A/N: I was so happy with all the pretty reviews I got! They made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I am sorry, because I meant to get this up sooner, but then I got sick and forgot. A thousand apologies.
Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter Universe, why on earth would I be writing fanfics about it?
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Draco walked slowly up the staircase that led to the Headmaster's office. Finally, he reached the door of his office at the top of the stairs and knocked.
"Come in," the gentle voice of the Headmaster came from inside. Draco opened the door and walked in, setting Anna on the floor.
"Don't touch anything please," Draco whispered to her, glancing around at all the fragile objects in the room. Dumbledore laughed softly, overhearing.
"It's alright, I have too many little knick-knacks anyway," he stood and looked down at Anna. "So this is the girl, Miss Granger's sister?" Draco nodded.
"I realize this is going to sound…highly unusual, but I would like to ask your permission to have her stay here and let me take care of her," Professor Dumbledore looked down at him through his half-moon glasses.
"And you do not wish for her to go back to her parents?" Draco frowned angrily, knowing that he had to know by now how horrible her father was.
"I will not send her back to that monster that is her father. You know what will happen if we send her home, and I will not be responsible for that. I will take her and Hermione both and move to some uncharted country before sending them back. He… he…" Draco broke off as his hand began to throb. "I wish I could tell you more, but I can't, because I made a blood oath with Hermione," Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.
"And I expect she keeps the secret of your own torment," Draco's head snapped up and he stared at the old man. "Yes, I know about that." Behind Draco there was a crash and he turned to see Anna standing over the pieces of a vase. Dumbledore laughed, and Draco turned back around to face him. "I never liked that vase much," Draco smiled briefly before talking again.
"Well, if you know about my father abusing me, you should also know that I am no longer a part of that family, no longer a Malfoy. I will not hurt Hermione or her sister, nor will I let anyone else hurt them."
"And you wish to adopt Anna?" Draco turned to look at the small girl playing on the floor.
"If that will keep her safe, yes I will adopt her," Anna stood and walked to the perch where Fawkes sat. "Is there any way to remove a blood oath? I mean, now we know that we can trust each other not to tell. The only way to keep her safe is to keep her away from her father, and that means that Anna will have to be removed from his custody. That means we have to take him to trial, and if this comes to trial Hermione will need all the witnesses and support that she can get." Professor Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.
"The blood oath can be removed by pricking fingers and mixing your blood, saying that you release the other from the blood oath," Draco smiled, but then it faltered slightly.
"And Anna? May I have permission to keep her here with me and Hermione?" Dumbledore rested his chin on his hands.
"I think that will be fine. I will notify the teachers, none of them should have a problem with it as long as she behaves and doesn't disrupt class. The only class I would question bringing her into is your potions class. Heaven knows enough disasters can happen in that class. Perhaps during that class you could get Miss Weasley to watch her," Draco smiled in relief and turned around to Anna.
"Do you hear that? You can stay here with me and Hermione," Anna smiled at him, and then went back to gently petting Fawkes. Draco watched as she stroked the Phoenix without fear of its talons or beak.
"To be that young again," Dumbledore sighed with a smile, watching the little girl.
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It was well past nine in the evening when Draco finally got Anna into bed. He had taken her on a tour of the castle and introduced her to the professors. She had not seemed surprised by anything she had seen, even though he doubted she had ever seen ghosts, or moving suits of armor before. Finally, he had put her to bed in Hermione's room before collapsing on the couch in the common room, staring into the fire. It had been a very long and trying day, and he was glad to have a few minutes to stop and relax.
"Mister Malfoy!" A sharp voice cut into the haze of exhaustion that surrounded him. His eyes snapped open to meet the worried face of Professor McGonagall. "Hermione's awake, but she's panicking and we can't calm her down." Draco jumped to his feet.
"Get someone to stay here with Anna, I don't want her to wake up and have no one be here," he snapped, rushing out of the portrait. As soon as his feet hit the tiled floor of the hallway, he broke into a sprint, heading for the Hospital Wing. He slowed to a walk outside the door, opening the door quickly and taking long strides into the room. Hermione was standing across the room, staring at him, her hair in disarray.
"Let me out!" She bolted past him to the door, which had shut behind him. She pulled hard on the handle, which would not turn.
"Hermione," Draco stepped to her side, gently putting his hand on her shoulder. She turned slowly to stare at him. "'Mione, your sister Anna is okay. She's safe here and you can see her later, but you need to calm down." She stared at him for a second, then her hand went to the locket around her neck.
"Oh Draco!" She collapsed in tears into his arms. Draco gently rubbed her back, holding her to him. He looked over her head to see Madame Pomfrey sighing in relief. Hermione finally stopped crying and just rested her head on his chest. "I want out of here, can I please leave?" Draco looked at Madame Pomfrey, who frowned and pursed her lips. He raised an eyebrow at her.
" I would really like to keep her here overnight for observation. She has many injuries that are still healing. If all goes well I will let her out tomorrow," Hermione sobbed softly into Draco's shirt.
"Listen," he whispered quietly, stroking her hair. "If Madame Pomfrey says I can, I'll stay the night with you." Hermione looked up at the nurse hopefully. Madame Pomfrey nodded slowly, gesturing towards the bed next to Hermione's.
"If anything happens, I'll be in my room." Draco nodded and helped Hermione back to her bed. She sat down atop the white sheets slowly, motioning for him to sit down next to her.
"I've been thinking," Draco started quietly, "that we should cancel the blood oath." Hermione stared at him for a second.
"Okay, but why?" Draco sighed and took her small hand in his.
"I won't let you and your sister go back to that monster. I want you to take him to court to gain custody of Anna, and I want to be able to support you and back up your statements," Hermione stared at their joined hands, then up at Draco's face.
"But I don't ever want to see him again," she said in a small voice, almost like a child.
"I promise I'll be with you, I won't let him hurt you again. Just, please, let me help you fight this."
"Fine," she sighed with a nod. "How do we cancel this thing?" Draco let go of her hand and reached into his robe pocket. He pulled out his silver dagger and held it out to Hermione.
"Prick your finger, but just enough to draw blood," he instructed. Hermione quickly complied, then handed the knife to him. Draco pricked his own finger, then pressed his finger to hers. "I, Draco Malfoy-Black, release Hermione Granger from the blood oath." Hermione looked into his eyes and softly said.
"I, Hermione Granger, release Draco Malfoy-Black from the blood oath." She felt a tingling spreading down her arm as her vision became blurry and the whole world slowly went dark.
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A/N: If you all promise to review I promise I'll write more, because I am trying to get more reviews than my best friend does, and so far, we're tied. I don't want to lose, so drop a review, even if it only says hello. Anne