A/N: Wow, two chapters in about 12 hours? This chapter starts the main plot I had for this story, so please, read and review, let me know what you think :) Oh, and the chapter starts off with a different characters POV. ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this chapter. And probably in this novel as well, but who knows maybe I'll need to make up a character in the future. But in this chapter and story so far, everything belongs to J.K Rowling.
(Yes that was slight hint for an unknown character that comes into play during this chapter.)
"Draco, Draco honey, please, we must get out of here! We have to hide until it is safe" Narcissa called out to her son. She stood there trying to plead with him to follow her and her husband away from danger, but he wouldn't come. Why wouldn't he come?
"Father, get her out of here! Go, I'll be fine, I promise" her son yelled. She glared and began to scream, but suddenly she was turned around and pulled away by her husband. She looked up at Lucius as they ran as far as they could away from the school. After they felt they were safe, they slowed to walk. Narcissa's mind was racing. She couldn't believe she just left her only child back in the face of danger. She knew that he wanted to do the right thing, but she just couldn't get over the fact that her son was a grown man. Tears escaped her eyes in fear of what could happen to Draco. Lucius stopped and brushed the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs and kissed her on the forehead. She threw herself against her husband as he wrapped his arms around her. They stood like that until both were able to compose themselves.
"Darling, we must find a place to hide," Lucius whispered to his fragile witch.
Narcissa nodded before replying, "Yes, but where? Surely our home isn't safe enough, and the ministry is infested with followers of the Dark Lord."
Lucius stood in thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose we can try the Manor, and if there is anything suspicious we'll apparate ourselves out of there okay?" he finally suggested.
Narcissa just nodded, too weak to even see any possible flaws in his plan. It really is our only hope, she thought to herself as she grabbed a hold of her husband's arm. Together they apparated to the back of their property, where a small shed sat amongst the trees. After Lucius checked all the security wards, they sighed, relieved that they found no one had been in their home since the war started.
"Expelliarmus!" they turned around to where Lucius' stolen wand flew off to, "thought you'd get away easy eh Malfoys?" One of the Death Eaters jumped down from his hiding place on a shelf near the ceiling. He pointed his wand at the pair, "Ah, I guess your son couldn't make it out, such a shame really, wasted efforts on your parts if you think about it. Don't worry, you'll be joining him soon."
The next and last thing Narcissa saw was a flash of green light, before being thrown to the ground by a heavy force. Everything went black.
Narcissa woke from her nightmare gasping for breath. She crawled out of her bed and made her way to the magic mirror. After straightening herself up, she gracefully left her room and walked down the hall to her office. There she took out some parchment and a quill and began to write two letters: one to her husband and one to her son.
As she folded the letters into their envelopes she attached them to their owl. She stood by the window for the next five minutes as she watched the owl disappear in the midnight sky. Deciding she wasn't quite ready to get some more sleep, she made her way down stairs to the common room, summoning one of the elves to bring her a cup of tea. She sipped on her tea as she stared at the fire when she heard the chimes of her security wards go off. Next, she could hear the boom of the door knocker. Confused, she made her way to the door, wand in hand she opened the door a crack to see who was visiting at this time of night. In the past, Narcissa would have immediately thrown open the door and hexed whoever was disturbing her family's peace, but she knew better now. She was alone, and curious to see who was at the door, but even more scared, fearing the worst.
She peered out the small opening, and sighed as she realized who it was. Gathering her courage, she put on a brave face as she threw open the door to meet the man that dared show his face. "I was wondering when you'd show up," she huffed as she tilted her nose in disgust.
"Ahh, Cissy, you always were one to hold her grace, even in the face of death," the tall, dark haired man said.
"I know why you're here. But I can't help you. You have no one left you know. Your brother is in Azkaban, your wife is dead, and even your precious little master is finally gone, good riddance," she spat. He took a step closer to her and she reached down to her wand as she refused to leave contact with his glassy, eyes.
"Ah, but you see, you can, and you will help me. It seems you won't have a choice either if you ever want to see your husband or dearest Draco again," the man smirked as her mouth gaped open. She tried to reach for her wand, when his hands grabbed her wrists. "Ah, ah, ah," he teased as he ripped her wand away from her grasp.
"I would sooner die than let any harm come to my family!" she puffed her chest and stared him coldly in the eye.
"Very well then, as you wish," he stated.
A flash of green light beamed from her own wand and hit Narcissa in the chest, as she collapsed she could see the man drop her wand next to her and walk away.
For about a month now it seemed like Ron had been avoiding Hermione since that night. Hermione had been avoiding him the first couple days too, but she knew they had to talk about it at some point. It was only during lunch one day that she finally had enough after Ron made up some excuse about having to train the new Gryffindor keeper that afternoon.
"You did that yesterday!" she yelled at the red head.
"Blimey Hermione, he needs a lot of help if he wants to replace me next year," he tried to weasel his way out of an argument. He began to try and run off but Hermione stopped him in his tracks.
"Bollucks! You know that? You're full of complete bollucks Ronald Billius Weasley. Now you and I are going to talk about this. I would prefer somewhere a little more private but if you're going to continue to be a complete arse then I'll gladly have it out right here. Bloody hell, we may as well just make a show of it!" she got up on the bench and raised her wand about to use the sonorus charm when Ron pulled her down.
"Okay, fine, let's go now then," he said as he dragged her off to a dark corner outside the great hall.
The two of them stood there staring at each other for a few minutes, Hermione tapping her foot while her arms were crossed. "Well?" she finally asked.
Ron shuffled and looked down at his feet before looking up at her through his eyelashes, "well what?" he muttered.
"Why have you been avoiding me these last few weeks?" the witch asked, as if it were blatantly obvious that that was what she was referring to.
Again Ron shuffled before answering, "oh, that. Erm, well, I thought that, you know, the other night when we, well, you seemed pretty mad at me, and then you didn't talk to me for a few days and I just thought that"
"that I wanted nothing to do with you? Ronald, you really are daft sometimes you know that?" she cut him off. The wizard just blushed as she continued, "well, we should talk about that night, shouldn't we?" she asked nervously.
Ron looked up at her then. "Yeah, I think we do need to have a little, or well, long chat. But Mione I really wasn't lying about the whole teach the new keeper thing. Can we talk later? Tonight?" he looked in her eyes and waited for an answer. Any answer.
"Fine, tonight's not good but tomorrow? After my rounds I'll come by the Gryffindor common room," she sighed, "think you can clear it out by then?" She smiled as she noticed his face lit up.
"I'll do more than that, thanks to a little help from George," he winked at her and then with a kiss on her cheek he ran off towards the doors to where the Quidditch pitch was.
Now all I have to do is think of the best way to approach this. She began to devise a well thought out plan on how best to explain what she was feeling to Ron the next day.
After checking to make sure the prefects were good to take their rounds Hermione made her way to her dorm to read one of the many books in their personal library to clear her head. When she entered the room however, she realized she was going to spending most of the night differently than she had planned. There were books everywhere, broken glass, the table was turned over and off in the corner she could see a certain blonde wizard hugging his knees, crying.
Earlier...
Draco had intended on spending the night doing rounds despite it not being his scheduled night, but that all changed as he went to his room to find his family's owl scratching at the window. He opened it and let the owl glide around his room before settling on the chair at his desk. Removing the letter from its talons his heart skipped a beat as he recognized the handwriting. Mother he sighed as he handed the owl a treat. However, his heart began to sink deeper into his chest as he continued to read the letter.
Dearest Draco,
I hope your first week of school is well, all things considered of course. I doing the best I can right now. It gets lonely at night, but sometimes I floo the ministry just for the sake of having a nice chat once in a while. During the day I've been gardening and redecorating the house. You should see the place Draco; you would hardly think that any of the horrible things that have happened even occurred in this same house! Oh, I know it doesn't erase the fact that they happened, but it is at least a start.
All pleasantries aside however, there is a matter I was hoping to discuss with you before it's too late. Lately I have seen a man standing on the edge of our property, just watching the house. I fear he is looking for the best way to approach without the ministry knowing. I have a feeling I know who it is. Don't worry dear, I know how to protect my family from any harm, but I am just letting you know what has been going on so if you hear any rumours, please trust what your mother has to say.
It seems he knows I am here. At first it looked like he was waiting for me to come out, but as you know, I cannot leave the grounds. I did almost get close enough to make out his face; unfortunately I couldn't distinguish certain features. Just the other day as I was gardening I saw his figure moving through the trees along our property line, as if trying to find a breach in the wards. If my assumptions are correct on whom this man is however, I fear it will be much easier than he expects to cross the boundary. I cannot tell you his name, in case this letter is intercepted or even in case I am wrong, so do not try to help Draco. Understand?
Again, do not fear son, I am well enough protected and prepared for anything and anyone that may come to harm my family and myself.
I love you with all my heart, remember that Draco dear, for it will get you through even the toughest of times.
Love your mother, Narcissa Malfoy (née Black)
He read over the letter a second time, just to make sure he had indeed read what he thought. He gulped as he paced around his room. Panicking, he quickly found a piece of parchment and began to write a response to his mother. That's when the owl then dropped something in front of him on the desk. It was The Daily Prophet. Before opening it up, he looked at the owl which looked back with a glassy, solemn expression behind his eyes. Then before he could attach his letter, the owl took off.
Cursing under his breathe, Draco stuffed his mother's letter in his pocket along with his letter, grabbed the paper and walked down the stairs, deciding that a cup of tea would calm his nerves while he read some news.
After settling in the armchair, he began to unroll the paper as he reached over to place his tea on the table in front of him. The cup fell to the floor as he read the front page headliner.
NARCISSA MALFOY (née Black), WIFE OF REFORMED DEATH EATER LUCIUS MALFOY, AND MOTHER OF DRACO MALFOY WAS FOUND DEAD THIS MORNING AFTER ROUTINE CHECK UP, CLOSER RESEARCH SAYS SUICIDE
He didn't even need to read the rest of the article. Just that one sentence was more than enough to set him off.
Hermione cautiously walked over to Draco, unsure of what had happened, when she noticed the front page of The Daily Prophet on the ground beside him. Her heart sank as she picked up the paper and read the article.
"It's not true you know," the wizard finally spoke, "she didn't really kill herself."
Hermione knelt down in front of him, placing her hand on his shoulder before speaking, "Draco, I know it's hard to hear but her wand, the spell came from her own wand."
Draco snapped his head up at her. "You don't think I know that?" he snapped. Hermione pulled her arm back towards her, only to then rest both her hands on his knees. He sat in silence for a while, glaring at the girl in front of him. He could see had hurt her, he saw it in her eyes, but she was also concerned. He sighed as he handed her the letter he received only moments earlier.
Hermione furrowed her brow as she read over the letter, then a sudden wave of emotion as she discovered what had actually happened. She looked up at Draco, tears in her own eyes now. Fear was written all over his face, and all it took was one look at him for her to decide that he needed someone. No matter how horrible he treated her in the past, in that moment she forgot about everything between them and decided to help him. He was her dorm mate and whether she liked it or not, they had to get along, especially during a time like this.
Putting an arm around him, she helped him on his feet and over to the sofa where she placed a blanket around him. After lighting a fire, she began to clean the mess while making a hot cup of cocoa for the two of them. Handing him the mug, she sat in the armchair, curling her feet under her as she started to read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, one of the many muggle books she brought with her. When she finished act two, she glanced over at Draco, who was now fast asleep on the couch. She walked over and adjusted the blanket on him before going up to her own room to get some sleep. As she walked away, she felt a hand grab her leg. She looked down to see Draco staring up at her.
"Granger? Um, could you not tell anyone about the letter?" he asked hesitantly.
"Sure," she smiled at him as she turned away.
"And Granger?" she turned around and smiled warmly at him, he blushed before adding, "thanks." She nodded, still smiling and made her way up the stairs. Merlin she's brilliant when she smiles Draco thought as he drifted off to sleep.
To say he had a terrible sleep would be an understatement. His mind kept wandering off coming up with nightmare after nightmare about the man that possibly could have done this. He must have woken up a dozen times before deciding it wasn't worth going back to sleep. His mind raced over several possibilities, each of them seeming more impossible than the other.
First he thought it could have been Voldemort, but that thought quickly left his mind as soon as it entered. He considered maybe an Auror had done this in revenge, which did seem likely, but the ministry would have known if anyone from any of their departments had been in the house. He tried to recall what his mother had said in her letter. He shuddered as he remembered her saying he wouldn't have trouble getting past the wards. That would mean it would have to be someone who's been there before, and someone that is somehow part of the family. He didn't want to think about that. The only living relatives that he knew about were either blood-traitors and would never do such a thing to begin with, or were supposed to be locked away in Azkaban. Quickly he grabbed the paper and scanned through it, relieved as he found nothing on any recent breakouts.
Draco didn't attend any of his classes that day, instead, locking himself in his room. He knew that by breakfast, the whole school would know for it was all over the papers, he just hoped Hermione kept her promise.
A/N: Any guesses at who this mystery character is? I'm not going to tell you if it's right or wrong, you'll just have to wait and see because you won't find out for a couple of chapters at least.