The Devils Triangle
Chapter 19: Resolve
Ginny blissfully whiled away the hours in her favorite spot in the world, her Bower.
She had spent hours and hours during the summer watching a couple of robins raise their young family. By the time the she had returned home for the summer, the birds had already built their home and Ginny had a clear view of the nest from her hammock amidst the branches and leaves of the large oak. The mama bird seemed a bit peeved at first when Ginny and Harry climbed into the Bower and found that the humans had a birds-eye-view to her very private activities. However, the pair of robins quickly realized Harry and Ginny were harmless and soon forgot they were there.
Once the small eggs had hatched, they were far too busy to worry about their observers anyway, as their five little hatchlings kept them extremely busy. As the weeks of summer passed, Ginny watched the babies grow from stringy-little-uglies into fluffy-hungry-lumps and now, as the summer had ripened they could no longer all fit into their tiny nest. The babies jostled for position kicking one another out of the nest and wrestling for the food, as their haggard parents still worked tirelessly to feed them. Ginny chuckled as she noted the many similarities to a Weasley family dinner.
Ginny spent many hours in the Bower alone. Harry often joined her, but she enjoyed the time alone. Harry was single-minded these days: all thought was devoted to defeating Voldemort, all conversation was about defeating Voldemort. There was little time or energy for anything else, and during the time they spent together, they usually practiced the magical exercises designed by Professor Snape to strengthen their magical bond. Harry would often be gone for days at a time meeting with members of the Order and other wizarding factions who were also scheming to end Voldemort's reign.
Ginny worried about him constantly, but she also knew these meetings were geared only towards planning, training and information gathering. Everyone was taking great pains to keep Harry safe from Voldemort grasp until the time was right. However it couldn't have been more obvious that the final battle was approaching… everyone could sense it coming. Voldemort's attacks had been escalating throughout the spring and summer, and although the Weasleys endeavored to live life as normally as possible, life was not normal. The end was near.
Ron spent his days working in his brothers' joke shop. If anyone asked him he'd say he was stocking the shelves and cleaning up. And occasionally Fred and George allowed their younger brother to wait on customers. But Ginny knew the truth. Ron was really working in their secret underground laboratory. Ron didn't talk about the details of what he did, but Ginny suspected his and the twins' activities were very dangerous and not quite legal.
Hermione met daily with Draco in the library of Grimmauld Place. Initially they'd met a few days here and there, but as the summer went further on their meetings became more frequent. Although their research about Carina de Florette had progressed slightly, they still hadn't discovered the key she was counting on.
Ginny hadn't seen Draco since the end of the school year. After Pansy's death he'd withdrawn within himself, concentrating his efforts only on Astrid, Malfoy family business and assisting Hermione with her research. Whenever Ginny asked Hermione how he was doing, she would report him to be sullen, terse, testy and only moderately helpful, but overall more pleasant than she'd ever known him to be. Apparently even after months of working closely together, Hermione was still completely immune to any of Draco's charms. Or perhaps he just chose not to reveal them to Hermione; Ginny wasn't sure which was the truth. As far as Ginny could tell, the best that could be said for their relationship was that it was strictly professional; perhaps for Draco and Hermione that was all one could ask.
Ginny rose from her comfortable hammock and bid her robin family good day. She had promised to meet her friends down by the swimming pond after lunch. This was one of the rare days when they all had managed to keep an afternoon free from their various responsibilities and they were all looking forward to a few hours of laziness together.
Ginny was also eager to reveal her new swimming costume to Harry, as it was sure to take his mind off his worries. Mrs. Weasley, in an effort to cool the long and lustful stares that bounced between the two of them constantly, had bought her a very practical and extremely modest suit as an early birthday present. In fact, it was something a ninety year old great-grandmother would be proud to wear as it covered her almost completely from shoulders to thighs in thick black wool. Ginny, however, showing signs of great maturity, took the bathing costume gratefully from her mother without complaint. But then she had used her improving magical skills and her powerful connection with Harry to charm the suit into something Harry would never forget.
As Ginny made her way through the long grass which surrounded the pond she smiled to herself as she heard the comforting sounds of Ron and Hermione bickering in the distance.
"I don't know why you have to spend so much time with the Ferret alone," grumbled Ron.
"Honestly Ron! He's been almost useful actually; he knows more about dark magic than any of us. And we're not alone. That pesky little Astrid follows him everywhere. AND…" Hermione continued, as she slowly worked herself into a state, "it's not like you're sitting home alone; you're working in your brothers' shop on most days."
"Why do you think Astrid's so pesky Hermione?" Harry asked lazily as he lay on his stomach on the dock, staring into the water, and using his wand to play with the tiny minnows beneath the surface. "She seems alright to me. She knows how to work Malfoy into a lather, you gotta like that."
Hermione pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "It's just… well… she just has an opinion about everything! She's such a little know-it-all! It's exasperating!"
Harry and Ron endeavored to keep their faces neutral, but as soon as their eyes met they dissolved into fits of laughter.
"What?" demanded Hermione.
"Nothing," Harry supplied quickly.
"Nothing, Love. Nothing at all," Ron chuckled.
"And Draco! Well, Draco thinks she can do no wrong!"
"HE'S DRACO NOW?" Ron exploded. "I'm surprised you didn't ask him to join us today! The two of you are so inseparable!"
"Honestly Ron! And if I had invited him, the two of you would have snuck off somewhere to play chess! Now there's an unnatural relationship, if I've ever seen one!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" pouted Ron.
"What do you mean, Hermione?" Harry asked, trying to drag his friends away from a row on this fine day. "What about Astrid? What sort of annoying things does she do?"
"Well," Hermione huffed, sat-up ramrod straight and pursed her lips in a manner that warned Harry and Ron they had opened a can of worms, so they both prepared themselves for a long story. That was fine, they had all day.
"For example, the first time Draco and I got together to discuss working on Carina de Florette… you know… he'd said he had some information which might be helpful, so I asked 'What?'
"Astrid was there at the time, and Draco, well… you know he must always be as condescending as possible… he turned to Astrid and asked: 'Monster, if you were given the task of researching someone called Carina de Florette, where would you look?'
"And then Astrid kind of snorted and said: 'It's so obvious a flobberworm could figure it out.' And then, Malfoy said: 'See that, Granger? A flobberworm could figure it out, and you've been working on the problem for what? Six months now?'
"So I said: 'Shut it, Malfoy! She didn't answer the question, did she?'
"And he said: 'You think she's bluffing, do you? Answer the question, Monster.' I must tell you all, a more appropriate nickname I've never heard."
Ron and Harry grinned a greeting to Ginny as she stepped onto the dock, but Ginny could tell by the tenor of Hermione's voice that this was not a time to interrupt. So she silently sat on the end of the dock next to Harry and melted into his arms as they wrapped around her from behind, pulling her close. He then planted a silent kiss on the delicate spot just behind and beneath her ear. He then whispered, "Shhh, this is getting good."
"And the little brat," Hermione continued, "just rolled her eyes and said, 'Obviously, Carina is a constellation, isn't it? And exactly what family do we know who is twisted enough to name their children after constellations and whatnot? Hmmm?... DRACO?' She added just to rub it in! And then she continued: 'If you want know anything you'd have to look in the Black family archives. Duh!' Do you believe her?" Hermione shrieked and continued. "And Malfoy is just as bad as her! He just chuckled and said: 'That's my girl.'"
"Eeew," Ron cringed, "the fact that Malfoy thinks of a child as his girl… is just wrong."
"Ron!" Ginny interrupted.
"Ron, that's not my point!" Hermione scolded simultaneously.
"Hermione," Harry asked, "so what you're saying is that Astrid figured out in seconds something that you hadn't come up with in more than six months of research? How annoying for you," he chuckled.
"Well, I can't remember everything!" Hermione snapped. "We learned constellations in first year! Ages ago! Of course she remembered it better than me!"
"Easy Hermione," Ron soothed, "we still think you're a genius."
"It's not as if she's even right!" Hermione continued indignantly. "We've been researching in the Grimmauld Place library for two months and found nothing."
"Hermione, did you remember to invite Draco to my birthday party next week?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, bloody hell!" groaned Ron.
"Yeah Ginny, but he didn't say he'd come, he just grunted as usual," Hermione answered.
"Do we really have to have that git to the Burrow again? He doesn't belong here!" Ron growled.
"He's my friend! And it's my birthday party! So shut it, Ron!" Ginny scolded. "I'm going for a swim," she added grumpily, wishing they could have one afternoon of peace and fun without all this talk of Carina de Florette and Voldemort.
Ginny swiftly removed her t-shirt cover-up and dove into the pond, barely hearing Ron's burst of laughter when he saw Ginny's suit.
"Merlin! You're not really wearing that ghastly thing in public, are you?" he laughed as she disappeared beneath the water.
Harry looked at his girlfriend and prepared to join his best mate in teasing her, but when Harry saw Ginny dive from the end of the dock he nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight.
"What the…" he gasped as he swiftly discarded his shirt and dove in after her.
Ginny was a swift swimmer and was able to reach the middle of the pond before she allowed Harry to catch her.
Harry stopped her and pulled her towards him and Ginny emerged from the water, laughing deeply as she allowed herself to be restrained.
"Ginny! What are you doing?" Harry hissed.
"Why Harry, whatever do you mean?" she asked, still laughing uncontrollably at Harry's shock.
"Ginny! You're not wearing anything!"
"Pardon?" she giggled. "Do you think I'd parade around naked in front of my brother? Eeew!"
"Ginny! You're in my arms and I look down and I see EVERYTHING! What are you up to?"
"Oh!" she continued to giggle, "well actually, that's your own fault!"
"Ginny! What are you up to?" Harry insisted, while Ginny pulled herself even closer to him and wrapped her legs around him underwater, so Harry was forced to tread water for both of them.
"I've just been practicing our connection exercises, like we've been told. Let's just say that giving you the ability to see things others can't is a perk I discovered along the way."
A stunned Harry forgot to swim for a moment and the two of them unexpectedly sank beneath the water. Ginny pushed away from him and began to swim back toward shore. Harry, however quickly recovered and caught her again.
"Ginny, this is brilliant!
"Like I said, you only have your own randy nature to blame, Harry! It's only invisible if you want it to be."
"I thought you liked my randy. Do you think you could charm all your clothes like this?" he whispered, letting his hands roam freely underwater.
"No! I can't have you in a constant state! You need to save the world, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Do you think we could sneak back to the Bower?"
"Harry, we're supposed to spend the afternoon with Roan and Hermione."
Harry nibbled her neck in the spot guaranteed to sway her desires his way.
"I don't think they'll care. Look."
Ginny glanced at the dock just in time to see Ron and Hermione disappear into the long grass surrounding the pond.
"How rude!" Ginny pouted insincerely. "I guess we're on our own then."
"Bower?" Harry asked with puppy dog eyes.
"Bower." Ginny nodded.
Draco looked up from the parchments Mr. Quigley requested he review and sign. He rubbed his eyes, and rotated his head around several times easing the pressure in his tense neck.
His eyes focused on Astrid, sleeping on the chair across the room.
"Oh bloody hell, I forgot about you," he grumbled to himself, and then strode across the room and lifted the sleeping girl into his arms. It was two in the morning, long past time for a twelve year old to be in bed.
As he carried her to her own bedroom in Malfoy Manor, the thought that he'd taken on too much by bringing Astrid into his life crossed his mind for the ninety-eighth time that summer. He didn't know what to do with a little girl. He was fairly certain that his current parenting method of buying her anything she wanted to make her happy was not the best way to go.
Draco wished his mother were there to help him, but that was out of the question. His mother was outside of England for her own safety; besides he could hardly ask her to help raise the product of her husband's careless cruelties. Draco hadn't even had the heart to write his mother about Astrid's existence yet, but he knew it had to be done soon.
If only Pansy… no, he wouldn't think about that.
The truth was Astrid's presence had been a great relief to Draco. She gave him something to concentrate on other than his own troubles, and she really didn't demand much. She seemed content to just be with him, so he took her wherever he went and treated her as an equal, involving her in decisions that should be far beyond the grasp of a child. He hoped that if he was just there for her, he wouldn't screw her up too badly.
Draco ignored the raised eyebrows and snickering that seemed to follow them everywhere and Astrid never acknowledged them either.
"Draco?" Astrid murmured, still half asleep as Draco deposited her on her bed.
"Bedtime, Monster. You should have been in bed hours ago."
"I forgot."
"I need you to try to remember to get yourself to bed. Okay?"
"Sorry, I'll try," she said quietly and was immediately asleep again.
Hermione was buried amongst the books of the Malfoy Manor library. After they had scoured every book in Grimmauld Place, Draco had suggested they move to Malfoy Manor. It seemed like a good idea, the Black and Malfoy family lines were so closely linked it was easy to imagine family heirlooms traveling from one house to another. However, after four days of searching they had discovered nothing.
Hermione was trying to ignore the growing knot in her stomach telling her that she was at the end of the line. She had read every book available to her and come up with nothing. Almost one full year of research had failed to produce the answer to Harry's dilemma.
Books had failed her for the first time in her life, and she had failed Harry.
Hermione tried to stifle the tears she felt welling in her eyes. She buried her head deeper into her book and turned her head away from Draco, sitting across the table. Malfoy was the last person she wanted to see her fail, and certainly the last person she ever wanted to see her cry.
However, a hitch in her breathing drew his attention from his own studies.
"Astrid, why don't you go visit the house-elves and check on lunch?"
Astrid looked at him quizzically and pointed to Draco's wand. "But all you have to do is…"
"Monster," Draco said firmly while motioning towards the door. Astrid looked between the two of them and Draco's meaning clarified for her, so she left the room grumbling under her breath.
"Take a break, Granger," he instructed after Astrid had gone.
"I just want to get through these last few books," she sniffled.
"Later," he insisted wresting the book away from her. "We both need a break."
Hermione glared challengingly at him. "What are we going to do, Malfoy? Talk? You haven't said a dozen words to me all summer if they didn't pertain directly to our research. Why start now?"
Draco chose his words carefully before proceeding.
"Because the other night over dinner Astrid asked me something, why do we hate each other so much. She thinks it's because you're not a pure blood. She doesn't understand how I can look past her questionable bloodlines, while holding yours against you. And the only reason I could give her was 'habit'."
Hermione chuckled at his surprising candor. "I suppose if you and Ron can form a truce, then there's no reason why we shouldn't."
Draco raised an eyebrow quizzically. "I don't know what you're talking about; the Weasel and I have no truce."
Hermione laughed. "Yes, he denies it too. But he also knows more about our research than I've ever had the chance to tell him. So, I have a theory, and correct me if I'm wrong, but my theory is that the two of you are having some sort clandestine chess matches when you think no one is looking. I highly doubt he's getting his information from Astrid and you're the only other person privy to it."
"My, what a vivid imagination you have Granger. Have I shown you around the Manor? Why don't we go for a tour? I need to stretch my legs."
"I see you're not correcting me. Why do you insist on keeping it a secret?" Hermione laughed.
"The original foundation for Malfoy Manor was built over one thousand years ago…" Draco began with a smooth tone and a straight face, while leading Hermione into the main Hall of the house. "It was built in several phases using both magical and non-magical means."
Hermione smirked at him and followed his lead. She was very interested in seeing the house. It was beautiful in a cold and creepy way, but she had only seen as far as the library. "You are just playing chess, aren't you? You aren't trying to steal my boyfriend, are you?"
"The house has anywhere from eighty to one hundred and twenty rooms," Draco continued smoothly, "depending on how many we need at any given time. You have to be very careful if you don't know your way around, because much like Hogwarts, the structure changes without notice. I have to send house-elves searching for Astrid almost daily."
Draco continued guiding Hermione on a tour of the house for the next hour. It was a great relief to Hermione to think about something other than Carina de Florette for a little while and she was pleasantly surprised to find that she was having fun. Eventually they wound their way back to the main entrance where they had begun.
"Thank you Draco," Hermione said sincerely once she perceived the end of their tour. "That was fascinating. I'm impressed by your knowledge of your family history."
"It's crucial to know where one comes from. But the tour's not over yet."
"What could possibly be left?" she laughed.
Draco smirked and quirked an eyebrow. "Why the dungeons, of course." He waved his wand toward the huge hearth against the wall and immediately a panel opened in the brickwork barely large enough for someone to squeeze through.
"The dungeons?" Hermione gulped.
"You can't say you've properly toured Malfoy Manor unless you've seen the dungeons," Draco smirked dryly. "You're not afraid, are you Granger?"
"Afraid? Certainly not!" she huffed.
"After you then," he gestured down the dark crevice in the wall.
Hermione huffed, through her shoulders back and brushed by Draco as she led the way down the stairs.
Draco followed her closely. "Take a torch from the wall," he suggested, "and mind the steps; they can be unexpectedly steep and quite slick."
Hermione took a deep breath and began to descend into the darkness. Immediately a sense of foreboding threatened to overwhelm her. A voice deep in her head screamed that this was not where she belonged and she was in grave danger. The cold and dankness was almost overwhelming. Hermione paused on the fifteenth step and was about to turn around, as all of her instincts were telling her to run. She felt the warmth of Draco's hand grasp her shoulder guiding her from behind; it felt hot in comparison to her surroundings.
"Keep going," he said firmly, "you're almost there." Hermione stomach clenched, Draco's voice was different; it was cold and harsh.
Suddenly the unwelcome thought crossed her mind that this may be some sort of terrible trap. What if Malfoy was a Death Eater after all? Hermione continued down the hard stone steps because Draco's hand and his solid presence directly behind her allowed her to do nothing else. Hermione's fear began to get the better of her and she began to panic.
"It's not right. I shouldn't be here."
"Keep going," he said, his firm grasp leading her further down into the unknown.
"No, I have to go back," Hermione turned on the step and tried to push her way past Draco but just as she turned something cold and hard reached from the darkness and wrapped around her ankles, pulling her off of her feet.
Hermione's scream pierced the darkness, and a then a sharp pain across the back of her head rendered the world black.
"Granger! Granger! Wake up!"
Hermione's eyes opened slowly, the pain in her head was almost overwhelming. Eyes focused on her surroundings and she beheld her worst nightmare. But pain was stronger than fear and unconsciousness threatened to descend again.
"No! Hermione! Stay with me! Wake up! You have to wake up!"
Suddenly, Hermione was awake and her eyes focused on Draco's face only inches away from hers.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she shrieked at him, she tried to hit him but found that her arms were both chained against the wall of a cave-like room.
"Granger…"
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" She tried to kick him away, but found her legs were manacled as well.
"Granger! Stop!" Draco held her arms against the stone and pressed his body firmly against hers to stop her from kicking out again. "Do not move! Do not fight!" he said firmly, his voice utterly calm and emotionless. "Listen to me. The more you fight, the tighter the manacles will become. They're perfectly capable of dismembering you if you don't stop fighting!"
"Ron and Harry know I'm here!" she hissed into his ear, which was less than an inch away from her mouth. "They'll kill you for this!" Hermione flailed out against the invasion of Draco's body against hers and she screamed in pain as the chains binding her ankles and wrists pulled her more tightly against the wall.
"Please!" Draco whispered, holding her even more tightly. Something in his tone broke through Hermione's panic. It didn't sound cruel, as she would expect, and slowly her eyes met his eyes and what she saw was concern. "Please, stop fighting. I'm not doing this. I didn't know this would happen."
"I suppose you didn't give me this knot on my head either," she hissed. "You hit me! You expect me to believe you're not doing this?"
"I didn't hit you. The manacles grabbed you off of the stairs when you panicked; you hit your head on the floor while they were dragging you here."
"Do you think I'm an idiot, Malfoy? If you have nothing to do with this, then release me!"
"I can't. Stop fighting! Listen! I know what you were feeling when you panicked, I felt it too. But I didn't know the dungeon would react to you like this. Stop fighting! What you felt was one thousand years of fear, and death and pain beyond description. What you felt was evil."
"No shit! Let me go, Malfoy!"
"No! I told you, I can't! For once you bloody, fucking know-it-all you're going to listen to me or you're going to rot down here!"
"Bastard!"
"Yes I am, aren't I? We've always agreed about that. Now shut up and listen. There is evil here, we've established that. But it's a residual evil left over from deeds of the past. Just like the residual magic that Ginny and Longbottom have been working on. Does this make sense so far?"
Hermione nodded and slightly relaxed in his arms.
"Good girl," he said relaxing his grip on her a bit. "Now evil feeds on fear. If you're afraid it will attack, then its power will grow. Let go of the fear and you'll be released. I think."
"Let me get this straight," Hermione began slowly. "I'm being held prisoner in the dungeon of one of the most evil families of all time. And my captor is the pustule-on-the-ass-of-a-troll git who's tormented me for years. But he's saying that he's actually not my captor, my captor is really my own fear. And somehow I'm supposed to just not be afraid and my problems would be solved?"
"You've always been a quick study Granger. A mediocre insult thrower, but a quick study."
"What am I supposed to do?" Hermione asked herself.
"Granger, look at me." Draco began smoothly. "I hate to tell you this but you have to trust me. It's your only way out."
Hermione laughed incredulously.
"I mean it. You have to look around this room and see no danger. You have to look at me and see no danger. And you have to believe it."
"Can't you just go get a hacksaw or something?"
"Sorry," Draco chuckled, "won't work on magical chains. Look at me Granger. Look at who I am, today. What do you see?"
Hermione looked into his eyes and she saw no malice there. But how could she just shrug-off years of cruelty and mistrust in an instant?
Draco was still holding her firmly against the wall and Hermione suddenly became aware of the smell of him. She remembered one year ago when Ginny discovered this boy and how the smell of him drove Ginny wild. Hermione also remembered the pain he had caused Ginny and she remembered the pain he had caused himself. He certainly wasn't a perfect boy, but Ginny believed he wasn't an evil one either. Did she believe that too? Her mind skipped through the previous year remembering both the highs and the lows that they had all lived through. When had Draco become one of them?
When Hermione's head cleared, she looked up into Draco's eyes and realized that her ankles had been released.
"There we go, you're getting there," Draco said again, a little more smugly than she was comfortable with, and he slightly released his hold on her.
"Okay, I've relaxed… why isn't it letting me go?" she asked with a bit of panic in her voice.
"I guess you haven't learned to trust me enough Granger, just keep going. Maybe if I told you a secret," he added.
"What are you talking about?"
"My dear friend Pansy and I spent a lot of time down here as children. When Pansy was particularly peeved with me she had a nickname for me. She called me Puddles."
"Puddles? Why would anyone call you Puddles?"
"Well you see, when I was young, very small, very-very small, I had a bit of a bed- wetting problem."
Hermione laughed and Draco, who was still holding her, pressed his body against her more firmly as if to illustrate that he was no longer a very small boy. She was surprised to find that she wasn't at all worried by having his body so close to hers. No boy had ever been this close to her besides Ron, and yet it didn't make her feel nervous at all. There was something unfathomable about this situation. It wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"Why would you tell me that? Do you know what Ron and Harry will do with that information?"
"I know exactly what they would do with it. But they'll never know about it, will they? Because we trust each other, don't we?" Draco spoke slowly and his intense stare gave Hermione no option but to nod her acceptance.
In an instant, the shackles around her arms snapped open. "Can't stand," she managed to say before collapsing to the floor.
"Ooops, okay we'll hang here for a bit." Draco followed Hermione to the ground; she was shivering uncontrollably so he conjured a warming charm and sat behind her, with his arms wrapped around her.
"Shhh, just relax…" he soothed. "You have to calm down…we don't want something else attacking you. I probably should have foreseen this. I'm sorry. But you're the first…of your kind to come down here voluntarily. The place is only reacting as it has been bewitched to."
"Nice house, Malfoy," Hermione hissed once she was able to catch her breath. So spoke grumpily, but she still found his arms around her to be strangely soothing and she settled back against him.
"It has a few quirks, but I like it. Actually, I do like it down here."
"You are mad! How can you stand it? Can't you feel the evil?"
"I've told you I can feel it. That's the point. By coming down here and facing the evil, it's like I'm conquering it a little bit. It reminds me of where I come from."
"You said something like that earlier. Why is family history so important to you? Isn't who you are more important? And who you want to become?"
"Of course they are, but a wise wizard once said that those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. Are you feeling better now? Your breathing has improved."
"Just one more minute, please. Then I want to get out of here."
"Okay."
Hermione relaxed further and took time to examine her surroundings. It looked exactly as she would imagine a medieval torture chamber with chains, manacles, racks and presses lining the chamber and several other devices she couldn't even imagine a use for.
Slowly she rose from her position reclined against Draco and began to explore the room. Draco remained seated and watched her explore, grinning at her interest as she fingered the chains that had bound her minutes before.
She remembered the feeling of being bound and of having Malfoy's arms around her and the warmth of his body pressed firmly against her. A thought came unbidden to her. Did she actually likehaving somebody else being in complete control? No, that's absurd. I like being in charge. What would this be like to have Ron doing this, and me not able to do anything except allow him to do what he wanted?
"How's that warming spell working?" Draco asked, looking up and down her body.
"It's fine," she said absentmindedly. She noticed he was examining her and she looked down to see that in spite of the fact that she felt warm, her body was betraying her emotions. Her thin blouse gave ample evidence that she was thinking of other things.
"If I didn't know better Granger, I'd think you were getting a bit turned on by those chains. Are you imagining you and the Weasel playing a game of Death Eater and Mudblood down here?"
Hermione felt the flush cover her face. How did he know? She quickly pulled her sweater closed around her and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Don't be disgusting, Malfoy." She turned her back on him and began to examine some of the other structures.
"Who'd imagine little Miss Granger has a kinky side," Draco chuckled.
"Bugger off, Puddles! What's this?" she said, indicating a coffin like structure in the corner and still hiding her face from him.
"That's an interrogation box," Draco answered. "You lock the victim inside it and drive those stakes thru it until you get the information you desire."
"Nice."
Draco shrugged. "Parkinson locked me in there once when we were eight, because I wouldn't tell her what was in her Christmas present. She nearly killed me," Draco laughed, "probably would have if our mothers hadn't found us."
Hermione turned to him and smiled.
"You miss her, don't you?" she asked gently.
"Of course… more than… I miss her a lot."
"I think I'm ready to go now if you don't mind."
"Let's go, Kinky." Draco stood and motioned toward the exit.
"Don't call me that! What's in that room over there?" Hermione gestured across the chamber as she exited.
"What room?"
"Behind that door over there," she pointed.
"There's no door over there, Kinks. I think you've been a bit more traumatized than we thought."
"Don't call me that! Over there! I'm looking at it."
"And I'm looking at a solid rock wall."
"You can't see that?" she asked, walking towards it. Before Draco realized, Hermione had crossed the room and opened the door.
Draco was at her side in a shot. "Bloody hell! There's a door here! It must be charmed to be invisible! Why could you see it?"
Hermione shrugged. "Must be an advantage of being Muggleborn. It just looks like some sort of storage cupboard."
Draco entered the cupboard. "Yes, but come in here and see what's being stored here."
Hermione wasn't exactly keen to continue explore further, but as soon as she examined the contents of the cupboard she gasped. "Books! Lots and lots of books!"
"Probably the ones too valuable to be left in the main library. Do you know what this means, Kinky?"
Hermione nodded and grinned widely at Draco. "It means it's time to get back to work."
When the day of Ginny's birthday party finally arrived, it seemed as though they would all have something to truly celebrate.
Everyone was feeling optimistic about their progressing plan to defeat Voldemort. Ginny was aware that her party would devolve into a tactical meeting with everyone reporting what they had discovered, but Ginny didn't mind.
Draco had found that traveling with a child in tow brought a new set of challenges. Astrid was annoyingly girly when it came to certain things. Broom riding was out of the question as it made her queasy; flooing was unthinkable as it could smudge her dress or muss her hair; and she adamantly refused to Apparate with Draco any longer following an unfortunate incident where he accidentally splinched off her nose. She was not amused.
Draco was forced to find other means of transportation, and he took this opportunity to indulge one of his most secret fantasies. Ever since his second year at Hogwarts when he'd heard, but not quite believed, rumors of Potter and Weasley's misadventures with a flying automobile, Draco had harbored a secret desire to possess a flying car of his own. Of course in his former life as a Muggle-hating purist he knew he could never indulge this dream, but times had changed and so had Draco. He set about in a search for the perfect flying car to reflect his status as a teenaged boy with limitless funds and superior taste. Of course a Ford Anglia was unacceptable…far too pedestrian. And of course the car must be painted the perfect shade of Slytherin green.
His search had spanned most of the summer and had finally ended during a recent business trip to Milan. Italian wizards were far more open-minded about the adaptation of Muggle artifacts to wizarding needs. However, Draco's purchase of the car had precipitated the first major disagreement between himself and Mr. Quigley, who thought it far too extravagant, bordering on scandalous. But even Mr. Quigley's eyes glazed over a bit when the 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Gangloff Drophead Coupe was delivered to the pensione.
Draco circled over the Burrow twice before landing the car smoothly in an out of the way spot. It was a dream to fly and Draco was in heaven, dying to show-off his new toy.
Where were Weasleys when you needed them? No one was in sight.
"Come on, Monster. We've arrived."
Draco and Astrid were walking towards the house, when suddenly Astrid stopped in her tracks, her eyes widened, a very small squeal came from her throat and her grip on Draco's hand threatened to break bones.
"Bloody hell, Monster! You're crushing my hand!" Draco looked down and noticed that Astrid was attempting to hide behind him. "What's wrong with you?"
"That's them! THAT'S THEM!" she squealed quietly while still trying to take cover behind her brother, while peeking around him at her prey.
Draco turned to see what Astrid was staring at and laughed when he put two and two together. In the far corner of the garden, next to Arthur Weasley's garden shed were Fred and George, hard at work on some new contraption.
"Ah," chuckled Draco, "your heroes are here. Come on, I'll introduce you."
"NO!" gasped Astrid. "I couldn't!"
"Monster, this is their family home and we're here for the whole day. You'll have to meet them eventually."
"Oh, I can't! They're brilliant! Absolute geniuses!"
"Let's not go overboard," smirked Draco, "this is Fred and George Weasley you're talking about. Come on, have some backbone," he said while tugging Astrid along behind him.
"Fred! George!" he called, keeping a firm hold on Astrid's arm.
"Look Gred, it's Malfoy!"
"Excellent Forge! And I thought little Ginny's party would be dull. At least now we can count on some bloodshed!"
"Yes, yes, very funny." Draco drawled. "I'm sure we'll get to that in good time, but first I'd like to introduce you to your biggest fan."
The twins surveyed the pretty little blond girl with mild interest.
"Really?" they said in unison.
"This is Astrid Simons," Draco continued, "she's my… my ward."
"Your ward?" George said, in obvious amusement.
"He's adopting pretty little girls now, Forge," Fred chuckled in disbelief.
"I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere Gred, it's just not coming to me."
"Astrid," Draco interrupted, nudging Astrid forward, "this is Fred and George Weasley. I admit I have no idea which one is which."
Astrid glared at him and was momentarily released from her shyness. "That's Fred and that's George," she said pointing left and then right.
"Whoa! That's impressive, our own mother can't do that," said Fred.
"Pleased to meet you, Astrid," said George.
Astrid tried to return the greeting but only managed to dissolve into a fit of giggles and hid her face in Draco's shirt.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Have some Slytherin pride girl! Get a grip!"
"Well, Astrid?" Fred began. "Which of our products do you like best?"
"Yes," George continued, "I'd bet you like our flying butterfly hair ribbons and our Kiss-Me-and-You're-Mine lip gloss."
"No!" said a suddenly incensed Astrid. "I don't kiss boys! I torture them! Although I do like your hair ribbons very much, I have several sets. I don't know which of your products I like best… there are so many I love." Astrid forgot about her embarrassment and began to talk faster and faster. "I get a lot of use from your Bawdy Boil Cream, but I wish the boils would ooze more, you know? And they're really not painful enough, are they? Of course your Diarrhea Dollops are very useful, but again, they wear off after only two hours; you really should make a stronger version, twelve hours at least."
Fred and George's grins were growing by the second.
"Real sweetie, isn't she?" Draco drawled.
"Forge, I may have to marry this girl if I ever grow up."
"But you know what I really need?" Astrid continued oblivious to the comments around her.
"Why don't you step into our workshop and tell us all about it?" George said courteously, wrapping his arm around the chattering Astrid and leading her into the workshop.
Draco considered stopping her from being alone with the twins… Merlin only knew what they would turn her into. But then he saw the idolatry sparkling in her eyes and he relented. Besides, Merlin only knew what she would turn him into if he tried to stop her.
Draco furrowed his brow, sighed and resigned himself to putting her back together again later.
"DRACO!" he heard from a distance, he turned to see a red haired blur charging at him at full speed. A wide grin spread over his face as he braced himself for impact.
Ginny landed on him with a crushing hug and a very friendly kiss, which Draco gladly allowed to last a beat or two longer than necessary.
"Oh! It's so good to see you!" Ginny squealed once she had released him. "It's been ages! I've missed you so much! Hermione said the two of you had made a big break through in your Carina de Florette research? That's wonderful! Is that your car in front of the Burrow? I saw you fly in from my Bower! Since when do you like Muggle contraptions? Daddy will fall in love with that when he sees it. Will you take me for a ride later? Where's Astrid? I thought you'd bring her with you."
"STOP! BREATHE! You'll pass out in a minute!" Draco laughed. "It's good to see you too. Astrid's here too. She's gone off with the twins."
"What? You can't leave her alone with them! Do you have any idea what they do to willing test subjects?" Ginny started for the shed, but Draco stopped her.
"Gin, she'll be fine. She'll have a blast, trust me. Don't worry, we can fix her later."
Ginny looked at Draco warily, "If you're sure… I suppose those three were destined to meet eventually."
"What were your other questions? It's all a blur," Draco asked. "Where's your boyfriend?"
"Harry's in the Bower, he'll be along for Quidditch later. He thought we might like some time to chat."
"That's big of him," Draco quipped dryly.
"Yes, it is. Now come take me for a fly in that fancy car of yours."
"Oh, if I must," Draco drawled lazily, "Your father's not going to report me to the Ministry, will he?"
Ginny laughed. "Oh, I think you're fairly safe from him. You'll have to give him a fly too, of course."
Ginny's birthday was as perfect as she could have wished. It was a quiet day with family and friends. A rousing game of Quidditch rounded out the afternoon, followed by a homey meal accompanied by lots of good natured carousing.
As the sun set on the cool evening, Ginny gazed contentedly around the room.
Fred and George had left for the evening, eager to begin work on some new Astrid inspired products.
Astrid, who had survived her afternoon with the twins, was fast asleep on a chair in the corner. Draco had forgotten how tiring it was to be twelve years old… it seemed she was always falling asleep.
Draco and Hermione had their heads together over a book discussing their latest theory as they prepared to fill everyone in on their discoveries.
Harry was resting on the sofa with his head on Ginny's lap. Ron sat on the opposite side of Ginny, inundating them both with an endless stream of complaints about the apparent comradery between Draco and Hermione.
"He's touching her shoulder. Do you see that? She's done nothing but complain all summer about how sullen he is. Does that look sullen to you? Did you just see that? Hermione smiled that sexy smile she always does and then tucked her hair behind her ear and then touched his arm! That's not good!"
"Ron, please," Ginny groaned reaching the end of her rope. She swatted Harry's head lightly to make sure he wasn't asleep; if she had to listen to this, then he did too.
But Ron could take no more. "Why don't you two come and join us over here," he called with forced cheerfulness. "It's time that we finally hear what you've discovered."
"No. We're not quite ready yet," Draco responded tersely and then returned his attention back to Hermione.
"Well no, Draco," Hermione added. "Maybe we should tell them what we've found and let them decide."
"No. You know perfectly well what they'll say, Kinky. And it's unacceptable."
"It's not your decision, Draco. It's theirs."
"Kinky?" Ron hissed into Ginny's ear. "Did Malfoy just call my girlfriend Kinky?"
"Quiet Ron," Ginny spat, "why don't you just tell us? Come on, we're dying to know."
"Come on, Draco," Hermione urged, "we're not going to find anything better than this."
Hermione pulled Draco into the sitting area with Harry, Ginny and Ron. Their entrance into the circle roused Harry from Ginny's lap and he sat up.
"I'm game," Harry entered to conversation, "let's hear what you've got." Ginny reached over and enveloped Harry's hand in hers; she knew his casual enthusiasm was false, he was dreading this conversation.
"As you know," Hermione started, "Draco and I found an ancient store of books at Malfoy Manor."
"Actually, Kinky found them; I would have never been able to see…" Draco started.
"Why are you calling her Kinky?" Ron burst.
"LATER!" said Ginny, Harry and Hermione simultaneously, while Draco smirked at Ron evilly.
"ANYWAY!" Hermione continued, "amongst the books we found a series of dairies written by Carina de Florette herself!"
"And you found what you were looking for?" Ginny queried.
"Yes and no. I found one spell which is brilliant…"
"Except it leaves them defenseless," grumbled Draco.
"Let me finish! This spell would make Harry strong enough to kill Voldemort. But it's a very specific charm. There are several obstacles to overcome."
"Obstacles?" Draco interrupted again. "Obstacles the size of the Alps!"
"Like what, Draco?" Ginny asked.
"First, the charm needs to be conjured specifically for Voldemort, we would need something off of him; hair, blood, whatever. Second, although Potter would be able to battle Voldemort, he would be defenseless against anyone else. And third, the Weaslette would have to be there in the midst of everything. The charm draws its power off of the desire they would feel to protect each other. It would actually become stronger if one of them were killed during battle."
"And that's where Malfoy's real issue lies," Hermione spat dryly.
"I don't want Ginny there either," Harry agreed quietly.
"Harry! You can't just disregard it because of me!" Ginny cried. "Hermione, are there any other options?"
"This is the best and strongest choice, we've found. Even Draco would agree with that."
"Then let's explore it a bit," Ginny continued.
"No." Harry and Draco answered simultaneously. "We'll keep looking," Draco finished.
Ginny ignored their protest. "Hermione, you need some hair or something off of him? Couldn't Professor Snape get that for us?"
"Gin, we're not doing this…" Harry started.
"I suppose he might," Hermione answered thoughtfully. "I would need at least 6 weeks to prepare it."
"And we'd need the full support of the Order of the Phoenix," Ginny continued. "If Harry and I must concentrate on Voldemort, then we'll need back-up to clear the way."
"Erm…" Ron started.
"Gin, we're not doing this," Harry repeated quietly.
"Erm…" Ron said again.
"I didn't say we were doing it, I said we were talking about it," Ginny snapped.
"Erm… I think I might be able to help," Ron finally managed to get out.
"Ron! Not you too," Harry snapped.
"Face it, Harry. You're not doing this alone. We won't let you. And I think I have an idea."
"What is it?" Harry sighed.
"I wish Fred and George were still here," Ron began "it's really their business to tell you this, but they've been developing some interesting things in their joke shop lately. I think one of them can be used here."
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"For example, we'll need to subdue and contain the Death Eaters guarding Voldemort when you and Ginny are ready to attack, right? What if the Death Eaters were rendered incapable of throwing Unforgivable Curses? That would helpful, yes?"
"Very," said Hermione, "what do they have?"
"I've been helping them develop a few things while I've been working at the shop and one of them is a sort of little grenade that contains Goofy Gas. Think about it. You can only kill or torture someone if you really want to. No one would want to kill if they're feeling really silly and giggling at everything."
Ginny and Hermione began to giggle at the thought and Ron's face fell.
"What? Is it a shite idea?" he asked sadly.
"No!" Hermione cried. "Ron it's brilliant! Think of the number of lives that will be saved!"
"Really?" he grinned and Hermione nodded.
"Alright," Harry finally conceded, "we'll consider it, Hermione and I will propose the plan before Order."
Ginny gripped Harry's hand gratefully and the groups continued to talk and plan late into the night.
It was well past midnight when the little group said goodnight.
Ginny hugged Draco goodbye and she and Harry saw them back to their car.
Draco gently carried the sleeping Astrid out to the car. He was about to deposit her into the passenger seat, when his eye caught the forms of Harry and Ginny on the horizon as they went for a stroll in the garden. He paused and watched them, or rather Ginny, from afar for a few moments.
Astrid awoke, still in Draco's arms, and she squirmed to be put down. Once on her own feet, she too focused on the figures in the distance.
"He simply oozes goodness, doesn't he?" Astrid asked, in an uncharacteristically dreamy tone.
"You say that as though it's good thing!" Draco snapped. Astrid shrugged and sighed, and then she focused on the far-off pained expression on Draco's face as the couple disappeared from sight.
"Are you still in love with her?" Astrid asked carefully, leaning against the car.
"I love Pansy," Draco said simply.
"Are you saying you don't love Ginny? And that you'll never love anyone else?"
"No."
"Which question did you answer?"
"Both of them," Draco answered honestly, there was no point in lying to Astrid.
"Are you going to tell her?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Monster, someday you'll realize how messy and painful these things can be. You don't just say that to someone. Besides, you saw them, they belong to each other."
"I see they have a certain something that's special, but I've seen what you and Ginny had too. That was special in its own way."
"They're soul-mates Astrid, destined to be together. Haven't you heard Granger go on about it ad nauseum?"
"Hermione Granger isn't that smart!" she snapped sharply. "And she only admits to what's convenient for her little Carina de Florette charm."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it'll be easier to implement that plan of hers if Harry and Ginny are in love, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll always be lovers. Just because they're soul-mates doesn't make them immune to all the problems that every other couple in the world have.
"Monster! They're SOUL-MATES!"
"Yeah… so? They're soul-mates… two souls who are destined to travel through many life-times together. Where does it say anything about bonking?"
"Monster! Language!"
"Please! You say worse in your sleep. Soul-mates can be siblings, parent-child, friends, anything. That's the point, to gain experience from a variety of relationships lifetime after lifetime."
"But they're not siblings, and they're quite good together," Draco said reluctantly.
"I know. I'm just trying to point out they have as much chance of staying together as anybody else."
"Humpf… that's something to think about. How'd you get so smart, little Monster?"
"Dunno," she shrugged. "Must be the Muggle blood."
Draco looked at her sharply, but softened immediately. "Must be." Something flickered in Draco's heart, something between hope and fear. Hope that he might one day be given a chance to prove himself to Ginny again. And fear that if the day came, he would fail again.
"Of course, assuming he survives the next couple of months, Potter will still be around. They'll still be soul-mates even if they break-up as lovers. They wouldn't be apart for long. You'd have to share her, not as a lover of course, but you'd have to accept that she has an intimate relationship with someone else. Could you do that, Draco?"
Draco stared at her blankly for a moment. "That might be a problem," he admitted. "Okay, I swear, if I ever get a chance with her again I won't screw it up. I promise."
Authors Notes:
YAYAYAY! So that's the end of the Hogwarts years! We'll be exploring the future in the upcoming chapters.
As always a big thank you to Jocjarmom for all her hard-work and hard-nagging!
I'd like to express my gratitude to all my Draco girls. You've been very patient and well behaved over the past few Harry chapters. You'll be well rewarded in the next chapter when we learn more about Draco and Ginny's 3 years together. (If anyone is confused by that statement, then it's time to go back and read the Prologue again. It's all in there.)
"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it" is from Edmund Burke. Whether or not he was actually a wizard is a point open to debate.
Draco's choice of automobile is a nod to my own family history. My great grand-father owned a Bugatti dealership among his many interests. And my grandfather, who couldn't be arsed to actually work for a living, used to race the cars across the Sahara desert. (Yes, he was crazy and no, he didn't live to a ripe old age.) But then Musolinni and the Nazis came along and changed everything.
The idea of the twins inventing laughing gas grenades was pinched from "After the End" on Sugarquill. READ IT! It's wonderful. (Draco is very unreformed, but we still like him quite a bit.)