Friends Close, Enemies Closer
Chapter 3: Bellatrix and Books
Draco's initial enthusiasm for preparing his mission quickly dwindled over the next week.
It only took him about two hours of lurking around the store a day to look like he was actually doing his job, so he spent the rest of his time prowling the streets of Hogsmeade in a hooded cloak (it would look highly suspicious if the exact same man were seen around too much) looking for members of the Order. Draco was becoming increasingly frustrated, and even shooting sparks at random children to scare them when their parents weren't looking had begun to lose its appeal.
And he was absolutely sick of practising this stupid smarmy "pity me" act that he had prepared for any Order member he might happen to meet.
Draco had sat in front of his mirror for hours, inventing a tantalisingly dramatic story about witnessing two Death Eaters murder a Muggle without being able to help, practicing the facial expressions that went with it, and adjusting the thick tone of guilt in his voice until it was absolutely perfect.
His eyes would spill over with fake tears; his hand would run distractedly through his hair; and he would adopt a look of desperation as though the event had overwhelmed him.
"And then they came toward the girl, and all I could do was stand rooted to the spot," he narrated to his own reflection. "I would – I tried – but then they pointed their wands at her, and still I didn't do anything."
He gave a convincing hiccupping sob.
"Draco, what the devil are you doing?" called an irritated voice from the fireplace.
Draco whirled around, the pitiful expression disappearing from his face immediately and hardening into his usual sneer. His Aunt Bellatrix's head was floating in the flames.
"Just practising my act to convince Order members that I am sympathetic to their cause," he explained, brushing away the two fat tears that had leaked onto his cheeks.
Bellatrix's thin lips curled into a malicious smile that somehow didn't quite reach her eyes. "My, what convincing tears you have," she sang in an amused voice. Then, as quickly as her good nature had come, it disappeared. "Report on your efforts this week," she snapped.
Draco told her smugly about running into Weasley and Granger earlier, and how he had joined them for a drink.
"I see," she said, apparently somewhat impressed despite herself. "And when are you seeing them again?"
" 'Again'?" he asked meekly.
"Yes, 'again', Draco," she snapped impatiently. "You did manage to secure another meeting, did you not? How else could you possibly hope to have them trust you enough to let you in the Order?"
Draco gulped and tried to think of something to say. He came up empty and instead tried to pretend like he had something caught in his throat to avoid answering. He gave a couple of very fake coughs.
Bellatrix stared at him, completely unimpressed. "Draco, you have gone to school with these children for six years. You can't think of one way that you could contact them without having it look suspicious?"
"Well… Granger reads a lot," Draco offered.
"Oh, very observant, Draco," Bellatrix sneered. "I applaud your astute character evaluation. You'll make an excellent spy for the Dark Lord with those skills. What do I care if the girl reads a lot?"
"You didn't let me finish," Draco shot back, his confidence returning slightly. It was one thing to show deference to the Dark Lord. He did not like to seem weak in front of anyone else. "If she's been shut up in headquarters all day she'll start to get bored. It's a powerfully frustrating feeling, to be trapped in a place you don't want to stay. Surely you, Aunt Bellatrix, understand that. After all, that's how you managed to kill Sirius Black, wasn't it?"
His careful compliment had its desired effect. Bellatrix's thin lips turned upwards slightly at the corners.
"The first thing Granger will itch to do is to research and read. She will want to find books about the Dark Lord's first rise, see if she can spot similarities. All I have to do is to plant myself outside a bookstore, and she'll come to me," he finished with satisfaction, amazed that this thought hadn't occurred to him all week.
His aunt gave a rather pleased smile that somehow made her face uglier. "Good to see that you're actually capable of using your mind, Draco," she said haughtily. "A Malfoy mind is a terrible thing to waste."
Draco gave her a charismatic smile.
"When you see Granger again," she said, "make sure you make plans to meet with her for another time. The Dark Lord has offered to help you earn her trust."
"What sort of help?" Draco asked, genuinely curious. His master had not been so forthcoming with advice or help last year.
"He has been planning an outright attack on a location in Hogsmeade for some time now," Bellatrix explained. "He has foreseen an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
"Once you have secured an appointed time and place to meet the Granger girl, you must report to me immediately. The Dark Lord will send out a small contingent to attack whatever place you are at the appropriate time. You can pretend to fight the Death Eaters and remove the girl to safety. It would be an ideal time to earn her trust."
Draco never ceased to be amazed at the Dark Lord's ingenuity. It was ruthlessly efficient: a show of brute force in the open soon after Dumbledore's death would terrify the wizarding community and it was the perfect ploy for him to gain Granger's trust.
"I—Send him my most humble thanks," he said to his aunt. "I will, of course, follow the plan he has so kindly laid out for me."
"Of course," Bellatrix said. "Until your next report, Draco."
With a small pop she left his fireplace.
The largest selection of books in Hogsmeade was to be found in the back of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. There was no proper bookstore, but the shelves of books that stood in a separate area in the back were enough to satisfy most wizards' and witches' needs.
Draco perched himself on a comfortable armchair with a clear view of the entrance on the first day after he had spoken to his Aunt. It was only a matter of time before Granger would show up. He was sure of it.
She didn't come on the first day. He resorted to reading "Unfogging the Future" by Cassandra Vablatsky. When he went home that night he thought he saw a soggy, misshapen club in his cup of tea leaves. According to the book, this foretold an attack. How fitting, he mused vaguely to himself.
On the second day his wait became so unbearably dull that he ventured into the stacks of books again. This time he read some absolutely inane book titled "The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle." It was completely useless drivel. He made a mental note to have his father shut down the publisher. Then he remembered that his father was still in prison and tossed the book angrily in the wastepaper bin when no one was looking.
By the third day he had become so ridiculously bored waiting for Granger that he considered going back to his job at Dervish and Banges. He decided that he must be going crazy, and thus instead spent the rest of the day reading books from the "Self Help" section, learning about common magical mental illnesses.
When the fourth day arrived, he could no longer fight the boredom. In resignation, be picked up a giant book entitled "Hogwarts, A History." If Granger did not show up today, or in the next century for that matter, he had this enormous tome to occupy his time.
He read a passage about how Gregory the Smarmy had gotten his nickname with some interest. He could picture that statue standing in the Hogwarts corridor sucking up to the teachers pathetically. It probably wasn't unlike the way Potter to worm his way into the favour of so many teachers, Draco thought bitterly.
"Hi Evan," said a voice suddenly from somewhere above him.
Draco promptly jumped up from his seat in surprise, dropping the book to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Oh, sorry!" the voice apologised. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just came by looking for a book and recognised you sitting there."
For the first time in his life, Draco looked up and was grateful to see Hermione Granger standing in front of him. He mentally berated himself for almost missing her because he was so involved in that ridiculous book. When had he become so interested in reading things?
"No, it's not your fault," he said. "I've just been a bit jumpy lately."
It was a perfect lead-in to his alone and friendless story. He waited for her to offer a sympathetic response and give him an opportunity to elaborate.
"Hogwarts, A History?" she asked, spotting the book that had fallen and changing the subject completely. He glared at her as she bent down to pick up the book, wondering how one person could be so infuriatingly uncooperative.
"What's the matter?" she asked, spotting his expression. Draco quickly forced his frustration out of his mind and off his face.
"Nothing, really," he lied. "I just… um… I get really annoyed when I lose my place."
"I'm exactly the same way!" she said enthusiastically. "And this is one of my favourite books."
"Really?" He wasn't actually surprised that she liked the book. It was just the type of dull rubbish that she was likely to pick up her millions of useless facts from. He was more surprised that he himself had been genuinely engrossed in reading the thing.
"Oh yes," she said earnestly. "I love reading about everything that has happened at Hogwarts. It makes going to school there a million times more interesting. Then, when you're walking past the tapestries you can remember all the funny stories that the book tells you, and you can give a little laugh to yourself that no one else understands."
He found himself actually laughing at her strange comment and her enthusiasm. Almost immediately, he cut himself off, disgusted.
She gave him a now-familiar strange look.
"Erm, are you still in school?" he asked, trying to direct her attention away from her strange behaviour.
"No," she said shortly. Her expression clouded over, and he took this as his cue to press on.
"What about your friend that I met the other day, Ron?"
"No, neither of us are going back this term."
She sounded a bit depressed about this. Draco could only suppose that she missed the homework or something equally strange like that. But there was something more to her tone. Was it anger? Annoyance? Of course, Draco realised, she and Weasley had probably been bickering again, and she couldn't wait to rush out of headquarters to get away from him for a bit. Well, that was convenient. He could use that to his advantage.
"I'm in a bit of a rush," she said quickly. "I haven't really got time to chat." She turned hastily toward the bookshelf and began to browse.
"Wait," Draco protested. "You always seem to be in a rush when I see you."
This comment seemed to make her even more flustered. "Sorry," she said shortly, pulling a massive black book from the shelf in front of her.
"Hermione, you seem like a nice person," he said.
She was barely listening to him anymore. He needed to secure that second meeting quickly, before her attention faded and she ran off back to headquarters again.
"I'd like to see you again, Hermione," he continued. "Maybe sometime when you're not hurrying off to somewhere."
She gave him a suspicious look. Draco compensated by putting on his most pitiful expression. He had spent time honing this in front of the mirror. It was absolutely perfect. He was sure of it. Big pouty eyes, slightly down-turned lips, a slight little sigh. Granger would not be able to resist.
"I live alone you know," he said quietly, convincingly. "And I come here to read because I get scared being by myself. It makes me feel safer here. I haven't been out of school for very long, and I'd really like to make some friends around town."
"I don't know…" she said uncertainly.
"Listen," he said slowly, sensing her apprehension. "I don't want to pressure you into anything. I'm just saying that I might happen to be sitting outside Madam Puddifoot's on Friday afternoon at around 4, enjoying a good book. I may even be sitting at one of those outdoor tables under those frilly umbrellas with two cups of tea. If you happen to wander by on your way to Scrivencraft's or anywhere else for that matter, well, then, perhaps you'll sit down and enjoy the second cup of tea that I would otherwise have no use for."
She stared at him incredulously. "Are you asking me on a date?"
He took in her surprised expression with some amusement. Granger was probably too involved with her books to ever have caught a boy's interest before. Vaguely a few names popped into his mind: Viktor Krum, Cormac McLaggen and Ron Weasley. He shoved them out of his mind impatiently. Ok, so maybe Granger did have love interests. Those stupid blokes clearly had horrible taste in girls.
"Not a date," he said, struggling to force a slight smirk onto his fake. "Just another one of these chance encounters that we seem to be having so often. I've come to rather enjoy them."
She seemed to still waver a bit, but then quite suddenly, her expression hardened in determination. There was something he had never quite seen in her eyes before. He thought it might have been rebelliousness. She gave a little half smile in return. Like taking candy from a baby, Draco thought to himself. Stupid, desperate Granger.
"Maybe I'll see you then," she said.
As he watched her carry her purchases out of the shop, he couldn't help but consider how strange this situation was. He, Draco Malfoy, had just asked Hermione Granger on a date, and she had accepted.