Chapter 13: Making a Statement

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione showed up at Malfoy Manor later in the afternoon to talk to Draco about the most recent snag. Once they were settled into the den, she clasped her hands in her lap and turned to him.

Draco noticed the formality in her posture, "Looks like you've got something you don't want to say."

"I do," she said, "Word's gotten out that you've been named and the evidence against you, however subjective, is out there too so it doesn't look good."

Draco looked annoyed, "What evidence?"

"The fact that everyone else is naming you and that something is missing from Malfoy Manor," he opened his mouth but she cut him off, "And yes I know none of that is concrete, obviously, but there's no evidence in your favor so that's what everyone is clinging to. Your name is the only name and your house is the only clue."

"Who's the leak? How did it get out?"

"Sometimes these things just do get out after a bit of time, Malfoy, but of course we're trying to figure out if someone leaked it on purpose."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Draco said, anger building as he got up and walked over to the cabinet behind his desk, opening the door with a little more muscle than he needed to, and grabbed a crystal decanter full of an amber liquid along with a glass.

"I know it's a snag," Hermione allowed, hoping he would be reasonable, "But it's not the end of the world. Maybe it'll light the fire we need to find something new."

"Maybe to you it's not the end of the world, but to me it feels like a nail in the coffin," he said darkly, pouring the amber liquid and taking a swig, leaning against the desk trying to avoid her gaze, "Now everywhere I go people will be giving me that look like I'm dangerous again."

"I think you're being a little dramatic, Malfoy," Hermione eyed his glass warily.

"I'm not getting drunk, Granger, it just takes the edge off," he snipped back.

"How about you come sit down so we can talk this through," she suggested, trying to keep her voice even.

"I'm fine where I am, thanks," he said.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "There's no need to be short with me. I came here to get a statement from you so we can paint you in a good light in the Prophet."

"Thought you just came to enjoy my company," he said sarcastically.

"Come sit your arse in this chair so we can talk about your statement," she was more than over his current mood.

Draco slowly turned his head and they stared at each other, both with fire in their eyes.

He finally pushed himself off the desk and put his glass down hard, walking over and dropping into the chair, arms crossed.

"Honestly Malfoy, it's just something we need to deal with," she sighed, "It's just a hurdle right now."

"Not a hurdle I should have to fucking jump," he was glaring at the floor, "Can't believe we haven't found anything to help my case yet."

"Can you please lose the attitude," she groaned, "I'm here to help you. We'll find something, they just have their story together and it's making it difficult."

"You're here to help your own career," he bit.

"Oh yes because fighting for the person everyone thinks is guilty is certainly helping my career. And I heard snogging your main suspect is usually great for a successful career too," this was going even worse than expected, he really knew how to get under her skin.

He looked over at her, "Well at least you don't have that going against you anymore."

She met his gaze, "You're stepping on your own foot right now if you were hoping it would start again."

"Of course I wish it could go back to that," he shot, "But what, are you going to tell me that you're totally over that I'm a murderer now?"

"Gods if you would just drop it and let me get over it, maybe I would be eventually," she threw her hands in the air, this wasn't even what she came here to discuss.

"It's hard to drop when it's always in the back of my mind," he said, his tone a little less brash this time. He stood up and walked over towards the bookshelf, trying to calm himself down and looked back at her, "This is why I told you not to even bother trying."

Hermione paused for a moment, making a decision, before she got up and walked over to him, "Alright, kiss me," she said when she was a couple of inches from him. Her eyes searched his for something she needed to see.

"Don't joke about that," he said.

"I'm not joking," even being close to him she felt the spark. It was that something she could never explain.

"You shouldn't do this to yourself," he sounded frustrated, but he didn't move and he didn't break eye contact.

She saw the frustration and anger flickering in his eyes, but there was something else too. There was sadness and regret and wanting. She grabbed his hand in hers, "I've been thinking about this a lot and I want to move past it. It was a time of war and things happen in war that would never happen outside of it. Let me try to forgive you again. Kiss me."

He looked conflicted, like it wasn't a decision he felt he could make.

"This is the chance," she said, unsure but determined, heart pounding in her chest.

"Why couldn't you just let yourself forget about it," he said under his breath, pulling her into him and capturing her lips with his. It was hungry and full of all of the emotions they'd been feeling the last few weeks. It was rough, probably rougher than he meant it to be, but it had been so long since they'd been entwined like this.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and let her fingers slip into his hair. It was soft and silky, so unlike her own fierce mane. Everything seemed to slip away in the moment into a blur of roaming hands and lips, heavy breathing and accelerated heart rates. Everything in the world felt right and she knew her answer was there. He wasn't a monster. No matter what anyone ever told her about Malfoy again, she knew he wasn't the monster he wanted her to see. Every time their eyes met she melted into him again. She subconsciously acknowledged the cool wall on her back. At some point they must have stumbled backwards into it, but she didn't mind, it felt welcoming and helped to stabilize her.

Was this what pure passion felt like? Was that the dizzy feeling in her head, or the goosebumps that popped up on her body even when she felt warm to the touch? Is this what it was like to want someone and be wanted? She felt him pull her hair in his fist and she let out an inaudible gasp, eyes opening. There he was, looking back at her, eyes unguarded, confident, slightly cocky, but just as impassioned as she was sure hers must look. He leaned back in slowly for a tantalizingly soft kiss. It was so soft it was almost unfair after the passion he had thrown at her until now. She tilted her head back up to him but he didn't meet her there. She opened her eyes again and was met with his signature smirk instead, "Just wanted to make sure you were into it," he whispered and she gave him an incredulous look before he swooped back in.

Did she like that he was cocky? Of course not. Maybe? Who cares, she wouldn't admit it. Whatever it was between them made everything else in the world make sense when in reality nothing in the world made sense. She'd acknowledge that again later, but until then she wanted to be here, in this moment, with Draco Malfoy.

He finally pulled back after what felt like hours, but what was the concept of time in moments like these. The kissing had slowed and they had ended up on the couch. No idea how they had gotten there, but there they were. Hermione looked at Draco, her eyes soft, hands on his chest, hair feeling heavy on her shoulders like it needed to be wrangled back into a ponytail.

"This is bad for you," Draco said quietly, "But you're doing it to yourself."

"You're hard to stay away from for some reason," she gave him a small smile.

"I've been told that too many times before," he sighed, "It's the charm and good looks."

She hit him on the arm, "That's not funny. For the record, I don't know what I expect from this Malfoy, but can we just try to enjoy it for now? I feel as drained as you probably do fighting back and forth about everything."

"Trust me, it's an exhausting fight to have with yourself for three years, too. It's almost been nice to fight with someone else about it," he sighed, pushing a strand of hair out of her face, "So is this what you really came here for?"

"It's actually not what I came here for at all," she almost laughed, enjoying the calm between them again, "I still need that statement from you."

"How's 'I'm innocent'?" He grinned lazily at her.

"We're going to need a bit more than that. I was thinking something positive, where you're not blaming anyone for doing a bad job, and putting faith in the Magical Law Enforcement group to clear your name. That way it doesn't look like you're talking against the Ministry or being uncooperative."

"Alright," he nodded, "How's this, 'When asked in a statement to discuss the ongoing investigation, Draco Malfoy told the Prophet 'The allegations against me are wholly false. I've been cooperating with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement since the beginning and providing whatever support I can to ensure a thorough investigation is performed that will, without question, clear my name. I hope to continue on my path to add value to the wizarding world, as promised when I was exonerated in the original trials. I have faith that the system will do its job and am not worried that the outcome will free my name once again. I'm grateful for the work the department is putting in to ensure the right person is put in Azkaban where they belong.'"

"I think that's great," she smiled, leaning up and kissing him again before she rolled off the couch and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill to jot it down.

"Public statements aren't foreign to a Malfoy," he said smoothly.

She stayed the evening, reading through some more files, before she took her leave back to her apartment.

She thought hard that night about how she felt. If she felt uncomfortable with the decision she made or if she felt mad at herself, but at the end of the day she just felt relieved. Being around Malfoy in that capacity felt right for some reason. Being so close to him felt comfortable, like it held a warmth she'd read about in books but never fully felt.

Her thoughts drifted to Ron and she felt a pang of guilt again. He was the only boy she'd really dated and after the Battle she'd thought they'd end up together in the end, but here she was snogging Draco and feeling things she hadn't felt with Ron. Ron had made her feel safe and happy and loved. Draco made her feel passionate, emotional and wanted. It had also been years since she'd been with Ron and even though their feelings for each other had lingered a long time, she didn't think he was sitting around waiting for her to give him the green light. He was as busy as she was and was as free as she was to see other people. Surely he knew that.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

They published Draco's statement in the Prophet the next morning and by mid-day her office was flooded with inter office memos and a flock of rubber duckies hovering over her desk. She was happy to hear that at least a few of the messages were positive, thanking her for upholding the justice system, doing a full investigation and not giving in to what the people want. However most were not so positive, asking her what in the world she was thinking and if she was siding with the Death Eaters.

Alden walked in, looking around at the mess of parchment and batting a memo out of his face, "How's it going in here Granger?"

"It's been a day," she forced a smile at him, "A few of these are actually positive."

"More than I expected then," he sat down, "Let's talk strategy. What're the next steps you're taking?"

"We sent an owl to Draco's friend Adrien from Durmstrang. He's Igor Karkaroff's son and someone we haven't talked to yet. Draco thinks he'll be on our side and will be as helpful as possible."

"That's good, new leads are always a step," he nodded, "I do think we'll need more than that very soon. I know this process is never a quick one, but if you want to keep Draco out of Azkaban, we need to work faster."

"I understand, sir. I'm going to do some new interviews with the Death Eaters we have. I think I specifically want to talk to Gregory Goyle again. He seems the most likely to let something slip."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Alden said, getting up to head back to his office.

Hermione went back to her files with determination that afternoon, reviewing notes from her original interviews.

Another interoffice memo flew into the room and she grabbed it.

Hermione,

I was hoping we could get lunch this week. How's Friday?

-Ron

Hermione felt a heavy weight in her chest again and sat back in her chair. She knew she'd have to face him eventually.

She scribbled back an acceptance and sent it on its way back to the Auror's department.

The rest of the week brought more memos and rubber duckies to her office and she did her best to sift through them, replying with a standard response:

Thank you for your note, this is still an ongoing investigation but we promise to do our duty to uncover the full truth as quickly as we're able. At this time Draco Malfoy has done nothing to warrant an arrest and is cooperating fully with the department. The department has no affiliation with any groups and are committed to relying on all facts presented to come to our conclusion.

Hermione Granger

Lead Detective

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Thursday evening she found herself back at the Manor, settled onto the couch with Draco, two large half-drank mugs of coffee and a pile of old notes on the table. She grabbed the top one and started scanning it.

"Did you ever hear back from Adrien?" Hermione asked.

"I did," he looked over at her, "Says he's on Holiday for a month in Africa but will let me know when he's home for a meeting."

"Well that's not very convenient," she said, not looking up from what she was reading.

"I know. But what's another month at this point, right? It's already been, what, five or six?"

"Time does fly during these investigations," she met his gaze with a half smile, "Alright, let's set a reminder to follow up with him in a month."

"Are we forgetting anyone else?" Draco asked, leaning over her shoulder to look at her list of names. She felt warm again, but shook the feeling, concentrating extra hard on the job at hand.

Goyle

Nott

Karkaroff

Parkinson

Macnair

Dolohov

Rowle

Yaxley

"No we've brought everyone in that was on the list," she took another sip from her mug, "But I think I'm going to talk to Gregory Goyle again."

"See what stupid thing he says this time?" Draco grinned, "Sounds like a good plan to me."

"Do you have any suggestions as to how I get him to tell me anything?" She asked.

"Bring me with you," he said.

"We're not going down that path again, Malfoy, especially not with all the heat around you right now."

"Did you get a lot of backlash from showing support for me in the Prophet?" He asked, "I saw the article came out earlier this week."

She looked at him hesitantly.

"I suspect you did then," he looked away, huffing slightly.

"I did," she nodded, "But I've been responding to each criticism stating that there are no hard facts against you, that you have been cooperating with the department and that we're committed to finding the truth."

"Sounds like a Ministry statement," he rolled his eyes.

"I will roll my eyes right back at you," she said dryly.

"Fine, fine, no need to get sassy with me," he relaxed again, enjoying the reminder of why this girl was so enticing to him; she was feisty, smart, witty, challenging... "Would it help if I made an appearance at the Ministry? In the department, not in an interview, of course. Something that shows that I am cooperating?"

She looked at him again, "Yes, actually I think that's a good idea."

"Okay, I could come tomorrow if you want."

"Maybe not tomorrow. How about Monday?" she returned to her notes, thinking about her lunch with Ron the next day and not wanting that awkward interaction between them.

"Why not tomorrow?" He noticed her evasion.

"I think Monday works just as well," she said, "No need to rush it."

"Why not tomorrow," he pushed again.

She sighed heavily, "Ron invited me to lunch," she said, knowing there was no reason to lie about it, "I just don't feel like having an uncomfortable exchange between the two of you."

"Not fun to have your two boyfriends meet?" He said a little harshly.

"Stop, Ron is a friend. He is not my boyfriend, and quite frankly neither are you, Mr. Keep-your-distance."

"You sure are sassy today," he said again.

"I'm not sassy, you're just being smart with me and we've got bigger fish to fry," she said, not giving him the satisfaction of a glance.

"What does the Weasel want?"

"Don't call him that."

"What does Weasley want?"

"I'm sure he just wants to grab lunch. Perhaps he wants to talk about the case. Perhaps he just wants a reason to leave work for an hour and chat with a friend."

"Perhaps he wants to rekindle a flame with his long-time love," Draco said.

"Perhaps he does," Hermione finally looked back up at him, "Either way, I am going to go to lunch with one of my best friends and if the subject comes up, I must assume you know how I would feel about that."

"How would you feel about it?" Draco asked, quite curious of her response in all honesty.

"I'm quite happy spending my time with you," she said, "I'm not looking to rekindle an old flame, and I'm not looking to lose a best friend either. Right now my feelings are with you, Malfoy, if you'll just let them."

Draco gave her a cocky smile, "Just wanted to make sure," he said, "Tell Weasley I say hi."

"You're a handful sometimes," she said.

Draco grabbed the papers out of her hand and put them on the table, pulling her on top of him.

"I quite enjoy you spending your time with me," he leaned up and kissed her, trying to make it clear that in this moment, she was his.

"We've got work to do," she said, even though the look in her eyes betrayed her.

"I know, I just thought a good snog might rack some ideas in our brains."

"You were just jealous, I think," she grinned down at him, planting another kiss on his lips and pushing herself up, "Would you like another cup of coffee? Marty left a pitcher on the table."

"Maybe I am jealous, but I think you like it," he grinned back at her, "And yes, more coffee, more file review and then more of this later," he wagged his eyebrows at her and she shook her head with a laugh.

"It's work time, Malfoy," she said, coming back with two more mugs of coffee and settling back into her reading chair on the other side of the room.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o