Chapter 7: Of Home and Heartache
Draco returned to the dining room and looked at the three sombre faces. Blaise told them, he guessed.
"Are we having fun sharing family tragedies?" Draco drawled as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Well, misery loves company," Harry muttered. "Hermione's got good relationships with each of us now, but if we're all gonna work together I reckon we should learn about each other."
Blaise and Ron nodded but Draco scoffed.
"There's absolutely no reason to start spilling all our personal secrets like preadolescent witches, Potter," Draco said irritably.
"I disagree," said a soft voice from behind him. Theo came through the door, hand in hand with Hermione.
"You look good, mate," Blaise ventured. "Oops, my mistake; that's just Hermione."
Theo ignored him and turned to Draco.
"Hermione helped me defeat a very powerful demon." The others looked over in interest and confusion.
"Demons can't get into my Manor," Draco spat.
"They can if we bring them with us," Theo answered simply. "I've been carrying my father with me my entire life, allowing him to poison me. Now he's gone."
Ron squinted at Theo. "That why you look different?"
"Do I?"
"Your Dark level is, like, WAY down."
Harry studied his best friend. "I thought you said none of us had darkness?"
"We do, but not like we're possessed by Darkness, like I saw in Parkinson. Everybody's got Light and Dark magic." He grinned, squinted at Hermione, and dramatically shielded his eyes. "Urgh, too bright … being blinded …" Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron while Harry and Blaise chuckled.
"I saw darkness too," Theo said slowly. "I felt my soul mixed with Hermione's, and I could sort of see something dark about it before she helped me clear it."
"So is darkness in the soul or the aura, then?" Harry asked in confusion.
Ron scratched his head. "Could be both, I guess, but Theo only sees our souls. I can see everybody's aura, and we've figured they're not the same thing."
Blaise inclined his head to Hermione. "If I run out of the room next, will you follow me and make all my darkness vanish, too?" he teased. Theo grimaced at him.
"Aw, how precious, the great Mage is gonna use her Light magic to turn us all into Hufflepuffs," Draco purred from the door. "Then we can all cry together and have a nice group hug and go waltzing through meadows with baby unicorns."
Hermione dropped Theo's hand and marched to Draco, irate.
"What's the matter with you? Can't you even try to be happy for your friend?"
"Not everyone's demons are quite as obvious as Theo's," Draco shot. "You think if we all sit together and have a nice talk, we'll magically solve all our problems?"
"Right now, you're my problem!"
"Ah, then solving it will be quite easy," Draco sneered and left the dining room, slamming the door behind him.
"What's his problem?" Ron wondered aloud.
Theo and Blaise exchanged a look, which Harry noticed.
"What're you two on about?"
Blaise inclined his head toward Theo who sighed and guided Hermione back to the table.
"Well, as expected, we've expanded our own magic after we bonded. I can identify our magic by studying our souls. Blaise has an acute sense of danger, Ron sees Light and Dark in our auras, and Harry seems to be able to heal us. Earlier this week, I asked Draco about his power, and he tried to tell me he didn't have one."
"Well, he must've been lying," Hermione said determinedly.
"I don't need to see his soul to know that," Theo answered wryly. "I've been watching while he interacts with us to see if I could figure it out. All I've been able to determine is that his soul lights up when you do, Hermione."
"He reacts to me?"
Theo pursed his lips. "Perhaps. The Mage legend suggests that Alitis, being the Mage's Heart, knows her emotions better than the rest. It could simply mean that he's more attuned to how you feel, or perhaps he could help you regulate more dangerous emotions, such as fear or anger. But there's definitely something Draco isn't telling us. He's rather skilled at Occlumency, which is frustrating."
"I guess he's not ready to trust us yet," Harry murmured.
"Are you?" Hermione asked her two best friends pointedly. They looked at each other, and it was Ron who answered.
"It was easier to trust these two, 'cause we didn't have much history. Malfoy's been horrible to us since the first day of school and I know we've kinda talked about some stuff, but I dunno … I mean, things aren't just gonna change overnight, right?"
Hermione looked at her hands quietly. She and Draco had discussed the past several times and apologised to each other, but she knew it was harder for wizards to talk about their feelings like that. If they weren't willing, they might never overcome their long-held rivalry.
Blaise leaned across the table to Hermione. "You've spent more time with him than these two. I think for him, trusting them isn't the same as trusting you, either."
Theo slowly nodded his agreement.
"We can do it though," Harry reassured her. "We know what the bond means, and we do want to trust him. He just needs to trust us, too."
"Well," Hermione stood stubbornly. "If the rest of us are willing to be honest with each other, then it's time for Draco Malfoy to climb off his high Hippogriff and join us."
As she marched from the room, Harry and Ron let out a collective sigh.
Blaise made a face at the Gryffindors. "Five Galleons we can hear their screaming match from here."
"You're on."
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Hermione was surprised that she barely needed to follow her string to find Draco; once she climbed the grand staircase she recalled where his bedroom was.
Spoiled rich boy, running off to his bedroom when he's not getting his way–
She thumped on the door. "Open up, or I'm breaking it down!"
The door flew open. Draco stood at the threshold and raised an eyebrow at her. "That was harsh."
"Not as harsh as how you were behaving!"
She flew through the door and shoved him backward, so he landed in his armchair. She prodded his chest with her finger.
"You ran and hid in your room like a spoiled brat because you weren't the center of attention for once, and I am not going to–!"
"That's enough, Granger."
He pushed her hand aside and stood, marching toward his balcony, where the doors were flung open.
"Granger? Really? Am I automatically your prisoner again because we're back in this room?" She couldn't stop the sarcasm lacing her voice; he was acting so much like her childhood nemesis that she could hardly equate him with her doting boyfriend.
"You can leave anytime you want," he answered. He kicked the balcony door wider and stepped out.
Hermione stared after him. This wasn't him, not anymore. He was perfectly normal all day and through dinner … he started acting strange when she returned with Theo–
"Draco, you can't possibly be jealous that I was holding hands with Theo, because I hold hands with Harry and Ron all the time–"
"No."
"Then what's the problem? Couldn't you tell how much happier he was?"
"YES!" he yelled.
She froze. "And Theo's happiness makes you angry …?"
"Leave."
She thought she felt her heart stop. "What?" she whispered.
He waved his wand, and the bedroom door flew open.
"Just go."
He didn't need to ask twice.
The instant she was out the door, Draco felt the lingering remnant of his heart shatter.
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Blaise uncrossed his legs and pushed his chair back. He'd expected to hear yelling by now before the contrary couple inevitably made up and returned all over each other like usual.
It was too quiet. He was at the door, ready to go after her, but another figure came in first.
"Narcissa," Blaise said, startled. She entered the room and studied the group in surprise.
"Why don't you all retire to the lounge, it will be much more comfortable–"
"Narcissa, did Draco talk to you–?"
"Oh, yes, he told me all about it." Narcissa smiled at Blaise. "I'm excited to hear more–"
"I'm sorry," Blaise interrupted. "I'm confused; Draco came back, and he was pretty angry. Was he upset when he spoke to you?"
Her forehead crinkled in worry. "No, he seemed perfectly fine …"
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Hermione brushed the tears from her eyes and tried to find her breath. The happiness she felt in the library had all but evaporated.
How could Draco have pushed her away so easily?
She didn't understand him at all. Theo had been open with her from the first day, Blaise was steady and reliable, but Draco …
All the old memories came rushing back in a torrent. The arrogant boy who sneered at her for being a Mudblood, who pushed her against a wall and threatened her, who tried to Crucio Harry, who poisoned Ron, who let Death Eaters into their school …
How could I have thought I loved him?
The string connecting her magic to his had grown cold. With her back against her hard bedroom wall, she sobbed as though her heart was dissolving.
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"So, what got him all riled up?" Ron ventured.
Theo paled. "He was angry when I came back with Hermione …"
Harry was confused. "'Cause she held hands with you? She does that all the time … hell, Malfoy dropped her in your arms earlier–"
"It's something else," Theo murmured. "We should check on them."
He led the way out of the room; they turned several corners and were halfway up the grand staircase before Blaise stopped.
"No, this isn't the right way–"
"You know Draco's locked himself in his room, he always–"
"But Hermione isn't there."
A moment of silence followed as they all reached towards Hermione. A collective look of horror ran around their faces.
Blaise darted past Theo on the stairs and was pounding on the green door within seconds.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
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Shadows still lingered on the walls where photos and posters once hung. The closet door stood ajar, and she could see the dents on the rug from her absent bed and desk.
When the Grangers left the country, they took everything important with them and sold the rest. The house had been sitting empty for nearly two years. Hermione placed enchantments over the house no other Muggles would move in and be mistaken for her family by the wrong wizards.
Hermione slowly stood and brushed her fingers against the frame of her bedroom door as she passed through.
She walked under the spot where she once hit her head on the ceiling – her father accidently swung her up in excitement a little too high after she brought home her first A+ report card. She passed the door of her parent's bedroom, which was closed tightly. She slipped down the stairs, which she'd memorised by the time she was three. Four down, left turn, four down, left turn, six down.
She passed the empty bookcases lining the sitting room walls where her entire childhood had been stored. She stood by the imprints on the rug from her father's reading chair. She would sit on his lap reading along until she started to read faster than him; then he bought her a chair all her own. Those dents were on the other side of the cold, empty fireplace.
The Christmas tree would always sit in the same corner. No matter how bad her mother's arthritis got or whether her father had pain in his hip from his old skiing accident, they would sit on the floor with her to open their presents around the tree. They all loved opening books, and chocolates – which were allowed on the holidays – and Hermione always received a new china ornament which she would place on the tree with care. After her first term at Hogwarts the china ornament was a lion.
She cried all her tears by the time she made it to the kitchen, the home of all their lively dinner conversations about the latest upgrades to dental technology, debates about the changing economy, and endless arguments about the perfect potato toppings. She thought she could hear her father's voice echoing in the empty kitchen: a potato without salt is like a filling without a crown!
She didn't know why she'd come here. Perhaps she felt that she needed another reason to cry besides him. Perhaps she simply missed her parents; if she had a string connected to them, it was long gone. She wished she could go back to the last time she was here and hug them one more time before erasing herself from their minds forever.
She sank to the floor where there should be a kitchen chair with a burgundy cushion. She looked at the counter where her mother should be chopping vegetables, where she should turn and crouch in front of her daughter with worry lines on her forehead to ask what was wrong. Hermione would try hard not to cry as she told her mother about her classmates teasing her for knowing all the answers, for calling her an annoying swot or a teacher's pet, for telling her she looked like a beaver …
She never got the opportunity to tell her mother she had a fight with her boyfriend.
Hermione sat up. She knew why she needed to come home.
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Blaise pounded on Draco's door for a full minute before Theo reached out impatiently; he meant to pull Blaise away from the door and start pounding himself.
But as soon as Theo touched Blaise's bare arm, Blaise felt an overwhelming surge of power and banged the door with his fist once more, completely snapping it off its hinges. Ron leapt backwards with a yell.
Draco, from the balcony, heard the crash and turned in shock. Nobody but me can get through that door …
He didn't have long to think about it. Blaise threw the broken door aside and stormed in with the others right behind. A quickly conjured Shield Charm protected Draco from his angry friend's grip; Blaise bounced off it, irate.
"What did you DO!?" he demanded.
Draco frowned. He wasn't ready for this talk, especially with all four Guardians facing him down at once.
"That's between me and her," he said simply.
"Malfoy, she's missing," Harry said desperately.
Draco stared.
His Shield Charm dropped. Blaise took his arm and shook him.
"What happened?!"
Draco couldn't breathe. I can always feel her nearby … how'd I not notice she left the Manor?
He'd wanted her to leave the room. Bloody witch.
"I … I told her to leave–"
Ron heard enough. He tore back down the staircase to the foyer where they could Apparate. Harry caught up with his long-legged friend just in time.
"We go together," Harry panted. "D'you know where she is?"
"I'm checking the Burrow," Ron answered quickly, grabbing Harry's hand. "Then Hogwarts."
Blaise flew into the room too late; the Gryffindors vanished with a crack.
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The house wasn't far from a path leading to the river. After Hermione popped back outside, she started slowly down the path, enjoying the peaceful onset of dusk on a temperate day. Just across the river was a quaint little shopping area, home to her mother's favourite place: an antique bookshop and tearoom. She could almost imagine her mother's sensible brown shoes keeping time with hers on the pavement as they walked slowly down to the bridge and talked over everything.
By the time they would reach the shop, Hermione's excitement for discovering a new tome would make the rest of her worries disappear. They would sit and share a pot of soothing tea while they chattered about the book, and they would walk home again much faster, much happier, all worries gone.
Hermione was almost to the river when she stopped.
The ritual wasn't the same without her mother. Never had Hermione entered the shop alone.
She stepped off the path sadly and leaned her back against a nearby oak. She could hear the wind rustling the leaves above her head and the rushing river not too far away. Only weeks ago her anxiety could cause a hurricane; now that her power was split among the Guardians, she needed to focus much harder to make something change.
Like she'd done before, she closed her eyes and flattened her palms against the tree holding her up. She imagined how old it was, what wisdom it held, what it would tell her if it could speak. Did it know it would grow from a simple seed and sprout into something twenty feet tall and stronger than any man? Did it know to pull nutrients from the earth?
Earth … Draco.
She opened her eyes. How odd that she still wanted to reach to the earth for comfort.
Hermione listened to the river as it splashed against the stones lining its shores. The water was Theo's. Draco was jealous of Theo, but why? It couldn't be because she spent time alone with him or that he sought her for comfort; Draco was the one who sent her after Theo.
He wouldn't be jealous that Theo held her hand, or even that he held her on his lap and hugged her tightly – the Guardians had an unspoken understanding about contact among them. They all shared pieces of her soul and were naturally drawn together.
Hermione held her protective tree and wondered if her Guardians noticed she was gone yet. They would probably panic …
Draco can man up and admit his problem, she decided firmly. She'd deal with him eventually, but he must come clean. She wouldn't tolerate a relationship with someone who couldn't be honest. Inability to admit feelings had caused trouble between her and Ron–
The wind blew through her hair as she thought of Ron.
Hermione sighed in defeat. She wanted to teach Draco a lesson and maybe let him worry after her for a little bit, but she shouldn't punish the others. She spun on her heel and vanished with a crack.
Harry and Ron can find me, but HE won't.
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Harry and Ron stood just inside the shimmering waterfall but shared a look when they agreed Hermione wasn't here, either.
"Urgh!" Ron started pulling at his hair and pacing.
Frustrated, Harry watched the plummeting water. "Ron, where does Hermione go when she's upset?"
"She runs off alone," Ron fumed as he kicked a nearby stone. "She's supposed to be with us when she's upset–!"
"She won't break that habit easily," Harry said quietly. "But where, Ron?"
Ron stopped pacing.
"The library. But she's not in there–"
"There's more than one library."
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Theo caught up with Blaise in the foyer and stopped him just as he was about to Disapparate.
"Harry and Ron'll find her; we need to deal with him."
"I think you're more ideally suited for handling him," Blaise said harshly. Theo shook his head.
"You still know him better than I do, I need your help."
"I need to find Hermione–"
"Perfect, now you two are having a relationship crisis," Draco muttered sarcastically from the adjacent corridor.
Blaise growled and aimed his wand at the infuriating blond, but Theo raised a hand to stop him.
Blaise froze, but not because of the minimal resistance he felt from his friend's wiry arm. He felt something when Theo touched him and based on the suddenly confused reaction on Theo's face, he felt it too.
Theo withdrew his hand. Draco stared at the pair.
"Blaise," Theo said slowly as he focused on his friend's soul, watching his magic spinning erratically. "Do you know where Hermione is?"
Blaise immediately shook his head. "She's too far."
"Can you try and find a general direction? Or perhaps you can tell if she's hurt?"
Blaise frowned. He was aware of the wolf inside him and the warning it gave when she was in danger, but he never needed to search for that piece of himself.
He closed his eyes and tried to imagine following a path to her, but it was pointless; he might as well try to swim through an ocean. She could be anywhere.
Theo slowly reached out and wrapped his hand around Blaise's wrist. His skin was very warm.
It was as though Blaise had been searching blindly in a dark closet through a jumbled box, and a sudden flare of light allowed him to catch a glimpse of what he was looking for. He could visualise a vague path leading to Hermione, a river instead of an ocean.
"It's closer …"
"Draco," Theo murmured, waving the other boy over. At Theo's direction, Draco put his hand on Blaise's arm above Theo's.
And Blaise saw her. The path appeared in his mind, he followed it and visualised her almost instantly as though she were standing right in front of him; she was there, and Ron was nearby, and Harry–
The other wizards released Blaise's arm with a gasp and sunk to the floor, suddenly exhausted.
"She's safe …" Blaise said slowly as the image faded from his mind. "Ron and Harry are close … she's not nearby, though, she's somewhere in London– how'd I do that?"
Draco looked sideways at Theo, who watched Blaise's bright soul fade back to normal.
"The same thing happened upstairs, with the door. I touched you, and I think … I think I shared some of my soul with you."
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I must be mad, she thought to herself as she traced the rune on the bookshelf: Love. Could one learn how to fix a relationship from a book?
If anyone could, it would be Hermione Granger.
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