Here's the new chapter!
Chapter Nineteen
"Hermione, you must be mistaken. I'm no miracle."
She nodded as she took the journal and quill from him. She crossed number one off the list and flipped through the pages. Then she stuck the journal into his face.
"Read this."
Draco looked down at the entry she was pointing at. He began to read aloud.
"That stupid, annoying, arrogant git! Ugh, I hate him so much! Why is Draco Malfoy even allowed here? He and his entire family should be locked up for the rest of our sakes.
He called me a 'Mudblood' today and I'm so ashamed to say that I didn't even know what it meant. It was obvious from everyone's reaction that it was something horrible—Ron nearly choked to death after he accidentally cursed himself to toss up slugs.
Apparently, it means that I have 'dirty blood' and don't deserve to be a witch. Never mind that I've beaten him in every exam that we've had!
I swear, it will be a complete miracle if that arrogant prat Malfoy and I were ever to become friends."
He looked up, embarrassed. "Hermione, I'm so sor—"
"Don't apologize, Draco. It's in the past." She pointed to the last line. "…'it will be a complete miracle if that arrogant prat Malfoy and I were ever to become friends'…" She smiled at him and entwined her fingers with his. "I've witnessed my miracle."
It had grown dark by now and they could hear the howling wind outside the window, but neither acknowledged it.
Her face was inches away from him. His heart started beating faster and faster. He leaned forward, so close he could smell a sweet vanilla scent coming from her. He looked at her, trying to memorize every inch, every line of her face. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Her hair was in a wild, tangled mess behind her. She had long stopped trying to tame it.
But Draco thought it made her look more beautiful. He loved the way her eyes seemed to know everything—everything that was going on around her and everything about him. He loved the way she looked when she was annoyed or irritated with him—her eyes narrowed and she had the cutest frown. He even loved the way she looked when she was trying to beat him senseless with his own bag.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the vanilla smell. He leaned forward, into her.
"Draco! Hermione!"
Harry's voice interrupted them and they leaned back. He ran into the room and looked a bit taken aback at the close proximity between Draco and Hermione.
"Um…Remus…Remus is here."
He glanced back and forth between Draco and Hermione, waiting for one of them to speak, but neither said a word. To each other or to him. They both stood from the bed, somewhat awkwardly and headed out of the room.
"It's a boy! We've named him Ted, after Dora's father!" Remus exclaimed to the crowded room.
Draco looked at him in wonder. Hermione shrieked and shoved past Draco.
"Wha—? Tonks—Tonks has had the baby?"
"Yes, yes, she's had the baby!" shouted Remus.
Hermione turned back and gave Draco a long hug. "She's had the baby."
He grinned. "She's had the baby," he repeated.
"You've got a new cousin." She smiled at him as he looked as though he didn't know how to react.
"She's had the baby," he said again.
Hermione nodded and shouted her congratulations to Remus before hugging Draco again. She prodded him toward Remus and Harry, who had just agreed to be godfather to the child.
"Draco!" Remus said, happily, pulling him into a hug. "Dora will be so glad that I've been able to see you!"
"How is she?" he asked, after Remus released him.
"She is wonderful."
"And Aunt 'Dromeda? How—how's she doing?"
Remus smiled at him. "As well as can be expected. She misses you, though, and bid me to tell you to never step foot into your old house again while your father and Bellatrix are there or she will have your head."
"She heard about that?" Draco looked embarrassed.
"Your mother said that you're a better person than her. And she admires you greatly for it."
"Is…is she okay? Harry said that You-Know-Who was angry with them."
"She's fine." He gave him a reassuring smile.
Bill passed around goblets and filled each of them with wine. They stood and raised them high in a toast.
"To Teddy Remus Lupin," said Remus, "a great wizard in the making!"
He spoke to Fleur and Bill and refilled his goblet. Draco slipped into the background, taking in the scene. It was a change, to be genuinely happy about something. He couldn't believe that Nymphadora had just given birth to a child, a boy! It wasn't hard to get into the festive atmosphere and soon Draco found himself hugging Luna and exchanging stories with Dean.
"…I must really get back," Remus said. "It's been so wonderful to see all of you. I'll try and bring pictures in a few days´ time — say, Draco, would you like to come with me? The plan's pretty much gone to shot now that they know you're alive and with Harry. And Nymphadora and Andromeda will be delighted to see you. And your little cousin, Teddy, I'm sure he'll be glad to meet his older cousin."
Draco looked surprised. Everyone waited for his answer. "Um…" he looked back at Hermione.
"Go, you've been wanting to see them, too. I know you have." She smiled at him.
"But, Draco, what about—" started Ron. He mouthed, "Gringotts," at him.
"We'll be fine here," Hermione said. She smiled at him, but there was a sad look in her eyes.
Draco nodded and looked at Remus. "I'm sorry, Remus, I'd really love to see them again, but…" he gestured around. His eyes lasted on Hermione a bit longer than it would normally. "You sort of gave me a job…and I'm going to see it through. Or at least help."
Remus smiled, his eyes twinkling. He had followed Draco's gaze around the room and saw the care in his eyes, especially when he looked at Hermione. He grinned and pulled Draco into a hug. "I'll be sure to tell them that I've seen you," he said. Remus lowered his voice. "I see you've been making friends." He winked at him and nodded to Hermione.
"For the record, Remus, I blame you for leaving me with these Gryffindors," Draco said as he shut the door behind Remus. Through the howling wind, he could hear unmistakable laughter coming from Remus.
Everything was complete. The plan was in place, they each knew their roles and what they were supposed to do. They opted for leaving Shell Cottage early in the morning and asked for Bill and Fleur to not see them off.
Ron would be disguised as a foreign visitor, sympathetic to the Dark Lord's views. Harry and Griphook would hide under the Invisibility Cloak and Draco, having finally mastered the Disillusionment Charm, would Disillusion himself. Hermione, however, was going as Bellatrix, under the guise of the Polyjuice Potion.
Draco wasn't ready to leave Shell Cottage. He could tell that Harry was and while there were many people in such a small, confined space, Draco enjoyed it. He loved having everyone around him; he didn't wake up to complete silence nor spend his days talking to his overprotective mother and crazy aunt. He and Hermione never had another chance alone and neither of them discussed what almost happened between them. Harry hadn't said a word to either of them. However, Draco did notice an increasingly annoying close eye on him and Hermione from Harry.
He found that he actually enjoyed staying at Shell Cottage with Bill, Fleur, Luna, and Dean. He had never spoken to Luna before and had only exchanged insults with Dean, but he found that they were quite engaging people to talk to. Luna, especially. He wondered where she came up with her outlandish ideas and theories. It made him laugh whenever Hermione would roll her eyes and try to explain why one of Luna's theories wouldn't logically work. But Luna was so steadfast in her beliefs that Hermione didn't seem to bother her one bit.
Dean, he found, was surprisingly artistic. He would often be down on the shore, creating sculptures out of the sand and Draco watched him from his usual spot near Dobby's grave. Hermione joined him a few times, but as soon as they were alone together, Harry always found a way to join them a few moments later.
He still felt a bit uncomfortable around Bill and Fleur. He knew that Bill didn't completely trust him, but he put up with him because of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Draco had apologized for the scarring and Bill accepted it.
And he and Ron had even become actual friends. The two of them shared stories and found that they weren't very different from one another. Harry joined them during their conversations and sometimes he and Harry would trade horrible childhood stories. During these times, Draco could see that Ron felt a bit uncomfortable having grown up with the childhood that he and Harry dreamed of.
But Draco didn't hate his childhood completely. His mother did brighten it up whenever he remembered the things that she had done for him.
"Ready, Ron?" Draco asked, pointing his wand toward him. Harry stood off to the side, waiting to see the progress.
"Yes, but remember, I don't want the beard too long—"
"For heaven's sake, Ron, this isn't about looking handsome!"
"I just don't want it to get in the way! Can't you just Disillusion me, too?"
Harry shook his head. "It'd be more believable if Bellatrix had a companion."
Ron cursed before exhaling loudly. "I like my nose shorter, too."
Draco rolled his eyes before muttering under his breath, transforming various aspects of Ron's appearance.
"Well, there, how does he look, Harry?"
Harry frowned at him. "Not my type, but you'll do." He turned toward Shell Cottage and saw Bellatrix approaching him, accompanied by Griphook. "Shall we go, then?"
Draco nodded and turned around. He flinched seeing Bellatrix standing before him.
"It's me, Draco," Hermione said in Bellatrix's low voice. "Hermione." She placed a hand on his arm and he jumped back violently.
"Sorry, Hermione," he said, looking away.
"It's all right," she said in a hurt voice.
He turned away from her and Disillusioned himself, blending into the landscape like a chameleon. Hermione pulled the Invisibility Cloak over Harry and circled around him, making sure that he was completely covered.
"Perfect," she said. "All right. Think the Leaky Cauldron, everyone."
At once, Draco closed his eyes and spun on the spot. He didn't dare to voice his concern that something was going to go wrong.
Draco emerged from the lake, spluttering and gasping. He saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron surfacing nearby and they were all soon fighting through the reeds and mud until they reached the slippery grass and collapsed. Draco, ignoring his desire to lay down and sleep, dragged himself up and began casting the usual protective spells around them.
When he finished he joined the others, where he saw Hermione directing Harry and Ron to dab essence of dittany onto their many injuries from the Lestrange vault.
Draco took the bottle from Hermione and moved a further bit down, away from the three of them. He heard a bottle pop open and glanced back at Harry and Ron swigging back pumpkin juice. No doubt, Hermione brought it along from Shell Cottage.
He pulled his shirt off, knowing how he looked without it. Not that he looked bad, Draco kept himself in good condition, but he was conscious of the many scars that covered his torso.
"Draco?"
He covered his body with his shirt. "Hermione?"
"Here," she said, "let me help."
Draco shook his head. "No, it's okay. I've got it."
She smiled kindly. "Please." She reached out, took his shirt from him and cast her eyes on the scars. She didn't say anything, but took the bottle of dittany and began dabbing it onto his injuries. The two of them sat down in silence with Hermione continuing her work. Draco felt conscious of the many scars that he had long tried to cover up.
Hermione ran her finger along one particular scar that looked like a slash across the chest. "Where did this come from?"
Draco glanced at Harry and Ron, who seemed to be paying them no attention. He cleared his throat.
"That's from…um…Harry's Sectumsempra curse."
She grimaced as she continued to run her fingers along the rest of the scars. "And this?" she asked.
"Bellatrix…when Flora, our house-elf after Dobby, delivered her dinner to me. Bellatrix got mad at me for eating it…"
She frowned and put a hand on Draco's shoulder and stroked a deep scar there.
"That's from my father's cane. He has a snake head on the top and…it has particularly sharp teeth."
She nodded and gave him a sad smile. "Here." She passed him a dry shirt and stuffed his old one into her bag. They headed back to Harry and Ron. Harry was looking at Draco suspiciously.
Harry pulled the Horcrux from his wet jacket and placed it in front of them. The four of them drank more pumpkin juice as they talked about the Horcrux.
Hermione gestured to the dragon, who was drinking from the lake, and voiced her concern for it.
"…It's us we need to worry about," Ron was saying.
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.
"Well, I don't know how to break this to you," he said, "but I think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts."
All four of them started to laugh and once they started, it was difficult to stop. Draco couldn't remember laughing like this at all, his ribs ached and he felt lightheaded and happier than he had ever felt before, never mind the many cuts and injuries he felt, and the discovery that a Malfoy was working with Harry Potter.
Draco and Harry exchanged a knowing look and Harry closed his eyes. Draco knew that Harry was passing into the Dark Lord's mind and he exchanged a worried look with Ron and Hermione. They waited in silence for Harry to return to them.
"He knows," Harry said, sitting up. "He knows and he's going to check where the others are, and the last one," he stood up, "is at Hogwarts. I knew it," he looked at Draco, "We knew it." He extended a hand to Draco and helped him up. "He was seriously angry and…Lucius and Bellatrix were there. He killed everyone in the room, but they got out, Lucius and Bellatrix ran away. I didn't see your mother in the room."
Draco nodded. "Thank you."
"We have to get to Hogwarts," Harry said urgently.
"Wait! We need a plan!" cried Hermione as Ron grabbed the Horcrux and Draco pulled the Invisibility Cloak from her bag. He threw it at Harry, who caught it with ease.
"We need to get going," said Harry firmly.
"And besides," added Draco. "When have our plans ever worked out?"
"The Ministry, Godric's Hollow, Gringotts…" Ron counted down on his fingers.
Draco chuckled as he Disillusioned himself. Harry threw the Cloak over him, Ron, and Hermione.
"We don't fit, Harry!" said Hermione.
"I don't care."
"Harry, I'll just Disillusion us," Draco said.
"And we'll also go under the cloak."
Draco nodded and pointed his wand at Harry, Hermione, and Ron. At once they blended into the background.
"Stay close, Draco," said Harry.
"Ah, words I haven't heard in a while," he said smirking. He held his hand out trying to feel for one of them.
"Right here, Draco," Hermione said.
He felt around until he grabbed her soft hand and gave it a slight squeeze.
"I want to stick together this time," Harry said. "Everyone together?"
"Yes," said Ron, Hermione, and Draco in unison.
Together, they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness.
Draco felt uncomfortable in Aberforth's dingy room. He and Ron sat furthest from him and Harry, eating their food in silence. They were listening with rapt attention to Aberforth's story and Draco never imagined that he would ever feel sorry for Dumbledore. It was a horrible story to endure and it must've been even worse to live through it.
He watched Harry in slight admiration. In the past few hours, Harry had taken leadership of them like he should've over the past few months. This whole quest may have been done by now if Harry had focused, though it seemed to have taken their trip to Malfoy Manor to get things rolling.
"…You say you're prepared to die…" Aberforth was telling them.
"But what?" said Hermione, frowning at the picture of the Dumbledore sister on the mantelpiece.
He stood up and tried to see past Ron at the painting, seeing a small white dot grow bigger and bigger. Except she seemed to be returning with someone else. Draco didn't recognize the person, but took a step forward so he was next to Ron.
Neville Longbottom, another past victim of his many insults and jeers, leapt down from the mantelpiece and yelled, "I knew you'd come!" He ran forward and enveloped Harry in a big hug. He released him and grabbed Ron and Hermione, yelling squeals of delight. He turned and found himself face-to-face with Draco.
Longbottom took a step back from Draco and Draco took a good look at him. Longbottom had never looked worse: His eyes were swollen and discolored, there were gouge marks on his face, and he looked unkempt. Nonetheless, he could see the happiness in his face when he looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Malfoy!"
"He's with us," Harry said, stepping forward to defend him.
Longbottom nodded. "We've heard. The Carrows are saying that you Confunded him. Using him to get into the Death Eater's heads. That he's your prisoner."
"I'm not Confunded, Longbottom," Draco said.
"I know. Harry would never keep you or anyone else prisoner." Longbottom took a long look at him and glanced at Harry who nodded. "If you're with Harry, then I'm with you." He stuck out his hand and Draco shook it.
"Longbottom…I…I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"We'll have time for that later, Draco," said Harry urgently, "but we have to get into Hogwarts."
Draco nodded. "Right." He followed Longbottom up the mantelpiece and held out a hand to Hermione. Ron followed them and Harry exchanged a few words with Aberforth. Draco budged up against the wall to make room for Harry to pass by him to walk next to Longbottom. He listened as Longbottom told them about what was going on at Hogwarts. He smiled at the mention of Dumbledore's Army, remembering the group that he so desperately tried to thwart in his fifth year.
They continued down the long, dark corridor and Longbottom opened a door just like the one hidden behind Ariana Dumbledore's portrait. Longbottom pushed it open and climbed through.
"Look who it is! Didn't I tell you?" Longbottom called to a number of unseen people.
Harry emerged through the doorway first, followed by Ron, and then Hermione. Draco hesitated a bit before following her.
He was confused by the number of colored hangings, lamps, and of the many faces that were clamoring around him to get to Harry. He took a step back and was half in the portrait hole again. He slipped through the people trying to get to the Harry, Ron, and Hermione and stood near the staircase, looking around.
He didn't recognize the room at all. It was enormous and he had never seen a place like this at Hogwarts. Multicolored hangings ran down around the room, the bright colors of red and gold, black and yellow, and blue and bronze. Noticeably absent were his colors of green and silver.
But as soon as he thought about it, they appeared alongside the other hangings, with a giant, ornate snake hanging on one of them.
"Where are we?" called Draco.
A number of people called their surprise at seeing Draco in the room and even more when they noticed the Slytherin colors that had joined the room.
"The Room of Requirement, of course!" said Longbottom. He pointed to Draco. "And Malfoy's here, not because he´s Confunded like the Carrows said. He's with Harry, so I'm with him."
Draco looked confused and nodded. He went over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione after Hermione beckoned him over, not looking at his former classmates. He looked around properly as they all began to talk and saw many faces that never would've welcomed him if he weren't under the protection of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"What were you after?" that Irish Gryffindor, Seamus Finnigan asked.
Draco looked at Harry and saw a worried look overcome his face. He turned back and just as suddenly turned around. Draco nudged Hermione and whispered.
"He's seen something."
Hermione nudged Ron and whispered to him. The three of them looked at Harry worriedly.
"We need to get going," Harry said urgently.
The room went silent as Harry told them that they were there to grab something and leave. It sort of amused Draco when he heard that Harry's return to Hogwarts meant revolution for them.
"…loyal to you," Longbottom said.
"Look—" started Harry.
Draco looked behind Harry and saw the tunnel door opening again. He grinned at the sight of Luna and Dean emerging through the tunnel and moved forward to give them a hug. More people followed and Harry looked increasingly agitated.
"Why can't they help?" Ron quietly asked Harry.
"What?"
"They can help," he said. He, Harry, Hermione, and Draco moved closer together. "They don't have to know what it is, but they can help look for it."
Draco saw the wheels turning in Harry's head.
"All right," Harry said. He turned to the group and proceeded to ask them, particularly the Ravenclaws, if they knew of anything that had her eagle on it. Luna was the one who answered, talking about the lost diadem of Ravenclaw.
Draco took a step back and discreetly handed the Invisibility Cloak to Harry. It was decided: Harry and Luna were headed to Ravenclaw Tower.
There were a few moments of silence and the crowd descended on Ron and Hermione once more. Ron seemed to relish in the spotlight, telling a group of admirers a detailed and very exaggerated account of their Gringotts break-in and out with the dragon. Draco rolled his eyes and bit his tongue, swallowing the desire to make Ron sound less like a hero and more truthful. Hermione answered questions obligingly, but was looking longingly at the books that were stored in the bookcase. Draco stood behind them, not speaking to anyone because he wasn't sure how they would take him.
"So the plan worked."
Draco turned at the sound of the low voice and saw Dean standing close to him.
"What plan?" he asked.
"Come on, Draco, the cottage wasn't that big. We all knew the four of you were working on some top secret plan with Griphook."
Draco nodded and rubbed his temple. "It didn't work according to plan, though."
Dean smirked and gestured around. "But isn't that the fun in it?"
Draco shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Crazy Gryffindors." He was about to laugh when he felt a piercing stab in his left arm. He grabbed it in pain.
"Draco? Are you all right?" Dean asked.
Draco breathed heavily. "He knows…someone´s got him…someone´s got Harry…" he said.
Dean looked worried and tapped Hermione's shoulder. He said a few things to her and she immediately ran to him.
"What happened?" she asked urgently.
"The Mark. It burned. Someone´s got Harry."
The portrait door opened and more people flooded in. Hermione and Dean helped Draco sit on a nearby couch.
"What Mark?" asked Dean.
"Dean!" called Finnegan. He beckoned Dean to come over. Dean nodded and placed a hand on Draco's shoulder before heading that way.
"I haven't felt it burn in so long," Draco said quietly to Hermione. "It…it hurt. So badly."
Hermione gently took his left arm into her hand and rubbed over it gently. "I'm sorry."
"It means that someone caught him. One of the Carrows or Snape has Harry."
Hermione looked worried.
"Draco, what happened? Are you all right?"
Remus descended on him and relief flooded Draco. He stood and nodded. "I'm fine. How's Nymphadora?"
Remus smiled. "She's doing well. So is little Teddy. They both send their regards, Draco."
"I miss Nymphadora."
"You do realize she'll kill you if you call her that?"
Draco nodded. "I love making her so angry, her hair turns purple. Remus—my Mark burned. Someone caught Harry."
A worried look passed over his face. "We have only a few minutes, then." Remus shook his head and gestured to Kingsley. "I think he wants to say hello first, though."
"Kingsley!" Draco and Hermione exclaimed. They both headed over to him and Kingsley gave Hermione a tight hug.
"Draco. Hermione. It is nice to see the pair of you is still alive." He leaned down and whispered. "Draco, you do realize that the point of the plan was to keep you away from the Death Eaters?"
Draco smirked. "I thought the point of the plan was to help Harry and to fight for good."
Kingsley barked in laughter. "I'm going to remember a Malfoy said that."
"Draco! Hermione!" Ron shoved his way through the crowd. He nodded at Kingsley, who bowed out of the way. "What'll we do when Harry gets the Horcrux? We haven't got the sword, and we need something to kill it with."
"The diary was killed by the basilisk fang, do you think there are still some in the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Hermione.
Ron nodded. "There are. But you could only open it if you're a Parselmouth."
"Oh, we can't bother Harry with that now."
"I'll go. I've heard Harry speak Parselmouth enough times. Sometimes he talks in his sleep, too."
"I'll go with you," said Draco. "Who knows how many we need. Hermione, stay here and wait for Harry."
"I'm not going to stay here!" Hermione protested. "I'm going with you."
Draco took Hermione's hand and rubbed his thumb on the outside of her hand. "Please. Someone has to let Harry know what we're doing."
"But—"
"Please."
Hermione looked irritated, but reluctantly, she resigned to Draco's command. "Fine," she said, pulling her hand from Draco's grasp. She crossed her arms. "But hurry up. Or I'll go after the basilisk fangs myself."
Draco shook his head and glanced at Ron. "Now where did you say the Chamber was?"
"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."
They weaved through the crowded room and ran up the stairs, ignoring the questions from everyone around him.