Draco stirred as laughter resonated down the hall. His eyes fluttered open, revealing a dark wooden room, illuminated by a crack from the open door. Splayed out on a bed, his head sunk deep into a feathery pillow. Yawning, he stretched his limbs, slowly sitting up.
Then it dawned on him. No restraints.
He pushed his feet to the ground, took a couple of steps to the door, and peered out the gap.
The hallway had many floating candles, slowly bobbing near the ceiling without ever getting too close to it. The wax leaked, falling but evaporating, never reaching the floor. Just like Hogwarts.
Laughter picked up again. Draco took a step out of the room, but stopped himself as the hallway temperature rose goosebumps across his chest. Realizing he'd been stripped down to his boxers, he took a step back into the room, opening the door a little wider to have a better look at his surroundings.
He first noticed a wooden dresser with a large mirror attached to it. A couple of nightstands without décor, no windows, and finally, the bed he'd woken upon. Doing a double-take, he noted it had a large handstitched blanket draped over it. Walking closer, he scrunched his nose in disconcert as he looked at the poorly stitched red and blue colors with both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor emblems in the center.
Repulsive.
On the bedpost, he saw his old clothes. He picked them up, draping his pants in the crook of his arm, as he spread open his shirt in the light. The tear had inexpertly been stitched with a thick black thread, clearly visible in the low lighting. It also held new buttons in the place of the missing ones. He scowled, looking closer; they were all different sizes and apparently, someone thought it was appropriate to add some brown ones into the mix.
He threw on his pants and filtered his arms through the sleeves of the shirt, fixing his collar as he made his way back to the mirror. He'd lost some muscle mass since he'd last seen himself and his cheeks were somewhat sunken. His black attire made his already pale complexion look ghost-like. A scowling face met his eyes as he buttoned his shirt, bottom up. He used to love this shirt. It fit him perfectly and used to show off his physical attributes rather nicely, often getting him compliments from female housemates back in the dorm.
He sighed, his fingers halfway done, looking at the monstrosity it had become. So much for that.
Taking a step closer to his reflection, he stopped buttoning as he noticed something, and pulled at the silk.
His injury had been healed.
He pulled it open a bit further, trying to get a better look.
There was a scar. Its outlines were jagged and its interior was pink, darkening towards the center.
The healer had done a good job. While he wasn't ready to hit the beach anytime soon, he was definitely grateful to finally have it mended.
Laughter rang out once more.
He finished buttoning his shirt and left the room, following its source.
"So then I said; that's got to be the bravest thing you've ever done!" spoke a woman he didn't recognize. Laughter erupted once more.
"Now what about you Jane, how did you and Septimus find each other?"
He came to a stop right before what seemed to be the entrance of a kitchen, and stepped back, propping his shoulders against the wall, listening in.
"Oh..." said Hermione.
Draco gazed at the wall across the hall, patiently waiting for her to divert the question.
There was a pause before she continued, "our relationship has always been…rather complicated."
"How so?" pressed the woman, making Hermione rather uncomfortable.
He's a death eater. He's a pureblood supremacist. He's an asshole.
"We come from different worlds," she opted instead.
"We can understand that," stated Ab. "Her mother hated me! I had to buy that woman flowers every week for two years before she gave me her blessing."
"Who? Norma?" Asked Hermione.
"No, my mother," said the woman, and all three laughed until tears filled their eyes, gasping to catch their breath.
So, she kept up pretenses, thought Draco. She also hadn't redirected the conversation as he'd hoped, giving him a suspicious feeling they believed he and Granger were a couple. He silently made a face at the thought of it.
"Well how about some dessert then?" said the woman and the sound of a chair sliding and some bustling about could be heard. He was grateful she didn't push the subject.
Figuring it was as good a time as any, Draco made an entrance, leaning off the wall and taking a couple of steps into the room.
He zoned in on her. Her hair had been washed and tamed into a lazy ponytail. Her outfit had been cleaned and she smiled at the lady near the sink, cutting up some sort of pastry.
"Septimus!" Boomed Ab, and he made a gesture to the empty chair beside him.
It was tempting. The table had food and a plate was prepared, he assumed for him.
But other things needed addressing first.
Hermione turned and saw him standing near the entrance. Her smile widened and she beamed at him, hopping off of her chair and taking a couple of steps in his direction.
"We need to talk," he said, cutting the mood.
She felt a little crestfallen at his tone, though she couldn't pinpoint why. She stopped a few feet from him.
"They've made supper for us," she said.
"Now," he responded in a no-nonsense kind of manner, but not as harshly as he intended it to be.
"Alright," she agreed, losing her smile completely. "If you'd both excuse us," she said as she turned to their hosts before making her way down the hallway.
"Of course," said Ab confused, but he gave them an encouraging motion nonetheless.
Draco offered the older adults a little bow of his head and turned to follow her back to the room.
He closed the door behind him, putting them in complete darkness.
"Lumos," muttered Hermione, and the tip of her wand gave out a glowing white light, illuminating them both.
"You might want to add a muffliato charm. Wouldn't want us being overheard."
Hermione did as he requested, making the room soundproof.
"Now then, what was so pressing as to-"
"Are they members of the Order of the Phoenix?"
"No, they're not," she said, taken aback, "how do you know the Order's proper name?"
"Oh come on, everybody knows."
"I wasn't aware it was common knowledge."
"We know more than you think we do."
Hermione stayed quiet a moment, processing that information.
"What do you want Malfoy?"
"I want to know what you're up too," he said, walking over to sit on the bed.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean I have no intention of playing your little game of house while we have evening tea with whoever the fuck these people are."
"These people gave us food and shelter without having the slightest idea of who we are. Not to mention the fact that they wasted an entire afternoon trying to keep you alive."
"Wasted," he repeated, offended by her choice of word.
She sighed, "I just meant that they're nice people and they took a lot of their time and resources to save you. You shouldn't be taking that for granted."
"You're a sentimental fool, Granger. Nothing comes for free. The longer we stay, the bigger the return when they come collecting the favor."
She shot him a sad look at that moment, taking a pause to consider her words; "I actually find it quite heartbreaking how you seem to believe that everyone and anyone around you is greedy, opportunistic and incapable of selflessness." He sneered at her speech and brought his hands together, "You're so fucking gullible. I can't believe I need to be the one to tell you this, but you need to start guarding your back before someone throws a curse at it."
"Someone like you?" She responded darkly.
He raised his eyebrow and watched her a moment, then tilted his head as he hunched his shoulders, "someone like me."
She pinched the bridge of her nose and huffed in frustration, "is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"
"No," he said, carefully watching her and deciding to get to the point, "are you taking me to the Order or not?"
"I am," she said hesitantly, wondering where he was going with this.
"Then why are we here?" He asked, pointing a finger to the ground, "from what I gather, we've been here all day. You've had every opportunity to instruct someone to come pick up my unconscious carcass and yet," he said, waving a hand to himself, 'here I am."
"How could I have-"
"Don't play dumb Granger, the Patronus charm. You might not be able to do it, but he can," he said, pointing his thumb to the door, "now explain."
Hermione had almost forgotten how astute Draco really was. Of course she'd thought of it, but that meant she'd have to blow their cover. And despite the warmth of Ab and his family, she couldn't bring herself to involve them. They hadn't spoken of the war at all since she arrived, and they seemed to live outside if it. Nevertheless, she couldn't use the Patronus even if she'd informed them of the circumstances.
"It's none of your concern," she said, walking to the door. It wasn't something she wanted to explain to him, nor did she need to.
"Of course it bloody well is," he said, standing up.
"No it's not," she said, making a grab for the doorknob and turning it open.
He took a couple of quick steps and slammed his hand against the door, effectively shutting it with a bang.
"Where's the cavalry?" he asked, dead serious and pushing himself into her personal space.
She took out her wand and pointed it at him threateningly.
"Stop trying to intimidate me."
"Where are they?" He said, pressing closer.
She wouldn't tell him. She really, really shouldn't.
"They're on their way," she bluffed, eyes shifting between his. That should hold him off. Just until she could find a way to contact someone.
He watched her a moment as she clenched and unclenched her other hand, waiting for him to back off.
"You're lying," he realized.
"I am not."
He took her wrist and forced it down to the side of her body as he pivoted in front of her and took a step forward; making her back hit the wood of the door behind her.
The light from her wand cast shadows over their faces, now glowing up from between them.
"I can feel your anxiety," he spoke quietly; "you're practically oozing it."
His breath fanned over her cheeks, and she suddenly felt very aware of their proximity. She brought her gaze up to his. She knew it was meant to be threatening, but, inhaling sharply, his demeanor had changed. He was calm and intense. He loomed over her, and what was meant to be intimidating suddenly became electric. She felt as if the room had gotten hotter, and her stomach squeezed, heat swelling from down below. Shifting her eyes between his, she realized with overwhelming mortification that she was excited.
His grip loosened on her wrist. Very loud alarm bells went off inside her head.
Scrunching her nose, she tipped her wand upwards, the point of it grazing his skin and sent him a little zap.
"Ow!" he said letting go of her hand, "what the hell?"
"Get some mouthwash," she said, turning her nose up and taking a few steps to the other side of the room "your breath reeks," she added, leaning against the dresser and crossing her legs, taking some slow, calming breaths.
Even in the dim light, she could see a pink hue crawl up the side of his ears as he glared at her.
"What are you hiding Granger?" he asked again, keeping his voice low.
She sighed in frustration; she was aroused and confused and this conversation was going nowhere.
She really needed to get out of this room.
"I don't know who to reach," she lost her patience and admitted. Then realized how incredible it felt to finally say it out loud.
"What are you on about?" He said, taking a seat back on the bed.
"I don't know who to contact or even where they are if I knew," she clarified.
"You mean…you don't know where headquarters to the Order is?"
"Not anymore," she said rather gloomily.
It was true. Furthermore, she had no idea what had happened to the Weasley's or professor Lupin. She still had no idea where Harry and Ron were. She couldn't contact Hogwarts or anyone at the Ministry. She couldn't let Malfoy leave and yet they had nowhere to go. For the first time in a very long time, she had no idea what to do next. And that frightened her very much.
"Oh my God," he said, crossing his arms and rubbing a hand over his eyes. "So, what? You were just going to keep me captive and wait it out. Hoping that you'd happen to cross someone you know?"
"…I don't have a plan right now."
He rubbed his hands over his face, unbelieving what he was hearing. Well that makes two of us.
He ran his hands through his hair, pulling on the ends, as he bent his head and groaned. He just needed to get his hands on a wand. Any wand. Then he'd wait until she was distracted long enough to wipe her memory and high tail it out of there.
He brought his hands together, in a pensive motion, losing himself in deep thought. This was actually better, he rationalized. It meant he wasn't on his way to some creepy, run-down building to be subjugated to hours of questioning and possibly torment. He wouldn't be locked away in a cell and subdued to mockery and misery. He wouldn't need to deal with Mad-Eye Moody or any other crackpot working for them.
A weight lifted off his chest, one he hadn't realized was there in the first place.
He wouldn't become a prisoner of war after all. He let out a small sigh of relief.
So that just left him with her. Looking back up, he noticed Hermione's watchful gaze. She stayed silent, calmly waiting for his response.
Looks like he was stuck playing house after all.
But if he was going to play the game, they needed some rules.
"What have I missed since I've been out?" he asked.
She had not expected him to readily accept it. Rather, she'd braced for laughter, ridicule, taunting insults…and yet, he threw her for a loop.
"Well… you've been out since yesterday."
"Yesterday," he repeated, surprised.
"Ab carried you down into the house, where I met his wife and then his sister got to work pretty much as soon as you were put on the bed. She's knowledgeable and efficient. She used to be a healer at St-Mungo's actually. The draught's and potions she used; I've never heard of them before. She had essence of Dittany but she mixed it with-"
"Skip," he disrupted.
"Well that's it. You've been out since."
"And what about you?"
"Not much. I've read a bit, showered, eaten – something you need to do by the way," she added, giving him a pointed look.
He pursed his lips in annoyance as his stomach gave a growl as if to prove her point.
"What have you told them?"
"Nothing much, though they seemed rather interested in you actually-"
Why would they-
"Granger," he said, suddenly alarmed and quickly piecing the puzzle together. He pulled up his sleeve, showing her his forearm, panic swelling within him, "the woman who healed me. Did she see it? Did she see the Dark Mark?" He asked, showing her the skull with the snake through it.
"She might have," said Hermione, realizing how that could be a problem.
"Shit! What the hell is wrong with you?!" he snapped, standing up and pushing his sleeve back down, "why didn't you hide it-"
"I wasn't thinking about that! I was preoccupied-"
"With what?!" he said, arms flaring out in anger.
"Assisting her! Preventing you from dying!" she screamed back, "you're welcome by the way!"
"Oh get off your high horse-"
"Excuse me?!"
There came a knock at the door.
"Is everything alright in there?"
They froze, staring at each other, eyes wide in fear.
"Yes!" Squeaked Hermione in a higher octave than normal, "in fact, I was just about to take a shower!"
"Alright," said Ab, "Septimus your plate is getting cold, would you like us to heat it up for you?"
"I'd appreciate it," replied Draco, now staring at the door.
"Alright, see you soon," he said, and they listened in silence as heavy footsteps retreated down the hall.
Hermione wasted no time and opened a drawer from the cabinet and pulling out a towel.
"How did he hear us-" started Draco.
"I would assume the spell broke," she huffed, heading for the door.
"Obviously," he hissed.
She turned the knob and opened the door, but stilled. Slowly, she closed it again, turning back to him.
"When I opened the door," she said, understanding what had happened.
"Holy shit," he said, "how much did they hear?"
"I don't know," she said opening the door again.
"Where are you going?" he hissed, struggling to control his volume.
"To take a shower-"
"What about-"
"I need to think," she said, stepping into the hall.
He tried to follow.
"Wait, waitwaitwaitwai-"
She clapped the door in his face.