The weeks passed and Draco and Hermione found themselves spending more and more time together. During the day they would sit what had become "their" office reading through research or in the Malfoy library or the Archives, searching for more information about the origins and the creation of the Cruciatus curse while the interns worked diligently researching the drowning and burning curses. They talked to the patients together and brewed their potions together as well. When they weren't at St. Mungo's they spent their nights at Hermione's flat, tangled together in her bed. On the weekends sometimes they'd spend time with their friends, Draco still finding it weird to call the Weasleys and Potters friends, but they got on well enough whenever they all got together to play Quidditch. As hard as he tried, Draco could never talk Hermione onto a broom. She was content to play with James while his parents flew around, shouting and jeering like children. The shadow still watched them though, growing angrier and more impatient. It was only a matter of time before it materialized and struck.
The morning it decided to make its first move, Hermione and Draco were at St. Mungo's, had been sitting and reading for nearly two hours when Hermione broke the silence.
"What did it feel like? Hermione asked.
"What did what feel like?" Draco replied, annoyed.
"Using the Cruciatus curse," she answered, looking pensive. "What did it feel like using the curse?"
"Why do you want to know?" Draco asked her, growing more agitated by the second. "Care to relive what it's like through your Death Eater boyfriend?"
"Oh stop that," she admonished. "Just tell me, for our research's sake, what did it feel like?"
Draco raised an eyebrow at her calling it "their" research. "I don't want you to know what it's like to ever use any of the Unforgivables," he told her.
"Draco please," she pleaded. "It's important."
"No," Draco said, shortly and went back to the book he was reading.
Frustrated, Hermione got up from her chair, causing Draco to look up from the book. She slid into his lap, sitting with her right shoulder against his chest. He brought his arms around her to hold her in place, puzzled as to what she was doing.
"Please tell me," she whispered, her breath tickling his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Granger, no," he replied, half heartedly pushing her out of his lap. "I'm not telling you."
"Please?" she whispered, curling into his chest, sliding her arms around his waist. "It's important."
With a sign Draco dropped his head on top of hers and re-tightened his arms around her. "Tell me why it's important and, IF it's a good reason, I'll tell you what it felt like," he said.
"I think the after effects have to do with the castor of the spell," she told him. "I noticed the patients tortured by Voldemort himself or by Bellatrix seem to have more severe symptoms than those tortured by other Death Eaters."
"When did you notice that?" Draco wanted to know, hurt she hadn't shared the observation with him sooner.
"It was something you said when you were telling me about your 'victims,'" Hermione told him. "You said your Cruciatus was weak, an embarrassment, maybe it's because you didn't really mean it. Maybe for an unforgivable to truly work, you have to mean it."
"I killed them all though," Draco replied quietly, his arms involuntarily holding her closer to him.
"You meant to put them out of their misery," Hermione said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You meant it at the time."
"It feels like the magic is being ripped out of you," Draco told her in the same quiet tone. "Like a part of you goes with it."
Hermione kept out of his lap, nearly taking him with her. She looked at him excitedly. "That's it!" She exclaimed. "That's what I thought."
"I don't follow," Draco said, staring at her as she beamed back at him.
"I think a piece of the castor, part of their magic, is left behind when they use the Cruciatus," she told him.
"Tons of people were tortured during the war Granger," Draco replied. "I hate to tell you but the majority ended up fine."
"But the ones who were cursed by the worst of the Death Eaters, the ones who were truly evil and for multiple times or a longer period of time," Hermione explained. "They're the ones who still experience the after effects of the curse."
"You may be on to something," he admitted. "But you yourself are a point against your own theory. You were tortured by Bellatrix and more than once but you weren't tortured for an extended period of time."
Hermione furrowed her brow at that. "You're right," she admitted grudgingly. "But I'm the outlier, what if I'm right about the others?"
"Then to cure them you have to find a way to extract the dark magic from them," Draco replied. "Without hurting them or causing them to lose their own magic."
"There has to be a way," Hermione said determined. "Let's go back to the Archives, now that we know what we're looking for, we have so much to do!"
She turned to run out of the room but Draco grabbed her arm and tugged her back into his lap. "It's nearly 11pm," he told her. "We should go to bed, you can start dragging us through the achieves tomorrow."
Hermione looked like she was going to disagree with him so Draco kissed her into submission.
"Please? We've spent enough time here today," Draco requested.
"Go ahead without me," Hermione told him. "I'll meet you there in a half hour, I just want to run up and check on the patients one last time."
"A half hour," Draco conceded, giving her another kiss. "See you later."
Hermione watched as Draco left the room. She sat for a few minutes and just smiled. He'd changed so much, she thought. There was so much good in him that no one had ever seen. Still smiling, she rose from the chair and made her way to the wing to check on her patients. Everyone was asleep so she slipped out and made her way to the main floor. She walked out into the main reception area to see a number of wizards, including Erin, in front of the floo.
"What's going on?" she asked, walking up to her friend.
"Floo network is being wonky," Erin replied. "They're trying to fix it now but your best bet is probably just to apparate."
"Okay, thanks!" Hermione replied. "See you later!"
Hermione walked out the front door of St. Mungo's and found herself in muggle London. Knowing there was an empty alley behind the building that all the wizards used to apparate she quickly made her way around the building. She was about to apparate when she heard a sound behind her. She went to pull out her wand but her attacker was ready. "Stupefy," the voice whispered and the last thing Hermione saw was a shadow before everything faded to black.
A/N: What the what!? Someone has Hermioneeeeeee! :O