~Chapter Twenty-Nine~ Connections from the Past

It had taken almost three quarters of an hour to assuage all of Ron and Viktor's doubts, and even then the pair of them had left grumpily, particularly put out to be so summarily dismissed after all their concerns because of it still being a work day. Hermione had provided them with a slightly edited version of the events of the previous night, expurgating the part where Draco had to carry her to bed and stay with her, and even then they had questioned her closely, keen to ensure that Draco was keeping his distance in private.

Ron had been somewhat hurt to have been so completely left out of things, but even he couldn't argue against the logic of giving him and Isobel stress-free space to handle the twins. It had not been difficult for Hermione to figure out that the large majority of his outrage had come from a sense of betrayal at the idea of her, as he had put it, "shacking up with Malfoy".

It had been a struggle not to just scream out that even if she did decide to, it still would be none of his business, but that would have been counter-intuitive, and would only invite further suspicions and arguments.

Viktor was quite a lot more pragmatic. Although it had taken a little time, once he had been assured of her safety and consent in the situation, he had very quickly settled down, and apologised for the hasty words on his arrival. He was far from ready to approve of Draco, but she could tell that his opinion had at the least not gone down, if not gone up very slightly.

Harry had been very helpful, adding his support to the events and reasoning, and reiterating that the decision had been made in Kingsley's office and with the Minister's explicit approval. Ron had eventually allowed himself to be led away by Harry, leaving Hermione to farewell Viktor before she made her way into the office. Even so, by the time she and Harry were able to return to the Ministry, it was somewhat late in the morning, and both were feeling frazzled.

"Remind me to send you something after all this is over," Harry said wearily, easing himself down into his chair with a sigh. "I don't think I could have handled Ron like you did."

Hermione gave a weary chuckle. "I could say the same for you. Trying to control him until this morning can't have been easy."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "To be honest, most of that was Ginny."

Hermione nodded, it made sense. The youngest Weasley had always had the strongest will.

"I'm, uh, glad you resolved the point about where you'd been last night." Harry's cheeks flamed. "I couldn't explain it without knowing, and Ron was–"

"Jumping to conclusions?"

"Yeah."

Hermione sighed. "Well, he wasn't totally wrong, in as much as Draco and I were together. But honestly. Even if this wasn't a charade it's really not his place to comment." She shook her head, very firmly pushing thoughts of where she had been when she woke up to the back of her mind. "Enough of that though. Let's get cracking on this case."

Harry nodded. "What have you got today?"

Hermione brightened, flicking her wand at her bag. A stream of books and scrolls rose out of it. "Well, on Sunday, Draco and I worked on translating these." She tapped the covers of the thoroughly musty books "They're very ancient texts, and I was debating over a translation of one line where they mention those two grimoires that Narcissa Malfoy told us about. I think it's the title of the light one, but it was just eluding me. Then last night, just before I fell asleep on Malfoy's couch, it came to me! Maybe I don't need to translate it accurately. Everything that I've read so far seems to indicate that the same love magic that was behind yours and your mother's sacrifices is a large portion of what the light grimoire is about. It's a complete guess, of course, but that then made me think. There was someone we both knew, who did probably just as much research into the light magic as Bellatrix did into the dark!"

Harry's brows crinkled as he wracked his brains. Eventually his expression cleared. "Dumbledore!"

Hermione snapped her fingers. "Exactly. If anyone could have found the light grimoire, or its twin, it had to have been him. I owled Professor McGonagall the moment I got in. I'm hoping that by early afternoon we might have something! A lead. Maybe even the book!"

Harry beamed. "That's excellent, Hermione. Really excellent. Dumbledore had a lot of secrets. I don't want to get over confident, but I think you really might have struck something."

Hermione smiled. "How about your end?"

Harry's positivity fell somewhat. "Same old, same old, really." He sighed. "And there've been more sightings of the Lestranges around Scotland. They've been popping up all over the place. Mostly up north but then some are saying they've seen them in London. I'm not sure whether it's a hoax at this point."

"It's certainly strange behaviour for people on the run."

"Exactly." Harry blew out a great breath. "But we can't ignore it with all of this going on."

Hermione nodded.


By the time Draco dropped his parents off to the Ministry, and then returned home, it was a relief to sit in silence for two minutes together. After clearing up that her son's apparent relationship was simply for work, Narcissa had happily set to dropping increasingly unsubtle hints about what she would like to see in a daughter-in-law, and thinly veiled remarks about grandchildren. Even Lucius had said something to the effect that it was important to continue the family line.

Despite the fact that it had set him on edge, Draco had done his best to rein in his feelings about the subject. It had been a long time since he had seen his mother so happily animated, and it even seemed to have a soothing effect on his father, who slowly eased out of his sulky annoyance. It was nice for the atmosphere to reach something closer to relaxed, even if the cost was his own disturbance.

Dilly pattered in from the kitchen and gazed up at him, waiting for him to re-engage from the torpor he had reached at the foot of the stairs.

"Yes, Dilly?"

"Master has a letter." She reached up with both hands, proffering the envelope that had arrived that morning along with all the others.

"Ah yes, thank you, Dilly." Draco took it absently, examining the stationary. It wasn't anything he recognised. "How was your evening off?"

"Most enjoyable, thank you sir."

"And your sisters are well?"

"Oh yes, sir, thank you sir. They like their families."

"I'm glad."

"Dilly will go tend to the garden now, sir."

"All right. Thank you, Dilly."

The little elf gave a bow and a smile, and then pattered back towards the kitchen.

Draco retreated upstairs to his office, thoughtfully turning over the envelope until he found his letter opener, and slit it open, scanning the contents.

He sighed. "But of course that's going to be today."


Half an hour later he had dispatched an owl to the Ministry with his location and activities, was immaculately dressed, and in the reception of Witch Weekly once again, waiting for whoever his interviewer was. He sighed and plucked at his sleeve, dusting off a tiny fragment of lint. All the editor had mentioned was that it was someone who had offered their services specially. He very much hoped it wouldn't be Rita Skeeter.

"Draco."

Draco's head jerked up at the voice, and his eyes narrowed as they landed on Pansy. "Pans. You are my interviewer?"

"In the flesh."

"Very well." He stood, straightening his robes, and followed her to one of the side rooms the magazine kept for such purposes. It was small, with a table and chairs, and a window out onto Diagon Alley. Even so the place felt dark.

Pansy gestured to a free seat, taking one herself, and picked up a quill from the desk and holding it poised over her parchment.

Draco sat, feeling a lot more on edge than he had before. Rita Skeeter was one thing. She didn't know him. Pansy knew what to look for. He felt the tension in his body and forced himself to loll indolently back in the chair, legs crossed and at his ease.

"So. Miss Hermione Granger." Her quill began scrawling. Pansy was one of those with an unsettling ability to write without looking at the page.

Draco met Pansy's eye. "Yes."

"You both seem very devoted to one another."

"Yes. That's what happens when you meet an equal."

Pansy's thinly pencilled brows twitched with interest, the quill pausing for a moment, her dark eyes boring into his. "An equal you say?"

"Yes. We're very well matched in intellect and prowess. It's quite invigorating. I've never been much of one for idle chit chat, as you know."

"Some might wonder whether you are equally matched in your ethics…"

Draco kept his tone even. "Yes, I would say so. Once upon a time that was not the case. That's no secret. But people change, and they grow. Hermione is clear sighted, and she could see who I am, not who I was. The fact that she sees me as I am today, rather than the boy I once was, means a great deal to me."

Pansy's eyes lingered on him for a few moments, then her quill began scrawling again. "How interesting. What would you say to reports that this relationship is a publicity stunt?"

Draco frowned slightly. "Hermione answered that question when it was put to us by Rita Skeeter after we went public. Do you expect me to answer differently?"

"Of course not. But I have my questions." Pansy's eyes bored into him.

Draco gave her his best disdainful eye roll. "Fine. No, this relationship is not a publicity stunt. There is no material way in which either of us would stand to gain from it. In fact, we're both more likely to have to suffer for it, than gain from it. This very question is evidence of the fact."

"I see." Pansy's tone was slightly tart. "Many of Witch Weekly's readers were quite dismayed by the recall of yesterday's issue. Comment?"

"Reporting on someone's private life is all very well, but there is a line, and anyone with even basic ethics can see it." Draco replied sharply.

"Mmm." Pansy made a note. "It made you angry then?"

"Yes, of course it did. It was a gross invasion of our privacy."

"I see. And you have been very private, up till now."

"Of course. It was necessary until my father was released from Azkaban. As we have explained, we wanted both our families to know before the public did. And we would like to still retain a normal degree of privacy, as any couple might. We understand that due to the nature of who we are, some attention will be inevitable, but we both hope that the press and public will be able to respect our boundaries."

"And how do your parents feel?"

Draco paused. "They are adjusting. Naturally it would be unreasonable to expect a rapid welcome to such a change, given my family's history. But the Re-education Classes run by the Ministry have a wonderful effect."

"Brain washing?"

"Broadening the mind." Draco said firmly.

"Fascinating." Pansy's eyes glimmered with something distinctly snake-like. "And how would you say your relationship stood up to the secrecy? Was there ever any strain?"

Draco's brows twitched. "Only the ordinary strain one might expect from having to move to and fro covertly. It is a great relief to us both to be able to be seen in public together, although the amount of public interest is a different sort of strain to have to contend with now."

"How interesting. And what would you say to reports that may or may not be circulating to the effect that you were seen…intimately involved with another member of the wizarding community who wasn't Miss Hermione Granger? Recently."

Draco sent a silent prayer to Morgana thanking his lucky stars that Blaise had remembered. He hadn't heard anything from Blaise, but there was no way this couldn't be part of whatever plan he'd come up with. "I would deny such a rumour most thoroughly."

"Even if the lady in question swore it was yourself?"

"She must have mistaken me for someone else. It wouldn't be the first time that someone opportunistic has targeted my family in such a manner."

"I see." Pansy's voice was a slightly higher pitch, and Draco knew it was an indicator of her annoyance. "How interesting that Zabini should say the same thing."

"Well then, it must be true, mustn't it. Seeing as he was there with me."

They met each other's gaze for a few long moments, light and dark eyes equally unblinking.

Eventually, Pansy broke away. "Well. What would you say has been the most eye-opening part of your relationship?"


Hermione marvelled over the book sitting on her desk. The Muggle side of her itched to put on white gloves before she handled it, but a simple enough barrier charm replaced the need for such things, twinkling faintly in a fine mesh over her hands. Her whole mind was still tingling with the satisfaction of her hunch paying off. Harry had been called out to another alert about the Lestranges, this time near Hogsmeade, and she was alone in the office. It was preferable that way. There was something about handling the book that felt like it needed to be done in private.

Professor McGonagall had been in touch promptly, confirming that something matching the description was amongst his possessions, and very soon after had portkeyed Hermione the book, straight from Dumbledore's preserved collection. It was amazing to hold something that had such an important place on the edges of so much lore. In her research she had discovered that even though the books were often never directly referred to, in many translations they remained, and had later given rise to the more general distinctions between light and dark magic.

To look at it was a plain object. The leather cover bore no indicator of the contents and was simply finished, dyed a faded white. The sole mark on the whole thing was a series of seven interlocking diamonds of different sizes and dimensions, almost completely overlaid with each other, stamped into the centre of the cover and brushed with gold.

It looked like little more than a notebook, but for its evident age. Even so, the magical aura coming off it was powerful. It was almost like a warning, for despite the fact that the magic inside was the direct opposite to that which its dark twin contained, she knew that it was still potent and would need to be treated with care if she was going to use anything within the pages for experiments to remove the Dark Marks.

Thrilling with excitement, she opened the cover, turning the first page.

A piece of parchment slipped out, drifting onto the floor.

Hermione carefully closed the cover again, stooping to collect the scrap, and turning it over. The parchment was certainly newer than the book, and there were three words written on it in thin, slanting handwriting in brilliant green ink.

Pilgrim & Sly's

She frowned. The name was unfamiliar to her. She placed the torn piece of parchment to one side on the desk, and returned to the grimoire, still puzzling over the matter.

After a few moments, she pulled out a square of purple paper for interdepartmental memos, and began to write.


Happy New Year everyone! I really wanted to get in an update for January as well. I've taken on a lot for this year with trying to get my novel published as well as trying out a few different avenues for generating income (starting my own shop on Etsy and trying freelance work), so the once every two month update schedule is going to be staying a bit longer than I had thought. To help combat this though I'm bringing back my sneak peeks on my Facebook page in the months between updates!

That said, we are getting to some really exciting stuff, and I can't wait to see all of your reactions to the upcoming chapters! This one is rather short and sweet, but it sets the stage for the stuff to come!

Initially I hadn't intended for Pansy to make an appearance at all in this fic, so it's been really fun to give her a little bit of a bigger role after her appearance at Monte Rosa and to play with that dynamic. As I see it, the majority of her nosiness is professional interest, but there is also still that little bit of personal curiosity that's linked to her past with Draco. Blaise, of course, was Draco's saving angel, arranging things behind the scenes so that Pansy would get wind of the story about Draco's misjudged night out.

I hope you enjoyed it, and have had a good start to 2021.

Please do review and/or favourite :) Tell me what you like or don't like :) Questions and speculations are always welcome :D As is incomprehensible flailing if that's what you go in for :)

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