Chapter Five

Partners in Crime


Draco entered the bathroom, closed the door and looked around.

"Myrtle?"

The ghost appeared at his side at once.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to check something. Watch the door and if it opens even an inch let me know."

Myrtle nodded and Draco stepped into the bathroom, sniffing as he went over every inch. It was empty, as always.

He retraced his steps and folded his arms. Myrtle was still standing by the door, frowning and watching it closely.

Draco leaned his back against the wall, letting out a long sigh.

"I think someone's following me, Myrtle."

She looked away from the door and opened her eyes wide.

"How do you know?"

Draco tapped the bridge of his nose twice with his forefinger.

"And do you know who it is?"

"I have my suspicions. From now on, when we talk, never say anything compromising. I don't think we've been alone in this bathroom lately."

Myrtle nodded, twisting one corner of her lips downwards.

"Aren't you going to confront this person? Tell them to leave you alone and mind their own business."

Draco shook his head, nibbling on his lower lip and smiling wickedly.

"I want to know why she's doing it. She's not using a disillusionment spell or I could see her silhouette and she wouldn't be able to hide so well. She's wearing a cloak I'm familiar with."

"Harry Potter's cloak," Myrtle whispered.

Draco nodded, walking over to her.

"Do not forget. Be careful what you say when I come to see you."

"Don't worry, Draco."

He opened the door and, after saying goodbye to Myrtle, walked down the stairs to the Great Hall. All the students were gathered there except him.

He looked away for a few seconds at the Gryffindor table, where a pair of brown eyes were watching his every move.

Draco sat down next to Pansy, who passed him a plate full of food. He sighed and twirled his fork in his fingers.

Why was Granger looking at him so seriously? Did she suspect something?

He hadn't made a single mistake and she couldn't know anything. But there was a reason she was the smartest in his year, possibly in all of Hogwarts.

He would have to be much more careful.


That September nineteenth would not be like the previous ones.

The still painful absence of old friends who had lost their lives fighting for the freedom of the wizarding world, and having her parents thousands of miles away didn't help her feel any better.

It was going to be the first year that the twins wouldn't play one of their pranks on her.

Hermione woke early, stretching her arms as she yawned. Her eyes wandered over to the bottle resting on Ginny's bedside table and she twisted her lips.

She couldn't sleep well. Nightmares were causing her to wake up at least once a night and she already had dark circles under her eyes.

Being back at Hogwarts was stirring up all her memories.

Hermione shook her head and walked out of the dormitory, careful not to wake her two companions. The common room was practically empty, except for several owls waiting by the window with letters in their beaks.

One of them flew towards Hermione at the sight of her, narrowly dodging a lamp and landing on her shoulder.

Hermione smiled.

"Hello, Pig."

The little owl hooted happily, dropping the letter in her lap.

It was signed by Ron and Harry. They were both congratulating her, assuring her that their presents would arrive in the morning, and announcing that the two of them were going to visit Hogwarts at Christmas. McGonagall had given them permission to stay at the castle for a couple of days.

Ginny was very excited. Even though her relationship with Harry hadn't worked out, he was still an important person to her and she also missed her brother.

They were both looking forward to their first visit to Hogsmeade. The two boys had promised to go whenever they were there so they could spend time together and catch up.

Hermione put on her robes and left the room, walking up the stairs to the owlery to send her reply. Before returning she stopped by the Great Hall and grabbed some pieces of toast which she devoured on the way.

Once she was back in her room she lay down on her bed, sighing and trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

Her two friends had left for breakfast. She was alone.

Hermione had asked not to celebrate her birthday and it seemed that her Gryffindor classmates would respect her wishes, although she had found several small packages at the foot of her bed.

It would be a day like any other. She would open the presents when she felt better.

It was a sunny Saturday and not too cold yet so most of the students were out of the castle.

Hermione took off her jumper and, after making a high bun and securing it with magic, rolled up the sleeves of her blouse, running her wand over the scar on her forearm.

The red letters glowed before fading away.

Every morning she used the same spell to hide them. She didn't want anyone to see it.

Hermione was about to leave her room when she saw the bottom drawer of her bedside table half open. She held her breath and reached in to open it, pulling out the blue notebook she used as a diary.

She sighed in relief when she saw that it appeared to be empty. The protective spell was still intact.

After checking inside the drawer she noticed that one of her lipsticks was not where she had left it.

Ginny loved Muggle make-up and often asked to wear it. Hermione smiled, shaking her head, and tapped the notebook twice with her wand.

Hundreds of words appeared. All her thoughts and fears were written in it.

It was something like a diary, though she didn't write in it every day.

Hermione turned the pages until she reached the last page, where she had written her suspicions about Malfoy's strange behaviour.

She chewed on her lower lip, running her finger over the last few entries.

Sunday 6: Ravenclaw girl. She doesn't remember anything.

Sunday 13: Hufflepuff girl. She doesn't remember anything.

She tapped the notebook again with the tip of her wand, making all the words fade away, and put it back in the drawer.

Everything pointed to the fact that the next Sunday the same thing would happen again. Another girl would appear in some empty room confused and without memories.

Hermione pulled Harry's map from the bottom of her trunk, scanning it for that name she searched for every morning.

Her heart skipped a beat as she found it.

He was on the second floor again, inside the girls' bathroom.

Hermione ran a hand through the curls that fell loosely on either side of her forehead, untangling them as she thought. It was best to take a look around to try and find out more.

She stood up and pulled Harry's cloak out of her trunk, draping it over her shoulders.

She muffled her shoes, as she did every time she went to spy on Malfoy, and walked out of her dormitory being completely invisible.


Draco had his hip propped on one of the sinks and an apple in his left hand. He took another bite and snorted, waiting for Myrtle to appear.

It was strange that she wasn't in the bathroom. She hardly ever came out of there.

He pulled his wand out of his pocket and waved it, vanishing the apple core. Just then he felt an icy breeze on the back of his neck and looked up with a smile.

Beside him stood the ghost, as transparent as ever and smiling back at him.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"In the Forbidden Forest," she replied, folding her arms.

Draco's whole body tensed.

"Why did you go there?"

"You already know. I needed to look for some clue, check that there is no trace..."

"I did it the first day, Myrtle. You're wasting your time."

Myrtle narrowed her eyes, leaning closer until their faces were inches apart.

"I'm trying to help you, you idiot! No one values me in this bloody castle," she shook her head, letting out a choked sob.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Don't be dramatic. I know you mean well."

Suddenly he heard something and turned his head towards the entrance to the bathroom.

The door had creaked.

Draco took three large steps and peeked in, checking to see that it was locked. He frowned and breathed in slowly.

It was her.

He glanced at Myrtle and raised an eyebrow. The ghost nodded, understanding what he meant.

"Have you managed to find out anything?" she asked, levitating to one of the windows.

Draco snorted.

"No... I can't find anything. This is getting more and more frustrating."

"I think you should look in the Restricted Section."

He looked up, gazing at his ghost friend with a serious expression.

"Trust me," she added.

"I don't know how I'm going to sneak in there without being discovered."

"I'm sure you can think of a way."

Draco loosened the knot in his tie.

"I'll think about it. I have to go, Myrtle."

He was starting to feel like he was choking and that wasn't a good sign. Besides, that smell was making him more and more nervous.

"Yeah, I know... be careful," she replied, nodding in his direction.

Draco turned around and held his breath as he approached the door, where the scent was much more intense.

He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, trying to control himself. A few seconds later he sighed in relief as he stood outside the bathroom. He had managed to suppress his urges.

Draco walked down one of the corridors with his fists clenched, cursing under his breath.


Hermione had her back pressed against one of the bathroom walls, her hand on her chest throbbing with every beat of her heart.

She had a feeling Malfoy had noticed she was in there.

She waited until it was safe and exited the bathroom, making sure she had the cloak wrapped around her properly.

Hermione unrolled the map and activated it again, tapping it with her wand as she muttered the words she had heard Harry say so many times before.

Draco Malfoy's name was moving down a corridor on the fourth floor.

Hermione ran towards the stairs, dodging the few students she passed along the way. She took the steps two at a time and reached the fourth floor almost out of breath, opening the map again.

She gasped as she saw that there was now a female name next to Malfoy's name and that they were inside one of the classrooms.

Hermione gritted her teeth and walked over to that spot, watching on the map as her own name moved along the stone corridors.

She stopped when she reached the door Malfoy was standing behind and held her breath.

There was no sound. Everything was completely silent.

Hermione took a few steps away, leaning against the wall directly opposite the door.

She continued to stare at the map where the two names inside the classroom didn't move.

Suddenly, Malfoy's moved towards the door and Hermione closed the map, putting it in one of her pockets.

She pulled out her wand just as the door slowly opened.

Malfoy stepped out and left it ajar, adjusting the knot in his tie and running a hand through his hair to comb his blond locks back.

His grey eyes briefly rested on the wall where Hermione stood, causing her to flinch and point her wand at him.

Malfoy squared his jaw and averted his gaze, walking calmly towards the stairs.

As soon as his footsteps faded Hermione removed her cloak and entered the classroom, sighing as she saw a red-haired girl in a Gryffindor uniform inside.

She was sitting on the floor with the first two buttons of her blouse undone and her legs stretched out on the floor. And she was staring blankly, just like the other two students she had encountered in the same situation.

Hermione knew what she was going to say, but she asked the question anyway.

She bent down, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Are you all right? What's wrong?"

The girl blinked several times and smiled at the sight of her.

"I'm fine, Granger. Just a little tired."

"What were you doing here with Malfoy, Jones?"

"Do you know my name? But we've never spoken," she replied with a frown.

Hermione cleared her throat.

"Yes, I know it. We're in the same house."

"Do you know the names of everyone in Gryffindor?"

"Not everyone's. You know mine, it's not that weird," Hermione muttered, standing up.

"Because you're famous," Jones replied as she got to her feet.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine with me... but you should button your blouse," Hermione commented, averting her gaze towards the door.

Jones looked down and gasped, fastening the buttons as quickly as she could.

"I don't remember unbuttoning it."

Hermione put her hand to her forehead and sighed.

"If you want to have sex with Malfoy, you can. After all, he was free after his trial. There's no need to lie."

"Malfoy? What are you saying?" Jones protested, clenching her fists. "I've been here alone the whole time!"

"I've seen him leave this room."

"How dare you say that I'm sleeping with that... that... Death Eater!"

Jones snorted and left the room, nudging her in her way.

That was three girls on three different weekends who denied having been with him. Either they were all lying or Malfoy was erasing their memories after being with them.

Hermione nibbled on her thumb as she stepped out into the corridor, unable to comprehend what was going on.

Before she knew it she was walking through the gardens towards the giant lake. She recognised Malfoy near the water, enjoying the sun with a group of Slytherins his age.

She narrowed her eyes, rather annoyed and confused, and continued walking to her friends. Sitting near a tree were Ginny, Neville, Parvati and Luna with their wands out and practising spells.

Hermione smiled at Ginny's dark red lips.

"Wearing my make-up again?"

"Does it bother you?" asked Ginny with a big grin.

Hermione shook her head.

"You know it doesn't. You can wear it whenever you want."

"You never wear it and I don't understand why. Your lipsticks are great."

Ginny raised an eyebrow and looked at her as a mischievous grin spread across her face. She raised her wand, touching her lips once with the tip, and grabbed Hermione's blouse with one hand, tugging at it.

Before she could react, Ginny's lips collided with hers. Hermione frowned once her red-haired friend released her.

"What are you doing, Ginevra?"

She rolled her eyes and handed her a small mirror she had on her skirt.

"Look."

Looking at her reflection, Hermione saw that her lips were now dark red as well. She ran a finger over them, checking that the lipstick was magically sealed. It would last all day.

"Isn't it great to share make-up like this?" Ginny asked in a teasing voice.

Hermione sighed heavily, listening to the laughter of her friends around her.

"You're crazy, Ginny," she murmured, shaking her head.

Her gaze drifted to the lake. On the other side were two grey eyes staring back at her.

Hermione shivered. Malfoy had a dark face and was staring at her practically unblinkingly.

Ginny nudged her and she broke eye contact, joining her friends' conversation.

She would worry about what Malfoy was up to later.


Shit.

If her scent tempted him normally, seeing her with lips the same colour as blood was already too much.

Draco leaned his head back and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun's rays. They typically bothered him, though not when it was so recently since the last time.

He'd already checked all the books in the library and hadn't found anything that explained his problem. He had no choice but to follow Myrtle's advice and sneak into the Restricted Section.

Over the summer, he'd been all over the huge library in Malfoy Manor, including that little secret room behind one of the shelves with forbidden books, but he'd had no luck.

He thought he would do better at Hogwarts, and so far he was wrong.

What if he never found anything? What if he couldn't understand what was happening to him?

At least he understood some things now and, over the summer months, he had learned to control himself. His return to school depended on it, and Occlumency had helped him a lot.

A week. He couldn't wait more than seven days or he risked losing control.

Although it always got worse if he smelled her.

Draco clenched his jaw hard, looking back to where Granger was.

The bloody know-it-all was watching him. He had to do something to mislead her so she'd decide to spend her time annoying someone else.

He couldn't let anyone find out his secret.