Draco wandered to Potions, ashamed to admit that he was a ball of nervous energy at the prospect of working with Granger. He had noticed her changing, the way one watched over a flower. Except she had bloomed in a rather sad manner; she had started off as glowing, intelligent, focused beyond belief and absolutely infuriating. From the fifth year of Hogwarts that they had shared together, however, her spark had depleted, and Draco had watched from afar as her flame went from scorching to barely existing. Of course, there was still fight in her - he saw that when she argued with Pansy Parkinson in Charms about who had done what about something that he hadn't really been paying attention to. But when she was arguing her stance was the only time he saw her eyes burn the way they used to, their hazel lightening to an almost ferocious shade of gold.
As he walked into Snape's dungeon classroom, he spotted her bent over Weasley and Potter's desk, clearly helping them with something or rather related to the assignment before the presiding teacher appeared. Draco silently took his assigned seat next to her in the back row, where he and Blaise normally sat, and watched her thin shoulders move as she spoke in hushed tones to her Slytherin friends. Her caramel curls were limp this morning, duller than before, and he noticed that her shoulder blades were rather unhealthily protruding from her back.
"Miss Granger, would you be so kind so as to leave Harry and Ronald to their assignment and attend to yours with Mister Malfoy, please," Snape said in a low, monotonous voice.
Granger jumped and looked behind her, where Severus had appeared. "Sorry sir," she mumbled. She hurried to her seat and took her place next to Draco, not even bothering to look at him.
"I have no doubt that Harry and Ronald will be calling upon your assistance later," murmured Snape in an amused tone. It was the first time Draco had ever heard the teacher make mild fun of his star pupil. He felt a rush of happiness at the red blush that spread up Weasley's neck, almost melding with his shock of red hair.
"I will be leaving you to your own devices today whilst I mark these abysmal assignments my fifth years have turned in. No speaking to anyone other than your partner. Anymore interaction between groups this class will have the deadline moved forward." Snape seated himself at his desk, shot a glance at Draco for some odd reason, then went to mark his papers.
Draco frowned. That glance had been unreadable, and he didn't know why but it made him feel uncertain.
He turned towards Granger, shrugging off the look Snape had given him, and was about to ask her what she thought their first example on the uses of powdered unicorn horn ought to be when he noticed how she was sitting.
She was hunched over the table, her book open but her eyes unseeing. She was staring off into somewhere far away, her eyes blank. Her cheekbones cast a harsh shadow over her face, and her eye sockets were almost visible in her gaunt appearance. Looking down at her hands, he saw they were clenched into tight fists, so tight that her knuckles were white. The muscles in her wrists were taught, and her entire body seemed to be drawn like a bowstring. He felt that if he even breathed on her, she would collapse in on herself.
Draco didn't know what to do. Should he talk to her? He had never seen such a haunted look on her face before, had never seen her under such stress even when their OWLs were brought forward one term in fourth grade. Something was deeply wrong, and a huge part of Draco wished to share her burden, to lighten her load and help her. But how does one approach that?
Resolving himself to attempt to assist her, Draco slowly reached out and brushed his fingers across her knuckles. He nearly jumped out of his skin when her hand suddenly flexed open at his touch, her elegant fingers stiffened.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes still unmoving.
"Trying to help you. Trying to wake you up," he clumsily explained, a slight blush spreading over his cheeks. He was not used to helping women in emotional situations, but he knew that for Hermione he would try. "What's wrong?" he finally asked.
After a long moment, Hermione's eyes lighted on Draco's, curiosity and wariness present in her stare. "Why would you care? I'm just a Slytherin to you," she replied.
Draco scowled internally. Of course, she didn't know the true extent of the years of his admiration of her. Outwardly, he let a soft smile grace his face. "I'm your partner here. I can be your friend here too, if you wouldn't mind, Granger."
Hermione's eyes widened slightly in disbelief, then regained their cool stare. Draco wasn't even sure the disbelief had been present, the shift was so smooth. "Very well, Malfoy. We can be partners here, and we'll see about friends later, shall we?"
She seemed to come partially alive again after this, diving into active discussion with him about the various properties of powdered unicorn horn, how it was acquired, how the cost impacted on potion making, and which examples were possibly the best to use in their assignment. Draco was thoroughly impressed on her knowledge, and for once realized that it was actually a pleasure to deal with someone whose intelligence was on equal footing with his. By the end of the lesson, they had already sorted out which examples were to be used, and how their assignment would be set out. Hermione also decided that some illustrations would be necessary, and had already selected a few imaged from their Potions book to be used.
"Wonderful," she stated. "We should have this done by next week if we keep working at this pace." For the first time all week, Draco saw a small smile grace her face, and felt his heart skip a beat at the thought that perhaps, just maybe, he was responsible for such a reaction.
"Shall I see you tonight in the library?" he blurted as she started putting her books away in preparation for departing the room.
Hermione looked at him blankly for a moment, then clearly recalled their conversation from the day before. She nodded, her curls bobbing with the movement of her head. "Of course, Malfoy. I'll be there around eight o'clock, after dinner."
With another curt nod in his direction, and a whisper of a smile, she left, and Draco could not help but let his eyes follow her out of the room.
He didn't even realize that Blaise was standing next to him as he looked after her.
"Y'know," said Blaise loudly, startling Draco, "you look anymore like a love sick puppy and Potter and Weasley might just finally have something over you."
Draco smirked at his best friend, casually hiding the anxiety that perhaps he was right. "As if those two could ever have anything over me! I'm Gryffindor King, remember?"
Blaise snorted. "Yeah, got a lot of that Gryffindor pride in your fat head, too."
Draco could not help but punch Blaise in the arm as they left the room after Pansy Parkinson. He found himself barely able to contain his anticipation at being with Hermione in the library.
Hermione blindly wandered back towards the Slytherin common rooms to prepare herself for her next class: Arithmancy. At least this subject was straight forward and understandable, where there was always one answer and she could never make a mistake.
She couldn't believe she'd let herself zone out like that in Potions before, much less in front of the boy she was supposed to be getting information on. She mulled over their conversation in the class, and realized that their intellects were essentially equally matched. It surprised her, despite the fact that she knew Drace was always right on her heels for the student with the highest marks in Hogwarts. She thought again of what he had said. "I'm your friend here," she repeated under her breath, with an uneasiness growing in her chest. What if they really did become friends? Yes, they were from opposing Houses and the rivalry was nearly unmatched between Draco and Harry, but Draco was smart, open, and quite kind, she realized. Typical Gryffindor traits, but not ones she'd expected to be shown by the platinum blond Gryffindor King. It was ironic, almost, that they had both earned nicknames from their houses, he being the King and Hermione being the Slytherin Princess. She hated the title but it stuck to her like super glue, to the point that even Ron and Harry occasionally called her Princess as well.
"Legilimens," she said to the portrait that was the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms.
"Correct, you may enter," it replied, swinging open with a creak.
Hermione stepped through the door and made a quick trip up to her room to gather her Arithmancy books. Lost in thought on her way out, she nearly bowled over Luna and Harry as they entered the common room.
"Careful there, Princess," laughed Harry.
Hermione shot him a playful scowl, then greeted Luna. "It's been a while since you've been down to visit us in the dungeons," she observed.
Luna smiled at her in the usual dreamy fashion. "The damp gets to me sometimes, but I thought I could sit by the fire with Harry for a while." She absentmindedly played with a strand of her blond hair.
Harry took her hand and turned to Hermione. "Also, sorry you had to spend all that time with the Ferret today. Do you think you'd be able to help Ron and I with out assignment tonight, then?" he asked, his head cocked to one side.
She cringed internally. "Sorry, Harry. Draco is forcing me to meet him in the library later to do more work on the project. Wouldn't want to upset the Gryffindor King, now, would we," she said sarcastically.
Her friend laughed and nodded in understanding. "We'll see you later then," he replied, then walked away towards the burning fire at the far end of the Slytherin common room.
Hermione managed to get through Arithmancy with a remnant of her old focus, answering all of the Professor's questions with relative ease. She found solace in the fact that Arithmancy always had one answer, and it gave her peace of mind to know that at least she could solve some of life's problems with ease, unlike the actual problems she faced currently in her situation.
Before she knew it, she was on her way to the library to meet Draco after dinner, her Potions books in her hand and her tumble of curls tied up in a high pony tail.
She saw Malfoy's shock of platinum blond hair just outside the library door, where he stood by himself, rocking back and forth on his heels as his eyes scanned over the paintings on the opposite wall, a soft smile occasionally gracing his face as the portraits moved or spoke amongst themselves.
She blushed when he spotted her walking towards him, for whatever reason, and realized that she was utterly familiar with the feel of his silver eyes gazing in her direction. How had that happened? How had she adjusted to that? Sure, she had noticed his eyes tracking her around the place sometimes, but she figured it had always been his dislike of Slytherin students. She realized now that, since he wanted to befriend her, it could be another reason altogether, a reason that for some reason made her stomach twist, but not in anxiety. Rather, it was a feeling of potential.
"Thanks for coming," Draco said as she came into earshot.
"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, a little confused.
He shrugged. "Slytherin's normally avoid Gryffindors like the plague is all."
She didn't quite know how to respond to this statement of fact, and so she nodded and walked into the library, listening to his footsteps as he followed her trek towards the back of the large room stuffed with shelves and books so old the pages were nearly sand.
They took their seats in the far right hand corner of the room next to a window, where soft light played on Draco's golden hair. Hermione had no idea why she was noticing such a thing, and felt a flush spread over her cheeks as she opened her book to the drawing of the unicorn horn she had completed before dinner in her break.
Draco looked over and nodded approvingly. "Excellent. You're quite skilled with drawing," he stated simply.
Hermione sat in stunned silence - a compliment? How unusual to come from a Gryffindor. He was treating her like she was a normal human being, something quite strange. She shook her head to clear the confused fog settling over her, shifting her focus to the Potions assignment as well as the fact that Voldemort would be expecting some form of information on the Malfoy's within the next day. The idea of conversing with the Dark Lord made a cold sweat run out over her body.
"Shall we get going then?" she asked abruptly, plonking down a heavy volume she had selected from the Potions section as they had walked by.
"With pleasure," replied Draco.
They spent the next few hours poring over different texts, investigating in greater detail than necessary the various aspects of unicorn horns in potions. Hermione found solace in Draco's intelligence, again noting the ease with which they worked together.
Two hours into their study, Draco decided they should take a break and produced two chocolate brownies from his bag. They sat in comfortable silence while they ate the brownies. It was then that Hermione decided she should start prompting Draco to talk about his family - she hadn't forgotten her mission by any means.
"So, did your mother make these brownies? Rumor has it that she always sends you sweets every week with your owl," Hermione said, smirking a little.
Draco gave her a charmingly lopsided smile, then nodded. "Yeah, she tends to be a little over-bearing and she misses me when I'm not home. She always says Dad's too focused on his work in the Ministry."
Hermione nodded. "What does your dad do?"
"He works in the Auror sector of the ministry, helping to manage the defence of the Wizarding world against the Death Eaters and the like."
Hermione was admittedly surprised at how liberal he was with his information, given that she was Slytherin and all. Normally, the other Houses shied away from such subject discussion due to the tenuous nature of politics at the moment, and the way Death Eaters were causing havoc in various parts of the Wizarding world. They were naturally suspicious of the Slytherin's, what with the history of the House and its relation to the Dark Lord. He was surprisingly relaxed talking to Hermione, also - slouching slightly in his chair, ankles crossed and arms resting casually on the arms of his chair.
She nodded in interest. "What is the recent news from the Ministry on that, by the way?" she asked, despite knowing every movement down to a tee.
Draco raised his eyebrows, evidently surprised at the question. "Would have thought you'd know that kind of thing, Granger. But recently there was an attack on a local town by Death Eaters - it was burned to the ground and the Muggles there were found hovering in the air with their scalps having been cut off. The Obliviation team had much difficulty with that one, or so my father told me."
Hermione cringed, remembering the images from The Prophet reporting that particular news story.
"Enough about me," Draco said, interrupting her train of thought. "Tell me about your family."
She felt her face pale slightly and tried to recover herself by putting a small smile on her face, but it was too late - Draco had immediately noticed her discomfort, and she could see this in the crease that had appeared between his brows as he frowned slightly.
"Is there something going on with your family, Granger? Not that it's my place to be asking," he hastily corrected.
She shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing. I just worry about them a lot, what with all the Muggle hunting that's been going on recently. I feel like they might just get hit one day and I don't know how to protect them," she admitted. It was true, definitely, but she left out the part of the Dark Lord's threat.
"What about Obliviation?" Draco suggested seriously, leaning forward in his chair. "You could wipe their memories and send them away to a place like Australia that's barely been touched by the political unrest in the Wizarding world. After this is over, because we all know a war is coming soon, you could go and lift the spell and bring them back to their home. It would be hard but they would be safe."
Hermione sat there silently for a moment, stock still. Draco was suggesting things that would keep her family safe? Unusual, that he would even care. She did remember, however, that his mother had been quite outspoken on Muggle and Mudblood rights in the Wizarding world, given that her sister had married a Muggle man. "I've thought about it," she admitted, "but I could never send them away like that. What if something went wrong with the spell? What if it took too long and I couldn't lift it anymore? I could lose them forever."
Draco nodded, and sat back in his chair. "That's true, it is an issue with Temporary Obliviation."
They sat in shared silence for a while longer, each thinking about various issues. Hermione knew she'd be able to tell the Dark Lord that Lucius Malfoy was investigating the Death Eater attacks, but it wasn't the new he was looking for. She knew he was looking for the home of the Malfoy's, hoping to locate their residency so they would be able to attack them where they slept, but the Malfoy's had the world's best defense system in action, which made their residency literally invisible to the rest of the world, and also made it impossible for anyone to follow them to their home. She knew that was the information he would want. The thought of her parents brought her determination - she'd get that information and save them, even if it cost her everything.
Three hours later, they had finished all their research that was needed, as well as a good three quarters of the illustrations they would be requiring for the paper. It was decided that they could start writing the paper in tomorrow's Potions class at the end of the day.
Draco led the way out of the library and into the corridor, where the dusty smell of books faded. He turned to Hermione and offered her that same lopsided smile she had received before, the one that made her heart stutter a little. His silver eyes were intense on her hazel ones, and they stood there for a moment, just looking at one another.
Hermione felt herself blush and she looked down at her feet when she realized she was starting to notice how delicate Draco's face was, with high cheekbones and a few stray strands of platinum blond hair brushing his forehead. His eyes were perfectly almond shaped, and she noticed they crinkled a little in the corners whenever he smiled. His nose was a little crooked from when Harry had punched him in their third year of schooling in the heat of a Qudditch match, and his lips were pink, his bottom lip slightly bigger than his top.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Granger," Draco said quietly.
Hermione looked up again and offered him a small smile. She saw Draco frown and then gently reach out with his hand towards her face. He gently brushed a curl of her caramel hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ears. Hermione swore her heart nearly stopped, just as it had earlier when he had touched her hand in Potions.
"Bye," she whispered, turning from him quickly to hide her blush as she walked hurriedly towards the staircase that led down to the Slytherin common rooms. What the hell was it about the bloody Gryffindor King getting her heartrate going? What was up with the physical reaction she had to his company? She shook her head, shoving it off as spending too much time with him today.
What she didn't see was Draco still standing outside the library, his silver eyes following the bounce of her small frame as she went down the stairs, his mind drifting to the shade of pink her cheeks had turned when he'd unthinkingly brushed the hair off her face.
He knew he would dream about her again tonight.
Hermione quietly stepped into the Slytherin common room, in the hope that she would be able to avoid everyone and get to her room to contact her Master, but she was intercepted by Harry and Ron the moment she stepped through the door.
"How was your session with the Ferret?" Ron asked, a smirk on his face.
She offered them a half-hearted shrug. "We've almost finished the assignment. Hopefully I won't have to spend much more time with Malfoy," she lied, faking a cringe.
Harry nodded absently. He was staring into the fire as if he weren't really present in the conversation. It was clear his mind was elsewhere. Figuring that her call to the Dark Lord could wait a moment, she took a seat on the carpeted floor in front of the fire, letting the heat thaw her veins after the cold walk down to the dungeons.
"What's on your mind?" she addressed Harry, placing her books gently at her feet.
Harry looked up, and it was clear from his eyes that something major had happened. "The Dark Lord contacted me today. He's asked me to send a cordial letter to Fudge and the Prophet regarding an interview about the death of my parents. He wants me to re-assert the fame of my story," he replied in a monotonous tone.
Hermione went tense, knowing that it was a lot to ask of Harry. He didn't particularly enjoy the interviews with the Prophet, as their reporters were incredibly nosy and often depicted him as a weakened child who had grown strong in the face of adversity and was the hero of the Wizarding world, in that his parent's death had made not one but two major Wizarding criminals disappear. Sirius was the assumed killer of the Potter's, and as Harry's godfather it added an immense level of drama to the situation. Hermione also knew that Voldemort had timed his disappearance in accordance with the death of Harry's parents, so as to reinforce the idea that their death had somehow changed the tides of Voldemort's plans.
Indeed, it had, but it had been purely luck and chance on the Dark Lord's part that Sirius happened to be there as a scapegoat, and was feared because of what he had to Peter Pettigrew. Hermione, however, was aware of the fact that the only reason Sirius had killed Pettigrew was because he knew that it was the rat who had betrayed the location of the Potter's to Voldemort. Her Master had timed the attack on the Potter's house with Sirius's visit to warn them of danger. The entire situation was so messed up that it made Hermione's head hurt just thinking about the complexity of it.
She put on a sympathetic face and patted Harry's knee. "I know that must be hard for you."
Ron was noticably silent. For all he knew, it was just hard for Harry to discuss the death of his parents. He knew the story just as the public did - that Sirius was the murderer.
Harry nodded again, pushing his glasses up his nose and looking down at his hands. "I'll have to do it. If I don't, he'll be furious. I owe it to him anyway. It will help me get into place with the Ministry, particuarly if Fudge is present to converse with me during the interview. The public will love it. I'll need to speak to Severus about this, as well."
She nodded, seeing the logic in the interview. "Do it," she said. "It will make things easier on Ron's family, at least. The fact that he's so closely associated with you and the fact that he's been an integral part in your life means the Dark Lord will ease up the pressure on his parents. Just mention how helpful he's been for you."
Ron scoffed. "That will do shit all, Hermione. Our family still has nothing on the Malfoy's." It was then that his eyes lit up and he turned to Hermione. "Wait, you're working with him! Can you get me some information? I could pass it on the my parents and then we could actually make some progress so the threat is lessened. Merlin, would that ease the tension," Ron begged.
Hermione mulled this over in her head. She could tell the Dark Lord that the progress of her investigation would come to him through the Weasley's simply on the basis that she was afraid to be found out. It would mean less time worrying about reporting back to him, and it would certainly ease the pressure the Weasley's had been experiencing from the Dark Lord as he pressed them to locate the Malfoy's residency. Not only this, but it would throw off any suspicions that she herself was working for the Dark Lord - to any other Slytherin, it would appear that she was merely helping her friend.
She nodded briefly. "Just know that his father is investigating the Muggle attacks, and has a good connection with Fudge. That's all I've gotten so far, just in passing conversation."
Ron grinned and planted a huge kiss on her forehead. "You're an angel, 'Mione. I'll go and call Mum and Dad."
With that, he lankily ran up the stairs into the boy's dorm and slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Harry and Hermione before the fire.
"How am I supposed to do an interview on their death when I don't even know if it's the truth?" Harry asked her, his green eyes wide with concern.
"You need to do it. Otherwise you know you will pay the price," she said sadly. They all knew the relentless cruelty that the Dark Lord wielded without mercy. "I need to go finish up some drawings, I'll come down in about an hour."
She gave Harry a soft peck on the cheek, and left him to his thoughts.
When she got to the girl's dorm, it was noticably empty yet again. She locked the door and placed her usual silencing spell, then headed over to the fireplace and stuck her head through the fire to the study where she knew Voldemort would be waiting on her call.
"My Lord, I have a new plan I would like to discuss with you, if you would permit."
The Dark Lord turned and looked imperiously down at her, mild curiosity lighting his snake-like face. "Indeed. Speak," he commanded.
Hermione swallowed nervously. "My Lord, I fear being found out by Draco that I am reporting back to you. Indeed, using this fireplace to communicate with you everyday is a danger in itself. I was thinking rather that I would report my findings on the Malfoy's to the Weasley's and thus they could pass this information on to you, as well as being capable of following up leads that are external to Hogwarts and therefore that I cannot gain access to."
Voldemort appeared to mull over this for a moment, the met his red gaze with Hermione's. "Step through the fireplace, girl. I wish to speak to you in the flesh."
She felt her heartrate increase - never had she been asked to direcly stand in the presence of her Master. Nonetheless, she obeyed, knowing her concealment charm would protect her from detection as she left the Hogwart's premises.
She entered into the study, and immediately it hit her how surprisingly warm the place was. It was still dark, however, but her eyes need not strain to see the pale face of the Dark Lord.
He walked towards her, and she realize then how incredibly tall the Dark Lord was. "Hermione, you have done well. This plan of yours is safe and I agree that it would be more secure this way. However, do not think I do not see through your idea - you wish to assist the Weasley's in their mission to me, do you not?"
A cold sweat broke out over her forehead, but she nodded nonetheless. "Of course, my Lord. They are my friends, but it cannot be denied that a group effort would certainly yield better and swifter results."
Voldemort nodded. "Very well," he hissed. "The other reason I asked you here is that there is something more I wish for you to do for me."
Hermione waited in silence as the Dark Lord walked to the window to look out upon the estate that his family had left behind.
"It has come to my attention that Draco, according to Snape, at least, is quite keen on your attentions, if I am not correct," mused the Dark Lord.
Hermione's brows flew up, but then again she ought not be so surprised - Draco's eyes had followed her for years and years. "I supposed," she admitted lightly.
Her Master turned to her with a dark smile on his face, one that made her shiver. "I wish for you to... seduce the boy. Make him fall in love with you, and this way he will trust you completely. I trust you do not feel affection for such a horrendous Gryffindor, and this shall be no issue?" The underlying threat was clear. Return his affections but only pretend, lest you want your parents dead.
She swallowed nervously. "It can be done, my Lord. But it will take time. If I act as though I am too eager, it will cause suspicion."
"Of course. You have six months, in that case. You will report to me intermittently, but not everyday as previously required. I expect a report every fortnight. Continue bringing me information on Harry and certainly convey information about Malfoy's family to the Weasley's, but I will be needing information on whether the Malfoy boy has fallen for you or not."
Hermione nodded, but was still confused. "My Lord, with all due respect, may I ask exactly why you want me to make Malfoy fall in love with me?" Her heart stammered in fear of the answer.
Voldemort took a step towards her, his smile widening on his face. "Because," he murmured, "once he is in love with you, it will be effortlessly easy to kill him and gain access to his parents."
She stood there in shock. "Kill Draco?" she repeated.
"Yes, girl. If this is an issue then you can say goodbye to your parents," her Master hissed angrily, his eyes flaring.
She put on a stone face and shook her head. "Not at all, my Lord. Your wish is my command. But I thought the plan was to gain access to the Malfoy's home and find a way to blackmail them into joining you?"
Voldemort shook his head slowly. "I have decided it would be a better re-entrance into the world if I murdered the most powerful and prestigious family in the Wizarding world. It will instill fear into the hearts of those who believe I am in hiding permanently because of those idiots who denied me. It is then that I shall get Harry into position with the Ministry to kill Fudge, though I am yet to inform him of his new mission. It is the perfect way to take over the Wizarding world. And, through all of this, your family will be safe, Hermione. As long as you do what I command."
Hermione thought about her innocent parents, living in the Muggle world where all of this passed in shadow without them seeing. She thought about the dream she had had, of their dead bodies at her feet and flames burning around her as Voldemort stood above and smiled. No, she would not have that. She would do as he commanded.
She nodded, an obedient soldier who had no choice about their part in this war. "As you command, my Lord." With that, she disappeared back into the flames of the fire, back to Hogwarts, where the weight of these new secrets and tasks forced her to her knees as she vomited up the little food she had eaten that day.
What am I getting myself into? was the last thing she thought before her body gave in on itself and she passed out before the fire, her mind spinning into darkness where the only thing she could see was a pair of silver-grey eyes.
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for the second chapter to come up, but I put a lot of work into this one and I started the third so I'll update really soon. Please review so I know how I'm going, I don't want to disappoint and would love to hear your feedback. If you have any questions or you want to help me out, message me on tumblr at .com
Much love to all of you who have waited so patiently, be expecting more very soon!
Love from Ella
