Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or ideas in the Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling. I only own this small plot.
Summary: Things at Hogwarts tend to have a certain pattern. Malfoy hates them. They hate Malfoy. But what happens when a certain spell reveals that the last thing Hermione Granger wants to hear is "He doesn't love you." Who could it be about? Draco is sure curious...(A Draco/Hermione and Harry/Ginny piece.) A friend and I originally co-wrote this as a role-play. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 8: The Letter
The tall cloaked man walked through the large mansion briskly; he was expecting a letter. He came to the study and opened the window. A very small white owl flew in and perched on the large fireplace, with a note in its mouth. The man took the letter from the owl and took off his gloves, turning over the letter. In very messy blotted cursive, the parchment was addressed:
To Lucius, From Severus
Just then Lucius strode into the room. "McNare, I didn't expect to see you here so early..." he drawled.
McNare grimaced, "Nor I, you. In fact..." he paused to flash a malicious grin, "I hardly expected you to show at all, what with the..." another pause, for dramatic effect, "family crisis. Of course you know all about what has been going on at Hogwarts, don't you Lucius?"
Lucius' eyes narrowed. "I have been completely informed of the situation, and we are pursuing the problem as we speak. Of course," took off his gloves took a seat by the fire, "You wouldn't know anything about pursuing problems...I seem to recall hearing that your last task for the dark lord failed," he grinned, "miserably."
McNare snarled angrily, glaring humiliated at Malfoy. Then he regained composure, "Well then, I suppose this letter from Severus will be of no importance to you." He kept his eyes locked with Lucius' as he extended his hand, holding the letter, over the small fire which crackled gleefully, supplying the only light to an otherwise dark and haunting room.
Lucius glanced cautiously at the letter, showing no emotion on his face, nor intention to move. "I'd tread these next moments very carefully McNare. Traitors to the dark lord aren't looked upon lovingly, and I would hate to see all of your," he gave a small smile, "talents," he chose the word carefully, "gone to waste at the expense of such a simple letter."
McNare grimaced, and then handed the letter over. "Lucius, you are too kind for pointing these things out. Please excuse me while I make my way to a private meeting with Wormtail and our Lord" He grinned and strode out.
Lucius took the letter and remained in the chair, watching as McNare walked across the room and out the door. He opened the letter and read to him self,
"Dear Lucius, I have terrible news. It seems the situation has deepened, and stronger forces must be taken. The Ball is approaching. However, your plans to have your son take the daughter of your friend may not follow through. It appears he is, in fact, dating the filthy girl…"
Lucius didn't even finish the letter. He threw it in the fire, grabbed his gloves and took some strange powder hidden in his staff and threw it into the fire. The fire turned blue. "Number 13 Grimauld Place!" he cried.
Dust flew everywhere as Lucius Malfoy glided gracefully out of the fireplace and landed smoothly next to a dark figure looking out the window.
"Hello brother." Marcus Malfoy turned from the window. "No action yet…" he said with a hint of regret. He continued, "Aren't you supposed to be at the Hogsmeade station?"
"McNare was the only other one called, and once more his pride obstructed his true loyalty," Lucius grinned.
"Any News from Severus?" Marcus drawled a bit bored.
Lucius' grin melted like Muggle ice-cream on a sunny day..."Dating," was all he could muster up. He was muttering. Marcus turned quickly and got up with a look of worry on his face "Oh my poor brother." he led him to the chair to sit down.
"I really have no idea what has happened to my boy. One minute he was taking orders directly from the Dark Lord and now...well now he's fraternizing with the filthiest form of mudblood. A Gryffindor, no less. A friend of Harry Potter's!" he spit the last few words.
"Are you sure he doesn't know what he's doing Lucius? Draco has always been a bright boy; could it be he is making these connections for our advantage?"
Lucius' face brightened at the thought. He stared out the window at number 12 Grimauld place for a very long time. "It could be, brother. Come to think of it, Hermione Granger is the perfect way to know when the order is meeting. That way you would no longer find it necessary to linger at this bloody window while maintaining the story that the house is haunted for those muggle neighbors."
Marcus smiled. "Well, when shall we make our move to find his true intentions?"
"The Ball." Lucius grinned, a rush of ideas flowing in his head.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
McGonagall was very busy rushing around the dining hall, making the finishing touches to the decorations. Hermione rushed one step behind her, clearly very nervous, both about the success of the ball and the school's reaction to her first public appearance with her new boyfriend. Over the past week, relations with her best friends had been...well difficult to say the least. Ginny hadn't told anyone, but questioned Hermione every second they were together. Ginny was obviously very worried for Hermione's well-being, checking on her constantly, forcing Hermione to set up secret meetings to even speak to Draco.
Just as Hermione lowered herself into a chair, overwhelmed with the events of the past week, a very strange site presented itself. Ron, Draco, and Cho Chang all walked into the dining hall together, talking humanely, perhaps even as comrades would.
She did a double take and took a swing of pumpkin juice.
They all came and sat down next to her, continuing their conversation. 'Apparently Ron hasn't heard the news yet...' she thought. He'd never talk to Draco if he knew she was going to the ball with him...but come to think of it, he usually wouldn't talk to him at all...
"Good to finally do business with you Weasley," Draco grinned sincerely.
"Hello darling" he addressed Hermione, "Ron and I were just having a chat and Cho came looking for you, so we thought we'd all come find you and save you from this odious labor."
"What were you chatting about?" Hermione said sweetly but a bit suspicious. Ron and Draco were a strange sight to her, and she had never been too fond of Cho.
"We'll discuss that later" Ron jumped in, looking pointedly into Hermione's eyes as if to say "you'll see."
Cho piped up, "Hermione I was just wondering if we could talk a bit. Right now if you don't mind. Great," she said without a pause, grabbing Hermione's arm and dragging her to the courtyard.
Hermione looked down at the strange way Cho had linked their arms, as if it was a tea party or something. They reached the courtyard, and Cho motioned for Hermione to sit down. Hermione took the seat, "Um…yes, Cho, what is it?" she tried to sound delighted but would rather have been anywhere else.
"I've heard a few rumors about you Granger. I am here to confirm them."
Cho had dropped her cheery smile. 'Oh no,' Hermione thought, 'This is going to be one of those threatening gossip talks isn't it?'
"What about?" she said, crossing her arms.
Cho paused for a moment, looking off into the distance. Her eyes, for some reason, seemed different. They lacked their usual giddy spark. Suddenly Cho looked back at Hermione as if they had never met before in their life. "Yes?" she said "What do you want?" Then a shadow fell over Cho's face "imperi..." she began, but a muttered word from a nearby bush and Cho was silent. In fact, Cho could not speak, though she was evidently trying very hard to do so.
"Well, well, well, we meet again Ms. Granger," said a familiarly snotty voice that reminded Hermione sickeningly of the Draco she knew two weeks ago.
Hermione turned around slowly to find Lucius Malfoy standing there, wand drawn. She looked from Lucius to Cho, who was now near tears. She noticed a man who was evidently Lucius' brother.
"I'm sorry, Granger, confused?" snarled Lucius.
"Marcus, will you please let this poor girl...Cho...finish her sentence?"
Marcus Malfoy flicked his wand and whispered "imperioso."
Cho Chang's face lit up again with her earlier expression of curiosity. "Is it true, Granger, that you are dating Draco Malfoy?" she pressed, in a voice that Hermione now realized was nearly an octave below the bubbly speech pattern Cho Chang usually used.
Hermione pulled her wand out of her robes and, shaking, brought her hand up in front of her. The ball was going to start in a few hours, and all the students were in their rooms getting ready. They were alone in the court yard. Hermione raised her chin high.
"Yes. I Am." She eyed them carefully for any sudden movements, wand still poised. She saw her hand shaking. 'Stop it Hermione! Don't show them any fear!' she thought.
Lucius Malfoy merely stepped closer to her, shaking his head. "Tisk, tisk, mudblood. Didn't your filthy muggle parents teach you not to play with things that don't belong to you? Not to play with fire? It burns you know..."
"It's true, what he says, Granger. If anybody knows about burning, it would be Lucius and I." Marcus jumped in, rubbing his forearm as if in pain."Did any one ever teach you not to play with fire? Those are there on your own accord you know." she grimaced, showing her disgust for them.
"There are special occasions in which fire can be befriended. However, playing with this fire requires more loyalty, more trust, more patience, and more self-control than a young mudblood teacher's pet could ever hope to possess. These are all virtuous qualities, are they not?" he sneered.
"When used for the right purposes..." She was gaining confidence now, finding her Gryffindor bravery.
Marcus and Lucius laughed together. "You will soon find, Granger, that the only purpose in this dark and terrible world is self-preservation. A purpose at which your crowd will fail miserably, when they meet the real world. This I can assure you. But we digress. I am here simply to teach you a lesson. Women like my wife date Malfoys. Girls like you do not."
AN: Hope you guys like it! We're coming up to the climax in the next chapter, so if you want more please review and I will post.