I don't own HP. Wish I did, but I don't.

AN: Huge thank you to Julist and trinka belle for betaing this and just being awesome.

XXX

Draco watched Pansy go, half wondering if he should have insisted on telling Hermione himself that Umbridge seemed to be getting away with nothing but house arrest, disguised as retirement.

He saw words flash on the paper she holding. He was too far away to read them, but they made him frown in thought as he went back over what Pansy had just done. There had been another article. She'd looked at the front page, hadn't she?

Hurriedly he looked up and down the Slytherin table. There. In a third-year's hands was another copy of the Daily Prophet. He pulled out his wand and summoned the paper, ignoring the ensuing shout of protest.

His heart stopped on reading the headline. He could only imagine what the article contained.

No.

He threw the paper back at the third-year as he jumped up and raced across the Great Hall.

Hermione! Wait a-

He was too late.

There was a scream of rage and then all the dishes on the Gryffindor table flew into the air, splattering everyone with bits of jam, porridge, pumpkin juice, and other odd bits of edibles.

The entire room froze in shock, staring at the glittering dishes froze in the air. A few students recovered enough to shriek and cover their heads, awaiting the fall of said dishes. He could just see Hermione's face as she pointed her wand up at the air. Her hair was practically sparking from her anger, but the way her lips were pinched showed she was actually back somewhat in control.

She took a deep breath and then slowly lowered her wand, returning all the dishes to their proper places. Another wave cleaned up all the food.

"I apologize," she said clearly, her anger barely visible in her voice.

She turned and left, all eyes were watching her. It took Draco a moment to get his heart under control and his brain working again.

Then he was racing off after her, barely noticing Harry and the other New Marauders watching him go. The same was said for the professors, and Draco was sure Hermione would learn later of a detention. But now wasn't the time to worry about that.

She wasn't in the Entrance Hall any longer, but he had a feeling on where she might go.

Hermione?

She chose not to answer, but he didn't have the feeling she wanted him far away either, so he acted on his feeling and went looking for her.

A few minutes he found himself standing outside the old deserted classroom she had always studied in before this year. The wards on the door were new.

And also rather terrifying.

Still, he ignored his desire to study them and acted on pure instinct, reaching out to turn the door handle.

The door opened easily.

The entire room was in a shambles, with Hermione standing in the middle of it.

She whirled around and aimed her wand at him as soon as she heard the door click closed.

She was breathing heavily, her dark hair was plastered to her face and neck. Her eyes were blazing. More like burnished copper than their typical bronze.

He ignored her wand and walked straight towards her. When he was about a foot away she dropped her wand and threw herself into his arms.

He just held her, soaking in her anger, like he had soaked in her pain after she woke from the vititus dreams.

As if drawn by that thought, a few still images of her flashed in his head. Of her crying in frustration at being unable to master flying. Of him comforting her and offering to teach her. Of her shouting in joy upon landing and throwing her bony arms around his neck.

The images weren't real, but the emotions behind them…

He pulled her tighter and buried his face in her hair.

When she stopped shaking she pulled back and looked up at him for a half second before she kissed him.

Last night their kisses had been soft, tentative, exploratory.

This was everything else.

Their tongues dueled for dominance as her fingers twisted in his hair. He held her tighter, pressing her soft curves against his own lean frame. Her hips shifted against him and he groaned, yanking his mouth away from hers and pressing small kisses all over her face.

"Hermione…"

"Draco."

And then her lips were back on his.

Nothing existed except each other.

Somehow he ended up leaning against the wall, his robes were in a shambles. He felt a few buttons pop off his shirt as she yanked at it, pressing wet kisses to his collarbone. His hands encircled her waist as he leaned his head back against the cold stone. She traced the arch of his neck with her mouth. "Mine," she hissed before nipping at his ear.

His fingers tightened on her waist as he gasped, "Yes."

She shifted and his fingers tangled in her blouse, pulling it from her skirt. He used the fabric to pull her once more against him, capturing her mouth once more with his.

She moaned and his fingers relaxed some, beginning to roam. They slipped beneath her shirt and at the first touch of her soft skin against his hand she froze.

Before he could react she was yanking away from him, her eyes wide and her face full of panic.

"No! You-you can't...No!"

"Her-hermione? What?"

He blinked at her, confused as his brain tried to get enough blood to think clearly. His fingers twitched, wanting to hold her once more in his arms.

He'd never felt this way the few times he and Pansy had experimented with kissing back in fourth year.

"My-my skin - there - don't touch it - please." Her voice broke his heart, he'd never heard her sound so weak and helpless before. It reminded him of how she had looked, lying tied to that hospital bed.

He took a step towards her and she wrapped her arms around herself, hiding her hands.

Hiding the scar Umbridge had given her.

And that's when it clicked.

He took a deep breath and moved until he was right in front of her, carefully not touching her.

"Hermione, don't worry. I-I won't do anything you don't want."

She looked up at him and he wanted to do nothing more than pull her to him and hold her close.

"Promise?"

He reached out slowly and cupped her cheek.

Instantly he was in her mind. Looking at her hiding in the chains. They were twisted around each other, confused and messy, so unlike what they had always been before.

I promise.

He reached out and touched the closest chain. It and the nearby chains moved out of the way; before he could even think he was inside with her. Once again she was in his arms.

We really need to talk about this. Whatever it is. Make some rules.

He pulled her tight against him, soaking in the wonderful feeling of her closeness.

Do we really need rules? We've already got the vow between us.

The vow? Oh. The vow of fealty. We were rather immature then, weren't we?

Yes. I'm just glad we didn't make it an unbreakable vow.

We had no bonder. Besides, all we really needed to know was if the other person broke it. Neither of us ever wanted to kill the other.

He held her tighter, his hands moving up and down her back.

Are you sure? I can remember how you looked when I first confronted you about my mother's plans and the Yule Ball. When I called you-

He stopped, not wanting to say the word. Even without the vow of fealty he didn't think he'd want to say it.

That was different. I was angry. I-I had never before been so angry.

He pulled back so he could see her face.

Why were you so angry? I know others had called you that.

She looked away, a slight flush appearing on her cheeks.

Yes. But they weren't you.

He had nothing to say to that. So, instead he closed his eyes and leaned down to kiss her.

When they broke apart they were back in the deserted classroom, surrounded by the debris that had once been furniture.

They were both panting as they looked around the room, his hand slipping away from her cheek to entwine with her unscarred hand.

She gave his hand a squeeze before she spoke. "I made a right mess, didn't I?"

He couldn't help but smirk down at her, "Don't you always?"

She rather childishly stuck out her tongue at him before she began waving her wand, repairing all the damage. He pulled out his own wand and began to help her. He wasn't as fast at casting left-handed, but Alianore had made sure he was semi-competent at it. Typically by sticking a pouch over his right hand and sticking it there so he couldn't hold a wand before attacking him with stinging hexes.

When the room was put back together she holstered her wand, and he followed suit.

Finally she addressed what had sent her up here in a fury in the first place, and why he had followed.

"I'm not going to let this stand, you know. Even if I have to dismantle the entire Ministry and rebuild it."

What she was saying was practically treason. Still, that didn't stop him from saying, "I'll support you. Whatever it takes."

She arched her eyebrows at him, he noticed one stayed a little lower than the other. It looked a little less ridiculous than it had a few years ago.

"Just how do you plan to support me? Just because we kissed doesn't mean I'm going to marry you like your mother wants."

He rolled his eyes at her, "Hermione, the fealty vow? I know you don't support my mother's wish. And I'll support you in any way you want. That's what family does. That's what friends do. And I think we're both. If not more."

"More?"

He felt his own cheeks heat, "Yes, more."

She looked down at their feet for a moment, her silky hair falling over her face, hiding it from his view. He felt as if his very life hung on what her response would be, and he really couldn't explain why.

How had he never before realize just how important Hermione was to him? And not just as family or the other half of his family magic bond, but as herself.

Hermione, scars, temper, and all was the most important person in his life.

After what felt like an eternity she seemed to have decided something. She looked up at him, her eyes gleaming under thick, black lashes that he'd never really noticed before. She nibbled at her lip as she gazed at him before finally saying, "More, well, I'd like more too."

His cheeks practically split as he met her gaze and grinned. "Good. Now, how are we going to go about fixing things?"

She frowned, "I'm not quite sure yet, but I do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"We need to find out why Fudge thought he could accuse an entire department of treason and get away with it. Because Pansy was right, this smells like Voldemort's doing."

He nodded in agreement, his mind already racing as it sorted through all the information he knew about the Ministry and how it worked.

This was going to take a bit of work.

XXX

Hermione and Draco were halfway through a list of possible reasons for Fudge being able to accuse the aurors when something tapped at one of the small classroom windows.

They both drew their wands and stood, but it was Hermione who carefully approached the window.

With the way the sun was angled it was impossible to see what was on the other side of the glass until she was at the window.

It was an owl.

A very angry and ruffled owl.

She lifted the latch and swung the window open. The owl immediately landed on the sill and stuck out one leg to her. There was a very thick envelope tied to it.

She cast a quick diagnostic spell, but only saw protective spells. Including several that were entirely foreign to her. They had to have been cast by Tachiki - or another non-European wizard or witch - as she could at least recognize the roots of most protective spells.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"It's clean, whatever it is. The owl was protected by a lot of spells. Some that were not Latin based."

"Really?"

Draco was there beside her in an instant, casting his own diagnostic spell. She felt instantly more secure and safe with his solid presence beside her.

She'd ignored it for so long, but they were definitely more than just friends. More than just cousins.

"Interesting. I've been studying spell creation. Did you know?"

She reached out to take the envelope as the owl hooted and impatiently shook its leg again. "No, have you managed to make anything yet? I've only created objects. Or tweaked spells. Like the bags or journals."

He shook his head. "No, but I'm getting close on something. We'll see how it goes. What does it say?"

She unfolded the letter and the owl flew off after giving one last, grumpy hoot.

"There are two letters. Looks like one from Padfoot and one from your mum. Want to read one, then we'll switch?" She held out Narcissa's letter to him.

"No, I'll just read over your shoulder. Sirius' first?"

She unfolded Padfoot's letter and began to read, hyper aware of Draco behind her, his breath almost tickling her ear as he also read.

Hermione,

Things didn't end well last night. Unspeakables arrived at the auror office as Kingsley was booking Umbridge. All aurors are currently locked up. Percy Weasley slipped us this information before the Daily Prophet article went up. Don't do anything stupid. Yes, I know you and Harry still will if I don't give you a reason not to.

The reason you shouldn't do anything is you already have.

After your first Umbridge article, when Xeno got free copies of the Fae Chronicles sent to numerous wizarding houses their subscription list apparently went through the roof. Just as Daily Prophet subscriptions fell.

Most people saw your article first.

They bombarded the Ministry with owls demanding to know what was being done about Umbridge. When the Ministry claimed ignorance (again, heard from Percy) people showed up in droves at the Ministry. That's when everyone heard about the Daily Prophet.

I have never witnessed such a spectacular event in my entire life.

It appears the Ministry has finally realized just what a bad idea it is to betray the trust of British wizards and witches. A population where everyone over the age of eleven is armed.

The Ministry hired foreign mercenaries to replace the aurors. The conflict that ensued was not attractive. The entire place is still in chaos, but I had to stop and write this to you. I know you. I also know you would want to do something about this, as would Harry, Draco, and the rest of your friends.

Don't do anything. Let your words finish working their magic. We'll send the owl back with more information later. Mamoru spelled it to be able to slip past the rerouting spells Umbridge put up.

I think I should visit Japan when this is all over. Having spells with different language bases is quite handy.

Love,

Padfoot

"Well," Draco said with awe in his voice, "I didn't see that coming."

Hermione nodded, her mind racing with the new information, trying to process it.

Just what exactly did 'chaos' mean?

"My mother's letter?"

She nodded again and folded up Padfoot's letter. Putting it in her robes before unfolding Narcissa's.

Hermione,

Pull out whatever communication device you have with those devil twins and take the information they give you. Ignore what Sirius said. I already spoke with them about recording this. Write another article. Send it to the world. We MUST get everything organized quickly before Voldemort can use the current chaos to attack.

I am told he is still weak, still regrouping, but we must be safe. I am certain he still has people in the Ministry. People that either forced or talked Cornelius into this madness.

The aurors have been released from the holding cells. Rufus Scrimgeour is taking control as I write this. Reining in the chaos, he is not my first choice for the next Minister, but he is the only viable option. He has the people's support as he was one of the party's wronged. He also trusts Sirius and his advice. For now. We can deal with him later if needs be.

Get your information. Get that article written. Stay safely inside Hogwarts, if you leave the others will follow you. You must keep everyone else there as well. Keep them safe.

Love,

Narcissa Malfoy

P.S. Don't worry about the Dungmistress. She has been dealt with. She will never harm anyone again. I so swear.

P.S.S. The grim helped. He quite enjoyed it.

Draco was already digging out his journal when Hermione finished reading.

"She-she did what I wanted to do! She dealt with Umbridge!" Hermione could hear the whine in her voice, but didn't care. She'd so wanted to punish her! To tear that toad apart, make her regret ever daring to hurt Hermione.

Draco let out a harsh chuckle, "Your dad helped. And can you blame them? You got her out of Hogwarts, gave them the chance to finish it. Now, here's my journal. Take a look, Fred and George are very detail oriented. Forget an article, you could write an article with what they're giving you."

She grumbled under breath, but didn't argue. Instead she pulled out her own journal and went to take a seat, Draco joining her.

She wasn't sure she was comfortable with just sitting down and writing, she wanted to take more action. To be there at the Ministry as things were happening, but Narcissa was right. If Hermione left then the others would follow. And if Voldemort was behind this then they needed to keep Harry safe. An image flashed in her mind, of Voldemort aiming his wand at a kneeling Harry mere seconds before she apparated.

She shivered.

Yes, Harry had to stay safe. Stay at Hogwarts. Now that Umbridge was gone it was the safest place in Britain.

She took a deep breath and began to set up her writing supplies. As she did so Draco reached out and tucked a small strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled and, before she could think about it, turned to give his hand a small kiss.

He responded by leaning forwards slowly and giving her cheek a small peck before pulling back and meeting her eyes. He gave her a sweet smile and she blushed, remembering their earlier kisses.

"Let's get this started? I'll help you. If that's alright?"

"Yes," she said as she nodded. "Yes, that is most alright."

"Good."


Author's Note:Thank you for all the lovely reviews. Yes, Umbridge is now quite dead. Courtesy of Sirius and Narcissa.

I'm currently homeless. My husband and I are living with friends until I leave Korea on the 23rd. I have several chapters already written, but haven't had as much writing time, so hopefully I'll get more soon. Hence the very late replies to ya'll's reviews. Or the fact I think my replies were shorter than normal.

Hope ya'll have a lovely weekend!