Hey Guys! Here is Chapter 3! Enjoy! I won't usually post the chapters so close together but I was able to this time. Please leave a Review!
September 3, 1998
Early Sunday morning, Hermione woke and got dressed while Parvati still slept. She took a moment to gather herself before going down to the Common Room where Draco was waiting. Being that it was the last day for the students to sleep in late, they were the only two awake so early.
"Are you ready?" He asked her, seeing how nervous she appeared.
She nodded, leaning forward, and kissing his lips softly. He kissed back until she pulled away.
"Sorry. That was for luck. I'm terribly anxious about this." She said, her voice trembling a bit.
He nodded, "It's okay. I'm with you. I can be there when you tell them, or you can tell them alone."
She looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I think that I ought to tell them myself while you speak with your mother about that witch she had mentioned in her letter."
He nodded, "Then that's what we'll do. Let's go." He smiled, taking her hand in his.
They walked through the corridors to McGonagall's office and Draco knocked on the heavy wooden door.
"Enter." They heard as the door opened.
The two stepped into the office and noticed the Headmistress was sitting at her desk, writing a letter of some sort.
"Mr. Malfoy." She said, "Nolan Whitcombe has been expelled for his actions yesterday in the Great Hall. He should never have treated your cousin and Miss Lovegood, or any student for that matter, in such a way and as I said Friday, I won't stand for that kind of behavior." She said. "I am sending a letter to your uncle, but I thought that you would want to know."
Draco nodded, "Yes. Thank you, Professor."
She nodded before motioning towards the ornate fireplace, "You are both welcome to use the floo powder in the container on the right."
Hermione thanked her before going first.
When Draco arrived in the Manor's library, Hermione was dusting herself off.
Pippy suddenly appeared with a wide, beaming smile, "Welcome Master Draco and Miss Hermione!" She said, "Mistress will be so happy to see you both."
"Hi Pippy." Draco smiled at the house elf, "Could you please go get my mother?"
"Pippy will go right now." She replied before disappearing with an audible *pop*
Hermione looked at Draco, "I suppose Pippy, and I could go get my parents and bring them back here. Traveling by elf magic is much more agreeable than Apparition."
Draco nodded, "That's a good idea. I'll go ahead and start speaking with Mother while you're gone."
A few moments later, Narcissa and Pippy entered the library together.
"Draco! Hermione! What a pleasant surprise! I do hope all is well." She said, hugging her son before hugging Hermione.
Draco spoke first, "Well, I've got a few things to speak with you about but first, could Pippy please take Hermione to her parents' house and bring the three of them back here?"
"Of course." Narcissa said, turning to Pippy, "Be careful."
"Yes Mistress." Pippy said as Draco kissed Hermione on the cheek.
A moment later Pippy and Hermione had vanished.
Narcissa turned to her son, "What's wrong, Draco?"
Draco nodded to the sofa, "Let's sit."
As they sat down, he began to explain everything they had been told. He went into as much detail as he could, knowing they didn't have much time until the Grangers and Pippy would be back.
"That is all rather astonishing." She replied, "But what can I do to…" she paused when they heard the audile *pop* as the Grangers and Pippy appeared in the library.
"Hello Hayden. Hello Jean." Narcissa smiled kindly, having gotten to know them well during their stay at the Manor.
"Hello Narcissa." Jean smiled with nervousness evident in her mannerisms. "I'm sorry for intruding. We aren't exactly sure what's going on though."
Narcissa nodded, "I'm sure Hermione will explain it all." She said and turned to the House Elf, "Pippy will you show them to the tearoom and get them some tea?"
Pippy nodded and led them out of the library.
Hermione caught Draco's eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded, wanting her to know that she wasn't alone. She swallowed and went with her rather confused parents.
Once they left Draco turned back to Narcissa, "Who was that witch that you mentioned? Her name. And where did you learn about her?"
Narcissa nodded and stood up, walking over to one of the bookshelves that filled the library, containing thousands of books She pulled a book from the shelf and walked back to Draco.
"Since I've been allowed to leave the Manor during the day, I went to the Timeless Tomes store that you mentioned in Knockturn Alley. It's a fascinating shop and the man who owns it is awfully kind." She said, sitting next to him on the sofa, "I spent hours in there one day, nearly missing my curfew and discovered this book. It wasn't printed for the masses so there aren't many of them, but I purchased a rare copy." She explained, handing him the black, leather book. "Hermione should read it. If this witch is her relative and it sounds like she just might be, then she needs to learn more about her family." Narcissa said in an odd, slightly concerned tone.
Draco looked at the embossed cover.
Most Promising Magical Beings.
He furrowed his brow at his mother's tone and met her eyes, "What happened to her?"
"She and her husband went missing nearly forty years ago." Narcissa sighed, "It could have something to do with this entire situation."
Draco swallowed, "You said nearly forty years ago?"
She nodded.
He sighed, "Was there an exact date in this book?" he asked, opening the book to look.
"Yes. I believe sometime in January."
"January tenth, nineteen-sixty?" He asked, looking over at his mother as he remembered the date that Dumbledore had mentioned. The same night that Leonardo's and Andrea's magic had been stripped along with their sons' magic.
"I believe so." Narcissa said. "Why?"
Draco sighed and rubbed his brow, "The questions are just growing."
Meanwhile, Hermione and her parents were sitting in the tearoom down the hallway from the library.
"What's going on Minnie?" Hayden asked, completely confused.
Hermione inhaled deeply before saying, "I've been speaking with Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress and I've got something that I need to tell you." She said, swallowing before meeting her father's eyes, "Dad, you're a wizard."
Hayden furrowed his brow, "Minnie, darling, what are you talking about?"
"Grandad and Grandmum were both Pure Bloods. They both grew up in magical homes and went to Hogwarts."
"Hermione." Hayden sighed, completely confused. "Darling, my father and mother…I remember them talking about their childhoods. They never went to Hogwarts. They never even knew about the magical world. They died before you received your letter."
Hermione sighed, "They were cursed. On January tenth in nineteen-sixty. A wizard cursed them, you, and Uncle Christopher. He stripped the four of you of your powers and erased the memories all of you had of magic."
Hayden furrowed his brow as Jean sat in silence, confused, wondering if it could be true.
"I know how hard this is to believe. I didn't believe it at first either but Professor Dumbledore…well, he told me yesterday that…"
"Wait, I thought he was dead…" Hayden said.
Hermione sighed, "Wizards and Witches can create portraits of themselves that contain a certain amount of their knowledge and personality after they pass. His portrait and Professor McGonagall explained all of this to me and Draco yesterday."
Sighing, her father nodded, "Okay, go on."
"They explained that the curse took the magic from all future generations of the Granger family. The Grangers were apparently a very strong magical family, and the Wolfe family wanted our powers. A member of their family, a man by the name of Ezra, cursed the four of you and through you, the following generations." She explained, "He erased your memories of it, similar to how I erased myself from your memories last year."
"Then how are you a witch? How do you have magic id this curse was supposed to keep magic from the following generations?" Jean asked, speaking for the first time.
"There's…" the younger brunette swallowed, "There's a prophecy. A prophecy about me…about me and Draco. Because of him…because of Draco, I have powers. I brought it with me, the prophecy, though it might be rather confusing." She said, pulling out the parchment with the prophecy on it.
She handed it to Hayden and Jean leaned in to read it as well. As they read through it, their shock grew.
"You and Draco are supposed to get married and…have…children." Hayden muttered.
Hermione nodded, knowing that would be hard for her father to accept. It wasn't that it was Draco she was supposed to marry. Really, it was that she was supposed to get married at all and have children. It was that his little girl was supposed to grow up and he, as a loving father, just wasn't prepared for that.
"I've told you all of this because there might be a cure for the curse. There might be a way for you, Uncle Christopher, and his children to get your powers back. It's not ready yet but they are working on it." Hermione explained, "So you should decide if you want that. You should decide if you want your magical powers."
Hayden nodded, "Erm…well I…I'm not sure."
Nodding, his daughter reached over and took his hand, "Dad, it's okay. Just take your time and think about it. Like I said, it's not ready yet."
He nodded and looked at his wife, "Jean, are you all right, dear?"
She nodded, "I am. I just…speaking of your parents…I remember something odd that happened when your parents passed in that car accident." She murmured, confused.
Hayden furrowed his brow, "What?"
Hermione watched as her mother worked through her own thoughts. It was evident that Jean had thought of something that bothered and concerned her.
Jean swallowed, "First of all, it was so odd the way the accident happened. It was November twelfth in nineteen-eighty-seven." She said, looking at Hermione, "You were so young, and we received a phone call saying that they had been in an accident near your old school. When we got to the hospital, we were told they had both passed due to their injuries. The doctors were rather vague though." She paused, swallowing, "I remember we had dropped you off at the neighbor's house and so we were able to go to the location of the accident."
Hermione nodded, "What did you see?" she asked, needing to understand why her mother felt something was wrong with her grandparents' deaths.
"There were burn marks on the pavement, as if fireworks had been shot off from there. There weren't any skid marks from tires or any pieces from the vehicles or broken glass." She said, confused. "None of it made any sense. We did see their bodies at the hospital but…" She shook her head.
Hayden swallowed, "They were so injured from the accident we had to have closed caskets at the double funeral. I wasn't even able to identify them. The only reason we knew it was them was by the vehicle. It was Dad's blue, nineteen-fifty Ford Pilot. He loved that car, and it was utterly destroyed in that accident. But Mum's purse was in there and Dad's hat and glasses were in the car as well. There was no doubt that it was them."
Jean looked at her daughter and husband, "There…there had been man at the hospital, and I saw him again at the double funeral ceremony. I didn't know him, but I remember seeing him." She said, looking at them pointedly, "I remember him being in both places and having no idea why he was there. I was so devastated by the loss that I didn't pay much mind at the time. I normally would, but looking back on it…" Her eyes widened and she met Hermione's.
"What Mum?" She asked.
"I swear, Hermione, I think he had a wand." She breathed.
"Let's go to the library." Hermione said, standing up. She needed to speak with Draco.
When they arrived in the library, Hermione walked over to Draco, "What'd you find out?"
"This witch…Stella Granger." Draco said, "There's a lot in this book about her but Hermione…she and her husband disappeared on January tenth, nineteen-sixty. The same day your grandparents, father and uncle were stripped of their powers."
Hermione's eyes widened as they heard Hayden speak up.
"Did you say Stella Granger?" Hayden asked, his eyes wide with shock.
Draco turned and nodded, "Yes sir."
"That…that's my grandmother's name." Hayden said in a tone that sounded as if he were remembering something from long ago.
"Wait." Draco said, "So Stella was Leonardo's mother?" he asked, beginning to see the connections.
Hayden nodded. "Yes."
"So on the night that the family's magic was stolen, Stella and her husband…" Hermione said.
"Rodrick." Draco added.
Hermione nodded, "Stella and Rodrick disappeared…" She turned to Draco and pulled him away from the others, "My mum remembered something about when my grandparents died. They were in a car accident when I was eight. Mum remembers a man who was as the hospital and the funerals. She said he had a wand, Draco."
Draco furrowed his brow, confused and thinking it all through when something clicked and he whispered, "You don't think…" He paused, swallowing, "well…you don't think that because of the prophecy, Ezra came back and killed Leonardo and Andrea, do you? In hopes of keeping the prophecy from happening."
Hermione thought over it all and sighed, "By killing them, it would make me appear muggle-born." She said, knowing this line of thought was hurtful but plausible. "Which would make you and I getting together, let alone married, highly unlikely because of the Malfoy family legacy of being prejudice towards muggle-borns." She sighed.
Draco looked down in shame. Hermione lifted his chin, "Draco, love, clearly if that was his plan, he failed. Because look at us. You and I are together, and we got together all while you thought I was a muggle-born witch."
He nodded before something occurred to him, "Well, if Stella and Rodrick were never found…" he paused, concerned about going down that path and raising Hermione's hopes.
"If they were never found…" She repeated his words before adding, "And my parents couldn't actually identify my grandparents after the accident…" She paused before saying, "The four of them might still be alive." She said in utter shock. Before adding, "Do you really think they'd keep people captive for nearly forty years?"
"If your family's magic is a powerful as Dumbledore let on and the Wolfe family is as deranged as they appear to be then…yea, they might." Draco muttered.
"But why, Draco?" Hermione asked. "Why take them captive if he already took their powers? Why didn't he just kill them? That way I would appear a muggle-born and most likely never speak with you. Why take them captive at all? How does that make any sense?"
Draco furrowed his brows, shaking his head, "I don't know. Dumbledore must know something, though. McGonagall too." He muttered, "We need to do some more research and find out what we can about your family tree."
Hermione nodded "But where? If Dumbledore never wanted me to know, he would have made sure that I couldn't get to whatever books have information in them."
"How about the restricted section at Hogwarts?" He asked.
"Perhaps but we may have to look outside Hogwarts." She replied.
He nodded, "We're going to need some help."
The five of them ate lunch together while Draco and Hermione explained everything that they had surmised from what they had been told and what they had discovered.
"Then I'll go back to Timeless Tomes and look through more books." Narcissa said.
"And we'll contact my brother and speak with him. We'll also look through some of the old family history stuff and try to find anything that may be helpful." Hayden said.
Jean nodded, "There's a storage room full of boxes. Surely we can find something."
"Just don't send anything by owl." Draco said, "Professor McGonagall warned us that they can be intercepted."
The others nodded in agreement.
After lunch Draco and Hermione hugged their parents farewell and used the fireplace to go back to Hogwarts.
When Draco arrived in McGonagall's office, he found Hermione thanking the Headmistress for letting them go.
"We're going to go see our friends now." Hermione said before leaving.
Draco furrowed his brow at the obvious and slightly rude dismissal his girlfriend had just used on their Headmistress. He looked at McGonagall who had also clearly noticed but looked more concerned that irritated.
He thanked the Professor and ran after Hermione.
"Hermione, what was that?" He asked in a hushed voice once they were out of ear shot.
"They're keeping things from me, Draco. Information that might could save lives… the lives of my family. I just…I can't look at them right now without going completely mental." She replied, in a quiet but angry voice.
He nodded, "Okay." He said, pulling her into an alcove off the corridor, "Listen, Friday night, you and I will use the invisibility cloak we found in Lucius's chest in the cellar, the one Mother gave to me and go to the restricted section to look at the books there and see if we can find anything out."
"We won't both fit under the cloak, but I can borrow Harry's cloak so that we both have one." She sighed.
He nodded, "We'll need to figure out a way to hold hands or something so that we don't run into one another." He said with a small grin, seeing the slightest smile on her lips.
She nodded, "We'll figure something out. Perhaps Disillusionment Charms." She suggested.
He nodded and leaned in, kissing her lips.
She kissed back and was about to deepen the kiss when he suddenly pulled back, surprising her.
His brow was furrowed from confusion and after a moment she heard it as well. There was no mistaking the noise coming from the classroom to their left.
Draco's eyes widened when her heard the female moan a name, "Ron!"
Suddenly Draco knew why the sound seemed familiar…it was Pansy and Weasley having a shag in an empty classroom.
"Bloody hell! We have to get out of here." Hermione whispered shaking her head, pleading with own mind to shut off her ears, "Now!" She hissed, pulling Draco down the corridor the opposite way from the sound.
Draco shook his head, trying to forget what he'd just heard as they skidded around the corner, running into Theo and Blaise.
"There you two are!" Theo grinned.
Blaise noticed how the couple was blushing and looking awkward. He smirked, "What's going on here?"
"Do you truly want to know?" Draco asked.
Blaise nodded once. "I do."
"No, you don't." Hermione said quickly.
"Oh, but I do." Blaise said, looking at Draco pointedly.
Draco bit back a smirk and quietly said, "We just heard Weasley and Pansy going at it in an empty classroom like a couple of Hippogriffs in heat."
While Hermione's face nearly melted off from embarrassment, while all three blokes burst out laughing at the reality of the situation.
Hermione shook her head, "You three are terrible." She said, biting back her own smirk. She could see the humor in the situation just as much as they could, but she was also well aware of who it had been in the empty classroom and the past Pansy had with her boyfriend.
Harry and Ginny walked around the corner, running into the group.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Ginny asked.
Hermione shook her head, "Ginny, just trust me, you don't want to know."
Ginny furrowed her brow as the laughter began to die down. Ginny opened her mouth to push the topic, but Hermione shook her head and looked at the younger girl pointedly.
"Let's go to the Common Room. It just started to rain." Harry suggested.
The others nodded and together, the lot of them headed towards the Eighth-Year dormitories.
Draco and Hermione told the others about their theories and everything they had discovered so far.
When Ron and Pansy entered the Common Room, Hermione wasn't able to look them in the eyes. While she attempted to remain focused on her conversation with Ginny, she couldn't help but overhear Blaise teasing Ron.
"Feeling refreshed, Weasley?" Blaise grinned
"What are you on about, Blaise?" Pansy asked.
Blaise smirked and shook his head, "Nothing at all, Pans."
Pansy rolled her eyes and went back to talking to Hannah.
After dropping the topic, the group headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
That night, while lying in bed, Hermione read the book Narcissa had lent her, using her wand for light. She understood what Narcissa had meant by Stella Granger reminding her of Hermione.
Stella hadn't been a Gryffindor, but she also only became a Granger by marriage. She, in fact, had been a Ravenclaw and in the book it stated that many referred to her as the brightest witch of her time.
While the book had information about Stella that brought a smile to Hermione's face, it also had details about her sudden disappearance in nineteen-sixty.
Hermione couldn't help but wonder if Stella was out there at that moment, locked away in Ezra's cellar, scared.
By the time she fell asleep, her dreams were filled with questions that only Dumbledore had answers to. Her sleep was restless as she tossed and turned most of the night.
September 4, 1998
Draco woke up on Monday and began to get ready for the day. It was the first day of classes and for the first time since third year he was actually excited about going to classes. He shaved his face before taking a shower and getting dressed. As he pulled on his robes, Blaise exited the lavatory, tying his Slytherin tie as he walked into the room.
"We've got Muggle Studies together before lunch." The handsome, dark-skinned wizard muttered as he looked into the mirror he had hung on the back of their dorm door.
Draco nodded, "I know. I've got Transfiguration with Hermione first, then Muggle Studies with you. And after lunch, the three of us are in Care of Magical Creatures together."
"What do you have after that?"
"Nothing." Draco said with a grin, "Hermione and I both have a free period before dinner."
Blaise chuckled, shaking his head, "So then while I'm stuck in Charms, you and Granger will likely be in here, snogging or…" He paused, shaking his head, "Well, stay off my bed."
Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed his brown leather satchel that was embossed with his initials, swinging it across his body, "Mate, let's go."
Blaise chuckled and grabbed his own black leather satchel as they headed out of their room. They went down to the Common Room, discovering that they were the last Eighth Years to arrive.
Hermione was leaning against the wall, reading a book while biting her nails.
Draco frowned and walked over to her, "Good Morning, love."
She glanced up from the book, "Morning, love." She muttered with a sigh, "I'm not sure I can wait until Friday night to go look for more information, Draco."
He nodded, seeing that the worry was eating at her. "Okay. We'll go tonight." He whispered. "I'll ask Potter…"
"Ask me what?" Harry said, walking nearby.
Hermione turned and whispered, "Harry, I need to borrow your invisibility cloak tonight. I need to look in the restricted section for more information about my family."
Harry nodded, "Sure. Would you like it now?"
She nodded and he jogged up the stairs to his dorm to get it. When he came back down to the Common Room and gave it to Hermione, she put it in her beaded bag, where Draco's already was.
The first day of classes was surprisingly uneventful. Their professors introduced themselves and eased their way into the first lessons.
That Afternoon, after Care of Magical Creatures, Draco and Hermione decided to go ahead and use the invisibility to cloaks and go to the restricted section of the library.
"No one would expect anyone to go into the restricted section during the day." Draco said as they slipped the cloaks on.
They lifted them just enough to hold hands and still not be seen.
The snuck through the Common Room, past some of their fellow Eighth Years and through the corridors before entering the library. They went up to the second floor of the library which was on the fourth floor of the castle. It contained only the restricted section and the faculty section. When they got up there, they found that no one else was up there and lowered the hoods of their cloaks.
They didn't speak. They didn't have time to talk. Both of them knew that any moment a professor or other faculty member could show up and catch them. The couple immediately went to work scanning book by book for information on 'Granger' or 'Wolfe'.
After fifteen minutes or so, Hermione found her surname in a book. She quickly looked at the title of the book, just in case they had to leave, and it felt as if her heart had lodged itself in her throat upon seeing the title.
Unsolved Cases of Mysterious Magical Murders
Printed in 1973
She knew she couldn't distract Draco, so she quickly used her wand and magically duplicated the pages. She usually didn't approve of that shortcut technique but in this instance, she let herself get by with it. Not taking the time to even read about the copied parchment, she tucked it into her beaded bag and continued to look for more information.
After another ten minutes they both heard footsteps nearing.
Draco waved his wand, putting the books back and grabbed Hermione's arm, pulling her behind a bookcase. They both quickly pulled the hoods back on and held hands as they snuck back down to the main library, past Professor Hubert, the upper-class's History of Magic Instructor and out to the corridor.
When they finally got back to Draco's room, they took off the cloaks and sighed.
"Did you find anything?" Hermione asked while re-doing her hair in a ponytail so that it was more tamed and out of her face.
Draco sighed and shook his head. "Nothing. Did you?"
She nodded.
"What'd you find?" he asked.
She inhaled deeply and pulled out the papers from her bag. They both read them while standing in the middle of the dorm room.
The evening of January 10, 1960 holds a great deal of mystery and despair for the Granger family. Gerald Leonardo Granger and his wife Sylvia, both born in 1875, were found murdered in their home that evening. While that is tragic in itself for the family, even more horror marked their name that very same evening. In a town only 20 miles from Gerald and Sylvia's home was their son, Ambrose and his wife, Cora's home. They too, were found murdered that same evening. Both born in 1896, they were each only 64 years old.
Sadly, the mystery doesn't stop there. On the very same evening, in the same town as Ambrose and Cora, their son, Rodrick and his wife, Stella, went missing. They vanished and were never heard from again. Being such a powerful and well-liked, pure blood family, it is surprising that such a good family could suffer so much.
One can only hope that someday the truth comes out and these mysteries are solved.
Draco swallowed, "Bloody hell."
Hermione stumbled slightly before sitting on the edge of Draco's bed. She couldn't believe that so much had happened and Dumbledore and kept it all from her. He family had been through so much and she never knew…but Dumbledore knew.
Draco watched as suddenly her expression changed from shock and sorrow to anger, or more accurately, pure and absolute rage.
She stood up and stormed past him.
Draco watched her shock before running after her, "Hermione, wait!" He shouted as she stormed through the Common Room, out the open painting, and down the corridor.
He knew where she was going, parchment still gripped tightly in her hand and eyes blazing with rage that he had never seen before. He didn't know what she was going to do or say but there was no doubting her destination.
Hemione banged on McGonagall's door and opened it without waiting for a response.
"Miss Granger, is everything all right?" McGonagall asked, standing from behind her desk as Draco ran in, breathing heavily.
"Hermione." He said, trying to get her attention.
Hermione ignored both her boyfriend and the Headmistress as she stormed over to the portrait of the former Headmaster.
"What didn't you bloody tell me?!" She shouted, holding the parchment up while glaring at the portrait with fury-filled eyes.
I know that there is a lot of information in this chapter but soon it will all make sense. Please take a moment and leave a Review, it is truly appreciated.