I am updating soon because I feel like it. I know I hate waiting for updates and well since I've got it written I figured why not update it.

I'm finally on Christmas break. Oh two weeks without students! I can't wait. I should be able to update soon! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything that goes along with it. I'm just doing this for fun.

Chapter 12

Ives and Mercer

January 17, 1999

Washington State, United States

Michael hadn't killed since Christmas. He felt wonderful. It had been a week since Luke had left to go back to Hogwarts. He missed his old friend but was excited to be on his own and he only had 8 days left till he was going out to meet new friends. He had worked this week, picking up an extra shift or two to keep busy. He was out of groceries. Since he worked a muggle job he shopped mostly in muggle grocery stores. He didn't mind. He liked the normalcy of the muggle life. After work Michael went to the grocery store to get what he needed for a while then he decided he would like Ogden's Firewhiskey. He apparated to his house to unload the food he bought then he apparated to wizarding Seattle where there was a liquor store that sold Ogden's. While he was in wizarding Seattle he decided to go to the local book shop, Ives & Mercer. He was browsing the isle on post war distress when he heard a voice from the past. He would know that voice anywhere. It was Bellatrix.

Michael's body quickly reacted to that voice. He knew it was her. 'No, it isn't. She is dead. Molly Weasley killed her. She killed her when she tried to attack Ginny. Bellatrix is dead. That isn't her voice. It isn't her voice. It just sounds like her. Find the person the voice is coming from and see that it isn't Bellatrix.' That is what Michael was telling himself. He needed to apparate out of Ives & Mercer before it was too late but if he apparated now he knew he would splinch himself. He walked out of the store and tried to calm himself down, but it was too late. No matter what he tried to tell himself some other part of him really believed that it was Bellatrix Lestrange in the shop. He couldn't change the other part of him's mind. Shit.

The other part of Michael had taken over now and he had no control over what was going on. He walked back in Ives & Mercer and sought out the person who had Bellatrix's voice. The PTSD Michael saw what he wanted to see, the woman he saw was Bellatrix, not an older lady with short grey hair that owned the bookshop. Michael roamed up and down the isles browsing at books until "Bellatrix" walked to the back of the store through a door. Michael followed her, with the book he was looking at still in his hands. The back was empty expect for Verity Mercer. All Michael could see and hear was Bellatrix shooting curses at Ginny and the evil in eyes. Michael grabbed his wand from his pocket and killed her. Sectumsempra. He watched the blood ooze from the lady's body. He felt so much better. He apparated back to his flat and passed out on the kitchen floor.

When Michael woke up he was in his kitchen floor. How in the world how did he get back here. The last thing he remembered was being in the book store looking at books on post war distress. Shit. What happened? What did he do? He had no idea. Should he go back to the store? No. That would be a bad idea. He'd just have to wait and see if anything came to him or he heard anything. So far he hadn't been able to remember anything from the murders. He prayed to whoever would listen that he hadn't killed anyone again.

Johnny Ray got a call in the middle of his supper. He knew that this bastard had struck again when someone calls and interrupts his supper with his wife. That floo coming to life was his biggest nemesis during his supper time. He was right. That bastard had killed a little old lady in her bookshop in upstate Washington. He needed to floo Roddy. Roddy was at his girlfriends when her floo came to life. Damn. He told Johnny Ray he'd meet him at the office then they'd floo to Ives & Mercer together.

Twenty minutes later Roddy, Johnny Ray and Seattle's local Wizarding Police were in Ives & Mercer standing over the body of Verity Mercer. She was the co-owner of Ives & Mercer. She and her partner had been running that store for 75 years. They opened that store when they were 18 years old and fresh out of school. Roddy and Johnny Ray couldn't understand why someone would kill this little old lady much less in such a barbaric way. They look pictures and samples. It appears that the same person who preformed that last murder also did this one based on the elements found from the residual spell residue. This was getting out of control. There is no way to track who is preforming this spell. They are no clues left on the scene. Nothing. They were coming up empty handed and it was beginning to take its toll on both Roddy and Johnny Ray. Their spirits were low and they just wanted this sicko caught.

After they were finished at the store they apperated back to their office and decided they'd try to catch a few hours sleep then meet up again in the morning.

January 18, 1999

The next morning Johnny Ray and Roddy met in the office and Johnny Ray said that they needed help. There was no way they were going to catch the bastard without help.

"Do you mind if I owl Draco and his friend. They might be able to shed some light on everything. Draco's friend is probably the smartest witch of the age. I'm sure you've heard of Hermione Granger. She was part of the "Golden Trio" and was the brains of everything." Roddy said.

"I don't mind. Please just make sure they are able to keep it quiet. I don't want word about this bastard getting out even more than it already has. I know that some of the Aurors in England have been made aware that there is a blood thirsty murder on the loose over here but they don't know what spell is being used."

"Not a problem Johnny Ray. Not a problem at all. I'll floo Draco now. He should be at work."

Washington State

Michael got up early and apparated to wizarding Seattle and bought a newspaper and a coffee then apparated place to his house. He didn't subscribe to the local wizarding papers because he really didn't want to know what was going on and he didn't care about who was marrying who. He bought this paper to see if there was anything about a local murder.

Sure enough on page 2 there was an article about a local bookshop owner who was killed. Killed by the same curse that had killed numerous other people across the country. Damn. What the hell had set him off? What made him do such a terrible thing to someone so innocent. Damn.

Washington, D.C.

Draco wasn't at work or his flat when Roddy tried to floo him. He wasn't anywhere with a floo connection. Damn it, Draco. Roddy decided he'd try and floo Hermione.

Hermione was in her dorm finishing up a charms essay when her floo came to life.

"Hermione? Hermione are you there?" Came an American accent from her floo. She set her quill and parchment down and answered the floo.

"Yes, I'm here. Are you Draco's friend?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm Roddy. I'm in desperate need of your help."

"What can I help you with?"

"It's about the curse. The bastard killed a 93 year old yesterday. We can't track down this bastard. Draco and I have mulled over and over everything we can think of. Do you think you can meet up with Draco and have him bring all of the notes we have and see if you can come up with anything different or new? My boss and I are getting very discouraged. We have no leads. If it wasn't for Draco we wouldn't even know what spell was used."

"Of course. Have you spoken to Draco about this yet?"

"No, I tried to floo him a few moments ago but he didn't answer."

"No problem. I'll owl him right now. I can get permission to leave whenever I don't have classes or rounds and I'll work with Draco on this. Is there any way I could talk to Harry about it as well? I might have to give my headmaster more information is that okay?"

"Thank you. I don't think you should talk to Harry about this yet, my boss doesn't want this getting out yet. He might have heard about murders in America but the name of the spell isn't listed and they haven't given out details. Johnny Ray and I have made sure of that. Tell your headmaster as little as possible but if you need to you can fill her in."

"That's fine. I will do everything I can to help you out. Please let me know if I can be of anymore help."

Hogwarts

Hermione shut the floo off and owled Draco right away. She sent the owl to his flat, work, and The Manor. She got a message in return not too long after she sent the owl.

Hermione,

When can you meet me and where? I'll bring everything I've got. I'm glad I get to see you, I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

-Draco

Hermione went to McGonagall and told her that she needed to help Draco work on something that was very important and it probably shouldn't be done out in the open. McGonagall looked at Hermione but decided that she trusted Hermione more than any other student she had ever taught and decided that Hermione would make wise decisions. She gave Hermione permission to go where ever she needed but she was still responsible for all of her duties and her assignments. Hermione understood and agreed.

When Hermione got back to her room she wrote Draco.

Draco,

I can meet you at anytime. I think we should meet someplace less public to discuss all of this. McGonagall said I am free to go where ever I need to go. Where do you think is the best place to meet? I'm looking forward to seeing you as well.

-Hermione

Hermione,

Let's meet in Hogsmeade and then we can decide where to go from there. See you shortly.

-Draco

Hermione read the last owl from Draco, changed out of her school robes and into jeans and a long sleeve shirt, threw her hair into a messy bun, grabbed her coat, and headed to Hogsmeade.

She and Draco got to Hogsmeade about the same time. He greeted her with a warm smile and a gentle hug. Again both of their bodies immediately heated up when they touched. Hermione wondered if Draco's body reacted like this to her touch while Draco wondered the same thing about Hermione.

"Where do you think is a good place to go and look at this stuff?" Draco asked Hermione.

"I'm not sure. We'll need a place with lots of room to spread out and maybe even a place that we can leave the stuff there. We need to be able to come and go as we please."

"We could go to my flat, if you'd like. There isn't a whole lot of room but I'm the only one there. I would say The Manor, but then I'd have to explain things to my mother and that is NOT worth it." Draco said after a while.

Hermione thought for a few moments and then shyly said, "What about my parents house. No one is there. Nothing will be disturbed. We can leave everything and we have plenty of space."

"You didn't sell the house?"

"No, I kept it. I spent part of the summer there when I wasn't at Hogwarts trying to help rebuild or at The Burrow. Harry, Ron, and I used it during the summer some and we stayed there while we were hunting horcruxes for a few days as well."

"I think that's a great idea, Hermione. You don't mind us using your parents house?"

"No, I think it would actually be good for me."

"Okay, lets go."

Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and both of their bodies jolted as they apparated. Both of them were warm with that odd feeling when they landed in the alley behind Hermione's house. She had to change the wards to allow Draco in. She had put up some very serious wards when she had left home when the war started. They only allow her, Harry, and Ron in. Now, she was adding Draco to the few people she trusted to get into her house if need be. When did they get to this point? What was going on?

Draco stood back and watched Hermione change the wards. She watched as she wrapped a spell around him and added him to the list of people that could enter the house. He was seriously impressed by her spell work. She was an amazing witch. He couldn't believe such a talented witch wasn't a pure blood or atleast half blood. He guessed wonders would never cease. He knew she was the brightest witch of the age but didn't really realize that it translated to being an expert caster. You can have all the book knowledge in the world but not be able to unlock a door.

When she was finished she ushered Draco into the house.

"Now we can apperate right into the house. It just would have rejected you if you had tried the first time and you would have been splinched very badly." Hermione said.

"Not a problem at all, I would prefer to not be splinched. I'll take waiting a few minutes over being splinched any day."

They made their way to the dining room that had a big table that they could work at. Draco took out a miniature folder out of his pocket, tapped it, and it became a very large file folder. He took everything out and they started at the beginning. Hermione transfigured a picture on the wall into a tack board and they began to put things up. They wrote out a timeline on a mirror. They went over every detail they could think of. They weren't getting anywhere. Hermione was able to add a few more names to the list of people that knew the spell. Draco wrote them down on a separate piece of parchment to send to Roddy.

"What about the original source of the spell. I know that Snape wrote it down in an old book. I know that's how Potter knew the spell when he used it on me back in 6th year. Where is the book, now?" Draco asked.

"Well, after Harry hurt you we finally talked him into getting rid of the book. He and Ginny went and hid it in the Room of Requirement. It was there until the afternoon of the final battle. When we were in the room and we were hunting the horcrux Harry grabbed it trying to get to the item. When I saw what he grabbed I grabbed it and shrunk it and stuck it in my pocket. Over the summer I told Harry that I found the book and we went back through the book and looked at Snape's work. He really was brilliant. Very brilliant. I think he is the reason I'm going to be able to pass my potions N.E.W.T. Anyways, I have the book. It's actually here, in my room upstairs. No one but Harry, Ron, and I know it is here. Ginny doesn't even know. Everyone else that knew about the book thought it got destroyed when Crabbe used Fiendfyre on the Room of Requirement." Hermione paused for a moment then added, "Draco, Harry really didn't mean to hurt you. He had no idea what that spell was going to do you. He didn't want you to die, he didn't even want to really hurt you. He is more than remorseful."

Draco took in all of her words, especially her last few words. Potter really hadn't meant to hurt him. For some reason, he wasn't surprised. Potter was good too. Not as good as Hermione, but he was good too. "It's okay, Hermione. I didn't know he wasn't trying to kill me but I'm not surprised he wasn't."

Hermione sat there and looked at Draco. He looked like he was pondering his response. She was pleasantly surprised by his words. "Would you like me to go and get the book?"

Draco nodded. Hermione went upstairs and unlocked the drawer the book was in. It was underneath a scrapbook from her past years at Hogwarts, well since she got her letter. She picks it up and sits down on her bed. She opens it and begins reminiscing. There on the very first page was her letter. She had magically sealed the letter to the page so she wouldn't ruin it. She runs her fingers over the letter remembering how excited she was when she got the letter. Her parents were beyond proud, they didn't really comprehend what all that letter entailed but they were proud. Hermione slowly flipped through the first few pages looking and the pictures and laughing at some of them and crying at others. She must have been up there longer than she thought because Draco walked in and sat on the bed beside her without her even noticing.

"Are you alright, Hermione?"

"Oh, Draco, yes, I am. This was in the same drawer as the potions book. I guess I just got caught up in it." She said wiping a stray tear away. She tried to close the scrapbook but Draco put his hand in the way.

"Can we look at it, please?" Draco asked very timidly.

"Of course. I'm not sure you're going to enjoy it, but yes, we can look."

They started at the beginning and Hermione told Draco stories about lots of pictures. She told stories about her parents when they took her shopping in Diagon Alley and her first trip on the Hogwarts Express. They laughed at some of the stories and some of them made Draco scowl. In his gut he felt a pang of jealousy seeing all those pictures of Hermione, Ron, and Harry. She was so happy with those boys. He wondered what things would have been like if he hadn't tried to live up to what his father wanted and he had done what he really believed. When they finished looking at the scrapbook Hermione put it back in the drawer and grabbed the potions book, close the drawer and silently cast her locking spell.

Draco and Hermione both felt that they had taken another step in their relationship. Draco felt guilty that Hermione had opened up to him twice now and he hadn't reciprocated the gesture. He wanted too. He needed too. He didn't know where this friendship was going, but he wanted to make sure he did everything he could to make sure it went smoothly. Hermione felt slightly exposed. She showed Draco a part of her that not many had seen. She barely knew him. Why was she doing this?

They walked downstairs and began to look over the book and the spell.

"Snape really was brilliant wasn't he?" Draco said as he looked over the other things written in the book.

"Yes, he was. He was beyond brilliant. He was truly an amazing man. It's more than a shame that he had to die. The loss of Snape has haunted me more than the loss of anyone else. We judged him so harshly and so wrongly for so long. He was more loyal to Harry than any of us could even imagine. We lost a great man when Snape was killed." Hermione said with a tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry Hermione. Please don't cry." She wiped the tears from her eyes. Draco didn't like seeing her cry and she could tell by how upset he became. She didn't want to upset him. Draco continued, "Professor Snape was an amazing man. I do not know everything you know about him, but I do know that he went out of his way to make sure I didn't become evil. He saved me from becoming a true death eater. I may have had the mark but my heart wasn't in it, neither was Snape's heart."

He told her a little bit about himself. Not a lot, but it was better than nothing. He would get there. He would.

They studied the book for a while and nothing new came to either of them. "It's late Hermione. You need to get back to Hogwarts and I need to get home. We will pick up where we left off later. I'll owl these names to Roddy. I still can't believe Longbottom knows this spell. It seems like he'd probably preform it on himself." Draco said chortled.

Hermione hit him hard on the shoulder. This made Draco wince in pain. She didn't mean to hurt him.

"Neville is a perfectly capable wizard. He is amazing at anything that has to do with plants. He killed Nagini, he is an amazing friend, and Gryffindor to the core. Yes, we better get back."

"Hermione! Never hit me again." Draco growled in a voice that made Hermione recoil against the back of her chair. His fists were balled up but he didn't raise them too her. They just hung by his side.

She just sat there and stared at him for a moment before she began to pick up a few of the things and organize the last of their notes. Finally he cracked. "Hermione, I'm sorry. Please, don't be angry. Please forgive me. I just don't take kindly to be being hit. It brings back memories that I would care to forget." Draco's mind was begging for forgiveness. He just said sorry. What the hell, Draco? You never say sorry. This witch was getting ahold of him. This scared him.

"I'm sorry I hit you, Draco. I shouldn't have. I forgive you. Please forgive me for hitting you. Please don't talk to me in that tone, it brings back memories that I don't particularly enjoy."

He had already forgiven her before she even asked. What was this girl doing to him? "When do you have a free day that we can go out again and not talk about this spell?"

"I'm free Friday after my classes. Luke is doing Friday rounds this weeks and since Neville filled in for Luke for the week Luke was out McGonagall has said we can use Neville to help lighten some of our load this year. She said we were a very special case and really is trying to help make this year as pain free as possible. She knows we are all still struggling. She is still having a very hard time. She is also aware that you and I are working on something together."

"This Friday it is. Let's head back to Hogsmeade. I'll walk you to the gate." Hermione started to argue with him saying she was perfectly capable of defending herself if someone was to challenge her but he stopped her saying, "I will walk you to the gates. That's just the proper and the right thing to do. I was raised a pure blood and some of those things are imbedded in who I am. I know you can take care of yourself but I'm going to walk you to the gate whether you like it or not."

She grinned and they apparated back to Hogsmeade. They walked to the gate to Hogwarts. Draco wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Hermione loved this feeling. His arms were so strong around her small frame. He wasn't a big man but he was solid and strong. Hermione felt very much safe in his arms. They broke apart and said goodbye. Hermione said the proper spell that opened the gate and walked inside. Once Hermione was inside the gate Draco apparated back to his flat.

Once back in his flat Draco owled Roddy and told him the new names and what they had talked about. He also filled him in on things with Hermione. He was in deep trouble with this girl.