Author's note: I might need a beta reader especially since I am still ill. So apologies if there are any typos. Check tumblr for this week's visual details. xoxo
Chapter VII:
She was kissing Draco Malfoy and even though her mind was about to explode with that thought alone and the possible implications that would follow, she didn't pull away. She allowed her fingers to caress his cheeks and her lips remained pressed against his no matter how strongly her heart was protesting that moment. It was a gentle, innocent kiss that had engulfed her with fire. It was unexpected, how amazing his lips felt, how she felt her sanity slowly slip away from the tip of her fingers. It was an innocent reaction really, at least that was what she had told herself. She had to divert her energy and she poured it all into that kiss. And to her surprise, she enjoyed it.
She ravished in the emotions that his lips made her feel. There was an undeniable surge of chemistry between them, and Hermione allowed it to consume her. Because his lips tasted like a summer's day, the sun was kissing her cheeks, and it was warming her heart from inside out. She kissed him gently, as if he was the most delicate flower that could break under her touch, and yet, he wasn't. Hermione couldn't compare Draco's kiss to many but, it didn't take a genius to feel the chemistry between them.
When she pulled away, ten long seconds later, her lips curled wide, breaking into a laugh. Draco was taken aback, staring at her with wide eyes, unsure if he should react to the kiss, or to her laughter just when he thought she was about to end her life by jumping off the cliff. While she had kissed him, he remained utterly paralyzed on the spot, allowing her to take the lead and do as she pleased with him. For reasons he dared not to understand.
She paused and gazed deeply into his eyes. For the first time, since he brought her to the castle, he saw that old fashioned spark that was Hermione Granger.
"Right…" Hermione tapped her palm on his chest a few times, and with a smile gracing her lips began to walk away, leaving Draco Malfoy alone with his thoughts, questioning his entire existence.
When the morning came, Hermione was a different person. The moment she opened her eyes, she felt that familiar tug in her chest that she had felt throughout her stay in Hogwarts, one that pushed her on her feet, and told her to go and do her thing. It was her pure determination to win that woke her up that morning. And she felt tingles at her fingertips, though her magic had been locked up for months, she knew that it was waiting to free itself from its confinements because she had reached a point where she finally had seen some light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
Ronald was alive and free and if this was how power felt, she wanted more of it.
She spent her morning, enjoying her breakfast, finishing the entire plate completely, for the first time in months. She then proceeded to read the Sacred Twenty Eight for the second time, focusing on other families more to see if she could find any weaknesses. She doubted that the book would actually cover such details to place the sacred pureblood families into a vulnerable position but she still tried.
And then, she was back to square one.
A few hours later, as she sat on the armchair by the fireplace, the floor under her feet shook, and it took less than three seconds for the walls around her to come tumbling down. There was a loud ringing in her ears, and she couldn't open her eyes. The book had fallen on the floor, and Hermione with it when the blast took out the portion of the window and the wall, she curled into a ball next to the armchair, covering her ears.
There were muffled sounds in the distance, and she couldn't register where she was. She tried to get on her feet but couldn't, as if they were bound by invisible ropes. Her head was pounding, and with it unwanted memories from the past came flooding, leaving her completely paralyzed and in a state of shock and confusion.
It took her a moment to register a figure running towards her. She could recognize the slender woman anywhere even in a crisis situation, when she was probably suffering from a concussion. That was the kind of impression Pansy Parkinson had left her with.
"Get up, Granger! Bloody Merlin! Get up!" the witch yelled, yanking Hermione by her wrist. Hermione at first resisted, her mind was flooded with images from the painful past and she was thrashing and screaming trying to escape the hold of the witch.
"Granger! Snap out of it!" Pansy's hands cupped Hermione's cheeks and she stared deeply into her cognac orbs. "Please! Or I will slap you I swear to Merlin"
Hermione's mind told her to wake up and so she did, with a gasp, her hands clung to Pansy's shoulders, the moment Pansy saw recognition in Hermione's eyes, she grabbed her by the wrist and began dragging her out of the room.
Hermione paused, yelling "Wait!" and reached towards her nightstand to retrieve the ring that Draco had gifted her.
"Oh bloody hell!" she heard Pansy's protest, and Hermione blushed, mumbling loudly, "It's not what you think. He asked me to safe keep it"
They were running. The survival reflex had kicked in, taking control of her feet. Pansy's fingers were tightly wrapped around Hermione's wrist, leading her down the hallway. Once they reached the staircase, Pansy pushed Hermione to her left, shielding her from a hex that came crashing from below.
"Pansy, what's going on?"
Hermione's question was unanswered, she felt powerless, unable to use her magic.
"Come on, Granger" Pansy pulled her by the wrist and turned to the left, she kept looking over her shoulder, noticing a dark shadow following them and while, Pansy tried to charm a shield over them, and then, counter hex as they ducked and avoided the hexes flying their way.
"Stupify! You ugly bastard" he fell, but he was instantly replaced by another. Pansy threw a curse his way and Hermione saw blood spurt from his throat where it was cut, she felt a tug against her wrist and she was pushed inside a secret door through the wall. It simply materialized in front of them like the room of requirements back in Hogwarts.
"This will buy us some time but, not much I am afraid" Hermione watched as Pansy tapped on the silver snake brooch that she wore. The snake came to life when touched by the wand, it moved lightly completing a full circle and then it froze again.
"Who are they? How did they get in here?" Pansy was transforming her heels into flats, when she looked at Hermione, and hesitated.
"The castle and its grounds protect themselves by old blood magic. But, it is not impossible to penetrate it unless you have a dark artifact strong enough to counter the magic. I don't know how they have it, most were destroyed a few centuries ago because they caused a big threat to old families" Pansy scoffed, and froze when the snake on her chest moved once more, completing a circle before freezing in place.
Hermione could see the relief wash over the witch's face. "Listen, Granger. This is not the time to be the reckless, stupid Gryffindor. I know it's hard to fight the urges but, you need to try. We need to make it to the dungeons, understood? Please be more of a cautious Slytherin, hm?" Pansy grabbed her by her shoulders.
"You need to stick to my side no matter what you see, or hear. And if I get hit, you keep running. Do you understand?"
Hermione nodded, she was determined to get out of that situation alive and unharmed and surprisingly, she was willing to trust Pansy Parkinson out of all people.
Pansy extended her left hand, and Hermione took it after a few seconds of hesitation, which earned her the Slytherin witch's infamous eye roll.
Extending her wand, Pansy held her breath and the moment a door materialized in front of them, she pushed through it, dashing towards the staircase. The hallway was empty, and eerily quiet. It didn't sit right with Hermione nor it did with Parkinson if her body language was any indication of how she felt, her hand tightly clinging to Hermione's wrist, her moves calculative yet cautious.
"Duck!" she heard Pansy, and she bent her body in half. A Death Eater emerged from the dark shadows, Pansy pushed Hermione in front of her and she stumbled almost tripping over the steps.
"Pansy!" she yelled, another Death Eater materialized in front of her, his heavy body covering her immediate vision.
Pansy rushed to Hermione's side, and cursed, sending a hex with a fling of her wrist. The larger one responded but, Pansy deflected the curse sending it to the Death Eater that was descending the staircase.
Hermione grabbed the nearest object she could find and threw it at the Death Eater, aiming at his face, one vase, then another as a distraction while Pansy worked to immobilize him.
"What do we have here, a pureblood witch and a mudblood-" she heard mocking voices coming from the top of the stairs, and Hermione noticed two more Death Eaters descending her way, taking their time as if belittling them.
Hermione turned to warn Pansy but she saw the witch collapse on the floor, covered in blood screaming.
"Let her go!" she heard herself say, lunging towards the Death Eater with a heavy plate in her hand.
Her arms were mid air, as she caught more dark shadows circling the room, and three more Death Eaters materialized in front of her. Instead of aiming at her, they silently began cursing the three Death Eaters, one focused solely on the larger one torturing Pansy and the other, with swift long strides that Hermione could recognize anywhere was heading towards the staircase to deal with the other two.
The third had caught her by the arms. Hermione tried to pull her arms away but a gloved hand was pulling her to the side, away from everybody else.
She resisted, thrashing around, the object in her hand fell on to the floor and cracked into tiny pieces.
"Stop it, Granger" she heard a familiar voice, and paused. She had no idea that Theodore Nott had become a Death Eater. She stared at him in shock, and her eyes fell on a pin on his chest, under his black robes. It was similar to if not the exact copy of the snake pin Pansy wore on her chest.
Then, she noticed the collar, with silver threads curling on both sides.
Curses hit the walls around them, flashes of blue and green. Hermione didn't flinch when Theodore pressed her to his chest and vanished from the spot. She clung to his shoulders, eyes closed shut, and she didn't dare to open them until she heard his gentle voice brushing against her ear, "It's okay, you can open your eyes"
He placed her gently on the ground, accio floo powder.
"What's going on, Nott?"
"I thought we were on the first name basis" he teased, and though she couldn't see his face, she could tell behind the mask, he was hiding a smirk. He extended his hand, and grabbed the floo powder, "Come Granger-"
"I thought we were on the first name basis, Theodore" she stepped closer, and though she had a frown on her face, she could hear the light chuckle from behind the mask.
A few seconds later, they stepped out of the fireplace and Hermione was welcomed with the kind of view she had never imagined she'd associate Death Eaters with. She stepped on to the black and white marble floors, the walls were painted in ivory color, and the space was small and felt unnaturally cozy. Hermione noticed the photographs of the four of them displayed on a small table by the fireplace next to the large, very comfortable looking ivory couch. She stepped closer and noticed that in every single photo, Draco was smiling. It wasn't the forced kind of smile but, the kind that made one's heart warm, it didn't occur to her that four of them but, in particular Draco Malfoy was capable of smiling so freely.
"What is this place, Theodore?"
"Oh, please. Do call me Theo, I insist" with a flick of his wand, the mask had vanished from his face, revealing his unruly hair, she watched him run his fingers along his strands, sending her his most charming smile.
Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes but she remained composed. Her eyes wandered towards the fireplace.
"Don't get any ideas, Granger. There is only one way in and well, one way out knowing that you can't use your magic. If you insist of using the floo, you will be back in the castle and I can assure you, there is no way that you can leave this place on foot"
"Are we safe here?"
"No one knows about this place but us four. It was the first thing we did when our parents released the first chunk of our inheritance when we turned eighteen. Don't worry, when the others join us, they will make sure to destroy the floo network tying the castle to this manor-" he paused, and let a sigh, "Speaking of the devil-"
Hermione flinched, and turned to meet Pansy's unconscious figure. The mask that covered the Death Eater's face vanished the moment he laid her on the sofa. She watched Blaise, with shaking hands, run a detailed diagnostics. If she could remember anything from the way healers worked during the battle, she could tell that the specific colors that popped up were not good signs.
"Theo" Blaise spoke, at least he tried. His hands cupped Pansy's cheeks, caressing them.
"I got you, mate" Theo left without a single word, with a single pop.
Hermione took her chance and stepped closer, she was good with potions, and she was pretty good with healing charms even though she wouldn't be able to cast any of them but, she could try to help as much as it was possible. No matter what she thought of Pansy, and her distrust towards the female, the witch had risked her life trying to get Hermione to safety, and she found that to be so uncharacteristically Pansy.
"Don't you dare, mudblood. Unless, you want me to slice you in half" she was met with a glare that made her flinch, but she wasn't going to give up so easily.
"Let me help, Blaise- she tried to help me so, please-"
"This is you paying a debt then? Let's ignore that she almost died protecting you. Let's ignore that she remained in the castle to make sure you were unharmed if anything like this happened and you can't control your instincts to meddle in other people's affairs" he spat.
"I am not meddling in anything. She got hurt while trying to get us to a safe place. Let me help please -" she insisted and took a step closer.
"I warn you, mudblood" Blaise stood raising his wand at her.
"Blaise please-"
A pop and Theo showed up, his hands full. "Wow, wow— now, kids let's play nicely" he placed the box carefully on the table and pressed his hand on Blaise's shoulder, whispering in his ear.
Hermione couldn't understand but, she picked up certain words that she was sure were Latin. She could see tears in Blaise's eyes and he reluctantly lowered his wand. The two Slytherins began working on Pansy while Hermione stood frozen, watching them navigate potions and charms as if they had done this a million times before.
A moment of silence with her thoughts alone, and she looked around taking into the personal touches made to the room. It reminded her of the Burrow, in a way. There was something left by each of the three wizards and one witch that made the room feel warm and cozy unlike the dark, old-fashioned aesthetic of the castle or the Malfoy manor.
A safe house of sorts for four of them.
She had never seen Blaise cry before. If anything, he had always had a cold and distant look on his face and he had always been more mean with his words, more mean than Draco had ever been.
War had affected them all in ways she couldn't fully grasp yet, she understood it that very moment. The young pureblood witches and wizards even if they were Death Eaters had to learn to navigate the agony the war brought with it. She realized that there could be as much suffering on the enemy's side, as there was once on theirs.
His touch pulled her back to reality and when she turned to face him, she was met with his worried expression. She didn't even hear when he stepped out of the fireplace, her ears were deaf to all the screaming and shouting in the room. But, she could feel the warmth that were his fingers, gently wrapped around her wrist.
She wanted to speak, to ask questions but she couldn't. She was mute, she could only stare. His hand cupped her cheek, and to her surprise, she leaned to his touch. Maybe, she wasn't the only one surprised because, it was clear as day, that he was too.
Draco stepped closer and eyed her from head to toe, his fingers brushed against her cheeks, neck, arms and waist to feel every part of her to ensure there were no cuts or bruises.
Then, he let go of her.
His undivided attention was on Pansy Parkinson and despite the worried protests of Blaise Zabini, he lifted her in his arms and carried her away, with the two wizards in tow.
Hermione sat on the couch, next to the cushions stained with Pansy's blood. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the drying stains, fidgeting with her fingers, that occupied her lap.
"Have some tea" Draco entered the room with a mug in his hand. "The house elf is rather shy, this is the first time we are having a guest here" he told her, he was wearing a plain black sweater and black pants, long gone was his Death Eater uniform.
"I am sorry, I don't know what happened but, I am apologetic because of Pansy. I am rather useless without my magic and I feel the most-"
"Don't" he cut her off, flicking his wand to get rid of the stains on the cushions. Draco sat on the other side, avoiding the spot that Pansy had occupied. "It's not your fault. It's me who has to apologize"
"For what?"
"You can say I miscalculated. And it's a mistake I will never repeat again."
"Were they after me?" she asked, hesitating. And he could see the fear in her eyes so, he broke his own barriers for once, and reached to squeeze her elbow.
"No. Dolohov is an idiot and he wanted revenge. I miscalculated the part where he'd use my father's favorite toys to breach the castle's wards. You see, I thought you'd be safe there because, the castle's magic doesn't allow anyone in unless, it's the true Black heir and the people that truly care for him-"
Hermione remembered him telling her the exact same words when she woke up in the castle, that first night, she nodded and told him that she remembered.
"Well, you can imagine there are only a few people that care about me in this world" a smirk curled on his lips and he ran his fingers through his blonde hair.
"Wait, so– when you–when I–" Hermione gasped, covering her mouth.
She could see the smug expression on his face and she wanted to slap his head so he could erase it.
"Imagine my surprise when we crossed the wards, with you in my arms that night and nothing happened. I promise I wasn't trying to get you hurt. In fact, I was prepared to attend to any possible reaction you might have that night but, you didn't. I am not implying that you care about me or anything. Maybe, it's not surprising, you are a Gryffindor after all. And most if not all of you have some sort of an idiotic savior complex-"
Hermione stared at him, in utter shock. Old magic that lingered through the aristocratic estates was a hard one to trick. Unless one possessed a powerful dark artifact like Pansy mentioned, it was impossible to breach the estate lines. Of course Lucius Malfoy had one in his collection. Maybe, she shouldn't be so surprised.
"I have no idea-" she blushed, averting her gaze eventually.
"Like, I said- don't worry, Granger. I am not overthinking it."
They sat in silence, and Draco encouraged her to have a sip from the tea. He noticed the ring around her finger and he couldn't help but smile, albeit he tried to hide it to no success because she had noticed.
"Why is Dolohov after revenge?" she tried to change the topic to stop the emerging set of feelings that pooled in the pit of her stomach.
"Probably, because I humiliated him in front of an army of Death Eaters and the Dark Lord that one night, not to mention a few foreign dignitaries-"
"You mean when you were hurt?"
He nodded, cracking his long fingers. And Hermione only then, realized the subtle long scars across his hands and fingers.
"Did he–" she didn't know how to ask if he was still alive. "I mean, did you- is he still in the castle?"
Draco nodded again, "What's left of him at least. Don't worry, he is gone and so are his pets. We will go back to get rid of the mess and then, I will go and see my father to ask how Dolohov got his hands on his most prized possession-" he flinched, cursing out loud a few times before he rolled over his shirt to expose the dark mark.
Voldemort was calling him.
Hermione heard footsteps, and as if on cue Draco got on his feet, to meet Blaise and Theo. She couldn't see them, but they whispered hurriedly to each other and when they appeared in the living room a few minutes later, there was no sign of three young wizards who just spent long minutes worrying over their friend.
All three had their invisible masks on, no emotions written on their faces and she realized how their Death Eater uniforms changed them, as if it sucked out their souls and left nothing but a cold and ashy heart.
Blaise and Theo watched Draco as he secured his gloves on. Hermione had noticed then, how he and Blaise also wore the matching snake brooch on their chests. They stared at him as if they waited for their commander to lead them into battle.
"What if he knows? Dolohov was an idiot, he could have talked" Blaise was the first who broke the silence and the growing tension in the room.
"Possibly so, keep your walls up. The Dark Lord will figure it out when Dolohov doesn't respond to the call or his idiot pets. We won't have much time afterwards to clean up the mess"
Unexpectedly, Hermione's heart ached, though she didn't know the full story, it was hard to imagine that these three young wizards would volunteer to get the dark mark and allow Voldemort to have control over their entire lives, future and most importantly, of their souls and hearts. If Draco did it out of necessity, what were the chances that Blaise and Theo did too.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Granger" a chuckle on his lips, as if he was trying to ease her heart, as she stared at the portrait the three of them were painting.
She watched them in silence, from the window of the living room, step into the courtyard and apparate in a mist of black clouds.
Hermione stood awkwardly in front of the wooden door, in the middle of the small hallway on the second floor. There were no portraits of ancestors hanging on the walls but tons of pictures of the four of them starting from when they were little. She had noticed that there were no photos of them with their parents, in fact, the entire house, at least what she was able to explore, felt surprisingly personal as if they weren't defined by their family names and blood purity but, they were just Draco, Blaise, Theo and Pansy.
There were four bedrooms, two of them were clearly occupied, there were books, photographs and trinkets laying around while the third remained untouched. It was sterile as if no one had ever slept in it. She could deduce which room belonged to whom, it wasn't difficult to find Draco's for his was adorned with photographs of him and his friends but, mostly of him and it was the cleanest of the three rooms, even putting the one unoccupied to shame.
Hermione knocked on the closed door and when no answer came, she turned the knob and stepped inside. Pansy was asleep. That wasn't surprising and her heart sank when she saw how pale the witch looked.
Hermione noticed a few things about the room. Next to the window, there was a vanity made of glass, various pieces of jewelry and make up covered it. On the vanity, Hermione noticed a framed photograph of Pansy and Blaise, dressed in black tie, holding each other close and smiling to the camera. There were two robes laid out on the armchair beside it; one for her, one for him.
She stared at the photograph with wide eyes, and then, looked at Pansy's sleeping figure.
The two bedside tables were occupied, on Pansy's side, there were magazines and creams and on the other side, there were two books, a journal and a pair of glasses. That was an unexpected revelation or maybe, she was just overthinking and making assumptions based on her observations.
Ignoring her fast working mind, Hermione took a seat beside Pansy and studied her sleeping figure. Despite the pale complexion, she looked just as graceful as when she was dolled up.
"I know you will probably roll your eyes at me, judge me or say something snarky to me but, I am thankful that you came for me. And I don't care if you did it because, Draco asked you to do it or you had any other reason- know that, I am forever grateful, Pansy"
Hermione sighed, unsure of what she should do. Maybe, she should just leave or she could stay and read to Pansy. That way, she could ease her own nerves. The ones she noticed she had once the three young wizards went to answer Voldemort's call. So, she picked up the latest Witch Weekly that lay on the bedside table and flipped through the pages.
Her eyes scanned every page, anger slowly building up within her veins because, every single article, every single photograph reminded her that the world had moved on. But, she tried, she tried her best to remain calm and keep reading from the latest trends, the most luxurious vacation destinations in Asia to the latest society gossip.
"Well will you look at that, Pansy" she sang, with disbelief written all over her tone, "Astoria Greengrass looks dashing in her new robes, from the haute couture collection of Madame de Berry. The pureblood princess is considered by the Malfoy family to become their daughter in law. The marriage contract has been under negotiation between the Malfoy and the Greengrass families. Mrs. Malfoy had been spotted in Milan shopping with her soon to be in-law Mrs. Greengrass and her daughters."
With a huff, Hermione closed the magazine, pinching her nose. "Is this a pureblood thing? To be engaged at such a young age?" she protested, "I mean is this the only thing you all care? To - to marry off your children to other pureblood families!"
And though Hermione eventually picked up the magazine and continued reading to Pansy, she had no awareness of the change in her tone and her demeanor she had since the moment she read the news about Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass.