"Hello, mother." Draco said, face-to-face with what could only be described as an apparition of Narcissa Malfoy. But it wasn't a ghost, it was only spell… and a very well guarded one at that. There was a tiny bit of dark magic involved, and people had been expressly forbidden to use it inside of Hogwarts.
"Draco, my darling. How have you been?" the woman asked, reaching forward and embracing her son in a hug. She knew he couldn't feel it, but it was comforting to at see his mother's arms around him, all the same.
"Fine, mother, fine. And I've got good news."
"Oh really, dear? Did you finally make top of your class?" she asked, a hopeful light coming to her silvery-gray eyes. He smirked.
"No, mother. But I'm bringing home a girl for you to meet."
"Oh!" she cried. "Even better! A good girl, I trust? I don't know how many girls there are out there worthy enough for my son, especially at Hogwarts-"
"She's from Durmstrang, mother, I don't think you'd know her." he lied, feeling and trying to ignore a bit of heat under his collar. She arched an eyebrow at him.
"Not Petra's girl?"
"Pansy's a lovely girl mother, but she's not Hermia. She's brilliant- would have been in Ravenclaw if she'd come here. Or possibly Slytherin. The girl's more ruthless than even me." he laughed self-deprecatingly, trying not to meet his mother's eyes. Fortunately, she seemed to believe him, growing happier with each word he spoke. Oh, would Hermione have fun this summer.
"She sounds absolutely delightful Draco! Your father will be so pleased. We were beginning to worry about you, you know. Now she's pretty, I trust? We wouldn't want to muddy up the family bloodlines, now would we?"
"Of course she's pretty, mother. Like I'd settle for anything less than absolute perfection in a woman." he told her, sticking his nose up in the air like she'd taught him to so many years ago. At least Hermione's beauty he didn't have to lie about.
"I can't wait to tell your father. A girl from Durmstrang! Perhaps we know her family…?"
"She's Professor Snape's niece, mother. Her parents are dead… he sent her to Durmstrang himself. He knows how terrible Hogwarts is in teaching the Dark Arts, wanted her to grow up right."
"Oh, and Severus is such a wonderful man. I've not a doubt in my mind about the girl, dear. Now you just concentrate on your studies- I'm off to tell your father."
"I love you, mum." he said, genuinely looking into her eyes. She seemed preoccupied.
"Oh, of course dear. Goodbye."
She disappeared. Draco sighed. For what certainly wasn't the first time, he'd flat out lied to his mother. But, for some reason, he felt guilty.
Hermione in herself should be enough to impress his parents. Beautiful, even if she wasn't exactly the Malfoy definition of beauty… and the most intelligent witch of his generation. Even with Muggle blood, she'd still managed to beat out everyone in Hogwarts for years over. His father should be proud of him, able to convince such a powerful ally to spend some time getting to know their side.
But… it was always about lies.
"Have you taken your potion already, Hermione?" Draco asked, staring at her plainly. She glared at him.
"Of course I have, Draco. Don't treat me like a child." The roots of her hair had already begun to turn black- she'd told her friends she was tired of being mistaken for Ginny Weasley in torchlight. Her eyes, she was going to leave brown until the last minute possible, where they'd decided to change them to green. His father had always had an obsession with eyes, and green was a Slytherin color.
It was all about being Slytherin. That was the only way to stay safe. Snape had given Hermione specific instructions on how to act- quiet, but not demure. Death Eaters were not weak, the best of them simply bided their time and spoke when they had something useful to say. He told her not to hide her intelligence, but only to show it when prompted by Lucius himself. He was the first step, the most important one to impress. After him, they'd begin to worry about Voldemort.
For now, his only worry was her safety. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to show her- or even why he was bothering. But there was something about Hermione Granger that brought something out in him- something he liked. Maybe that was too selfish for 'love'… but he wasn't entirely sure that love existed as people said it did. After all, didn't they say love was how the other person made you feel? And then, naturally, you'd want to protect that feeling and the person it came from. Yes, that was it- he was going to keep her safe. And close to him, as long as he could.
Narcissa had owed Snape, inviting him to stay in the second month of summer to visit Hermione. He'd accepted, saying he could replenish her potions then, and give her a new one it would take him some time to create in preparation for the Dark Lord.
Voldemort's plans were not apparent to any of the group, even Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. They knew he was planning something- the Death Eaters had been meeting almost once a month, now, carrying out seemingly random tasks and striking random mudblood and Muggle houses.
Something was happening, Draco thought, feeling a bit lost as he started at Hermione. And they were going to be right in the thick of things.
"Ninety-nine percent?!" Hermione squealed, jumping out of her seat, the chair clattering to the floor. Ron turned to stare at her, amazed.
"Good God, Hermione, you've done it again!"
"Professor Snape! What did I miss on this? I studied for months!" she fumed, storming up to his desk and dropping the test. Snape smirked at her, flipping through to pages with a raised eyebrow.
"Here, Miss Granger. You spelled what was supposed to be expediosar, expedisoan." He handed the paper back to her. She huffed.
"My quill slipped! You can't count me off for that! Perfect OWL's… they'll be ruined! It's bloody unfair!"
The rest of the class was full staring at her now, mouths agape. Never in their six years at Hogwarts had they heard Hermione directly admonish a teacher… even get snappy with one, aside from Trelawney. But she was livid now, her face deathly pale. Snape seemed as surprised as the rest of them… and then he started to laugh.
"Finally growing a bit of a backbone, eh Miss Granger? Well, that'll come in handy sometime soon, I daresay- you can have your point. And congratulations."
He took the paper and marked something on the top, going back to the other stack of papers on his desk. For a moment, the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins sat, stunned into silence. Ron dropped the pencil that had been dangling from his fingers, which seemed to break the silence, students bursting out into frenzied accounts of her triumph. Harry grinned widely at her.
"That was amazing, 'Mione!"
"Bloody well amazing! I see you've been taking some of your gall from Ginny, these days-" Hermione blushed, sitting back down in her seat with a satisfied smile. The boys went back to searching their own tests as she lay her head down on the desk. She felt something flick the back of her neck, and she spun around, annoyed. Draco was smiling at her- not smirking, but smiling for the first time she could remember. Sure to keep glaring at him, she reached down and picked up the wad of paper he'd thrown at her. Carefully hiding it in her lap, she scanned the message he'd scrawled.
Hermione-
Pack your things tonight. We leave tomorrow morning, so be sure to say goodbye to Potter and Weasley(s). We don't want them to worry. Come to meet with Snape at 2 AM in the potions dungeon to finish up on your glamour.
Good work on the OWL's. You beat me again.
-Draco
She tucked the note back into her bag, feeling a familiar chill run down her spine. Tomorrow. Tomorrow morning she'd be in the jaws of the beast, and even earlier she'd make her full transformation into a sparkling tooth.
Watching Ron and Harry shooting spitballs at Pavrati and Lavender, she couldn't help but smile. They'd be safe. She'd make sure they'd be safe this summer. And, that was part of the reason she was going ahead with this foolish plan- right? She was still Hermione Granger, best friend to Harry Potter and honorary member of the Weasley family. Still Muggle-born, still mudblood.
But she couldn't help but marvel at the changes she'd undergone over the past few weeks. Not only in looks- yes, she did have darker hair and paler skin, though everyone except Ginny had only noticed the former- but in personality. Standing up to Snape was an obvious example, but things went much deeper than that for Hermione. Having someone- a boy- interested in her, even if it was Draco Malfoy, had done her a world of good… she'd stopped hiding out in the Tower, and had stopped keeping her head down at the Gryffindor table. She'd started to talk more- and not just to correct people. And she'd started to smile.
Even the obligatory hours a day she spent in the library were different- she was reading up on the Dark arts in the restricted section, using the permanent pass she'd been given as a prefect. She was just beginning to learn things that were common knowledge to Draco and the other Slytherins- about history, spells, curses, hexes… they'd been given a cursory knowledge of battle magics, of course, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but nothing like what she'd need to know according to Snape.
Snape had been such a blessing. She didn't know what she'd have done without him- his constant prodding, his potions, and his alibi. He'd already contacted Lucius about her, thanking him for letting her stay over the summer. He was a fairly good actor, Snape, or, more appropriately, a liar. For a moment there it almost seemed as if he really did care for her well being.
She was shook out of her reverie by a bell, the last one of the term, prompting cheers from all of the kids in the classroom. She forced a smile to her face.
What she had been dreading most was now upon her.