Draco stood on high alert as Hermione rushed around the library. After reading for a few minutes, she'd gasped and started grabbing books left and right. Once she held a fair amount, she returned back to them.
"We need to go back, now." Hermione said through gritted teeth. Her face was white, and Draco felt the anxiety in his stomach spike. Whatever she had read, it wasn't good.
No one said a word. It was deadly silent as they traveled the hallways, listening for even a hint of a footstep in any direction.
There were a few close calls, but Potter's incessant need to be the hero saved them. The first time, he muttered a spell and an explosion occurred at the end of the hall, sending a Theo-lookalike racing and swearing. The second time, a Potter-lookalike nearly caught sight of Weasley, but Potter shoved him out of the way and managed to mimic the lookalike's actions, making it appear as though he were simply looking at his reflection. Miraculously, it worked, and they were on their way again.
Back in the Room of Requirement, Hermione took them aside and finally explained what she had seen. As she spoke, her face grew paler. Draco desperately wanted to reach out to her and hold her hand, to lend her some strength, but he held back. Now was not the time.
Weasley actually took a few steps backward as the weight of what Hermione was saying hit him. "You mean – you mean she could become a second, more powerful You-Know-Who?"
"Worse, Ron." Hermione explained. "She could become immortal and omnipotent. Think about it. For the rest of your life, you know you won't live as long as you're supposed to, and you can't even think for yourself. No free will at all."
"That's got to be boring." Potter mused. "I can't imagine Lestrange would want a world with no one to talk to."
"But that's just it, Harry. She wouldn't have to. She could use muggles for their life force, and muggleborns for their magic. She doesn't have to live in a world where no one is free – only the people who oppose her. It would be the world exactly as she wants it. And if anyone dares to think otherwise, she simply takes control of them."
Draco listened to Hermione go over the logistics of it. After all that he had been through, he was past the point of panic and shock. He felt numb inside, but he digested the information quickly. "Question. What about my father? Why is Constantine following him if she already has this card in the game?"
He should have known Hermione would be ready with an answer. "Because the spellcaster's power depends on how powerful the victims are. Your father is a very powerful man. Politically, monetarily, socially, he's got as much power as one could hope for. Beyond that – he is a man that returned from the dead. I only know of one other person who has done that – and no one knows about it. After all, Harry never told the media his story. According to Constantine – and the wizarding world, in fact – Lucius Malfoy is the only man to have ever died and come back to life. He's conquered death! Whatever half-cocked plan he's got going right now, he's become very powerful. After all, he's got thousands of wizards and witches cowering, he's got the Minister of Magic on the run, and he's got hundreds of Death Eaters at his command. Constantine will wait until his plan is complete and he's got the run of the land – that will be when he is the most powerful. That's when she'll strike."
Everyone was quiet. As Draco parsed through his memories, he wanted to feel that Hermione was right. Every interaction with Constantine pointed to this direction. Still, she'd always seemed so frenzied, so fervent to serve her master, who everyone had thought was the Dark Lord. It seemed so at odds with her sudden desire to become Mistress of the World.
"What…what should our next step be?" Hermione asked hesitantly. She looked at Potter, then at Draco.
"Honestly, Hermione, you're kind of leading us now." Potter responded. "What do you think?"
Hermione started to speak, but then glanced at Draco and stopped. "There's something you're not telling me."
Draco wanted to protest, but he knew she would see right through him. "I just – something about this theory feels odd. I think you're right, everything about Merlin's journal being the key to this. But – every time I've seen Constantine, she'd always been so dedicated to my father. She brought up her 'master' even when there was no reason to bring him up. If she was so cunning and shrewd, why would she continue the act without a reason?"
"Maybe to throw us off the scent?" Weasley suggested.
"Perhaps." Draco mumbled. "There's just something so jarring about it."
"Yes, you're right." Hermione murmured. She furrowed her brow. "I just don't know what it could be."
"It's too bad we couldn't just ask Constantine herself." Potter joked. "Sure would be helpful to have a straight answer right about now."
"Well…" Hermione tilted her head. Draco had to fight off a grin, because he knew what that expression meant. She was about to say something brilliant. "Honestly speaking…we don't need Constantine. What we need is Merlin's journal. Without that, she won't be able to complete any of the spells or potions that she might be planning. And the one thing we do know is that Merlin's journal is in the same place as Mrs. Malfoy. We could…we could try a rescue heist."
Hermione truly did not disappoint.
….
Weasley came up with the first draft of the plan. It was…well, to put lightly…absurd.
Potter would send an owl to Remus Lupin, the old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that he still occasionally kept in touch with. This owl would, naturally, be intercepted by Constantine's agents that were crawling over the castle. The message would contain information about Potter, anything that Constantine would be interested in. It would also give Potter's location. While the Death Eaters were otherwise occupied, Potter would sneak out and head to that location, where he would presumably be ambushed by Constantine. At that point, the rest of the Order would arrive, ambush Constantine, and bring her back to the Room of Requirement. Then they would use truth serum to get her to give the information they wanted about her motives, and tell them where Merlin's journal and Draco's mother were located.
After Draco finished laughing hysterically at all of the ways it could go wrong, he told the Gryffindors to sit tight and went to find his friends. "We don't need Gryffindor bravery right now. We need Slytherin cunning."
After Draco talked with Pansy, Daphne, Theo, and Blaise, they returned to the Gryffindors. The new and improved plan was a bit different.
"We're going to set a trap." Draco explained. "There's a thousand and one Death Eaters storming this castle. All we need is a distraction. We're going to act as though we're planning something, and fight our way out of a small room. In the ruckus though, I'll get 'captured.' The Death Eaters won't know it's on purpose. I'm important enough that they won't go straight to killing me or incapacitating me. They'll take me straight to Constantine. Once I'm there, I'll use my link with Hermione, via the dreams to tell her where I am, where my mother is, and where Constantine is hiding the journal. You all follow – at a distance – until the time is right to storm in."
"It's a great plan, Draco." Potter started. "There's just a couple problems."
Draco raised an eyebrow.
"Well, first off, the dream spell isn't all that reliable. I mean, suppose you can't fall asleep? Suppose you're asleep but Hermione's awake, or vice versa?" Potter shrugged. "Plus, what if the Death Eaters take you to your father?"
"It's got to be me." Everyone turned to Hermione, who timidly raised her hand. "Constantine hates me. I mean, really, truly despises me. If I'm caught, I won't be taken to Lucius. I know that much for sure. Constantine would do anything to make certain that I'm dead."
"Absolutely not." Draco, Weasley, Potter, Theo, and Blaise all said at once.
Hermione frowned.
Heading off disaster, Potter quickly jumped in. "Hermione, you can't! You can't put yourself in danger again, not so soon after we nearly lost you! Besides – what about the rest of it? It won't matter if you've been taken to Constantine if you can't tell us where you are, if you've been imperio'd."
"Well, I've got a thought on that, actually." Hermione replied. She turned to Potter. "You've always managed to avoid the Imperius."
Draco's eyebrows shot up. He hadn't been aware of that.
Potter blushed. "Er – I mean, yeah, but what's that got to do with this?"
"Teach me." Hermione insisted. "Teach me how you do it. Then I'll be safe. Even if they take my wand, I can use wandless magic to send a message. I've done it before. I just need to learn how to resist the Imperius."
"Hermione, the Imperius curse is not something that one can resist." Pansy broke in, clearly in disbelief. "No one has ever resisted it before. It's impossible. That's why it's an Unforgiveable."
"I know." Hermione responded, but she was staring evenly at Potter the entire time. "That's why I need Harry to teach me."
…
Everyone thought she was insane, Hermione knew it. She didn't care. She knew her plan would work. She just needed Harry's help.
After a long moment of hesitation, Harry slowly met her gaze. "I – I could try, Hermione, but I can't make any promises."
Hermione beamed. "That's all I ask, Harry. Thank you, thank you!"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. He was nervous, which meant that Hermione needed to change the subject before he changed his mind. She quickly stood up.
"Let's make a plan, alright? Harry, we can go to the back of the room to begin practicing. Ron, can you, Pansy and Daphne explain the plan to the rest of the Order? We'll need their backing, especially for the smaller details. Blaise, Theo, and Draco, could you three organize some scouts? We need to find out where and when the next patrol will be so that we can make certain that I'm caught by the right people – not anyone who would kill on sight."
Everyone nodded and stood up – everyone except for Draco. He glanced at his friends. "Mates, take Neville Longbottom with you instead. He'll be useful. He helped us a lot when we first arrived. If it's alright with everyone, I'm going to stay here for a bit. Maybe catch Potter's lesson."
No one disagreed. Hermione pursed her lips, but she didn't say anything.
After a beat, Ron stood up, and everyone followed suit. The group quickly dissolved and Hermione followed Harry to the back of the room.
Harry looked pale, paler than usual. Hermione hoped that this wasn't going to cause too much trauma to him. She knew that he had horrible memories of the Imperius and all of fourth year, but she didn't know what else to do. This had to work.
Harry cast a charm to transfigure a sleeping mat into a curtain and hung it, so they had some semblance of privacy. He took a deep breath.
"Hermione, the Imperius curse... It's too easy to slip into the bliss. I don't know how to teach you not to follow it."
"How did you feel when it happened to you, Harry?" Hermione asked softly.
"It's just…I felt at peace. And the truth is, I'd never felt that way before. So, I knew something was wrong. Plus, I don't really like to follow orders in the first place. But you – I mean, c'mon, Mione. You do everything that Snape asks you to do. I dunno how you could break against your very nature."
Hermione glared at him. "I have to try, don't I? And no, I do not do whatever Professor Snape tells me to do! It's just that he's a professor and –"
"Hit her with the spell." Draco cut her off. He was speaking to Harry directly. "If this works, she's going to need practice."
Harry frowned. He gripped his wand and pointed it toward Hermione. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, but the spell never came. After a minute, she opened one eye.
Harry looked frozen. His face was white. "I'm sorry, just give me a second. I don't –"
Hermione instantly felt terrible. "It's alright Harry, take your time."
She reached over to pat his arm, and she suddenly heard a whisper in her ear – "Imperio."
Just like when Constantine did it so many days ago, Hermione felt every muscle in her body relax. A wave of peace rolled over her. From far, far away, someone told her to jump up and down and clap her hands, and she complied without a second thought. She was at peace.
The world suddenly came into crystal clear focus and Hermione stumbled backward, in control of her body again. Tears sprang in her eyes and she didn't know if it was from the pain of being controlled, or the pain of regaining it. Her peace was shattered.
Harry was still white as chalk. Draco was staring at her, his wand pointed in her direction. He'd cast the spell.
Hermione blinked slowly, understanding what had happened. She took a deep breath and straightened her spine. "Do it again, please."
"Are you sure? You had no control." Draco looked ashamed suddenly, as though what he'd done had just dawned on him.
"Again." Hermione said quietly. Her voice was steel. "Don't stop until I don't jump anymore."
Draco truly was the best person for the job. Without a second blink, he lifted his wand and said, "Imperio."
Hermione lost count of how many times she jumped in the air. Sometimes he had her jump, sometimes she clapped, sometimes she spun around, sometimes she curtsied. For hours, her mind felt complete peace and then the excruciation of reality, over and over and over again.
Eventually, Harry stepped in. "You've got to stop, Hermione! You're torturing yourself! You'll go mad!"
Hermione was inclined to believe him, but the entire fate of her plan rested on her ability to resist this Curse. She told him so.
"At least take a break." Harry begged.
"Come with me." Draco stepped forward. He put his hand out and gently rested it on Hermione's shoulder. She followed his movements warily. Although she'd told him to inflict the Imperius on her, it was still a little daunting to stand so close to her tormenter. "Potter, get her some water?"
Harry reluctantly stepped away. Draco turned back to Hermione and helped her sit down on the floor. "Just try to relax for a few minutes. You're not the only one who needs a break. It's…it's tough to be the one who puts you through that."
"I'm sorry." Hermione rasped. Her thoughts felt like warm honey – thick and impossible to wade through. Slowly, she reached out. Draco met her halfway, gently pulling her toward him and holding her against his chest.
She closed her eyes. Draco gently shook her to wake her up, and then there was a cup of water at her lips. She drank greedily, and then returned her head to Draco's shoulder and released herself into the warmth of his embrace.
…
Draco leaned back against the wall and held Hermione close to him. She was fast asleep, drained by the hours of training they'd just put in. He was exhausted too, but he knew from personal experience that it was far worse for her.
He put his hand on the back of her head to support her and just breathed in her hair. She didn't smell like her usual shampoo, but she still smelled clean. He could swear she smelled like old books and fresh ink, though he supposed it was only because he associated her with those things.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. He tried not to think about Hermione's face as he cast the Imperius – the blank, vapid expression on her face. It was so different from normal Hermione that it was impossible to think he was performing anything but torture. But Hermione was right. Their entire plan hinged on her ability to escape Constantine.
He knew she couldn't find out their plan – as long as no one discussed their plan while either of them were sleeping, Constantine wouldn't be able to overhear anything – but it still unnerved him to think that she might be watching them right now, as Hermione slept.
Despite that knowledge, Hermione's warmth spread through Draco and he felt his own eyelids grow heavy.
He didn't know how long he napped for, but when he woke up, it was because Hermione was shifting out of his grasp. She gave him a half-smile and he blinked the tiredness out of his eyes.
"Again?" She asked.
He nodded and stood to oblige.
Before long, Draco felt that his entire life consisted only of this cycle. He cast the Imperius on Hermione Granger, she succumbed, he released, they tried again, they fell asleep when she was too weary to continue, they woke up, they ate something if one of their friends thought to bring them food, he cast the Imperius on Hermione Granger.
During one of the iterations, Weasley weaseled his way into their curtained corner. He watched the scenario with a sneer, his fingers twitching toward his wand. Although Draco despised him, he actually couldn't blame Weasley for that reaction.
"Diagon Alley has fallen." Weasley informed them when Hermione caught her senses. "Dumbledore and some of the other professors are going to see if they can reach the Ministry."
Hermione groaned. "This is a mess! We need to attack soon, we can't keep delaying."
"Any luck?" Weasley asked.
"Obviously not." Draco drawled, which caused Weasley to ball his fist and glare at him.
Hermione sighed heavily. She leaned into Draco, shooting both of them an annoyed look. "This isn't working. I don't know what else to do. I've tried and tried and tried and practiced and tried some more."
"Maybe I'll cast the spell?" Weasley suggested. "Friendly fire, y'know? It could be easier to break."
"But it won't be friendly fire on the real thing." Draco raised an eyebrow. "Besides, I'm going as easy as I can on her. We're down to only three seconds of actual spell-time."
Weasley paused, as though thinking. He glanced at Hermione. "What does it feel like? You know, to be under?"
"I can cast it on you if you'd like." Draco offered generously. Weasley rolled his eyes.
"Peaceful." Hermione replied, ignoring them. "Like I don't have to think at all, like everything's going to be alright and I've got nothing left to take care of."
"I have an idea." Weasley said. "Malfoy, when I point at you, cast it at her. But stand behind her so she won't know."
Draco wanted so badly to laugh in Weasley's face and refuse to move, but Hermione moved too quickly, and honestly he was too tired. He positioned himself as Weasley directed and waited for his signal.
"'Mione," Weasley began slowly. "Kingsley isn't responding to our messages. The entire Ministry of Magic is in hiding, and there's no one to stand against Lucius Malfoy as he takes over. Diagon Alley is overrun with Death Eaters, come to kill muggleborns and enslave half-bloods and blood traitors, like me and Malfoy over there. You remember a couple years ago under You-Know-Who, but now there's no real leadership, no head to cut off. Just thousands of Death Eaters running around. Plus Harry's gettin' real haggard, running around trying to take care of everything by himself, and he doesn't want to bother you since you're back here trying to learn how to avoid this spell. But he needs real help, he can't do it alone. And we need more reinforcements, because our allies are trying to protect innocent families that the Death Eaters are more than happy to trample, but we just don't have enough people to help everyone. Not to mention, in a few months' time, if we don't get a handle on things, it'll spillover into the Muggle world. Innocent muggles, just trying to live their lives, will be killed for no reason."
As he spoke, Draco watched Hermione tense and tense, the tension nearly visible in the whiteness of her fists. Her breathing was measured, trying to keep control over her emotions. As Weasley spoke, his voice grew harsher and harsher.
Finally, he snapped, "'Mione, what are you going to do?"
At that, he pointed at Draco. Instinctively, Draco sprang into action, casting the Imperius without fully realizing what he was doing.
Hermione's shoulders relaxed. Draco groaned. Nothing changed. Whatever Weasley had planned didn't work.
"Tell Weasley he's a buffoon." Draco grumbled, expecting Hermione to parrot it and then smack him once he released her.
Hermione was silent.
Simultaneously, Draco and Weasley looked at each other, then at Hermione. She still had a blank, placid expression on her face, and her body looked relaxed and calm. Draco reinforced the spell and focused on controlling her. "Tell Weasley he's a buffoon, Hermione."
Her lips quirked, as though the words were just behind her teeth. But she said nothing.
Weasley whooped. "It's working! Keep pushing, Hermione!"
"Quiet." Draco snapped. "Let her concentrate."
And just a few moments later, Hermione's face grew taut as the worry flowed back into her. She blinked and waved lightly. She broke the spell.
"Hermione." Draco whispered. Despite the hours of practice – he truly had not believed that she would. No one could. "You beat the Imperius Curse."
"Thanks to Ron." Hermione threw her arms around her ginger-haired best friend. "You are a genius! The Imperius makes you feel at peace when you go with the flow. If I focus on everything that stresses me out, it makes me feel worried and anxious. I feel like something is wrong, that I shouldn't be so calm, and it counteracts the effects of the spell."
Weasley blushed. "That's what Harry said worked for him, but he's also a natural rule-breaker. I tried to tweak it for you."
Hermione kissed Weasley on the cheek and then motioned toward Draco. "Let's try again."
Draco squared his feet. Now, he wouldn't hold back any punches.
