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Sunday, January 3, 1999, continued…
At ten minutes to five o'clock, Draco and Hermione walked into the Old Trophy Chamber on the first floor of the castle. There, they found Adrian and Pansy leaning back against the side of a trophy case while chatting with Ginny and Luna. Theo and Neville soon arrived as well.
"You lot ready?" Neville asked them, receiving nods in response.
He led them to the back of the room and pulled the back trophy case which was tall and had an obscenely thick layer of dust covering it away from the wall, revealing a dark entrance. They followed him through the entrance and down a set of uneven stone steps with lanterns along the wall that lit up with flames as they went further down.
They arrived in a small chamber which contained only a small table with two chairs, a few plants, though there was no sunlight whatsoever. It also didn't appear to have another entrance, that was until Neville pressed his hands against the far wall and pushed it open, revealing a large Common Room of some sort.
As the group entered the surprisingly comfortable room, Neville explained that he had discovered the space while helping with the restoration of the castle after the Battle of Hogwarts. He had taken some time to fix it up.
The others nodded, impressed by just how nice the space was.
Ginny was the first to sit down. There were several sofas and lounge chairs that were gathered around the large fireplace in which Neville had immediately started a fire.
Hermione and Draco sat together in one of the larger lounge chairs.
As Pansy sat down, she looked over at Draco and asked, "Drake, what all is going on? You said that there was more that we needed to know. What is it?"
Draco nodded and exhaled, looking over at Hermione, internally wondering where he should even begin.
Hermione took his hand in both of hers and cleared her throat. He understood that she meant to begin the conversation.
The brunette looked around at the six others and said, "Well…as you all may know, Draco's grandfather…Lucius's father…passed away recently, leaving Draco everything, which has put Draco in immense danger. His family is well beyond furious about being cut out of the Last Will and Testament of such a prestigious member of the family. On top of that, since Draco is now the official head of the Malfoy Family and Malfoy Fortune…he is no longer required to marry Astoria Greengrass."
Draco nodded and squeezed her hand, deciding to speak up and add to the explanation. "So…Lucius…in an attempt to take some sort of control, arranged to murder the Minister of Magic which landed him in Azkaban."
"Bastard will hopefully rot in there." Theo muttered bitterly.
"Actually…" Hermione sighed, "He's escaped from Azkaban."
"What?!" All six of them shouted before they continued to blurt out random questions in search of details, "When? How? Where is he?"
Draco nodded, "Hold on. Hold on. We'll give you more info."
Hermione then continued, "Yeah, so erm…McGonagall has moved Draco and I to a secure location to sleep and stay. It's so secure, in fact, that we can't even tell you lot about its location."
"So long as you two are somewhere safe. That's the most important thing." Pansy said and the others nodded in complete agreement.
"We are." The couple said, nodding.
"The thing about his escape…is that he…" Draco muttered with a sigh. "He somehow managed to get a group of former Death Eaters in Azkaban to follow him and look to him as a leader. No one knows what his plan is, but we do know that it is something dreadful."
"Bloody hell." Theo muttered.
"McGonagall has also placed Aurors all throughout the castle and the school grounds, as well as Hogsmeade Village."
"This is barmy." Adrian mumbled. "Why can't Lucius just drop it and let you be happy for once? I mean, fuck, I've only been back a couple hours, and I can already see how much you bloody love Granger."
Draco nodded, "I do love her." He said before he looked at her with a smile.
Hermione wrapped her arms around his left arm and placed her chin on his shoulder, "I love you too." She muttered.
Watching them with a thoughtful expression, Luna spoke up, "Why don't the two of you just get married then?" She asked. "I mean, Lucius can't really mess with the paperwork and seal of the Ministry, so then there's not much he can do if you two get officially married."
"That is a thought, you know." Pansy said, considering Luna's idea. "I mean, there's a few things to think about, of course. You two getting married so young would be one, but if you both love one another as much and as thoroughly as you say, then…it may work to help get him off your backs."
The room went silent as they all thought it over.
After a short while, Theo cleared his throat, and spoke up, "You know, you both should at least start a rumor that you are getting married." He suggested before adding, "It could help you with your situation."
Draco nodded and looked over at Hermione, "What do you think? Should we start some sort of rumor?"
The brunette sighed and shook her head, "I…I don't know. It may help, but, Draco, it could also make everything way worse." She replied.
With a nod, the wizard said, "How about, for the time being, we just keep things as they are?"
Hermione nodded, "I think that would be best."
Neville looked over at the elegant clock on the wall and sighed before stating, "I think we ought to all head to the Return Feast."
The group made their way back up the steps and through the old Trophy Chamber.
As they exited the Chamber, Ginny pulled Hermione aside and asked if she needed anything.
Shaking her head, Hermione hugged the redhead before saying, "No, but I had meant to take your Christmas gift to dormitory earlier, but a few things got in the way. If you're okay with it, I'll bring it by tomorrow evening after my last class."
Ginny nodded and together, they headed to the feast.
When the feast was over, Hermione found Draco and they walked toward the Library, holding hands.
"How was your dinner?" the wizard asked her as they walked.
"It was nice." The brunette replied, "I had missed my friends so getting to spend some time with them to catch up before class tomorrow was lovely. How about your dinner?"
He smirked, "It was nice. They mostly wanted to know about you." He answered.
The witch raised her brow, "Oh yeah? Well, I'd be lying if I said that my friends didn't ask several questions about you."
Draco chuckled and glanced around them before they entered the Library and locked the doors behind them.
"And you told them that I'm bloody bastard whom you only stay with due to my irresistibly good looks, correct?" He asked sarcastically with a small smile.
Laughing, the brunette said, "No. I chose to stick with the truth instead. I told them that I'm in love with you…hopelessly so."
He turned and met her eyes with a smile, "I am hopelessly in love with you as well, Hermione." He whispered before leaning over and kissing her lips softly.
When they arrived at the portrait of the knight, Draco spoke the password "Perpaucus" to the knight, who immediately allowed them entrance.
As they entered the door to the flat, Draco noticed Hermione nervously chewing her bottom lip and furrowed his brow.
"What is it?" He asked as he took his coat off.
"Hmmm?" She hummed distractedly as she slipped off her coat.
"Darling…" he said, making sure that he had her attention, "What is it that's on your mind?"
"Well…" She sighed walking over to the kitchen with an exhale. "I've been thinking about Theo's idea…the one of us starting a rumor about us getting married…" She said as she began filling the kettle with fresh water.
Draco nodded, choosing to remain silent for the moment.
Hermione licked her lips and put the kettle on before turning to face him. "I think it's just asking for trouble, Draco."
He nodded, before stepping closer to her, "I would never let anything happen to you." He said with such sincerity that her heart ached.
"Draco, Darling…" she sighed, cupping his cheek, "it's not me that I'm worried about."
He shook his head, "Everything will be just fine, but if you think we shouldn't go through with that plan, then we won't."
She bit her bottom lip anxiously.
Leaning in, Draco kissed her softly. As he pulled back, he said, "Stop biting your lip so much. I know you're worried, but we'll figure everything out. Lucius won't touch us. The Greengrass sisters won't either." He said. "Let's have our cuppas while we get our things ready for tomorrow, then we can go to bed. I'm ready to lay down and hold you close."
She nodded and smiled.
As they worked on getting their school things ready for the first day of their semester, Hermione bit her bottom lip, unable to simply not worry.
Monday, January 4, 1999 (First Day Back to Class)
As the morning sun shown across the horizon, Draco woke up. For a few minutes, he remained still, simply listening to the steady peaceful sounds of Hermione's breathing. When he finally got out of bed, the wizard went straight to the ensuite and took a quick shower. As he began to get dressed, he heard Hermione's alarm go off.
The brunette slowly sat up in bed and stretched, making him smile at her beauty.
"Good morning, Love." He said happily.
She smiled, "Good morning."
The witch got out of bed and walked over to him. She kissed him on the lips before going to the ensuite to take a shower.
While Hermione was getting ready for the day, Draco went into the Lounge and sat down on the sofa. He grabbed the previous day's Daily Prophet and began to read the headlines.
A short time later, the brunette exited the bedroom and asked, "How did you sleep last night?"
"I slept fine." the wizard replied, as he stood up and grabbed his school satchel before turning to face her.
Together, the couple headed out of the flat and then out of the Library. On their way through the corridors, with an Auror not far behind them, they both noticed that several students were continuously staring at them.
Upon arriving in The Great Hall, Hermione almost asked to with Draco but instead she simply kissed him and walked over to the Gryffindor table.
Draco joined his own friends at the Slytherin table. As he sat down, he noticed Daphne Greengrass smirking in his direction which caused him to narrow his eyes in complete distrust.
"Any of you know what's going on?" He asked his friends.
They all shook their heads as a dark-haired Slytherin boy discreetly handed Adrian a note before walking away.
Adrian unfolded the note, his hazel widening in utter shock. "Oh shite!"
Draco reached over and grabbed the note.
The Mudblood is pregnant with the Malfoy Hier
Draco immediately looked over at Hermione who was laughing at something Ginny had said. Evidently, Hermione had no idea about the rumor. Draco turned his head in the direction of the Headmistress, and it was clear that she was aware, as she was speaking quietly with two Aurors.
The two Aurors split into two directions, rushing to both the Slytherin table and the Gryffindor table. Within seconds all eight friends were brought out to the Entrance Hall to speak with the Headmistress.
"Listen closely, all of you. You will be taken to your dormitories to gather all of your personal belongings." The Headmistress said. "Be sure to gather everything. After that, you will be brought to a corridor to wait for me."
Most of the group departed to do as they were told.
Meanwhile, Hermione, Draco, and McGonagall made their way toward the Library
"What's going on?" Hermione asked, looking between her boyfriend and the Headmistress.
Draco passed her the note.
She unfolded it and read the words, before sighing and asking, "Do you think the Greengrass sisters did this?"
"I have no doubt that they did." The wizard responded as they entered the flat with the Headmistress.
"Why are you so certain it was the Greengrass sisters?" McGonagall asked him. "With everything going on, it could be any number of people."
"Well, with me ending my engagement to Astoria, and the look that Daphne gave me this morning…I know it was them. It had to be."
McGonagall nodded. "Okay. Well, for this week, Tinky will bring all of the schoolwork that any of you, including your friends, will need. None, and I mean none of you are to leave here without my explicit permission." She said. "I'll be sure to tell all of them the same thing once I show them how to enter the flat."
"Wait!" Hermione said loudly as McGonagall turned to leave.
The Headmistress stopped and turned back, tilting her head, "Yes?"
"What's going on?" Hermione asked. "I mean, I understand that there is a certain level of danger, but unless that level has significantly heightened, then I do not understand why we are suddenly being put on…on house arrest."
McGonagall sighed and looked at Draco and Hermione before saying, "Lucius and his group have been spotted near Hogsmeade twice within the past few days. The Aurors are departing tonight to 'hunt' him down. They believe he's living in the Forbidden Forest."
"Blooding fucking hell." Draco mumbled, shaking his head as he clenched his jaw.
The Headmistress huffed and muttered, "You can certainly say that again." She said as she left the flat to get the others who were waiting in a nearby corridor.
