Chapter 27 - Further Developments

December 27 - just after the trio's visit to Mr. Lovegood and near-escape from the Death Eaters from the Ministry

Draco's heart had stilled and the earth seemed to have dissolved from under his feet when he heard the news. Others were in bad spirits as well, though for different reasons. They hoped that Potter and his friends would have been captured and now in custody from when Lovegood had reported them, but it had not been so. Lovegood himself had now disappeared somewhere, his house a complete wreck, but there were no signs of Harry or Hermione anywhere on the premises. According to the report of one of the few death eaters who had actually seen them, all three—from which Draco gathered that Weasley had somehow reunited with them—had disapparated together, right at the last minute and from under the nose of an approaching death eater about to attack.

It was, yet again, a close call, but close wasn't good enough for the Dark Lord, who was in the worst mood yet.

As expected when Draco had first returned to Malfoy Manor just two days prior, everything had taken a turn for the worst. The Dark Lord, in his anger, had rallied some more giants to his cause and now they were in the process of rampaging some of the countryside in search of Potter's trio, alongside the multiple snatchers and death eaters already dispatched. Day by day, there would be less and less places for Harry Potter to hide.

Draco had no choice but to sit through every grueling minute of the meetings the Dark Lord called since then, and witnessed something particularly disturbing his first night back.

It had been, at first, another typical meeting in which the Dark Lord went on and on about his plans, how imperative it was that they move forward, and so on. At this point, Draco wondered if the only enthusiastic listener in the room wasn't just his Aunt Bellatrix, but he wasn't about to point out that the Dark Lord's speech was one that they had all heard before many times. It was best to let him think that his word was law.

Then, halfway throughout the meeting, suddenly the Dark Lord had interrupted himself mid-sentence—which was odd—and then stopped mid-stride and clutched at his head as though he was in pain—which was outright unheard of.

The expression that crossed Voldemort's face, though it was hard to tell, was also one of pain, something that no one had ever seen before. Bellatrix had of course rushed to his side immediately, only to be shoved off by the Dark Lord once he got ahold of himself. He had sent them all away after that, but Draco couldn't forget how he had looked for that one instant, the only time that Draco had ever witnessed him looking even close to vulnerable.

He would have contacted Hermione and Harry then and there to let them know, maybe ask if they had something to do with it—for he logically concluded that perhaps a horcrux was involved, all things considered—but his mother would not leave his side all night, and Bellatrix would not leave her side or waste the chance to start prattling on and on in worry over the Dark Lord.

The next day though, around the time that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were making their way up to Mr. Lovegood's house for information, Draco discovered something significant in his own right, and almost entirely by chance.

Having retreated to a corner of the house where he was sure to not encounter any of his family—because none of them spent any time in the greenhouse attached to the east wing—he had hoped to get a minute to himself to finally send that patronus. He had just been about to put up small variants of wards around him so that no one would hear or see what he was up to just in case, when suddenly he heard the rather loud entrance of Bellatrix, coming in from the outside.

"My lord?" she called out, as usual sounding as though she was calling out for a lost lover rather than the most feared wizard in the world.

"Discreet as always, Bellatrix," came the lazy drawl of the Dark Lord, sounding much recovered from his earlier bout of pain the previous night.

Draco had cast a quick invisibility charm over himself and moved to put some distance between himself and the Dark Lord—far enough to not be noticed, but close enough to hear what was being said.

"I trust you understand your duty now, as always," Voldemort continued.

Bellatrix grinned, looking...girlishly shy, though Draco had a hard time attributing that description to her. "Of course, my lord. In all things, you know I am at your—"

"There is more at work than you are aware of, Bellatrix," Voldemort cut in. "It is paramount now more than ever to find and exterminate Potter."

"Yes, my lord. Are you saying...?" Bellatrix licked her lips, looking hungry at the thought. Draco shuddered to think of just where her imagination was taking her.

Voldemort waved her off. "I don't expect you to single-handedly find Potter, though I know it won't be for lack of trying. No, what I require from you Bellatrix is, and has always been, far more important."

"My lord?" Bellatrix straightened, her fingers twitching in anticipation.

Voldemort leaned down closer to her, a tactic that he used mostly for intimidation but that had quite a different effect on the dark, crazed witch. She was...she was actually blushing!

"You recall what I entrusted you with earlier on," the Dark Lord hissed, his eyes boring into hers.

Bellatrix's eyes widened as she nodded. "Yes, my lord."

"You have it still?"

Bellatrix swallowed, looking nervous for the first time. "I...yes, my lord."

"It must be kept safe at all costs, even the cost of your life. Where is it now?"

"In my—"

Draco unfortunately hadn't been able to hear the next part, for just then none other than Peter Pettigrew had burst in with the news of Lovegood's report to the ministry. His announcement was loud and clear: "Potter and his friends are at Lovegood's house! Death eaters have already been dispatched to apprehend them, m-my lord." Pettigrew's chin wobbled and his nose twitched, making him look very much like a rat, his animagus form. "Lovegood will hold them there and soon you will have them."

Voldemort's eyes shone with interest, but he didn't smile. Instead, in a low voice, he said, "You're sure, Wormtail?"

"Y-yes—"

"Because if there are any mistakes this time, I would hate to think what would happen to those responsible for displeasing me."

Soon after, a wobbly Pettigrew, skipping Bellatrix, and the Dark Lord swiftly left the greenhouse, thankfully leaving Draco alone.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he slunk back into the manor, taking off the invisibility charm only once he reached his own room. Even then though, he wasn't able to send out a patronus to even so much as warn Hermione this time, for no sooner did he take out his wand then his father stumbled in, looking skittish and disoriented as usual.

"Draco, the Dark Lord has called us down to a meeting," he said, his eyes watery and struggling to focus. Thankfully, he either didn't see or didn't comment on why his son had his wand out.

Cursing everything he could think of, Draco followed him downstairs, assuming his regular seat at the table where the Dark Lord held his usual meetings. There, finally, came the news of what had happened.

It had been so quick that there was hardly time to process it, but the conclusion was that Harry, Hermione, and Weasley had managed yet again to escape. Draco inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief, though at the same time he felt a deep sinking feeling in his stomach at what he could expect to witness as retaliation for what had happened.

As expected, the Dark Lord was not pleased, and it was anyone's guess how close he was to madness at his displeasure now. Draco hadn't had much time to think over what he'd heard earlier on, but it was enough for him to piece together that his earlier prediction about the horcruxes being involved was true, and that now the Dark Lord would be exceedingly vigilant on protecting the remaining ones—starting with the one in Aunt Bellatrix's possession. And Draco had been so close to finding out where it was too, darn it!

Pettigrew was the first one called up, but he only received a particularly nasty stinging hex for being the bearer of misleading news.

To two of the death eaters who had actually gone to Lovegood's house, and who were now summoned here, their punishment was worse.

The lucky one received at least seven rounds of the Crutiatus Curse; the unlucky one received twice that amount and then was promptly disposed of using the Killing Curse.

It was the second murder that Draco had witnessed in this very room to date.

Under the table, Draco watched as his mother reached for his father's hand, gripping it tightly. Neither of their expressions changed, but Lucius was squeezing his wife's hand back just as tightly.

Right then, Draco would have given anything to disapparate and be able to take someone else's hand in his own; but, of course, it was not to be, and so he could do nothing but sit there in blank horror, trying to keep his sanity intact by the knowledge that what he did find out might be important and of use to Hermione in the future.

Hermione. Merlin knew when he would next be able to contact her...

As far as things went on Hermione's end, once again it had been too close a call and escape for their group. So soon after their encounter with Nagini, Hermione was far from ready to deal with it, and so isolated herself from the boys as soon as they moved camp yet again. She realized that they were both relying on her to try and guide them on what to do next, but at the moment she could hardly piece together herself much of what they had learned from Mr. Lovegood before he'd betrayed them.

Everything with regards to the Deathly Hallows was complete hogwash as far as she was concerned, though by the look on Harry's face as he had been about to mention something, it was clear that he believed it—at least to some extent. Seeing how desperate they were for any leads, perhaps it would be too blunt of Hermione to discourage Harry right away, but sooner or later he would have to discredit it. Ron, fortunately, seemed to be in agreement with her (from what Hermione could tell); but, again, they hadn't had a chance to discuss it yet.

The more important information at hand was that Luna had been abducted, which was of course horrid, and then the fact that such a substantial award was being offered for Harry now, as the "No. 1 Undesirable" in the Wizarding World. Their visit to Mr. Lovegood, though useless in all other aspects in Hermione's opinion, at least gave them insight into just how desperate Voldemort was getting.

Things were getting worse and worse, the situation becoming more and more dire. And though she longed to do so now more than ever...Hermione didn't dare send Draco a patronus. Instead, all she could do was wait to hear from him, meanwhile hoping and praying that at least he wouldn't have to suffer Voldemort's displeasure—though likely he would have to watch as someone else did.

And not to mention that this mission with finding horcruxes just got a whole lot harder, she reminded herself.

Hermione came out of her part of the tent only once dinner came around, which, as usual, consisted of rather tasteless rations. As they ate, Hermione looked up at Ron one or two times to judge his reaction, see if he was going to make as big a deal of this as he did before; but, thankfully, he didn't show any signs of being as peevish as before. With the locket gone, already the atmosphere around their camp felt lighter, though in truth that was only an illusion. 'The calm before the storm', Hermione thought. And though this pessimistic way of thinking would not help any of them in the slightest, Hermione was rational and right now the worst case scenarios also seemed like the most likely ones.

No change of finishing this up anytime soon, that was for sure; and probably no chance of seeing Draco for a few days, at least until things calmed down.

Not until after New Years', probably, Hermione mused.

After dinner, Hermione prepared herself to take her turn at guard duty, when suddenly Ron volunteered.

"Look, you're tired from what we've had to go through, and Harry and I both know that it was you who saved us, Mione," he said.

He was trying to be nice, a gentleman—Hermione knew that and once she would have appreciated it, but now...now it felt like too obvious and easy of a way of trying to win her forgiveness. Well, one night wasn't enough time to do that, she decided.

"Thank you, Ron, but I'm perfectly capable of taking on my turn at guard duty. I've gotten used to staying up almost every night, now."

Neither boy missed the iciness in her tone, and so at first they let her leave the tent unchallenged. But the stubborn set of Ron's jaw indicated to Harry that his friend wasn't about to let things go that easily. Just before Ron was about to storm out after Hermione to do Merlin only knows what, Harry stepped in his way.

"You need to give her more time, Ron," he said. "Don't push her right now."

Ron shot him a hurt look. "Look, I know she's mad, but how long do you think she can keep it up? Blimey, we need each other now more than ever, and she seems to be forgetting that I just destroyed a horcrux since coming back, so—"

"That's just the thing, I think," Harry admitted. "She know what you're trying to do and...girls don't like that, mate." He shrugged. "At least, I know that Ginny didn't like it when I tried to push her to do something. During Quidditch, I'd sometimes suggest a play, but then the more I tried to take charge of what she should do, the more peeved she became, until finally I had to leave her alone. In the end, maybe we ended up agreeing, but the point is that pushing for something before someone's ready just isn't the way."

Ron looked ready to retort something, but then, finally, paused for once in his life and considered what was being said.

"I don't like this, Harry," he murmured at last. "It doesn't feel right to have things like this between us. I know I left in a bad way and that it's been hard for both of you since then, but...it was bound to happen, wasn't it? I think Dumbledore even knew, somehow, but the important thing now is that I'm back, isn't it? Why do you suppose she's taking it so hard when you've already forgiven me? Shouldn't you have more of a reason to be pissed at me after the things I said to you?"

Harry had to admit that while it was true that he had been the main subject of Ron's ire before, it was Hermione who had been more sensitive to his betrayal because of how she used to feel about him. And maybe, that was just it: Hermione's former feelings for Ron had made up a large part of how she was able to forgive him in the past for things like his betrayal of dating Lavender or his usual screw-ups. At heart, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were two very different people whose friendship, as they got older, had deepened into something more that started to be a justification for everything—at least for Hermione.

Now though, since she no longer felt that way for Ron but instead felt things for Draco, then...

Ron was in the proverbial doghouse, no question about it, but it wasn't Harry's place to interfere. He was so happy to have both of his friends by his side, but at the same time it was disheartening to find such a big rift between them. All he could do for now was advise patience, but patience was a fairly foreign concept to Ron Weasley; just how was Harry supposed to play the mediator here, when already he had failed so many times in the past? He just...wasn't a good buffer on this emotional level of things, and right now all he could tell them was what they already knew: that finding the horcruxes was more important and that both Hermione and Ron would have to put their feelings aside.

"Ron...now isn't a good time to talk to her," Harry replied aloud. "We're all going through a lot, and I don't want to invite more argument between us. Just give her a few more days, alright? Maybe talk to her after New Year's—by then I'm sure she'll have cooled off."

Ron didn't look convinced or even remotely thrilled at the concept but even he could tell that Hermione wasn't going to talk to him with the way things were going now. If distance was what she needed then...fine, for a time, he would give her that distance.

But eventually, Hermione Granger would have to accept him back into her good graces because...he needed her. If his time away from them had taught Ron anything, it was that he needed his friends, and especially Hermione. He had been a prick, he admitted it, and right now he wished that a lot could be changed about the past, but that wasn't an option. They could only go forward now, and Ron was setting all his hopes on that being in a good direction. He had...realized a lot of things about the way he felt about Hermione, and perhaps soon would be a good time to tell her. They—he—had already wasted so much time already, and with this war going the way it was, there was no telling when it would end or if he'd even have a change to confess anything afterward. True, Hermione right now wasn't open to listening to anything he had to say, much less anything of that nature, but...

Once she was, Ron Weasley wasn't going to wait any longer: he was going to make his move.

A/N: Alrighty, so...first of all, regarding Hermione's reaction to the Deathly Hallows, it technically isn't really my choice. Looking into the books some more since we're slowly yet surely moving more into canon events territory, I read up on everyone's reactions to what they learned about them; and, in the original books, both Hermione and Ron dismiss the Deathly Hallows entirely, leaving only Harry to give some credit to them. Tempting as it was to change this detail and have Hermione connect some of the dots instead of Harry, in the end I decided to honor J.K. Rowling's original intentions and leave Hermione skeptical. Granted, my portrayal of Hermione in this fic is (obviously) more open-minded to unconventional possibilities, but since Harry is destined to conquer the hallows himself, it kind of makes sense for only him to fully believe in them. As such, Hermione's disbelief.

ALSO, one minor change that I made was revealing the presence of Ron as he's back in the trio now. In the books, originally Hermione hid Ron under Harry's Invisibility Cloak during the ambush at Mr. Lovegood's house, so that no one would see him and thus his story of being sick at home would still be believed; but, seeing as how their relationship is completely different as opposed to the books wherein Hermione forgave Ron fairly quickly for abandoning them, I figured that she wouldn't take that action now. It was also a neat way to let Draco know that Ron was back in the picture, since patronus-wise, it's pretty hard for them to contact one another—in this chapter, anyway.

That's about all this time folks, so...please do review, follow, and favourite if you're reading! All reviews are highly appreciated!