A/N: As always, my dear friend and beta Dreamthrower has proof-read my attempts at English writing! Thank you for always making time for me in your calendar and for doing such a great job explaining the eccentricities of the English language! You're awesome!
Friends Who Are Dear to Us
An hour later, Luna had arrived, and they had all gathered in the parlour. Severus and Remus were playing a game of chess, while Draco and Luna seemed to be having a lot of fun keeping Teddy entertained and out of their hair.
Harry and Hermione had both settled comfortably in the window niche that had a nice view onto the small park in the middle of the square. A built-in bench with cozy cushions had transformed it into a bright reading nook that was Hermione's favourite spot in the parlour.
The entire room had changed a lot. Gone were the heavy draperies and the silk wall covering; the dark wood panels on the walls had been stripped and repainted. The furniture were still grandmotherly antiques, and the piano was still in its corner. But the sitting group in front of the fireplace had two additional chairs, a soft carpet and a coffee table. The transfigured Christmas tree was set up next to it. Hermione had to admit that now that it was decorated with baubles, garlands and tinsel, it didn't look all too garish.
She still took great offence at the mistreatment of the garden gnomes though, who seemed no happier in the warm and dry manger than they had been out in the cold. The fact that Teddy was constantly hovering over them like a giant about to devour them probably heightened their discomfort. The threat was real: Remus had been having a hard time stopping him from putting them into his mouth and chewing on them. He had finally placed the entire nativity scene under an impenetrable shield charm, so the child couldn't touch them. Which didn't prevent him from trying.
"Come and find me, Teddy!" said Draco, drawing away the toddler's attention from the manger by waving at him, before fading out of view again. They were playing the wizard's version of hide-and-seek, which allowed for invisibility charms. Teddy squealed happily and crawled towards Draco's hiding place with surprising speed and determination. He clearly was familiar with such tricks and didn't seem puzzled when his prey vanished right before his eyes.
Harry sat with his leg pulled up, back resting against the padding on the wall and watched with fond amusement how the young man was sneaking around the room to escape the teething toddler.
It was hard to believe that this was the same boy as the arrogant prat who had always given himself such airs and looked down on them. It was even harder to believe that he had taken the Dark Mark and tried kill the headmaster.
Hermione's gaze wandered to her teacher, who sat in a chair in front of the fireplace, eyes fixated in concentration on the chessboard on the small round table in front of him. This was another scenario she had never seen before: The last living Marauder playing a peaceful game of chess with their arch nemesis. Well, as peaceful as wizard chess could possibly be. The game didn't seem to be going well for Remus, judging by the many pieces that had already fallen victim to those of his dark opponent. It certainly didn't spoil his good humour – he seemed relaxed and well at ease.
"It's amazing, isn't it," said Harry, who had followed her gaze. "If someone had told me last year that I'd be celebrating next Christmas with Professor Snape..." His voice held a note of wonderment and disbelief. "It makes me almost want to pinch myself to see if I wake up."
"It's still kind of hard to get your mind around it," she agreed, still smiling. Harry had no idea how much more his mind would have to bend if he knew the full story - like that she had fallen for their least liked professor – hard. Even harder to grasp was the fact that Hermione was pretty sure that he had become especially fond of her as well.
"I'm glad, though," Harry reflected. "I hadn't realised how bad it made me feel to have so much hatred in me. That was the hardest thing to do... letting go of all the anger, the fear and the guilt. It had been so consuming that it ate up every other feeling."
"Yes. For a long time, I felt empty, paralysed and depressed. Sometimes, it was hard to even find the energy to even get out of bed in the morning."
"I guess I have been very self-centred in the last couple of months," Harry said ruefully. "I should have noticed much sooner."
"Don't blame yourself, Harry. We all had a lot on our plates the last year."
"I'm just glad we're also all slowly getting better. You look a lot better, too."
"I am much better now. I have Professor Snape to thank for that. He's been helpful in more ways than any of us would ever have imagined." He had seen to it that she got better physically by making sure that she was able to eat properly again and no longer wasted her energy with ineffective measures to keep her anxiety in check. He had been helping her get her magic back under control. He had listened to her, allowed her to unburden her mind and had offered counsel and encouragement. But most of all, he had been helping her to sleep again and offered an escape should a panic attack strike again. For the first time in years, Hermione felt safe again.
"That's one more thing then that I owe him for," Harry acknowledged softly.
Teddy and Luna had finally caught Draco despite his efforts to blend in with the furniture.
"Okay, that's enough..." the blonde said, chuckling and peeling Teddy off his leg. "You go and pester someone else now. I haven't really spoken to my godfather since I came here." He picked the boy up and handed him to Luna. "Whatever you do, try to keep him away from the manger. The holy family might be out for revenge."
Luna, who had no idea what Draco was talking about, pensively bent her head, contemplating his cryptic advice. Teddy was squirming and tried to get down from Luna's arms. He clearly was up for more action.
Harry got up and took a bauble from the tree. After putting an unbreakable charm on it, he crouched down next to Teddy and offered it to him, hoping that it would stop him from molesting the garden gnomes. It did seem to do the trick. Luna gave him a bright smile.
"Will you watch him for a moment? I'd like to fetch my cork necklace... I think I just spotted a Nargle in that mistletoe."
"Uhm... sure," Harry agreed, having momentarily forgotten Luna's strange obsession with the invisible beings that infested Christmas decorations. She seemed so normal at times.
"She hasn't changed at all, has she?" he asked Hermione, when the ethereal creature had light-footedly skipped out of the room. "On everybody else, the war has left an imprint that will never go away. She, despite everything she suffered, is the only one who doesn't seem affected."
Hermione sat down on the sofa next to him and smiled fondly. "Luna, in all her eccentricity, is the sanest person I know. It's like evil simply cannot touch her." She paused. "I'm mostly concerned for Ron," she admitted. "He seems completely okay at times, and then he gets overly emotional over something trivial... it scares me."
"I know. Losing Fred has been the final blow. But he's got Lavender now, and though I never thought I'd ever say this - she's actually good for him. She knows how to handle him and is not quite as annoying anymore. Though I'm still happy that I don't have to spend Christmas with her."
"Does Ron know that you invited Draco and Severus over?"
"Yes. And you can imagine how happy and understanding he was about it."
"I presume he threw a fit?"
Harry grimaced and once more sat down next to her. "Sort of. He just can't get his mind around the fact that so many things - and so many people - turned out different from what he thought them to be."
"Yes," Hermione said with a slightly bitter note. "He thought he had it all figured out - even our future, what we all would be like. It was something he clung to, during the war, this picture he had in his head, a happy ending like he envisioned it. Him and me married, you and Ginny married, all of us still close friends, standing at the station together and putting our kids on the Hogwarts Express. I probably had seven kids, like his mum."
"No," said Harry, defending his friend. "In that, you're doing him injustice. He always knew you were not like Molly. He might not have said so, but he always saw you as a person who would accomplish great things in life. I guess he saw you as Minister of Magic. Probably with only two kids - so as not to interfere with your work too much." Harry grinned.
Teddy had lost interest in the bauble, as it wouldn't fit into his mouth either. Inspired by Harry's idea, Hermione took down a little rocking horse decoration from the tree. After having put an enlargement charm on it, she put the delighted baby into the seat and set it in motion with a perpetual moving charm. Remus noticed and gave her an appreciating smile. Teddy made gurgling happy-noises.
"What if I don't want to be like that?" Hermione asked softly. "What if accomplishing great things and becoming the leader of the wizarding world is not something I aspire to?"
"Then don't," Harry answered simply. "It's your life and your choice, Hermione. Just because Ron thought that's what you wanted for your future doesn't mean that it has to be. I certainly won't marry Ginny. Instead, I find myself trying to gather enough courage to finally ask Draco out..."
"You want to ask me on a date, Potter?" interrupted Draco, who had reappeared without Harry and Hermione noticing, and plunked himself in the sofa next to Harry, who blushed. This certainly wasn't how he had planned on doing it. How to get out of this with his dignity intact?
"Well, I wanted to ask you if you would like to go out with me... like to a movie," he clarified self-consciously. "Or... you know, to have a drink somewhere. I didn't mean to imply... That is, if you're not..." Harry broke off, his cheeks feeling hot and his palms sweaty. Smooth, he chided himself, really smooth!
Draco took mercy on him before Harry could make more a fool of himself. "Pick me up at Malfoy Manor any evening of your liking before term starts again." His tone was surprisingly warm. With a teasing smirk, he then added: "Just don't bring me flowers." Before Harry could start wondering what the hell he meant to imply with that - that he wanted to hang out, but not in a way that suggested romance? - he leaned closer and said softly, but loud enough for Hermione to hear: "Chocolate pralinés are okay, though."
Hermione laughed and kicked his shin. "Don't play games with Harry. If you hurt him, I swear I'll punch you again." Her tone was joking, but she really hoped that Draco would take her warning to heart, because she was dead serious about it. Harry had really stuck his neck out there, and he was rather vulnerable in that regard.
"You mean not any games?" Draco asked back, arching his eyebrow suggestively. "Wouldn't that be a pity..."
"Hey, thanks, Hermione, but I can watch our for myself," protested Harry, still trying to get over his embarrassment.
"I know you can," she replied, then smirked. "But you don't know how to throw a proper uppercut. I do."
"No worries, Granger, he's safe with me. I certainly won't do anything that might put me at the receiving end of your wrath again."
"You hit my godson, Miss Granger?" Severus asked, having overheard her comment. His velvety voice, unexpectedly close or hear ear as he was leaning down, sent pleasant shivers down her back. "I guess I was wrong to blame all of your transgressions on the influence of the two dunderheads at your side..."
"Now you're getting it!" Harry laughed. "Ron and I were mostly harmless. She's the one you have to watch out for! Draco literally didn't know what hit him."
Draco made a face and touched his chin, as if he could still feel it in his jaw. "Don't remind me - not one of my most shining moments, that one... I stood there like an idiot - being hit by a girl!"
Remus laughed and took a seat on the sofa next to Harry. "Our Hermione has always had a mind of her own, and she's quite fierce," he said affectionately.
Hermione gave him a smile. Our Hermione he said. While her professor kept calling her 'Miss Granger', when all she wanted was to be exclusively his. "I thought we had agreed to call each other by our first names - at least while we're here..." she said with mild reproach. "Or are you so averse to the idea - Severus?"
Severus didn't know what to reply. He certainly didn't mind hearing his name from her lips, although it had a strange effect on his heart. But little did she know that she had been Hermione in his head for far too long - he feared if he started saying it out loud, he wouldn't ever be able to revert back to 'Miss Granger'.
"As far as I recall, we didn't agree on anything," he said evasively, turning his armchair so that it became part of their group again. "Remus here just made suggestion that no one objected to at the given moment." Hermione's face fell, and he instantly regretted having voiced what she might interpret as rejection and hastened to correct his mistake. "But if forgoing formalities while we're here is what everybody wishes, I shall, of course, acquiesce in the arrangement."
"Forgoing formalities will be hard if you keep talking like that, Severus," said Lupin jestingly. "Can't you ever relax?"
"No, he can't," Draco replied, laughing. "It's simply not in his nature."
Hermione said nothing, but she knew better. She had seen him relax. Not very often, but sometimes, when they had been sitting in his office reading and researching, he had unconsciously let his guard down and relaxed his stiff pose. It's not like he had slumped in his chair or put his feet on the desk, but he hadn't sat like he did now - even with one leg up and his ankle resting on his knee, he didn't look casual. He still looked imposing, attentive, fully present. She wondered how he mustered the energy to keep it up.
The visual impact of her rather formidable teacher became even more pronounced when Luna returned, wearing her butter beer cork necklace over her bell-adorned Christmas sweater. She smiled cheerfully as she picked up a now slightly sleepy looking Teddy from the rocking horse and sat down next to Remus. The boy snuggled in her arms, obviously content, and idly played with the corks dangling so close to his face.
"He is adorable," said Luna, glancing down at the child.
"Yes," Remus agreed, his voice full of affection. "I'm so happy to have him. If it hadn't been for Teddy..."
Luna nodded, knowingly. "He's keeping you anchored in this world. I did that for my dad, too. But now that I'm almost grown-up, the pull on his soul has grown so much stronger. He's soon going to pass over."
Hermione reached out and put her hand on her arm. "Harry told me. I'm truly sorry about your dad, Luna..."
Luna turned her big, always slightly dreamy eyes on her. "Oh, don't be. He's going to be fine," she replied. "He's going to be joined with my mum again, and that makes him really happy. With everything that happened - me being captured, him being tortured, Death Eaters threatening him and forcing him to go against everything he believed in, his imprisonment in Azkaban... it fractured his soul."
Her words, for some reason, made the hair on Hermione's neck rise. Harry seemed to feel the same. "What do you mean, his soul is fractured?" asked Harry. "Your dad didn't kill anybody..."
Luna bent her head slightly to the side and gave him a curious glance. "You think that killing someone is the only act that can fracture your soul or tear away pieces? Grief can do that as well. Every time someone we love dies, a tiny part of our souls crosses over with them." She looked at Harry. "Haven't you felt it? When Sirius died?"
"Of course it hurt. And I was incredibly sad. But that doesn't mean that my soul is fractured now."
"Your soul has healed. But if the part that goes over with the person who died is too big, it leaves you diminished, and sometimes people don't recover from that. That doesn't mean their love was stronger, just that their soul was more fragile."
"I can feel it, too, this pull," said Remus calmly. "If it wasn't for Teddy..."
Luna nodded, understanding. "For my dad, it's getting too painful. So I'm trying to tell him that it's okay if he wants to die and be reunited with mum and I."
"What do you mean, be reunited with you... you're not dying!" Hermione felt an icy shiver going down her spine. Surely she didn't consider suicide? Luna seemed so utterly composed. But she was always composed - it was uncanny. But Hermione couldn't well ask her outright if she was considering killing herself, could she?
"No, I'm not. I guess my soul is more like leather - very sturdy. But he'll be with the part of me that's already on the other side."
"I'm afraid I don't understand..."
Luna smiled. "Who says that time exists on the other side? A part of us is already there - has always been there, since even before our souls bonded to a mortal body. We just can't communicate with the part of our consciousness that stayed behind. My dad will meet the part of me that has remained where all life came from. Just like Remus' wife is already with him and her son right now."
"You mean we all have souls that are torn?"
"Not torn," Luna corrected. "In essence divided." Hermione, once more, was overcome with an eery feeling. The words triggered a memory, and when Hermione caught Harry's gaze, she suddenly remembered: Dumbledore had said it to them when Harry had told him of Voldemort's snake. Harry had been wondering what he had meant, and had discussed this cryptic remark with Hermione and Ron numerous times.
"Like two parts of a whole that are still connected," Luna elaborated. "We sometimes communicate with this other part of us when we dream."
It was a novel theory to her. Hermione's parents had not been very religious people, but Hermione was familiar with the concept of souls passing on and eventually being reunited with loved ones from various religions. What Luna suggested - that a part of herself was already in a different sphere, connecting every being to the other side - was intriguing, because it happened to match what she had read in a book about quantum theory... something about two parts of a particle having an unexplained instantaneous connection to each other, even when a great distance apart. She would have to get back to that book, sometime.
Was it possible? Luna seemed so sure about it, and it gave her this utter serenity. But Luna seemed so sure about everything - even the Crumple-horned Snorkack. Maybe that mystical beast existed, after all.
"So you're saying that... you'd be okay with your dad... passing over?" Somehow, Hermione knew that Luna wouldn't consider it 'dying'.
Luna lifted her shoulders. "I'll be very sad and I'll miss him. But I understand. We had planned to join an expedition to South America next summer. It's lead by Rolf Scamander - he's a Mazioologist, and actually the grandson of Newt Scamander. I promised my dad that I'd be going without him if he can't make it. But his concern for me was holding him back. I keep assuring him that I'll be fine, but he wasn't convinced of that - until I told him of Harry's invitation. I guess he's hopeful now that I won't be all alone even without him."
"Of course you won't be alone," Hermione said, leaning over and taking her hand once more. "We all here have little or no family left, but we still have each other. You've been such a great friend to me for a long time, especially in the last months. I guess I never told you how much I appreciated having you for a roommate or how grateful I am for your help."
"Me too," said Draco, a bit uncomfortably. "I should have told you. But you always seem to know these things, anyway. And I didn't want to impose on you."
"Impose on me?"
"At Hogwarts. I didn't want you to feel obligated to me. No need to share more of my misery."
Hermione finally understood. Draco was a pariah at Hogwarts. More than herself, more than Luna, he didn't belong anywhere anymore. And he hadn't wanted to drag anybody down by association.
"But I want to share your misery, if that's where you are," Luna said, frowning. "You shared mine. I would really like to be your friend. I never had any."
"Luna, we all are your friends," Harry felt the need to clarify. It seemed Luna had missed this point. "I'm sorry if we I somehow failed to make you know that. We'll be there for you whenever you need us."
"That is very sweet of you." Luna's gaze circled the people sitting around with a bright smile, and her eyes seemed even more misty than usual.
Much to Severus' relief, Kreacher chose this moment to materialize with a soft pop by Harry's side. He, too, was almost unrecognizable. He was wearing an immaculate piece of toga-type cloth that had been made out of a silken pillow case. Someone had adorned the expensive looking material with the Black family crest, and a golden sash with a tassel that looked suspiciously as if it had formerly served to hold back curtains kept it tight around his waist. Kreacher was wearing his uniform with visible pride.
He snapped his fingers and the table in front of them was instantly loaded with a tea tray, cups and plates, as well as serving platters and a three tier cake stand loaded with finger food. There was a selection of sandwiches, mince tarts, freshly baked scones with jam and clotted cream, gingerbread and festive-themed pastries.
"Oh my gosh, Kreacher!" exclaimed Hermione in surprise. "This is - unbelievable! Whenever did you prepare all that?"
"Master Potter said that the Noble House of Black would entertain guests for Christmas," he replied with dignity. "Kreacher knows his duties."
"Wow, this looks great!" Harry said, equally amazed. "I had thought of tea and a few cucumber sandwiches - not a feast like this. You're really one amazing elf! Thank you!"
Kreacher humbly bowed his head, but everyone could see that he was in fact trying to hide his blush and the huge grin on his face before he vanished.
Draco looked thoughtful. "I would never have thought I'd ever see that elf like that. He was at our house for a couple of days... in our fifth year."
"Yes, I remember. It was also in December. Sirius had told him to get out of the kitchen, which he took as permission to leave the house."
"He was so nasty and foul-tempered then and wouldn't stop reviling you all. Who'd have guessed so much hatred could turn into such devotion."
Hermione thought that it wasn't that unusual after all. They had seen it happen before. She saw it when looking at Draco and Harry now.
"It was probably the Horcrux," Harry said, shrugging. "He'd been sleeping with it for years. Wearing it for a couple of hours per day almost drove Ron, Hermione and me to murder each other within just a few weeks."
"Well, the Horcrux surely played a role," Hermione interjected, "but it clearly also shows that treating an elf well works so much better than abusing them like your father abused Dobby."
"He wasn't abused," Draco objected with a frown, but relented when Hermione quirked a brow. "Well, at least not on a regular basis. He was just treated like a house-elf, not like a trusted servant. In my family, house-elves were always regarded as inventory."
Hermione opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind as far as wizards' treatment of other magical creatures was concerned, but Draco lifted his hand in dismissive gesture. "Please, spare me, Granger. I know your views on the matter - everybody knows your views on the matter since that ridiculous campaign you started in our fourth year."
Harry and Severus chuckled, Hermione glared, and Draco raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm not trying to justify it, alright? I'm just saying how things were. The fact that Kreacher is tripping over himself to see to Harry's needs proves that my parents' approach might not have been the best one."
Hermione huffed. "Perhaps you should apply that insight to the treatment of garden gnomes. After all, they are poor and defenceless creatures as well."
"The manger stays!" Draco insisted, not willing to compromise on the decorations.
"They are pests, Hermione," Harry reminded her, siding with Draco on this one.
"Yummy!" said Teddy, chewing happily on the crown of a holy king that he had finally managed to get his hands on.
'*'*'*'*'
After they had finished their tea, Hermione sat down at the piano, idly plunking the keys and humming a Christmas song when Draco suddenly slid onto the small bench next to her.
"I didn't know you knew how to play the piano, Granger."
"How would you know - there are no musical instruments at Hogwarts."
"Unfortunately not. I always missed my piano."
She looked at him in surprise. "You play, too?"
"I learned to play when I was still a little boy."
Of course. Why shouldn't the Malfoys own a piano? They had white peacocks and a manor. "Would you like to join me?"
"Do we have any sheets?"
"Yes, we do. Here..." Hermione handed him a booklet. "How about this one? It's a classic Christmas carol."
"I'm only playing if you do the singing."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You want me to sing? I'm not sure if I'm intoxicated enough for that..." They had tasted some of Kreacher's home-made egg-nogg while Remus and Severus had shared a fire whiskey after their tea, but by far not enough to have had any effect.
"Well, you obviously must have some musical aptitude if you play the piano. How bad can your singing be?"
"Not good enough to earn me any prizes, but not bad enough to send everybody running from the room, I suppose..."
"Fair enough. Then let's hear..." Draco started playing, his fingers gracefully dancing across the keys. He was good, Hermione had to admit. Way better than her. Her technique was flawless, but even she had felt that her playing missed intuition and true passion, and unlike Draco, she had no talent for improvisation. Very much like in potions, she realised. She was always reluctant to depart from a recipe, deviate from a plan or go beyond the framework of given instructions, as doing so made her feel uneasy. Not having anything to go by was too squishy for her liking.
"Come on, Granger..." Draco coaxed her. "I know my talent is awe-inspiring, but you agreed to sing..."
She hadn't, truly. But they had always sung Christmas carols together at home, so this was nothing new to her. She was just a bit more self-conscious because of her audience. She cleared her throat, and when Draco skilfully brought the song back to the opening tunes, she joined in, adding voice and lyrics to the notes. Surprisingly, there was immediately an easy harmony in their performance. Hermione intentionally kept her attention on Draco at first, trying not to think about the other people watching her, but after a while, she became oblivious of her surroundings and was just enjoying the music and the singing. This felt like home.
They did song after song, and Hermione never once took notice of their audience. Draco however, did. He particularly couldn't help noticing how the eyes of a certain dark haired wizard repeatedly wandered to the singing girl, though he tried to be inconspicuous about it.
He let the final tunes of their song fade out, and when he didn't start another one, Luna, Remus, Harry and Severus applauded, and only then did Hermione's gaze wander to the sitting group. She smiled and made a mock curtsey, before sliding onto the seat next to Draco again. "This was fun. How about doing a duet?"
Draco shrugged. "If you want to. But only if you tell me what's going on between you and Snape first." He said it almost conversationally and in a low enough voice to keep it private, but the girl at his side stiffened. "What do you mean?" she asked, taken aback.
"You should have seen how he looks at you," he answered quietly, observing her reaction. "And you haven't been very inconspicuous about ogling him, either."
"Don't be ridiculous!" She tried to be nonchalant, but she had always been the worst actress. All Gryffindors were. "So how does he look at me?" she then asked, badly hiding her curiosity.
He indulged her, telling her what he suspected she longed to hear. "Like he's totally besotted with you."
Hermione stifled her snort. "Severus Snape does not look besotted," she said in a low voice full of conviction. "I don't believe he could produce such an expression even if he tried."
"Not in a way that would be discernible to the average person, no," Draco agreed. "But if you know him like I do - and I've known him since I was a child - you get to notice the telltale traces of emotion that leak from the cracks in that inscrutable mask he's wearing most of the time. You, on the other hand, are blatantly obvious with your facial expressions. You have the hots for him, don't you?"
She blushed, confirming both of his claims. "I refuse to deem that with an answer," she whispered stiffly. "He's a teacher!"
He chuckled and leaned closer to her ear. "Hush, and don't get you knickers in a twist, Granger," he told her a bit patronizingly. "I'm not judging you. Certainly not for your taste, given that mine's turned out to be rather out of the ordinary, too." God, he still had a hard time getting his mind around it. He felt weirdly attracted to the boy wonder that had been his arch enemy for years. Talk about irony and quirks of fate. And he still wasn't sure if he even was gay. He didn't think he was - he had slept with Pansy, and surely had never felt attraction for a guy ever before. The very idea was frightening, shocking, embarrassing - but there it was. He couldn't deny feeling attracted to Harry. He was such a do-gooder, so blatantly honest and righteous that it hurt. Draco wasn't quite sure if he was appalled or utterly fascinated by it. And he was kind of cute with his stunning green eyes and his hair sticking in all directions. He had an exceptionally nice bum, too. Not that he had ever taken notice of a guy's bum before. It probably was the tight muggle trousers.
"I'm just curious..." he said, making sure to keep playing so that their conversation remained private. "Those detentions you had with Severus, your assisting him with his grading and brewing for the hospital wing, and that research project or whatever it is that makes you spend so many evenings in the dungeons... Is it all a ruse?"
"No, of course not, what are you implying?" she asked, giving off a curious mixture of indignation and guilt. "He's an honourable man - he'd never do anything to compromise a student in his care!"
He decided to push her a bit further. Riling Granger up had admittedly always been fun during his Hogwart years. She had always reacted so predictably - like clockwork. A push here and a nudge there and she went off like a firecracker. He would get all the information he needed just by watching her reaction. "Wouldn't he?" he asked, as if doubting her claim. "Then why did he tell my dad that he was shagging you?" That was no lie. His father had once gloatingly shared that juicy piece of Death Eater gossip with him, instructing him at the same time to keep his mouth shut and not spread it further. At the time, Hermione had only been in her fifth year - a teenager who had just reached puberty. Draco had found it disturbing on so many levels, and impossible to believe. "My parents believed it was the reason you always had better potion grades than I did."
Hermione looked outraged and was shaking in her seat. "I had better grades in Transfiguration and Charms, too, and I wasn't shagging Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick either!" she hissed furiously, having a hard time keeping her voice down. She was obviously just short of jumping out of her chair and storming out on him. "You should really know your godfather better than that!"
"Relax, I do," said Draco calmly, grabbing her arm and pulling her back down on the chair. He had pushed her far enough. "Which is why I never believed it, although Severus himself wouldn't deny it outright when I confronted him about it."
She stared at him with disbelief in her eyes. "You seriously asked him if he was... being intimate with me?" She didn't dare imagine the Potion master's reaction. Or how much the mere question must have hurt him. "What did he say?"
"Not much. He was rather vague. That it was none of my business what he did or didn't do with any of his students or how he chose to discipline them. And then he told me that he was able to face himself in the mirror every morning, and asked me if the same was true for myself. That, admittedly, had me confused. It had been one of the many hints that had made sense only much later."
"And was it? True for yourself, I mean?" she asked, eyeing him with keen interest now.
"You don't ask the easy questions, Granger, do you?"
"Neither do you."
He chuckled at that. "Well, I guess we both know the answers to all of our question already, anyway." When Hermione's brows remained drawn, he sighed and shook his head. Really. Gryffindors always had a hard time grasping things that weren't spelled out for them. Again, he wasn't sure if that was charming or exasperating. "Of course I hadn't liked seeing myself in a mirror at the time. Actually, I avoided it as much as possible. And it's equally obvious that something is going on between my godfather and you. He clearly has feelings for you. A blind man could see it with a stick."
She refused to acknowledge it and kept avoiding his gaze.
"You know what, Granger?" Draco asked, leaning closer and whispering into her ear once more. "I'm even going to prove it to you... Just for the fun of it." The mischief in his eyes clearly alarmed her.
"What do you mean?" she asked, a slight undertone of panic in her voice. "Draco..."
He smiled wickedly and winked at her when he got up from the sofa. "Don't worry, Granger," he said, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore. "You'll love it! One way or another..."