A/N- New Chapter! YAY! I really like this chapter, though certain parts feel rushed. Oh well, I spent like three hours on this. I was actually planning on adding in Hermione's date with Andrew, but it's not relevant to the story and I wanted to get this updated today.

Thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! :)

Now, please enjoy my plot twists and cliffhanger. That's the only warning I'm providing.

Chapter Twenty One

Theodore Nott was waiting beneath a redwood tree.

It was an odd sight to Draco; his former classmate wearing a t-shirt and jeans on a muggle playground. He looked older, the blue shadows beneath his eyes an indicator of his exhaustion. His brown hair was severely rumpled, his eyes vacant of emotion. If Draco had seen him on the street he would've assumed that Theo was depressed or possibly insane. Being a Death Eater could do that to someone.

"Nott," Blaise commented as they approached the tree. Theo's eyes darted up nervously, then back to the ground.

"Here," He whispered, holding out his wand for Draco to take. He did, checking that it was real before pocketing it, "I've got nothing to hide,"

There was an awkward pause.

"Where's Granger?"

Draco laughed shortly, his gaze wandering over the jungle gym. Several children were swinging, another going down the slide. What innocent youth that would be soon corrupted through school and life.

"She's got a job, mate. At a bookstore. Doesn't that sound like her?" Blaise filled in the blanks.

Ah yes, Hermione does work at a bookstore. She's a bookworm if I've ever seen one which is actually incredibly attractive-

Wait. What.

Theo and Blaise were both staring at the blonde, waiting for him to say something. Draco startled out of his thoughts, nodding, "Yes. Right. What's your business here, Theo?"

Nott shifted uncomfortably and rolled his shoulders back, "I am… I was on a mission from Lucius but several events have taken place that have made me reconsider what I've been doing,"

Draco was growing impatient, "Like what?"

Theo's voice dropped to a hush, "First of all, he made me take polyjuice to look like a girl. Do you know how weird that is?"

Draco and Blaise exchanged a look.

"I mean, I might be a Death Eater, but going through that greatly increased my appreciation of women. What they have to put up with from men, from body images in magazines, from their own bodies…" Theo continued to ramble. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Alright. So who did you impersonate? I'm assuming a young, attractive young woman with gentle curves and an attractive face?" Blaise taunted, but Draco wasn't paying attention. He'd kept tabs, more or less, on nearly everyone in the town. It was good to know if you had any enemies nearby and in a small town it was easy to do so. Nobody had been acting strange lately, not as far as he could tell. In fact, the only people that were 'new' to town were Hermione, Orion, and Sasha.

"You're Sasha, aren't you?"

Theo froze.

"I've got nothing to lose really, so yes. I'm Sasha. I've been sent to watch you—"

"For how long?" Draco cut in, his eyes flashing silver. He was pissed. Theo was a soldier; someone who took orders without asking questions. He'd been in Slytherin, for Merlin's sakes! When did he become so stupid and dull-witted?

"Since Sasha—Since I—arrived in town," Theo admitted, his head ducking slightly. Blaise let out a low whistle.

"I flirted with you, Nott. Hell, I checked out your arse!" Draco fought to keep his voice even. He wasn't going to explode, he wasn't. But just the thought that Theo had been spying on him in the office throughout the last month was chilling. And another thing. Theo's been impersonating Sasha for a month… where has he gotten all that potion? And all of the hair required for it?

"Yeah sorry. Believe me, it was quite strange for me too—"

Theo stopped talking when Draco shoved him against the tree, nose-to-nose.

"Where is the real Sasha Bradely?" The blonde hissed through his teeth, pushing the brunette further into the bark with his arm. Theo winced, holding up his hands in defeat.

"Honestly? Probably dead. Bellatrix survived you know," Nott shrugged, "Wasn't aware that you cared so much for her, Malfoy,"

Draco released his former classmate, taking a step back, "I don't. Curiosity, I suppose,"

"What happened to you? You're all… domesticized," Theo asked, his lip curling slightly. Blaise rolled his eyes and pursed his lips.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he? But it's no worse than you being Lucius' little bitch. Refresh my memory; when did that happen again?"

There was another moment of silence, in which Theo appeared to grow even more pissed off and Draco relaxed his tense position.

It was Theo who broke the quiet.

"When Draco here won worst kid of the year award and left home, that's when. Lucius was in need of someone to play son for him, so I stepped up for the role,"

Draco's blood boiled. His father was a bastard at times, yes, even more so since the war had officially begun, but he was always appreciative of what his son did. He did follow his father around and did exactly what he said, after all. He was not a bad son for leaving his mother to fend for herself and his father's mental state to deteriorate into partial insanity. He wasn't selfish or bad or evil.

He wasn't.

"That's not entirely true," Blaise cut in, a shit-eating-grin on his face, "Tell the class what really happened at Malfoy Manor, Theodore,"

His best friend's words stopped Draco's musings for a moment.

"What do you mean, 'what really happened'?"

Theo sighed and crossed his arms, "Alright, alright. I'm just messing with you, mate. I was never like a son to Lucius. Your father is a sick son of a bitch, by the way," Draco, despite everything that had happened, almost saw red, "He wants another heir. There, that's the truth. Can I go now? It's not safe to be out in the open for this long,"

Blaise stepped forward, "No. You can't leave, not until you tell us what the bloody hell is going on. What did you mean just then, 'he wants another heir?' Did he buy himself a girlfriend?"

"No. He's already got one."

The blonde of the group bit his lip, confused, "I'm his only heir, Nott. What sort of potion have you been taking?"

"No, no, no! Don't you see! Orion is the new heir! Lucius' plan was to take the young boy in and alter his memories so he thought Lucius was his father. He would be raised in the Manor, of course, and treated as a prince. Orion is technically of Malfoy blood, despite his mother being a mudblood—"

"Watch it," Draco said warningly.

"Whatever. I think your father thought that if Orion thought he was a pureblood it wouldn't matter. Just pretend that everything was fine and dandy—"

"But that doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't he just obliviate me?" Draco felt something, an emotion of some kind, blossoming in the nether regions of his stomach. Orion was a stranger, but Lucius had known his son his whole life. Why wouldn't his father track him down and alter his memories so Draco could be with his family again. That was what his father wanted, an heir. Draco was the true heir.

Was he not worth the effort?

"Because, Malfoy, there are cracks in the spell. Occasionally, a person who has been obliviated can remember things. Small things, a fleeting memory perhaps, but enough to make you question your existence. 'Is it real or has my mind been tampered with?' Now children's memories are different. Orion would still have those cracks, but the memories of his mother, of the torture, would be sluggish and dream-like. He would add them up as reoccurring childhood nightmares and continue living as your father's little soldier. What with two Malfoy men as Death Eaters, who knows what could happen? Another dark lord, perhaps? It's all about power, you two. The sooner you learn that, the better,"

Draco turned to Blaise, "And you knew about this? For how long?"

Blaise stuck his hands in his pockets, "Honestly, Draco, I'd known it was coming. I wasn't sure when. Voldemort wasn't concerned with the… projects Lucius got involved in. He didn't care if Orion was captured or not. He was set on wiping out the mudbloods, the muggles themselves. I'd only heard fleeting words of what Lucius had plans for and by the time I learned the true story Voldemort was dead. I tracked you down because… because I didn't want your father to get to you… to either of you,"

"My father is insane," Draco whispered, rubbing his hand across his forehead, "Oh sweet Merlin, my father has fallen off his rocker,"

"I'm sorry mate, I tried to help you as best as I could without revealing how much I actually knew," Blaise moved closer to his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright. If we're all done with the soap opera moment—" Theo stretched, stepping away from the tree.

"The what?" Blaise asked, his head cocking to the side.

"Wow man, you really have got to watch the telly more. It's actually so incredibly interesting, the things muggles come up with. Now all I need is my wand back—"

"Why did you help us?" Draco questioned, his gaze fixed on the man in front of him. Theo sighed.

"Honestly? I'm looking out for me, myself and I here. Turning into a girl to please a power-hungry bastard and a wicked bitch? No thank you. As soon as I
realized that I wasn't going to get much out of this deal, I contacted you," Theo shrugged. His eyes wandered across the park, taking in the chatting parents and the screeching kids. The sunlight filtered down through the tree's leaves, except for when clouds occasionally drifted over the sun.

"Alright… One last question. Why is my father waiting to attack? He knows where we are, all of us,"

"He's… he's luring you into a sense of false security," Theo stated, before holding out his hand, "Wand, please,"

Draco handed it over, grudgingly, and Theo disappeared with a 'pop'.

"That was…"

"Informative," Draco agreed with Blaise, it was informative. They held the blueprints for Lucius' design.

But what were they supposed to do with them?

X

When Hermione returned from work (and another date with Andrew, which was realaxing and fun), she was greeted by her two wizards-in-crime.

"So we found out what my father wants," Draco told her the moment she set her purse down. Blaise was standing behind the blonde, a determined expression on his face.

"Yeah. He wants your son,"

That stopped Hermione cold, "He wants 'Ronnie? Why?"

Draco and Blaise exchanged a look, "Well, he wants an heir… and apparently I'm too 'old' to be obliviated properly," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, and Sasha Bradely? Not Sasha. Theodore Nott, actually," Blaise chimed in.

"Alright, that's just wrong," Hermione stated, crossing her arms.

"You're telling us," Draco muttered under his breath.

"Well, I warded the house already. I got good at those spells during my years in hiding. We can figure out how we're going to go about this tomorrow," Hermione concluded. Blaise nodded and said goodbye.

Draco was about to tell the young woman that he had to leave too when Madam Quincie walked in on them, her grey hair in a state of disarray.

"Oh good, Evan, you're here. I need your assistance in my study. You too, Julia, if you don't mind,"

Unable to say no, they followed her up the stairs and into a small room that was taken up by a desk and several comfortable-looking chairs. The walls had been covered in bookshelves and photographs. On the desk, piled high, were stacks of records and files. The record player itself was sitting on an end table in the corner.

"I need you to sort through the records. I've been at the files and books all day, and I need to go downstairs to make dinner for everyone. If the record is undamaged put it in one pile and if it's scratched, throw it away. Thank you so much!" And with that, the elderly woman was gone.

"Uhm… records?" Draco asked, obviously confused. Hermione laughed, and reached for one.

"These. Before cassette tapes and CDs there were records. You put them on a record player, like that," She pointed to it casually, "My mum used to own one,"

Don't think about them, Hermione, it'll only depress you.

"Oh. What did she mean, scratched?" Draco moved to pick up a record, reading the sleeve it was in.

"Well record players have these things called 'arms', it's the piece that has the 'needle', which 'reads' the music. Now, on each record are little grooves. I don't know too much about record players, shocking because I'm Hermione Granger, and I should know everything, but I never really got into technology I suppose. What I do know is that the needle runs over the grooves, which has the imprint of the musical recording on it. If the record is scratched, the music is interrupted, and it can mess up the entire record. The record is then ruined,"

Draco nodded slowly, turning the vinyl disk over in his hands, "That's actually… incredibly fascinating,"

Hermione smiled softly, taking in the look of amazement on his face, "That's something I thought I'd never see; Draco Malfoy, interested in muggle technology,"

The blonde smirked, "Well get used to it. I don't particularly like the television, or the computers, but the music is just amazing,"

"Yes, well," Hermione cleared her throat, turning away, "You put the record on the turntable. Like this," She placed the Beatles record down on the player and turned it on. She shifted the needle onto the disk and it began to play.

"In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs…"

"This is a Beatles album!" The brunette exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down from excitement, "My dad used to listen to these all the time!"

"A Beatles album? But they're human," Draco commented, somewhat dumbly, as he shifted through the pile of records.

"No, you cultureless oaf, that's their band name. They were a very famous British band in the '60's and '70's. I love this song," Hermione almost swooned, her hands clasped together. It felt like forever since she'd heard this song, and it immediately took her back to rainy afternoons sitting with her father listening to music on their living room couch.

"Right. I knew that," The wizard said, nodding. He took a step toward Hermione, who was smiling softly, a far-away look in her eyes.

"Let's dance," She whispered to him, and he stared down at her. They were awfully close in the tightly-packed office, almost nose-to-nose now. Draco took one of her hands in his own and she reached for his other. They swayed slowly back and forth, unable to do much else. The song was upbeat and fun yet Draco felt his palms begin to sweat and Hermione was aware of how the room temperature seemed to increase by twenty degrees. Her eyes met his for fleeting seconds, only to glance away again. Their chests were pressed together, and if Hermione dared to stand on her tiptoes, to lean in just a little bit…

"There beneath the blue suburban skies… Penny Lane…"

And just like that, the song was over. The moment was broken, and the two people stepped away from each other quickly. The song changed and Hermione went back to looking through records. Draco sighed as he glanced at the photographs on the walls.

"So what made you come here? To America, I mean," Hermione prompted after several minutes of awkward silence. Draco shrugged.

"Honestly? I just wanted an escape and America is a big country with lots of people. The upside is, though, that there's also a lot of small towns. Places that Death Eaters would never look, where they don't have time to look. I knew that my best shot was either here or in Russia, and I am not especially fond of the cold,"

Hermione managed a short laugh, "You hated it here, didn't you?"

Draco couldn't deny her the truth, "Yeah, I did. I had no idea what I was doing. I was confused and… I'd always been taught to hate muggles, you know? Ever since birth," His piercing silver gaze met hers, "And then I get here and… and everyone was so kind to me, I didn't know what to do. I came here because it was the best option at the time, and I tried to distance myself from everyone. Believe me, I did. But the thing is, I just couldn't. Madam Quincie was always there to give me a hand if I needed one, and Jasmine would swing by and help me out with the yard work. Mr. Xaing was always willing to talk literature or news. Even outside the house, Mr. Linney was always asking if I was doing alright and Clara, despite her flirtatiousness, is nothing but helpful. I started to grow attached to people… and I left my old life behind. I still used magic, but not as much as I could have. I sort of learned that… that muggles aren't dirty animals like I was told. They're people, Granger. And that's an amazing thing,"

Hermione felt something clang about in her heart at his words. It was an unfamiliar feeling; the sort that tightens the chest but makes you feel like flying at the same time. A small, somewhat loopy smile worked its way onto her face. She approached the Death Eater, the murderer, the son, the father, the student, the coworker, the wizard… and all of those titles were stripped away. Underneath, he was what everyone else was.

Just another person.

Not the superhero nor villain. Not the best or worse. Not his father or grandfather.

Just him, just a blonde man with a quick tongue and a small smirk and ridiculously beautiful hair.

With that thought in mind, Hermione Granger pressed a little bit closer, tip-toed a little bit higher, and pressed her lips to his.