"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving." - Dale Carnegie

Chapter Twenty: Anything Can Happen In the Next Half Hour

Nora entered the room and closed the heavy door behind her. There was a fake mirror on one wall, surrounded by three walls of a sickly white-green paint on low quality stone. Jesse Worthington sat on one end of a table, her head in her arms and her normally bone straight hair curling into waves.

"I'm sorry about the formality of this, Jesse, but it is necessary to appease the law, as you know."

Jesse nodded, not lifting her head.

"I know you have been questioned already but given the gravity of the situation, all witnesses must be thoroughly picked through before they can be released. And... I do mean picked through."

"You have to have a look at my memories then." It wasn't a question.

Nora sighed. "Yes." She gestured to the pensieve attached to a projector on the table.

"I'll need my wand."

Nora handed her the magic sword and Jesse carefully unscrewed the blade, setting it on the table in front of her. She detached the wand from the hilt and pointed it at her head.

"Please retrieve every memory you have of their encounters, their conversations, or their interaction."

Jesse nodded, putting the first silver stream into the pensieve. It glittered briefly and then returned to swirling silver.

Nora left her to her task, knowing that it was likely to take at least a half hour. She walked down the corridor and opened the door at the end.

"Harry, we have things to discuss. I'll see you in my office now."

Harry Potter got up from his chair and followed her to a brightly lit room with a wide, black desk against the far wall; large fake windows covered with thin metal shutter blinds cast lines across the plain white walls. He sat down heavily on the couch next to the door and waited for her to speak.

"You can't stay angry with me, Harry," she said warmly.

Harry shook his head. He had simmered down from his rage after the confrontation the day before, but he was still angry with the lot of them. "He doesn't deserve what you offered."

Nora crossed her arms over her chest. "There is something I didn't want the others to know that I need to tell you."

Harry looked up.

"He declined because he wanted to stay with her. He wanted her there with him."

"What?"

"I know. He said, 'I can't let her go; my life is empty enough.'"

Harry looked back at his hands, folded in his lap. He spoke quietly. "Does this mean that the reports we've been getting - fake though they were - about them looking like lovers were actually true?"

Nora shook her head. "I think there is something romantic happening between them; you told me about how you found them, cupcaking at the piano, and then Hermione's reluctance to leave his side. Then coupled with Malfoy's words, it starts to make sense."

Harry shook his head. "I don't hate him the way I used to... but - "

"Ron, I know," Nora put forth.

Harry looked up. "Exactly."

"Also, I noticed something else that seemed strange. Did you notice how quickly No Name left after Malfoy disapparated? And she wasn't even trying to win our duel; I expected more from the witch who controls the Death Eaters. They are, imaginably, a rowdy bunch."

Harry nodded. "The spell she used against Hermione was pretty fierce, though. Is she afraid of you?"

"She should be. She murdered my twin brother, after all."

"Really?"

"Yes. Admittedly, I knew taking this case personally, even though it is slightly out of my jurisdiction, would lead me straight to her. And that is what I wanted. Even though my brother was involved with the dark arts, he did not deserve to die. He was so talented in so many ways."

"So... he refused to join them? And they killed him?"

Nora shrugged, obviously fighting the sadness that wanted to creep into her expression. "That's what we figured. This happened before I came to this position."

Harry nodded. He knew what it felt like to lose people because of the Death Eaters and their madness.

"Don't be disappointed. It just means she will be easier to get rid of. Besides, for all we know, the woman you dueled was a decoy."

Nora smiled sadly. "If so, let's hope she's just as weak. Also, I need you to realize that even though this case's importance has doubled now that we know their mission... I still have my regular duties to address. I know the relationship you have with the Ministry's activities is mostly freelance, which allows you to focus on certain things... but mine is a formal one. I'm the head of the Department of Defense."

"I know. This does fall in your jurisdiction - protecting her is part of protecting the magical community."

Nora shook her head. "I had to pull strings to get this case on my desk alone - it does concern my department, but I need you to understand that I do not normally do this, and it's... it's taking a toll on my other responsibilities."

Shifting in his chair, Harry shook his head. "Don't do this to us, Nora..."

"I'm not renouncing the case," she backpedaled quickly. "I didn't say I was. I just... I need you to get over however you feel about those two working together, without you, and try to find out as much as you can about their mission. Details, I mean, as detailed as you can get. You know how to do this, I'm sure." Harry nodded. "Now that I've seen the master with no name, so many theories that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has come up with need to be evaluated... also, the Department of International Magical Cooperation needs a full report, especially since we know for a fact that their hideout is not in Europe... this is a lot bigger than just Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."

Yes, it was. He was being immature about this - nothing is ever as simple as hate and dislike, good and evil. There were always other forces at work; he especially knew this to be true.

"Anyway, Jesse is supplying the memory evidence for you to examine, Jasper from the International Confederation of Wizards wants to talk, and I've got a meeting with the Minister and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in a few minutes to report on yesterday... in the meantime I need you to talk to Amy Worthington, who apparently came out of her stupor this morning. Sasha's funeral services will be in the afternoon... and I don't want to make you do this, but her daughter has the right to know, though she cannot attend in her condition."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

"And if Malfoy or Hermione calls... try to be understanding and tactful, Harry. That's your new task."

He looked away. He didn't really want to think about having to be understanding with them, though he knew it was for the greater good. He shouldn't have to be understanding - everything should have worked out the day before...

Hermione cuddled Loki to her chest, listening to the sounds of Draco's footsteps through the foliage. She was giving him the silent treatment, as much as it pained her; she wanted nothing more than to talk with him, talk about what happened at the piano. She was sure that she had never felt something so amazing in her life, and that included her time spent under the influence of Felix Felicis.

"Are you just going to ignore me?" he asked quietly.

That stung a bit; it was not in his nature to ask something like that. "I'm still angry with you, Draco."

"I know."

Hermione turned her head away, wishing for the millionth time that she could see his expression. She was actually waiting for him to apologize, but it seemed like the closest thing she would get was his understanding of how she felt.

"You do realize why, right?" she murmured, trying to coax some remorse out of him.

"Finite incantatem," he muttered, and she gently touched down on the ground.

She grimaced, not expecting to be ignored. "Why did we stop?" she asked, turning her head in vain. She was next to a tree; she pushed her back against it, wondering if they had reached a magical forest.

"I need a minute," he said shortly, and stalked away.

When he was far enough away, Draco sank to the ground.

She was suffocating him again, stealing his sanity. He thought back to his conversation with the Department of Defense lady the day before, and cringed. Why had he told her so much, when he didn't even think he could admit it to himself? It frightened him quite a bit, frightened him more than he cared to think about.

How could Hermione ignore him so while he was feeling like this? After yesterday, everything seemed so uncertain to him. He was afraid to attempt to carry her, wondering how she would react, so he'd had to levitate her, even though it forced him to concentrate on keeping her in the air. He was afraid to try to speak with her without words, with his emotions - what if she tried to shut him out, or if she felt something like hurt, disgust, hatred, or any of the numerous negative things she could feel about him?

What if she got angry with him and demanded that he take her back to her friends?

He was purposely keeping her away from her friends, even though it was dawning on him that this little escapade was incredibly foolish. She would not be happy when she found out that he had pointedly rejected a bribe that would basically make everything better. He was such a selfish person, and he was reminded of that more than ever.

You don't think of anyone's wants but your own. That is why you are cowardly and unable to do what you need to do. He clamped his hands over his ears, his father's psychobabble ringing loudly in his head.

Loki, seeming to notice the stress Draco was under, weaved through the gap in his legs and rubbed her head against his hand. He immediately relaxed; this cat was really starting to grow on him.

Suddenly, something clapped him on the shoulder.

Without thinking, Draco pulled the person around him and pinned them under his legs, his wand out.

"Draco!"

It was Hermione.

Draco blinked, his wand point still pressed into her neck. He released her at once. "I-I didn't realize it was you..."

"Who else would it be?" Hermione snapped, her eyes filling with tears anyway. It seemed like every time he touched her like that, her heartbeat went crazy.

"Look - don't cry. You know I didn't mean it."

Hermione turned away from his voice, stifling tears as she rose to her feet. "It's okay, it's not that." She had felt that electrifying thrill again, at being pinned down in such a way.

Draco got up, looking around for something to kick. His eyes settled on a tree and he kicked it, hard, a few times. He didn't feel better afterwards, as he thought he would; his foot throbbed painfully and he cursed. He had to scream or something; his eyes settled on his arm, one which he could almost completely see his past rages.

Loki looked up at them expectantly and meowed.

Draco huffed, trying to control his breathing, and stalked over to the dropped duffel. He enlarged it to normal size and rummaged through it, knowing already that they had packed nothing that the cat would want to eat. He settled on one of the water bottles.

After he'd conjured a dish and filled it with water, Loki made her way over to it quickly. It had been a while since Draco had had an animal to care for; the ones he did own were his owl, Balthazar, given to him by his father, and his cat, Pewter, a gift from his uncle. Pewter was a pureblood Russian Blue and would only allow himself to be picked up, fed, or handled by Draco or the house elves.

Draco smirked a bit, his bad mood beginning to fade. Loki was a lot friendlier than his cat back at the Manor; he wondered briefly how Pewter was holding up in his absence.

"I've given Loki some water," Draco said. He then took out some food and gave it to Hermione, who nodded thanks and ate slowly. "We might as well rest for a bit."

His stomach was getting too fluttery to allow him to eat these days. He reopened the water bottle and drank some.

"Are we ever going to talk about yesterday?" Hermione asked quietly.

Draco gulped, staring straight ahead. "No, we aren't."

He wasn't sure what he would say about it, or how much it would reveal, and - once again - he highly doubted that she felt even remotely like he did.

Hermione turned away from his voice so he couldn't see her hurt expression. Of course he didn't want to talk about it; she was trying to initiate what felt like a "the morning after" conversation with him and he was the type to avoid those things. She understood this, and even felt the same way a bit, but... she wanted to tell him something. She couldn't figure out what it was exactly, but she wanted the conversation to start so... she could say something about it.

They sat in silence until Loki wandered off, having had her fill of water. Draco conjured a lid for the dish and put it in his bag. "Let's get moving," he said, and helped Hermione up. She was still a bit weak from Master No Name's spell, but was managing a lot better today. Besides, levitating took very little energy for the person being levitated.

Loki came back, munching on a cricket, and followed them.

Author's note: The song for this chapter is "Act Appalled" by Circa Survive.