Family Ties.
The Head Boy, Draco Malfoy, was enjoying a sneaky drink of firewhiskey with one of his best friends, Blaise Zabini, in the head dorms when the pair were disturbed by someone hammering on the door.
"Bollocks," Draco swore as he swiped the bottle off the table and stood it behind a plant pot in the corner of the room. He then drained his own glass and made sure Blaise had done the same. "If anyone asks, we were drinking pumpkin juice," he said.
"That smells like firewhisky," Blaise chuckled as whoever was at the door pounded again.
"Just don't breathe on whichever arsehole is at the door," Draco ordered as he headed to answer the door.
When he pulled open the door, he was greeted by the sight of the Head Girl's best friend, Harry Potter.
"Potter," he drawled, glancing down the corridor and spotting a trio of Ravenclaws dawdling towards the stairs at the far end of the corridor the Head Dorms was located in. "What do you want?"
"I want to see Hermione," Harry replied. "And don't give me any crap about friends not being allowed in the Head Dorms, I can see Zabini in there."
"In that case you better come in," Draco sighed as he pulled open the door and allowed the Gryffindor access to the head dorms.
The second the door was closed behind Harry, Draco dropped the frown that had been on his face and clapped Harry on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
"Do you want a drink?" he asked as Blaise summoned the hidden bottle of fire whiskey and topped up the glasses on the table.
"Is that firewhiskey?" Harry asked.
"Blaise liberated it from the dungeons," Draco answered.
"You mean you stole it from Snape," Harry chuckled, momentarily forgetting his urgent reason for being in the Head Dorms. "Rather you than me."
"I can handle him," Blaise retorted with a shrug as he poured Harry a glass of the amber liquor. "Drink this Harry, you look as though you need it."
"Yeah, you don't look too great," Draco remarked, looking at Harry properly and realising that there was something bothering him. "Are you okay?"
"Would you be okay having to play nice with Weasley all the time?" Blaise snorted before Harry could reply. "Honestly, I don't know how you and Hermione do it, Harry."
"We had no choice, unless we wanted the truth to come out," Harry retorted. "And we wouldn't have had father's protection when we were eleven."
"We understand why you have to play your parts," Draco said. "But look on the bright side, it can't go on for much longer. We're in our last year of school and The Dark Lord is increasing his power daily. Sooner or later the time is going to come to reveal who you and Hermione truly are."
"It might come sooner in Hermione's case," Harry muttered. "Speaking of which, where is she? I need to talk to her."
"She's overseeing detention with McGonagall," Draco replied. "She won't be back until later."
"Dammit, this is important," Harry swore as he polished off his firewhisky.
"What's going on, Harry?" Draco asked in concern. "Is your sister in trouble?"
"She could be," Harry confirmed with a nod as he sat down on the sofa next to Blaise. "I've just come from a private meeting in Dumbledore's office. Ron was with me, and his parents and Sirius were also in the meeting."
"That sounds like an Order meeting," Blaise remarked.
"A very small Order meeting," Harry replied. "No-one else knows what Dumbledore said to us. It's a secret. Ron and I only know because Sirius, Molly and Arthur insisted that we were warned."
"Warned of what?" Draco questioned, a gnawing feeling of worry starting to develop in his stomach.
"Hermione," Harry answered. "Dumbledore confessed that he doesn't trust her and doesn't think that she's who she appears to be."
"To be fair, he's right," Blaise said. "She certainly isn't to be trusted, or at least not from the Order's point of view. And she isn't the innocent muggleborn she's pretending to be."
"Right or not, he shouldn't be aware of her duplicity," Harry pointed out.
"Harry's right, this could be dangerous," Draco agreed. "Why is he suspicious of her?"
"He rambled on about her magical abilities being far superior to what a muggleborns should be. Basically, she's too clever and picks up things too quickly for his liking," Harry explained.
"That's ridiculous," Draco snorted. "Just because she's clever, doesn't mean she's hiding something. She would still be this smart even if she was a genuine muggleborn."
"Dumbledore doesn't think so," Harry replied. "He's also worried about the fact nothing has ever fazed her, and very little about the wizarding world has needed explaining to her. Plus, he's apparently seen her performing spells we've never been taught at school."
"Has he never noticed she's always got her nose in a book?" Blaise asked with a disbelieving shake of her head. "Most of what she knows comes from all the reading she does. And as for using spells we've never learnt, that's what spell books are for. He can't discriminate against her because she takes the time to teach herself extra magic."
"He's Dumbledore, he can pretty much do as he wants," Harry retorted with a shrug. "And he's decided that Hermione isn't to be trusted. In fact, he even made her and Draco head students, so he could see how they interacted. He's just waiting for them to slip up and show that they're already friendly."
"I suppose friendly is one way to describe their relationship," Blaise smirked.
"Not now Blaise," Harry snapped. "I'm worried enough with having to think about my sister in bed with one of my best friends."
"Okay, I get that that this is worrisome, but Dumbledore can't prove anything, Harry," Draco soothed. "Do you really think the tracks weren't covered all those years ago? Hermione's back story is impenetrable. Dumbledore can search forever, and he will never prove she isn't a muggleborn."
"I don't think he cares too much about proof," Harry huffed. "He has a theory. Not only does he think Hermione isn't to be trusted, but he thinks he knows who she is. He thinks she's the daughter of The Dark Lord."
At Harry's words both Draco and Blaise fell silent. He may not have been able to prove it, but Dumbledore had hit on exactly who Hermione was. Her father was indeed the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort.
"How did he come to suspect that?" Draco finally asked.
"He confessed that years ago he'd heard rumours that The Dark Lord had a child, and that he'd set his child and their mother up in a house," Harry explained.
Hermione and her mother, Gina, had been set up in a house and provided for by Voldemort. However, their house wasn't the only house he'd bought with the intention of giving to a witch who had given him a child. He'd had a second house, where Harry and his mother, Lily, were supposed to live, but things had never quite gone according to plan and Lily had never gotten to live in her new house with her son and lover. Instead she'd been mortally wounded by her husband, James, when he'd discovered her infidelity with Voldemort and found out that Harry wasn't his son.
"So, who had he heard about, Hermione or you?" Blaise questioned.
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Dumbledore himself said he'd never known if the child was male or female. It was just a rumour he'd heard, but one he could never verify. He claims he'd all but forgotten about the child until Hermione came to Hogwarts and aroused his suspicions."
"And it's taken him over six years to voice his concerns?" Draco questioned with a frown. "If he seriously thinks Hermione is The Dark Lord's daughter, why has he done nothing about it? Why has her let her be your friend, Harry? After all, you're the supposed 'Boy Who Lived', the one who's supposed to defeat The Dark Lord. Why risk your safety by letting a witch he thought was her daughter get close to you?"
"I asked Dumbledore all of that and he gave me some guff about not wanting to cast aspersions on innocent people," Harry replied. "But he claims his suspicions have just grown over the years and he couldn't in good conscience keep quite any longer."
"So, what's he going to do now?" Blaise asked.
"Keep looking for proof," Harry answered. "He informed Sirius and the Weasleys, because he thought they had a right to know Ron and I could be in danger, and they were the ones who insisted that we should also be aware of the threat."
"And how did Weasley take the suggestion that Hermione can't be trusted?" Draco asked.
"How do you think? He jumped all over it," Harry snorted. "You know he's never really liked Hermione."
"Yeah, because he was jealous of her," Blaise snorted. "He never liked the fact she had part of your attention. He's always wanted you all to himself."
"You make it sound as though he's in love with me," Harry said with a grimace. "I have enough on my hands trying to keep Ginny's tarty little hands off me, without having to worry Ron will profess his undying love."
"Weasley could be dangerous for Hermione," Draco mused, his mind on more serious matters than whether Ron had a crush on Harry.
"He could," Harry agreed. "Dumbledore asked us to carry on as normal, but Ron won't be able to do that. He's already made it clear that he won't be having anything more to do with her. I argued with him and told him that I didn't believe Dumbledore's claims and that Hermione is my friend and I trust her. That's how I was able to get away, but I can't stay for long. Sooner or later Ron will come looking for me."
"Then we need to move quick," Draco said, taking charge as he often did. "Do you think Hermione is in any imminent danger?"
"Not from Dumbledore," Harry replied. "If we were just dealing with him, I would suggest speaking to Severus and getting a message to father. But I'm not sure we've got time for that. Ron is out for blood, and he won't wait for proof. If he gets to Hermione, I dread to think what he would do to her. I think we need to get her away from Hogwarts."
"She won't go without a fight," Blaise warned. "We all know how stubborn she can be. She'll insist she can handle the threat."
"Which is why we have to do it without her realising what is going on," Draco decided. "But how do we get her away from Hogwarts without the help of the adults? Because they're all going to be like Hermione and be cautious about acting swiftly. And if Hermione speaks to her father, we all know she can convince him that it's safe for her to stay."
"Draco's right, when it comes to father, Hermione has him wrapped around her little finger," Harry said. "If she insists on staying, he'll give in and allow her to stay."
"So, we have to do it alone," Draco said. "We have to get Hermione away from Hogwarts without her or anyone else realising what's going on. And when she's gone, it'll be too late for her to come back without raising Dumbledore's suspicions even further."
"I can always raise the alarm about her being missing," Harry suggested. "That way she can't just turn around and come back, it'll be too dangerous by then."
"That sound good, but how are we going to get her away, and where are we going to take her?" Draco asked. "If Dumbledore is suspicious of her and have placed us as head students together in order to spy on us, it's too dangerous for me to try and take her anywhere."
"I know somewhere I can take her," Blaise offered. "I can get to her in Hogsmeade and pretend I'm taking her to see you, Draco. Before she knows it, I can have her away from Hogsmeade and somewhere safe."
"And could you alert the adults from there?" Draco questioned. "Harry and I won't have a chance back here."
"Yes," Blaise replied. "Let's just hope they approve of our plan."
"Whether they approve or not, we're doing it," Harry said fiercely. "I will not let anyone hurt my sister. I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means defying my father."
"I'll catch you later," Hermione said, giving her boyfriend a peck on the cheek as she prepared to head out of the Head Dorms and down to Hogsmeade to meet Harry.
The previous evening when she'd returned to the Head Dorms, her brother had left her a message asking her to meet up in Hogsmeade. Since they had made no plans with Ron, Hermione was hoping it meant that Harry had a plan to ditch the annoying redhead and it would be just the two of them in Hogsmeade.
"Have fun," Draco called as his girlfriend left the head dorms, totally unaware that she wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts.
In high spirits, Hermione left the castle, eager to spend the day with Harry. Despite the fact they were technically half-siblings, Harry and Hermione couldn't have been closer. Everyone may have thought Harry had been raised by his muggle relatives, but in reality Hermione's mother had taken him in and raised him alongside Hermione, and Harry had only returned to the Dursleys when it was time for them to start Hogwarts. And not wanting Harry to be alone at Hogwarts, playing the role of someone he wasn't, Hermione had started Hogwarts as a muggleborn and the pair had been together in Gryffindor and always there for each other.
Arriving in Hogsmeade, Hermione looked around for Harry. Her brother had said to meet her behind Honeydukes, but when she headed around to the back of the shop she found no sign of her brother.
"Harry," she called, still looking around for her brother.
"Hey," a voice called as a figure emerged from the shadows.
"Blaise?" Hermione questioned with a confused frown. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a surprise," Blaise replied, flashing Hermione's one of his flirtatious grins.
"A surprise," Hermione repeated. "Let's guess, Draco is involved. I was never meeting Harry, was I?"
"No, but your brother was in on the plan," Blaise said.
"What plan?" Hermione asked. "What's going on Blaise?"
"I'll explain in a minute," Blaise replied. "But for now, give me your hand. Come on Hermione, I won't bite," he cajoled when Hermione hesitated. "Don't you trust me?"
With a roll of her eyes, Hermione offered Blaise her hand. However, she was rather taken by surprise when Blaise pulled out his wand and they dissapparated with a loud crack. Holding tightly onto Blaise, Hermione stumbled slightly when they landed in the middle of a pokey room, the walls lined with bookshelves and a shabby armchair stood in front of a large fireplace.
"Where are we?" Hermione asked as Blaise collapsed onto the armchair.
"Somewhere safe," Blaise answered.
"And why do we need to be somewhere safe?" Hermione asked. "What's this all about, Blaise?"
"Dumbledore knows about you, or rather he suspects who you truly are," Blaise explained. "He told Harry last night. But he also told Weasley, and as you can imagine he didn't react too well. He's out to get you, Hermione."
"Dumbledore or Ron?"
"Both I suspect, but the imminent threat was Weasley," Blaise replied. "Harry, Draco and I talked about it and we decided the best thing was to get you out of harm's way."
"So, what, you decided to kidnap me?" Hermione snorted. "I can handle Ron. He doesn't scare me."
"And what about Dumbledore?" Blaise questioned. "He's onto you, Hermione."
"He can't prove anything," Hermione said. "My past is too well constructed. Do you honestly think anything was left to chance when it was decided I would be attending school as a muggleborn? Dumbledore can dig all he wants, he'll never find proof I'm The Dark Lord's daughter. Just like he will never find proof that Harry is not the son of James Potter. Father is way too careful to leave trails to his two children."
"Trail or not, Dumbledore's suspicions are aroused. And Harry doesn't think he's going to back down. He's got you pegged as someone dangerous, and he won't rest until he brings you down," Blaise argued.
"I still don't think kidnapping me was the way to deal with the threat though," Hermione remarked. "Isn't me running just proving Dumbledore, right? Why don't we just alert the adults to the danger and get back to school before anyone realises we're gone? Then if Father wants to pull me out of Hogwarts, I'll accept it."
"It's too late for that," Blaise confessed. "Any minute now, Harry will be raising a fuss about your disappearance."
"I don't believe this," Hermione snapped. "Have the three of you got any brains? Father is going to go mad when he hears what you've done."
"Do you think we'll be in trouble?" Blaise asked with a nervous gulp. "Won't he be pleased we've protected his daughter?"
"A daughter who can take care of herself," Hermione retorted. "Believe me Blaise, you've caused more trouble than enough. Just you wait and see. Honestly, you boys never use the brains you were born with. Now, where are we, and how do I leave?"
"You can't leave, the wards prevent anyone coming or going," Blaise replied.
"But we arrived, so we can leave," Hermione argued.
"We got into the cottage, because I was with you," Blaise said. "I can bypass the wards through my blood."
"Blood," Hermione muttered, taking another look around the room and realising where she was. Of course, she'd never been to the cottage before, but she now knew who it belonged to.
"So, you see," Blaise said, aware that Hermione now knew where she was. "All we have to do is sit tight and we'll soon get a visitor. He always knows when I'm here."
"Come here a lot, do you?" Hermione snorted.
"It has been known," Blaise replied with a slight smirk. "It's a good place to entertain a witch, especially older ones who don't need to know I'm still in school."
With a roll of her eyes, Hermione turned to examine the books on the shelves. Ten minutes later she was flicking through a book on rare potions when there was a popping sound outside of the room, and Hermione turned to see Professor Severus Snape sweep into the room, his dark eyes fixed on Blaise.
"You better not have some half-dressed witch here," Severus snarled at the young Slytherin.
"No, I'm fully dressed," Hermione remarked.
"Hermione," Severus tutted as he turned and spotted the Gryffindor witch for the first time. "You do know people are looking for you, don't you? The school is on the verge of a major search. I just came to retrieve Blaise before it was realised he was also missing. But why are the pair of you here? Please don't say you're involved," he moaned, shaking his head. "This will break Draco's heart and cause all sorts of problems."
"As if I would go anywhere near him," Hermione snorted.
"Hey, what's wrong with me?" Blaise questioned with a pout.
"You wouldn't know commitment if it bit you in the arse," Hermione said. "Getting involved with you would only lead to heartbreak. Besides, I love Draco."
"That's nice, but it doesn't explain what the pair of you are doing in my cottage," Severus snapped.
"Relax Dad, I can explain everything," Blaise soothed, chuckling at his stressed father. Blaise got his laid-back attitude from his mother, whereas Severus was more serious than both his partner and son.
"Get talking, Blaise," Severus ordered. "And it better be good."
Quickly Blaise explained the situation to his father, and the steps he, Draco and Harry had taken to protect Hermione. Although like Hermione, Severus wasn't at all impressed with the steps the three boys had taken and like Hermione he pointed out all the ways in which their actions could create yet more problems.
"Sod it Blaise, didn't it occur to any of you to come and speak to me?" Severus demanded. "I was only down in the dungeons. Would it have killed you to come to me?"
"We thought you would all be convinced that it would still be safe for Hermione to carry on with her act, and you would be convinced that you could deal with Dumbledore and his suspicions," Blaise admitted.
"And we might well have been able to," Severus said. "If we'd known what Dumbledore was thinking we could have found a way to alleviate his suspicions."
"And Weasley?" Blaise asked. "What if he'd hurt Hermione? Harry thought he was a viable threat."
"Hermione could have handled Weasley," Severus argued. "But now you've caused a whole host of problems. Even if I was to take Hermione back to school, we'd have to find a reason for her disappearing, and it would only help add to Dumbledore's suspicions. There's no way back from this without virtually convincing Dumbledore he's right."
"So, what do we do?" Hermione asked with a sigh. She could only see one course of action, and it didn't result in her going back to Hogwarts.
"You have to stay here," Severus said. "I'm sorry Hermione, but it's too late now."
"I know," Hermione admitted with a sigh. "The truth is going to come out, isn't it?"
"Yes, but now we have to focus on making sure the entire truth doesn't come out," Severus said. "Stay here, Hermione. I'm going to get Blaise back to Hogwarts, and as soon as I can, I'll let your father know where you are. But in the meantime, you'll be safe here."
"Thank you, Severus," Hermione said, smiling at the formidable Potions Professor whom she'd known her entire life.
"I'm just sorry things have worked out like this," Severus apologised before turning to his son. "Come no you," he muttered, hauling Blaise to his feet. "And don't think this is the end of this. You, Harry and Draco are in a whole world of trouble. And I will be changing these wards, so you can't just come and go as you please. Do you know I found a pair of knickers in my bed last month? Thank Merlin your mother doesn't come here, or else I could have been in trouble."
"Mum knows you would never cheat on her," Blaise protested with a shrug. His parents were very much in love, and he knew Severus would never dream of doing anything to hurt the witch he loved.
"We'll talk about it later, right now you're going back to Hogwarts, and I'm going to have to deal with the mess you've made," Severus said.
Hermione watched the two wizards leave before she settled down on the chair Blaise had vacated and waited for her father to turn up. She wasn't at all happy with what the boys had done, but it had happened now and there was now going back. Like it or not, her secret was about to come out and Dumbledore was going to have his suspicions confirmed. Now it was important to make sure he also didn't discover the truth about Harry. After all, it was going to be a much bigger blow to Dumbledore when he discovered his precious saviour wasn't anything of the kind. It was going to blow Dumbledore's mind when he found out that Harry Potter was really the son of The Dark Lord, and he had every intention of helping his father win the war and rule the world.