Speak to Me in Riddles

Hermione sat up slowly in her bunk, careful not to give herself a head rush. She felt like the morning after a tremendous amount of drinking. Somehow she had managed to hit her head or someone had hit her. Either way she felt the room sway and her stomach turn.

She also realized she'd been crying, hopefully silently. Looking around the tent she found only Ron, still asleep in another bunk and Harry sitting silently in a chair.

"Where's Malfoy?" Her voice cracked. She swung her legs over the bed and held her head in her shaking hands.

"Looking for firewood, how do you feel?" Harry stood and walked over to her side and sat on the bunk with her. He had already changed clothes but she could tell he had not slept. His hair was messier than normal and the bags under his eyes were more pronounced than ever. In his tight grasp she could make out the lockets chain.

"Like I just drank an entire bottle of firewhiskey. You?"

Harry looked down at his hands and turned the locket over and over. She thought maybe he hadn't heard her.

"Like we missed something..."

Just then Draco came back into the tent holding an assortment of twigs and branches in his hands. He nodded in their direction but didn't say a word. He lay the rubble on the table and started to break them. Harry and Hermione only watched, lost in their thoughts.

When Draco was done he opened the door to their burning stove and shoved the wood inside. With his wand he lit a fire and closed the door. He sat in the chair Harry had vacated earlier and stared silently at the pair.

"You know what I've been thinking?" Draco said out of the blue. It's as if Hermione was waiting for him to speak. She wasn't annoyed but her body did let out an involuntary sigh.

"Enlighten us," Harry said leaning back on his hands, never letting go of the locket.

Draco rolled his eyes as he pushed his sleeves up his arms revealing the dark mark. Unlike Harry he had remained in his party clothes. "I thought you-know-who wanted you all for himself. Why were the Death Eaters firing killing curses?"

"I'm more concerned with why they all missed." Harry stood and paced the tent with the locket digging into the skin of his hand. Hermione's eyes followed him. When he passed the bunk Ron was laying in she noticed Ron was awake.

She tried her voice hoping it was back to normal, "Who was the man you killed?" She realized it could have been a woman, but the sound of the person who had been running after them had sounded heavy, definitely not a woman in heels.

"Gibbon," Draco unknowingly ran his hand over his dark mark which she could see clearly. Her eyes scanned his face for recognition or remorse but there was nothing she could find. "He only served one purpose within the Death Eater ranks. Now he's gone."

"And what was that?" She asked. She was surprised at the fire she saw in his deep grey eyes. She'd only seen shades of it before, brewing but never quite boiling over like now.

"It doesn't matter now," he stood up and noticeably made an effort to pull down his sleeves. "I'll keep the first watch."

Hermione was going to stop him but a look from Harry told her it was not the right time. He pointed his wand at the entrance of the tent and murmured a silencing charm.

"We need to discuss a few things, Ron how are you feeling? We should do this now but if you're not feeling well..."

"Bugger off Harry, just get on with it." Ron continued to rest but faced them and gave them his full attention.

"We got what we wanted but we ran into some trouble, obviously," Harry started. "I wasn't expecting to see Lucius Malfoy and it seems nobody else was expecting him either."

"Not even his colleagues." Hermione stood. Her long black dress coming down in ragged pieces. Her feet were barefoot and she could feel the cold earth beneath them. "Draco was so angry to see him. I think he truly did believe his parents had fled."

Ron huffed in a sort of defeated way. Like he had done something out of habit, something he truly had not meant.

"However," Hermione stopped and looked at her palm where the locket had cut her after Ron had passed it to her. "He asked about his mother, Lucius said she had taken ill."

"Do you think he killed her?" Harry asked. The blood had drained from his face. The look he got when he spoke about his own parents was etched on his features. She knew he wouldn't wish his own fate on anyone else, not even Draco.

"I think that's what Draco believes." Something she never thought she'd feel creeped up inside of her. Sympathy. Sympathy for Draco Malfoy.

"Not to be insensitive to the guy who just saved our lives but are we really surprised? Lucius Malfoy is an evil git. He'd do anything to not be on you-know-who's bad side."

"All of you-know-who sides are bad Ron," they were quite for a moment then Hermione said, "well if we weren't sure before if he was on our side perhaps this is proof that he is."

"He still might be using us to get revenge. We have to keep the status quo. We may have him tied with the unbreakable vow but he was raised by a dark wizard who probably knows ways of getting around it. He must never know about the Horcruxes. Never."

"I think we can all agree with that," Ron said and Hermione nodded. She thought it didn't matter though. He knew that the locket in their possession was valuable. To a Malfoy that's all he needed.

"We need to keep an eye on that," she said looking at the locket in Harry's hand. "He knows it's important."

Harry put the locket around his neck as Hermione's stomach twisted. She realized what it was, what it meant to their mission. Someone had died, someone had been murdered so that Voldemort could live and his essence was presently hanging off of Harry's neck.

It seemed perhaps Harry had realized the same thing as he gave the locket a disconcerting look. "We'll take turns."

It had been quite a week. A long arduous week full of adjustments Hermione and the others had been unprepared for. Living with three boys in the Black house hadn't been easy but if she needed time away there had been walls, sometimes a whole other level of the house that separated them from her.

Here in the wilderness there was no such privacy. If having Draco around before had been strange she wasn't sure how having him sleep a bed over would help matters now.

Ron made retching noises at the table where he was seated next to Harry. Hermione was sitting in her bed reading from one of the Horcrux books she had enchanted with a different cover so Draco wouldn't ask questions. She peeked at Ron from over her book to see that he was once again complaining about the food, food she had made.

"I'm just saying, why don't we just borrow-"

"No," Hermione interrupted. She felt the blood rise up her neck as the fight they'd been having all week resumed. "We already discussed this."

"No one is home!" Ron jumped up from his chair, his plate and fork flying up and landing on Harry.

"Oi!" Harry exclaimed brushing Hermione's concoction off of himself. "If you two are going to fight leave me out of it."

"No!" Ron shouted, "I say we all have a vote. Malfoy get in here!"

"You're only calling him over because you know he wants to go too!" Hermione slammed her book down next to her and watched venomously as Draco waltz into the tent with his wand held loosely in his hand. His comfortable almost bored expression made her angrier.

Ron huffed at the insinuation that he was willingly working with a Malfoy but decided to let it go in the hope that they would all agree to a vote. "Harry what do you say, vote?"

Harry looked between his two friends. He seemed to be on the edge, but then again he always seemed that way now.

"Harry it's dangerous, it was dangerous enough to decide to stay this close to it but to go in there is a whole other story. They could have alarm systems or what if they aren't even muggles? What if they're wizards. They could have protections we don't even know about. Harry I don't think this is a good idea."

Harry sighed and brushed what was left of Ron's leftovers off of him. "We've been here a week and nobody has stopped by the home. I think that if Ron wants a vote it's only fair that we give him that."

Hermione crossed her arms and frowned. "My vote is no." Deep deep down she wanted to go. She was tired of eating mushrooms and dried up berries. She was hoping the guys would push and push until she had no choice but to stay inside a warm empty house with an actual comfortable bed to sleep in. She wanted a lot of things that were realistically very bad and dangerous ideas. She realized it had only been a week. One week in the wilderness with three boys and she was already shouting defeat.

"My vote is we go. We investigate the place, borrow their food and we'll even leave them money if that makes you feel better," he said directing the last statement at Hermione, "we'll be in and out."

"I've been watching the house," Draco spoke up nonchalantly as if they were deciding what desert to have, "the post came yesterday and nobody picked it up. Not even a neighbor. They have emergency lights that turn on everyday at six. Nobody has even walked by the house, nobody is feeding a pet or watering the plants. Yet the grass isn't over grown yet. If the house is abandoned they must have left recently. Perhaps right before we came."

"Abandoned," Harry repeated, "that makes it very likely that it's a wizards house. The lights probably mean they were trying to blend in."

"My vote is yes," Draco said looking at Hermione a bit unforgiving. She had the feeling he knew that she secretly wanted to go.

"Okay Harry, your turn. We either go or we tie. Come on mate, do the right-"

"Ron," Harry said almost harshly. He was looking at Hermione carefully. "We'll be very careful Mione..."

She groaned and threw her hands in the air. "Fine! Fine but if anything happens this is on you!" She grabbed her purse and started to pack her things. She could hear Ron jumping around the tent helping them put everything away. He had healed remarkably well all things considered. What surprised her the most was that Draco had been largely to thank.

He had made Ron some kind of potion from the herbs they found around their campsite and after assuring Ron that he wouldn't try to kill him after he had just saved his life, he had gotten Ron to take the potion.

"Ready?" Harry asked. The tent had been packed and most of the incantations set up to protect them were unmade. "Remember, first sign of trouble we all apparate to the place we discussed."

He took down the last enchantment and then they were truly exposed. She was nearest to Draco who she could feel already moving. He was wasting no time.

She followed him, Ron behind her and Harry guarding them from behind. She kept her wand at the ready at all times. It was already dusk, the lights Draco had mentioned from earlier were already on causing her to feel even more exposed.

Once they were in the yard of the two story house Draco ran to the door leaving them behind looking around them at the woods. This had been the plan. Draco breaks in and they act as back up. The house was relatively secluded behind trees and hedges. They could see the top of another house but only enough to know that anyone in that house would have to be trying very hard to look at the neighbors and see them.

"Alohomora..." Draco chanted; once, twice, three times but the door remained locked. "Definitely wizards home, let me try something." They heard him whisper something unintelligible and then saw him give a hard tug at the door with no success.

"Nothing?" Ron asked without looking back. They had separated a bit to cover more of the yard.

Hermione was near the mailbox. Draco had been right. Nobody had picked up their post. She looked at one of the letters sticking out. It was a post card.

"Guys?" She turned the card over and found the date. A wave of relief flooded her. She joined Draco on the doorstep of the house as she showed him the post card. Ron and Harry joined them as Draco finished reading. "They left on vacation a week ago. The card is from their daughter who is at University. She mentions the dates she expects them to be gone."

"Look at this," Harry said having finished the card. "Doesn't this look familiar?" He pointed his wand at a planter near the door.

Hermione got closer and she smiled. It was like a sign that things would be alright.

"Is that the Ravenclaw crest?" Draco asked scooting in right next to Hermione. She was already looking for a way in and was excited to see a silver knocker on the door.

She extended her hand and gave it a hard assertive knock. She nearly jumped back when a deep voice spoke from out of nowhere.

"What's greater than god, eviler than the devil, the poor have me, the rich need me, and if you eat me you die?"

"What-" Ron began but Hermione shushed him.

She smiled, "Nothing."

They heard some clanks and bolts behind the door and then the entrance was clear and open for them.

"That was easy, I remembered that riddle from school." Hermione walked in first, her wand high in the air pointed toward a set of stairs. Draco was behind her and then Harry. Ron faced outside making sure nobody had seen them break in.

"I don't remember it," Ron whispered.

"I meant my muggle school, before I met you." Hermione lowered her wand and looked around her. The home was comfortable, airy and plain to seem muggle but here and there she could feel traces of magic. They weren't overly apparent. Above the fireplace there was a moving picture. Two older people and one younger, they sat on a bench in a park and they shared some candy floss between the three.

She could hear Ron walk around them and head straight for a door that surely led to a kitchen. She tried to stop him but he had already pushed the door open. Luckily nothing happened, nothing jumped at them and no enchantments had been set.

They all went their own ways but mostly she stayed near the entrance. Upstairs she heard water running and sighed. It seemed they were staying the night.

"It's your turn Mione," Harry said drying his long unruly hair with his towel. "The water was great, I'm glad we came here." He sounded pleased, lighthearted even. It made her anger abate a bit. Sure they were comfortable and sated after eating. But they were not safe, not in the home of a wizard who could be on the enemies side. Why had she agreed to come in?

"Mhmm..." she walked past him and Ron who was fast asleep on the stranger's couch. To get to the bath she had to pass the kitchen which is where she found Draco reading through the stranger's mail. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Browsing," he looked up from a manila envelop and notice her. There was a small smirk on his face, one she hadn't seen in a while. In his time with them she'd seen him smile, laugh once or twice, sneer even but not smirk. It was so reminiscent of Hogwarts Draco that she almost scowled.

"You'd think a Gryffindor just got points taken away by the way you're smirking," she said edging around the island he was leaning on. She never got too close to him unless the occasion asked for it and when she did she was always wildly uncomfortable.

"You don't fool me Granger," he stared her up and down, the smirk still in place, "you never have."

She couldn't help the redness that creeped up her neck and cheeks. She wasn't sure what it was. "It was never my priority to hide anything from you. You just have this natural talent for snooping around in business that doesn't concern you, by now you just think people are always trying to pull one over you. What is it this time? What am I doing that isn't fooling you?"

He walked the rest of the distance between them until there was only a foot between his face and hers, "You wanted to come here. You hate being out in the woods just as much as Weaslebee and Potter, you're always hoping someone makes a decision you can fight just to say you did, just to say you were right. You're half hoping something goes wrong so you can say 'I told you so'. It kills you to be wrong. And I can see your struggle. Being out there in the woods cold and hungry but right instead of being in here warm and satisfied and wrong."

She realized what the blush was now. Embarrassment. Caught. She hated him. Why did he have to do this now? Show his true colors when things had been going so well. He had saved them. Led them to safety and protected them. And now here he was being cruel, trying to humiliate her and for what?

"You'll never change Malfoy," she shoved him slightly and turned her back on him not giving him the pleasure of seeing her red face.

She heard him make a noise behind her. Something between a laugh and sigh. "If you knew how much I've changed Granger, you'd see things the way I do."

"And hows that?" She half turned, her arms crossed and her body rigid.

"Clearly, for once."