The Hidden Secrets
A Hermione/Draco Romance

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I am not JK Rowling, nor do I have anything to do with Harry Potter besides fanfiction. I am not making any money out of this story, and I am not worth suing.


Chapter 10

The stone statue in the front of Dumbledore's office was to one side, leaving the door wide open. Draco felt his blood freeze as he heard a familiar voice from inside the main office... his father! But what was he doing at Hogwarts? His father never came to the school if he could help it... it could only mean one thing... he knew about Hermione. Nothing else would bring him down to the level of other parents by visiting the school.

Slowly, he stepped into the office completely. His father was standing there, snake-head topped cane in hand as per usual, and he turned as his son stepped into the room. "Draco. It is about time you arrived... I need to talk to you, privately, if Professor Dumbledore doesn't mind, of course..." He glanced at Dumbledore, who was already walking towards the door. "I don't mind at all... I will give you ten minutes to discuss things privately," he finished as he closed the door behind him.

Lucius turned back to Draco, who had gone from very angry, to very still. "Well, Draco. A member of your house has informed me that you are not being entirely... faithful... to your true heritage by fraternising with a Mudblood. What do you have to say for yourself?" Draco looked his father in the eye. They were the same height now, and Draco was long past being scared of Lucius.

"So what if I am? It's my life I'm ruining, isn't it? Why should you have anything to do with it?" he said as calmly as he could. Lucius smiled, a feat which didn't reach his eyes. "Why should it have anything to do with me? I am your father, Draco, and everything you do is related back to me. I know you are either dating (his face took on a momentary look of disgust), or sleeping with, that Mudblood bitch, and I don't want you to have anything more to do with her. When You-Know-Who returns, she will end up like the rest of them - dead. Besides, it will make the Malfoy name look bad in the ranks of the DE's, and I can't let that happen..." he turned as he finished speaking, looking at the window behind Dumbledore's desk.

Draco glared at his father. "You can't let that happen! Well, whoever said you were letting anything happen? I don't have to answer to you about what I choose to do with my life, and you know it!"

Lucius, though angry, didn't let any sign of emotion cross his face as he turned back around to face his son. "If you don't stop your... your... relationship with this Mudblood, you will no longer be a Malfoy. You will no longer have anything to do with her, or you will no longer have anything to do with the Malfoys..."

He looked at Draco for any sign on anger, resentment, anything. Nothing came, no look crossed his sons face. Draco took a step towards Lucius, silently daring him to make a move. Finally, he spoke. "Do you really think that will stop me from doing what I want to do, father? I couldn't care less about the Malfoy name at this instant, because it is you, father, not me, who is an embarrassment to it. Besides, when I leave here, I'm not going to be hiding behind a name. I'll earn my own respect, as I have done here. And if that means I will do it without being a Malfoy, then so be it. Good bye, father, I don't want anything more to do with you if I can help it..."

And with that, he stalked out of the office, almost knocking Dumbledore over as he started to walk through the door. Chuckling under his breath, Dumbledore looked at Lucius and walked to his desk. "Now, where were we...?"


Servus stood near the doorway of the office, waiting until Draco stormed out. He caught up with him easily, and laughed sadistically. "What's wrong, Malfoy, have a little fight with father? Don't worry - at least you still have a father who cares enough to come to the school and tell you off..."

He didn't have a chance to finish speaking as Draco whipped around and punched him hard in the stomach. Winded, Servus doubled over, trying to catch his breath. Draco stood there, fists still clenched, and waited to see if Servus would throw a punch back. He didn't, instead, he laughed. "You know, that's something I'm really gonna love... taking you down a peg or two. By the time I've finished at Hogwarts, they won't even remember there was such a person as Draco Malfoy..."

Draco, anger building up, turned on his heel and walked towards the prefect common room. If he stayed near the slimebag, he would end up doing something he would regret in the long run.

Inside the common room, he stalked towards his room, grabbed his towel and shower things, and retreated to the main bathroom. Gregory, who he shared the bathroom with, was at a catch-up class, so there was no real threat to finding someone else in the bathroom. That, he was glad of. He didn't think he was up to talking to anyone without yelling at them, or something worse.

Two hours, and a very long shower later, he emerged from the bathroom feeling calmer then before. What was it about Servus that got on his nerves so much? It wasn't as though the guy was a threat to him in any way besides mentally... if it came down to a one-on-one battle, Draco knew he would walk away the winner.

Making sure there was no one in the common room, he walked to his section and sat down, rubbing his eyes. His father had always been a source of discomfort for him, everyone thinking he was hiding behind the family name. Personally, Draco thought his mother was just as bad. Always walking around as though there was an annoyingly persistent bug that wouldn't die close to her. In a way, there was. Neither Narcissa or Lucius had ever wanted a son, Draco had been an accident, nor did they ever let him forget that - even when they were threatening to disown him, Draco knew that he was a disappointment.

Hearing someone walking along one of the corridors, he grimaced. He didn't want to be disturbed now he'd finally found a quiet place to be. His grimace soon turned to a half-smile as Hermione walked into the common room. She noticed him straight away, and the change in face expression. She seemed almost lighter, somehow, with every step she took.

"What's wrong? You look... different..." he started as she took a seat next to him. "I got an owl from a place near Mt Shilvernoss... apparently, they found someone matching my description, but they've already been taken from the hospital. I don't know if its Ron, or Harry, but there's a big chance it will be!" She finished her sentence with a laugh, and Draco pulled her into a hug. Now it was her turn to be surprised... he seemed distant. True, he had never really gotten along with Harry and Ron, but she thought he'd be a bit more supportive. "What's wrong, Draco? You're the one who's different... has this got something to do with seeing Dumbledore today?"

He pulled out of the hug, the smile he wore never touching his eyes. "It wasn't Dumbledore I had to see... it was my father. He's found out about... about... us... somehow, and he's threaten to disown me if I don't break it off with you..."

He didn't have a chance to finish before Hermione jumped up from the seat. "What do you mean by 'disown'? You mean, he'll cut you off without a cent to your name?" Draco looked confused for a minute, by the word cent, but guessed it was a Muggle thing. Finally he nodded. "Yeah, I won't have a thing," he finished.

Hermione took a step back. "Then, what do you think you're doing by staying with me? I'm not going to be the cause of you losing your family money, your name. What do you take me for?" Draco stood and walked towards Hermione, who stepped back and headed for door. Hastily, he tried to apologize. "Hermione, you mean more to me than money..." he let his voice trail off as he realised what he'd said out loud. Hermione looked as startled as the proverbial deer in the headlights. "Draco, don't. You can't let me stop you from getting what you deserve..." and with that, she turned and ran from the room.

Damn, he thought to himself, this day goes from bad to worse... He turned towards the fire, realising the kindling box was askew. He walked over and straightened it out, noticing there was a trapdoor of some kind there. Slowly, he lifted the door, finding the small chamber underneath filled with things used in protection charms - candles, oils, and a small notebook of handwritten sayings and charms. There were a few other things inside the compartment, like the silvery grey cloak he knew to be an invisibility cloak, and the glass flask with the bright blue, thick liquid inside.

Cautiously, as though he were worried of being caught doing something he shouldn't, he replaced the trapdoor over the compartment. There was only one person at Hogwarts who'd had an invisibility cloak, and that person hadn't been at the school for a good while. The only person he could think of to be the one using the compartment was Hermione... but the protection charm, though simple, was illegal without Ministry permission! Why would Hermione, still someone who feared to break the Ministry laws, no matter how many school rules she had broken, cast an illegal charm that would get her thrown out of the school, and possibly into Azkaban? Surely her friends couldn't mean that much to her... could they?

Stepping back from the box, Draco looked around for any sign of someone coming. There were things others did that he didn't understand, and possibly never would. The main rule he had grown up with was 'take care of number one, and number one will take care of you.' Even though he wanted nothing more to do with his father, or his father's way of life, there were things drummed into his head that would be very hard to get rid of.

He headed out of the common room, heading for his room, making a mental note to confront Hermione about the box. But first things first... he had to get her back!


A/N: I know, I know, sucky ending, but it was the best I could do for the time being. Don't review with 'when are there gonna be more SS's" because I'm workin' on it!