AN: Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, and stuck with me to this point in the story.

Chapter 16

The Library

"So I finally get to see the infamous library at Malfoy Manor." Hermione is unable to keep the grin from her face as she trails along after the two men.

Draco turns to glance at her over his shoulder as he replies, "I'm afraid it's been rather diminished since the Ministry got their hands on it. All of the darker texts have been removed but there are still quite a few rather ancient works that deal with curses and hauntings that may prove useful." After making their way up the main staircase, they turn and make their way into the west wing of the house. "By the time I had returned from my apprenticeship, Cibney had managed to have the manor completely put back to rights after the Ministry finally concluded their investigation. Many of my family's artifacts, tomes, and scrolls were confiscated during their searches."

"Dark artifacts, Malfoy," Hermione states. "Items that no respectable wizard should wish for their collection."

"You misunderstand me, Granger," Draco cuts in as he stops before a large set of oak doors. "I do not lament the loss of the items themselves. It's more the family history that was attached to them that I regret losing. After the things that happened here, this place could use a little less darkness."

"Like my own family, the Malfoy family is ancient," Theo adds, from beside his friend. "We're raised to understand that the traditions and history of our families should be our greatest source of pride. While the history of our families may not be something you feel we should be proud of, without it we would not be who we are."

Hermione nods thoughtfully, glancing back and forth between the two. "The loss of the artifacts themselves, does not negate your family's history, though."

"No, but that doesn't mean we can't feel the sting of their loss." Turning toward the doors behind them, Draco pushes them open. "Try not to wet your knickers with excitement, Granger."

"I've been in a library before, Malfoy," Hermione huffs as she follows him through the door. She pauses as she enters taking in the smell of old books, parchment and the roaring fire that lit itself as the door opened. Her eyes scan the rows of mahogany shelves, each filled with books. A spiral staircase stands in one corner of the room, leading to a second floor where she can see even more bookshelves. Sunlight streams in from the large windows that line the wall opposite the door alighting upon a plush sofa and two matching armchairs that stand before the fireplace.

"Oh, but you have never been in my library, Granger," Malfoy states with a soft laugh as he walks past her. He glances around the large room before turning back toward her, a look of pride on his face. "I'm sure you can imagine how many books were missing from the shelves once the Ministry was through. While I lament the loss of several volumes which could have proven useful to us, I have taken great care in selecting their replacements with things I feel are much more appropriate"

"It's absolutely amazing," Hermione whispers, running her hand along a row of books as she walks farther into the room.

"All arranged by subject, and then alphabetically by author, of course."

"You two swots can study to your hearts' content later." Theo cuts in from his place near the sofa. "I suggest we start by determining if there is a curse involved here."

"What do you need us to do?" Hermione asks, reluctantly pulling herself away from the shelves and walking over to the two men.

"I just need room to work and for you two to stay still and be quiet."

Hermione nods before sitting in one of the chairs before the fire and angling herself to face the two men as they come together to stand in the middle of the open floor. Draco sets his wand on a nearby desk before nodding toward his friend. Theo begins to chant, his wand waving briskly around Draco's form.

As the chanting ceases, a bright golden aura surrounds Draco and Theo takes a step back. The aura begins to flicker, purple and black shadows sprouting from his core to wrap around his arms before spreading down to the floor and creeping across the marble. Another winds around his neck before beginning to climb the book cases and disappearing into the ceiling.

Draco gasps, sweat breaking out across his forehead as the golden aura begins to dim and the tendrils sweeping along the floor grow appear more solid.

"Hold on, Draco," Theo whispers to his friend. "Just a minute longer while I capture an imprint. Don't move."

Hermione doesn't even realize that she had moved to stand until Theo calls out, holding a hand up in her direction and stilling her movement. He raises his wand once more and the lights flash brightly before vanishing.

Draco's legs give way as he falls forward, gasping harshly. Theo immediately catches him as Hermione jumps to her feet and runs over. "What happened?" she exclaims.

"I think we should sit down," Theo replies, pulling his friend back to his feet. Hermione moves to his other side, pulling one of his arms around her shoulders as they pull him over to one of the chairs and slowly lower him down into it. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to react like that," Theo comments before taking a seat on the vacant couch. Draco waves his hand toward him, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.

"I'm going to take a guess and say that there is, in fact, a curse." Hermione's eyes are wide as she watches the blond man across from her come back to himself.

"Brilliant deduction, Granger." His voice is barely more than a whisper and, yet, she can clearly hear the sarcasm behind his words.

Ignoring him, she turns to the other man. "So, how do we break it?"

"I'm not sure," Theo rests his elbows on his knees, leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands. "The curse itself is wrapped around your magical core. It's feeding off of you like a parasite, growing stronger. It looks so intertwined." He falls silent for several moments before continuing, "I'm going to have to find a way to unravel the strands to separate the two. Whoever cursed you, knew what they were doing."

"So it's feeding off of his magic? What happens if his magical core runs dry?"

"If we're lucky, if the core becomes completely depleted, the curse runs out and Draco is left with no magic."

"If we're lucky," Hermione repeats. "And if we're not?"

"The curse will deplete his magical core and move on to Draco himself."

"So it could…" she trails off, eyes flickering back to the silent man before her.

His eyes open slowly, resting on her, and there is a tiredness there that surprises her. "I die," he states, matter of factly, folding his arms across his chest and turning to stare into the fire.

"Do we have a timeframe?"

"I'll run some scenarios through with the imprint I took. Without knowing the strength of Draco's magical core before he was cursed compared to now or even exactly how long ago the curse was placed, anything I say now would only be guesswork and not very reliable." His eyes turn toward Draco as he continues, "Have you noticed any differences in the strength of spells you cast? Even the slightest."

Draco's eyes widen slightly. "I dropped a vial at work a few days ago. I thought it was just because I was so exhausted that my concentration was off."

Theo stands abruptly before standing suddenly. "I'm going to head into my office and get started on this. You two see what you can find here that may be helpful. Draco, I want you to come up with the strongest strengthening solutions that you can come up with. They'll buy us some time." He turns toward his friend, eyes determined, "We're beating this Draco." At Draco's solemn nod, Theo bids them both farewell and walks briskly from the room.

Hermione stares at her silent companion for several moments before leaning forward in her seat slightly. "Malfoy, are you…"

"We should get started," he cuts in, standing and walking down the center aisle toward a large marble pedestal that stands near a large desk. She quickly follows. "This is the index," he states, running his hands over the cool marble. He reaches towards his pocket for his wand, cursing to himself as he realizes he left it lying on the table, before silently summoning it back to him. "As I said, all of the books are organized alphabetically by subject as well as by author within each subject. My mother created the index shortly after moving into the Manor as a way for her to more easily navigate the vast amount of text suddenly available to her. It's been so long that the magic has since been woven into the magic of the manor itself."

"How does it work?"

"It's simple really. Merely tap the index with your wand and speak the topic you wish to study." Tapping his wand twice upon the marble he states, "Curses."

Hermione turns to watch as the bookcases begin to shift, each sliding toward the front of the room before raising to the second floor only to be replaced with another. She turns back toward him with a wide smile on her face, "This is amazing, Malfoy."

"Mother always had a knack for charms."

"I never felt her sentence was fair," Hermione states softly after a moment's hesitation. He pulls his eyes from the shifting bookcases to look back at her, silently imploring her to continue. "You mother's, I mean. She was never a marked Death Eater. She didn't fight in the final battle and there was no evidence she partook in anything that happened here. Not to mention, she lied to Voldemort about Harry being dead. Her sentence came more from bias toward her last name than from any real justice."

Draco stares at the witch before him curiously for a moment before nodding and turning his attention back toward the now still bookcases, "I think it would mean a lot to her if you told her that." Without waiting for her reply, he walks over to the shelf nearest the table and begins to look through the titles.

"All of these are books on curses," Hermione asks as she walks up beside him.

"These and several on the shelf across from here."

Hermione reaches for a book, her hand pausing as he speaks once more, "It wasn't your blood status that kept me from taking my book back from you." He doesn't look at her as he speaks, simply keeps his eyes toward the bookshelf as though he was still scanning the titles. "As you saw that day in the drawing room, I'm prone to panic attacks. I can usually hold them back using occlumency but, once my walls become overwhelmed…" he pauses, eyes falling from the shelves toward the floor. "I saw your face and all I heard were your screams that day when my Aunt…" he trails off once more before clearing his throat and continuing, "I couldn't control it. Couldn't let people see how much it got to me, so I ran. I had to get away before my walls came crumbling down and everyone in Diagon Alley saw what a weak coward I was. I meant to send you an owl apologizing for my abrupt departure but, when I returned home, Mother was here and I'm afraid it slipped my mind." Grabbing a book from the shelf, he seats himself at the table before summoning parchment, ink, and quills for the both of them.

Gently sliding her intended tome from the shelf, Hermione seats herself across from him. "Thank you," she says softly. "For explaining." She doesn't expect a reply from him, isn't even surprised when he doesn't look up from his reading to acknowledge her. Opening her book, she begins taking notes.

The time spent studying is silent except for the scratch of their quills and the soft turning of pages as their small pile of books slowly starts to grow on the table. When Hermione finally lays her quill down on the table, closing her current book and adding it to the stack beside her, she notices that the sun has begun to set through the windows, flickering candles replacing the natural light that they had begun their study session with. "Malfoy," she states as a realization dawns on her. He looks up from his reading, eyebrow raised in a silent question as he waits for her to continue. "I forgot to mention that we've found somewhere else for you to stay."

He stares at her for several moments before sighing and setting his book down on the table. "I'm surprised the Ministry would offer one of their safe houses to the likes of me."

"Oh, umm, they actually didn't. Not because they wouldn't have, of course, there were simply none available." He snorts disbelievingly and she continues, "It's true. Robards told Harry that they are occupied. There's been an uptick on dark wizard activity in the last several months."

"I won't bring my problems into someone else's home, Granger," he turns back to his book, letting out an angry shout as she pulls it from his grasp.

"They are willing to not only take you in but your mother and Cibney as well. They are fully aware of the risks and are highly capable of protecting themselves if necessary." Her voice softens as she continues, "Your mother won't leave here without you, Malfoy."

"And who is it that's daft enough to let me and my demons darken their halls, then?"

"He's got plenty of room for everyone. I'll even have a room to stay in for the duration so that we can monitor your magic levels and in case anything does happen."

"Who?"

Hermione smiles innocently at him, knowing he won't like her answer. "Harry, of course."

His eyes widen almost comically as the name registers before he slumps back in his chair, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling, crossing his arms across his chest. "Of course it is," he huffs indignantly. "Fucking Saint Potter."

Picking up several books, she begins to place them back on the shelves. "He's expecting us for dinner." She can't help the laugh that escapes her as she hears the thump of his head hitting the table and the irritable groan that accompanies the action.