Draco let his eyes go out of focus on the sparkling fire in front of him. It had been only three nights since he had moved in with Hermione and already he was accustom to doors slamming and the permanent nickname of "snake."
He laughed as he thought of when he'd said, "Hey, it's not my fault you want my snake!" That received an encore of three more door slams and some hexes that were not "head girl material." Oh do I have a way with the ladies, he laughed to himself. In a pair of forest green and silver boxers, he lay across the rich couch with a scotch and butterbeer mix in his hand. He had to admit, that muggle alcohol he found with Hermione's things was rather good. It twanged in his mouth with the smooth taste of butterbeer creating a "zing" he thought only came from girls.
Yes, he would come to terms with it, his bedroom was known to house many girls over his past few years at Hogwarts. It's not his fault they threw themselves at his feet. He had gotten quite a few in bed with him through the simple tactic of "I look, you follow." And it worked incredibly. In fact, there was one in his bed right now. Being the Slytherin god was hard work at times…not.
But they had never stayed for more than one night, or at least he never wanted them to stay more than one night. He had made himself promise never to allow Pansy Parkinson into his dormitory again. Grand total: 3 days before he hexed her out with a memory charm and a hate spell (Handcuffs: during, maybe. Afterwards and binding the two of them together… would never ever happen again).
He took one last swig of the drink and threw the glass into the fire, creating a small explosion of splintering glass. He cleaned up the mess with a flick of his wand and a yawn. Swinging his feet to the floor from atop the couch, he glanced at the window. He gazed at the stars that sparkled far in the distance as if they were dancing. The night was warm, still clinging to summer for as long as it could, but still and tranquil like it was the dead of winter. The ground below his window looked inviting to him somehow as the shadows of the clouds passed over it. It couldn't have been much later than 3:00 at night, so he grabbed a warm robe and his invisibility cloak, passing the unnamed sleeping girl in his bed, and stepped out of the dormitory, not thinking twice about being "head boy" or what the head girl would think.
Once outside, broke into a jog, throwing down the hood of his cloaks laughing aloud at his child-like behavior. He ran to the dazzling lake and stared at the moon as it threw reflections of silver and white onto the dew laden grass. He sat on the wet bank hunched with his elbows resting on his knees, his feet sinking into the thick, fresh mud. He shook his beautiful blonde hair from his eyes and glanced at the enchanting castle before him. He sat in silence, hypnotized by the moment's serenity.
Only minutes later, he could hear what sounded like tears coming from behind a nearby willow tree. Intrigued, he stood and walked softly towards the hushed noise. Carefully crouching behind a shrub and dropping his invisibility cloak next to him, he could see what looked like a young girl, not much older than him, rolled into a ball at roots of the tree. Peering through the motionless branches of the quiet night, he gazed at the beautiful creature before him.
Her face hidden, he could tell her beauty lay deep within her heart. Her emotion swept out of her fingers as they clutched the roots beneath her. Her sobs shattered her entire fragile body with so much passion that he felt own sorrows come to his eyes.
She hit the tree with her fist, breaking the skin on her knuckles, whispering and gasping, a tortured "why" again and again. He was captured by her as her swollen red eyes emerged from her tear-dampened hair. No longer questioning who she was, he pushed his way through the branches with tears streaming down his perfect, pale cheeks.
He kneeled beside the girl, wrapping her up in his arms, protecting her from the cold ground. He felt her shock as she gasped in fear, trying at first to refuse him to comfort her.
"No." she said weakly. Pushing away from him she tried to hide her pain, but the strangers were connected and she surrendered into his arms.
"Never again," he made the promise mostly to himself, but he held her tighter. They lay that way her all through the night, bound through their empathy. She pressed her face to his shoulder and wept softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Their breath became even, coming and going at the same instants, until they had settled into a peaceful sleep. Draco didn't care that he didn't know her. All he knew was that he had felt that way before and he never wanted to let another person go through it alone. Ever again.
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He woke the next morning to the rising sun that brought blinding light, piercing his haven within the branches of the willow. He sat up to find himself alone and sore. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. The ruby glow of the morning shone on the stone walls of the castle. It was nearly 6:00, he was sure no one would have missed him. He mad his way back to the dorm, picking up his cloaks as he went.
When he returned, the unknown blonde was gone from his room, to his utmost relief. When in doubt, ditch 'em. He thought. He threw himself down on the bed and slept until 8.
"…thank god for Saturdays," he mumbled as he drifted back to sleep.
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At dinner that evening, he sat with his fellow Slytherins, trying to make some sense of the night before. He stared down emotionlessly at his plate, every now and then making some joke to keep his audience amused. Maybe it was the alcohol. I bet that I slept-walked the whole thing. He shrugged, but allowed his eyes to roam the room. They rested first on some raven-haired chick, then a young Hufflepuff. He couldn't clear his mind. He shook head hard and stared again at his plate. Staring blankly down at it, he saw a letter with the wax seal of an intertwined lion and snake appear before his eyes.
"Dumbledore." he muttered under his breath. Then louder: "Sorry, chaps! Duty calls." He grinned at the boys and winked at the girls, all who sighed affectionately. He could see Hermione leaving the room out of the corner of his eye and quickly followed.
Upon entering Dumbledore's office, he could here them talking seriously about something. "Mind if I cut in?" he joked. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to the Professor.
"You were saying, Professor?" she prompted.
"Good Morning, Draco. Have a good rest?" his eyes shined behind the rims of his glasses. Draco stared at his feet, he should have known that Dumbledore would've figured it out. "Well I supposed I'll just get started now that you're both here." He reached into his desk and took out a bundle of rich silver cloth. "The Order has decided what role you will play in our fight…"
He went on to explain that Draco and Hermione would be a team. Draco would work within the Dark Lord's inner circle as a companion to Voldemort. He would feed Voldemort lies of Dumbledore's "plans," while Hermione would accompany Draco all the while for support and aid. But the most difficult part of the task would be to keep Hermione hidden, she would not be seen by the Dark Lord at any time or under any circumstances.
"How is this possible?" Hermione questioned opening her large eyes wider, reflecting the intense light like fire flies dancing in the dusk. "He can see through any invisibility cloak, he can see through any spell, and he will sense my presence."
Dumbledore held out his hand with the cloth in it. He carefully removed the velvet cloth to reveal a small round orb, never touching it with his hands. It was a deep purple, swirling with a silver storm inside, glowing and rolling non stop on the fabric. "This is an Illmentium. The last of its kind, it was the first defense of the Brilliants in the years Before Light." He paused allowing them to soak in this information. "Whoever holds this in there hand will only be seen by those who have truly loved and been loved in return, which of course will not be the Death Eaters, and much less Voldemort. Use it wisely Hermione." He slipped it back in the pouch and handed it to the beautiful girl who sat in awed silence.
"I will call you when it is time." He finished, standing up. "It is late now, you have been here for nearly 3 hours." Hermione and Draco left the room in silence and returned to their dorms. Once inside, Draco turned to her and said seriously,
"Scared?" She turned to him with an annoyed look on her face.
"No, Serpent." She sighed. Her eyes were red and swollen like she hadn't slept in days. She wrung her bandaged hands together and looked down at them. Wearily, she responded, "Goodnight," and shut the down behind her.
Draco paused for a moment before entering his room. "…bandages on her knuckles?" he wondered to himself and promptly collapsed on his mattress with a heave of relief.
Back in Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore spoke to another wizard through a floo powder.
"Yes, yes. I know." He sighed to the head in the fireplace. "We have to trust them to become what I have Seen. They will be those people. You see, our hope lies in their hate..."