What's this? Another update! In just one day!? I'm just so happy to be done with finals!

Love as always to Mcal for beta'ing! She's a gem y'all!

And, of course, I don't own Harry Potter, that JKR's gig.

Chapter 17

Draco collapsed under the weight of his new burden, and the room erupted in panic anew.

Pulling himself to sit, he cradled Hermione against him, his tears falling over her lifeless body. His voice sounded pitiful, even to his ears, as his cries of 'No, No,' sounded throughout the room. He felt the Aurors approach but held her tighter still.

"Please come back to me, my love," he whispered into her hair.

"Malfoy." Harry Potter laid a hand on his shoulder. He tried to shrug him off. "Draco. You need to let the medic assess her."

Just as Draco began to reluctantly release his hold on her to the Auror medic, she gasped in his arms. The room stilled and then Hermione coughed and her eyes fluttered open, meeting Draco's.

"I've missed you," she whispered hoarsely, reaching up to cradle his face. At once, Draco's tears became those of joy and relief as he crushed her to his chest and bestowed kisses over her face and hair.

She chuckled, tears in her eyes. "You're crushing me a bit."

He loosened his grasp, but only enough to rest his forehead against hers. "We still need to assess her, Mr. Malfoy," the medic interrupted.

Draco adjusted her on his lap and motioned for the medic to get on with it. With a roll of his eyes he waved his wand over Hermione for several long moments. Draco could feel the tension in her body as the wand passed over again and again. He held her tighter in response.

"Everything seems to be in good health, Miss Granger, though you are a bit malnourished."

Hermione made a wry noise in her throat, "You try living on bird seed for all those months and let's see how nourished you are?"

Draco chuckled behind her and Ron remarked, "That's our Hermione."

As Draco was helping Hermione to stand, Harry Potter shifted his weight, his posture belying his authority, "I hate to bring this up now, but I really need to get a statement."

Before Hermione could acquiesce to following Potter to the Ministry, Draco interjected, "Of course, but here at the Manor." Hermione looked at him in relief, and Potter nodded his approval.

Draco led the party to his study, supporting Hermione the whole while since she insisted on walking. She did not protest, however, when he led her to the sofa and tucked her securely to his side.

The next hour was both enlightening and heartbreaking.

"Hermione, can you tell us what happened to you?"

She sighed and began her tale. "I was leaving the market, when someone pulled me into the alley. I didn't have time to grab my wand before I was transfigured into a dove and shoved into a cage."

"Did you see who took you?"

"Not at first. The cage stayed covered, I could hear noise from the street, but never anything distinctive, and occasionally, a handful of birdseed would appear. I didn't know it was Pansy, until she brought me to the muggle cottage." She turned to Draco, "you remember, you visited her there, you spoke to me." He nodded sadly and pulled her closer.

"You visited Pansy's house?" Potter asked.

"Yes, but I had no idea she was behind Hermione's disappearance, until tonight." Potter nodded and added a note to his parchment.

"Go on, Hermione."

"She had imperioused the muggles to steal their house. She would talk to me, you see. Tell me all about her grand schemes." She looked at Draco, "Primarily, it was getting her hands on you."

"Why me?"

"That's what I'm wondering," Weasley joked. "What makes you so bloody special?"

Matching glares were leveled at Ron from Draco, Hermione, and Harry. Ron raised his hands in surrender and grumbled. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"It's all right, Ron, But I can understand it, Draco is something special." She beamed at him and he returned her love struck gaze until Potter cleared his throat.

"Sorry," she blushed, Harry waved her off, "Anyway, she used bits of my feathers and even drops of my blood to make a potion that helped her take on some of my characteristics."

"Like the curly hair?" Draco realized aloud.

"Yes, and other things, but everytime she was around you and you rejected her she would grow more and more frustrated. So she concocted the idea to move into the Manor. She talked to me a lot, you see. Taunted me every time she saw you." Draco pulled her closer and she relaxed into him.

"Once she was here, I'd hoped I could get you to realize what was going on, but something in the enchantment she used blocked me."

"The dreams." Draco breathed, "That was you the whole time?"

She wiped the tears from beneath her eyes. "Yes, but I could only tell you so much and it made the ache so much deeper."

"I know," he whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"How did you get away?" Potter asked.

Draco answered, "She attacked me in her room and the cage was knocked over."

Hermione nodded. "I was able to fly to my grandmother's orange grove. I plucked a seed and brought it back to the Manor. The tree sprang up overnight, and I hid there."

Draco internally scolded himself for not realizing the depth of magic at play, but he shook off his disappointment in himself and listened as Hermione finished her statement.

"I knew she planned to seduce Draco, somehow. If he wasn't willing, she was prepared to dose him with love potion."

Looking at his mother, Draco asked, "Is that why you asked if I ate the trifle?" She simply nodded and then Potter turned to Narcissa.

"What happened between you and Pansy tonight?"

"She bound me to a chair in my study then told me her plans. Before she left the room she Stupefied me."

Harry looked confused, "How long till you came too and alerted the Aurors?"

Naricissa considered it, "I'm not sure, but Sprocket revived me."

"How did the elf know?"

Hermione spoke up once more: "I told them. Even in my bird form, my magic could communicate with theirs."

"Why not just tell the elves that Pansy had you trapped?" Weasley asked.

"Like I said something about the enchantment wouldn't allow me to directly ask for help for myself."

He nodded in understanding and both he and Potter made a note.

"The rest you know, I think. Once Narcissa alerted you, you were here quickly and you saw what happened in the dining room." Her voice sounded tired from talking and Draco could feel her leaning heavily against him.

"I think that's all for tonight, gentlemen."

Harry and Ron each took a turn giving Hermione a long overdue hug. She promised to see them soon and they left to check in with the clean-up team in the dining room and file reports.

Draco collapsed back onto the sofa with Hermione in his arms. Narcissa was seated in an armchair to the right and was string into the fire. The silence became heavy all of a sudden and then Narcissa began to sniff tears away in earnest.

"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

Draco laid a hand over hers on the arm of the chair. She turned her watery blue eyes onto his cloudy grey gaze, "Please forgive me, my Dragon? If I'd not tried to encourage her…" she cut herself off with her hand over her mouth.

"Mother, think no more of it."

She nodded, but then looked at Hermione, "Miss Granger, can you ever forgive me."

"Forgiven," she answered, reaching over to add her hand to the pile on the arm of the chair.

They all stood, Narcissa hugged them both fiercely before excusing herself for the evening. Hermione drew her arms around Draco's waist and rested her head on his chest. "Can we rest now, Draco?"

He kissed the top of her head, "Of course, hold on." And with a small pop, they disapparated to his bedroom.

Just two chapters to go! I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Please let me know your thoughts in the reviews, and thank you to those of you who've read, reviewed, followed, and favorited.