Chapter 5

Having been caught unawares from the sudden Side-Along, Draco collapsed onto the floor in a mess of napkins and ice cream and cursed loudly. Before he had a chance to get his bearings, he found himself bound to a chair on the other side of a room he didn't recognize.

"You fucking twat," he spat, glaring at the smiling girl who was looking supremely satisfied with herself. "Let me out. Now."

He struggled ineffectively with the ropes and scowled at the ice cream on his Quidditch jersey.

"Sod it all. Did you have to get ten scoops?"

Granger waved her wand, removing the ice cream from his shirt and hands.

"I like cherry." She sat on a bed across from him, crossing her legs in front of her, and blinking her eyes at him. He could tell she enjoyed playacting at being a kid.

"Stop it. That's weird."

He struggled against his ropes again. Bugger, they were tight. Granger didn't skimp on her binding hexes. She smiled with that toothy grin again and he scanned the room, trying to get a sense of his surroundings. It was a girl's bedroom with mild earth tones for coloring. Non-moving pictures adorned the wall.

Draco curled his lip in distaste.

Muggle.

Some stuffies were piled on the bed next to her. Books were everywhere.

Lots of books.

Too many books.

He snorted. "Where the hell are we? Is this your room?"

Fucking swot.

"Yes," she said in the little girl's voice. "And I'm not alone in this house. I'll hex you if I feel threatened in any way."

He shot her a look of disgust. "Even if I would, I certainly couldn't to a…" He eyed her. "How old are you supposed to be anyway?"

Granger chewed on her lip. Now he could see the intelligence and maturity in her expression. It was extremely unsettling in a child. "Seven. I think." She flicked her gaze down at the rug. "That's going to stain."

Draco glared at her as she cleaned it up with her wand. "Find someone who cares."

His eyes travelled to the desk to his left, surveying a litany of Muggle objects that he couldn't identify. He sneered again.

"In case you're having trouble recalling," he spat at her. "You asked me to meet you. Out with it, Granger. And release me. You've already got my wand."

She waved her wand and the ropes disappeared. He stretched his arms and rolled his wrists around, grateful for the release in pressure. The little girl eyed him. "Veritaserum. Why can't we use it? It's not a potion."

Draco smiled meanly at her. One thing about… whatever this was… was that he was in control of the flow of information. When it came down to it, she needed him.

"Who else knows about this?" he countered without answering. "You said you're not alone."

She glared at him, obviously angry that he didn't answer her question right away. "I'm not alone, but only one other person knows who is giving me information. The Order doesn't want you compromised. We're not stupid, Malfoy."

"Oh yeah?" He raised his eyebrows. "Then what the fuck are you doing, asking me if I want to meet out of nowhere like that? What if I was with my father? Or Aunt Bella? Or the Dark Lord?"

Granger was clever, he had to admit. She had certainly taken steps to ensure her own protection, and that they wouldn't be discovered during their meeting, but she had been careless in contacting him. To her credit, she had the sense of humility to look ashamed.

Her expression suddenly morphed to one of hope.

"You keep the Galleon on you all the time?"

Shit.

He'd have to be more careful with what he said to her. He spread his legs, stretching them against the leather of his Quidditch pants and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Give me my wand back." He glared at her. "Now."

She shook her head. "Only when I trust you."

He blew air out of his lips in derision. Like that would ever happen. "Not good enough, Granger. I'll let it go this time, but take my wand again and this ends."

He watched her mull his answer over. "In the future, I'll contact you in a way that doesn't rouse suspicion."

He scoffed in response. "You better."

"I'm sorry."

Granger sounded genuine but he regarded her in scorn. Apologies meant nothing if he was caught.

Suddenly, her eyes widened in alarm. "Oh bugger-"

Draco watched, fascinated, as her skin and bones deformed. She frantically kicked off her shoes while growing back to her own height which was, hilariously, still quite short. The straight blond hair of the girl transformed into a brown uncontrollable mess and the morphing figure stood up, revealing the Granger he was familiar with.

She was more or less the same as he remembered from sixth year, but more womanly, more mature, and he had always seen her completely clothed. To his incredulity, he watched as her robes split up the side during her transition, giving him an eyeful of the skin of her torso and a breast. The hem only reached her upper thigh, barely covering her bum. Granger had nice legs, he had to admit.

Shame she was a Mudblood.

She flushed and yanked the robes closed at the side, still holding both wands. He leaned back in his chair with a smile. Maybe this meeting wasn't going to be so bad after all. He could almost forgive her for the spilled ice cream, tying him up and taking his wand.

Almost.

"Can you turn around?" Granger hissed in annoyance, walking over to her closet.

Draco's smile widened, glad she was the one who was uncomfortable for a change.

"Nope."

"Pervert," she shot back at him.

"You." He pointed at her. "Kidnapped me." He pointed his thumb at himself. "Brought me to your bedroom and tied me up."

He flashed her a smug smile.

She growled and pointed her wand at him. Immediately, a piece of fabric covered his eyes.

"If you take it off, I'll bind you again."

"I'm quite familiar with your kinks now, Granger." He rested his hands on his stomach and slouched in the chair while she rummaged around in her closet, muttering to herself about kids' knickers. "You get off on tying people up so you can grope them. Nothing to be ashamed about, I won't yuck on your yum."

She turned around to glare at him. "Don't push me, Malfoy. I will hex you."

"It's that hard to keep your hands off me, is it?"

She cursed under her breath and he laughed.

Draco tilted his head up to peek underneath the blindfold. She removed the kids robe, took off the knickers with a severing charm and sighed in relief. She had a nice arse too. Granger looked back at him over her shoulder, holding a jumper over her breasts. Her hair hung down loosely between her shoulder blades. He tilted his head down slightly after eyeing the curve of her backside, changing the angle of his head so it wouldn't look like he was peeking.

"Can you see?" her voice was half threatening, half panicked.

"No," he lied.

"You're smirking," she accused him.

He shrugged. "I'm a Malfoy. I smirk."

Granger grumbled audibly and turned her back to him, putting on a normal set of knickers and bra. White. Cotton. Of course. Uninspired like the prissy know-it-all she was. Draco watched her dress with a lecherous smile. She shimmied on a pair of jeans, wiggling her arse deliciously, and pulled a red T-shirt over her head. After adjusting the shirt, she turned back around and removed his blindfold with her wand.

He knew he still had a shit-eating grin on his face. It couldn't be helped.

Her eyes narrowed.

"You saw."

"I did."

She growled in frustration. "Wanker."

"Obviously," he said, grin still in place. "I like chocolate."

She snarled and stalked over to her dresser, pulling out a pair of socks and angrily tugging them over her feet, hopping back to her bed on one foot. Glaring daggers at him, she summoned her trainers from the closet. He flashed a set of teeth while she tied the shoelaces.

Flustered from the whole ordeal of having to undress and dress herself while he watched, she exhaled harshly. "Veritaserum. How are they doing it?"

Draco laughed. She was so angry, and trying so hard to get back to the purpose of this visit. It was difficult not to blatantly enjoy her frustration. Impossible even.

"Malfoy!" She smacked the bed with her hand. "I'm assuming you don't want to be here all day?"

That sobered him up. Granger was right. He could excuse some amount of time with perusing stores, but he wasn't exactly a shopper. He sat up again and leaned forward on his knees.

"Ok," he replied, still chuckling.

She clenched her jaw, jutting her chin forward. "Well?"

He wouldn't tell her it was an implant. It wasn't as if he knew where it was anyway. They'd have to torture Dolohov for information until they figured it out.

Shame.

"Fuck if I know. One day they put me to sleep and when I woke up, I was told Veritaserum will kill me."

Granger eyed his arm. His Dark Mark was peeking out from under the sleeve of his Quidditch jersey. Her hazel eyes met his. She looked slightly repulsed, but not from him.

"He likes to mess with your bodies."

Draco's smile fell.

She was right. It was unsettling, the feeling that his body didn't entirely belong to him. That his body could betray him at any time by a foreign object placed there by someone else. He already felt like he had no control over his life or his future. His parents' lives were hanging by a thread, as was his. It was terrifying knowing he had something inside his body that could kill him. Between that and the Dark Mark, he felt completely violated.

"Who was there?" she asked.

"Rowle and Aunt Bella were there when it happened. I don't know which one of them did it."

"Where is Vold-"

A rush of panic propelled him out of her desk chair to run towards her. "Fuck! Shut your mouth!" he yelled.

Draco only made it halfway before Granger petrified him. He felt his body start to careen forward and he braced himself for impact with the floor, much as he was able to without moving. She caught him before he fell and broke his nose, or worse, and staggered under his weight. She was fairly strong for her size, and grunted with the effort of supporting his larger frame. As she struggled to keep him upright, he got a whiff of the shampoo in her hair. She smelled nice and feminine. Not dirty and disgusting like he thought she would.

But he should have known that already. He held her in Umbridge's office after catching her and Potter trying to use the toad woman's Floo. He had been surprised then, too.

Finally remembering she was a witch, Granger levitated him over to her bed and laid him down while she took the chair by the desk. He could still feel where her hands had gripped his arms, dirtying him. He needed a shower later anyway.

Granger stood in the middle of her room and pointed her wand at him.

"I'm unfreezing you and binding you again, Malfoy. Why did you attack me?"

As soon as she unfroze him, she bound his arms in front of him and tied his legs around the ankles. He grunted in discomfort despite. Damn, the ropes were tight. She looked at him expectantly.

"Don't say his name," he said, angry at being bound again and struggling with the ropes.

"Why?" She asked, making the question sound more like a command.

Draco growled in irritation and tried to shift the ropes binding his hands to get more comfortable. "There will be a taboo on the Dark Lord's name if there isn't already."

"A what?"

"A taboo," he repeated, raising his voice in anger. "He knows the only people that dare say his name are the ones that actively defy him." He flexed his muscles, trying to loosen the bonds and get some relief. "It's quite brilliant actually."

Granger furrowed her brow curiously and released his bindings, backing up to her chair at the desk. "I've never heard of a taboo. How does that work?"

Draco pushed himself up to a sitting position and bent over to rub his ankles where the ropes had cut into his skin. Her binding spells were strong. "It identifies the location of the person that says his name."

She mulled his answer over. "And then what?"

"I don't know." He shrugged in annoyance. "They'll probably send someone to round up whoever's said it. They know people are on the run." He sat up and rubbed his wrists, rolling his hands around in circles to increase circulation. "Try it sometime when I'm not with you," he taunted her. "See what happens."

She glared at him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and his eyes travelled to her nightstand, next to his knee. There was a colorful Muggle Astronomy book there. The cover picture of the book showed a nebula that he didn't recognize, but the level of detail and intensity of color were greater than anything he could imagine. The only pictures of nebulas he had ever seen were tiny and blurry. Enhancing the size of the pictures didn't increase the level of detail. Not like that anyway.

Granger got up. "I'll be back in a moment, Malfoy." She left her bedroom, presumably to speak with whoever else was here with her in the house now.

Bint. She still had his wand, else he'd leave.

Draco heard her footsteps going downstairs and he eyed the Muggle Astronomy book. She wouldn't know if he looked. Curious, he picked up the book and paged through it. He recognized the diagrams of their solar system and orbits of the planets and comets, but again, the pictures of the planets were far more detailed than he had ever seen.

How did Muggles manage that?

He could actually see the swirls and individual lines within Jupiter's red spot. He looked at the caption. Muggles thought the planet was made of gas?

He snorted. Right.

Draco flipped through the book again. There were some pictures that he didn't understand. Swirls of bright dots. He read the caption.

Galaxies.

He flipped back and saw that their solar system was inside something called the Milky Way galaxy. The tail of the spiral. Odd. And nothing on constellations. He scoffed. Clearly Muggles had no understanding of star patterns and their effect on natural phenomena. He flipped through some more and saw a picture of some Muggle in a weird bubble suit next to the American flag. With a jolt, he recognized the cratered surface and saw Earth in the horizon.

The Muggle was standing on the surface of the moon.

He was stunned, and his lips parted.

Muggles could go to the moon?

Draco flipped through some more and stopped at a picture of a large moon rock on display in a museum in Washington, D.C. A young boy was touching it with his hand and looking back at someone not included in the photo, with a smile on his face.

Pieces of the moon. Here on Earth. That little boy was touching a piece of the moon.

None of this could be true.

But… Why would Granger have a Muggle book filled with lies in her room?

He flipped through the book some more to see a drawing of some metallic contraptions on a red surface which he did not recognize. He looked at the caption which described an unmanned mission to Mars slated to happen in the next 15 or 20 years.

Mars. Muggles were going to Mars.

His thoughts were interrupted when she came back into the room muttering something into her wand. A silvery otter burst forth, circled the room and flew out the window. Was she communicating with someone? And after they had just discussed her being careful!

"Granger! You can't fucking do that."

She turned to him in annoyance. "I had to let someone know about the taboo."

"You stupid bitch!" he sneered at her. "You don't think it would be a tad coincidental if that person was told at the exact same time that I'm gone?"

"There's only one person who needed to be told right now," she retorted, angry at his name calling. "And they're not anywhere where that message would be overheard. I'm careful, Malfoy."

Granger was probably referring to Potter. That prick would be arrogant enough to strut around saying the Dark Lord's name.

"Don't do it again."

"Alright." She conceded, still irritated. Her gaze fell to the book in his lap and she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Draco snapped it shut, perturbed that he had shown any interest in the things in her room to begin with. Angry that she had noticed, he tossed it to the floor like a piece of garbage. It was a piece of garbage.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like it contained the word 'brainwashing.' Draco felt his blood boil.

"The fuck did you say to me, Granger?"

She clenched her jaw and studied him, probably deciding whether or not it was worth pissing him off.

Too late for that.

"Come on then, Mudblood," he goaded her. "Clearly you've got something to say."

She held his gaze for a few seconds. "I said," she bit at him, flaring her nostrils, "Far be it from me to muck up your delicate brainwashing."

Furious, he narrowed his eyes at her. His family held hundreds of years of wizarding knowledge in their personal library alone. The wards protecting Malfoy Manor were borne of twenty-three generations of blood magic. Twenty-three.

Someone like Granger could never even hope to understand the wizarding world.

She didn't belong. She was an aberration.

And she thought he was brainwashed? What the hell did she even know besides what was taught at Hogwarts?

"You're the one who's been lied to," he countered. "I almost feel sorry for you. Being used by power hungry blood traitors to ruin a world you know nothing about. You're better off here with the Muggles."

Despite his harsh words, she didn't look perturbed at all. Not even defiant. It was almost as if Granger expected his reaction and didn't care one way or another. Her apathy unsettled him.

Why was he even here?

"Give me my wand, we're done here."

"Last question, Malfoy."

He glared at her.

"Where's You-Know-Who?"

He gritted his teeth. Just how far was he willing to go? If he gave her information, how much of it could be traced back to him? Everyone knew about the Veritaserum and the taboo. The Dark Lord's location was different. He didn't trust her and didn't know how careless she would be with this arrangement. Whatever this arrangement was. And so far, he wasn't getting anything out it.

That had to change. He needed to think some more about what to demand in exchange.

"We're done. Now give me my fucking wand."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Where's-"

He cut her off before she repeated the question. "Granger, you may have my wand, but you are not in control of the flow of information here. It's not your life on the line."

Granger bristled at his assertion. "My life is on the line every day."

"So. Is. Mine." He growled at her. "Give me my fucking wand and don't be so bloody obvious when you contact me."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I already told you I would be more careful next time."

She better be.

"One more thing."

"What, Malfoy?" she said impatiently, still angry that she hadn't gotten the information she wanted.

He pointed his finger at her so she would understand how important this was. "You need to learn Occlumency. If you're captured, I'm dead."

She stared back at him defiantly.

"We both are."

He couldn't argue with that.

She tossed his wand to the floor and Disapparated with a crack.

oooooooooooooooooo

"Why do I have to be the bloody kid this time?" Ron muttered, struggling to keep up with his small legs. "Slow down!"

"You lost the game of Exploding Snap," Harry replied with a snarky grin that, despite his Polyjuiced middle-aged features, looked entirely like him. "Ronnikins."

"Bugger it all," Ron grumbled with a high-pitched child-like voice that came out more like a whine than he intended. "Next time we're playing chess. You're both bollocks at chess."

"At least neither of you turned into a cat this time around," Hermione reminded them.

They chuckled and abruptly stopped as Headmaster Schwartzkopf rounded the corner of the long, stone corridor.

"I vill speak Herm-o-ninny."

She turned to Victor Krum's large, frame. He had bulked up quite a bit since the Tri-Wizard tournament. It was strange, being the same height as him, able to gaze directly into his dark eyes. And it was odd being the same height as Harry, maybe even taller and… much, much taller than Ron.

"Thank you for this," she whispered.

"Yeah," Harry added softly, reaching around Hermione to give Victor's shoulder a light punch. "Let us know if we can ever return the favor, Krum."

"Bad times," Victor replied, sadness in his warm, dark eyes.

"Victor! How wonderful to see you again!"

The voice of Headmaster Schwartzkopf boomed down the corridor. His black boots clicked against the stone floor as he approached. Victor reached out, and the Headmaster pulled him into an awkward man hug, patting each other's back. The Headmaster turned to face Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"And these must be your cousins…" his voice trailed off.

"Isabella Salisbury," Hermione introduced herself holding out her hand. "Second cousin, twice removed," she corrected.

She had no idea what kind of relation that would be, but it sounded distant enough that no one would care, or check its validity. Instead of shaking her hand, the Headmaster raised it to his lips, kissing her fingers and tickling her knuckles with his black mustache. She had taken the hair of an extremely tall, extremely attractive and extremely well-endowed dark-haired Muggle woman. She thought disguising herself as such a beautiful, voluptuous woman would help them get what they needed without too much resistance. But she hadn't anticipated how uncomfortable she would feel with breasts this large, the unpredictable back pain caused from movements that normally had no effect on her, or the way Harry and Ron blatantly leered at them.

For the first time, Hermione felt sympathetic towards Lavender, who had been dealing with big breasts for a couple of years now.

"Salisbury," the Headmaster put a finger to his lips. "Are you by any chance related to Marie Salisbury, inventor of the Patronus?"

"Myself, no. Salisbury is my married name. But my husband Gerald," She motioned to Harry who shook the Headmaster's hand, "can trace his lineage back to her."

"Pleased to meet you." Harry leaned forward with a smile.

"Likewise." The Headmaster shifted his gaze to Ron and squatted down to look him directly in the eyes. "And this little man must be the reason you are here." He dug in his breast pocket and extracted a lolly. "Would you like something sweet from Durmstrang?"

Ron looked like he was going to say something they'd all regret so Hermione took the lolly. "Thank you, Headmaster, I prefer to save the sweets for after meals."

Victor thankfully intervened before Ron could make an arse of himself. The less Ron spoke, the better. At least scowling annoyance was an acceptable disposition for a bored eight-year-old forced to listen to his parents drone on with strangers.

Victor explained that they heard the educational standards were higher at Durmstrang, and preferred to send their child here instead of Hogwarts. The Headmaster nodded, plainly enjoying the praise of his own school and the dismissal of a rival. He nodded when Victor told him they were hoping to walk around the castle and see the library in particular. The five wandered around the grounds while the Headmaster brownnosed Victor, and each of the Trio managed to each sneak another dose of Polyjuice without notice.

Built in the Carpathian mountains, Durmstrang was a beautiful castle with a breathtaking view. Smaller, darker and more gothic in style than Hogwarts, it had less paintings and portraits and more tapestries. Probably because the climate was colder and the tapestries held the heat in more effectively. The group passed the library and Victor, knowing where they needed to be albeit not the reason, pulled the Headmaster away.

"Ve can leaf them here for now. Ven are you comhing to my games, Petrov? I haven't seen you."

"But Victor! You didn't send the box seat I had last season. It had a much better view!"

Their voices receded as the two ambled down the corridor. Ron glanced towards Harry. "It'll take some time for Krum to pry those lips from his arse."

Hermione noticed the librarian staring at them curiously and bent down to whisper. "Ron, you have to act like a child, people are watching." She paused. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"Hey!"

Harry sniggered.

Hermione surveyed the library in thought. It was beautiful. Large, dark wooden shelves. Stained glass windows spreading columns of colored light across the surfaces of tables, chairs and the floor. She inhaled deeply and the familiar scent of parchment, bindings and books new and old filled her nostrils. A contented smile spread across her face.

"Would you like to find a private corner for some alone time?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sod off."

"Just you and the library. I'm sure we could make do while you enjoyed a romantic interlude."

"Git."

Ron snorted a very high-pitched snort.

"Alright," Harry said, shifting into mission mode. "I think one of us should sit with Ron and ask that librarian about the first year books. That will distract her while the other searches the restricted section."

She scanned the library again. This was Durmstrang. Largest known collection of books pertaining to the Dark Arts. "Unless there is no restricted section."

Ron gazed up at her. "Let's go over now so the librarian doesn't get suspicious. Then we can split up." He ogled her breasts. "Mum."

This was so awkward. She almost preferred having Malfoy leer at her.

She shuddered.

No, never mind. Malfoy was infinitely worse than this.

Exasperated with the whole situation, Hermione gave Ron the lolly.

"Here." She tore off the wrapper for him. "This will keep your mouth occupied."

He glared at her, but took the lolly anyway and popped it in his mouth. She grabbed his hand and they walked over to the front desk. The librarian was an old woman, hunched over slightly. Her gnarled hands were wrapped around a wand while she sent books and scrolls whizzing back to their places at lightning speed. As they approached, she peered at them critically, sizing them up. Her dark, black eyes were keen and intelligent, and she aimed them right at Harry, burning him with her stare.

Hermione could tell he was not unaffected by her gaze because he cleared his throat twice before speaking. "Good morning. We'd like to see the first year textbooks please."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Harry Potter."