AN: Happy Easter/Passover, my lovelies! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and if you don't celebrate either, then I hope that you have a wonderful Sunday! Thank you all for your amazing reviews! Please keep them coming, I love to know what you guys think! Anywho, enjoy the chapter and have a great week!
Tallyho!
Chapter 3:
It took a lot of convincing to get Draco to go with her to meet the Order. At first he agreed with her that her idea was bonkers and said that if anyone from the Order got within 10 feet of him, they'd hex him from London to Antarctica. They argued about it for an hour and Draco only gave in when Hermione threatened to turn him into a ferret and drag him to the Order herself. He muttered to himself the entire time as they walked to a secluded area through muggle London to apparate to Grimmauld Place.
After they arrived, Draco froze in his place out of fear and worry. He couldn't help but feel like what they were about to do was the worst idea on the planet but Hermione was determined and managed to drag him into the building. Despite the fact that Grimmauld Place belonged to the Black family (which Hermione had mentioned while trying to convince him), he still felt very uneasy when walking through the door frame. He shrunk back into the shadows so no one would see him as Hermione went into the dining room to ensure that everyone was there.
It was 5 'o'clock on Wednesday which meant that all the Order members would be at Grimmauld Place to go over what news had arrived over the week. When Hermione entered the dining room, she saw that everyone was at the table talking amongst one another while Ginny, Fleur, and Mrs. Weasley were in the kitchen. Kingsley Shacklebolt was at the head of the table with Harry and Ron sitting on his right as they looked over the most recent edition of the Daily Prophet. Tonks was talking animatedly with Mr. Weasley and the twins while Bill and Lupin were quietly talking amongst themselves. Harry was the first to notice Hermione's presence.
"Hey Hermione!" he said!
She gave him a small smile and said hello back to the rest of the group. When Mrs. Weasley offered Hermione some food, she politely declined and took a deep breath. "If everyone could quiet down for a moment please, I have something I need to say. And it's not exactly easy."
Everyone immediately went silent and looked at her expectantly as she figured out what she would say. Taking a deep breath, she began. "Today, I found out some very valuable information for our cause. Only… only it came from an unexpected source."
"What kind of source, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"That's the tricky part. And frankly, if I tried explaining it to you, you would think I'd have gone mad. So… I figured it would be better to just show you instead. But I need you all to promise me that, no matter how shocking what I show you is, that you won't act irrationally or do anything crazy like send a hex my way, okay? I promise, this will all make sense soon. But for now, I need you to trust my judgement."
There was an uneasy mumble amongst everyone as they looked at each other confused but they all nodded and agreed, nonetheless. Hermione took a deep breath. "Okay; just wait here." As she walked away, she sent a shield charm up around the room in case someone decided to send a hex her way anyway. She hated to do that but she needed to ensure that she and Draco were safe from any irrational actions that someone (most likely Ron) would commit. She found him in the shadows right where she left him.
"You ready?" she asked quietly.
He snorted in response but inside he was terrified. He had no idea what would happen or if anyone would willingly listen. But he knew he had to do this for his mother so he followed Hermione to the dining room. She stopped in the doorway and he stopped a little ways behind her but could see far enough into the room that he could see everyone's shocked faces, let alone hear all their gasps. Sure enough, a spell immediately went flying towards them but, thankfully, Hermione's shield charm worked. It dissipated as soon as it hit the charm and all Draco could see was Ron Weasley's angry yet confused face. He used all his self control to not let a smirk escape at how dumb the redhead looked.
His thoughts were broken when he heard the small witch next to him yell "Ronald!"
"Are you insane?!" the redhead yelled back at her. "What the hell are you thinking?! Bringing a Death Eater into the safe house?! Have you lost your bloody mind?! I-" His sentence cut off as he made eye contact with the Slytherin. "You have her under the Imperius, don't you, you bastard?!"
Before Draco could get a word in, Hermione cut him off matching Weasley's tone and volume. "He does not have me Imperiused, you idiot! I have a very logical reason for bringing him here!"
"Would that logical reason be to kill us all?!" he screeched.
"ENOUGH!" a booming voice said.
Everyone looked towards Lupin who was standing now. Next to his wife, he seemed to be the only person in the room who wasn't shocked or angry that Draco was in the house. He looked at the Slytherin before looking between Hermione and Ron. "I'm sure there is a very plausible reason why Hermione has brought Mr. Malfoy here, Ron. But just to ensure that she is indeed not under the Imperius curse or under any other curse," he zeroed in on Hermione now, "Miss Granger, who are the Marauders and what are their forms?"
Hermione gave a small smile to her former professor. "Moony is you, werewolf, Wormtail is Peter Pettigrew, rat, Padfoot is- was Sirius Black, black dog, and Prongs was James Potter, stag." she said as she looked at Harry as she mentioned his father. He had been looking at his hands but his eyes met hers when she began to list off the Marauders and he gave her a small smile. She could tell he knew it was her. Lupin seemed satisfied as well. He sat back down and looked at Ron. "There you have it. It's Hermione. Now would you please sit down so we can hear what information she and Mr. Malfoy seemed to have gathered?"
Ron muttered something under his breath as he sat down and crossed his arms across his chest. Glaring at her friend, Hermione looked at everyone in the room. Everyone either looked shocked, suspicious, or nervous. Everyone except Lupin and Tonks. She suspected Lupin was calm because she knew he trusted her judgement, but she couldn't figure out why Tonks looked so calm. Until she remembered that Tonks and Draco are cousins; and they were both in the House of Black. Both of them had blood relations to this house and to each other. Only Merlin knew how this could end up.
But it looked like they were about to find out. Draco and Tonks had made eye contact now and they didn't take their eyes off each other even as she stood up and walked towards where they were standing. She looked so small compared to Draco who towered over her. They looked at each other a bit longer before Tonks gave him a small smile.
"Hey Drake." she said quietly.
The corners of his mouth perked up slightly at his cousin but not enough to even be a smirk. "Hey Dora." he replied with the same tone.
Tonks looked at Hermione. "Can you take the shield down please? No one's going to hurt him. I promise."
Hermione glanced at Lupin who nodded before taking down the shield. As soon as it came down, Tonks pulled Draco into a hug. It had been so long since he had experienced human interaction that didn't involve screaming and injury that at first he didn't know what to do but after a minute he hesitantly wrapped his arms around his cousin and returned the gesture. He didn't know it at the time, but Tonks opened up a whole new world for him at that moment.
As she pulled out of the hug, she gave him one last small smile before turning around and facing the table with a look of determination on her face. "No one hurts him. We sit silently and listen to what he has to say. Understand?" Draco raised an eyebrow at how defensive his cousin immediately became of him and although he'd never admit it out loud, he was grateful.
Ron scoffed and everyone looked at him. "Problem Weasley?" Tonks challenged.
"Yeah, actually." he said staring her down. "He's a bloody Death Eater and a ruthless person! How can you stand there and defend him as if he's never done anything wrong?"
Tonks looked back at her cousin before looking at Ron once again. "His past may not be spotless but he's still family. And you don't turn your back on family. As a Weasley, you should understand that better than anyone, Ron." she spoke quietly but with enough fierce determination in her voice that Ron leaned back in his chair and muttered angrily to himself.
Ever the Hufflepuff. Draco thought to himself as he thanked Merlin for Tonks' loyalty to her estranged cousin. His lips quirked into a small smirk as he thought how different his cousin was from the rest of the Black family line. If it was anyone else, they would have shunned him and maybe even kill him for being weak and coming to the other side. But not Dora; the Tonks family had always been more understanding and fair and for that he was grateful that he had an ally with him on this insane task he had given himself.
Tonks grabbed Draco's hand and led him to a chair next to hers and sat him down before taking her seat between her cousin and her husband. Trusting that Draco was in good hands, Hermione walked towards Kingsley and handed him the notebook (she took out the page holding the information on the horcruxes out while they were still at the cafe; that information was confidential between Harry, Ron, her, and now Draco) in which she took all of her notes; she would give him the tape recorder later. "These notes hold everything that Malfoy told me. I gave him Veritaserum so everything he said is the truth." Hermione said.
Kingsley raised his eyebrows at the young witch. He was impressed at the lengths she went to to get the information she needed. He nodded at her and said thank you and began to look through her notes. Hermione walked off and ignored the empty chair next to Ron and sat in the empty chair on the other side of Draco, ignoring the surprised looks from everyone in the dining room, including Draco. Despite the fact that they were by no means friends or even acquaintances, Hermione felt the need to protect the Slytherin. She blamed it on her determination; she had started something with Malfoy and she would ensure that it would be finished.
After everyone settled in the dining room, Draco began his story starting from the night of the Astronomy Tower. He explained everything as he had to Hermione in the cafe, only leaving out the small detail of his information on the horcruxes and his intention to rescue his mother. He also left out his defense speech against Snape. He figured Potter might throw a hex at him if he defended their former teacher. Hermione, for her part, remained silent for the entirety of his speech. Most of what he said was exactly the same as he told her under the Veritaserum and she said nothing at the parts that he left out, understanding and respecting why he did.
When he finished, the dining room was silent. Hermione couldn't remember the last time that the entire Weasley family was speechless and she wasn't sure that she liked it. During his speech, Kingsley had been sifting through Hermione's notes and seemed to be pleased that they matched his story. Although he didn't trust Draco by any means, he could see why Hermione had been willing to listen to his story and saw him as an asset to the cause.
"Well Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley said as he placed Hermione's notes down, "your story coincides with Miss Granger's perfectly and if she placed you under Veritaserum, then you were obviously telling the truth. It seems you could be a very valuable asset to our cause."
Everyone looked at him with surprise, except Harry and Ron who looked at him with disgust, but before anyone could get a word in, Kingsley put a hand up to keep everyone silent. "That being said, we will need to take necessary precautions to ensure that you will not betray us and send information to the Dark Lord. Therefore, you will stay here in Grimmauld Place, under house arrest, where we can ensure your safety while confirming that you won't give away any information to the Dark Lord or any Death Eaters. Do you accept these terms, Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco wasn't surprised when Kingsley gave him his terms. If he was honest, he was expecting something much worse than what he was given. Considering that he would be staying in the House of Black, though, he didn't mind his conditions. He could survive house arrest here; it'd be better than house arrest at the manor, that was for sure. "Yes sir." Draco said nodding.
"Good. Mr. Potter if you would call Kreacher please?" Kingsley said looking at the Gryffindor.
Harry nodded, stood up, and spoke for the first time since Hermione first arrived in Grimmauld Place. "Kreacher." he said.
A small and wrinkly house elf entered the dining room and looked towards Harry. "Yes, Master Harry?"
"Mr. Malfoy, here, will be staying here for a while. I would like you to take him upstairs and show him to one of the available bedrooms where he will be staying, please." Harry said, kindly but sternly. Draco raised his eyebrows when Potter said please to the house elf but then remembered that Hermione had her S.P.E.W thing back in Hogwarts and pretty much forced Potter and Weasley to join her so it wasn't that surprising that Potter followed through and was kind to the house elf.
Kreacher nodded. "Yes, Master Harry." He then looked at Draco and recognition dawned in his eyes. "If Kreacher may be so bold, Master Harry, but are you" he asked looking at Draco still, "Draco Malfoy? Son of Narcissa Malfoy, formerly Black?"
Draco nodded wearily. "I am."
Kreacher gave a strangled sort of smile at the blond. "How joyous!" he exclaimed. "It feels wonderful to have another Black family member back in the House of Black once more! If you'll follow me, Mr. Malfoy." the house elf said as he wandered towards the doorway. Draco stood up wearily and once he was sure that no one would hex him, he followed Kreacher.
"Kreacher." they heard Harry say. Both the blonde and house elf turned around to face him. "Just because Mr. Malfoy is a member of the Black family, does not mean that you treat him better than anyone else here, understand? Malfoy is not here as a guest; he's here under obligation." Harry finished by looking Malfoy in the eyes as if to reassure the Slytherin one last time that he was not trusted. Draco gave a quick nod to his school nemesis and Kreacher gave one last "Yes, Master Harry." before turning back to the stairs.
"Oh, Mr. Malfoy," another voice called. Draco resisted the urge to groan and roll his eyes as he turned back to the dining room and faced Kingsley, the source of the voice. "I will also need to take your wand. For precautionary measures."
Draco had forgotten that he had his wand on him. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it one last time, remembering how it felt in his hand, before handing it to Kingsley with the tip pointing at himself.
"Thank you." Kingsley said. Draco nodded and finally left the dining room following Kreacher upstairs to the room he would be staying in for Merlin knew how long.