Chapter Two
"What's in a name?"
Draco Hermione
It wasn't hope. Hope, as Draco remembered it, was a warm feeling you could never quite reach. It was knowing the ending, but still thinking it might change the next time you read the book.
He knew how his interactions with the stranger would end. He would do something unforgivable, and he would lose them.
So no, he wasn't hopeful. But he was thankful for the temporary lifeline.
He repeated their words again and again.
The kind of person that believes in second chances. The kind of person that believes in second changes. Thekindofpersonthatbelievesinsecondchances.
It was only fair, he supposed. Life had taken every opportunity to screw him over. He deserved one miracle.
A story was only so long though, no matter how sordid the tale. He'd elaborate on his letter, then there would be nothing more to say. This stranger, whoever they were, would fade away. They might not even witness his predicted unforgivable act.
Nearly as soon as he realized the problem, however, Draco had a solution.
Alright, then. Round two. 6:45PM
Hello. 6:45PM
You probably don't know who I am, but I wrote the letter in the bookshop. I appreciate your response. 6:45PM
That said, I'm a tad bit anxious about spilling my guts in real time. Letters are much more distant. 6:46PM
Could we try talking and just see what comes up along the way? 6:47PM
They responded quickly.
Fair enough, stranger. 6:48PM
What should I call you? 6:49PM
He considered it for a moment.
Call me Holmes. 6:49PM
It was the only muggle character he knew. He'd confiscated one of the mysteries from a Ravenclaw last year.
Oh, but I hate to be Watson. 6:50PM
Options are limited, Lestrade. 6:50PM
That's worse. 6:51PM
I think I fancy being Adler. 6:52PM
An interesting choice. 6:52PM
Fitting, I suppose. You're the only one with leverage in this relationship. 6:53PM
There was a pause this time. Draco would've been lying if he said it didn't worry him. It was a joke. Surely this person would realize that he didn't resent them for finding his note.
Well, symbolism is important. 6:55PM
Worry not, Holmes. Your secrets are safe with me. 6:56PM
For no reason at all really, he believed her.
Her.
The stranger had to be a woman. No man would've gone straight to a famous seductress. It changed nothing, he supposed. He'd never see this girl. Never meet her in person.
Still. Her. Draco treasured the detail.
He really was going mental. He needed to get back to Hogwarts, where his biggest problem was procuring illegal hangover potions. Except of course, that this year presented an additional challenge.
Now was not the time to dwell on that, though. September 1st was right around the corner. He'd make it until then and he think about the rest later.
He sighed, forcing himself out of his head as he stood. There was a meeting on the horizon.
Draco picked up the phone for the last time that night.
Much appreciated. 6:59PM
Hermione was still smiling the next morning.
She loved Harry and Ron, really, but it was nice to have something to distract her from the war. The boys were a constant reminder of everything she stood to lose. Some days, just looking at them hurt.
They were both too oblivious to notice the pained glances she occasionally cast their way. It was one of the things she admired most about them, actually. Even after six attempts on his life, Harry still managed to worry more about the Quidditch Cup than Voldemort. Ron was the same, caught up in Wizard Chess.
She was jealous of them.
Her mind didn't work that way. She worked through a problem until it was solved. Since she was 11 years old, Hermione had dedicated every ounce of her being to being ready to protect her friends.
People called her a bookworm. Students laughed at her for taking every elective possible (with the notable exception of Divination).
She didn't mind the assumptions. Truthfully, she played into them.
No one needed to know that her whole life was defined by a quest to be better, faster, and stronger. Not for idle enjoyment, but to be better in a duel.
"I was thinking we could head to Diagon Alley today. I know you lot need books, and I've been meaning to pick up some things myself."
"Lovely idea, dear." Arthur responded to his wife offhandedly, much more concerned with the slice of pie in front of him than making plans.
"I've been dying for a chance to stop at Flourish and Blotts. There's some new texts on interdisciplinary transfiguration that I bet McGonagall would love for us to incorporate into our essays," Hermione added.
"Ah, yes," George muttered.
"We all know it's vital to incorporate post-NEWTS material into your sixth year work," Fred followed up.
Hermione scoffed, not bothering with a response.
Ron came to her defense nonetheless, jokingly inserting himself between Hermione and the twins. It was a move she would think about all morning, much to her chagrin.
She wished it had been more than an insignificant moment.
She wished she felt nothing for Ron.
Her feelings had showed up at the end of last year, an unexpected summer visitor she couldn't seem to get rid of. She didn't want to like Ron. It was inconvenient. It risked throwing off the whole group dynamic. And yet.
And yet she did.
Hermione knew she was more attractive than she had been in her youth. If anyone looked closely, they'd notice that her shirt was no longer regulation length and that her teeth had been fixed. She refused to tame her hair, however, so the transformation was subtler than some of her classmates'.
Hermione also wasn't an overtly flirtatious or sexual person. She wasn't about to change that, even if Ron did seem much more attracted to that type of girl.
Speak of the devil. He was suddenly next to her, smile in place as always. "Ready?"
She nodded. Floo was terrible, but she could handle it.
Diagon Alley was beautiful, as usual. She and the boys split off from the rest of the Weasleys, eager to indulge in new books and broomcare tools. Hermione needed a new pair of robes. Embarrassingly, the old ones no longer fit her around the chest.
That was a fact she preferred not to explain to Ron or Harry, so she offered to meet them later. They went off for ice cream and she stepped into Madam Malkin's.
About halfway through her fitting, Draco Malfoy stumbled into the shop. Hermione suppressed a sigh.
His lips curled slightly when he noticed her, but he didn't say anything. Perhaps his mother was a mediating influence. That, or he wasn't willing to risk her hexing him. Her money, based on the look of Narcissa Malfoy, was on the later.
The fitting took longer than excepted. The silence began to be terribly awkward, especially after Madam Malkin asked if they knew each other.
"Er," Hermione said, "we've meet."
"You're in the same year at Hogwarts, no?" They both nodded.
Malfoy cut in. "We don't see each other much. Rival houses and all that."
Hermione stifled a scoff. Rival houses. As if he despised her because of a petty school division and not her blood status.
"Malfoy just hates that I've got higher marks than him."
Madam Malkin laughed. "Jealous, is he?" Her conspiratorial whisper was easily overheard.
"Terribly jealous, I'm afraid. Why, he's positively green."
"Oh, very clever Granger. You want an award for that joke?" Malfoy was obviously miffed, but he didn't seem invested in the argument. That was odd. He normally cherished opportunities to verbally torment her.
Shaking off her confusion, Hermione started to respond. "Well if you have an award handy, I'm not oppos-"
"Ow!" Hermione raised her eyebrows. There was no way a pin had pricked him, but Draco was screaming like it had. He was so upset that he cast off his unfinished robes and stormed out of the store.
Narcissa followed him out.
Neither said goodbye, obviously.
Madam Malkin seemed a bit put out, but Hermione assured her they were always unpleasant. That seemed to cheer the owner up, and she gossiped with Hermione for the rest of her fitting.
She left half an hour later, armed with new robes, an invitation to return for tea, and an enormous amount of information about other people's lives. Hermione doubted she'd meet half of them, but it was amusing nonetheless.
Even though she'd already stopped at Flourish and Blotts, Hermione wandered back in. She wasn't looking to buy anything else, but there was a spellbook from the 1800's that was impossible to resist. Harry and Ron found her at the register.
"Thought you might be here," Harry remarked. Six years later, his smile was the same as it had been on the Hogwarts Express. Innocent. Naive. His hair was still messy.
The casual confidence that made him easy to follow remained. He was taller, though, and there was a new sadness to him.
Ron nodded. "You won't believe what we saw."
Hermione smiled in spite of herself. "I bet I won't."
Ron was infinitely the same. He still loved sports and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He still believed the world was black and white. He was still the perfect wingman for Harry.
That was the Golden Trio. The leader. The friend. And her, the one to keep them both alive.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry explained, "went into Knockturn Alley."
"That's strange," she admitted, "but it's not a crime."
Ron shook his head vigorously. "You don't understand. There was something off about him."
It was going to be another year of conspiracy theories, then.
Hermione didn't say anything else. If a fictitious mystery would keep the boys away from real trouble, she'd allow it.
Half an hour later, they were back at The Burrow. After an exhausting day, everyone was ready for some peace and quiet. Besides, the teenagers returned to Hogwarts in two days. There were robes to be packed and socks to be hunted down.
After an hour of collecting clothes from around Ginny's room, Hermione collapsed onto the bed. She pulled out her phone, which had been left behind during their shopping trip.
She had one new message.
Okay, Adler. 2:13PM
Tell me something innocuous about yourself. Something to make you seem more real. 2:14PM
She paused for a moment before starting to type.
Author's Note: Other characters! Can you believe it? After two chapters full of internal monologue, this was fun to write. I hope you like it! I'm trying to set up the dynamic of Draco and Hermione's friendship. I'm also trying to show a different side of Hermione, one that is very aware of her burden. Worry not about her crush on Ron, by the way. This is a Dramione story. I'm just starting with canon.
Also, Adler is a famous seductress in the Sherlock Holmes books.