Draco awoke to a thumping on his window. It was his father's owl Arius carrying two envelopes, waiting for him to be let in. He let in the owl and fed it a treat that he kept by the window in exchange for the letters. One addressed to himself and the other addressed to the order. He ran into Sirius in the kitchen, handing him the other letter and settling down at the dining room table to read his own. Both stayed silent for a few minutes before setting down the pieces of paper on the table.

"I don't want this to come across bad-mannered, but your father is the last person I expected to help us" Sirius spoke. Draco stared at his letter before responding "One of his best qualities is being a good actor. He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve which can be both a blessing and a curse."

"You have to understand why I'm asking. This entire war started over the blood purity debate. The Malfoy family isn't necessarily known to be…"

Draco cut him off "I know. But you also have to understand that if you are raised to believe something your entire life, not based on your own experiences, it can be confusing. My father was taught his prejudices from his father and I was taught through my father's subconscious biases. It's a vicious cycle to break. Despite popular belief, my father has a heart and doesn't respect unnecessary cruelty. He followed a path that seemed safe and expected of him."

Sirius nodded and replied, "It will take a while to get used to that idea. You and your father are in constant correspondence... would you mind regularly inquiring about Hermione's condition? We just want to make sure she's safe."

Draco agreed and started walking back upstairs. As he passed the first floor, he heard Harry and Ron loudly whispering to each other in one of the bedrooms. Draco paused for a second to see what the problem was.

"Ron, if we don't get back out there and keep searching then we are letting them win. Hermione wouldn't want that." Harry said.

"We have no idea what we are doing out there" Ron said in a normal voice. Draco could hear the shifting of the wooden floor panels which got closer to the door frame.

Draco decided this was his chance to prove himself. Get out there and do something worthwhile, not sitting around waiting for this war to end.

He entered the doorframe and said, "If you need someone to help, I'm more than willing."

Ron looked at him and back to Harry.

"And how would you help us?" Ron asked.

"I don't know but I can't be sitting around all day doing nothing. I am constantly communicating with my father and I'm sure we would be more than willing to give us some information. You-know-who still trusts him. He knows enough to help us figure out what their next moves are, and I know enough about the rest of the Horcruxes to help you find them."

Harry sighed and walk towards Ron and Draco "We are planning to leave tonight. Get in contact with your father and figure out how he can be in contact with us while we are off-grid. I'm trusting you Draco, don't fuck this up. Meet us in the parlor room after dinner, don't tell anyone we are leaving."

Draco agreed before he left, reminded himself of the message he was to give to them from his father.

"My father wanted me to let you know that Hermione is safe and sound in our home. He didn't expand into much detail but wanted me to reassure you that she is safe."

With that, he made his way upstairs and remembered the clever charm undetectable extension charm Hermione used on her bag that he found in the manor after their capture. He used the same charm on a brown jacket he found collecting dust in the closet of his room to expand the pockets and packed it with potions from his bathrooms, ingredients that would become useful and other tools that would serve them well later.

He made looked around the room and found two pocket-sized books about the history of muggle London and the anthropology of elf culture, erasing their texts and charming them to receive the texts of whatever was written in the other. He tested it out by writing in one book, waiting for the other to receive the message.

His spells worked but for added protection, he charmed them so that when they were initially picked up, the original text appeared. Using the word "Récupérer" it would allow the other book to vibrate and correspondence to begin.

Draco chuckled at the final result. He wished he had applied his skills so something more useful during Hogwarts but here he was charming books and crafting spells to communicate with his father to end the Dark Lord.

He pulled out a piece of parchment and Aries noticed that a letter was about to be written and he could be in charge of delivering it.

Father,

I am glad that Hermione is safe and I have informed her friends of her wellbeing. I can't expand into much detail, but I will not be able to write to you via owl anymore. Harry and Ron are resuming their hunt for the Dark Lord's Horcruxes and I have decided to join them. I needed a more active role in this and can't just sit around waiting for something to happen. I promise to stay safe.

Attached is a charmed book that will only work with the word "Récupérer". With this we can continue keeping in touch and hopefully when you come across any useful information, we may be able to use it to defeat the Dark Lord. If either you or I write, it will vibrate to inform the other.

Stay safe,

Draco

He gave his father's owl a few treats and asked him to stay stealthy and deliver the letter and history of muggle London book as quickly as he could. Upon opening the window, Aries swooshed out and into the foggy weather.

In Malfoy manor, Lucius woke up in the same position he fell asleep in. Leaned up against the headboard in Hermione's bed with her still curled up against his side. He looked down at the sleeping women and she was sound asleep with a peaceful look on her face. Her thin fingers wrapped in the fabric of his shirt, one leg wrapped around his and hair sprawled out against his arm and partially on his chest.

He couldn't look away from her sleeping face. This was the first time Lucius noticed that she was actually at peace. Every other time she was either stressed, running from something, or so deep in despair. This was the first time he saw her face calm and relaxed. Gently, he took the hand that was wrapped around her and ran his hand through her soft locks. She stirred at this feeling and seemed to retreat closer into his arms. He stopped for a brief moment but resumed when she stopped moving. A gentle chuckle left her lips when he continued.

It took about ten more minutes before her eyes fluttered open and she took in a deep yawn.

"Good morning" Lucius gently said. Hermione jumped a bit and lifted herself.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep. Oh god, you must be so uncomfortable." She started trailing off into a string of apologies.

Lucius chuckled and said, "Don't fret. I must say, it was one of the most peaceful sleep I've had in a while."

Hermione smiled softly and noticed his hand never left her hair.

"This is quite comfortable, isn't it?" She let out a small laugh. Continuing she asked, "What time is it?"

"A quarter to nine. We should probably get prepared for the day, Severus should arrive at nine and he is a very punctual man."

Hermione nodded and got out of the warm bed, taking the opportunity to stretch her arms above her head.

Laying on the nightstand was the transfigured clothing Lucius promised her last night. A warm green cable knit sweater and a pair of black slacks. Some comfortable slippers laid at the foot of the nightstand for her to wear as well.

"I will return soon to escort you to breakfast." Hermione nodded and he made his exit.

After utilizing the restroom to refresh herself, and thankfully finding a hairbrush, she finished dressing just in time for a knock on her door.

She opened to find a smartly dressed Lucius with his hair pulled back asking her if she was ready to head down. Nodding, they made their way down the long hallways and a set of marble stairs. A few turns and past a set of oak doors was a medium-sized dining room with a table already filled with food and a black-robed man with a newspaper in his face sitting at the left-hand side.

"Good morning Severus," Lucius said. Severus folded his paper and placed it on the table.

"Good morning Lucius. Good morning Miss…Hermione" Severus said.

Lucius led Hermione to a set and made sure she settled in before taking his seat.

"How are you, Hermione?" Severus asked. He didn't need to ask anything beyond that to get his true question across.

"I'm well. I just needed a good night's rest to recharge a bit. You don't realize how tired you are until you've been sleep deprived." Lucius' eyes flickered to her as he poured them both a cup of tea from the fresh pot on the table.

They continued their breakfast talking about the weather and Snape's potions classes, anything to reinstate some sense of normalcy for any of them.

During a lull in the conversation, Aries knocked himself into the window of the dining room causing him to slightly bounce off the glass. Hermione chuckled and Lucius made his way to unlatch the window. The owl released the letter and package from Draco onto his seat and flew back out the window, presumably back to the small owlery.

Lucius took the items off to sit back down and read the content of the letters, leaving a small silence in the room as Snape went back to briefly reading his paper. Once he was done, he handed the letter to Hermione which took it questionably. She scanned the letter and looked at the already unwrapped package in Lucius' hand saying, "How clever" at the book in his hand.

"He can be rather ingenious when it comes to these things." Lucius said. He handed the book to Hermione to examine and she was truly impressed.

Draco decided to help Harry and Ron in her place made her worried but relieved at the same time. She knew they needed the help and she would have to be blind to not realize that Draco was keen and cunning.

Hermione asked Lucius, "Do you mind if I write a quick note to them?"

He conjured an unused spoon into a pen, handing it to Hermione.

She spoke the word to unlock the books unwritten pages and scribbled in,

Draco, this is Hermione.

I just want to let you know I am so glad that you decided to join Harry and Ron. Honestly, they need help. If you ever come across something that would require my help, please let your father know so he could tell me.

Please tell Harry and Ron I miss them very much. If they ask about what happened, which I'm sure you've been filled in on the details, please don't tell them. I don't want them to worry about this extremely stressful time.

Again, thank you for everything you are doing and please stay safe. I trust you wholeheartedly.

Warmly, Hermione

She waited for the text to fade into the page before another text reappeared.

I am glad you are safe and sound Hermione. Don't worry, I will not say anything. I will pass your message along to Harry and Ron if you pass onto my father than I will not be able to use this book for a few days as we relocate to a safe location. You and father will be very useful once we can regularly correspond.

My best wishes, Draco

P.S. If you ever need an extra wand, go to my room. It is on the third floor, end of the hallway on your left side. It is in the right-hand drawer of my desk hidden under a few papers.

Hermione waited for writing to disappear before closing it and reopening to check if the blank pages were gone. The only thing when she reopened it was the text from the original book.

"Draco wanted me to tell you that it will take a few days before he will be able to reach you through this book. He will reach out once they reach a safe location." She handed the book into his position and leaned back in her chair with a soft smile. She was glad that the original mission was back on track and that their work to defeat Voldemort was resuming. It was also reassuring to know where an extra wand was just in case.

For another hour they all sat comfortably in the dining room discussing many different mundane topics and occasionally just enjoying the peaceful silence of the morning. At a certain point, Severus excused himself back to Hogwarts, having to resume his duties. This left Hermione and Lucius alone again taking in the foggy day's slow morning.

"I have a few matters to attend to, perhaps you would like to read something?" Lucius suggested.

Hermione's eyes lit up and he took that as a yes. Both stood and he led the way into his study, a warm room filled floor to ceiling with books of all different sorts.

"I have a wide variety of topics. Is there anything that you would like to find?" He asked.

"Not really. Can I browse for a bit?" Hermione asked.

"Of course. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. You may take as many as you'd like your room as well." Hermione smiled in his direction and he turned to his desk, not wanting to show his small smirk.

Settling in his chair, he resumed his work as Hermione continued to browse the large bookcases. Occasionally he would look up and watch as she ran her fingers along with the old books. A few she pulled out returned after reading the title. Finally, Hermione found one that sparked her interest. A book on wandless magic. She settled into the large antique couch by his desk, curling her legs under herself to get comfortable and beginning to read.

After a few hours, Hermione was so enthralled by the book that she was more than a quarter of the way through. Lucius pulled his chair back and even the noise didn't stop her from reading. Slowly he made his way to the couch, grabbing his book along the way, and took a seat next to her. She jumped and swiftly settled when she noticed it was Lucius.

"All done?" She asked.

"It took longer than expected but I am finished. Perhaps another hour of reading before we make our way down to dinner?" Hermione nodded and resumed her reading.

A few minutes later, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Lucius stiffened and Hermione quickly retreated.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why but you are such a comforting presence to be around…" Lucius waited for her to finish. "you make me feel safe."

"Don't apologize. I am glad I can make you feel comforted. In truth, I enjoy these moments. They are peaceful. You do not need to ask or feel ashamed for seeking comfort anymore." Lucius explained. Hermione hesitated before scooting slightly closer and leaning into him. He took this opportunity to get himself more situated, crossing his legs to rest his book on and wrapping one arm around her to bring her closer. Both sighed silently in the comfort and warmth.

Lucius tried to focus on his book but was too distracted by Hermione nestled into his side. He unconsciously let his hand stroke her hair as she read occasionally and he could swear he could live the rest of his life out peacefully on this couch.