Chapter 48

Draco's eyes went wide and his jaw actually dropped. It was all Hermione could do not to laugh. Even when it was just the two of them, as it was now, it was rare to catch her betrothed looking so off guard. He'd learned stoicism at his father's knee, and as much as she loved Lucius, she wasn't sure she could thank him for it.

Except, of course, given what she had in mind for the immediate future, perhaps she should.

Draco took in a sharp breath. "Have you been reading my mind, because that's exactly what I've been thinking."

She reached up to cup his jaw. "No, though I'm not entirely surprised to hear you say that. Except I'm guessing we're not actually thinking the same thing."

He frowned. "How so?"

"Well if I know you at all, you want both of us to quit Hogwarts and then flee Britain altogether to somewhere Voldemort's influence doesn't extend. Maybe, back to America?"

He nodded and shrugged. "We already have a house there that nobody outside of our family, Potter, and Sirius even know about. And even Father doesn't know exactly where it is. How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Like I said, I know you. First Neville was killed; then the Dark Lord ordered you to try and recruit me, or however you want to describe it; then Dumbledore was fired from Hogwarts; then Mr. Weasley. As Harry Potter's best friend, and simply by virtue of being a muggleborn, I have a target on my back, your instinct would be to get me out of the line of fire, and the most logical way to do that is to go into hiding. I bet you have been considering it, in the back of your mind, since the summer." She brushed her fingertips along the line of his jaw and smiled affectionately.

"And how is that different from what you're suggesting?"

"I don't think you should leave Hogwarts. It would raise too many questions, put your parents in danger if it looked like you were running away. We can't have the Dark Lord questioning their loyalties. It would ruin everything they've done so far."

Rage flashed across his face and Hermione knew that she was walking a fine line with his temper but she needed him to see the pitfalls of his suggestion before she told him hers, because she was certain it was going to take some persuading to get him to agree to it.

"So, what? I'm just supposed to sit back and be a dutiful son while you essentially send yourself away? We could be apart for years, Mia! We agreed to put each other first!"

"But I don't think running would make either of us happy in the end. I know it would break your heart to leave your parents behind, and I guess we could bring mine along, but I don't want to ask them to uproot their lives like that, and if they did I would feel terrible about it. And what about your heritage, you've been training to be Head of House your whole life, it's an integral part of who you are. And I know how proud you are to be a Malfoy, could you live with denying all of that. Especially because your parents don't have another heir."

"You would be worth it."

"But you deserve better than that, we deserve better than that."

"At the risk of sounding incredibly dramatic I can't live without you, love, not for a few months, and certainly for a few years."

"Neither could I, and I don't intend for either of us to ever have to try. What if I told you I had a different way of hiding?"

He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. "I feel like you're talking in riddles! Just tell me what you have in mind."

She nodded and got up, went to her desk and removed a book from the top drawer, then returned to the bed. She scooted so that she was sitting pressed against Draco and put it down in front of them. She stroked the text - which she knew to be ancient, but thanks to magic was in pristine condition - with reverence.

"What's that?"

"The Malfoy wife grimoire."

His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. "But we're not married? How can you access that?"

"We did a blood binding, the family magic accepted me."

"Is that why you wanted to do the ritual? For a book?"

She could tell he was incredulous, and for a moment she was tempted to be insulted, but she ultimately knew better. "No, I didn't know until afterwards. Your mother didn't tell me, she didn't want it to sway my decision."

"And you didn't tell me, why?"

"Because I've been using it to craft us some protective amulets, it was meant to be a surprise. I've only just finished them, it's been a busy school year."

"Oh," he said, obviously properly chastised.

"Anyway, I'm quite certain that's the reason your mother gave it to me. I seriously doubt she would have considered what I have planned. The enchantment was never meant for this purpose."

"Hermione, spit it out."

She shook her head. "Sorry. It's a method for enchanting a piece of jewelry so that the wearer's true identity is disguised."

"Like a glamour?"

"Not exactly because, as I understand it, it doesn't actually alter your outward appearance, but unless a person is keyed into the enchantment, they can't identify you. It's the ultimate form of hiding in plain sight. If I was wearing one right now even somebody who knows me as well as you do wouldn't be able to look at me and say: 'oh that's Hermione.' It was designed for children, so that they could go out in public and not be targeted for being Malfoys back when it was common to attempt to assassinate the heirs of your enemies, or kidnap them for ransom, before they grew old enough to defend themselves."

"I still don't understand, how is that useful to us?"

"Okay, bear with me."

"I've born with you so far," he snarked.

She rolled her eyes. "So, we spend the next six months publically growing closer." She held up her hands to form air quotes around the word 'closer.' "People are already starting to talk, they're believing that a plain little muggleborn would give up all her ideals and fall all overself to impress a rich, handsome pureblood now that he's willing to give her the time of day. Of course, they think you're up to something and that I'm being incredibly naive, but that suits our purposes."

"I don't like anything about this idea so far," he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Anyway," she ignored him, "at the end of the year Harry and I have a big, public falling out over my apparent betrayal. Then, next year, Hermione Granger doesn't return to Hogwarts and Harry makes sure to spread it around that I've been pulled from school by my parents and sent somewhere out of the country at Sirius' suggestion to get me away from your toxic influence which has the dual purpose of explaining my absence and it should satisfy the Dark Lord because what he wanted was to drive a wedge between me and Harry and isolate him."

"Oh, so now pleasing the Dark Lord is a good thing?" Draco sniped.

"It's a balancing act, you know that, unless you just want to announce your defection right now," she sniped right back, undeterred by his attitude.

He just huffed.

"But of course I won't have left Britain, or even Hogwarts. I'll be there, wearing an enchanted charm on my bracelet, posing as your betrothed. Well, obviously I actually am your betrothed, but I'll be posing as that French pureblood you've been talking about for years. And as your betrothed, Hogwarts charter allows me to be housed in Slytherin, with you, where you can best protect me," she rolled her eyes, "it's archaic, but again, it suits our purposes."

"My betrothed who just happens to be named 'Hermione?'" He asked scathingly. "You don't think that will make anybody suspicious?"

She shrugged. "You call me Mia, so can everybody else."

"That's my name for you," he griped.

"You'll live," she snorted but gently took his hand. "Think about it, Draco. We could be together all the time. What was that you said earlier? You could snog me in the library, and hold my hand in the corridors, and I could wear your jersey at Quidditch matches. Also, I could live at the Manor during school breaks without worrying about who might see me. Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"What about your parents?"

"Well I could still see them, it would be far easier than if I was halfway around the world. And I'm sure they'd rather I be at the Manor than on another continent."

"It's dangerous."

"It's not without risk," she admitted. "But neither is essentially going on the run. We don't know how long this war is going to last Draco, it could essentially be forever. We could always leave later if we need to, but once it's done it can't really be undone, we'd be forced to wait it out away from Britain. This way, I can be at your side, in the open, your partner. And we can have your parents' backs. We aren't defenseless kids anymore Draco, we could give most fully trained wizards a run for their money in a fight. I'm tired of hiding, aren't you?"

"But you would still be hiding!" He snapped. "You won't accept the idea of me turning my back on my heritage, but you'll turn your back on yours?"

"You mean by pretending to be a pureblood?"

He nodded.

"Draco, the moment that monster falls, I'll be shouting from the rooftops who I really am. I'm proud of my parents and where I come from. But right now, it isn't safe for Draco Malfoy to be with a muggleborn and I'd rather be here proudly at your side, fighting for our family and what we believe in, than hiding on an island in America." She met his eyes and smirked. "In fact, I'm very much looking forward to the day I can rub it in these bigots' faces that they couldn't tell I wasn't a pureblood and that their beliefs in my inferiority are nonsense. That you chose me."

"Damn it," he muttered, running his free hand through his hair, which had become an utter mess during the course of their conversation.

"Am I starting to convince you?"

"Yes, and it's very annoying!"

She laughed and swung around so that her legs were thrown over his and she could cuddle even closer into his body. "Please Draco."

"Okay, that's just fighting dirty."

Hermione lifted her chin to meet his eyes. "Pretty sure that's the Malfoy way."

"Wow, you found a way to make it worse," he groused, but the delight in his eyes told her that he very much liked her calling herself a Malfoy, no matter the circumstance.

She let him enjoy that for a moment. "Tell me what you're thinking."

He let out a long breath and nuzzled her temple. "I feel like I'm getting everything I could have ever hoped for at your expense," he eventually admitted.

"What expense?"

"You'll have to deny who you really are."

She sighed. "I wish we lived in a country - in a world - where blood status didn't matter. I wish Harry's parents' sacrifice had really meant the end of the Dark Lord. But wishing doesn't make it so. There's more to me than being a muggleborn, or being a Gryffindor, or even being called Hermione. This would be my choice and that's important to me. It's not ideal, I'm not going to lie to you, but it also doesn't feel like a sacrifice."

He just gazed at her before chuckling and shaking his head. "If you had even one magical relative you would have been sorted into Slytherin so fast it would have made mine look like a hat stall, you manipulative witch."

She nuzzled his jaw. "Coming from you I'll take that as a compliment. So, is that agreement?"

"Yes," he sighed, kissing her temple. "Provisional agreement! If our parents totally freak out, or I find a hole in this plan of yours, or if things go spectacularly south between now and the start of the next school year, I reserve the right to change my mind!"

"Alright," she sighed. "What else is on your mind?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Do I really need to reiterate how well I know you?"

"Fine," he muttered petulantly, though it wasn't quite believable. "I've also been thinking about some things in regards to my fellow Slytherins," and then he proceeded to rehash a conversation he'd apparently already had with Harry and Sirius.

Hermione let him speak for twenty minutes, almost continuously, and if she'd had any doubts before, she was now convinced that her plan was the right way to go. Draco had the facade that he wore in public as being cold, selfish, and ruthless, almost down to an art form. But the truth was that he had a tender heart, and she had already been convinced that he would never forgive himself for leaving his parents behind, but now she realized he'd feel almost as guilty for abandoning his House.

"Oh I love you," she sighed when he finally seemed to run out of words, and as she brushed her fingertips over his cheek, he caught her hand in his and kissed her palm.

"I know that, but what, amongst all that nonsense I just spewed, what inspired you to say that?"

"Not nonsense at all. I know you can be...particular, about the people and things that you choose to care about, but when you do, you do it completely. It's lovely."

He rolled his eyes but his cheeks pinkened. "So, ideas?" He prompted in a less than subtle attempt to move the conversations forward.

She took a deep breath. "I don't know what to tell you about Theo. Almost everything I know about him, you've told me, he's so quiet. I have no idea if he's trustworthy, and if you aren't even certain, I don't think I can advocate for you opening up to him. But it makes me feel like a hypocrite, given that Harry and Luna know."

"Potter found out by accident," he shrugged, "I know you were pleased that he did, but it wasn't your fault. And Lovegood is another story entirely."

"Yeah," Hermione sighed.

She had hoped Narcissa would have been able to give her some more insight into Luna's gift, as it sounded to her very much like Narcissa's own, and given the fact that magical gifts often ran in families, Hermione thought it seemed likely. But the older witch could neither confirm nor deny her theory, and she had been very firm in her assertion that it would be too risky for her to actually meet the girl. Hermione had been disappointed, but she had seen the older witch's point. It was one thing for Luna to be aware of a relationship between Hermione and Draco, but it was an entirely different level of risk for Narcissa to confirm that she was aware of the relationship and supported it.

"When you come live in Slytherin, maybe you can help me suss him out."

"See," she grinned, "you're already seeing the benefits. And I promise, I'll be the best little snake in the grass. They'll never know how dangerous I really am, I learned from your mother, after all."

"That's oddly hot."

"Maybe Malfoy men just like strong women."

He wrinkled his nose. "I'm not unaware that my mother is powerful, but this is taking a distinctly gross turn."

"Haha, okay, I'll move along. But I think you're missing an obvious idea for your Slytherins and their lack of defence tuition, my princeling."

He made a sound that was very close to a growl at her form of address. "What's that, princess?" He mocked in return. She glared at him and he laughed. "Truly you must have realized by now that if I'm a prince, you're a princess?"

She went to retort but then she paused, stretching her legs as she thought. "I only plan to use my powers for good."

"Of course," he chuckled, with more than a little condescension. "Now tell me this obvious idea that I'm apparently missing."

She shrugged. "Just that I can't think of any student in Hogwarts who has more power than you do right now, not even the older ones. Umbridge answers to Fudge, and let's face it, Fudge is under Lucius' thumb. Or maybe it would be more correct to say, buried by his galleons."

"So?"

"So just ask your father to lean on Fudge, who will order Umbridge to let you start a defence club, exclusively for Slytherins. It's not against the rules, you just have to get permission. You know more than enough to lead it, or at least get it organized. Harry's right, we can't guarantee that they won't use the skills that they learn against us, but we also can't guarantee that about any student. I hexed the M.A. sign up list - as you know - but I could only extend it as far as telling a teacher on us, anything more far reaching was too dangerous."

"That's," he paused, shaking his head, "a remarkably simple solution which I should have thought about days ago."

"We're getting a little too used to operating in the shadows. Really, you were just overthinking it."

"And you're okay with that idea? Because Potter was very close to throwing a fit at the very idea that I wanted to help."

"Harry, Godric love him, tends to see things as very black and white. You know this about him."

He nodded.

"And he's dealing with a lot. It's much easier for him to just cast all Slytherins as evil, simpler. Obviously he's capable of seeing beyond that, but it's not his instinct. I, on the other hand, have much more experience seeing the other side of the coin. I can't even imagine my life if Narcissa hadn't been willing to give me a chance. She did that because of how much she loves you. She didn't know me, had no reason to trust me to be circumspect, but she still did her best to push us together because it was what she felt was best for you. I know that she loves me now, but she didn't then. It wasn't her love for me that made her act, or made her stand up to you father, which I know must have been difficult for her. It was her love for you."

He just frowned at her.

She smiled at him softly. "Nobody will ever love you more than your mother does, Draco...except for me. And this particular issue is important to you. So teach your Slytherins, if you agree that it's a good idea, and when I join you in your dungeons, I'll help."

"Hermione..."

She shook her head. "This isn't a sacrifice either. I think you're right, Hogwarts owes its students better than the defence education it's been providing. An education ALL of her students are owed. And when this is all over perhaps you and I can take on prejudice beyond the scope of those seen to be of lesser blood."

"My mother was right."

"What do you mean?"

"You're perfect for me."

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"Well that's interesting," Dumbledore muttered, scratching at his beard.

"Interesting?" Lucius asked. That was certainly not the response he'd expected. Though he really should have learned to stop thinking he knew what to expect from the man.

"Well, of course," the elderly wizard answered, as if it was obvious.

"You find the Dark Lord's plans to bring the Dementors to his side and then break his imprisoned Death Eaters out of Azkaban to be merely interesting?"

"Not merely," the man corrected. "But telling. He has been mostly quiet, largely content to work in the shadows thus far. This seems impulsive."

"I have told you repeatedly, he is not entirely sane, he is certainly not the tactician he once was, and he is growing increasingly impatient for some action."

"Your suggestion?"

Lucius quickly hid his surprise to have been so quickly asked for his opinion. "Let it go forward. I'm not sure that we have much choice anyway, I may have a great deal of influence at the Ministry but I have none with the Dementors. It should satiate his thirst for now without unleashing him on the muggle population. But make certain that all the members of your Order can produce a patronus. And then I will eliminate the escapees one by one and make it look like a series of accidents, without losing the favor of the Dark Lord."

"I'm not sure I can advocate cold blooded murder."

"Is that what you're calling it? Because then you're either a hypocrite or a fool. A hypocrite because I know you have killed enemies in the past, wizards you could have sent to prison but instead chose to eliminate. Why you didn't put Grindelwald down like the mad dog he was, I'll never know. And you're a fool if you think I would ever allow these psychopaths to run free in a world where my children live - and I know what you think of me, but I assure you, every marked man or woman currently in Azkaban is beyond redemption," he paused as he stood and deliberately straightened his cuffs before asking: "Do we have an agreement?"

Dumbledore took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, but he nodded.

Lucius gave him a sharp nod. "I will let you know if I'm made aware of the timing of the event. And I'm serious, Dumbledore, make sure the members of your Order know how to cast a patronus, they will be targets. Your secret society isn't so much of a secret. And remember what happened the last time that you ignored my advice." He apparated away without waiting for a response.