Chapter 6

Potter and the Weasel

Lucius checked his watch as he finished his last bite of lunch.

"It's time to go," He announced reluctantly.

They all stood and headed for the floo, not yet ready to be separated so soon after being reunited. As they reached the fireplace, Draco quickly hugged his mother and nodded at his father before shooting his twin a smile.

"I'll be waiting on the other side, Ada," he said, grabbing a handful of powder. "Severus Snape's Office."

Adhara turned to her parents, letting her mask drop and the fear show on her face. Lucius and Narcissa surrounded her in a hug, holding her tightly. They both knew that Dumbledore was going to be livid at his scheme being thwarted, and they could only pray that some of their daughter's friends would stand by her.

Pressing a kiss to the top of Addy's head, Lucius murmured, "No matter what happens this evening, you will always have us. If the people you call friends can't accept this, then it will be their loss. Just because your name has changed doesn't mean who you are where it counts has."

Ada burrowed into his chest, taking strength from the feeling of her Papa's strong arms around her. She took a deep breath and leaned back into her mother's embrace.

"You've both been so accepting of my requests. And I'm probably the first Malfoy ever in Gryffindor," She joked, trying to lighten the solemn mood of the room.

Lucius smirked and Narcissa chuckled.

"You were breaking stereotypes the day you were born, love. First female Malfoy born in four hundred years, first set of twins in the family, first Malfoy born with dark hair. And yes, the first Gryffindor Malfoy," Narcissa smiled down at her little girl, who was grinning back at her.

"Well," Ada said, with a glint in her eye, "I guess I really have always been an overachiever."

Narcissa started giggling and Lucius barked a laugh, looking fondly at his two girls.

"Well you never bored your Uncle Sev as a child, so that should tell you something," Lucius said, grinning. Growing serious again, Lucius held his daughter's eye as he firmly stated, "You can do this Addy. Draco and Severus will have your back no matter what happens. And we'll see you at Yule. Owl the Grangers in the next couple of days to let them know you want to talk at the beginning of the holidays. Dumbledore is most likely monitoring your post, so don't put any specifics in the letter."

Addy nodded in understanding. Her face took on a questioning expression.

"Papa are you still on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts?"

"Yes princess. Why?"

"Our new DADA teacher is absolutely vile. She's the Ministry appointed one and she swears that Vold-" she stopped as she saw her father wince at the name. "She swears that He hasn't returned and has been using a blood quill in the detentions she assigns. She's not going to believe that I am who I say I am now, and I've already been a target of hers. Please tell me that you have a way to get rid of her. Otherwise I will have to get my hands dirty."

The vicious look on his daughter's face almost made Lucius take a step back.

"Adhara has she used that quill on you?"

Addy glanced at her right hand before sighing and lifting the glamor she'd applied there. Lucius looked murderous at the pink scar that stood out on the back of his daughter's hand. Narcissa was white as a sheet. Spelled out in the girl's handwriting was, I must respect my betters.

"Your betters?" Lucius ground out.

"Papa, to her I'm an upstart Mudblood who is best friends with the Chosen One. She considers herself my better in every way. The only students she doesn't give detention to are her precious Inquisitorial Squad," She said bitterly.

"Your brother is on that squad," Lucius pointed out.

"Believe me, I am well aware. He and I will be having a discussion about his actions," Adhara snapped, her irritation at her brother's bullying tactics clear. "I'm also aware of the fact that you were in that graveyard at the end of last year Papa. Your Dark Lord's actions that night should tell you everything you need to know about him. Cedric was a pureblood boy, and he was murdered without a second glance. Blood doesn't matter to him, power does. You and all his other followers are just as disposable. We have to tread carefully now that he still believes you to be loyal. I'll figure something out. We'll take both Lord No-Nose and Dumbledork down. I'll owl you when I have a plan."

Leaving her parents gobsmacked, Adhara kissed them both on the cheek and whirled away in a flash of green, her face set in determination.

Adhara stepped into her Godfather's office and siphoned the soot from her robes with her wand, her cinnamon amber eyes hard with determination. Draco and Severus looked at each other with some trepidation, the look on the girl's face bringing them up short.

"Uncle, Draco, we have work to do. I'll explain later. For now, let's go make some waves at dinner."

Adhara strode out of the room, her robes slightly reminiscent of the Potions Master's dramatic billow. The two men looked at each other and smirked, knowing that while her robes said Gryffindor, her strut was all Malfoy, and her brilliant mind was planning something they would be happy to help her execute when the time came.

The doors to the Great Hall fell open as the trio walked in, Draco to Hermione's left and Severus to her right. The boisterous chatter over dinner ceased, no one in the hall knowing what to make of the picture they painted. Severus continued forward when the twins stopped next to Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table, both boys looking up at their best friend with jaws hanging open as Draco kissed her knuckles and snapped his heels together.

"Potter, Weasley," Draco nodded, before heading to the Slytherin table and the many questions he would be fielding throughout the coming days.

He would need to nick Uncle Sev's firewhisky after this week if he survived it.

Hermione sat down between Harry and Ron, calmly fixing herself a plate of the roast, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding with gravy. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice, took a sip, and then addressed Harry and Ron.

"Finish eating and we'll meet in the Room of Requirement at eight. I'll explain everything then, I promise."

Harry snapped his mouth shut and took her at her word, knowing that he wouldn't get any answers until then. Ron started sputtering but quickly shut up at the warning in the brunette's severe glare. He shoveled a large fork full of potatoes into his mouth to make sure he didn't make her any angrier.

At the Head Table, Severus took his seat next to Minerva, answering her questioning look with a slight nod so as not to catch the Headmaster's attention. Not that he needed to worry, as Albus had his eyes glued to the girl, intently watching her interact with Potter and Weasley. Severus noted the tick in the man's jaw and mentally grinned. Watching the old man's demise would be most enjoyable.

Albus's mind was whirling as he saw the Malfoy girl walk into the Great Hall with the two Slytherins. He could tell her glamour had been removed, though it would be unnoticeable to most of the students and staff. She had discovered her true heritage and his entire plan was falling apart.

Shite! He mentally swore, as he watched Draco drop her off at the table, seating her between Potter and Weasley, acting the perfect pureblood Scion and brother.

The girl was definitely going to be a problem now that she was back next to Harry. Just as he thought this, her head snapped up and her amber eyes locked with his own blue, the retribution that their depths promised chilling him slightly. Her message was clear, he had fucked with the wrong family. The daughter of House Black and House Malfoy was coming for him, and she now had the power to obliterate him.

As soon as she felt Albus had received the message, Hermione turned back to her dinner and finished quickly, rising gracefully and giving Ron and Harry meaningful looks as a reminder.

"I'm headed to the library. I'll see you both later."

She turned on her heel and all but glided out of the Great Hall.

"Did she look different to you?" Harry asked Ron, examining her retreating form.

He didn't notice how Ron's eyes looked like ice instead of their soft cornflower blue as he replied, "Nah, I didn't see anything different."

Harry shrugged his shoulders and set about finishing his own plate. Ron wasn't known for being the most observant person in the world, so him not noticing a difference was par for the course really. But Harry had noticed, and he just knew it had to do with whatever she was going to talk to them about later than night.

Hermione had made sure to reach the room before the boys, needing to lock it down so that only Harry and Ron could enter. She chewed her bottom lip, nervous about Harry's reaction and terrified of Ron's. The room looked like the library at her family's home in Hampstead. The familiarity helped to relax her as she settled into one of the armchairs.

A few minutes later, the boys came through the door, concern clear on both faces. Ron went to sound off but Harry silenced him with a look. They took seats on the couch across from her and she struggled to hold eye contact with either one of them.

"Hermione," Harry said softly, catching her eye and refusing to let go of her gaze once he had it. "Whatever it is you have to tell us, we've both agreed to listen first before flying off the handle bars."

Hermione smiled weakly at her green eyed best friend, grateful for the effort he was making to ensure she felt safe. She blew out a breath and began the tale.

"Over the summer, my parents sat me down and informed me that they had adopted me when I was five years old. The orphanage and adoption agency had no information on who my biological family had been, and I had no memories to give them any clues. I couldn't even tell them my name. All they knew was that I liked to read and could communicate unusually clearly for a five year old.

"Then came Potions yesterday morning..."

Harry reached over to take her hand and gently squeezed it. She squeezed back, grateful that he knew her so well.

"So the lineage potion told you what family gave you up," Harry stated, holding himself back from simply picking Hermione up and setting her on his lap to comfort her.

He'd realised his feelings for her over the summer and still didn't know how to deal with them, leaving him awkward in their interactions as he second guessed everything he did not wanting to cross a line with her.

She nodded and handed him her copy of parchment from the lesson. He gently released her hand and sat back with the sheet so Ron could read it too.

Adhara Narcissa Malfoy

Date of Birth: June 5, 1980

Sibling: Draco Lucius Malfoy

Father: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy

Mother: Narcissa Druella Malfoy née Black

Godfather: Severus Tobias Snape

"Malfoy? You're a bloody Malfoy?" Ron exploded. "Merlin's ballsack Hermione, why the hell didn't you tell us you were-"

Harry didn't let Ron finish that sentence, drawing his wand and silencing the redhead. He stayed silent for another moment, consciously taking deep, even breaths as he tried to absorb the words in front of him.

He looked at Hermione or as it was now Adhara, or maybe still Hermione… He wasn't sure what to call her anymore in light of the revelation.

"I've been at Gringotts since this morning. The person who had me abducted from the Malfoys put a series of malicious binds on my magic and had started dosing me with a love potion after I started staying at Grimmauld Place. As far as what to call me, I spoke with Narcissa and Lucius at lunch today about changing my name to Adhara Hermione Narcissa Granger-Malfoy. You can still call me Hermione, Harry. I know this is all terribly confusing right now and you could easily hate me for being related to them but I swear I didn't know until this morning." Her voice had started calm and quickly went towards frantic, her fear at his rejection written all over her beautiful face.

Harry quickly slid off the couch and pulled her out of the chair, gently holding her face in his hands before crushing her to him in a hug.

"You have never once lied to me 'Mione. Why would you start now? So you're related to the ferret, doesn't mean you've changed."

Harry held her tightly as she cried her relief, the knowledge that at least he wouldn't be abandoning her flooding her system with gratitude and hope. She idly noted that his words were almost verbatim what her father had told her only a few hours ago. This realization made her burrow into his chest a little harder, her hands fisting in the back of his school jumper.

Ron managed to successfully cancel the silencing charm he'd been hit with and was watching Harry and the Malfoy chit with blazing rage, his face as red as his hair.

"How could you not tell us! A fucking Malfoy? A ferret twin? Has your dear Death Eater father already promised you to his twisted master? Or has he written up a contract for you to marry one of his Death Eater brothers so you won't be tempted to sully his precious bloodline with someone he doesn't approve of?" Ron sneered at her, his face twisted and ugly. "You were probably spying on us the whole time, reporting back to the murdering scum about Harry!"

Harry had his wand out and trained on Ron, his hand steady as he stared down the ginger haired boy. His left arm was still around Hermione, who was shaking. Whether with rage or sorrow he couldn't be sure. It very well could have been both.

"How fucking dare you," she seethed, hissing the words at Ron as she whirled in Harry's embrace to face the redhead. "To have the audacity to call me the liar, when it was you and your mother who have been the ones dosing me with fucking Amortentia since the summer! What the bloody hell did you expect to come from that relationship? That I would finally 'learn my place' and become a carbon copy of Molly? Lose all my aspirations and do nothing but stay home all day with children conceived under a love potion that were capable of becoming the very thing Harry has been trying to fight? You're clearly more moronic than I originally thought. You, Ronald Bilius Weasley, are beneath me. Granger or Malfoy it doesn't matter, you are beneath me and have always been unworthy of even my friendship, let alone love."

Hermione's anger was ice-cold, the Malfoy sneer on her face and she stared down her former friend as her hair fairly crackled with magic. She was a sight to behold when angry, and Harry tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her back to rest against his chest.

Harry's brain had stopped when he heard her mention the love potion. His green eyes luminescent with fury as they met the blue of Ron's.

"You were doing what to her?" Harry kept his voice tightly controlled, gritting his teeth as he ground out the question.

Ron scoffed, "Well who else would have wanted her? Between the hair and the opinions she needed to be brought down. No woman should want to excel that much, it's unnatural. Even if she is prettier now, I would have still been doing the world a favor by bringing her to heel."

"I want her!" Harry roared.

Hermione looked at him in shock, not expecting to ever have her feelings reciprocated.

"You would have stripped the strongest witch I know down to nothing of what makes her brilliant. She would have been a shell. A slave to you while you kept your full faculties and did whatever the hell you wanted." His eyes flashed a bright Avada green, forcing Ron to step back and around the sofa as Harry released 'Mione and began to advance on him. "Who told you to dose her, Ron? Or did you have that fucked up idea on your own?"

"Of course I didn't do it by myself, I don't even like her like that! Dumbledore and Mum told me that I was going to have to sacrifice though, to be the hero and keep you focused on Voldemort. As long as I got to stand by you at the end and be a famous war hero, nothing else mattered."

Ron's words pulled Harry up short. Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley? Was his entire life a lie?

Seizing the opportunity, Hermione quickly stood between the two boys and placed both hands on Harry's chest, her touch snapping his eyes down to her face. What he saw there nearly broke him.

"Get out Ron. Go back to your puppet masters. You are no friend of mine."

Harry silently asked the room for the door out, which appeared at Ron's back.

Ron fled, knowing that he'd escaped not only Hermione's wrath but Harry's. He was going to have to write to his mum and regroup with Dumbledore. Their pawn was loose and now had her claws in Wonder Boy.

As the door closed behind the traitor, Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione again, using the feeling of her body pressed tightly to his to ground himself and calm down. He took a few deep breaths with his nose buried in her hair, the scent of her lavender shampoo further relaxing his body.

Hermione pulled back from him slowly but kept one hand in his, leading him back over to the sofa. The pair sat down and she turned to face him, tucking one leg up underneath her body.

"Harry, did-" Hermione stopped and worried her bottom lip, wanting to know for sure if he felt as she did but 5scared of the answer. "Did you really mean what you told him? That you… you would want me?"

"Yes," Harry replied, reaching over and gently using his thumb to take her lip from between her teeth. "I meant what I said. I realised just how much I actually cared for you over the summer. I wasn't bothered not hearing from Ron, he's always been shite at communicating. But hearing nothing from you? That hurt more than I expected. And then when I finally got to Grimmauld and saw everyone, after Sirius it was you that I was most excited to see. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I started to like you as more than a friend at the Yule Ball last year. You walked down those stairs and looked like you'd been made to haunt my dreams in that dress." Harry's thumb stroked Hermione's cheek as he spoke. "Godric that sounds so cheesy doesn't it?"

She laughed and leaned into her best friend's touch, reveling in the feeling of his calloused hand on her face. "I don't mind cheesy when it's coming from you." She grinned at him, biting her lip again. Harry growled, the sound making heat pool low in Hermione's stomach.

"Hermione," his commanding tone made her stomach flip. "If you continue to bite your lip like that I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions."

He moved into her space, his nose brushing hers as he held her gaze, his intentions clear as he gave her the chance to back away. Hermione's breath caught and her tongue darted out, wetting her lips and Harry's control snapped. The hand holding her neck grew firm as he pressed his lips to hers, and his other hand moved to grip her hip as he sat back and pulled her with him, moving her so she straddled his lap, her body flush with his.

Her hands tangled themselves in his unruly black hair as she returned his gentle kiss with fervor, sighing when his tongue teased the seam of her lips, begging for entrance. The taste of her best friend made her groan softly and roll her hips, searching for a way to satisfy the ache between her thighs that was shocking her in its intensity. As her body rolled down and connected with his groin more firmly the hand on her neck flew to her hips and he gripped her tightly, his lips moving to her jaw and up to her ear.

"Fuck…" Harry groaned.

The feeling of his breath on her ear made a shiver run down Hermione's spine and she rolled her hips again, his reaction driving her to work harder at relieving the building ache. He began to move with her, the added friction making her hiss in pleasure over his repeated moan.

Harry moved one hand back up from Hermione's hip to tangle it in her riotous curls, fisting them and forcing her head back, fully exposing her neck. She whimpered at the pull on her scalp, her hands moving to Harry's shoulders to keep herself steady as their hips continued to move in tandem, Harry's hand still on her hip forcing a slow pace.

Having only seen the commanding side of Harry a couple of times, his dominance surprised and excited her. However, her brain chose that moment to remind her they had more that needed to be discussed, and she forced her body to stop moving.

"Harry," she gasped, her hands pushing at his shoulders to force him to stop nibbling at her neck and look at her. "We… we still need… to talk."

She leaned in to kiss him again, making sure to keep it soft and light as they tried to catch their breath. She rested her forehead on Harry's, the pair sporting slightly goofy smiles. He stole one more kiss and let her slip off his lap, tucking her body into his side.

"We are definitely doing that again. Soon."

Hermione burst out laughing at Harry's statement. She kissed his cheek. "Mmmhmm. You're much better than Viktor."

The smug look on Harry's face strongly reminded her of Draco for a couple seconds and she rolled her eyes at him before turning serious.

"Before anything else Harry, we need to get you to Gringotts. I want to make sure you are completely clear of anything that could be influencing your mind or emotions."

"Hermione, what did you find out earlier? What else was there besides the Amortentia?"

Hermione reached into her bookbag and took out the copy of her inheritance test as well as the Curse Diagnostic Bill had run. She couldn't say it out loud yet, and she knew that Harry wouldn't understand just how serious the binds and blocks had been until she explained it to him.

Harry stared at the parchments he now held in his hands, his anger flaring to life and he read them once, then twice more.

Harry's blood was boiling as he read the name consistently repeated on the Inheritance Test and the Curse Diagnostic.

"Hermione, exactly how bad was all this? And please don't sugar coat it for the sake of my feelings, that coward bound your magic. I know next to nothing about anything involving that but even I know that binding anyone's core is highly illegal and can lead to a person's death."

She bit her lip once again and he shot her a heated glare, making her release it immediately. Much as that activity was high on her priority list to repeat, she knew he deserved answers.

"It was bad enough that they called a Goblin Healer and their top Curse Breaker to perform a ritual cleansing."

"Wait a minute. Doesn't Ron's brother work at Gringotts?"

"Yes, Bill Weasley was the Curse Breaker and he's extremely angry at Dumbledore, Ron and Molly. I told him to owl Papa in a few days once he was ready to talk about everything."

"And you think Dumbledore has me under something like this list?"

"Harry, I think that if that man could kidnap a five year old child and do what he did to me, he has no objective other than his own agenda. He will use whoever he must and manipulate every situation he can to his own advantage. We need to get you to Gringotts immediately."

Harry stood and pulled Hermione up with him. He grabbed both their book bags, took her hand, and started for the door.

"We're going to see McGonagall right now. I assume she knows about you?" He questioned, as they quickly walked away from the Room of Requirement and headed down to their Head of House's office.

Hermione nodded, "Uncle Severus called for her as soon as I was able to breathe properly after I read my potions' results. She's the one who excused me from classes today and wrote to Gringotts for me."

Reaching the Professor's door, Harry knocked thrice before opening the door to let himself and his best friend in.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Malfoy, what brings you to my office so close to curfew?" Minerva had been expecting to see Hermione that evening, but Harry was a surprise.

"Well, Professor, I wanted to bring you a copy of my tests from Gringotts."

Hermione cast a quick Gemino over both parchments and laid a copy of each on McGonagall's desk. Minerva flipped them over and read them silently, the only tell on her face the setting of her jaw as she read everything that had been done to her favourite cub. She looked up after finishing and silently raised an eyebrow at the pair, idly noting the tightly clasped hands of the two teenagers.

"Professor, I want to make Harry an appointment with Ragnok. If he was capable of doing this to me, I'm concerned about what he may have done to keep Harry under his control. But I am almost positive that my post is being monitored."

Minerva's eyes widened a fraction but quickly saw the wisdom in what the girl wasn't saying.

"I'll write to him first thing in the morning for you. This coming weekend is a scheduled Hogsmeade trip and I'll ensure you make it to Gringotts. Severus and I will be on patrol Saturday."

"Thank you Professor. While I would like to hope Hermione is wrong, the proof of what he did to her is in front of us and I don't want to take any chances. My mind needs to be my own if we are to win this fight against Voldemort. Fighting the Headmaster as well just makes everything more complicated," Harry stated, his voice firm and sure.

The girl nodded in agreement as Potter spoke.

"I'll write to my father and have my Godfather deliver it for me. He's going to have a plan on how to expose what happened to me and the family's barrister would love to take the Headmaster down. Having proof of his tampering with Harry will be like Yule coming early."

She turned to face Harry. "Harry I would be more than happy to go to Gringotts with you, and have one of my parents meet us there."

"I think that's a brilliant idea 'Mione. Much as I still don't trust Lucius Malfoy, I know he'll know how to work with the goblins and make sure everything is accurate. Could you ask him to meet us there?"

"Of course. Now, we had better head to the common room if we don't want to lose points for being out after curfew."

Minerva watched this exchange with pride. These two cubs of hers would always have each other's back, and for that she was extremely grateful. Albus had a lot to answer for, and the Malfoy family would make him pay dearly for his many transgressions.