Recap:
"Once more before sun up?"
"You read my mind," he laughed, pulling her to him with fevered passion.
Chapter 12: Assessments
"What happened between you and Hermione?"
Imogen's eyes dropped to the floor, suddenly feeling awkward and shy. Ron only smiled; she was adorable.
"She wanted to talk to me, and I knew it was about you…I tried to remain civil with her, but—Oh Ron! It's like talking to a wall. I don't remember stories of her portraying her that way. Perhaps the blood—"
"These past years have been hard on her. I'm not justifying her actions, she was completely out of like, but she also hasn't been herself in a long time."
"I admire her, I truly do. But I simply can't take insults. She thinks I'm a child, but a threat. I don't follow her logic."
Ron laughed, nodding.
"I've been dealing with this issue for a long time. Even before we were involved she was always stubborn and headstrong. Great qualities for a military leader, terrible for an ex." As he said this his eyes widened in enlightenment.
"What?"
"I've never referred to her as my ex before…I guess it's a sign of progress."
Imogen smiled, hoping his revelation would ultimately bring them closer.
"I have you to thank for that," he said with a smirk, taking her hand. "Come on, let's go watch the sunrise."
"How can I ask someone to do that?" Benjamin Black sighed, rolling Draco's proposal back up and handing it to him. "You're not even part of my Undercovers. Your involvement is solely decided by Hermione. Did you even show her this?"
Draco's fists clenched at his sides in an attempt to fight back a retort. It was Hermione's fault he was unprepared for this meeting, having interrupted him with her seduction. Her fault also that he could not choose where to participate, if at all. She hadn't even spoken to him since before they fell asleep. At dusk he'd awoken to an empty coffin. Later, when he tried to approach her in the house, she brushed him off to field questions from her Intelligence and Communications soldiers. Did no one understand that this was the only way for him to redeem himself? To become a legend or hero of war to the rebels where he'd failed so miserably with the Death Eaters?
"I can't even consider doing such a thing without her approval, and you should not have either. Her being extremely busy as of late is not a green light for you to do what you want. She'd still—"
"My master," he groaned. "I know."
"Look Draco, I know what it's like to be trapped in a world of restrictions, I'm a Black. Our family treated us as little more than slaves. Pampered and rich, but still slaves. To oppose family doctrine was to be shunned. You proved that when you discovered I was a spy for the former Order…What I'm getting at is I feel for you. You're family and, despite your upbringing, you're finally beginning to see the world as it really is." Reaching out, Benjamin took back the scroll and stood up from his make-shift desk. "I'll talk to Hermione, see if some agreement can't be reached. There must be someone as willing as you to take risks."
"What's this about risks?"
The estranged family members turned to find Hermione standing behind them, a quill behind her ear and a stack of parchment in her arms.
"Just with witch I was looking for," Benjamin said warmly. "Draco, would you excuse us for a moment?"
"Certainly," he replied with an exaggerated smile. "I need to go feed anyway." His eyes locked with Hermione's. "Low on blood for some reason."
As he stepped outside into the moonlight, he caught sight of a fellow creature of the night departing to feed as well. His name was Kuhn-tun Baar, and he'd been a vampire since the beginning. If there was anyone who could give him answers, it was Kuhn-tun.
"Answers are better achieved through experience," the ancient vampire said as Draco approached, slowing down enough for them to walk together. They'd had brief interactions in the past, but never any real conversations.
"Experience takes time, which I don't have," Draco bit back. He loathed is mind being read, almost as much as he loathed authority. "If you're on our side then surely you would agreed that we all must be fully equipped for the war."
"I'm not entirely sure you know what side you're even on."
"True I have no choice in the matter," Draco ground out, gritting his teeth, "but I've accepted that and I'm working towards my own ends."
"You must work for the group, and for your master."
"And what of your master, old man?"
Kuhn-tun laughed under his breath, shaking his head in amusement. Draco might have laughed too, were he able to find anything humorous at the moment, for Kuhn-tun Baar—though ancient and worldly—possessed the body of an eight-year-old boy. It was amazing when listening to his deep, cultured voice how easy it was to forget his appearance.
"Lord Voldemort is my current master," he finally answered. "It is so easy to believe a vampire as old as I am has forsaken mortals."
"You have no master then?"
Kuhn-tun nodded, smiling. If he'd wanted to get into particulars, he would have.
"Do you feed on innocents?"
"Everyone has the potential to commit evil, Draco. If you wait long enough you'll see more often than not humans succumb to evil impulses eventually, for any number of reasons. Those few souls who remain clean deserve to live. It's basic logic. Your eagerness suggests you had not considered this."
"I was raised in a world—"
"You're free of that world!" Kuhn-tun suddenly stopped, frustration apparent in his manner. "You may not be able to act on your own free will, but you damn well can think for yourself. Open your eyes, Draco, and, for the first time in your life, just live."
"Just live?" Draco scoffed, continuing on towards town. "Is that your advice for me? I have an eternity to live. What matters now is this war, and how to win it."
"And if you've chosen the right side?" Kuhn-tun asked, following him.
"I haven't a choice! We've been through this."
"What side you fight for is not necessarily which side you are on, Draco. When the world fell apart in the last war, you were so sure you had chosen the right side, the winning side. But now you're here, making plans and being a good soldier…but you still worry you've chosen wrong, that in the end you will not triumph."
"Is there more?" He honestly didn't know. True his convictions had swayed, but had he really changed? Most would say not, that he was the same greedy, pig-headed Syltherin he'd been raised to be. Glory was his all-encompassing goal, and always had been. But what else could he hope to achieve that compared?
"To do good for the sake of others. To do good for the sake of doing good! That is all life can be and still be worth something."
"Is that what you learned in your millennia?" Draco sighed, slowing to a steady walk as they came to the city, heavy with the smell of human blood.
"Had I the chance to live all over again, it would be the only lesson I would strive for."
"And your 'master'? What of the evil tasks he assigns you? Can you justify doing evil if your ultimate goal is good?"
"Sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of one's ideals."
"Your ideals," Draco corrected, unable to concentrate on the hunt while his mind was bloated with thought. "We are two creatures, bound by fate, and alike in all ways but one."
"And what would that be?"
Draco took several steps away from Kuhn-tun, his back to the ancient vampire, his sense alive. He was so good at being led, he didn't know if he ever could do the leading. He felt awkward even standing ahead of another person. But to win this war, to be the man he wanted to be at the end, that took strength, the kind of strength born of leaders. Could he possibly pull it off?
"You have so much distance from the world you hope to make good that you can't see how naïve and ignorant you are. You know everything, yet you experience nothing. You are a library of untouched books, for in all your noble talk of good you are selfish and full of desire. The difference between us," Draco said, looking over his shoulder, "is that I know this, I live this, and yet I am unaffected by it."
"If you truly believe that," Kuhn-tun said, his voice tinged with sympathy, "then you are blind—" He placed a hand on Draco's elbow, as high as he could reach. "—because I see you and I see her and I know she has affected you."
Without waiting for a response Kuhn-tun continued into town, a victim already on his radar. Draco, however, had lost his appetite. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps his relationship with Hermione was affecting him negatively. Before he'd seen it as a nuisance, a way to get under her skin. It was a sexual game, a release of frustration. But now she was beginning to affect his decisions, his way of thinking, his way of life, and he could not let that happen.
Draco tilted his head to the side, eyeing Hermione with apparent great interest. They'd been sitting in her "office" for nearly five minutes and neither had said a word.
"What's wrong?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"You're acting strange."
"I'm acting normal," she countered.
"Exactly. You should be acting strange."
"And why should I be acting strange?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. She had brought him in here for a meeting, have discussed his proposal with Benjamin at length. Overall it was a good idea and showed his commitment, albeit forced, to the cause.
"A great upheaval has occurred in your life, and yet you go about business as usual."
"I would think that was a good thing," she said, neither confirming nor denying his observations, agitating him further. Only an hour ago he'd been talking with Kuhn-tun Baar, the memory of their conversation burned into his memory. He was confused, on edge, and ready for confrontation. The fact that she was not, and didn't appear concerned with their situation, infuriated him.
"It doesn't bother you that we fucked like bunnies in your coffin?"
"Not particularly. But I thought you had other matters you wanted to discuss? Or did you never truly plan to go through with your proposal?"
"I'd rather discuss—"
"That won't happen, so I suggest you start talking, or I'll channel my energy to other important matters. We're on the verge of another war, Draco, petty things like sex are not my concern."
"Is that why you confronted that little Irish girl?"
For the first time during their meeting Hermione showed signs of emotion other than passivity. The anger quickly passed, however, and she gave a stiff smile, gesturing towards the scroll Benjamin had given her from Draco.
"Do you want my cooperation or not?" she asked. "Because I have a line of rebels in need of my assistance. I'm only formally meeting with you out of respect, and because it was a good idea."
"Very well," he sighed, crossing his arms rigidly over his chest. He would concede for now, but only because equally important matters were on the table. Later, in their lair, she would not be able to avoid him. "Can I have the mission or not?"
"Yes."
His eyes widened in shock.
"Did you think I would deny you simply because you are you? I'm a better strategist than that. If you can find someone willing to carry out your plan with you, then I see no reason to say no. It will glean valuable information and, as an added bonus, you'll be gone and we'll both get a breather from one another. How long do you plan to be undercover?"
"As long as it takes."
"When do you plan to leave?"
"As soon as I can brew Polyjuice Potion and find a partner."
"Good." She made a mark on one of the many piece of parchment before her. "Keep me updated. And remember to keep a low profile. You cannot afford to make mistakes. It isn't only your life that's at risk with this."
Draco nodded sarcastically. Of course he understood what she was saying. He'd considered all this before, only was unable to articulate it to Benjamin earlier.
"You can go now."
He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
"We'll discuss your other problem later," she said, not looking up from her papers. "But I assure you, there isn't much to say."
Hermione, Harry, Seamus and Benjamin all sat around a small dining room table, piled high with books, parchment, and (for Harry and Benjamin) empty plates covered in crumbs. They'd been working tirelessly for hours on their plans, formulating strategies and choosing the best possible candidate to execute them. It was hard, exhausting work, but it was worth it.
"Have you given Draco's proposal any thought?" Benjamin asked casually, his eyes on his papers, his quill flicking away.
"Uh huh," Hermione answered, just as casually, her nose buried in a book. "I decided to let him do it, granted he follows my rules."
"Of course."
"I think it'll be good for him to get out of here, to do some real work for a good cause."
"I agree. When does he leave?"
"As soon as he can."
Harry and Seamus watched as the pair exchanged words, puzzled at their conversation.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, setting down his work. "What assignment are you giving Malfoy? I thought you decided to keep him close to you."
Hermione's manner shifted ever so slightly. Thankfully it went unnoticed to the others. Because that was the problem. She and Draco were getting too close, and that was one of the main reasons she'd agreed to grant his request. She knew it was an unprofessional way to make decisions, especially when their lives would be in danger, but then again it had been a good idea, and if it was executed correctly it would be very useful. She only hoped that he didn't screw it up.
"If I don't give me a little room he'll lash out. It's happened before, with him and with the others. I'm trying to learn from my mistakes, Harry."
"What does this mission of his entail?"
"Plainly, he wants another person to pretend to be him using Polyjuice Potion. They will infiltrate Voldemort's compound, his partner going first, as him. Draco will then be granted access to the compound by his partner, disguised as a Death Eater whose hair he will find once inside and will be free to roam around collecting tangible information, while his pseudo self will collect verbal information."
"And just how will he pull that off?" Harry demanded angrily. "Last I knew, Draco wasn't his pet anymore."
"The mission does come with considerable risks. If both parties are willing, then I see no reason to stop them."
"Why doesn't Draco confront Voldemort himself, and then look around once he's won him over again?"
"Because he'll be watched closely, Harry, and that's what he needs a decoy for. Draco can go places freely, while the other Draco is being watched. He'll never be suspected, and therefore can be used again in similar missions."
Harry's shoulders slumped and he sighed loudly.
"He better not screw this up."
"He won't," Hermione said, hoping against all odds that he truly could pull it off. Perhaps he was beginning to affect her too.
So there's chapter 12. I hope everyone liked it, and, to show your support, you can submit a review and tell me what you think. Suggestions are always welcome, as well as critique and praise (just kidding, haha).
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Next time: How will they ever come together?
