Fourth-floor Bathroom / Snape's Office
After Theo and Professor Dumbledore go missing, Graham Montague does too. The difference, though, is that his whereabouts remain a mystery for little more than a day. It's Draco who finds him lying on the ground next to one of the toilets on the fourth-floor, his face pale and his shirt bloody.
"Get... Snape..." he wheezes.
Draco does not hesitate. He dashes through the castle and bursts into their Head's office.
"Professor Snape, sir - Oh, sorry -"
He's walked in on something that looks an awful lot like his own Occlumency lessons. Only, it's Potter that Snape's got his wand pointed at.
"It's all right," says Snape, lowering his arm. "Potter is here for Remedial Potions."
It's confirmed, then, right? Because Snape - Doesn't he remember? He told Draco to use Advanced Potions as a cover, should anyone get suspicious about his evening activities. How interesting.
But wait. This means Snape is a double agent, doesn't it? Merlin, that's - that's -
What's Potter need Occlumency lessons for? And why would Snape go all these months without mentioning it to Draco, only to be so quick to clue him in now?
And does Hermione know about this? 'Harry's… Harry's been busy too.' Yeah, seems likely that she does.
But Remedial Potions, huh? "I didn't know," says Draco, grinning at Potter, enjoying the difference in their cover stories.
"Well, Draco, what is it?"
"Oh, right! It's Montague, sir. He's turned up in one of the toilet stalls."
"How did he get in there?"
"I don't know, sir. He looked like he'd been splinched, but that can't be so. Not at Hogwarts, right?"
"Very well. Potter, we shall resume this lesson tomorrow evening instead."
Draco almost blurts out that tomorrow doesn't work. Tomorrow they have lessons. But he thinks better of it as Snape turns and sweeps from his office. Unable to help himself, Draco looks at Potter and mouths, 'Remedial Potions?' before following out the door.
They head down the corridor, Draco trying to think of what to ask, how to inquire about what he's just seen. But when they arrive at the staircase, Snape faces him, lifts his wand and says, "Obliviate."
At once, Draco's eyes become unfocused and dreamy.
"Where did you say you found Montague?" Snape asks.
The question is distorted in Draco's ears, like he's underwater or barely awake.
"Sorry, sir, what was that?"
"A minute ago, you rushed into my office, interrupted me as I graded assignments. You did this because you found Graham Montague somewhere. He's injured. Possibly splinched. Can you take me to him?"
"I - Oh, right! Right, of course!"
They rush to the fourth-floor and find Montague right where Draco left him. He's drifted into a nearly unconscious state, perfectly still apart from his fluttering eyelids. Snape immediately begins to move his wand over his torso, muttering incantations. Slowly, Montague regains a bit of strength.
"Cabinet… I was stuck… Heard... Borgin..."
"Borgin?" asks Draco.
"Of Borgin and Burkes?" asks Snape.
Montague nods, and then closes his eyes like he's given the maximum effort he can manage. Nothing left to do but rest.
"I think he has been splinched," Professor Snape says to Draco, sounding surprised. "It seems the castle's magic allowed him to Apparate because it was a true emergency."
Even with Snape's explanation, things aren't adding up for Draco. What cabinet? What emergency? And what's any of it got to do with Borgin and Burkes, a shop that's several hundred kilometers away?
"Professor, I don't understand. What's -"
"Not now, Draco," says Snape. "I've got to get Graham to the hospital wing. You should head back to your dormitory early tonight. You don't appear to be in great shape yourself."
Draco nods, thinking that Snape's got the right idea. He doesn't feel well. His head is pounding and he's rather fatigued. When did that start? Only within the last few minutes, he guesses.
"Yeah, I think I'll go to bed before too long," says Draco. "I'll see you tomorrow night for lessons, Professor."
"Actually, no. I need to reschedule," says Snape. "I have a meeting with the other Heads of House. You and I can meet the following night."
"The following night. It's a plan. Thanks, Professor."
Trophy Room / Boathouse
"If anything bad happened to Theo, you'd hear about it from Tonks, right?"
Hermione grins. "You bring him up whenever you don't feel like studying," she says.
It's another night in the Trophy Room, another night that they're preparing for O.W.L.s. Only two months to go, and Hermione keeps insisting that if Draco wants to see her at all during June, he has to allow them plenty of studying time now.
"It's just that no one seems too keen to find Theo," Draco explains. "We know he's gone somewhere safe, but not everyone does. So shouldn't there be a formal investigation? Shouldn't his father have contacted me to see if I know anything?"
"Oh, I'm sure a formal investigation is taking place," says Hermione. "But Snape and the other Heads are taking care of everything, helping cover things up as necessary. And wouldn't it make sense for Mr. Nott to assume you don't know anything? He thinks Theo's a blood traitor, but you're not, so why would he confide in you?"
"Yeah, I guess," Draco grumbles, not too convinced.
"On the other hand, maybe you're right. Maybe he doesn't want to find Theo. He has to pretend like he wants to, of course, but in reality he knows he's safer wherever he's gone."
Okay, yeah. That helps Draco feel better. "That makes sense," he says. "The man's a bigot and a fool, but I'm sure he wants Theo to be safe. Tonks would tell you, though, right? If something bad happened to him?"
"She would, and I'd tell you straight away."
Draco nods and returns his attention to his textbook. Before getting back to her flashcards, Hermione leans over and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. It's not long, though, before another Theo related question comes up.
"Did he tell you he produced a corporeal Patronus?" Hermione asks.
No, he hadn't. Draco knew he could do the charm the other way, the less advanced version. But if the change took place during his last few days at Hogwarts - Well, they'd both been especially preoccupied with their significant others around that time.
"Corporeal? l didn't know that. What's his animal?"
"A fox."
Draco grins. "I bet he loves that. Lends itself to all sorts of corny jokes about his looks."
"Oh, like you wouldn't do the same thing if your Patronus was a fox?"
Her question is rhetorical, at least that's what Draco figures, so he doesn't say anything in return. Instead, he takes Hermione's hand in his own, lifts it to his lips, and kisses it. He loves moments like this with her, all the teasing and humor they share.
"You miss him?" she asks.
"I don't know if that's the best way to describe it," says Draco. "He hasn't been gone long. But not knowing when I'll see him again? That's the difficult part."
"I expect to see Tonks over the summer," Hermione offers. "If you want to write him a letter, I could give it to her. She could pass it on to him."
"That's a good idea. Yeah, let's do that."
It's back to studying then, or it should be. But Draco's too busy thinking of everything he'll put in the letter. He'll tell Theo about Pansy finding the D.A.'s member list and holding court in their common room. And how he managed to trick Umbridge, despite her putting Verataserum in his drink. And about Graham's bizarre adventure with a charmed wardrobe, something he's since called a Vanishing Cabinet. And he'll tell Theo -
"I've got something else I want to say about Patronuses," says Hermione.
"But it's our O.W.L. year," says Draco, pretending like he cares, like she shouldn't interrupt him while he reads his textbook. "And you set the rules already," he adds. "You said on nights we meet in the Trophy Room -"
"Yes, but that's precisely it," Hermione interjects. "I set the rules, so I can break them."
Draco laughs. "That philosophy makes you a tyrant, you know."
"Oh, you don't want to hear the compliment I have for you? Alright, another time I suppose."
They smile at each other and wait a beat. Who will give up their game first?
It's Draco. He puts his book aside, snatches Hermione's flashcards out of her hands, and puts them aside too. "Come here," he says as he tugs her into his lap. "Tell me this compliment, please."
"It's about the Patronus Charm."
"Yes?"
"Lately, it's been a lot easier for me, and I think that's because we've been spending so much time together. And I just thought you should know."
Merlin, what a compliment! Draco's heart beats faster. "Show me," he says.
Hermione digs her wand out of her robes, closes her eyes, and within seconds says, "Expecto Patronum." And there it is, her wispy, silvery otter.
"That was a lot faster than in the Shrieking Shack," says Draco.
He kisses Hermione, a token to show his appreciation. Almost immediately, she turns the kiss into something more serious. She moves to straddle him, taking the same position he enjoyed so much once before. They kiss, and kiss, and kiss, and he thinks how despite all the barriers - the way he was raised and how he used to treat her, their relationship having to remain a secret, Astoria and Pansy finding out the truth, his recent involvement on the Inquisitorial Squad - Despite all of that, they've found a way to make things work. They're together. They're happy.
They're so fucking happy.
"I want to try it," Draco murmurs against her lips.
Hermione pulls away enough to look at him. "The Patronus Charm?" she asks.
Draco forgets to answer. He's on a mission now. He finds his wand next to his discarded textbook and picks it up. Hermione shifts to dismount from his lap, but he doesn't let her get very far.
"No, stay right here," says Draco, holding her in place. And then over her shoulder, he casts the charm. "Expecto Patronum!"
"A wolf! Oh, Draco, that's brilliant!"
Hermione's lips are on his again, but for once, he isn't all that aware of them. At least not at first. He's still looking at the wolf that sprang from his wand, still relishing that it worked.
He did it!
"Seriously, that's so perfect for you," says Hermione. "I did a report on wolves when I was younger, back at my Muggle school, and -"
Now it's Draco who's kissing her. He's done relishing his magic and back to relishing his girl.
"And while wolves live in other parts of Europe," she persists, "they've been extinct in England and Scotland for ages. So all sorts of parallels could be drawn there. Relating to your blood status and the fact that you're a Most Sacred Son, I mean. Plus you're different than all the Malfoys before you, which makes you even more rare -"
Another kiss. Which turns into dozens of kisses. Hermione cooperates for several minutes before remembering there's more she'd like to say.
"And wolves and foxes are both members of the Canidae family, so that's perfect considering how much you and Theo have in common. And wolves are generally considered -"
Draco kisses her again, and again, and again...
"They're intelligent, and caring, and playful, and devoted, to their families -"
"Hermione," says Draco, and then he starts the next kiss with such ferocity, he momentarily fears he's bruised her. But she doesn't stop him.
She clutches his shirt. She whimpers. She adjusts her position in a way that surely isn't about getting more comfortable. Because she's better aligned herself with the erection that's filling out Draco's trousers, letting it press against her right where -
"You were saying something earlier?" he asks her playfully.
Hermione doesn't even bother with cracking a smile. She just continues staring at his lips. "I was saying I like your Patronus," she says seriously.
"Thanks. I like it too," says Draco.
And then they're kissing again.
Now that they've started, Draco and Hermione can't stop kissing during their evenings together. Their nights spent in the boathouse are particularly - stimulating. It's become routine to move one of the boats out of the water and throw a bunch of pillows and blankets into it, making it easier to kiss while laying down, kiss when one of them is directly on top of the other, kiss with his hands under her shirt, groping her breasts...
Draco thoroughly enjoys boathouse nights, but occasionally he has to slow things down. There's only so much he can take of doing all that without advancing to doing more. On one such occasion, when Hermione notices his tentative movements, she looks at him with sad eyes.
"Should I be worried when you do that?" she asks quietly. "When you start to disengage like that?"
Draco hates seeing her pride take a hit, which is how he's able to set his own aside and tell her the truth. "I don't want to accidentally go in my pants," he admits. "That would be mortifying."
"Oh," says Hermione. But her single syllable is not an amused or sympathetic one, not like Draco expected. Rather, it's seeping with desire. "That sounds like a fun challenge," she tells him, and she tries to catch his mouth with hers.
Draco dodges her attempt. He grabs her hands and restrains them above her head. "Not a challenge," he insists. "We need to take a few minutes to calm ourselves. Maybe think of something gross, something that's a complete turnoff. Like boogers or algae -"
"Algae?"
"I don't know, it's what popped into my head. What else? Oh, how about Potter's stupid glasses?"
Hermione snorts. "And Umbridge's… Well, her everything."
"Nice one. And Weasley's ginger hair? Please tell me that doesn't do anything for you."
Hermione makes another attempt to kiss Draco. He dodges this one too and holds her down firmer. "Granger," he says, his tone a warning.
"Don't insult my friends," she pouts.
"You're right. I'm done with that."
Draco leans down, but instead of kissing Hermione, he blows a raspberry on her neck. She squeals. Grinning, he finally releases her and lays down by her side. They shift until they find one of their go-to, comfortable positions with her head on his chest and his hand in her hair.
"Add O.W.L.s to the list," she says.
"Major turnoff," Draco agrees. "Though, you're probably more worried about them than you need to be."
She sighs. "Everyone keeps telling me that."
"Because it's true. Thank goodness you have me to distract you."
"We always have a good time together, don't we?"
"Always."
"You pinning my arms down a minute ago, that was a surprisingly good time. "
"Liked that, did you?"
Hermione nods, nuzzles her head into a better spot, and wraps an arm around Draco's body. They fall into one of their satisfying lulls.
"You'll be proud of me," he says after a while. "I managed some studying on my own the other day. Did you know our Charms book grossly oversimplified how memories work?"
"So you were listening that night I told you and Theo about my parents?"
"C'mon, Granger, I caught most of it. You know that."
"I do. I'm only teasing," she says. "Anyway, I suspect textbook authors have to simplify a lot of things, otherwise students would get too many crazy ideas. Can't have us running around meddling with each other's memories, can they? Memory modification has the power to change a person's entire life, as you've heard."
"Do you think that's why the book spends more time discussing the side effects than the charm itself?"
"The flu-like symptoms, you mean? Is that in our book?"
"Yeah. Did that happen to your parents?"
"Well, the more memory work that's done, the more severe the side effects will be. And the longer they'll last too. But I wasn't there for my parents' memories were extracted, remember? So I haven't seen how bad it can get. But when the false memories were given to them, the ones that made them start planning for early retirement, there were some side effects. Nothing too dramatic, just a few days of general fatigue."
"I see," says Draco. He lazily messages the nape of Hermione's neck, deep in thought now.
During his first Occlumency lesson, Snape had pulled a few strands of - of something from his head and dispensed them into a bowl on his desk. That something was wispy and silvery and, lately, makes Draco think of Patronuses. Even so, the experience troubles him. In fact, watching Snape repeat this action at the top of each lesson troubles him more and more over time.
Draco doesn't want to tell Hermione this, though, not when she already struggles to make peace with the path she chose for her parents. Still, he needs to know if -
"Do they look a bit like Patronuses?" Draco asks. "When they're extracted, I mean. Are memories sort of the same substance and color?"
Hermione sits straight up. "Your textbook got you thinking about all this?" she asks with concern.
"And Snape." Draco describes what he's seen.
"Oh, yeah, those'll be memories," says Hermione. "And it sounds like he's using a Pensieve."
She explains that Pensieves are extremely rare, and without one, a decent amount of planning is required for storing memories. For example, each extracted memory has to be kept in a separate vial, otherwise they can get distorted. And the collection of vials has to be kept away from anything that could jostle them, and away from extreme temperatures too.
"The lead Auror I worked with is a man called Kingsley Shacklebolt," she says. "He took care of that part, deciding where to keep my parents' memories so they'd stay safe."
Though he's curious, Draco doesn't ask Hermione about this. He figures the location of her parents' memories is the sort of thing she wishes to remain secret. Same as the name of the country where they now reside. He should ask something, though. Keep this conversation going, make sure Hermione knows he cares about this part of her life.
"Does your Case Manager know about your parents?" he asks. "It seems like the sort of thing she'd need to approve ahead of time."
"No, she doesn't know yet," Hermione answers. "I asked Kingsley about it, and he recommended I not tell her until I absolutely had to. See, once I started at Hogwarts, our correspondence decreased drastically. She owls occasionally, but makes a house call only once a year. Over the summer. So she'll find out about my parents in July. Kingsley said we'll probably be scolded for not involving her, him more than me. But it's not like we've done anything illegal, so it'll be fine."
They're quiet for only a few seconds after that, before Hermione moves abruptly. Above Draco now, holding her weight off of him, she grins, communicating without words that kissing will resume in approximately -
"I think about that day we met sometimes," says Draco, distracting her because it entertains him to do so. "At Flourish and Blotts, remember? I was such an arrogant little shit. And there you were, with - what five years of wand work under your belt already?"
"Only for an hour every other week," she says. "That doesn't add up to much."
"Still. I can't believe I thought I had any business talking down to you," says Draco. "I'm really sorry about that. And for that word I used to call you. And for being so horrible to your friends in the past."
Hermione lowers herself, letting her entire body rest on top of Draco, and she kisses him sweetly. "We've come a long way," she says, and then she kisses him some more, lifts his hands to her thighs, rakes her fingers through his hair...
And Draco forgets all about memory modification and how much the very idea of it scares him.
