CHAPTER 33
6 January 1992 - 7:13AM
The next morning found Harry, Theo and Blaise sitting comfortably on a large bench in the foyer in front of the Great Hall, watching the ensuing commotion. Many of their fellow Snakes - whom for the strangest reason were all early risers today - kept them relatively entertained as they observed all reactions leveled (discreetly and indiscreetly) in their respective directions. Most notably, Harry noticed Cassius Warrington and Miranda Bonnevie shooting curious glances in his direction, which Harry filed away for later. The younger Potter was already aware of their relation to the ruthless and very bigoted pureblood Selwyn family. Any interest from those two was to be treated with a very gentle hand.
At this time, Harry was eagerly awaiting Hermione and Neville's arrival. He'd missed his Gryffindor friends dearly, and he was keen on speaking with them, especially Hermione now that the "Draco problem" had been thoroughly addressed. As he waited, Theo and Blaise sat with him under a privacy charm as they discussed the events from the night before.
"So let's just go over this one more time, if just for my own piece of mind," said Theo. "Draco, along with Urquhart and Vaisey, are now actively bound and obligated not only to refrain from trying to get me in trouble with Father but to also to do anything and everything they reasonably can to protect me from any harm – whether from Father or from any other source – by any means short of endangering their own lives."
"Correct," Harry said. "You can't make someone swear an Unbreakable Vow that will require them to deliberately sacrifice their own life for another, or even face a substantial risk of death in doing so. If that were the case, I wouldn't have even given him that much… flexibility with the Vow's wording. As it stands, neither of them can actively do anything to endanger you nor can they passively stand by while you're in danger, unless they genuinely believe that trying to save you will get themselves killed."
"Huh… I feel like there's some loophole in there, but I trust that you're smarter than either one of those little shits so they'll never be the one to find it. Anyway, all three are also bound not to attempt to manipulate you or control you or seek revenge against you by threatening the health or safety of any other person."
"Right again. They can still theoretically hurt people, but he can't do it for the express purpose of getting at me somehow. Again, you can't make an open-ended vow not to hurt anyone or to never commit a crime. Else they'd just make every wizard and witch take such a vow once they turn eleven and we'd be living in a utopia." Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly while his friends chuckled in kind, though Theo looked distinctly thoughtful at that. His life would be much happier if he lived in such a utopia.
"And for Draco, he can't deliberately insult anyone on the basis of blood purity or blood politics. He can't say 'Mudblood' or 'blood traitor' as an insult to anyone, either to their face or when talking about them in the presence of anyone who he knows finds those terms offensive."
"Precisely," said Harry with a smirk. "I did leave him the power to use those terms when he's by himself or surrounded by fellow bigots. I'm not a complete monster." He sniffed disdainfully, causing all three boys to laugh. "There are a few more minor clauses, but that's the bulk of it. There's only so much that you can put in an Unbreakable Vow before it collapses under the weight of its own magic."
"Right," said Blaise drily. "Is that why you didn't put in any requirements that Draco refrain from directly threatening the health and safety of you personally?"
"No, that got left out intentionally. It would have made things too easy." Two disbelieving expressions met his statement.
"That," said Theo archly, "is the single most idiotically Gryffindorish thing you've ever said."
Harry snorted in laughter. "Take it up with Nidhogg. He insisted, and I'll need his vote to claim the Hydra Throne later so I just went along with it. He said if I'm not going to kill my enemy after all the time I spent plotting it, then I shouldn't be allowed to just 'neuter' him. Well, unless under very unique circumstances which he claimed he'd tell me once I officially become Prince. Also, he says I need a strong rival within my age cohort, else I'll get… soft."
"Hmmmm… I thought Jim was your rival," said Theo.
"He said a strong rival," Harry said drily, causing the other two boys to snicker.
"Hmmmm," said Blaise speculatively. "You could always 'neuter' Malfoy and then pick a fight with Zachariah Smith, the Dark Prince of Hufflepuff." All three found that idea hilarious. Still laughing, Harry noticed Hermione and Neville walking down the hall in their direction. The three Slytherins stood as Harry dispelled the privacy charm. The minute she reached him, Hermione enveloped him in a warm hug before turning and hugging Blaise, thanking him for her Christmas present as the boy charmingly laughed off her thanks. Turning to Theo, she gave him a firm hug and thanked him for his present as well as the young wizard coughed and blushed at the attention. Smiling amiably, Neville gave each Slytherin a strong one-armed hug and asked about their holidays and other small talk.
Then, Blaise leaned in and muttered, "Malfoy. Three o'clock." Harry turned towards the noted direction and noticed Draco and his cronies approaching. Beside him, he felt Hermione flinch and Neville take a protective step closer to her, eyes simmering in quiet rage.
"The hell does that prat want?" asked Neville, his voice low with latent fury. The Slytherins all exchanged pointed glances at the Gryffindor's angry reaction.
"Oh nothing much I imagine," said Harry confidently. "He probably just wants to wish us all a good morning." The other four students looked at Harry as though he'd sprouted another head.
Their surprise was only compounded when Draco actually did walk up and say cheerfully "Good morning, Harry, Theo and Blaise. And to you as well Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger." Harry immediately wished Draco good morning as well, as did the others a few seconds later after the shock wore off.
"Miss Granger?" Draco continued with a slightly nervous smile. "Might I have a moment of your time?" She blinked repeatedly and then looked to an equally surprised Neville. "Oh, it's quite alright if we speak in front of your friends. An apology that must be rendered in secrecy is hardly an apology at all, as my father would say."
"An...apology?!" said Hermione, her expression at once gobsmacked and suspicious.
"Yes," said Draco with what certainly seemed to be sincerity. "You must understand: I was raised in a very insular Pureblood household with very little knowledge of or experience of Muggles. And I was raised by two parents who were themselves similarly raised in similar insular environments going back several generations. Consequently, I came to Hogwarts with a great many preconceived notions about Muggleborns such as yourself, notions which were grounded in ignorance and, dare I say it, bigotry. Fortunately, recent conversations with Harry here have led me to, well, to reconsider my former views. With that," here he paused and bowed slightly, maintaining eye-level with a gaping Hermione. "I apologize profusely for my grotesque actions against you, for the threat against your safety… and your life." A flash of seemingly genuine regret flashed in his eyes, causing Hermione's eyes to widen in shock and Harry to make another mental note. "It was wholeheartedly churlish, boorish, and… wrong of me to threaten harm against the life of an innocent. Such prejudice is unworthy of House Malfoy, of my sire and his sire before him, and all our ancestors before. Furthermore, it was absolutely foolish of me to disregard the potential of you and your fellow Muggleborn students simply because you were raised in a non-wizarding environment. Once more, I tender to you my most sincere and abject apologies for my prior conduct towards you and hope that after this we may start anew with one another."
Draco kept his head bowed respectfully while Hermione stood there shell-shocked. Neville looked thunderstruck, as did Theo and Blaise. For his part, Harry nodded at Draco's apology for his heinous actions against Hermione, pleased that it at least sounded sincere enough. Blaise nudged him and mouthed "minor clauses?" Harry gave a small nod.
A still shocked Hermione turned to stare at Harry, who gave her a small and significant nod. A few beats passed and Hermione turned back to Draco, straightening her spine. "Your… gracious apology is preemptively accepted, Mr. Malfoy. I am… pleased to see that you have seen the errors of your grievously harmful actions against myself, actions I did nothing to warrant." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing: "I too hope we can ... begin anew and develop… a sense of mutual… camaraderie?" she finished somewhat lamely.
"Please, Miss Granger, call me Draco."
"I… well… only if you will call me Hermione," she said weakly.
"Certainly. Now there is one other matter I would like to discuss while I'm here. I know that exams are approaching, and you are undoubtedly short on time. But my two good friends, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, have been struggling with some of their school work. If you have any free time in your schedule, I wonder if you might be amenable to tutoring them for a few weeks. I would be happy to pay for your time. Say, four galleons an hour for the both of them?"
At that, the Muggleborn's eyes goggled. "Well Mr. Mal- I mean - Draco, I couldn't possibly accept-" Suddenly Harry coughed loudly to cover his "Take it!" which earned him a glare before she continued. "That is, I couldn't possibly refuse such generosity. Messrs Goyle and Crabbe are indeed very fortunate to have you as a friend."
Draco smiled again, and once again, it looked relatively sincere. "You're very kind. I'll owl you their schedules, and we'll arrange for you to meet with them at your convenience." He put out his hand, and she, very slowly, did likewise. Then, he took her hand gently and kissed it on the knuckles. "Until then, Hermione."
Hermione's hand remained in front of her while Draco and his cronies walked to breakfast, before she seemingly shook off her shock and turned to Harry: "What the bloody hell was that all about?!"
"Well firstly, language Hermione," Blaise and Theo coughed back a laugh. "If a Pureblood of higher social standing offers you money for a task and you either turn him down and/or offer to do it for less, it turns it into an offer of charity on your part. Under some circumstances, that can be taken as an insult to the Pureblood."
"No! Not that! I mean ... EVERYTHING!" she exclaimed. "Draco 'Evil Pureblood Ponce Extraordinaire' JUST BLOODY APOLOGIZED! TO ME! FOR EVERYTHING!" Her shouting caused the boys to jump, while some students walking into the Great Hall gave her strange looks at her outburst.
"Yeah I mean…" said a flummoxed Neville. "This is … I mean… that was... beyond the universe of any and all possible things." He shook his head to clear it, as if he'd been caught in a fever dream.
"It's… it's been a long and complicated holiday week. As far as you're concerned Hermione - and Theo too - Draco will be considerably better behaved than he has been. What happened that day in the Astronomy Tower won't ever happen again, of that I made certain. You should be expecting an apology from Urquhart and Vaisey as well, so let me know when that happens." He took a closer step to Hermione and stared at her intently, conveying every bit of seriousness he could in his expression. "I did what was needed to protect you Hermione, especially from the likes of Draco. I meant when I said that he won't ever harm you again."
Hermione was briefly taken aback by his intense expression, before slowly nodding in agreement. "Alright Harry, I - thank you for that." She leaned him and gave him a firm hug, which Harry returned in earnest. Neville looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Hermione shook her head no. "Well, now that we're back together, what are your plans for this evening after dinner?"
"Miss Granger!" said Harry, who suddenly put his hand over his heart. "How very forward of you! You're not trying to make Mr. Malfoy jealous, are you?" He wiggled his eyebrows cheekily as the friends all laughed in earnest.
She punched him in the shoulder and called him a prat, before looping her arm through his as the group walked into the Great Hall. Laughing, Harry responded: "I don't have any plans for this evening, I don't believe Theo or Blaise do either." The two boys nodded in agreement.
"Perfect! I'll be making a quick pit stop before, but we can all catch up on some much needed studying. We missed an entire week of classes, and exams are in four months!" All the boys groaned in earnest while Hermione affectionately huffed, genuinely looking forward to her day.
Professor Evans' Quarters - 7:46PM
"He apologized?! Draco Malfoy?! To you?!"
Hermione sighed before nodding once more at Professor Evans' shocked expression, pausing to take a sip of her tea. Hermione had sent a brief missive asking if she could speak with Muggle Studies Professor after dinner, wanting to discuss the latest development with her burgeoning mentor before meeting with her friends in the library. Before she'd made it to the professor's quarters, she'd been accosted by Vaisey and Urquhart, both of whom had profusely apologized for their actions in Draco's attempt on her life, and swore (figuratively) that they would never harm or seek to harm her again. That both had looked almost close to tears had been somewhat convincing enough for her to accept.
"And he did so publicly?... I - Wow…" Hermione chuckled in spite of herself at Lily's reaction, causing the professor to laugh in kind. While Lily was not exaggerating her shock, she hadn't expected Harry's plan to be so… effective in putting a stop to the blonde prat's machinations. Granted he hadn't told her all the specifics, just the bare bones on his plan to use the Hydra to effectively 'scare Draco straight'.
"Not only that, but he also offered me four galleons to tutor his two little cronies." Hermione snorted before taking another sip of her tea as Lily watched her placidly. "I was very tempted to just tell all of them to buzz off… but it would have been deemed rude, especially when Mal- that is, Draco - was making an effort to at least seem sincere with everything. And Harry promised that he wouldn't ever be able to hurt me again." She paused here and stared into her tea as she fidgeted nervously. Then, seeming to realize herself, the young Gryffindor took a deep breath and stilled, initiating some of the self-calming techniques she learned in her Occlumency text to calm her down.
Smiling in approval, Lily softly asked "How do you feel about all that?"
"I… I'm not really sure, you know? I mean… I know Harry went out of his way to do… whatever he did to Draco to get him back for nearly killing me. It's just that… I feel like it took all of the wind out of my sails, you know? It's not that I am not grateful for what he did, but…" Hermione shrugged helplessly while Lily nodded in understanding.
"Did you tell him how you felt?" the older witch gently asked.
"No I didn't," replied Hermione, laughing sheepishly. "I was a bit overwhelmed in the moment it was all happening. I just… I feel like it should have been me to put the little bigot in his place. He harmed me, and I should be the one to pay him back in kind." The young Gryffindor internally winced at how childishly vindictive she sounded, but to her surprise, Professor Evans nodded in kind understanding.
"Trust me, I understand your sentiments. He rendered you powerless, and that sense of balance can only be righted when you restore the scales, no one else. Not even your friend with well-meaning intentions." She smiled when Hermione sheepishly nodded in response, the young witch relieved that she didn't sound too mad.
"Have you told Harry how you feel?" Hermione shook her head no, before responding:
"No… I couldn't, and I don't want to seem ungrateful for what he did for me, which granted, I don't even want to know what it took to get Draco Malfoy to act like a decent human being." Lily snorted softly at that statement, imagining the boy's terror upon seeing and… interacting with the Hydra.
"I can't imagine either, but I do think you should tell Harry how you feel." Before Hermione could respond, a knock sounded at the door. With Lily's responding 'Come in!', Harry entered the room. Lily rose to give him a quick hug and direct him to her seat while Hermione fidgeted, not at all expecting to have to talk to Harry today.
"Thanks for coming dear." Harry nodded, curious as to what all this was about. "Now you and Hermione need to have a quick discussion to… 'clear the air' so to speak. Hermione has something she'd like to discuss with you, and while I know she would have preferred to wait it out, I don't believe in things… festering, especially between friends." Lily smiled encouragingly at the young Gryffindor in question, who was trying (but failing) to not fidget.
"Good! I'm off to my rooms to… assist with a very bad dog, so call me if you need me!"
"A very bad dog?" asked Hermione confusedly as Lily closed the door to her bedroom.
Snickering at the memory, Harry filled her in: Sirius Black was currently in the doghouse thanks to his shenanigans at Tom's sixty-fifth birthday bash. In typical Sirius-fashion, he'd decided that Lord Gaunt's 'quiet get-together' would be the perfect time for an impromptu bachelor and bachelorette party. Two massive tiered birthday cakes had been brought out when it was time to sing Happy Birthday, only to have exotic dancers from the Crazy Unicorn Cabaret and The Mystical Unicorn erupt from the cakes and begin performing a rather erotic dance routine. Harry had been quickly sent to his room, but he had been able to hear the bellowing Lord Gaunt thoroughly chew Sirius out for his 'utterly disgraceful and unbecoming behavior', before threatening to turn him into a dog permanently. A neutered dog. Thankfully Libra had been rather amused at the entire spectacle, dulling Tom's anger to irritation. Nevertheless, Sirius was relying on Lily to help him avoid Tom for the foreseeable future, lest Lord Gaunt changed his mind and delivered on his promises.
"The wizarding world has go-go dancers?!" asked Hermione incredulously.
"Yes," replied a laughing Harry, "they do!" The two laughed about it for a few more moments, before Harry quietly asked why Hermione needed to speak with him. The young witch fidgeted for a few moments looking down at her hands, before taking a deep breath to look him right in the eyes and say:
"Well… firstly, I wanted to um, thank you for handling Draco. I am not sure what you did and how you did it, but thank you nonetheless." Harry nodded, waiting for her to continue. "I… well… you see… I-know-this-sounds-crazy-but-I-wanted-to-do-it-myself!" Harry just blinked at the hurried statement before confusedly asking:
"You'll do what now?"
"I… I wanted to be the one to put Draco in his place." Harry's eyes widened as his Gryffindor jumped up and started pacing in a manner not unlike his mother's. "He wronged me, you know? He made me feel…worthless, and as… ridiculous as it sounds, I want to be the one to make him feel that same sense of… powerlessness that I felt when I… almost fell to my death." A haunted look overcame her expression that secretly broke Harry's heart, even more so when she stopped her pacing and turned to regard him with a meek expression that Harry decided never belonged on Hermione Granger's face.
Staring at her intensely, a few beats passed before the whir-click of his mind set the necessary pieces into place.
"Hermione," said Harry gently, "come here." Stretching his hand to his friend, he gave a small smile when she mimicked his gesture, guiding her to sit beside him with their hands still interlocked. "What Draco did was… unforgivable, and in spite of his apology earlier, there's very little in this world that can ever right that wrong. My… influence over Draco's recent ascension to common decency will only curb his future actions, it really has no bearing on erasing what he's done in the past… especially what he did to you." He paused here to stare intently into her eyes, conveying every bit of sincerity into his expression. "Only you can right your scales…and quite frankly, only you deserve to. Just… just don't leave me out when you do, alright?"
Harry suddenly found himself with an armful of Hermione Granger as the young witch hugged him fiercely, her large her covering almost the entirety of his face. "Thank you Harry, thank you." Chuckling, Harry patted her on the back before the two separated.
"Um… so just to be sure; no death, dismemberment, or permanent injuries… right?" asked Harry, looking mildly concerned even as Hermione laughed.
"No death, dismemberment, or permanent injuries. Just… abject public humiliation," she teasingly replied, though her warm brown eyes burned fiercely.
"Wait, no financial ruin?" asked Harry just as teasingly.
"Certainly not! There's already a four galleon-an-hour fee in play!" She sniffed imperiously before the two friends erupted in laughter.
AN 1: We'll see what Hermione has planned for Draco in Book 2. He used her fear against her, she'll use his against him :)
Next Up: Time skips, then onward to Peter/Quirrell vs. Jim vs. Harry!