She had no idea why she was here. What on earth had compelled her to break into a sealed home known to have dark magic in its very bones. Particularly, a lot of dark magic against people like her. She shuddered, pulling her hand back from where it was still outstretched. The room faded away again. Now that her eyes had adjusted she was able to make out the exact same room she was standing in, if not a bit less dilapidated. Experimentally she touched the silvery mist again, floating back into the better lit iteration. She flinched as a table appeared with three familiar faces at it.
Draco looked young. So much younger than he ever was, even when they were in school. He was thin and wispy, deep purple smudges decorated his eyes as if he had gotten into a losing fight. His mouth was pressed into a hard line, all cruel edges and frigid coldness. She shivered thinking about the sweet words those lips had held just hours ago. He was joined by this mother, a slight pale thing Hermione had little to no knowledge about, other than the fact that she clearly loved her son enough to risk her own life for Harry's. She was the cold collected poise that Hermione would occasionally see in Draco from time to time.
Lucius cleared his throat, his fine pale hair hung limply against his head. His eyes sallow and very similar to his son's, a rather macabre matching set. His hand reached blankly at his waist only to pull away with nothing. Hermione had recalled something about him having his magic revoked, not that he didn't deserve it.
"The Greengrass's have sent us an owl." He remarked coolly, his voice still every bit the smooth aristocrat. Draco growled into his dinner, poking at his peas.
"Have they?" His mother offered with an empty smile. Hermione shivered at the caricature of a family. It was so stiff and proper, so unlike every family dinner she had ever known. Molly Weasley would have an absolute fit.
"Unfortunately. They regret to inform us that they will be paying the contract fee to dissolve the engagement with Draco." Hermione focused on the boy at hand. He couldn't have been any older than 18. His hands had still healing cuts on them and his wand was missing. This event had clearly occurred right after the war, when he was still on trial.
"That's... Disappointing." His mother offered cautiously, her eyes on Draco waiting for a reaction. Hermione moved through the table, crossing the memory to see him violently tapping his foot against the floor.
"Indeed." His father drawled his gaze also focused on their son. "We will have to find another suitable witch of appropriate breeding. It will be much more difficult with our present… misfortune."
Draco's tapping froze and he growled in disgust, setting down his cutlery with a bit too much force.
"What was that?" Lucius questioned with an uncannily familiar eyebrow raised.
"What's the point?" Draco growled crossing his arms. "No one will want a Death Eater for a husband anyway."
Narcissa visibly flinched at his words but otherwise kept her composure. Lucius however narrowed his eyes. "We still have contacts. Relationships going back hundreds of years of pure ancestry-"
"Oh bollocks." He groaned. "After what you've dragged the family into there will be no one in Britain that wants anything to do with me."
"Draco-" his mother started eyeing her husband warily. Lucius rose one gloved hand silencing her as he stared at his son.
"We still have connections to some families in France, Russia at the worst. We will pick a second daughter of a family and she will move here."
"Oh yes and I am sure the Prophet will love knowing I had to import a wife. I am sure that she will jump at the opportunity to be a pariah." Hermione twisted her mouth in disgust at the whininess of it, not that it was necessarily unfounded. However, the tone hit a bit too close to familiar for her. She had to very consciously remind herself that in this place Draco was a teenager and that a lot of growing up happens between eighteen and twenty four. The thought didn't fully erase the uneasiness she felt.
"The papers will grow bored of you as long as you make yourself boring." Narcissa commented dabbing her napkin at her lips before discarding it. "I am sure we can find a few witches of proper lines that you may select from."
Hermione's stomach twisted in disgust at the statement, apparently a similar feeling triggered in the younger version of Draco as he stood up abruptly. "For fuck's sake mother make us sound more like dogs why don't you."
"You will not use that kind of filthy language in front of your mother." The elder man stood, challenging his son..
"Because I don't want my parents to hand select my wife? How behind you have fallen. Even the muggles have banned forced marriage, Father." Draco's voice drawled in a mocking tone, letting his anger spark through the air.
"Sit. Down. Draco." His father hissed with enough venom to make her flinch, all the pity she had ever felt for the man for the man died. "We have had the conversation ad nausea. Our stance remains the same."
"No!" Draco pushed the chair back electing to stalk along the length of his side of the table. "I am sick of listening to you. Listening to you got us trapped in his house, unable to cast even the most basic of spells, isolated from the world while you owl around begging for some ancient poker partner's offspring to throw at me."
"While you may prefer to choose-" his mother started softly before being interrupted by a shout.
"Of course I want to choose! I want a life! I want agency! I want to make my own mistakes and learn from them. Hell I don't even know if I want to get married."
A silent pall fell over the table, Narcissa's eyes widened in shock. They were stunningly beautiful really, ice blue and large enough to make her look like a doll. Hermione had a hard time lining the slight waif of a woman up with the few stories about his younger years Draco had conveyed or the complicit war-hardened wife.
"You will marry." Lucius ground out forcing himself to sit.
"I will not!"
"You will select a witch of impeccable breeding."
"I said-."
"You will marry her and have heirs."
"I-"
"And you will spend the rest of your life working to further the family name, am I clear?" The man made the statement with a finality that burned at her. She had heard the tone before from Draco. It was the voice of a man who expected his commands to be obeyed. She let her eyes drift to Draco who had stopped pacing, his glare burning through the air.
"No."
"No?" His father scoffed at the very idea.
"No." Draco responded leaning forward on the table. "I will not follow this ridiculous demand."
"Draco-" Narcissa fell silent, cut off by the fury between the two men.
"I will not get married and I will not have children with whomever you decide." Hermione saw both of his parents intake a shocked breath. "If and only if I find someone who I want to be with then I will marry and only if we choose to have children will that happen. Is that clear?"
"Draco the right sort of witches-" Narcissa ventured as her husband gripped the arm rest so tightly his knuckles went white.
"Bugger, the right sort of witches" Draco hissed, turning his ire on his mother. "If I fall in love with a filthy muggleborn and have filthy muddy children then I will! You cannot stop me!"
Hermione flinched at the unexpected sting, fighting down any emotion towards a long expired scene.
"You will end the Malfoy line!" His father roared back on his feet.
"I AM the Malfoy line!" Draco shouted back. "Don't you see. It was your unfounded medieval views that got us here in the first place."
"Purity will always conquer!"
"Harry Potter." Draco shouted back, flinging his place setting across the floor. "Severus Snape. Hermione Granger. Remus Lupin, the Dark bloody Lord. None were pureblood and all of them were twice the wizard you will ever be."
Hermione flinched at her name, the statement not an appreciation of skill but a weapon. An effective one at that. Lucius Malfoy looked shocked, his collected composure scattered like ash on the wind.
"Draco-" his mother offered softly. Before she could finish the arched window blew open crash shattering into the room. Draco dove under the table taking cover, his father sweeping his cloak around his wife for protection. Familiar black smoke coalesced into the form of two long dead faces. The Carrow siblings stood wand at the ready, their cruel gazes trained on Draco's parents.
"Oh dear." Alecto crooned in faux innocence. "It appears we have interrupted dinner.
"How rude of us." Amycus answered eyeing the two remaining plates. "Just you two tonight? Where's your boy? I had some choice words for him."
"How diplomatically put brother." Alecto cackled her wand trained on Narcissa. "Let me try...Crucio!"
Narcissa fell screaming her voice pitching in pain. Amycus banished the table sending it sliding across the floor to slam into the wall. Only the brief flicker of leather shoes giving hint to the boy under his coverage.
"No!" Lucius cried diving at the witch. Alecto merely stepped back breaking her hold on the now sobbing Narcissa.
"Now now, Alecto. These are very highly respected traitors. We must treat them as such." Amycus lectured pointing his wand at Lucius. "It's more like this. Crucio!"
Lucius spasmed falling next to his wife, groans torn violently from his throat. He was clearly more familiar with the sting of that curse that she. Even so Hermione's breath picked up, the ghost of pains long past flashing up her arm in a sharp bolt.
"Is your precious baby boy home? We wanted to play with him too." Alecto questioned ripping Narcissa up by the hair. Hermione could only watch helplessly as she was shot again with the curse. She felt sick to her stomach, trapped in the past and unable to pull herself away. She risked a glance behind her, staring out, barely visible from the wreckage she saw Draco watching, stricken in horror. She was sure she was going to drown, forever lost in the murky pain of memory with her corpse left to rot in the ancient manor.
Suddenly, Hermione felt a heavy pressure on her wrist. She glanced down curiously as the colors in room began to fade together. She was snapped back to reality with a disorienting level of precision. Her head spun wildly as her eyes adjusted to the now bright light. She looked around her, shocked at the difference. With the curtains pulled back she would see all the fine details of the room, it's marred paintings, the blast burned floor, and an absolutely enraged looking Draco Malfoy holding her wrist in a death grip.
"Draco I-"
"What are you doing here?" His voice may as well have been his father's for all the comfort it offered her. She shrank back instinctually.
"I don't know.. I just… I felt the need to come in… I didn't…" He dragged her towards the door and down the hall distinctly avoiding looking at the still glowing imprint in the center of the room. He arm ached with the lack of care and the phantom pain of a curse aimed at someone else. She stifled a groan as he pulled her along.
He yanked her out onto the patio in silence. The previously warm midday air had cooled when the sun dipped below the horizon. She had no idea she had been gone that long. She felt the ripple of magic as several incredibly powerful and a few incredibly dark locking charms slapped onto the door with a resounding clank, Draco's hand dripping blood from a slice on his palm. For once the aura was icy and hard, not the familiar comfort she usually found in it.
"I didn't know."
"That ancient manors full of dark artifacts may have some sort of poison that will lure you into their bellies and kill you where you stand?" He questioned coldly, turning on her. "Did you think you were above it? Did you think you knew better? Or did you just not care?"
"It was an accident." She bit back, trying to regain the bones in her legs.
"Oh, an accident." He drawled. "I see you just tripped an opened the door. Then proceeded to trip down the hallway and up a flight of stairs where you just happened to trip directly into a locked room and land on a glowing malicious curse. How convenient."
"The door was open. I thought-" She hissed before he cut her off.
"You didn't think!"
"Oh Fuck off." Her voice had risen to shout, attempting to match his. However, her tone did not match the pure fury in his eyes. "I am trying to explain-"
"I told you. I told you that house was dangerous. You nearly died because you weren't careful!" Draco shouted. Hermione paused, taking stock of her body. She was tired yes but... Nearly died? That seemed a bit dramatic.
She pulled her wand from her pocket flicking a simple summoning spell at a nearby twig. The stick shifted slightly but otherwise laid still. She cast a weak warming charm only to have her wand barley spark before failing. At this point she doubted she could float a feather.
"Oh..."She murmured meekly. She was entirely unaware her magic had been drained. She hadn't been aware of the time passing either, an entirely new concept. She hadn't even noticed any of it until he pointed it out. Had she actually been dying? That seemed like something she should have noticed... and yet.
"I'm not hurt." She tried softly, feeling her muscles drain of their remaining energy. Her legs felt like they were trying to hold her up on the deck of a ship in the middle of a storm. It was all she could manage to stay standing.
"Because I found you!" Fear began to leak into his voice, the timbre building towards hysteria. "I looked for ages for you all afternoon. Even Filly couldn't find you. We thought you had left the grounds.I thought you had left me! If I hadn't had the self loathing to retreat inside to feel sorry for myself that curse would have eaten your magic and your soul with it!"
"I didn't… I just…" Hermione felt the day catch up with her in a slow boil. She was suddenly equal parts exhausted, ashamed and heartbroken for the boy in front of her. She could only manage to bubble up enough words to form a half complete sentence. "Sorry… I'm so sorry..."
It didn't seem like enough to her but when his jaw tightened she knew he didn't partially care for eloquence at the moment. His frozen grip around his wand so tight she was afraid it may snap. He eyed the hedge like he very much wanted to throw a curse at it and given that they weren't in her workshop she wouldn't stop him if he did. Instead he watched her, his eyes glinted cruelly as he stared. She could only imagine what horribly scathing thing he would say.
"What did you see?"
"Not much." She responded quietly. But more than enough.
"That wasn't for you." He hissed forcing his fingers to release his grip on the wood. "That curse was meant for me, so I would see how my father died and my mother lost her mind. Then it would kill me too."
"Draco-"
"They didn't know I was there. They thought they would be so clever to catch me when I came home. They had no idea I was cowering under the table too afraid to so much as lift a finger."
"You had no magic." Hermione offered, taking a tentative step towards him.
"It doesn't matter!" He spat causing her to flinch but not slow her advance. "I should have done something. Potter would have. You would have. I watched my parents die. Not even the Carrows thought I was enough of a weakling that my mother's hours of screaming wouldn't call me if I were in the manor."
"You were a child!" Hermione cried.
"So were you! And you were still brave in the face of certain death!"
"I have never been brave because I wanted to be." She offered evenly, resting a hand on his shoulder. She tried not to flinch when he did, both skittish of each other's presence. "I have always been brave because I had to be. Your parents would have wanted you to live, they loved you."
"I watched them die." He responded immediately with a cold shiver snaking down his back. "I watched them imperio my mother and force her to kill my father. He smiled the whole time. He didn't want her to be upset. I couldn't even manage a sob of horror. They left her alive... Mad as her sister." His voice was hallow as he stared off into the hedges, the green walls looming over them ominously. "She was a message, a permanent gift of what we deserved as traitors to both sides. By the time the aurors killed them it didn't matter, the damage was already done. They won."
The statement hung in the air listlessly as she rubbed careful circles on his back. "I can't even fucking say goodbye because she is still here but also isn't... She would have been so much better off dead."
"Draco that's not true."
"She doesn't even know who I am." The small voice seemed to echo in the air, the empty longing returned back by a mournful cry.
Hermione's mind flashed bright with the swirling memories of the well. A flicker of a mad disheveled mother firing a death curse with lethal intent… and it was his memory. Hermione had to force back a sob as her breath caught in her throat. This wasn't about her.
"And I can't even be grateful for that. Your parents are dead and you never did anything wrong. I bet you would kill to have someone who was at least a loose caricature of what you once knew." He continued to stare off into the maze as the rain began to fall. "I can't even be happy with that."
Where the previous storm felt warm on her skin, refreshing as it wicked away the hot memories of a summer night, this once felt cold. The sharp needles pining against her bathrobe as the magic holding it together ran out.
"It's not the same." She murmured as she wound herself around his back, entwining her arms around his waist, protecting him from the worst of the onslaught. She pushed away her own memories, clinging to him to keep him afloat. "It's not even close to the same."
"You're right... I deserved it, and you didn't." She couldn't suppress the whine that escaped from her throat, the painful searing in her chest giving way to vocalization.
"Why do you have to be so bloody understanding?" He murmured ruefully. She didn't bother responding, instead she pulled him from the cold marble never letting her touch leave him, and quickly led him away from a house that contained far too many haunted memories for the both of them.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000
The next day started with a rigid sort of ambiance for the both of them. Hermione was very good at not mentioning things, Draco was very good at pretending they had never happened. Neither was good at sticking around after the damage had been done. Their reactions were stilted and awkward, filled with comforting touches followed by quick retreats. She left to give him space after a late dinner, begging a walk on the ground. It was ruined when he stepped out himself intending to check the wards only to be apparated to her side, his own magic calling for her. She was sitting on the grass at the main gate, staring at the cursed iron. He settled down next to her.
"I'm sorry I am like this." He whispered, unable to draw up any emotion. It hadn't felt right to slip into bed with her like everything was fine so he spent the night wandering the house, unable to sleep.
"You were dealt a shite hand Draco. We all were." She responded blandly. He wondered what she was thinking as she stared at the gate. Judging by the way her hand rested on her arm, it wasn't anything good.
"I think I hate them." Draco verbalized the realization he hadn't let himself ever feel. If he expected relief at the words he was met with disappointment. "I am sure I hate my father. I think I would also hate my mother if…" His voice trailed off leaving the unspoken thought to drift away. She nodded but did nothing else for a few minutes.
"You look like him." She murmured. "Startlingly so."
"I wish I didn't." He admitted. He always wished he had more of his mother in him, her soft eyes, her expressive face. But he was every bit the cold regal heir of the Malfoy line. He suspected there was a long history of dark magic to ensure that fact.
"You can talk about it… if you want. I'm sure it's all very confusing."
"No." He responded instinctually.
"Alright." The silence hung thickly, throwing up boundaries he didn't intend to. A small part of him whispered to jump, that if he never spoke to her about things they would never work. That she wasn't like his parents. That she cared for him and could be trusted. He needed to make a choice.
"Not… not yet?" He couldn't help the small inflection at the end of the statement. He didn't dare meet her eyes but she sighed after a moment accepting the peace offering.
"Not yet then." She nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Her attention turned to the glittering stars above them, picking out constellations with her eyes.
"D-do you want to meet her?" He stumbled awkwardly through the question, choosing a particularly round rock on the drive to stare at.
"I-I don't want to pry." Her voice sounded strained and confused. "I've been told I do that."
"I think it may help her." He started, forcing himself to picture his mother at his best, when all she cared for was his own health and happiness. "To see someone new…. Someone with me."
"Even me?" She questioned bitterly. An evil creature of guilt coiled up inside him at that statement. He did every bit of his part establishing her self doubt. He forced himself away from it, reassuring her was more important than his personal loathing.
"Especially you." He met her eyes with a smirk. She smiled weakly back. "It will be fine. And if not who cares, she's crazy."
"Draco-" Her eyes melted back into a painfully heartbroken expression.
"Let me handle it how I want to, Granger." It came out a bit sharp, in spite of his efforts. "I have a bit more practice than you."
"Alright then." She responded clearly wanting to say more on the topic but holding her tongue. A rare feat. After a few minutes of silence she spoke again.
"Your hair is getting long." He had noticed it too. He hadn't really found any time to cut it since Christmas, and it was now lightly brushing his shoulders. "I could cut it. If you would like."
"Didn't take you for a barber." He scoffed halfheartedly.
"I'd have to look up the spell again. It's been awhile." She smiled kindly. "You should have seen the first time I cut Ron's. You would have had insult fodder for years."
"That bad, huh?" He questioned, feeling the tightness inside him start to relax.
"Worse." She chuckled lightly. He took no pains to hide how much it relieved him. "He was practically bald on the back half of his head."
"Only the back half?"
"Only the back half." She confirmed.
"Unfortunate." He responded. "And not a mark in your favor as a hairdresser."
"Oh screw you Ma-" Her annoyance was interrupted by the crack of apparition.
Draco jumped at the sound of the new arrival. He tried not to flinch as Hermione's own wand appeared in her hand as well. When exactly would they stop assuming every drop in visit was an attack?
The gates began to creak open, recognizing the magical signature of whoever had arrived. It was as they parted, a meticulously put together and yet still huffing Pansy Parkinson appeared.
"There you are! I was afraid I would have to stomp up to the manor to find you after your flat was empty!"
"Parkinson?" Hermione coughed out in disbelief. He had lowered his wand but she certainly hadn't.
"And you are?" The stylish witch responded curtly. "Nevermind. It's not important."
""I beg your-"
"Why are you here Pansy?" Draco questioned tiredly. There were very few reasons Pansy Parkinson would need to go looking for him personally. Most consisting of the world being on fire or some sort of publicity emergency.
"I owe Zabini and fate has finally called to collect." She smiled, clearly relieved to have a debt removed from the ledger. "He's gotten himself into another spat. This one bad enough to get them kicked out of the Menagerie."
"Is he okay?" Hermione questioned worriedly, finally withdrawing her wand.
"I'm not his keeper." Pansy shot while inspecting her nails. "Last I saw they were both expelled from the club still exchanging curses with the Carrow twins."
He stiffened at that. They had all made a point to avoid the Carrow twins since the elder set of siblings had been killed while trying to detain them. The Carrows had a habit of sending children off to live with other family members, making it hard to identify who the actual parent was and the girls had been clear favorites of their elders. The twin's icy demeanor towards him at their trial was enough to freeze dragon fire.
"Let's go." Hermione responded, grabbing his sleeve and jerking them towards the gates. "If we are too late to break it up then at least we can apply some counter-curses."
"That's not how the Carrows fight, Granger. They weren't Gryffindors." Pansy scoffed as she stalked ahead of them. Hermione flinched, her grip on his sleeve loosening but not stopping her movement. "I hope you are familiar with the apparition point for Saint Mungos. They're a nasty pair of witches. Hestia in particular has always had a chip on her shoulder. Probably something to do with that wide forehead of hers."
"I thought you didn't know who I was." Hermione grumbled the wards sliding over them as they passed out of range.
"I don't. Who are you again?" Pansy disappeared with a crack. Draco became vaguely aware of the magic being gathered up for Hermione's own exit.
"I can take care of this. It's probably going to get dicey." He said, shaking loose his arm. Hermione looked at him for a moment.
"Precisely why I need to come. You'll be helpless without me."
"I'm no stranger to a scrap, Hermione. Have you seen who I spend my time with? Just give me a kiss for good luck and I will be back in a pinch." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her, gathering her up into an insistent kiss. As he pulled away his stomach turned with the noxious pull of a side along apparition.
They landed on damp cobblestone. In the process of gathering his balance he stumbled a few feet away from her. Pansy was waiting impatiently, her heels clicking on the stone.
"That way." Pansy pointed off towards an abandoned warehouse. Faint flashes of spell fire glowed lightly in the window. He took off immediately, barely hearing the conversation behind them.
"Aren't you coming?" Hermione called over her own shoulder.
"Are you kidding me? I have my nails in a Brazilian wizard richer than Crocus in there." Pansy's voice began to fade into the background. "You can tell that cad we're even for the wedding."
He pulled up just short of the rusted out employee entrance. As he reached out toward the metal his fingers burned painfully, eliciting a rather colorful swear. He pulled back from the rather nasty locking charm, just as a stray shot of spellfire broke through a nearby window. The spell hit the brick wall of the building next door, melting it into a bubbling puddle of acid.
"That doesn't seem like a regulation curse." Hermione added pulling up next to him, her wand out studying the charm
"The doors' locked." He tried a basic counterspell, unsurprised when it failed. "We may have to blast it off."
"Terra cuniculum." The earth ahead of them hollowed out, creating a small tunnel, just large enough for one human to squirm through on their belly.
"How do you propose-"
Hermione took a few steps back before running at the door at full speed, grabbing him by the robe as she went. She pulled him into a slide, her wand pointed forward as she went.
"Antes momento." Draco felt the pull of the spell as it sucked them through the tunnel, his head snapping back to fit. When they popped up on the other side they were greeted by a hail of poorly aimed spellfire. Thankfully he had been prepared for it. Even so his shield broke under a rather evil looking purple curse, sending them diving behind the nearest set of boxes.
"A bit of warning next time!" He shouted over the sounds of a collapsing structure as he pulled her close to his chest to shield her.
A splash of red and a yelp off to the left got them moving again. Dodging across an expanse of open territory, her shield charm glinting bright silver as he fired off curses as coverage. Just before they reached the stack of shipping boxes a curse aimed at their feet blasted them apart giving him just enough time to perform a feather-fall charm on her before he hit the ground with a hard thud his ankle twisting awkwardly. He rolled into the fall, sliding across from to the two idiots he considered best friends.
World Building with Om
Terra cuniculum
The tunneling charm. Provides a thin, mole like tunnel that will burrow under something and reappear on the surface, just on the other side of the barrier. Paired with Antes momento for ease of movement.
Antes momento
The forward momentum charm. Maintains momentum at the time of casting until the charm has been cut at which point the speed will begin to slow. Highly inaccurateover longer distances, it should only be used on objects nearby.
Soul-Sucking Curse
A nasty dark curse that replays the darkest memory of a place. The spell pulls in a watcher using the wizards inherant curiosity and a few minor compulsion spells. While the watcher observes the memory the spell slowly drains away their magical core and upon completion of the memory consumes the watcher's soul.
Mrs. Pansy Zabini
I was wholly unable to insert this plot line in anywhere BUT. Pansy's parents began the process of marrying her off to some old pure-blood in Russia shortly after graduation. They had been unable to find any other prospects for her after the war. Blaise stepped up to offer his housemate a marriage of convenience and to quietly move away from his family estates and keep his mother from questioning his relationship with Draco. Blaise and Pansy were married shortly after the war in a private ceremony to keep out of the public eye. When Pansy's parents died a year later they divorced quietly and no one was ever the wiser. The Elder Mrs. Zabini, of course, had no qualms about either of their on the side gallivanting. As far as she knows they are still married.