I know we had a dramatic turn of events last chapter, but I promise the plot-twist will be worth it! I felt the need to speed things along, especially at such a happy time in the year (aka Christmas) and a happy time in Draco and Hermione's life just to show how much Voldemort ruined lives. So, Draco has been reunited with his estranged family, Snape is now Headmaster at Hogwarts, and Hermione… Well, we don't know where she is. Let's find out! Review and view people! Tell your Harry Potter friends! Leave me nice reviews! :D Let's get this thing over 10,000!
Chapter 19:
Hermione landed on her knees, gasping for breath. The first thing she saw was pavement and smelled the familiar smell of smog and someone cooking a home cooked meal. As she caught her breath, she looked up to see Grimmauld Place, and Molly Weasley rushing to the sidewalk to help her. Molly pulled Hermione onto her feet and assured her that everything was fine, and everyone was alright. Hermione nodded to acknowledge her words but there were other pressing matters that were on her mind besides the obvious.
Molly led her into the house, and the familiar smell of dust and must filled Hermione's nostrils. Kreacher was croaking in the background about what filth she was and how his mistress would be turning in her grave if she ever saw Hermione in the house. It wasn't something new or surprising, and Hermione was too tired and distraught to care about Kreacher and his well-being at the moment. Molly led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. The other Weasley's were there: Fred, George, and Ginny. They all were anxious and their tones proved that. As Hermione was gently lowered into her chair, Ginny gave her tightest hug Hermione had ever received.
"I am so glad you're okay," Ginny said in Hermione's hair. Hermione closed her eyes in comfort. "They were looking for you. The Death Eaters."
"You're quite the wanted witch," Fred said with a wink.
"Fred!" Molly smacked her son's arm and he winced. "Not now!"
"Oi, Mum, you can watch it with your hits. You'd think I got enough as a youngin," Fred retorted. Molly threatened to hit him one upside his head and he diverted his attention to his brother.
Hermione looked up at Molly. "What happened after I left?"
Molly took her seat across the table from Hermione and sighed with sadness. "Snape was instated as Headmaster. I'm afraid not all of the Muggleborns made it out safely, although Ginny and Neville were able to get quite a few away from the castle. The Ministry is falling, there is no doubt about that."
Hermione bit her lip anxiously. "Did anyone…"
"No, honey, no one died," Molly said and patted Hermione's hand. "The question for you is where to go from here."
"I need to find Harry and Ron," Hermione said. She saw the looks on the Weasley's faces drop, and she realized that they were relying on her for any information about the duo. "You don't know where they are either?"
"We haven't heard anything," George said. "Although, that isn't unlikely. Both of them are very forgetful blokes."
"Not about something like this," Hermione replied. "I sent a Patronus to find them… I just wonder where they could be."
"Right now, Hermione, it will do you no good worrying about them," Molly told her gently. "It is Christmas Eve, after all."
Hermione had been so raveled up in the matters that had just happened that she had completely forgotten that it was Christmas Eve. She noticed that the house had been decorated and there was a large tree in the sitting room with presents underneath of it. She looked from the tree to Molly, and then crossed the table to give the woman a hug. For seven years, she had been a second mother to her, and here she was yet again, putting Hermione's needs before her own. Molly hugged her back with tears in her eyes, knowing this would be one of the hardest parts before the war.
"Thank you," Hermione thanked her softly. "I just… can't believe all this happened."
"We all can't, dear, they weren't expected to make a move so soon," Molly said and pulled back. She studied Hermione's face. "Something else is troubling you, dear."
The mother witch knew it wasn't about what had just happened at Hogwarts, or that they were having a very diluted Christmas. It was something very far out; she could tell by the look in Hermione's hazel eyes. In the years she had known the young girl, she only had this look when there was a secret she was hiding. But, Hermione, like Molly had reckoned she would, kept quiet and just shook her head.
"No, I'm just shaken up is all," Hermione told her and forced a smile. "Really Molly, I am fine."
"Alright, dear. You ought to get some rest, all of you," she barked at her children.
"We're of age, Mother, we will go to bed when we please," Fred said and crossed his arms in imitation of a toddler. "Besides, it's Christmas Eve!"
Molly rolled her eyes at the twins, but they landed on Ginny who had just began to protest. "No, Ginny! Upstairs, now!"
Hermione accompanied her friend up the stairs, Ginny making small talk the entire way. Ginny explained that after the attack on The Burrow, it wasn't safe there anymore. Grimmuald Place was still Headquarters, and only Harry was Secret Keeper, so the Death Eaters wouldn't be able to find them there regardless. The Weasley's had even more status as Blood-Traitors, and they would be hunted down and made examples of as well. Arthur had only devoted his time to serving the Order and keeping his job at the Ministry, and had come to be known as one of the main protectors. Ginny asked if Hermione was missing Zac, and knowing that only a few people knew she had even been hosting Draco for the past six months and the Weasley's probably didn't know, Hermione agreed that she was worried about what could've happened him. Ginny promised to get word to him right away, and to keep up with playing appearances, Hermione thanked her and retreated to her room.
It was the room she had spent many nights in, listening in on the Order and planning continuously. It was familiar, still lined with the sheets she had left and there were even some clothes in the old dresser propped against the wall. She closed the door and couldn't do anything but sit on her bed crossed-legged and clutch at her heart. Merlin, it hurt. It hurt so badly. If she had taken Draco with her, she would have… But, she couldn't have. Tonight had been arguably the best and worst nights of her life. As she sat contemplating everything that had just happened, she realized for the first time that she was at a loss. She didn't know what to do or where to start. She hadn't the slightest clue where Harry and Ron were, and neither did the Order. She hadn't the slightest idea where Draco was either, and that's what scared her most.
She sat in silence for what seemed like hours, until the music outside faded and Fred and George's bantering ceased. She had cried, she had screamed, and she had thrown things around her room, reminding herself of the Slytherin when he lost his temper. But, she was normally composed. This had gotten to her, and she was slowly spiraling out of control. She found herself in the middle of the floor when a sparkling blue light caught in her perioral vision. A gorgeous stag came bounding through the window and landed in front of her, offering her a small bow.
"Godric's Hollow" was all Harry's voice said.
Hermione knew at that instant that she needed to leave. Quickly, she ran to her desk and scribbled a note for the Weasley's telling them that she had located Harry and Ron and would be joining them. She apologized for any inconvenience and assured them that she would be safe. She grabbed her wand and her beaded bag and snuck down the stairs quietly, closing Ginny's door as she went. Kreacher didn't even notice her as she crept out the door, and closed it behind her. She moved past the Anti-Apparation wards and into the middle of the lighted Muggle Street.
She savored the fresh air and street lights one more time as she looked both ways to make sure no one was watching her. The wind was cool, brushing against her face as she looked upon the empty lot in front of her, cursing Harry for choosing to visit the spot his parents were buried, and then thought hard about Godric's Hollow before leaving Grimmauld Place for good.
Draco awoke the next morning with no recollection of it being Christmas Morning. Except when Theo was bouncing up and down in his bed to wake him up telling him it was Christmas, and he should be excited, and some other stupid things Draco couldn't remember. But, he wanted to punch Theo at the moment… badly. This had been the first night in many months that Draco had slept decently (without Hermione by his side). So, he swung around and attempted to hit Theo square in the mouth but ended up falling out of the bed instead, to Theo's complete amusement.
"C'mon, mate! Your mum gave me orders to come wake up your lazy ass!" Theo said and nudged Draco's body with his foot.
"Bugger off, Theo!" Draco groaned. He never was an early riser, although when he raised his head to look out the window, sunlight streamed in.
"It's almost ten in the morning, we've been waiting for you for ages, and I really want Andromeda's cinnamon rolls," Theo shrugged and kicked him once again for good measure.
Draco rolled his eyes as he got to his feet, and quickly dressed with the delightful smell of food and burning cherry wood filling his nostrils. He had chosen to wear black pants and a Quidditch shirt, mirroring Theo's ensemble. Theo had talked to him about how grateful he was not to be with his father that day and that he would gladly take his mother's persistence for company than his father's evil ways. The two boys approached the kitchen and Draco's stomach rumbled terribly loud.
"Good morning, love!" Narcissa, dressed in a dark green dress and regal as always, came from around the table and gave her son a kiss on the cheek… and Theo, without his complaining first. "I take it you slept well?"
"Very," Draco said and sat down at his place at the set table. It was just the four of them that morning he was informed: Tonks was with Remus and they would be over in the afternoon, and Ted was on Order business out of the country. His Aunt was busying herself in the kitchen with his mother as Theo and Draco began to discuss their next move.
"They were talking about you going back to the Manor," Theo said and took a sip of tea. Draco eyes his best friend cautiously as he spoke. "Double agent and all that."
"So, I'm just another Snape then?" Draco asked.
"Better that than continuing living in hiding for the rest of your life because everyone thinks you're dead," Theo shrugged. He got up, went to the stove (politely excusing himself from Narcissa's way), poured Draco a cup of tea, and set it in front of him.
"Both the Order and the Death Eaters think I'm dead, Theo. How could I just go waltzing back into the Manor without there being any questions asked?" Draco demanded and took a sip of tea. It was delightful and welcoming, and he couldn't help but wonder if Hermione was somewhere safe drinking tea right now as well…
"That's where your Mum comes in," Theo replied and gestured towards Narcissa in the kitchen. She only looked up then went back to flicking her wand, helping her sister make pancakes. "She is brilliant, you know that? If I had her for my Mum, maybe I would've turned out better."
"I practically raised you, Theodore, and you'd do best not to forget that, dear," Narcissa said over her shoulder. Theo winced and Draco smirked.
"So how does Mum tie into this?" Draco asked and took another sip of tea.
"Your Mum is on 'holiday', remember? Well, I guess the Order and her agreed that since tensions were already high, they could get a little higher. She saved you," Theo explained.
Draco's eyebrows raised. "Mum saves me? And brings me back to the Manor?"
"Like the faithful servant of Snake Eyes that she is," Theo nodded with a smile. "It's nearly foolproof."
Draco looked to his mother skeptically, knowing that if Voldemort ever found out the truth behind their little charade, both of them would receive the most brutal punishment. But, it just may work. He sipped his tea quietly after agreeing with Theo and waited until his Aunt and mother set breakfast down in front of the boys. There were cinnamon rolls (much to Theo's delight), eggs, pancakes, and jam. It was a Christmas feast for the four of them, who began eating after Andromeda said a quick prayer. Draco hadn't said a word while she had done it, but met Theo and his mother's eyes. Theo looked to them for explanation, but both of their eyes held daggers at him. Draco had noticed that when Hermione ate, she would say a quick prayer and do a weird symbol over her heart. He assumed it was just a weird Muggle tradition. Obviously, it had been passed onto his Aunt through Ted.
"So, when do we go back to the Manor?" asked Draco through a mouthful of pancakes.
"I was thinking in a few days," Narcissa replied, eyeing her son knowing she had taught him better than to stuff food down his throat like it was going out of style. She ate hers much more delicately.
"He'll probably use Occlumency," Draco pointed out. "And how did you suddenly find me?"
"The story is that I am out of the country. Whilst I was out, I was kidnapped by none other than Shacklebolt and taken to where you were being held, to my 'astonishment'. We ended up being able to fight our way out, and apparate back to the Manor. Kingsley had instated the memory in my mind, and I will instate it into yours before we leave," Narcissa explained.
"Your mother is a smart woman, Draco," his Aunt reminded him. "Eat your eggs, now."
Draco didn't have to be told twice to eat. "So, what's our mission when we get there then? Double agents?"
"We keep an eye on things," Narcissa replied simply. "Theodore will go back to Hogwarts, and claim he was there over the break. McGonagall and Snape will provide backup for him. No strings left unattached."
Draco nodded as Theo tilted his head towards his friend and mouthed "I told you so." It was a nearly foolproof plan, but Draco had his contingencies about it, none the less. It was dangerous, and in his time "playing dead", he had very much enjoyed being away from the Dark Bastard. Some of the things he had witnessed last year had left their permanent mark on him, aside from the tattoo on his forearm. He hated that Theo sported it as well. But, it was what happened when their fathers were too insistent on making their "Lord" happy. They presented the boys as servants to him, to expand his army. Something Draco had no wish in participating in.
The breakfast went smoothly, and they chit-chatted about Theo's adventures and academics. The trio had many questions for Draco about his stay with Hermione, which he answered to the best of his abilities. It was Theo who was the most surprised that Draco admitted he was rather fond of Hermione. Given the way they were raised, and the consequences of Hermione and Draco's actions, it was nearly unbelievable. It was while they were discussing Hermione's home in Muggle London and her having to wipe her parents' memories when there came a ring from the other room.
"What in the bloody hell is that?" Draco demanded, looking around for the cause of the annoying sound.
Narcissa chuckled as Andromeda left the table. "A telephone, my dear. It is a Muggle contraption."
Theo and Draco's eyebrows went sky high.
"What the hell is it used for?" Draco asked, now covering his ears until it blatantly stopped.
"It is the Muggles' way of communicating with eachother, Draco," his mother explained to the boys and took another bite of her pancakes.
The two boys glanced at eachother and were tempted to say a snide comment about how inferior Muggles were, but it got the best of them when Andromeda appeared a few moments later with a very worried look on her face.
"I just received word from the Weasley's," she announced. Narcissa put down her utensils to listen. "Hermione made it to Grimmauld Place last night, but she was gone this morning. It appears she went after Ron and Harry."
Draco's mouth went dry. He cursed Hermione for being so brilliant; he knew that she wouldn't feel right leaving the Immortal Brat and the Weasel out to fend on their own, especially now that she wasn't tied to Hogwarts or on babysitting duty. He didn't know what to say, even though he knew everyone around him expected him to say something… anything.
"Did she say where she was going?" Narcissa asked, mostly for her son's favor.
"No," Andromeda shook her head. "I'm sorry, Draco."
"For what? Having my Mudblood girl – having Hermione being where no one will find her?" he barked, unsure of how to feel or how to react to the news. She was safe… Why couldn't she have just stayed with the Blood-Traitors and be safe? At least then he could go to her… Now, she could be out of the country or halfway around the world.
Narcissa patted her son's hand. "Draco, I think it's best if we go to the Manor today then."
Draco looked up at his mother, who stared back at him with knowing eyes. "She can't be caught, Mother. She just can't be."
"If she is as smart as you two say she is, I'm sure she will evade capture for at least a little while," Narcissa told her son. Draco nodded. "Come now, there is some preparing to do before we go back."
When Hermione landed in Godric's Hollow, she expected the boys to at least have used some form of concealment. They hadn't. Both of them had been standing outside of the church, waiting for her arrival. The looks on their faces were priceless when they saw her, but she was beyond mad, stalking right up to her friends and smacking Harry across his face, leveling his glasses to the point of almost breaking and falling off.
"Harry!" she hissed. "I taught you better than that! You are WANTED and you are walking around the place where your parents died and were buried without CONCEALMENT!"
"'Mione –" Ron started but Hermione put up a finger to him and he backed down.
"Don't even start with me, Ronald, I will get to you in a second. What were you thinking?!"
Harry put on his skewed glasses and sighed. "Hermione, it's Christmas Eve. And we… uh… we have to fill you in on some things. There's another reason why we are here." Hermione tapped her foot impatiently with her arms crossed over her chest. Harry looked sheepishly at Ron and scratched the back of his head. "When we were camping in a forest about three days ago, there were a group of Goblins that passed us. We overheard them saying something about the Sword of Gryffindor and how the one in Dumbledore's office was a fake. So, we began putting two and two together –"
"It was actually my idea –" Ron began before Hermione's deathly glare silenced him.
"The sword has the ability to destroy Horcruxes," Harry explained to Hermione, almost pleadingly. "I killed the Bassilisk with it, remember? And the venom is what destroyed the diary. The sword is embedded with the venom. So, Bathilda Bagshot wrote a book on Dumbledore, and all clues we have found point to her. That's how we knew about Grindewald. She lives here, Hermione."
Hermione's eyes softened as she realized what Harry was getting at. "You think that Dumbledore gave her the sword?"
"Yes," Harry nodded, smiling now that Hermione was understanding. "We just need to find her, that's all."
Hermione nodded and sighed as the trio stepped into pace with eachother, listening to the Christmas carols from the villagers in the church.
"So, what's Hogwarts been like, Hermione?" Ron asked, thinking it was safe to speak.
But, that just made Hermione's heart hurt. "It's uhm… Snape's Headmaster now, as of a few hours ago. It was overran with Death Eaters."
"Before that, I mean…"
"Oh, uh… it was fine, I guess," Hermione shrugged with as much nonchalance as she could muster. Harry looked to his side and noticed a few bruises on her neck to which his eyes narrowed.
"Hermione, what's that on your neck?" Harry asked.
Almost too quickly, Hermione threw her hand to the right side of her neck, the one Draco had favored his sucking on. "It must've gotten injured in the attack."
Harry's eyes searched over hers passively, knowing that was lying. For Ron's benefit, he was lucky that he wasn't so observing because he would've caught onto what Harry was. Hermione had been seeing someone, and sleeping with someone. Ron would not like that. Harry vowed he would ask Hermione later when his best friend wasn't around.
"I'm just glad you're safe," Harry offered her a smile. "We put a wreath on my parents grave, and saw the house… there are loads of messages there supporting us, Hermione. It's truly quite amazing."
"Of course people support you, Harry," Hermione said dismissively. "Not all witches and wizards want a world under the reign of Voldemort, you know."
"I know," Harry said as they rounded a corner. For a few blocks now, he had noticed that they were being followed, but hadn't alerted his friends. With one hand on his wand, he glanced backwards to see an old woman hobbling after them. "Ron, Hermione…"
Harry turned around completely with his friends. Ron backed up a few paces, but Hermione inched closer. The woman was old, and not dressed to be out in this weather. She had one what appeared to be an old dress, with a light coat on, and a scarf around her head. It was awfully cold for that type of wear, but Hermione paid it no mind. She recognized the woman from the pictures in her books. This was indeed Mrs. Bagshot.
"Miss Bagshot?" Hermione asked, her hand on her wand, but she didn't feel as though she needed it. "Miss Bagshot?"
The older woman only looked at the three and then beckoned them to follow her down the street. Harry had an odd feeling that she knew they were going to be coming. But, if she was indeed there to help them, then they couldn't leave her. Ron expressed some skeptics, but Harry shut it down immediately, telling his friend that Dumbledore must have known he would come here looking for the sword. It all seemed too right. The two boys followed Hermione and Mrs. Bagshot as they walked down the snow-covered streets, illuminated only be the streetlights and lights from the pub and church. Hermione wondered vaguely what it would've been like for Harry to grow up here, wondered if he would be in that church right now with his parents. He would've been.
Bathilda led them to her house, which looked a tad bit overgrown with weeds and vines creeping up the exterior of the house, even through the snow. Hermione took one look at Harry and Ron before following the old woman into the house. She crinkled her nose; it smelled of rotting flesh and mothballs. Wondering if the poor old woman had needed assistance, she helped her light a candle to illuminate the house. It was dirty, and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in quite some time.
"I don't like the looks of this, Harry," Ron said. "She lives worse than Fred and George, and that's saying something."
"She's just elderly, Ronald, don't be a prude," Hermione said and used her wand as a light to look around. "Miss Bagshot, did you know Albus Dumbledore?" The old woman just looked at Hermione unknowingly and Hermione couldn't help but feel terrible for her. "Do you have something for Harry?"
Harry had taken the liberty to look around the living area, also crinkling his nose at the smell of the decomposing meat. He noticed a photograph of a man who looked like the same one from his dream… the one who had stolen the wand from Gregorovitch. Curious, he took it off the mantle and saw that he indeed was Bagshot's Great Nephew. It was quite a small world. The old woman made her way to the stairs and beckoned Harry to come with her. He took a few steps towards her, but Hermione grabbed his arm, her anxiety kicking in full throttle.
"I don't know if you should go up there alone, Harry," Hermione whispered. She looked to Ron for support to which he nodded eagerly.
"She's right, mate," he told his best friend.
"It's fine," Harry insisted. "She probably was told to give the sword to me and me only. She won't do it with you two hovering over my shoulder."
Hermione sighed, seeing the logic in Harry's statement, and let his arm drop. Ron took out his wand and illuminated it as well, watching Harry go up the stairs with the old woman. He turned to look at Hermione, but she was intent on finding out more about this place.
"What do you think, Hermione?" Ron asked as Hermione looked to the pictures on the mantle and the books lying scattered across the floor.
"I think something isn't right," Hermione muttered, as she examined the perimeter.
"It's good to see you again," Ron offered with a smile to her back. "I did miss you, you know."
"Thanks, Ronald," she said as she bent down. There was a pool of something dark between the entryway to the dining area and the living area. She touched her finger to it and realized that it was blood. "Oh no…" The two began to hear rustling around upstairs, and a glass shatter against the floor. Within seconds, the two were up the stairs. "HARRY!"
Hermione rounded the corner to the room where the commotion was coming from, Ron on her heels. She gasped when she saw the elderly woman's body in a pile on the floor next to the bed and a giant snake wrapped around Harry, hissing at him in Parseltongue. Nagini. Harry was struggling, and she saw there were bite marks on his arm and his wand was across the room.
Hermione immediately shot a curse at the snake who unraveled itself from Harry and went straight for her. Harry grabbed a brick from where the wall had crumbled and smacked Nagini across the head. The snake fell to the ground hissing menacingly, undecided on who to come after for her next target. She lept at Harry once more, Harry falling to the ground, and Hermione and Ron cursing the snake once again, until she fell down to the living room below.
"Hermione, he's coming!" Harry yelled and grabbed his wand from the floor.
Nagini raised herself from the living quarters below to the trio, attempting to bind them together. Ron shouted a curse at the snake, but missed, blowing the dresser to wooden shards. It didn't stop Nagini, however, and Harry pulled Hermione across the bed next to the window. Ron joined the two, his wand pointed at the snake, whimpering. With no time to think and no time to act, Hermione blew the glass from the window out, shattering it below. They had to leave, and they had mere seconds before Voldemort would arrive. Through Harry's screaming and clutching his scar and Ron's profanities, she grabbed both of their hands, and Disapparated just as she saw a black cloak touch down on the floor in front of them.
Hermione landed them in the Forest of Dean, the only place she could think of at such quick notice. It was snowing there, and when she came too, all she could see was Harry withering on the ground screaming, clutching his scar and chest, and the blood from Nagini's bite staining the white snow beneath him. She immediately crouched down and moved Harry's hand to see the Locket had attached itself to his skin. It was burning him, and she could see the steam rising from Harry's flesh.
"Ronald! In my bag, there should be a bottle of Dittany!" she yelled. Ron frantically searched her bag while she removed the Locket with a severing charm and soothed Harry. "Harry, Harry, it's okay, it's off, it's off…" Ron handed her the bottle of Dittany and she uncorked it, applying the healing liquid to Harry's snake bites. They immediately sizzled together, to Hermione's delight. "Harry, it's done, it's done, Harry…"
Harry's eyes opened to see Hermione standing over him and Ron setting up a tent in the background. "Thank you, Hermione… I'm so sorry, I didn't…"
Hermione ran a hand through her best friend's hair and helped him to his feet. She took him to the tent where she and Ron laid him down in his bed, and pulled the blankets over him. He didn't protest, just looked excruciatingly angry with himself.
"I should've known, guys," Harry said softly. "She was speaking to me in Parlsetongue, that's why she didn't want you around. Voldemort must have known I would go there; he sent Nagini there to capture me until he got there."
"We didn't get out of there a second too soon, mate. I saw his cloak an instant before we came here," Ron said and sat on the side of Harry's bed. Harry only sighed as Ron pulled something out his pocket. It was Harry's wand; it was broken into three pieces. Hermione looked at it devastated, knowing it was broken beyond repair. "I'm sorry, Harry, the curse I cast rebounded and…"
"There was nothing you could've done," Harry replied and took the wand in his hands. "Can I just borrow you two's then while we're on watch?"
"Sure, Harry," Hermione agreed and Ron nodded.
"I'll take first watch," Ron said and got up, leaving his two friends alone. He squeezed Hermione's arm before he left, but Hermione only frowned.
Harry waited until he was out of earshot before turning his attention to Hermione. "I know you lied to me about those bruises."
Hermione only sighed, the last thing on her mind was that particular situation, one that had only happened literally a few hours prior. "Harry, now isn't the best time."
"I know you've had quite the day, but so have we. And I think I deserve to know, especially since the guy sitting ten feet away from you hasn't stopped talking about you since we left," Harry said and put the pieces of his wand on the table beside him. "Hermione, you owe me an explanation before Ron gets some sense and notices."
"I'll just cast a glamour charm…"
"Hermione, that's just bouncing around the issue. Who is he?" Harry pressed.
Hermione looked into his green eyes, and what Harry saw he did not like. He did not like it one bit. That look was reserved for when Hermione didn't want to tell him things, and if she did, he would not like it.
"Considering what just happened, I don't think anything can be worse than that," he pressed her harder, wanting to know who this man was.
Hermione bit her lip anxiously. "Before I tell you, Harry, you must understand that it has to stay between us until the time is right that we tell Ron."
"Is this guy that big of a git?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows.
Hermione looked down and fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "Yes, he is. Or so you two think, anyway."
"Let me guess," Harry said and Hermione's heart stopped. "Smith? Did he finally get you to go out with him?"
"Yes and no," Hermione said gently, thinking back to Zac's smile. "He pursued me, but we never did anything, no."
"Cormack? Ernie? Dean? Seamus?" Harry began listing off people one by one, putting an extra emphasis on Seamus' name. Hermione shook her head no to all of them. "Then I give up, Hermione. I've named everyone who you would possibly go out with."
"He isn't someone who I would normally go out with. But, he's smart. Very intelligent. He's pompous, but I've grown on him. And he's grown on me," Hermione explained, never taking her eyes off of her fingers in her lap. She didn't think the day she would have to tell Harry about her bedding Draco Malfoy would come this soon. Normally, she was prepared for everything she did. But, the last few scenarios had proven that her life was taking a dramatic turn she wasn't sure she was ready for.
"That much is clear."
"He's on our side, Harry," Hermione said, now looking into her best friend's eyes again; this time she was pleading with him.
"I assumed so, Hermione," Harry said, with a few nods to ensure his listening. "Who is it?"
Hermione gulped. "Malfoy."
Harry's eyes bulged for a moment before he sat up straighter. She feared that he would call for Ron, but he didn't. Instead, he stared long and hard at Hermione, taking deep breaths to calm himself. She could see he was about to lose it but she prayed to Merlin he wouldn't, and he would at least try to understand.
"Malfoy? As in the Slytherin and my arch-enemy?" Harry repeated.
"The very same," Hermione dove into an explanation of the predicament.
She explained to him how the Order had forced him to stay with her, and had faked his death so he could be used as a weapon against Voldemort. She explained how he had treated her at first, but then how they had gotten used to one another. How he had become jealous of Zac's advances, and how he had helped uncover the Dark Magic surrounding Harry and Ron's letter to her. How intelligent he was, and how much he had helped Hermione help her friends, even though he didn't agree with it. She told Harry about how Pansy tried to kill her, how Draco hadn't realized that all of his friends were turning on him and going on to Voldemort's side. She explained how he had kissed her, three times, and his tempter tantrums because his pride was taking a severe beating by admitting his feelings about her. She recounted the story behind his Dark Mark, how he missed his mother, and how he hated Voldemort and hated his father for putting him in such a situation. She also told Harry about the terrible things he had witnessed, and how he wanted nothing to do with Voldemort ever again. Then, she recounted the events of tonight: how they had slept together and it was deliriously wonderful, and then how Lucius and Nott were in the castle and how she went to the only Death Eater she knew would know what was truly going on. She told Harry about how Draco's mother sent her a Patronus warning her about Voldemort coming, and how she was forced to allow Theo to take the man she loved away from her, not knowing if he was safe or where he was going. At the end of her rant, Harry just stared at her, contemplating everything she had just told him.
"Wow," Harry whispered. "It really puts our issues into perspective, doesn't it?"
"Think about if Ginny was in that same situation. You would feel like I do," Hermione said softly.
"I love Ginny, Hermione, you know that," Harry said. "And from what you're telling me, admit it or not, it seems like you love Malfoy too. I don't know why, and I don't want to know why, but if this is the path you choose, then that's your choice. I may not like it, but if you're happy…"
Hermione sighed. "Harry, I was supposed to marry Ron and have seven children and work at the Ministry and live a normal life. Now, I'm falling for a man who is a Death Eater and whose father is our enemy's biggest supporter. Even if we do survive the war, how will I know if Draco does?"
Harry cringed at Hermione calling Malfoy by his first name. "You'll know. And if Malfoy is as intelligent as you say he is, then you'll have to remind me to thank him when we cross paths again."
Hermione smiled at her friends words. "Thank you for understanding, Harry."
"I don't understand, Hermione. But, you're right. Let's keep this between us for awhile," Harry agreed with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't think Ron will take it as well as I did."