Hermione stood outside Draco's door, hesitating. She wanted to go back to the library to work out the key clue but she knew someone should go with her. She'd hunted for Michael but he wasn't around so here she was about to disturb Draco. They were speaking again after their fall out earlier but it was a little strained. She wondered if Draco wished he hadn't confessed to her about who might get the places. It was still obviously very alien to him to share anything personal with anyone. She took a deep breath and raised her hand when the door was flung open and Draco stood looking at her in surprise. He glanced at her raised hand curiously.
"What are you doing?"
"I was about to knock. I wanted to go to the library again and I wondered if you would come with me?"
"I don't feel like it tonight, ask Michael." Draco shrugged and Hermione tried her hardest not to grab him round the throat. He was like a five year old sometimes. The argument was about nothing and it was over so why couldn't he just forget it!
"How long is this going to continue? It wasn't even a proper argument, believe me I've had far worse arguments with Ron!" Hermione said, exasperated. She huffed at him. "Fine! I'll go on my own."
Draco moved like lightning and blocked her path. "Stop having a strop! I'll come with you."
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
The library was silent, Draco had locked the doors again and the two of them were pouring over a pile of books in silence. Suddenly a loud knock made them jump and for a moment they just stared at each other before Draco got to his feet and went to the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Mr Malfoy if you would kindly open the door." Professor McGonagall's voice said. After Draco had let her in she nodded her head in approval. "Very wise to lock the doors. I suddenly remembered this." She held a large, flat file in her hand. "It's a plan of the school. It has been kept in the Head's office as long as I can remember. I think it is original from when the school was being built." Hermione and Draco both looked eagerly at the file. "I was going to look at it myself but I believe the Keepers of the Legend should do it."
After she had left, Hermione and Draco cleared the desk and opened the file. It contained numerous, large sheet of parchment each detailing a plan of one part of the Castle. The plans were intricate and detailed and as soon as Hermione saw them she knew they were what they had been looking for.
"Bloody hell, Hermione, these are amazing," Draco said, forgetting to give her the cold shoulder in his excitement.
"Don't you mean – bloody hell, GRANGER? After all, that is my name isn't it?" Hermione asked, wanting to prove a point. He stopped bending over the plans and turned to look at her.
"Okay! I'm sorry. I acted like an idiot earlier and now I feel stupid. So let's just forget it." Draco looked about as uncomfortable as Hermione had ever seen him.
"What was that word I heard leave your lips? It began with S and ended in Y?" she said with a grin, indicating that she wanted to forgive and forget as well. He gave her a smile that lit up his face and for some inexplicable reason she blushed. This made him grin even wider.
"Cute," he said then looked back at the plan but Hermione was staring at him. Did he just call her cute or was she imagining things? She then noticed he was pointing at the plan with his finger.
"Why are things obvious as soon as you see the answer?" Draco said. Hermione followed his finger which was pointing to the top left corner of one part of the plan. To a large, circular building with a turret at the top. It was labelled Tower 4.
"Tower 4! T4! You're right, it obvious! T stands or Tower," Hermione exclaimed. "Which tower is it?"
"I'm just trying to work that out...I think it's the Ravenclaw Tower," Draco was looking at the surrounding rooms. "Yes, the Ravenclaw Tower."
Hermione did a little excited dance and Draco chuckled at her. "Calm down, we haven't worked out the 522/596 part yet."
They both bent over the plan, concentrating on Ravenclaw Tower. After a few minutes it became obvious that the numbers they were looking for were no-where on this part of the plan. It wasn't the room numbers or the doors or the turrets. Draco stood up straight and stretched.
"I told you not to get too excited," he said to Hermione who sighed. "It's one step forward, two steps back, isn't it?"
Hermione stopped still, her eyes wide. "Oh my god! Draco you're a genius!"
"What?"
"Steps! It must be the number of steps! It's the 522nd step out of 596!"
"Let's go." Draco was almost sprinting to the door already and Hermione ran after him. They left the library doors open and jogged across the Castle eventually arriving at the door to Ravenclaw Tower. Draco pushed it open and they stared at the winding staircase before them.
"Come on then, let's start counting," Draco took the first step and counted. Hermione followed a few steps behind him, also counting just in case he lost count. It was a steep climb and they were soon moving slower and breathing heavily. Eventually Draco reached the 522nd step and turned to Hermione.
"This is it. Should I carry on just to check there are 596 steps?"
Hermione nodded, glad he had volunteered. She stood in place getting her breath back. Draco returned a few minutes later.
"Yes. Exactly 596 steps," he confirmed. They both looked down at the seemingly inconsequential, stone step beneath their feet. "What do we do now?"
Hermione bent down and began examining the step, prodding and poking it but it just appeared to be regular, normal, grey, stone step. Draco bent down by her and spoke quietly.
"Hermione, you're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Thinking like a Muggle!" Draco grabbed his wand, waved it and said, "Alohomora."
The top of the step immediately flipped open, revealing another piece of rolled up parchment. Hermione grabbed the rail because she felt light headed. They had found it!
"Draco! We've found it!" she said. Draco bent down and took the parchment from the compartment. As soon as he did the lid shut and the step returned to normal. They didn't wait to get back to the library to unroll the sheet, Draco did it awkwardly, balancing on the steps.
Mother to Mother, blood to blood.
No. 1 1-3-3
No. 2 1-2-2
No. 3 7-7-5
No. 4 1-1-1
No. 5 1-2-3
No. 6 6-7-5
Hermione read it over a few times then looked up at Draco. "Well that's made everything clear hasn't it?" she said sarcastically. "I thought this was going to make it all simple!"
Draco sighed. "Me too."
They walked dejectedly back to the library. Draco tidied up and started to put out the lamps while Hermione poured over the new clues again.
"Come on, Hermione. It's late – let's look at it tomorrow," Draco said then seeing the look on Hermione's face he took the seat next to hers. "Don't look like that. We've found the key! Last night you would have been ecstatic to find the key."
"But it's useless!" Hermione said. "More bloody meaningless numbers!" She felt tears well up in her eyes and tried to get a grip of herself. She was not going to cry in front of Draco Malfoy!
"Why are you getting upset? You know we can solve it!" Draco spoke quietly and he reached out to cover her hand with his own. "Call yourself a Gryffindor!"
Hermione's mouth was dry partly from trying to hold in her tears and partly because Draco Malfoy was practically holding her hand. He was looking at her intently and she found that she couldn't drag her gaze from his. She was tired, her head was spinning, she felt as if they were back at square one and now he was looking at her and making her senses reel.
"I'm pathetic aren't I?"
"You're lots of things, Hermione but pathetic isn't one of them," Draco's voice was barely above a whisper and suddenly the new clue was the last thing from Hermione's mind. His eyes hadn't left her face and she was beginning to drown in them. There were butterflies dancing around in her stomach.
"Draco, are you scared?" Hermione asked suddenly and Draco knew exactly what she meant. She was asking if he was scared about the Legend and everything they had to do. Hermione's eyes were wide, her face pale and her voice was low. She didn't wait for his answer and continued, "I'm scared we won't be able to solve the puzzle, I'm scared that even if we do we won't be able to find everyone, I'm scared that we have to say this in front of evil..." Hermione finally gave into the emotions of the past few weeks, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. She wiped them away, remembering how much Harry and Ron hated her crying and how they couldn't deal with it. When she did glance up she noticed that Draco's eyes had softened and he didn't have that nervous, awkward look that Harry or Ron would have had. "I'm sorry, it's all getting to me...I'm not myself tonight. I think I should go to bed." She sniffed and stood up, feeling embarrassed but Draco grabbed her arm.
"No, don't go."
They stood frozen like this for a few minutes, staring at each other. Draco's eyes were still soft and kind and warm and Hermione couldn't drag her own from them. Her dry throat was worse now and she knew she was breathing rapidly. Why did have this ability to affect her like this? Without his eyes leaving hers he pulled her back down to seated. And then he slowly leant forward and brushed the tears from her cheek with his fingers. The butterflies in Hermione's stomach went crazy. The man in front of her had so little resemblance to the boy she had known at school that she was having trouble reconciling them. And that was the problem because if she only knew Draco as a he was now then what was to stop her leaning closer to him? Why shouldn't she let him hold her? There would be no reason to fight how she was beginning to feel. But she didn't just know him as he was now and although she knew he had changed she couldn't risk anything other than friendship. If you messed with fire you could get burnt and Draco Malfoy was definitely fire.
She gently moved his fingers from her face. "I need to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." Draco's face darkened for a moment, then he nodded.
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