A/N: So this was actually three chapters originally, but it wasn't until I was posting that I realised how infuriatingly short they were. So here you go! A nice long chapter to hold you over until tomorrow! Keep up with the reviews, I'd love to hear what you think!
I still don't own Harry Potter, I swear, Officer! Ask my roommate! I'm not making any money off this, either! Here, look at these student loan bills!
CHAPTER THREE
"Let's have a little chat - Girl to girl!"
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"That sword is meant to be in my vault in Gringotts. How did you get it? What else did you and your friends take from my vault?"
"I didn't take anything…. Please… I didn't take anything… "
Draco ripped himself out of the dream covered in a layer of sweat as Granger's piercing screams still rang in his ears. He slid out of his silk sheets into his dark room and fumbled at his desk drawer, "Fuck… FUCK. Lumos," his wand lit and he found what he had been rummaging for. A silver dagger with an intricate handle carved into the shape of a snake. Without regard, he brought the blade down to his now faded dark mark and made three, long, angry cuts. He moved to his shoulder blades and pressed as hard as he could to make four cuts per shoulder. With shaking hands he dropped the familiar blade to the ground, it and his hands covered in his own blood. He laid back in his bed and ground his teeth against the pain of soft silk rubbing against his open wounds.
He deserved this.
He deserved worse.
He reminded himself of that everytime he did this.
"Nox."
"Morning, Drake! How'd ye sleep last night?"
"What do you want, Theo?" Draco muttered behind his usual cup of tea.
Theodore Nott threw himself down on one of the large, black leather seats in Draco's office, "I take that as not well. Hurry up and down that tea, you need to be on your best behaviour. We're meeting with Ms. Parkinson in fifteen."
"Bollocks, I forgot about that," Draco gulped the rest of his black tea, "Let's go."
"You're bleeding through, Mate. Change the shirt or heal up," Theo gestured lightly to the little specks of blood seeping through Draco's blue Oxford. Theo was Draco's best friend because he didn't ask questions and didn't lecture him about his vices.
With a grunt, he pulled off his shirt, facing Theo to not expose his shoulder blades and pulled on a black Oxford from his desk drawer. He wasn't ready to let them heal yet.
"Salazar's rod, man! Get a tan or something! You're blinding me!" Theo's hand blocked his view of Draco's naked torso.
"If you keep checking me out, I will report you to Human Resources," Draco darkly teased.
"If you keep undressing and trying to seduce me instead of meeting with clients, I will report you to the Board of Directors," Theo jabbed as he gracefully leapt off the chair and opened Draco's office door.
"Gentlemen, thank you for meeting with me. Have a seat," Pansy Parkinson was already in the boardroom when they arrived.
"Good morning, Ms. Parkinson, how can we help you?" Draco pleasantly greeted their guest.
"As you know, the Department of Law and Regulation has grown substantially since the War and as a result, we're able to train Aurors in more avenues of magic beyond charms and hexes," started Pansy.
"Yes, I actually saw one of your Aurors last night. Potter, just came back from Cairo with a black eye. Might want to up the training on defensive spells," Draco jested.
Pansy's face remained unphased and professionally cool, "I do not interact with Mr. Potter often enough to comment. Regardless, our aim is to train Aurors to be able to brew potions on location and provide medical aid to those in need."
"So they sent our Bestie to get them a good deal on supplies?" smirked Theo.
"The Minister is willing to offer a four million Galleon deal for transportable supplies and a handful of staff members from your Herbology unit to train our senior Aurors," Pansy continued.
Draco resumed a blank stare, "Ten million."
"Six," Pansy countered.
"Nine and we get the rights to be the Ministry's sole potion supplier," Draco returned.
"Mr. Malfoy, I understand a fair price is your goal, but think of what we're aiming to do here. If we can train all our Aurors to provide medical aid to victims or even the Dark Wizards they're hunting, they can obtain more information and can save more lives than we ever did in school," She paused to let the verbal lashing sink in, "Six and a half and Malfoy Industries gets sole rights," Pansy knew she had won.
Draco grimaced inside but smirked on the outside, this woman was good. He stood and stuck his hand out across the table, "You have a deal Ms. Parkinson. Have the lawyers confer and send the papers to my office. Speaking of which, would you care for a cup of tea?"
"Yes, thank you." She rose from her seat to follow the two men out, "Gloria, type up the minutes and owl them to my office, the Minister's and Mr. Malfoy's. I will be back after lunch."
Pansy shut the door behind her as she let herself into Draco's office, "You fucking arsehole! You knew I needed a lower bid on that deal. Sod the tea, give me a coffee, I need something stronger."
Theo gave a hearty laugh, "Pans, you got a great deal! If you wanted something better, the Minister should've known better than to send Drake's best friend to do the negotiations."
Draco handed Pansy her coffee and a tumbler of scotch to Theo before sipping on his own, "I've got to hand it to you Pansy, using my fucked up psyche about Hogwarts against me, was a very devious move. Salazar would be proud."
Pansy smiled back at him and clinked his tumbler with her mug, "I thought you might appreciate that. I'm a good politician for a reason. By the way, thanks for drinking in front of me, tossers."
"Piss off, Pansy, you've said before we could. If it's bothering you we can just gulp it all back now, I wouldn't mind an early afternoon buzz," replied Theo.
"No, it's fine, I just want to win one today and make you two feel bad," Pansy angrily scoffed, "Now, what was that about seeing Potter last night, Drake?"
Draco swallowed the spicy amber liquid, "Yeah, I was out with Neville and Luna when the Golden Trio showed up and barged in on our dinner. Like I said, Potter looks like hell. As if he's been getting the shite beaten out of him for months. Weasley is getting a gut and is carrying on the Weasley tradition by filling the world with more gingers."
"Vane is pregnant again? Next thing you know her hair will turn red and she'll start knitting everyone minging sweaters and caps," Theo chortled.
"What of Granger?" Pansy pressed. As a politician, Pansy knew it didn't hurt to have information on as many people as she could. In fact, some of her and Draco's favourite pastimes included sitting around bitching and gossiping.
"Hm?" Draco took a long sip from his glass, not wanting to dwell long on Granger. She shows up after how many bloody years and the nightmares instantly start back up again. The flashbacks and cutting he could handle, but now he can't even fucking sleep.
"Granger. Is she still a bushy haired swot?" Theo probed.
"I don't know, she didn't really talk much. Not at all, really," Draco answered, filling his tumbler to appear nonchalant, "No more bushy hair though."
"'Didn't talk much?' Granger? Are you kidding me? How is that even possible?" Theo asked, clearly baffled by the idea of a quiet Granger.
"The War fucked people up in different ways," Pansy answered solemnly.
The tumbler Draco was holding suddenly felt like it weighed a tonne. He put it down and out of his sight. They knew better than to drink in front of Pansy, Draco especially, having been there for most of her lowest moments. She'd been sober for three years now, but still. Why make it harder for her? That reminded him, "Do you need a refill on your Draught of Peace, Pansy?"
"Yeah, it couldn't hurt. Thanks, Drake," She gave him a tight smile.
"Well now that the mood is nice and bright, Pansy want to go grab lunch? It's on Malfoy Industries," Theo followed Draco's lead and put aside the tumbler.
"Alright, but only because Drake's paying and I'm not a cheap date," Pansy gathered her robe and headed for the Floo.
There was a knock on Draco's office door, "What is it? I'm about to leave for lunch," Draco called evidently annoyed, briefly lifting the Muffliato charm that was constantly on his office.
"It's me Draco, I just wanted to make sure we're still on for my place tonight. I'm taking off early for the day."
"Yeah. You can open the door, Neville," Draco sighed.
Neville complied and greeted Pansy and Theo with a polite nod. "Okay, come round at seven. Luna is going over to Hermione's so we'll have the study to ourselves," Neville hobbled in on a simple black cane, nothing like what Draco's father had used during most of his life.
"Right, sounds good," Draco noticed Pansy eyeing the cane and Theo eyeing the man.
"Do ye want to come to lunch with us?" Theo asked.
"Oh, no that's alright, I'm going to visit my parents, thank you though," Neville smiled and limped out the door.
Once the three were seated at, what Draco expected was the most expensive restaurant Pansy could think of, Pansy finally asked the question weighing on her mind, "What's with Longbottom's cane? I didn't know he was that badly injured in the War."
"He wasn't. I don't know why he has to use it, it's only sometimes. One day, he'll come in walking fine then the next, he'll be stumbling around with that cane," Draco shrugged. He wasn't concerned about Neville. It hadn't affected his work and Neville hadn't brought it up the numerous times they'd been alone together researching. He also had Lovegood and she could handle that stuff better than Draco could, anyway.
Theo was deep in thought. Draco saw the way the man looked at Neville, he wasn't an idiot. Draco also knew that the face Theo was currently wearing indicated he would disappear for a few days. He normally did when something troubled him deeply. Maybe Draco could salvage a couple days more with his COO at work, "But if you don't mind, Theo, could you keep an eye on him? Sounds like Lovegood is busy with Granger, so just make sure he's performing well at work, yeah? I can't have another unit head disappear from work."
Theo picked up his menu and blindly read it, "Yeah, no problem."
Hermione sighed as she straightened the throw pillows on her navy blue sectional sofa for the third time. She knew Luna had owled her about having dinner plans to be polite but Hermione didn't feel like entertaining tonight. She tried to brush her off but she had a feeling the blonde woman would show up regardless.
Right on cue, Luna stepped out of Hermione's Floo, "Hello Hermione, I brought you some macaroni casserole. It's what Muggles call vegan. It's quite good, I've been researching Muggle cuisine as of late."
"Hi Luna, I know what vegan is. My old Muggle neighbour is a vegan," she explained, taking the still warm casserole, "Thank you for dinner. Come to the dining room, I'll serve us."
They made their way through the living room to the small dining room. Hermione went to the kitchen to plate the delicious smelling food. Luna called from the dining room, "How are your parents, Hermione? I didn't see many pictures of them in the living room."
Hermione ground her back teeth and gripped the serving spoon in her hand tight. She called back in as casual a tone as she could manage, "They're still in Australia. The British and Australian Ministries conferred and found my Obliviate spell to be too effective. Trying to undo it could cause brain damage or send them into psychosis." Hermione brought the plates into the dining room and set them down with a little too much force.
"I'm sorry to hear that. It must be very difficult for you with Harry being gone so often and Ron being busy with his family," although Luna's tone never changed, after knowing Luna for so many years, Hermione knew she was genuinely concerned.
Hermione sat across from the other woman and shovelled a forkful of casserole into her mouth and shrugged, "I suppose. I don't really have time to think about it. I'm quite busy."
Luna stared at Hermione while she continued to eat. Hermione shifted uncomfortably, but continued to focus on her food. Why can't she just eat in silence?
"Draco Malfoy is quite handsome now, don't you think?"
Hermione inhaled in surprised and choked on her macaroni. She coughed and sputtered as Luna handed her the wine she had opened. Taking a swig from the bottle, she composed herself and her breathing, "Malfoy? I don't know, I didn't notice. I was happy to see you and Neville more."
Luna pulled the bottle back and took a sip for herself, "No you weren't, but that's okay. You wanted to spend the evening with Ron and Harry. Draco is very well read and doesn't snivel as much as he did in school." Luna finally took her first bite of her casserole.
Hermione took a smaller bite, fearing for her life that Luna may tell her Romilda's next child would be a Hippogriff. "Why are you telling me this, Luna?"
"They're traits I've noticed in him since he and Neville have become friends. I imagine you've been wondering why we were out to dinner with him."
"Yes, I was. Are they really friends? They couldn't be further opposites in school," Hermione probed.
"They get on quite famously, actually. Neville left his post as Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts after a year and Draco offered him a job the next day to run the Herbology sector for his Potions Unit. I suppose he had been wanting to hire Neville since he took over Malfoy Industries but Headmistress McGonagall beat him," Luna explained.
"Why did Neville leave Hogwarts? I thought that would've been his dream job," Hermione wondered out loud.
Luna didn't respond for quite some time. She dreamily stared off into the kitchen as she had a couple forkfuls of casserole.
During the silence, Hermione took the time to consider the grown up Malfoy she had met. His face had filled out from being pointy, to angular and defined, his complexion and hair were still alarmingly pale although, he changed from his slicked back hairstyle in favour of a shorter, perfectly tousled look. She snorted to herself, that seemed on point for Malfoy, even his seemingly messy hair was perfected. Malfoy also seemed to have grown a bit since she last saw him at his trials and his build wasn't as lanky anymore. Now that she thought about it, Malfoy had always been handsome in a repulsive, arrogant git sort of way, but now he was a fully grown man.
Luna suddenly broke the silence and Hermione jumped slightly, "War is a curious thing, don't you think? It can physically and mentally manifest itself in people for so long. No matter how we distract ourselves, it's always there."
Hermione chased thoughts of Malfoy away and mulled Luna's words over in her head. Of course Neville left because of the War. How could anyone stand to be there acting as if everything was normal? Especially after what Neville endured during his seventh year. The War won't stop taking from even the sweetest of people until we're shrivelled husks… Hermione swallowed the thought with some wine before she fell into a hole that she had masterfully filled over the years.
"I like that painting. What is it?" Luna asked.
"It's a copy of Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse by a Muggle artist, Joshua Reynolds. She played the heroine of a very famous Muggle play called Macbeth. He painted her in the image of Melpoméne. The Greek Muse of Tragedy."
Neville and Luna's Floo opened straight into their study. Draco arrived promptly at seven to see Neville already sitting in one of two large, overstuffed chairs with a pile of books next to him.
"Hi Draco!" Neville looked up from his book excitedly, "I found an entry about a plant that can be used to heighten one's Legilimency. Perhaps we could formulate a potion that could be given to non-responsive victims to help them communicate with their Healers." Neville was frantically scribbling notes as his idea flowed.
Draco gave Neville a tight smile, "I'll look for something that would compliment those properties." He grabbed two books from Neville's stack, removed his suit jacket and sat in the vacant chair. He peeked up at Neville and hesitantly asked, "How was seeing your parents?"
Neville's eyes darkened as he continued to stare at the parchment beneath his now still quill. "It was fine. I went for a run afterwards to help me think of these new research avenues."
Draco scoffed, "A run? How the fuck did you go for a run when you could barely make it into my office this afternoon?"
"Why all the questions, Drake? You're not usually one to be so nosey. Are you going to sodding read or not?" Neville snapped. Neville never snapped. Well, maybe he didn't. Draco couldn't be sure because he had never enquired about anything in Neville's life before. His discussion with Pansy and Theo got him curious about the cane as well.
"Sorry, Mate. I didn't mean to pry." Draco took a beat before changing the subject. "What's that plant called?"
"Ayahuasca. Also known as iowaska or yagé. It's fine… Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. Sorry." Neville blushed as he pulled his book back into his lap.
"Ayahuasca… Why does that sound familiar?"
Neville snorted, "Because Muggles use it to get high."
Two hours passed in comfortable silence before the Floo roared to life and Luna stepped out with an empty casserole dish.
Neville's eyes lit up, "Hello, Love. How did Hermione like the casserole?"
Luna leaned down and kissed Neville on the forehead, "She enjoyed it very much. She asked for the recipe. Could you perhaps grow us a cashew tree? It would make it much easier to make all these vegan dishes. Hi Draco."
Draco curled his upper lip, "What's vegan?"
Luna sat on the arm of Neville's chair and dreamily stared at Draco, "It's a plant based type of cuisine. No animals or animal byproducts are used in the dish. It's quite a clever Muggle invention."
Draco looked back at his book and huffed in response.
"It's really delicious, Draco. Maybe we'll have you round for dinner and make you something. I'll look into the tree, Luna. I think it's meant for a tropical environment, but I'll see what I can do."
Still staring at the blonde man, Luna squeezed Neville's hand in response. For the second time that evening she startled one of her old classmates, "You should owl Hermione, Draco. You'd have plenty to talk about."
Draco slowly looked back up at Luna and sneered. "What could I possibly have to say? 'Hey Granger, sorry my crazy Aunt tortured you within an inch of your life in my family home. Care for a spot of tea? Lovegood says we'd be a good match.'"
"It would be a good icebreaker," Luna smiled and sashayed out of the room.
Draco watched her as if Looney Lovegood was finally off her rocker. "Honestly man, how have you been with that for years?"
"Oi, watch it." Neville warned. "Find any leads?"
"Goyle's set the bloody place on fire!"
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Draco's own scream woke him this time. He could feel the heat of the FiendFyre, he could still see the look on his childhood mate's face. He remembered Greg Goyle's screams as he fell to his, undoubtedly painful, death into the monster he had conjured. Draco's cuts were still bloody and angry, he scratched at them to open them back up. He rested his head in his hands and sobbed for his lost friend. He cried until he couldn't produce any more tears.
Draco picked himself up out of bed, knowing it was well into the late night and walked to the modern kitchen in his flat. He hadn't gone back to Malfoy Manor after his trials. He shuddered at the memories and pushed them away as he focused on downing ice cold water. He drank deeply to chase away the heat of the FiendFyre. He refilled his cup and drank until his throat ached and his belly bulged slightly from the cold.
Narcissa Malfoy still lived at the Manor, unable to leave what was once where she had a supposed happy family. Whenever Draco saw her it was at a restaurant in town or at his flat. He hadn't even returned for Lucius' funeral. The bastard didn't deserve a burial plot, his body should have rotted in Azkaban where he died.
Fuming at his dream, the betrayal of his father, the stubbornness of his mother, Draco punched the sleek tile backsplash. The slate grey tiles cracked under his fist. He wound up and punched again, continuing until he was through the plaster and his knuckles were mangled past recognition.
He slid his bare back down the cold black cabinet, ran his good hand through his hair and eventually fell asleep sitting on his kitchen floor. He woke to an owl tapping at the kitchen window a few short hours later.
Draco didn't recognise the tawny barn owl. Around its leg was a tiny parchment that simply read,
Coffee? Wotcher. Diagon Alley.
H.
He let out a dark laugh, Lovegood dropped the hint to both of us. Draco replied in the affirmative and went upstairs to shower and heal his wounds.
After the shower, Draco looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like shite. Dark bags under pink swollen eyes, gaunt cheeks. Really, he looked like Lupin after one of his monthly transformations. He ran some product through his ice blonde hair, shaved his stubble and cast a glamour charm on his face. Hopefully that'll last or Granger's going to get a nasty surprise.
Dressed in a dark grey two piece suit with the top button of his white Oxford undone, Draco stepped outside his front door and Apparated to Diagon Alley to find whatever Wotcher was.