Chapter 12 – Closer

Several hours later, we found ourselves still at the Weasley dining table, surrounded by stacks of dishes. Ginny had outdone herself – we had tucked into roast beef with hot, buttery carrots, peas and broccoli, as well as creamy mashed potatoes and homemade Yorkshire pudding. I had watched, chuckling, as Draco poured a carefully measured amount of gravy onto his plate. In comparison, I had slathered mine all over the meal. My adoration for the famous Weasley gravy was well-known.

Harry had then brought out a large chocolate cake, making Draco's eyes light up. He had eaten two helpings; I'd stopped at one. Now we were sitting around the table, filling Ginny in on what we had seen.

She ran her finger around the rim of her wine glass; her expression troubled. "So it's confirmed then? Lucius killed my brother?"

Harry nodded, his expression sombre. "I'm afraid so, Gin. I'm so sorry to bring it all back – we certainly didn't expect that." His eyes glossed over as he talked quietly. "It was so weird seeing him again, watching him and knowing I couldn't do anything to save him…"

Ginny put down her glass and caught hold of his forearm. "Harry, it wasn't your job to save him. We all loved him and we all miss him terribly… but nobody blames you. We never have. It wasn't your place to save him."

Draco cleared his throat and I looked at him. His grey eyes met mine and he smiled sympathetically before speaking. "She's right. From what I saw, if you had been there and tried to intervene you would have both ended up dead. That spell…."

"What spell?" interrupted Ginny fiercely. "The Killing Curse?"

I shook my head, reaching out for her hand and holding it. "We saw Lucius using a spell that restrained him. Not like an Incarcerousspell, but similar. This one threw Ron against the wall and conjured up shackles to bind him."

"But no such spell exists," protested Ginny.

"According to Lucius, it was invented by the Malfoys. Some guy called Armand," piped up Harry. "He was mocking Ron, saying that he could say the incantation all he liked but nothing would happen."

"It's pretty advanced magic," I admitted, twirling one of my curls between my fingers worriedly. "I don't know of any other spell that conjures up restraints out of thin air and can blow someone backwards like that, not at the same time anyway."

"It could be a mixture of two spells," suggested Ginny. "The restraints one… I've seen something like that before."

We all stared at her in amazement. "What? Where?" I asked curiously.

Ginny's cheeks flamed, almost matching her hair. "Well, this one time at Hogwarts, while you three were out on your mission for the Order, I happened upon Neville and Hannah in the Room of Requirement. We were all hiding out there, as you know. I woke up one night and was making my way to the loo when I came across them snogging and stuff… anyway things got quite heated and when I was making my way back, Neville conjured up some handcuffs and… well, you can guess the rest." She was still blushing furiously as she finished.

I burst into laughter, unable to control the giggles. "What? Neville? Handcuffs? Oh sweet Merlin!" Draco's chuckles next to me had started Harry off and he was now bent double, hooting like a hyena. We sat there and laughed until tears ran down our faces. My tummy was hurting from laughter, but I knew that this was more than just mirth. I was very aware that Ginny was on the verge of breaking down with grief; and to be completely honest, so was I. This release had been overdue.

"So this spell – why couldn't we use it?" asked Ginny when she recovered. "I mean, you heard the incantation, right? We should try it, see if we can get it to work. Then we could study it."

"What's the point?" was Harry's response. "Lucius was very clear that only Malfoys could use it. He's dead. It was probably a Dark spell anyway. It's useless to us."

"It could be useful in combat," I suggested. "But only Malfoys can cast it."

Draco tutted. "What am I, chopped liver? I'm a Malfoy, right? That means I should be able to cast it."

I turned to him in surprise. "I completely forgot that," I admitted. "Forgive me, Draco… you're just so far removed from that evil man in my mind."

"I'm glad of that part," he said, pulling me into him and nuzzling my hair. "But it's still the truth. You told me he was my father which means I'm part of the family line. I should be able to cast it."

"Wait, Draco… that's blood magic. Blood magic is ancient, powerful and very hard to classify," I reminded him. Harry and Ginny nodded. "It might change you somehow – or you might need to be a Dark wizard to cast it."

He nodded. "I'd thought of that. But from what you tell me, I was a pretty Dark wizard before. I'm a Malfoy and I was a Death Eater, right? Shouldn't that be enough to convince the old magic that I'm worthy of casting it?"

I stared at him. An internal battle was going on inside my mind. On one hand, I wanted him to do this, to confront his past. But there was a large part of me that selfishly wanted to keep him this way, to shield him from his past… and if I was completely honest, I was afraid. I was scared that Draco would revert to the way I had previously known him, and that possibility frightened me more than I cared to admit. His eyes were searching mine, and in that moment I knew he was guessing my thoughts. "It should be enough," I answered slowly. "But Draco – are you sure you want to risk it?"

"I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't a bit worried," interjected Harry. "Draco, you don't know what this spell will do to you. It might reject you, turn itself into some kind of curse, or work perfectly. What if the power of the blood magic changes you?"

Draco shrugged. "It's worth the risk," he answered swiftly. "You need to study the spell, work out how it's constructed. It might even be possible to modify the spell so that it can be broken open and used by anyone, not just Malfoys. But you're going to need me to cast it in the first place, and I'm guessing that only a Malfoy could modify it as well." His fingers found mine and I squeezed his hand, knowing that he was right.

"Try it," I encouraged. "You remember the incantation, right?"

Draco stood up and produced his wand, moving to the middle of the room. "I think I need a volunteer," he said awkwardly, twisting his wand through his fingers. "Who wants to get shackled to the wall?"

Harry stood up too. "I'll do it," he offered immediately. Ginny met my eyes, a look of alarm in their depths, and instinctively we shuffled our chairs closer together. Harry moved a few steps away from Draco, sandwiched between him and the wall. "Just so you know, Malfoy, if this goes wrong you're on tea duty in the Auror Office for the rest of your life," he joked.

Draco smiled. "Let's hope it doesn't go wrong then, eh?" He lowered himself into combat stance and took a deep breath. "Imperet!"

With an incredible whoosh, a wisp of grey flowed from the end of Draco's wand. Harry flew backwards and into the wall as shackles appeared and locked around his wrists and ankles. "Whoa," breathed Ginny. "That's one heck of a spell."

"Well done Draco, that's great," came Harry's voice from the wall. "You did the spell great and all, but this kind of hurts. Any chance you can get me down?"

I jumped up and tried a Finite Incantatum, but nothing happened. A look of panic crossed Harry's face before Ginny began to laugh. "I quite like having you shackled up there, Harry," she said conversationally. "It means you're out of the way, can't get yourself into trouble, and it's also pretty convenient for our sex life…"

I put my hands over my ears. "Eww, Ginny, I didn't need to know that!" Laughing, I looked at Harry thoughtfully. "There must be some kind of specific counter-spell that undoes it," I mused. "It's probably equally tied to the Malfoy blood magics. It's just a shame we don't know the incant-"

"Reserare!" came Draco's voice, clear and strong, and we all watched in fascination as the shackles disappeared with a purple flash and Harry slumped to the floor. I turned to Draco; my eyes widening. He was almost shimmering with magical power.

"Draco?" ventured Harry as he stood up. "You all right, mate?"

Draco shook himself. "Yeah – yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. Just felt this crazy surge of magic when I cast it." He looked down at his wand in amazement. "I haven't felt a rush like that since… well, since ever. I don't know how I knew the counter-spell. I just did."

"It could be a connection to the blood magic," offered up Ginny as she cleared away the cake plates. "Perhaps you always had it before, but you never noticed and since you lost your memories, you lost that too."

"Who knows?" responded Draco. "Perhaps now my memories will start coming back as well." His eyes met mine, and I read in them that he was worried. I crossed the room and enveloped him in a hug. His arms encircled me as he sighed anxiously. "Hermione, what if I change? What if I remember all the things I said and did to you, and it colours your opinion of me?"

"It won't," I insisted, holding him more tightly. "Draco, even if you remember everything and you hate me, I'd still think of you this way." He raised his face and I drew his lips to mine, kissing him for just a moment before he relaxed and we made our way back to the table.

"Wait a minute," said Harry excitedly. "Someone used the counter-spell in the memory. There was a flash of blue light and the shackles disappeared – I noticed it because I winced when Ron hit the ground. But the spell Draco just cast had a purple light… does that mean there are already variations?"

I thought about what he had suggested. Was it possible? I had done very little research into blood magic; figuring I wouldn't need it after the fall of Voldemort. Then I shook myself and chuckled – this was the wizarding world after all, of course it was possible. But before I could speak, Draco was leaning forward. "I don't think the counter-spell is Malfoy blood magic," he confided, shutting me up instantly. I looked at him in surprise as he continued. "I found that I knew the counter-spell without thinking, but it didn't feel the same as the shackling spell. It had a looser kind of magic. Possibly there are several counter-spells that work, but not Finite."

Harry pushed his glasses up his nose, and I could see that he was already in Auror mode. "We need to study this under test conditions. Draco, if any of your memories return I want you to Floo me immediately. We don't know what this may have unleashed."

Draco laughed. "Yes, boss. How can you instantly shift into work mode like that, especially when Ginny has worked so hard to feed us all into a state of inertia?"

Harry smiled. "Ginny always feeds me into a state of inertia! If I wasn't still active in the field, I'd be massive." He looked at me. "Hermione, if you notice anything different or you think of something, or anything comes up in the research I know you'll now throw yourself into, let me know." I saluted him playfully and he laughed. "I always could count on you."

Ginny came back into the room, wiping her hands on a tea towel. "It's been great having you both over. I feel like I never see you anymore." She winked at Draco. "Get working on busting that spell open so you can teach it to me, alright?"

Draco laughed as he helped me into my jacket before putting on his coat. "We'll make more time to have dinners – I'm sure Hermione won't mind, she loves your cooking." I nodded enthusiastically and Ginny grinned at me. "Thanks again for dinner, Ginny," he said, giving her a hug and shaking Harry's hand before guiding me to the Floo.

I gave Harry a hug. "Make sure you don't stay up all night obsessing," I cautioned him gently. "I know what you're like."

He let me go and smiled awkwardly. "I know, I know – sometimes I wonder if I'm your boss, or if you're mine," he grumbled. Draco and I waved before he took a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the flames, calling out our destination.

"Bye guys!" I called, just before the flames whisked us away.