Chapter 36
The next morning Hermione got up slowly and as quietly as possible, so she wouldn't disturb Draco. He had more or less cried himself to sleep. Wanting him to sleep as long as possible, she grabbed the first outfit her hand came into contact with and headed for the guest bathroom to get ready for work. She threw on the dress she grabbed, a brown cable knit sweater dress. Deciding that since it was a turtle neck she threw her hair up in a bun and grabbed her favorite pair of knee high dark brown boots.
She grabbed a muffin and decided to apparate to work instead of using the floo. Choosing an apparition point that was a few blocks from the Ministry, she walked the rest of the way, enjoying the cool fall weather. Colorful streaks of light lined the sky, giving her the peace of mind to think about how to best help Draco and Narcissa. Ripping off pieces of her muffin as she walked, she thought about what to do.
Narcissa's illness came back in full force, and very suddenly. The panic Draco felt as he watched his mother slip away was heartbreaking. She decided to use part of her day looking through a few books they had in their library at work, seeing if anything similar caught her eye. Maybe she could ask Sami to look into it, she was always really good with finding the small details and piecing everything together. Hermione stopped walking abruptly and a wide smile crossed her face. She knew exactly how she was going to help.
Sami, Taylor and Theo all gathered in the research room of their department. Hermione had told them she had something very important to ask them, and they had patiently waited while she ran out of the office, saying something about being right back. Just a few minutes later she had Daphne, Ron and Harry by the arms dragging them into the room as well.
"Is everything alright?" Taylor questioned. "This is turning into quite the little meeting."
"It will be. I need your help."
"Alright." Harry said slowly, walking over to lean against one of the research tables. "Whatever you need."
Hermione took a deep breath. "I want you all to come over to Draco's tomorrow and help me research Narcissa's illness."
Silence.
Despite herself, her hands started to fidget and twist together. They had all been on the receiving end of Draco's mood swings more often than not lately.
"Please." She begged. "I had dinner with Theo and Neville last night, honestly just to escape for a little while, and when I came back the library was trashed and he was sitting in the corner of the room, completely lost in his own mind. This is slowly killing him, the guilt and the anger and everything else in between and I can't just sit here and watch his life fall apart!" She finished hysterically. She took a few calming breaths and continued on.
"Please, just come over tomorrow, help me research. Help me figure out what he's tried and what he hasn't and see if we can find anything new. If he snaps you don't have to stay, I swear. He's just... so defeated."
"Of course we'll help." Taylor said at once. He looked around the room at everyone else. "Won't we?"
"Right." Harry said quickly.
Letting up a small sigh of relief, she gave a timid smile. "He doesn't know how to ask for help."
"He never has." Theo said with a shake of his head.
"What time, Hermione?" Daphne asked.
"Eleven? How's that with everyone? I'll make lunch, or something."
"I'll tell Stori, we'll be there." Ron said.
"I'll let Blaise know, too." Daphne said looking at Ron. "He's been asking about Narcissa. He wants to see her. He can stay with her while we're all there."
"Are they back from their honeymoon?" Theo asked.
Daphne nodded. "Came home two days ago. I told him to hold off on going to the Manor for now. Blaise won't take any of Draco's shit."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. Every time she had seen Draco and Blaise together they had been fine.
"They can both be a little hot headed. Blaise wouldn't stand for any of Draco's fits, and it would likely end in a duel." Daphne answered.
"Blaise? Blaise Zabini!" Hermione said in complete disbelief. Blaise was the most level headed, calm man she'd ever met.
"The man you know is all because of Luna." Theo said to her. "It's been a shock for us all."
"Ginny's at the Manor now, I'll let her know the plan. She can keep things in line, no problem." Harry said.
Theo and Ron nodded quickly. They knew Ginny wasn't to be messed with.
"Thank you. I-this means so much." Hermione said softly.
Sami and Daphne said they would both bring whatever books and medical journals they could find, and Theo said he would get with Neville and Mcgonnagall to see what they could find. Hermione thought that was an excellent idea, and since their cases had been on the light side since the complete lack of movement from the Militum Sanguine, Harry said he would arrange for their team to research at Hogwarts for the day. Daphne also went along, telling Ron to get a hold of George and Blaise for her, while she stayed with the research team.
At ten am, they had all made their way to the Ministers office, to use his private floo.
"Thank you, Kingsley." Hermione must have repeated half a dozen times.
"Go." He urged. "I have complete confidence in you."
Harry and Kingsley watched the five of them disappear one by one, as they flooed to Mcgonnagall's office, where Neville would be waiting.
Hermione didn't tell Draco about her plan to have everyone over until the next morning. Thinking they could have a decent night together, and hoping maybe he could relax slightly. He had said he wanted the help, after all. Still in bed, she turned to face him. He kissed her when he felt her move closer, then shut his eyes again.
"Draco, I have something to tell you." She began softly.
"Okay."
"I've asked everyone to come over today, to research your mothers illness. To see if we can help you figure this out."
"Everyone?"
"Well, not everyone, I suppose. Just Theo, Sami and Tay, Daphne, Harry and Ron of course, maybe Neville. Blaise is home now, and has been asking about her so he's spending the day at the Manor. I just thought the more people we had working on it the better off we would be." She rushed out. "I can't stand to see you or Narcissa this way."
Draco kept his eyes closed throughout the entire conversation. She had no idea what he was thinking.
"Draco? Please don't be upset."
"I'm not." His voice was laced with emotion. "I'm not. I want help. I need help." He opened his eyes and she could see that he was being genuine.
She let out the deep breath she'd been holding. "I love you, Draco."
"I love you, Hermione. Thank you."
"Come shower with me."
With a small smile Draco followed her into the bathroom.
Hermione was just putting the stuffed peppers into the oven when Theo flooed in with Sami and Taylor right behind him. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Astoria came next, with Daphne being the last one. Hermione had forgotten that Sami and Taylor had never been to Draco's before, and she laughed at their shocked faces. She was so used to the house it didn't phase her anymore how beautiful and big it really was. They gathered in the dining room, Draco had his notes prepared already and they were passed around the table as he explained what he's tried so far, what seemed to work, what made her worse, and then tried to answer everyone's questions.
Hermione, Sami, Theo and Daphne all started exchanging their notes they took from Hogwarts, and asking Draco if he had certain books so they could reference them.
"Wait wait, you went to Hogwarts?!" Draco nearly shouted in disbelief.
"Yesterday." Theo confirmed. "We spent the day there, researching. I'm sure if you don't have these books, Neville can bring them later if needed."
They continued to talk over lunch, then once they were finished headed into the library to get started and research.
Daphne, Sami and Taylor seemed have the same line of thinking and quickly paired off together in one corner of the library. Astoria stayed pretty close to Draco, saying something about working on other things together. Hermione, Ginny, and Theo went over Draco's notes again, with Ginny explaining symptoms she remembered Narcissa having in the past. Ron and Harry tried to be as helpful as possible, getting books for people, passing notes, and trying to research themselves. Although they knew Hermione was way better at it than they were.
"Draco?" Sami asked, looking over to him. "How did this all start?"
"It was pretty sudden. She felt weak all the time. She tried to keep going through her daily routines as usual, but it just got to be too much for her. I would create a potion and she would get better for a while, then get worse all over again."
Seeming to ponder that, Draco went back to reading since Sami didn't appear to have any other questions.
"This just doesn't make any sense." Hermione said, frustrated. She had been re reading Draco's notes for the third time. "How can she get better, then worse, then better again?"
"It's almost like whatever you tried rejected after a while." Ginny said.
"Like whatever is making her sick absorbed the potion?" Ron asked. "Does that make sense?"
"Absorbed the potion..." Draco said slowly.
"Yea, Like-"
"Oh my god! Ron, you're brilliant!" Daphne shouted.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Draco protested.
Daphne practically ran over to Draco, shoving the book she was reading at him.
"Harry!" She whipped around to face him.
"Daphne!" He mocked.
She ignored that. "Listen to me very carefully. After I say this I need auror clearance. You have to add me to this case."
Harry sobered up instantly. "Done."
"Daph?" Draco said slowly.
"Draco, it all makes sense now! I can't believe we didn't see it before!" She took a deep breath. "Draco, it's Lucius."
Everyone sat a little straighter at the accusation.
"The weakness, the trial and error, all of it. He's draining her magic." She pointed to the page she was reading earlier. "The runic crystal. He's draining her magic and keeping it there! She's a powerful witch. You said it yourself, blood magic needs power and lots of it."
"Your potions were making her resistant." Theo said to him. "That's how she got better with each potion you tried, then weaker when he redoubled his efforts to drain her magic."
"He must keep it on him, that's why she was so much like her old self when we were in Italy, because she wasn't at the Manor." Ginny said quickly.
"She's been consistently getting worse since you've been back." Taylor said to Draco.
He just confirmed Draco's worst fear. How much more time could she possibly have? Her magic was diminishing so rapidly her body couldn't keep up with it. Lucius was killing her... his father was murdering his mother. He pushed his hands through his hair as he paced the room. How could he not see this before?!
"I have to go." He moved to leave the room but Harry stood in front of him. "Potter." He warned.
"No, you're not going over there now." Harry said sternly.
"I can't let him get away with this!" Draco shouted.
"And he won't, we need to do this right or he will just find some bloody loophole to slip through." Ron said, coming to stand beside Harry.
"Draco give me your wand." Astoria said from behind him.
Draco looked to see his wand clutched tightly in his hand, he didn't even remember drawing it. "You think I need a wand to kill him?"
"I'm going to act like you didn't say those words in front of the lead auror for magical law enforcement." Harry said coolly. "Malfoy, we need to do this the right way. We can't go in there with a half-assed plan."
"That's rich coming from a Gryffindor." He countered.
"We always had plans." Harry said with a shrug. "They went to shit almost immediately, but we still had plans."
"Draco?" Hermione said from behind him, trying to pull him out of his thoughts. "Let us help. We can solve this together. Trust me when I say that Lucius will pay for this."
Draco closed his eyes, his incredibly tired eyes. He could only nod, not bothering say anything. She came to him and gently took his wand from his hand, handing it to Astoria. Her arms came around his waist, and she held him tightly, trying to will away it all.
"What is the plan?" Theo asked after a moment.
"Well." Daphne said with a sigh. "As far as helping Narcissa, we need to find the crystal. That's a start. The potions Draco has made will help tremendously once we restore her magic, I'm sure."
"And... for Lucius?" Theo prodded.
"If you bring him in for any kind of questioning he'll get suspicious and we'll never be able to find the crystal." Sami said bluntly.
"She's right." Taylor agreed. "You'll have to be careful with this."
"Draco, do you have anything that will hault the process?" Hermione asked him. "Now that we truly know what's going on we should be able to help her somehow, until we can get the crystal."
"I can try a few things. In the beginning it seemed I was on the right track, I'll just make those potions I brewed first stronger."
"I don't think you should tell her this." Ginny added.
"She already knows that he's involved with this case." Draco countered.
"True, but not that he's the one that caused her illness. She doesn't need this right now, Draco. Don't tell her yet." Ginny said forcefully.
"I agree with her, Malfoy." Ron said to him. "It won't change anything if she knows or not. Right now at least."
"The last thing we want to do is put her in more danger." Taylor agreed. "The less she knows, the better at this point."
Sighing in defeat, Draco just nodded.
"I see why you like him so much." He said to Hermione, motioning to Taylor.
Theo gave Taylor a broad smile. "He'll be a researcher by the end of this case, mark my words."
"I want to see my mother." Draco said gently.
Hermione could hear the strain in his voice. "Of course. Harry and I will go with you."
"I don't need babysitters, I just want to be with her for a while."
"Stop thinking that way." Astoria said sternly. "They're not babysitters, Hermione is your girlfriend and Harry is your friend. Stop being so damn difficult all the time."
Draco cracked a small smile. "I'm sorry."
"See?! Was that so hard?!"
"Oh, I have no doubt it was." Harry cut in with a laugh before Draco could say anything.
Everyone packed up for the day, saying they would start fresh on Monday on what to do about Lucius. Theo went home to meet Neville, while Ron, Astoria and Daphne went to shell cottage to have dinner with George, Bill and Fleur. Sami and Taylor left together, saying something about meeting Bryce. With Draco, Hermione, Ginny and Harry being the only ones left, they flooed to the Manor.
Draco really wasn't expecting to see his father, the man had been quite scarce his last few visits. Come to think of it, he really hadn't seen him since he had stayed here with his mother after Hermione's accident.
They were greeted by Trixie, who informed Draco that Narcissa hadn't woken up since the morning when Blaise and Luna first arrived.
"Luna's here?" Draco said, very shocked she would even step foot in this place.
"Yes, Master Draco." Trixie said with an exaggerated nod. "She is a wonderful soul. Very bright. Very... odd."
Harry, Ginny and Hermione tried to hide their smiles.
"Thank you, Trixie. We won't be long. Has... has Lucius been around?"
The elf's entire demeanor changed at the mention of Draco's father. "No, Master Draco. Trixie stays in Mistress's room all night like you asked. He has not been here."
"Thank you. I'll let you know when we leave."
With a nod the she disappeared.
They made their way up the stairs and down the long hallway to Narcissa's suite. Draco walked in holding Hermione's hand and with Harry and Ginny right behind them. Blaise was sitting in a chair that was pulled up close to the bed, holding Narcissa's hand while he read a book to her. Luna, was laying sideways on a small sofa with her ankles crossed reading a magazine... upside down. Draco noticed that his mother's bed was littered with flowers.
"Oh, hello Draco." Luna said fondly.
"Luna." He nodded. "I'm surprised to see you here."
"Blaise has been wanting to come."
"But you-"
"Past memories no longer affect us, Draco." She said as she walked over to give him a hug. He hugged her back awkwardly, not sure how she could be so forgiving, but grateful for it anyway.
"I wanted to bring her flowers." Luna said simply.
"Umm, could you not find a vase?" He looked over at the bed that was scattered with flowers.
"Oh no." Luna said with wide eyes. "African violets aren't flowers you need a vase for. They are healing flowers."
"Healing flowers?" Draco repeated, Luna was still clinging to him. He looked to Blaise for help, but the man was just smiling.
"They are cleansers of old, or heavy energy. They absorb the old and give life to new, and are bringers of peace and love."
"Thank you, Luna." Hermione said from beside Draco. "That was very thoughtful."
With the most innocent smile, she backed away from Draco to sit on Blaise's lap.
"So, did you find anything?" Blaise asked him.
"We did." Hermione said slowly, turning to Harry.
"We have to tell them, she needs to be protected." Harry said to her.
With a deep breath Draco began telling them what they had figured out.
Nearly an hour later, Blaise was just as pissed off as Draco was. Hermione could see the temper everyone had been talking about, which rivaled Draco's. No wonder they got into so many fights during Hogwarts.
"He can't fucking get away with this!" Blaise roared.
"Blaise, calm down." Hermione hissed, with a glance in Narcissa's direction.
"What are you going to do about this?! He's been one step ahead of everything this entire time." Blaise said in a chilling voice.
"I'm going back to my original ideas, since they seemed to work the best for her." Draco said calmly. "Astoria and I have a few ideas on how to sustain and protect what magic she has left, until we can restore it."
"Blaise, come sit with me." Luna said softly. Blaise stopped his pacing and sat down next to her on the small sofa. He took a deep breath as her hand intertwined with his.
"Your energy is very strong right now."
"I'm sorry, I'm upset. She's taken better care of us than anyone else."
"I understand that your upset. That's okay." She kissed his cheek.
Draco stared at the couple dumbstruck. Luna really was something else.
"We'll keep you informed on what the plan is." Harry said to them. "If you don't mind, I'd like you to stick around a bit more? Ginny's been here a lot lately, and no offense but it makes me uncomfortable."
"Oh, by the way, congratulations." Blaise said sincerely. "Heard you finally did it."
"Yea, well. Someone thought I was taking to long to ask, apparently." He nodded to Draco.
Draco had a genuine smirk on his face. "I never said I was a patient man."
For the week following their discovery about Lucius, Draco never went to the Manor alone. Mostly Blaise went with him, which Draco thought was quite humorous. On the off chance that they did see Lucius, Blaise would be cursing the bastard right along side Draco. He did find it odd that his father was no where to be found. Draco had recreated his first few potions and gave them to Narcissa, hoping that they weren't too late to help her. The fear of losing his mother lived with him everyday, he just couldn't shake the feeling of his failure and guilt.
Draco had even lied to Theo and Hermione, saying he had to make a stop at the apothecary he used for potions ingredients, which wasn't entirely a lie. He did have to go there, for more ingredients for his mother as well as new things he was working on for Hermione's parents, but after he was done he went to the Manor. Alone. Hoping to finally confront his father, but he wasn't there. Trixie said she hadn't seen him all week, which made Draco very suspicious and very nervous. He was expecting another move from the Militum Sanguine any day now with him begin gone for so long.
"Don't you find it odd?" Hermione asked over lunch. She thought the anxiousness she felt would have died down by now, but she felt like something big was going to happen any day now. The entire research team, plus Harry, Ron, Neville and Daphne decided to meet for lunch in the auror conference room.
"That we haven't seen him all week?" Theo asked. At Hermione's nod he agreed with her. "I do."
"I don't like what that means." Sami said glumly. "If he is the mastermind behind all this, and no one has seen him all week, what does that mean?"
"I don't understand how the Ministry hasn't developed a way to track people by now." Ron said to them. "The trace is practically useless in magical families, there's got to be a way we can keep better track of him."
"Ron's right. The trace is useless. And he's too smart to be using any kind of serious dark magic anyways." Daphne said to them. "He was pretty high up in Voldemort's ranks for a long time, he didn't get there by making mistakes."
Harry sorted. "Until he was thwarted by teenagers."
"Is the Chosen One being modest?" Hermione joked.
"If we're going to be spending the hour praising Potter I'll just go home for lunch." Draco said as he walked in.
"Draco!" Hermione shot out of her chair to greet him. "Where have you been?"
"I told you, I had to stop by the apothecary this morning. I needed a few things." He took the empty chair next to her, and unwrapped his sandwich she got for him.
She decided not to say anything more, but his practiced indifference wasn't fooling her.
"How is she?" Taylor asked him.
"Better, but still weak. At least she's awake."
"Oh, Draco that's excellent!" Daphne squealed.
He chanced a small smile, worried that the moment he thought she was finally getting better she would revert right back to being on death's door. "It is. I'm... it's good."
"Stori and I are heading over tonight. She has a few remedies she said she was meaning to bring over." Daphne said to him.
"She told me." Draco said with a nod. "I'll go with you."
"No need, Ron is coming."
Draco looked up, then glanced at Ron. "You're going? To the Manor?"
"Yea, why? I'm not so keen on my girlfriend and her sister being there unprotected."
Hermione closed her eyes and smiled to herself. Those simple words defined exactly who Ron was. Fiercely loyal, protective, loving. He would without a doubt throw himself in front of Astoria or Daphne in the event of danger. They were his people now, and that meant the world to her.
"Hermione?"
Her head snapped up. "I'm sorry, what?"
Neville laughed. "You had an odd look about you. Everything alright?"
"Yes. Yes it is." She smiled at him.
"Hey!" Daphne said with a broad smile. "I was thinking that maybe we c-"
"Daph?" Theo said nervously. She was frozen in place, staring at the doorway. He turned to see what she was looking at.
Draco shot up immediately at the sight of Lucius Malfoy standing in the doorway to the conference room. Harry and Ron also stood, effectively blocking Lucius from stepping in further.
"What do we have here?" He drawled. "A meeting of the minds?" His tone was mocking, and it fueled Draco's rage even more.
He forced himself to calm down, his father always knew exactly what to say to get his blood boiling. He didn't want to give the man the satisfaction.
"Father." Draco greeted coldly. "It's been a while. I'm sorry to see that you're still alive."
Lucius smiled at the remark. "I'm quite... resilient."
Hermione cleared her throat, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room. "What brings you to the Ministry, Mr. Malfoy?"
He turned his attention to Hermione, who tried not to squirm under his stare. Draco didn't seem to appreciate it either. He pulled Hermione out of her chair and held her close to him, offering her whatever comfort he could.
"Miss Granger, I have weekly appointments with the auror department. Surely you knew that. Have you been... looking for me?"
Hermione glanced to Harry, who still had his eyes trained on Lucius. Despite is casual appearance, Hermione knew he was ready to attack the man without a moments notice.
"Well, we certainly wouldn't want to keep you from your appointment, Sir." Daphne said kindly.
"Of course, Miss Greengrass." He nodded in her direction. "I would hate to disturb your... gathering." He sneered as he looked around at the people in the room. His gaze finally landing on his son. "I always expected more from you." He said in disgust.
"Thought I would end up like you?" Draco mocked. "I'm much smarter than that."
"Oh, let's not get carried away, my boy. After all, your association with those of lesser-"
Draco was around the table and had Lucius pinned against the wall, his wand at the man's throat before Hermione could even register the movement.
Lucius merely chuckled. A low, condescending laugh that was meant to intimidate. "You're emotions have always been your downfall, Draco."
"Give me a reason." Draco threatened.
Lucius and Draco had their eyes locked on each other, seeming to forget their audience.
"Draco." Harry said beside him, pulling him out of his murderous thoughts.
Draco slowly lowered his wand and took a step back. Lucius seemed unfazed by the altercation, Damn him. With a sickening smile he turned to walk out the room. "Do say hello to your mother for me." Lucius called back to him..
Ron and Harry fought to hold him back as Draco jumped for the door.
"Let me go!"
"Malfoy, were at the Ministry for Godric's sake!" Harry shouted. "What are you going to do to him here?!"
"Now's the time, Mate." Ron said after.
"He's a fucking murderer!" He boomed as he continued to struggle to get to the door. "My mother!" He stopped fighting them and backed away, breathing heavily. "My mother."
Hermione was by his side in a heartbeat.
After Draco's altercation with Lucius at the Ministry the threats and taunts came on a daily basis. He had received seven different owls with seven different letters threatening his life before Hermione asked him to change the wards. He refused, saying that he needed to know what the letters contained, so they could figure out how to approach Lucius. Of course, the elder Malfoy was far too smart to leave any kind of magical signature on the letters. Even Hermione couldn't tell for certain if they were from him or not.
Everyone felt like they were walking on eggshells, waiting for the Militum Sanguine to make a move. Both Draco and Harry were convinced that it was only a matter of time. With no other leads to go on the entire team was beginning to get restless. Draco had thrown himself into his potions. His work for the blood potion had given Sami a little more to research, while his potions for Narcissa he brewed daily. Blaise and Luna had stayed at the Manor as much as possible to lift some of the burden from Ginny, and also for Harry's peace of mind.
Ginny had stopped in at the end of the day for a visit with Harry. September was a busy month for everyone. Quidditch season was starting up again, Harry and Ron took extra missions on anything that could possibly be related to this case, and Neville was back at Hogwarts full time.
"You could always come over for dinner, if you'd like." Hermione said to her friend.
"Thanks, Hermione. But Harry and I just need some time. I've been at the Manor a lot, and between work and everything else, we need some time."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Are you guys all moved into the house yet?"
"We packed up our clothes the very next day and brought them over! We've been staying there ever since. I love it." She said with a content sigh. "We've been slowly boxing up everything else from Harry's flat. I still can't believe he did all of that for us."
"I can't either. What's Ron going to do? Keep the flat?"
Ginny snorted. "He spends more time at Astoria's than he does at home. He should just move in there."
"Gossiping Without me?!" Theo whined.
"Of course not. Just catching up." Hermione answered as Theo took a seat at the conference table.
"Harry should be here shortly, I just passed him in the hall. He said you would be here."
"How have you been with Neville gone?" Ginny asked him.
"Alright. I miss him. We spent so much time together in August, that it's really making September suck. We've arranged for him to be able to floo home for a few weekends though, if things are going well back at Hogwarts. And of course, never on Hogsmeade weekends."
"You'll figure it out. I'm sure that Mcgonnagall would set him up with a private floo if he only asked for it." Ginny said with a wave of her hand.
"You think?!" Theo perked right up.
"What are we talking about?" Harry asked as he and Ron walked in. Harry walked right to Ginny and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"How was the meeting?" Hermione asked Ron.
"Nothing new. Just a bunch of dead ends." Ron said as he ran his hand down his face in exhaustion.
"You wanna head out?" Hermione asked him. "You look exhausted."
"Yea." Ron said weakly.
"Theo, I'll meet you at Draco's." She said as she stood to walk out with Ron.
"Right behind you." He said with a nod.
"I feel like I could sleep for days." Ron joked.
"You've been on a lot of missions, lately." She said, looping her arm with his.
"Just for the day, were always back by nightfall. It just gets to be too much sometimes."
"I still worry about you."
"Stori does, too. She hates these missions."
They reached the atrium, where Ron offered to floo Hermione home first.
"I'm a big girl, Ron." She said with a smile.
"I know that, I'm allowed to worry, too. Still getting those letters?"
"Yes. Everyday." She frowned.
"Then I'll stay until Theo gets there."
Hermione didn't bother to argue, just let Ron led her to an open fireplace to floo home.
When they both stepped out of the fireplace Hermione gasped, and Ron threw her behind him, shifting to full on auror mode. They both had their wands out and at the ready.
"Ron-" She began, clinging to him.
"Shh." He said gently. His eyes scanned the room. It was completely trashed. Every single piece of furniture was ripped apart and broken. Glass and shards of wood were everywhere. The artwork on the walls was slashed and all of the framed pictures lay on the floor busted into pieces.
They both walked in further, trying to take everything in when the fooo lit up and Hermione jumped back.
"Theo!" She had her wand pointed at the fireplace, ready to hex whoever it was. "You scared me."
"What the hell happened here?!" He had his wand out as well, and lowered it as he walked over to them.
"Send a patronus to Draco, I'll send one to Harry. Tell him to get here right away." Ron said to Hermione. He turned and conjured his to send a message to Harry as Hermione did the same.
The three of them watched as their messages were sent.
Harry and Ginny were walking down the hall back to Harry's office so he could grab his things and go home.
"I'm so ready to have you all to mys-"
"Potter!"
Harry groaned, which made Ginny smile. "Hold that thought." She whispered to him.
"Make this quick, Malfoy. I want to get out of here at a decent time today." Harry barked.
"Well someone's in a mood." Draco said as he walked up to him. "I think I'm on to something about..." he looked over to Ginny. "That thing I asked of you... a while ago."
"Alright." Harry really want in the mood for this.
"I want to-" Draco stopped talking as he saw to bright blue streaks of light coming towards them.
A small otter appeared out of nowhere when the blue ball of light stopped in front of him.
"That's Hermione's patronus!" Ginny said in a panicked voice.
"And that's Ron's." Harry said, motioning to the jack Russell terrier.
Draco, come home! Please hurry!
Harry, get to Malfoy's!
They three of them looked at each other for half a second before they all took off running.
"What the hell?!" Draco shouted as he burst through the fireplace. Hermione threw herself at him.
"I don't know what happened! Ron brought me home, because of the letters, and it was like this." She rushed out.
Harry took a good look around, coming up to stand beside Ron.
"How did they even get in?!" Ginny demanded.
"Didn't you change your wards?" Theo asked.
Draco needed to get his thoughts together. He was thinking fifteen different things at once. "Against Lucius. No one but Hermione and myself can apparate in."
"What about the floo?" Harry asked.
"I just blocked Lucius's signature. I thought that would be enough."
"So the floo is still open to the Manor." Ron said to him. "Anyone could use it."
"I never thought he would send one of his minions after me!" Draco yelled.
"Okay, Okay." Harry held his hands up. "Let's just calm down."
"It's a message." Theo said gravely. "You know it is. That he's smarter than you, that we'll always be one step behind. That he can get to you easily and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
"We'll have to log all of this for the case." Harry said with a heavy sigh. "Ron, take down yours and Hermione statements. Draco, you need to change your wards. All of them. Even the workshop. For your protection."
Draco nodded. "I'll take a look at the rest of the house."
"Don't touch anything." Ron said. "If you find anything suspicious , let us know."
For the next hour, Ron and Harry logged evidence, statements, and tested the new wards. Nothing appeared to be missing, the destruction of the cottage being a message in itself. Hermione, Ginny and Theo went through each room fixing it after Harry had cleared it. Once everything had been cataloged and cleaned up, Draco slouched against the living room wall. He watched Hermione talk to Ginny on the other side of the room. What if she had been home? What could have happened if Ron hadn't thought to being her back? What if they were still here and Draco wasn't around to protect her?
"Hermione!" Draco blurted out.
The room got quiet with his outburst.
"You can't stay here. I want you to stay with Theo."
"What? No-"
"Yes." Draco, Harry, Theo and Ron all said at the same time. Under different circumstances she would have laughed.
"Hermione, please." Draco came over to her. "Please. I can't put you in danger, there's too many possibilities."
"Will you be staying there with me?"
He shook his head. "No. It's too much risk, I don't want to jeopardize your safety. If I'm there they might try to come after you or Theo, and I can't let that happen."
"You can't stay here!" She shouted at him. "If it's safe enough for you, then why isn't it safe enough for me?!"
"Because I'm the one They're after and I'm not putting you at risk by being with me!" He took a deep breath. "Please." He begged. "Just let me protect you. Stay with Theo. Please, Hermione. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."
She hung her head, but nodded in agreement.
"I'll get your things for you." Ginny said quietly.
"Thanks, Gin." Hermione wasn't even sure if she spoke loud enough for Ginny to hear her.
"Hey." Draco gently lifted Hermione's chin to meet her eyes. "I need you safe." He whispered.
"What about you? I need you safe too, Draco."
"I will be. This will all be over with soon. I swear."
"I love you." She cried.
"I love you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Ginny came back out with a bag for her. Draco gave them a moment and walked over to the other men in the room.
"I'm sorry you didn't get your time with Harry."
"I'll make up for lost time, don't worry." Ginny smiled as she pulled away from her. "Don't be upset with him."
"I'm not, really. I understand. And besides, Theo needs me." She tried to joke.
"Oh, I'm sure he does." Ginny said seriously. She looked over to Theo, who was talking to Harry, Ron and Draco. "What do you think they're talking about?"
"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about earlier?" Harry asked Draco.
Draco completely forgot about his good mood from earlier. He really should know better. "Oh, Umm." He looked to Theo and Ron, then sighed. "I think I've figured out something with her parents." He said very quietly.
"You were really serious about that?" Theo hissed.
"I'm very serious about it. I genuinely think I'm close. I've looked into her genealogy and I think I'm really onto something."
"So what do you want to do?" Ron asked. "Feels like we've tried everything."
"I'm just waiting on the final ingredient, then I want to test it somehow. I want to meet them."
Harry groaned, and pulled his glasses off to run his hand down his face.
"Oh, that doesn't look good." Hermione said to Ginny as she watched them whisper to each other. "I better go and grab him before those idiots ruin my night."
Hermione followed her over and wrapped her arms around Draco's waist. "What are you guys talking about?"
"More work." Harry spat out. He put his glasses back on and looked to Draco. "We'll discuss this tomorrow."
"Right. Because right now we are leaving." Ginny said bluntly. She grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him towards the floo.
"Don't forget to change the wards on the fl-" was all Harry could get out before he was sucked away.
"Guess I'll be going then, Stori is probably worried sick by now."
"You didn't tell her you would be late?!" Hermione burst out.
"I was kind of working, Hermione." He said in his defense.
She shook her head at him but hugged him anyway, then watched as he left.
"I'll be over tomorrow morning." Draco promised her.
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you, Hermione." He said right before he kissed her. He looked up at Theo, who was leaning against the wall watching them.
"Ready, doll?" He said softly.
"Yea." She grabbed her bag then looked one last time at Draco before leaving him. Alone.
"I love you, Hermione." He repeated to the empty room.