"I think about you, but I don't say it anymore."
-Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima Mon Amour
XxXxX
"Hermione? Come on! It's time to head down to Hogsmeade!" Ginny said as she opened the portrait to Hermione's room.
Hermione looked up from her Charms essay. She smiled as she noticed the skintight jeans that the younger girl was wearing, as well as the crimson top that set off the highlights in her fiery hair. "Look at you. I guess you and Dean are doing better?"
Ginny blushed. "Dean isn't coming. He's going to the hospital wing to visit Seamus."
"Isn't he getting released soon?" Hermione asked.
Ginny nodded. "As soon as his skin isn't purple anymore. I don't know what Madame Pomfrey gave him for him to have such a crazy reaction." She paused for a moment. "They still don't know who did it?"
Hermione shook her head. "No. All I know is that Snape checked the storeroom in the dungeon and there was some baneberry missing. It was definitely someone here, but there's no way to tell who. So Malfoy was right."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You asked Malfoy about it?"
Hermione shrugged and rolled up her parchment. "Well, when a Gryffindor is poisoned, who do you think of first? But he said he didn't do it."
"And you believed him?" Ginny asked incredulously.
"Yeah I did, actually." Hermione forced a smile and stood up. "So then who are the fancy clothes for? Are you still planning to meet me and Harry later for a butterbeer?"
Hermione had to give her credit. Ginny didn't even blink. "Yeah. I'm going to walk around with Demelza for a little bit first, and I'll meet you guys around five?"
Hermione checked her watch. "Speaking of, I guess we should head down soon." She stood up to go and noticed Ginny staring at her. "What?"
"Oh." Ginny said slowly. "You're not wearing that, are you?"
Hermione was, in fact, wearing a pair of stretchy black pants and a striped sweater. She looked down. "What's wrong with this?" She asked.
"Well, it's fine if you're going to spend the day holed up in the library reading. But to go down to the village it's so…casual. Come on, Hermione, try to look polished for a change!"
Hermione frowned. "It's just Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade is casual."
Ginny shook her head and opened Hermione's closet. After rummaging for a few moments she threw out a green cotton dress and a pair of black flats. "Well, go on, then." Ginny intoned. "And be grateful I didn't grab heels!"
Without bothering to point out that she didn't really own any heels, Hermione ducked into her lavatory and slipped into the dress. "You know, you spend a lot of time telling me what to wear."
"Somebody has to. Sometimes you look like my Auntie Muriel." Ginny called back.
"Not funny!"
After considering herself in the mirror for a few moments she pulled her hair into a low chignon and applied a little mascara. When she went back to Ginny, the younger girl whistled softly. "Much better!"
"I feel so overdressed." Hermione grumbled. The two girls slipped out of Hermione's room and headed down to the courtyard, where most of the students going to Hogsmeade had already assembled.
It was a crisp October morning. The leaves were changing and Hermione was glad she had grabbed her navy cloak before they left. Although it was bright, the sky was full of clouds and it did not promise to be a warm day. They found Harry sitting off by himself, and he jumped up as soon as he saw them. Hermione noticed his eyes following Ginny as she joined a small group of friends from her year.
"Enjoying the scenery?" Hermione quipped.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Brilliant. Shall we?" Harry said briskly. She grinned slyly at him as they made their way down to the village.
There were a lot of students there by the time they arrived, and the streets were thronging with people. The traffic was so thick that Hermione grabbed onto Harry's sleeve to keep from being separated, but after a few steps she felt a crawling sensation. She turned over her shoulder and saw Draco staring at her. He was surrounded by his usual crowd of Slytherins, but his eyes went above the heads of Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass to meet hers and he smirked.
Suddenly feeling foolish, she dropped Harry's sleeve.
XxXxX
"You're late." Nott admonished Draco.
"I'll work on punctuality in the future." Draco deadpanned. Sorry it took time to ditch the other Slytherins. Sorry I can't just Apparate out of Hogwarts whenever Voldemort fancies a chat. Oh, and while I'm at it, sorry I can't sneak out because some idiot tried to poison a stupid Gryffindor that wasn't even worth it. "Can I at least get a drink before we commence this little meeting?"
Draco's day in Hogsmeade had been marred by an urgent owl from his father ordering him to meet with the elder Nott in a pub on the fringe of the village. Draco had never been to the Charmed Goat before; it was the sort of place that only die-hard locals went to, but it was so off the beaten track that it was perfect for a discreet meeting.
Draco went up to the bar and ordered a scotch. The bartender, an ancient looking crone with about five teeth in her mouth, smiled cheekily at him as she slid the glass his way. Malfoy returned to the booth, took a long, slow gulp, and looked Nott in the eye. "Well?"
"He wants to know how your mission is going." Nott said bluntly.
'Fine." Draco said. "I've said it before, a simple Mending Charm isn't going to work on this thing, but I'll have it up and running in time."
"Good. Because he's decided to give you another task."
Draco sighed. Bloody hell. "What now?"
"Harry Potter, as we have always known, is nothing special. He relies on those around him to make him strong, and he will do anything to protect them. He proved that when he believed Sirius Black to be in danger. That is his weakness. So, Draco, you are in his year at school and you are physically closest to him. You will break him by removing those around him that he loves the most, and you will start with the Mudblood Granger."
Draco choked, the scotch burning his throat. "Granger? You want me to...what?"
"Make her listen to you. Make her like you. Gain her trust. You're both Heads...it shouldn't be too hard to interact with her."
Nott had this irritating smirk on his face, almost like he could sense Draco squirming.
"And when she...trusts me...what am I supposed to do?" Draco asked. He was sure that he didn't want to hear the answer.
"When we storm the castle, you will hand her over to us."
"But..." Draco said desperately. "Wouldn't it be easier to just get her now? She's in the Three Broomsticks right now; it would be easy. Why do I have to befriend her?"
Nott shrugged. "Easier yes, but as effective? If the Mudblood were to die now, Potter would always believe in her loyalty, but if you manage to make her prefer you over him, it would destroy him. It would weaken him to where it would be easy to strike."
Draco glowered. Granger was practically being forced down his throat this year! He'd have been delighted to cheat her, to lie to her, to hurt her. But befriend her? Just the thought made him feel sick. But unfortunately, he couldn't see any way out. What Voldemort wanted, Voldemort got. Finally, he sighed in resignation. "Fine."
"Good." Nott said with satisfaction. "Because we're now on a schedule. He has decided that we will strike at Hogwarts on the night of the annual Yule Ball. Everything must be in place by then."
Draco dropped his glass with a thud. "The Yule Ball? But that's only two and a half months away! I can have the Cabinet mended by then but…"
"All of the top Ministry officials will be in attendance." Nott interrupted. "Along with a few foreign dignitaries, I expect. They want it to be a big affair to prove that they are not afraid of the Dark Lord and that everything is business as usual. It is the perfect time to strike so that the entire world knows of the Dark Lord's might. Attacking him where he is most at home, coupled with the betrayal and unfortunate demise of his little Mudblood pet, will be extremely damaging to Potter. Therefore, you have until the night of the Ball to have everything ready. Is that clear?"
Draco exhaled softly. He refused to let the older man see him sweat, so he took another long swig of his scotch. "Fine. Now, if you're done, it's my day off."
XxXxX
Later on in the afternoon, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione sat sequestered in a booth in the Three Broomsticks with half-drunk glasses of butterbeer in front of them. Harry and Ginny were doing most of the talking and although Hermione added an occasional comment, she was largely content to just sit. It was nice to be able to switch her mind off for a little bit. Besides, this was likely one of the few ways she could get both Harry and Ginny to actually sit still and talk to each other alone. But after Harry surveyed the pub for the fifth time, Hermione had to ask, "Who are you looking for?"
"I thought Slughorn might be here." Harry said. "I wanted to talk to him."
Ginny frowned. "Slughorn? Why?"
Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore wants me to get to know him. I don't know why, but it must be important, don't you think? Otherwise he wouldn't ask."
"Does this have anything to do with those meetings you've been having with Dumbledore in the evenings?" Hermione asked. She took a large gulp of her butterbeer and suppressed a small shudder. Madame Rosmerta had made them extra sweet this time and being raised by Muggle dentists did come with a bit of mental baggage.
"Probably. But Dumbledore's being pretty mysterious about the whole thing."
"What do you guys do?" Ginny asked him.
"Mostly look into his Pensieve. He has all of these memories from when he went to let Voldemort know he was a wizard and invited him to Hogwarts. I think he's looking for some kind of weakness that we can use now to beat him."
"Well, it can't hurt. Any kind of knowledge is bound to be useful." Hermione paused. "Can you...tell? When you see him, I mean."
For a moment, Harry paused. "Honestly? It's a little creepy. Outwardly he looks like any other eleven year old...but he has this look in his eyes. Like, if you looked past the boy there is something else there. Something cruel and...hungry. I think, yeah. The seeds were already there."
Is the monster born a monster? Or is he made into one by the people around him?
"What are the chances Malfoy isn't a Death Eater?" Hermione asked abruptly.
Harry and Ginny both looked at her. "You're kidding, right?" Harry asked.
"I didn't think there was any debate over that." Ginny added. "Especially after the Ministry."
"But he wasn't at the Ministry." Hermione said automatically in an unconscious echo of Draco.
"But Lucius was." Harry pointed out.
"So just because his father is he must be too?" Hermione asked heatedly.
Harry stared. "Hermione, where is this coming from?"
"I...I don't know." She said uncomfortably. "I guess I've just talked to him more this term since we're both Heads, and it just seems to me like he might not be."
"Come on, Hermione. After all of the things he's done...all of the times he's called you a Mudblood…"
"I don't need you reminding me of all the times he's called me that." Hermione snapped. "I know he's a bigoted, narcissistic pureblooded ass. I'm just wondering if he's an actual Death Eater."
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm not trying to make you upset. I just don't want to see you get all worked up over Malfoy. Like you told me at the start of term, he just isn't worth it." Harry said. He still had a concerned look on his face.
"I know. I just...forget I mentioned it." Hermione said, still cross. She caught the look that passed between Harry and Ginny and she stood up. "I'm going to go to the loo."
Once in the loo she washed her hands, then fixed her hair. Then she fixed it again. She dabbed on some fresh lipstick and recited the names of the Goblins who took part in the rebellion of 1612. Finally she peered back out at the booth and saw Harry and Ginny deeply engaged in conversation, their faces mere inches from each other. In spite of her mood she smiled to herself but she felt rather awkwardly like a third wheel, so she slipped through the noisy pub and out the front door.
The sun was setting, and it was cooling off. She instantly regretted leaving her cloak at the table, but she knew Harry and Ginny both might actually kill her if she interrupted them now, so she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and started walking up the street.
After a few minutes she was aware that she had wandered into a shady part of town. Shifty looking people dotted the street and more than one window was boarded up. It even seemed like it was colder than when she left the Three Broomsticks, and she was about to turn around and head back towards the pub when a flash of blonde hair caught her eye. It was Malfoy. She stopped and slid behind a shop column as she watched Draco cross the street and look cautiously from side to side before opening the door of a ramshackle antiques shop. She glanced around furtively before slipping into the alley beside the shop and standing up on her tiptoes to peer into the window. "What are you up to, Malfoy?" She muttered.
It took only a few moments for Malfoy to come into view. He walked up to the front counter and rang a small bell on the counter. A middle-aged wizard with dark hair and a flat nose came out of the back room and shook Draco's hand. Draco pulled a rolled up piece of parchment out of his robes and unfurled it on the counter, moving his hands around in a way that suggested the parchment was a set of blueprints. The shop wizard looked astonished but very eager and interested in what Draco was telling him. It looked like the shopkeeper asked multiple questions before disappearing again into the back room. Just as he was coming back out, Hermione felt someone grab her shoulder.
She gasped and whirled around. It was a dirty wizard with greasy brown hair and what appeared to be several burn marks on his robes.
He grinned. He was also missing several teeth. "Have a look at me wares, love?" He asked, holding up what looked to be a jar of human eyeballs.
"No, thanks." Hermione kept her eyes down and tried to shuffle back onto the main street.
The wizard cut in front of her and blocked her. "Say, what are you doing out in a place like this all by yourself? It's not safe for a pretty little lady such as yourself."
"I was just leaving." She said with renewed force as she tried to force her way past the dirty wizard.
The wizard grabbed her by the wrist and began pulling her back into the alley. "Surely you don't think you're getting by without paying the toll?"
Hermione began to panic. Although the wizard was skinny, he was strong, and he held her in a vice-like grip. Sizing up her opponent she bent her knees and pushed backwards as hard as she could, and she broke free. The wizard cursed.
She stumbled backwards, into a pair of open arms She nearly jumped out of her skin, and when she turned to see who it was, the ice-blue eyes of Draco Malfoy met her own. "Let her go." Malfoy said in a firm but even tone. "She's coming with me."
The wizard looked like he dearly wanted to argue, but authority radiated off of Draco Malfoy. He stood tall and kept his hard gaze level, without blinking. After a few seconds the older man's eyes widened in something like defeat, and he crumbled. "Whatever." He shrugged.
Hermione expected Malfoy to let her go as soon as he steered her back into the familiar part of Hogsmeade, but he didn't. Instead, he started dragging her towards the castle. She was half-hysterical and suddenly aware of how low cut her dress was and she wondered wildly why she'd let Ginny talk her into wearing it. "Malfoy…"
"Save it." He said curtly. "Are you naïve, or are you just that bloody stupid?"
"What are you…"
"What the hell were you doing in a place like that?" He demanded.
"I...I was…" Hermione sputtered. "I could be asking you the same thing!"
A sudden gust of wind went through the street and she shivered. "Here, take this." Draco shrugged off his jacket and held it out to her.
She stared at it. "You've got to be kidding."
"I'm not. It's just a stupid jacket. I've probably got another ten just like it and you're showing way too much skin."
"I've got to get back to the Three Broomsticks and they'll wonder where this came from…"
"You're not going back. I'm going to make sure you get back to the castle in one piece. Potter and Weasley can find their own way home."
Slowly, resentfully, Hermione took the jacket and slipped it on. "Since when do you ever do anything to help me? I thought you hated me."
Malfoy cocked his head. "You know, Granger, I don't ever think I've said that I hate you. I've teased you, belittled you, harassed you...but hate? Every time that word has come up, it's been out of your mouth."
She stared at him, outraged. He had to be exaggerating. She racked her brain but sure enough, she could not think of a single time Draco had said that he hated her.
He smiled, clearly enjoying her discomfort. He grabbed her elbow and steered her in the direction of the castle. "Now walk, Granger."
XxXxX
The next morning, Hermione was late for breakfast. Unable to really fall asleep, she'd tossed and turned all night before finally waking from a semi-conscious stupor and feeling like she'd gotten absolutely no sleep.
Then she noticed Draco's jacket draped over her chair.
She swore violently.
How the hell was she going to explain that? Merlin, her head was pounding. She groaned as she threw on her robes and waved her wand over her hair in a half-hearted attempt to tame it. Before she left she paused and considered the coat for a moment and then she shoved it in the back of her wardrobe. By the time she got to the Great Hall most of the students were already eating. "Morning." She said quietly as she slid in next to Harry and Neville.
Harry looked at her with concern. "So did you get it sorted out?"
She stared at him. "What?"
"Well we ran into that first year who said he asked you to go handle some Gryffindor and Slytherin students getting into it on the road back to Hogwarts. Did you stop it?"
"Oh. Yeah. Just first years being stupid." Hermione stumbled, her mind spinning. "Sorry I just left like that…Head Girl stuff, you know."
"Guess it'd be too much to expect Malfoy to help." Neville said.
"He did." Hermione said without thinking. "I mean...he...hustled the Slytherins away."
"Oh. Well, that was decent of him." Neville said. "It never changes, does it? Slytherins and Gryffindors, I mean."
Hermione didn't respond but she looked a little angry, and she stabbed her eggs violently with her fork. A small pygmy owl chose that moment to land noisily on her glass with a small letter tied to its leg. She took the letter and shooed the bird away absently.
"Any news?" Harry asked.
"It's from Dumbledore. They've finally set a date for this Ministry thing Malfoy and I are supposed to go to. November 10th." Hermione put the letter down and rubbed her temples. If only her head would stop hurting then maybe she could bloody think.
"The 10th? But that's only three weeks away. Have you guys even started on your speech yet?" Neville asked.
Hermione looked up and shot him a look. "What do you think? I'm still not convinced Malfoy can say 'Muggle-borns are our equals' without combusting into flame."
"You know, it's not your job to make him change his mind." Harry pointed out gently.
She laughed at that. "Really? Then whose is it? Because Dumbledore was pretty insistent that the two of us play nice."
"Exactly. Play nice, not perform miracles. Hermione, everyone here knows that you're brilliant but there are some things that even you can't do. He's just evil, and nobody here wants to see you get hurt." Neville said.
"Who said anything about me getting hurt?" Hermione asked a little more harshly than she intended.
Harry and Neville exchanged a glance. "Nobody… we just…."
"I know what you mean, but I can handle him." She stood up abruptly. "I've got to go. I've got piles of homework to do today plus our stupid weekly Head meeting during which I'm going to somehow have to convince Malfoy to help me argue Muggle-borns should be treated equally with Purebloods. Any other opinions you'd like to share before I go?"
"Hermione." Harry said in a conciliatory tone. "I'm worried about you. I haven't seen you this worked up since you were using the Time-Turner to get to all of your lessons."
"I'm not worked up, I just…"
"Have a lot on your plate. I know. And I know you can handle it. But you have to spend so much time with Malfoy this year and everyone in this castle knows how he is and I don't want you…"
"That's not even an issue." Hermione said flatly.
