Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter, and now that J.K. Rowling had completed Deathly Hallows it's certain I never shall. So instead I continue to write fanfics based on her marvelous stories.
A/N: First I'd like to ask, was anyone else as devastated and excited to hear about the release date for Deathly Hallows as I was. I almost cried when I found out. Now I'm excited of course, but it's still sad to think it's going to be the end.
Anyway, back to this fic, I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed chapter 11 even though I was terribly slow about updating it. It means a lot to me that all of you have stuck with this story and this trilogy thus far, especially as we begin to near the end.
Without further delay...chapter 12!
Chapter 12: Where's Hermione?
Draco did not sleep that night. After hours of brooding on yet another broken date with Hermione, his mother's words were once again taking over his conscience. His overall frustration coupled with his anger and lack of sleep resulted in an unusually foul temper and dark circles under his eyes. The dark circles on his pale skin gave him the unflattering appearance of a zombie.
The sun was just beginning its assent over the horizon, which Draco watched from a lounge chair out on the balcony of his room. He gazed into the sunrise thinking of all the turns his life had taken, particularly since he had begun dating Hermione. He had thought the changes were all good, but from where he sat now, he realized just how much more confusing his life had become. Drama and complications seemed to wait for him at every turn, and just when he thought everything was going smoothly, things would get worse.
Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair; he could feel a headache coming on. He was exhausted, but not just from lack of sleep, he was emotionally exhausted as well. Draco pulled the small box containing Hermione's gift out of his pocket and opened it. He sighed once more, a deep melancholy sigh as he looked at the gift he had never given her.
It was a ring, an opal ring in a platinum setting. The stone was a deep blue with hints of purple and green depending on how the light hit it. As soon as he had seen it, he had pictured Hermione wearing it. He had imagined her chocolate eyes shining bright and her mouth smiling wide as he slipped it on her finger. He had wanted to wait for the perfect time to give it to her. But with everything that kept creeping up between them, the right time never came, and now they hadn't even been able to go two days without something else getting in the way. "Maybe we were right in the beginning," Draco mused, "maybe we were just never meant to be."
Draco was contemplating throwing the ring towards the trees as hard as he could, but before he had fully made up his mind, a loud squawking interrupted him. He snapped his attention to the sound and subconsciously returned the box with the ring to his pocket. He was rather alarmed to find Aries speeding towards him and squawking like some sort of demon. Draco jumped out of his chair and ran towards the bird as Aries landed on the balcony handrail.
"Aries what is it? What happened?" Draco demanded.
Aries hardly even paused to catch his breath, he beat his wings hard and clicked his beak; clearly something was very wrong. Draco also noticed that he did not have a response from Hermione. So either something had attacked Aries on the way home and the owl had lost the note, or he'd never gotten a note in the first place. If that was the case, then Draco didn't know what to think. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, Draco decided to tend to his owl. He cast a light sleeping charm on Aries so that he could examine him properly for signs of an attack. Draco thoroughly examined him, he looked at both sides of Aries' wings but saw nothing. There was no sign of any sort of attack or struggle, which left Draco completely perplexed. What could have possibly frightened Aries enough to send him speeding all the way home without a note?
Draco shook his head; he didn't want to entertain the thought that Hermione could be in danger. As he carried the sleeping Aries to the owlry, he decided that he would apparate to the Ministry before Hermione's training. That way he'd be able to confirm that she was fine, as well as get an explanation as to why she missed their date again and to why she did not reply to his letter.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hermione jolted awake from an anxious sleep. She looked all around the room, but other than the dust floating around in the sunbeams, which were streaming in through the dirty windows, the room was completely empty. As she looked around, her eyes once again feel upon Draco's letter. The thought of him, and of what that letter might contain brought a renewed sense of helplessness and sadness to her heart.
She closed her eyes and breathed deep, but before she could calm herself, the door to her prison room burst open. Though she hadn't been aware of it, she had been expecting Voldemort to be the one who was storming in, however she was mistaken, though this person was just as frightening in Hermione's opinion. A surge of pure hatred coursed through Hermione as her eyes fell upon Bellatrix Lestrange, the very one who had murdered Sirius. Hermione hated the woman for the pain she had put Harry through, and also for the pain she had put Neville through in torturing his parents to insanity. That thought caused Hermione to gulp involuntarily, she did not want to be tortured to insanity; she would rather die.
Hermione got to her feet and stared at Bellatrix, her face filled with defiance. She could not see the older woman's eyes behind the ebony curtain of hair that surrounded her face, but nevertheless, she could feel Bellatrix's heartless gaze boring into her. Hermione chose not to speak; she would wait for Bellatrix to make the first move; after all, there was really no need to speed things along. Hermione was not looking forward to anything this woman had to say or do to her.
Bellatrix slowly made her way to the center of the room, just beyond the ring of silver mist, which continued to surround Hermione. Finally she turned to face Hermione, revealing her cold hate-filled eyes, which were glittering with malice, and her thin lips, which were curved down in a sneer. Bellatrix raised her wand and Hermione instinctively tensed and backed away. But Bellatrix seemed to take no notice; instead she gave a graceful wave of her wand, causing the silver mist to vanish. Hermione immediately backed away, more because she was able to move than because she was afraid.
"Frightened mudblood?"
"Not of you," Hermione lied.
"You should be." Bellatrix twirled her wand between her fingers; "the Dark Lord feels that you might have more valuable information for him, with you being so close to Potter and all." Bellatrix spoke as if she and Hermione were having a friendly conversation. "So let's see how cooperative you can be." Without warning, Bellatrix waved her wand.
Hermione, who had not been entirely prepared, felt the momentary lightheadedness and saw flashes of memories which were indicative of the legilmens spell, before she was able to shut Bellatrix out with her occlumency skills.
The pressure eased right away when Bellatrix realized she'd been shut out, "practiced occlumency have you mudblood?'
"I'm surprised you were able to figure that out," spat Hermione, "I was unaware your brain was capable of thought without your precious Voldemort to tell it what to think."
"How dare you speak the Dark Lord's name! Crucio!!"
The spell hit Hermione like a thousand white-hot knives stabbing every inch of her body all at once. It took all she had not to drop to the floor and scream. She could feel her strength weakening and her knees shaking wildly. Thankfully, the curse did not last too long, and within a couple minutes, Hermione and Bellatrix were once more staring each other down.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" Bellatrix brandished her wand, "legilmens!"
Despite the weakened state that the cruciatus curse had left her in, Hermione was prepared this time so she managed to keep her mind completely closed off to Bellatrix's intense attempts at intrusion. Blocking out Bellatrix was much harder than blocking Kingsley out, but Hermione's determination was indomitable. Hermione could feel Bellatrix's advances into her mind pounding against her skull, but still she did not let the Death Eater in.
Bellatrix let out a cry of anger at her failure to penetrate into Hermione's mind. With a swish of her wand, the curse was lifted, but Hermione hardly got a moment's pause before the blinding pain of the cruciatus curse was upon her again. This time, Hermione could not help but fall to the floor whimpering. It was all she could do not to scream, she did not want Bellatrix to gain the satisfaction of knowing just how much pain Hermione was in. Hot tears were trailing down her cheeks, and she could see white dots of light appearing in front of her, clouding her vision and her mind.
Hermione had just reached the brink of consciousness when the pain vanished. For a moment, she kept her eyes shut and concentrated only on breathing and regaining her hold on consciousness. The ringing in her head was so loud that she did not hear the whispers of a third voice in the room, nor the footsteps, which walked across the room before the owner of the feet lifted something off of the ground.
"Stand and face me mudblood," hissed Lord Voldemort.
Hermione's face instantly hardened as she stood, she did her best to disguise the fact that her entire body was trembling. But from the amused sneer Voldemort was wearing, she knew she had failed. Voldemort waited with both hands down at his sides until Hermione was standing straight and glaring at him with a hardened expression.
He then lifted a folded sheet of parchment in front of him so that Hermione could see.
Hermione gasped, it was Draco's letter. She had no idea what it said, and now it was in the hands of the very last person she wanted to read it.
Voldemort, as if sensing her dread, slowly unfolded the parchment and began to read in a cruel voice;
Hermione,
You know I wasn't kidding when I said don't be late this morning, yet there I sat waiting for you to not show up again. I really don't know what to say or do anymore Hermione; I thought we had finished with this shit. I hope you have a good reason for not being there, but honestly, how many more excuses do you expect me to take? No more Hermione, I can't handle our relationship being this way anymore. I know you're still hiding things from me, and I don't like it. Just tell me what happened, the truth.
Draco
Hermione could feel her heart break inside, though it did not show on her face. She knew that Voldemort was trying to weaken her, and she would not let him. She had to keep her mind strong and closed off, she refused to let the monster before her beat her.
"It appears as though I've caused you to miss a date with your beloved traitor."
Hermione's glare intensified and she could feel her blood begin to boil.
"What are you hiding from your traitorous boyfriend?" he hissed.
His foul breath stung Hermione's senses and nearly caused her to vomit, but still she did not speak. She could almost feel him lurking around in her mind, searching for thoughts. It was quite different from the way Bellatrix or Kingsley had invaded her. Voldemort was far stealthier about it, and before she could stop it, he managed to break through. First she saw flashes of Order meetings. Voldemort perused those thoughts at his leisure, completely unconcerned with Hermione's desperate efforts to rid him from her mind. But she still had no wand to protect herself with, and therefore no real way to force him out, until, to her great surprise he left of his own free will.
"I must say I'm shocked, it appears as though your own boyfriend does not know of your activities within the Order."
Hermione felt her cheeks color. She mentally kicked herself for not being able to control her reactions to his taunts, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
"Perhaps he is not as much of a traitor as I gave him credit for," mused Voldemort.
"He was never willingly faithful to you and you know it!" shouted Hermione, finally unable to contain her rage.
Voldemort sneered and forced his way inside Hermione's mind once more. This time he seemed to be hardly glancing at her thoughts before shoving them aside for the next until he reached one that was stored in the back of her mind. One that she hated reliving because it caused her so much pain, but Voldemort felt the mental barriers she had built up around it. He forced his way through the invisible mental walls and viewed the memory in its entirety.
Tears of hurt, pain and loss leaked down Hermione's face as she relived the memory from sixth year when Lucius had nearly killed her with the frozen death spell, only to have nearly murdered his own son when Draco took the spell instead. Even now, when she knew Draco was alive and well, she could not erase the feelings of pure terror she had felt when she had though he would not make it.
Voldemort fed upon all these horrible feelings, it was almost as if he was a dementor with the way he was deriving so much pleasure from her pain. Hermione was screaming in a physical effort to extricate Voldemort from her thoughts, and finally it worked.
"I will assure that you are alive enough to witness his death, as well as your friend Potter's, just so you can experience that pain again before you die as well."
Hermione grit her teeth and blinked back the tears the memory had brought. There was no hope of hiding the pain and sadness she felt upon reliving that memory. She found herself praying that Draco was so mad at her that he did not come to her rescue again. She did not want to even thinking about living through that kind of pain again, even if it was only for a second.
Whether Voldemort could read her feelings or he was just angry at her silence, Hermione couldn't tell. Either way, Hermione suddenly felt those white-hot needles of pain from the cruciatus curse setting fire to her nerves yet again.
"You know, originally I planned on killing them the moment they arrived. Now however, I believe I would rather torture tem first. A good, long, painful, torture," Voldemort stressed every word, "so you can watch them writhe at my feet. And then, once they are begging for mercy, I will grant them death."
Even as Voldemort tortured her, his words lit a fire of rage within her soul. She was not conscious of her own screaming, which was not of pain, but of fury. It was as if she was not in control of her actions as she ran towards Voldemort and rammed him with all her might. Something else was driving her now, something that Voldemort could never touch, destroy or even comprehend. It was her love; the intense love she felt for her family, her friends, and the deepest love she felt for Draco.
The unexpected hit from Hermione caused Voldemort's cruciatus curse to break, but Hermione did not get a moment to breathe before Voldemort hit her with a curse that sent her flying across the room. She slammed into the wall behind her so hard that it shook and caused clouds of dust to billow throughout the room. Her head smacked so hard against the wood that her skull gave a painful crack just before she fell down to the floor and blacked out completely.
Satisfied that his infuriating prisoner was going to be out for quite some time, Voldemort decided that it was time to move on to more important matters. He cast the silvery mist around Hermione just as he'd done before, so that in the off chance she came to, she would not be able to go anywhere or try anything. He then swept from the room without a word or even a second glance towards the fallen girl.
- - - - - - - - - -
Draco arrived at the Ministry a good half hour before Hermione's training was scheduled to start. He paced around the fountain looking grumpy and impatient. After fifteen minutes of relentless pacing, he was beginning to attract the attention of the security wizard at the front desk. The man was eying Draco with a suspicious glare to which Draco responded with a huff and a haughty smirk. The effect however was lost when, a second later, Draco doubled over from the shock of the sudden and intense pain caused by the burning on his left forearm. Draco stood and clutched his arm tight in an attempt to hide the pain, but it clearly showed in the grimace on his face.
Thankfully for Draco, the pain subsided just as suddenly as it had begun, and Draco was able to resume his restless pacing, although now he had even greater cause for concern. He did not want to entertain the notion that the burning in his arm could have something to do with Hermione, but as that was the first thought that entered his mind, it was rather difficult to ignore.
His worries were temporarily sidetracked when he saw Potter and Weasley on the other side of the fountain. He stomped towards them until the three met at the center of the lobby.
"Where's Hermione?" all three asked at once.
"Very funny," Draco spat, "but I'm serious where is she?"
"You should know," argued Ron, "You're the one she went out with last night."
A cold sweat broke out on Draco's forehead, "I swear Weasley if you're joking right now, I will punch you so hard you'll be lucky to wake up again." Draco clenched his fist in preparation.
Harry grabbed Draco's arm before he could take a swing, "Malfoy what's going on? Why are you here?"
Draco shook his arm out of Harry's grasp and glared at him. "I'm here to talk to Hermione, where is she?"
"We thought she stayed over with you," answered Harry, looking alarmed.
Draco frowned and felt his heart speed up, "are you telling me you don't know where she is?"
"No you idiot, don't you?" shouted Ron.
"She never showed up last night, I sent her a note, but Aries came back with no response. When's the last time you guys saw her?"
"We saw her here, she was going to the Hall of Records, then out with you," Harry's mind was reeling; Hermione couldn't be missing, she just couldn't be. "Okay, Ron go check Kingsley's office, I'll see if she's at her house, then meet back here."
"Wait what about me!" Draco demanded.
"Malfoy just wait here, we'll be back in a minute," Harry answered before disapparating on the spot.
Ron meanwhile dashed off towards the lifts; Draco started after him, but was frozen in place by the security wizard. "I'm sorry sir, but only Ministry workers and approved guests are allowed outside the lobby," the wizard smirked smugly at Draco.
"WHAT! That's a load of rubbish and you know it!" argued Draco.
The security wizard chuckled, "unfortunately for you, I have the privilege of deciding who uses the lifts, and you are not allowed."
Draco wrenched away from the security wizard, but remained in the lobby. As the security wizard returned to the desk, Draco muttered angry threats about getting the Minister involved, and about idiots who don't know how to do their jobs properly. But the security wizard was not listening, and Draco returned to pacing a hole in the floor while muttering darkly.
A moment later, Harry apparated back into the lobby, but was not wearing a hopeful expression. "She's not there," he answered Draco's unasked question.
Draco's heart was really speeding now, but he did not know what to say or do. He subconsciously rubbed his left forearm; now he was almost certain that Hermione's absence had something to do with the reason why his Mark had burned.
"Malfoy! Malfoy!"
Draco snapped his head to attention, "what?"
"What's wrong with you? Did you not listen to a word I said, Hermione could be in trouble."
"You have no idea," muttered Draco under his breath.
"What?" Harry was growing frustrated. He glanced towards the lifts, but Ron had still not returned.
"Nothing Potter," Draco spat, "where's Weasley?"
Harry frowned at Draco but said nothing. He again turned towards the lifts and this time saw Ron push his way out of once and race across the room. "She's not there," he gasped. "Kingsley said to report home while he contacted Dumbledore, and the others."
"What? What others? What's going on?" demanded Draco.
"Nothing Malfoy," Ron dismissed Draco's questions.
"Bloody hell Weasley, this is about Hermione, I have a right to know!"
Harry and Ron exchanged a meaningful look that was not lost on Draco.
"Just go home Malfoy, we'll deal with it and let you know when we find her," Harry growled.
""No! I'm going to look for her too, you can't always be the hero Potter!"
"This isn't about being a hero Malfoy, this is about Hermione."
"And I want to help if something's happened to her!" Draco was fuming by now, his yelling had attracted the attention of everyone in the Ministry lobby, but neither Harry nor Ron seemed to care.
"Malfoy, just go, we're wasting time, we'll let you know when we find her," Harry dismissed him again and this time he and Ron dissaparated before Draco could argue further.
Draco roared in anger, causing the entire lobby to stop whatever they were doing and stare at him with awkward expressions. The security guard looked ready to arrest Draco for breathing wrong, and seeing how there was no reason for him to stay here, Draco apparated back to the Manor.
- - - - - - - - - -
The moment Harry and Ron arrived in Grimmauld Place, they bolted to the meeting room where they were met by Dumbledore and Kingsley. Dumbledore did not hesitate one second before he asked, "where and when did you last see her?"
Yesterday after training," Harry spoke up at once, "she was going to the Hall of Records and then out with Malfoy. But Malfoy came to the Ministry this morning looking for her. He said she never showed up last night."
Dumbledore nodded, "Kingsley, I need you to go to the Hall of Records, find out if you can, if Miss Granger was there last night."
Kingsley gave a curt nod, and then dissaparated without a word.
As soon as Kingsley was gone, other Order members began to arrive. First came Tonks, then Molly Weasley, Moody, Professor McGonagall, Lupin, and finally Arthur Weasley.
"What's going on?" Lupin asked, "do you have news about Snape?"
"No, I fear the worst for Severus, however now it appears as though Miss Granger has gone missing as well," Dumbledore replied in a weary tone.
The Order members gasped, Mrs. Weasley in particular went white with shock and immediately crossed the room to envelope Harry and Ron in a tight hug., "no! How could this have happened Albus?"
"We believe-"
But Dumbledore did not get the chance to explain before Kingsley returned with a pop. Dumbledore and the others looked at him anxiously.
"The receptionist witch knew exactly who I was asking about, but she says that Hermione was not at the Hall of Records yesterday."
"I thought not, however that does make this news even more distressing."
"What are we going to do Albus?" Professor McGonagall's voice cracked with worry. Hermione had always been her favorite student, and the thought that she was in danger was almost too much for her to bear.
"You don't think she's…" Ron couldn't bring himself to voice the question that was lingering in the back of everyone's mind.
"I don't think so," Dumbledore shook his head, and a half-sigh of relief was felt throughout the room. "I believe that Voldemort would have wanted to make it clear to us and to the rest of the world if he had killed her, besides I do not think he would kill her before trying to get information out of her."
"Dumbledore, I think we can all agree that it is unlikely that a Death Eater simply stumbled upon Hermione and managed to kidnap her," Moody said.
"What are you suggesting?" asked Tonks.
"I'm suggesting that she was their intended target, which would mean that to know where she was they would have had to have been following her."
"But why Hermione? She's not the one Voldemort is after," said Tonks with a swift glance at Harry.
"I am wondering that myself," mused Dumbledore. "I can only suppose he is attempting to lead us into a trap."
"But we don't even know where they've taken her!" cried Ron.
"Perhaps Harry is not the only one this trap is intended for," Kingsley thought aloud.
Questioning gazes from the rest of the Order members focused upon Kingsley until Harry could not take it anymore, "We can't just stand around talking! We've got to go rescue her!"
"It will not do Hermione any good for us to make ourselves vulnerable by blindly rushing around searching for her," Dumbledore reassured in a calm yet firm tone.
"But Dumbledore, without Snape how will we be able to find where they're keeping her without risking lives?" asked Molly, "and what do you mean about the trap not being intended to lure Harry to her rescue?" she shot at Kingsley. "He's done that more than once in the past."
Kingsley did not answer Mrs. Weasley directly; instead he and Dumbledore seemed to be sharing a look of understanding. "He will be able to tell us where they are Albus."
"We already agreed that allowing him in would not work," Dumbledore disagreed.
"That was before she was in real danger, now I believe this is our best bet."
Dumbledore turned towards Harry and Ron and looked at them as if he was sizing them up; they both looked beyond frustrated with the lack of quick action for their friend. "I agree," Dumbledore finally said.
"Agree to what?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"We are going to invite Mr. Malfoy to join the Order," answered Dumbledore.
"What!" Harry and Ron shouted. The rest of the Order did not look entirely pleased by the pronouncement either.
"That ferret will only make things more difficult for the rest of us," argued Ron, while Harry glared daggers at Dumbledore.
"It is the quickest way to find Hermione," Dumbledore stated.
"How? We saw Malfoy right before we came here, he doesn't have any better idea of where she is than we do!" Harry spat.
"The moment Voldemort calls the Death Eaters, Mr. Malfoy will know exactly where they are, and most likely where Miss Granger is as well."
"Then just force him to tell us where they are, don't invite him into the Order!" shouted Harry.
"The more people we have working to find her, the greater the chance is that she will return safely. It will be much better to have Mr. Malfoy working alongside us rather than apart from us," Kingsley stated in his usual authoritative tone.
"I will go discuss it with him now," said Dumbledore. "In the meantime, prepare yourselves. We do not know what we will face, so best to be ready for anything.
But Professor!" Harry pleaded.
However, before Harry could continue to argue, Dumbledore had dissaparated leaving behind six very concerned and uneasy adults, and two fuming young men.
- - - - - - - - - -
Moments later, Dumbledore rapped sharply on the large door of the imposing Malfoy Manor, and within moments was greeted by a small house-elf. "Hello," greeted Dumbledore kindly, "is your master at home?"
"Yes sir," squeaked the elf, who was not accustomed to being spoken to in such a kind or gentle manner.
"Excellent," said Dumbledore as he stepped passed the elf and into the entryway "would you be good enough to tell him that Albus Dumbledore is here and would like to speak with him?"
"Yes sir," bowed the house-elf before departing to find Draco.
While he waited, Dumbledore browsed around the entryway and decided upon the best method of speaking to his former student. He was perfectly aware that the young Malfoy's pride would overpower his better judgment if Dumbledore pushed him too far or in the wrong way. Dumbledore could only hope that Draco's feelings for Hermione would trump even the infamous Malfoy pride.
The distant sound of approaching footsteps announced Draco's entrance before Dumbledore could see him. Dumbledore stood tall and smiled at the young man. Draco stopped a fair distance from the Headmaster and viewed him with an unrestrained look of annoyance.
"Mr. Malfoy, you are looking very well today." Dumbledore paused, but when it became clear that Draco was not going to reply, he continued. "I apologize for coming unannounced; however I thank you for seeing me."
"What do you want?" Draco skipped the stuffy formalities he had been raised to abide by. He didn't even care if he was rude, he didn't care to see his former headmaster in his house, all he wanted was to know what happened to Hermione, so the sooner they got whatever this was over with, the sooner he could figure out what had happened to her.
Normally, this would have been the point where Dumbledore would take control, invite himself in, offer himself a drink, and then begin. However in this case, he felt his chances of success were higher if he allowed Draco to maintain control of the conversation. "I am here to speak with you about Miss Granger's…Hermione's disappearance. I believe there are some things you need to know."
Draco eyed Dumbledore skeptically, apparently sizing him up to determine if the old man was worth his time. In the end, it was only the mention of Hermione that stopped Draco from kicking Dumbledore out the door. Now Draco was curious, what could Dumbledore possibly know about Hermione's sudden disappearance? Sure the old man had always had a freakish knowledge of what happened within the Hogwarts grounds, but whatever happened to Hermione happened far away from Hogwarts, or at least Draco assumed it had.
"Fine," he nodded curtly after a moment. Without a word, he turned and strode into a room to the side of the entryway; Dumbledore followed, and found that he was being led into a very fine looking study. Draco seated himself on the sofa in the center of the room and motioned to Dumbledore to take one of the armchairs facing opposite the couch.
Dumbledore obliged, correctly guessing that this was as polite as Draco was likely to be towards him, so after a moment of intense silence, he began to speak. "Before we begin, am I correct in the assumption that your discussion with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley this morning, they never gave you an indication as to why Hermione has gone missing?"
"I knew they knew something about it!" Draco burst out before he could stop himself. But with one look at Dumbledore's face, he closed himself off again, regaining the cold expressionless exterior that the world was so familiar with. "What do they know that I don't?" He said in a much calmer, businesslike voice, clearly trying to cover up his outburst.
"I will tell you everything, however before I do; I must request that you stay calm. Time is of the essence and it would be best if we did not waste it with arguments and interruptions."
Draco sat back in the sofa with his arms crossed and a sneer on his lips, looking much like the stubborn schoolboy Dumbledore remembered from Hogwarts. But as stubborn and disobedient as he may appear, Draco conceded to Dumbledore's wishes and did not speak.
- - - - - - - - - -
Draco's expression remained completely unchanged throughout Dumbledore's entire explanation. It took a concentrated effort for him to maintain his calm and collected exterior. Only someone who was as close to him as Hermione would have been able to detect a problem. And oh was there ever a problem. As Dumbledore's speech continued and Draco learned about Hermione's activity in the Order of the Phoenix, and how much she had been hiding from him, suddenly he felt as if he didn't know her anymore. The Hermione he knew would have never been able to hide all that from him. The shock of it all made Draco feel as if a volcano had exploded inside him. Anger, fury, panic, worry and betrayal seeped through his system like lava. The worry was the worst because it was the emotion he had the least amount of experience with, nevertheless, the emotion overwhelmed him as his mind became flooded with thoughts for Hermione's safety. After worry, came the rage because he was furious with the vile bastards who had kidnapped Hermione and he swore that he would make them pay if it was the last thing he ever did.
Dumbledore, seeing that Draco's eyes were no longer focused on him, correctly inferred that Draco was too overwhelmed to speak, no mater how calm he seemed on the outside. Dumbledore knew the young man would need time to grapple with the sudden overload of information; however, time was of the essence, so he decided to continue. Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain Draco's attention before he spoke once more.
"I know that this is a lot to deal with all at once, but I must continue, I'm sure you understand why."
Draco gave the briefest of nods; so slight it was hardly more than a twitch of the head. Even so, it was the biggest indication Dumbledore had received throughout the entire conversation that Draco was in fact listening, and possibly even receptive to what he was saying, which gave him hope that the proposition he was about to make would be accepted.
"Of course we have the entire Order working to find Hermione and bring her back safely. But we have no way of knowing where she is without knowing where the Death Eaters are."
Draco had snapped to attention at the mention of the Order looking for Hermione. He clenched his left arm at the mention of the Death Eaters, an action that Dumbledore did not fail to notice.
"That is why I'm here Draco," the Headmaster said, referring to Draco by his first name for the first time he could recall. "I am here to extend an invitation to the Order to you. You can lead us to the Death Eaters, and then we can all fight against them and save Hermione."
Draco sat in silence for several moments, looking at Dumbledore with an expression that was not quite calculating, but it was not entirely trusting either.
"I understand that you have never gotten along with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, however Hermione's life is very likely at stake, we need to act as soon as possible, and we need all the help we can get."
Draco scoffed at the mention of Potter and Weasley. Of course he didn't want to work alongside them, but that had hardly even entered Draco's thoughts until then. He could also hear a hint of impatience in Dumbledore's voice, and he sneered at it. How dare this old man show any impatience with him when it was his fault, his and his stupid Order's fault that Hermione was in danger? Draco's sneer turned into a look of resolved determination, and finally he spoke. "I will do whatever it takes to rescue Hermione. But I will not join your precious Order. Once Hermione is safe, I'm out, so don't expect me to continue fighting your little crusade for you."
Dumbledore contemplated the young Malfoy's words; his decision had been better than the outright rejection Dumbledore had anticipated, so he declared himself satisfied. "Very well," Dumbledore stood and held out his hand for Draco to shake it.
Draco stood stiff and gave Dumbledore's hand a brief and formal shake.
"Now I know this is sudden, but I must insist that you come to the Headquarters with me now so we can get everything settled and organized.
Draco's first inclination was to argue and refuse to follow Dumbledore's request. However at the reminder that Hermione was in very real danger, he bit his tongue and nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak just yet because he knew the second he opened his mouth nothing good would come out of it.
Dumbledore leaned in and spoke in a voice hardly above a whisper, "The Order's Headquarters is under the fidelius charm, so once I tell you the location you must commit it to memory or else you will not be able to enter."
Draco nodded again and could not resist rolling his eyes. After all, he knew what a fidelius charm was, he didn't need it to be explained to him.
"The location is Number 12 Grimmauld Place."
Draco repeated 'Number 12 Grimmauld Place' to himself several times until he was sure he would remember it.
"Do you have it set?"
Draco scowled at the old wizard 'It's not like it's difficult to remember,' he spat to himself.
"Very well," Dumbledore went on, unperturbed by Draco's less than friendly attitude. "I will apparate us to the correct spot and then I will give you a tour of the Headquarters. Dumbledore grabbed Draco's arm, both men closed their eyes, and with a pop they vanished from the Manor.
Moments later, they appeared on the sidewalk of a barren street with large houses lining either side. Draco looked around, and before his eyes, a large house seemed to spring from the ground in between two other houses. This new house, bearing the number 12, seemed to shove the other houses to the side until it had created enough room for itself.
Dumbledore strode forward without a word, and Draco followed close behind. Dumbledore opened the door and beckoned Draco inside, "welcome to the Order of the Phoenix Mr. Malfoy."
A quick scan of the room caused Draco to raise a brow, and sneer with distaste. The décor vaguely reminded him of the Manor, though here it lacked wealth and refinement, and to Draco it looked downright ugly. And were those house-elf heads on the wall? Draco's lip curled further, and he chose not to look at the sight. How could this place, which was so dark, belong to wizards fighting against the Dark Lord? Draco just didn't understand it.
But he did not have time for extensive examinations of the surroundings for Dumbledore was already walking through the house providing him with a tour. The house was very empty, so their tour was undisturbed. Draco had only listened to Dumbledore's commentary enough to know which room was which, beyond that he found that he did not care too much.
The final room Dumbledore brought Draco to was the kitchen. As they approached, Draco could hear the murmurs of several voices, they seemed to be arguing about something, and Draco hardly needed to guess what the subject was. They walked in to find most everyone's attention directed towards Kingsley Shacklebolt. Draco's expression darkened at the sight of the man who had delivered him to Azkaban, the stirrings of hatred began to swirl in his chest.
"- great ally."
"I don't care! Bringing him here is only going to slow us down, which will put Hermione in more danger!" Ron bellowed. "And you know he won't cooperate, he'd disobey orders just to spite us!"
Draco sneered at Ron; he was itching to punch the redhead's face in. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that punching him would be proving the weasel right, and that was one of the absolute last things Draco ever wanted to do. So, utilizing his superior self-control skills, Draco remained standing beside Dumbledore with a completely blank expression, not even a hint of a smirk crossed his lips.
By now, Lupin and Moody had noticed Dumbledore's and Draco's presence, but neither said anything about it, they decided to allow Dumbledore to announce their presence.
"I'm sure he wouldn't do that, not with Hermione's safety at stake," Kingsley countered.
"With any luck he won't agree and then we won't need to worry about it," Harry muttered.
At this Draco couldn't help himself, he smirked and let out a brief snicker. The noise, though quiet, was enough to alert the Order to the presence of both Draco and Dumbledore. Lupin, who had been watching Draco, could not help but smile at his reaction towards Harry's words. The other adults viewed him with guarded expressions, though he sensed a strong amount of distrust coming from the three Weasleys present.
"Well," Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands together as if oblivious to the tension, which filled the room; "I believe everyone knows each other, so I think it's time we begin. We will have to have a strong plan of action in place for once we are certain of Miss Granger's location."
"Doesn't he need to take the oath first?" Mr. Weasley gestured his head towards Draco, but did not once glance at him.
"Mr. Malfoy has agreed to work with us until Miss Granger is safe, after that he will no longer be a part of the Order," answered Dumbledore.
"WHAT!" Harry and Ron roared. Many of the elder Order members looked just as displeased by the news, though they managed to refrain from shouting.
"How can you allow that Professor!" Ron shouted, "he has access to the headquarters who knows what he'll do with that privilege once we find Hermione!"
Draco's eyes flashed at the insinuation that he would do anything, he stepped forward, ready to punch Ron into oblivion, but was restrained by Dumbledore's hand, which gripped his shoulder tight. Draco frowned and glared daggers at Ron and Harry.
"I will not tolerate this behavior any further," Dumbledore reprimanded. "Right now what matters most is Miss Granger's safety. Everyone in this room is dedicated to working towards seeing returned safely to us. So now I suggest that we all put whatever differences we may have aside and start working together right now."
Harry stood up and crossed the room until he was less than three feet away from Draco. "You better not cause any problems Malfoy."
"I'm not the one making a fuss," replied Draco coolly, causing Harry to ball his fists in anger. "Look Potter," Draco spat, "we're talking about Hermione's life here, I believe I've already proven that I would give my life in a heartbeat to save hers, so back off. The sooner we save her, the sooner this will be over, and then we can never see each other for the rest of our lives for all I care."
"If only I were that lucky," muttered Harry. "Fine," Harry thrust his hand forward; Draco never took his eyes from Harry's but he did shake his hand firmly.
"Alright, now to get to work," said Dumbledore.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment, and are looking forward to more. I don't think there will be many more chapters left, possibly as few as 2 depending on how fast the story decides to move (I really have little control over it, I just write wherever the story leads). I love hearing your thoughts in reviews, so please let me know what you think! Thanks :D