"You look like the cat that's got the cream," Daphne remarked, linking arms with Hermione as they left the dungeons to head for breakfast. "I take it you had a good night in Draco's private room."
"It was nice to be beside him all night," Hermione conceded. "I rather like going to sleep with him and then waking up with him."
"And everything else that comes with sharing a bed," Daphne said with a sly smirk.
"He's bed ridden, Daph," Hermione reminded her friend. "He can't move his leg."
"I'm sure the pair of you got around that easily enough," Daphne chuckled knowingly.
"We might have been able to manage something," Hermione confessed, unable to stop the smile that broke out over her face.
"You also seem calmer," Daphne commented as they reached The Great Hall. "Earlier yesterday and on Saturday you were fuming, but you seem all serene today."
"I just put things into perspective," Hermione admitted. "Me losing my temper is not going to help anyone."
"I'm pleased," Daphne said with a smile. "I understand your need for vengeance, but as you proved with Potter and Weasley, sometimes the right thing is to play it cool. After all, we are Slytherins for a reason."
"Exactly, there is more than one way to get what you want," Hermione agreed with a sly smirk.
Joining Vince and Greg, who were already settled at the table, the girls grabbed their food and were just starting to eat when Blaise and Theo joined them. Blaise was yet again talking about Bellatrix, and he was telling a disbelieving Theo that the older woman had been flirting with him the previous day.
"Hermione will back me up," a pouting Blaise remarked. "Tell them Hermione. You were there. You saw Professor Lestrange flirting with me."
"I hate to burst your bubble, but she was toying with you, Blaise," Hermione chuckled. "She's not a stupid woman, she knows all about your crush. She was just having some fun with you."
"She looked me in the eye and mentioned being naked," Blaise protested. "She wanted me to think of her without her clothes on."
"Wouldn't take much, you think of every girl you've ever met naked," Daphne snorted.
"Not you," Blaise shot back. "I've never pictured you in the buff."
"Lair," Theo remarked with a bark of laughter. "Last year, I distinctly remember you telling me about a racy dream you had starring Daphne."
"She was fully clothed in the dream," Blaise muttered, determined to have the last word.
"Yeah, right," Theo laughed. "Face it Blaise, you're a sex addict."
"I just appreciate women," Blaise protested. "And there is no-one finer to appreciate than Professor Lestrange."
As Blaise's attention drifted towards the Professors table, where Bellatrix was deep in conversation with Severus, the other Slytherins focused on their breakfast. Of course there was a lot of talk about Draco, who wasn't with them for obvious reasons, and the friends made plans to visit him throughout the day so he wouldn't get bored. Not that he really should get bored as Hermione confirmed he was supposed to be keeping up with his school work.
"I bet he loves that," Theo laughed. "Stuck in bed, but still having to work."
"He has to find something to fill in the hours while we're all at lessons," Hermione remarked.
As breakfast continued the morning post owls began to arrive, and Hermione didn't think twice when an owl landed in front of her. Even though the owl didn't belong to either of her parents, she still expected the letter would be from them and that they'd just used a different owl. After all with Voldemort working as the Minister of Magic, it would likely be easier for him to use a Ministry owl.
However, when she untied the letter and found her name on the front she realised it wasn't from her parents at all. In fact the writing looked to be Harry's, or at least she thought it was but it had been a long time since she'd seen his writing. Eager to find out if she was right, Hermione tore into the letter and began to read the short missive.
Hermione,
We do hope Malfoy enjoyed our little visit over the weekend. We have to admit the sound of his leg breaking gave us great satisfaction. We do hope he is suffering.
See you soon, Harry and Ron. xx
As she reached the end of the note, which Harry and Ron had dared to end with kisses, Hermione let out a loud growl.
"What's wrong?" Blaise asked, his attention leaving Bellatrix at the sound of Hermione's frustration.
"Those bastards, I'm going to kill them for this," Hermione hissed, handing the letter over to Blaise.
"I don't get it," Blaise remarked, turning the parchment Hermione had handed him over in his hands. "This is just a black piece of parchment."
"Don't be stupid," Hermione snarled, snatching the letter back and staring at it in horror as she realised Blaise was right. "It's gone."
"What exactly has gone?" Daphne asked calmly.
"The letter," Hermione answered. "It was from Harry and Ron."
"Why would they be writing to you?" Theo questioned with a frown. "What did they say?"
"They asked if Draco enjoyed their visit," Hermione answered in a hiss. "They mentioned his leg breaking and said they hoped he was in pain. They did it, they hurt Draco."
"Surely you would have recognised them," Blaise pointed out. "Even hats and scarves couldn't have hidden their identities completely."
"They weren't stupid enough to come as themselves," Hermione spat as she jumped to her feet. "Clearly they used polyjuice potion or possibly even glamours. But they've admitted it was them now, so I will skin them alive."
Not waiting for her friends to respond, Hermione stalked angrily from the room. However, her friends jumped into action and while Blaise and Theo chased after Hermione, Daphne made her way over to the Professors table and asked Severus and Bellatrix for their help. By the time they'd emerged from The Great Hall, there was no sign of Hermione, Blaise and Theo, but Vince and Greg were waiting for them and informed them that the boys had dragged Hermione outside.
"Make sure no-one comes out to disturb us," Severus ordered the boys as he, Bellatrix and Daphne headed outside.
Once outside they quickly found Hermione and her friends. Hermione was pacing the path at the bottom of the steps, and she was ranting and raving at Blaise and Theo about how she was going to make Harry and Ron pay for what they had done to Draco.
"What is going on?" Bellatrix asked.
"Harry and Ron," Hermione spat. "I am going to kill them. I can't believe they think they can come up here, hurt Draco and then brag about it."
"That doesn't make a lot of sense," Severus muttered. "Calm down Hermione and tell us exactly what happened."
"What happened is that this morning I received an owl from Harry and Ron where they gloated about breaking Draco's leg," Hermione snapped.
"They sent you a letter?" Bellatrix queried in surprise. "Where is it?"
"Gone," Blaise answered, handing over the blank piece of parchment Hermione had thrown onto the table before she'd stormed out of The Great Hall.
"Hermione swears there was something on the parchment," Theo said as the two professors studied the blank letter.
"And we believe her," Daphne quickly added, seeing Hermione was about to explode at the implication she was lying.
"Of course we do," Theo hurriedly agreed, apologising to Hermione for sounding as though he doubted her. "The letter was there, but then it went."
"How many times did you read it?" Bellatrix asked.
"Once," Hermione answered. "Then Blaise asked me what was happening, and I gave the letter to him. But by then it had vanished."
"Interesting," Severus muttered. "I have heard of enchanted ink that vanishes after the recipient has read whatever is written in the ink. But I thought it was an Egyptian myth."
"Did you say Egyptian?" Hermione asked, suddenly going very still.
"I did," Severus confirmed. "Why?"
"Because the oldest of Ron's brothers works in Egypt," Hermione said slowly. "He must have procured the ink."
"Which could mean he's back in the country," Severus mused. "I suppose it makes sense given the fact Arthur and one of his sons are still in serious condition in St Mungo's."
"It means The Order have someone else on their side," Hermione said. "Possibly two, as if Bill is back there's a chance Charlie will be as well. I don't know either of them very well, but I would think they would be far more capable of causing us trouble than Ron."
"Their plan was certainly sneaky," Bellatrix conceded.
"What plan?" Theo asked, looking confused.
"Unless Potter and the young Weasley boy are smarter than they appear, I would say this plan is down to their brothers," Bellatrix replied. "As for what the plan is, I would say it was to hurt Draco and then let Hermione know in such a way that she can't prove it. Of course, we all believe her, but she can't prove it to the wider world."
"Why would she need to prove it to the wider world?" Blaise asked.
"Because they want her to react just as she has done," Bellatrix continued. "They want her to show the world what she is capable of. They want to give people a reason to fight. They want her to retaliate so they can point out that she's the one causing trouble, not them. After all, there is no proof they hurt Draco. Eyewitnesses can't place them at the scene of the crime, their confession had vanished into thin air and no doubt they will all say they were somewhere together far away from Hogsmeade."
"I'm being set up," Hermione snarled, hardly able to believe The Order had played her so perfectly.
"Only if you allow them to succeed," Severus cautioned. "If you fly off the handle now and lash out at them, then they win. They can hold you up as an example of darkness. They can convince people you're not safe. They can convince people to fight your father. But if you're patient and don't react, then they lose. They don't get what they want."
"Subtlety," Bellatrix remarked in a sing-song voice.
"Subtlety," Hermione repeated as she took several deep, calming breaths. "You're right, I won't let them win. But I won't let them get away with it either. Now I know Harry and Ron did this, I will make them suffer. I will make then pay for hurting Draco."
"Damn right," Bellatrix agreed, her eyes shining ferociously. "But we can be sneakier than they can ever imagine. We can hit them when they least suspect it. So for now, Hermione, we let it go. But we plan, and when the time is right, we strike."
"And they will regret it," Hermione said.
"Very much so," Bellatrix returned. "Now come on, you four need to get to class."
Thanking her friends, and the two professors for helping her calm down, Hermione headed off to continue her day as normal. At break time she headed back down to the dungeons to pay Draco a visit, where she filled him in on what had happened that morning over breakfast.
"I am going to kill those gits," he hissed when he discovered who was behind him being laid up in bed.
"Join the queue, plenty of people are after their blood," Hermione chuckled. "But their retribution will come, and when it does, it is going to be very, very painful."
"Painful sounds good," Draco admitted. "But don't do anything rash. Don't give them what they want."
"Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of playing into their hands," Hermione assured her boyfriend. "They want a reaction from me, well they're damn well going to get one, it's just not going to be the one they expect. But for now, let them stew. Let them sit and wonder when I will strike and how. Let them wait for a big, public attack which is never going to come."