Chapter 12

"Look what you did, mudblood! You've ruined him!" Pansy Parkinson accused. She really had no idea what exactly happened, so of course she lashed out at Hermione.

"Whatever, it'll wear off in a few hours. That poor boy will be back to his usual gorgeous self in no time." Hermione didn't realize what she had said until she saw Pansy's reaction. Pansy gritted her teeth and spat, "Gorgeous, eh? We'll see who's gorgeous when I tear his hair color from your filthy head!" Pansy went to lunge for Hermione, but was held back by her fellow housemates.

Hermione shrugged and walked off as Pansy's tantrum subsided. She sat down in her usual spot at Gryffindor table, but soon found herself surrounded by boys fawning over her fancy new look. Luckily for her, Neville had her back. He shooed them away like one would disperse a murder of crows. "Go on now, shove off, all of you! Morning, Hermione." He said as the last gawker left.

"Good morning, Neville." She sighed. Neville began to speak in a hushed tone not wanting anyone else to hear, "So, the uh…That place. It's ready anytime you are. I've even rounded up some new recruits interested."

"Alright, why don't we meet Wednesday? That'll give us time to work on a lesson plan. Does everyone still have their coins?" She asked. Neville pulled out a gold galleon from his pocket with a smile. "I always have it on me."

"Good. I'll change the date and make some more." She said bringing the conversation to a close.

Later that day, she did just that. Digging through her beaded bag, she found the fake galleon she used to secretly announce D.A. meetings. She changed the date to that Wednesday at six o clock. She still wasn't too keen on the idea of starting meetings again, but she didn't want to disappoint her friends either. It might not even work out, and no one else will come, she hoped.

Thank Merlin, Draco's hair and eyes came back a little after lunch that same day. Pansy had tried to get him to come out before then, but he wouldn't. He wasn't THAT desperate to find solace in her company. Sad part was he couldn't get the image of the blonde hair, grey eyed Granger out of his mind.

What made it worse was when Zabini came waltzing in before its return. "You should have stuck around to see the near cat fight that broke out between Parkinson and Granger." He said and Draco just glared at him from his bed. "I don't care, Blaise. Just let me wallow in self pity until MY hair and eyes return."

Blaise just shook his head. Draco was a bit melodramatic when it came to his looks. He was using magical hair product by age eleven to keep it in perfect place after all. "The best part was Pansy's reaction when Granger said, and I quote, "the poor boy will be back to his usual gorgeous self in no time."

Draco sat up letting the blanket fall off from over his head. "Granger said that?" Blaise nodded and the two boys shared a laugh. "I guess even mudbloods can appreciate the exceptional quality of a pureblood, eh? Too bad you weren't born a girl Malfoy. You'd been a real catch." Blaise remarked.

"I guess…shut up Zabini." Malfoy remarked though his tone was more in jest then actual irritation. For a moment he almost forgot that he was despised by everyone in the whole school. Except perhaps the one soul who had actual reason above all others: Granger.

Later that night he withdrew the fake galleon when it became warm and noticed the change of date. 'What are you up to Granger?' he thought to himself, deciding perhaps it would be something worth investigating just to satisfy his curiosity.

Wednesday at six o clock in the evening, Neville, Luna, Ginny and others were gathered in front of the Room of Requirement. Like before a grand doorway formed and quickly the group entered before they were noticed. The room wasn't back to its former glory, but it was functional. Whatever fire, or something, had happened in it had caused some real damage. They didn't need much for what they intended but it appeared the Room of Lost and Hidden things was no more.

Luna and Neville were exceptionally proud how much they did to get it back to working order. "Hermione do you mind starting us off?" Neville asked giving her a look. He was much more confident than before the war but in his eyes she was still the leader since Harry wasn't around.

Draco watched the clock and at six ten pm he retreated from the Slytherin common room and began to make his way to the Room of Requirement.

Hermione looked around at the surprisingly large group of students. It seemed that Neville wasn't the only one who recruited more D.A. members. There were Ravenclaw students that Luna gathered and even a few Hufflepuffs. "Er, well alright." Thinking quickly she stepped toward the group and cleared her throat, "Ahem, welcome everyone, to the first meeting of the year, of Dumbledor's Army, or D.A. We originally formed the D.A. in order to defy the member of the ministry who had been assigned to Hogwarts to prevent students from properly learning Defense Against the Dark Arts. This year, however is not that case. The purpose of the D.A. will simply be to supplement your DADA education. I must request you discretion, as this is a secret society. If you would like to stay, I have these coins…" She held up her beaded bag and shook it, making the coins inside jingle. "…this will be how we announce meeting times. I will distribute them after the meeting." She turned back to Neville, "Anything else?" he shook his head, "That should be it Thank you Hermione!" He started clapping his hands and soon the rest of the group joined in.

She definitely wasn't expecting this. She blushed and took a modest bow, "Thank you, please it's nothing really." She went over basics with everyone and the importance of nonverbal casting in battle situations. She described how to cast nonverbally and found that students quickly caught on from her instructions. Afterwards she decided that the first topic should be defending unfriendly spells.

All the while, Draco was able to hear just about everything that went on inside the room. The door had disappeared, however the damage to the room in the previous year via fiendfyre, caused the walls to be rather thin, letting sound easily escape if one stood real close. No one inside realized this, since no passersby seemed to notice the cleaning process.

'Casting a non-verbal spell is great Granger. Fat lot of good it will do if the opponent can defend against it nonverbally.' He thought to himself. Suddenly the doorway appeared and opened. He looked confused but the noise suddenly coming from a nearby corridor made him reconsider and he entered. The doorway disappeared behind him and a lot of eyes from students of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff houses bore into him looking most displeased.

"Malfoy?! What are you doing here?" Thomas remarked. "How did you find us?" Finnegan asked. Both of them had wands out and ready.

There were more than a few curious eyes wondering and waiting for an answer to the given questions. Draco flashed his own fake galleon in one hand then put it away, replacing it with his wand. "A trinket I acquired from Marietta Edgecombe. Relax, I won't go tell the Headmistress what you lot are up to. It's not like I care if you NEED to practice spells." He said in a mocking tone.

"Is it true that you can block jinxes nonverbally, Malfoy?" Luna asked in her own unique yet odd sort of way. Draco wondered how the odd but clever Ravenclaw girl knew he was capable of that already.

"Yes." He answered and suddenly there was a nonverbal spell thrown at him. He barely had to move his want hand and an invisible shield blocked the spell from reaching him.

"Woah…"

"He wasn't lying."

"Can you teach us that Hermione?" Came the comments from various students.

Draco finally made eye contact with her, a bit of a smirk on his lips.

Hermione swallowed. She wasn't that skilled in nonverbal defense. She looked at Malfoy, his smirk told her that he knew this. She then glanced between Neville and the students, all of whom were looking to her for an answer. A thought popped into her head suddenly. "Actually, since we seem to have a resident expert," She offered her open hand to Draco, "Why don't you assist us? Think of it as penance for the last time you barged in here unannounced." She smirked right back at him. A cheer erupted from the crowd, of course. Everyone was eager to learn, but the veteran DA members wanted to see the Slytherin punk suffer and have him teach them against his will.

Draco's smirk faltered at her announcement of him 'teaching' this skill of nonverbal shield charm. The cheers from the new members of Potter's Fan Club were ridiculous. But not as much as the looks on the veteran members faces.

'Blood hell . . . how am I supposed to teach them?' He thought to himself reflecting on his own practice lessons over the summer before he started his sixth year. He had to stand and take the Cruciatus Curse cast at him by various death eaters, including his Aunt Bellatrix. If his concentration wasn't good the shield didn't work and he suffered.

He thought on this for a moment and decided to do the same idea only legal that would allow practice of the shield charm executing a nonverbal spell. "Casting a nonverbal spell is one advantage in battle. Being able to shield yourself nonverbally with little effort until you have an opening to cast a nonverbal spell is better. Relax and drop your wand hands to your side." He instructed. Everyone gave him hesitant looks, especially the Gryffindors. "Come on now, I don't have all bloody night."

Wand hands dropped. He continued, "To successfully cast the nonverbal shield spell, Protego, you need to concentrate on the image of an invisible barrier in front of you. See it in your mind. When you're ready with your wand hand rise it up and think about creating that barrier in front of you. Let your wand and your arm movement 'paint' the barrier, while your mind thinks Protego. Give this a go before we put it to use."

Once everyone seemed to have the basic shield spell down, it was time for the real fun to begin. "Everyone form a line in front of me." He ordered then made sure to be a few feet away from Dean Thomas who was at the start.

"Thomas is going to cast a nonverbal spell at me. I am going to shield against it. After his spell is cast he will move to the end of the line and the next individual will cast a spell and so on. Once Thomas reaches the front of the line again, it's his turn to practice the shield spell while we each take a turn to cast a nonverbal spell at him. Line members do NOT stop. Shielders do not give up. It is very likely that if you need to shield yourself other chaos is going on. Whether you are on the ground, in the air, or under a curse. Begin." He ordered with a twitch of his wrist his shield was instantly up. With practice the less movement was required to execute the shield nonverbally.

As the group, some of which reluctantly, lined up, Hermione made a point to be the very last person to go. She wanted to watch as he held the defensive charm up all throughout the bombardment of spells, hexes, and jinxes that befell the new instructor. She really wasn't expecting Draco to stay; another pleasant surprise. She watched intently, studying every motion, every detail. When it finally became her turn to attack, she decided to cast Mageie Pyravlon, at her skill level, a 5 prong attack. She swung her want in a broad circle, and five beams of light appeared and shot toward Draco.

She was thoroughly impressed when he deflected every shot. By the time it was her turn to defend, she felt confident that she'd be able to defend at least as good as Draco. Only one skin coloration jinx made it through her defense, turning her skin bright blue. It was a lucky shot by one of the younger members. By that time it was getting late and nearly time for curfew. The veterans dismissed the rest of the students after counter-cursing as necessary.

Younger students ran up to Draco as the meeting ended, thanking him for the wonderful lesson. Hermione gave out the coins to the new members as they left. She was very pleased to see so many students excited to come back again. As the last of the new members left Neville, Luna, and Ginny left as well. "Great idea making Draco teach. Felt kind of good slinging a hex at him, even if he did block it." Neville whispered to Hermione as he passed. After that she and Draco were the last ones in the room. She went over to him, "Thank you so much for helping tonight, Malfoy. That was an excellent lesson. Have you ever thought about teaching after graduation?"

Draco couldn't suppress the grin that came across his lips when a skin color changing hex got through Granger's barrier. The blue made her look like something from the depths of the lake. When she was finished blocking, it was time to begin dispersing the group in small crowds before curfew arrived.

Draco felt flustered as younger students rushed up to thank him after the lesson. It was odd to see admiration in their faces. By the time everyone left it was just him and Granger in the room. When she thanked him for the lesson then asked about teaching after graduation he laughed. "You are joking right? That only turned out well because I was able to apply how I learned that shield charm in a much less painful and legal lesson."

Student-head of house career discussions would be arriving soon. He found he excelled in potions, and alchemy was a subject he wanted to learn more in depth. "I was thinking of going to the Centre of Alchemical Studies in Egypt after graduation."

Hermione nodded, "Yes, Professor Flamel has been very proud of you in Alchemy, I think you might be doing better than I am, since he has mentioned your work more often." This was true, not her just trying to appeal to him. She hadn't been putting forth the same effort towards her alchemy studies as her other classes, since alchemy was a pretty niche subject, not many professions listed on the career discussion sheets (she convinced the headmistress to send her one early) required alchemy.

"I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do after school. I can't decide. I'm so used to muggle careers that I've no clue what job I would like in this world." She confessed.

Her remark of him doing better in Alchemy than herself was pleasant to hear. He had for the first five years of school tried to best her and gain his father's approval. After that circumstances changed and his focus was elsewhere. Now back at school it was hard to let go of old habits. He still wanted to best her, even if it was just in one subject.

She mentioned muggle careers and he recalled a conversation between two other muggle-born students he overhead while pamphlets had been passed out from a representative of Gringotts bank. He fished the pamphlet out of his rob pocket and held it out to her, "I overheard some students call this career the muggle equivalent to an Archeologist."

The pamphlet was an ad for Curse-Breakers and Ancient Runes Translators to work for Gringotts Wizard bank to collect gold from ancient ruins all over the world. Against all his prior prejudice of muggle-studies he decided to ask her tentatively, "Your parents…what are their careers?" It wasn't known by him what had happened to her parents, how it affected them during the wizard war. He assumed like most wizard families maybe they fled the country and started somewhere new.

Hermione took the pamphlet Draco offered her, "Wow, thank you. Curse-Breaking and Ancient Runes Translating." She mumbled to herself as she read, "Wow. This sounds fascinating. I think I'll look into this." She looked at him with wonder in her eyes. She wasn't sure why he was being so thoughtful, but she liked it.

But when he asked about her parents, she looked away. "My parents…" She thought for a moment. She'd almost forgotten about them in the hectic school year. Being here at Hogwarts was easy to forget that they were no longer in muggle London at the home she grew up in. "They are…Dentists…doctors or healers who specialize with teeth." She explained. Doctors weren't the same in the wizarding world, and many found their practices barbaric. "I'm not exactly sure where they're at…Well I know they're in Australia…" She took a deep breath before looking back at Draco, her eyes now sad and misting. "Before the war, in order to protect them, I … not sure why I'm telling you this … I …erased their memories of any trace of me. They're in Australia, started a new dentistry practice there, and have no idea I exist." She did her best to hold back the tears, but one or two fell from their place.

She turned away once she realized she was crying, but she could tell Draco already saw. "I mean, I shouldn't be so sad. After this year, I plan on finding them and returning their memories. It's just wretched knowing that my parents have no recollection of me, their only daughter. My only hope is that I can find them and be able to restore their memory without causing irreparable harm. Memory charms are tricky, as I am sure you know."

After Granger accepted the pamphlet and thanked him for it, she gave him this puzzled look. She was trying to decipher the reason behind his actions. 'Honestly Granger, it's just a pamphlet.' He thought to himself. Deep down he got some kind of satisfaction from her wondrous gaze. In recent years, such wonder would have been justified and even labeled as suspicious.

Rightfully so, he wasn't one to do anything unless it had personal benefit. He had decided to give her the pamphlet, because it seemed like a career he would pursue. After all these years of going on misadventures with Potter and Weasley, Draco had the feeling a desk job at the Ministry would not suit her whatsoever. Besides he wasn't going to use the pamphlet. He already had a career in mind.

As she looked away from him when he asked about her muggle parents' careers, he knew he had touched on a sensitive subject. She explained that they were healer who specialized in teeth. That sounded gross and kind of dangerous in his mind. But he did not ask her any further on it, because her body language told another story.

She took a deep breath before looking back at him. Her eyes became incredibly sad and threatened to fill with tears, despite her best efforts. She told him of their relocation and erasing their memories of her. They were her only blood family she had and for their physical safety she had to let them go.

Despite his parents' faults, particularly his father, deep down Draco still loved them. This is exactly why he did what he had to do to survive, to ensure his parents survived as well. He suddenly realized that perhaps she was suffering a fate worse than their deaths as he watched a tear fall from each of her eyes.

Memory charms were tricky. The worse case in history was the wanker professor from their second year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Gilderoy Lockhart. He was still at St. Mungo's and would be there for the rest of his life. With only the instinct to write autographs and have the self caring capacity of a young child. Her parents were still functional humans with careers. He had no doubt that Granger would be successful in her goal to find them and restore their memories. She was just as tenacious as Potter, only with a brain to actually succeed.

"Obviously, since they are your parents they must be like you, so I imagine they are doing well." He said and took a breath then continued, "As much as it pains me to say it Granger…you really are the brightest witch of our age. If anyone can find a way or create a spell to restore their memories, you will." He told her, giving her a real honest to Merlin compliment.

A box of tissues appeared out of thin air within arm's reach. He caught the box before it fell to the ground. "Really, you couldn't conjure a table to hold the tissues? Ridiculous room." He criticized the damaged room's capabilities. An old, wooden, three legged stool appeared. "That's better." He said and placed the box of tissues upon it.

"I should go, before Filch finds me out past curfew and gets me thrown out for good. See you in class." He bid her farewell and turned to depart.

She blushed hard. Had he really just said that? Hermione couldn't help but smile. Draco Malfoy had just out right told her she was the brightest witch of their age. His words echoed in her head. She wasn't sure how to respond, though she was probably too emotional, if she said anything it'd come out in sobs anyway. So she said nothing.

Words couldn't describe how much she appreciated his kindness, aside from Harry and Ron, she hadn't told anyone about what she felt she had to do. With on one to talk to, it ate her up inside. When she heard his comment about the table and turned back to him. She realized what he was talking about and giggled. Again, thoughtful Draco.

Before he could leave she stopped him, "Wait please…" she said as she grabbed his hand. She then pulled him towards her and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you D-Malfoy. None of my friends here know. I guess I just needed to get that off my chest." She let go and stepped back giving him some space. "Anyway, I have to get my bag, so I'll see you later." She turned to fetch her things, expecting Draco to leave.

He gave her a skeptical look when he heard her giggle while he criticized the Room of Requirement's failures. He hadn't intended to be funny. He had just gotten used to speaking to the room for needs during all those hours he spend fixing the Vanishing Cabinet.

When he turned to leave, she grabbed his hand. He turned to look back at her and froze in place as her arms wrapped around him. He never expected to ever receive such a gesture from Granger, let alone hear her thank him. His heart picked up in pace and he had to remind himself to breath. He couldn't bring himself to reciprocate the gesture. But there was something familiar that he couldn't quite figure out about the situation. It wasn't the hug, or the feeling of her arms around him, or how close their bodies were.

She let go and gave him some space before he could think on it more. He put the thought aside for later. He knew what it felt like to carry an emotional burden. If he hadn't been so selfish and loved his parents so much, he would have considered suicide in his sixth year when all hope of accomplishing his task seemed futile. Oddly enough Potter showed up that very moment and nearly did kill him.

Draco had been so scared of death, seeing his blood, the searing pain, yet part of him for a split second had welcomed it too. He had been in a VERY dark state of mind. "Um…sure Granger. Don't mention it. See you in class." He said and this time really left before this got even more emotional.

They had two days of classes to attend and then students would be off for the Christmas holiday. He was still contemplating on what had just happened. Why had her hug felt so…nice? There was something familiar that he couldn't quite figure out. It wasn't until later that night as he climbed into bed and fell into sleep that it metaphorically hit him. 'The scent of her hair…it was the smell I couldn't identify that day in potions. The day we made the Amortentia potion.' He definitely had trouble getting to sleep after that thought.

That night, Hermione kept thinking about what Draco had said, repeating it in her head like a broken record, "you really are the brightest witch of our age. If anyone can find a way or create a spell to restore their memories, you will." It really meant the world hearing those words, even more hearing those words from someone who previously rejected her legitimacy as a witch. If anyone had told her a couple of years ago that Draco Malfoy would ever say something even close to a compliment to Hermione Granger, she'd think they were joking. But now, it felt nice hearing such a thing from him. During the past couple of months, Hermione could honestly say that she's grown to trust him, in a strange way. As though she could see that he had no one controlling him anymore. He was a free soul now, but he didn't know what to do with himself until he discovered alchemy. She fell asleep to the warm and fuzzy feeling of encouragement from him, though she didn't remember any of her Draco fueled dreams the next morning.