Disclaimer; JK Rowling's genius mind thought all of this up. I own nothing!
A/N Hello, here is the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews! Happy reading anddon't forget to review!
Last chapter...
"Me either." His pale eyes invaded her own as they shared a moment of uncomfortable silence. And then he brought his head up just slightly. Close enough to see every speck of silver in his eyes that gleamed in the rooms pale light. Close enough for him to count every eyelash on hers…
Malfoy Manor
Just then the door opened and Hermione brought her head up leaving Draco's head still resting on her shoulder.
"Everything alright?" Harry asked entering the room but not acknowledging seeing what nearly happened.
"It's fine." Hermione said. "Why is Ron acting like such a jerk?" she asked.
"I think he is having trouble getting over Malfoy's past." he said.
"That's just fine!" Draco suddenly shouted. "I will be gone in the morning."
"No you won't!" Hermione said. "I couldn't bear it if something happened…" she said through shining eyes. Harry nodded.
"Me too mate. I told you that you are welcome here. It is my house. I will talk to Ron." he said walking out the door and shutting it behind him.
Downstairs Ron was sulking due to Hermione's scolding.
"Listen Ron, we are best mates and all but you have to lay off of Malfoy. He could lead us to some very valuable information at his father's house tomorrow."
"He is just bluffing Harry? I can't believe either one of you can't see through this scam."
"He's not bluffing. I put veritaserum in his juice this evening. He is telling the truth." Ron's blue eyes widened at this.
"True?" he asked. Harry nodded.
"We need him Ron. I haven't forgiven him for all he did, but if he helps us find the remaining Horcruxes I will be forever indebted. So you need to be more welcoming and try to trust him."
"Fine, but I don't have to like it." Ron said folding his arms across his chest.
"But you will apologize to him right now. Go." Harry said in a serious voice.
"Fine." Ron said flatly making his way to the steps.
Upstairs Hermione had left the room and went into the bathroom. She had nearly kissed Malfoy.
'What in the hell was I thinking?' she asked herself. She splashed cold water on her face and straightened herself in the mirror. Then she took a deep breath before attempting to return to her room. Luckily for her when she got there she was met by Harry who was waiting outside the door for Ron.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked.
"Ron is apologizing. Just making sure he does it." Harry grinned. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and giving a giggle.
"Bet he loved that." she said. Ron came out the door a moment later.
"Happy Harry?" he asked. "I just said I was sorry to the little ferret."
"Well now that you mention it I am happy. I have a good feeling about our trip tomorrow. Everyone try to get some rest. Ron you are bunking with me." Harry replied.
"Where is Hermione going to sleep?" Ron asked already knowing the answer.
"Well Ronald I suppose in my room if that is okay with you."
"It's bloody not okay with me! He is in there!"
"I slept in there last night. It is fine. I need to keep an eye on his wounds anyway." she said entering the room and shutting the door behind her. Just inside she heard Ron stomp off down the hall.
Smirking she turned around to see Draco sitting quietly on the bed. His eyes were glazed over like he had been crying recently.
"You alright?" she asked sitting next to him.
"Fine. Just tired I guess. The past few days have been…hard." he admitted.
"Need anything before we turn in?" she asked.
"No." Draco replied scooting under the covers. Hermione reached over and pulled the sheets up to his neck. He looked so sad to Hermione. She gently brushed some loose hair off of his forehead before grabbing her night clothes and heading out the door to the bathroom. Her heart was beating unusually fast as she changed.
'What I am feeling for him is merely pity. Nothing more.' she thought. She pulled the long cotton nightgown over her head. It was white and adorned with tiny daisies. It was by no means sexy, but she felt good when she wore it. She tiptoed back down the hall and into her room. The door was slightly ajar and when she entered Draco was not in his bed but standing by the window looking out at the full moon.
"Do you want me to sleep in Harry and Ron's room? You look like you want to be alone." she said softly.
"Oh, no. Sorry. I just like looking out at the night sky." he replied. "My mum used to take me outside and teach me the stars and such. I guess it is just habit to stare."
"I didn't mean to interrupt you." she said sheepishly.
"No, its fine. I was just about to go to sleep." he said climbing back into bed. Hermione slipped into hers.
"Are you worried about tomorrow?" he asked her.
"No, are you?" she replied.
"I don't know. I hate that house. It used to give me nightmares as a child."
"I hope that we find something there. The three of us have been all over the world seeking information." she said staring at Draco, moonlight bathing her body in pale iridescence.
"I hope you do too." he said and that surprised her.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes." he said.
"Well, I am glad to have you on our side." she answered standing to walk towards his bed. She sat on the edge and looked at him, her body quivering, and her heart pounding.
"Do you mean that?" he asked.
"Yes." she replied her hand grazing his in a reassuring way. He smiled at her.
"Goodnight Granger."
"Goodnight Draco." she said smiling as she made her way back to her bed.
The next morning the four of them woke up early and ate a hasty breakfast. Hermione found Draco some suitable clothing and Harry let him use Sirius' old wand that he had inherited. The plan was to apparate to Malfoy manor in Wiltshire and go through Lucius' papers and books in the Malfoy library. At about 8am they were ready to go. Only Draco really knew the exact location so they all held on to him and apperated quickly to a small grassy hill just before the old decaying manor. It was not nearly as posh as Ron, Harry and Hermione had believed it would be. They snuck up silently and in through the rear door that only the house-elves used. The house was dusty and nearly dead silent. The only sounds were the creaking of the floorboards as they tried to tiptoe through the empty kitchen.
"This way." Draco whispered motioning for them to follow him up the narrow servant's steps. Draco led them, wand lit in front of him through what seemed like an endless corridor of spider webs and dust. They finally reached a small oak door that they followed him into a massive library. Hermione's eyes widened at the expanse of books and scrolls that lay about the large oak tables and bookcases.
"This is going to take forever!" Ron said exasperated.
"Just start looking!" Harry told him. "Hermione you take that shelf, Ron you take the one to the left. Malfoy you take where you think would do the most good. I will look over these scrolls." Harry commanded.
"Right." Hermione said taking a right and heading towards a large bookshelf covered with many dusty old volumes of strange books.
"A beginner's guide to evil, What it takes to follow a dark wizard, Evil creations, and Quick cooking soups and stews?" Hermione laughed at the last title as she grabbed them off of the shelf.
"What's up 'Mione?" Harry asked. She held up the soup book and giggled. Harry laughed.
"How evil." Harry joked causing Malfoy to look up from his pile of books. Hermione held it up for him and he blushed a deep red.
"Mum liked soup." he said guiltily.
She put the soup book down and flipped through the other three titles.
"Nothing much here." she called to Harry.
"Alright, try some more." he said.
She picked up some more dusty tomes and flipped through them carefully, looking for any signs, any traces of magic. Two hours later she had not found anything useful.
"Harry, nothing on this shelf, I'm moving on." she said walking to the next shelf and perusing through the books.
"'Mione, I think I have something!" Ron called. Hermione threw down her books and ran to where Ron was standing. Draco and Harry followed.
"What is it Ron?"
"This…it has plans on this paper for a secret passage under the kitchen. It looks big enough to hide the mirror of Erised. Should we check it out?" Ron asked.
"Let's go." Harry said determinedly. They left the library by the main entrance and made their way quietly to the kitchen. Harry and Ron pulled out the icebox and behind there was an old wooden door with no handle.
"Here!" Ron called to Draco and Hermione.
"Open it!" Hermione said excitedly.
Harry and Ron pulled and pulled but the door would not budge.
"Men." said Hermione. "Alohamora!" she cried. They heard a tiny click on the other side of the door and it swung open slightly. Hermione just rolled her eyes at the stunned men standing around her.
"Thanks 'Mione." Harry said sheepishly.
"Lumos." Ron said and the other three followed. It looked as if the corridor had not been used in years. Huge silvery cobwebs hung from every surface and Hermione gagged from the up rise of dust that the four of them were kicking up. It seemed to twist and turn for miles before they entered into a huge room that was only lit by one small hole in the ceiling.
"Incendio!" Hermione shouted pointing her wand at several unlit torches that hung on the wall. The room immediately brightened so that they could see.
The room was large and empty. Several stone benches line the walls and one large throne like chair sat in the middle.
"This must be where the death eaters meet." Harry said quietly. They looked around for signs of scrolls or parchment but none were to be found. Just then they heard voices coming down the hall.
"Hide!" Harry whispered.
"Where?" Hermione asked. The room had no available hiding places. Harry whipped a silvery cloak out of his sweatshirt pocket.
"Over here everyone. Crouch down as tight as you can!" They all ran over to where Harry was standing in the corner of the room and crouched down quickly. Harry spread the cloak over the four of them and they watched the door in hushed silence. Hermione hid her head in the nape of Draco's neck not wanting to see what was going to happen just yet. The cloak barely covered all of them.
"Why was this door open Wormtail?" an oily voice hissed.
"I know I closed it Severus. Maybe the house-elves?" he offered.
"No, they would not come in here without an order. The torches are all lit." he said.
"I don't know then. Why are you always trying to put the blame on me? I have always been his most loyal servant. I would never betray him." Wormtail said in a squeaky voice
"So you say you vermin. But when it comes time to die for him will you?" Snape asked.
"I would." Wormtail said proudly but not really sure of himself.
"Look around and see if you find anyone." Snape ordered.
"It is a round empty room with no doors or windows. Where would someone hide?" he sneered.
"Right. They must have gone. No doubt an order member. Search the rest of the house." Snape shouted. "We must make sure no one is here before we move the dark lord's greatest treasure into this room. The only useful thing Lucius has been able to provide us with since his imprisonment."
Draco winced at the sound of his father's name.
"Well what are you waiting for Wormtail? Clear the house!" Wormtail scuttled out of the room like a rat and Snape followed swishing his cape. They heard the door close and lock behind the pair. The four of them were still silent, breathing heavily. Slowly Harry stood up and took the cloak off.
"I think its clear." he whispered. The other three stood up. Hermione was shaking and Draco grabbed her hand to help her stand up.
"That was close mate." Ron said. Harry nodded.
"Snape mentioned something about bringing Voldemort's greatest treasure in here. Do you think it's the mirror?"
"Or another Horcrux." Hermione added. "But the mirror is most logical. He could hide the cup somewhere smaller. And the snake stays with him."
"Where to now?" Draco asked.
"I think we should wait for them to leave." Ron said.
"How will we know when that is?" Hermione asked. Ron shrugged his shoulders.
"We will wait for a few minutes." Harry said sitting on one of the benches. The other three followed suit. Fifteen minutes later they headed out towards the hallway. When they reached the exit Hermione realized that they had closed the door and possibly pushed the ice box back in front of the exit. Harry tugged at the door but it wouldn't budge.
"Alohamora!" Hermione whispered and the tiny lock popped open. "You would think the Lord of Darkness would employ a better security system than that." she giggled. Ron pulled open the door only to find the ice box was indeed blocking their way.
"Now what?" he asked.
"You would think that you never attended a single class at Hogwarts." she sighed. "Relashio!" Hermione said pointing her wand at the back of the ice box. It slid across the kitchen floor giving them a clear path to the back door exit.
"Well, well, well." a voice called. "Three order members and a traitor. What luck for us Wormtail."
The four of them spun around to find Snape, Wormtail and three other death eaters.
"Shit." Draco said.