A/N: Welcome new readers! Welcome back the ones who've been with me on this journey!
GreenEyedLanaLee: I know! I'm sorry! I hate Cliffhangers too! Also you have great instincts! Thank you for dropping a review!Green Eyed Lana LeeGreen Eyed Lana Lee
On Monday morning as the owls swopped in Hermione picked up her copy of the Daily Prophet while bagging some food and rushing towards the 7th floor to meet Draco and the boys
Flashback Begins
Draco had come back after Snape had left and sat by her side all night. Madam Pomfery had all but thrown him out on Sunday when Hermione hadn't woken up. He'd left on the condition that he could return. Harry, Ron and Ginny had visited but Madam Pomfrey insisted they not try to wake her at all. Finally Hermione had woken up just around dawn on Monday. Draco could swear there were flecks of green in her eyes as she blinked and opened them for the first time.
"Hey… you gave us quite a scare there…" Draco said pushing the hair out of her face
"Hi… Sorry, but I have a lot to tell you, all of you… let's meet in the room before first period…"
"Are you okay?" Draco asked
"Yes I am, but I am also certain I'm related to evil Tom…"
Before they could discuss it further madam Pomfrey walked in
"Morning Miss Granger…" She said completely ignoring Draco's presence "I trust you are feeling better?" She asked
"Yes, thank you…" Hermione said bushing herself was she stood up
"Cast a simple charm for me please…" Madame Pomfery asked and Hermione produced he classic blue flames while the older witch performed a series of diagnostic spells on her. "Very well…" Madam Pomfrey said vanishing all the runes that had appeared around Hermione "… You can go, but I would try to avoid practicing your schoolwork for the next couple of days, just to rest your magical core rest a bit…"
"Yes mam…" She said and they took off
"What do you mean you're sure you're related to you-know-who?" Draco whispered as soon as they were out of the Hospital wing
"I'll explain everything, let's meet in the room in an hour…" She said
Flashback Ends
When she walked in barely holding together a poorly constructed sandwich, Draco, Blaise, Harry and Ron were already seated at the round table enjoying a hearty breakfast
"What the…" She said surprised "How?"
"Oh Harry asked Dobby…" Ron said through mouthfuls
"We're glad you're okay Hermione… Come one, have a bite…" Harry said smiling and offering her a chair.
Draco and Blaise instinctively stood up as Hermione joined them. "Stop it…" she whispered
"Yea…stop making us look bad…" Ron said
"Stop spraying your food Weasel…" Blaise admonished but the venom in the voice was gone…
"What happened last night…" Harry asked giving her full attention while Ron and Blaise bickered meanwhile Draco had vanished her sandwich and was filling up her plate with eggs and bacon
"Let her eat first potter…" Draco said "She needs her strength…." As if on cue Hermione's stomach rumbled a little and all the boys had the decency to hold back their laughter
Once she'd had a few bites, she began telling them about the events of the night before.
"It started with professor Dumbledore asking me about the apparition class, after that we took the floo to Hogs Head inn in Hogsmead and apparated just outside of Little Hangleton. He asked me if Harry had mentioned Bob Ogden's memory to me and then he told me that we were going to Riddle Manor…"
"Hang on Mione… let me get Sirus and Lupin as well… Might as well tell everyone in one go…" Harry said pulling out the mirror
"Wait!" Hermione said and then gestured to Draco and Blaise
"Right…" Harry looked sheepishly
"Let's introduce them…" Ron said offhandedly and nearly everyone at the table was shocked
"What? Look I'm not the biggest fan of the ferret but he's here isn't he and he's not trying to kill any of us… even his dad avoided the big coming out party of evil tom… I mean if you trusted Snape, then why not trust the Ferret and his lackey…" Ron said
"I don't know if I want to push him or clap him on the back…" Blaise wondered out loud
"Ron's right Hermione… didn't you tell me you told Bill already?" Harry said "besides it's Sirius, it's not like he'll object! Draco is his Nephew…"
Hermione took a deep breath "Fine…"
Harry called out and Sirius appeared quite groggy "Merlin harry it's only 7am what are you doing up? Is everything alright?"
"Hi! I know it's early… I'm sorry but Mione is awake and all better and she was going to tell us what happened but before that she has something else to tell you…" Harry said smiling
"Hi Sirius… So actually…" Hermione began but then Draco snatched the mirror from her hand "hey!"
"Good morning sir, I am Draco Malfoy…" Draco said in his most formal tone of voice
Ron and Blaise exchanged looks thinking 'He wouldn't…. Would he?'
"I am the son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy…" He continued in a rush as though, if he stopped, he'd lose the nerve "… I understand that in the magical world, is your ward and I respectfully seek your permission to formally court her… I also request that you not tell my mother about this…" Draco finished seriously
Harry was snickering, Ron and Blaise were looking at Hermione who was equal parts shocked and irked
"right… um, keep your zipper locked and we're good…" Sirius said stiffly as Hermione snatched the mirror back
"This is not what we're here for! Sirius I went on a Horcrux hunt yesterday with Dumbledore… I believe you are familiar with bob ogden's memory, well there is one thing we haven't told you… my father's mother was a Riddle and it turns out evil tom is my great uncle… Dumbledore knew about my Grandmother being the daughter of Tom Riddle… He's not sure what exactly happened, but he assumes that once Merope Gaunt ran away and had Tom Riddle Jr., Morfin took his revenge by… well… you know… and then killing everyone…"
Draco squeezed her hand
"I'm not sure how he found out about my grandmothers but anyway, he thinks that my she survived by running away and that's why everyone else got killed… anyway we discussed this we walked up to Riddle Manor. It frankly just looked like a forgotten haunted house and it was super creepy but luckily we didn't go there… Instead we went to Gaunt cottage… it was like derelict building with a ton of vines growing all over it, a portion of the front wall had also broken and there were so many snake skins just lying there… it was eerie… anyway Dumbledore thought there might be a Horcrux there but when he'd tried to retrieve it, a familial magic seal activated and prevented him from going inside… so he needed me, especially since I claimed my familial magic to break the seal… We came to a wall where the flower of life rune was carved… He told me to place my hand on it and channel magic into my palms, I've never eve attempted wandless magic so I wasn't sure if I could but honestly it felt almost natural to do it but the second my magic made a connection with the seal, it glowed green and purple and I felt like all the magic was being sucked out of me… It was terrible, I told Dumbledore what was happening but he told me to hold on… the more the magic got sucked, the weaker I got and when it finally stopped the wall collapsed into the ground and there was pedestal that came up. It has a solitary ring with a very large black played shaped set in it… the second Dumbledore saw it, he didn't even consider any more wards, he was just shocked and he…"
"…he put it on…" Blaise said softly
"Yes… how did you…?" Hermione asked
"… finish the story…" Blaise said softly, he was looking stunned
"Anyway, the second he picked the ring off the pedestal and put it on, everything went to shit… it was almost as if the magic of that relic was holding the place together. Dumbledore collapsed as his hand being to turn black, he was in so much pain, the rest of cottage began to fall around us… it was like a tornado from hell was blowing bits of everything around… I was already exhausted but I somehow put up a shield charm and got us out there… as we stepped out, the entire cottage got sucked into the earth and dead bush grew over the spot making it as if it were never there in the first place… Dumbledore was coughing up blood, I wasn't sure what to do so I picked up an old piece of metal, it looked like a washer and made an instant portkey to Hogsmead…I held it between dumbledore and my hand and we ended up in hogs head and back to the castle that way… The rest, you already know…"
"So you think the cursed ring is a Horcrux?" Harry asked
"Yes, but I also think that Dumbledore might be dying… I've never seen a curse so powerful…" Hermione said shuddering a little
"The ring… what did he do with the ring?" Blaise asked
"It's still in his office… Snape managed to get it off somehow…" Hermione said "but I collapsed after so I'm not sure…"
"Did it look like this?" Blaise said showing her a rough doodle
"yes… why?" Hermione said
"Did you manage to see if the inside of the stone had the sign of the hallows?" He asked now almost excited
"No!" Harry said suddenly understating
"Yes…" Draco said softly
"What?" Ron asked confused
"You think the ring is the resurrection stone?" Sirius asked shocked
"WHAT!" Ron said finally catching on
"You know the hallows?" Blaise asked Sirius
"And you are?" Sirius asked seeing Blaise for the first time
"Hi! I'm Blaise Zabini… I'm Draco's best friend…" He said with a small smile
"Right… wait! Like Yemaya Zabini's son?" Sirius asked
"Yes… the very same…" Blaise said deflating a bit
"Wait what? Why do you know his mum? Also What does this mean?" Harry said "Does it mean we can't use it anymore?"
"You were planning on using the resurrection stone?" Sirius said "Harry I know you'd love to get to know your parents but I assure you that is not the way…"
"No no…" Hermione said interjecting "We wanted to use it on Harry…"
"Why?" Sirius said utterly perplexed
Hermione launched into a familial magic theory she had that Harry might also be a Horcrux when she finished Sirius said "'Mione that's a lot of if's and maybes…."
"I know… but even if it is the stone can we even use it considering it is possibly a Horcrux now?" She asked leaving the room in ominous silence
"I don't know…" said Blaise deep in thought as the first bell rung somewhere in the distance signalling that all of them were late for their first class
As they left, Hermione hung back and held Draco back as well
"We'll be late for class love…" he said as she pulled him down a separate path
"What did you mean by go to America?" Hermione asked "I didn't want to bring it up in front of the others but do you really think I'm ever going to leave any of you behind?" She whispered
"This is not the time… also muggles and muggleborns are in danger and thanks to Skeeter's extensive coverage of you during the Triwizard Tournament, enough people know who you are… you are already 'The Chosen One's' close friend, that itself is enough to make you and your family a target" Draco explained as they rushed to their classes
"Honestly Draco! Do you really think I'm that naive? Ofcourse I am aware that there is a target on my back… as for my parents you needn't worry about them…. I've ensured their safety…" Draco began to interrupt but she pulled him under the grand staircase and kissed him into silence "… Just trust me… and let me help you…" she said before leaving him standing there
Luckily his first class was DADA so when Draco sauntered in 10 minutes late all he got was scathing remark from his godfather…
—
Hermione hadn't gotten a chance to glance at the Prophet all day but for some reason everyone seemed to be gossiping about something so after joint Charms with the Ravencalws, when she was headed to lunch, he pulled out the rolled up paper from her bag. The headline nearly made her drop it :
MINISTER rufus scrimgeour turns auror department into death eaters
It was Rita Skeeter's byline. The article went on to provide details of how the funds were misappropriated. It even went on to insinuate that maybe the minister was funding the terror campaign of the Death Eaters and confounding innocents and arresting them to make himself look better. It also insinuated that he was following in Bartimus Crouch's footsteps and that was maybe because as a pureblood he believed in Voldemort's ideals of blood purity.
It was a horrifying smear campaign. The article was going to lead to an investigation in the minster by the Wiznegamot. Ron was outraged by it when Hermione told the boys
"He was the best head of the department they ever had… He is just the kind of hard-liner they need to make the ministry look strong! This is just bullshit" he snapped over lunch
"He had the Auror's arrest Stan… from the Knight bus…" Harry said glancing through article "That seems a bit too nuts…" He said putting away the paper "I mean Stan is harmless… he's barely even a proper wizard…" Harry said
Meanwhile on the Slytherin table Blaise passed the paper to Draco who sighed and put it away.
"It's begun…" He whispered
"I know…" Draco said poking at his food
"Did you talk to her about…"
"I did… but as you might have noticed she was too busy keeping the old fool alive to discuss that…"
"Maybe you should ask Snape… get her and her parents out of the way…" Blaise suggested
"maybe…" Draco said
"Same time tonight?" Blaise asked
"yea… I'll leave the common room first…" Draco said "I have rounds with Hermione…"
See you tomorrow!
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