A/N: It's the week before finals! Yikes! College finals week sucks, dude! Anyway, have another early update! The song I imagined Draco playing is Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran. Here's the link: watch?v=ESgbk7sYiQo&index=1&list=PLHggqueXHeYUeL5O-PbMvwFwP_6qfoB84

Tallyho!

Chapter 8:

Training continued as planned. It got harder each week and Hermione was constantly throwing twists in. Once she had them throwing spells at each other blindfolded! That day didn't end very well, to say the least. Nonetheless, the training was starting to pay off. They were all getting better as they continued. The boys were even starting to work as a team. Hermione knew Harry and Ron would never admit it, but Draco was rubbing off on them. They seemed to like- or at least tolerate- him better than when they initially started and Hermione saw that as a good thing. Maybe they could turn out to be friends after all… but that would still be a while before any of them admitted to that.

As for her and Draco, their (secret) relationship continued. She learned very quickly that he took trust very seriously but he was still hesitant about it. One evening, in hope of strengthening the trust between them, Hermione started telling him stories from her childhood and even a few secrets. After about an hour of explaining what muggle London was like, she finally got him to open up to her.

He started off with his family and childhood. A lot of it she had expected to hear: only child, Malfoy heir, spoiled rotten for most if not all of his life. Then he started to share stories of when he was a kid and how his mom would sing to him and taught him to play the piano. He shared very few stories of his father, though, because most of the memories he had were of his father's mixed up views of the world. The one good memory he had, that he always held onto, was that of his father dancing with his mother one night in Malfoy Manor. Lucius had enchanted the piano to play by itself as he grabbed Narcissa by the hand and danced with her all throughout the room. Draco hadn't been more than six years old but it was his favorite memory of his parents. Only a few years later would things start to fall apart with Voldemort's return.

He hadn't realized he had been crying until Hermione wiped a tear off his cheek. He looked at her, fighting the tears, only to see tears welling up in her eyes.

"That's beautiful." she said.

He scoffed as he wiped the tears away. "Yeah, well. Things went to hell a few years after that so I doubt it'll ever be that way again."

"It can be. Maybe after this is all over, you and your parents can work things out-"

"No, we can't." he said sternly.

"You don't know that. I'm sure if you just tried-"

"Hermione, stop it. It can't and it won't. Now just drop it. Okay?" he warned her. His eyes were dark but not with anger; with pain. Hermione sighed and wiped away the lone tear that had escaped his eye. Then she kissed the spot where the tear once was.

"Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, then we won't talk about it."

He looked away and played with his thumbs. The tension in the room was noticeable as they remained silent. Hermione bit her lip before hesitantly reaching out for him. He didn't shy away when her hand touched his back so she took it as an okay to go further. She scooted closer to him on the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist as she laid her head on his shoulder. He unconsciously leaned his head against hers and sighed. She smiled a bit, relieved that he didn't seem to be angry with her. They were silent for a moment longer before she spoke.

"Do you know the song?" she asked tentatively.

He nodded.

She bit her lip in hesitation. "Will you play it for me?"

He lifted his head up and looked at her. She chewed on her lip as he looked at her with curious eyes. She was worried she had pushed him too far but he gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead before unwrapping her arms from him but taking her hand as he led her downstairs to the piano room. They sat down next to each other at the piano and he began to play. It was a beautiful melody that was soft but romantic. It required some complicated finger work but he played it with such ease, it was as if the keys were feathers that happened to make beautiful music. A smile grew on Hermione's face as he continued to play. It was the most beautiful song she had ever heard. She could understand why he held onto such a memory. A song like that was too beautiful to forget.

As he finished, the last key he played stayed in the air for a moment in the otherwise silent room. Hermione had tears in her eyes. Draco stared at the keys. She sniffed and wiped away the tears before she grabbed Draco's hand causing him to look up at her. She gave him a small smile and nodded her head in signal for him to stand up. As he did, she led him to the center of the room. He looked at her confused as she pulled out her wand. She flicked it at the piano and it began to play a beautiful melody that filled the room.

He furrowed his brows in confusion as she smiled at him. "Dance with me?" she said.

His lip curved at the corner. "Hermione" he started.

"Please?" she interrupted. "Come on. It's time you make some new memories. Good memories."

The curve of his lip turned into a half smile as he relented. Taking her hand in his left and putting his other hand on her back they began to dance. It wasn't the glamorous ballroom dancing that one might expect a Malfoy to do but they weren't standing in one place either. Just like when they played the piano together, they immediately fell into step with one another as if they had been dancing together for years. They traveled the room gracefully and he spun her with ease. Within the first few minutes of dancing he had a smile on his face, as did Hermione. As the song neared its ending, they slowed down to a sway in the center of the room. She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. They stayed in the room until the song ended then retreated back to Draco's room where they would stay for the night.

As they continued to get to know each other, they both discovered that they tend to calm each other down quite well when needed. One night, Hermione had been stressing about the horcruxes and how to find them. She stressed herself out so much at one point that she began to shake. When Draco noticed, he pulled her into his arms and just held her and rubbed her back until she calmed down. As for Draco, he had never been one to show his emotions consciously but when he was asleep, all bets were off. One night, he began to have a nightmare. She woke up when he flew out of bed yelling something incoherent. She quickly sat up and cupped his face in her hands, his eyes wild with panic and fear, while she whispered to him that he was okay. That he was safe. It took a few minutes but she finally got him to calm down. When they laid back together in bed, he snuggled close to her as if looking for protection. She smiled at the small gesture and kissed the top of his head before drifting back to sleep. The next morning, neither of them mentioned what happened but she knew he was glad that she had been there. Her inklings were confirmed by the grateful kiss he gave her when she woke up.

The more time that they spent together, the more they discovered about one another and how they were together. Both were brilliant, headstrong people so of course they would butt heads but it wasn't as angry as it was while they were in school. It was actually much more of intellectual arguments where they debated important subjects. If they had talked like this in school, who knows how they would've turned out.

Eventually, they began to talk about books that they had read and which ones were her favorite. Most of the books that Draco had read Hermione had read as well. Hermione was surprised to find, however, that Draco was interested in her favorite muggle books that she had read. After telling him about a few of the stories that she had read, she decided to bring in a few of her copies for him to read from her apartment. She brought her top five favorites: Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, Hamlet, Rebecca, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. He gave her a confused look when she dropped them onto his bed but he quickly became enthralled with the books that he had never heard of before. As he read the books she gave him, they began to discuss the characters and the plot lines. Draco had a hard time seeing pictures in books that didn't move but otherwise transitioned to muggle books well. He was amazed that muggles could write so well which received an eyebrow raise from Hermione in which he quickly hid his face behind the book as he went back to reading.

While training continued, Hermione began to study any information she could find on horcruxes with help from Draco as they grew closer each day. Eventually, with the information that the gave her, she realized he became more valuable to the cause then she had initially anticipated. She decided it was time that he began participating in the Order meetings.

It took some convincing, but Hermione had managed to drag him to a meeting once and he ended up being very helpful when it came to information on Voldemort and Malfoy Manor that was now becoming the central hub for the meetings between him and the Death Eaters. In return, Draco had received a little information on his mother but nothing that completely eased his nerves. Narcissa was still alive but she was still not doing well. She was very depressed and hardly eating but the informant was keeping her alive as well as he could. Draco was worried, and when he expressed his concerns to Kingsley, he said he was doing what he could to get her out. Not surprisingly, that didn't reassure him as much as it could've. Little did he know, Hermione had an idea.

About a week later, Draco woke up one morning to an empty bed. His brows furrowed in confusion as to where she was. Then he heard muffled voices downstairs and he wondered who else would be here this early in the morning. He got dressed and made sure his hair wasn't a disaster before going downstairs. The voices grew louder as he got closer to the dining room. He recognized Hermione's and Kingsley's voices. Then he heard another voice that made him stop in his tracks. A voice that he had heard since he was a small boy.

The voice of his godfather.

Snape.

Finding his feet, he took a deep breath then walked into the dining room hesitantly. Hermione's back was to him but Kingsley and Snape were right in his line of sight. They both looked up at him as he entered the room.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. You have impeccable timing." Snape said.

Hermione turned around in her chair to face her lover. He glanced at her in confusion as she gave him a small smile. "Granger," he said, careful not to use her first name, "what is this?" He'd been asking her that a lot lately.

She took a deep breath. "We were right about the informant. Snape has been working with the Order in secret since the night of Dumbledore's death."

"Okay… but what are you doing here?" he asked Snape.

"Miss Granger managed to convince Severus and I that it would be a good idea for us to meet and discuss the terms of your mother's rescue." Kingsley said.

Draco's eyes grew wide as he sat down at the table. He hardly noticed that Hermione had gotten up from the table and walked into the kitchen. "W-what do you mean? You mean you can do it? She's actually going to get out of there?" he asked careful not to get his hopes up.

Kingsley nodded. "It's still in the planning stages. Part of the reason why we're having this meeting is so Severus can help with the mapping out of Malfoy Manor and how to get Narcissa out. However, Mr. Malfoy, this task is very dangerous. You must understand that if something goes wrong," he paused before continuing, "there is a chance that our team and your mother won't survive. Do you understand?"

He let out the breath he had been holding and nodded meekly. Suddenly, there was a cup of coffee in his line of sight. He looked up and saw Hermione holding the cup. He hesitantly reached for the mug, not trusting his shaking hands, and said thanks very quietly before wrapping both hands around it and placing it on the table. She nodded before taking her own mug of tea and began to walk out of the room.

"Actually, Miss Granger, I think it would be good if you stayed and listened to this." Kingsley said stopping her.

"Kingsley, I don't think-"

"I'm not asking, Hermione." he said. She hesitated then looked at Draco, asking for permission with her eyes. He gave a quick nod, his face giving nothing away but his eyes pleading for her to stay. She swallowed nervously but complied and sat back down in the chair next to Draco. Although both thought they were being discreet and nonchalant, their encounter did not go missed by Snape who was now studying the two as he tried to understand why they were being civil to each other. Hermione didn't miss his scrutinized stare and looked away immediately, hoping she wasn't blushing.

"Now," Kingsley started, "we have a team that we're currently building. They're some of the best aurors that we have in the Ministry. They haven't been informed of what the task is yet, but when they are, they will be told that your mother is a valuable asset to our cause. They won't be told of your involvement with us, of course."

"The plan is," Snape started, "that the rescue team will fly to Malfoy Manor in the dead of night. I know where some of the secret passages are so I will let them in-"

"Wait, what?" Hermione interrupted. "You mean the team knows that you're the informant?"

Snape raised an eyebrow at her and took a deep breath while Kingsley answered. "The only way we could get the team in and out safely is with Severus' help. So, yes, we had to tell the team that he was our informant. After explaining, they understood and are still up for the task."

Hermione's brows were furrowed in confusion but mouthed "Okay" as she processed what Kingsley had said. Snape took her silence as an opportunity to continue. "As I was saying, I will let the team into the Manor and lead them to where Narcissa will be that night. She usually stays in the library now so I can lead them in through the back door a couple rooms down. After we get her with the team, we'll lead her back here where she can be nursed back to health."

"We?" Hermione asked.

"I'll be coming back with the team to ensure Narcissa's safety and to build an alibi. Once she goes missing, the Dark Lord will become more suspicious than he already is and I need to have a story ready when he starts questioning what happened."

Hermione bit her lip and nodded in understanding. Draco had remained surprisingly silent during the layout of the plan. He was looking at the table but his eyes were glazed and distant. He clearly wasn't in the room.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Kingsley said.

No response.

Kingsley called him again. Still no response. Suddenly there was a bump underneath the table and Draco jumped, coming back to life. He glared at Snape who gave him a hard stare back. The two seemed to have a silent argument leaving Hermione and Kingsley in the dark. Finally, Kingsley spoke.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you aware of the plan and how it will hopefully go about?"

He nodded. "When is this supposed to happen?" he asked.

Kingsley shook his head. "Whenever we can get the team completely prepped and they know the plan inside and out. But the idea is to do it sometime in December. Severus has information that the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters will be scattered around the country at that time. Apparently, they plan on getting some more recruits at that time which will allow us to have a better chance of rescuing your mother once we have the information we need."

He nodded silently. "Was there something else you wanted to address?" Kingsley asked.

Draco took a deep breath and looked at his godfather. "How suspicious is Voldemort of my disappearance?"

"Very."

"Is he hurting my mother in any way because of it?"

Snape shook his head. "No. But if you're gone any longer without an explanation, I can't promise that he won't start taking drastic measures of finding out what happened, which may involve interrogating your mother."

He swallowed. "Then you know there's only one thing we can do to protect her for the time being."

Snape gave him a warning look. "Think very carefully of what you're about to say Draco. If it's what I think it is, then you need to remember this might cause more harm than good."

He challenged Snape with his eyes. "We need to tell the Dark Lord that I'm dead. I was apparating out of somewhere and got stuck in the process, causing myself to get splinched. Death was instantaneous." He said it with no emotion or hint of what was going through his mind. Hermione was looking at him horrified but he refused to meet her eyes. Kingsley and Snape stared at him in silence.

"Um, forgive me, Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley started, "but how exactly does faking your death make things easier in protecting your mother?"

"Once the Dark Lord believes I'm dead, his suspicions will alleviate. My mother will be a mess but because of that, no one will want to be near her which gives Severus, here, a better opportunity to have access to her and explain what's going to happen."

The two men looked at each other before looking back at Draco. "If you think that's for the best-" Kingsley started.

"I do." Draco said.

Kingsley nodded. "Very well. Severus will spread the news to the Dark Lord and I will continue to get the team prepped. I will keep you updated if any new information arrives. Otherwise, stay safe and I will see you both soon at the next Order meeting."

Hermione hadn't even heard the last sentence. She flew out of her chair and walked straight to the piano room, grabbed a pillow into the couch and screamed into it. Fake his death? Was he insane?! She threw the pillow onto the couch and huffed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Miss Granger." she heard a familiar drawl say.

She turned around, hands still tangled in her hair, to find her former professor standing in the doorway. She let go of her hair as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Yes, Professor?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her address to him. "I don't know what is going on between you and Draco, Miss Granger, but-"

"There's nothing going on." she said a bit too quickly.

"I highly doubt that. You two couldn't stand to be within 10 feet of each other at Hogwarts and now you're sitting next to each other and being civil. Something is going on. I don't know what and frankly, I don't care. What I'm getting at, Miss Granger, is that my godson is…" he took a deep breath as if he was about to regret the words that would come out of his mouth, "he's very lost, at the moment. And if what I gather from Shacklebolt is true, then he seems to be relying on you. For what reason, I don't know why, but he is. So I'm asking… that- that you keep an eye on him. I can't be here to protect him right now as I'm watching over his mother. So… I'm counting on you to watch him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, if you will."

Hermione smirked. "No disrespect, Professor, but if I couldn't keep Harry and Ron in line while at school, what makes you think that I'll be able to keep Draco from doing anything stupid?" She realized her mistake too late as she saw Snape smirk at her. It was the closest thing she had ever seen of a smile on the man and of course, it was when she had made a huge slip in her speech.

"Something tells me you'll be just fine. Goodbye Miss Granger."

"Goodbye Professor." she said quietly as she grabbed the pillow from the couch and buried her face into it out of embarrassment. She didn't remove it until she heard the fireplace roar. When she moved the pillow, she saw a flash of blonde run up the stairs. Throwing the pillow aside she followed him.

"Draco!" she called. He kept walking away from her.

"You can't just walk away from me, Draco! Not after what you just said down there!"

"Oh yeah? Watch me." he challenged walking towards his room.

"Draco, talk to me! Why did you say that? You know it's only going to make things worse for your mother if she thinks you're dead!"

"Just drop it."

"No! I'm not just going to drop it! What are you thinking?"

He turned around and faced her head on. "I'm thinking that I'm trying to save my mother's life! And if pretending I'm dead will do the trick, then so be it! And that's more than what you did! All you did was send your parents away to exile!"

He could tell he hit a nerve. Her expression changed from wanting to understand to anger. When she spoke, the ice in her voice could freeze a room if she wanted. "I would rather my parents not remember me but be safe in a different country, than have them be here in the heart of the danger, believing that I'm dead. That is not a world I would want them to live in. I'd rather them be happy than dead. I would've thought you'd want the same for yours." And with that she stormed back down the stairs and flooed out of the house.

Draco's breathing was heavy. He was speechless out of anger, hurt, and fear. The one time he truly needed her, he pushed her away by saying something hurtful. He yelled in anger and flopped on his bed only to jump right off. It smelled like lavender. Her. He couldn't bear that right now. Grabbing an extra pillow and blanket from a spare room, Draco trudged back downstairs and curled up on the couch after asking Kreacher to wash the bedding. He wouldn't go back in his room until the smell of her was gone. Wrapping himself under the blanket, he curled into a ball and fell asleep, ignoring the tears that were silently falling down his face.