Chapter 21

Hermione had grown restless during her two weeks of bedrest. Not even literature, nor Scorpius, could keep her still. Draco had told Scorpius that Hermione was "delicate" and needed to be taken care of – but unfortunately, Hermione had overheard that word choice, and needless to say, Draco spent many an hour grovelling at Hermione's feet convincing her that no, he didn't think she was "delicate," more that her situation made her more prone to injury. Finally, Hermione had acquiesced, but now, she'd found another activity to busy herself with.

Hermione and Blaise had taken to spending hours in the living room, labelling maps with pins and flags to identify where the latest trace of dark magic had gone – even after the death of Rabastan, unexplained deaths and disappearances were still occurring, albeit with decreased frequency.

Though Draco wasn't exactly pleased with the arrangement, he couldn't complain, as he knew no salacious happenings would occur between the two. Plus, it gave him and Harry unfettered time to disappear in their search for this "Andrew Winchester."

It appeared that said man had taken leave of Radlett three years prior, and taken with him any trace of where he'd gone. Harry was convinced that he'd probably set up shop as a barrister elsewhere, though, since it was his profession, and one he was very good at, if what Hermione had to say counted for anything.

Finally, after a few weeks of searching, Harry found a clue. An Andrew Chester located in Leeds, who'd set up shop as a barrister two years ago. It seems that they might be paying this man a visit.

Draco stood with Harry outside the nondescript wooden door, with a golden plaque that read "A. Chester, Barrister". Draco raised his hand to rap sharply on the door thrice, and they were greeted with a confident, "come in."

Draco and Harry entered the office.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today, Misters…ah… Harold James and Dean Abraxas?" Andrew lowered his glasses from the bridge of his nose and eyed the two men.

"We're here to settle some…disputes following the death of my sister," offered Harold.

"Did she not leave a will?"

"No, she didn't, as it was a sudden and unexpected injury. I am her husband," said Dean.

"We can't come to agreement over how the properties should be divided, since as her brother, I should have right to her –"

"As her husband," emphasised Dean, "I believe I have ultimate jurisdiction."

The duo looked towards Andrew. "What say you, Mr. Chester?" asked Harold.

"Well, it depends, you see," said Andrew, before launching into a long winded-explanation of the legal processes behind transference of property.

"That's very well, Mr. Winchester," said Draco nonchalantly, eyeing him for any response. He received none. "I'm just convinced that it's what my wife, Hermione, would want." Still no response.

Draco exchanged looks with Harry. Was this the right man?

"It's Mr. Chester, sir. I don't know where you got the name Winchester from, Mr. Abraxas." Andrew felt slightly nervous, though he couldn't place why. It was almost as if there was something sinister about this Mr. Abraxas, but he didn't know why for the life of him.

"Tell me, Andrew," Harry leaned in. "Does the name Hermione mean anything to you?"

"What do you mean, sir? I only know of Hermione in Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. I can't figure out what you're getting at."

Suddenly, Andrew felt a throbbing pain in his temples, similar to the migraine's he'd begun experiencing a few years past. The room darkened and he could no longer see. Soon though, the spell passed.

"I do apologise, sirs. I get the worst sort of migraines every now and then, and no sort of medicine seems to help." Andrew felt quite flushed and very out of it. He saw Mr. James and Mr. Abraxas exchange undecipherable looks.

"Thank you for your services today, Mr. Chester. I think we'll be looking for assistance elsewhere." And with that, Dean and Harold walked out of the room, leaving Andrew quite befuddled.

"Why did you leave so soon, Draco?" hissed Harry as soon as they'd rounded the corner. Harry had quickly cast a Muffliato, but still was cautious.

"It's the right man – or, at least, it once was." Draco strode forward out of the building. "It seems that this Mr. Andrew Chester at one point in time was Mr. Andrew Winchester, but it seems the handiwork of a certain woman of ours changed that rather permanently for him."

Harry's eyes widened as realisation dawned upon him. "Obliviate," he breathed. "Hermione was very skilled at that spell."

"I suppose I can't Avada Kedavra him, then," muttered Draco. "But I think he'll find a special sort of surprise waiting for him," he said with a devious smile.

"What did you do?" asked Harry exasperatedly.

"Oh, only gave him a case of genital warts and erectile dysfunction – and osteoporosis."

"Why osteoporosis?"

"His bones are brittle enough that if he were to ever lay a hand on another woman again, the impact alone would cause him to break a bone, or at the very least, fracture it. Quite amusing, really, how this man can so easily be reduced to weakness."

Harry now knew that Draco Malfoy was a Slytherin through and through.

Harry found Draco later in the evening, nursing a flask of whiskey.

"How are you mate?" Harry asked, sitting on a chair in Draco's study. Draco make move to pour him a glass, but Harry shook his head no.

Draco's sigh broke the silence. "Do you know why I took so long in Andrew's head? I found Hermione's wall – it's extremely strong, you know. But the thing with memory charms is that a skilled Occulumens can find his way inside without disturbing the inhabitant." Draco swirled his drink, as if he were casually talking about the weather. He stopped.

"I saw… unimaginable evils. Things nearly as horrendous as what I viewed during Voldemort's stay here." Draco shuddered at the thoughts of the rapes and tortures that had occurred. "More than once, Andrew had laid a hand on Hermione. That we all know. But… this man… this foul excuse for a human being, had forced himself onto Hermione." Each cry that Hermione emitted cut him to the core. "I couldn't see much of what came after, since I presume that Andrew blacked out or something. His memory of that event ended there."

The room was silent as both Harry and Draco pondered the information.

"I can't help but feel there is more that I'm missing," mumbled Draco as he stared into the amber-coloured liquid.

A/N: We had prom this weekend and I'm still recovering omg. I apologise if the issue seems to have had to simple of a resolution - I was grappling with this for much too long and decided to post it anyways. If I ever decide to edit the whole thing (lol), I'll probably fix this issue. I'm late on my resolution by 37 minutes but I hope you'll forgive me! I will continue trying to write more since school is over in 20 days! (much too long, quite honestly).