Chapter 26

For the amount of effort Draco had put into helping with Tonks and Remus' wedding, one would think that he would be used to it. But it seemed as if the wedding Bill and Fleur were having was far, far more elaborate. Even with the number of people helping with the wedding, Draco was lucky if he could get a moment to himself; well one that was alone for him and Hermione together.

Their dynamic had changed significantly since the two of them shared their first kiss a few weeks ago. At first they had both been shy by each other and at first they avoided each other. But after a while normalcy arose when they were co-assigned the task of weeding the yard. He was pleased to find that the two of them began to get comfortable around each other, but Draco was worried that things would return to their previous platonic state. And that was place he couldn't handle returning to, not when he had such strong feelings for Hermione.

Thankfully enough for him, when she sprayed him with a burst of water from her wand, he had chased her around the yard until he had her pinned against a tree. When he realised the compromising position that they were in, he blushed, but to his shock, she had kissed him gently.

He smiled at the memory as he helped Mrs. Weasley create a seating plan for the wedding that would result in the least amount of family drama. It was a task that would keep him occupied for the next few hours, and prevented him from going and finding Hermione. He sighed as he began to listen to the matron rant about which person couldn't stand which family member. It was going to be an extremely long afternoon.

"I know what you guys said in the past, but I'll understand if you don't want to come with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry, Ron, and she were currently locked away in Ron's room. The two of them had given him his birthday presents in private, as he had finally turned 17. They knew that everyone had given him things that morning, but there were also a few things they wanted to discuss with him. It had been so hard to get a moment of privacy for them to discuss their plans for after the wedding. Ron had suggested that his mother had purposefully done so, hoping to delay any plans that they were conjuring up for after it was all over.

Harry was rather pleased that he could now use magic unattended, but his bright mood seemed to spoil now he was facing reality once more.

"Harry, you know we're not going to abandon you; not after everything we've been through," Ron said surprisingly patiently. "Come with me, I need to show you guys something." He stood up suddenly and gestured for the two of them to follow him.

"Where are we going?" she asked her friend, confused at his random spontaneous actions.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously as he used his wand to cause a flight of staircase to descend from the ceiling.

Curiously, she climbed up the stairs. As she made it to the top, the first thing she saw was probably one of the foulest creatures she had ever seen in her entire life.

"What is that thing?" Harry asked, while trying to hide the disgust from his face.

"Me," Ron said simply.

"Uh Ron, I hate to break it to you, but that thing looks absolutely nothing like you," Hermione said, trying not to sound offending.

"I know that! It's something Dad and Bill helped with. When I don't return to Hogwarts this year, the Ministry is going to come looking for a reason. You know how attendance is mandatory this year. Well if I have Spattergoit, then it's enough of a reason for me not to return. Spattergoit is really contagious you see, so the Ministry officials won't come close enough to figure out that it's not really me," Ron explained calmly. The three turned and headed back to his room.

"And what about you, Hermione? Won't they go to your parents when you don't return?" Harry asked her curiously.

She felt a pang in her chest that she had been trying to forget. Well what better time to tell her friends right?

"Most muggleborns aren't returning this year. It's not really safe now that Dumbledore isn't there," she said evasively.

"And if they go after your parents?" Ron asked her.

"They won't find anyone. My parents are gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" Harry asked her carefully.

"To Australia."

"Your parents agreed just to pack up and go?" Ron asked her as he raised a brow. She didn't really blame them for pushing, after all she had said previously that there was no way that her parents would just up and leave her behind.

Hermione took a deep breath before beginning, "They were hesitant, but once I explained the risks, they understood. But it would be dangerous for them if a Death Eater found out they had a witch daughter. But Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't have any children," she finished quietly.

Realisation seemed to dawn upon them. "You modified your parents memories," Harry said softly.

"Yes," she said, as a few tears streamed down her face. They were the only people she had told about this, and it felt good to have someone else know as well.

"I'm sorry you had to do this for me," Harry said sadly, taking the blame.

"Harry!" she said, shocked. "I didn't tell you this to blame you! They agreed to do this. And to tell you the truth, I probably would have done the same thing regardless of you."

He gave her a weak smile.

"I also had something to ask the two of you," she began nervously.

"What?" Ron asked her.

"I know that we planned for the three of us to go alone on this, but I've been thinking about that. Draco knows a lot about the Wizarding world, and somehow it seems wrong to leave him on the sidelines after all of this time," she said. She had no idea how the boys would react to her sudden proclamation, but she couldn't leave him alone. Even though she cared about him deeply, it was more than that. She felt safe with him, and she trusted him. And deep down, she knew that he was their best bet to help bring down Voldemort.

"I agree," Harry said, much to the shock of both Ron and Hermione.

"Seriously?" Ron demanded.

Harry shrugged, "Like you said, he knows things that we don't. And after everything, if there's one person I trust other than the two of you, it would be him. And he's one of the few others who know about the Horcruxes so he could help us there."

Hermione hugged Harry tightly. But she knew he wasn't the only one she had to convince. She looked at Ron to see what he would say.

"I don't know…" he said hesitantly. "Three of us is already a lot when we're on the run, but to have four? It's rather hard to be discreet with four people."

Hermione gave him a pleading look. "Please, Ron? Think about how much it could help us. He knows a lot because of how he was raised and more people mean less work per person," she said, adding in that last part because she knew how much he hated chores.

Sure enough, that last part seemed to swing him, "Fine," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "But if something goes wrong, then I get the right to say 'I told you so'."

"Done," she said with a smile as she hugged him.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hermione pulled away from her friend as she opened the door and saw Draco on the other side.

"There you three are! Your mother has been looking everywhere for you Weasley!" Draco grumbled as he entered the room. "I can't believe you three left me out there to do all that work. Just cause it's your birthday Potter, does not give you the right to skive off work."

Hermione smiled at him, before placing a chaste kiss on his lips. She still felt a tingly, but extremely brilliant sensation course through her veins as they made contact. "I'm sorry, Draco. Does this make it better?"

She noticed he had to work hard to keep the smile off his face. "Maybe."

She kissed him again, except it was a bit longer this time.

"Ahem," a cough sounded behind them. Sheepishly the two pulled a part to see Ron and Harry giving them both a pointed look.

"Anyways, happy Birthday, Potter," Draco said. "I don't have anything for you, seeing that I've been as housebound as you lately."

"Thanks Malfoy, don't worry, I completely understand. Besides, we were just talking about you," Harry declared, resulting in a confused look from Draco.

Quickly, the trio filled him in on the plan at hand, and how they wished for him to join them in their mission.

He was speechless, "Oh…wow, I don't know what to say. You really want me to come with you?"

"Well, it took quite a bit of convincing on Hermione's part but we finally came around," Harry joked.

She elbowed him. "We all agreed that it would be better if you came with us. After everything you've done for us so far, I couldn't imagine leaving you behind."

Draco wrapped his arms around her. "I'd love to come then," he whispered into her hair.

"Again, still in the room," Ron grumbled.

"Maybe you should leave then," Draco joked, earning him a light slap from Hermione.

Ron shot him a glare, but it did not have the same malice it once held. Before any of the four could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. As Hermione opened it, she saw Mrs. Weasley on the other side.

Draco peered out to see who was at the door.

"There you lot are! I've been searching everywhere for the four of you. Do you have any idea how much work we still need to do? Oh never mind that now, there's some one here to see you three," Mrs. Weasley said.

Draco noticed that she ended the sentence with one less than she started with.

"Us there? Do you mean Harry, Ron and I?" Hermione asked the lady.

"Well yes, and someone named Scorpius White, but I don't suppose he's here, now is he?"

Draco's head snap up at the name. "Actually, that's me," he said, confused.

Hermione turned to face him. "Scorpius White?"

It was a few months into before Dumbledore's death. Draco had received a note that the Headmaster had wanted a few words with him, but had no other information about why he was there.

"You asked to see me, Sir?" he said, announcing his presence.

Dumbledore was crouched over his desk, writing rapidly on a piece of paper. As he noticed Draco's presence, he waved his hand over the scroll and the parchment vanished.

"Ah, Draco! Sit, sit. As you know, there will be a time when Draco Malfoy will be dead. In that time, when needed, you will need to take up an alias so that no one catches on. I have asked you here today to discuss that name that you shall take for yourself."

"Does it need to be right now? Can't I just make one up spontaneously?" Draco asked, confused.

"Why wait until the moment desires it, when it can be taken care of in advance?" Dumbledore said.

"Okay…."

"Excellent! I was thinking that because your mother's maiden name was Black, you could use the surname of White," He said.

Draco nodded, it made sense but it wasn't revealing.

"I'll let you choose your first name then," Dumbledore said, nodding as he gestured for him to pick a name.

"Scorpius."

"Excellent. Now that it's all settled, you may return to your evening," Dumbledore dismissed.

As Draco turned to leave, he noticed the parchment had reappeared upon Dumbledore's desk, and the Headmaster was once again scribbling quickly.

"It's an alias," Draco explained. "Dumbledore and I planned it out for a time when I'm supposed to be dead.

"I get the White, but why Scorpius?" Hermione asked him.

"I liked the name," he said with a shrug. "I always figured that I'll probably name my son that one day." He noticed that her cheeks turned a faint pinkish colour, and subconsciously started to feel heat rush to his face as well.

"Well, then you should come too, Draco. But you should probably disguise yourself first. The last thing you want is for the Minister of Magic to know that you're alive," Mrs. Weasley said, as she waved her wand at him. As he turned to see his reflection, he noticed that his pale hair was now dark black, and his grey eyes were now a brown. His skin was no longer it's pale self, and was now a bit more coloured. In other words, he no longer looked like himself.

"You look…nice," Hermione said carefully.

"Nice?" Weasley said with a snort. "He no longer looks like he's about to die from some sort of illness, if that's what you mean."

"Stuff it, Weasley," He growled out.

Hermione linked her arms through his. "I don't care what you look like, as long as you're still you," she said tenderly, as they proceeded to make their way to the sitting room.

Waiting for the four of them was a middle aged man with a shrewd expression. His brown hair was shoulder length and held a mixture of grey streaks slowly declaring their presence. He knew that this was the man who had replaced Fudge. Hopefully, it would be a change for the good.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," The man said, as he stood up to greet them. His eyes overlooked all of them, but frowned once they reached his. "And you are?"

"Scorpius White," Draco said simply.

"I…see," he said with a frown. "And do you have any way to prove that you are who you say you are?"

"I take it that my word is not enough," Draco said with a pause. "May I know first why I need to prove my identity?"

"Albus Dumbledore has left behind a will."

"And why are we only hearing about this now? It's been over a month since Dumbledore's death!" Harry all but shouted.

"There were certain procedures in place that had to have happened first," The minister said, full of authority.

Draco knew right away what he was saying.

"You were inspecting them!" Hermione said with a gasp.

"So why give it to us now?" Harry asked, still confused.

"Because it's been 30 days. It's ministry policy that if they cannot find any proof of dark magic in that time, then they have to release the contents!" Hermione said, as she shook her head in disgust.

"You think Dumbledore would actually leave us something dark? Or is it not about that?" Harry said. "You're trying to find out what Dumbledore wants me to do, aren't you?"

"Well, it is curious. And I have told you that you may utilize the Auror department as much as you'd like. You just need to make a couple of appearances every once in a while," Scrimgeour said. It sounded like the two have had this argument before.

"No," Harry said shaking his head. "My answer and my reasons have not changed. Now, may be get on to the will?"

"We shall, as soon as your friend proves he is who he says he is, so he can receive his inheritance."

Draco almost gasped; Dumbledore had left him something? That was certainly a surprise.

Draco shook his head. While he had no identification that could be useful, he knew what he had to do. "Isn't it simple? Read out the will and once it's my turn, once you read out what I am to receive then it will appear. If I am someone else, then nothing will appear."

Scrimgeour knew he was right, but didn't seem satisfied with the answer.

"White isn't an old family name, now is it?" he pried.

"No, but I'm a half-blood. My father was a muggle, but he's passed on," Draco said, as he had previously rehearsed.

"I…see," the minister said again in that tone that seemed none too pleased with his answers.

"Can we get back to the will?" Harry asked impatiently.

The minister removed a scroll from a drawstring pouch and began to read. "To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in hope that he will remember me when he uses it." From the same bag he pulled out a small silver rectangular object and handed it to its new owner.

"This is rather valuable. Do you have any idea why he would have left it to you, out of the thousands of students he's taught in his lifetime?"

"To put out the lights, I suppose. What else could I do with it?" Ron mumbled, but did not break eye contact with Scrimgeour.

"To put out the light," the Minister echoed, sounding like he didn't believe the boy.

"To Miss Hermione Jeam Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle and the Bard, in hopes she will find it entertaining and instructive," he read, as he handed her a book. "Why Miss Granger, do you think he left you a book."

"He knew I like to read," she said, as a tear fell down her cheek. He was tempted to wipe it away, but knew he couldn't in present company.

"But why that book. Did the two of you discuss passing secret messages?"

"N-no. I just really like to read, and I'm a muggleborns, so I don't know a lot about wizarding tales. He must have thought I would find it entertaining."

"Hmm," he said, sounding disappointed again,

"To Harry James Potter, I leave the snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill," he said. "Why do you think he left you this snitch?"

"For whatever you just said, I suppose, perseverance and skill."

"So only as a keepsake? I wonder, I notice that your birthday cake is also in the shape of a snitch," Scrimgeour pointed out.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, because Dumbledore left him a message in the icing. Forget the fact that Harry is a brilliant Seeker, nope, it must mean something more."

"I didn't say that," Scrimgeour snapped. "But a snitch is a great hiding spot is it not? Because they have flesh memories, as I'm sure Miss Granger knew all about."

She looked down. As Draco looked at the snitch, he realised that it was the one he had secretly been hoping Potter had choked on seven years ago. Harry reached out to take the snitch, and Draco watched, his heart beating rapidly. As he made contact with the snitch, they all watched in anticipation, however nothing happened.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Harry said coolly.

"There's something else, Potter. But I'm afraid you cannot receive your second bequest."

"What is it?" Hermione said impatiently.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor. But it was not Dumbledore's to give away. Now why would he give that to you? Does he think that you can use it to defeat the Heir of Slytherin?"

Draco almost burst into laughter at that last part, but held it in.

"I pulled it out of the sorting hat," Harry said, keeping the cold exterior on his face. "And what a wonderful idea, I've had it wrong all this time. I should have just thought of stabbing Voldemort with the sword, would have saved everyone a lot of time, really."

Scrimgeour gave him a glare. "Anyways, To Mr Scorpius White, I leave to you my loyal bird, Fawkes, in hopes that it will continue to help him light the way of those he loves."

Draco let out a gasp, he had received the phoenix? What did that mean?

The five of them waited, as the golden bird appeared suddenly and flew over Draco before landing in his lap. Fawkes cooed as it shook it's feathers and settled where it was,

"There you go, Minister. Now, if that's all. I have a party to return to," Harry said, as he exited the room.

Everyone cleared out, as Draco continued to stare at the bird in front of him, wondering what Dumbledore had meant, by leaving him the creature.

A/N: Ohh aren't Draco and Hermione getting cosy? I know I didn't talk a lot about Harry's birthday, but I liked how that was in the book so I didn't want to change or add anything to that. And thank you all so much for the reviews; I'm glad you all liked the Hermione and Draco scene in the previous chapter.