Chapter Three

Time flew as Hermione tried and failed to ignore the impending prefect patrol.
Their first classes of the year had been excruciatingly difficult, and the Professors were accepting no excuses for poor work, Dark Wizards and a war be damned.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had almost forgotten the stress of previous years O.W.L and N.E.W.T preparation and were now wondering if being on the run had been preferable. Despite mounting pressure settling itself upon her shoulders, Hermione had been unable to focus on their course work, causing Harry and Ron to abandon it entirely.

To complicate matters, many of the younger students made it their mission to hassle the Slytherins, firing jinxes and curses at every opportunity.

Despite Ron's mutterings that each Slytherin deserved a hex or two, the fiery red head had lost his temper at a Ravenclaw earlier that day, deducting 20 house points and issuing three Saturday detentions.
The boy had protested, claiming innocence despite being the only student in sight and Felicity Fawcett lying at his feet, a victim of the Full Body Bind.
His adamant claims that he had found the Slytherin that way had only inflamed Ron's temper.

The conflict had put Ron in a foul mood for hours as he complained loudly about being forced to defend traitors. Harry and Hermione had allowed him to rant through lunch without comment, secretly glad that his good nature had won out.

It was clear the inter-house animosity would not be easily dissuaded. Hermione knew deducting house points and issuing detentions was not the answer to the problem.
Malfoy had agreed to be civil, but that had been based upon the assumption that they could avoid each other.
Would they be able to keep their hostility at bay when they were forced to spend so much time together? Hermione doubted it and the anxiety twisted her stomach.

oooOooo

''It'll be fine.'' Ron declared confidently, dropping heavily into a plush red armchair of the Gryffindor common room on Tuesday evening, sending a plume of dust into the air.

Hermione glanced at the large clock above the fireplace for the fiftieth time that evening.

''If he says anything at all, you can just hex him. No one would take his side in it'. He chuckled.
'You don't have to appear happy about it.'' Hermione said snippily as she perched on the edge of the red couch, finding it impossible to relax as she counted down the minutes.
''You are enjoying this a bit too much, mate. He's dangerous.' Harry's eyes were focused on the Daily Prophet held, fastidiously ignoring the unfinished Charms essay that lay on the table.
Ginny sat on the couch beside him, curling her body into his affectionately as she read ''Malevolent Monsters of the Deep Lagoon''.

Ron grinned. ''Hermione could beat that git in a dual with one hand behind her back. You know, he'd look great with a pair of donkey's ears!''
'No, he'd look like an ass.'' Harry quipped, a small smile playing on his features as Ron released a booming laugh.

As Harry idly turned the first page of the Daily Prophet, Hermione caught the days headline:

Mayhem at the Ministry's Department of Mysteries. Ancient Artifacts Found Absent.
Late yesterday evening, in a top-secret meeting, an Unspeakable spoke. Acclaimed Daily Prophet journalist Ronin Catterfeld conducted the once in a life-time interview with a ministry employee, who shall remain anonymous. The Unspeakable revealed that during Voldemort's reign of terror over the Ministry, the Department of Mysteries was ransacked and pillaged by Death Eaters and the Dark Wizard Voldemort himself. As has been previously reported, many Unspeakables were tortured and killed as the Dark Wizard sought to discover their greatest secrets…more on page 7.

Ron stretched a long are over and deftly snatched the newspaper from Harry's hands. ''Do you think he took those creepy brains?'
Harry shifted in his seat. ''As long as no one got a hand on a time turner, I don't bloody care.'' he muttered, unconsciously touching the scar on his head.
''Remember when that Death Eater fell into that time thing, and his head turned into a baby's and-''
''Eugh, Ginny, don't remind me!' Ron shuddered. ''That gave me nightmares for a year.''

Hermione sighed and rose slowly from the couch. ''Voldemort is dead, the Death Eaters are safely tucked away in Azkaban-''

''Or on Prefect patrol.'' Harry muttered.

''and the time turners were destroyed. And for your information, I am not going to hex Malfoy. ''
''Sure, sure,' Ron made a dismissive hand gesture. ''not unless he deserves it.'' He chuckled, clearly convinced that Malfoy was doomed.
Suddenly, a sharp crack sounded above their heads and several Gryffindors screamed and ducked as a small Filibuster firework burst in the center of the common room.
The abrupt sound was swiftly followed by a dull thump as Seamus Finnegan immediately dropped to the ground.

''Seamus! Seamus, are you alright? ''

For a long moment Hermione thought that perhaps the Gryffindor boy had been injured.
Lying perfectly flat in the center of the Gryffindor common room, Seamus raised his arm upright from his odd position upon the fluffy carpet, wand at the ready.

''Er- Seamus? What are you looking for?'' Ron enquired as he peered down the back of his armchair, concerned at his roommate's odd behaviour.
''Yeh don' want ter know Weasley. Some things bes' left buried. Jus' be glad I'm here ter look after yer'' Seamus declared confidently as he expertly surveilled the room, his wand hand darting suspiciously at each of the dark corners of the ceiling as though expecting shadows to attack.

''Er-Right. Well-…Thanks Seamus.''

Several nervous giggles erupted across the room.
It wasn't completely unexpected behaviour. During the Death Eater's reign of terror, the students of Hogwarts had been exposed to horrifying creatures and spells.
It wasn't uncommon to find students of all ages staring into the distance, muttering silently to themselves, or leaping under desks in response to sharp noises. The professors were doing their best to help the students, but the greatest challenge by far was integrating trust.
Hermione had no doubt that the greatest crime of Alecto and Amycus Carrow was to force the students to perform the Cruciatus Curse upon one another.
Very few had been brave enough to refuse, and those that did had paid dearly for their rebellion.

'Say Hermione, now that you're back at Hogwarts, are you going to renew S.P.E.W? You're knitting was significantly better by the end of the sixth year. You could almost tell it was clothing.'' Grinny remarked loftily, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Hermione brushed away her gloomy thoughts and threw a hefty cushion at the young Weasley's head. ''I've decided to take change tactics. Clearly, gentle coaxing doesn't work'. She sniffed.
''Gentle? Hermione, you terrorized half the school! People were fleeing in the opposite direction the moment they saw a brunette with curls!''
''And not a single elf was freed. Which is why I'm changing my approach.''
''How?'' Ron enquired worriedly, dragging his eyes from the newspaper.
'I will achieve my NEWTS, get a job at the ministry, change the law, and force people to treat elves as equals.'' She said triumphantly.
''Freedom by force. I love it." Ginny laughed while Ron sunk behind the paper, making the wise decision to keep his thoughts to himself.
The conversation drifted to upcoming Quidditch try outs and Hermione silently willed the gentle warmth of her friends to calm her.
Eyeing the clock for the 51st time, she reluctantly rose from the padded couch.
'Just- Just don't turn your back on him.' Came Harry's grim word of warning as she exited.

oooOooo

Hermione stood clutching her wand at the Hospital Wing entrance; the assigned meeting place for Prefect rounds.

''Granger.''

Hermione spun to her left at the sound of the former Death Eater's voice.
Draco Malfoy stood stiffly at the top of the staircase; arm raised to shield his eyes from her illuminated wand.
''Malfoy. You're late.''
''Do you mind?'' He grimaced.
Hermione realized her wand was pointed directly at his pale face and felt her cheeks warm despite the cool night air.
She lowered her wand to her side. ''We should start on the fifth floor on the northeastern side and work our way down. We'll finish up at the Entrance Hall. ''
Draco gave a sharp nod and immediately turned his back on her to make his way to the stairwell on his right, correctly assuming she would follow.
Hermione tread softly behind him, her gentle Lumos causing Draco's shadow to loom ahead, leading the way.

They walked in silence and Hermione allowed her mind to drift, occasionally nodding to the portraits and ghosts that greeted her as they trudged down empty halls. Despite the pure blood's proposition to be civil, she felt surprised that she hadn't caught a single sneer or derogatory comment from him since school began.
As she eyed his tall frame, she couldn't help but wonder how the war may have changed him.

What had it been like, living with the Darkest wizard of their time? Had Draco feared for his own life? Did he have nightmares as she did?

After 80 minutes of silence Draco came to an abrupt halt and raised his hand to grip the nape of his neck causing Hermione to freeze, eyeing him warily.

''Are you going to stare at my back the entire time?'' He snapped, shoulders tense.
Hermione cautiously edged forward until she stood beside him and cleared her throat. Draco threw her a grimace as they began walking again, this time side by side.

''Did you forget your wand?'' She enquired.

''No.' Draco replied, ducking his head into a classroom to ensure there were no rule breaking students hiding within. Hermione frowned and her eyes flickered to his empty hands.
Wondering idly how Draco could possibly see anything within the dark classroom without his wand to provide light, she gazed out the far window that overlooked the glistening lake.
For a moment, the moonlight appeared to frame a small, slim figure standing at the water's edge. She took a step closer, resting her hands upon the stone windowsill.
Eyes straining, she stared fiercely into the night, but the edge of the lake was now completely enveloped in shadow and she dismissed it from her mind.

Finally, after what seemed to be the longest patrol of Hermione's short life, they reached the Entrance Hall and released a collective sigh of relief.
''I'll check the Potions classroom on my way to my common room. You can head back to your dorm.'' Draco said.

Wand suddenly appearing in hand, he cast his own Lumos.

Draco noticed her frown and subsequently rolled his eyes.
''I know what you think of me, Granger. I thought you would feel more... comfortable if I left my wand in my pocket.' He reluctantly explained. Throwing a brief look of disgust in her direction, he swiftly turned and disappeared down the hall, toward the lower levels.
Hermione's cheeks heated with embarrassment and rather than heading straight for the Gryffindor tower, she took a seat at the bottom of the stairs.

It was completely ridiculous of course. Hermione was not in the least bit scared of the blonde prat. Had everyone forgotten that she broke his nose in third year? And not only had McGonagall allowed Malfoy back into the school, but she had also given him the position of prefect.
Clearly, she believed he was trustworthy, and Hermione refused to spend the rest of the year letting that git believe she was afraid of him.
Nodding resolutely to herself, she had just begun the long climb to the dormitory when she heard a deep muffled thud.

It had come from below.

Holding her wand arm aloft, Hermione moved swiftly down the staircases, eyes darting at broken shadows, searching for a possible threat. As she reached the top of another winding staircase, there was a booming crash and she broke into a run, fervently hoping the sounds were nothing more than the result of Peeve's nightly escapades.
Suddenly she heard a muffled voice cry ''Stupefy!'' Swiftly followed a shout of fear and the distinctive slap of running feet. Hermione flew down the twisted staircase.

She had just reached the last curve at the base when she was brutally struck by something large and solid, knocking her to the ground. With a gasp she landed painfully on her back and her head struck the jagged edge of the stairs.

''Stupefy!' she cried.

At the last moment she hurriedly thrust her wand to the side, where her stunning spell burst harmlessly against the blank, stone wall and dissipated; narrowly missing the figure who was sprawled at her feet.
'M-Malfoy?' She spluttered angrily. ''What are you doing?''
Malfoy was panting heavily upon the ground, eyes wild. He ignored her question and spun round, not bothering to rise from his knees before stretching his arm out into the darkness from which he had been fleeing.

''Lumos!'

A blinding white light erupted from his wand revealing nothing but an empty passage with an open doorway at the far end.

They both remained still for a moment with nothing but the sound of Draco's ragged breathing echoing around them. Slowly, after several tense minutes had passed, the blonde lowered his wand and slumped to the floor. Leaning back against the bare stone wall, the tall Slytherin draped his arm across his drawn knees, shielding his face from her gaze.
Hermione slowly drew herself to her feet and begun dusting off her robes, silently fuming.

''What are you playing at? What were you running from?'

Draco dropped his arm and pushed his palms against the wall to rise to his feet, at which point Hermione finally noticed a trickle of blood running from along his temple, staining his blonde hair crimson.

'You're bleeding'.

She moved forward instinctively, arm outstretched but Malfoy darted back, shying away from her touch.
She peered curiously toward the empty doorway at the end of the long corridor.
''What happened?' She asked, much more calmly than before, noting the fear that was written on her companion's face.
Draco swallowed, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them a moment later, all trace of emotion was gone.
'Nothing.' He said, his voice deep but calm.
Hermione scowled. ''Obviously, something happened.''
''I fell.' he said smoothly, giving her an elegant shrug of his shoulders. ''Tripped. Knocked something over.

Hermione was about to protest when Filch appeared, his chest heaving and sweat on his brow.
''DETENTION!'' he screeched gleefully, clutching Hermione's shoulder painfully with a gnarled hand.
''OUT OF BED AFTER CURFEW! DETENTION!''
Hermione clapped her hands over her ears.
'SHUT IT YOU BLITHERING SQUIB!'' Draco roared. ''We're supposed to be here!'' And with that he spun on his heel and stalked into the darkness from which he had fled.

Hermione turned to the caretaker and mutely pointed at her badge.

Filch squinted in the dull light and then deflated.
''I'll be keeping an eye on both of you.'' He snarled. With a final scowl, Filch hobbled back up the stairs leaving Hermione alone, mentally cursing his interruption.

As Hermione clambered into bed that night, she wondered what had terrified a man that had shared his home with the darkest wizard in history.

oooOooo

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