A/N: Once again, thank you very much! I'm glad you all enjoyed the previous chapter, it was so difficult to write, I spent ages trying to picture the scene and who would be stood where and what everyone would say so I'm super happy that the comments were really positive and that you were satisfied with the reactions. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you.
A/N: Chapter Warnings - Mentions of sexual assault, violence, bad language and other sexual situations.
Chapter 42 – A Catch-Up with Draco, Dumbledore's Exit, and a Night with Severus
Hermione was relieved about the recent turn of events, and Harry's reaction to his godfather being arrested. However, Severus had told her that the Order members such as Tonks, Molly and Remus had been trying to gain visitation access to the castle so that they could see her, even though they had promised to give her some time. Hermione was a little nervous, she didn't really want to draw more attention to herself than necessary, so she had begged everyone to hold off until the Easter holidays as they were only a couple of weeks away, that way she had time to prepare for the questions and the explanations in private, and away from the school and prying eyes and ears.
Hermione was sat with Harry in the great hall and was eating her breakfast, it had been about a week since he had literally caught her with her hand down Severus' pants and what made things awkward was the way Harry stammered and would blush red whenever he was addressed by Severus in potions class.
Hermione had to chew her lip to keep from laughing at Harry's awkwardness. One person who had picked up on this was Draco and he had cornered Hermione about it as he wanted to have a catch up with her anyway.
She had agreed to meet Draco later on that afternoon in their secret room so that they could talk freely and, for the first time, Hermione was praying that her classes would go quickly so that she could see Draco soon. She had been worried about him recently, he had seemed really withdrawn and depressed, Hermione had a feeling it was to do with what Draco had been tasked to do by Voldemort and she couldn't help but be mildly concerned over Draco's mental health.
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She went through her classes a little slower than she would've liked but finally, the school day had ended and she was on her way to meet Draco. Once she found the room, she entered and found Draco already sat there waiting patiently for her.
"Hey Draco" she smiled at him upon seeing him.
Draco managed a smile back and gestured for her to sit down.
"How's it going?" He asked her after she had taken a seat.
"I think I should be asking you that question Draco. You don't look well, I'm worried about you. Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked him.
Draco grimaced at her words and shook his head. There was nothing she could do, hell, there was nothing anyone could do for him - if he wanted to keep his and his families lives.
"Let's not talk about that, I wanted to meet with you to get my mind off all the shit that's going on. I need a distraction and I always love our conversations, you always seem to have some sort of drama going on" he grinned at her.
Hermione nodded, she understood what Draco had said and she knew that if he needed to talk to her then he would just talk, and so she let it slide.
"They arrested Sirius Black" she told him.
Draco's eyes widened and he almost choked on air. How had he missed that?
"And I'm only hearing about this now because...?" He asked.
Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
"This is the first time I've had the chance to properly talk to you in a while. He was arrested last week and so far, it's all been kept under wraps. There was no dramatic arrest, he was simply taken to the cells of Azkaban by Moody to await trial" she told him.
Draco nodded.
"How do you feel? Does Potter know? He's been acting really odd recently" Draco asked her.
Hermione blushed thinking about why Harry was acting the way that he had been.
"I'm alright thanks Draco, I don't really feel anything. I'm glad he's finally getting punished but it's taken so long that I feel it hardly matters anymore. Also, Harry does know and he was alright about it. I guess he's upset that someone he considers a family member is in prison but he also feels glad for me" she answered.
Draco nodded again at her response and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"But that doesn't explain why he's being all flustered in potions all the time. Did he have a fight with godfather?" He asked.
Now Hermione's face was completely flushed tomato red and this piqued Draco's interest. He smirked at her.
"I can tell this is going to be good. Come on; don't keep the secrets to yourself. Was it really that bad?" Draco asked with that impish delight and spark in his eyes.
Hermione smiled wistfully, it reminded her of the happy and completely carefree Draco Malfoy. So she humoured him.
"Harry walked in on Severus and I making out. Severus had his hand up my shirt and I had my hand down his trousers. Now Harry is totally awkward around the both of us" she told him.
"He didn't!" Draco exclaimed excitedly before bursting into hysterical laughter.
"Oh Merlin! Potter saw you and Severus going at it? Haha! That's hilarious; I wish I'd been a fly on the wall for that moment!" Draco said gleefully, eyes and face still full of mirth.
Hermione found herself chuckling along with him, although the moment was highly embarrassing it was also really funny.
"I think he's known about Severus and I for a while actually" she admitted once they had both calmed down.
Draco's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Really?" He asked.
She nodded.
"He has that map I told you about, and I think he's seen me down in the dungeons in Severus' rooms on more than one occasion. He saw me when I was there the other night and he hinted that he had seen me. That was when I realised that he knew something had been going on" she explained.
"And that doesn't piss you off? He's technically invading your privacy" he said.
"I know but Harry's had that map for so long, I think it's his way of making sure that everything is alright in the castle. He doesn't mean any harm by it, and if he does happen to come across something that may seem like it should be private, he always quickly looks away at another part of the map. His intentions are good anyway" she told him.
"He's been following me hasn't he?" Draco asked.
Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment before answering.
"I have a confession to make" she told him.
Draco encouraged her to continue.
"Remember New Year's when Severus brought you back to his rooms to be healed? Well, I told Severus about how Harry had been suspicious of you all year and that now you have been marked, it seemed more dangerous for Harry to be watching your every move. So whilst you were being healed, I asked Severus if I could have a vial of your blood" she began.
Draco looked at her shocked. Why the fuck would she want a vial of his blood?!
His expression clearly conveyed that response to Hermione as she continued to explain.
"The charm used to show where people are on the map is quite complex but I managed to develop the enchantment so that, just for you, it follows your magical signature. Obviously your magical signature is in your blood. So I've been smearing your blood on the walls in different areas on the castle, just a tiny drop, so that if Harry looks for you on the map, your presence will be in multiple locations on the map. But to Harry, he will think it's you just staying still and doing absolutely nothing, and he will get bored and then put the map away and won't bother to look anywhere else" she explained, hoping she didn't sound too creepy.
"That's some voodoo shit right there Granger. And ancient blood magic? Someone has been dipping into Severus' restricted Dark Arts books again. But thanks anyway" he told her.
She smiled sheepishly at him, it did sound a little fucked up.
Draco suddenly looked confused.
"But what if he sees more than one of me on the map?" He asked.
Hermione smiled.
"That's the best bit; if Harry saw multiple versions of you he would either think that you are performing some kind of enchantment, or that there was something wrong with the map. Either way, he would be confused as to why there are multiples of you rather than trying to decipher and follow the actual you. It's not fool proof but it gives you some wiggle room if he becomes too obsessive" she told him.
Draco nodded and accepted her theory, he trusted her, and he was grateful that she was trying to do something to help him keep Potter off his back.
"So why was Potter going to Severus' rooms?" He asked her.
Hermione frowned, what was he talking about?
Draco elaborated.
"You said Potter caught you and Severus going at it. I was just wondering why Potter would be going near Severus' private rooms in the first place" he said.
Hermione flushed again and put her head in her hands.
"Harry didn't catch us in Severus' rooms, he caught us in Severus' office" Hermione said.
"His office?!" Draco exclaimed.
"I know you're a Gryffindor Hermione but damn, that is brave even for you. What possessed you to have a go with him in his office?" Draco chuckled still a little shocked.
"It just sort of happened, honestly, I've always fantasised about having sex on a school desk before" she admitted and then put a hand over her mouth like she couldn't believe what she had just admitted.
She looked at Draco with wide eyes and he stared at her back with a big smirk.
"My, my, we are all full of surprises. Kinky much? And since when did you start thinking about having sex? Are you ready for that?" He asked her gently.
She blushed again and stuttered a response.
"Well- er-" she began.
Draco's expression suddenly shifted and he froze.
"No way! You haven't?" He exclaimed excitedly. Had she already gone that far?
Hermione suddenly found the floor very interesting.
Draco gasped.
"You have! Why didn't you tell me? Come on, give me the gossip. Don't leave me hanging! Least you can do after stealing my blood!" He joked with her, but he really did want to know those details.
"Well his birthday was at the beginning of January and I knew I wasn't ready for sex but I wanted to see how far I could go. So, we did...other...stuff but not sex" she told him.
"You mean you sucked him off?" Draco asked.
Hermione nodded, still embarrassed that she was revealing intimate details about her and Severus' private life.
"Merlin! That must've been an interesting experience" Draco said, still slightly shocked.
Hermione mumbled in agreement.
"So when did it become more than just foreplay?" Draco asked.
"Valentine's Day" she said.
"How cliché" Draco told her.
Hermione shook her head.
"I know, that's what I thought too, he will probably kill me for telling you, but he had set up this romantic little picnic basket in front of his fireplace and the setting and mood was just perfect. I wanted to do it, I really did, and so we did. It was amazing Draco, and I'm glad it happened" she said with a nostalgic smile on her face.
"Ewwwww, you don't know how much it disturbs me to know that, right now, you are reminiscing about shagging my godfather" Draco grimaced.
Hermione lightly punched his shoulder.
"Oh shut up! You wanted the details in the first place you pervert!" She joked with him.
"Should I just start calling you 'auntie Mi' now?" He asked.
"Don't you dare Draco Malfoy or I will kick your arse" she screeched, mortified at the idea of being called 'auntie', that would make her feel so old!
"Alright, alright, your voice has reached new levels of high pitch that only dogs can probably hear you right now" he laughed at her.
Hermione folded her arms across her chest to give off the impression that he had upset her. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to hide the big grin that was plastered across her face. She wasn't mad at him at all.
At that moment the bell suddenly chimed, notifying the two unlikely friends that it was time for dinner. The pair prepared to enter reality once more and Hermione left the room first and Draco left a few minutes later. Both of them agreed that they needed to see each other more often.
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A few days later Hermione and the rest of the DA were practising spells when all of a sudden the room started shaking and the walls to the room of requirement blew up. They had been found out by Umbridge and her inquisitorial squad, who had been led to the DA by Cho Chang, and all received indefinite detentions. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were taken to the headmaster's office where there were several Hogwarts teachers and ministry staff wandering about.
"I instructed Harry and his friends to form the army, it is named 'Dumbledore's Army' after all" Dumbledore said.
"Arrest him" Umbridge commanded.
"I'm afraid I have no choice but to do just that Albus" Fudge said as the ministry workers made their way over to arrest the headmaster.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked on in horror, as did the other teachers, not really knowing what to do or how to proceed as they watched the headmaster about to be carted off to prison.
However, just when it seemed like the aged headmaster had been defeated, his familiar, the Phoenix 'Fawkes', had showed up at the last second, had taken the headmaster away, no one knew where to.
Then, with the headmaster now gone, all hell broke loose. Fudge officially named Umbridge as headmistress and her first demand in charge was that Harry, Hermione, and Ron would all be severely punished along with the detentions they had already received. After the ministry workers and Fudge had left the office, Umbridge sat in her new chair and smirked at the three students.
"You're mine now and there is nothing you can do about it" she grinned gleefully at the power.
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The following days were spent doing gruelling labour such as scrubbing the floor of the great hall with a toothbrush, cleaning the schools toilets and other unsanitary jobs. On top of that, they had to all write lines with Umbridge's special quill; everyone had a different line etched into the back of their hand. All this was done whilst the inquisitorial squad members watched them with satisfaction. Draco had to constantly hide his concern for Hermione and would relay to Severus what tasks she had been set and how she got on with doing them.
For Hermione, the worst thing was the lines she had written being carved into her skin. The more she wrote the lines as the days passed, the more her hand was scarring. She didn't quite like the idea of having the words 'filthier than thestral dung' permanently carved into the back of her hand.
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About two weeks into the torturous punishment and things had not got better. They were all still in classes. Harry and Hermione were still receiving occlumency lessons, but Hermione was beginning to get that bad feeling again.
"Keep working mudslut" Pansy Parkinson sneered at her.
Hermione sighed but cooperated, it was easier for everyone that way. Besides, they weren't kept any longer than five hours a night. Luckily, by law, they couldn't be kept any longer as it would have been damaging for the schools reputation if there were sleep deprived children wandering around. Umbridge quite liked her new position and was determined to keep it and so followed the more mandatory rules of Hogwarts.
Hermione stood up with her bucket of water and cloth and went to move to clean a new part of the room. As she stood, she realised too late that both her legs had gone numb and she fell back onto the stone floor on her arse.
Theodore Nott stood above her and cheered alongside Gregory Goyle.
"Why don't you spread your legs a little wider for us Mudblood, come on, give us a show" they jeered at her.
Hermione looked up and noticed that the three of them were the only ones in the room and she could feel herself panicking again. She had to submit her wand to Umbridge for every detention, so she was always wandless during these gruelling detentions. No one would be around to help her if she needed it. No one would even hear her if she called out for help. She was close to hyperventilating.
She focused on calming herself down, and it was then that she spotted the open door and knew that all she wanted was to escape from the two boys, just in case they did decide to try something with her.
She did the only thing she could think to do. She was still holding the large bucket of freezing cold, dirty water and without hesitation, she chucked it over the two laughing boys and, in their momentary, shock she made a run for it.
She managed to get through the door, and ran like a bat out of hell through the corridors of Hogwarts whilst cursing Umbridge for confiscating wands for the duration of detention. She didn't slow down from running until she reached the familiar hidden entrance of her Severus' rooms. She said the password and entered.
As soon as she entered the rooms, she ran for Severus' bedroom and immediately dove under the covers on his bed and nestled up inside them. She felt calm when surrounded by his scent; she was hoping that it would calm her down this time.
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Meanwhile a thoroughly stunned Severus watched, still holding his cup of tea frozen in mid-air, as a terrified looking Hermione Granger ran through his rooms and into his bedroom.
Once his bedroom door had slammed shut he launched into action. He headed for his bedroom and opened up the door to find a small lump hidden under his bedsheets. He noticed that Hermione wasn't crying, but she wasn't far off it. She was also breathing really heavily, almost panting, like a fish does when it's been out of the water for too long.
Severus took a tentative step towards his bed.
"Hermione?" He questioned gently.
Hermione poked her head out from under the covers, she was pale and he could tell something had frightened her.
Severus approached his bed and sat down next to her.
"Sweetheart, you need to tell me what's wrong" he told her, trying to coax her back to reality.
She took a deep breath and shook her head.
"Its fine, I just freaked for a moment and I'm going to get in so much trouble" she muttered trying not to let the tears fall now that the adrenaline had worn off.
Severus just watched her; he knew she would continue when she was ready. He only had to wait a few moments.
"I had been tasked with scrubbing one of the classroom floors tonight and Goyle and Nott were assigned to watch me. I was alone in that room with them and they were...making suggestive comments...I realised I was alone with them, with no wand, and I just freaked. So I threw a bucket of dirty, cold water over them and made a break for it" she whispered to him.
Severus' heart hurt for her, she was scared and had felt the need to literally run for her life. He hated that there was not much he could do to protect her from Umbridge and that damned squad of hers.
He just pulled her to him and he wrapped his arms protectively around her and carried her to the bathroom. He magically started running her a bath and sat on the edge of it whilst holding her in his lap.
"You're going to have a nice hot and relaxing bath while I inform Minerva that you will be staying here tonight and then I will come back and we shall go to bed. You must be exhausted" he told her as the bath stopped running.
He stood Hermione up so that she could remove her clothes, she asked him to help her because her hands where still shaking. Once she was naked, he helped her slowly step into the bath and lay her down in the water. He then, with Hermione's permission, cast a spell on her to ensure that her head would remain above the water at all times and he went to make a floo call to Minerva.
Minerva had already been visited by Umbridge, and told that Hermione had fled from her detention that night. Minerva had also been told that Hermione had thrown water over the two boys who were watching her in detention. Minerva was close to awarding house points for that. Umbridge has also given Minerva Hermione's wand as Hermione had fled before getting it back.
When Severus' voice had sounded through her floo, she immediately accepted the call and instantly sent Hermione's wand to Severus; she then proceeded to yell every name under the sun she could think of that could be used to describe the pink nightmare that was roaming the halls.
After listening to Minerva throw a fit about Umbridge for nearly twenty minutes, Severus bid her goodnight and went back to the bathroom to check on his Hermione.
She was half asleep in the bath; Severus moved to help her get out of the bath and noted how the water had turned nearly black from the sheer amount of dirt and grime that had been washed away from her body. He quickly washed her hair and showered away the remaining muck and then emptied the water from the bath.
He got her out of the bath and wrapped her in a towel and moved her towards his bedroom. He then noticed how she didn't have any clean clothes here and he so he offered her one of his larger shirts and a pair of his boxers to wear.
She accepted the boxers but declined the shirt; she hated wearing clothes to bed. Severus looked surprised at her brazen behaviour but wrote it off as exhaustion and that she just wanted to get to bed.
Severus stripped down to just his boxers too and the pair of them climbed into bed with just their underwear on.
Hermione turned to snuggle into Severus' arms and he held her tight as the pair quickly drifted off to sleep.
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Meanwhile, in the Slytherin boy's dormitory, Draco was wide awake. He had heard what the other Slytherin's had been talking about tonight, about Granger, and he knew that worse times were coming for her. He would go straight to Severus on the morning and hope to warn the pair of them about what was likely to happen next.
Draco turned over and tried to fall into a restless sleep.
All the while the phrase 'oh shit, oh shit, oh shit' was being repeated over and over in his mind.
