"No."
One word spoken in the dark tones of Severus Snape.
Dark eyes looking back and forth between his Godson and his former star pupil.
"We need the book, Severus," Hermione tries, meeting his eyes with her own and not flinching at the look there.
Though only barely.
"Then I will get it for you. Under no circumstances will either of you approach that house. I strictly forbid it."
Draco leans casually against the door jam and smirks.
"Since when was the last time I actually listened to you, Godfather?"
A flash of power as the dark man sitting in front of the fire controls the need to throttle his Godson.
Throttle him within an inch of his life.
Severus brings his hands up, steepled, pressed against his lips as he looks back at Draco. He is not surprised, and slightly proud, when the younger man does not flinch nor move under the cold gaze.
Though he does not say it or even register the emotions across his tightly controlled face. A control that, now, is like breathing. Without thought.
"So, you believe yourself powerful enough to pass through my wards?" The question, purred, dangerous.
Hermione shivers although Draco does not react.
"If I have to, I will get through the wards."
The reply is lazy. Deceptive. Said with a slight smirk along side the younger wizard's mouth.
Hermione tenses in the chair next to Severus, her hand itching for her wand though she does not actually make for it.
One dark eyebrow rises and a similar smirk plays across Severus' face. "I would dearly love to see that."
Quiet words. Malevolent.
"You think I can't?" says Draco.
A slight shrug of black clad shoulders.
"I didn't say that. I just," a pause, dangerous, Slytherin, "would like to see you."
Hermione rolls her eyes then, realizing, even as her muscles relax and her hand moves away from her wand, what this is between the two men.
Irritation takes the place where fear once stood.
"Honestly," she says, breaking their gazes, both eyes looking at her in surprise. "I do not have the time nor the inclination to sit hear and watch you two argue about who has the bigger dangly bits."
Surprise is apparent on both their faces, one dark, one light, and at any other time it would have caused Hermione to laugh. Hard and long. But today she is still irritated and only glares, the humour lost on her for the moment.
She looks to the older wizard first. "Severus, we need that book. Draco is the only one that knows the house so he needs to be the one that goes there. We need your help to get through the wards."
Hermione turns her glare on Draco. "And Draco, quit trying to annoy your Godfather. We need his help, and both you and I know that we couldn't get through his wards without some nasty side effects. So just, stop, okay?"
The two men stare at the witch before looking back to one another, sharing a look, both of them raising eyebrows in tandem.
"Scary."
Severus says.
Draco nods in agreement.
Hermione sighs. Loudly.
A brief smile, ever so brief, graces the ex-Death Eater's face before once again being replaced by a neutral expression.
"What is this book that you feel you need?" He asks, looking at Draco but asking the question of the woman sitting in the chair next to him.
She answers.
"It was Draco's mother's."
A slight rise of an eyebrow. "Your mother had many books."
This time the words are directed towards Draco.
The white haired man nods. "Yes." A pause, a brief glance towards Hermione, then back at Severus. "Yes, but this was one my father did not approve of."
A knowing look then, slowly, across the dark man's face. Thoughtful.
Hermione glances back and forth between the two men, knowing distinctly that she is missing something of this conversation.
Draco must have felt her reaction, her irritation, because he flashes her with a brief smile of amusement. Amusement that makes her scowl back.
The smile grows slightly.
Draco explains, the smile falling away. "My mother almost never went against my father's wishes. The fact that she read this book, knowing that he did not approve, is important."
Hermione still does not understand and shakes her head slightly, curls bouncing about her face.
Draco has to push away the desire to take those curls and run his hands through them.
He stays leaning against the doorframe.
Continuing his explanation.
"My father, in addition, could almost never say no to my mother."
Hermione's expression clears and Draco is even more enchanted to see how the sudden realization, sudden knowledge, lights up her face.
She smiles at him. "So, not only did she go against your father's wishes, but it is remarkable that he forbid it in the first place."
"Just so, Miss Granger." Severus says from his seat, looking on his Godson in contemplation. "Just so."
Draco looks back at the older wizard.
A moment, where Severus stares at his Godson, though Draco gets the distinct impression that his Godfather is not actually looking at him, but somewhere else.
Somewhere that causes the slightest amount of emotion to run across the otherwise blank features of the older man.
Pain.
Draco sees it for the briefest of moments before it disappears.
He would not have caught it except for his very close familiarity with the expression, and wonders at it, knowing it is not something to bring up in front of Hermione. Draco stays silent on the question that suddenly moves across his tongue.
"Do you know what this book was?" Severus asks, finally breaking the silence.
Draco looks away from the older man's dark gaze, towards the fire, remembering with a clarity his mother sitting in her chair in the library, the book in front of her face and a smile about her lips. He could not have been more then eight years old, already the Malfoy prince but not quite under his father's rule. At least, not completely.
The memory is seared into his mind. The image of her eyes, dark blue, and the hair so very much like his own.
A soft expression on her face as she looked at him, around her mouth that smiled at him, the eyes that wrinkled, just ever so slightly on either side of long eyelashes.
Really, the last time he saw such a look, such softness in her face.
He stirs from his memory, noticing both Hermione and Severus' eyes are on him. One in gentle understanding, the other inscrutable.
"A book of love, she called it." He answers. "A love story of our family," he adds.
Those long Potion Master's fingers coming up to settle against thin lips once more. "Ah, so the two of you have figured out the significance of the bloodstones."
Hermione answers. "Not entirely, though we have our theories."
The dark gaze moving to the woman sitting next to him. "And they are?"
Hermione shifts suddenly underneath the knowing gaze of her former professor. "The blood binding," she answers.
A smirk, behind the steepled fingers. "And?"
Hermione feels the colour moving across her features. A part of herself, that part that is not the older woman but hangs on to the memory of her younger self, is embarrassed.
But she answers.
"The bloodstones were a result of the binding, a binding that resulted because…" Here she pauses, and looks up at Draco, catching the sudden gentle look of quicksilver eyes.
Continuing. "Because of how we felt about one another." A pause. Then. "How we feel about one another."
The smirk growing, eyes darkening, turning warm almost as Severus observed the two of them. "So, I am to understand that you dunderheads have finally gained your wits."
Hermione blushes even as Draco glowers at his Godfather, though the glower is half hearted and he is unable to hide the sudden glow about his eyes.
"I'm glad," Severus says then, voice always so dark, amazing in its gentleness, in its warmth. "Very glad."
A pause.
Then seriousness. "But I am also to understand that though this is a welcome realization for the two of you, it has not however, lessened the Ministry's desire to find a solution to this unique problem."
Draco's face grimaces, the twist to his lip decidedly not pleasant. "We've been officially invited to a council."
Severus leans back in his chair. "An official invitation. I don't believe you have one of those since right after the war."
Draco does glower then. "Yes, thank you for reminding me."
Hermione shakes her head slightly. "This invitation business, I don't think I fully understand it. What happened the last time you were invited?" The quotation around the word 'invited' is clear in her voice.
Draco smirking in disgust, "I was arrested for three weeks."
All colour from Hermione's face drains away at his words. "What?" Then. "Why?"
"Because the Minister believed I was still using the Dark Arts and that I had several Dark artefacts in my home."
Severus snorting from where he sits.
Draco glaring at him.
Hermione smiling, colour moving once more into her face. "You did, didn't you?"
Draco shrugging, nonchalant, "Of course, I am a Malfoy after all."
Hermione shakes her head, looking very amused and very much like she would like to attack the man at the door and snog him senseless.
However, Severus intervenes. "I am sure there is nothing to concern yourself with, Miss Granger. Mr. Potter is, after all, your dearest friend."
The sentence drips sarcasm and Hermione shoots Severus an annoyed look.
"Thank you. I had forgotten that."
At one point in their history, the older man would have reacted quite violently to such words and tone; however, that man is no more and the one in his stead just laughs quietly, a slow methodical sound.
"Of course."
He replies.
Then sobers. Once more.
Piercing his Godson with a look again. "Then we have very little time to find this book?"
Hermione answers. "We would like to have it in case there is something there, so our report can be thorough and complete."
Severus turns his gaze on Hermione, pinning her. "You are planning on being in attendance."
Her chin moves slightly farther up in the air and her eyes narrow, just barely. "I will not have Draco go alone."
Severus studies her. "No, nor I. However, I will be with him."
Hermione looks away, looks to the man at the doorway watching the conversation with a detached air she knows well. His face shows her nothing and his eyes are carefully blank.
She looks back at Severus. "I realize that. However, I am coming."
"And if you are killed? Because you are a silly little girl?" The tone mocking.
Hermione bites down on her anger, bites down on it hard. She keeps her voice mild, though with a slight drip of her own mockery, spreading her hands out in front of her. "I have not been a silly little girl in a very long time, Severus."
She does not flinch as those fathomless eyes score her, tearing apart her mind even though he does not actually cast a spell and is not actually in her mind.
But she knows he can see everything on her face, and meets his eyes with her own, drowning for a moment in the darkness there, the blackness, so deep, a deeper darkness than she or Draco will ever know.
He looks away and Hermione lets out the breath she hadn't known she was holding.
"Very well," Severus says, looking towards the fire.
"Thank you." Out of her mouth before she can stop it.
Severus does not acknowledge her words, does not even look over at the witch, his gaze moving and settling on Draco. The look steady on the younger wizard at the door.
"You do understand that if we do this, there is quite likely to be volatile reactions."
Draco keeps his gaze on his Godfather. "I am quite aware of that, sir."
It is the sir that speaks to Severus, the tone respectful, the words respectful. Studying his Godson. "You will keep your temper no matter what happens."
Draco smirking then. "I have learned control from the best, Godfather."
"Quite." Studying Draco in much the same way as he had studied Hermione, but gentler, almost tender.
Hermione catches the look and she is amazed by it, though she says nothing aloud.
Severus rises then, graceful, even more so than his Godson, total and complete control in a man of black.
"Well then, I believe we have a visit to make to one Lucius Malfoy."
A smirk along the tall man's face.
"I'm sure he will be most pleased."