{ 35 }

An hour had passed and still Hermione had not returned to the study. I paced impatiently back and forth from one end of the work table to the other.

I need to be in the air right now. Flying. Expending this pent up energy. Working through the thoughts tumbling around in my head.

I could just go. Retrieve my pendant and apparate the fuck out of here.

Run away, you mean.

Coward.

I released a deep sigh. I can't just leave. Not without seeing Hermione. Talking to her.

I turned towards the stairs, only to find her standing there. She had her arms crossed over her chest. Her hip was against the wall and she was watching me.

She had taken a shower. Her hair was still damp on the ends. She wore her red plaid skirt, white blouse unbuttoned at the top and a black cardigan with the Gryffindor emblem on the chest.

"Hermione." I swallowed around the lump in my throat. I wanted to cross the room and pull her into my arms. But I didn't.

"Draco." She blinked. Her eyes are puffy and red. She's been crying.

Damn it.

Now I feel like an even bigger arse.

She cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"I didn't ask for any of this, you know?" She pushed her hair back behind her ears and stared down at the floor. "These dreams. Whatever the hell all of this is, this Serpent and Phoenix

shite. I don't want it."

I hate to be the one to tell her, but I don't think she has a choice in the matter. Neither of us do, really.

I raised my brow and waited for her to continue.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know if these…visions…" She stopped and sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know if they are certain to happen, or if it's something that can be changed, avoided."

Her hands are shaking. She squeezed them into fists and took a shaky breath.

"I don't want anything to happen to Tristan." She rubbed one hand over her heart.

I covered the distance between us.

"You know what we need to do." I took her hand in mine and rubbed my thumb across her wrist.

She looked up at me. Her hazel eyes were full of sadness and resignation. She nodded her head once.

"We need to fix the wards." She sighed as she laid her head against my shoulder.

"You aren't in this alone, you know?" I ran my hand along her waist and spread it out across her back, holding her against me. "We'll figure it out together."

She hesitated for a moment, then she wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. After a moment, she stepped back and wiped at her eyes.

"I haven't gone through all of it yet. You're welcome to it anytime." She handed me her sketchbook.

Slowly, I reached forward and took the book from her hands.

"I didn't ask for any of this. I don't want it."

I'm not sure I want it either.

What if…what if there isn't anything we can do to save Tristan? What if we try and fail? What if, by trying, we inadvertently cause whatever she saw happening?

Suddenly I understand her reluctance, and her growing anxiety. My own chest is feeling tight as well.

I placed the book on the table without opening it.

"Like I said, we'll figure it out together." I put my arms around her once again. "But not today. I think we've had enough for now."

She huffed a short laugh against my chest.

"I know I've had enough." She muttered softly.

I don't know if I was even meant to hear it. I do know that she did not mean just for today. She meant she's had enough. Period.

I can't say that I blame her.

"What do you say we get out of here for awhile?"

She nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like an excellent idea." She sighed as she scrubbed her face with her hands. "There is supposed to be something in the desks we can use, right?"

She turned towards the desks. She was facing away from me, but I could practically hear her rolling her eyes as she noticed that her desk has a phoenix emblazoned into the wood. Mine has a serpent, of course.

"She did love the imagery, didn't she?" Sarcasm dripped from her tone as she stepped behind the desk and sat in the chair.

"She wanted to make sure we don't forget how well and truly fucked we are." I muttered it to myself, but when she huffed out a quiet "No doubt about that," I knew she had heard me.

My eyes met hers. My lip quirked up on the end in a smirk. After a second, she rolled her eyes and smirked in return.

I went to my own desk and opened the drawer. There was supposed to be a pendant in there that I could use to apparate the hell out of here. Instead, I found a scroll that was addressed to me. Or to The Serpent.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Hermione made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat.

"Is it too much to ask to be able to go outside so I can have a damn cigarette?" She dropped the scroll on the desk and shut the drawer slightly harder than was necessary. The scroll rolled off the edge of the desk and landed near my feet.

I felt myself smiling, just a little. I bent to pick up her scroll. Before I could touch it, though, a cold chill ran up my arm. I moved my hand back and the sensation instantly went away.

Interesting.

"I'll get it myself." Hermione sighed dramatically and bent to retrieve her scroll from the floor.

"I think you have to. I can't touch it."

She hesitated for a moment, then picked up the scroll and stood.

"I suppose I can't touch yours, either?" She reached over to try, but stopped short. She tried again with the same result. Her brow crinkled for a moment before she stepped back. Her eyes dropped to her own scroll. "What's in here that she doesn't want you to see?"

A cold chill ran down my spine.

"Nothing good, I'm sure."

She huffed.

"Obviously." She pushed her hair behind her ears and sat on the edge of her desk.

I opted to sit in my chair rather than on my desk. I broke the seal and unrolled the parchment. Rolled up inside the scroll, I found the pendant Ravenclaw had referenced. It was on a silver chain, and of course it had the phoenix and serpent image engraved into the silver pendant.

"The Serpent. You are in these rooms, reading this letter, for one simple reason. You set out to forge your own path, and it has led you here.

"Perhaps, had you known then what you know now, you would have chosen differently. Certain events have already been put into motion, though, and there is no going back to stop them.

"You have to finish what you have started. If you do not, the result could be disastrous. That which you are to accomplish will not be easy. I have provided what I could to ensure you succeed in your endeavors.

"The fate of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as the fate of the Wizarding World itself, rests with you and the Phoenix. I have no doubt that the two of you are more than capable.

"Remember to always follow your heart. It will lead you exactly where you need to be.

"Take care of her, Serpent. Together you will be successful. Together you will heal each other. You will heal Hogwarts. You will heal the world.

"All my best, Rowena Ravenclaw."

[ - - - ]

{ Hermione POV }

Healer Edinfield sat at his desk watching me carefully. Professor Bones sat in the chair next to me, waiting patiently.

My knee bounced up and down in agitation.

I don't want to be here. These two cannot help me.

No one can help me.

Tears threaten to fall. I blinked my eyes quickly to keep them where they belong.

I need a cigarette. I wonder what Edinfield would say if I lit one up right here?

"Miss Granger?" Edinfield asked after several minutes.

Fuck. Did he ask me a question?

"What?" That came out snippier than I intended. I cringed as I focused on him. His eyes widened in surprise, then he cleared his throat.

"You seem quite distracted. Are you alright?"

I rolled my eyes and released a deep sigh.

Absolutely not.

"I'm fine. Just, like you said, distracted."

He waited for me to elaborate. Instead, I stood and walked to the window. I can see Draco and Tristan from here. He is still giving his cousin flying lessons, even though he passed his exam already.

Damn it.

The tears I had been holding back broke loose and ran down my cheeks.

"What is distracting you?" Edinfield asked after a few moments.

I wiped the tears from my face and forced a deep breath.

I know I promised I would be honest with him. But this is something I cannot divulge. No matter what.

That's alright. I have plenty of other issues I can discuss with him. My life is nothing but one big clusterfuck after another.

"Would you have told me? If I hadn't been standing there?"

"Draco doesn't trust me." My breath caught in my throat.

The tone of his voice when he asked me that question. It wasn't a question at all. He knew the answer. Or he thought he knew the answer.

"He knows that I kept things from Harry and Ron. Big things. The assault. My parents." I rubbed at my chest. Gods, I can't breathe. "He thinks…he thinks I would keep things from him now, too."

Merlin. In the grand scheme of things, this seems so…insignificant.

It isn't. He has to trust you. He has to be able to trust you.

My anxiety only got worse with that thought.

"Would you?" Edinfield's voice sounded distant. I had to think about what he said for a long moment before I understood what he was saying.

Would I? Keep secrets from Draco?

I leaned against the window and watched him flying. I followed him with my eyes.

"No." The tightness in my chest relaxed. Not much, but enough. "No, I wouldn't."

I don't have any doubt about it. I know it's true. Because when I looked at that drawing and realized what it meant, the first thought I had was "I have to tell Draco."

But then I hesitated. I didn't know how to tell him. And he picked up on it.

"Did something happen that would make him think otherwise?"

I huffed a short laugh and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I forgot to tell him that Harry gave me the new password to the common room." I shook my head to myself and leaned my hip against the windowsill. "It's not like I was keeping it from him. It just slipped my mind with everything else going on."

Like Draco's whole revolution plan.

My migraines.

The wards on the book.

The wards around Hogwarts.

The sketches in my dream journal that seem to predict the future.

I released a deep sigh.

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. And now I know it has all been a precursor for what is to come.

"I'm not sure I follow." His eyes darted to Professor Bones before he turned in his chair to face me.

My breath caught in my throat.

Fuck. Did I say something I shouldn't have?

"I'm sorry?" I cleared my throat. My whole body is tense. I was thinking about the shitstorm that has become my life, but I didn't say any of it out loud. Right?

"Why would Mr. Malfoy be upset that Harry gave you the password for your common room?"

Professor Bones sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Edinfield looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

"The better question would be why wouldn't Harry give her the password to her own common room?" She spoke quietly to him, but I could still hear her.

My lip tilted up in a half smile when he gave her a look. Like a "I know how to do my job, Amelia," look.

I breathed a soft sigh of relief. At least I didn't divulge anything I should not have.

"Sorry." She motioned towards me. "Please, continue."

I bit into my lip to keep from smiling.

I turned back to the window and watched Draco and Tristan yet again.

"The password isn't even the point." It wasn't important. Not really. Ginny was being vindictive. I was being stubborn. It is all very juvenile and I'm ready to move on. "I didn't intend to keep it from him. But now he's questioning me. And he never did before."

I sighed to myself.

"You have kept a lot of secrets from your friends and your family." Edinfield pointed out. "Let's talk about why you felt the need to do that."

Oh, Merlin!

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. How dare he bring up my family?

I glanced at Professor Bones. I need to be careful what I say. She is here to help me through this process, to ensure I am not alone with the mind healer. At the end of the day, though, she is still an auror.

I cleared my throat. It's alright. I've got this.

"I was scared. I kept those secrets because I was terrified. I was humiliated. I was ashamed." I ran my hands through my hair and gripped the ends tightly. "And then, I didn't know how to tell them. I put it off and put it off. Until I convinced myself that they didn't need to know. They wouldn't care anyway."

"And yet, you told Mr. Malfoy."

My breath caught in my throat. I don't know where he is going with this, but I don't like it. Not at all.

"I didn't, actually." I cleared my throat and crossed my arms over my chest. I turned to look out the window, to see Draco flying out there. He isn't in the room with me, but being able to just see him helps calm my racing heart. "He already knew damn near all of it."

The room was silent for a moment. I could hear his quill scratching against parchment.

"How did he know?"

My fingernails dug into my forearms.

"The arsehole bragged to him about it. After…" I stopped and cleared my throat. I don't know if Draco has told Edinfield about his own assault. I damn sure am not going to be the one that tells him. "After we escaped from the Manor."

I cringed to myself.

Well, fuck.

Because I haven't told the mind healer about my visit to Malfoy Manor yet.

My thumb slid across the scar that remains on my arm. The cursed blade she used ensured that I would be marked forever.

Not something I want to talk about today.

I need to redirect the conversation somehow.

"At the end of the Final Battle, he was trying to run away. I knew I would never be able to live in peace if he was out there, free somewhere." A cold shiver worked its way down my spine. I cleared my throat. My hands are shaking. "I stopped him."

I can still picture it. The look in his eye when he saw me. The surprise, followed by terror that filled his eyes when I wordlessly blocked his attack and hit him with a petrificus totalus.

"I had every intention of killing him." I pushed my hair back behind my ears. I inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly. "I would have…killed him…if Draco hadn't stopped me."

Despite the heaviness of the topic, my lip tilted up on one side. Because that was the moment, wasn't it? The moment that Malfoy stepped up, stepped out of his father's shadow. The moment that he saved my soul.

"He told me that he knew what happened, what he had done to me." I took a deep, shaky breath. Because that was also when he told me that the same man had violated him, as well.

I shook my head against that thought.

"Draco convinced me that, despite everything that happened to me, my soul was still intact. Bruised, perhaps, but intact nonetheless."

I turned away from the window and faced the mind healer. His quill was scratching away, but he was watching me with rapt attention and unabashed curiosity. As was Professor Bones.

I shifted my weight back and forth uncomfortably. I feel like I'm being studied.

"We called for the aurors. They came and picked him up, carted him off to the Ministry, then to Azkaban."

Of course that wasn't all of it. We made sure he could never do what he did to us ever again. A well placed stinging hex. A slicing charm or two. Nothing that would kill him.

Kicking him in the testicles was my favorite part.

The damage was permanent. I made sure of it before I left town. By the time healers had bothered to examine him, there was no chance of healing his wounds, even with the use of magic.

I feel no remorse for that whatsoever.

I waited. They are still watching me.

"Did you keep in touch? Over the Summer?" Bones asked.

I raised my brow and huffed a short laugh. First, she isn't supposed to participate in the conversation. She is here for moral support only. Second, she thinks she just figured out how Draco and I got together.

"Uh…no." Obviously not. I rolled my eyes. "We didn't see each other again until King's Cross and the Hogwarts Express."

My eyes locked on his across the platform. Nott was standing beside him. They were both staring at me. Hell, everyone on the platform was staring at me.

There was no disdain. No derision in his stare. I told myself it was because he didn't know who I was. But later, on the train, he knew who I was. And still, he had been nice to me. Kind, almost.

The only friendly face I saw that day.

[ - - - ]

The Great Hall was already full. Loud voices filled the room as everyone talked to their friends about classes, quidditch, and general gossip.

"Hermione!" Harry called out as I stepped into the room.

I hesitated. I glanced over at the Slytherin table. Draco wasn't there yet.

That settled it. I'm not going to the snake pit by myself. I turned to the Gryffindor table instead.

"Harry. How are you?" I asked tentatively as I sat between him and Ron.

I felt almost as much anxiety sitting at my house table as I do sitting at Draco's table.

"Look who decided to join us." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Gin." Harry hissed under his breath.

I released a sigh.

"Ignore her." Ron nudged my shoulder. "Where is the git?"

My eyes darted to the Slytherin table. Draco still isn't there.

"I'm not sure." Tristan isn't there yet, either. "Still flying, I suppose."

My stomach grumbled. I barely ate breakfast and skipped lunch altogether.

I filled my plate and half listened as conversations carried on around me.

"How is your project going?" Harry asked after a moment.

I suppose technically it is over. The project was to read Ravenclaw's book. We have done that.

I have a bigger project that I need to work on. Something much more important than simply reading a book.

"I'm learning more about wards than I thought possible." Not a lie.

Draco and Tristan walked in. I tracked his movements as he crossed the Hall away from me. Before he sat down, his eyes scanned the Gryffindor table until he saw me.

My lip tilted up on one side. His shoulders relaxed just a little.

Tristan was talking his ear off as they sat down together.

I have to admit, I breathed a short sigh of relief just knowing he was there.

Neville was telling me a story about something that happened in herbology. I was only half listening to him, though. My eyes were still locked on Draco's.

Everything just seemed so…normal.

Of course everything is normal. The castle is being attacked by its own wards and everyone here is in mortal danger. What could be more normal than that?

Draco's lip tilted up on one side. I bit into my own lip to keep from smiling. I swear, one look from him and the darkness in my mind retreats.

Conversation continued around me. I listened a bit. I even participated when Ron and Harry started talking about their potions assignment.

As soon as I finished eating, though, I excused myself. Draco was still working on the food on his plate. I felt several pairs of eyes tracking me from the Gryffindor table to the Slytherin table.

I sat beside him. He didn't stop his conversation with Theo, but his hand automatically found mine.

"Tristan. How was your practice?" I asked the first year. His eyes lit up and he grinned at me.

"It was fantastic! Draco is going to teach me how to be a seeker so Slytherin stands a chance next year."

"That's great." I smiled at him. "You will be a brilliant seeker."

We just have to make sure he lives to see it.

A few minutes later, Draco finished eating and squeezed my hand. We walked out of the Hall together. Without discussing it at all, we both turned and headed up the stairway to the third floor.

Halfway down the corridor, I stopped. I huffed out a short laugh as it all suddenly became clear.

Draco turned to look at me, his eyebrow raised in question.

"What?" He asked as he moved closer, pressing my back against the wall in the process.

I let my hands slide around his neck and pulled him in for a lingering kiss. Things have been tense ever since our fight this morning. And when we parted ways earlier, him to go to practice and me to go to Edinfield's office, we had not resolved that tension.

As soon as his lips covered mine, the residual doubts in my mind floated away. Somehow, I knew that he felt the same. He relaxed into me. His hands settled on my waist, then slid around to my back, pulling me against him.

I inhaled his scent, relished in the feeling of home that it brought me.

When we finally parted, he leaned his forehead against mine.

"What was so funny?" He asked quietly.

"It just all makes sense now. Hogwarts has been bringing us here, together, since the beginning of term."

He stared at me for a long moment, then his lip curled up on one side. His hand found mine and he tugged on my arm until I followed him to the lecture room.

"Can you imagine?" He laughed to himself. "That first night we got stuck…"

His words trailed off and he stopped short, just inside the archway. The smile fell from my face as I followed his line of sight.

Professor Giles was standing near the middle of the room, as close as he could stand to be to Ravenclaw's book. He looked at us with what I can only describe as disdain.

"Ah. Miss Granger. Mr. Malfoy." He glanced at his watch, then back at us. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but you are supposed to be working on this project every day during class hours. Is that correct?"

My hand squeezed around Draco's. Neither one of us likes this man, but I don't want him going to Azkaban for losing his cool.

"We just came from dinner, Professor." I stepped forward, released Draco's hand and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not aware of any classes that are in session at this time."

His eyes narrowed and he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Yes. And yet, you have not been here at any time today. I have stopped by several times." He took a step closer.

"I don't recall anything in our contract that states we must stay in this room." I rolled my eyes and popped my hip out. "So what do you need that is so important, then? I have already submitted my progress report to Headmistress McGonagall this morning."

He tapped his fingers against his leg and took another step closer.

"Your progress report shows an incredible lack of progress. Honestly, I expected more out of you."

Anger boiled through my veins. This man is nearly as repulsive as Snape was.

"What does it matter how much progress I've made, Professor? You got what you wanted. I'm not in your class anymore. Be happy you're rid of me, already."

His nose curled up in a sneer. He stepped closer.

Too close.

I refuse to back down. But he is close enough that he could reach out and grab my arm if he wanted to. It's making my skin crawl.

"You were not given this assignment so you could fuck off for the rest of the school year."

Arsehole.

"No? I could have sworn that was the entire point, actually." I inserted just the right amount of sarcasm into my voice. "Perhaps you should enlighten me, then?"

And tell us what this project is really about.

Even though I'm sure we have already figured it out.

The words were on the tip of his tongue. He was going to need another nudge. Maybe two. Before he spilled.

"You are wasting your time, Granger." Draco practically sneered beside me. "He has no idea what is in that book. He's just trying to catch you doing something…unsavory."

I glanced over at him. I had to force myself not to smile. He had the same thought as me, apparently. A little nudge. A taunt.

He placed his hand on the small of my back. Giles is still too close, but knowing Draco is right beside me helps me relax. Just a little. Just enough.

"Unsavory? Really?" I huffed a short laugh and tossed my hair over my shoulder. "Honestly, what does he think he's going to catch me doing?"

Draco leaned close to my ear. So close that I could feel his breath against my skin.

"Me," He whispered. A shiver ran down my spine. I practically forgot why we were standing there. The desire that shot straight through my core in that moment was palpable.

"That is enough!" Giles fumed. "This school, and every person in it, is in danger. The two of you better start taking this seriously, or I will find someone else that will!"

He stormed past us.

Before he could make it to the archway, I turned, pulled my wand and cast wards across the opening so he couldn't leave.

"Stop!" My tone was a harsh command. "Explain."

"What is the meaning of this?" He probed at the wards for a moment before turning back to face us.

"You see, Professor, we have not just been fucking off as you so eloquently put it." I kept my wand in my hand and tapped it against my leg. Beside me, Draco had his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips. "Now, explain what danger the school is in, and what you expect to find in that book."

His eyes darted around, like a caged animal looking for a way out.

"You have your assignment. I suggest you complete it, poste haste." He sneered.

"I warned you once before, didn't I? Better wizards than you have tried to break me. You. Will. Lose."

He took a menacing step forward. The look in his eye sent a cold chill straight down my spine. I held my ground, though. He will not intimidate me.

"Go ahead, Giles. Get someone else to do your dirty work. Better yet, if you think you can get through those wards, then be my guest." I motioned towards the glass case that covered Ravenclaw's book. "I am not laying a finger on that book until you tell me what the hell is going on and what you expect to find in there."

He's angry. He is holding his wand so tight that his knuckles have turned white.

Draco is still beside me, but he has stepped forward so he is slightly in front of me. His fingers are digging into his forearms. He knows he can't pull his wand, but he wants to.

"Or perhaps I need to discuss this matter with the Headmistress?" I raised my brow and tilted my head to the side.

I remember the conversation Draco overheard.

So does Giles.

His face paled, just a little.

Check.

"Perhaps we can also discuss your sleeping arrangements, Miss Granger." His face darkened. "She might be interested to know that you have not been to your dorm room in nearly a fortnight."

A cold chill ran down my spine.

Now why the hell would he know that?

I blinked my eyes slowly.

"Was that supposed to be a threat?" I turned my head towards Draco, directing the question to him. I spoke low, but loud enough that I'm sure Giles heard it.

"I believe that was the general idea, yes." There was amusement in his voice and a slight smirk on his lip.

I could practically see the debate going on in his eyes. Call my bluff and bring McGonagall in, or tell us what he knows.

It's a lose, lose for him.

Checkmate.

I waited thirty seconds.

"Enough of this." Draco cleared his throat as he retrieved his wand from its holster. "Expecto patronum!"

His patronus appeared between us and Giles.

"Headmistress McGonagall, we've come across new information in regards to our project. Can you meet us on the third floor as soon as possible?"

My lip lifted up on one side. I can't help it. His patronus warms my heart every time I see it.

The spectral serpent slithered out of the room, and we waited.

AN: Some trust issues boiling up between our favorite couple. Should Draco trust Hermione? She does seem to like her secrets… And maybe now they'll find out what McGonagall had hoped to find in Ravenclaw's book.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time.

-mezy