklace in thought.

Draco glanced up from the papers and looked at her across the desk, eyeing the necklace she touched delicately.

"Why are you still wearing that necklace? Why should you wear his necklace?"

Hermione turned to him with her eyes narrowing at him, "I'm deceiving him and keeping up appearances, of course I'll wear his necklace."

"But you don't even care for…gaudy things like that."

"I lied, every woman loves jewelry," she hissed at him. "But why would you even care? I believe that remembering things like what jewelry I like would be wasted on you,"

He slammed the papers down on the desk and then leaned his fist against the table. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

She spun away from the books to glare at him. "Are you that daft? You left me. No letter, no call, not even a word to my face. I look for you for two weeks before I gave up and realized you weren't coming back. And now you think you have the audacity to question my actions towards yourself.

She scoffed at him, staring in disbelief. "Do you have…any idea what you did to me? What you made me feel? After almost a year of living with each other, enjoying each other's company and making…" Tears cornered her eyes. "Making love...you left, not me. So don't you dare think that I'm the fault at here, because all I see is a pathetic arse that doesn't have the gall to speak to a woman to her face about leaving her."

She made to turn and leave the room but Draco slammed his fist on the desk causing her to jump and stay where she was.

"You have NO right to say that to me!" he yelled and turning towards her. "You don't know what events called me to—"

"'What events called you'?" she exclaimed, laughing sarcastically at him. "Did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to leave? No, you were just a prat that string women along for your own entertainment…"

Draco stood there watching as tears trailed down her cheeks. He desperately wanted to say everything to her—his father, the threat, the ring, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her—but he couldn't. His father was behind bars but he was well connected within the crime world, one word and she could still be in grave danger. She deserved to know, but her safety was more important…even if it killed her and him in the process.

At his silence, she rushed out of the room leaving him standing with his own thoughts. Making her way to McLaggen's bedroom she closed the door and leaned her back against it. Tears were pouring out of her eyes, so she looked up to the ceiling and breathed deeply. When she felt them disappear from her eyes, she slumped against the door, continuing to breathe deeply to calm her frazzled state. Her legs felt too weak to hold herself up but she couldn't will herself to sink to the floor and rest. She must have stayed there for several minuets before her heard Draco's feet descend the staircase and with a slam of the door, he was gone.

Something within her snapped, and with a gasp of pain she let the tears fall down her face like a waterfall. Her legs gave way and fell to the floor, her dress flowing out underneath her. She didn't recall how long she laid there after she finished her tears, listening to the sound of her own heart pounding in her ears and feeling it break in half again.


Harry looked at his weary friend as he leaned back in his favorite armchair. Draco was across him, sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his hands on top his knees, face down staring at the floor, and his brandy glass precariously held by the tips of his fingers. It was well pass one o'clock in the morning when Draco hammered on their front door. Harry came down the stairs pulling on his black night robe, hiding his bare chest from view, as he sleepily open the door. With one look, Harry brought him into the study for a brandy. It was now two o'clock and Draco hasn't spoken a word.

His was about to speak to his quiet friend when his wife entered the doorway, dressed in light blue silk and pink lace nightgown with a worn orange quilt with blue bird embroidery around the edge wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was braided down the side and her eyes were a little puffy from being awaken in the middle of the night.

"Is he catatonic?" she blatantly asked her husband, eying the quite man sitting on the couch.

Harry suppressed the urge to laugh, seeing his wife's glare. "He's fine, he just…"

"Needed to think?" she offered, glaring at Draco who finally looked up.

"Sorry Luna," Draco said softly, standing up, "I was just—"

"Stop," she demanded.

He did, slightly worried at the death glare Potter's wife was giving him.

"Sit down," she said to him, then turned to her husband. "I'll talk to him, seeing how it takes a woman to be a man to get another man to talk."

Harry's eyes widen at his wife's statement, and was about to protest when he saw the look in her eyes. A look that would let any man run to his mother in fear. He gulped and nodded, standing up and walking to leave the room. Before he left, he bent down to kiss his wife's cheek.

"I'll wait for you love," he whispered into her ear, smiling to himself when she blushed.

He left the room and Luna moved to take her husband's seat, leaning back so she could sit comfortably with her hands sitting atop her rounded stomach. She looked down at him a stern look and Draco couldn't help but feel nervous as she eyed him on the couch, like a teacher about to scold their student.

"You deserve what ever she gives to you," she stated. He made to argue, but with a single raised finger she silenced him. "You loved her so much, that you didn't even say one word to her when you disappeared. I understand that you wanted to protect her, but your aura confused yourself and that caused you to make the worst decision you could have possibly made. Now the universe is making you pay, but regrettably Hermione has to suffer with you because she loved you. You both have to deal with what you decided, that's only going to change when you tell her what happen between you and your father."

Draco stared at the floor, afraid to look up at Luna for fear of his emotions breaking through the stonewall he built over the years. When he finally decided to look up at her, he found the chair empty and with Luna nowhere in sight.

He couldn't help but smile, 'She's a strange person, that Lovegood.'


For the next couple chapters I've been inspired by the musical Nine song Take it All sung and performed by Marion Cotillard. It so powerful and emotion that I believe that it evokes what Hermione is feeling with Draco.

It's very beautiful (from me-a person coming from a dancing and singing background) and would think you would enjoy watching it/listening to it. So I'll share it with you: it's on youtube.

.com/watch?v=Qzm5ZMxuer4&feature=related

Enjoy and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Don't forget to review