From A to Z, From Z to A

By True Distortion

HBP Spoilers - Draco and Hermione are being hunted by Voldemort. Ron and Harry chose them to be the ones to go into hiding. Where and how long? For a year, in Malfoy Manor, of course.

Chapter One

I Am Naomi Thornpetal

They pulled up to Malfoy Manor in a small Ministry car, driven by Hermione.

Malfoy Manor was not a glorious castle, as one had imagined. It was a mansion but it did not come close to Hogwarts. It was beautiful, nonetheless, and three stories tall. The doors were large and oak, and were carved with the Malfoy crest. It seemed to be made mostly out of brick and marble, and there was a beautiful fountain in front of it. Water spurted out from a snake's mouth and bounced of the surface of the water under it.

Draco looked at Hermione waiting for her to gasp and marvel at its beauty. Yet, she grabbed her bags and began to walk to the door, not even stopping to look at it.

"So what do you think?" he called as he got his bags and shut the trunk of the car.

"It's decent sized. Nothing compared to the Thornpetal Manor," she shrugged as he walked up with keys.

"You're a Thornpetal?" he gaped.

"Found out three months before my parents died," she pondered over this and then said, "my adoptive parents."

Thornpetal used to be one of the houses of Hogwarts, founded by Theresa Thornpetal. The Thornpetal house was banned after the Minister of Magic found the lessons on Theresa to be too gruesome. Theresa Thornpetal was known for helping found the school, murdering half of the students with one knife, then attempting to murder all four of the other founders. But she could not do it, seeing as Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw were her best friends. They insisted on leaving everything as it was but the Minister of Magic, one century ago, had insisted on destroying all traces of it. All that is left of her is in the Forbidden Library in Hogwarts.

The door swung open, revealing a large dusty lobby. The lights switched on and lit up a large spiral staircase leading to the next two floors. Every few meters, there was a painting, of a beautiful item, or of an important family member.

"Guess nobody's been here in a while," Hermione swiped the dust off one of the tables and laid her coat on it.

"Come on, I'll show you where you'll sleep."

They trudged up the stairs, bags in hand, up to the second floor. They passed four doors before stopping at one. Draco turned the handle to reveal a large bedroom.

The ceiling was painted to resemble the night sky. Against the far wall was a four poster bed covered with purple sheets. The drawers, night tables, and desks were all painted pitch black. There was a door just in front of the bed that led to a washroom.

Hermione immediately dived into the bed and sighed.

"It's the Thornpetal colors."

"Well, I'm gonna sleep," he yawned, "See you tomorrow, Granger. Feel free to explore."

He shut the door and Hermione smiled.

'Explore, huh?'

She changed into black silk pajama pants and a white tank top that read, 'Kiss me, I'm me.' Grabbing her iPod, she swung open the door and slid down the banister. Landing squarely in the middle of the lobby, she pressed play and Smash by the Murmurs began blasting into her ears.

Hermione went through a large door that was just behind the stairs. She entered a large kitchen and danced through it, leading herself to a large dining room. As she glanced around, she jumped up onto the oak table and slid around on it before jumping off and sliding past another open door leading to a large sitting room, covered with paintings.

"Well, I'll be damned. If it isn't Miss Naomi Thornpetal."

She glanced around the room and her eyes came to a painting of a rather large woman in the middle of a library.

"You know me?" she asked, cautiously approaching the painting.

"Well, I think I would know my own granddaughter."

Hermione eyes widened at the painting.

"GRANGER! WHAT IS THIS?"

Draco came charging up to her with her PS2 in hand, shaking a fist accusingly at her.

"You went through my stuff?"

"Yes, I can't very well have you murder me with anything. And this! Is this some kind of weapon you plan to use against me?"

She howled with laughter as Draco stood there with the controller in his hand, looking confused.

"It's a video game system."

"Video game?" he asked.

"I'll show you it tomorrow. Do you have anything to eat?"

He walked out of the room. Before following him, she glanced back at the painting but her grandmother was gone, leaving an empty background of a library.

"I am... Naomi Thornpetal..." she whispered before following him to the kitchen.

Next Chapter Preview:

"You know, I think I'm starting to like this BS2 thing," Draco called to her as he played Extreme Racers.

"It's PS2, you dolt. If you break it, then you better buy me a new one. No TWO new ones," she called back as she wrapped her bathrobe around her.

"Why two?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.

She peeked her head around the corner of the washroom and into the bedroom.

"Because you can afford it."

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Whee! I know it seems sort of boring now but it will get better I promise. But for now, REVIEW!

….please?