A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this update took so long. Writers block, working on other stories and not being able to get onto the computer are major update stoppers. I'll try and make the next one come up sooner! Thank you to all my reviewers! I love them. Keep reviewing!

The Letter to Padfoot.

The next morning, Harry felt happy and energized. He got up, had a shower, got dressed and walked down into the Common Room.

'Harry!' Came a voice behind him. He turned around and saw Ginny running up to him.

'What's up Gin?' He asked her when she reached him.

'Have you seen the message board?' She asked.

'Nope, just came downstairs.'

'Look, now.' She said, pushing him in the back over to the notice board. When they got there, Harry saw the huge sign in the middle of the board that read:

QUIDDITCH TRYOUTS!

THIS SATURDAY AFTER LUNCH!

QUIDDITCH PITCH!

'Cool, who's captain this year?' Harry asked.

'Angelina, and she's being really strict. I think that she thinks she has to, to live up to the legend that was Oliver Wood. This should be an interesting year.' Ginny said. 'Apparently Ron is trying out. I'd watch out for him. I don't know whether you have to go, though. Angelina is not about to throw away the best Seeker that this school has seen since your father himself.' Ginny praised.

'Thanks Gin, but I'm going to go anyway, just in case. For all we know, There could be a really good third year out to get my position on the team.' Harry joked. Ginny laughed a bit and Ron and Hermione came down to join them and they all walked down to breakfast together. During breakfast, Harry came up with an idea.

'You know how Draco isn't actually telling anyone anything about how Sierra is related to him? And you know how Snuffles is related to his family through Narcissa? I was thinking that he might know how she's related to them.' Harry suggested.

'What, write him a letter asking if he knows who this mysterious Malfoy is? He might know. It's worth asking, sure, but don't you think it's an invasion of privacy? Why don't you just ask Draco?' Hermione asked him.

'Hermione, I'm basically his son. And I think I saw a huge room with what looks like a family tree in one of the many rooms in his house. I don't think he'll mind telling me. And it's not like I'm going to tell the whole school if it's so amazingly disgusting. And I'll ask him after I find out, or if I don't find out so I'll know if he's lying or if he's telling the truth. Either way I'll find out.' Harry explained. Hermione sighed. There was no turning Harry back once he had his mind made up on what he wanted to do. He was just as stubborn as she was.

'Fine, but I still advise asking Draco first, he might not appreciate you snooping into his life like this.'

'It'll be fine. And all I'm going to ask Snuffles to do is look on the family tree to see if her name's on there, then I'll ask him how they are related, okay?'

'Fine. I have Arithmancy this morning so I better go, I'll see you boys after or during break.' Hermione said, leaving the breakfast table and walking out of the Great Hall.

'See you, Hermione.' They called after her.

'What have we got first?' Ron asked.

'Um, Divination. That's what the timetable says anyway.' Harry replied.

'Well, the timetable is usually right, let's get going; Trelawney's tower takes ages to get to.' Ron said.

'Yeah, come on.' They walked out of the Great Hall and caught up with Draco and Sierra. They walked up to the Divination Tower together and sat down in their usual spots. After Divination, they met up with Hermione and went to Defence. After another great lesson, they went to Lunch and ate quickly. After more boring classes, they went to dinner and Harry started writing his letter to Sirius. Hermione highly disapproved of what he was doing, but knew she couldn't stop him. The letter went something like this.

Dear Snuffles,

Sorry to use your code name in a letter, but I can't have you getting caught because of something I wrote. Anyway, I wanted you to have a look at that family tree room that I saw in your house over the summer. I want you to see if there is a girl with the name Sierra Malfoy on there. It would be a great help. And I also want to know how good my mother was at potions. Snape said that I inherited her talent for it and I want to know if I should hate him more than I already do for that comment or be utterly confused. I also just wanted your opinion on it.

Stay safe. Harry.

'Have you finished the letter Harry?' Hermione asked.

'Yep, do you want to read it?' He asked.

'Sure. I might as well.' She answered with a sigh.

'Here you go.' He said, handing it to her.

'Thanks.' She said. She read it through and handed it back to him. 'It sounds okay. Do you want me to take it to Hedwig tonight? I've already finished my homework and I know you haven't done yours. I also know Ron hasn't either.' Hermione said.

'Fine, you take it, but don't let anyone here you telling Hedwig to take it to him, you'll have to tell her his name or she won't know who you're talking about.' Harry whispered across the table to her.

'Yep, I'll take it to him when we leave so as not to raise suspicion.' Hermione whispered back. They ate the rest of their dinner and Harry was very restless.

'Yes Harry, I will go and give the letter to her now.' Hermione said when they had finished dinner. They walked out of the Hall and Hermione walked off to the Owlery. She had to turn around a couple of times because she had that strange feeling that someone was following her. She made it there without any disturbances though, and she was incredibly relieved.

She walked over to where Hedwig was perched and took her down and over to the bench that was covered in Owl droppings. She tied the letter around Hedwig's leg and then she felt that familiar presence someone close by. She turned around and looked behind her, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Being friends with Ron and Harry had heightened her senses about people following her around. Not because they did it. But because of everything that they had been through in the past five years. Being ambushed, followed, attacked, everything. She slowly turned back around to face Hedwig.

'Take this letter to Sirius. Hopefully you remember where you were this summer.' Hermione whispered, just loud enough for a certain person spying on her to listen in. She took Hedwig over to the window and she flew off into the distance. Hermione watched the magnificent bird take off and fly until she couldn't she her. After a little while, she felt someone stand beside her.

'Beautiful, isn't it?' The boy asked quietly. She turned to face the person standing with her to find none other than Draco Malfoy. She sighed.

'It is. I love watching Hedwig take off. She looks magnificent with the sun beating down on her white wings. I love her. Harry does too. She's his owl.' She told him.

'I know that this is none of my business, so you don't have to answer it if you don't want to, but who was the letter to?' He asked, looking at her. She caught his eyes and held them for a long time.

'I'm not allowed to tell you. It's a secret.' She said mysteriously. She gave him a small, bright smile and turned back to look at the Sunset. He scrutinized her for a second before turning back to look out the window again himself. After a while, Hermione decided to ask him the question that Harry wanted to know from Sirius.

'How are you related to Sierra? You two seem like brother and sister, yet, if she was, then she would've started Hogwarts with you, wouldn't she? I'm just curious. You don't have to tell me.' She explained. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

'That question has been on everyone's mind, hasn't it? Oh well, I'll tell you. She's my cousin. My father has a twin brother. She's his daughter. She originally went to Beauxbatons. Then changed to Durmstrang because of the Defence Against the Dark Arts stuff. But her mother is really nice. She's my favourite relative, apart from Sirius. I only talked to him a couple of times. Or so I've been told. Anyway, I was told to take care of her this year and next year because she is going to stay next year as well. Father doesn't approve of her because she makes friends with "the wrong people" or whatever he has started calling them. I don't really care anymore. I love my family, but I don't believe in the same things they do. They scare me sometimes. All this Death Eater stuff. They want me to become one too, so I may have to go into hiding soon to avoid it. That is the last thing I want to do with my life. I want to find someone I love and settle down with them. Not blow it all to the gallows. I don't want to ruin my life like they did. I want to have a family and be with them, you know. Like normal people. Including Muggles. They have the best lives I reckon. They don't have to worry about any Dark Lords, or Death Eaters. No worries. I'm sorry, I'm just rambling on about my crap life. Sorry.' Hermione looked at him sadly. She hooked arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He looked a little surprised at this, but rested his head on top of hers, a small smile tugging at his lips.

They stayed in this state for a while until they noticed it was getting very dark. They decided to walk back. Just as he was about to say goodbye to Hermione when he bent his head low to hers.

'I know that you know where he lives. I heard you.' He whispered.

'You were the one spying on me!' She almost shouted. Draco pressed a hand to her mouth, making her stay quiet down.

'Yes, but only because I wanted to spend time alone with you.' He whispered. He kept his head low to hers, making her heart beat rapidly. She was a bit uncomfortable, but liked it all the same.

'You can't tell anyone, please don't. If they find out then we'll be taken in for questioning about it and everything. Please don't tell a soul.' Hermione pleaded, she had taken his hand from her mouth.

'I promise. Heart and soul, I will never tell your secret about my cousin.' Draco whispered. He quickly kissed her on the forehead and turned away, walking even quicker down the hallway, making his way to the Slytherin Dungeons, leaving Hermione a little bit stunned at the quick kiss and that he had wanted to spend time with her alone. She vowed not to tell Harry that he knew. She walked into the Common Room, giving the Fat Lady the password, then quickly walked up the stairs into her bedroom, ready for a goodnights sleep.

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The next morning, when she woke up, she was still a little confused about what had transpired last night between her and Draco. She shook her head roughly, trying to shake the thoughts of him from her head. The truth was, she couldn't get the feel of his lips out of her mind. They were soft, smooth. She loved the feel of them. She wanted to feel them against her own. She wanted to be with him.

She went to have a quick shower before getting dressed. She walked into the Common Room and ran straight into Harry and Ron. Quite literally. All three of them ended up on the floor rubbing their backsides.

'Why the hell were you standing so close to the stairwell?' She asked. She got up slowly and glared at them.

'Sorry, didn't know you would come down so quickly.' Ron said gruffly.

'It's okay, just wait for me to come down next time. Now why were you waiting at the stairwell?' She asked again.

'Did you send it?' Harry whispered.

'No Harry, I tore it up and threw it in the bin. Of course I bloody sent it!' Hermione cried in a loud whisper.

'No need to get smart with me. Just making sure.' Harry said.

'Good. Now let's go down to breakfast, I'm starving.' Hermione said to them. They nodded in agreement and left the Common Room to go into the Great Hall.

As they walked past the Slytherin table, Draco winked at her and gave her a small, barely seen, sincere smile. One that he seemed to actually mean. One that he only gave to her. She smiled back and continued walking with the boys. They made their way to the Gryffindor table and ate a quick breakfast before the boys thought that they would go out and get in some extra practice before the tryouts after Lunch. Ginny said that she would join them, and Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. She said that she would come with them after Lunch to see the tryout, but had to finish off some work in the Library before then. It was a fair compromise, homework before lunch, and watching them after. They agreed unwillingly, but they knew that Hermione would just do Homework instead of watching them anyway. While they went upstairs to get their brooms and a ball to throw to each other, Hermione went up to collect her workbooks, quill and ink and anything else she may need. They bid goodbye to each other outside the portrait hole and split their separate ways. Hermione to the Library and Ron, Ginny and Harry to the Quidditch Pitch.

On her way to the Library, Hermione once again found that she had that annoying feeling that she was being watched. She turned around suddenly, hoping to catch whoever was following off guard, but that was no use, so she just kept walking to the Library, but kept a wary eye behind her and her senses alert, her hand was over her wand the entire time, ready for use when needed. She made her way there with ease, not being intercepted or stopped, but she still had that nagging feeling that she was being followed and watched. She found her favourite table at the back of the Library and set everything up to start. She started her Potions homework first and set off to look for the right book.

As she set off into the Potions section, she heard a voice behind her.

'How different, Hermione's doing homework.' She laughed lightly as she recognized the voice from last night in the Owlery. She turned around to see Draco standing behind her. Not too close, but far enough away for her to feel comfortable. She came closer to him and enveloped him into a hug. He was a bit surprised for a moment, but soon came to his senses and wrapped his arms around her, taking in her scent, breathing in from her hair discreetly. She was at the least a head shorter than he was. They broke apart after a couple of seconds. Hermione blushed lightly, and turned to continue looking for her book.

'So, where are your magnificent friends?' Draco asked.

'Ha ha. Ginny, Harry and Ron are practicing before the Quidditch tryouts this afternoon. I said I'd watch the tryouts, but I can't stand a whole day of just watching them practice Quidditch. So I'm doing my homework, getting it out of the way, so to speak.' She answered, flashing a glance at him, smiling. He nodded to her.

'What book are you looking for?' He asked. 'Maybe I could help.'

'Moste Potente Potions. It has to be here somewhere!' She cursed. Draco smiled and took a book from the shelves.

'Is this the one you're looking for?' He asked her, holding out the book. She turned around to see what book it was and tell him that she had already searched there, but found the big volume in his hands.

'But I'd already looked there. Where did you find it?' She asked, taking the book from him and looking at him curiously.

She looks so cute when she's confused. Draco thought, smirking.

'Just here, look, here's the hole I pulled it from.' He pointed at the hole and smirking larger at the look of surprise on her face. She looked back up at him and gave him another hug. This time he was ready for it and wrapped her tight in his arms. They hugged for what seemed like an incredibly long time before they snapped to their senses and pulled apart. Hermione blushed brightly and went back to sit at her table. Draco followed her and sat beside her. They talked as she worked and he made her laugh so much that Madam Pince had to tell them many a time to be quiet. Hermione was close to getting close to being kicked out of the Library for the first time in Five years.

After they (meaning she) finished work and it was time for Lunch. Draco walked her down to the Great Hall. They split ways at the tables and Hermione met up with Harry, Ron and Ginny. They greeted her (Ron with his mouth full, like always) and they ate a good Lunch before heading down to the Quidditch Pitch for tryouts. Hermione and Ginny went up into the Stands and waited for the tryouts to begin.

She heard Angelina yelling out to everyone in the area who had turned up. The sounds wafted up to her, but she was unable to make out anything that she was saying. Just by seeing who was flying, she could tell that it was the Keeper tryouts first. She stopped reading to watch Angelina throw the Quaffle in random directions for him to catch. Ron caught all of them superbly. Hermione cheered for him and as he did a lap of honour, she Hi 5-ed him as he flew past. She laughed as her hair went wild as he went passed, making the wind whip past her.

At the end of the Tryouts, Ron was named the new Gryffindor Keeper. Hermione cheered loudly at the news. She had come down to hear the verdict. She gave Ron a huge hug and they walked back up to the Tower to get ready for dinner together. The tryouts had taken all the rest of the day. Just getting everyone ready and trying out everyone who turned up. They all walked into the Great Hall together and ate a big dinner. Then headed off to bed for a good night's sleep.

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When they woke up the next morning, they found Hedwig tapping on the Common Room window. Harry was the first over there to open the window to let her in. He quickly took the letter that was attached to her off and sat down in front of the fire to read it with them. They crowded around the letter and Harry read aloud.

Dear Harry,

I know you can't use my real name in the damn letter, so you don't need to apologize. I understand. As for the girl, Sierra. She's Draco's cousin. Apparently Lucius has a twin brother named Samete. It's his daughter. And apparently I'm not the only 'bad egg,' in the family. Sierra's mother and father, as well as herself were all blasted off the wall, along with me. Oh, and about your mother, she was the best potioneer Hogwarts had ever seen. Aced every test we had and passed N.E.W.T s and O.W.L. s with flying colours. If Snape said that to you then it was definitely a compliment. But then again, it makes me a bit confused because he hated your father, so I don't know why he would pay you a compliment. So, be utterly confused. Oh, and my opinion, you must be very talented at potions to be compared to your mother. I'm proud of you. So would they have been. Harry, when haven't I been safe? Stay safe yourself and don't get into any more mischief this year.

From Snuffles.

P.S. I have a clue where Wormtail might be hiding. Near the hills around Hogsmeade. Where I was hiding out last year. Check up there for me next time you're in Hogsmeade. I think he's there to spy on you. Be careful. Snuffles.

'Well, now I know, I might as well check whether he will tell me who she is himself.' Harry said, folding up the letter and putting it in his pocket.

'Draco told me who she was when we were in the Owlery, I don't know why he wouldn't tell you. But, then again, he doesn't have a crush on you, follow you everywhere and sneak up on you when you least expect it.' Hermione added. Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows at her and she sighed.

'Draco snuck up on me way after I sent the letter to Snuffles and then followed me all the way to the Library yesterday. It was kind of odd.' She explained. The boys snickered at her and she hit them in the back of the heads rather hard, but not hard enough to really hurt them. They still chuckled as they rubbed their heads. They walked down to have a late breakfast and to walk around the lake, talking about what Sirius had told them. They talked for ages, walking around the lake, sitting against their usual tree, walking all around the grounds, just to random places. They went back inside for Lunch, then came back out for more talking in the sun. Draco and Sierra followed soon after and Harry asked the question that he had wanted to ask them all day.

'Hey, I wanted to know this for a while now, how are you two related to each other?'

'We're cousins. My father has a twin brother, Samete, that's her father.' Draco said. They were sitting in the shade of a tree by the lake, watching the Giant Squid wiggle his tentacles over the water. Hermione gave Harry a smug look and settled back into reading. Harry rolled his eyes at her and turned back to look up at the sky. He was laying on his back with his hands behind his head. They lay there talking for the rest of the day until dinner, where they walked in together and ate at their respective tables. They fell asleep immediately.