Hello dear readers!

I am back with a new chapter!

I would like to thank my beta reader OxfordElise (check out her work on AO3) for her help on this chapter and on the story as a whole.

Also, I would like to thank YOU for being here and giving my story a chance. I hope it won't dissapoint!

I really hope you enjoy this chapter!


Chapter 4 - Reluctant Resignation


A couple of days went by with the pair mostly avoiding each other, with some strained conversations here and there. Draco went back to Wiltshire for a few hours before returning to find Hermione sulking while reading a book by the kitchen window. He sighed and headed up to his room, with her not sparing him a glance.

He plopped on his bed and laid on his back, running his hands over his face in frustration. Draco knew that the isolation wouldn't be easy on her once he left for the start of term. He also knew that all the events that had unfurled were still sinking into her mind, leaving her just as discouraged as he was.

He just wished she would be more cooperative, more understanding.

You've robbed her of her life, of her parents, of her friends…

What a stupid thought it was, to think he deserved any of her compassion.


Later that evening, as they sat in the living room surrounded by the comforting crackle of the fire, Draco spoke up, breaking the heavy silence. "I have to head to Hogwarts tomorrow. Term is starting."

Hermione looked at him, her eyes betraying a sense of dread that had begun to engulf her. "I see, and what about me?"

Draco ran a hand through his hair, the weight of responsibility etched on his features. "You stay here, and I go."

Hermione huffed at him in annoyance but said nothing.

He let out a heavy sigh, looking at her with a puzzling mixture of irritation and empathy. "I've actually been thinking about this a lot. And I think I have a way for you to feel more useful while you're here."

She perked up at his statement and quickly said "Go on…"

"I'll provide you with books from the Malfoy Manor library and any other information I can gather. We'll keep in touch through owls, though with limited and cryptic letters, and I will visit you whenever I can. You can use your time to research and attempt to find out more about the Dark Lord." Draco explained, without meeting her eyes.

She nodded in agreement and added "And if I find any useful information, I can then owl Harry and Ron about it!"

Draco's expression darkened, and he shot her a stern look. "Absolutely not, Granger. You are not to contact your friends directly. It's too risky."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, affronted by the way he thought he could command her. "What do you mean, I can't contact them? They need to know what's happening. We have to find a way to stop Voldemort."

Draco's jaw tightened, impatience evident in his voice. "We can't afford any risks. If the Dark Lord catches wind of your communication with them, our entire plan will crumble."

Hermione, undeterred, retorted, "But they deserve to know the truth. I can't just sit here, hidden away, while they face the dangers unaware that I'm alive and capable of helping! Besides, how convenient it is for you to say that communicating with you by owl is less dangerous than communicating with them!"

Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is not a negotiation, Granger. It's a matter of life and death."

Hermione crossed her arms, frustration and determination burning in her eyes. "I won't let them face this blindly. I can't just abandon them. You can't keep me from them!"

His eyes flashed with anger as he swiftly stood up, towering over her seated body "Your idiot friends are the rashest and most moronic people I have ever seen! Those dimwits cannot be trusted to do their schoolwork, let alone with knowing that you are alive! Not to mention that, even if they did manage to keep their fat mouths shut, they wouldn't last seconds if they're ever caught by death eaters! One glimpse into their minds will have us both killed!"

Hermione's breath caught as she attempted to respond "But—"

Draco, his patience wearing thin, leaned in closer, "You infuriating witch! You will do as I say if you want to stay alive. No owls to your friends. We cannot risk exposing this location or our plans. You research, and I'll handle the rest."

Hermione, bristling at his authoritative tone, stood up to face him with fire in her eyes, "Don't you dare talk to me like that! I won't be kept in the dark, Malfoy! I need to be a part of this fight, and that includes informing Harry and Ron about what's happening."

Draco, no longer capable of tolerating her tirade, gripped her shoulders firmly. "Listen, you insufferable reckless idiot, this isn't a game or another one of your silly school adventures. Lives are at stake. You may not like it, but you have no choice but to listen to what I say. You have no idea what dangers we are facing with this arrangement. No owls. It's non-negotiable."

The room crackled with tension as they stood mere inches away from each other, their angry gazes burning into each other while Draco continued to hold her in place.

Hermione, torn between her loyalty to her friends and the necessity of her alliance with Draco, struggled to find a middle ground. She hated to admit it, but he was right. She tried to tear herself away from his grip, but he maintained his hold on her, which only further infuriated her. Her eyes flashed at him with disdain at the fact that Malfoy of all people was talking sense.

"Fine," she snapped, finally conceding, a reluctant agreement in her voice. "But you need to understand, Malfoy, that keeping them in the dark won't work out in the long run. We need them if we want to defeat Voldemort. We need to find a way to involve them without jeopardizing our safety." Then, before she could stop herself, she looked at him squarely and spat "Do you even want your master gone? Did you not get marked with this hideous monstrosity of a tattoo to willingly serve him?"

As soon as she had uttered those words, she was flooded with a wave of conflicting emotions. Part of her felt triumphant that she had managed to shake him, to put the ferret in his place. But the other felt a gnawing guilt, that she had taken it too far.

Draco's grip on her shoulders tightened momentarily, his eyes narrowing at her sharp words. A tense silence hung in the air before he released her, averting his eyes away from her, his fists clenching.

"Would I have saved your and your parents' lives were I actually loyal to him?" Draco's voice was dangerously low, sending shivers up her spine. His fury seemed to finally erupt, and he paced back and forth, his fists tightening so much that his knuckles were now a ghostly white.

Hermione, though conflicted, stood her ground. "That doesn't change the fact that you bear the Dark Mark. How am I supposed to trust that you're not going to turn against me?"

Draco stopped abruptly, his stormy eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her flinch. "I defied him to save you! Do you have any idea what that means? The risks I took?" His voice, though intense, carried a raw edge of vulnerability.

Hermione, realizing that she had indeed taken it too far, softened her stance. "Then help me understand. Help me see that there's more to you than the mark on your arm."

Draco's jaw tensed, and he took a deep breath as if grappling with the turmoil within. "You would never understand."

"You don't know that—"

"Just drop it, Granger!" He roared, his voice echoing across the room.

"I won't! I have a right to know!" She yelled back, her eyes mirroring the fire within his own.

Draco was breathing heavily as he looked at the stubborn witch before him. She was pushing him way too far and he knew he needed to control himself before saying something he would end up regretting.

Occlude Draco.

Hermione's lips parted slightly as she noticed his eyes slightly dull in their color and his demeanor shifting back to apathy, his shoulders relaxing as his breathing steadied once more.

"I've had enough of this conversation, Granger. If after what I've done you still doubt me, then do. It doesn't change the fact that if you even come close to attempting to leave this cottage, the wards will alert me—"

"Are you threatening me ferret?!" Hermione exclaimed furiously, enraged at the smug wizard in front of her.

Draco's lips lifted slightly into his signature smirk, yet his eyes remained eerily blank. "I doubt it would come to it, Granger," he said, obnoxiously lifting his hand to stare at his nails, "even a stubborn little witch like you would know not to test me after seeing what I'm capable of."

"Malfoy—"

"I need to head back to school tomorrow for the start of term. Goodnight, Granger." He didn't bother looking at her as he turned to go upstairs to his room, his cape whooshing past her.


The next morning, they had breakfast together mostly in silence. He watched as she shuffled the eggs around in her plate, avoiding eye contact with him.

As the silence stretched between them, Draco cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of understanding between them. "I should get going. Hogwarts won't wait, and I've already pushed my luck staying here."

Hermione nodded, her eyes still glistening with unshed tears.

He cursed himself for leaving her to wallow in her impending solitude yesterday. He shouldn't have been so harsh.

He also couldn't help the fact that she made his blood boil.

Infuriating witch.

Nevertheless, he needed to reassure her, to calm her nerves so that she wouldn't attempt to escape. If she ever decided to do so and somehow managed to leave before he could get to her, death eaters would surely—

No, Draco! Get yourself together. You cannot allow this to happen.

If HE ever got his hands on her—

Draco angrily slammed his fists at the kitchen table, making Hermione jump in her seat, startled.

Realizing what he had just done, his eyes met hers and his expression immediately softened as he saw the fear in her eyes. Hermione was scared of him, and he knew that the way he ended their heated conversation last night didn't help. His gaze left hers as he stared at the table, his fists relaxing as his fingers brushed the coarse wooden texture.

He braved another look at her before sighing "Apologies for the outburst." He noticed her brow unfurrowing, her shoulders slumping as she resumed poking at her breakfast with her fork, avoiding his gaze.

"I will come back to see you whenever I can. I promise to keep you as informed as possible." He softly stated, hoping this would be enough of an olive branch to appease her.

She looks back up at him, her eyes glassy.

I'm crying again. Get a grip, Hermione!

She loathed the fact that she was this vulnerable around him, that her emotions were so readily portrayed through her expression…that she couldn't hold back her tears in front of him.

That she was intimidated by him.

She had never been intimidated by him before. He had always been the ferret that would spew hateful words towards her and tease her for how bushy her hair looked, or how buck-toothed she used to be back in her first year. He was nothing but a spineless bully to her…up until she saw what she saw back in her parents' living room.

He had fought his own uncle like a cold-blooded assassin. Not once did he restrain himself from casting offensive magic against Rodolphus Lestrange, and he did so with such finesse that left her both baffled and terrified.

But he had also done so to save her life.

The hairs on her nape stood as she recalled the way he had pushed her behind him to shield her from Lestrange's curses, and then how he did it again, jumping in front of her as the killing curse was ruthlessly cast at her.

He was supposed to be dead. No shield should have been able to save him.

Did he know he was able to deflect it? Surely, he couldn't have.

Even if he did, he had instinctively taken the absurd risk of putting his own life on the line…to save hers.

No unfeeling monster would ever do that…

She lifted her eyes to look into his silvery gray ones, only to realize he had been waiting for some response from her, an elegant platinum eyebrow lifting at her expectantly.

Right. He had told me that he would be coming to see me whenever he could.

He would leave, and she would be all alone in a secluded cottage in Transylvania, unable to leave unless she wanted to jeopardize both of their lives.

Hot tears began to prick in her eyes again.

Damnit, Hermione!

"Granger?"

She found his eyes again, now looking at her with obvious concern–Wait? He was concerned for her? Malfoy?

He also stood in the way of an 'Avada Kedavra' for you, and you're puzzled by his concern?

Nothing made sense anymore. She didn't know what to think.

What she did know is that she needed to say something, anything—

"Yes…umm…alright, Malfoy."

She saw him nod curtly and stand, preparing to leave.

"Wait!"

She clapped a hand at her mouth almost as soon as she said it.

He slowly turned towards her, that same look of worry gracing his features again. She swallowed and braced herself, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop the next sentence that would come out of her mouth.

"Thank you…for saving me."

Draco's eyes flickered from gray to pure silver for a millisecond before he regained control over his emotions and offered a small, almost imperceptible nod in return. As he turned again to head out, Hermione spoke again.

"I've been meaning to ask, how are you able to apparate without the Ministry finding out? You're still underage," she inquired.

Draco, amused at the curiosity of the witch in front of him, couldn't help but smirk as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark on his forearm. He pointed to what looked like a cloak of invisibility wrapped around the base of the skull.

"My mark," he explained, "it's been modified. This enchantment conceals my Apparition from detection. One of the perks of being in league with the Dark Lord, I suppose."

Hermione examined the modified dark mark, her curiosity mixed with a hint of concern. The dark arts were a murky territory, and Malfoy being bound to them through this mark made her stomach flip.

"But that doesn't explain how you're able to apparate such long distances? Isn't that what portkeys are for? Apparition across the continent is unheard of, and even if one can manage it, it would deplete their magic so much that they would lose consciousness on arrival—

"And how do you know so much about apparition Granger? We aren't supposed to learn about it until this year." He retorted, his Malfoy smirk playing at his lips.

Hermione huffed at him, her arms crossed "I read about it—

He let out a small laugh, teasing yet not vicious. "Of course you have. Always been a swot, haven't you Granger?"

"You're not answering my question Malfoy!" she exclaimed, frustration taking over her.

He laughed again, only to add to her ire.

"I should get going now." Draco said as he began to walk towards the door "I've left you some books and journals from the manor on the desk in the study for you to begin your research. I will send you more books and information whenever I get the chance. Use this time to gather as much knowledge as you can. I'll visit when I can, and I'll send you letters with updates. Please do not owl me back unless necessary and keep your letters brief and vague enough to avoid suspicion."

Hermione, though still unhappy about the restriction and with him avoiding her question, nodded. "I'll do my best, Malfoy. But we need a plan for the long term. I can't stay hidden forever, and we can't keep my friends in the dark indefinitely."

Draco let out a long sigh. "We'll see, Granger. For now, focus on gathering information. It's the best contribution you can make, all things considered."

As Draco opened the door to leave, he turned back towards her, looking at her again with that very same foreign thoughtfulness, and dare she admit it, some sadness?

What is with him?

Her eyes widened as she took in the way his features softened at her and his lips lifted ever so slightly into the smallest of smiles. Had she blinked, she would have probably missed it.

"Take care of yourself, Granger."

And before she could respond, he closed the door behind him and quickly apparated away, leaving her alone with her thoughts, a growing sense of urgency, and butterflies in her stomach at the way he smiled at her.


"Draco!"

"Hmm?" The platinum-blond wizard turned to look at Theodore Nott, only to find him looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Have you even been listening to me, you prat?" Theo leaned back against the velvet green sofa, maintaining his worried gaze on his best friend.

"Sorry, I'm just…I have a lot on my mind." Draco muttered, shifting his gaze to the massive windows of the Slytherin common room, watching as a mermaid zoomed through the murky waters of the Great Lake.

Theodore sighed, his concern deepening as he noticed the distant look in Draco's eyes. "It's about your father, isn't it?"

Draco nodded, his jaw tightening with tension. "Among other things," he admitted reluctantly, tearing his gaze away from the mesmerizing sight outside the window to focus on his friend. "Things are... complicated right now."

Theodore nodded understandingly, "You want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly," Draco responded, hunching downwards, placing his elbows on his knees as his fingers twirled his wand absentmindedly.

Theo's lips lifted into a smirk, "Look at us, the filthy rich pureblood wankers with daddy issues. No wonder I landed the most beautiful girl in our house, I'm just such a catch."

Draco couldn't help but chuckle at his best mate's self-deprecating sarcasm, "So Daphne finally said yes? All these years of pathetic pining finally paid off, Nott."

"Oh yes, Malfoy. I tried to floo call you the other day to tell you all about the thrilling affair. But your brooding arse was too busy wallowing to answer. Some friend, you are." Theo let out a dramatic sigh, placing his hand over his heart.

"Oh, bugger off, will you." Draco muttered, his hands moving to massage his temple, "Just get to the point already. Your dramatic ramblings are headache-inducing."

The brown wavy-haired youth couldn't help but chuckle, "Where is your patience, Dray!"

"Theo…" Draco threatened, his steely eyes boring into Theo's amused blue irises.

"Fine! No need to get your knickers in a twist." Theo said, still chuckling at his visibly very irritated friend. "So, two weeks before the start of term, I snuck into Daphne's house while her parents were out. I told her that if she didn't say yes to my courting proposal now, I would never suggest it again—"

"Don't you believe him, Draco! He almost got on his knees while begging me to give him a chance." Daphne interrupted as she entered the common room, resting her hands on her boyfriend's shoulders, and glaring down at him.

"Darling, I am merely exaggerating events for dramatic effect!" Theo stammered, trying to appease his angry girlfriend, but her green eyes only narrowed further at him. She huffed, elegantly flicking her dark ebony hair off her shoulder as she walked around the sofa to sit next to Theo, squealing as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap.

"Theo!" She admonished him while he laughed, burying his face into her hair as her porcelain face turned a deep shade of crimson. She giggled shyly and turned towards Draco, "Excuse my buffoon of a boyfriend. He's still not house-trained you see."

Draco smiled sadly at the pair as he watched his best friend hug the girl he'd loved ever since he was a child. Since before he could remember, Theodore Nott had vowed to him that Daphne Greengrass would one day become his wife, even as the three of them were kids playing around Malfoy Manor's expansive gardens.

He knew their parents didn't approve.

The Nott and Greengrass families had a long-standing feud, one that started back in the early nineteenth century back when Mortimus Nott II had broken his engagement to a sixteen-year-old Megara Greengrass, once he found out that she hadn't been studying abroad at Beauxbatons, but was actually a squib, a fact that even Megara's own father, Alexander, was not previously made aware of, as the girl's mother had kept the secret for years and sent her daughter to France to live with her aunt to hide her 'shame'. The whole fiasco had ended with a wizard's duel between Alexander and Mortimus, which ended with the former's demise.

The duel had been enough to buy the two families a ceasefire, but hell would have to freeze over before the fire of hatred and resentment would quench between them.

Moreover, unlike Nott Sr., an ardent, no, fanatical supporter of the Dark Lord, the Greengrasses had always maintained a neutral stance when it came to you-know-who, choosing not to directly back him during the first Wizarding War. They did, however, of course, sustain their pureblood customs and beliefs of blood purity.

Typical Slytherins, always playing to their own benefit.

He doubted it would work this time around, knowing the Dark Lord's paranoia was bordering on uncontrollable. He will want every pureblood family worth its salt on his side, both to replenish his coffers but also to fight for him and his cause.

No one would be able to escape him this time, no matter how hard they tried.

His fingers moved to grip his arm, where his Dark Mark was concealed under a plethora of glamours.

"I'm glad you are both happy," Draco murmured, silently hoping the love being displayed before him would not also end in tragedy.


And there it was! And we finally have Theo and Daphne!

How did you find this chapter? What do you think of Draco and Hermione's dynamic? Where do you think the story is headed?

Let me know by leaving a review!

Also, if you like this story, please leave a like and follow! It really helps me stay motivated :D

Until next time!

Cleo26