"DRACO MALFOY: A FREED MAN"
by Rita Skeeter
How does a Death Eater possibly redeem himself? In the wake of the Second Wizarding War, Draco Malfoy was asked this exact question. After over a year in Azkaban, awaiting trial like the other captured Death Eaters, Draco Malfoy's trial began this past Wednesday August 25, ending two days later.
It is unknown what the conditions of his release are. Is he to be kept under house arrest? Did he have to provide valuable information to the Wizengamot on other Death Eaters? Were his family assets seized in war reparations?
Stick with this reporter, and you will know all soon enough.
Hermione rolled her eyes and bit into her toast. She had skimmed the beginning of the article a moment before and was just now re-reading it. She had jumped through it, landing on things like "Harry Potter and war heroine Hermione Granger testifying on his behalf."
She was quite surprised at how factual the article was, given its author. The picture they chose of Draco was from after the trial she assumed, because his hair had been given a wash. It was almost as if he had stood for a photoshoot.
Normally, any photo or article that involved Draco Malfoy was stuck to her ceiling in the morning, but Ginny usually slept quite late on the weekends. She had been recruited for the Holyhead Harpies on their second string and had practice early mornings Monday through Friday, so she took her rest when she could.
Hermione had not at all expected there to be news a day after the trial, so when she had grabbed the Prophet to tuck into her bag, she had spent several precious minutes scanning. Hermione checked the clock. She was almost late for her weekend job at Cornerstone Bookshop, a quaint little store in Diagon Alley. She worked from ten in the morning until six in the evening on Saturdays and Sundays, a part of her life that Harry, Ron, and Ginny didn't quite understand.
"Why do you want to work on the weekends?" Ron had asked when he was visiting for Harry's birthday in July. "When will you sleep or have a social life?"
"Not all of us need to sleep until two in the afternoon, Ronald," was her response.
Besides, Hermione soon realized upon graduating Hogwarts that she had no social life. The first months of living with Ginny felt just like the dorms, but she slowly felt out of place at times when Harry would join them. She found that she couldn't just replace one Weasley with another. She'd always felt left out of Ron and Harry's dynamic, but she knew she was necessary, wanted. There were always going to be times in Ginny and Harry's relationship where Hermione was not necessary.
By mid-June she had applied for a few positions to keep her busy on the weekends, seeing as she had no homework to do on Saturday nights anymore. Morty, the owner of Cornerstone Books, interviewed her like a normal human, instead of the "Golden Girl," so she was immediately endeared to him.
Hermione folded up the newspaper, grabbed her jacket and headed out the door to the local apparition point. She could re-read while the shop was slow, which it usually was.
She apparated into Diagon Alley near Florean Fortescue's at 9:25AM on the dot, like she did every Saturday. A bulb went off to her right, like it did every Saturday. A voice called "Miss Granger! Over here! What are you doing this weekend?" like it did every Saturday.
Hermione had turned and smiled and responded for the first month, thinking it rather odd that the answer "Oh, nothing really. Just working and reading" was worth a follow up interview the next weekend. In August she'd stopped responding, and just turned and smiled. Now she did not even turn.
She passed the familiar store fronts and came to the corner of Diagon Alley and Horizont Alley. She released the enchantments that Morty had placed the previous evening and opened up. It was a tiny store, but thousands of books were crammed in. It didn't get nearly as busy as Flourish and Blotts, but Hermione liked the quiet. She had half an hour of organizing, bookkeeping, and sorting before the first customers arrived.
Hermione opened the Prophet on the counter and started pulling the shop's financial ledger out from the cabinet below. She placed the most recent letter from Australia next to the paper, intending to respond to her "penpal" Monica Wilkins today. Hopefully she could squeeze in how much she would love a visit to Australia, and maybe she could see them while she was there, without sounding too forced.
Hermione combed through the article several times, looking for more information. Was he already released? Would he be staying at the Manor with Narcissa? Any news of Lucius?
The Malfoys and other accused Death Eaters had been rounded up last summer about a month after the Final Battle. Once the Ministry had gotten its legs and Kingsley had been appointed as Minister, the hunt began. All suspected Death Eaters were tossed into Azkaban to await trial. Harry, Ron and Hermione had all given a full week's long testimony to the Wizengamot last summer to help identify and rank the accused in order of most dangerous. Harry had fought for Narcissa Malfoy to be given trial immediately, as he could provide evidence of her innocence and aid during the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione found his vehemence for Narcissa's safety strange, but she guessed she couldn't really comment on how odd it was to move heaven and earth to save a Malfoy.
Unfortunately, the Wizengamot members with an axe to grind against the Malfoy family decided to take Narcissa Malfoy's release as a defeat, and quickly brought Lucius Malfoy to trial. He was sentenced for twenty years, but was already negotiating for his time to be cut in half. Draco on the other hand had awaited trial for over a year, as a punishment. Many of the Wizengamot had worked closely with Dumbledore while he was Chief Warlock, and felt that Draco should be responsible for his actions.
Hermione jumped when the front door opened for the first customer at five minutes past ten. The shop remained quiet throughout the morning until around midday when Ginny flew into Cornerstone like a tornado.
"Ya know, I leave articles for you every morning," she yelled from the doorway, hands on her hips. Hermione winced at the sound.
"Yes?" Hermione said, at a normal level of voice.
Ginny must have realized how inappropriate her volume was, because she looked around and ran up the two steps to the main landing. She flattened her hands on the counter in front of Hermione.
"I leave articles for you every morning. Interesting articles. And then today the most interesting article in the past few months has disappeared by the time I wake up."
Hermione smiled and tossed the paper to Ginny.
"Oh, I've already seen it!" She shoved the paper back towards Hermione. "I heard all about it at Harry's."
"Well, I'm sorry, Ginny." Hermione put the financial ledger away. "I thought you might have already read it."
"If I'd seen it, it would have been floating above your head on the ceiling for when you woke up. Because that's the kind of friend I am."
Hermione laughed. Ginny loved to play the fiery redhead even when she wasn't actually angry. Harry had a hard time telling the moments apart.
"Yes, you are an excellent friend, Ginny."
"And because I'm such an excellent friend, I raced down here to tell you what the paper didn't."
Hermione's hands stopped flipping through the mail. Ginny had a smug look on her face.
"Yes?" Hermione said. She was very still.
"Harry had a Floo call this morning." Ginny smiled and lowered her voice. "Malfoy goes to work for the Ministry in two weeks."
Hermione's eyes widened. She stepped into Ginny and looked at the stacks to the left to see if there were any eavesdropping customers.
"As what? What department?"
"As an informant. In the Auror Department."
"An informant?" Hermione's eyebrows were at her hairline. "You mean-?"
"This is not public knowledge, Granger," Ginny said. "But apparently, it was his idea." Ginny grabbed a mint from the bowl on the counter and began unwrapping it. "Right before they went to lunch yesterday, Draco asked to take the floor and suggested that he be released on a probation, claiming that he could be 'essential' in assisting the Auror Department round up the remaining Death Eaters and locating dark objects, hidden passageways, all of that."
Hermione just stared at her. Ginny smirked back.
"You did it, Hermione."
Hermione straightened.
"I-I did nothing," she said. "It sounds like he negotiated his case perfectly fine – "
"Yes, but after you came in on your white unicorn. The 'Golden Girl' must be listened to!" Ginny pounded her fist on the counter with theatrics that reminded her of a pair of twin redheads.
Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed several slips of reserved requests for her to pull off the shelves and file behind the counter. She headed to the small alcove of shelves to the left of the entrance and Ginny followed.
"So," Ginny said. "You didn't tell me how it went yesterday at the trial. Do you think he'll be sending you a thank you card or will he be dropping by in person?"
"Neither, I'm sure." Hermione pulled a tome off the bottom shelf and heaved it into her arms. "He was not at all thrilled to see me."
"It must be difficult to see you again, I'm sure." Ginny sang. Hermione knew what was coming next. "After all the last time he saw you was… you know…"
Ginny always played this game. She let her sentences fade away when talking about Draco so that Hermione could correct her or fill in the gaps. It was her way of digging for information.
"The last time he saw me was probably the Final Battle, Ginny," Hermione said. She walked a circle around Ginny to get to the stacks behind her.
"Oh, right, right," Ginny said. "But then before that was the… you know…."
"The Room of Requirement battle, you mean?" Hermione smirked at her, not playing her game.
"Of course. But I'm talking about the last meaningful conversation you had. Which was…"
"Oh that meaningful conversation. You must mean second year on the Quidditch pitch when he called me a Mudblood," Hermione said with a neutral face. She summoned the bookcase ladder.
"Yes, as sentimental as that time was, I'm sure there were meaningful conversations after that, like…"
"When I slapped him in third year?"
"Right, and then…?"
"When he spread lies about me and Harry for Rita Skeeter to publish?"
"Foreplay." Ginny waved her hand away. Hermione chuckled and began climbing the ladder to get to the top shelf. Ginny continued, "I'm talking about that meaningful conversation you had a little later, maybe sixth year? When was it?"
"You must mean the conversation we had about how to fix a vanishing cabinet, yes?" Hermione smiled down at her from the second rung. Ginny frowned up at her. "We haven't had a meaningful conversation, Gin."
"Then maybe I'm getting it confused with… you know…"
"When he let Death Eaters into the castle?" Hermione realized that she wasn't entirely sure they were alone in the shop, and she should probably keep her voice to a minimum level while playing this game. She looked down to see Ginny scrunching her face at her.
"Merlin, Granger. Why do you love him?" Ginny stopped playing for a moment and shook her head. Hermione's blood pounded at the "L" word. Ginny continued, "Alright, so maybe I'm trying to remember that one story you told me… you know…"
"And which story is that Ginny?" Hermione reached the top shelf and found the place empty where the book should be. She frowned.
"The story about… let's see… the last clandestine meeting you had?"
Hermione laughed. "Oh, the clandestine meeting. Of course." Hermione stepped down one rung to see if the book was misplaced on the shelf below.
"You know, one of the many steamy nights between the two of you," Ginny said from the ground.
"None of those are coming to mind, really. Can you be more specific, Gin?"
"Maybe I'm thinking of the last time he kissed you? When was that again?"
The book wasn't misplaced there either. It wasn't on yesterday's ledger, so she knew it was still in the shop. Hermione placed her hands on her hips and searched the rows. She thought maybe it had a grey spine.
"Oh, the last time he kissed me. Let me conjure that memory. Please hold." Hermione responded, eyes not leaving the stacks.
"Or was it the first time he kissed you? Maybe that's the story I'm thinking of…"
Hermione looked down at Ginny. Her face was bright and open, waiting. Somehow Hermione had missed the moment a few questions back when Ginny had stopped teasing and started actually asking her. She was honestly looking for an answer to one of her idiotic questions. How strange that she assumed…
"Ginny," Hermione said. She descended a few rungs of the ladder. "He doesn't…. I mean," Hermione cleared her throat. "We didn't have a relationship. There were no clandestine meetings. I thought you knew."
Ginny searched her eyes. "And there was no snogging after classes either, then?"
"There was no snogging, period." Hermione stepped off the ladder. "We didn't… he didn't have any sort of feelings for me.
"You don't necessarily need to have feelings for someone to toss them into a broom closet after hours and snog them senseless." Ginny wiggled her brows.
"Snogging in a broom closet? Seriously, Ginny. Who does that?"
Ginny laughed. "Hermione! Everyone did!"
Hermione blushed. She felt very stupid, which was her least favorite feeling in the world. "Well, not everyone, I guess." Hermione turned away from her to move the ladder down to another column to look for that book.
"Hermione, I'm sorry." Ginny followed her. "I didn't mean to laugh at you."
"You know very well that no one has ever shoved me into a broom closet." Hermione stabilized the ladder. Ginny was the only person Hermione ever got to talk about relationships and sex with. Or, more accurately, her lack of both.
"Not even Draco Malfoy." Ginny said, almost asking.
"Not even Draco Malfoy." Hermione confirmed. She started climbing. "I'm sorry I can't give you more interesting information."
"I just wish I could understand why you like him." Ginny's voice seemed so small from the ground.
Hermione spotted a grey spine several columns away, but she couldn't even revel in that victory.
"Me too," she said.
It did seem rather silly when Ginny laid it out for her. They had never kissed or made eyes at each other, or even had a conversation that didn't end in wand work. He had never given her any reason to believe he may feel the same way, but still she felt some way for him. And there was no way he could have known that.
There were little moments that she could cling to, moments she could smile at or moments that could keep her up at night. There was the way the light streaming from the window in McGonagall's classroom would hit him just right for seven minutes or so during the spring of their fifth year. From her position a row behind and several over, she was able to watch and wait for it. He would always get warm in that class too, being so close to the window, so she sometimes got to watch him shed his outer robes during class. Thankfully McGonagall trusted that she was always paying close attention and never asked her to repeat the lesson during those seven minutes.
There was the Yule Ball in Fourth Year when she had practiced several dances to be on the arm of a Tri-Wizard Tournament Champion, only to realize that Viktor couldn't lead her around the room any better than she could remember the steps. During the French Waltz, a clear homage to their guests from Beauxbatons, the partners would split and turn to the couple on either side of them to bow and curtsey, turning around them before returning to their original partner. Hermione had never practiced with other dancers, so when she turned to find herself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy when the partners split, she stopped breathing. Draco pursed his lips at her, but then bowed first, as custom in the dance. She watched his back straighten and the lines of his body remain taut as he returned to standing tall. She could feel his eyes on her as she bowed her head and then tucked her right leg behind her, praying not to fall over. As she straightened, she found him clenching his jaw at her, no doubt ready to comment on her poor balance. Instead he brought his right hand up to chest-height, palm facing her, and waited for her palm to meet his. She brought her hand up to his but refrained from touching him, afraid of what he might do. They kept about an inch between their hands as they stepped around each other in a circle. He held her eyes until the very last moment before Viktor was in front of her again, arms open for the next portion of the dance. She didn't see him again that night, but Lavender told her later that he and Pansy had left early.
And there was a moment that really shouldn't have been a moment after all, but Hermione really couldn't judge herself when hormones were involved, now could she? She was standing in Umbridge's office, waiting for Harry to finish with the Floo. He was talking to Kreacher through the fire and Hermione was so distracted by trying to figure out if Kreacher was lying that she did not hear the office door open or the whispered "Expelliarmus!" from Umbridge's tiny mouth. As her wand flew out of her hand she drew a breath to warn Harry, turning to see Draco there as he clamped a hand over her mouth. He smirked at her in triumph as her eyes widened. He turned her around, keeping his hand over her mouth as her back landed against his front. She watched as Umbridge entered the room with the other Inquisitorial Squad members towing her friends. She tried to stomp the floor, kick the wall, anything so Harry wouldn't be dragged out of the fire by Umbridge's tiny hands, but then Draco's arm wrapped around her waist, fingers fanning over her hip bone, pulling her back to him. She felt electrified and terrified. He was so warm and firm behind her and his hand was so intimately placed. He had no idea, of course, that her heartbeat wasn't racing out of fear. Once Harry was pulled out of the fire, his wand flew through the air. Draco released her, shoved her into Milicent Bulstrode's arms, and caught Harry's wand before it hit the ground. Seeker reflexes. That was the extent of the moment, but it was enough to keep her awake some nights, dreaming and breathing.
Hermione took a breath and reached for the book with the grey spine, adding it to the pile of reserved requests.
"Are you back?"
Hermione turned to see Ginny staring at her. "Back?" she said.
"From the little trip you took?" Ginny smirked at her. Hermione chuckled and brought the books to the counter. Ginny stayed another half hour or so, but she dropped the subject of Draco Malfoy.