As usual, I still do not own Harry Potter or any of (Our Queen) J.K. Rowling's character's. I do have ownership of original plot lines and original characters.
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"Nott's journals are in!" Draco called. He and Hermione had been receiving journals for the past hour. The first of which was owled in just over an hour after they sent the letters out.
"Did he question it?" she called back from her chair among the stack of research material.
"No," Draco replied, walking the diary to Hermione. "I'm finding it very peculiar that no one so far has raised any questions as to what exactly we are doing with these journals. When did we get this trustworthy?"
"I think you mean: when did you get so trustworthy," she quipped back without looking from her book.
"I resent that," he pouted.
"Deal with it," she said, looking up at him smirking, a playful twinkle in her eye. "How many do we have left?"
"Six. I think I will need to do a good amount of groveling to get the Greengrasses to lend me the journals" He grimaced at the thought. Grovel. Money. Then, more groveling, he added in his head.
"Well, why don't you get us lunch while I search these?" Hermione asked in her sweetest voice.
"You know I will end up using your dependency on my house elves to make you stay with me," Draco grinned deviously.
Hermione rolled her eyes at his antics. Of late, she was finding his little witty remarks more and more endearing. However, she was unwilling to let him think she was easily won, so she quipped, "you'll need a lot more than food to convince me to stay with you."
"With my dashing good-looks and my charisma? Doubtful." He gestured to his lanky body and sent a playful wink her way.
She snorted and continued reading, signaling the end of their flirtatious jesting. He listened closely but heard no owls, so he settled into the chair next to Hermione and began reading Nott's journal. Comfortable silence took over, and they sunk back into their usual system of research.
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Two hours later:
"Malfoy," Hermione whined softly. Her head was rested on the arm of her chair and she was gazing over at Draco, trying to give her best pouty face. "I'm so hungry!"
"Merlin, woman!" he exclaimed. "Why must you pester me for food? Get your own!" He was dramatically laying over the edge of his chair waving his arms around wildly as if the act would make her do what he wished.
"Winky!" Hermione called. She sat up straight, and when the elf popped into the room, she requested politely, "Would you please bring up some tea and cottage pie?"
"Yes, Mistress," the little elf nodded, ears wagging energetically. He was outwardly pleased to have a task, and would do nearly anything for his Mistress Mione. He simply adored her, and Draco found he could not convince the elf to no longer follow Hermione's orders. When, Winky disapparated away, presumably to the kitchen, Draco let out a huff of annoyance. The elf was devious and enjoyed his melding in Draco's affairs.
Hermione turned back to Draco, a 'take-that' smile on her face. He took advantage of her lowered guard and swiftly stood up, took her hand, and dragged her upwards.
"What are you doing?" she demanded when he took out his wand.
With a swish, soft music was playing in the background. "We never celebrated our massive success with this case. We are halfway finished and that is cause for dancing!" he said playfully. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and started leading her along with the music. His mother made him take formal dance lessons for the entirety of his preteen years, and he would be damned if they didn't woo a girl at least once.
She was resistant at first, but eventually Hermione swayed along to the music with him, giggling when he lead her into a comically low dip. He was twirling her when she caught glimpse of a silvery object and immediately tore away when she recognized Kingsley's patronus. Hermione and Draco both turned to stare at the lynx with dread filling their stomachs.
"Hermione, Rosalinda's identity has been compromised. She is being escorted by aurors to the safe house. You and Draco meet her there," Kingsley's voice rang, panic-filled, throughout the library.
That very second, Winky popped into the room, cheerfully carrying their late lunch. He stopped, frozen with worry upon seeing the patronus.
Draco, ashen faced, turned to Winky and ordered, "please put both of those meals in a container and bring them back here as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Master Draco," the elf nodded vigorously and disappeared with a crack. Merely five seconds went by before the elf was back again with two sealed bowls of food. "Your meals, Master. Is everything okay?" the little elf worried.
"No, but we will be back shortly. Do not come if father calls for you," Draco instructed after quick thought, then turned to Hermione. "Let's hurry to the edge of the apparition wards. You can side-along me once we get there."
She nodded her head blankly, and sprinted out the doors, Draco hot her heels.
Once they bounded past the gate, a tingle ran through their bodies signaling the end of the wards. As if on cue they turned toward each other simultaneously, both reaching for the other's hand, fear glinting in their eyes. Without a second hesitation, Hermione twisted pulling them both toward the safe house.
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Lucius Malfoy was growing rather irritated with the lack of information being offered to him. It seemed that no one was willing to be 'coerced' out of a few details by the Ex-Death Eater. After leaving the Department of Child Services in a well-composed humph, Lucius decided to risk a bit more. The fact that no one seemed to know about this child, or at the very least be unwilling to present the information to specifically him, brought upon the conclusion that the girl was very important. Lucius had grown used to knowing every little happenstance at the Ministry, but after his second trial, he was treated as if he was a pesky stray kneazle. "Let them think I can be easily shooed away," he thought with destain. "I will find out one way or another."
His thoughts were answered by two aurors he passed his hidden corner on the second floor.
"Why is the Minister so concerned with a five year old? When I joined I didn't think babysitting was a part of the job," said the first auror to his partner. The man was tall with a wide frame, smooth, dark skin, and piercing gold eyes. He could not have been out of Hogwarts a few months. Such naïvety could be used for Lucius' advantage.
His partner chuckled. The other man was about Lucius' height, but rather than being pale as snow, he looked as if he spent most of his days beachside. His wrinkles were prominent despite his supposed youth, and his chest was broad, probably from hours of swimming. "I don't think a safe house is usually a part of the normal plan parents give you when they leave though," the auror grinned.
Lucius kept his distance and began silently trailing after the two, hoping to catch where the girl was located. He knew that the likelihood that the aurors would be daft enough to reveal such an important detail was slim, but there was a good chance they would think about it, and years exiled to his home gave Lucius plenty of time to learn legilimency. With a flick of his wrist and a whispered 'Legilimens', he was inside the mind of the first auror. He had limited practice with Legilimency thanks to his wand being monitored, but now that he had Narcissa's wand, courtesy of the wicked woman herself, he could cast freely and hope that the few times he managed to sneak her wand and practice would pay off.
Lucius made sure to limit his thoughts and stay very quiet, merely observing the thoughts as they ebbed and flowed through the auror's mind. Why hasn't Potter told us about the case? No one seems to know anything about this little girl or why she needs heavy protection. Thomas asked around, and he thinks it's the same girl that was apprehended a few weeks ago. The one Amy said looked just like Draco Malfoy.
Lucius slithered out of the man's mind as his own thoughts began to boil. The very thought of his own son breeding with a mudblood was enough to have Lucius seething. No wonder Hermione Granger was protecting the little beast. The question at the forefront of his mind, however, was the mother's identity. Narcissa's story came to mind, and upon reflection, the mother must be whomever the Granger girl was arguing with. Now, all he had to do was rid his family of the monstrosity of a child and keep the mother quiet. Every Malfoy had extensive schooling of Wizarding law, particularly the less well known loopholes built by their ancestors. He knew that he had control over the child's fate. But, an attack on the child would render Narcissa and himself public targets, justified and legal or not, he did not want to put Narcissa in danger. Silencing the mother was needed. He could get his son to understand that the child was an atrocity to their family line, and Draco would eventually forget the blemish. The rest of Wizarding society would never need to know about his family's blunder. After eliminating the child and the mother, all Lucius had to fret over was Hermione Granger.
Hermione Granger was a perpetual thorn in his side. The mudblood witch would surely run to her sidekicks and find some way to have Lucius arrested with her fondness for poking her nose in everyone's business. Granger would have set up a safe house for the girl, so all Lucius needed to do was get Hermione to 'meet' the girl in the safe house long enough to not be able to persecute him. A memory charm can be preformed after the fact.
Still disillusioned and following the two aurors, Lucius found himself in front of the floo gates in the main chamber of the Ministry. "Little Wings," the two called as they stepped through the fiery green flames.
Lucius masked his devious smirk that was threatening to take over his features, and threw floo powder in the fire, exclaiming 'Little Wings' with triumph.
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Hermione was pacing the small drawing room of the safe house, nearly wearing tracks into the dark wood floors. The cottage Hermione and Draco were holed up in was nestled into a dense patch of trees in the valley of Nidderdale, it was rather unassuming from the outside with a worn grey slate roof and chipped stone walls with vines crawling up the sides. The inside was just as plain. The furniture looked to have been donated from the home of a old widow who was quite find of roses. Decorations were sparse, but enough to make the residence feel like a guest home rather than a frilly prison.
Draco watched from the stiff love seat as Hermione wore holes in the floor, his own thoughts racing. Who is threatening my daughter? What if father finds out? Where is her mother? I hate sitting here useless. His restlessness grew minute by minute though he sat stiff as a statue. After twenty minutes of silence except for Hermione's shuffling, Draco snapped, "Can you stop?!"
Hermione looked at him bewildered as if she forgot he was in the same room with her. "Oh," she squeaked, momentarily pulled out of her worry. "Sorry," she said softly, and lowered herself beside him. They sat in mutual, uncomfortable silence for a time. Neither knew how long they had been there, though it would be simple to check, but after what must have been half an hour of waiting, Draco huffed and got up.
"She should have gotten here by now. What is going on?" he groaned, uneasiness lacing his every syllable.
Hermione could feel his anxiety as well as her own, so she decided that waiting was not an option. "Expecto Patronum!" When her otter slid out of her wand, he began to slip over to play with Draco, but Hermione commanded its attention. "Kingsley. Where is Rose? She has not made it. We are worrying."
The happy otter skipped out of the door and disappeared. A brief stillness fell over the couple before Kingsley's lynx barreled into the room and opened its mouth. "Malfoy Manor" was all the silvery animal said in the Minister's baritone voice before dissolving into the air.
The two words induced panic upon the pair, they turned to each other nearly simultaneously, fear pooling in their eyes.
"I will apparate to the barrier and go to the gates. You can apparate directly in. Sweep the most common areas, then let me in. We are not going to lose her," Hermione attempted to say resolutely, but worry cracked through her words. All Draco could do was nod at her command and twist on the spot, cracking out of existence.
Hermione took a deep breath before following suit, praying little Rosalinda was alright.
/Thank you so much for keeping up with this story. I know it has been a while since the last update, but I got married! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review with comments and criticisms. Have a fabulous week and be safe!/
