Hermione was not one to hold a grudge. Her logical nature and belief in the scientific method was far to ingrained in her psyche for that. To hold a grudge was to deprive oneself of a friendship and possible future opportunities. It also took far more mental concentration than most people realized. She, whose pride stemmed from her ability to divert her attentions appropriately was not about to let something as simple as childish resentment halt any possible progress towards success. She was one on the other hand to remember vivid details of her past. She would never simply forget what others had done to her. That in itself would be extremely illogical as well. It was why, Hermione Granger, brains of the so called Golden Trio, was having a hard time wrapping her head around this whole situation. In truth it baffled her, because the circumstance before her held no perceivable logic at all.
Not the first time since entering this room she had found herself wishing that Professor McGonagall was present. Hermione had always respected the woman for her keen intellect and no nonsense attitude, something that was certainly lacking in this particular situation.
From what little they had given her in terms of a plan, Dumbledore had been approached by Draco Malfoy through Severus Snape. The familiar boy was seeking asylum with the Order away from all the dark magic in his life. He needed not only a familiar contact but also someone to heal him as he pretended to complete the non disclosed task given to him by the greatest evil of their time. A task she was not permitted to know about due to its confidential nature. And of course she was to discuss this with no one other than them.
Hermione blinked repeatedly as she attempted to once again process everything that had just been explained to her. Still, the picture before her did not change and the two other individuals in the room continued to expect a swift answer of agreement. She had half a mind to wait an hour and check for a polyjuice potion.
The child in her that had worked so hard to please those in authority felt the need to cave, but the woman who had been facing dark wizards since her first year in school understood standing ones ground around powerful creatures. "Professor, if this is some type of joke I really do not appreciate it."
The kind hearted Albus Dumbledore smiled, clearly starting to recognize this would not be a smooth conversation. His long beard moved slightly with each word coming out of his mouth. It had once reminded her of what she could only assume to be a loving, yet totally senile, grandfather. After this moment the loving part was diminishing and the senile portion was quickly taking over. Despite that Hermione immediately understood by the look he was giving that every word he spoke was true. He regretted asking her, he knew that she was the last person who probably wanted to do this job but in his eyes she was by far the best option. Briefly she wondered if maybe it wasn't a polyjuice potion and instead he needed to get his prescription checked. Because he was clearly seeing things wrong. "Miss Granger, I assure you that you are the best candidate. You are a well-equipped potions student and have been studying under Madam Pomfrey long enough to help in this situation. I trust no one more with this task than I do you."
Hermione reviewed the so called 'situation' in her head while trying to come up with any other possible scenario. Millions came to her mind. The first viable option was Snape since he seemed more than capable of doing this particular task. Dumbledore had already explained why the potions master was unable to complete this maddening request from hell though, even if Hermione thought it bullocks. That meant that someone else needed to fill his shoes. There was always the possibility of an outside helper. The very same Healing teacher, Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore seemed to speak so fondly of could do it as well. In fact, she would be a much better match. Hermione had been studying healing for what, less than a year? Madam Pomfrey had been doing it for a heck of a lot longer. Merlin, anyone but her could do this and to a better degree. Forget the greater good, a girl had her limits. Again, she resolved herself to follow her instinct. Right now her instinct was telling her what a failure this entire predicament would be. "You know," Hermione paused briefly as she again considered the best approach to turn them down, "I think I will pass."
Needless to say no one had been expecting that particular response. The elder man's face twisted a little as the shock settled in. Hermione Granger had never said 'no' to a teacher before and he had obviously been counting on her familiar eagerness.
"Miss Granger please, I understand that this is not easy-" started Dumbledore but Hermione was hearing none of it.
For the first time in her entire stay at Hogwarts, no, her entire time interacting with teachers, Hermione interrupted a respected professor. It seemed to be a brand new day, one where grades no longer mattered because Hermione was to shocked to filter a response. "No I don't think you do. He is nothing but a foul git. Not once during my entire time here has he ever called me by my actual name. I can count on one hand how often he has used my family one along with that. Every other time he has had anything to do with me I have been mudblood, or beaver brow or even mudbitch which has become his new favorite. I have been tormented, taunted and personally sabotaged by him for the better part of my life. I would never, and I mean never wish him harm but this is something I cannot in good faith participate in."
Dumbledore stood still, no anger in his pose but a slight tone of disapproval. "I understand that you and Mister Malfoy have not had the best of histories together but he has come to the Order for help. You are the most qualified."
Hermione felt her scowl grow. How dare he put this on her? It wasn't her duty to save Malfoy. Heck, it wasn't even her responsibility to like him. Her part in all of this was to help the world survive, not someone who would rather leave her for dead. If she was going to sacrifice her time and energy it was going to be to stop Voldemort, not coddle the blond haired snake bent on ruining her. All her pent up anger, all the times she had stopped Harry from hexing the living daylights out of the royal ferret seemed worthless now. She just should have let Harry finish him off years ago. If she had then Hermione could have avoided years of torment, month's worth of arguments and this very awkward moment. " Do you know what it is like to be told how worthless you are day in and day out? I couldn't walk down a hallway without him casting an enchantment to scatter my books or a curse to frizz my hair. Draco Malfoy is the definition of what it means to be a bully and I cannot believe that in some unfathomable moment of clarity he has seen the error of his ways."
Oddly enough, Snape was the one to speak this time. Up until this point he hadn't said one word. When she was originally summoned to the head master's office Hermione watched as he stood there like a statue. As she sat down the man had not blinked. While Dumbledore made the ridiculous request the man did not so much as flinch. Nothing seemed to move him. Up until this point it was one less person to argue with, "Miss Granger, despite your relationship with my godson you are a potential member for the Order. This is an assignment."
Her eyes narrowed briefly. She had no intention of getting expelled but she would not be cowed into this, "You are one of the brightest teachers here professor, I think you and I both know this would never succeed. He would sooner curse me than allow me to see him in a vulnerable state. Do not pretend I am some last hope to stop Voldemort from rising."
"Mister Malfoy-" started the man but was cut off by the tenacious student before him.
"Has multiple resources available to him both through his own means and the order members. I assure you, none of which who have our same history. What you are asking is not just wrong when reflecting on the last few years but a betrayal to my best friend. You asked that I keep this secret; that I speak of this to no one other than who is in this room. I could get over my issues with Malfoy if I somehow believed it would be helpful. But I will not lie to Harry…ever. What he needs right now are those he can trust not a supposed friend sneaking behind his back to help a venomous snake that is probably lying." She countered bravely, her lion heart roaring for all to hear.
Severus Snape was not prepared for the young witches' outburst. Despite her know-it-all persona she was one of his best students. She was smart, usually quiet unless demanding to provide answers to questions he had asked others and kept her two friends out of enough mischievousness to prevent the walls of Hogwarts from crumbling in. Severus Snape found that he did not like this new twist of events. With a scowl to fit Salazar Slytherin the potions master did something he had never done, he engaged in battle with a student. "Watch your tongue when you speak to me."
While Severus had not yelled Albus was more than aware of the anger rolling off of his longtime friend. There was more than one thing wrong with this situation though, something that Severus had not accounted for. Hermione Granger was not the average witch. She would not cower, she would not falter. The imposing figure of the black cloaked death eater with the ability to turn you into a toad did nothing to deter the infamous witch. No, she was much too brilliant for that.
She was smart enough to realize that Harry would be turning of age this summer. That Dumbledore had appeared weaker since the start of the term two months back. That this was likely their last year at Hogwarts before another wizarding war broke out. She had spent more time that she could count going over every book in the library that touched on defensive wards and healing spells. She recognized the need to be prepared and focused, even if everyone continued to tell them that children should not be involved.
Hermione Granger did not have time to help past enemies claiming to want out of the death eater life in the middle of all of this happening. Who by the way was probably a spy out to kill her and those she loved. "Draco has an aunt and a cousin he has never met, they can take him in. If he has truly changed and isn't just running away from a problem then let him prove it by living with them. Let him be something other than the prat he has proven himself to be."
Snape cut in to her solution with a hiss, "He must stay in school to continue his cover. His family is as much hostage as he was over the summer. If the Dark Lord thinks for one moment he is no longer working towards the tasks assigned to him they will be killed. Furthermore his peers are the children of some of the Dark Lord's most loyal men. We do not know if the other children have been recruited or have been assigned to watch him."
More secrets she thought. More secrets had continued to plague this entire broken system because throughout all of this they had not shared what his mission was. They had thought it important to keep from the person they were asking for help from what she would be potentially helping to prevent. With a determined look in her eyes Hermione continued to stand her ground, "I appreciate his position but my answer is the same. You cannot ask me to protect Harry and lie to him in the same go. You cannot put me in the position to betray his trust for something so ridiculous. Not only it is unfair but it is also wrong. Draco Malfoy has options; I am just not one of them."
Professor Dumbledore seemed to understand that she was done with this conversation. Despite the multiple arguments they could have made with her he accepted her truth. With a wave of his hand he motioned towards the door. The familiar statue moved briefly as if in waiting for her to enter the stairway. Nodding her own head Hermione tried not to think of the disappointment they were both feeling in her. Lines needed to be drawn and this was one of them. If Draco Malfoy really did need help the Order would not leave him out to dry. They would protect him another way. But they had asked her the impossible. She could have looked after him; she could have found a way to be his contact. In asking her to keep it from Harry though she had felt her faith in them crumble. If there was one thing she had learned in her time here at Hogwarts it was how precious friends were, and how quickly they could be taken away.
She would never betray him. Not even for the Order.
Hermione found herself sitting in her Astronomy class later that night when she felt her mind wandering to her discussion with the head master of the school. She knew why it was happening because the person why typically sat two spots to her left and one row up was missing. Draco Malfoy rarely missed a class and this last month had been as if he did not even participate in school. Now she understood part of the reason as to why. He was busy working on whatever project Voldemort thought only an underage teenager could do.
Internally she scoffed at how ridiculous that sounded. The man scared the living daylights out of her and in reading about him it was clear he was as brilliant as he was absolutely insane. That in itself made him an incredibly dangerous person. Then one added the world domination factor with no fondness towards anyone other than pure bloods. It was a messed up theology given what she had dug up on his own history. The logical side of her reckoned that those things mattered less when someone powerful was openly letting you express your hatred towards another group.
Carefully her eyes drew back to the spot Malfoy normally sat. Astronomy was an elective course, and one of the only ones she had with him where neither of their peers were present. They were mostly surrounded by Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's. Would anyone be attempting to give him his work? Or turn in the assignments?
Frowning Hermione wondered if Dumbledore was even requiring work be completed. Almost as instantly she dismissed the thought. If they were worried enough about pretense then the other teachers would have the same usual standards for an ill student. Still if whatever theoretical task was concerning enough to make him turn tail on his upbringing did studies even matter to him? This of course led to the question of what this task was. Given that Malfoy had been assigned it she could only guess it was related to the school or Harry. This also explained why neither teacher wanted to tell her what it was. No way would she keep something like his possible safety from said friend.
Glancing up at the board Hermione quickly calculated that she knew what was being taught from her readings and that the class was about to be over. Tapping her quill against her parchment Hermione suddenly found herself beyond curious.
Which was incredibly frustrating.
She did not want to be curious about Draco sodding Malfoy.
She bit her lip in question. After a few seconds she came to the conclusion that a little investigation would not hurt. A few minutes later the teacher had dismissed the class and instructed them straight to bed due to the late hour. Watching as her peer's left Hermione lingered before walking to the teacher. Professor Sinistra paused briefly before asking, "Yes Miss Granger?"
With her determination in play Hermione asked, "Professor I noticed that Malfoy was not present, and has not been for a few classes now."
The woman raised an eye brow but did immediately comment. Perhaps she knew nothing about their history because the teacher responded a few seconds later as if Hermione was a long time friend of the boy's, "Mister Malfoy has been quite ill all year, much of his work is sent to me late and often times incomplete. We do what we can to assist though. My dear, are you seeing him later? I have a few readings for him."
Hermione shook her head as she backed away from the situation. Glancing back down to the familiar staircase she pointed. "No, I was just worried. Daphne would be though, I am sure she would be able to drop them off in the Slytherin common rooms."
The professor smiled a genuine and endearing smile, "It is nice you know, to see different houses interacting. I find the rivalry boorish and hurtful more than not. I say keep it to the house cup and the quidditch matches."
Hermione did not bother correcting the assumption and found it refreshing to have an adult in this school disengage from the rivalry. If she was called the Gryffindor Princess one more time as the other houses made roaring noises around her she was going to punch someone.
The teacher turned back around and began organizing her papers. Before Hermione could make her exit the woman stated, "Miss Hermione, it is just an observation but I have found that when I give the assignments to Miss Greengrass they never seem to reach him. Out of curiosity I placed a tracking spell on some assignments a few weeks ago and found them in the rubbish bin outside my door. An accident I am sure."
Hermione saw the flicker of concern in her astronomy teachers eye. With a direct line of sight to Hermione alone the woman stated, "Whatever illness he has seems to have made him an outcast in his house. If you are able, another friend stopping by might be good for him."
Hermione drew in a breath and hurried out the door with her items. Halfway down the staircase she started reflecting on what she had heard. Her ending conclusion was that if this was a scam, it was a damn intricate one.
The following two mornings left Hermione feeling restless and irritated. She had attempted to block out all conversations and thoughts related to Draco Malfoy. This was no easy task given Harry's obsession with him and Ron's egging the boy-who-lived on. She wanted to murder them both half the time but reminded herself that Harry was needed to save the world and Ron was, well no words could describe him. He was either the love of her life or potentially the worst decision she could make romantically. Given the heartbreak that had already been settling in with his budding relationship with Lavender she was leaning towards both at different parts of the day.
She debated telling Harry about the meeting with Dumbledore as well. Since she had no real information and speculation was what already drove her friends mad, currently Hermione was keeping it to herself. If she had anything more than him asking the Order for help she would pull him aside and let him do what he wanted with the information. Right now though it would probably just cause another fight and they had enough of those around that stupid book of his.
Thinking of the thing automatically caused her to growl in frustration. Maybe if he actually shared the thing with her and showed her that it was not a dark cheating artifact they would have less problems. As of right now though all she knew was that it contained dark spells and tricks to skipping steps in potions. Who the hell knew what kind of consequences that would have in the end.
Hermione sat down in her usual spot across from the gossiping boys and grabbed herself a role of bread to butter. Halfway into the bite Ron looked at her, "Blimey Hermione, you sleeping okay?"
Her eyes narrowed. After taking a small swallow she looked him dead center in the eyes, "I don't know Ronald, you get hit with a bludger lately?"
Harry automatically laughed at that one and her expression calmed at his clear joy. It was rare to see that now since Sirius had died. He was miserable the majority of the time and clearly felt a world of expectations on him. Once Harry calmed he stated, "Right to the face yesterday when he was practicing."
Ron nudged him, "Shut it Harry, I was bloody brilliant up until that point. Stupid thing caught me off guard. I'm way too tired with all this defense training Mad Eye wants us to do. He even came up to the castle three days ago to wake Harry and me up in the middle of the night. Biggest scare I have had all year waking up to that face."
Hermione laughed because she figured that would be rather terrifying. The ex-aurorer was taking Harry's training personal but was extremely limited on what he could do. He had come up with more than a few drills, which he continued to call 'games' to keep the kids from Dumbledore's Army engaged. In reality they were pretty much ways to torture everyone without Molly Weasley being able to say anything because she did not have regular access to Hogwarts. Hermione found herself appreciating it though; someone looking after Harry and trying to bridge the gap in their defense education. At the same time she was incredibly thankful that the wards kept the one eyed man from entering the girls dormitory.
Harry looked up at her expectantly, "How is healing pre-apprentice going?"
Once again Hermione was thankful for his interest. They had started off the year arguing over that book which had left them frayed at the ends when having to deal with one another. With a sigh Hermione considered what to tell them, "I enjoy it but I become a bit overwhelmed when I think about why I am having to learn so quickly."
Ron immediately became somber and Harry's face darkened. She knew it wasn't the right thing to bring up but with the loud conversations around them and their schedules she was taking her opportunity. "I know I am the only one with enough patience to learn which is why I volunteered, but since I started I cannot help but notice things I used to ignore."
Harry glanced around in a paranoid fashion, "Careful Hermione, we have snakes standing to our right. They are younger but…"
Hermione pressed on, "I just mean that I get it a bit more now, why you question everything. Why you find something small and fixate on it until you get an answer. Before, for me at least, it was just information from books but now I see it carrying over to diagnoses and people."
As if the Gryffindor house itself was telling them to stop this conversation a pair of arms was thrown around her red headed friend which startled all of them. Ron quickly fell off the bench from the force of it and Harry scooted as if crawling from a wild animal. Once Hermione saw the purple painted nails and heard the higher pitched squeal of delight she found herself wishing it was a wild animal. Wild animals were put outside with all of the other loud creatures. With a huff she turned to Harry, "I am going to the library. I will try to make it to Gryffindor practice tonight but not if it is raining."
She quickly grabbed the rest of her bread roll and nodded goodbye as Ron who was being gushed over by her roommate. She was well aware that Lavender liked the boy, was frustrated how Ron was starting to show her interest back. She was not about to sit around and watch it all unfold. She could tolerate a lot but this was something Hermione knew she had every right to attempt avoiding.
Harry just gave her an understanding nod and remained seated with his friend.
She scurried out of the dinning area and straight for her familiar nook in the library, her roll quickly gone as she ate while walking. Many people believed that she lived in the space but that was only because she preferred the knowledge of books over the gossip of people. Hermione had never found the conversations of her classmates all that interesting. She appreciated proper hair care and who was the cutest boy of their year, but that information in no way assisted her. It was unclear if this was because of her own nature or her muggleborn status. Drawing in a breath as she found her newest secluded spot, Hermione contemplated this theory further.
She made it look easy, this transition and assimilation into the magical community but it was not. Her first visit to gather school supplies quickly demonstrated just how out of her depth she was, just how far behind everyone else she would be. There would be things that magical children knew that Hermione would never think possible. Things that they took for granted because it was part of how they were raised. She in no way believed this somehow made them better or more deserving of magic but it did make her want to bridge that gap. To shorten that distance and advantage others had since birth. So she studied, she worked hard and filled her natural born quest for knowledge.
It was hard initially to be teased for it but now she just saw it as part of her identity. Maybe she was the one student inside as everyone else prepared for the rare sunny day in over week. But in her book it was worth it.
The sounds of someone laughing filled her ears, the distant noise drawing her in as Hermione realized she may not be as alone as believed. Looking to her right a window had been propped open and a few students were passing around a quaffle. It was a quick flash where she wanted to join them, but it passed. She hated most sports anyways and never appreciated being bad at something. Let alone in front of others. Closing the window and turning back to her nook Hermione paused as she passed one of the many forgotten areas. Rarely did anyone come back this way which is why she had chosen it, not even her friends could find her and ask for help on writing an essay they knew about two weeks ago. So it was odd to think of others nearby let alone the sound of frantic whispering voices.
After a few more minutes she creeped over to the familiar tone and she saw three Slytherins standing around in a small circle. She knew them well since they were from her year. Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson looked around guiltily before resuming their discussion. Immediately intrigued Hermione shuffled closer to try and hear what she could. It was muffled and a few words were impossible to make out but it was enough.
"Father was clear, the Malfoy's are out of favor and we are not to align with them," spoke Nott.
Pansy bit her lip, "But it is Draco, we have known him since forever. What we are doing is wrong."
Nott glared, "You really want to get caught in the middle of this? Of being dragged down right along with him? Because if other people hear you say more that is exactly what will happen. He won't succeed in whatever this mission is anyways and we have our own family to think about. Father says the Dark Lord will be looking for a new favorite once this is all over."
Blaise scoffed, "You are all mad to be following him. My mother was right to have us live out of the country."
Pansy immediately glared, "Shut up Blaise, I don't see you doing anything."
He snapped at her, "Fuck you Parkinson. He is my friend but I don't have a death wish, not with how you all have been treating him. I don't appreciate the idea of getting jumped at any moment by my own house just to make my parent happy."
Theodore Nott growled, "Father was clear. If this keeps my family safe and in favor of the Dark Lord then I will continue to beat the shit out of anyone I needed to."
Hermione felt herself gasp and take a step back. Her mind went immediately back to her conversations with various teachers over the last few days. She had checked in with a more in the most discrete way she could manage. They all stated very similar things regarding Malfoy's help, but none had given her the insight that Professor Sinistra had about the relationships among his housemates. Her mind went back to the idea of this being an elaborate trap. It was odd to find them back here, perhaps it was staged, but there had been no way for them to tell this is where she would be. Perhaps she was intruding on their secret spot instead of the other way around. She had only identified this nook a week or so ago, and she was supposed to be in the great hall with her friends.
Drawing in another breadth she excused herself from her eavesdropping and walked back to her little table. Instead of pulling out her books she just sat there as she contemplated what to do with this new found information.
Hermione had barely made it to her Defense Against the Dark Arts class in time. She had wasted her entire morning thinking about a stupid ferret and the problems he faced. So now she was routinely struggling with her time management and getting the back seat in every class due to near tardiness. And of all the classes she could not afford to be late to it was Snape's. While the man clearly hated Harry she had never had a positive interaction with him either. Given her recent dismissal of his godson their short interactions had become that much more tense.
Not three seconds before the class started she moved into a seat next to a fellow student. Professor Snape walked in not a moment later, cloak billowing as if death itself followed. She saw from the back Harry tense and rub his scar, the pain flaring every time he was around someone that he perceived as dangerous. Sometimes she wondered what powered that mark of his and shuttered. Having blinding pain in your head every time your magic perceived a threat was something she could do without.
The lesson started quickly though, this particular teacher never having been one for opening pleasantries. He started on protective measures and counter spells as if they had been practicing these defenses for years, not just hearing about them over the last two lessons. Another one of his qualities, he always expected others to do the reading before the lesson. It was never a trait she struggled with before this last week.
She concentrated on her own notes though and tried not to look to long at the man. Eye contact did entice predators after all. So focused on her work and determination to remain unnoticeable, because Snape's attention was never a good thing, she found herself writing notes without true comprehension of what was happening in the room. Halfway through the lesson though she found black boots and slicked back hair in front of her, arms crossed as if expecting an answer to something. The entire class was looking at her expectantly which means she had missed his question. "Miss Granger, identify and demonstrate the purpose of a protego maxima shield for the class. Unless of course your notebook continues to be more interesting than my lesson."
Her hackles rose but she pushed it down. She had known in her gut he would pick on her, it was bound to happen. Not only was she muggleborn, Harry Potter's friend but she had also stood up to him. Instead of cowering though she stood and did what the man expected her to fail at. They had just started learning about the more powerful shield spells; she was not yet supposed to be efficient in casting one. This was clearly a way he expected to show Hermione her place. With the familiar flick of her wrist that she had been practicing for over seven months she stated in a confident manner "Protego Maxima". The powerful shield immediately burst through her wand and engulfed a good half of the room in the protective bubble. The other student's went wide eyed in amazement, a few of them even clapping. She did not pay them any heed though and remained toe to toe with the teacher before her.
His gaze narrowed but did not show any surprise that she accomplished the task, "Shall you bow as well for your audience? Do give more of a show."
Keeping her temper in check, because he was baiting her again, Hermione began spouting additional knowledge if only to show that this was not a fluke, "If paired with the fianto duri and repelo inimicum incantation the barrier would become near impregnable as long as my magic lasted or I remained conscious. Those are not spells I have practiced though and would not want to put anyone in danger just to prove myself."
He continued to stare, his gaze just as hard as before. If anything his look seemed to take on a bit more at her words, "Those are advanced skills, well beyond the ability of a sixth year. How do you even know those combinations?"
She suppressed the leer at the skeptism on his face, "Actually, it was brought to my attention by you professor. In fourth year you identified a potion that could dissolve almost any protection shield if thrown against it. I was curious as to which ones it could not, so I researched on my own."
His eyes narrowed in almost disbelief, "You are telling me that you did not attempt those spells on your own and have been sitting on them for nearly two years?"
Hermione glanced at her friends, suddenly unsure where he wanted this discussion to go. After a few more blank faced peers were looking back at her and seeming just as confused with the banter, she turned to said professor. "No professor; that would be incredibly reckless from what I read. Those spells were way above my ability and I would want proper supervision as well as training before I would consider attempting."
He seemed to pause, a few curt words clearly on the tip of his tongue. He then moved back a bit to take a step away before stating, "A Gryffindor with self-control, that is a new one."
He turned back to the class before addressing them all, "Do thank your classmate for the extra work, a new assignment for the week. You will be writing and essay on the development, use and faults of the protego maxima spell. It is due next class and must beat least two full pages of parchment. This will not be a silly little second year's basic copy skills from a book in the library, or you will fail."
She heard the entire class groan as they considered the extra workload. Mentally berating herself, because she knew she just should have taken the 5 point deduction from Gryffindor he undoubtedly would have given her had she not been able to produce the spell, rather than stand her ground. Now she was going to be the source of complaints from her classmates.
Drawing herself in Hermione immediately began taking more thorough notes so as not to draw his ire again. She did not know how Harry dealt with the constant attention of this man.
The lecture finished and almost immediately upon dismissal her friends were by her side. They walked with her and she remained sandwiched between them. Predictably Ron was complaining about the extra work and Harry was complaining about Snape. Once they were in the hallway Ron stated, "Dumbledore should really do something about him."
Before she could say anything Harry added, "He is impossible to reach; I cannot get a hold of him unless I wait outside of his office for half the day."
Both boys blinked in unison as something dawned on them. "Wait?" said Ron.
Harry turned to her and nearly grabbed her shoulders, "Didn't he want to meet with you?"
Hermione immediately flushed at the attention and topic. So instead of answering properly like any good friend would she stated, "Have any of you seen Malfoy lately? I haven't seen him in any of our classes."
Harry immediately became distracted with the appropriately intense scowl as he stated, "The prat is probably ditching. It's like he doesn't find it important enough to pretend to be a member of society anymore."
Ron seemed to give her a side eye, knowing full well what she had done. While Harry was single-minded about the Malfoy heir Ron was not. Found him an awful human being who deserved to eat giant slugs the rest of his life, but not side tracked. She gave Ron a pleading look and watched as he let the topic drop. Over this last year the two of them had experienced a different sort of connection, what with the way they had to mind Harry. The two had developed an unspoken system of checks and balances together. She had thought that connection could lead to something more, that it had been going in that direction. His stupid interactions with the bimbo that was Lavender Brown said otherwise. Casually she massaged her temples. She knew better than this, than to be mad at someone for something so petty. She knew Lavender was not a total air head and had some really good spells in her belt. It did not make her any more tolerable though.
She mentally re-entered the conversation when she heard Harry make his next speculation about how Voldemort was recruiting kids. On how Draco Malfoy was probably a death eater. That thought nearly stopped her in her tracks. Was he? Had he been recruited? She had always dismissed Harry's wild assumptions but with all the pieces she had this week maybe he was not far off. Would Voldemort entrust someone with whatever task Malfoy had been given if the boy was not teaming with dark magic that was practically a leash? Harry had said the dark wizard could track and summon them through the mark.
Hermione gulped in anticipation but did not voice her concerns. She just walked with them to their next class and considered her options. The thought did cross her mind though that maybe seeing the ever elusive bully would help her in this curiosity. Maybe a reminder of how horrible he could be was needed. It wasn't until she finished her last class of the day that she opted to do something she shouldn't. Hermione Granger volunteered to do her prefect rounds in the dungeons, right next to the Slytherin dormitories.
Hermione was with her fellow prefect Anthony Goldstein. The fellow DA member was sharp as a whip and she trusted him enough from their time together usurping Dolores Umbridge that she knew he would have her back. He had not asked why she chose this route or how he of all people was being dragged into this. It came down to a few basic things though. Essentially he was physically strong and she was not dumb enough to put herself in danger only to rely on her status as a prefect.
Luckily it was twenty minutes into checking the halls that someone finally noticed them. It was the ever familiar Gregory Goyle walking down the darkened hallways. He stopped suddenly and blinked at them, as if surprised anyone other than their own colors would be walking this way. Malfoy may have made prefect as of last year but she could not guess as to the last time he showed for a meeting. And typically Slytherins were protective about being the ones to monitor their own house. It did mean that this section of the castle was less monitored than others.
Looking almost uncomfortable he stated, "What are you doing here Granger?"
Anthony stepped in, "And Goldstein. Come on Greg, I know she is pretty but you can at least be polite and acknowledge me."
Said Slytherin growled his response, "Shut up Goldstein, you are lucky I do not beat your face in."
The now ready to fight Ravenclaw stated, "You are lucky I do not write you up for being out past curfew."
Goyle scoffed, "It's not past curfew."
Anthony smirked, "It will be by the time I finish the report to the heads of houses. What should I say you were doing? Bullying a little Ravenclaw when I found you? Ripping up a painting?"
Hermione put a stop to this before it could get out of hand. Sometimes she forgot how antagonistic boys could be. "Anthony, while I acknowledge the needless protective gesture Gregory was just walking, probably to his dormitory. He has another five minutes to get back. So do not ask me to lie to corroborate this little story you two have going."
The boy frowned and crossed his arms but let it go. He did not move his position though, the protectiveness coming off in waves. Hermione saw the opening for a natural exit and stated, "Can you please check the next room? I will make sure he is heading back."
With a slightly defeated sigh Anthony trudged on over to the nearest room and loudly stated, "Get out Peeves!" a few crashing noises were heard as the wizard attempted to wrangle in the elusive prankster in the next room.
Shaking her head she stated, "You should be fine; I will make sure he does not do anything senseless."
The boy clearly wanted to scowl but some part of him recognized she had stood up for him when she did not have to. After a few more seconds, and getting up her own courage Hermione stated, "If you see Malfoy can you let him know too? I thought I saw him walking around earlier and the teachers are really tight about the rules this year what with everything that is happening."
She expected a mocking laugh at her looking out for Malfoy, as would probably be appropriate. Instead what she got was a worried flash across his face. His eyes glanced around longingly as if searching for his friend. It was too brief for her to make more of it though because he made eye contact with her seconds after, "You saw Draco?"
She shrugged while taking in every expression of his, the classmate not being quite as good at hiding his responses in comparison to his friends. "I saw a flash of blonde hair three rows down and it is the dungeons area which means Slytherin territory. I may not like him but I don't want anyone expelled."
The boy caught himself, finally realizing that he was expressing some form of emotion other than disgust to her, and let lose a sneer, "Whatever mudblood. If anyone should be kicked out of this school it is you. No need for trash in our castle."
She frowned at that but tried not to take the bait, "So much for being nice you twat. Just head back to your stupid dorm."
"Goyle!" said a new and unexpected voice. She should not be surprised but she was. Multiple prefects had stated that Slytherin's were out until the last minute since the start of the term. To think that they would run into only of their classmates would have been foolish.
To her surprise Theodore Nott was heading from a different hallway and looking at them questioningly. He had more than a bit of hate in his eyes as he glanced her over, clearly realizing that no one else was in the immediate hallway. With a smirk he stated, "Late night fuck?"
She wanted to slap him, she really did. Instead Hermione stated, "Prefect patrols, seems quite a few of my classmates are cutting it close."
Nott maintained his easy going but condescending attitude as he stated, "Our boy here was just helping us find our friend before turning in." Nott slung his arms around Goyle's shoulders, the beefy man making it harder to do but still possible.
Goyle growled, "Let's just go to the dorm, he can find his own way back. Draco isn't here."
Nott gave her a side eye as if wanting to press for more but then Anthony came out of the nearby room, "That stupid ghost nearly got me."
Instantly Anthony stopped as he looked at the scene before him. As if a new threat was involved all three men tensed. Apparently she wasn't worthy of being postured to. Nott's eye's narrowed again as he stated, "Come on Greg, wouldn't want a warning for just existing."
Both boys left after that, their posture still standing as aggressively as possible even as they walked away. Hermione turned with enough time to notice that Gregory Goyle slouched as if in defeat but only once Nott was far enough in the lead. She followed as his eyes darted to the hallway she had falsely mentioned his friend being down. The agony on his face was palpable even from this distance.
Anthony moved closer to her, "I stall long enough? You get what you wanted?"
Hermione glanced at her own comrade. She had let him know that once they ran into a more forward Slytherin that she would need him to make busy. Luckily his analytical mind deduced that something was brewing and no one outsmarted the brightest witch of their age. Looking back at the retreating figures she stated, "I don't think it was what I wanted, but I think it is what I needed."
Because unlike his classmates Gregory Goyle had never been a good liar, he was a bit too thick for that. So it came down to one basic conclusion. Draco Malfoy was defecting because it was finally real. Life had caught up with him and he was recognizing just how defenseless a man like Voldemort wanted people to be. Just how merciless he was even to those he claimed as his closest allies. Everything was coming to a head and not even Malfoy could hide from it.
Firevixen73 – Re-wrote this story mainly because it was a one shot that I got such good responses on that I needed to bring it back. Hopefully everyone likes it and is still as big of a Harry Potter fan as I am!