On the off chance anyone reading this was hoping for some sweetness at some point, I'm happy to say you now get your wish.
The next week weighed heavily on Hermione, now that she was also working on trying to break Death Eaters out of prisons. But every day that Draco woke up and tried to be a functional human felt like a relief she was happy to work hard towards.
Harry's most recent lesson with Professor Dumbledore had steered him more towards trying to get Slughorn's memory than suspecting Draco, so that was one less task on her plate. Hermione was still frustrated as he idled over pages in the stupid Prince's cheaty textbook, trying to find a shortcut to a deeply hidden and critical memory.
"Harry, you won't find anything in there," she couldn't help saying one weekend evening while she slowly wrote an Astronomy essay, brainstorming barriers that might be placed on the Malfoy manor.
"Don't start, Hermione" Harry replied testily. "If it hadn't been for the Prince, Ron wouldn't be sitting here now."
"He would if you'd just listened to Snape in our first year," Hermione replied, swallowing the intense terror and shame that she felt whenever Ron's almost-death came up. "That stupid Prince isn't going to be able to help you with this Harry. There's only one way to force someone to do what you want," she continued, having thought about this a lot lately and how she would try and get Order help to break out some Death Eaters. "That's the Imperius Curse, which is illegal-"
"Yeah, I know that, thanks," Harry said dismissively. "That's why I'm looking for something different…Dumbledore said Veritaserum won't do it, but something else might."
Hermione could feel a blood vein pump angrily in her temple. "You're going about this the wrong way," she replied, gritting her teeth. "Dumbledore said you're the only one who can get the memory – that must mean you can persuade Slughorn where other people can't."
Her anger evaporated as Ron interrupted her and Harry's snippy argument with a stupid, easily fulfilled spell check request. If only everyone's problems could be this simple to fix, she thought as he professed his love for her.
The brief reprieve was interrupted though, when Kreacher and Dobby arrived with a loud crack.
"What is this?" Hermione asked after regaining her composure. "What's going on, Harry?" He immediately looked guilty, and then Kreacher and Dobby revealed the truth: they had been spying on Draco Malfoy.
The revelation felt like a cascade of ice water down her neck as Hermione tried to remember if she had ever been with Draco when not Disillusioned. She listened while holding onto her wand, wondering if she would need to Stupefy them all and try to Obliviate them or make a hasty exit with Draco from Hogwarts. But when neither house elf looked at her and instead referred to a "variety of students" and the Room of Requirement, the horrible tension eased.
"Dobby, have you managed to get in to have a look at what Malfoy's going?" Harry asked eagerly.
"No, Harry Potter, that is impossible," Dobby replied, and Hermione felt such a heady rush of relief it made her head spin for a moment.
"No it's not," Harry rudely said immediately. "Malfoy got into our headquarters there last year, so I'll be able to get in and spy on him, no problem."
"But I don't think you will, Harry," Hermione said, keen to keep pushing Harry off this path. "Malfoy already knew exactly how we were using the room, didn't he, because that stupid Marietta had blabbed. He needed the room to become the headquarters, so it did. But you don't know what the room becomes when Malfoy goes in there, so you don't know what to ask it to transform into." And there's no way in a million years you would ever think to ask it to turn into the place we fuck around doing mind-altering charms, she thought. I don't even know what Room he goes into when I'm not there. She suddenly recalled a time Draco said he would rather be anywhere except the Room. He must be spending the majority of this year in there.
"There'll be a way around that," Harry said dismissively, but Hermione felt at ease for now that her and Draco were still safe, even if he had figured out Crabbe and Goyle were Polyjuicing outside the Room. With another jab that Draco wasn't Marked, and that Harry should be focusing on Slughorn's memory, Hermione went to the girls dorms, Disillusioned, and headed out to the Room in case Draco was there.
He wasn't – given it was very early Monday morning, that wasn't surprising. Hermione bit her lip considering the urgency of her message for him. They needed to set up a Protean Charm so she could urgently message, Hermione decided. She headed to the Owlery, penned a short note (11pm, with the tiny fish), and headed back to her dorm, mulling over the best option for messaging.
She hadn't counted on Harry's utmost determination though. Harry hissed at her all breakfast about his plans to try and break into the Room of Requirement and catch Draco in the act immediately after tea and toast during his free period. Hermione made a show of ignoring him but her heartbeat picked up again. Ok, so I have to warn Draco now, she thought, slightly nervous. Now that she thought about it, she had never approached Draco during the daytime.
What if it's awkward? she thought suddenly, imagining trying to subtly get his attention without Pansy Parkinson noticing while they lined up for a class. The image was patently absurd, but Hermione couldn't help but feel an undercurrent of childish apprehension as she looked over at the Slytherin table. Draco wasn't there, but Gregory Goyle was.
The opportunity to kill two birds with one stone clicked into place in her head, irrevocably and uneasily. Imperiusing someone who was alone, easy to overcome, and close to Draco would be the best way to get him a quiet and quick message, as well as practice an illegal spell she was probably going to need in the near future.
Hermione did feel a tiny bit of her soul die as she watched Draco's horrible, dumb blood supremacist friend drink his coffee and scoped out which exit he would take when he left for class. Especially at how automatic it felt to suddenly decide she was going to attack an unsuspecting person. But you can't afford to feel this in a blood war, she told herself as she excused herself from breakfast and watched Goyle like a hawk as she dawdled outside the Great Hall. This sort of instinct would help keep her alive. And it was only going to get far worse over the coming months and years. Get over it, Hermione.
She put her robe hood up, cast a Notice-me-Not Charm, and checked a couple of rooms outside the Great Hall to find one which was empty. Then Hermione waited beside the door of an unlocked closet, heart thudding in her chest. She was just thinking through her backup plan if it all went horribly wrong (Stunning and Confunding charms at anyone in the vicinity) when Gregory Goyle walked past, alone aside from a few other students around.
It all happened very quickly. She grabbed his arm while casting and pulled him into the closet. A quick lumos revealed Goyle was under, and a few terrifying moments passed as she waited to see if anyone had noticed he had been pulled aside. No-one entered the small room and Hermione breathed out slightly, feeling cold sweat stick between her hair and her neck.
Ok. Step one complete.
She let go of Goyle's wrist and he stayed still.
"Tell me where Draco Malfoy is," she commanded, gripping her wand tightly as she focused on retaining control of Goyle's mind.
"In our dorm," Goyle replied blankly.
"Go to Draco Malfoy and tell him someone wants to speak to him outside the common room," Hermione ordered. "Then exit the common room and wait." Goyle left and she Disillusioned herself and followed several paces behind, waiting by the wall by the Slytherin common room entrance after the puppeted boy disappeared into the brick wall.
Several minutes passed and Hermione felt increasingly uneasy. How long would it take to give him a message?
Finally, the wall opened back up and Goyle emerged, alone and standing in the middle of the corridor blankly. Unless he was always this dumb, it seemed very obvious to her that Goyle was cursed. Hermione swore internally and reached out gingerly to pull him to the side to find out what had happened, her invisible hand tugging at his robe sleeve.
A loud snap noise behind her made her jump, and a half-second later a curse hit her torso with the force of a car crash.
The pain was blinding and dissociating. Her brain was seconds behind a fast-moving reality. The shaking feeling of her body crumpling as she was blasted several feet away from Goyle. The sound of her body and head hitting the cold cobblestone floor. The last of her winded breath squeezed out of her lungs as someone knelt on her back and disarmed her. A shocked noise from behind her as someone pulled her up by the shoulders.
She blinked. Everything felt soft and fuzzy except her lungs, which were screaming.
"-ione? Can you hear me? Granger?"
It was Malfoy. She blinked again and his face came into view, right in front of hers, looking between both her eyes in rapid succession for signs of consciousness.
She tried to reply, but her lungs burned and nothing came out. Hermione reached for her throat as she gasped for breath, trying to sit up and wincing in pain.
"Wait, wait I can - wait-," Draco said as he jumped back like he'd touched a hot stove. She heard objects fall on the ground and pages rustle. "Ok – anapneo," he cast, and Hermione felt some of the tension in her lungs give. Able to breathe in, slightly and painfully, she gestured at her chest.
"It hurts," she tried to say, though it came out as a whisper. She breathed in again and closed her eyes to deal with the pain, tears spilling down her face.
"I – I know," Draco said. "Take this." He tilted her head and poured something down her throat. The pain dulled somewhat until he tried to lift her arms above her head and she recoiled.
"No," she whispered, trying to wrap her arms around herself.
"I know it hurts," Draco replied shakily. "But – but you have to breathe. Come on."
He tugged gently on her hands and Hermione acquiesced, breathing out and whimpering as he raised her arms to try and open up her lungs. After a few moments, she could take quick, shallow breaths without unbearable shooting pain in her chest. He let go of her tentatively and she dutifully focused on not crumpling into a fetal position, bracing by placing her hands on her raised knees.
With more oxygen in her veins and less shooting pain in her chest, Hermione opened her eyes and the room swam more into view. There were several beds and silver-green curtains. She looked at Draco, eyes wide and crinkled in confusion.
"You're in my dorm. No-one'll come in, don't worry," Draco said.
He looked a mess. His face was slick with sweat like he had a burning fever, and veins popped on his neck and hands. He twisted his wand in his hands like he wanted to snap it. He looked both furious and terrified.
It was a long, almost silent moment between them – her shallow breathing was the only sound as understanding clicked into place. He had attacked her.
They both moved at the same time. Hermione's shallow breathing grew quicker with fear and she put her hands to her side, trying to push herself away, and Draco lunged towards her to grab her arms.
"No no no no no," he said desperately, holding her in place. "No, please Hermione, stop-"
"You-" she forced out, room spinning as panic set in and ripped away the tiny amount of air she had gotten back. Hermione tried to push his hands away with no success, his long fingers locking her completely in place.
"I didn't know it was you!" Draco said, voice high with panic. "Why did you curse Greg? I thought it was one of your lot! What's wrong with you! Why would you do something so stupid?"
Anger took over her fear as she realized he had cursed her by accident. "Who- else- would've- wanted- to- talk-" she started, hissing haltingly as each word took all the air she had, trying and failing to pull away from him. He leant close to her mouth to hear her, but having understood what she wanted to say mid-whisper, jerked his head up to look at her, expression furious.
"Are you a fucking idiot?" Draco said, voice harsh with self-righteous anger. "Why would you send an urgent message like it was an ambush?! I could have killed you! Oh god."
His mood turned again and he pulled her up into a hug, crushing her shoulders and head into his chest. "Don't ever do something like that again!" Draco said. "That was the dumbest fucking Gryffindor thing you've ever done." Hermione's head spun as she couldn't breathe again, and he pulled her away as she made gasping noises.
"Fuck. Ok, just, just breathe, just – here, anapneo," Draco cast, letting her shoulders go and grabbing another bottle from the bedside table. "And take this." He handed her another bottle of what Hermione surmised was a pain potion, as well as a book and quill. "What was so urgent?" Draco asked. "Don't talk, just write." He grabbed her left wrist again and stared at her, intently and angrily.
He wasn't going to let her go, Hermione realised. Didn't matter how angry she was. I may as well give him the sodding message, she thought, and she focused on steadying her breathing while scrawling her message down untidily in the back of the ancient looking textbook he had passed her. Draco leant over as she wrote to read it.
Harry is currently stalking the Room of Requirement, trying to break into the Room you're in when Crabbe and Goyle stand guard.
Draco's brow furrowed as he read her note and she tried to unscrew the pain potion bottle with her free hand. "How does he know about that?" he asked. He took the pain potion off her and twisted the cap off with his right thumb, and she picked up the quill again.
He has house elves trailing you.
He looked at her, startled, and Hermione continued writing, knowing what he wanted to ask.
They don't know about us, she clarified. Draco frowned slightly at this, looking off into the middle distance.
"So…can't have been watching for very long then. Not from before Weasley," he said. Hermione realized he was recalling their reckless behavior between Valentines Day and Ron's poisoning, and nodded. Draco gave a sort of irritated shrug and looked away, sighing.
"Shouldn't be a problem. Thanks," he said shortly, letting her go and handing her the second pain potion, then putting his head in his hands. Hermione felt her anger and fear fade as she saw how anguished Draco looked. Maybe he has a point, she thought. It was visibly obvious that Goyle had been cursed. And Draco had every reason to be paranoid. Hermione reached back for the quill and wrote a further message, poking him to read it.
We really need a way to communicate urgently.
"Yes," Draco replied heavily. He stood up and pulled a trunk out from under the bed, rummaging around for something. Hermione looked around awkwardly while waiting, suddenly trying very hard not to think of the fact she was clandestinely holed up in Draco's bed.
Eventually he stood back up, murmuring quietly as he enchanted something in his hand. He held it out to her and she picked up the small object he was holding – a silver bangle.
"Protean Charm," he said, undoing his watch as he started to enchant the metal back of the clock face. "Password is Juniper. Should work both ways, but let's test it to be sure."
He sat back down on the bed beside her, finishing the charm on his watch. Hermione turned the bangle in her hands – it was simple and flat on the inside. Draco reached over and put it on her right wrist.
"Should heat up when a message comes through. Needs to be noticeable but not burn you, obviously," Draco said. Hermione reached for the book she was writing in while he magicked a message into the back of his watch to send to its charmed twin.
I did this for Harry's Defence group last year, she wrote. Draco half-laughed as he read her note and finished his message.
"Yes, you were the one who gave me the idea," he said, looking at her wrist. "Did it work?"
The bangle grew hot against the inside of her wrist, and she pulled it off and tilted it to read what he sent.
Don't scare me like that again.
His wretched regret, the immense pain thudding through her body, and the beautiful magic and words were overwhelming. Hermione looked around for her wand, and Draco reached into his pocket and gave it back to her so she could send her reply.
She magically etched her reply into the bangle and sent it, and watched as Draco turned over his warmed watch face to read it, his body becoming very still.
Sorry. I love you.
Suddenly wondering if it was too much, Hermione averted her gaze and focused very intently on fidgeting with her new bangle, but Draco leaned over. He brushed aside her braids and balanced his cold fingers tentatively on the side of her face, turning her head so slightly and kissing her so gently it felt like a dream.
Everything else he had done to her – the curses, the grand gestures, the fighting, the sudden desperate kisses shoved up against a wall – had all the gentleness of a freight train. He never holds back, she thought, mind blank with shock. It was absurd, but the tenderness made her feel afraid.
He broke the kiss and tucked her braids behind her ear, and Hermione felt another wave of shock to see he was crying. "I need to patch you up," he said, looking at a spot above her right eye that Hermione assumed was swelling like an egg from where she hit the floor. She reached up to wipe some of the tears from his face and his eyes shuddered shut.
"But how long do you have until someone finds out you snuck a girl into your room?" Hermione whispered. To her relief Draco laughed, shaking his head and breaking the tension. She felt the goosebumps on her arms recede.
"You leave the rule breaking to me," Draco said, letting go of her to reach over to the potions he kept by his bed, and handing her a Sleeping Draught. "I'll sneak you out in a few hours. Please get some sleep."
Grateful to escape the heavy emotional atmosphere, she took the potion and lay back without complaint, letting Draco sigh and start Healing Spells as she almost immediately passed out.