Chapter 18

Hermione turns as the flames roar behind her, and Malfoy steps out into the sitting room at Grimmauld Place. She follows his eyes as they scan the cluttered room, taking in the way his lip curls slightly before he smooths his features into a mask of indifference.

"I apologize if the accommodations aren't up to your ideal pureblood standards." She turns as Harry enters the room, drying his hands and a small tea towel. "But I'm afraid I don't rightly care."

"I'm sure Malfoy is perfectly happy to have a place to stay, aren't you Malfoy?" Hermione asks, looking back at the other man.

"Adequate," he mumbles after several beats of silence. "One would think that you would tidy up a little when you know you have guests arriving, however."

Hermione opens her mouth to respond but is interrupted by the floo turning bright green once more as Narcissa emerges, Cibney close at her heels. "Draco, dear, please do refrain from insulting our hosts."

Hermione must stop the laugh that threatens to erupt at the older woman's words, instead taking in the slightly petulant look on Malfoy's face. "I was being perfectly polite, Mother, I assure you."

"You say that as though you expect me to believe you, dear." She steps forward, patting Draco lightly on the shoulder as she passes him. She stops in front of Harry with a smile. "I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to you, Mr. Potter, for allow us to take refuge in your home." She looks around the room, an amused smile gracing her lips. "I have not set foot in this home since I was a child. I must say, it is nice to see that the old place feels so much lighter." She looks back at the man before her. "You and your wife are happy here, I hope?"

"We are," Harry replied after a moment. "There's still plenty of work we want to do on the place but it definitely feels like home."

"Lovely." She gestures lightly, and Cibney steps forward. "Where can Cibney leave our things?"

Harry looks down at the house elf, eyes widening at the calculating stare the small creature has leveled at him. "You'll be on the second floor." He looks back up at Narcissa before he continues, "You'll be the door to the left. Malfoy will be on the right. I've had Kreacher clean up your rooms for you so they're all ready for you to move in."

"Thank you, dear. Oh yes, that reminds me. Draco has brought you a gift. A token of our gratitude for your kindness."

Draco steps forward, holding out the bottle in his hands. Harry stares at it, his eyes flitting from the bottle to the man holding it as though he is attempting to spot the curse the other man has placed on it. "A bottle from my father's reserves," Draco says, pressing the bottle into the shorter man's hand. His face is once again schooled into cool indifference. "It seemed only fitting."

Harry glances down at the bottle now in his hand before nodding. "Dinner will be ready shortly. I can have Kreacher show you the way once it's set."

"Cibney will be helping the Mistress and Master Draco with their unpacking and then she would like to be being shown to the kitchens," Cibney cut in. "Cibney will be liking to help in taking care of Master and Mistress and the Master's host."

"That won't be necessary…"

"Cibney must be insisting," she cut in. Harry's eyes widen as he looks down at her, meeting her cool gaze. "Cibney would very much like being useful." Harry nods, and a broad smile blooms on the elf's face. "Wonderful." She looks up at Narcissa, "Shall we retire to your rooms? Cibney would very much like to unpack Mistress' robes and to be helping you with settling in."

"Lead the way dear," Narcissa says with a smile, nodding to the other occupants of the room before gracefully following the elf out into the hall.

"Look, Malfoy," Harry says once, the older woman's footsteps start to fade on the staircase, "I know this is probably the last place you want to be. I'd rather you not be here either, but Hermione needed somewhere for you to go. I'm doing this for her, not you." Hermione opens her mouth to cut in, but Harry waves her off, "Let me finish. That being said, you are safe here. No, I don't expect you to stop being the poncy git we all know you are. No, I don't expect us to get along. I recommend that we avoid each other as much as possible and hope Hermione can save your sorry arse as quickly as possible. I won't hex you; you don't hex me. However, I'm warning you now, my wife and her family are off-limits. Deal?"

Draco pulls himself to his full height, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the shorter man, "I assure you, I can be perfectly cordial when the occasion calls for it."

"We'll see then, won't we." He turns toward Hermione. "Feel free to come down to the kitchen whenever you're ready. Kreacher should be ready to set the table soon."

"I'll be down in a moment, Harry." She turns back toward Malfoy as the door closes, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You really couldn't last five minutes without saying something condescending?"

"Condescending? I merely commented on the state of the room."

"The room is perfectly fine," she exclaims, "you just had to try and get under his skin. He's helping you."

"He's helping you," he interrupts, "not me."

Hermione sighs, looking about the room as she collects her thoughts. "You're not like this. I've seen it with your mother and Theo; even Cibney. You have these moments where your sarcasm is funny instead of biting and I thought…" she trails off with a sigh. "It doesn't matter what I thought. Harry took you in, his reasons don't matter. Be grateful."

Before he can respond, she turns and walks from the room, leaving the door open in her wake. He sighs, looking around the room once more. It's cluttered but brightly lit, the surfaces covered in magazines and photos. It's warm and lived in. He closes his eyes, shaking his head to clear it before making his way to his room, his trunk levitating slowly behind him.

Dinner is a mostly awkward affair. Narcissa regales the trio with tales of her childhood spent within the walls of Grimmauld Place. Harry is particularly interested in hearing stories of Sirius and Regulus in their younger years.

Draco watches them all silently from his mother's side, letting the sounds of the conversation wash over him like a tide. He isn't delusional. He's gone into this knowing that Potter would not welcome him. He's gone into it with his defenses already raised. He isn't sure he could let them down. He is pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his name and turns to look over at his mother. "My apologies," he says after a moment, "I'm afraid my thoughts were elsewhere."

"Miss Granger was just discussing our next steps in breaking whatever curse is affecting you and the manor."

Draco turns his attention to the young witch seated across from his mother as she clears her throat uncomfortably. "Yes," she starts, "Theo wrote earlier. He has taken the imprint that he got from you to his lab. He says that it seems to be several curses that have been intertwined together. He'll have to separate the individual strands before he can separate them each from your magical core."

"That sounds…time consuming."

"I'm afraid it may be." She sets her fork down on her plate, placing her hands on her lap. "Meanwhile, I think it would be an excellent idea to brew as much invigoration draught as possible. You'll need a steady supply before too long if it keeps progressing the way it has been."

"There's an old potions lab in the basement," Harry cuts in. "Ginny and I have been using it as storage but I could have Kreacher clear it out so it can be used."

"That's wonderful, Harry," Hermione replies with a smile before turning back to Draco. "The bulk of the brewing will be left to you, of course, seeing as that is your area of expertise. I'll be happy to help, of course, when I'm available but I feel that my time will be better spent helping Harry track down the person who cursed you in the first place. I'll also continue my research into curses. There may be something that can help speed along the separation process for Theo."

"I can pick up the ingredients from Mr. Mulpepper when I go in to work in the morning."

"That's umm…." Hermione hesitates before continuing, "That's another thing we wanted to discuss with you. It may be a better idea if you were to take some time off from work. You've said yourself that your magic was temperamental just the other day, and there was even an occurrence at the apothecary. I'm…We are concerned that, were you to continue to work, you may cause your magical core to drain faster than it would if you were to…cease the use of unnecessary magic."

"Unnecessary…you mean to tell me that, not only do you want to keep my from my job but you also wish me to limit the use of magic altogether." Draco has to fight to keep his voice calm as his eyes flit between the other occupants of the table.

"Miss Granger is only looking out for your wellbeing, dear." Draco looks over at his mother, faltering slightly at the saddened look he finds in her eyes.

He takes a moment to collect his thoughts, ignoring their expected looks. "I understand and appreciate your concern," he starts. "Would my continuing to work harm the wards on the manor in any way?" He directs his question to Hermione and, at her silence, continues, "I can do the majority of my tasks at the apothecary while using a bare minimum of magical energy. I will manually carry all ingredients and potions to and from the back room rather than summoning and vanishing them. I can take inventory by hand rather than using a spell to tell quantities. While I do appreciate the concern, though I cannot say that I understand it, I must insist that I be allowed to continue to live my life as well as I can."

He catches Hermione's eye, holding her gaze as he continues, "There is no knowing whether or not Theo will find a way to break the curse in time…"

"And insisting on continuing as usual may only buy you less time," Harry cuts in, drawing Draco's gaze.

"Me sitting around here doesn't guarantee me enough time anyway. I would rather die knowing that I was able to live my life, than live in fear of using my magic only to die anyway."

"Draco, dear," Narcissa starts.

"This conversation is over." Draco stands from his seat, turning to look at Harry. "I thank you for your hospitality. The meal was satisfactory." He turns and strides quickly from the room, not stopping until he reaches the sanctity of his room.