Hermione was lying facedown on her new bed when she heard Narcissa yell from below. She was not quite yet crying but close to it. This was miserable; her parents were gone, she was separated from everyone she loved and not only that, she was staying with the person she hated most in the world. There was no contest. She hated Draco more than anyone in the world, even Voldemort. She knew this was horrible of her but she had never actually confronted Voldemort; she had fought with Draco several times and her hatred for him was far more pronounced. And she was staying not only with him but with a man who she believed wanted her dead.

The knock on her door roused Hermione from her thoughts. She jumped up quickly, only stopping to make sure there were no tears stains on her face and answered it to find Juliet bouncing from foot to foot.

"Hey. Didn't know if you heard but its dinner time," she said.

"I heard—"

"—shh!" Juliet hissed suddenly. She all but shoved Hermione back into her room, Juliet following her. For a second the two hid behind the partially open door in silence. Juliet didn't move until Draco's door opened and he walked right by them, completely oblivious. Once he was past them Juliet ran out from her hiding spot.

"Malfoy Death Attack!" she screamed, tackling Draco as she did so. He barely had time to yell out "holy shit!" before he rolled to the ground. It looked like the two were headed down the stairwell but Draco suddenly reached out his hand and wrapped it around the banister. Juliet had already jumped off of him, leaving her cousin hanging down the stairwell with his hand holding him up.

"Juliet!" he screamed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You're reflexes are good, you weren't gonna hurt yourself," she said. "Stop being a drama queen. Do you want help?" she asked, going forward to offer him a hand. With a speed that impressed Hermione he swung himself up and back to his feet, giving Juliet the same disgusted glare he often gave Hermione.

"Leave me alone," he snapped. "I'm not in the mood for you shit."

"Emo," Juliet sang as he took off down the stairs. It wasn't until he was gone that Hermione came out from her room. Juliet flashed a smile, confirming Hermione's idea that this girl was absolutely insane. "Come, it's dinnertime."

Hermione followed Juliet in silence. Considering how grand the house was, Hermione was surprised when she was led into a very small dining room that only held five chairs. Draco and Lucius were already sitting when Hermione and Juliet entered. Juliet motioned for Hermione to sit next to her, directly across from Draco. To his credit, he only gave Hermione a sharp glare before turning his attention back to his father. Lucius, for his part, had his feet propped on the table as he leaned backwards to attempt to see into the kitchen.

"I can't tell," he said.

"That's not a good sign," Juliet said. "Can you smell it?"

"No. That's even worse," Lucius sighed. "Who's going to try it first?"

"No!"

"No!"

"No-damnit." Draco was the last of the three Malfoys to shout no and slammed his fist onto the table in a manner strongly resembling a punished five year old.

"Mature," Juliet laughed.

"Why is Draco banging his fist on the table?" asked Narcissa as she swept into the room. She had a large bowl of pasta in her hands, which she set on the table with a flourish. "Never mind, I don't care."

Hermione, even after the time she had spent at the Burrow, was still unused to the wizarding world. That was why when bowls, knifes and forks came flying out of the kitchen she almost yelled, especially when a bowl landed in front of her.

"Do you like pasta, love?"

Hermione had been so distracted by the flying silverware that she hadn't noticed Narcissa talking to her. When she did look at the Malfoy wife she found an infectious and loving smile staring down at her.

"Yes," she said quietly. She had just become aware that all of the Malfoys were staring at her and she could feel herself blushing under their gaze.

"Oh, Jesus Hell," muttered Lucius suddenly. From one of his pockets he pulled out Juliet's phone, which was playing a song very loudly. "Juliet, someone is texting you."

"Oh god, who?" she asked eagerly, leaning across the table for the phone. Lucius easily moved it out of her grasp before she could touch it.

"Miranda," he read. "Who the hell is Miranda?"

"My best friend. Can I have it?" she pleaded.

"No," answered Narcissa. She was scooping out pasta as she spoke, putting generous amounts on everyone's plates. "You're not allowed to have your phone."

"It's important!" Juliet argued.

"Doubt it," snorted Draco.

"Shut up. Please," she begged. Draco was only important enough to get a few seconds of her attention before she turned back to Narcissa.

"No. What do people want for drinks?" asked Narcissa as she made her way back to the kitchen. As soon as the three Malfoys had yelled their demands and Narcissa was out of earshot Juliet turned to Lucius.

"Please?" It seemed that Juliet's wide black eyes had no effect on Narcissa but on Lucius they worked; he immediately handed the phone over. "Thank you."

"Hermione, did you—Juliet, give me the phone!" Juliet had no more time than to open the text then Narcissa had walked back in and seen her niece. "Now!"

"Fine." With a delicate pout, Juliet handed the phone over while Narcissa began to set drinks on the table. "Hermione, did you want anything?"

"No, thank you," she muttered. After Narcissa sat down there was a minute or so of awkward silence until Narcissa, slipping into a manner embedded in her head as a child, politely attempted a conversation.

"Hermione dear, what do you usually do during the summers?" she asked.

"Well, I usually just stay at home," she answered. All four Malfoys were staring at her with faces varying from interest and kindness to a condescending boredom. "Though for the last week or so I stay with the Weasleys."

"How the hell do they fit more people in that house?" laughed Lucius. "Damn thing looks like it's about to fall apart."

"When where you are the Burrow?" asked Hermione automatically.

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" Narcissa's tone was so sweet and sympathetic that it was almost syrupy but there was just enough sincerity in it to make it less nauseating. "We work for the Order of the Phoenix. Some of our closest friends are the Weasleys. Before the Potters died they were our closet friends."

"What about me?"

"Sev, if you don't start knocking I'll friggen kill you!" screamed Lucius. Rather than being surprised that the Potions teacher had simply walked into the house and intruding on the conversation, he seemed simply annoyed.

"You don't count anymore," Narcissa waved off. "Want some pasta?"

"Did you make it?" he asked. When Narcissa nodded he shook his head. "I've just avoided death, I would rather not tempt Fate twice today."

"Are you serious?" asked Lucius. While he still had that lax tone at discussing his friend's possible near death, Narcissa's eyes had gone wide and the three children leaned forward in their seats.

"Unless I have suddenly developed a sense of humor I am unaware of yes," he answered. "Unfortunately, I have worse news."

"That you lived?" Lucius snorted but even he was looking at Snape with concern.

"There are orders being placed to rebuild the fortress."

There was a silence after this and that disturbed Hermione more than what Snape had said. She had no idea what the fortress was and judging by the blank look Juliet and Draco shared, neither did they. Lucius however stared at Snape like he had been informed Jesus had returned to earth while Narcissa looked on the verge of tears.

"Already?" she finally choked out. "Not so soon."

"He wants it ready by the start of the Hogwarts year," Snape said promptly, crushing all hope that had rested in Narcissa's voice. "Which means—"

"—he's expecting enough followers to need it soon," finished Lucius. "Shit."

"No!" cried Narcissa. "We burned it! I was there, we burned it down!"

"And he's rebuilding it," Snape said. "I'm going to tell the others tonight."

"Does anyone else know?" asked Lucius.

"No. I believe I'm the only one," Snape answered. "Which means he's not confident enough to inform the others yet."

"You're talking about Voldemort, right?" asked Juliet suddenly. "What's the fortress?"

"Why don't you three go upstairs?" suggested Narcissa tensely. The suggestive words were backed up by a command in her voice but no one moved.

"The fortress was Voldemort's lair," Snape answered after a silence. "The three of us burned it down after he fell but he wants it rebuilt."

"Sev!" roared Lucius. It was the first time Hermione had seen actual anger in Lucius and it was the most disturbing thing she had seen in her time there. "My house, my rules!"

"They have a right to know," shrugged Snape. "They asked."
"My house, my rules," repeated Lucius. "The first rule is still to keep my children away from that world."

"They live in that world now," Snape muttered.

"Upstairs, now!"

Narcissa addressed the three teens before Lucius could snap something to Snape again. This time, there was no argument.

Hermione was about to go back to her room when Juliet grabbed her hand and pulled her into Draco's room. Honestly, she shouldn't have been surprised what she saw when the lights turned on and the door was shut. The room was the only colors she had even seen Draco wear; silver and black. Silver walls emphasized just how large the room was while the black curtains and huge black bed emphasized how little furniture there was. A bed in the center, a large dresser to one side, a desk to another and a window taking up an entire wall were the only things in the room. Excluding Draco himself, lying on his back when he heard the door shut.

"I have no idea," he said immediately. He was talking to Juliet, who had already hopped onto the bed to speak. "I've never heard them say anything about it."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Juliet muttered. "They never say anything if they can help it. Any thoughts?"
When Juliet turned to Hermione she could say nothing. Not only did she have no idea what the hell was going on but her eyes had been drawn to the four or five books scattered across Draco's bed. One of them was a notebook but she also saw Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Macbeth.

"I'm sorry what?" Hermione finally asked.

"About the fortress," explained the Malfoy girl. "Here, come sit."

After Draco made no protest, Hermione sat on the bed tentatively. She was surprised at how incredibly soft it was. Malfoy was not a soft person and she would not have expected such comfort from him.

"Whenever something like that happens Draco and I come up here to analyze. They try not to tell us jack shit if they can help it so we're left to ourselves," Juliet explained. "The fortress is new, but it doesn't surprise me. I'd never really thought about where Voldemort lived."

"Hell," answered Draco immediately. As he was lying down he could not see Hermione on his bed but he had felt the dip in the mattress when another body was added and felt his own tense up.

"Not yet," Juliet snapped back with a smile. "If Voldemort's building the fortress—why are you looking at me like that?"Juliet had the odd ability to interrupt her own sentence, now staring at Hermione.

"You used his name," Hermione pointed out. "Only Harry and Dumbledore do that."

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," Draco said lazily. Hermione's jaw actually fell open; had she ever said that in front of him.

"Everything about a villain is based on their image," Juliet agreed. "Same for the hero. No one is going to be afraid of Tom Riddle. Likewise, no one is going to trust Draco Malfoy."

"Was I just called the villain?" Draco asked but he did not seem to care.

"No. But you're not the hero," Juliet pointed out. "No offense, dear cousin but you've got to much dark in you to be a hero."

"And thus I clothe my naked villainy/With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ/
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil," Draco sighed.

"If you're quoting Shakespeare, I'm outta here," Juliet said. "Hermione, you can come with me. I just wanted to see if you had anything to add."

"I think I'm going to go back to my own room," Hermione said, following Juliet's example of getting up and walking towards the door. "Malfoy?" she said, just before leaving. She ignored how Juliet stopped to turn around and listen and how Draco fixed her with that same icy stare he always had. "Richard III is not the best to use when pointing out that you're not the villain." She could never resist proving him wrong and never would.

"He wasn't the villain," Draco argued. She was surprised to find that he actually sat up and the ice in his eyes ad melting. "He was determined but not pure evil. He felt regret."

"O coward conscious, how thou dost afflict me?" laughed Hermione. "Hardly regret."

"Hardly or not, showing any means he's not the villain. Any emotion cancels out the act of evil," Draco pointed out.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you're definition of evil is different from mine," Hermione said. With that she left, leaving Draco not only pissed at her parting comment but also confused and Juliet standing in the hallway, try to piece together the only Shakespeare piece she had ever learned.

Two households both alike in dignity…..

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean

From forth the loins of these two foes

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.

We're gonna need to change that line, Juliet told herself before slipping back to her room.