A/N: Thank you guys for getting this story to almost 4,000 views, 100 followers, and 40 reviews! (Not that I'm counting or anything . . . )
Ardentlyadmired, Thanks for all the great reviews! I love seeing them come in chapter by chapter as someone reads. Don't worry, we will get to see what is in that final memory at some point. Oh, and I'm really happy you enjoyed seeing Narcissa in this story. She will be back 😊
iheartdracomalfoy4life, First, let me say, fantastic user name. Second, thank you! I really enjoy weaving canon into my fanfics and trying to show another side to the coin we all know and love.
Chelsea always, Haha yes, I feel like we can always trust Ron to escalate any situation! Glad you enjoyed Harry and Ginny too.
shadowfax00, Ron is such a drama queen 😉 I'm glad you thought his reaction was appropriate.
delia cerrano, I am thrilled you like my take on Luna! I honestly have to say I was a bit nervous about writing her because I did not want her to come across as fru fru. Sorry you didn't get the chapter updates! My guess is that was a glitch on FF's part. If it helps, I promise to update weekly, so if a week has passed, take a peek and there is probably a new chapter. I love all your theories and thoughts on how the story is going to progress.
ElizColl, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the Golden Trio (plus Ginny) together. I don't want to give anything away, but we will see more of them in this story.
Draco entered the meeting room the next day, he was greeted by the sight of a very frazzled-looking Hermione, arranging her papers. Her hair was pulled into a haphazard bun with numerous tendrils escaping, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked as he sat down.
Hermione barely glanced up. "I, uh, didn't sleep well last night."
"Wild night, huh?" He smirked at her. "Didn't think you were the type."
"No . . . I just met Harry, Ron, and Ginny for dinner."
"Did you tell them?"
"Tell them what?" She rubbed her forehead.
Draco rolled his eyes. "About our torrid love affair." He waved his hand. "About this, obviously."
"Yes." She sighed. "And it didn't go over very well."
"Shocking. What did they say? Lock me in the darkest cell in Azkaban and throw away the key?"
"Harry and Ginny were pretty reasonable, actually. Ron . . . not so much."
Draco snorted.
Hermione smiled slightly. "Did you really just use the word 'torrid'?"
Draco frowned and crossed his arms, muttering, "Stupid romance books."
"What, are romance novels all they give you to read in Azkaban?" Hermione laughed. "They're getting unique with their punishments."
"No, they don't give us anything to read in here." He grimaced. "They're all my mother had to give me. The Ministry seized our library when they arrested us. Too many 'dangerous' books on Dark Magic in there, apparently."
"Oh." Hermione pressed her fingers to her lips, sobering her mockery, then shook her head. "I guess those are better than nothing . . . Merlin, I'd go insane."
"Tell me about it," he grumbled.
"Well, anyway, I met with Luna Lovegood yesterday and she's agreed to testify for you. She, uh, also asked me to tell you hello and that she hopes you get released."
"She did?" Draco was genuinely surprised. He remembered the girl had been strange, to say the least, but he felt a small twinge of relief knowing someone in the wizarding world didn't hate every fiber of his being.
"Yeah, she also said you had a . . . good soul."
Draco laughed loudly. "Really? That's unexpected. Uh . . . tell her thanks, I guess. She's a nutter, but I'll take what I can get."
Hermione glared at him. "She's not a nutter! She's actually very insightful. She just sees things differently than most people."
"That's one way of putting it. You know, she never even seemed scared or upset when she was locked in the cellar. She used to ask me how I was doing though and—" he scrunched up his face "—something about how to get rid of the . . . Wrackspurts?" He looked at Hermione. If anyone knew what those were, it would be know-it-all Granger.
"Uh, yeah, Wrackspurts are kind of her thing." For some reason, Hermione's cheeks flushed pink as she said this.
For the rest of their time together, Hermione went over the questions she would likely ask Luna on the stand and asked Draco more details about her time at the Manor, just to make sure his story matched Luna's.
When their time was up and Draco walked back to his cell, he couldn't help noticing he felt slightly more relaxed than he had when he arrived that morning.
He shook his head. Maybe I finally got rid of the Wrackspurts . . .
The next day was Saturday, and Draco had already met with his mother that afternoon, so he was surprised when the guard announced that he had another visitor.
When he entered the meeting room, he was stunned to see Hermione Granger seated there, wearing a striking blue dress, curly hair cascading around her as she pulled large books out of a small beaded bag and stacked them on the table.
"Oh, hi," she said when she saw him.
"What are those?" Draco eyed the large tomes suspiciously.
"My seventh-year Hogwarts books. I thought you might like to borrow them."
He shot his eyebrows up in surprise. "Why?"
"Well, your record said you never graduated, and I thought you might want to get a head start . . . in case you do get out of here."
Draco picked the first textbook off the stack and opened it. "What's the point?"
"Isn't it better than doing nothing or reading mindless romance novels?" she asked, sounding slightly frustrated.
She had a point. If he had to read one more description about "her heaving bosoms" or "his deep blue orbs," he was going to poke his own orbs out.
"Besides," she went on, "if you do get released, it will be good for you to have a goal to work toward. You could graduate, get a job, slowly integrate yourself back into society—"
"I don't think it will be that simple, Granger," he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Fine!" She slammed a book on the table. "Have it your way." She began packing the books back into her bag, looking perturbed. "I should have known bett—"
"Wait." Draco reached to grab a book she was stowing away but ended up grabbing her hand instead. "I would like to read them." He looked her in the eye. "Thank you."
She pulled her hand away swiftly and stared at him. "You're welcome."
Draco sat back in his chair as she pulled the books out again. He actually was extremely excited to have the opportunity to put his brain to use once more.
"Oh, and I got you these too. In case you want something just for entertainment." Hermione pulled out three similar-looking hardcover books and handed one to him.
"The Lord of the Rings?" He inspected it. "I've never heard of it."
"Well, they're Muggle books," she said carefully. "But I think you'll like them. Start with this one." She handed him another book, titled The Hobbit.
Draco opened his mouth to protest but changed his mind. Honestly, he really couldn't afford to be picky right now. And they couldn't possibly be as bad as the books his mother gave him.
"All right," he agreed begrudgingly.
Ignoring his ungrateful tone, Hermione opened one of the books and brought it up to her nose, inhaling deeply.
"Mmmmm . . ." she breathed enthusiastically. "Don't you just love the smell of new books?"
Draco gaped at her display.
"Here." She shoved it under his nose. "Smell it."
"What? No!" He knocked her hand away. "I'm not smelling a book! What is wrong with you?"
"What? I always smell my books." She looked genuinely confused.
"You're mental."
Hermione narrowed her eyes but ignored his comment. "The Lord of the Rings trilogy you can keep. The textbooks I'll want back. And make sure you treat them well. I want them to stay in good condition."
"Of course you do," he muttered, picturing her meticulously dusting a shrine of her former Hogwarts textbooks at home, surrounded by cats. What a nerd . . .
As he gathered all the books in a neat stack, he tried not to look too eager. In all honesty, he was extremely grateful to have these distractions. It would make his time in Azkaban much more tolerable.
Hermione watched him with a knowing smile, as if sensing his gratitude that he did not express.
"Oh! One more thing," she said suddenly and reached into her bag. She pulled out a small device with what appeared to be plastic earmuffs.
"What's that?" Draco eyed it suspiciously. It looked undoubtedly Muggle.
"My MP3 player. It's for music. It's Muggle," she said in a tone that implied, Deal with it, "but I've charmed it so the battery won't die."
Having no idea what a battery was, Draco took it hesitantly.
"You put these over your ears to listen to it." She pointed to the round ends of the strange earmuffs, which were at least padded. "This button turns it on and these will change tracks."
"This better not be full of Celestina Warbeck," he said, imagining "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love" playing over and over again, driving him insane.
Hermione laughed. "No, there's some Weird Sisters and other stuff you should know. Besides that, it's Muggle music."
Draco snorted loudly to show his distaste.
"But you don't really care for music, do you?" Hermione enquired with a smirk.
"Of course I like music," he protested. "Just not weird Muggle stuff."
"It was a joke," she said with a quick laugh. "It's from a song—track four." She stood up. "I have to go."
"Got a hot date?" He eyed her dressy appearance.
"Yes, actually."
With the Weasel? He frowned but didn't ask.
Just before she opened the door to leave, Draco called to her. "Granger?"
She turned expectantly.
"Thank you." He gestured to the stack on the table. "I'm not quite sure why you did this but . . . I do appreciate it."
"I just . . . well, I can't imagine anything more awful than staring at a blank wall all day. Besides, it will look good if we can tell the Wizengamot that you're interested in continuing your studies."
Draco nodded, and with that, she was gone.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my mom, who always smells books and is the reason I do it too :D Any other book sniffers out there? Oh, and 10 points to the House of your choice if you can name the song Hermione quoted in this chapter!