"Hippogriff!"
The Fat Lady gave her a nod and swung her portrait backwards, allowing Hermione access to the Gryffindor Tower. She climbed through the portrait hole as fast as she could without tripping over her own legs. She had managed to remain surprisingly calm throughout what had happened earlier, both on the Quidditch pitch and the ensuing conversation in the Head's Tower, but the calm had since been abandoned somewhere near the sixth-floor staircase.
"Hermione! There you are! We couldn't find you after the match, where did you—"
"I need to talk to you," Hermione blurted out, cutting Ginny off. "Somewhere private, right now."
Ginny stood frozen in place for a moment longer, studying Hermione with a bewildered stare before quickly composing herself and nodding her head. "Yes, of course," she agreed cautiously. "Let's go upstairs."
The rest of the sixth-years watched them curiously, but they obeyed Jennifer without any fuss when she determinedly directed them towards the couches in front of the fireplace. Hermione followed her red-haired friend up the circular stairs and into the sixth-year girls' dormitory. Thankfully it was empty, and Ginny quickly muttered a spell to lock the door behind them before topping it off with a silencing charm. When she turned back around Hermione was restlessly pacing through the room.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ginny demanded finally, and Hermione could clearly hear the anxiety in her friend's voice. She stopped pacing around and turned back to face her. "I think you need to sit," she muttered.
"I think you need to start talking and let me decided for myself how I'm going to take this," Ginny shot back. Her eyebrows were knitted together in a deep frown of worry and her eyes followed Hermione through the dormitory as she moved towards one of the beds and sat down. She took a deep breath, and then another.
"Malfoy kissed me," she finally managed to utter.
The dormitory was quiet for what felt like a really long time, but in reality it was only a couple of seconds. Ginny sank down on one of the other beds and blinked her eyes in confusion. "What?" she breathed. "When?"
"After the game," Hermione answered. "When I went back to the stands to retrieve my umbrella I saw that Malfoy had never left the field. He was clearly taking Slytherin's loss really hard and I felt bad, so I went down there to get him to join me back to the castle."
"And then he just… kissed you?"
Hermione frowned and tried to objectively recall exactly how things had gone down on the Quidditch pitch. "He was crying," she said softly. "He got defensive when I wouldn't leave… in an angry way. I told him I was worried about him and then things got better. He… he handed me the Snitch. I don't know why and it took me off guard... And then he kissed me."
Ginny remained silent for a while, seemingly taking it all in. "Honestly…" she said finally. "That last bit… if you hadn't told me it was Malfoy I would've thought it was kind of sweet."
"He told me he wouldn't have done it if it were anyone else," Hermione murmured. "He said that he did it because I've been the only one who has been decent to him since Parkinson decided to withdraw from school after the holidays."
"That honestly is kind of sweet," Ginny said softly. "How is that git capable of being sweet? I thought I had paid close enough attention during the game, but apparently I missed it when Malfoy got hit in the head by a Bludger…"
"Ginny, do you honestly feel as though this is an appropriate moment to joke around?" Hermione asked a little irritably.
"You're right, I'm sorry," the redhead apologised quickly. "Truth is, I don't really know how to respond. This is one of the very few things that never crossed my mind, not even as something to joke about. It's probably the least likely thing to have happened since I've been at Hogwarts…"
"You were responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets when you were eleven years old," Hermione began with a frown. "Your boyfriend died at the hands of the darkest wizard in recent history and came back to life moments later. We had a Death Eater as our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for a whole year and not even Professor Dumbledore knew. In my third year I was in two places at once almost constantly—"
"Okay, you have made your point," Ginny interjected forcefully. "It may have been a slight hyperbole, I'm sorry."
The dormitory was quiet for a while, and Hermione watched how her younger friend played around with a string of red hair, seemingly deep in thought. "What did you do?" Ginny asked finally. "When he kissed you, I mean."
Hermione sighed. "I wanted to push him away, but I was too taken aback to succeed at doing that. I didn't kiss him back, though. Afterwards, he left to go and get changed and I went back to the castle before he returned. I hid in the Head's Tower for a while to clear my head, but as it turns out, Malfoy never moved out of there… So he showed up a little later."
"You're kidding," Ginny muttered with a frown.
"I had expected him to never acknowledge that it had happened," Hermione continued softly "But he immediately asked me why I hadn't waited for him. Said it wasn't very Gryffindor of me to run… That I had experienced worse things from him. Honestly, I don't know what to make of all this."
"It would seem that Malfoy is starting to let go of his former prejudice," mused Ginny. "It looks like you're not just a body of dirty blood and wasted magic to him anymore… like he is starting to value you as a person."
Hermione blinked and raised her eyebrows at the redhead. "Really, Ginny? A body of dirty blood and wasted magic?"
"Yeah, I agree," Ginny muttered as she scrunched up her nose with a look of disgust on her face. "That was far too harsh a choice of words, I'm sorry. I am a little caught up in it all…" The youngest Weasley blinked a few times before glancing back up at her with a worried look in her eyes. "What are you going to tell Ron?" she asked hesitantly. "I know you're not together… but he will probably murder Malfoy the first chance he gets…"
"God… I hadn't even thought that far ahead yet," Hermione breathed out. "Should I tell him? Because this will never happen again and I honestly don't want to rile him up because of a one-time thing…"
Ginny nodded. "I understand. I wouldn't want to tell him either if I were you, but whether or not anything is going on between you two romantically he is still your best friend and he hates Malfoy's guts. If he finds out about this and you're not the one who tells him he will probably dissolve in anger… and he'll feel incredibly betrayed."
"Can you keep this between us for now?" Hermione asked seriously. "I mean… I can't just tell Ron about this in a letter. We have to keep this quiet until the Easter holidays. Please promise me you won't tell anyone about this, not even Harry. I'll tell him myself — both of them."
"Of course," Ginny promised without hesitation. "We've been clear about that from the start, haven't we? What's shared between us will stay between us, and what's shared between you three will stay between you three."
Hermione breathed out slowly with relief. "Thank you," she muttered. "I feel much better now that I've told you." She drew her wand and waved it around to lift the silencing charm and to unlock the door, but before she could move to leave the dormitory Ginny touched her arm to make her pause.
"What if he does try again?"
"He won't," Hermione said confidently. "I made it very clear to him that it won't happen again."
Ginny shrugged in an if you say so sort of way and followed her out of the dormitory and back down to the Gryffindor common room. The redhead moved to the couches to hang out with her fellow sixth-years again, and after a short moment of hesitation, Hermione made her way over to her own classmates in the comfortable chairs in the sitting corner.
Dean and Seamus were playing a Muggle cards game and Parvati, Lavender and Sophie were discussing something from the newest edition of Witch Weekly, while Fay sat curled up in the window seat, engrossed in what looked like a sappy romance novel.
"There's no way that's right," Parvati said in a firm tone, disagreeing with something Sophie had said before Hermione had settled down. "I recall reading that the record was three times."
"Three consecutive times," Lavender argued. "Sophie is right: he has won it five times in total between 1986 and 1992, but in 1988 the award went to Jonathan Corbeck. I'm sure of it."
Parvati scoffed and turned to Hermione. "You had a crush on him during second year, so you'll know," she said impatiently. "How many times has Gilderoy Lockhart won the award for Most Charming Smile?"
Hermione fought back a laugh and shook her head a little. The first sentence spoken immediately reminded her of the reason why she had never gotten close to her dorm mates. A question like this would have greatly annoyed her in all the previous years at Hogwarts, because she usually couldn't be bothered to engage in such frivolous subjects. Right now, however, she was simply glad that they were here, alive and well, and that life had finally reached a point of normality again, where they could argue over mundane and irrelevant things like this without feeling guilt over the War.
"I'm sorry, Parvati," she said with a smile, indulging the girls for once. "Lavender and Sophie are right."
The two girls laughed in triumph and Parvati sighed, but gracefully accepted her mistake. They moved on to other cheerful subjects and Hermione was surprised to discover that she was quite content to just sit here and engage in meaningless chatter.
Though the conversation subjects were utterly meaningless to her, the people with which she was discussing them weren't, and she could spare some time for this sort of thing.
Tuesday, 9 February 1999
The prefects left the third-floor office one by one until only Orla Quirke was left. She made her way over to the table in front of the room and waited patiently while Hermione finished going over the patrol changes that Malfoy had suggested. The Head Boy could learn something from the little blonde Ravenclaw as far as Hermione was concerned, as he was impatiently tapping his foot while waiting with his arms folded in front of his chest.
"That should do it," Hermione concluded finally, and she handed the revised schedule back to him.
Malfoy quickly scanned the parchment and raised his eyebrows. "You've pawned off your patrol rounds on Friday evening," he commented. "Why is that?"
"I didn't pawn it off, I simply asked Anthony to switch rounds with me and he agreed to that."
"Why?" Malfoy asked again, and Hermione gave him an annoyed look.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I've been invited to a party and I'd like to go."
She noticed that he didn't seem very satisfied with her answer, but she wasn't going to stay around to expand on her answer. After the incident from last weekend she preferred to spend as little time around Malfoy as needed. She turned to Orla and smiled. "Let's go," she said, and the fifth-year prefect followed her into the corridor.
Though Hermione had spent some time with Orla before, it had always been with Ginny and Luna and never one-on-one. Despite that, she found that the Ravenclaw was very easy to talk to and that they had many interests in common.
Today they patrolled together because Orla's usual partner, fifth-year Gryffindor Mary Doyle, had scheduled an emergency meeting with the grief counsellor tonight. Apparently it would have been Julie Parkes' sixteenth birthday later this week, and the fifth-year Gryffindors still had a really hard time dealing with the death of their classmate and friend, especially when confronted with moments like birthdays and anniversaries. Tonight she was the main subject of their conversations, and Hermione listened quietly while Orla remembered Julie out loud. She had clearly been a bright and well-loved girl.
It was a quiet evening without incidents. After their rounds Hermione accompanied Orla to the spiral staircase that led to the Ravenclaw Tower, and once the blonde prefect had disappeared out of sight Hermione turned around to make her way to the Gryffindor Tower. Near the third floor she remembered that she had left her book bag in the prefects' office, and she set out for the short detour. When she arrived she noticed that the door was slightly ajar, and Hermione sighed with annoyance, displeased that Malfoy had neglected to lock up after his departure. When she pushed the door open, however, she discovered that the Head Boy had apparently never left.
"Malfoy, what are you still doing here?" she questioned in surprise. "It's well past curfew, you shouldn't be here."
The blond Slytherin looked up from his book with an unreadable expression on his face. "I was waiting for you to return," he told her.
Hermione blinked her eyes. "What? Why?"
"Because you've been avoiding me," he stated. "Which, I must say, is very unbecoming behaviour from the Head Girl, especially when she's a Gryffindor."
"So what if I have?" she responded defensively. "You've made me uncomfortable and I'm going to need some time to wrap my head around it. It was very uncharacteristic of you to do what you did."
Malfoy kept staring at her with a poker face, giving her no insight into what he was thinking. The office was quiet for a while, and Hermione impatiently shifted her weight from one leg to another. "If you're not going to say anything I'm leaving," she stated firmly, sounding snobbier than she had intended.
"I just want to make sure you don't go complaining to McGonagall," he said with clear reluctance. "I've already apologised; I don't know what else I can do."
She scoffed at him. "I won't complain as long as it's crystal clear to you that it wasn't an acceptable course of action and I don't want it to happen again."
"Would you rather I started taunting you again?" he shot at her, sounding a little angry.
"Why does it have to be one of two extremes?" Hermione snapped. "I obviously don't want you to be an insufferable git, but I also don't want to be treated like I'm some broom closet wench. If you're serious about wanting to be better, aim for somewhere in the middle."
At last the poker face faltered, and Malfoy looked a little unsure. "Like… a friendship?" he finally asked hesitantly, as though the concept was entirely foreign to him, and perhaps it was, considering his less-than-stellar track record of friendships.
Hermione moved towards the table and sat down across from him. This whole conversation was strange and uncomfortable, and not one she had ever expected to have with Malfoy. Despite the fact that he really had made her feel uncomfortable, she found herself to be unable to feel very angry because of it. Her anger last weekend wasn't even directed at the kiss in the first place—but the fact that he had tried to blame her for what happened had made her blood boil. It was time that he learned to take responsibility for his actions instead of blaming it on whomever happened to be around.
"Look, Malfoy," she began gently, "you don't need to pretend to like me. I just don't want us to fight all the time. I want us to be civil and to treat each other decently. If we miraculously end up getting along despite our history I wouldn't be opposed to that, but I know that might be too much to ask, so let's just settle for a respectful partnership."
Malfoy studied her with a calculating gaze while he listened to her and he slowly nodded his head when she finished speaking. "I can do that," he replied softly. "But being friends with you would do wonders for my reputation, though. Please reconsider."
Hermione stared at him in what must look like unflattering disbelief, but then she noticed the subtle tug at the corners of his mouth and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Malfoy, was that a joke?" she asked him, mimicking the tone of surprise he had used when he had asked her the same question on their first day back after the holidays. "Since when do you make jokes?"
He rose from his seat and picked up his book from the table. "Don't ruin it now, Granger, we were doing so well," he said in mock-disapproval.
She got to her feet as well, swung her book bag over her shoulder and followed him out the office, locking the door behind them with a wave of her wand. They made their way back to the Grand Staircase in silence, and Hermione used this time to subtly study Malfoy's appearance.
He was still very pale and he seemed to have lost weight, because his robes hung loosely around his frame as though they were a size too large. Though he didn't look as miserable as he had in the past few weeks, he had clearly not yet adjusted to Parkinson's withdrawal from Hogwarts, or whatever else was going on in his life. Once again she couldn't quite fight back the worry she felt for him.
"Hey, Malfoy," she started, feeling a little impulsive. "Please don't take this the wrong way, because I mean well." The Head Boy frowned a little in tentative anticipation, but he managed to keep his facial expression neutral. "You told me last weekend that you've had a tough time since we've been back at school," she continued. "And since you're climbing the stairs instead of going down, you clearly still reside in the Head's Tower."
"What of it?" Malfoy shot back defensively, and Hermione realised that their buffer of freshly acquired goodwill was thinning rapidly.
"I just wanted to ask if perhaps you'd like to come to the party on Friday as well," she said quickly, abandoning her attempt at being understanding of how he must be feeling. "We don't have to go together, there will be plenty of other Slytherins you can join, but if you want you can come as my guest."
He raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything yet, and Hermione decided to consider that a good sign. They steadily climbed the staircase until they reached the sixth floor and halted at the top, where she patiently waited for a response.
"What time and where?" Malfoy asked eventually. His voice sounded a little strained, but Hermione smiled at him despite it. "Nine o'clock, Professor Slughorn's office." She turned around to leave for the seventh floor when Malfoy called her name, and she paused and glanced over her shoulder.
"This invitation of yours completely contradicts what you said earlier, about needing time to wrap your head around last weekend," he said, sounding a little confused.
Hermione smiled a little. "You're right. That's why I said that we don't have to go together. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to have some fun."
Malfoy stared at her for a moment longer and then gave her a curt nod before stalking off into the corridor leading to the Head's Tower. Hermione set off in the direction of the Gryffindor common room, not entirely able to dismiss the little voice in the back of her mind that worried if she had done the right thing.
Friday, 12 February 1999
"I'm glad to see you're putting your birthday presents to good use," Ginny commented with a grin upon Hermione's arrival in the Gryffindor common room.
She was wearing a light-pink-coloured dress, and she had accessorised her outfit with the golden earrings and golden bracelet she had received from Ginny for her birthday. In addition, she had used the tiniest amount of Sleekeazy's to take the frizz out of her curls. Just enough to make it seem like she had a particularly good hair day, but not enough to have people notice she had used anything.
Ginny had cheated out of the trouble of having to find a dress for the party and had chosen to wear the golden dress she had worn during Bill and Fleur's wedding. Two strands of hair from near her temples were tied together with a golden hair clip, and the rest was kept down. The look was practical and kept the red mane out of Ginny's face, but it looked nice enough to fool people into thinking she had put in an effort.
"Are you bringing a date?" Hermione asked. "Should we wait for someone?"
"Yes and no," Ginny answered. "He should already be downstairs."
"Is Harry coming?!" Hermione gasped, and the redhead laughed at her enthusiasm.
"He would have told you," she replied, and Hermione nodded her head, realising she was right. "Harry couldn't get the evening off, unfortunately, but I guarantee that you'll be very happy to see my date," Ginny added mysteriously.
The two girls climbed through the portrait hole and made their way through the corridors, their modest and fairly comfortable heels clicking along the stone floor. They arrived only fifteen minutes past nine, but Slughorn's magically expanded office was already packed with people. Pink fabric was draped off the walls, making it impossible to overlook the Valentine's Day theme.
Ginny stood on her tiptoes and stretched her neck to see through the crowd, and grinned widely when she apparently spotted her date. Hermione grew more curious by the second and allowed Ginny to drag her through the mass of people until she finally discovered who it was the youngest Weasley had invited.
"Neville!" She jumped towards the tall boy and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging her friend close. Neville embraced her tightly and laughed happily at her delight.
"Hi, Hermione! So good to see you again."
Hermione released her former classmate to allow Ginny a chance to greet Neville as well, and together they made their way over to a less crowded corner of the office.
"Slughorn seemed awfully happy to see me," Neville said with a crooked grin. "Wouldn't leave me alone for a solid ten minutes. I have never been happier to see old Barnaby Cottle from the Department of Magical Games and Sports when he arrived, only then did he finally leave me alone."
Ginny skillfully snatched three glasses of champagne from a waitress' serving tray and provided both of them with a glass. "Funny thing, isn't it?" she said in a sarcastic tone. "You kill Voldemort's snake and suddenly you're allowed to come to his parties again."
"An honour I could have done without," Neville replied with a shrug. "But I'm happy to be back here. I miss Hogwarts a lot; almost regret not coming back this year."
Neville was different, Hermione noticed. He had always had a slumped posture before, but she had noticed during New Year's—and again when she had greeted him moments earlier—that he held himself differently. He stood straightened up in full length and looked more confident and more relaxed than he had before, and Hermione was really happy to see the change.
"Merlin's beard, is that you, Neville?" someone gasped from behind them. The three of them turned their heads at the same time to find Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott stand behind them, both of them staring at Neville with wide eyes.
"Who else?" Neville asked with a sheepish grin, and he stepped past Ginny to catch up with his former classmates. The redhead shot Hermione a knowing smile before turning away to find some snacks. Hermione smiled fondly at the back of Neville's head and scanned the crowd for familiar faces. She recognised the usual Slug Club members and a few of the notable guests that Slughorn had invited for the occasion.
The Potions Master was currently engaged in an animated conversation with a blonde woman that Hermione vaguely recognised from an article in the Daily Prophet from a couple of months ago. When she noticed Imogen Stretton in the opposite corner of the office she realised that the woman in question was her mother, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. The fifth-year Slytherin looked extremely embarrassed to have her mother at a party at her school, and Hermione shot her a sympathetic smile when they briefly made eye contact, a gesture the younger girl accepted with a rueful grimace.
Ginny returned a moment later with two new glasses of champagne and handed her one. "You never guess who I just ran into," she announced grumpily. "Malfoy. He's back there with a bunch of Slytherin boys, fawning over Rowinde O'Connor from Puddlemere United."
"I could have guessed that," Hermione replied evenly after a sip of champagne. "After all, I'm the one who invited him."
The redhead choked on a large swig of alcohol and coughed unattractively until she was able to properly breathe again. "You asked Malfoy to a Valentine's-themed party?" she finally managed to spit out. "After what happened last week?"
Hermione patted on her friend's back and shot her a mock-glare. "I just told him he could come if he wanted. I wasn't going to bring anyone and it's not like we came together. He's just here, and I hope he has fun."
"I think you're being a bit naive right now," Ginny said a little sceptically. "Then again, who am I to have an opinion on this…"
"Only one of my best friends," Hermione replied in a playful melodramatic tone. "And even if you weren't, I've never known you to hold back your opinion on anything."
Ginny smirked a little and then turned away from her when sixth-year Ravenclaw classmate Ethan Bexley greeted her. Hermione scanned the crowd in search for Neville, who had disappeared after chatting with Hannah and Susan. When she turned around to search the other side of the office she spotted Malfoy, making his way towards her.
"Granger," he said by means of a greeting, sounding a little irritated. "What in the world possessed you to invite me to this?"
"Sometimes I try this thing where I'm nice to people," Hermione answered a little sarcastically, and Malfoy raised his eyebrows at her, seemingly a little surprised with her response. "I'm surprised you actually showed up," she continued in a friendlier tone. "I didn't think you would."
Malfoy shrugged. "Honestly, I wasn't going to, but I overheard Slughorn boasting about his guests for tonight and it seemed stupid to turn down the opportunity to meet some top-tier Quidditch players. It's been quite a fun evening so far."
Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled a little. "Well, I'm glad. I heard you were trying to gatecrash during sixth year, so I'm happy I could make this happen without you getting yourself in trouble again."
He shot her a dark look, and she grimaced in an apologetic sort of way.
"Sorry. Too soon?"
"That's not funny, Granger," Malfoy said in a hard tone. "I don't see how that particular subject could ever be funny."
"Draco Malfoy?" a soft voice said from behind them, and they both turned around to find one of the Carrow twins stand behind them. "I apologise for interrupting. Daphne Greengrass is looking for you. She's outside in the corridor and she seems rather upset."
Malfoy's eyebrows formed a deep frown and he nodded his head at the fifth-year Slytherin before abruptly turning on his heel and hurrying through the crowd. Hermione couldn't dismiss the suspicion that something was seriously wrong, and after a short moment of hesitation she followed Malfoy through the mass of party-goers. When she exited the office she was immediately confronted with a teary-eyed Daphne Greengrass and a surprisingly sympathetic Draco Malfoy.
"Greengrass, I need to you take a deep breath," the Head Boy instructed in a calm and soothing tone. "You're going to have to form coherent sentences for me."
After taking a moment to collect herself, Greengrass finally managed to find her voice again. "It's Theodore," she said in a voice thick with emotion. "I can't find him anywhere and he's been gone for a solid four hours. Slughorn took him to his office and he never showed up for dinner afterwards. Then the Evening Prophet was delivered and… and…"
Her emotions got the better of her again and she handed Malfoy the crumpled edition that she had been holding.
Hermione hesitantly stepped forward. "What's going on here?" she asked quietly, but just as she finished speaking Malfoy held the newspaper at such an angle that she could read the large headline. She gasped softly and moved forward until she stood right next to Malfoy and was able to read the article.
DEATH EATER ARREST: 3 DEAD
Following the impressive arrest on New Year's Eve, the Auror Department has managed to continue its successful streak of imprisoning of the fugitives formerly in service of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This morning, two high-ranking Death Eaters were successfully apprehended. Thorfinn Rowle and Orson Travers were arrested after a lengthy pursuit just outside Wizarding Newcastle and have since been taken into custody.
The round-up was not without its toll, and two members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Squad were killed during the pursuit. A third life was claimed when fugitive Frederick Nott was killed during the violent resist of his arrest.
Mr F. Nott was incarcerated after his involvement in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in the summer of 1996, after which he participated in a large-scaled coordinated prison escape a year later.
Mr O. Travers was involved in the murders of the McKinnon family in the fall of 1978 and participated in the Battle over Little Whinging, during which renowned Auror Alastor Moody was murdered.
Mr T. Rowle participated in the attack on Hogwarts in June 1997 that cost the life of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (O.M. First Class, Grand Sorc., D. Wiz., X.J. (sorc.), S. of Mag.Q).
Following their participation in the Battle of Hogwarts, many fugitives managed to disappear off the grid, but fine tailwork by the Auror Department brought the location and continued communication between these three former Death Eaters to light.
This article continues on page 18 with an exclusive interview with Head Auror Gawain Robarts.
Hermione's stomach seemed to flip around and she felt very conflicted. She was immensely relieved that these brutal men were taken off the street, but for the first time she fully realised that the wizards on the other side of the war were human too. Despite their crimes they had formed families in-between the First and Second Wizarding Wars and some of her classmates were related to these criminals. With the exception of Draco Malfoy none of them had played an active part in this War, and while she felt no sympathy for the Death Eaters, she couldn't help but feel a little for Theodore Nott.
"Granger," Malfoy said in a low voice as he started refolding the newspaper. "Would you please help us find Nott?"
She looked up at him in surprise. The worried tone of his voice and the politeness directed at her sounded foreign coming from him, but when she met his eyes she could see that it was genuine. He was referring to the Marauders' Map, she knew, and she gave him a small nod.
"Yes," she replied softly. "I'll have to go and get it from my dormitory, though."
"Lead the way," he said, and he gently took Greengrass' shoulder and pushed her to the main corridor, following after her.
They made their way through the castle in silence, and Hermione was relieved to reach the Gryffindor Tower without people seeing her in the strange company of these two Slytherins. She quickly entered her dormitory and kicked off her heels in favour of the everyday black shoes that were part of her school uniform, after which she dug up the Marauders' Map from her trunk and snatched a woollen cardigan from her bedside chair.
When Hermione returned to the corridor Greengrass was restlessly pacing around. Malfoy leaned against a wall and followed her movements with his eyes, still with that worried frown on his brows. Hermione activated the Map before getting down on her knees, and folded the parchment open on the floor so that the Map was revealed in its entirety. Malfoy quickly sank down to the floor as well and Greengrass followed hesitantly, staring down at the Map with caution and clear confusion.
They immediately fell into a surprisingly efficient division where each of them focused on a part of the Map. They searched in silence for a good five minutes before Greengrass bowed down lower and pointed her finger at the Astronomy Tower. "There he is," she breathed out. She got to her feet again at once and quickly dusted off her skirt.
Hermione jumped up as well, quickly folded the map so that the Astronomy Tower and its surrounding stairways and corridors were still visible and wordlessly followed the two Slytherins through the castle, checking the Map every few minutes to see if Nott had remained in the same place. Once they reached the circular staircase to the tower Hermione slowed down, fully intending to give the Slytherins some privacy, but Malfoy came up behind her and gently pushed her to the stairs.
"I think it's best that you come with," he muttered. "You're not close to him, so you can decide objectively whether or not we should alert a staff member."
Despite feeling immensely uncomfortable Hermione began the ascend after Greengrass. She didn't want to be here for this; she didn't know Theodore Nott. She had never even worked with him in class during all the years they had been at Hogwarts together. It didn't feel right for her to be present during a personal moment like this, and her heart sank the second she reached the top of the Astronomy.
Nott sat on the floor with his back against the railing of the viewpoint and his arms wrapped around his knees. His eyes were squeezed shut and large tears trickled down his face, and despite hardly knowing him Hermione felt a great urge to give him a hug.
Greengrass carefully moved towards him and sank down on her knees in front of him, gently touching his shoulder. "Oh, Theo, I'm so sorry," she said quietly, and even from a distance and despite the dusk Hermione could see heartbreak in her eyes.
Nott bowed his head and rested his forehead on his knees, his shoulders shaking violently. Greengrass sat down on the floor next to him and wrapped her arms around him. The boy seemed to resist for a moment, but then he turned his body towards her and buried his face in her shoulder.
Malfoy stood next to her and stared down at his two friends with a pained expression on his face. He seemed very tense and uncertain of what to do. A short moment later he whirled around to face her, and Hermione was taken aback a little by the worry that was clearly visible in his eyes.
"I'm getting someone," he muttered. "Who should I get? McGonagall? Slughorn?"
Hermione stared at him while she considered his question and then slowly shook her head. "No," she said. "Get Madam Pomfrey, and tell her to bring some Calming Draught. I can do it, you can stay here."
"I'll go," Malfoy said at once, and he turned away from her, ready to leave.
"Malfoy, take the Map."
He glanced at her over his shoulder with a confused expression on his face while Hermione held out the folded piece of parchment to him. "Slughorn's party is over by now, which means we're all out after curfew. You don't want to run into Peeves or Mrs Norris." The Head Boy hesitantly reached out to accept the Map and glanced down at it for a moment.
"Do you remember the concealment phrase?"
He looked up again and nodded once, and Hermione did the same. "Use it when you see someone or when you reach the hospital wing." Malfoy nodded again and whirled around. With three large steps he was back on the staircase, and a moment later he was gone.
Hermione glanced back at Nott and Greengrass, who were still on the ground and wrapped in each others' arms. Greengrass slowly rubbed the boy's back while Nott's shoulders were still shaking. Hermione sighed softly and drew her wand, conjuring up a blanket, and slowly made her way over to the two Slytherins, bowed down a little and carefully put the blanket over their shoulders.
Greengrass looked up at her in surprise and nodded to display her unexpected gratitude, Nott, however, flinched at her touch and turned his head to glare up at her. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were wet from his tears, but it didn't seem to bother him that she saw him like that.
"What is she doing here?" he snapped hoarsely, but Hermione couldn't find it in her to feel offended.
"She's the reason we were able to find you," Greengrass answered in a tone that communicated not to argue with her.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and a moment later Madam Pomfrey appeared, dressed in night robes and fluffy slippers and clearly not completely awake yet. Malfoy followed closely behind. She took a moment to observe the scene before her and then resolutely marched over to Nott. Before tending to him she shot a stern look at the rest of them.
"You need to get back to your Houses. No dawdling; it's after curfew. I'll make sure this young man is seen to. Now, go."
"I'm not leaving him," Greengrass argued at once.
"Daphne, it's fine," Nott said quietly. "Just go."
"It's not okay," she hissed back at him. "None of this is remotely okay. Would you say to me that if it were me in your place?"
Nott stared at her with an intense look before averting his eyes and shaking his head so subtly it would have easily been missed by someone who wasn't paying attention.
Madam Pomfrey pressed her lips together in a tight line as she regarded the Slytherin girl with narrowed eyes. "Fine," she finally conceded. "But just you. The two Head students have fulfilled their duties for today. Please get back to your Houses at once."
Malfoy rolled his eyes at the back of the matron's head and turned around at the top of the stairs again to make his way back down, and Hermione quickly followed his lead. They quietly made their way back to the main corridor and eventually halted atop the Grand Staircase, much like they had a few days previous. Malfoy wordlessly reached in the pocket of his dress robes and handed her the blank Marauders' Map. When Hermione reached out to accept it back he held on to it for a moment longer, seemingly mentally preparing for something.
"Thank you," he said finally, and he let go of the Map. Hermione slowly lowered her arm and stared at him, trying to conceal her surprise and waiting for him to continue. The silence lasted for a little while, but she remained patient, knowing this was probably not easy for him.
"You didn't have to help us," Malfoy continued in a soft voice. "I know Nott means nothing to you, and you had every right to refuse, especially considering who his father is. In any case… thank you."
Hermione slowly put the Marauders' Map into her cardigan's pocket. "Don't mention it," she said quietly. "Nott isn't his father. As hard as it is sometimes, it's not right to judge someone for the crimes of their parents. I hope he's able to give this a place soon."
The double intention of her words hung between them as they both fell quiet again. Malfoy had opted for his poker face again, and he stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Hermione knew he had realised that this was her veiled way of telling him that he was included in that statement as well, and she just hoped he wouldn't snap at her.
"Thanks for the party invitation," he said finally. "Good night, Granger."
"Good night, Malfoy," Hermione replied. She watched him turn around and descent the first of numerous stairs, and as she turned around to make her way back to the Gryffindor Tower she realised that it was very difficult to keep the smile from her face.