Hermione walked back to her common room, lost in thought. She was shocked that McLaggen's uncle had been working with the death eaters the whole time. And disturbed by the reasons he gave for attempting to rape her. She didn't know him at all. She thought she was a generally decent judge of character. But that was the type of behavior she would have expected from... well, Malfoy, to be honest. Before she'd gotten to know him.
She still thought Malfoy was only ever invested in his own interests. But he'd shown her he wasn't truly evil. And she never could have predicted that type of scheming from a fellow gryffindor. She was ashamed to admit to herself the prejudices she still held.
She wanted to find Ron. She felt she should share the new information with him first, alone, hopefully. She checked her watch. He and Harry had a free period right now and she had half an hour until they were all due in Transfiguration together. If she could find him, that might be enough time.
She wandered all over the castle in search of him. But never did find him. She ended up waiting outside the Transfiguration classroom trying to catch him. Malfoy arrived first. She grabbed his upper arm to stop him from walking past. He smirked down at her.
"Please don't say anything. I haven't been able to tell Ron or Harry anything yet. Let's just keep the silence going, ok?" She begged him in a whisper.
"Calm down, Granger. Try being less dramatic for once, yeah?" He smirked at her. Then he trailed his palm across her waist and stomach and winked, continuing into the classroom. She slapped his hand away but not before Ron and Harry saw as they rounded the corner. Malfoy must have known they were right behind him.
Ron's face contorted in disgust and anger, he would not make eye contact with her. She walked quickly to meet him before he could enter the room and ignore her. She stood directly in his path, hands up to stop him. "Wait, please, Ron I was waiting for you." He stopped but wouldn't look at her. Harry stopped and looked worried between them.
"The aurors came with the interrogation report. That's where Malfoy and I just were. I've been looking for you both." She looked to Harry. "To tell you what they found out." A bell chimed throughout the castle to indicate the hour. She whipped her head to the classroom door, the professor was walking toward it, to shut it and begin class.
Ron dropped his head, finally meeting her eye. "Fine. We can talk after class." He agreed. The three of them rushed inside.
The only open seats were two at the back of the room and one across the aisle next to Malfoy. Hermione froze, grinding her teeth. She knows he did it on purpose. Weeks of avoiding him now dissolving before her. He usually sat with Blaise Zabini in this class. She's been sitting by Luna the past few weeks. She looked wildly around, Blaise was leaning forward, looking intensely interested in whatever it was Luna was talking about. He shot a wink over at Hermione whose eyes widened in fury.
Ron scoffed and sat down at the empty table. He and Harry usually shared a desk in this class. She turned to look at Harry as the professor began class, writing on the chalk board. But Harry was already setting his things down next to Malfoy. He nodded back at her and she sighed in relief. She set her things down next to Ron and sat carefully. Malfoy didn't look at all perturbed by his new desk mate. His smirk only widened. She wondered what he thought he'd won this time.
Class was excruciatingly slow. Ron was careful not to touch her ever. She heard next to nothing that was said. She absently copied down whatever was written on the blackboard, trying not to tap her foot in impatience. Ron hated that back when he'd liked her. She didn't want to make him annoyed.
The lecture ended and they had a few minutes to practice what had been taught before the end of class. The room filled with the sounds of chairs moving and incantations being repeated. Hermione had to check her notes again to remember which spell they were practicing.
"Excellent work, Mr Malfoy. Excellent. Very impressive. You as well Mr Potter. Very good work." The professor gushed over their table before continuing to walk through the classroom, observing each pair.
Ron attempted the spell but nothing much happened. He grumbled. "Not going to tell me what I'm doing wrong?" He asked her, annoyed.
"I... wasn't paying attention actually. Sorry." She said. Really she wasn't. She had no idea what they were supposed to be working on. She chewed her lip.
Ron snorted "yeah right." He rolled his eyes, turning back to the assignment. After two more tries he managed to transfigure his item. Hermione only was able to do hers by watching him and copying it. They only received a "good" from the professor before he'd moved on.
She packed up her things and shouldered her bag. Harry joined them as other students began filing out of the classroom. She shot him a grateful look, "thanks." She nodded toward Malfoy.
Harry shrugged "I can go find Ginny. You can tell us later." He offered, looking between her and Ron.
She started to nod but Ron spoke up, "No. I mean, you might as well just tell the both of us now. You can tell Ginny later." He shared a look with Harry that wasn't meant for her but she saw it anyways. He didn't want to be left alone with her.
"Ron, Malfoy was just being an arse. I haven't talked to him at all until today. I swear." She tried. But Ron ignored her and left the room.
She and Harry followed as he walked to a more discreet location so she could talk freely. "I'm telling the truth, Ron." She grabbed his arm to get him to stop and look at her.
He stopped but he didn't rip his arm away like she thought he might. He looked down the corridor and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just tell us what Mclaggen's reason was. I don't care what you do or don't do with Malfoy."
She let go of him quickly. Her heart hurt for him. She turned to Harry who gave her a sympathetic look. She cast muffliato since it didn't seem like they would spend any more time finding a secluded spot. And she briefly explained what she'd understood from the report.
Ron looked at her as she finished. It seemed to say 'this is it?' She could tell it wouldn't fix anything between them. She dropped her gaze to the floor, feeling the last of her hope slip away.
Harry broke the silence. "McLaggen, that piece of shit. He'd better rot in Azkaban for a good long while." He shook his head in disgust.
"Are you going to the trial?" Ron finally spoke.
Hermione shot him a guilty look, "yes, I..." she looked back down and shuffled her feet, then shook her head to herself. He would find out eventually. And it would piss him off no matter what. "I'm meeting with Malfoy's solicitor. To discuss our options." She watched Ron snort, unsurprised, and nod.
"Sounds like you're in good hands then." He turned and began walking away.
"Ron." She tried. But he didn't stop and he didn't turn. She didn't call after him again.
Harry looked apologetically at her but she gestured toward Ron. "Go on. It's fine. I didn't expect anything different." She shook her head minutely.
"I can come with you, to the trial. If you want." He offered.
She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Harry. I'll let you know." She nodded in the direction Ron took off to get Harry to go after him. Then she walked the opposite way.
She didn't expect Ron to forgive and forget any time soon. She knows she hurt him badly. But his unwillingness to even talk to her still was disheartening. She hoped he might offer to go to the trial with her. Maybe he would have, if she wasn't working with Malfoy and his solicitor.
She thought back through all the times Malfoy had gotten his way. He'd gotten Buckbeak sentenced to death, he'd gotten Dumbledore kicked out of the school, he'd gotten Hagrid sent to Azkaban. All of them had been innocent. All of them had been defended by the school's solicitors. Using Malfoy's solicitor this time was just a wise choice. She couldn't apologize for it. And she still understood why Ron would be mad about it.
She growled in frustration and clenched her fists as she walked. She would absolutely be taking it all out on McLaggen. He started all of this. She would make sure he'd suffer for it.
Draco checked his watch, Granger would be finished in the library for the night soon, and she would be coming this way to the greenhouse to water their assignment before bed. Mcgonagall had let him floo call his solicitor and discuss the upcoming trial. Destroying McLaggen would be a piece of cake. They wouldn't even have to speak at the trial. But he couldn't wait to watch that piece of shit go to prison while Draco walked free, ideally with a comforting hand on Granger's low back and a gratifying smirk toward the pathetic gryffindor.
Granger had told the aurors that final day that McLaggen had said he should have forced her at that Christmas party. And then that he was planning on making her his sex slave with that potion. He wanted her, in a sick, perverted, dominating way. And Draco would get an insane amount of pleasure showing him just how badly his whole plan backfired.
Now he just had to get Granger to be comfortable around him again. They'd gotten to a playful, bantering type back and forth, before he'd fucked everything up with his need to prove himself to Weasley. That had been his biggest mistake. And he knew it. He could admit it to himself now. He'd destroyed her faith in him by sharing that secret in anger and spite. It had been immature and petty.
But Draco could learn and improve. And he could ultimately win. He'd taken the past few weeks and reflected. He still wanted her. He wasn't willing to admit defeat. He would come out of all of this on top. Pun intended.
The most gratifying effort he'd put into anything this year had been whenever she'd looked at him with that confusion and that longing. He'd made her start falling for him. And he'd learned that he actually enjoyed spending time with her. She was brilliant and challenging. And he missed talking to her.
He dreamed of her often. They ranged drastically. From erotic to horrifying. From her breathy moans to her tortured screams. Every memory he had with her, good and bad, haunted his mind. And despite it all, he wanted more.
He heard her footsteps and plastered on his lazy smirk as she descended the staircase to the entrance hall. She froze and scoffed when she saw him waiting for her. She rolled her eyes. His cock twitched.
She continued down the steps, intending to ignore him. He grinned "fancy seeing you here, Granger." He turned and walked with her out of the castle.
"Skip the act. What do you want?" She picked up her pace as they walked out in the cold early winter night.
You. He thought. He pulled open the door to the greenhouse for her and she curled her lip in annoyance, stepping through quickly.
"I just thought you might like some help with our assignment. It is very taxing. I wouldn't want to freeload on all your hard work." He teased.
The greenhouse was not empty, quite a few other students were there doing the same as they were. Granger rolled her eyes again at him as she stomped over to their pot full of dirt. She filled a watering can with her wand, staring at Draco in a completely unamused way the entire time. She pocketed her wand and lifted the can in an exaggerated way and tipped it dramatically over their pot, filling it with water. Then she slammed the watering can down on the table and spread her hands out in a "ta da" motion. Draco grinned at her theatrics.
She looked uncomfortable at his amusement and turned quickly to leave the greenhouse. He followed close behind. When they were out of earshot of any others he said "I just thought you might like to know I discussed things with my solicitor this afternoon." She finally stopped walking. It was dark and cold outside. The only lights came from the castle windows. Their breath floated around them in condensed clouds. She looked up at him expectantly. He wanted to kiss her.
"He will come meet with us both tomorrow to make sure we're all on the same page. But it should be very straightforward. He doesn't anticipate any issues or the need for us to take the stand at all." He looked down at her mouth as he talked. She swallowed and licked her lips before turning away, continuing the walk up to the castle.
"Alright. Thank you." She crossed her arms and shivered in the cold. "What time and where are we to meet?"
"Seven in the Head's office." He hefted the large front door open for her to pass through. "I figured you'd want to get it over with and not interfere with any classes." He stepped in after her, cursing the big flowing robes that she wore, obscuring her backside.
He met her eyes as she turned to him, she had a surprised and appreciative look. "Yes, thank you. I would." She said. They were very close now. He gave a knowing half smirk as he looked at her mouth again. She cleared her throat and walked away. "See you in the morning, Malfoy."
"Sweet dreams, Granger." He winked as she spun her head to look at him suspiciously while she continued up the stairs away from him.
He turned and jogged down the stairs to the dungeons with a new pep in his step.
"Oh thank god! Draco! We NEED you!" Blaise came barreling down after him, throwing his arm around Draco's shoulders. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" He continued talking loud and theatrically.
"What's wrong with you?" Draco tried shrugging his friend off to no avail.
Blaise dropped his voice as they passed others in the hall "party planning fiasco. You're the ONLY one who can save it." They entered the common room, many younger students were spread around the room but none of their friends.
"Where is everyone?" Draco asked, looking around.
"This way. It's urgent." Blaise shoved him along toward the dorms while smiling and nodding at their fellow housemates. Draco knew it was all a show. Blaise wouldn't be this dramatic if something was actually wrong.
They entered their dorm where Pansy, Theo, Daphne and Greg all waited, huddled around a table full of papers and conversing quietly. "I found him!" Blaise announced unnecessarily.
Draco loosened his tie as he rolled his eyes and approached the table. "What?" He asked, unamused.
"Ok. So the party is this Friday night. We're going to need two days to recover. It's going to be THAT epic. I promise. So," Blaise shifts around some papers on the table and points down at one "main party, room of requirement, 10:00 Friday night. Secondary decoy party chaperoned by the professors, astronomy tower. Very classy, very elegant." Blaise pointed out some aesthetic pictures Pansy and Daphne had created.
Draco rolled his eyes again. Two of his favorite places. How lovely. "What do you want from me?" He urged Blaise to get to the point.
"I have a guy, in London. He's got a package for me for the party. I need someone who's going off campus to pick it up." Blaise begged.
Draco turned with a shake of his head, yanking off his tie. He tossed it on his desk and opened his wardrobe. Blaise followed. "Please! In begging. I'll give you anything you want. Daph will even blow you."
"I will NOT." Daphne shouted but she didn't turn away from the table of party planning materials. She was used to Blaise's antics.
"What's in the package?" Draco raised his brow at his friend as he pulled out his pajamas.
"Gummy bears." Blaise shrugged nonchalantly.
"What's in the gummy bears?" Draco asked.
"Marijuana." Blaise blinked and gave an identical shrug as the last one, as if marijuana were just as innocent as gummy bears.
Draco sighed deeply. Blaise's eyes lit up with promise. Draco shook his head. "I'll be at the ministry Friday."
"In London." Blaise nodded.
"With Granger. And my solicitor. And aurors. And the wizengamot." He emphasized the authority and severity of the people he would be around all day.
"What?!" Pansy turned to him sharply.
Draco groaned and looked angrily at Blaise who raised his hands in surrender.
"It's a long story and I'm sure it will be in the papers this weekend. Don't worry about it." Draco tried to wave her off.
She crossed her arms and scoffed in offense. The rest of their group were now uninterested in the party planning table and fully invested in hearing Draco's Friday plans.
"I can't talk about it until after the trial. You'll hear all about it soon enough." He said forcefully.
"Are you suing Granger?" Theo asked curiously.
Draco sat on his bed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. We're actually on the same side of it. I really cannot talk about it so don't ask again." He was sure it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he did talk about it. He simply didn't want to.
"So you'll do it?" Blaise went back to his own issue at hand.
"I don't know. I'm not about to spend a night in the ministry for your gummy bears. And I don't really see anything in it for me." Draco raised a brow.
"I'll sit next to Lovegood in Transfiguration for the rest of the year." Blaise tried.
Draco tilted his head, considering. Then he shrugged "eh" turning back to his wardrobe.
"I'll polyjuice as you and serve all your detentions for the rest of the year." He tried again. That was a little better. Draco looked intrigued.
Then he shrugged again "I don't really plan on getting many detentions though." Draco walked to the bathroom with Blaise in tow. They left the others behind.
"I'll keep all Weasley's and Potter's up at the decoy party." Blaise raised his brows, knowing he'd hit the right spot.
Draco considered his friend for a moment longer, a grin spread across his face, Blaise nodded. "Alright. Deal. But if I feel like I'll get caught I'm dropping the package and not going back for it." He warned. They shook on it.
"Don't worry. I'll have it all planned out. You won't have to lift a finger." Blaise promised.
Hermione swiped mascara across her lashes and smoothed back her high half-pony. She fluffed the curls out and secured her tie and collar. She brushed her teeth the muggle way and added a sheer pink gloss to her lips before walking down to the common room. She would be skipping breakfast to meet with Malfoy's solicitor before classes. Her stomach growled at the thought. But she was grateful to get it out of the way. At least Malfoy wasn't a procrastinator.
She bumped into Ron just outside the portrait hole. "Oh, sorry!" Hermione said before she even knew who she'd bumped into. Ron turned, looking down and giving her a once over. He turned back to Harry.
"We're just waiting for Ginny. Going to breakfast?" Harry spoke up.
"Ah..." she looked apologetically at Ron who did not look back at her. She exhaled, shaking her head. Fine. This was how it was now. "No, actually. Going to the headmistress's office, to meet with the solicitor."
Harry's eyes widened and he gave Ron a look. "Want us to go with?" He offered when Ron wouldn't respond.
"I'm sure Malfoy has it covered, right?" Ron sneered at the wall ahead.
Harry shook his head minutely in disappointment. Hermione turned without another word and left them.
She wanted to cry, but she didn't want to arrive at her meeting looking like a mess. She just wanted Ron to stop hating her.
She focused on breathing to curb her emotions as she walked to the Head's office. This was almost over. Meet with them today, watch McLaggen get hauled off to Azkaban on Friday. Move on with life.
She checked her watch as she rounded the corner of the headmaster's wing. Two minutes to seven. Good, she could go right up. She gave the password and the eagle began to spin upward to reveal the staircase.
"Morning." Malfoy said as he strolled up beside her, hands in his pockets. His school bag slung across his chest. He wasn't wearing his outer robes, just his grey sweater over his shirt and tie. His hair swept back and tousled as if by the wind, but she knew he spent a significant amount of time on it. His eyes twinkled as he looked down at her. "You look nice today, Granger." He smirked. "What do you do to your lashes? They look... bigger."
She realized she'd been staring at him. She hadn't meant to. She was tired, drained from her interaction with Ron, hungry. Her mind was frozen for a minute. She cleared her throat and ascended the steps without responding to him.
"I like your hair like that." He continued, following her up. She knocked on the door. She felt the overwhelming urge to cry again.
"Is... something wrong?" He asked when she didn't respond or react to him again.
She turned and looked at him then, her lips parted, she couldn't hide the sadness on her face, let him see it for just a moment. His eyes filled with concern, his hand touched her elbow.
They heard someone touch the door handle and he withdrew his hand just before Professor Mcgonagall opened the door. They entered her office and sat at a table she'd set up for them. The solicitor arrived only a moment later and they got started. The headmistress had a house elf bring a tea cart.
Hermione gratefully fixed herself a cup and listened to Malfoy and his solicitor discuss the case. She did a self assessment as she took a sip. She started off the morning normally, hopeful even. But then Ron had thrown her off with his indifference. He used to be there for her. She'd told him of every incident they were discussing here now. He'd investigated McLaggen on his own. He'd watched him with Malfoy. He'd been there to rescue her. And now he'd abandoned her.
And Malfoy, he'd been there for every encounter. He'd taken her to the mediwitch after the very first one. He'd been the one to give her an antidote to carry. He'd suspected McLaggen first. He'd saved her from him twice. He'd held her in his arms on his broomstick as she watched him come out of the potion. His face had changed, but the desire hadn't gone away. And he'd squeezed her tighter.
Then he'd told Ron he could have her back when he was done with her. And he'd told Ron about their private moments together out of spite. And now he was flirting with her. And taking over the prosecution for her. And considering her schedule. And asking her what's wrong.
This was too much for her to process. She couldn't make sense of any of what Malfoy was doing. And she was emotionally exhausted from the entire ordeal.
"Does that sound reasonable to you, Miss Granger?" The solicitor asked her as he wrote on the parchment in front of him.
She set her tea cup down "I'm so sorry, could you repeat that, please?"
"We will be demanding ten years and a hundred thousand galleons for each of you. Are you in agreement?" He asked again.
She looked with wide eyes at Malfoy who nodded back at her. "That's... does that sound like a lot?" She turned toward the headmistress who sat nearby, listening to the entire exchange.
Professor Mcgonagall shrugged in sympathy. Malfoy spoke up and Hermione looked back at him "he poisoned you, multiple times, took photos of you, blackmailed you, attempted to rape you, and would have absolutely followed through had I not arrived in time. He admitted all of this under veritaserum as well as his plans to continually dose and abuse you had he not gotten caught. No, Granger. I don't think ten years and a hundred grand is a lot."
She swallowed and nodded, listening to him put it so bluntly reminded her of the severity of the entire ordeal. "Ok. Yes I agree." She said for the solicitor.
"The aurors are expecting six years. We may not get the full ten or the full two hundred thousand, but demanding it will aid in conveying our seriousness." The solicitor continued. He finished making his notes and handed them over to Malfoy to look over. Hermione finished her tea.
"Very good." The solicitor said as Malfoy handed him back the paperwork and they both stood. Hermione followed suit.
"I will meet you both at the ministry at nine o'clock on Friday." He shook their hands and Mcgonagall accompanied him to her fireplace.
Hermione made eye contact with Malfoy as she picked up her bag. He was watching her closely. Mcgonagall joined them again "I can accompany you to the ministry if you'd like. However, since you are both of age and using your own solicitor and the school is not involved in the case, you are permitted to decline my assistance." She offered to Hermione specifically.
"I think it would infantilize the case, to have a school headmaster there. For the press and for the defense." Malfoy spoke up casually. He gestured toward Hermione "but it's your choice."
She considered Malfoy's opinion. "I'll let you know, Professor. We'll go to the ministry through here I presume?" Hermione gestured toward the fireplace.
"Yes." Mcgonagall confirmed. She walked them to her door "for what it's worth, I do not think that ten years and a hundred thousand galleons each is too steep a price to pay for the crimes he committed and planned to continue committing." The old transfiguration professor gave her arm an affectionate squeeze as they exited her office.
Hermione nodded, "thank you, headmistress. We appreciate your time with this."
As they stepped off the spiral staircase into the corridor, Malfoy took her hand gently, turning her to face him. "What's wrong?" He repeated his question from before. Hermione felt that emotion well up inside her again and she shook her head.
"Nothing. It's just..." she pulled her hand away from his and stepped away. "It's just a lot... I'll..." she turned and started walking, calling back over her shoulder "I'll see you in class." She walked quickly until she rounded the corner and couldn't see him anymore, then she ran back up to her dorm to cry it out.
She just needed to release it all, before the day. It was too much. She was feeling too many conflicting things and she didn't have her usual go to person anymore and the one who was there offering it, was someone she had spent years learning not to trust.
She hugged her pillow and sobbed, checking her watch. She'd give herself a ten minute breakdown before she had to collect herself and go to class.