Line Between Sanity and Insanity
000. Prologue
Thinking back on it now, I wonder if I made the right decision. I mean, surely when he came to me with the idea I could have politely declined. Perhaps with an excuse of important things that needed my utmost attention.
Then again, when he came to me he was not really asking me, more like demanding me to do so. Even though, I could still have put up more of a fit then I did. What control did Professor Albus Dumbledore have over me...? Except for that small fact that he is the headmaster of the school that I attend and to defy him would mean buh-bye Hermione Granger.
The doorbell rang knocking me out of my train of thought…as well as my chair. Pulling myself off of the ground, I left my room as well as my impending schoolwork and hurried to the door. The faster I could tell this person off and get back to my work, the better off I would be.
As I got to the door though, my mother was already standing there wiping her wet hands on her apron. Knowing my mother, she would hold an hour long conversation with this person regardless of the fact if she knew them or not. Turning on my heel to rush back to my room, my ears perked up at the mention of my name.
"Yes, hello. I am looking for a Miss Hermione Granger." Just great, someone for me. My mind wandered back to my schoolwork sitting on my desk crying out to be finished. Then again, maybe it was muttering under its breath that I would hopefully forget about it entirely and receive a failing mark considering it was my Potions essay.
"Oh, of course. One moment please, Hermione! There is someone at the door for you!" No, really? I wonder how she figured that one out. Appearing from around the corner into the reception hall my mother turned around, smiling at me. "I didn't realize you were right there."
I nodded and she hurried off, back to the kitchen no doubt where the smell of burning cookies was already wafting through the house. Turning to the door, I chuckled slightly and backed away.
"Miss Granger, how are you?" There, cloaked in a deep purple robe and blue eyes incessantly twinkling was my headmaster Albus Dumbledore. I was laughing because for a moment there I doubted that it was really him. Why in the holy name of Merlin would my headmaster be at my door?
"I'm fine, Professor and yourself?" I asked before I even realized I had opened my mouth for anything but a laugh. He nodded in a pleased manner. I could have sworn that I saw a small smile tug at the ends of his lips, but I said nothing and allowed him to answer.
"Quite well, actually. Anyway, the reason I am here is because I have a few things I need to discuss with you. If you wouldn't mind." He remarked, gesturing to my house.
"Not to sound rude or anything Professor, but why exactly are you here? As you have said, you have a few things to discuss with me, but you can have easily sent it by owl." I remarked and it was his turn to chuckle. I suppose what made me ask the question was my curiosity and the fact that I was aching to get back to finish my homework.
If the headmaster hadn't noticed, there were only two weeks until school. And mister, the clock was a tick tick ticking away.
"You miss nothing, do you Miss Granger? Yes, I could have sent it by way of owl, but I felt that this is something that I should tell you in person." I shrugged, if I did not let him in now Merlin knows what he would have done to speak with me about these 'pressing' matters.
Moving out of the way, I allowed my headmaster to pass the threshold into my muggle adorned home. I shut the door behind us and turned around to see Dumbledore again smiling pleasantly at me. If only there was not that damned twinkle in his eye, I may have taken the smile for genuine.
Contrary to popular belief, the headmaster of Hogwarts and I are not friends or acquaintances. We are on a business-like level, teacher-to-student and student-to-teacher. We do not pass secret information or anything of that nature, unless you classify Dumbledore's Army under secret information. Besides that though, the headmaster and I do not converse about anything else. Which is why the shock of him standing on my doorstep in the heart of muggle London was…well, it was a shock as I said. It is not like we go out for tea and crumpets every third Sunday of the month.
Leading the headmaster into our living room, I indicted to the loveseat as a place for him to sit. He took it graciously and sat down, not before tucking his robes neatly under him. My mother came bustling in moments later, carrying a plate of burnt cookies and a pot of tea with cups.
Sitting the items down on the coffee table, she poured Professor Dumbledore a cup before offering me one which I declined. It was not the time to have tea and burnt cookies even as much as the idea was appealing; which in all honesty it was not. My mother smiled her cheerful smile; her cheeks flushed as well and begin to leave the room when Dumbledore called out to her:
"Mrs. Granger, please stay here. I would like you to hear this as well." My mother looked ecstatic. She loved being apart of anything that had to do with the wizarding world and when a fully cloaked wizard shows up on her doorstep, she cannot help but be intrigued. Taking a seat beside me on the sofa with her smile extending from ear-to-ear, she stared at my headmaster waiting what exactly he had to say.
Pathetic, I think. Professor Dumbledore is here to speak to me and my mother, who is a muggle, is more excited to hear what he had to say than me. I find that ironic in an unnatural sort of mixing worlds way.
"Well, Miss Granger, you must be wondering why I am here?" Wasn't I just saying this ten minutes ago?
I nodded, leaning against the back of the sofa comfortably, knowing that I was in for it now. He was probably here to tell me that I received less on my OWL's than Harry and Ron. Alright…I won't go as far as to say those two, so maybe less than Draco Malfoy.
"The Order is in a bit of a spot. The Malfoys as they have it are on both sides of the war standing on the same line. You and I know, the Order knows, as well as the rest of the wizarding community knows that Lucius Malfoy is in with Voldemort way over his head. His wife, Narcissa though wants nothing to do with him and refuses to allow herself or Draco for that matter to be in anything that engages the Dark Arts. And that is where you come in, Miss Granger."
I stared at him, my mouth hanging open slightly and my eyebrows rose in suspicion. When did Albus Dumbledore ever come to me, a muggle-born, to talk about the Malfoy family which despises my kind when he knows that? Order or not, that is just incredulous and down-right unheard of.
Not only that, but when did the whole Malfoy family not want to be in arms with Voldemort? Draco Malfoy had to be the most low, self-centered, uncaring person I had ever met and for him to not want to be in a league with the same types of people was mind blowing. I had never met his mother, expect for a fleeting glance of her when she picked up Draco at the end of the year, and she outwardly seemed like a nice person. Then again, when I first saw Draco, he seemed somewhat like a nice person too.
I'll take Old Sayings for 200£: Looks can be deceiving.
"Come in to do what exactly?" I did not know really what to say that moment. It was a virtual pool of conflicting emotions, heh as metaphorically speaking as that may sound.
"You are going to live with them for the rest of the summer, to gather some much needed information about whether Lucius has officially decided which side of the line he would rather be on."
Yes, it was heard correctly. I am wanted to go and stay with Lucius Malfoy and his family of terrors for two entire weeks. Well...hehe, tough luck Professor Dumbledore. This muggle-born would not mow their vast acres of lawn even if I was paid in small countries. Not that I would ever voluntarily mow their lawn or that they would ever pay me in small countries. Although come to think of it, that would be a pretty nice bargain. Icould take one of those weirdly named countries in Africa or Asia and name it Hermi-topia.
"Professor, you must be joking. You know as well as I do that neither the Malfoys nor I like each other. So why send me on a task like this? Surely there is someone better suited, someone that Draco Malfoy actually likes. Blaise Zambini is on our side, why not him?" I swear to Merlin, I would have sent Neville Longbottom in to face that family if I could.
This man had to be out of his mind, surely. I would bet my right hand on it and since that is my good hand that is saying something.
"No, Miss Granger, I am far from joking. I know that both of you do not get along, but you are the best for the job. You can match wits with Draco, get along with Narcissa as you are a young woman, so I am sure you could get to Lucius. I am not asking you to win us the war Hermione, but the information you retrieve might possibly win us the battle." I knew he was right, but like I was ever going to admit that! Not only that, I did not fancy the idea of throwing myself in a position where I could possibly become the next meal in that home.
"I just don't think it is a good idea, Professor. I don't mean to defy you and such, but seriously. Malfoy and I are not the best of friends and it is bad enough seeing him at Hogwarts. Besides that, you know that Harry and Ron would kill if they ever found out about my being with the Malfoys."
If that is not classified as the biggest understatement of the year, then hang me by my robes and bitch-slap me with a turkey sandwich. Preferably without mayonnaise please.
"Well that is as easily achieved as it is said, Miss Granger."
"How so?" I somewhat knew what he was going to say to me, but I wanted to make sure. I wanted to be perfectly sure that he was not going to say…
"We just don't tell them." How did I know? I had never kept a secret from my best friends in six years and what made him think that I was going to keep one now? Although if I were to go through with his escapade, I would need to keep it silent.
Keeping a secret from Harry and Ron, right… Those two may be dense, but they are surely not that dense. Well, Ron may be but certainly not Harry. I know he has more than bread pudding for brains. Besides stating the obvious what does he propose I tell them? I am NOT going to the Malfoy Manor, I am NOT making friends with Narcissa Malfoy, I am NOT going to have to stare at Draco Malfoyfor two weeks, and I am definitely NOT going to find out information about Lucius Malfoy.
That was and will be the only time I ever use the name Malfoy that many times in a sentence.
"Professor, you do realize what you are asking me to do here?" I turned to look at my mother who was looking slightly worried for my well-being. Hell, I was slightly worried for my well-being!
"Of course. I would not come to ask you if I wasn't sure." I was afraid he was going to say that.
"Alright, I'll do it." I was afraid I was going to say that.
After probably making the biggest mistake of my life, I could not help but regret it. There were so many what if's rushing through my head that I was moments away from pounding said head repeatedly against the door frame. Nevertheless, I had trudged to my room to pack the things I would need for my journey into the unknown. That just made me feel all science fictiony just thinking about it.
So, here I am standing in the living room once again, my bags packed and sitting at my feet. Dumbledore said he had specific instructions to tell me about how this thing was going to run smoothly. Run smoothly my British, sarcastic arse.
"Hermione, you realize that you cannot jeopardize your mission, so here are the basics. If asked, you are there under my orders because of problems in the home. I don't care what you say as to why you are there, but nothing that will give the pretenses of the real reason. Other than that, you need nothing else. You just need to focus on how you are going to go about obtaining the information. I leave that in your hands."
'I leave that in your hands' he tells me. If it were really left in my hands, I would just waltz up to Lucius Malfoy and demand plain and simple what side he was on. Okay, maybe not waltz and maybe not demand….
"Are you taking me there Professor or am I achieving that by other means as well?" I asked with a little more sarcasm than should be shown to my superior.
"You will be taking the Knight Bus as I have other matters that I must attend to. Good luck, Miss Granger and I will see you at Hogwarts in two weeks." He smiled yet again and disapparated from the living room with a small pop. I turned to my mother who was playing with the hem of her apron.
"I will be fine, Mum. Tell Father that I love him and I will write to you two as soon as I get to Hogwarts." She smiled at me with a proud look in her eyes and I smiled back.
"Be careful, Hermione. Use your best judgment, don't do anything foolish…"
"I understand, Mum. I love you." I cut her off before she rambled her way into a two-hour long conversation about how to not get into any trouble, use the things that I have been taught, so on and so forth. She pulled me into a tight hug and I patted her back, signaling the fact it was getting hard to breathe.
My mother kissed me on the cheek before walking me to the door. Giving her one more hug, I opened the door, swung my bag over my shoulder as I picked up my suitcase in the other hand. Walking down to the sidewalk, I pulled my wand out of the back pocket of my jeans and held it in the air until the wind rushed past my face roughly bringing the Knight Bus to a halt.
I climbed up the stairs, dragging my suitcase behind me and muttered a quick "Malfoy Manor" before taking a seat somewhere in the back. The less people I talked to at the moment, the less likely I was to throw up on someone from nervousness.
Two weeks living with the Malfoys…
I think I would have preferred to be mowing their vast acres of lawn and being paid in small countries.
Author Note: This is…the third time I have posted this fic haha. I adored it and I think it needed to be reposted and I needed it finish it. So let's see how this goes. :D
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter or related objects. Everything is copyrighted to J.K. Rowling except for the plot and any characters I lay claim to in later chapters.