~Chapter Thirty-Four~The Knife's Edge
Hermione woke feeling remarkably well-rested. At first she wasn't sure why that was surprising, then she remembered the events of the previous day, a shivering sweat sweeping over her body for a moment as the shadow of her nightmare passed over her, but driven out by the scent of pine and snow that surrounded her. She breathed it in deeply, trying to fill more than her lungs with it, unable to make herself feel guilty in that moment for taking such calm from the mere smell of Draco. She opened her eyes, and her heart fell when she saw the empty side of the bed, the only indicators of his presence a dent in the pillow and the last lingering hints of his scent.
A vague sense of hurt and disappointment mingled in her, and she quickly got up, stumbling into the shower, not because she needed another, but to wash the last of the intoxicating smell from her. All the usual words she used to shake herself back into control seemed to have less effect, some part of her brushing them away, knowing that keeping her distance and remaining professional weren't what she wanted. Much as she now valued his friendship, she wanted more, and she was too tired to be scared of the feeling.
Out of the shower she pretended that it had all worked and headed downstairs, attempting to ignore the hope that she would find him in the kitchen. It was like trying to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room, except this elephant was also loudly trumpeting exactly what it thought and wanted.
The house was deserted but for Crookshanks and a note on the dining room table.
Hermione,
I hope I did not wake you when I got up. I have some things to attend to this morning. Potter and I will come over before lunch for a meeting about how to progress on the case from here. He flooed, and we agreed that it would be best for you to take today easy as well.
Draco
Hermione sucked in a deep breath, forcing down her disappointment about his absence and the terseness of the note.
This is good. This is as it should be. He's being professional.
The rational thoughts were not enough, however. If anything, they made her feel worse. Something was hurting in her chest, and swallowing was painful, as though there was a large knot in her throat. Part of her wanted to crumple up the missive, but instead she folded it carefully, tucking it away in a drawer at her desk, and forcing her attention onto making breakfast.
I'm Hermione Granger. I'm practical, remember. I'm bloody practical!
"Hermione?" Harry glanced around the sitting room, trying to shake the ash from his robes back into the grate with limited success.
"Just upstairs, Harry! Be down in a second!" Hermione's voice came faint down the stairwell.
"OK!" Harry moved to glance over her table of notes, but unable to make head or tail of the diagrams and reference books laid out, took a seat. He had barely relaxed into the upholstery when the floo chimed and Draco came striding into the room.
"Potter." Draco nodded curtly.
Harry gave a responding nod. "Malfoy."
"How's the morning been?"
Harry tilted his head from side to side. "Could be better, could be worse."
"Hm."
Hermione came downstairs, her arms laden with books on magical theory, her expression brightening as she spotted both men. "Just a second." She quickly shuffled over to the desk, setting the stack down with a thud, and then took a seat. "Ready." She forced herself to keep her eyes on Harry, despite the fact that there was something in her chest that felt an awful lot like Pigwidgeon zooming around with excitement caused by Draco's presence.
"Right." Harry leant forwards. "I had a meeting with Kingsley this morning."
Hermione's eyes widened.
"I've informed him that we're making progress on Dark Mark removal, and that things are looking promising on that front. He's very relieved."
Hermione nodded. "I really do think there's some solid basis for a cure between the two grimoires. It's very dense reading, but I think I'm gaining a better understanding of how the curse worked in the first place."
"Excellent." Some of the worry lines in Harry's expression eased very slightly. "The Minister also asked about the attack yesterday. He believes it could be linked to some remaining Pureblood extremists or even ex-Death Eaters and says we shouldn't take the threat lightly. As much as things have gone smoothly with the charade, there have been some murmurings in that quarter in reaction to you two being together."
Draco nodded seriously, Hermione somewhat reluctantly.
"He also doesn't want the public to be stirred up into a panic. We're allowed to continue with the ruse to draw out the murderer until Sunday. Even though they didn't do anything last weekend, we are still going to act as though they might. Hit Squads will be on standby over the weekend. After that, he'll make a re-evaluation based on what happens. But you both must be careful. With two targets on your backs, no chances can be taken." Harry met Hermione's eye pointedly, and she nodded.
"Yes, Harry."
"Good."
"I agree with caution," Draco added. "We know we've stirred something up amongst the remaining Purebloods and extremists, which means it's likely to have reached the murderer."
Harry nodded. "As dangerous and difficult as it is, it is a good sign that the ruse is being effective. Well done on the idea, Malfoy."
Draco inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.
"How you both behave in public has to be very carefully curated from now on. Including today, we've got four days for you to continue to draw attention without provoking an attack from these extremists, and without the murderer thinking that we're onto them. Then Saturday and Sunday we need you out and visible as targets again. This time will be critical."
Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It can never be easy, can it."
Harry gave a ghost of a smile. "Afraid not."
Hermione frowned. "To be honest, I can't really think what else we can do that we haven't already tried. We've gone from lovebirds to a full-blown scandal to an attack."
Draco nodded. "True. We have somewhat overachieved."
"The first thing is this – Kingsley wants you to know that finding a cure for the Dark Marks is a priority for you, Hermione." Harry turned to Draco. "And he wants you to take over the decoding work, Malfoy. The curses got us to the grimoires, but I'm not certain they will bring us many more clues about figuring out the murderer's identity."
Draco nodded. "I see the point."
"About the charade," Harry continued. "We know that you have the attention of the extremists, and probably that of our murderer. Given the attack, it would be expected for you to be at least a little more retiring. All we need is for some continued low-key public appearances. Not enough to provoke a strong reaction or to place you in immediate danger before Sunday, but enough to make sure you stay on the murderer's radar. We've gotten this far, and we don't want to lose their attention for the next murder. Kingsley suggested that we indicate that you've taken some time off after the attack, Hermione. It will free you up for some more frequent appearances, and for studying the grimoires. And it should help to decouple the idea that Malfoy might be involved in the case if you're both out during working hours."
Hermione nodded. "It's a good idea."
"Granger should research at my apartment."
Harry and Hermione's eyes snapped to Draco, one curious the other conflicted.
"It's more secure than here – built on old wizarding real estate. You've done a good job here, Granger, but time and magic make for a strong combination. The protective spells have been in the stones for centuries. And if I have time, I can help with the grimoires too."
Harry was nodding thoughtfully. "It's a good point. With these extremists, it's probably better to be in Central London, Hermione. If something happened, the Aurors would be able to respond faster as well." He frowned suddenly. "What about Ron and Viktor?"
Hermione sighed. "I think they're onside enough to control themselves. They won't like it, but they know better than to do something stupid which might jeopardise the case or my safety."
Harry nodded. "Good."
Draco continued. "If Hermione comes and goes via my front door during the day, someone is bound to see and it will be passed around the gossip rags. It'll help the ruse in the subtlest way, and then we can just take meals out in the evenings and for lunches together. It's also innocuous enough that even Weasley and Krum shouldn't get too strapped."
Harry nodded. "Perfect."
"Did your team get any leads from Knockturn Alley yesterday, Harry?" Hermione's expression was a mixture of hope and anxiety.
Harry pulled a face. "Nothing. None of the traders actually saw who put the Imperius Curse on them and we couldn't find anyone who spotted your attackers arriving or leaving."
Hermione sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I'm not surprised, but still."
"I know. I have some Aurors sent out to try and find any murmurings of anti-Muggle-born sentiment out there. They might turn up something. With any luck, they could even find clues linked to the case."
Silence fell as they all thought for a moment.
"Well. If there isn't anything else, I'd better head off to chase up some of these trails." Harry made to stand.
Hermione and Draco nodded.
"Take care of yourself, Harry."
Harry nodded. "Watch yourselves."
"We will."
Draco watched as Harry disappeared into the floo, waiting until the last of the green flames had died away in the grate before he turned back to Hermione. "What Potter said, it reminded me of an idea I had yesterday."
"Oh?"
"I was wondering whether, if you felt up to it, you might let me into your mind to see your memories of the attack. If they are Death Eaters, there could be something about them that you saw which might let me identify them. A characteristic spell or something."
Hermione nodded. "It's a good idea. I should've thought of it sooner."
"Are you OK with reliving it?"
Hermione let out a deep breath. "Obviously a Pensive would be preferable, but I can do this. It's not the worst that's happened to me." She met his eye, her own expression one of fierce self-control. "Do it now."
Draco opened his mouth to query the advisability, but he could see from her expression that she wasn't about to accept a deferment now that he had mentioned the idea. He sighed. "Very well."
It was the work of a heartbeat to detach his consciousness from his own body and fly across into her mind. The touch of her mind warmed him and felt almost like a homecoming, a bright gentle welcome and quiet contentment. Draco let himself relax into the sensation, beyond repressing his feelings or guilting himself over them. He felt Hermione pull his consciousness along with her, dropping down towards her memories, watching them like bright bubbles as they passed below him. Then they were in the memory of the attack.
He was standing beside her outside Pilgrim & Sly's, watching her transfigure the cover of a book called Poisonous Fungi and How to Grow Them into a replica of the dark grimoire. Then she was off and moving quickly, a spring in her step as she left the dingy shop behind her and headed for the distant light of Diagon Alley.
The silence and stillness of Knockturn Alley immediately made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, even without knowing what was coming. The alley was never silent like that.
He was walking backwards up the alley with her and saw the darkened figures lurking in another of the side lanes that broke off the main stretch seconds before she was brought down by their tripping jinx. Going against his instinct to stay by her side, and forcibly reminding himself that this was a memory in which his presence would change nothing, he ran away from her, towards the lane where the figures stood.
They rushed out past him in pursuit of her, black cloaks swirling and casting spells as they ran, ducking to avoid the spray of bricks from her return curse. Their faces beneath the hoods were covered, not with the silver masks of the Death Eaters, but with some kind of spell. It was like black silk pulled into the shape of a snarling face, but it moved and fluttered as though in water pulled by a current, and never slipped or showed the faintest hint of the wearer's features.
Swearing to himself Draco ran along after them, teeth clenched in a silent snarl as he watched Hermione be blasted backwards through a shop window by the force of an Expulso Curse, and reflexively ducking in an attempt to avoid the Reductor Curse she fired back. He watched the spell burn through one of the attacker's robes, and then straight through his own torso, wincing as it did so, but focusing on the attackers.
As Hermione got up and ran once more for the light of Diagon Alley, he watched as she sent two more spells over her shoulder, and let out a grunt of triumph as he saw each hit their targets. He was level with the attackers once more as they grunted and swore, one wobbling around on ridiculous jelly legs, the other stuck fast to the cobbles. The one stuck down fired off another curse which took out a shop sign above Hermione's head as she continued to run, and Draco wished he could tear the masks away from the faces.
They spoke to one another, but what they said was garbled, a multitude of voices are layered upon each other in a scrambled cacophony that it was impossible for him to make head or tail of.
They cast the counter-curses on themselves, and then were running after her once more. He watched as one, slightly taller than the other, whipped a wrist in a gesture like a whip-crack that was all too familiar to him, and forced himself to watch as the jet struck true, catching Hermione directly between her shoulder blades.
She seemed to hang suspended in mid-step for a moment, the crackle of the Cruciatus Curse spreading across her back, before she fell with a scream.
Draco didn't need to see any more. He pulled himself out of the memory, moving up, feeling Hermione's consciousness follow him as he returned back to his own body.
He opened his eyes, and scanned her. Hermione was panting, a faint sweat across her upper lip. He knew she was experiencing the same adrenaline kick he had from watching the fight. "Are you OK?"
Hermione nodded. "Yeah. I've…I've never done that before."
"You should sit down and have something to drink." She allowed him to guide her to a chair in the kitchen and to bring over a glass of water that she sipped from.
"Thank you."
"Thank you. I know it can't have been pleasant."
Hermione grimaced slightly. "Better than the actual experience of it though." She attempted a weak grin.
"Indeed."
"Did you see their faces?"
Draco scowled. "No. They were masked with some kind of spell – I've never seen it before. It was like silk or smoke and covered their entire faces, there weren't even slits to see."
Hermione frowned. "I've never heard of something like that."
Draco nodded. "I don't know for certain if it was the same spell, but there was something else magical that concealed their speech. They weren't even speaking an actual language. It was all just gibberish, and all these different voices babbling together so you couldn't even hear their actual voices."
Hermione's eyes widened. "This feels too organised."
"Agreed."
"Do you think you can research the spells? See if you can find out anything about magic that could do those things. It might give us a lead. Even if they're not part of our case, it will be relevant to other things the Aurors are working on."
Draco nodded. "I can fit it in around the casework."
"I'm guessing you couldn't recognise anything about them then either. Mannerisms and the like."
"Not quite. I'm almost entirely certain they were men, and their robes did look like old Death Eater ones. The cut was dated. It's not impossible to get your hands on something from that period, of course, but…" Draco shrugged.
"Well. That's something anyway. It gives credence to the theory that the attack is separate to the case as well."
"Possibly."
Hermione raised a brow in question.
"I just don't think we should say anything is for certain unless we categorically know it to be true. Prematurely discounting one thing could make us vulnerable to attack."
Hermione nodded. "We should floo Harry with the information."
Another month, another chapter!
Finally! FINALLY! Hermione is really starting to stop resisting what she's feeling and thinking about Draco. She's not quite ready to act on it yet, but we're getting there! She's a little bit behind Draco in terms of personal revelations and giving up fighting against her feelings haha.
I also have far too much fun with legilimency and dipping in and out of their heads. I had some concerns about this feeling like just a recap of Hermione's fight, but hopefully it didn't come across like that and felt like it was still contributing something new. And what about these attackers and their magical masking spells? Are they related to angry Purebloods... Are they related to the case... Are they something else entirely...
It feels a bit unreal that we're not only in the second half of the year, but reaching the months that I fall into my classification of the end of the year. Since my last update, my state has been into a short sharp lockdown (our fifth of the whole pandemic) and come out of it again, so we're all feeling very fortunate. Hoping you're all doing OK, in lockdown or out, and staying safe in these turbulent and strange times. And, of course, that you enjoyed the chapter 3
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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