Chapter 6: Malfoy Manor

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Once outside the Ministry, Hermione apparated to the Hogs Head. It was a little more off the beaten path than she'd like to be, but he shouldn't be long. She leaned against the building, trying to slow down her heart rate a little, hoping she hadn't just made a bad call.

After a couple of minutes, she heard a *POP* as Draco apparated a few yards away.

He walked over to her, "You can just grab my arm."

She put a hand on his forearm, still nervous, as he pivoted and apparated her along with him to Malfoy Manor. They landed outside the gates of a massive estate and she doubled back a step with a sharp inhale of breath.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"I just... I forgot I'd been here before," her voice was barely a whisper and her face was draining in color thinking back to the night she was tortured by Bellatrix in the ballroom. Her hand moved subconsciously to her forearm where the word MUDBLOOD was still faintly etched.

Draco immediately realized what she was talking about, "We should have gone somewhere else," he muttered.

"No... I mean, I guess I have to face it sometime, don't I," her eyes were still wide and her breath was tight.

"You really don't have to, we could just go talk somewhere else. I wasn't thinking," his voice wasn't hard anymore like it had been earlier as perspective hit him like a train.

"No," her voice was more resilient now, "I'd like to talk here," she looked at him, "At Malfoy Manor. I've moved forward in my life and this place doesn't have to have the stigma I've obviously given it."

He could tell she wasn't going to change her mind. Draco looked at the house, "Welcome home," he said bitterly, waving his wand in a complicated fashion. An invisible wall fizzled in front of them and he reached through to push the gate open, motioning her in.

There was a stone walkway lined with evergreens that lead to the front doors. She could see the side yard from the gates, where an elaborate fountain stood as the centerpiece in a flower garden, it looked so much bigger than how she remembered the estate in her mind, when they were brought in by snatchers.

They walked in silence up the path and into the manor. Inside it was warm compared to the winter air on the grounds and she shrugged off her jacket, feeling goosebumps creep onto her arms. The foyer was large and almost welcoming now. There was a spiral staircase ahead that lead upstairs, and a sitting room to their left. To the right was a large dining room with a table that would fit at least 20-30 people, if she had to guess. She didn't remember being brought in this way the last time, but it was all kind of a blur.

"We used to host a lot of events," he commented, watching her take in the rooms around her, "We can just go through to my sitting room," His voice was casual but the lightness wasn't matched by his eyes, which looked around coldly, as if the things around him had offended him personally.

"It's... grand," she said, trying to be positive.

"That could be a word for it," he lead her down the hall, which veered off into different hallways, lined with doors and different rooms, he sped up his pace and closed a set of French doors to the right as she approached, ushering her through the next doorway down, past a beautiful gallery of paintings, and into a decently sized den. A large desk sat in the corner and there were two reading chairs on the side wall, opposite a large plush couch. The back wall was covered by a tall bookshelf, filled with different sized books, crammed to fit. He gestured to one of the chairs and they sat.

"What did you not want me to see?" She asked.

"It's the ballroom entrance," he grimaced at her, "I should have just come to meet you at the Ministry."

She shook her head, "No, this is all..." she looked around again.

"A lot," he finished for her.

"Sorry," she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, she needed to be strong, "I just have a lot of thoughts running through my mind right now."

"That's because my Aunt tortured you in the room next to us when you were a prisoner in my home," he said bluntly, "Who would ever want to see this place again."

She looked at him apologetically, "I didn't come here to give you a sob story," she said, "It just hit me all at once."

"I don't blame you in the least, Granger. I blame the same person I've been blaming for years. Myself," he paused, looking like he had something to say, "You never deserved that," he said quietly.

"You're the reason they couldn't give us to Voldemort the second we got here," she said softly, "You pretended not to recognize us. I won't ever forget that."

"I certainly don't need your pity for what happened in the war," he said more harshly than he meant to.

"I wasn't giving you my pity," she replied curtly, "I was reminding you that even I know your heart was never in it."

"What did you come here to talk about?" He changed the subject.

She sat up straighter, collecting her thoughts and addressing him, "I came here to apologize for second guessing you so quickly," she said, "My gut feeling was that I believed you and I let the lack of facts overshadow my judgment."

He didn't speak, but nodded, allowing her to continue.

"I hope we can work together to look into this. I'm sure there's no one who would rather work hard to clear your name than you."

"I obviously accept your apology," Draco sat back, "I was being stubborn earlier."

"This doesn't have to be uncomfortable," she held her head high, "I'm glad I was able to come here and straighten things out. We have a case to build."

Draco nodded, trying to push the darkness from his mind, "Who gave my name this time, by the way?"

"Macnair and Dolohov," she told him, feeling a little more eased by his change in attitude.

"Always hated Dolohov. I heard he killed a lot of people and pawned it off on others at his trial."

"I've heard the same since bringing him in," she said, "So is this scenario that's happening to you something that you remember from when you were... you know... one of them? Was there a scapegoat?'

Draco gave a dark laugh, "Yeah, The Dark Lord," he looked at her, "There was someone who actually wanted the credit for being a powerful dark wizard. Not like this lot who seem to be afraid of the notoriety that they're working so hard for."

"Why do you think they're going after you?" she asked.

"They hate us. The Death Eaters swore us off when we walked away during the Battle of Hogwarts. I think some were jealous that we walked free while their family members went to Azkaban. I think some are so deeply rooted in the dark arts that they thought us weak for walking away from it. I think some think we're liars and that we faked renouncing the dark arts to save ourselves."

"But weren't there others that walked away? I mean all of the exonerated Death Eaters that we're even bringing in now, they all renounced the dark arts publicly."

"None of them were as high in rank as my father, and none of them walked away before The Dark Lord was defeated like we did. They knew we meant it when we left. No family fell as far down as ours did."

"Do you think the Ministry made a mistake in exonerating so many people after the Battle of Hogwarts?"

"That's the tough part," Draco shook his head, "A lot of people were under the Imperius curse. It all becomes a blame game and Death Eaters are going to sell out innocent people and innocent people are going to point to Death Eaters. Who do you believe when you don't know. Some Death Eaters who were newer didn't know what they were getting into and were more than happy to walk away when it was over and I don't think those people will return to it. There are certainly people that I think are evil deep down to their core. Most of those people are in Azkaban."

"Is there anyone that's still out there that you'd be suspicious of?"

Draco thought hard for a moment, "Rowle was exonerated and I believe he's still out there. I think he'd go back to it if he could. Also if you've brought Mr. Goyle in, I wouldn't be shocked if Gregory is involved just by default. I'm honestly not sure about Theo, but I think Gregory is a good person to talk to at this point," he looked conflicted about the next thing he was about to say, "I think maybe we should talk to my father... another day after I give him some warning. He had a better inventory of the most loyal followers and what people actually did."

Hermione looked surprised, "Do you think he would be willing to talk to me?"

"I'm not going to tell you he'll be the most pleasant person you'll ever interview, but I think he would talk."

"Okay, I'll set up a meeting and come back," she smiled, "That's a great idea."

"I'm sorry he can't do the interview anywhere else," he looked down at his hands.

"It's in the past, Malfoy," she gave him a small smile that didn't quite break through the pain in her eyes.

"Maybe I'll read some investigative books and see if I can find some helpful tips," Draco looked over at the bookshelf.

"Looks like you've got a nice collection," she commented politely.

"What this?" he pointed at the bookshelf, "This is nothing," he paused for a second, "You want to see something in this house you'd actually enjoy?"

Hermione tilted her head at him, "And what might that be?"

"The library," his lip curled up on one side as he tried his best at a grin.

Hermione's eyes finally started to light up again, and she stood up, "I mean, I wouldn't be opposed... since I'm already here. And then I should get going."

They walked down a few more halls until he stopped in front of a large stained glass door, and looked at her, "You may faint," he said, "Don't say I didn't warn you." He pushed the doors open, revealing a sprawling library the size of a small cottage. Book shelves lined the walls on every side and more rows of books were suspended 15 feet in the air with a ladder hanging on a bar that somehow seemed to connect all of the shelves together.

Hermione's jaw dropped open and she tried to keep her composure, "There must be thousands of books in here," she said, staring at the suspended bookshelves in amazement.

"We ran out of room on the built-in shelves so father created another level. This is my favorite room in the house."

"Mine too," Hermione breathed.

"What kind of book would you like?" He asked, moving farther into the room.

"Gosh, I don't know, I'd like a... suspense novel."

"Come with me," he walked off towards the ladder, "Hop on."

He climbed up a few rungs to give Hermione room to climb on as well and he waved his wand to start the ladder's movement. It moved all the way down the track of the first bookshelf, making a sharp turn around the corner and past a few more rows, turning into one in the middle of the room. About halfway down, it stopped and Draco began to climb. Once he was up at the level of the shelf, he moved over so Hermione could stand down one rung next to him.

"This is our section on suspense novels," he gestured to the shelf behind him.

Hermione grabbed one off the shelf and flipped to the back cover, reading it aloud, "Fast-paced, in-your-face action!"

Draco grabbed another, "This is one of my favorites," he handed it to her, "I read it years ago, but who doesn't love a good re-read."

"A spellbinding rollercoaster of twists and turns until the very end," she read with a small laugh, finally starting to relax.

"Take it with you," he said, "Something to get your mind off the real-life suspense novel we're living right now."

"You don't mind?" She asked.

"I think we'll manage without it for a few days."

Hermione noticed how close they were, standing on the ladder next to each other and cleared her throat awkwardly, "Well, thanks," she said, "Should be a good read."

"It's been a while since I've had anyone in here to share this with. Forgot how much I enjoyed the awestruck look of a book lover in the Malfoy library."

"Awestruck is a good word for it, indeed," she allowed herself a smile as their eyes that roamed the room finally locked on one another.

She noticed they weren't clouded over this time, in fact his grey eyes shined almost silver in the dim lighting of the library, deep and alive. She felt bad for thinking of them as empty before. They weren't empty at all, just guarded perhaps when he felt they needed to be.

"Would you like anything else?" He asked, breaking her out of the momentary trance she'd found herself in.

"No," she tore her eyes away, looking back down at the book, "This is lovely for now."

"Back down we go then," he climbed past her down the ladder, brushing past her as he went.

She felt a shiver go up her arm as he passed, which she forced herself to ignore as she followed.

"I should be going back home," she said, feeling as though it was time for her to leave.

"Right, of course," he nodded and they started walking, "When are the interviews with Nott and Goyle?"

"They'll be early next week," she told him, "So I will... see you then," her heart was beating faster than it should be.

They walked outside and down the stone pathway and she did her best to keep her focus straight ahead.

Draco walked her all the way to the gates, "Just want to make sure you make it past the charms to apparate. Feel like I can't be too careful these days knowing someone's got my name on the top of their list."

"I don't blame you at all," she said, "Thanks for meeting with me again tonight, hopefully we can learn something new at one of these interviews. Investigations are just a process, always takes longer to get answers than you feel it should."

Draco nodded and she stepped out of the gates, "Hey Granger," he said and she turned around, "I'm sorry," he said slowly, "I never got to tell you that I'm sorry for all of it, all the way back to the names I called you at Hogwarts, to what happened in the war, to how you felt just seeing my family's home. I'm sorry for my part in it and everything it caused you."

Hermione looked at him sadly, "I forgave you a long time ago. I hope you'll forgive yourself one day. You deserve a chance to move forward like everyone else."

He gave her a half smile, "That's nice of you to say," he kept his voice even, "And thanks for tracking me down. I can be a bit of a prat when I don't get my way."

"You sure can," she agreed with a grin, "You and me working together feels right. We're going to figure this out and get your name cleared."

She turned and stepped past the charms, looking back at him before disapparating to her apartment. She walked inside and dropped her bag on the floor, collapsing on the bed. She sat there staring at the ceiling, finally letting her walls down, allowing all of the thoughts from the night she was tortured to flood in. She lifted her arm up in front of her face and pulled the sleeve back. She traced her fingers along the letters, M-U-D-B-L-O-O-D. She burst into the tears she'd felt since the moment she apparated in front of the manor. She cried for a long time, not moving, not trying to stop it, just allowing it to make its way out. When it finally subsided, she pushed herself up into a seated position, wiped her face on her sleeve and took a deep breath.

Maybe she could put the memory of that night behind her now. She'd faced Malfoy Manor again and she'd seen a beautiful side of it full of books. She thought back to the moment their eyes locked on the ladder. He'd seemed genuinely content sharing the library with her and she'd felt so comfortable being close to him. And then there was that electricity that had flowed through her from his touch as he brushed past her. She cleared her head again, no, she just wanted to help him and right the wrong she had done to him by doubting him earlier. They had a case to solve and his help would be invaluable.

She laid back down, curling onto her side and opening up the book she'd brought home. She read until her eyes were tired. It had been an emotional night, but as she drifted off to sleep, her mind wandered to the library and the ladder and the look in his eyes, which subconsciously brought a smile to her face.

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A/N: If you've got a minute, please leave a review, I'd love to hear what you think so far! Xoxo