A/N - Sorry for the late update, but as I'm sure many of you know the site has been down, and then patchy ever since. But here's the next update, and hopefully be next week things will be fixed and I can publish as normal.
Caught up in his own life, Draco Malfoy was completely oblivious to what was going on under the roof at the manor. He had no idea Severus had been at the manor for hours, nor was he aware that Voldemort himself had been at the house for a visit, and he certainly wasn't aware that there was a surprise guest staying in one of the guest suites. In fact the first time he realised something was going on was when he joined his parents for dinner and Lucius explained that they had a house guest for the foreseeable future.
"What sort of house guest?" Draco questioned, wondering if The Dark Lord himself would be staying with them. He knew that the dark wizard was back and not just a shadowy presence any longer, despite the authorities trying to deny such a thing.
"A young witch," Lucius answered.
"That's all you're telling me?" Draco asked with a snort, unimpressed with the lack of information his father was giving him. He may only have been fifteen, but he wasn't stupid and he thought his father knew him well enough to know he could be trusted.
"She is the daughter of The Dark Lord," Lucius added.
Lost for words, Draco could merely stared at his father in surprise. Over the years his father had told him numerous things about The Dark Lord, all on the quiet of course since they'd been pretending to have left their dark ways behind them, but never had he mentioned the dark wizard having a family. Nor had he ever heard any other whisper from other sources of Voldemort having a family.
"I wasn't aware he had a daughter," Draco finally managed.
"It wasn't common knowledge," Lucius replied. "Or at least we thought it wasn't," he added with a scowl.
"What aren't you telling me?" Draco asked, eager to find out just what was going on.
"It's only fair he knows what's going on, Lucius," Narcissa Malfoy said to her husband. "This is his home. Besides, the whole truth could well be coming out soon anyway."
"Fine, but you are not to breath a word of this to another soul, Draco," Lucius warned, fixing his son with his sternest gaze. "Your mother is right, and the entire story might very likely become public knowledge before long, but I will not have you gossiping about The Dark Lord's life with your friends. This is deeply personal, and I expect you to respect The Dark Lord's privacy."
"I won't speak to anyone about this," Draco promised.
Lucius considered his son for a moment before nodding his head. "Years ago, The Dark Lord had a family. A wife and a baby daughter. His daughter was taken ill, and died in hospital. Or so we all thought until yesterday."
"What happened yesterday?" Draco asked.
"A witch went to Severus for help," Lucius replied. "She'd discovered that she was The Dark Lord's daughter, and that she was in danger where she was. Of course, we spent hours confirming her identity, but she was telling the truth. She is The Dark Lord's daughter, and she didn't die as we thought. She was kidnapped and hidden away from her father."
"That's awful," Draco gasped. "Who would do such a thing?"
"Who hates The Dark Lord enough to steal his only child?" Lucius retorted with a snort.
"Dumbledore," Draco gasped, the headmaster coming to his mind straight away as he was the person Draco trusted the least in the entire world. Most people thought the headmaster of Hogwarts was a good man, but Draco had always thought that there was a dark underbelly to the old man.
"Precisely," Lucius nodded, proud of how quickly his son had caught on.
"So what is this witches name?"
Lucius hesitated slightly before informing Draco that the daughter of The Dark Lord was called Hope. The hesitation may have only been slight, but Draco had noticed it and it was enough to tell him that there was more his father wasn't telling him. Although he knew better than to push the matter, and despite still having several questions on the matter, he didn't voice them when his parents changed the subject.
He didn't find out anything more about Voldemort's daughter over the rest of the meal, but his curiosity wasn't sated so on his way back to his own wing of the manor, he made a detour to where the guest suites were located. Not that he could tell which guest suite was in use, as all the doors were closed and even hovering in the corridor, he could hear no movement from any of the rooms. With a defeated sigh, he headed back to his own room for the night, determined that he would manage to get a look at Voldemort's daughter and hopefully find out just what his father hadn't told him.
Draco was still as determined as ever to find out everything he could about Hope when he rose early the following morning. After grabbing a quick shower and quickly getting dressed, he once again took a detour to the part of the manor where guests stayed. As with the previous night, all the doors were tightly shut, but this time he could hear movement behind the door to the largest and most luxurious guest suite.
For a long time Draco debated knocking on the door and introducing himself, but the last thing he wanted was to be rude. He especially didn't want to annoy the witch due to the fact she was Voldemort's daughter and the last thing he wanted to do was get on the wrong side of the dark wizard he hadn't even met yet. So even though he was still curious about the witch staying with them, and would have loved to have caught a glimpse of her, he reluctantly turned to head downstairs to grab some breakfast.
However, just as he turned away from the door, he heard it swing open behind him. Whirling back around, he put a welcoming smile on his lips and prepared to say hello to The Dark Lord's daughter. However, the smile froze on his lips and the words of greeting stuck in his throat when he found himself face to face with Hermione Granger.
The muggleborn witch didn't seem the slightest bit surprised to see him, and she rolled her eyes at his frozen form as she turned and walked back into the bedroom, leaving the door wide open behind her. Not sure if he should follow or not, Draco made his way to the threshold of the room and continued to stare at Hermione, hardly able to believe his eyes. He wasn't stupid enough to ask what she was doing her, as the answer was obvious, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't totally blown away that the muggleborn witch who had been a thorn in his side over the first four years at Hogwarts was really the secret daughter of The Dark Lord.
"Are you going to say something, or just stare?" Hermione asked with a sigh, as she turned back around to face the blond wizard. "I figured you wanted something the way you were lurking around."
"I wasn't lurking," Draco replied, finding his voice. "You can't lurk in your own home. I was merely passing."
"You were lurking," Hermione stated. "What were you doing? Hoping for a look at The Dark Lord's daughter? Well here I am, Malfoy, have a good look."
Hermione blatantly stared at Draco, quietly challenging him to make the next move. Refusing to be intimated in his own home, Draco stared back, trying to see if he could see anything different about the witch in front of him now he knew who she truly was. To be honest he'd only ever paid attention to Hermione because she'd beaten him in every lesson and it had rankled that a muggleborn had a better grasp on magic than he had. Although now he knew she wasn't a muggleborn it helped ease his pride that she was smarter than him.
"What are you smirking at?" Hermione demanded, spotting the infuriating smug smirk slowly creep over Draco's lips.
"Nothing much," Draco replied. "It's just good to know that a muggleborn hasn't been beating me at school for all these years."
"And it's better that I'm not?" Hermione scoffed. "I may not be a muggleborn, but I was still raised with muggles, and until the summer before first year, I had no idea I had magic. You've known you were a wizard your entire life, yet you've still been outperformed by someone who has only been doing magic since they were eleven. I wouldn't look too smug if I were you, Malfoy. It's hardly something to be proud of, is it?"
"It's not about how long you've been practising magic," Draco replied defensively, determined to argue back even though deep down he knew Hermione was right and her blood status really didn't change the fact she was smarter and better at magic than he was. "It's about the magic that flows in your blood, and with The Dark Lord as your father, you've got strong magic in your veins."
"And maybe that was why I was stolen as a baby," Hermione whispered and for the first time Draco could see the pain in her deep brown eyes. There was no doubt that the witch standing in front of him was hurting, and he felt compelled to offer her some comfort.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he offered gently.
"It's not you," Hermione said with a sigh as she slumped down on the edge of the bed. "It's everything. Two days ago my life was normal. Now I'm the daughter of a dark wizard, staying with a family I don't even know."
"Are you saying you've only just discovered who you are?" Draco asked with a frown, coming further into the room.
"Yes," Hermione replied in a low voice. "Would you believe I was just curled up with a book, minding my own business, and I overheard a conversation that not only informed me who I was, but warned me I was in danger."
"Whoa," Draco muttered, hesitantly dropping onto the bed but making sure to keep a decent distance away from Hermione. "It must have been like your whole life exploded before your eyes."
"I think that's a pretty accurate description," Hermione said. "To be honest, I'm still trying to get my head around it all. But now I have to meet Voldemort, and no doubt some decisions will have to be made about the future."
"You don't want to meet your father?" Draco asked.
"Yes, and no," Hermione replied with a slight shrug. "Part of me wants nothing more than to meet him and find out who I really am, but there's another part of me that's terrified. Because he's not just a normal wizard, is he? He's a dark wizard and until two days ago, I thought he was the biggest threat to my future."
"The Hermione Granger I've gone to school with for four years, is no coward," Draco offered. "She might be scared, but she won't let the fear win. She'll face her fears and do what is best for her."
With a small smile, Hermione tilted her head to look at Draco. "Did you just pay me a compliment?"
"Don't get used to it, I don't do it a lot," Draco retorted with a slight smirk. "But if you want, I will be your friend."
"What? Because I'm not a muggleborn?" Hermione snorted. "Because I'm no longer tainted? Because I'm the daughter of The Dark Lord and might be useful to you?"
"No, because you're staying in my house and your whole life has just been turned on it's head," Draco shot back as he rose to his feet, colour staining his cheeks at Hermione's rebuff. He'd only been trying to be nice, something he didn't do a lot, and he was annoyed that the gesture had been thrown back in his face. "But clearly you don't want friends, so I'll be leaving you to it," he huffed, stalking towards the bedroom door.
"Malfoy wait," Hermione called, stopping the blond as he was about to exit the room. "I was rude, I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Draco replied with a shrug, glancing over his shoulder at Hermione. "I got the message."
"I overreacted," Hermione admitted in a small voice. "Even though we both know you wouldn't have made the offer to be my friend if I wasn't who I am, it was rude of me to snap at you the way I did. Everything in my life has changed, and I need to start accepting it. And you're right, I could do with a friend. So if that offer's still open, I'd like to accept it."
"It's still open," Draco said, offering Hermione a small smile. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy forgetting the past, but I think given the circumstances we should make a fresh start." Taking a step forward he held his hand out to Hermione. "Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy."
Smiling at the gesture, Hermione took hold of Draco's hand and shook it. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. Or possibly Hope," she added with a frown. "Bloody hell, what do I call myself?"
"What are you more comfortable with?" Draco asked.
"Hermione," Hermione admitted. "It's who I've always been."
"Then stick with Hermione," Draco advised.
"Thank you, Malfoy," Hermione whispered.
"Draco," Draco corrected. "My friends call me Draco."
"Thank you, Draco," Hermione said.
"Any time," Draco replied. "I was on my way to breakfast, would you like to join me?"
"Yes, I think eating something before I meet my father would be good," Hermione replied.
"Come on then, I'll show you were the dining room is," Draco offered, leading the way from the bedroom.
Together the two teenagers went down to breakfast, before Hermione would then meet her father for the first time and make some decisions would affect the course of not just her life, but that of several other people as well, including Draco.
