A/N Told you chapter 2 would be up soon. I hope you'll find it enjoyable. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed so far!

Hogwarts' students have seen many things over the years, but Lucius Malfoy storming into school, his magic crackling around him, his wife in tow, was definitely one of the most terrifying things on the list. Lord and Lady Malfoy passed the corridors quickly until they reached Hospital Wing. Hermione jumped few inches off the bed in shock and looked at her parents.

"Mr Mal… Lucius. Narcissa. What's wrong?"

They agreed Hermione could call them by their given names until, if ever, she was comfortable calling them mum and dad (or Father and Mother when they were in public). Narcissa rushed to her bed and placed her palm on Hermione's forehead then on her cheeks.

"Oh, honey, thank Merlin you're okay. We were so scared. Unbinding magic is as dangerous as binding it. If we find the bastard who did this, he'll pay."

Hermione was still not used to seeing this caring side to people who she believed until recently to be devil incarnate, but she smiled at the woman as to not hurt her feelings. While Narcissa hovered over her bed making sure she was fine and asking her about her first week as a Slytherin, Lucius found Madam Pomfrey.

"We want to know who did this to our daughter. Magic like that always leaves a mark. A signature if you will. We want it tested."

Madam Pomfrey clearly was not comfortable to be spoken to in such a manner, but she nodded.

"Of course, Lord Malfoy. I've already started on testing the residue magic."

Lucius shook his head. "We want it tested at St. Mungos."

The Matron looked as if she wanted to protest but Lucius' cold stare forced her to nod. "I'll send it to them right away."

"See that you do."

When the Mediwitch left, Lucius turned to his daughter and send her a small fatherly smile. It unnerved her a bit but she tried her best to hide the feeling and instead grinned at him. He approached her bed and took her hand in his.

"How are you feeling? How have you been?"

She repeated what she just finished telling Narcissa - that she felt okay, just a bit tired and then told them both all about her first week. About Ron and Professor Snape, about putting Slytherins in their place which earned her a laugh, about Blaise, leaving out that he allegedly liked her as a Granger. It took her a bit but when she finished, her parents were smiling.

"I'm glad you're not taking Slytherin shite at face value." Said Lucius and she had to stop herself from giggling both at what he said and the fact that he just cussed. "Oh, don't look so happy. Slytherins are great but they're as fake as they can get sometimes. I'd be wary about that Zabini boy if I were you, daughter."

Next to him Narcissa nodded. "Oh yes. Don't get us wrong, Blaise is a great kid, good friend with your brother he is, but as the only not betrothed Pureblood witch, I'd be careful about boys, dear. Especially Slytherins."

"Not betrothed?"

Her question was answered by Lucius. "Betrothals are a long standing tradition in our circle. As you know, we care about keeping our bloodline pure and so do other families. Arranged marriages are a way to ensure this." Before Hermione could protest, Lucius held up his hand. "I know you don't agree with our ways, Cassiopeia, but you can't really change them either. If it will ease your mind, just know that we have no intentions to arrange a marriage for you. We realize you would never agree to that and will let you decide on your own."

Now that was a surprise. She expected to be treated like any other pureblood daughter, but instead their making an exception for her. It made her feel that Malfoy really cared about her and would rather let some issues go than risk losing her over their differences. This thought alone caused her to launch herself at Lucius and hug him tight. He went stiff at first but after few seconds wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Thank you, Dad." Was all Hermione said and still being wrapped in Lucius' embrace she missed the silent exchange of happiness between her parents. When she finally pulled away, something occured to her. "Is Draco betrothed to someone?"

"Astoria Greengrass." Came from the doorway where Draco stood leaning against the door.

Hermione frowned. "And do you like her?"

"She's not that bad, but we don't really know each other. And before you ask - yes, I'm planning to go through with this betrothal."

They were looking at each other, once again talking without using words. He knew that she wanted to know why he let their parents decide for him and she knew that he tried to tell her that neither of them can change it. Finally Hermione spoke again.

"I don't like it. Not one bit."

"I didn't expect you to, that's why I didn't tell you anything earlier."

At that Hermione threw a pillow at him which he easily caught and threw right back at her, hitting her in the face. "Draco!" was shouted by both their parents and he looked apologetic. He didn't really mean for the pillow to hit her and one look at her assured him she knew and wasn't angry about that.

The topic of betrothals was dropped for now and the four of them started talking about different things. Hermione wanted to know more about life at the Malfoy Manor and their parents wanted to know about her childhood with the Grangers. Once again Hermione was surprised when Malfoys asked about muggle side of things looking genuinely interested and going as far as praising muggle creativity for living without magic.

Draco wanted to know more about movies and she promised him that if he wanted to and their parents didn't mind she would take him to movie theater over Christmas holidays. As it turned out Narcissa and Lucius not only did not mind, but they wanted to go as well.

When the visiting hours were over Hermione found herself sad to see her family go. Lucius and Narcissa promised to write and Draco just told her he would visit her so much, she would get tired of seeing him, which she doubted. In the last week they were basically joined at the hip. She barely could remember what it was like not having her twin around or even knowing she had one.

She was annoyed at whoever stole her as a child and bound her magic. She did not regret the childhood she had had with Grangers up until they died in the car crash this summer, but she could see how much heartache her disappearance caused her biological parents and she hated missing sixteen years of having a twin.

Malfoys also explained to her more clearly why binding one's magic was illegal and how it could be dangerous to the victim. If too much magic was bound it could render the person a Squib or even kill them. Unbinding the magic was also potentially lethal if there was a lot of powers bound as the person's core wouldn't have time to expand enough to accomodate all of the power immediately. That's why it was rare for a victim of binding to get unbinded unless necessary.

She swore to herself that if she ever found the person who was responsible for her kidnapping, she would seek justice. If it wasn't for Madam Pomfrey she would've died. According to the Mediwitch if they didn't come when they did, the magic would unbind itself eventually and cause her core to implode. As it was, Hermione had to swallow few potions to help her core expand and she had to be checked at least five times a day to make sure everything was going as it should. Because she was very much still in danger.

The letter she got week earlier didn't say who did all of this - the person writing the letter apparently took an Unbreakable Vow to protect this person's identity. She was never even supposed to know the truth but according to the sender there was a loophole in the Vow that allowed them to write the letter and get it sent to her after their death.

The person who wrote the letter said that they were aware of all this because they accidentally overheard a discussion on the matter. The culprit was a friend of theirs or so they said. They were forced to take the Vow or they would be killed for knowing the information. But whoever was guilty of all this clearly wasn't prepared to have to silence someone and their wording of the Vow was lax. It said that the person could not reveal what had happened as long as they were alive.

Hermione had already started on reading recent obituaries and researching everyone who had died, namely who they associated themselves with, trying to find someone, anyone who would fit the profile. It had to be someone quite powerful to cast a glamour and bind like that and with enough connections in both Wizarding and Muggle worlds to get Hermione on the Hogwarts list of students but also to forge her Muggle birth certificate. So far she didn't get a hit, but she didn't plan on giving up. She had a strong gut feeling that it was someone she already knew and she usually trust her gut.

xxxXXXxxx

When a bit over two weeks later Hermione was finally released from the Hospital Wing, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently the amount of magic bound was enormous and it's taken quite some time for her core to accomodate all of it. They also had to make sure it was safe for Hermione to use magic after that. She was checked by few St Mungos' Healers and at last she was deemed ready to resume her education with a warning that she would feel the difference and should train in her own time to control all of her powers.

When everyone was happy to have Hermione back, the witch herself wasn't so excited about all this. She wanted to talk to Draco and her parents on a theory she came up with and she didn't like it one bit. When she asked Draco how she could talk with them outside the castle but not by an owl, he suggested for them all to meet next weekend during their first Hogsmeade trip. One letter exchange later everything was arranged and they were to meet in Kapi's - a shabby bar nobody visits. She refused talking in Three Broomsticks and didn't like the idea of Hog's Head. She figured out who the owner was and getting out of Dumbledore's earshot was the whole point of meeting outside Hogwarts.

She was also glad that her twin was Draco Malfoy, who often gave her a run for her money in classes, because his notes were almost as meticulous as her own and they had similar thought process which made them easy to understand for her and she wasn't behind in her studies at all. Of course she couldn't practice new spells while in Hospital Wing so she was a bit anxious about her practical skills but she discovered that with her magic unbound she got all of the spells on her first try.

Harry, who visited her in Hospital Wing few times was furious that someone almost killed her like that and promised to help however he could with finding the perpetrator. But Hermione was worried what his reaction would be if her theory was proven right. She didn't fill him in yet on what she thought, just told him that she had a hunch and was doing more digging to find out if it was plausible or not.

They also did talk about Malfoys. While Harry wasn't ready to trust them, he was glad they were getting along and that they cared about Hermione. He also did mention that he found this new dynamic between Hermione and Draco hilarious. Said that it was almost like having Fred and George back in school but instead of pranks they handed out sarcasm and intrigue. When she thought about it, it seemed true enough. The more time the twins spent together, the better their connection was. They finished each other sentences more often and they understood each other perfectly without words.

Another dynamic change was between her and Blaise. After her conversation with her parents, Hermione decided to just ask Blaise about his intentions regarding her. To her surprise, Blaise was already prepared for that and, before she could say anything, swallowed a vial of Veritaserum and asked her to ask him all of her pressing questions.

What she learned was that he was honest the very first day when he told her her had a crush on her when she was still Hermione Granger and that he could care less about her blood status but was glad she was a Malfoy because he didn't have to hide his admiration for her. When she asked him again about his intentions, he replied that he'd love to court her and propose to her in the future but he understood if she didn't want that.

She got a bit teary-eyed during this conversation, moved that someone would care about her so much in such a way. She decided she would let Blaise court her, as he called it, but warned him that she wasn't ready for a fully blown relationship. He just nodded and said he would let her be in charge of their relationship and wouldn't push her into anything she wasn't ready for.

When asked why the Veritaserum, he just shrugged and said that he knew she wouldn't believe him any other way, since he was a Slytherin and they were known for deception and that she's been lied to enough so he wanted to be honest with her on whatever it was she wanted to know.

So now she no longer protested about him carrying her bag and stopped fighting him over the whole 'Princess' thing. They've also made plans for a date after her meeting with her parents in Hogsmeade.

xxxXXXxxx

The few days leading up to the Hogsmeade weekend were uneventful at best. Hermione easily fell back into her old routine of schoolwork and research, making sure she also had enough time for her friends, brother and Blaise, who didn't really fit into either category but she wasn't confident in calling him a boyfriend either.

She was a bit nervous when it was almost time to meet Lucius and Narcissa and Draco was trying his best to calm her down even though he didn't know what it was that she wanted to talk about, so when the two of them entered Kapi's he was a bit anxious himself, fearing it might be something bad.

Their parents were already there, waiting with a glass of firewhiskey for Draco and a bottle of Butterbeer for Hermione. She was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot to ask how they knew what she preferred. After all the small talk about school and her recovery was done it was time for Hermione to drop the bombshell.

"I think it was Dumbledore who stole me away and that he intended to turn me into a Squib." She said it all on one breath and so fast she wasn't even sure if they understood her but the look of shock on their faces told her they did. Lucius was the first one to come about.

"What makes you think that?"

"I've been looking at the obituaries from around the time I got the letter, looking for the clue as to who the sender might be to get me closer to the culprit. Well, to be honest I didn't get any hits until after I started suspecting Dumbledore, but after I did, I searched for anyone with ties to him who died recently. There was a hit. Amelia Bones, who was killed in a Death Eaters raid around the end of summer. Of course that's not enough proof, but it's plausible enough. Amelia as the head of MLE would be savvy enough to figure out a loophole in the Vow and as a member of Order, I'm sure she wouldn't stand by child kidnapping."

She took a break to catch a breath - she was still talking fairly fast, and as she was about to continue Lucius cut in.

"Amelia Bones was never killed by Death Eaters. There weren't even any raids happening at the end of summer."

Hermione frowned at that. She was already going through all the possible reasons her death would be covered as a Death Eater attacks, when Narcissa broke her thought process.

"Why would you think he wanted to make you a Squib?"

"I asked Madam Pomfrey how much of my magic was bound. It was over eighty percent. Eighty percent. In a lesser wizard that would be enough to leave them with not enough magic to conjure water, but apparently I've got so much power that I was top of the class using only fifteen percent of my potential. It was also another reason why I think it might be Dumbledore. If someone wanted me a Squib they wouldn't bother figuring out a way to get me to Hogwarts list as Hermione Granger. From what I've read in Hogwarts: A History, there's a list, or a book if you will, that automatically records the birth of magical children and their letters are actually prepared at that moment. But as the Ministry was aware of my accidental magic - there was an incident that required Obliviators - he couldn't not get me to Hogwarts. And the only person who could've just write a letter to Hermione Granger years after the letter was supposed to be written, was Dumbledore."

Everyone was silent after that, absorbing the information they've been given. The silence was broken by Lucius.

"Our Lord wishes to meet with you, Cassiopeia."

Her eyes went wide as saucers. "Why?"

"He didn't say and I didn't press the matter as Dark Lord is not the most patient person and doesn't like being asked questions."

"Well, that only makes it more curious. I'm sure Voldemort is aware of my reputation as a swot who asks lots of questions."

When she said his name Draco flinched next to her, Narcissa dropped her tea and Lucius narrowed his eyes and hissed but she really didn't expect any better.

"I warned him and I also told him that being a Gryffindor for five years rubbed off on you. He only said he's aware but he had things he needs to talk to you about. I'd advise you to accept his invitation and not to call him by his name when you meet him."

Hermione sighed. "I really don't see why he would want to meet me, but I don't suppose declining would be the safest thing to do. I'll go. When?"

"During Halloween feast. Wards on the castle are weaker at that time to let the ghosts and guests through and it will be enough for Our Lord to connect the fireplace of Slytherin Common Room to his via Floo Network safely. You'll wait until everyone leaves for the Feast, activate the Floo and go to 'Malfoy French Summer House, Dark Lord's Study'."

"He's residing at your summer house?"

Draco had to roll his eyes at that and cut in. "I warned you she always asks about the least significant things."

Lucius sighed, exasperated. "That you did, son. That you did. Any other questions, Cassiopeia? Important ones?"

"Do I have to address him 'my lord'?"

"I'm afraid you do."

Hermione nodded. She was not looking forward to any of this, but she couldn't help feeling curious as to why Voldemort would ask for her.

xxxXXXxxx

They spent one more hour with the Malfoys until they had to attend to their business elsewhere. They said their goodbyes, Narcissa hugging Hermione and making her promise she'll be careful while meeting the Dark Lord. After they left, Draco excorted Hermione to Three Broomsticks where she was supposed to meet with Blaise for their date.

Blaise was already there, handful of roses in his hands which he handed to Hermione as soon as she approached him. When she sat down, he went to order their drinks and dinner.

"So how did the meeting with your parents go? Are you getting along alright? I know you guys had a rough start."

"Oh, they're okay. I mean. I still don't agree with some of their ideals, but we're slowly getting over our differences. You know that they made me swear I won't give any of their elves clothes when I'm at the Manor?" Blaise laughed. "That's not funny! When they saw that I'm not so thrilled about it, they summoned one of their elves and he lectured me. An elf lectured me, for goodness' sake!"

Blaise was laughing so hard now, some of the other patrons were looking at them confused. Hermione finally casted Muffliato, a spell Harry shared with her recently. She wasn't a big fan of using spells from shady sources, but desperate times and all that.

"Did you at least understand that most of the elves don't want to be free?"

"Yes, I did. But it still doesn't mean that wizards have to abuse them! When Lucius kicked the elf for calling me a dunce, I almost left the bar."

They dropped the house elves subject quickly and started talking about all kinds of things. Hermione was careful not to slip up about her upcoming meeting with Voldemort. She trusted Blaise, but she didn't want him to know that little bit of information. She didn't even know if she was allowed to talk about it to anyone.

Hermione had to admit she was having the time of her life. Blaise was an excellent conversation partner and as it turned out he was quite well read so they never run out of topics. They didn't even notice how much time flew by, until Madam Rosmerta informed them that they should go, cause Hogwarts gates would be closing in twenty minutes. The two of them left a pretty generous tip and left the establishment.

xxxXXXxxx

The next few days she considered if she should talk to Harry about her suspicions regarding Dumbledore or the fact that Voldemort requested to speak with her. Just when she decided it would be safer to keep it to herself, Harry cornered her in the corridor and basically dragged her into an empty classroom before he began to shout.

"You're meeting Voldemort? Are you mental? He will probably kill you as soon as he sees you!"

Hermione sighed and warded the classroom disappointed that Harry didn't even think of that.

"Weren't you supposed to occlude your mind from Voldemort, Harry?"

The boy narrowed her eyes at her, his anger clearly rising.

"Don't try to change the topic, Hermione. Tell me what the heck were you thinking?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighed again and gestured for Harry to sit in one of the chairs before doing the same.

"Before I tell you anything, Harry, I have to know. Did you tell Dumbledore about this?"

"Didn't get a chance. He's out of castle again."

"Good. I don't want him knowing. I don't trust him. I have a pretty strong suspicion, no, I'm sure that he's the one who stole me from Malfoys and bound my magic and I think he intended for me to be a Squib."

She told him everything she told Malfoys, including the information Lucius gave her, that Amelia was never targeted by Death Eaters and she did not die in a raid. She told him that Voldemort asked for her via Lucius, but left out when or how she would be meeting him.

"As you probably know, telling Voldemort to bugger off is not the safest option, especially if I am to be spending Christmas outside the castle. I'm also curious as to why he would seek to talk with me."

Harry really looked overwhelmed by everything he learned.

"Harry, I'm begging you, don't tell Dumbledore any of this. I didn't even want you to know because of how close Dumbledore is keeping you to himself. I don't feel safe around him anymore."

Harry nodded but she wasn't entirely sure if he even heard her at this point. He looked dumbfounded, his mouth moving as if he was trying to say something, but no sound came out. It took him a while to come about but he calmed down eventually and promised Hermione not to say anything to Dumbledore and even promised to work on his occlumency so the Headmaster couldn't just get the information out of his head. He couldn't entirely believe his mentor to be able to do such a thing, but he had to admit Hermione's theory was strong. And he reluctantly agreed that refusing Voldemort's request was quite a death wish.

Hermione hugged him tightly before they split up and promised him to be careful and that she wouldn't get herself killed.

xxxXXXxxx

Halloween was approaching fast and Hermione didn't like that one bit. She confessed to Narcissa she was nervous about her meeting with the Dark Lord. She was afraid she crossed the line when she didn't get answer for two days, but was relieved to see her family owl one morning just few days before end of October. Her parents suggested that she talk with her Godfather and so, Hermione was now standing outside his office, gathering courage to knock. She was just about to do it, when the door opened to reveal Professor Snape.

"Are you gonna come in, or were you planning on standing there all night, Miss Malfoy?"

Hermione's cheeks reddened at being caught as she entered his office.

"I got a letter from your parents that you might seek me out due to your upcoming audience with the Dark Lord."

Hermione nodded and swallowed audibly before speaking. "Did you tell Headmaster about it?"

"No, I did not. Your parents briefed me in on your theory. I might be duty bound to him, but I won't risk the wellbeing of my godchildren."

She nodded again, biting her lower lip.

"Miss Malfoy, as I understand you have silne questions, so if you would please ask them."

"Ah, yes, of course. I just… I'm not sure how should I act around Voldemort. I don't want to act like his follower, because we all know, I'm not one."

"I think you can just be yourself as long as you're not being overly Gryffindor. If there's one thing the Dark Lord does not tolerate, it's Gryffindors. Why do you think there's only one i his ranks and he still is treated like a house elf?"

Hermione wanted to say something about Peter not deserving to even be a house elf, but she decided to stay on topic. "So no cheek then? Or doing something incredibly brash?"

"That's right. The Dark Lord is not stupid, he knows you're not on his side and that you're too stubborn to act like his follower even if it was a matter of life and death. But he's still impatient so testing his limits is never a good idea."

"And I have to address him 'my lord'." It was not a question, but Snape nodded nonetheless.

They spent another half an hour discussing her attitude, contingency plan in case everything went wrong and even what she should wear to please Voldemort enough to not to want to kill her. It was a lot of informations and planning but when she finally left Snape's office, she felt better. Less nervous. She now knew what to expect and she was ready to escape if she was in danger. Hermione also promised to visit Snape more often to make up for the time Her couldn't be a Godfather for her. He acted like he didn't want her to visit but she could see in his eyes that he was happy that he was being given a chance.

Honestly before her visit Hermione didn't know what to expect from Snape. She did talk with Draco about him, asked what kind of Godfather he was and how it felt to grow up with him in his life. She could see that her twin was very fond of the grumpy Professor even when he was describing him as a 'cold git''. According to Draco, Snape never showed much love for Draco but he was always there when needed and he didn't need to say that he cared for Draco to know it. She listened to Draco telling her how this one time, when he was six, he accidentally fell into a cauldron full of Amortentia and how he had a strong crush on Professor Snape until the Potion Master finished antidote.

Now that she talked to Snape herself, she could understand what Draco meant. It was clear as day that the man would sacrifice his own life for their good even if he did call her a dunderhead two or three times during their discussion. The sole fact that he agreed to talk to her even though everyone knew he hated being asked questions, spoke volumes to her and she found herself warming up to the 'bat of the dungeons'.

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Before she knew it it was Halloween and her anxiety reached a whole new level. Draco was constantly trying to calm her down, both verbally and using their twin connection as they started calling it. Harry kept glancing in her direction. He still didn't know exactly when she was supposed to meet Voldemort but looking at her pale face he felt safe in guessing. Even Blaise sensed that something was bothering her even if he didn't know what it was.

She couldn't eat and paid little attention in class. She kept repeating everything Snape told her to herself to the point where Draco almost snapped at her during Arithmancy and as soon as the class was finished he took Hermione to an empty class and warded it.

"Look, Cassi, I know you're nervous but you're also distracting me. I can sense your fear and I can hear little snippets of the list you keep saying over and over in your head. You don't listen to the lectures anyway, so go, feign sickness and stay in the dorm. It will also be a good cover up for your absence during the Feast."

He only looked a bit angry and definitely more concerned. Hermione also knew he was a scholar so she understood his irritation. She nodded her head and bit her lower lip.

"I'm sorry, Draco, I didn't mean to disturb you during classes. You're right. I'm going to Bed, please tell Professor Snape, I'm not feeling well."

Draco hugged Hermione tight and promised her everything will be alright and that he'll check in with her before the Feast. He them unwarded the classroom and left, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts.

She came back to her dorm and taking advantage of other girls' absence, dressed up for the upcoming meeting. She figured out it would look suspicious if she were to get ready with other girls just so she can bail on the Feast so instead she decided to be ready and hide her attire under a bathrobe.

Once she was all dressed up, she cast glamour charm to hide her makeup and hopped into her bed. It wasn't long until Daphne, Tracy and Pansy joined her in the room. Daphne asked Hermione if she was feeling better and seemed disappointed that Hermione decided to miss the Feast, while Pansy looked like she just got the best present ever. Tracy was neutral and just wished Hermione to feel better soon before she joined the other girls in getting ready.

It was another few hours before the three girls left the dorm. Hermione waited another fifteen minutes before she started in the direction of the Common Room, making sure that it was empty. When she entered she was surprised to be hugged but she recognized her twin's scent and relaxed into his embrace.

"Promise me you'll come back. I just got you back, I can't lose you again."

She hugged him tighter and nodded into his chest.

"Of course I'll come back to you, Draco. Go, enjoy the Feast and I'll see you tomorrow morning." When he was hesitant to let go of her she smirked up at him with the Malfoy smirk that seemed to come naturally to her. "Who would've thought that Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince would go all soft on his twin sister. Really Draco, I'll be fine. Let go of me so I'm not late to the meeting with the psychopathic madman."

That seemed to do the trick as Draco immediately took a step backwards, mumbled 'good luck' to her and left the Common Room. Hermione knew it was time. She took off her bathrobe and canceled the glamours. She was wearing a cream elegant dress that reached her ankles. It was Muggle and it was supposed to be a statement that she might be a Pureblood now but she still was raised by Muggles. She just hoped that her Godfather wouldn't find out about this or he just might kill her himself for being so stupid.

She finally took a handful of Floo Powder she got from Snape, threw it into the fireplace and after one last calming breath she stepped in.

A/N We're meeting the Dark Lord in chapter 3. What do you think he wants with Hermione? Will Hermione even listen to him? I'm not telling you anything yet, you'll have to wait and see :P