Hey Guys! Again, this is not usual. I won't be posting the chapters this close together but I really wanted to get this one out there. Enjoy!
September 4, 1998 (continued)
Hemione banged on McGonagall's door and opened it without waiting for a response.
"Miss Granger, is everything all right?" McGonagall asked as Draco ran in, breathing heavily.
Hermione ignored the Headmistress and stormed over to the portrait of the former Headmaster.
"What didn't you tell me?!" She shouted
Dumbledore's portrait remained silent for a moment before sighing, "Miss Granger…"
"Albus…" McGonagall said pointedly
Dumbledore met his successor's eyes and sighed, nodding, "All right. I suppose there's more you should know but first, you need to be aware that this knowledge brings with it a great deal of danger. Do you understand?"
She nodded and looked over at Draco.
Draco stepped closer and Dumbledore nodded at both of them, "Have a seat." He said, "Where to begin…" He muttered to himself as the couple sat down.
They waited while Dumbledore adjusted himself in his painted chair before speaking.
"I was very close friends with your great-great-great grandfather, Gerald Leonardo Granger. We were in Gryffindor together and during our seventh year we decided, after much deliberation, and both of us thinking we knew full well what could happen, that there should be a stronger, more powerful wand than the Elder Wand." Dumbledore began. "This was quite some time before the Elder Wand was in my possession you see and with it out in the world, possibly ending up in anyone's hands…well we needed to put forth some sort of protection. A safeguard of some sort for if it were to land in the wrong hands." He said, sighing before saying, "The Grangers had been around for centuries. They were one of the oldest pure blood families to exist, yet they never allowed that to take over their morals. They always were pure of heart and mind and soul. That has never changed even after everything that's happened." He said meeting Hermione's eyes, "So when we decided to create a wand that could defeat the Elder Wand and any other wand, there was only one person, only one family that I thought should have control over it."
Hermione swallowed and nodded, feeling the weight of her family's responsibilities landing on her shoulders as the former Headmaster spoke from his frame.
Dumbledore nodded, seeing that she was following him, "Well, we spoke with Giles Ollivander, he was the Ollivander of that time. We explained the situation and that we wanted it to be a wand of good. A wand that couldn't be corrupted. We wanted this wand to be a salvation wand for the magical community. The Granger family would forever remain in control of it since they could be trusted."
"Giles agreed to help us, but he said that he couldn't do it alone. He would need our assistance, so together the three of us designed a dual core wand. It had a Phoenix Feather and a Dragon Heartstring within the Larch wood base." He paused and met her eyes, "Hermione, this wand is known as The Celestial Wand, and it is immensely powerful. More powerful than even we had intended. It was meant to remain a secret but rarely do secrets remain private."
Hermione nodded. She understood. Even as he spoke, her mind began to piece it all together, "So Ezra Wolfe killed Gerald, Sylvia, Ambrose and Cora intending to take my family's magic and the wand." She said, "And if what Draco and I have discovered is correct than, Ezra kidnapped Rodrick and Stella that same night…the night he stole my family's magic." She furrowed her brow, "But then why did he…" She paused suddenly realizing a truth that scared her, "Ezra never found The Celestial Wand, did he?"
Dumbledore shook his head, "No, we're nearly certain that he has been holding your grandparents and great-grandparents captive for all these years."
Hermione shook her head, standing up in frustration, "We must find them! We have to bring them home and put this man in prison!"
"Hermione, I promise you, if I had any idea where the wand was, I would have done that, but I haven't a clue." Dumbledore said. "And well, while he doesn't have the wand, Ezra does have your grandfather's magic, so he is significantly stronger than you would expect. There's no way to defeat him without the Celestial Wand."
"What about the Elder Wand? Why can't I just use it?" Hermione asked.
"Mr. Potter is the true master of the Elder Wand now." McGonagall explained, stepping around her desk.
"And the power of the Celestial Wand in engrained in the Granger family magic. The only wand that can defeat Ezra Wolfe, since he has your grandfather's magic, is the Celestial Wand." Dumbledore added.
McGonagall cleared her throat and spoke up, "We believe that your grandfather, Leonardo must have hidden the wand and never informed anyone of the location."
"How do we find it?" Hermione asked.
"That's what we've been trying to do for years." Dumbledore replied. "We have had no findings in our search."
Draco furrowed his brow and asked, "Is there any chance that he left behind any clues as to where he hid the wand?"
"It's possible but we haven't found any." Dumbledore replied.
Hermione shook her head, sighing, "What does this Ezra Wolfe look like? I need to warn my parents."
The Headmistress sighed and reached into one of her desk drawers, pulling out moving photograph.
"This is a family portrait." The Headmistress said, "Show it to your parents, have them keep an eye out for any these people. We aren't sure exactly what he'll do next to keep the prophecy from coming true."
"We're moving your parents back to the Manor." Draco said.
Hermione nodded in agreement, taking the photograph from the Headmistress.
"Hermione…" Dumbledore said.
Hermione sighed and looked back up at the portrait. He expression was one of anger and sorrow.
"I truly didn't want to put you through the pain. You've been through so much and there were no developments." He said.
She inhaled and spoke in an even but clearly upset tone, "My Grandad was always one of the most important people in the world to me. We share a birthday. I thought he died when I was eight and it shattered me. I thought I had lost my best friend but as it turns out he's been alive all these years. He's just been locked away in some mad man's cellar." Her voice rose a bit in anger. "I'm going to find this wand, then I'm going to find my family and all of them will get their magic back." She said sternly before turning to leave. She paused and turned back to look up at the portrait with betrayed eyes, "You should have told me." She said before walking out of the office with determination.
Draco followed her and waited until they got into an empty corridor before he pulled her into an alcove and into his tight, soothing embrace. Once in his embrace, she felt free to break down. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed into his chest.
He held her close, letting her have a moment. He knew she would see this as her own weakness, but he knew better. This moment…this moment where she was breaking down in his arms was not from weakness but rather from being strong for too long.
They spent ten minutes there. No one came by and it occurred to Draco that everyone must be at dinner.
Once she gathered herself, she pulled back and wiped her tears, "I'm sorry." She muttered.
He shook his head, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye, "Love, we've been there for each other all this time. Why stop now?"
September 5, 1998
When Draco arrived in his Healing Course at nine on Tuesday morning, he found Theo in there and grinned, "I hadn't realized you'd be in here." He said as he sat down in the chair next to the sandy-haired wizard
Theo nodded, "My study hall time was switched so I'm in this class in the morning on Tuesday and Thursdays."
Draco nodded as Professor Jennings stepped up next to the blackboard, "Hello class." He said in a rich, deep voice that matched his tall and stoic appearance. "I am Professor Jennings, and this is Professor Bachmann." He said, nodding to the shorter, much stockier man with a bead that reached to his chest. Bachmann smiled and nodded to the class as Jennings continued, "We will be your instructors in all Healing Magic courses. For today's lesson we will be focusing on a spell that I am sure all of you know." He aimed his wand at the blackboard and the word Episkey appeared in white chalk.
"Episkey is a spell to treat mild to moderate injuries. It comes in rather useful when dealing with children and teenagers who often get injured. Busted lips, small abrasions, mild lacerations." Jennings explained as the students began to take notes.
Professor Bachmann nodded along, following the lesson. He was about to speak up for his part of it before noticing something in the back of the class. He walked around and went out the classroom door.
Draco noticed this, only allowing it to take a bit of his attention from the lesson.
When Bachmann came back in, he walked directly to Draco and leaned closer, quietly saying, "Mr. Malfoy, you have visitors in the hallway. It seems as though you'll be gone a while. The homework assignment is simply to practice the incantation Professor Jennings is discussing." He said kindly.
Draco nodded and thanked the Professor before patting Theo on the shoulder and heading out of the room with his satchel in hand.
When he got out into the hallway, he found Chief Healer Dario Tufin and Rocco Reid the researcher waiting for him.
"Hello Draco." Dario smiled, "Although I was hoping the next time we met, you'd be working for me, it's good to see you. Headmistress McGonagall said that you were considering helping us with the Magic Restoration Potion we've been working on."
Draco nodded, "Yes, I'd like to do whatever I can to help cure the people affected by the curse. I have quite a few questions about it though."
Dario smiled, "I'm thrilled to hear it. Let's go into the brewing room your professors have set aside for us and we'll answer your questions."
Draco followed them, past four brewing rooms before entering the fifth one.
"What's your first question?" Dario asked as Rocco slipped off his suit jacket and grabbed a leather journal, and a leather binder packed full of parchment.
"Have you been making batches of this potion already and they just haven't worked, or have you only done research so far?" Draco asked,
Dario looked at Rocco, "I'll let you answer that."
Mr. Reid nodded and cleared his throat before saying, "We've made twenty-eight batches so far. The first twenty-one failed but gave us promising information to follow. Batches twenty-two through twenty-eight worked but only temporarily." He said, "I've brought you a copy of my research, the important bits. I didn't want to overload you with nonsense." He said, sliding the thick, leather binder filled with parchment towards Draco.
Draco nodded, "Could you maybe tell me a summary of it all?" he said, opening the binder.
Rocco nodded, "We've discovered that this…" he said, pointing at the top sheet pf parchment which was a list of ingredients, "is the current list of ingredients, including the charm."
"That bit came to us from your experience with your mother's curse." Dario said, "We hadn't thought of adding a charm to the mixture but when we did, it boosted the power considerably."
Draco nodded, reading the list, "Clearly you're either missing something or you have something that you don't need."
Rocco nodded, "I truly believe that we're missing something, though I haven't a clue what it could be."
Draco furrowed his brow, thinking over the possibilities, "I'm not sure but I'll do some research. It could be more than one something. There might even, and I hate to say this, but there might even need to be something different in each dose depending on who is taking it. Something powerful from their family line that hold some piece of the family's magic." He muttered.
Rocco furrowed his brow, surprised that Draco had thought of something so quickly, "That makes sense. Something significant to the person or family that contains magic…" He muttered as he wrote down the information in his journal.
Dario nodded, "You're going to make a brilliant Healer, Draco."
Draco smiled but didn't reply.
"We do need to be careful about how we communicate." Dario said, as he pulled something out of his pocket. "So, I've brought you a MAC. Rocco and I have one as well. These three MACs are connected only to each other. Should any of us need to speak to one another, just write on here." He said, handing Draco a small parchment card.
Draco nodded, "All right." He said, slipping the card into his chest pocket.
After bidding them farewell, Draco headed to his next class, arriving just before it began.
He slid into the empty chair next to Hermione as Professor Davies introduced himself as their Defense Against the Dark Art professor.
"Hey you." Draco muttered to the brunette.
She smiled, "I was worried about you." She replied quietly while still listening to the professor.
"I was meeting with Dario Tufin and Rocco Reid about working with them on the cure." Draco replied as Davies waved his wand, hovering books to each table.
Hermione nodded, "How close are they to having it ready?"
He shrugged, "They're just missing something; we've just got to figure out what it is. I'm going to do some research later."
She nodded as two books landed on the table in front of them.
After Defense Against the Dark Art ended, Draco and Hermione walked to the Great Hall hand in hand.
They joined their friends, who were sitting at the Slytherin table rather than the Gryffindor table for lunch.
"So, all the Eighth Years have Astronomy on Tuesdays." Blaise said, "We're supposed to be in the Astronomy Tower by half past nine."
"What do you suppose it's like at the Manor with your parents getting to know each other so well?" Theo asked Draco and Hermione.
Hermione shrugged, "From what I can tell, they all get along rather well. Dad and Arthur are becoming really close as well and apparently Molly and Arthur visit quite often."
"Who'd have thought my parents would ever willingly go to the Malfoy Manor." Ron chuckled, "It's unbelievable how much everything has changed."
Blaise nodded, "Turned out for the best in the end." He said with a grin.
Before going to her first flying course with Professor Yotov, Hermione stopped by the Owlery, having gotten permission from McGonagall to send her parents the photograph of the Wolfe family.
As she walked away from the Owlery she calmed herself, hoping her nerves weren't too obvious around her new professor, who was also Krum's brother-in-law. She still found it hard to believe that he was really going to be her Flying Instructor.
When she got to the Training Grounds near the Quidditch Pitch, she noticed Luna, Parvati, and Padma. She quickly joined them as Boris Yotov strutted over with kind smile.
"Hello everyone." He said, "I am Professor Yotov. This is my smallest class since most students choose to learn to fly early on in their time at school. I am rather excited however to have such a small class." He said looking at the ten students, "You are all Seventh and Eighth Years so I feel as though we will have a bit more fun being that you are adults."
Even with them being older, Yotov took his time and taught them the basics first. Hermione felt rather accomplished since Draco had previously taught her all of that and she was already fairly good at it.
The class went rather well and when Hermione met up with Draco in the Entrance Hall for study hall with Oscar, she told Draco that Boris seemed to be a nice guy.
Draco nodded, "He's a young professor though." he said. "I'm not used to seeing such young professors."
Hermione nodded, "True but if Blaise or Theo get their way, they'll be teaching in a matter of years."
"I suppose you're right." Draco said as they waited for Oscar to arrive.
"Are you all right?" She asked.
He nodded, "Yea. I just…I'm a bit worried about Wolfe." He muttered, "I'm not sure if you've noticed, I just happened to, but most of the past two days, he's been rather silent. I haven't even really seen him and that concerns me."
Hermione nodded, "I have noticed." She replied, "Sadly, he should be in our Astronomy class tonight."
Sighing, Draco nodded before noticing Oscar down the corridor. The three of them found an empty classroom and began to work on a few spells.
"The disarming charm is very important and fairly easy." Draco told his younger cousin.
He and Hermione stood about twenty feet apart and he nodded for her to disarm him.
"Expelliarmus!" She said, sending his wand flying across the room before she caught it with a smirk.
Draco chuckled and nodded looking at his cousin, "Want to try it?"
They spent the next hour and twenty minutes working on it and by the end, Oscar was quite good at it.
"I really appreciate it, Draco. Thank you too, Hermione."
"You're welcome, Oscar." Hermione smiled as they headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
That night, after finishing up Astronomy, it was nearly midnight when the group of Eighth years was walking back to their dormitories.
Draco and Hermione were hand in hand as they strolled toward the back of the group.
"What do you think about…" Hermione began before being cut off by Daphne Greengrass.
"Draco, could we talk for a moment?" Greengrass asked.
Draco sighed, "No." He said, not bothering to look at her as they continued to walk toward the dorms.
Daphne raised her wand and aimed it at Hermione, "How about now?" she said through gritted teeth.
Harry turned and saw the scene. He grabbed his wand but waited. He could see Carter Wolfe in the back of the group, smirking.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Draco said, stepping in front of Hermione, blocking her from Daphne's wand.
Daphne glared, "I need to talk to you."
Harry shook his head, something wasn't right. Just as he was about to say something, a Warden came around the corner and disarmed Daphne.
"Come with me, Miss Greengrass." The Warden said strictly, "Headmistress McGonagall won't stand for this behavior."
Daphne left with him, not arguing.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked.
Harry looked over at Wolfe. Carter appeared upset but not defeated as he stowed his wand up his sleeve and walked back to the dorms.
Daphne Greengrass was not known as a nice girl, but she never acted in such a way, even Harry knew that.
The dark-haired wizard walked over to Draco, "I think Wolfe used the Imperius Curse on Daphne Greengrass."
Draco furrowed his brow, about to say that not even Wolfe would go that far but he knew better than that. Wolfe would do anything to hurt Hermione or Draco. At that thought, something occurred to Draco. "That bloody bastard. He probably did the same this with Whitcombe and Oscar in the Great Hall."
Hermione clenched her jaw and stormed past her boyfriend, best friend and the rest of the class. She marched straight over to Wolfe, "What the hell do you want?!" she shouted, just barely holding back from shoving him.
Wolfe spun around with a confused look that swiftly changed to a sneer. "Mudblood."
Hermione stopped herself from correcting him. If Carter wasn't informed of his grandfather's actions and her true lineage than she wasn't going to be the one to make that connection for him.
"Leave her alone." Draco said through gritted teeth, gripping his wand.
"She's the one that started it, Malfoy." Wolfe replied angrily.
"Just leave me and everyone I care about alone!" Hermione said angrily, feeling as though she was falling off a cliff that she had been on the edge of for a week.
Wolfe sneered and stormed off.
"Hermione, what are you thinking?" Harry said, "You can't confront him like that."
Hermione huffed and stormed off in the opposite direction of the dorms.
"I've got her." Draco said, going after his girlfriend.
He found her in one of the many alcoves along the corridors, crying into her hands. He hated that she was breaking down and wanted to help.
He crouched down in front of her and waited for a moment, giving her the time that he knew she desperately needed to let the emotions out.
When she had finally gathered herself, she met his concerned, grey eyes and swallowed, "My Grandad…he was my best friend. We always played together and watched films. We'd go 'hunting for monsters' sometimes." She huffed out a small laugh, "He was always so wonderful, so for me to know that he's being held captive, and has been for years…Draco, it's tearing me apart." She said a sob broke free from within her. "That bastard, Carter may not even know anything about it, but his family is the reason mine is in pieces."
Draco nodded, "I understand, love." He inhaled before saying, "Do you have any idea where in the world he may have hidden it?" He asked, knowing she would understand that he meant the wand.
They were in an alcove, but it was still an open corridor, and should anyone pass by, he wanted to be careful of what he said.
"Not a clue." She breathed, "My parents are looking through the old paperwork to see if there are any clues, but I have no idea."
He nodded, "Come on. We need to get back to the dorms before we get in trouble."
As they walked towards the dorms, Hermione's beaded bag began to ring. She reached inside and dug out her cellular phone, "Hello?"
"Minnie!" Jean said in a worried tone, "That man! The one I saw at the funerals and hospital, he's in this picture you sent us."
Hermione nodded and looked at Draco, "It was Ezra Wolfe who was at the hospital and the funerals." She whispered nearly silently.
Draco nodded and glanced around while Hermione replied to her mother, "Yea, that's what I thought. Stay where you are. It's the best place for you under the circumstances." She said, referring to the Malfoy Manor.
Jean sighed, "This is turning into quite the tangled web, Minnie." She said, concerned about her daughter.
"I know, Mum. I promise that I'm working on it, and I hope to have it all figured out soon so that you both can go back home,"
"Okay. When will we see you again?"
"Probably not until November. You've been invited to Charlie and Adrian's wedding, so I'll see you two then." Hermione replied.
"Okay. We love you, Minnie."
"I love you too." Hermione said before hanging up.
When she and Draco got back to the Common Room, they found that everyone had gone to sleep.
"Sleep well, love." Draco said.
She nodded, "I'll try."
He frowned before asking, "Would you like to sleep in my room with me? Blaise won't mind."
She sighed because that's exactly what she wanted to do. She nodded. "Yea. Just let me go change and I'll meet you in your room."
He nodded and headed up the right stairs to his dorm room.
Blaise was just getting into bed when Draco entered, "Hey Blaise, listen, Hermione is sleeping in here tonight."
"What? I have to sleep somewhere else?" Blaise groaned.
"No. Just sleeping." Draco said quietly.
Blaise nodded, "Oh. All right. Well, I'll see you lot in the morning then." He said, closing the curtains around his bed.
When Hermione came into the room, wearing her pajama trousers and Draco's old tee, Draco smiled.
"Hey, come on." He said with a smile.
She set her clothing for the next day on his trunk at the foot of his bed and climbed underneath the covers.
They closed the curtains around the bed and curled up together. She lifted her head and kissed him with surprising intensity that Draco was quick to return.
He cupped her jaw gently and tilted his head, deepening the kiss slightly.
When they slowly separated, Draco pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, swallowing, "I love you." He murmured.
She inhaled shakily and cupped his jaw, "I love you too, Draco."
He nudged her nose with his own before whispering, "I know that at this moment you don't see it, but you are so bloody strong, Hermione. You can do this. Just don't forget that no matter what happens, I'm right here with you. I'm not going anywhere and that's not going to change." He said, looking into her honey-brown eyes.
She smiled and rubbed her thumb along his cheekbone before whispering, "We're foretold."
He nodded with a smile, "Yes, we are."
Prepare yourselves! There is a bit of smut in the near future, but this story is about so much more than smut.