I don't own Harry Potter at all and never will and so make no profit except the knowledge that I'm bringing others little tidbits of joy.
AN: This is it for today, even if I am feverishly working on the next chapter. Suck it up. Oh, and it really is part five, so at least you find out what happened.
Draco followed Hermione out of the flat and onto the landing. She didn't look at him, didn't say a word. Just leaned over the railing, her head in her hands, and tried to calm down. Forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. Draco hung back, watching her carefully; and after some minutes of that, she turned and took a few steps down the staircase; then promptly sat down and buried her face against her drawn up legs. Draco hesitated, then walked down after her and settled in beside her. He put a hand on her shoulder and to his surprise, she turned her head and rubbed her cheek against it briefly before hiding her face again.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked after another minute had passed.
"No," she whispered. "I just need a minute."
He refrained from pointing out they'd already been out there at least ten; after all, he knew what she meant. And besides, he didn't want to break the mood. The intimacy of her gesture a moment ago was not lost on him and all the hopeful things it could mean were beating through his heart just then. So, he let her sit and mourn and think and kept his hand right where it was. And after another minute, when she gave a small sigh and sort of leaned towards him, he did the natural thing and lifted his hand to slide the arm it was attached to about her shoulders. She settled against his side without a word.
He almost felt like a normal wizard, in that moment.
There were soft sounds of conversation filtering from the open doorway; but Ginny's many spells on the apartment itself were holding; and so the actual level of their shouts came across as mere whispers.
He didn't really care what they were saying, anyhow. Zabini could go hang.
About five minutes later, however, Harry stepped from the apartment.
"Hermione?" he called and then turned and saw her sitting below, on the steps. He took in Draco's position with surprise, but didn't say a word about it. He had other things on his mind just then, after all. "Hermione," he said a little more softly.
Hermione turned her head as he spoke to her again and Draco discretely slipped his arm from her shoulders without a word.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Zabini's told us what he knows. Ginny wants you to come in while we decide what to do about it."
"You take him to the ministry," Hermione replied, shrugging. "Isn't that what's supposed to happen?"
"It's not as simple as that," Harry said, crouching down. "If I take him in, we have to be prepared for all the consequences of that. Believe me, I wish I could just throw him to them, but if I do, Draco and his father will be raked into it again, too. I thought you didn't want that. Not to mention all the rioting the news will cause. You know what these people are like, Hermione."
"But we didn't do anything," Draco protested. "My parents helped them!"
"Yes," Harry replied, "and at another time, all that would have meant was your pardon. But with the way the ministry is right now…it's hard to say. Someone could easily twist things around on you. I've seen it happen, Malfoy. Time and again. In fact, your best bet right now is to stick with Hermione and let me help you escape properly, this time."
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and turned to Draco, her eyes wide. He was staring at Harry like he'd grown two heads.
"What are you talking about?"
"That's my business now, Malfoy. I'm sick of the way the ministry is acting. I started helping wizards like you and your father escape, years ago."
Draco's eyes widened. He could add, he wasn't a fool.
"The reason you were there, in that office that day-"
"Yes," Harry said. "And I'm sorry it went so badly. So let me make it up to you now. Or, if you want to take your chances, we can go ahead and bring Zabini in." He fixed a serious look on Draco. "But there's no guarantee the ministry will pardon you. I told Hermione, and I'm telling you. They're bloodthirsty, and something like this will no doubt set them off again." He spread his hands. "Still, it's your decision and I'll stand by whatever you choose and do my best to help you, no matter what. Understand?"
Draco nodded and stood up. He didn't like any of it, but he understood- even if the weight of his voice being the deciding one rested upon him uneasily. Harry held out his hand and Draco eyed it for a minute, before finally taking it. They shook like equals and Draco gave a wry smile.
"Well, this is interesting."
"Isn't it," Harry replied, then turned to Hermione. "Everything sound fair?"
"Does Ginny know all this yet?" Hermione asked him pointedly as she stood and brushed off her pants.
"She'll have guessed at some of it, I'm sure. But come on, we'll have a sit down and sort it all-"
His words were cut off as the noise level issuing from the flat grew and Harry's face went pale.
"Merlin, I knew I shouldn't have left her in there alone-" He dashed back through the doorway and Hermione and Draco followed him quickly.
They found Zabini on the floor, crawling away from Ginny, who was merely standing over him, hands clenched into fists. She didn't appear to be doing anything to him, in fact, but as they neared her they could see her face was contorted with some combination of disbelief and grief, and she was trembling.
"Ginny? What is it?" Hermione asked her friend as Harry impeded Zabini's progress away from them with a spell.
"I…he…" she tried to speak, but a second later another howl of frustration left her lips.
Harry flipped Zabini around and crouched beside him. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Zabini cried.
"What did you say, then?" Draco asked, crossing his arms. Harry flicked his eyes up to the blond man and then back to Blaise.
"You heard him," he said. "Talk."
Zabini looked frightened a second longer before his fear mutated into a defensive sneer. He glared up at the two men.
"I told you, you won't like what I have to say."
"Try me," Harry responded, thrusting his wand up under the man's chin.
Blaise continued to watch them all, eyes darting between their expectant, angry faces. Finally he put one hand to the tip of Harry's wand and pushed it out of the way.
"At least stop pointing that thing at me," he said. "I'd rather say what I have to if I know I won't be murdered for it straight away."
"Fine," Harry responded, pocketing his wand and standing up. "But stop playing games."
"Funny you should bring up games, Potter. But it's wasn't me that was playing them, not back then," Blaise said softly, shaking his head. "I never would have said a word, if this witch here hadn't caught on, somehow. Merlin knows how she figured I knew something else-"
"I just don't like the way you look at me, Zabini," Ginny said quietly, finally finding her voice. "How could I not guess you knew something else, the way your eyes slide about the place like the fucking snake you are."
Zabini started to sneer at her, heard Harry clear his throat, and thought better of it. He looked away.
"I told you before, I was witness to some of the torture. I know what happened to you."
"That's nothing new," Hermione began. "We all know that, now-"
"You mistake me, Granger," Blaise said. "I mean, I know what happened to all of you. All three."
Hermione caught her breath and Draco put a hand to her shoulder again.
"Oh, I know you all tried to hush it up, but it was pretty fucking obvious to everyone, especially after what happened to her face," he said, jerking his head in Hermione's direction, while addressing the floor. "Weasley offed himself, didn't he. We knew it."
"Yes, and we know why, too," Harry snapped, losing his temper. "Do you have something more constructive to add, Zabini?"
"Not constructive, no," he said. "Not after this length of time, and what's already happened. But you want to know, so I'll tell you. Weasley wasn't the one torturing Granger. You never found the cauldron full of polyjuice because I blew the place up, but it was there, just the same."
Hermione wondered if she'd ever had knees, because the way her legs were behaving on her today, constantly going all wobbly like that, well. It was a wonder Draco hadn't been forced to carry her everywhere. Everyone stared at Zabini for a full minute before turning to look at Hermione, who suddenly couldn't speak, either. She understood Ginny's incomprehensible fury from moments ago, now. In fact, a lot of things made sense.
"Polyjuice," Harry finally breathed and Hermione would've collapsed if Draco hadn't caught her up again. The certainty that speaking the word gave her made her mind go fuzzy and her ears filled with ringing. Ah, she was going into shock. She recognized that feeling.
"Of course," she managed to breathe, slumping against Draco. Then she squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh my god. Oh my god." She covered her face and Blaise felt that tug of guilt again.
"I'm afraid I don't really understand," Harry said. Ginny wrung her hands and stared at him helplessly.
"Oh, Harry, don't make us talk about it. Please."
Harry looked back to Zabini, who was still studying the floor. He had to know. He needed the truth. Ron had been his best friend, too, once. He'd never been the same after that time- none of them had, but he'd missed Ron so sorely after he'd gone…he crouched before the other wizard again. He forced the words out of his mouth.
"Are you trying to say that the Death Eaters polyjuiced themselves as Ron and then went in and-"
"Stop!" Ginny shrieked, covering her ears. "Please, stop, Harry! I can't- I was in that cell too and I can't- and Hermione- please don't make us listen to it, or talk about. Please," she begged and Harry froze, staring across the way at her, one hand on Zabini's shoulder, ready to shake the truth from him.
He closed his eyes slowly, tried to calm himself, but when he rose again, hauling Zabini after him, he was anything but gentle. He threw Blaise back into his room and shut and locked the door again then stood before it, shoulders heaving as he tried to control his temper. Finally, when he thought he could face his friends again without yelling, or throwing things, Harry turned and walked back out to them.
"I'll take you back to the farm," he told Hermione and Draco. Draco merely gave him an uncomprehending glance and tightened his arms about Hermione, who was entirely unresponsive as she tried to remember how to breathe. Then Harry turned to Ginny, who was hunched over, hands still over her ears.
"You're flooing to the Burrow," he told her. When she didn't respond, just rocked back and forth some as she shook her head and more tears spilled from her eyes; he walked up to her and gently drew her hands away from her ears.
"Ginny," he said quietly, "look at me."
She took several deep breaths and finally opened her eyes. He smoothed some of her hair back from her forehead.
"Come on," he said. "Your mum is at home, and I know your dad has been taking early days from work. So there'll be people there. I won't leave you here alone, but it's not a good idea for you to go back with them, either. You both need some space right now. All this hiding things, this keeping them to yourselves and not talking about them needs to end now, today."
Draco wasn't sure if that was quite Potter's decision to make, but as he was clearly the man in charge just then and neither woman seemed to be fighting him, he decided not to make any more waves. Ginny stared up at Harry and looked very much like she wanted to protest, but after a second she simply collapsed against Harry's chest and slid her arms about him.
"Ok," she said, sighing. "I'm too tired to fight with you."
"Ok?" Harry echoed, as if he couldn't believe it.
Ginny nodded and then let go, stepped back. "Yeah. I'll floo over right now." She heaved another sigh. "Let me grab my bag."
She walked off to her room and Harry watched her go, then turned back to Draco and Hermione.
"I'll call a cab," he said to them, and walked over to the kitchen. Draco could hear him speaking to someone a minute later. He reappeared shortly after that and Draco watched him for a moment before asking his own burning question.
"What about Zabini?" he asked and Harry raised an eyebrow, looked away.
"It's still up to you. This news…what he just told us, it doesn't really change the fact of what he actually did, so it's still up to you." Draco nodded and Harry waited a beat before adding, "Not that I like it any."
Draco ignored that. "And what about him, being here? What will he do if you go back to the farm with us?"
"I'm not staying," Harry said. "I'll go in to work, settle a few things, check in at the Burrow. Then I'll come back here, do some cleaning up. I'll keep guard. But you'll only have a few days at most to decide what you want- you and your father, since it's partly up to him as well."
"And how do you know that Hermione and Ginny don't want to press charges?" he asked and immediately felt the Hermione in question shift in his arms.
"Ginny's right," she mumbled, wiping at her face. "It's too much. We're both tired, of all of it. What's the point in bringing it all up again now? Ron's already…" She paused, struggled for words. "It's too bloody late for any of it to make a difference. To anybody."
"It could mean my freedom," Draco pointed out softly. "Mine and my father's."
Hermione made a small noise and pushed away from him. He let her go.
"Do what you want, then," she said, her voice empty. "I don't care anymore." She turned from them both and walked over to the door.
"I need air," she said. "I'm going out."
Draco watched her go, his heart and mind conflicted. His arms still ached to bring her some small comfort; but his head was telling him that it was his right to ask for pardon; his right to dig it all up, no matter how many people it hurt. It was his life too, after all. He and his father could do so much better for themselves than a farm in the countryside if only they were free. He crossed his arms and began to feel distinctly uncomfortable with the decision being pressed on him.
Harry didn't say a thing, just stood waiting for Ginny to return. Draco felt like an idiot, but it wasn't fair of Hermione to be angry at him just because he wanted his freedom! Wasn't that what she secretly wanted, too? For him and his dad to be out of her life? And yet…
"I'll go too," he said, but Harry stopped him.
"Give her some space," he said.
"The wards-" Draco began, but Harry cut him off.
"You're with the Head Auror, Malfoy. You don't have to follow her around. Unless you want to."
Draco's cheeks burned and he frowned and walked over to the door anyway, leaning against the wall as he waited for Harry and Ginny to make their goodbyes. A moment later there was a whoosh from the fireplace immediately after Ginny called out, "The Burrow!" Then Harry was in front of him, motioning to the door.
"Come on, Malfoy."
And even though he suddenly had no desire to see Hermione's sad face again, Draco went without another word.
AN: After I wrote this last bit I broke into a loud rendition of Tara's Theme from Gone With the Wind. Try it yourselves- it's highly effective.