Chapter 1: Daylight
Notes:
Before starting the first chapter I just want to inform you that some topic and details could be triggering so, please read the tags before reading. I will continue to update them as needed but I will update in the notes if major trigger warning get added.
This fic will most likely include a lot a discussion about past trauma and healing from the trauma along with some traumatic events happening within the chapters. I will do my best to put specific TW for particular chapters in the end notes.
I also do not have ownership for the creation of the characters / the wizarding world in this fic. I have added a few background characters within the fic.
TW in end notes
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter One : Daylight
Hermione found herself sitting alone in the Hogwarts train compartment. Following the war, the ministry of magic gave many students in her year two options, return to Hogwarts for another year to continue their education or go right into a job upon getting any needed test scores for the job requirement. Unfortunately for Hermione she didn’t have much of an option due to the healer she was forced to see. She had decided that due to the events and trauma Hermione experienced over the last year that it would be best for her to return to hogwarts. The healer thought that continuing her education could allow her to “feel normal.”
Hermione was writing in her journal on the train about how angry she was about the situation, becoming more angry as groups of friends passed her compartment while gossiping about how she was the only member of the golden trio to be continuing their education.
Harry had started training to become an auror while Ron helped George run the joke shop. While she was left with a tortuous routine of weekly journaling, full class schedule, daily healing potions, not to mention while her arm burned with infection and regular night and day mares
~~~
Draco shifts uncomfortably, watching as one of the students in his years pass their small group. He used his body to hide his probation required journal as he writes in it for one of his weekly journaling assignments.
His eyes shot up when Theo frustratedly slammed his journal shut. “What was your entry question today?”
“Write about the last time you wanted to hurt someone else and how you wanted to do it”
“Mine is , write about one of the big changes to your life since starting this new journey.”
“Are you looking forward to this school year?” Draco shrugs as he slides his journal into his jacket pocket.
“Do you know who all are returning and who started working?” Blaise speaks up for the first time in a while but doesn’t look up from the book in his hand
Pansy as you know is in France working
The Patil twins are not returning
Neville longbottom is returning I believe
Potter is in auror training
Weasley is helping his brother run the joke shop but his sister did return to complete her final year
Daphne should be somewhere on this train along with Astoria
Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas aren't returning at the moment but I think I heard they will be here in a few weeks .
Luna as I’m sure you can guess did return.
Ernie, Zacharias, Justin, Hannah and Susan from hufflepuff all are returning
I'm pretty sure Tracy is also here with Daphne.
I don’t remember anyone else in particular”
“Granger?”
Draco watches as Blaise shifts in his seat as if he was uncomfortable.
There’s been little talk of her since our trials. I don’t see her returning without the rest of the golden trio but with the Weaslette returning and Granger being a swot it’s possible she had returned.
~~~
Hermione’s eyes shot up from her journal seeing as Ginny warily popped her head into the compartment. “We will be approaching our stop soon, are you sure you don’t wish for company. “
“Thank you Ginny but not at this moment “
After the train comes to a stop, Hermione finds herself slowly making her way towards the school hoping to be away from as many people as possible. She feels her body immediately tense when she hears someone quickly approaching her but calms when she sees that it was Luna skipping to her side.
They approach the castle with Luna making most of the conversation until Hermione notices a feeling that makes her feel the need to look around. When she glances back she catches the presents of a few Slytherins, in particular Draco Malfoy. Her eyes shot wide before whipping her face back forwards as she tugs her robe tighter on her body and began to pick up her speed while walking
~~~
Blaise and Theo notice as Draco sucks in a quick breath.
“What is it?” theo asked concerned
Draco doesn’t answer which leads Theo to become aware of Hermione in front of them.
“Do you find it odd that she returned but Potter and Weasley did not.” Blaise questioned, causing Draco to shift awkwardly on his feet. “Not that… she looked terrified when she saw me.”
“She tensed when Luna approached but I overheard when she was getting off the train that she was by herself the whole time, she wouldn’t let the Weaslette sit with her.”
“If I was to guess she was probably required to return under similar conditions as us.” Blaise supplied to the conversation
“I agree, just like you, as soon as the war ended, the trauma probably slapped her in the face. Not to mention you are probably paired with her trauma because the snatchers brought her to your manor.”
“The snatchers brought her there.” Blaise looks at them with shock and horror
“Yes, why” draco questioned wondering what was being implied
“Snatchers are nasty, you saw first hand what they were doing with the female hostages.”
Within seconds the words caught up with Draco causing him to retch
“Hello Blaise. Hello Theodore, Draco, would you like some water?” luna questions
Draco looks up seeing Luna holding a cup of water out to him with a small smile. He mumbles a thank you as he takes the cup and Luna turns, casting a spell to vanish the vomit. Luna follows the boy's gaze over her shoulder towards Hermione who shifts back and forth on her feet.
“Odd isn’t it but I supposed most of us are now these days….anyways it was nice to see you guys, I suppose I should get going. Good bye Blaise. Goodbye Theodore. Goodbye Draco.” Luna states prior to skipping back in hermione's direction
~~~
Luna and Hermione enter the great hall and they are instructed to sit wherever they would like while the rest of the first years get placed.
After all the students were seated the headmistress made her announcement for the school year which included that the 8th years that did return would not be returning to their dormitories. Headmistress McGonagall informed them that they were placed in a new tower that had a few floors with 2 girls and 3 boys on each floor. Hermione jumps when an envelope is dropped in front of her and Luna. She looks around seeing that everyone in her year has also had one dropped in front of them. She opens it to discover that she was placed on the bottom floor which would most likely be underground.
“Oh, I was also placed there. It seems to be that we are roommates.” Luna says while smiling to hermione
“You aren't in our year though?” she questions
“Yes, it seems that the healers think I would be a good person to be placed with you to be a middle person between the boys placed with us. No one in your year returned for the ravenclaw house. It appears that the boys in each house were placed with girls from a different house.”
“No gryffindor girls returned other than me so you were placed with me since you would be a good middle person?”
“Yes, Ginny has friends in her year and the last few years I talked mostly to your friend group. They also thought Ginny might be more..problematic then I would be with the boys.”
Headmistress also tells the 8th year that they are no longer classified as a specific house leading their uniforms to be grey but they are allowed to sit with whatever house as they please. Announcements then concluded allowing for the students to eat.
As hermione was eating she tenses when she feels someone come up behind her
“May I sit here for a few minutes. “
Hermione doesn’t answer or look at who asked but she moves as close to Luna allowing a large space between her and ginny.
“I just wanted to introduce myself in hopes of being friendly so I am Theo” Theo holds his hand out to ginny, Blaire and Neville as they are introduced
“I’m Ginny, this is Blaire and Neville , I believe you know Luna and then this is Hermione.” “Blaire’s brother Miles, ravenclaw i believe was in your year.”
“It is nice to meet you Theo”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you all. I look forward to talking and getting to know you more but I will let you get back to your conversation.” Ginny watches in confusion as Theo returns to his spot next to Draco and In front of Blaise.
“Do you think that was genuine?” Ginny queried
“Theo, trying to be friends. Yes, he’s actually a nice person. Blaise and Draco are also but they are most likely more hesitant to make any moves in terms of becoming friends.” luna answers
Hermione's breath hinges and she starts to cough at the sound of something falling a foot behind her. She shakily stands as she glances around before mumbling “bathroom” between coughs before she speed walks out of the great hall.
~~~
Theo noticed that Draco tensed at the sound of something hitting the ground but Draco immediately calmed as he realized it wasn’t a noise of danger. The two boys quickly become aware of a figure speed walking from the great hall to the hallway. Before Draco could catch who it was, Theo was going after the person.
Theo watches as Hermione breaks off into a run as soon as she leaves the view of the great hall. He carefully but briskly follows, watching her cut off into one of the empty classrooms. He slowly opens the door, seeing her sitting against a wall with her head in her hands. Theo lightly knocks on the door to alert her she isn’t alone which puts her into action to jump up and point her wand at him. “What do you want?”
Theo puts his hands up to show he doesn’t have anything then slowly moves his hands to his robe to undo and drop them on the floor to show he wasn’t here to be threatening.
“Why are you here?”
“I don’t want anything and I’m here to keep you company.”
“I don’t want company” hermione snaps
“I know but you shouldn’t be alone so where do you wish I be”
“What?” hermione looks to him in confusion
“I am staying in this room with you to keep you company. We don’t have to talk or anything. So where do you feel the most comfortable with me in the room?”
Hermione slowly glances around not taking her wand away from him. She motions to a chair on the other side of the table closest to her so that there will be at least two chair spaces between them.
“I don’t have a working wand. I am only allowed it at certain times.” theo informs her
She nods in acknowledgment so he grabs a cloth from his shirt pocket and slowly approaches the chair she motioned to. He leans without stepping near her to place the cloth on the chair closest to her then takes a seat. She slides her back down the wall once again to sit on the floor and he plays with the rings on his fingers while they sit in silence. Theo quickly glances at her when he hears her burst into tears but doesn’t say anything unless she implies she wants to talk.
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry” she mumbles repeatedly
“Can I ask what you're sorry for?” theo softly asks
“This”
She motions around the room but doesn’t look at him.
“I don’t believe you have anything to be sorry for. You are human and your allowed to feel and react to things”
She nods while trying to take a deep breath to calm herself
“May I ask you a question?” theo softly asks
He watches as she tenses and looks at him with fear
“It’s an easy question that is not invasive.”
“What is it?” she asked cautiously
“What do you prefer to be called”
She flinched as if she was hit with a memory so Theo cautiously lowers to the floor so that he was sat on the floor to be able to connect with her more.
“I don’t want to call you something that will provoke unwanted thoughts or anything that will make you uncomfortable. I have a habit of referring to people with terms that I think may cause you panic.”
“Hermione or granger is fine but hermione is more personal and friendly”
“Okay, thank you” he gives her a smile to show he appreciated her answer
The room returns to silence until she decides to speak up.
“Why are you doing this?” she questioned with worry
“Doing what exactly?”
“Trying to be my friend.”
“I think you are back at Hogwarts for a similar reason as my friends and I. I also believe that we have enough in common that becoming your friend can help you.” theo states with as much honesty as he can
“What do you get out of being friends with me”
“Knowing that I can be friends with someone, that I’m not a horrible person my mind tells me I am. You gave so many of us a second chance and I believe you should be a part of our second chance because I think it will help you.”
“Can I tell you something Theo” hermione asked with some hesitation
“You can say whatever you please”
“I also can’t use my wand.” she says sadly
“That’s okay. You will regain the privilege whenever you are meant to. I won’t tell anyone because you deserve to feel safe and I can tell that others thinking you do have that privilege helps you feel safe.”
Hermione stands on slightly shaky legs as she steps towards him. She motions for him to stand and after some deciding she reaches her hand towards him. Theo examines the hand and her face for a few seconds before slowly connecting them in a handshake.
“It is nice to meet you Theo”
“It is also nice to meet you hermione.”
“Shall we return to the great hall?”
“Sure”
They walk side by side back to the great hall. He turns to her at the entrance. “I will gladly be your company or a listening ear whenever you would like.”
She gives him a nod of appreciation then walks back to where she was sitting. He approaches his seat but before he can rejoin his friends he notices the headmistress's attention on him.
“Mr. Nott”
“Headmistress”
“May I speak with you in the hall”
“Of course, after you.”
They stop in the hallway and he watches as the headmistress observes him before she connects their eyes.
“Were you with Miss. Granger when you were both absent from the great hall”
“That would be correct.” theo answers in joking confidence
“Is Miss. granger okay now?”
“I believe she is feeling better.”
“That is good to hear. Can I voice my concern?”
“Yes”
“As you may know Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini had been placed into the same room as you. I did not arrange these placements, the healers did based off of everyone’s sessions with them. As you may also know your floor will also have 2 female students.”
“Okay?” Theo asked with confusion
“Miss. Granger and Miss. Lovegood is the two female students placed on your floor. I am concerned there will be an issue between Miss. Granger and Mr. Malfoy. The healers have assured me that they don’t believe there will be an issue on Mr. Malfoy's side and my concerns don’t appear due to him.”
“Are you concerned she won’t be able to be in the same space as him?” he asked trying to put the pieces together
“Yes, they agreed to move her if she wishes after giving the situation a chance. I would like to ask you to inform me of anything if it appears she is going to put herself or any of you into danger due to this arrangement.”
“How long is this “giving the situation a chance””
“A week”
“Yes I will do that.”
“Do you have any concerns”
“Not at this moment.”
“Okay then that includes what I wanted to discuss.”
Theo returns to his seat and Draco raises his brow at him in question.
“We will discuss it tonight” theo supplies before anyone could ask
“Okay” draco answers with tone of defense, confusion and concern
“Draco?” Draco raises his brow at theo once again
“You better be on your best behavior, remember the last few months” Draco observes Theo for a few seconds before nodding and agreeing
Their attention is brought to Blaise when he randomly speaks.
“Why do you think she did it” blaise questions
“She knew we had better in us. Wanted us to have a second chance.”
“I understand that for most of us but malfoy” he asks with suspicion
“Yeah I agree. All I did was bully her and her friends and she goes into trial and keeps me out of death or Azkaban.” draco cuts in
“Do you know what her statement was? Do you know what she said to get you that second chance?” theo asks looking at draco
“No, I don’t remember what she said. Everything from then is hazy” draco confesses, running his hand along the back of his neck
“Read it then, hold onto her statement for as long as you need to.”
Notes:
TW: Mention of retching along with implications of sexual assault.
Panic Attacks (may not always be included as it is likely to occur often)2932 Words in this chapter
At this moment I am unsure of any type of an update schedule, but I do have multiple chapters wrote out that will be edited before publishing. I hope everyone enjoys the story to follow. Comments, questions and kudos are appreciated. I also have nearly 90 notes of details I plan to include within the fic so if you have any predictions or suggestions, I would love to hear them.
Spotify link to a playlist of songs I feel go along with the feeling within this fic
~ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1et7ZGAFFscJlp1fZ35m0E?si=Dy4OIwkGR2-wx9ZgYCBGoA&pi=u-SlQfj-1hTheePinterest link to my inspiration / reference board
~https://pin.it/MYKOHrT8WI wish you all well
~ LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 2: Suffocate
Chapter Text
Chapter Two : Suffocate
Luna and Hermione enter their floor of the eighth-year tower, discovering they are the first ones into the room. They enter their dormitory to unpack their things.
“Do you think it is possible for us to change the color of our bedding, blue seems rather better than grey.”
“Oh, yes" Hermione casts a charm to change Luna's grey bedding to lapis blue while Her's to emerald, green.
“It appears that we will be the two girls on this floor. Though I do wonder who the boys will be” luna wonders aloud
“I don’t know, they should be here any moment, but I haven’t heard of anyone in particular also on this floor.”
After a few minutes they hear three sets of feet entering the room.
“Shall we go meet them” luna turns towards Hermione with a wide smile.
“Sure, I guess”
They exit their dormitory to find three bodies disappearing into the dormitory on the other side of the common room. Hermione slowly follows behind Luna when she stops at the doorway of the boy's sleeping quarter.
“Excellent to see you again, I hope all is well Theo, Blaise, Draco.”
Hermione's breath hinges whenever she hears their names but before she could return to the dormitory, she hears someone call her name causing her to freeze.
“Theo what is going on?” Draco asks unsure.
“We will talk about it in a minute” Theo answered as he stepped out of the dormitory “okay?”
“You knew” Draco asks with confusion.
“Yes”
Draco, Luna, and Blaise watch as Theo carefully approaches Hermione.
“It’s Theo behind you, I'm a few feet away. Can we talk in the hallway.”
Hermione nods and Theo comes into view so she can now see him.
“Wherever you wish to talk.” he states softly.
He approaches the door holding it open for her to exit first. They walk a few feet from the tower and sit in one of the windows.
“Would you like me to explain to you what I know?” Theo asked gently.
“Yes please” she replied breathlessly.
“I talked to headmistress, and she said that the healers made these placements and that they’re making you stay in this living arrangement for a least a week to give the “situation a chance.”
“Of course they did, I swear they hate me” she states with annoyance.
“Do you have any concerns.”
“Why did she talk to you and not me?”
“She saw us come back to the great hall together. “
“Did she seem concerned about the house placements” Hermione questions.
“I’m pretty sure she tried to change it so Draco and you weren’t placed in the same floor, but she’s concerned about how you will handle it “
“And Malfoy?” Hermione questions with uncertainty
“Neither she nor I think he will be an issue for you, I plan to talk to him whenever we get back. He is on strict limits because of his probation.” Theo states in a tone meant to be comforting.
“How about Blaise Zabini?”
“What exactly are you asking about?” he questions with slight concern.
“Do I need to worry about him?”
“I don’t think so, is there a past between him and you that is causing you to worry?”
“No, I don’t know much about him. I guess that’s why I’m asking because I know very little about him.” her voice wavers as she explains.
“In all honesty, I don’t think you will really notice him. He will most likely stay to himself and won’t interact with you other than like saying morning to you and such.”
Hermione nods in acknowledgment
“I know this means nothing because you don’t trust us but they’re not going to do anything to you. They know about things that happened during the war and they don’t want to cause you any problems so they will probably leave you alone unless you start the conversation.” Hermione with eyes full of defense and denial shot to Theo.
“No. One. Did anything to me” Hermione snaps through gritted teeth.
Theo raises his hands in defense “Okay, I’m not applying to anything but just so you know, something someone else did to you is not your fault and you have no reason to be ashamed of it.”
They sit in silence for a moment until Theo speaks up “I don’t have anything else to say but I sense that you do.”
“I’m conflicted”
“What is it making you conflicted” Theo questions carefully.
“Nothing…never mind, can we go back” Hermione declares with worry.
“Yes, after you. If you decide it isn’t nothing you can talk to me”
“I appreciate it.” Hermione smiles towards Theo
When they return to the common room, they find that the boys must be setting up their dormitory while Luna makes small talk from the doorway.
“Hello Theo, Hello Hermione.” Luna welcomes them when she sees them re-enter the common room.
“Um, I think I’m going to go to the library for a little while.”
Hermione turns and leaves before anyone could say anything. Luna turns out of the doorway to allow Theo in.
“It appears that since it is just the five of us that we all share a Washroom.” Luna explains.
“That is going to be interesting.” Theo mumbles.
I am going to shower so Draco and you can talk in here. Will you need to talk to me also? Blaise questions from the doorway.
“Not necessarily”
Blaise goes to the Washroom to shower while Luna makes some tea and explores the common room. Theo motions to Draco’s bed while sitting down on his own. After Theo explains the situation to Draco, they decide to join Luna in the common room. Blaise joins them not long after so the four of them drink the tea while discussing classes and the upcoming school year.
After about an hour Theo and Draco get changed for bed before returning to the common room to continue with their conversation.
“Draco do you like to read?” luna questions.
“Yes, he spent most of his time in the Slytherin common room reading. Speaking of reading, I'll be right back.” Theo states before rushing out of the common room and returning a few minutes later with a stack of parchment.
“I have those trial reports, you might want to read over them over the next few days.” “Thank you, Theo.,” Draco takes them to begin reading over them. Blaise not soon later heads to bed while Theo and Luna start a conversation about magical creatures she knows about.
“Do you happen to know when she will be back?”
“I’m not sure. She didn't say but the library closed an hour ago” Theo responds.
“Well, I'm sure she's fine, though she definitely seems different.'' Luna expresses while shrugging.
Theo and Luna's attention is suddenly brought to Draco who didn't even look up when he spoke. “Does she talk to you or any of her friends about everything since the war….im asking because she like pretty much completely disappeared after our trials then just showed up here without Ron or harry.”
“I didn't really talk to many friends outside of Hogwarts…. but I sense that Ginny doesn’t know much so I think not.”
“Oh” Draco says in a sad tone.
Draco goes back to his reading, not becoming aware of the common room door opening until Theo straightened up in his seat to look above his head
“Hello Hermione, was your library visit satisfactory.”
“Yes, I suppose so” Hermione answers in a tired tone.
“Would you like to join us we are just talking and having a cup of tea” luna offers.
“Actually, I'm quite tired so I’m just going to retire for the night.”
“Have a good night, we will see you tomorrow in class.”
Hermione nods and turns off towards the girl's dormitory. After changing into her pajamas, Hermione climbs into bed after taking a dreamless sleep potion
~~~
Hermione wakes up just before 6 Am, which is the earliest the students are allowed out of their living area. Draco's attention shifts to the dormitory door in front of him. He silently watches over the trial reports as she sneaks out of the common room to the school hallway wearing a fitted athletic jumper, athletic leggings and trainers. He stares at the once again empty room before shaking his head as he goes to the Washroom to shower. After dressing and preparing for the day, Draco returns to the spot on the sofa he was previously at. He restarts to read the trial reports once again until a while later his attention turns to the sweaty Hermione trying to sneak back into the common room. He watches with an unreadable expression until she turns and sees him. She jumps and gasps in fear when she spots the figure in the common room.
“Are you alright?” Draco asks carefully.
“Yes, sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake yet” Hermione responds quietly.
“I was awake when you left.”
“What…. you were up. Wh..where were you” Hermione began to panic.
“Yes, I was sitting here doing the same as I am now, but I’ve showered and prepared for the day since then.”
“You were sitting there when I left at 6 this morning.”
“Yes…can you sit down please” Draco asks with worry.
Draco watches as she glances down at herself and shifts closer to the chair, he motioned for her to sit on. “Um, I think I should change.”
Draco tosses a sofa blanket on the chair within her reach and motions for her to sit down again.
“Can you please sit down for a few minutes.”
Hermione nods, wraps the blanket around her and sits like he asked.
“Focus on your breathing, in for 4. one, two, three, four.
Hold it for 7, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Exhale for 8, okay. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight” he instructs calmly.
After a few minutes of breathing, she looked like she was doing better.
“Are you better now.”
“Yes, I’m okay”
“Has that happened before, do you know what it was?” he queries.
“Yes, I was panicking” she informs.
“Can you tell me what caused it?” he probes cautiously.
She frantically shakes her head no
“Okay, okay, that’s okay. Is there something you want to talk about?”
“No, I'm fine.”
“I can wake Theo up if you would like to talk to him. He will be getting up in ten Ish minutes anyways.”
“No, I need to shower.”
“Okay, go ahead, I'm sorry I scared you.”
“I'm sorry”
“No need to say sorry, go shower” Draco states in a calm, gentle tone.
Hermione nods and leaves to grab her things, heading to the Washroom not long after.
“Thank you, with the….” Hermione trails off with slight embarrassment.
“It was no issue, also just so you know you're welcome to sit with us whenever you would like. If you would like to sit with Blaise and Theo and not me, all you need to do is tell Theo and I will leave, okay?”
Hermione nods, entering the Washroom while Draco goes to wake Theo.
“Theo…Theo…Theodore, wake up” Draco frantically shakes him awake.
“Wha, what’s wrong?”
“I need to leave to go to the hospital wing to get my mandatory healing potion then I will meet you in the great hall.”
“Why do you sound worry” he questions with concern.
“It’s a long story but Granger is showering, and I think I might have caused her a panic attack.”
“What?” He questions with surprise.
“She snuck out this morning and I don't think she noticed me before but when she did it caused her to panic. Anyways you need to get up and I need to get going.”
“Ughh fine.” Theo groans
“Also, I offered for her to join us whenever she pleases and told her to tell you if she wants me to leave at any time.”
“Go before you mess up your trial conditions” Theo rushes him away.
After Draco leaves, Hermione finishes getting ready, finding Theo in the common room looking as if he has just woken up.
“Morning Theo…I see Malfoy dragged you out of bed” Hermione says with a neutral tone.
“Good morning, Hermione and he woke me to tell me he was leaving.”
“He didn't do anything wrong.” Hermione rushes to say.
Before Theo could say anything, the dormitory door opens with Luna entering the common room.
“Good morning, Theo, good morning, Hermione. I will see you two in class; I have some friends waiting for me.”
“Do you want to talk about whatever happened between Draco and you this morning?”
“Nothing really happened, I just didn't expect him to be awake.”
“He doesn’t sleep a lot or as long as he should.” Theo informs her.
“I'll just need to be more observant.” Hermione says almost to herself.
“Can I ask what would have happened if you did see him before”?
“I would have probably woken everyone up by screaming and I most likely would have returned to my room.” Hermione says in a Non believable, joking tone.
“Where did you go? Why would you have returned to your room?”
“My clothes didn't feel very appropriate.” she confesses awkwardly.
“Omg was Hermione Granger sneaking out in her undergarments” he fakes gasps. She scoffs and whips a pillow at him.
“Blimey Hermione, I was just joking.”
“I was running.”
“Willingly?'' Theo looks at her like she's insane.
“Yes, Theodore. It helps me” Hermione claims in fake offense.
“Okay…sorry I didn't mean to be judgy. How were your clothes not appropriate.”
“Muggle running clothes are sometime be…. form fitting. So, in terms not appropriate clothing choices for a school with teenage boys.” Hermione mumbles
“Oh…so you go early so you could get a run in before the others woke up.”
Hermione panicked once again, Theo jumping to make her tea. "Hey hey, here is some tea, take a breath” Theo says in a calming tone.
Hermione freezes and drops the teacup. Instantly waking the newly awake boy.
“I’m sorry I didn't mean to interrupt” Blaise says with hidden worry. Hermione slides to the floor, picking up the piece of the cup while Theo explains that everything was okay, and that Hermione was just on edge.
“Hermione, would you like a calming draught, I'm sure there is one in our dormitory.” Blaise offers.
“No, no..no potions”
“Okay, will you join us for breakfast after your cup of tea then.”
Hermione doesn’t answer right away so Blaise takes a seat on the chair on the other side of the common room.
“We would like for you to join us. Of course, only if you please but it would be nice to get to know each other now that we share a living space”
“I will think about it” Hermione promises.
“Excellent, I'm going to go get ready.” Blaise explains with excitement.
~~~
“Mr. Malfoy are you here for your healing potion?” the healer questions.
“Yes, it’s mandatory as you know”.
“Yes, indeed. Since it is the first day I will need to take a report for future reference, but it shouldn’t take long.”
Draco pulls up his sleeve, revealing his left forearm and takes the healing potion she was handed to him. He allows her to take her records while answering any questions she has.
“Have you been taking potions for healing it.”
“No”
“Is there a reason why.”
“I don’t need them” Draco says trying to keep the snippiness out of his voice.
She observes him with a questioning expression but moves on with her questions.
“How long has the cuts shown signs of infection.”
“Not long after the war”
“How often are the cuts…. fresh or open.”
“Usually…at least once a week but I don’t have a good answer” Draco answers quietly.
“Okay, does it cause you issue, or pain on a regular basis.”
“Yes, most days it burns” he states with honesty.
“Have you found anything that helps with the pain since you haven’t been using potions.”
“Cold water but it causes fever symptoms sometimes.”
“Hopefully the potions can help with the burning feeling, also the cuts don’t appear deep so that is excellent.” the healers say full of hope.
“I guess so” Draco with a lot less hope.
“I have few other questions in the terms of the healers report then you’ll be able to head to the great hall for breakfast.”
Draco nods as he pulls his sleeve back down to cover the injury.
“In the healer’s records it reports that you haven’t slept many hours since the end of the war. Is this still the case?” she questions?
“Yes, it is still usually only a few hours a night.”
“How do you spend your time being awake?”
“Usually reading or doing the mandatory journaling.”
“When you do sleep, do you still get nightmares and flashbacks.”
“Yes, also still the same.”
“Are you still experiencing panic attacks.”
“That would be correct” he confirms.
“Have you been taking potions for any of these things?”
“I have not but I would assume I would be allowed to?” Draco asks as if he was unsure.
“Of course…we are trying to help, and this isn’t a punishment.” she informs with surprise.
“I guess…I just didn't think I would be.”
“Of course you would, I can give you some vials of dreamless sleep and calming draught if you wish. I would just like for you to keep a list of when you take them in your journal for reference.”
“Actually, I have a question.” Draco wonders with hesitation.
“What would that be?”
“If I had supervision, would I be able to brew them myself? I can only use magic in the presence of a professor or healer, but I don’t want to use your supply.”
“I don’t see why that would be an issue.”
“Wonderful, also if you ever need, i would be willing to help you restock.”
“I would appreciate that. If you don’t have any other questions you can go to breakfast”
“Thank you madam Pomfrey.”
~~~
Hermione joins Blaise and Theo down to the great hall for breakfast, though she obviously kept her distance.
“What was your favorite Hogwarts class hermione?” blaise questions
“I would say arithmancy”
“No surprise there” theo mumbles
“Well how about you Theo” hermione scoffs
“I surprisingly enjoyed study of ancient runes”
“Interesting…and you, blaise?” she turns her attention to him
“Probably potions or history of magic”
“Favorite and least favorite color?” theo asks
“Emerald green and yellow”
“You like the color of slytherin” blaise wonders out loud in surprise
“Not an inch of surprise for me.” Theo mumbles under his breath once again “I like the color of midnight blue and dislike bright red.”
“Blaise…”
“ white gold and also red” blaise answers
“If you were placed into a different house which would it be”
“Ravenclaw”
“Ravenclaw”
Blaise and Hermione turn to Theo who does not respond. Hermione giggles whenever Theo shakes his head not wanting to answer.
“It would be hufflepuff wouldn't it be” theo says deflated
Theo glares at them but they act as if they didn't notice. Hermione stiffens in fear when someone clears their throat behind her. She looked panicked at Theo who was looking behind her.
“Hello madam Norwood, may we help you?
“Miss. Granger, you were to report to the hospital wing”
Theo and Blaise watches as her face grows in angry and she turns to the healer
“I’m assuming your here to escort me there” hermione askes with displeasure
“Yes, indeed”
“I guess I don’t have a choice” she turns to the two boys at the table “Thank you gentleman for the hospitality this morning, i will see you in class.” she offers
They watch as Hermione storms out of the great hall with madam Norwood right behind her.
“It seems that the ministry of magic is requiring her to be seen by the healers in the mornings also.” blaise speaks aloud
A few minutes after Hermione leaves, Draco enters the great hall taking a seat next to Theo.
“How did it go?”
“Fine I suppose. Madam Pomfrey asked some questions, gave me the healing potion. She said I should be allowed to brew dreamless sleep and calming draught if I was in the presence of a professor or a healer.”
“That’s good, are you actually going to take them?” blaise remarks in a snarky way
“I don’t know but I think it would be beneficial to have some in the living area. Granger could probably have use for them”
“I’m not sure about that?” theo answers without hope
“Why?” he asks confused
“Well she was just hunted down and escorted to the hospital wing.”
“You think she is required to take healing potions also?”
Theo shrugs as Ginny approaches the table.
“Um…I saw Hermione sitting with you. Do you know where she went?”
“Madam Norwood just escorted her to the hospital wing” Blaise answers politely
“Great, day one and she’s already trying to ditch her obligations. Thank you gentlemen," Ginny says with a polite smile but a tone of annoyance. Ginny leaves the great hall most likely heading towards the hospital wing.
Notes:
TW : Multiple panic attacks. light discussions on injuries made by self. brief mentions of nightmares, injury infection, healing potions (many of these topics is likely to be present throughout the fic)
3526 Words in this chapter.
I hope everyone is doing well and is enjoying the fic so far.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 3: Is Anyone Listening?
Chapter Text
Chapter Three : Is Anyone Listening?
“GET OFF OF ME!!”
“YOU CAN’T MAKE ME TAKE THAT!!!”
“STOP TOUCHING ME”
As Ginny approaches the hospital wing, breaking into a run whenever she heard Hermione screaming. When she enters the room she finds a few healers surrounding a single bed which she quickly realizes was where Hermione was. Ginny pushes her way through the healers, sitting in front of hermione.
“Hey hey mione. Take a breath ....Come on, take a breath.”
“I want to speak to madam Pomfrey now” ginny demands
“She is busy at the moment”
“I do not care! I need to speak to madam pomfrey and the headmistress now” she sternly orders
“It’s hardly necessary”
“I strongly disagree” ginny scoffs
Ginny casts a muffliato charm, turning back to her “Hermione, what happened”
Hermione frantically shakes her head no as she panics and cries Ginny drops the charm and turns to the healer who she was talking to before
“What has happened since she got here?”
“We had to have someone escort her here because she didn’t show up for her mandated potion and when she got here she refused to take it so we made her”
“You made her?” ginny asked in disbelief
“Yes”
“Care to explain what that means”
“Exactly what I said, she is required to take the potion so I made her take it” the healer confirms
“As in you dumped it down her throat?”
“Just because she’s the golden girl doesn’t mean she can throw a fit and get what she wants” she replies in annoyance
Madam pomfrey and headmistress McGonagall comes rushing in immediately noticing hermione panicking and Ginny speaking to the healer with anger
“Miss. Weasley, did you request to see us.” headmistress McGonagall tries to calmly ask
“Yes headmistress, I have reason to believe this healer forced a potion down Hermione's throat against her will.”
“Madam Quinn, I would like to speak to you privately. Madam pomfrey can you handle this?”
“Of course.” madam pomfrey carefully approaches hermione on the bed
“Miss.Granger, it’s madam pomfrey” she softly says
“Leave me alone…please.” hermione whispers in a broken voice
“I want to help you. How can I help you?”
Hermione continues to shake her head no as she tries to move away from them.
“We’re not going to hurt you. We will wait here as long as you need.” Ginny reassures hermione. Headmistress reenters the room, asking to speak to madam pomfrey. After a few minutes, the headmistress approaches the bed that Hermione was sitting on.
“Madam pomfrey will be taking over your care. I will talk to the ministry but it is important that you understand that if you don’t try to work with this situation, they will admit you into the hospital for treatment and that will feel more like a prison than it does now.”
“It’s time for class.” hermione informs ginny
“If you go to class now, will you meet me later so we can discuss what happened.” the headmistress requests
“I don’t want to talk.”
“Hermione… I know but we can’t help if you're not giving us a chance. “ Hermione doesn’t respond
“I will have Ginny walk you to class, I want to talk to you after lunch…okay?” Hermione nods, leaving with Ginny to go to class.
When she enters the room, Theo notices something wasn’t right but doesn’t question it and just offers the seat next to him. Ginny takes the note from the headmistress to the professor before heading to her own class.
Theo notices that Hermione was rubbing her arms so he writes her a note and pushes it into her view.
Are you okay?
I’m fine
Does your arms hurt?
She stares at the note for a moment debating whether she should be honest or not
Yes
Does your jaw hurt also?
Her hand goes flying to her jaw where Theo was seeing the faint marks left behind.
His eyes grow concerned and she slowly looks into his eyes as if she was scared.
Did someone harm you?
Headmistress is making me talk to her after lunch
Would you like company?
I don’t know
Can you explain?
Theo watches as she stares at the note as if she was reading it multiple times but turns her attention back to her class work. He returns to his own school work, not wanting to push her on the topic. Towards the end of class a note is pushed in front of him. On the top is written“don’t open until after class” he nods showing he understands. Once class is dismissed she leaves and he unfold the paper to read it
I don’t want to go alone but I also don’t want anyone knowing. Something happened at the hospital wing because I was being a “brat” and the headmistress wants to talk about it. I’m stuck in a spot where I’m terrified and don’t know what to do. I can’t talk about it with anyone.
He shoves the note into his things before heading to his next class which she is also in. He takes a seat next to her with her showing signs of being embarrassed. He mumbles his response to her without getting into her space.
“I can go with you and have my attention on my work. I have a journal entry to do so I can work on it then. You can also cast a muffliato charm so I can be with you without hearing anything.”
“Really?” she asks in shock
“Yes” he confirms
~~~
Hermione reaches the end of the table where Theo was sitting at.
“Are you still willing” hermione asks shyly
“Yes, are you ready to go now?”
“I guess.” she mumbles. Theo stands and leaves the great hall following hermione.
“Have you talked to Harry or Ron?”
“Not really”
“How about Ginny?”
“She knows I’m struggling but I haven’t told her much.”
“Do either of the boys know this?” he worriely questions
“Harry, I’m sure he does. He has tried to reach out… Ron not so much.”
“Does that mean Ron and you aren’t together?”
“No, we barely were…he lost his brother and after the war everything changed. I don’t think I could handle being around him”
“Okay…did they do something to make you feel this way?” he queries with concern
“No, nothing like that. I’m sure I’ll tell you one day”
“Okay, no rush, I’m just making conversation while trying not to be pushy”
“I appreciate it.” she says gratefully
They enter the headmistress office and she motions for them to sit. Hermione sits at the other side of the desk while Theo takes a seat in a chair a little while away. He gives her an encouraging smile and nod before opening his journal.
“Would you like me to cast a muffliato charm.” the headmistress asks
“Not at this moment.”
“Okay, can you tell me what happened this morning? You can be vague, I just need to understand the situation.”
“The healer escorted me to the hospital wing because I didn’t go when I was supposed to. When she tried to give me the potion I refused to take it so she forced it into my hand, I still refused to drink it so she said a comment under her breath and told another healer to hold me down while she forced my mouth open to pour the potion in.”
“Have you read your health report?” she wonders
“Yes” Hermione nervously glances at Theo who was busy in his journal
“Would you like me to cast a muffliato?” Hermione glances at him once again before nodding. Once the charm was cast she turns her attention to the headmistress
“Would you like to see your report again?”
“Yes please”
Hermione begins to read the report with different emotions flaring as she reads.
“Do you find this report accurate” she treads lightly
“I wasn’t assaulted…. They didn’t” hermione says with embarrassment
“Okay, but do you find the wording surrounding the statement true”
“Meaning?” hermione says in a confused manner
“Were you refusing sleep and potions” Hermione nods lightly
“Are you afraid someone will harm you?” Hermione doesn’t answer but shifts uncomfortably in her chair.
“It’s okay to admit that someone or multiple people has hurt you. That isn’t going to change how others look at you.” Hermione turns her face away, to hide her tears.
“I wasn’t assaulted, they didn’t use me.” hermione says in defense
“You don’t have to be…used to be assaulted. I’ve seen other reports, I have an understanding of what happened that day. You were assaulted and I think you are afraid to not be in control. You experienced trauma and you have broken trust with others.” the headmistress explains in a calm tone. Hermione doesn’t respond but the headmistress could tell she was listening.
“How can we help you so you can take these potions”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”
“Would you be willing to have someone come with you tomorrow? Would that make you feel safer as if they won’t let anything happen to you.”
“They might not be able to stop it.” Hermione admits with fear.
“Okay, how is your housing situation going?”
“It’s fine.”
“Do you feel safe there?”
“I guess.” she answers neutrally
“Can you explain more.” she probes
“Theo is really helpful and Blaise seems okay. He offered me a calming draught this morning.”
“Did you take his offer”
“No” hermione answers firmly
“Okay, does that mean you had a panic attack this morning”
“Two” she discloses
“Was it due to someone else’s actions?” the professor asked with disquiet
“No, panicked about my actions”
“Okay, how about Mr. Malfoy”
“What about him?”
“You said about Mr. Nott and Mr. Zabini. How do you feel about Mr. Malfoy?” she elaborates
“He hasn’t done anything. Hasn’t really tried to start a conversation”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Fine I guess. I feel like he can see right through me though.” hermione confesses
“Does that make you uncomfortable”
“I don’t know.”
“Why do you feel he could see through you?” she ponders
“I went for a run early this morning and I didn’t know he was awake until I came back. He scared me because I didn't know he was there. He implied he knew I was having a panic attack. He gave me a blanket to cover myself because I think he knew my clothing made me uncomfortable and he walked me through breathing steps for the attack.”
“That is interesting,” the professor says in a surprised tone.
They sit in silence for a moment until the headmistress clears her throat.
“Hermione, can you answer some questions for us?”
She nods so Professor McGonagall gets a self writing quill ready then turns her attention to hermione.
“How is your sleeping pattern currently?”
“Usually a struggle” she states
“How many hours do you get a night without assistance of potions?”
“After 2 or 3 hours I’ll be woken due to nightmares.”
“Are nightmares a daily occurrence?”
“Yes” hermione confirms
“How do you spend your time after you are woken due to the nightmares?”
“I like to watch the skies”
“Do you experience flashbacks and triggers a lot?”
“Yes” hermione divulged
“How often do you have panic attacks?”
“Usually multiple times a week”
“Do you take potions for any of the situations”
“Usually not but I did take a dreamless sleep potion last night.”
“They are going to want to see your arm to make a record of the injury.” the headmistress informs hermione. Hermione tenses at this statement and the headmistress could see she was starting to panic.
“Why are you afraid of someone seeing your arm?”
“I will get sent away” hermione confessed
“I promise you won’t.”
“It hurts sometimes, the dark magic makes it feel like something is crawling under the skin. I have marks…due to this.” she says in a quiet tone
“Okay, you don’t need to be afraid because of it. I will pass this report on to madam pomfrey.”
Hermione and Theo leave to return to the great hall to grab some lunch before their afternoon classes. Hermione and Theo sit on the other side of Blaise and Draco. Blaise greets them with a nod but Draco was invested in writing.
“Shall we continue with the questions from this morning”
“Yes, but I need to ask Malfoy the questions” hermione answers with a cheeky smirk
Draco looks up at her confused on why she was talking about him.
“What?” draco questions with fear
“We asked questions to get to know each other this morning and you weren't here.”
“You want to get to know me?” he says with doubt
“Yes….I understand if you don’t want to though.” hermione worries she overstepped a line
“No no it’s okay, ask away”
“What is your favorite and least favorite color”
Draco lifts an eyebrow in amusement that turns into a small smile
“My favorite color is light blue, almost a silvery blue hue and my least favorite is orange. How about you?”
“Favorite is emerald green and least is yellow” He raises his brow once again but motions for her to ask the next question
“Favorite class?”
“I enjoy astrology a lot but I also like potions”
“Do you find it surprising hers is arithmancy” theo cuts in
“Not really” draco says honestly
“Last questions is if you were placed in a different hogwarts house which would it be” Draco raises his head in a jokingly defiant manner as he answers that he wouldn’t be placed else where
“Don’t let him flatter himself, ravenclaw would also be his placement” blaise answers in a fake irritated tone
“Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t have had to ask that one”
“Draco, do you have a question for hermione.” theo nudges draco
Draco thinks about it for a second before slowly nodding. Hermione picks up on the smug grin he was giving her before he asked her the question.
“Hermione what is your preferred way of dying” Blaise elbows Draco with a look of are you seriously asking that while Theo throws a piece of fruit at his face. Draco could see that hermione was trying to hide her giggle before turning her face serious
“Draco malfoy, are you planning my death?” she says solemnly
“I may be, okay the real question is what is something you need to have in your future?”
“What do you mean?” she questions puzzled
“As in what is something in your future that you need or you don’t want a future”
“Noooo, you will laugh at me.” hermione says horrified
“I’ll go first, I need to have a spouse that fits with me, not what my ancestors had where they had premade betrothals to certain witches “
Draco notices as a small smile appears on hermione’s face
“I want to be able to enjoy my travels” blaise adds
“You haven’t enjoyed your travels? Haven’t you been to quite a few places” hermione wonders
“Yes, but I’ve never gotten to enjoy anything because it was always ran by my mother and what she wanted.” he confirms
“Theo? Do you have your answer yet?” Hermione turns her attention to him.
Theo shakes his head no as he continues to think
“I need a spouse that loves every part of me. Someone who will randomly walk in to find me dancing and singing in the kitchen like a lunatic and doesn’t judge me for it. Someone who will admire me for everything I am.” she says in a sad but honest tone. Hermione looks up in embarrassment but finds the three boys watching in astonishment.
“I’m going to guess that is a muggle thing” draco questions
“Magical couples don’t look at their spouse like they are the most precious and rarest thing in the world” hermione asked in shock
“If they do, your asking the wrong wizards” theo says sadly
“New stepdad every year” blaise starts
“Family of arranged marriage for purity of blood line” Draco adds
“Father that only cared about himself” theo finished
Draco could see the moment that their words broke her heart. Hermione clears her throat before turning to Theo
“Do you have an answer or should we skip for you”
“I don’t currently have an answer at the moment”
“Okay “
“Can I ask you another question” draco asked
“Yeah, okay”
“Does Ron give you that” Hermione eyes flick quickly up to Draco due to the use of Ron’s name but just as quickly flicks away. Hermione gains a sad smile onto her face before she answers
“Ron and I aren’t together, but probably not. Favorite thing to eat?” she quickly answers
The conversation turns awkwardly silent for a moment until Theo speaks up. “I enjoy roast beef with roast potatoes”
“Scandinavian steak with carrots i would have to say”
“I enjoy bracoile” Blaise mentions
“So hermione what is your muggle meal of choice” theo inquired
Hermione playfully rolls her eyes before answering “My mom and I would make this casserole called pan haggerty which consisted of potatoes, onions, cheese and such”
“Oh that sounds good.” blaise comments with wide eyes
Before theo could ask the next question it was time for class. Following the rest of the classes of the day Draco finds himself returning to the common room by himself. After minutes of consideration he decides to write a non required entry for his journal.
Dear, whoever is reading this
I have learned a few things today, most of them due to the brightest witch of our age. I’m uneasy because of her, not anything she necessarily did. After everything I did to her, she still tried to include me today. She wanted to get to know me. I really don’t want to mess this up but Merlin knows I can’t do anything right. I’m worried about how damaged she is. I don’t know what happened at the hospital wing but I know it wasn’t good. Ginny had to walk her to class and she was …like terrified to go see the headmistress alone before lunch. I’m glad she has Theo. He really seems to be helping her but I could see the bruises forming on her face today. I also heard rumors that one of the healers was fired today.
I hope I’m wrong but I think that healer forced her to take the potion. I also saw her sneak out this morning to go for a run but when she came back she was worried about what she was wearing because I was in the room. I don’t understand it, she wears muggle clothes all the time. I thought she was scared I would bully her for it but I don’t think that was the case due to the lunch conversation. I wonder if it was due to whatever happened over the time of the war ... .with the snatchers, if she felt exposed wearing that.
Anyways, Draco malfoy
Draco closes his journal and began to read a book from his bedside table. About an hour later, Draco could hear Theo and Blaise enter the common room. He entered the common room to continue reading his book while they started a game of exploding snap.
Draco slammed his book shut after forever of not focusing
“Are you okay?” theo asked
“I can’t read”
“Put your glasses on, no one cares” blaise responded
“It is not that, I can’t concentrate”
“Oh, why can’t you?”
“Did you hear about the healer being fired?”
“A healer was fired from the hospital wing?” theo asked dumbly
“Yeah” he answered
“Do you know why?” blaise questioned
Draco looks at Theo who was looking for something in his books. They watch as he pulls out a note and reads it. Theo looks up at them with an unreadable expression.
“I think we all know or have an idea what happened so we probably shouldn’t mention it.” theo told them
Draco nods in understanding then stands while resituationing himself
“I’m going to go to the hospital wing, hoping to make potions or do something helpful there.” They nod in acknowledgment as he leaves the common room. Draco heads to the destination , finding it empty. Madam pomfrey quickly noticing him, non injured
“Mr. Malfoy?”
“I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with?” draco asked unsure
“That would be useful”
She gives him a few tasks while she continues with her work she was doing previously. After about an hour he notices that madam pomfrey was with a student but didn’t notice the student coming in.
“Mr.Malfoy” draco hears madam pomfrey call
“Yes, madam pomfrey”
“Would you be willing to escort Miss Granger back to her dormitory?”
“Is she okay with that” he questioned unsure
“Yes, I didn’t think it would be best for her to stay the night here but I don’t feel comfortable letting her go herself. She was given a potion which will make her drowsy but she shouldn’t give you any problems. You’ll be allowed access to the dormitory with the stone to make sure she makes it into bed. Once she is asleep she will be the rest of the night so you’ll be fine to head for the great hall for dinner.”
“Is she okay with this?” draco asked once again
“Yes, she assured me she was fine with it”
He nods in approval and reaches for her bag whenever she stands up and goes to grab it.
“I’ll carry it, ready to go” he questions looking around her and the bed area
She nods her head and starts her way from the hospital wing with a small thank you to madam pomfrey.
They walk in awkward silence and Draco watches her every move with concern while trying to be thoughtful of the distance between them.
“I’m not going to bite you”
“Pardon?” he asks unsure
“You don’t need to look at me like I’m going to rip your head off” she told him with frustration
“I don’t think you are going to rip my head off, I’m merely concerned about getting you back to your dormitory” he tells her with embarrassed honesty
Hermione stops dead in her tracks and turns to Draco with confusion.
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t want to be responsible for you getting hurt.”
“Hurt?”
“Yes, I don’t know the effects of the potion and I don’t want you running into a wall or something” he explained
Hermione looks at him, observing his reaction and body language before turning back “That’s not it” she states firmly
“I’m sorry” draco says in offense
“It’s something else, I can feel you not being truthful” she announced like he was dumb
“Is that so?”
“It is”
Hermione continued to walk causing Draco to rush to catch up
“You know, you don’t need to be afraid of me”
“Why would I be afraid of you” he says like he was hiding something
“I don’t know, but I don’t plan to hex you or anything.”
“I’m not afraid of you, I’m just trying to be mindful to not upset you.” draco says nonchalantly
She glares at him over her shoulder before nodding once. The rest of the walk is in silence until they reach their floor door. When they enter the common room, Hermione freezes and looks amongst the three boys unsure what to do.
“Come on, your dormitory” Draco speaks softly to redirect her.
She looks at him unsure but nods. She enters her dormitory with Draco following. He sets her book bag in the doorway to keep the door open. Hermione sits down on her bed but Draco motions for her to stand up. Once she does he folds the blankets down and has her sit on the bed.
“May I take your outer robe off? I don’t want you to fall asleep with it on.” draco explained in hope she understands
She nods so he slowly reaches for the button and gently undoes it. She watches the concentration on his face as he does so. Once the robe was removed he looked at her, causing him to become worried seeing her staring at him.
“Are you okay? Did I upset you?” he asked quickly
“No, I’m fine.” she mumbles
He gives her an unsure nod and motions to her feet “Can I remove your shoes also?” She nods so he kneels to carefully remove both her shoes
“Lay down to sleep, do you want the blanket above or below your arms”
“Below” she confirms. Draco lays the blanket on her under her arm and nods before turning to leave.
“Thank you” hermione mutters
“Good night” He hears her mumble good night before snuggling into her blanket more. He moves her bag inside of the room and firmly closes the door. When he turns from the door he sees Blaise and Theo staring at him with raised eyebrows
“Ready for dinner?”
“Are you going to explain…that” theo motions to the door
“Nope, I am awfully hungry.” draco answers indifferent
“Draco?”
“Theodore?”
“Theo, let’s just go to dinner” blaise cuts in with a hand on theo’s shoulder
The three boys went to the great hall and started dinner. After minutes of silence between them Draco looks up to see Theo staring at him.
“She came into the hospital wing, madam pomfrey took care of her and asked me to escort her back to her dormitory so she could sleep because she didn’t think granger would be comfortable staying there overnight.” draco tells him as if it was nothing
“Why you though”
“No idea, she assured me that granger was fine with it.”
“Draco?” theo asked to get his attention
“Hmm” draco raised his eyebrow at him
“Why were you awake at 6”
“Is that a serious question?” he asked dumbfounded
“Yes”
“Because I struggle to sleep and don’t wish to depend on potions” he answered snarkfully, “You couldn’t sleep or nightmares and flashbacks were haunting you?”
“Does it matter” draco asked with irritation
“Are you writing them down” blaise asked
“Did I write it down, not yet am I going to, yes”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not at this moment” draco tries to shut the conversation down
“Back in the common room” Blaised asked
“Yes, that’s fine”
“How has your day been?” draco questioned
“My day was good, i know you may not agree but it feels nice to be back here” blaise answered
“That’s good to hear, how about you Theo?” draco turns to him
“Minus the fact a prat dragged me out of bed this morning. It was good.” theo narrows his eyes in a joking way
“Oh a prat dragged you out of bed? Hopefully they had a good reason” he said back in a joking way
“No, they didn’t. They dragged me out of bed then left.”
“Well, I hope they won’t do that again.”
Blaise scoffs at their playful manner “Are you two having fun with this…whatever this is”
“Yes actually” draco answers with complete seriousness
“Yeah, it’s entertaining” theo adds
Draco turns his attention back to Theo with a smirk. “So was this prat incredibly handsome”
“No, it’s was a nightmare to wake up to. I’m surprise I didn’t die of a heart attack right then” theo says with a fake traumatized look
“I’ll be sure to let madam pomfrey know my ugliness is what gave you the heart attack”
They finish up dinner and head back to the common room. Blaise and Theo take seats on separate chairs and Draco goes to grab a journal from his bedside table. Draco returns, taking a spot on the sofa. He opens the journal then glances at Theo and Blaise.
“It takes place after the war, the morning after, I woke up to faint noises so I went towards them. I found my mother sitting at the table looking at clerical work. I could tell by the way she appeared that something wasn’t right. She tried to act as if everything was fine but I could feel the fear in her eyes. She told me I had matters to settle in my office immediately. When I sat in my office, my stomach dropped and I knew she sent me away to protect me. On my desk was reports for the trail, someone had everything written down and I was supposed to get myself familiar with it. Once I completed that, I stepped out of my office and that bad feeling hit ten-fold. I entered the room my mother was in previously but she wasn’t there. There was a letter addressed to me. When I read it, it stated that you know who wanted me to take his place and to assure that I did, my father was deposed of and mother was taken as leverage. Next thing I know I was on my feet heading to my room like someone else was controlling me. I was led to a drawing room which was covered in blood.”
“After that I woke up and came out here”
“What time did you come out here?”Blaised questioned with slight worry
“4 ish I believe”
“What were you doing from 4-6” theo asked
“Reading trial reports”
“Oh…okay”
“How do you feel about the reports”
“I don't remember most of this, I don’t really feel good about this”
“About what?”
“She did all this for someone who was horrible to her, meanwhile she’s struggling and I don’t know if her friends know or if they just don’t care. I mean obviously I don’t know anything about the situation but if I was her friend. I wouldn’t have let her come back here alone.”
“What if this is what she needed” blaise states, making draco feel like he got stabbed.
Draco sits back in thought. He thinks of every possible idea but eventually nods and gets up to go to the dormitory without another word
Notes:
TW : Panic attack, Mentions of physical assault and injuries. Implication of sexual assault. discussion of nightmares, flashback, and self made injuries, mention of healing medical impairment.
4985 words in this chapter
thoughts?...feeling?....Predictions? for the fic.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 4: What Was I Made for?
Chapter Text
Chapter Four: What Was I Made For?
Dear, whoever is reading this.
I hope things aren’t the way that I think or see them as. I hope the golden girl actually has great friends. Great friends that care about her and her wellbeing. I hope they know how much she is struggling and the trauma she is living with. I hope she is stronger than me. Who am I kidding, she is stronger than me. She is stronger than I will ever be because she took a mark against her will while experiencing her worst day. Guess what the bleeding, Gryffindor heart, golden girl does with her life after winning the war. She fights for our second chance. The others didn’t need as much from her but me…I owe her everything, I don’t know how she kept me out of Azkaban, but she did. She saw me even when I didn’t think she was looking in my direction. Theo had just said “what if this is what she needs” and Merlin I hope this is what she needed.
Anyways, Draco Malfoy
Draco closes his journal and leans against his headboard with his eyes closed. After a few minutes of dark silence there is a light knock on the door, following with the door opening. He hears as feet come towards him and based on the sound from the feet, he knows it’s Theo.
“Did you need something Theo?” Draco asks softly. Theo sits at the end of Draco’s bed, but Draco still doesn’t open his eyes.
“How did you know it was me?”
“I used to live with dozens of death eaters in my house along with my insane aunt and the dark lord. I’ve been told that trauma can cause you to know everyone's footsteps and where exactly they are and go along with their mood.”
“So, you can tell who is walking based on their footsteps.” Theo questions with suspicion
Draco opens his eyes and looks at Theo finally.
“Yes, Blaise has steady steps but his is heavier than yours. Blaise’s steps are also very businessman-like. You have man twinkle toes that are light on the ground.”
“I feel I should be offended. Was that meant to be offensive.” Theo asks in a joking manner.
“That is your choice to make.” Draco answers offhandedly.
“Anyways, are you okay?”
“Yes…. why?” he asked nonchalantly.
“You seemed…. off after I said about Hermione might be needing this.” he states concerned.
Draco holds the journal up from his lap and closes his eyes once again. Theo watches him carefully before speaking up.
“Are you going to sleep.”
“No, just closing my eyes” Draco responds tiredly.
“Get ready for bed and go to sleep” Theo answers softly.
Draco doesn’t respond for a minute, trying to come up with something to use to argue against Theo's statement but ends up nodding and goes to prepare for bed.
After hours of trying to sleep, Theo throws his blankets off of him in frustration. He glares at the bed next to his, containing the blonde who is restlessly sleeping. His annoyed eyes drift to the farthest bed containing his other roommate who was sleeping without trouble. He grabs his blanket off the bed and makes his way out to the common room. Theo drifts in and out of sleep until he hears the girl's dormitory door open.
“Hermione?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up” she answers in a sad whisper.
“You didn’t, pratty mick- prat prat did” he scoff and responds with annoyance.
Theo opens his eyes a little more whenever he hears a light giggle fill the air.
“Pratty mick - prat prat?” she asks while she tries to contain a giggle.
Hermione kneels next to the sofa that Theo is laying on.
“Yep, that’s what I said” he voices with a tone full of ego.
“Who might that be?”
“Blondie but I can’t complain because he’s actually sleeping more than a few hours.” he says in an honest tone. Hermione nods then pulls the blanket up closer to his chin.
“Go to sleep Theo, I’m going for a run, so I’ll be back in less than an hour.” she says softly.
Theo nods, settling into the sofa more while Hermione sneaks out the door for her run. When she finished her run, she was happy to find that she was three minutes faster prior to the day before. As she approaches her floor’s door, she sees something move out of the corner of her eye causing her to step back which results in her tripping.
“Ouch '' Hermione repositioned herself so that she was no longer putting weight on her knee that she fell onto. She’s relieved when she found no blood collecting onto her leggings. She quickly but carefully limps back to the housing area. She quietly entered the common room seeing a figure pop their head out of the bathroom.
“Out for a run?” Blaise asks.
“Yeah” she answers quickly.
Blaise goes quiet noticing something seemed off but the room being too dark to see well. He exits the bathroom, slowly approaching her who was leaning against the back of the chair.
“Are you limping” he asks her worried.
“A little, I tripped but I’m fine” she tried to assure him.
He nods but continues to watch her in concern.
“Draco still asleep?”
“Yeah, I’m guessing Theo couldn’t stand the fidgeting anymore.”
“Yeah, apparently pratty mick- prat prat was keeping him awake.”
“Oh Merlin. If that’s what Theo said, then Theo must have been awake most of the night.” “Theo sleeps really light and that sounds like a grumpy, tired Theo.” Blaise supplies.
Hermione turns to head to her room, but Blaise stops her.
“Are you sure you're okay and shouldn’t go to the hospital wing.”
“It is most likely a bruise, but I have to go there anyways.”
“Would you like company?” he offers.
Hermione doesn’t respond as she thinks about the offer.
“Sure, if they won’t need you.” she accepts his offer with a grateful smile.
“I’ll wake Draco before we leave, and he can wake Theo up in time for breakfast.” Blaise reassures her.
She nods with a smile, and they go their separate ways to get ready.
“Draco ...hey wake up ...Draco” He wakes up with a small jump, eyes frantically searching the room.
“Hey, it’s okay. You are safe.”
“Is something wrong?” Draco asks with an unsettled tone.
“No, it’s just time to get up. You need to shower and get to the hospital wing for your healing potions. Theo is asleep on the sofa. He’s apparently grouchy so just make sure you're awake before you leave.” Blaise warns.
Draco nods, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes, I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Okay, sounds good” Draco says but with suspicion.
Draco gets ready to go shower and Blaise leaves to walk with Hermione to the hospital wing.
“How did you trip?”
“I thought I saw something and stepped back and tripped I guess.” she replied nonchalantly.
“Oh, you thought you saw something?”
‘Yes, a movement”
“Can I ask you something?” he wonders with concern.
“Yeah, I’ll try to answer it.”
“Do you see things often?” Blaise wonders with a neutral tone
“I don’t actually see things, I think. I think it is just my mind messing with me” she informed him with honesty.
“Are you saying you hallucinate?” he asks with what he hopes is a calm voice.
“Honestly I don’t know.” she responds.
“Sometimes lack of sleep can cause this kind of thing. Also, I kind of assume that you're on edge a lot so that can make you cautious.”
Hermione glares at him in a joking manner and he smiles with his hands up in defense.
“So, you enjoy running?” he wonders with doubt.
“I don’t know about that?”
“So, you don’t enjoy it?”
Hermione releases a frustrated sigh and Blaise gets a look on his face; a look full of guilt for asking.
“You don’t have to talk about it, I’m sorry for asking.”
“No no, it wasn’t directed at you. Running gives me a sense of control” Hermione voices with honesty
Blaise nods but Hermione could tell that he wasn’t following so she continued.
“I don’t know what you know about what happened at …the manor but Harry, Ron and I were brought there by snatchers.” Blaise looks at her dubiously but nods for her to continue.
“We had apparated into a forest and the snatchers showed up. Ron, Harry and I tried to run but Ron got caught with one of the snatchers spells. Before Harry and I knew it, we were surrounded, and they had Ron, so I jinxed Harry’s face before they caught us.”
“So, do you run to try to get better in case you ever get put in that situation again” Blaise asked.
She nods but she doesn’t look at him.
“Yeah, my mind healer said it could bring a sense of control while using it to cope. I don’t exactly know how but she seemed to think it’ll help ease my mind if I feel like I could escape a situation like that.”
“Does it help..the running.” He questions gently.
“If I’m being honest, I have no clue.”
“It’s okay not to know. I sense you have been doing it for a while so there is a reason somewhere to why you continue to.”
“Yeah, I guess that is true.”
They enter the hospital wing and Hermione notices Blaise becoming a little hesitant at the doorway.
“Would you like me to wait here or…”
“Would you mind coming with me.”
“Of course I can.”
Blaise follows Hermione over to a bed, standing at the end of it while she sits down. He immediately picks up on how she was picking at her fingers but before he could ask her anything Madam Pomfrey joined them.
“Miss Granger, how are you today?”
“I’m…here, so I guess that’s something” she answers with a mix of emotions.
“Potion?” Madam Pomfrey questions
Hermione nods and takes the potions with shaky fingers.
“The headmistress sent me your report and she informed me about the concern you had.”
“Yeah…”
“As long as you're honest and don’t try to hide important things then there isn’t anything to worry about.”
Hermione nods again in understanding
“May I see your arm for the report.”
“Yeah, yeah okay”
Hermione pulls up her sleeve so Madam Pomfrey could see her wrist, but Hermione averts her eyes away, so she doesn't see it.
“Okay, your good to go unless you have any questions or concerns.”
“No, thank you.”
“Okay you have a meeting on Friday, so I’ll let you know where it’ll take place either tomorrow or Thursday” Madam Pomfrey informs Hermione.
“Okay…sounds good.”
Blaise and Hermione leave the hospital wing in silence, not talking until halfway to the great hall.
“Was it easier..you know having someone with you when you take the potions.”
“Yeah, I think so. I feel safer that way.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate you going with me” she tells him with gratitude.
“You're welcome.”
“Can I ask you something?” she wonders with something that was swirling around her mind.
“Yeah, what is it?” Blaise answers with openness
“Do you struggle to sleep?”
“Not really, I didn’t experience a lot of horror like some others. Also, according to Theo apparently, I sleep heavier than a bear in hibernation.”
Hermione feels as the atmosphere becomes sadden so she doesn’t talk or asks questions to allow Blaise to talk if he pleases. After some time, Blaise lets out a small tone's confession.
“That comment from Theo hurt like hell to hear.”
“Can I ask why?”
“After everything happened and things started to settle, Theo started staying with Malfoy. Theo learned to sleep so light so that he could help him if needed. My understanding is that Malfoy struggled a shit ton. Theo never said anything about it, but I think Malfoy's struggles had caused bad things to resurface for Theo.”
“So, what helps Theo” Hermione ponders.
“Honestly, you”
“Me?” she looks at Blaise confused.
“Yes” he says in complete honesty.
“How me?”
“You being friendly with him? What you did in the trial. You had no reason to trust him, you had no reason to help us.”
“I don’t really see it as helping you guys.” she tells him truthfully.
They enter the great hall and see Luna sitting in their usual seats with Theo who looked half asleep.
“You did help, you humanized us. You saw kids who needed a second chance and a helping hand, and you made sure we got that even though you didn’t really know us, and you were in bad with your experience.” Hermione nods as she listens to Blaise’s words carefully.
“Believe it or not, Draco and Theo are alive because of you. Draco would have gone to Azkaban and gotten killed and Theo would have lost his mind with Draco locked up there.”
A tear falls down Hermione's face and she turns away in hopes that Blaise won’t see.
“Excuse me, I'll be back in a few minutes” she tries to say cheerfully and with politeness but fails miserably.
“Would you like someone to come with you?”
“No, I'm going to the restroom, so I'll just be a minute.”
Hermione rushes out of the great hall and Blaise stands unsure not knowing what to do. He stops at the group of friends sitting at the Gryffindor table. The friends at the table half glare at him.
“Um, Ginevra, can you check on Hermione please. She went to the restroom, but I think she is upset” Blaise asked her with as much friendly and politeness as possible.
“Yeah, yeah thank you for letting me know.”
Ginny gets up to calmly go after Hermione and Blaise heads back to his table. Ginny cautiously enters the bathroom when she hears light sniffles from the stall.
“Mione?” ginny speaks softly.
“Ginny? Is that you?” Hermione replies.
“Yes, it’s me, are you okay?”
Hermione exits the stall with light trails of fallen tears.
“I’m okay”
“Can I ask why your crying.”
“I’m just a little overwhelmed I guess.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” ginny queries.
Hermione shakes her head no and Ginny smiles in understanding.
“Do you want to girl talk about boys.”
“Boys? Ginny” Hermione rolls her eyes pretending to be annoyed.
“Okay your male living area mates” she informs in a teasing manner.
“Did Blaise send you in here.”
“I wouldn’t say send; he asked me to check on you because he thought you were upset.” Plus, you're in the bathroom so he couldn’t check on his own.”
“Yeah, I think I knew that in the back of my mind.” Hermione says honestly with a light laugh.
“Are they treating you right?” Ginny asks with concern like an older sister would have.
“Yes, they are really helpful. Blaise walked me and stayed with me when I took my potion this morning.”
“So, I can expect you not to be hunted down today.”
“Yes, I went this morning willingly.” she responded with annoyance.
Hermione splashes water on her face and Ginny stands at the next sink to her.
“I’m so glad to hear that Mione.”
“Yeah…”
“Has Draco been around?” ginny questioned with concern.
“He keeps his space compared to Theo. I trusted him enough to walk me back to my dormitory yesterday after she gave me a potion. He was actually …really sweet yesterday.”
“Interesting…tell me more” ginny wiggles her eyebrows but Hermione doesn't notice.
Hermione smiles sadly but starts to tell the story.
“When Madam Pomfrey asked him to escort me back, he was like worried and asked multiple times that she was sure that I was okay with it. The whole walk there he was…well terrified. I was making comments about how I wasn’t going to bite his head off or hex him, but he had stated he wasn’t scared of me and was merely concerned about getting me to the dormitory. I think he was terrified to upset me.”
“Did he upset you?”
“No, he was so careful. He has been so careful around me. He said he wasn’t scared of me.”
“And you don’t believe him?” ginny questions skeptical.
“No…I can tell he is.” Hermione tells her like she's unsure of why.
Hermione turns towards Ginny, fully experiencing her sadness.
“He isn’t scared that I will hurt him. I honestly think he would be okay with it like he deserves it. He’s scared of what he might unintentionally do to me. Anyways when we entered the common room, I saw the other boys in the common room and I froze in fear, like I got scared for a second. He had immediately redirected my thoughts to my room. He had propped the dormitory door open as he was getting me settled into bed. I probably would have panicked if I knew that Blaise and Theo couldn’t see us in the room. It was like he was trying to assure me that he didn’t have ill intentions. There was a moment, he had asked to remove my outer robe, so I didn’t sleep with it on, and I was watching him unbutton it because he did it so cautiously. He was concentrating so hard to barely cause any movement. Once he got it off, he saw me watching him and he like panicked that he did something to upset me, after I assured him, I was fine he had asked to remove the shoes which he also did with so much concentration and mindfulness.”
Hermione glances at Ginny but quickly looks away when she finds that Ginny had an unexplainable expression.
“Then he gently placed the blankets on me to my preference and left me to sleep. If he didn’t do those things I would have slept in shoes and all, on the blankets and halfway hanging off the bed.”
Hermione looks at Ginny again with a happy smile and it comforts Ginny.
“That was the person I knew he was. I know everyone thinks he is just an evil bully, but this Draco is who he is. Before he wasn’t a person yet and whenever he became a person, he was living under a cover. It was so nice to see the real him even for those couple of minutes.” Hermione tells her in relief.
Notes:
No TW in this chapter....Possibly one of the very few and "cough" "cough" is this a calm before the storm?
3075 Words in this chapter
Any predictions for what the storm may or may not be.... Anyways
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 5: Broken
Chapter Text
Chapter Five: Broken
Draco returns to the common room about an hour after class ended. As he enters the door, he sees someone straighten up on the sofa. Draco freezes at the door when he sees that that person was Hermione.
“Um, sorry I didn't mean to bother you. I will be in my dormitory "Draco tells her after regaining his surroundings.
“Hi, you can stay and sit if you would like. You don't have to avoid me.”
“I’m fine, I don't want to be a bother.”
Hermione glares at Draco causing him to quickly stop walking. She sits up, pulling her feet into her space and motions for him to sit at the end of the sofa.
“Sit down, Malfoy. There is no need to hide” she says firmly.
Draco stares in shock for a few seconds before slowly taking a seat in a chair a few feet from the sofa. Hermione rolls her eyes at him but lays her legs back on the sofa.
“I’m not hiding” Draco grumbles.
“How was your day” Hermione asked with curiosity.
“You’re asking how my day was?”
“Yes, am I not allowed?” she asked in a joking manner.
Draco shifts in his seat, feeling awkward as to why she was trying to ask about him. Hermione sits up quickly, noticing that Draco becomes uncomfortable.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was trying to be friendly” Hermione rushes to say.
“no, no, I guess I just don't understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just don't understand why you would want to be friendly with me.”
Hermione sits back up on the sofa pulling her knees to her chest “I'm sorry, I guess I just didn't think about you hating me.”
Draco slowly gets up from the chair, moving to sit on the table in front of the sofa.
“I don't hate you; I just don't know why you would want to be friendly with me. I was such an arse to you.”
“Draco, the key word is “was' ' you haven’t been a jerk or bully. I feel like we could be friendly with each other. I would like to be friendly with each other. I think we can offer each other things that others can’t.”
Draco nods, moving to the end of the sofa that Hermione had originally asked him to sit on.
“My day was normal, nothing incredibly good or bad happened. Just the usual day then I went for a walk outside after classes and now I’m here.”
“Minus the fact that I tripped and injured myself this morning, my day was also pretty normal. Though I didn’t get hunted down today and willingly took my healing potion”
That’s good, certainly in a positive direction but how did you get hurt?”
“I tripped and fell after my run this morning,” Hermione answered as if it was nothing.
Draco turned to ask if she’s okay, but she quickly changes the subject.
“How do you feel about this year's academic curriculum”
“Honestly, I’m looking forward to it. This year is going to be a review and make up year. For example, I feel like your whole Hogwarts life was shared with learning to survive harm and Hogwarts life for everyone since professor pink bitch, hasn’t been educational.”
Hermione releases a light giggle as she relaxes onto the sofa.
“So, I’m guessing you didn’t choose to come back here, that it’s a part of your probation.”
“yes, but also no. For example, Pansy is in France working, she’s working as part of her probation. I didn’t have a plan for my life, so I was sent here to continue my education during my probation. Theo is here for the same reason and Blaise…I think he just wanted one more year here.”
They fall silent because Draco didn’t know what to say and Hermione was distracted with daydreams. Draco pulls out his mandated journal to do his entry with Hermione pulling hers out moments after him. After Draco finished his entry, he closed his journal and glanced at Hermione who was staring off into nothing.
“So, were you excited to be back here? I’m sure you couldn’t wait to get back to the Hogwarts library.”
“Um, not exactly.
“Oh…. okay”
Hermione falls silent, turning her attention to her journal so Draco pulls out a book to read. An hour later, Draco's body tenses whenever he feels something fall onto his shoulder. When he turns his head to look, he finds that Hermione had fallen asleep and must have slid down the back cushions onto him. Draco looks around for a pillow, finding it was out of view. He carefully reaches back for the throw blanket on the sofa to roll into a pillow. Draco places the blanket pillow against his lap then carefully leads her sleeping body onto it, so she is positioned comfortably. He returns to reading his book waiting for one of the dormitory mates to return so he could get an actual pillow for her to lay on.
~~~
Hermione slowly opens her eyes, getting sent into an instant panic at the unfamiliar area and the weight on her body. Draco jumps when he hears frantic breaths and quickly glances to see Hermione thrusting under the blanket to try to get it off her. He carefully but quickly moves towards the sofa to sit on the table. Hermione flings off the sofa with Draco within reach to break her fall. Once she was safe on the floor she started to desperately look around, tears raining down her face. Draco's hands quickly move into view as he slowly steps back away from her.
“Where, where am I” she demands.
“Hermione take a breath.”
“NO!” Hermione screams
Draco hears the door to the boy’s dormitory open which causes Hermione to panic more. Draco swings his arms behind him towards his roommates in a motion to tell them to stop, with his eyes still on Hermione.
“Hermione, you are safe.”
“No, no”
“You are at Hogwarts. No one is trying to harm you”
“It Not safe” she cries. “Where are they.”
“Hermione, who are they?” Draco asked softly “Are you asking for Harry and Ron.”
“They here also”
“No, they are not here.”
“They Safe?”
“Yes, they are safe. You are also safe.”
“They..Malfoy where are they.”
“Who are they?”
Hermione starts to sob harder, so Draco slowly lowers to the ground from the spot he was standing.
“Blaise, go get Ginny. I don’t think our presence is helping” Draco says in a whisper to them.
“They have Ginny.”
“Hermione no one has Ginny or you.”
Hermione tries to scurry away from them, backing herself into a wall.
“No Ginny, she needs be safe. Please no Ginny”
“Okay, no Ginny. Can Blaise get Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.”
“Pomfrey?”
“Yes, Madam Pomfrey she is a healer.”
Hermione nods in approval as she still continues to look around the room. Blaise steps around the room away from Hermione slowly towards the door. She watches him with fearful eyes, quickly glancing at Draco and Theo.
Blaise slowly leaves the common room, taking off in a bolt as soon as the door closes. He dodges students running as fast as he could, sliding into walls as he rounded corners and skipping steps as he leaped downstairs. As he reaches the hospital wing, he tries to catch his breath to talk but a healer by a medical bed notices him.
“I need Madam Pomfrey.”
“Are you okay.”
“I’m fine but a student in my living area is in a traumatic flashback and Madam Pomfrey is the only one who can help.”
“Okay she is in her office.”
Blaise rushes to the office door, knocking before entering.
“Blaise Zabini, are you injured?” She asked confused as she stood to move closer.
“It’s Hermione, she’s in a traumatic flashback I think.”
Madam Pomfrey began to gather anything she could find useful. She tells healer Wilson to inform the headmistress that she is needed in the housing area of the bottom floor of the 8th year tower. Healer Wilson heads for the headmistress office and Madam Pomfrey turns to Blaise to make sure he was within talking distance.
“What do you know.”
“She thinks that Ginny and herself aren't safe. She’s also keeps asking about where “they” are.”
“Can I ask what you think is going on.”
“She seemed relieved to find out that Harry and Ron weren't “here” but she full on panicked when she found out that Ginny was here, and she refused to see her because she wanted to keep her safe. I think she think someone has her hostage, she was addressing Draco by Malfoy, so I think she’s thinking the snatchers have Ginny and her.”
Madam Pomfrey stops dead in her tracks at those words but clears her throat and continues gathering her items.
“Is someone with her.”
“Before I left, she backed herself against the wall and Draco was talking to her. Theo should still be there because he has helped her before in a panic attack but it’s really really bad.”
“What happened before the panic attack” she questions trying to piece the puzzle together.
“As far as I know she was still asleep. Theo and I got back to the room a few hours ago. Hermione had fallen asleep on draco, I guess cause whenever we got back he asked for the pillow that was out of his reach. He replaced his lap with the pillow and moved to a chair to continue reading. Next thing I know Theo and I heard her screaming and when we came out Draco was trying to talk to her.”
Madam Pomfrey goes quiet for a minute as they leave the hospital wing.
“Was she showing any signs of violence.”
“No, she was terrified of whoever “they” are coming for her.”
~~~
“Hermione? Can you look at me”?
Hermione looks at Draco for a few seconds before her eyes drift to Theo then back to frantically searching for the door.
“Do you know who I am?”
“M-Malfoy” she says frightened.
“That’s correct”
“Do you know who this is with us” Draco asked in a calm voice.
Hermione looks at Theo again before she lets out a sob and a shake of her head saying no.
“This is Theo, Theodore Nott, does that name sound familiar to you?”
“No, he wasn’t there.”
“Where wasn’t he?”
“The …M-Manor”
“He wasn’t there. Do you know where you are?”
“No, I don’t know where I was taken after there. Are we still in the manor?” Hermione says trying to contain her sobs.
“Hermione, we are not at the manor. You escape the manor that day. You are at Hogwarts.”
Hermione starts to mumble incoherent nonsense to herself, and Draco tries to get her attention again.
“Hermione, can I move closer to you.”
Yes…. feels safe.”
Draco slowly crawled towards her until he was a few feet in front of her.
“Hermione, can you breathe with me?” Hermione nods, making eye contact with Draco.
“Ready, breathe in…...breathe out…... breathe in…...breathe out.”
Hermione follows Draco’s lead as they take breaths in and out until she calms down some.
“Do you think you can answer some questions for me” Draco asked in a low tone.
“Yes, I’m better”
“That’s good, can you tell me what 5 things you see.”
“I see you, and Th- Theo. Chair, rug, and bookbag.”
“You're doing great, how about four things you hear?”
“My breathing, water…why do I hear water?”
“The part of Hogwarts we are in, is by the black lake.”
Hermione nods her head in understand and closes her eyes to focus.
“I hear a light hum and a hear a shifting of weight.”
“Perfect, what about 3 things you smell.”
“I smell sweat, some type of cologne, and…” Hermione takes a deep breath trying to remember the smell apple.”
“Almost done. Can you tell me what two things you feel”?
Hermione nods her head yes with a smile. “I feel a cold floor and heat.”
“Okay, perfect last one, what do you taste.”
As soon as the question leaves his mouth, Draco feels a body colliding into his at the sound of the door for the common room opening. He hears as sobs get released into his shoulder following with tears. He rubs her back, repeatedly telling her that she is safe.
“Please don’t let them take me. I don’t want to be hurt. Please don’t let them take me. Please don’t let them take me. Please Malfoy, please keep me safe.”
“Shhhh, no one is going to hurt you. You are safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Shhh it’s okay…. everything is going to be okay.” Draco tries to soothe her.
“Malfoy tears… I taste tears.”
Draco glances towards the door while continuing to rub Hermione’s back.
“The door opening was Madam Pomfrey and Blaise. Do you think you can let her look at you”?
Draco gasps whenever he feels Hermione grip onto him, even tighter than he thought possible.
“That’s okay, you're okay. We can wait until you are ready. Do you remember anything of the things you were focusing on?”
“Apples”
“Apples, perfect. I want you to continue to breathe while focusing on that smell. Can you do that?”
Hermione sniffles but Draco can feel her nod into his shoulder.
“You smell like apples” Hermione whispers to him.
“What did you say?” He asked confused.
“You smell like apple.”
“Oh…okay focus on that”
Hermione silently breathes until she breaks the quiet with questions.
“Draco?”
“Yes, Hermione”
“Are you okay.”
“I’m okay, don’t worry about me, just think about the smell of apples and the slowing of your breathing.”
Hermione pulls away from his shoulder to look at him.
“Your heart rate”
“What about it”
“Your heart is racing.”
“I’m okay, don’t worry about me.”
Hermione looks at him with worry as she slowly moves off of him.
“Are you ready for Madam Pomfrey to look at you.”
She nods but doesn’t take her concerned eyes off him. She stands up onto her shaking legs and looks around to see Madam Pomfrey, the headmistress, Theo and Blaise watching from a distance. Hermione looks away with embarrassment creeping up her face which Draco notices, so he slowly stands up to look her in the face.
“There’s no reason to be embarrassed. You can’t control when these things happen. You did a great job of calming yourself and I’m proud of you. Go into your dormitory and let Madam Pomfrey and Headmistress McGonagall help you okay. Can you do that?”
She nods and walks into the dormitory. Draco turns to the two older women giving them a nod to go check on her. They enter the dormitory following Hermione and Draco turns to Theo.
“Don’t leave her, promise me you won’t leave her” Draco begs. Theo doesn’t answer, watching as Draco’s mental wall was beginning to crumble. Draco approaches Theo gripping his shoulder like it’s a lifeline. “Theodore, promise me please.”
“I promise I won’t leave her.”
Draco gives him a nod of appreciation before turning and storming out the door. Blaise and Theo look at each other with worry.
“I will go check on him. Go keep your promise to him. Okay, this is obviously important to him. He just needs a minute.”
Theo nods to Blaise, heading to the direction of the dormitory door.
“Um, Theo ... .do you have any idea where he would have gone.”
Theo freezes not thinking about that possibility. “Um, he probably went somewhere to think alone so I would check the wooden bridge, by the great lake, boathouse, owlery, quidditch field, astronomy tower though I really hope he isn't there.
Blaise turns to leave but stops to speak to Theo “based on what we just witness, she shouldn't know about him leaving.”
“I agree” Theo says quietly.
~~~
Blaise grabs Draco's journal from the table and heads to his first location which would be the astronomy tower. After he checks the tower, Blaise is relieved to find it empty with no sign that Draco was there. He checks the owlery next, also not finding him but his owl was there so Draco wasn't having him deliver a letter. He checks the wooden bridge and quidditch field which leads him still empty handed. Blaise starts to get worried, hoping he is going to find Draco soon. As he walks around the great lake, he finds a body sitting in the dark by the water. He becomes certain that the person is Draco, so he sits down a few feet from him.
“Is she okay?” Draco asks Blaise with a sniffle.
“You helped her already, let’s worry about you and let them take care of her now.”
Draco doesn't respond but he lifts his head from his arms to stare into the water. Blaise doesn't look at him but pulls the journal out to place it on the ground between them.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you need company.”
“What if I don't want to or aren’t ready to talk.”
Draco shifted uncomfortably but the question obviously had no truth behind it.
“I didn't say anything about talking, I said company. If you want to talk to me, you can but it's okay if you don't.”
Draco observes Blaise, trying reading between the lines as to why he said he needed company. “You said I needed company; do you mean I need supervision, so I don’t harm myself or someone else?”
“No, company. You need company to know you aren't alone in this. You need company because it is okay to not be fine. You have a right to feel whatever you are feeling and to think about whatever you are thinking about.”
“Doesn't it make me weak though.”
“Absolutely not, if anything it makes you strong because you're showing what makes you feel vulnerable. If you were weak, you would be trying to hide what you are feeling. So no, it doesn't make you weak but there is no problem with being weak or feeling weak.”
Blaise freezes when a muffle sob enters the quiet air among the two.
“Draco, what is it?” He asked softly.
“I shouldn’t have waited for you to get back. I should have immediately moved her when she fell asleep. I triggered a nightmare for her.” Draco rushes out in a panicky voice.
“can you walk me through what happened before we came out of the dormitory.”
“I was on the chair reading, and she started to kick the blanket off her, so I stepped closer to wake her and she fell of the sofa and out of instinct I caught her as she fell to soften her fall then I immediately stepped back and you guys came out.”
“Draco, I don’t think she had a nightmare and if she did it wasn’t caused by you because you had moved her hours before this situation happened.”
Draco makes a sound of disagreement. Blaise slides closer to Draco causing him to slightly flinch.
“Do you understand what she was saying?”
“No, she was mumbling nonsense.”
“She wasn’t actually, Hermione was in a traumatic flashback. She couldn’t comprehend where she was. She couldn’t remember anything. If I was to guess she saw you, remembered being taken by the snatchers and she spiraled. That’s why she freaked out when she thought they had Ginny. Also, why she didn’t want to see Ginny, she thought that if Ginny stayed where she was that she would be safer.”
“She didn’t know Theo” Draco whispers to himself.
“What did you say.”
“I asked her if she knew who was behind me and she said no that he wasn’t at the manor.
A sniffle escapes Draco, which leads him to bury his face in his arms. Blaise moves so that he is next to Draco and rubs his back in a comforting manner.
“Why did you leave our floor? Are you okay?”
“I could hear her screaming from that day.”
“Day at the manor?” Blaise queried.
Draco nods looking towards the water again.
“I should have done something; I shouldn’t have let Bella torture her.”
“You did do something, you bought them time to escape by not identifying Harry.”
“I bought them time for her to get tortured” Draco grits out.
“As soon as he had his hands on Harry, Hermione would have been handed over to Greyback. If you tried to stop Bellatrix, you would have been tortured nearly to death”
“So, what if I got tortured.”
“they would have killed your mother, Draco. They would have made you wish you were dead because they would make her death painful while making you watch and they would make you live through Hermione's torture because when you stopped her pain, would have given them leverage over you.”
Draco pulls up his sleeve that covers the dark mark. He glares at it in the moon light and then look at Blaise who was watching him with patience and concern.
“I wish I was dead but the dark magic from this stupid mark won’t let me.”
“Draco” he says in heartbreak and disbelief.
“Yep, but this fucking mark and ministry mandates forbids it.”
“can I ask why.”
“if I wasn’t here, they wouldn’t be able to use me to hurt my mother.
“Draco, they can’t hurt you or your mother anymore.”
Draco shakes his head no, signaling he was ending the conversation. He stands up grabbing his journal and looking at Blaise who watches him with curiosity.
“I’m going to walk to the owlery, do you want to come with me?” Draco asks as if he was a completely different person.
“I will come with you. Are you owling someone”?
Draco nods and Blaise follows him. He notices that Draco was tapping his fingers on the journal in a nervous way but doesn’t question it due to letting Draco set the pace. As they approach the owlery, Blaise hears Draco mumble something but couldn’t make it out.
“I’m not sure if you are talking to yourself or me but if it was to me, I didn’t hear it.”
Draco whips around with confusion before realizing and turning back around.
“I was just saying or well, wondering aloud as to where they are going to move her to.”
“Move her to?” He repeated doubtfully.
“when her week is up…the healers said she had to try this placement for at least a week.”
“you think she’s going to want to be moved.”
“Yes” Draco says cockily as if it was obvious.
Blaise watches from the doorway as Draco writes a note and sends his owl to deliver it to Narcissa. Draco rotates to Blaise once the owl leaves, now it being his turn to be doubtful.
“You think she’s going to stay in the same housing area as us.”
“Actually yes, I don’t think she will want to rebuild the trust with other people. She trusted us enough to get us a second chance and I don’t think she will be okay being thrown into the middle of strangers.”
“I guess I should see about leaving then.”
Draco goes to walk past him, but Blaise stops him with a hand to his chest. Draco scoffs but with a bit of playfulness in his tone.
“Can we sit down and have a conversation?” Draco looks at Blaise with a raised eyebrow then looks to the floor and stairs of the owlery then back to Blaise.
“Would you consider sitting down and having a conversation with me in a different location.”
“What about Theo?”
“What about him? Do you want him involved in this conversation?”
“Yes, but what about Hermione?”
Blaise motions for him to follow then heads down the stairs to the bottom of the owlery. Draco follows him rambling off a million questions.
“We are going to go to our floor and check on how things are going there” Blaise tells Draco trying to calm his rambles.
“I don’t …I’m not ready to see her yet.”
“That's okay, Madam Pomfrey and the headmistress took her to her bed, but I can go in first to check it out while you wait in the hall.”
“Yeah that…. that sounds good.”
They walk the rest of the way to their floor in silence but once they reach the door Draco could tell that Blaise seemed hesitant.
“What’s bothering you” Draco questions but he already knows the answer.
Blaise shakes his head no and goes to enter the common room, but Draco stops him by placing his hand on Blaise’s shoulder.
“My healer knows about it. That is why I’m on healing potions. Madam Pomfrey has seen the marks and it’s possible she has my healer's report, but she hasn’t asked me any questions. The letter I sent my mother was for the healer's contact information so I can set another appointment up.”
“That’s good to hear but I’m still concerned.”
“I understand and I’m okay with Theo knowing but I don’t want to be there when he finds out.”
“Can I ask one last thing before I go in?” Blaise asked Draco with a slight bit of pleading.
“You can ask, and I’ll try to answer.”
“How long has this gone on?”
“Since the night of freedom”
“I would like to talk to you more about this.”
Draco nods in acknowledgment and then Blaise turns to go through the door.
Notes:
TW: Traumatic flashback / Dissociation, mentions of suicidal thoughts and actions, panic attack, mentions of previous torture
4243 words in this chapter
And... we have reached the next part of the rollercoaster ride... the drop. one of many to come.
Also, did these two hit a friendly turning point?
Anyways, Happy Easter to those who celebrate.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 6: If You Only Knew
Chapter Text
Chapter Six: If You Only Knew
Blaise enters the living area, discovering that Headmistress McGonagall and Theo were sitting in the common room. Their discussion was cut off whenever they spotted Blaise enter the room. Theo gets a look of concern whenever he looks behind him not seeing Draco.
“I found him; he is outside the door” he assures Theo. Blaise watches as Theo relaxes with a small nod.
The headmistress looks towards the door then to Blaise. “Is he okay?”
“Physically he is fine and unharmed…...mentally not so much.”
“Is there anything Madam Pomfrey or I can do.”
“Not at this time, I believe.”
“Are you doing, okay?” she questions.
“Yes, I'm okay. Thanks for asking”
The headmistress stands from the chair she was previously sitting on when talking to Theo. “I will leave you boys to it, please let me know about any problems or concerns. Good night gentlemen.” she exits the living area with a nod of appreciation.
“Is she okay” Blaise asked.
Theo nods then motions with his head towards the girl’s dormitory. “Madam Pomfrey convinced her to take a sleeping potion so she's asleep.”
Blaise nods in understanding while tapping his fingers on the chair backrest.
“The three of us have a conversation to take place but he wasn't ready to see her yet so I told him I would look into it first. Also, there are a few things we need to talk about privately.”
Theo sits up more while looking towards the door.
Headmistress McGonagall exits the room, immediately seeing Draco sitting on the floor, looking down the hallway.
“Mr. Malfoy?” she asked with soft concern.
He looks at her, taken out of his thoughts. He began to stand but she motions to him telling him he was fine.
“Are you doing okay, is there something Madam Pomfrey or I can do?”
“Not at this moment, I did ask my mother for the information for the mind healer I saw after the trial. Would it be a problem if I had an appointment with him?”
“No, of course not. Let Madam Pomfrey or I know if there's anything we can help with.”
Draco nods then looks up to her with concern.
“Is…is she okay?”
“She is. She agreed to take a sleeping potion, but she was worried about you.”
She notices that Draco gets a downhearted expression which causes her confusion.
“I understand, I'm perfectly fine being moved into a different place so she can stay with Theo, Blaise and Luna.”
She stares at him befuddled trying to understand what he was saying.
“Oh, I apologize, I didn't realize that you would wish to be moved into a new placement, I will make sure to handle that.”
It was now Draco's turn to be befuddled. “If she is worried about me and it is best for me to be replaced then that's what I wish because that will be the best for her.”
McGonagall looked surprised, finally understanding the confusion. “she was worried about how you were doing, not worried about your presence. As far as I know she doesn't want to avoid you so unless you feel the need to be move replacements for whatever reason then you can stay here.”
She can feel as Draco seems to light up at this statement. She says his name to get his attention. “I feel the need to inform you of this, but I hope I don't have to. I need you to focus on helping yourself, I don't know if you feel this way, but you don't owe anything to Miss. Granger or anyone anything. So, I ask that you take care of yourself and your needs just as much as you would anyone else.”
Draco looks at her with respect and happiness. “I really appreciate you saying that.”
“I mean it Mr. Malfoy; you matter just as much. Also, I'm proud to hear that you are thinking about remeeting with your healer.”
She goes to leave when Draco stops her “um before you can go can you answer something for me without telling me exactly.”
She nods for him to continue so he takes a deep breath almost as if he was afraid of the answer. “Did I cause whatever happened to her? Blaise said she was in a trauma flashback, but I just feel like I did something wrong.”
“You didn't do anything wrong; I don't think she was familiar with the common room so when she woke up to said unfamiliar room she panicked, thinking she was in an unsafe environment.”
“Is there anything that could have been done differently?”
“no, I strongly believe that everything you did was excellent in that situation.”
He gives her a look that says that he doesn't believe her but nods anyway. They wish each other a pleasant night and she leaves him. He sits in the hall for a few moments until he hears the common room door opening, signaling that Blaise was returning to him.
“Are we able to have that conversation now or is it not the time” Blaise had asked.
Draco stands, beginning to brush himself off and gestures to the door.
“She's in her bed, asleep. We can talk in here if you would like.”
Draco nods so Blaise holds the door for him to enter first. When he enters, he sees Theo watching him, eyes filled with concern. Draco turns looking at Blaise with panic.
“Did you tell him already?”
“No, I wouldn't have done that. I'll probably tell him whenever you're asleep so he will be calmed and levelheaded whenever he sees you” Blaise responds in a whisper.
“Thank you”
Blaise nods and motions for Draco to sit in the common room. After they all get settled, Blaise and Theo watch Draco wondering where to start the conversation.
“Why do you think it would be better without you on this floor?” Blaise questioned.
“She doesn't want me here anyways, I'm just reminding her of everything horrible over the last 8 years,”
“I don't think she wants you to leave, I think this can be very beneficial for both of you,” Theo tells Draco.
Draco thinks about his conversations with everyone since it happened, finally starting to believe he was helpful.
“Theo, can you explain to me, from your eyes, how I helped. Everything happened so fast I'm a little jumbled about.”
“Of course, Hermione got put into a state where she couldn't remember anything since the end of the war. She knows you would never hurt her of your own will. I mean yes, you have been a complete arse to her in the past, but you have never physically harmed her.”
“mother raised me that” Theo cuts Draco off, finishing his sentence.
“that men should never hurt a woman, yes, I know. She knows that also, that you would never hurt her purposely. That's why she isn't afraid of you, why she has always been defiant against you. That is why she clung to you whenever she thought she was being held hostage and wasn't safe. The only bit of safety she had was knowing Ron and Harry weren't here and that you personally wouldn't hurt her out of your own want.”
Draco shifts in his seat uncomfortable, looking away from his roommates. Theo moves closer to Draco to gain his attention.
“She knows your mother raised you differently than your father. She understands that you aren't like them and that the few years leading up to the war, you were terrified. She never questioned your true intentions.”
The room falls silent as all three gentlemen are unsure of what to say with and in a mix of their own thoughts about everything. Eventually Blaise clears his throat to gain Draco's attention.
“why don’t you shower and head to bed, I'm sure your exhausted and can use a refreshing shower and good night of sleep.'' Draco nods in agreement and goes to leave the room when Theo speaks up.
“Madam Pomfrey left a dreamless sleep potion; we would all appreciate it if you would take it tonight.”
“Um, yeah. Leave it on my bed table and I'll take it after I shower. Before you ask, I plan to journal all this. I just can’t do it tonight due to my mind still being a little messy of everything.'' Draco replies with his back to them as he approaches the door.
“We know and understand, if you need us, we will be here talking and doing our own thing.” Blaise responds. They share a silent conversation amongst each other that pretty much informs Blaise he can tell Theo once he has fallen asleep. Theo notices this action, picking up on Blaise needing to tell him something. Theo proposes that they play chess to which Blaise agrees.
“Professor McGonagall informed me about a concern involving Hermione that she has developed over the last few days.” Theo says randomly in the middle of one of their games.
“What is she concerned about?”
“Muggles have a mental disorder that consists of problems with food. She is starting to think that Hermione might have one because of the running and skipping dinner.”
“She doesn't run because of problems with food, she runs as a solution to her trauma. She said her mind healer recommended her do it. Though I can't specifically say yes or no to the eating part.”
“Well in that case I'm sure the skipping of dinner isn't on purpose, but I plan to watch for the signs that she had informed me of.”
“I will be sure to let you know if I notice anything of concern.
They finish their game and Theo stands up, straightening his uniform.
“Well, I'm going to change into lounge wear and see if Draco is asleep yet so you can tell me whatever you wish to tell me about him without him being present for the conversation.” Theo states nonchalantly. Blaise eyes go wide in surprise watching Theo walk towards the dormitory.
“you know I need to tell you something about Draco” he asked surprised.
“Indeed, I have known the both of you for a while so I can tell.”
“Do you know what it is about?”
“No, but I know it is serious because Draco doesn't want me to be frustrated with him and he fears me knowing about it,” Theo walks away before anything else could be said.
When Theo returns, he immediately starts preparing tea for them. Blaise watches Theo unsure of what to say and do. After it was ready, Theo handed him a cup then took one for himself while sitting down.
“Draco is asleep so what do you wish to tell me?”
“I will start with the fact that he has contacted his mother to get in contact with the mind healer he had seen before.” Theo eyes grow slightly wide in worry but nods for him to continue,
“I have been given the impression that Draco had tried to end his life in the belief that if he is gone, others will not be able to kill his mother. His dark mark will not allow him to do that and that is why he has to take the healing potions. He has done this since you know who’s death.”
“did you have any idea about this?” Theo asked.
“I figured he had done something to cause the pain with the dark mark. I was thinking he was trying to remove it which was the reason for him having to take the potion. I didn't think he thought everyone would be better without him.” Blaise confessed sadly.
Theo sets the teacup down and puts his head in his hands. “I should have known this.”
“Theo, no one could have known if he was keeping it from us.”
“No, I should have. He was constantly getting sick. He had a fever all the time. I should have realized he was tampering with his dark mark.”
Blaise becomes confused looking towards Theo.
“Constantly sick and fever all the time?”
Theo nods in confirmation “yes, when he was in the cell before the trial, he was sick. That is the reason that he can't remember the trial.”
“He was sick. Why wasn't he being treated?”
“He insisted he was fine, and they didn't care to actually…well care.”
“Can you explain him being sick.”
“After the trial when he was back at the manor, and I was living there I noticed from time to time that he just wouldn't appear from his room. Whenever I finally figured out how to break into his room, I found him dazed in the ice-cold bathtub. Even in that cold of water he was sweating and burning up.”
Blaise watches as Theo's eyes start to tear up but he tries to blink them away. “Theo? Are you okay?”
Theo nods and takes a deep breath “yes, it just….I can't imagine having to experience that again. I was so scared, I didn't think…I didn't think I could help him.”
“Everything will be fine. You should go to bed; you didn't sleep much last night.”
Theo shakes his head no. “I should stay here in case one of them wakes up and needs something.”
“I'll stay out here, go sleep in your bed.”
Theo goes to argue but Blaise stops it with a firm head shake. They both get settled for the night, Theo in his bed and Blaise on the sofa with his journal and a book.
~~~
Hermione sneaks out of her dormitory to find that Blaise was asleep on the sofa with a book open on his chest. She tips toes towards the unconscious male, carefully removing the book from his weak grasp. After cautiously covering him with a sofa blanket, she moved to the window seat. She spends around an hour writing in her journal and looking through the window that shows under the black lake. She had decided that since her knee still wasn't doing the best she would not go for her run this morning. She pauses whenever she hears a door open, with the half-asleep male walking out of it towards the restroom. She silently watches as he stares at Blaise for a moment before his eyes drift to the girl's dormitory door then back to the restroom. She turns her attention back to the window, watching the water under the lake. She doesn’t turn from the window whenever she hears the door open with footsteps retreating from the restroom. She stills whenever she hears the footsteps suddenly stop. She doesn't know what to say or do and it seems as if he also doesn't know what to do. She slowly moves to turn and place her feet onto the ground. She carefully watches as he steps back almost like he thought he was dreaming and that she was a predator. She slides on the window seat away from him, picking up on that he was afraid of her. She watches him with nerves as he reaches towards Blaise's sleeping body, while not taking his eyes off her. She could tell he was trying to appear calm but the sound of him frantically tapping Blaise informed her that he was terrified. She could see Blaise sitting up while rubbing his face.
“Draco?” Blaise asked tiredly.
“Is she real?” he asked immediately.
“Well good morning to you too”
“Is She Real?” Draco snapped through clenched teeth, still not looking away from her.
Blaise looked at Draco then followed his eye line to see Hermione. She looks at Blaise with a frightened and unsure expression. They both look back to Draco.
“Yes, she is real, and we are all awake” Blaise states calmly.
Draco quickly glances to Blaise then back to Hermione with a nod. Hermione stands, taking a step towards him but stops whenever he jumps backwards. Her eyes immediately went to Blaise who was trying to get Draco's attention.
“Draco, Hermione is going to stay here, how about we go into our room and talk” Blaise suggests. Draco nods in understanding.
Hermione sits down on the window seat and Blaise places his hand on Draco's shoulder leading him into their room. Blaise sits him down onto his bed, sitting down also turning his attention to Draco.
“What happened out there?”
“I feel like I’m dreaming and she…she is a predator and I’m her prey.”
“You are not dreaming, and I think your panic attack worried and scared her. She wasn’t going to harm you” Blaise informs him in a comforting tone.
“Do you…do you think she still is out there?”
“Yes, I think she would’ve stayed out there until she was sure you were okay.”
“Can you talk to her” Draco asked shyly.
“You don’t want to talk to her yourself.”
Draco frantically shakes his head no. Blaise holds his hands up saying it was okay, clearly figuring out that seeing her was causing him panic and worry about the night before. Blaise exits the room to go talk with Hermione. He sees her figure jump whenever he opens the door. He stays by the door looking to see if he could approach.
“Is he okay?” Hermione asked softly.
“He’ll be fine, he felt like he was dreaming and that you have bad intentions towards him.”
“I don’t want to hurt him, I never planned to.”
“I know and so does he, but at this moment his head isn’t completely clear.”
“Is it not completely clear because of last night?” She wonders with guilt.
“That could be a part of it but that most likely isn't the only reason.”
“You went after him, right? I know Theo stayed so you went after him…. right?” she asked with desperation.
“I did”
Blaise takes the seat next to her, gently grabbing her hand to stop her from scratching her scarred arm. She jumps at the touch but releases some of the tense when she realizes why he did that.
“Did I fuck everything up last night.”
“Of course, not”
“He was…. different like he was hurting.”
“A lot happened last night; he will be okay.”
“I triggered something for him.” she states rather than questioning. “I could feel him panicking. He tried to hide it, but I could feel his hard racing.”
Blaise gives her hand a squeeze to comfort her. “Can I ask you about some things, With the understanding you might not answer.”
Hermione nods so he carefully thinks of what to ask first.
“Do you want to leave the living area, or do you want Draco to leave the living area?”
“Do you want me to leave?” She asked worried.
“No, we don’t want you leaving, we think that having you here can help us all.”
“And Draco?” Hermione questions
“He was worried and planning to get switched because he thought you didn’t want him here with you.”
Hermione lets out a small sound of her shock “I don’t want that; I understand if you guys do but I don’t.”
“Looks like we are all stuck with each other again.” he says in a joking manner.
She releases a small chuckle but quickly stops when she notices his serious expression.
“What is the next question?”
“You haven't been to dinner in a few days, is this on purpose?”
Blaise looks at Granger trying to see her expression, expecting to find her defensive, shocked, or scared but finding confusion written on her face.
“Are you confused by my question?”
“I haven't been to dinner?”
“The first night you were at dinner, and the last two you were given potions to sleep before you could eat.”
“I haven't been avoiding dinner on purpose, though I'm glad you said something because I would like to not take anything tonight.”
Blaise nods in understanding
“Is there anything on your mind that you are concerned about or that we should know about.” he wonders.
“Not at the moment, how about you?”
Blaise shakes his head and tries to hide the yawn behind his hand. She pats his shoulder motioning for his room.
“On you go, back to bed. I don't need any more babysitting.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! also, the book you were reading is marked and is on the side table.”
“Thank you, I will see you soon.”
Blaise takes his tired body into his bed while Hermione finds herself lying on the floor with her feet on the window seat. She was thinking until her thoughts turned into light slumber. Light slumber that disappeared whenever something collided with her ribs then tumbled over her. She sits up to find Draco on the floor next to her looking at her confused.
“I'm sorry, I must have drifted off.”
“On the floor?”
“Yes, I was thinking then you were falling over me” she shrugged with a smile.
“Thinking while lying on the floor?”
“Yes” Hermione states like it was obvious “it is called changing my perspective.”
Draco hums while standing, following, extending his hand down to help Hermione off the floor.
“Well, a lady shouldn’t be lying on the floor, '' he says with a smirk.
She rolls her eyes in a playful manner. “Compared to the list of unlady-like things I have done, lying on the floor is certainly nothing.”
“Is that so, what unlady-like things would be on that list.” Draco asked in a scandalized tone.
Hermione smacks his chest lightly “you have to get a potion from the hospital wing, correct? Go get ready so we can go together then I will fill you in on all the unlady-like actions I have done.”
Notes:
TW: Panic attacks, False dreaming, brief mention of suicidal thoughts, brief mention of fogginess due to illness, brief discussion of possible eating disorders, brief discussion about domestic violence.
3597 words in this chapter
Now we have started the aftermath of Hermione's trauma flashback / dissociation and some of Draco's background.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 7: Love And War
Chapter Text
Chapter Seven: Love And War
“So your telling me you brewed Polyjuice in second year, called and ran from a werewolf in third year, let professor pink bitch get taken by centaurs, was on the run with two teenage boys for almost a year, broke into a bank and rode a dragon out and those are only some of the things you did during the years at Hogwarts” Draco asked in amazed shock as they walked to the hospital wing.
“Um…yeah” Hermione responded with nonchalance.
They enter the hospital wing, each taking a seat on the beds next to each other. Madam Pomfrey hands each of them a healing potion. Draco takes it right away noticing that Hermione was looking at hers, almost as if she was hesitating. He watched from the corner of his eye not wanting to draw her attention to him noticing. She observed the potion before slowly taking it and looking around to see if anyone was watching her. They sit in silence for a moment before Madam Pomfrey comes to talk to them, starting with Draco by pulling the curtains between them.
“I’m just going to ask some questions and take a report of your arm, do you have any questions before we start?”
Draco shakes his head no while pulling his sleeve up so she could see his arm. After taking her notes she goes to ask him the question whenever his head snaps to the side at the floor. Before she could question what, he was doing he pulled the curtain back, discovering that Hermione was staring at her arm that was dripping blood. His eyes shoot to Madam Pomfrey as he grabs a cloth from his pocket. Madam Pomfrey goes rushing for supplies and Draco turns his attention back to Hermione. He grabs her wrist, covering it with the cloth and squeezes lightly. He sees that she is in shock and hasn’t reacted to anything, so he slowly brings his hand to her chin to pull her eyesight to him.
“Look at me.” He tells her softly. She gives him a light nod with a tear rolling down her cheek. Without moving his hand from her chin, he moves his thumb to wipe away her tears.
“Madam Pomfrey will be back in a minute to take care of you. Would you like to tell me another fun story from over the years or would you like me to tell you one?”
She tries to look back to her arm, but Draco taps his thumb on her chin lightly, signaling no.
“You” she says in a whisper.
“Okay, can I tell you part of a story I wrote when I was younger” Draco watches as Hermione's interest is peaked.
Madam Pomfrey returns to them, Draco takes a step out of her way enough for her to stop the bleeding but not enough to effect Hermione eyesight on him.
There was once a prince at the age of 10. His mother had taken him into a small town to an event where he could be with a bunch of random kids his age. For as long as he could remember his mother insisted him to learn to dance but he never found a desire for it. He knew being a prince he needed to know how to dance but his mother always made it so much more than that. Whenever they arrived at the hall of the event he saw small groups of children throughout the room. His mother knelt next to him; with an encouraging smile she told him it was his time to be a normal kid. She watches with joy as he wanders amongst the group trying to make friends. They were all decently nice to him, but he found his attention constantly finding a little girl in a soft jade color ballet dress. He watched from a distance, scared to approach her until he saw that she was practicing dancing though this type of dancing was one he never learned how to do. When he finally worked up the nerve, he found himself in front of her with a bright smile. He shifted back and forth on his feet until she looked to his eyes with a smile just as bright. He had asked her to dance with him to which she agreed.
Draco noticed that Madam Pomfrey had stepped back signaling that she had stopped the bleeding.
“End of story time for the moment. Your arm is no longer bleeding.”
He removes his hand from her chin, finally allowing her gaze to reach her arm to which she tugged her arm to her chest to hide it. He returns to sitting on his bed and returning the curtain to the previous position allowing Madam Pomfrey and Hermione privacy.
“Hermione, what happened is a side effect of the healing potion, but it certainly was a lot more than it should have been. I believe it was due to the dark magic in the wound. I would like to ask you some questions. Is that okay?”
“Yes, what would you like to know.”
“Has your arm caused you any pain recently?”
Hermione looks at the bandage on her arm then back to Madam Pomfrey.
“Not that I can remember within the last few days.”
“Do you remember what happened last night?” she asked in a hesitant manner.
“I fell asleep on the sofa of the common room and woke up to a traumatic flashback and freaked out. Professor McGonagall and you gave me a potion to sleep.”
“How are you feeling today?”
“I feel normal, but my mind is a little hazy from the blood…bleeding.”
“Would you be willing to take a blood replenishing potion?”
“Will I be allowed to go to breakfast and class after?”
“Yes”
They finish up in the hospital wing with a time for Draco to return to answer her questions and Hermione's appointment information for the next day. Draco takes her satchel and holds his arm out for Hermione. She stares at him with confusion which results in him shaking his elbow at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Offering my arm to you so I can escort you.”
“Escort me?”
“That would be correct, it wouldn't be gentlemen like if I allowed you to walk without assistance.”
Hermione stands, gently grasping his elbow with her hands. They make their way out of the hospital wing. He watches with concern as they descend the staircase.
“Hmm, gentlemen like you say.” she responds to him with a smirk.
“Indeed, my mother did raise me to be a gentleman” he says snarky.
“Are you applying my parents didn't raise me to be completely lady-like?”
“No not at all, I've only ever hear stories of the Hermione granger, the proper lady.”
She gasps in fake horror as she playfully punches his shoulder.
“Do I not get a “foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach” comment with this punch. I must say I'm disappointed” he jokes but is quickly pulled to a stop whenever she stops walking. He flashes with worry knowing he had gone too far unintentionally.
“I'm sorry” he says quickly but is shocked when he hears a loud laugh fill the hall.
“Sorry, sorry, you remember exactly what I said to you before I punched you in the face?”
Draco turns away from her out of embarrassment, holding his arm up once again.
“Draco? I didn't mean…”
“Come on, Blaise and Theo will worry and hunt us down if we don't get going” he cuts her off replying in a gentle tone.
She grasps his arm once again and he looks back at her with concern.
“Do you feel okay?”
“Yes, she gave me a blood replenishing potion.”
“Are you ready to continue?”
“Yep, let's go.”
They enter the great hall and Theo jumps up whenever he sees the pair. Theo rushes to her side to loop her arm with his.
“Ugh, pureblood and their gentlemen-ness” Hermione mumbles to herself
“Miss. Granger, that sounded awfully prejudice” Theo scoffs.
She glares at him causing him to chuckle. They help her sit before taking their own seats.
“So are you okay, considering your arm is wrapped up and you were clinging to Malfoy.”
“Yes, I am fine, just Malfoy overreacting because I had a side effect of the healing potion this morning.” she tells Theo and Blaise who was badly hiding worry.
“Well eat, you’ll need it to regain your strength” Blaise tells her as he pushes a prepared plate in front of her. She eyes him suspiciously then turns that gaze onto Theo who both was watching with the same expression. She found that Draco was not sharing this expression.
“Well, this is interesting” she says as she looks towards the professors table, also being watched by the headmistress.
“What is?” Draco asked.
“Those two and the headmistress know something that you don’t. Well, they think they do.”
She watches Blaise and Theo look at each other in shock.
“Boys, I don't have an eating disorder, I have just been missing dinner the last few nights.”
Hermione turns her focus to her food while Draco looks amongst them with confusion.
She notices and motions for them to explain to him.
“The headmistress had noticed her absence from dinner, along with the morning runs and questioned whether I had picked up on any concerns that could be signs of an eating disorder.”
“Now shall we play our game of questions” Hermione asks.
“You're in a zombie apocalypse with one person. Who do you want that to be with?” Theo asked?
“I wouldn't choose you, no offense Theo but I feel like you would get me killed” Hermione answers. She began to look back and forth between Blaise and Draco “I think I would like my chances with Malfoy. How about you three?”
“Well, I would choose you. I heard you were on the run for like a year, so you have experience, not to mention you are brilliant.” Theo tells her.
Hermione rolls her eyes in fake annoyance.
“I think I also like my chances with Draco,” Blaise tells them.
They turn their attention to Draco, waiting for a response.
I must say I agree, my chance with the handsome Mr. Malfoy seems pretty superior.”
Blaise elbows Draco in the ribs causing him to wince.
“Okay, okay, I would choose Potter, I mean he experienced a variety of things.”
Hermione sits up, straightening while crossing her arms in offense.
“Oops, you made her mad now.” Theo pointed out.
“Oh no I understand, who wouldn't want to buddy up with the “boy who lived" Hermione says clearly annoyed.
“Have you ever been drunk Hermione?” Theo asked.
“I have not, why do you ask?”
“Just curious, I avoid drinking and Blaise is a flirty drunk” Theo states.
“What type of drunk are you Malfoy?”
Blaise and Theo turn to him, receiving the finger for putting him on the spot.
“I've never been drunk before.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not convinced but nodded and turned her attention to Blaise.
“Do you prefer watching the sunrise or sun fall” Draco asked.
Blaise cut in to answer first, saying he likes to watch the sun rise but that he also hates waking early.
“I would have to say I probably would choose sun fall because of the pretty sunset.” she answered.
“Well, well it's time for class, why don't we go” Draco says while standing up to leave.
Hermione grabs his arm, yanking him back down to sit causing his eyes to grow wide.
“Not getting away this time, what’s your answer” she growls.
Draco looks at his friends in shock while they hold back a laugh. “My answer would be nightfall also.”
“Now that wasn't too hard, was it?”
They stand to get ready to head to class. Theo grabs her satchel watching her as she stands. “Would you like me to escort you, Miss. Granger'' Theo asked, holding his arm up.
“I appreciate the offer but really I am okay.”
~~~
After seeing Madam Pomfrey, Draco returns to their floor. He sees that Theo was on the sofa writing in his journal. He looks around, discovering that Hermione was lying on the floor in the same place as the morning. Theo sees that Draco was looking at her and he lets out a soft chuckle.
“Odd isn’t it; she was naming potion ingredients earlier.”
“I tripped over her this morning,” Draco says as he takes a seat next to Theo.
“Malfoy” Hermione calls from the floor
“Yes?” He responds with confusion.
“The healing potions, do you know what the ingredients are? I can’t figure it out.”
“No, it was created over the summer for injuries such as ours.”
Hermione doesn’t respond, causing Draco and Theo to look back at her after a few moments. They see she was laying with her arms out to the side with a small smile on her face. Theo hears as Draco sucks in a breath, instantly recognizing the blank behind his eyes which is caused by a flashback. Theo moves closer to Draco and talks over his shoulder to Hermione.
“Hey Hermione, do you mind making some tea.”
Hermione sits up confused, about to ask why Theo asked her to make it rather than him making it himself. She sees that something was going on between Draco and Theo, so she stands to start the tea.
“Draco, everything is fine,” Theo says in a quiet tone. Theo watches as Draco's body flinches back with his hands and eyes clenching in discomfort.
“Draco you need to breathe” Theo says a little louder but when Draco doesn’t react, Theo grabs Draco’s shoulder causing him to jump and look around.
“You are not at the manor; you are at Hogwarts in the common room of our shared living area.”
Draco looks at Hermione then quickly stands heading to the restroom. Theo follows him, slipping in the door before Draco could let it fall shut. He surveys Draco as he splashes water on his face. he walks into Draco’s view and hands him a towel.
“Do you want to talk about what happened.”
“It was just a flashback.”
“Drawing room floor?” Theo questions cautiously
“Correct” Draco responds in a whisper.
They stand in silence for a few moments, Theo shifting back and forth on his feet nervously.
“Are you mad at me?” Draco asked in a whisper.
“Do I have a reason to be?” Theo asked back.
“I know Blaise told you last night, so you don’t need to pretend that you don’t know.”
“He did, and I intend to discuss it with you. I’m not mad at you.”
“But you are mad?”
“Yes, I am a bit.”
Draco lowers his head, firmly grabbing the sink. He releases an angry huff.
“You have no reason to be angry with yourself. I hid it from you, I hid it from everyone. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“I’m angry because I should have seen it, Draco. I was taking care of you for weeks during the summer. I should have realized you were tampering with your mark. My mark doesn’t cause fevers, my mark doesn’t cause as many problems as yours. For Merlin's sake you are taking healing potions every day and I didn’t even wonder why you were. You noticed when I was burning myself due to my father and I couldn’t even do the same for you. So yes, I am angry with myself.”
Draco says something but Theo couldn’t hear what it was.
“I should have done more; I should have noticed it. What kind of friend am I that I didn’t even notice.”
“I didn’t want you knowing Theo, I didn’t want to be hypocritical. I told you all these things when you were struggling then I turned around and did the same as you.”
Draco slides down the wall to the floor as he lets out a sob. Theo joins him in the floor.
“You are the last person I wanted to know. After everything I didn’t want you knowing” Draco sobs out
“Nothing is going to change; I will be here every step of the way to help you. We are all broken and we are all going to be in this together.”
“Minus Blaise” Draco says to lighten the mood.
“Correct, minus Blaise. His purpose is to remind us of how broken we all are” Theo jokes back.
Whenever they leave the room, they find Hermione curled in a blanket and a tray of tea on the table for them. They each take a seat in the chairs with a cup of tea.
“Would you like to hear more of the story?'' Draco asked out of nowhere. Hermione sits up to look at him.
“If you would like to tell more, I would love to hear more.”
“You told her your story?” Theo asked surprise.
“Yes, now shush and listen.”
The little prince led the girl to an open area, leading her throughout the steps. His mother watched in shock at how well they danced with each other not to mention the idea of him willingly dancing. Whenever the two children grew tired it was time for the event to come to an end. They both went their separate ways without an exchange of names but a promise to see each other next time. Over the next few years, his mother continued to sneak him away on those days, meeting her for their visit. They held an unspoken agreement to be better than the other at every visit. Throughout the years they tried to outdance each other but never agreed on who had improved more. The visit before his 13th birthday, he had brought her flowers. 13 yellow tulips to be exact. He had known he loved her from the first time they met but now it was time for him to tell her. He would finally be old enough to hold a relationship but when she wasn't there, he was crushed. He waited against his mother's wishes by himself, hoping she would show. He hoped she didn't show up because of a stupid reason like she was sick but the pit in his stomach knew something wasn't right. Whenever he got home before he could reach his room his father had stopped him. The pit in his stomach grew worse whenever his father told him he would be required to accompany him to a royal event the following day. He hated being with his father, he hated even more learning the ways of his father. He knew if he had any chance of having this incredible girl in his life, he needed to please his father. His father wanted a soldier, future king better than himself, an object. His mother didn't want her son anything like her husband. She wanted him to live his life as the child he should be. She stood behind the walls of fake love just enough to keep her life. The next morning his father took him to a group home filled with what looked like children wearing all plain black, carrying out tasks. His father explained to him that these kids came from families that were in debt to them. Each family had a certain time limit to repay the debt. Along with the options for the child after the time limit expired. The prince was said to take over as king whenever his 17th birthday approached. Over the fourth years, he created a persona to please his father, a persona of a horrible mini of his father. Over those years his mother went to every one of the events in hopes to relay her son's message along with the tulips but came up unsuccessful every time. His first day of king finally came upon him, it was his time to change everything his father had done but before he had the time to change anything one of those children in debt, time had run out. The leaders of the group home had brought a teen in front of him, they had handed him the thick folder of the teens' time at the home. He opened the folder finding a long report of disobedience and defiance. After reading the reports he motioned for the guards to reveal the teen. His stomach dropped whenever the guard pulled the girl’s head up by her hair. The girl he lost four years ago.
Whenever Draco stopped his story, Hermione shot up out of her blanket cocoon.
‘Nooooo, don't stop yet,” Hermione begged.
Draco laughed lightly before standing and flicked Theo’s head to wake him. He turned to her and her puppy face as Theo grumbled awake.
“We can continue after dinner. The headmistress will hunt you down if you don't show up for dinner again.”
On his way to the restroom, he heard her stand with a groan and a flick of the blankets. He found himself laughing whenever he could hear Hermione rushing Theo to awake fully so they could get back to the story faster.
Theo and Draco sped walked after her barely avoiding the students she was nearly running over due to her not paying attention. That happy giddiness stayed until she entered the great hall finding the headmistress waiting for her.
“Oh fuck” she mumbles to herself.
“What's wrong?” Theo asked worried.
“Nothing, sorry. I will be back for dinner soon.”
They watched as she approached Professor McGonagall and was led outside the great hall. After taking their seats, the three boys prepare her plate for her. A few minutes pass whenever they watch her return to them. Based on her quickly changed appearance they know whatever was said to her wasn't positive, so they quietly talk amongst themselves knowing she wasn't available for friendly conversation due to her barely audible thanks. After dinner she numbly follows them back to the living area. They took turns looking back to check on her. When they reach the door, they allow her in first, filing in after her.
“Do you still wish to hear more of the story?” Draco asked softly.
“Yes please”
He nods with a smile. “Would you like some tea? I believe we have lavender tea if you would like that?” Theo asked her softly.
“Sounds good”
“Why don't we all change for bed and meet back here for the story.”
Hermione heads for her dormitory without another word. With the boys making tea, gathering snacks and changing into sleep wear. Whenever the door opens for the girls' dormitory, Draco sees a smile appear on her face at the sight of the snacks in the room. She took a seat where she was sitting before, wrapping her blanket around herself. She takes the offered teacup from Theo before Blaise could grab it and then Theo takes a seat on the common room chairs. A few moments later she watches as Draco comes out of their dormitory, dressed for bed and takes the spot on the other side of the sofa.
“Is everyone ready?” he asked the room.
Hermione nods eagerly and Blaise and Theo mutter a yes.
He had recognized her instantly, but she did not recognize him. He watched a flicker of fear in her eye that disappeared quickly whenever he sent the guards from the room. She scoffed in displeasure whenever he had told her his plan for her. Without waiting for her response, he called his assistance to take the girl to her room. Out of defiance she stayed in her room for the next week leading to the ball he had required for her to attend. His assistant had helped her prepare for the ball and escort her to him in the hall. When she saw him, he was waiting for her at the doorway with the yellow tulips he had waited so long to give her. He lit up in joy whenever he saw her wearing a silk soft jade gown. He offered his hand to her, leading her to the center of the dance floor. As they danced, he revealed everything to her, causing her to gasp in shock and surprise. After that night, he was able to change everything his father had created. He proposed to her the following day, forever holding his and her promise.
The end
Hermione and Draco look around, seeing that Blaise and Theo were on the verge of falling asleep. They each throw a pillow at the boys that were dozing off, sending them to bed.
“I'm guessing you got told bad news before dinner tonight.”
“I guess, I will not be here in the living area this weekend and I have an appointment with a healer on Friday”
“Don't let Blaise know that he’ll schedule his strip poker night for then” Draco says in tired playfulness.
“Oh, are you afraid to be in your delicate in front of a girl?” she says back joking.
“Not at all, you're welcome to join us anytime we play” Draco tells her in a serious tone.
Hermione rolls her eyes at his slight smirk, heading for her bed. Before she enters the room, she turned to Draco with one last question
“I have a question about your story.”
“What is your question?” he asked as he stretched and yawned.
“Did the prince and ballerina have a name?”
Notes:
TW: mentions of past self-harming. Brief Mention of eating disorder. The second part of Draco's story talks about a child confinement group home. Blood / bleeding due to reopened injury. Panic attack and flashbacks.
4225 Words in this chapter
So... starting to see how Draco's actions and its aftereffects due to his mark now the war is over. His trauma from what he seen, heard, and did during the war in particular how the torture of Hermione in his manor has an impact on him is peaking through.
Any predictions or thoughts on why Hermione's mood dramatically changed due to seeing and talking to Headmistress McGonagall~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 8: This Is Me Trying
Chapter Text
Chapter Eight: This Is Me Trying
Hermione leaves her dormitory to find Draco wearing glasses as he writes in his journal.
“Good morning” she says softly
“Good morning” he replies with a tired smile
“I like them”
“Pardon?” He asked her confused on what she was referring to
“The glasses, you look very handsome”
Draco freezes at her compliment causing her to lightly giggle as she sits to put her trainers on.
“Going for a run?” He asked to change the subject
“Yes, would you like to join?”
“As in go on your run with you?”
“Yeah, if you would want to. We can stop in the hospital wing to get our potion then we can all go to the great hall for breakfast together.”
He looks at her outfit which was medium grey joggers and a long sleeve pink top.
“I may have something similar” he leaves then returns in black joggers and white long sleeve.
“How does this look”
“Good, ready to go”
“Of course, I’m ready to leave you in the dust.” he says confidently.
Hermione scoffs in offensive “I doubt that Malfoy, I’ve been doing this for months”
They get out into the hall, and she explains her normal route to him. She walks him through her warmup stretching steps then they start their run. They start slowly, Draco shocking Hermione on how he seemed to be keeping up with her.
“Do you want to race, you are faster than I thought you would be.”
Draco gives her a confident smirk and a “told you so.” She tells him where they would be going and the start off. They both put all their effort in, being equally as fast as the other. As they reach the ending point, Draco spots something and is only able to react. He wraps his arms around Hermione's waist, scooping her up to turn her away from the student exiting the classroom. Whenever she is out of the way of the student, he quickly releases her, allowing her to step back into the hall wall.
Hermione sees someone go to step into her view, so she flinches her face away while closing her eyes, trying to calm her breathing to appear unaffected. Her eyes shoot open whenever she hears a young, angry voice.
“Leave her alone, death eater.” The voice says.
Hermione grabs Draco’s wrist, pulling him to be between her and the wall. She stands in front of him to protect him from the young…gryffindor who was pointing a wand at him.
“Put your wand down, everything is a misunderstanding.”
The little boy straightened his wand in Draco's direction causing hermione to step in that direction to block it.
“Him grabbing you and slamming you into the wall while you flinch away is a misunderstanding” the boy says in a doubtful voice.
“Yes it’s a misunderstanding, what you saw wasn’t actually what happened. Please put the wand down and we will explain”
He lowers his wand looking amongst them still in doubt.
“ I wasn’t flinching from him, I was flinching away from someone I thought he was. When he let me go I put myself against the wall to create distance between that person and myself. We were running together, it’s something I do every morning and he was simply just running with me this morning and we were just racing.”
The boy's face breaks into understanding before going back to the doubtful face.
“Why did he grab you then?”
“She was running into the path to you, I scooped her up before she could run into you because she wouldn’t have been able to see and stop before hitting you.” Draco explains
“So you two were running together and racing. You grabbed her out of the way so she didn’t run into me, she thought you were someone else so she stepped away from you because she was afraid you were that other person.” The boy says aloud, trying to get the pieces together.
Hermione and Draco nod in confirmation so the boy eyes them one more time before storming down the hall. Hermione turns to Draco, looking him over for any signs that the boy had hexed, jinxed, or cursed him.
“He didn’t cast anything, are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“No, I’m okay” she says relaxing
“You flinched…did they hit you?” He questioned with concern.
He watches as she reacts to the chill she got. Hermione moves to the wall next to him, sliding down to sit. He follows in suit, noticing she was squeezing her fist so he offers his hand. She links her hand with his, he tightens it to signal to her that she could squeeze it if she needs to. They sit in silence, Draco not thinking she was going to answer and waiting for her to return back to full calmness.
“He didn’t hit me” Hermione takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment.
“When we got caught, he asked for my name which I gave a fake one. He got close enough that he could smell me and realized the scarf he had found in the wood belonged to me. I … flinched away from him whenever he caressed my chin and got really close to me.”
“I’m sorry that happened and that you were reminded about it”
She gives him a smile of appreciation before standing and offering her hand to help him stand. He shakes his head no, denying her help and standing himself
“I’m sorry for touching and grabbing you without your permission”
Hermione scoff playfully before shaking her head.
“What” he asked confused because of her reaction.
“Nothing let’s go. We have stupid potions waiting for us” Hermione exclaimed dramatically
“Stupid?” Draco says in offense
“Yes, stupid. Don’t act like you actually want to take them.”
Draco rolls his eyes but doesn’t respond. They walk in silence to the hospital wing where they once again take a seat on separate beds next to each other. They are given their potions and return to their living area after a non-problematic, hospital wing visit. They wake the other two sleeping boys, prepare themselves for class then head to breakfast together. At breakfast Draco receives a response from his mother. Hermione also receives a letter but she shoves it angrily in her things without looking at it. The three boys notice but act as if they don't because it was clear she wouldn't talk about it. Draco is aware of the realistic act she was trying to put on.
Would you come with me to see madam pomfrey after class? I would like to get a small supply of potions for our living area.
Potions like what?
Dreamless sleep, Blood replenishing, calming draught and such.
Sure….why?
Just because.
Theo eyes draco but nods in agreement knowing draco had a reason one way or another. Once the class ends, Theo and Draco watch as Hermione pulls Ginny out of the classroom into the hall. They share a look that says “what was that about” before shaking their head in disbelief. When they reach the great hall for lunch they become aware that both Ginny and hermione weren't there but didn't worry considering hermione was most likely with Ginny. Draco, Blaise, and Theo release a breath of relief whenever they get to their next class and find Ginny and Hermione already in class.
“What do you think she's up to?” Blaise leaned into his two friends.
“Considering its her, who knows” Draco responds
“Do you think she will drag us into the troublemaker club”
“Not on purpose, she told me she wouldn't be in the living area this weekend. They are probably planning a girls night.” draco told them
Draco and Theo went to talk to madam pomfrey before dinner while hermione once again disappeared with ginny until it was time for dinner. The three boys are sitting in the great hall waiting for dinner whenever they watch Hermione practically run excitedly over to them.
“ I have a surprise for us,” she whisper yells.
They look amongst each other with a concerned expression which Hermione notices and angrily takes her seat.
“ you three are very ungrateful for my niceness”
“I'm sorry, you're right. What is it that your so excited for”
“Thank you theo for asking” the smile returns to her face
Hermione places three hand-size cards in front of them with 3 quills about the same size. They eye the objects without touching them looking between them and her. She huffs in annoyance.
“Ugh, so hard to please men these days”
“Actually it's not if you know how” blaise says automatically followed by theo’s elbow to his ribs and a glare from draco. Hermione narrows her eyes at him then turns it to the cards to place one infront of each of them. She then pulls the same objects from her robes before using the quill to “write” on the card before looking up to them with another smile. The three of them watch as their cards vibrate then at her, confused.
“Pick them up, you gits” hermione tells them, practically jumping out of her seat in anticipation
They look amongst themselves once again before reaching for the cards placed in front of them. Their eyes widen when the message “Ta Da” appears on the card before disappearing.
“Is this allowed?” draco questions with hesitation
“Of course, Headmistress McGonagall got it approved earlier”
“Why” Theo speaks up next
“So, we can communicate in case we need to.”
“That's smart, considering our probation”
“Exactly, you gentlemen are welcome. We will just need to make up codes for short, more urgent communication.”
Without exposing Hermione's inability to use her wand, Theo asks her how she did it to which she responds how she made Ginny help.
“The cards also have a way to show our location in the case of an emergency and or needing help. To activate it you need to tap and hold for four seconds. To respond to the code you would tap it four times.” Hermione paused to see if they were following her explanation.
“As an example, let’s say…Blaise goes to the quidditch field to drink because he’s sad that a girl he was flirting with, rejected him. He ends up drinking too much and can’t safely get back to the dormitory. He sends the code saying he needs help so I respond saying I’m on my way and I go to help him.
“Who all has access to them?” theo questioned with curiosity
“Just the four of us, they also have spells so only you can view them.”
“Has Luna been to your dormitory?” draco asked randomly as he looks around for her
“Yes, she comes to bed late and leaves sometime between when i go for the run and when you three usually wake.”
Draco hums but watches her talking to some ravenclaws she was sitting with. Hermione starts to absentmindedly tap the table, causing theo to notice. He bumps her foot with his, under the table causing her to pop out of her thinking. He mouths to her asking if she was okay to which she nods in response. Hermione clears her throat to gain the attention of the three boys.
“Do any of you care if Ginny joins us back to our floor, we will be in the girl’s dormitory the whole time so we won't be bothering you or anything.”
“Of course not, ginevra is your friends so she’s welcomed” theo answered
The boys share a silent conversation to which Hermione looks more nervous.
“After dinner we are going to go towards the black lake until curfew so you'll have the common room for yourself for some time.” draco says softly
Hermione goes to debate but he shakes his head no. Hermione stands to meet Ginny while the boys leave to go to their spot. When she reaches Ginny, she jumps up in excitement to which Hermione looks annoyed.
“Ready to go pack and have some girl time” Ginny cheered as she pulled Ginny with her.
“Ginny, this isn't a fun and exciting thing” hermione complained
“It will be you and me this weekend together, outside of school. We can try to not make it completely horrible "Ginny debated but Hermione just got more annoyed.
They walk silently the rest of the way, Ginny tuning back her excitement. They reach Hermione's dormitory, Ginny lays back onto her bed while Hermione slumps to the floor by her trunk.
“Im sor”
“Don’t, I just want this weekend to go pass as quick as possible”
Ginny nods and moves to the floor with her to help pack her bag. Hermione pulls out the items she needs while Ginny folds and packs the bag.
“I will be with you the whole time; you won't be alone, and nothing is going to happen.”
Hermione turns her head away from Ginny trying to ignore her words. She feels tears running down her face.
“I can ask harry to stay with us also”
“No no, I don't want him knowing everything you know”
“You do know ignoring and purposely avoiding the information isn't going to make it go away right”
“ I know Ginny, but not knowing the truth allows me to focus on things it could be instead of what it is. I'm not ready for the truth. I think knowing for sure will destroy me.” Ginny watches hermione sniffle
“Harry needs to know, he can’t be your primary medical durable power of attorney and not know your medical conditions.'' Ginny explains carefully.
“I guess you're right, I just feel awkward with the thought of him knowing.”
Ginny moves closer to Hermione, pulling her head onto her shoulder.
“You have no reason to be embarrassed and I can assure you if needed Harry will include me in the decision so that he understands and reacts correctly.”
“I'm scared” Ginny rubs her back, trying to comfort her
“I know you are. I will be there the whole time. It's a few hours of tests, everything you have done before then the rest of the night and the next day will be rest. We will be back to Hogwarts Sunday night and back to class Monday with a light amount of bleeding.”
“ I don't want potions or anesthesia or anything.”
“I know hermione. I won't let anything happen to you”
Hermione tenses whenever she hears the boys enter the common room. She frantically looks to ginny with panic filled eyes
“What is it?”
“They don't know I will be at a healer facility. I want you to promise me that Malfoy won't find out about any of this.”
“I won't tell him, I promise but can I ask why?”
“If he finds out, he will go crazy trying to figure out how to fix the situation”
Ginny nods in understanding then stands to help hermione up.
“I will meet you Saturday morning at 6:30 and we will go to the headmistress office to floo there.”
~~~
“Miss Granger, you are excused from class.” the professor tells her in a low tone as they place the parchment from the mind healer in front of her.
Hermione nods as she gathers her items and heads on her way to the classroom of her appointment. She knocks on the door, with it opening a few seconds later. As she enters the room the healer flashes her a smile as she was collecting her notes.
Her mind healer, Madam Riley motions for the sofa across from a chair.
“How are you today, Miss Granger?”
“I’m not sure” Hermione tells her after a moment of trying to figure her answer out
“Okay, can you walk me through how your week back to school has been?”
“I made friends with the boys I thought hated me, at least I think we are friends. I had a complete traumatic flashback which resulted in me clinging onto someone who hates me…well hated me? I have my appointment for the weekend and I’m terrified. I know what my medical report says, I’ve been reading them. I know what’s going on. I just hate that so much of my time at Hogwarts was spent fighting for our lives and now I’m forced to sacrifice what I want for the future.”
Hermione tries to hide her sobs but Madam Riley notices and hands her a cloth anyways. Once Hermione began to calm down , Madam Riley wrote in her notes before moving onto the next part of the appointment.
“Have you gained any clarity about the snatchers since our last session”
Hermione shakes her head no “I’m still at a standstill, if anything it is worse now”
“Can you tell me why that is”
“A bunch of people think I was, due to my behavior and body language. Ron and Harry insist I wasn’t but they could be lying to protect me since I don’t remember.”
“You were put in a situation that was highly traumatic. A lot of bad people wanted to do bad things to you so your mind is trying to protect itself. On one hand your mind could be pretending it didn’t happen but on the other your mind could be telling you it did when it didn’t. Either way your trauma isn’t less than others. We both know what was happening to muggle-born witches and muggle women during that time. We both know the type of things that could and would have happened if you didn’t escape the manor that day. All those horrible people knew of you because you were marked with a massive target, I truly believe you were more of a target then Harry. Men like that view women below them and as an object. You were thrown into this world at the age of 11 and exceeded what they believe. You challenged everything they knew without trying. They wanted to destroy you, look around Hermione. You won and they lost.
Madam Riley watches as a smile broke through the tears on Hermione.
“Thank you” Hermione mumbles as she wipes her tears and sits up taller.
“No need to thank me, I am simply doing my job. Some patients need to be lied to so they can get better, you are not them. You will not get better without honest conversations.”
~~~
Hermione returns to her floor after her appointment, feeling the weight of exhaustion over her. As she passes through the door she finds four sets of eyes looking at her. Her eyes settle one by one on each of the people, first blaise, then draco, followed by theo and finally her redhead best friend. She stares in shock at her best friends, as to why they are there.
“Why are you here?” hermione finally got out
“ I just wanted to check on you, we all did”
“Thank you but I think I'm just going to lay down.”
Hermione walks away, heading into her dormitory before anyone could say a word. She flops onto her bed and buries her head under the pillow. She screams and cries in frustration, later throwing a glass across the room. The sound of the shattering calms her but it immediately disappears whenever she hears a knock at the door.
“Hermione it’s Theo”
“I’m okay, I’m not hurt”
“The others are gone; they went to the lake. Can you let me in please”
“I think I want to be alone”
“You can do as you need, and I won't bother you, but I really need you to let me in”
“I'm going to sleep and I sleep nude” she yells back frustrated trying to get him to leave her alone
“Whatever you would prefer, Hermione, I still need to be let in.”
Theo suppresses a laugh whenever he hears Hermione growl and stomp to the door before opening it. She allows him to enter with the chair he had then she storms to her wardrobe to get her sleepwear. He picks the broken pieces of glass from the floor, listening to her storm from the room, following with the slam of the restroom door. Theo chuckles as he gets comfortable in the chair he dragged in. Theo hears the stomps begin back towards the room so he hides his giggle behind his hand. Theo pretends to be writing and reading his journal when Hermione passes. He secretly watches as she grabs a charms book and climbs into bed.
“What are you reading?”
Hermione glares at him but he doesn't notice as he still was writing in his diary. She huffs as she turns her attention back to her book
“It's a charms book, i need to change my hair for the weekend so i don't get notice when i leave hogwarts”
“You’re leaving hogwarts?, are you going to see harry?”
“Technically, I suppose but I don't want anyone knowing, hence the changing of my hair,” Hermione grumbles out of annoyance of letting Ginny talk her into it.
“Ginny is going with you right? Will you see Ron also”
Hermione suppresses a shudder at the mention of Ron, but Theo doesn't notice
“Um, I don't think I will see him but yes Ginny will be with me.”
Theo finally looks to Hermione, discovering something wasn't right with her body language. Theo stand and goes to step closer but quickly stops
“May I sit with you?” Theo gestures to the bed and Hermione looks at it with hesitation.
“I will keep my distance” he states calmly
Hermione nods, pulling her knees to her chest under the blankets. Theo slowly walks to the bed, taking a cross legged position on the bed a few feet in front of her.
“You don't want to do whatever it is you're doing this weekend, do you?”
Hermione shakes her head no, looking down at the bed.
“Who's making you do this?”
“ i don’t think it's correct to say someone is making me but if I refuse they can claim I'm unstable and put me in st. mungos for long term mental treatment.”
“Is it some type of medical treatment”
Hermione nods in confirmation. She watches as thoughts go through his mind until his eyes go wide and he looks at her worried.
“What…what are you thinking” Hermione asked cautiously
“You not…” Theo began his question before Hermione cut him off with a forced laugh.
“No, I'm not” she answers quickly but he surveys his face to try to pick up on the hidden message.
“Is that good or bad?”
“I'm not interested in that at the moment”
He nods in understanding then gestures to the book
“So how are you changing your hair?”
Hermione stands and walks to the floor leng th mirror with her wand while Theo watches her from the bed. She first charms her brown hair to turn black. Once the charm is complete, she casts another charm, so her curls turn pin straight. Theo watches as the hair reaches a few inches above her waist. She turns to him with a fake smile as she pulls her hair in front of her.
“So, how does it look? Do i look different”
Theo stares in shock with a hanging jaw. She giggles as she takes her spot back on the bed. Panic sweeps over theo’s face causing hermione to laugh louder.
“So I take that as a yes that it looks good,” Hermione responds with a smirk.
“Yes, its looks really good…..and incredibly different”
Hermione playfully punches theo’s shoulder
“Does Mr. Nott have a thing for long, straight black hair.”
“No, no. nothing like that” he tells her quickly before mumbling quietly to himself “ at least i don't think so”
“You don't think so?” Hermione asked in full seriousness.
“Yeah, well I've never really been attractive towards…” theo gestures towards hermione causing her to raise an eyebrow in confusions
“Women?” she asked him without judgment
Theo nods, embarrassed and looks away from her due to worry of judgment.
“Okay , well you can find someone attractive without it being in a sexual or romantic way. I appreciate you trusting me with this information. I am not going to judge you or anyone on who they are attractived to.”
Theo's eyes drift back to hermione to find her giving him a soft smile.
“Thank you hermione”
“You're welcome, you can talk to me about anything, okay?”
“Okay, that applies to you also. You can also talk to me about anything”
Theo retakes his seat in the chair allowing hermione to lay down to sleep.
“Hermione?”
“Yes, theo?”
“You used your wand to charm your hair?” theo asked as if it just occurred to him.
“Those charms are approved for me to use. When the ministry restricted wand use like they did with us, they allowed certain spells and charms to be used without alerting them of use.”
“What do you mean?” Theo asked, confused?
“For example, you can use your wand whenever you want, but since it's restricted, most charms and spells will alert the ministry and they will investigate and arrest you. One of the spells that won't alert them is contraceptive charms. In their eyes it would be irresponsible for it to be restricted or monitored. So it's better for you to use it then chance the possibility of pregnancy simply because it’s not available to you.”
Theo hums in understanding and they both fall silent. Not long later he hears as her breath softens in sleep. He cuts the light from the room then quickly exits. Theo decided to shower before retiring to his own bed for the night.
~~~
Six o’clock rolls around and Hermione climbs out of bed. After changing into non muggle clothing, she exits the dormitory to find someone asleep in the chair. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder then sneaked closer to the sleeping body. Standing closer to the chair, she sees that Draco had fallen asleep while reading something. She pulls an ottoman towards his knees, then moves his feet slowly on top of it. After fixing the blanket so that it covers Draco correctly, she removes the book from his chest and the glasses from his face. She places them on the side table then turns to leave when he releases a mumble, turning back she sees as he rubs his face with a hand.
“Draco, you fell asleep reading. Everything is fine, go back to sleep” she whispers
“Draco?” his eyes flutter open after rubbing his face more to awaken.
He continues blinking while staring at her as if he thought he was dreaming. She watched him with confusion before jumping back at his swiping arm coming for her.
“What are you doing?” hermione asked with a giggle
“Dreaming” he scoffs while continuously swiping motion at her.
“Um…why do you think that?”
“Your hair isn't black and straight”
Her hand reaches for her hair, remembering he didn't know it was changed
“Its charmed and you are awake”
Hermione suppresses a laugh as she watches in the dark as he raises an eyebrow then shakes his head before snuggling into the blanket once more.
“Wait” she rushes to say
His eyes open once again and she motions for the sofa.
“Let's move to the sofa first so you're not sleeping sitting up.”
“I’m asleep in my bed, and none of this is real because it’s a dream”
She scoffs, setting her purse on the table. She pulls his feet back to the floor and looks up to him to grab his hand but finds him staring in horror at her.
“You okay there?” she laughs out
He doesn’t change from his horror expression so she pulls the blanket off him and drags him to his feet. She plots him into a seated position on the sofa, staring at him in annoyance
“Are you really not going to help at all”
She, to no surprise, doesn't receive an answer so she pushes him into a lying position then throws the blanket onto his body. Hermione tucks the blanket around him, pats his head like a child and grabs her purse from the table before walking to the door.
“Nighty night malfoy” She tells him in fake joyness, turning to see him snuggled into the blanket once again. She rushes to the headmistress office, seeing Ginny pacing as she waits for her outside the steps.
“Are you ready to go”
“Not like i have a choice” she says with a fake smile
Ginny loops her arm with hermione heading for the office
“It'll be over before you know it, I promise. And you can squeeze harry’s hand until it breaks into tiny pieces”
“I don't even get the point of the appointments, it's not like anything is changing” hermione says a little to loud
“They are hoping to find an answer to a solution to the problems. They need to monitor your body to make sure it doesn't decline and they are hoping to see signs of improvement. They also need to test for diseases since that time gap is fuzzy for you.”
A silence falls over them as they stop outside of the headmistress’s office
“Ginny?” hermione asked in a barely audible whisper
“Yes”
“Do you think it happened, do you think I was assaulted?”
“No, I would like to believe that Ron and Harry would have to be dead for that to happen. But I do lie to myself, telling myself that you would let them protect you. I don’t think Harry is lying when he said they didn't assault you in front of him. Have you asked Malfoy about what happened whenever Ron and Harry were in the manor’s dungeons.”
Hermione's whole body stiffened, freezing in the spot. “No, and i don't intend to”
“You know he could possibly help you if you would let him.”
Hermione storms into the office as she responds to ginny “i won’t chance it”
“Chance what?” ginny blurted, following her
“It is all ready whenever you are” the headmistress tells them as they approach
“Hermione. Chance…” Ginny tries again but is cut off.
“Thank you” hermione says as she uses the floo
Professor McGonagall turns to Ginny with a questioning look. Ginny rubs her face with her fingers in a stressed manner with a shake of the head. They share a silent conversation, following with Ginny entering the fireplace.
“Also, I don't think anyone on her floor knows anything about this. She did make it strictly clear that she didn't want Malfoy to know any of this though.”
The older witch nods in understanding and Ginny floos away seconds later. Ginny exits the fireplace, quickly coming to Hermione's side at the check in desk. They are given the directions to the room and Ginny is left trying to catch up with her as she speedwalks. They enter her temporary stay room finding the typical supplies waiting on the bed. Hermione turns towards Ginny to ask her a question.
“Harry will be here within the hour and Doctor Sterling.. Probably in 20 ish minutes to explain the procedure and sample taking." Ginny answers before Hermione could ask. Hermione gives her a single nod then begins to settle her things. After some time, Ginny answers the door when there is a knock signaling Dr. Sterling was ready to see her.
“Good afternoon, ladies. Hermione, same as usual after we go over everything, I will ask you to provide a urine sample, leaving it in the restroom and changing into a cotton gown. Do you wish everything to be the same as usual?”
Hermione nods in understanding but asks her to go over the comfort details.
“Do you wish for female personnel only in the room?”
“yes , please”
“I'm assuming you wish Miss. Weasley and Mr. Potter to be present the whole time”
She nods in approval.
“Avoidance of any medications that will sedate or impair your senses”
“Yes, I need to be aware of everything”
“Do you give approval for numbing agents”
“As long as I have full control of myself then yes”
“Do you wish to be told about the things I will be doing without the purpose and explanation about it”
“Yes”
“Do you have any questions before I explain all the testing and procedures
“Not at this time”
Doctor Sterling explains all the procedures and testing they would be doing and any side effects she may experience before leaving the room to allow Hermione to prepare herself.
Notes:
TW: Mentions and references to previous sexual and physical assault. Brief references to dissociation. Mentions of medical exam and appointment. Mention of unhealthy habits to expressing angry.
5409 words in this chapter
Thoughts on what might be causing Hermione to see a healer / doctor?
Predictions on what might happen over the weekend or the aftermath of this appointment?~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 9: Everything I Wanted
Chapter Text
Chapter Nine: Everything I Wanted
Hermione leaves the restroom after providing the sample, leaving it in the designated area and changing into the gown. She hesitates with nerves after finding Harry in the room now. He understands her body language, so he gives her a friendly wave to which she returns, sitting on the bed right after. A nurse enters the room to collect the sample along with drawing some blood. She asked for Harry to be shown her medical report so while she waited, He went with the nurse to be given the report. Sometime later Harry pops his head back in the door, looking towards Hermione and ginny.
“Can ginny and I step out into the hall with the door close but within sight?” he asked quietly
Hermione nods in approval so Ginny and him step into the hall to talk and return a moment later with doctor sterling. Harry takes his seat next to the bed while Ginny was on the other side. She talks Hermione through the processes while informing her what to expect. Harry noticed Hermione's discomfort while doctor sterling took the first sample, so he offered her his hand. She squeezes his hand with minimum strength but ends up tensing in pain accidently, resulting in Harry jumping but not pulling away.
“I'm sorry” Hermione says through gritted teeth, trying to pull her hand away.
“You're fine, don't need to apologize Mione. Squeeze as much as you need "Harry reassures her and Ginny rubs Hermione's shoulder. Harry wipes the stray tears from Hermione's cheeks when doctor sterling injects the numbing agent for the next part.
“Hermione, can you close your eyes and breathe with me” Ginny speaks softly, leading Hermione through the steps to calm her. Following what felt like an eternity, doctor sterling gathers her medical items and leaves the room to allow her to rest. Hermione rolls to her side with noises of discomfort while pulling her knees towards her chest so she is curling into a ball. Not long later, a healer brings a tray of potions into the room, placing it on the bedside table. Harry looks at the potions, then Hermione's silently crying form, finally stopping on ginny. She gives him a small smile, quietly moving around the bed to harry. Ginny grabs the tray, taking a seat on the arm rest of the chair Harry was seated in.
“First, we start with these potions. It's a potion to help her with the pain and discomfort.'' Ginny places the potion in his hand to hold, picking up the next one.
“A few minutes later she will take this one, it's a calming potion.” she gestures to the sleeping draught next. “She refuses this one but I still always ask to be sure. If she does want it, she would take this last since it'll help her sleep. These ones are all healing and pain reliever potions that she can have whenever she needs over the rest of her stay.'' Ginny returns the tray with the potions not needed at the time to the table while grabbing one last one. “She will take this one third '' showing Harry the last potions. “This one helps with blood loss and spotting. After she takes these three, she can sleep or relax and take the sleeping draught if she wants.”
Ginny helps Harry give Hermione the potions then asked him to grab her water while ginny gets Hermione dressed into clothes, charmed to help with the bleeding. For the rest of the day Hermione sleeps while Ginny and Harry do work in the room. Eventually Ginny slips out the room to grab them food, leaving Harry working on auror paperwork while Hermione stays asleep. Harry eyes shot to Hermione at the sound of a choked sob, followed by her retching onto the blanket. Harry vanished the mess away, moving towards Hermione as she sobs louder
“Hey, it's okay. What’s wrong”
“Don't feel good” Hermione mumbles
“What doesn’t feel good?”
“Cramping and nauseous”
“What usually helps?” harry asked while rubbing her back
Hermione looks around before asking where ginny was
“Ginny went to grab some food, I'm unsure how long she will be.”
Hermione goes to get up, so Harry helps, becoming worried when she cries out in pain.
“Mione? Where are you trying to go?”
“Restroom…. bath”
Harry nods in acknowledgment walking with her to the restroom. He lowered her onto a shower bench and began to prepare the bath for her. Once it was ready he turned to her to see how she wished to proceed. She debated her options for a few moments before asking Harry to wait outside the door. Hermione ties her hair up into a bun on top of her head while Harry steps out leaving the door cracked open in case she needs something. Once she was settled in, she let Harry know. He left the door open, taking a seat at the shower bench reading through parchments. He looks to see she had her head tilted back against the tub.
“Are you feeling a little better now?”
Hermione glances to him then moves her head back to where it was previously
“Yes, though I still feel very nauseous but it's normal.”
“Do you favor a quiet environment or do you wish to talk”
“We can talk, just not a lot because I'm still tired.”
Harry sets his things down onto the bench as he slides to the floor.
“How is it going at Hogwarts?”
Hermione shrugs, turning her attention to him.
“The first day a healer got fired for shoving a potion down my throat, she left bruises on my chin”
“And Malfoy?” harry questions with worry but with a hint of having knowledge about the topic
“What about him?” she asked calmly
“He's not treating you badly, is he?”
Hermione smiles lightly before shaking her head no. Harry relaxes a little bit, but Hermione could still sense his worry.
“I think we both know over the last few years he realized what he was being raised to be. He has been nothing but kind and understanding to me.”
“So, you're doing good then? You haven't written to us.”
“I wouldn't say good. It's been really rocky, but I think I can agree that the healers, that being placed with Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini will be good.”
“Theo Nott?”
“Yes, he’s a really good friend, tried to be a friend before even knowing about the placement. We are all struggling in different but similar ways.”
“And their enchantments so they can’t access the girl's dormitory”
“in theory…yes”
Harry looks at Hermione confused causing her to giggle.
“They can't enter the room on their own but under certain circumstances they can. When I went to see the healer to take care of the bruises, she gave me a potion that hindered my full focus. I allowed Malfoy to walk me back to the dormitory and she gave him permission to make sure I made it into bed.”
“And he didn't do anything malicious”
“No, he was more afraid of me than I was of him. He was very gentleman-like and cautious. Plus, he propped the door open so Blaise and Theo could see in while he was in the room to assure me that nothing could happen.”
Harry nods in understanding so Hermione continues
“At one point I had a traumatic flashback and Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall took me into the room to settle down and Theo was at the doorway. I think he could have entered since the door was open but given, I didn't give him permission he chose to stay out of the room unless he was needed. Though last night was different”
Harry sits up straight, in a protective manner causing Hermione to once again giggle
“How was last night different?”
“He kind of made me let him in” Harry's eyes grew angry, but Hermione grabbed his hand, laughing.
“I was tired, and frustrated. I had been screaming and crying due to stress and anger about today. I threw a glass at the wall and that's when he asked to be let in. I think even if I grant them permission, the enchantment still doesn't allow them if they have malicious intent. I told him I was going to be naked in the hopes he would leave me alone but that didn't work because he truly just wanted to make sure I was okay.”
Harry laughs now at her lie. “You wouldn't sleep naked”
“Exactly, and he knew that. He only wanted to make sure I was okay. We talked for a few minutes, and I went to bed. I heard him leave as soon as I started to fall asleep.”
They hear Ginny enter the hospital room, so Harry stands to leave but not before saying something to her.
“I know you didn't write to me because of Ron but I would like it if you did, just like once a week. Even if you have Ginny send it and Ron thinks it's from her to me. I won't tell Ron, but I really like to stay up to date with you.”
Hermione nods and he leaves to send Ginny in to help her out of the tub. Once the girls return to the room, Hermione climbs back in bed while Ginny takes her seat again. Harry hands Ginny her food and Ginny grabs the bag to grab Hermione's, but Harry gives her a firm head shake. Ginny's eyes go to Hermione curled up from under the blankets. She sets her food down, moving to sit on the bed by Hermione's body. Ginny watches as her moving onto the bed causes Hermione to tighten her ball form.
“Hermione, can you uncover your head please?”
Hermione shakes her head no so Ginny continues talking in a calm, soothing voice.
“It is just Harry and Ginny in the room. Will you drink some lemon water?” Ginny observes as Hermione does not immediately respond but eventually nods in agreement. Ginny stands and walks to her bag pulling out a drink bottle and a cold compress.
“I'm going to set the bottle and cold compress next to you, but can I feel your head to check for a fever” Hermione reaches her hand out enough to offer it to ginny. She places her hand into hers and Hermione brings it to her forehead.
“You don't feel warm but your body could use more rest so you can nap. We have chicken soup for you whenever you would like to try to eat.”
Ginny hears a quiet “okay” from the blankets, so she moves back to her seat to eat. After drinking some of the lemon water and allowing the cold compress to rest on the back of her neck for a few minutes, she allows herself to fall back into the world of slumber
~~~
My eyes drift open with exhaustion. The first thing I spot is what looks like a baby bassinet a few feet away from me. I sit up straighter into a sitting position in bed looking around the room to discover it's a postpartum room. On the bedside table I found a baby hat with the initials HDM. I bring my feet over the edge of the bed. I stand unsteady for a few minutes, then shifting my feet towards the bassinet. When I glance inside, I see in the dim light that there was indeed a baby, one in a dark swaddle that was decorated with stars. In addition, the baby had a little cream hat covering the baby girl’s hair. I moved my hand to my abdomen confirming by the soreness, my suspicions that this was my baby. I glance into the bassinet, finding a hand pressed against the bassinet on the opposite side. Coming around the bassinet I find a sleeping man on the sofa in the room. I stare intently trying to get more details before my eyes widen in surprise.
~~~
Hermione jumps awake in the bed discovering her top is damped from the tears running down her face. She looks to Harry's seat, finding Ginny in his lap, curled into his body asleep while his head rests on hers. Hermione slowly climbs out of bed to use the restroom and change into new clothes. She decided to go to the only place in the building that brings her comfort. She tucks the lemon water under her arm, grabs her purse and the chicken soup along with her medical report on her way from the room. She shuffles her feet slowly down the hall before entering the waiting area where the window seat showcases the starry sky. She silently looks to the sky mentally tracing the stars while eating her soup. Once she has eaten, she pulls out her journal writing her dream down alone with her thoughts, comments like.
~ you may think this is hope, hope that I'm not ruined. It's not, its torture. It feels like you are dangling a human in front of a zombie herd just out of their reach.
~ whatever the expectations behind these appointments are. Are nothing but pure torture. Pain, exhaustion, pointless hope. Haven't I been through enough. Just let me bloody accept it so I can get over it.
~so many wizards and witches say I am below them. I fought and tried to prove them wrong. So, I was made to face it, my blood, my stupid mudblood, blood that so many people claim is brilliant will die out with me. Cursed to show I don't belong; blood made to attack me and never allow me to carry or produce a child.
~I GAVE UP SO MUCH FOR YOU, WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME ALONE!!
Hermione shoves the journal to the ground, curling herself to a ball against the window sobbing. She finds herself reading through the pointless report, trying to figure out what they are hoping for. After then she reaches into her purse to distract herself with something when her hand meets with the communication card and quill and her blood runs with panic. Panic that maybe she missed something from her Slytherin floor mates. She sighs in relief, finding nothing from the boys.
Is anyone awake?
She waits in hope that someone answers but at the same time that no one does.
I am awake, Theo and Blaise are not. Are you struggling to sleep?
Hermione creates the single line of communication within the notecard.
No, I actually just woke up. Been asleep most of the day. Are you struggling to sleep?
Oh? No, I am not tired at the moment
What did you do today?
Blaise, Theo and I rode our brooms for some time at the pitch.
Anything else?
They went to a party, and I went to help Madam Pomfrey
Like you were the day you helped me back
Yes
How are you doing?
I'm okay, how are you doing
Good okay or bad, okay?
Good I assume. I feel better here
I can see stars
Do you like stars?
I do, it's calming. Do you? Black name tradition and all?
I used to enjoy looking at the stars from the astronomy tower
I'm guessing it's ruined for you now?
Indeed
I’m sorry
One of my goals for the year is to be able to get a little bit of that joy back.
Are they your goals or mandated goals?
Mine, my personal goal
That's excellent
Draco doesn’t respond right away so Hermione writes again, worried he fell asleep or that she was keeping him awake.
Are you tired yet?
A little, are you?
I don’t think but you should sleep
No, I can talk. You never answered about how you are.
I’m good, enjoying my time with Ginny. Hermione lied, not wanting him to question her more because he should sleep. She also knew she couldn’t change the subject again.
That’s good to hear
I should get back to bed before I begin to worry everyone, good night, Malfoy
Good night, granger.
Hermione gathered her items not seeing the message he sent her minutes later. A message telling her she could always talk to him if she wanted.
Dear, whoever is reading this
She lied to me.
She tried to play it off, but I’ve noticed her little changes for years. She made it seem like she was happy for the weekend, but I could see the despair deep in her eyes. I know whatever she was doing this weekend wasn't something she wanted, and I know she isn't enjoying it. She was going out in public because she turned her hair black and straight. I hope she is okay
Anyways, Draco Malfoy
Draco closes his journal, heading back to his bed to go to sleep. Theo shifts awake watching him as he settles in bed.
“Yep, I’m fine” draco responds with a nod
“Something bothering you?” Theo pushes knowing something is. Draco nods so Theo leaves his bed to sit on Draco's.
“What’s going on?”
“She’s doing something she doesn't want to”
“Hermione?”
“Yes, I can see something is…different. Plus, she lied; she messaged our cards to see if anyone was awake. We talked for a little while and she said watching the stars calms her but then said her and ginny was having a good time”
“You don't believe her?”
“No” Theo watches Draco's body slump into the mattress. Theo stands from the bed heading back to his, assuming Draco was about to fall asleep. The room falls silent for some time until draco mumbles something to theo
“You will always be here right?”
“Of course”
“I'm going to need you”
“You will have me”
~~~
The following day, Draco wakes to find the room empty and the time showing the afternoon. He goes to roll over, finding his suspicions from the following night were correct. His body was burning up from the dark mark which means he would be in a disaster for days. After an hour, he finally gets himself out of bed to stumble to the restroom. After undressing, Draco sits in the shower letting the cold-water spray over his body. He hears a knocking on the door, and he raises his head, finding he must have drifted off. He turns the water off and the knocking happens again at the door
“Draco?”
“I'm in the shower”
“You are, okay? right?”
“Yes, I'll be out in a few minutes”
Draco listens as footsteps retreat from the door. He brings himself out of the shower to dry and redress himself. He leaves the restroom finding theo and blaise in the common room playing chess.
“Hey? You okay? The shower was running for a while.”
“Yes, just tired. I'm going to my bed to read”
Before anyone could ask anything draco walks away and theo knows something isn't right and if he was to guess draco would wake up with a fever. Whenever Theo and Blaise head to bed , they can tell he’s asleep but can't see him due to the private curtains being pulled. While Blaise goes to sleep, Theo stays awake hoping to catch Hermione when she returns. Theo quietly leaves the room seeing Ginny walking Hermione into her room.
“Give me one second to get her into bed.” Ginny tells him whenever she sees him.
A few minutes later, Ginny returns to the common room finding theo pacing.
“Did her medical thing go okay?”
“What do you know?”
“Not much, i was with her when she charmed her hair and i know she was at a healer facility for something and she doesn't want anyone knowing.”
“Everything went okay but not great. Malfoy doesn't know anything right?”
“Not from me, but he knows something is up with her.”
“Of course he does” Ginny responds with an eye roll. “Before we left she said she didn’t want to ask him about the day at the manor and didn’t want him knowing the medical thing because she “didn’t want to chance it ". Do you have any clue what she means by that?”
Theo thinks for some time but shakes his head no.
“Is she okay, is there anything I should know?”
“No, she can go back to class the day after tomorrow but if she seems to be sick or acting funny. Have someone come get me”
Theo nods in acknowledgment and Ginny goes to leave the dormitory. Theo returns to his bed, letting himself relax, knowing if Hermione or Draco woke up due to something serious he would hear. After many hours of sleeping, Theo hears Blaise get up, change his clothes and leave their floor with who he would guess was Luna. Almost immediately Draco also leaves the room so Theo re-comforts himself in bed to sleep a little longer but is awoken by a loud commotion and the calling of his name.
“Theo!”
“Theodore! I need your help”
“Wake up theo!”
Theo jumps out of bed rushing into the common room finding the door to the restroom open and Draco kneeling on the floor with his back towards the opening.
~~~
Hermione shoves her items into her purse. She sits in the window watching the stars until she hears a few people in the hallway signaling she needed to return to her room. She quietly sneaks into her room but when she turns from closing the door she sees Harry looking at her.
“Are you okay? Harry asked softly
“Yes I'm okay” Hermione walks to her bed, climbing back inside to lay down.
“Were you watching the stars from the window?”
Hermione nods, rolling towards the door. She lies awake for some time thinking back to all the appointments. She closes her eyes, trying to remain calm to not alarm Harry of her distress. She assumes she had fallen asleep at some point because next thing she knows she's waking to the sound of light knocking on the door. She opens her eyes, not moving to see Harry and Ginny walking towards the door.
“We are just going to talk to doctor sterling outside the door, you can go back to sleeping.”
Hermione nods sleepily, letting herself drift back to sleep for a few hours.
“Hermione, you need to wake up.” Ginny says softly next to the bed.
Hermione's eyes drift open with a groan of displeasure and discomfort. She looks around the room, finding doctor sterling waiting for her to wake. Hermione releases a louder groan, throwing the blankets over herself.
“Miss. granger, i just need to check in with you so i can start the discharge papers. Can you wake up so we can get you back to hogwarts.”
Hermione sits up in bed, throwing the blankets off her head and glaring at doctor sterling. Doctor Sterling laughs softly at Hermione's grumpiness and gestures for Harry and Ginny to leave the room.
“I want to start off by casting a diagnostic charm to check for a fever or any unexpected injuries. Is that okay?”
Hermione nods, allowing her to check for anything of concern.
“No signs of fevers or unexpected side effects. May i sit?'' She motions for the chair and Hermione nods in approval.
“Is there anything you are concerned about?”
“No, everything is as usual”
“Have you experienced any spotting, if so on what level.
“How about cramping?”
“Yes, it was pretty bad last night, it also is a little harder than normal to walk and move”
“Yes, as of now a little bit less than normal”
“It shouldn't be anything concerning but I'll let the headmistress know it is possible you may not attend class because of the side effects.”
“Have you eaten?”
Hermione began to nervously pick at her fingers, worried she would want to keep her there longer. She usually worried about this but it didn't ever happen.
“I was really nauseous last night and at one point ended up retching so i drank lemon water then. I also ate my chicken soup early this morning”
“During your normal morning trip to stare at the stars”
Hermione nods in confirmations resulting in doctor sterling to smile.
“How were you sleeping? Did you wake up from pain at all or nightmares”
“I didn't wake up from pain and I didn't have any nightmares, but I had a dream that felt super realistic like a memory from the future. A good memory but a memory that isn't possible”
Doctor Sterling observes Hermione but nods, writing in her notes.
“Do you still wish to not know anything resulting from the testing?”
“As long as I am clear from the transmitted diseases and don't need treatment then I do not wish to know anything else”
“ you do not show any signs of any transmitted diseases and as of now do not require any treatment. You can have access to any of your information at any time and i will be able to discuss anything with you if you have any questions if and when that time approaches”
“Will these appointments ever stop?” hermione asked so quiet she almost didn't hear it
“ We have hope that we can find a solution or even something that could help give you relief. I know it's torment for you but we haven't given up yet and I don't want you to either.”
“Do you think draco malfoy, the nephew of the one who carved me with the poisoned knife could be helpful.”
“Its possible, if she was living in his manor. It's highly possible he would have insight on how she made it, what she used. I also truly believe, mr. malfoy could have been her test subject and due to his black family blood it didn't cause damages to him. Why do you ask?”
“Ginny thinks he could help, he is one of my floor mates this year. I don't want to bring it up to him though "Hermione confesses discreetly.
“Why is that?”
“ I don't want to chance him destroying himself trying to help me. I had a traumatic flashback this week and he helped me but it hurt him. Whenever I started to return back I could see him struggling. If he knew his aunt caused permanent damages he would harm himself trying to help. I changed his life forever that day, I could sense it from him whenever she left me alone for a minute. He tried to hide it but his atmosphere screamed fear, his mother knew…i dont think his dad cared much and his aunt was too distracted to notice but i could. After fifth year he world view shattered and he got planted in this world on the side of death and danger”
“Hopefully you can help each other. Also, maybe helping you keeps him distracted from the horrors of his past”
Doctor sterling stands, approaching the door. “I would like you to try to eat before leaving. I will have you discharge papers ready in an hour or two then you'll be good to return to Hogwarts through the floo system in the main entrance.”
She leaves the room leaving Hermione overrun with thoughts. Hermione stares at the blank wall of the room debating on the pros and cons of bringing the situation up to draco. Ginny and Harry return back to the room after an hour with a chicken salad and a box selection of fruits. Ginny rushes to the bed upon discovering Hermione was locked in a state of shock while mumbling to herself. Ginny grasps her hand finding they were shaking.
“Hermione, you need to breathe. I can't understand what you're saying.”
Hermione's body reaction does not change so Ginny slowly reaches in front of hermione to turn her from the spot she hasn't stopped staring into. Hermione’s wide terrified eyes find Ginny's worried one. Her mumbling that hasn't ended, quickly does whenever she feels the tears spilling onto her cheeks. Her eyes glance to Ginny's mouth, finding it moving in conversation but not hearing anything leaving it. Her shaking hands slowly rose to her ear to see if something was blocking it from hearing the sound.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck” ginny says trying not to appear panicked as Hermione began to sob in fear and confusion.
“What's going on?” Harry asked, standing in the spot behind her, not moving.
“She can't hear me, she's so far into her head. I need that calming draught.”
He hands the potions to ginny, and she holds it up to Hermione's eyesight. Understand flashes in her eyes while her hands slowly reach for it. Ginny helps her take it then helping her to lay down. Harry reaches for the empty bottle the potion was previously in but pauses whenever Ginny firmly tells him to stop, realizing Hermione had tense and tried to shrink away in fear.
“She doesn’t know you are here. Go get doctor sterling” ginny tells him rushed and he takes long slow steps out of the room, worried moving too fast could cause more damage
Hermione watches in horror as Ginny tells the person to leave before she returns her attention back to her. She calmed slightly when Ginny's hand motioned to her forehead with a signal similar to the scar on Harry's head. Before Hermione knew it, her eyes shut in exhaustion allowing her to fall into a light sleep.
Hermione tries to lift her hand to rub her tired face but finds it tied down by something. Her mind springs awake at the realization that she was restrained, she frantically begins thrusting, looking around the room for danger but finds Ginny jumping from her seat with her hands raised in surrender.
“Hermione, can you hear?” ginny asked quickly
“Oh my god, who has us” hermione whisper shouts
Ginny takes a seat on the bed while Hermione continues to try to free her hands from one another.
“No one has us, we are at doctor sterling’s healer facility. You fell into a state of shock and they insisted you be restrainted to not harm yourself. You are not in danger '' Ginny informed her calmly.
“Harm myself” she asked confused
“Yes, they wanted you restrained to the bed but I refused. I told them the restraining you could cause a lot of damage but they said it was needed so i was able to convince them to restrain your hands together so you could “fight off” an attack.``
Hermione instantly calms, but looks around the room once more before looking back to her hands.
“Can I alert them to you waking so they can remove the restraints” Ginny asked softly. Hermione nods so Ginny uses her wand to turn the alert button on. They stayed silent until a light knock sounded on the door with doctor sterling slowly entering a moment later. She stands a few feet from the bed observing Hermione for any type of manic behavior. After deeming she was calm, doctor sterling vanished the restraints causing hermione to rub her wrists.
“Hermione? Do you remember what happened?”
Hermione shakes her head no so doctor sterling nods to ginny. She explains everything she witnessed to hermione with hermione responding that the situation seems fuzzy.
“Mr. Potter said he thought you were mumbling. "She knew” Do you know what you could have been talking about?” doctor sterling questioned
“She knew?” Hermione closes her eyes, trying to think. “What happened before Ginny found me in shock?”
“We were talking as a process of the discharge.”
“Do you have notes of our conversation? Can I see them?”
Doctor Sterling nods, flipping through her records to the page and handing it to hermione. She began to read through the page until finding the words, her eyes widen at the recognition
“What is it?” ginny asked worried
“In quotes Hermione stated the following “I changed his life forever that day, I could sense it from him whenever she left me alone for a minute. He tried to hide it but his atmosphere screamed fear, his mother knew…i dont think his dad cared much and his aunt was too distracted to notice but i could.``
Hermione looked too ginny with an unreadable expression.
“She knew…when I was sitting here thinking it dawned on me that Draco's mother was aware of his fear. Voldemort doesn't tolerate fear or disobedience. He was most likely tortured that day, hell he was tortured and probably pretty bad.``
“There's no way his mother would have revealed his fear if no one else had noticed. She would have been putting the final nail in his coffin and that goes against everything she did to protect him.”
“Hermione? I feel comfortable sending you back to school. I think after today and yesterday it would be best for you to be in a familiar environment, but I don't want you attending class tomorrow.
Hermione nods in agreement,
Notes:
TW : multiple mentions of retching, mentions of medical procedures. Mentions of blood. Self anger / emotions expressed into a diary. Dissociation resulting in unconsciousness and confusion. Use of restraints and brief mentions of torture
5488 words in this chapter
How do we feel about the story currently? The story is about to have a large deep drop for Next chapter. Any predictions on what happens and its aftereffects.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 10: Hold on
Chapter Text
Chapter Ten: Hold on
Hermione tried to call out loud. She continues to try to beg for help while attempting to contain the panic
“Theo! Fuck…fuck. Theodore! Theo!! Fuck, what did I do?" Hermione tried to hold her arm that was spilling blood through a deep cut. Her calls were cut off whenever she heard knocking on the door
“Granger? What's going on?”
She was least relieved to hear it was Draco but knew she didn't have long.
“Draco?” she calls through a whimpered sob
“Yes, are you okay?”
“I need you to come here” she calls to him trying to maintain herself. She slides an object across the restroom and under the door, hitting his feet.
“You are in the shower”
“I'm very much aware of this fact, it's an emergency”
Draco grabs the enchanted stone from the floor, waving it in front of the door. Once it drifts open, he covers his eyes, stepping in the room.
“Draco, I doubt it is the first time seeing a woman naked and it's not a good time to be prude-ish. I'm going to pass out soon from blood loss”
His hand falls from his eyes at the final words but he still averts his eyes as he grabs a towel, draping it over her shoulder. Quickly dropping to his knees at the sight of the blood.
“Bloody hell, what did you do?” he blurts out as he replaces her hand with a cloth.
“I didn't mean to, I was trying to release the burning blood and cut it too deep. I didn't want to die” she sobs out
He quickly understands her stress and tries to reassure her that she won't die but at the sound of her whimper, he catches her face before she collapses over.
“Theo!”
“Theodore! I need your help”
“Wake up Theo!”
Draco continues calling for help with footsteps rushing towards him seconds later.
“Fucking hell” Theo divulges, falling to his knees next to draco
“Hold her head and arm for a moment” Theo hands replaced Draco’s allowing him to pull his shirt off to tie it around her wrist.
“Get me a shirt, a blood replenishing potion and one of my robes. '' Theo rushes from the room to gather the items for draco while draco pulls Hermione to rest against him. Once the items are set next to him, Draco tells him to alert Blaise of the emergency that he needs to inform the headmistress then find ginny. Draco dumps the potion down her throat, then gets the robe onto her to cover her body. After throwing a shirt on he stands pulling Hermione to her feet carefully so he could carry her princess style.
“Come on Theo, I need you to hold pressure on her arm on the way to the hospital wing.”
Theo holds pressure onto the wound as they rush together to the hospital wing. Draco keeps her head tucked into his chest as they rush past the students who were clearing a path as they surged past.
Halfway there Theo becomes aware that draco was appearing very ill, him missing it in light of the chaos, he instantly knew draco did indeed have a fever as he suspected.
“You need to switch with me now, you're not okay to continue with her.
“I'm fine, we don't have time” Draco states, trying to end the conversation.
Theo continues at Draco’s pace but continues to talk
“You're not fine and you're not going to be helping if you pass out also.”
“I will get her there; I'll be fine until then.”
Theo tries to stop Draco one last time, but Draco pushes the attempt. When they reach the hospital wing, they are immediately directed by Madam Pomfrey on where to place her. As soon as she was placed, Theo pulled Draco out of the way to sit him into a chair. Madam Pomfrey pushed questions directed at them as she began to treat Hermione
“Did you do anything other than put pressure on the wound?”
“I gave her a blood replenishing potion after she went unconscious. she wasn't awake long”
“Do you know what she used” draco closes his eyes to think if he saw anything but Theo answered
“It would have to be a blade because she has wand restrictions. She wouldn’t be able to use it to harm herself.”
“Did she say why she tried to commit suicide”
This time Draco immediately answered “she wasn't, it was an accident. she said something about burning blood”
Draco and Theo's attention was drawn to the headmistress rushing into the wing.
“How bad is it?”
“I stopped the bleeding; they gave her a blood replenishing potion which probably saved her.”
“Doctor sterling has been alerted and will arrive soon along with Mr. potter
The headmistress headshot up to draco who released a sigh of relief. After deeming the healers had Hermione handled, she moved to draco who very obviously was looking ill.
She looked at Theo trying to get him to drink water.
“Is he okay?” she asked concerned
“No” Theo answers
“Yes” draco answer at the same time
“He’s not, the fever is flaring up again and he insisted on not switching with me to carry her here”
The headmistress instantly casts a cooling charm on him while running a diagnostic charm discovering he was indeed burning up.
“Mr. Malfoy we need to get you moved to a bed” she tries but is met with a firm head shake
“I'm fine, I'm waiting with her.”
Their attention was pulled to an unfamiliar healer rushing into the wing. The healers and the headmistress go with this new healer into the hospital wing office. Draco pulls his chair closer to Hermione's bedside and pulls his robe tighter on her body to cover her more decently.
Draco turns his head slightly towards Theo who sucked in a quick breath.
“Draco, switch shirts with me.”
“I'm fine”
“Your mark is showing, I wasn't think...”
Draco cuts him off “it’s fine, go find Ginny and Blaise.”
Theo nods, leaving the room. Draco allows his head to fall into his arms propped up onto his knees. A short time later, Draco lifts his head, watching in blur as Theo, Ginny and Blaise rush towards him.
“She's unconscious due to blood loss, madam Pomfrey stopped the bleeding.'' Draco informs Ginny as she drops a ball of clothing onto the bed. She grabs a small cloth, turning to Theo and placing it into his hand.
“Knock on the office door and give them that. Doctor sterling is in there, make sure you tell her what you told me about it not being purposeful”
“Is that….” Theo implied
“Yes, harry will be here soon”
Theo nods, disappearing towards the office. Blaise comes to Draco’s side
“Come on, let's get you into a bed” Blaise tries to pull draco to his feet, but he pushes his hands away
“I want to stay with her”
“You can, I just need a moment alone to get her into clothes.” Ginny speaks carefully, noticing the intent in his eye. Draco looks to Hermione, then to the clothes Ginny brought before nodding and standing with an apology. They leave the area, closing the curtains. Blaise holds Draco up until he is able to get him into a chair while a healer from the office approaches to care for draco. After a minute, Ginny opens the curtains to allow draco back in. Blaise got him back to the chair at the bedside before Theo and he left the hospital wing to go with the headmistress to wait for harry. Ginny notices as draco tenses as doctor sterling approaches the bed Hermione was lying in. She acknowledges Ginny before turning to draco who was showing signs of apprehension.
“Mr. Malfoy, I'm assuming, I'm Doctor sterling. I am a muggle born witch who is a healer and I have a few different degrees in medicine which is…”
“A doctor, muggle healer” he finishes for her.
“Yes, Hermione is a patient of mine. I can't give you any details, but I can assure you that Mr. Potter and Ginny are well informed with me.
Draco eyes drift to Ginny who nods to inform Draco he doesn't need to worry.
“Can you tell me what all you know about the situation?”
“She was in the shower. I guess she was cutting herself to release a blood burning feeling. She called for Theo for help but he was asleep, so she had me help her. She said she didn't mean to do it that deep, that she was trying to release the burning blood and that she didn't want to die. She passed out seconds later, so I had Theo hold her up while I wrapped her arm. Once I got my robe on her I carried her here while Theo held pressure onto the bleeding.”
Doctor Sterling nods in understanding, noticing draco fidgeting with his left arm
“Are you okay, you look feverish”
“yes, I’m okay”
“Does tampering with marks from dark magic cause painful side effects, like burning and fevers?” she asked curiously but he hides his forearm against him, looking towards Hermione. They stay silent for a moment until Draco turns his attention to her.
“She sees you for what my aunt carved into her?” draco states with a questioning tone
“Not exactly” she responds then glances to ginny with an expression that says (he’s figuring it out)
When her eyes return to him, he gives her a single nod returning his gaze to Hermione.
“Are you opposed to a little bit of anonymous research appearing on your desk in a day or two”
He doesn't turn his gaze from Hermione but could tell she looks too ginny again.
“I can't stop anonymous tips and, in many cases, reliable ones are helpful”
Doctor Sterling notices that Harry had arrived at the wing, going to inform him of everything. When harry approaches draco stands to leave
“Are you going to stay with her?” Draco asked Harry.
“Yes”
“Can I come back?” draco asked with a hint of worry
Harry looks to ginny who nods in approval
“Yes”
Draco nods, turning to leave but stops to speak.
“I know you probably know this already but Hermione going to see doctor sterling, isn't good for her mental state but I'm glad to know the stars help her a little bit”
Ginny looks to him confused
“We talked early yesterday morning using the cards you both made. She obviously lied about being okay, I knew that then. I noticed the day she was informed about the weekend that whatever was going on was causing her to crumble while she tried to hide it.”
“She doesn't know what’s going on, she refuses to be informed.”
Draco looks ginny with a raised eyebrow then to Harry “she knows what's going on. You don't know her very well if you think she wouldn't know every detail.'' Draco watches as Harry and Ginny share a silent conversation. He motions to her bed, silently asking for her bag that Ginny brought. Ginny nods and he reaches in grabbing a stack of parchment. Without looking at it he hands it to ginny with a look that says '' she has known all along”
“Also, she doesn't want you to know that she knows…that is for a reason, most likely that will make the situation real. I'll be back once I get cleaned up” draco comments before leaving them to stare in shock amongst each other.
An hour later, Draco returns with an apple and a pastry. He sits down in a chair after handing the pastry to Harry. He bites into the apple, aware of Harry staring at him.
“You care about her.” Harry states nonchalantly.
Draco thinks about it for a moment, determining how to respond.
“I have for a long while”
“I was meaning in a romantic way”
“I know what you meant” Draco says quietly
“How did you know?”
“Everything I said before leaving?”
Harry nods, with Draco taking another bite of the apple.
“Same reason she noticed something big happened over the summer between 5th and 6th year. She just didn’t want to believe I would have been marked. Deep down she knew your concerns were real. Her gazes turned into concern at that time, she’s one of the only people who noticed the seriousness of it all.”
Harry doesn’t respond, thinking about his words while Draco finishes eating the apple.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?”
“The headmistress wouldn’t have let me go. I’m surprised she isn’t forcing me into a hospital bed.”
“You look a little better now”
“Yeah, the dark mark causes me to experience feverish side effects.”
“Oh, I never knew that”
“It’s because of tampering with it. It’s similar to being infected. I think that’s a similar reason as to why she gets side effects like her blood burning”
“you're the one person she strictly didn’t want to know anything”
“I've gotten that hint; my mother should be sending my research journal to doctor sterling anonymously.”
“Research journal?”
“Yes, I started looking into the knife and poison as soon as the war ended. I knew she had designed it to leave a permanent mark, I wanted to try to help in some way.”
Harry falls quiet so Draco looks from Hermione to him.
“Can I tell you something else?”
“Go ahead.”
“At the astronomy tower, I knew you were below us. At some point he glanced down at the opening to make sure you weren't seeable. I noticed and I heard you talking previously. What he said wasn't meant for me…him offering me help was actually meant for you. My mother and him both knew I wouldn’t kill him, that’s why they both went to professor snape. Also, why I tried a cursed necklace and poisoned beverage. He said it as a reassurance to you, he was trying to make it known that I didn’t hold bad intentions, that I didn't have much choice.”
“You don’t want to be marked; I’m assuming?”
“I was marked as a punishment to my dad through my mom”
“Through your mom”
“My father didn’t care if I was marked or not. My mother was trying to get me into a safe zone before I hit the age that I could be marked. Since my father failed at the department of mysteries, he marked me as punishment to my father because he knew it would affect my mother and that would affect my father. Once I got marked, my choices were taken away and my mother knew she couldn’t do anything about it.”
They fall into silence, both watching Hermione's unconscious body for some time before Harry begins looking at parchments. When classes paused for lunch, Theo and Ginny head to the hospital wing to check on them. Harry stands to leave with ginny stopping to talk to draco first
“Do you plan to stay with her?”
“I would like to, so yes if that's okay with both of you. I won't be allowed to go to class for at least a few days”
“I think she would really like that” harry tells him
“ i agree but she won’t like it if she wakes to find you so worried about her that you don't care for yourself, especially if she knows you’re in this state.'' Ginny adds in before Harry and her leave the hospital wing. Theo sits in the seat that Harry was previously in after handing Draco notes and assignments from the classes he missed and a bowl of soup.
“I agree with Ginny, '' he says seriously. “If she sees you neglecting yourself and your struggles for her, she will pull away. The reason she disappeared after our trials is because she apparently tried to cut ties with everyone. Harry and Ginny practically broke in once a week to check on her. She took care of herself physically but not mentally and emotionally, she refused them, so she did not burden them. She was placed in a living area with us, with you because the healers believe you two can really help each other.”
Draco’s eyes drift to Theo with thoughts flying through his mind. He looks to the soup then back to Theo to give him a nod of understanding.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Theo asked quietly but in a manner that he knew it wasn't really a secret
“Sure?”
“I have always wished you were born to a different family”
Draco head shoots up to look at Theo with wide eyes “what? Why?”
“You two would have been good friends if you didn't grow up with your beliefs. She challenges your intellect. No one in Slytherin could have given you that, the closest person to your intelligence would be me but I wouldn't have argued and debated with you. She does, you guys have always competed against each other. That's what is lacking with Harry and Weasley, she can talk their ears off with knowledge and it probably feels like she is talking to a wall because they don't “respond”, they don't challenge her. You can keep up with her knowledge.”
Draco thinks over Theo's information, returning a question of curiosity and not an ounce of defensiveness.
“Why don't you wish she was born to a wizarding family?”
“She wouldn't be a swotty granger if she was a pure-blood or even a half-blood. I guess I don't even mean a different family for you, just one that didn't hold those beliefs so high”
“Yeahhh, I guess you're right”
“That's a first,” Theo jokes as he pats Draco's shoulder before leaving to return to class.
Draco starts to go through the notes before looking to Hermione. He smiles seeing his notes given to him were from muggle studies.
“I don’t know if you can hear me and you grew up muggle, so you know these things already. At least you probably do but I’m going to read my notes to you anyway.
~muggles have a few different forms of technology
~ televisions, which are large box objects that have a screen that displays things like films or programs. films are similar to a watching theater, but films are a recorded display, and programs are like long films split into segments. Televisions can also display news broadcasts which is like a person reading, showing and explaining details of topics that could be found in the daily prophet.
~ telephones, a handheld object that allows someone to talk to someone else who isn't in their close vicinity. Depending on the type of telephone, it can either be found in a home connected to a wall or it can be a cellphone which isn't made to stay within one specific place and can be carried to different locations. Over the last few years, a development of cell phones was created to send messages through typing using buttons with letters and numbers.
(Telephones kind of sound like the enchanted cards Hermione got for us. Unlike our cards where we have to write on them, telephones can commute using your voice or by typing the message.)”
Draco looks at Hermione's sleeping forms in amusement before looking at sketches drawn of these forms of technology.
“Have you seen these objects before?”
“Was using these objects part of your daily life?”
“Do you miss using these objects when you are at school”
Draco shifts closer to Hermione with a smile gaining on his face “oh merlin, by time you wake up I'm going to have a book full of questions for you” draco whispers to her. Draco writes down these questions on the parchment sheets before the feeling of exhaustion overwhelms him. He shifts in his seat, allowing his legs to straighten in front of him so he can drift into sleep allowing the fever to overcome his body as the coolness fades with time.
Draco shoots up in his seat, confused when he senses magic near his body. He tries to look around the body in front of him, trying to see if Hermione was okay but he was pushed against the chair by the hands on his shoulders
“Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger is okay. She hasn't woken yet and is still in a stable condition.” the body speaks to him.
He allows his body to relax into the chair trying to glance to see who they were but finding his vision blurred
“Who…who is this?” draco asked trying to make his voice appear calm
The hand on his shoulders freezes and he can tell they were looking at him,
“Madam Pomfrey, are you not able to see Mr. Malfoy?” she questioned, voiced laced with concern
“My vision is a bit blurred, I'm just tired and have not fully woken” he mumbles unconcerned.
“Is this a normal occurrence when you are experiencing fevers”
Draco shrugs “I don't usually remember everything from that time sections, it kind of mixes together”
Draco can sense her worry but forces himself to stay calm trying to listen around. He hears as Madam Pomfrey whispers to another healer asking for Theo immediately.
“Mr. Malfoy?”
“Yes?” he asked confused, closing his eyes due to the headache building in his head
“I'm going to ask you a few questions, I need you to answer to the best of your ability.”
“Okay, what would you like to know?”
“Do you know today's date? You have been asleep for a few hours''
Draco turns his head slightly, raising an eyebrow then answering with suspicion.
“It’s the 9th of September, also a Monday” she hums in confirmations then asks her next question “do you know where you are?”
“I fell asleep in the hospital wing of Hogwarts; I would assume I’m still there”
“You are indeed”
“Are you currently experiencing any pain?”
“I have a headache and I guess an overall feeling of weakness”
“Can you open your eyes for a moment so I can look at them”
Draco nods, looking up towards her. He feels as hands turn his face slightly as she looks at his face. He can feel sweat on his face under her palms
“I’m sorry” he mumbles, almost unhearable.
“Whatever for?” she wonders with curiosity as she shifts away
“I feel sweaty”
“Oh, that is the least of my concerns for the moment”
“Something is concerning you?” he states rather than questioning
He hears as rushed footsteps approach the hospital wing then stop quickly before restarting at a slower, calm manner.
“May I cast a cooling charm over you then a diagnostic spell?” Madam Pomfrey asked with draco nodding an approval trying to listen to the room. He feels as the coolness blankets his body followed by another form of magic. They stay silent for a few moments, Madam Pomfrey checking for anything of concern while draco remains quiet to not disturb her.
“I don't see anything of concern on the diagnostic spell but I'm going to talk to Mr. Nott to understand your situation better. You may return to sleep if you wish”
Draco listens to Madam Pomfrey walk away a few feet with Theo following her. He reaches forwards, feeling the bed Hermione was on. He pulls his chair with him, closer to the bed, resting his hand on the edge before allowing his head to fall back to allow himself to drift back to sleep. His eyes flutter back open an hour or so later, without as much blurriness. Draco finds Theo sitting in the chair a foot or two away.
“Is your eyesight better?” Theo asked in a tone that draco doesn't recognize
Draco barely glances around before staring at Theo with confused concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Draco! Are you able to see me?” Theo says calmly but impatiently
“Yes, what’s wrong Theo” draco moves on the chair closer to Theo ignoring the body aches.
Theo releases a long breath of relief, tilting his face away. Draco waits patiently for Theo to calm down his nerves. He looks to Hermione who was still laying in the same position.
“She still hasn't woken; they expect her to wake before tomorrow morning. If she doesn't then they'll discuss transfer to St. mungo’s but for now this is normal.”
“Are they concerned about anything involving her”
“No…Not concerning her. She’s apparently well considering the amount of blood lost.”
They fall silent, Draco knowing Theo had something to say and question.
“What is the last thing you remember?” he finally asked
“Madam Pomfrey was using magic near me, which woke me up. My vision was blurry, and she was concerned and pulled you from class.”
“So, you know what day it is and where you are”
Draco rolls his eye “it is the 9th of September, and I am in Hogwarts hospital wing”
Theo nods, more relaxed at those words.
“Do they have ideas of what had happened?”
“They think the fever was in the process of causing damage to your brain. The insistence of carrying Hermione all the way here and the refusal of lying in a bed, weakened your body allowing the fever to take power.”
Draco shifts uncomfortable at the idea of the fever causing damage. “They wanted to have you moved to a bed, but they were more worried that if they did you would freak out and cause more damage. If it happens again though, they will put you in restraints along with a babysitter to prevent you from doing anything idiotic.”
“Why are you still here?” draco asked in a quiet voice
“I'm currently said babysitter for both of you”
“Why does she need a babysitter, I thought she was fine”
“She is but if she wakes up to find you.” Theo gestures to draco “well, like this. She will murder you for being a stubborn arsehole.”
Draco chuckles to himself but looking to find Theo not amused at that action “so you’re here to keep her from murdering me?”
“I guess” Theo stands pushing Draco’s shoulders back so that he is relaxed against the chair. Theo pats his shoulder “but if I'm being honest, you're on your own because that witch bloody terrifies me”
Draco scoffs in disbelief, causing Theo to shove a potion into his hand with a look that makes him look insane.
“If that bloody witch doesn't scare your bollocks off more than your unwanted house guests then you are insane. She got tortured by your psychotic aunt, then Polyjuice herself to break into her vault and escape said vault heist by riding a Ukrainian Iron belly.”
Theo watches as shock washes over Draco's face, along with his head turns to Hermione's direction. “You didn't know?” Theo asked
“She told me that she broke into the bank and rode a dragon out, but I didn't know when and that it was “her” vault and that she was Polyjuice as "her ". I guess that make sense now”
Theo looks at him confused now “what makes sense now and how didn't you know? Didn't the nose less git go psycho for letting them escape?”
“He did but I wasn't there. My mother and Snape had a plan to get me out if there was a situation like that. He would have killed my mother or me for not identifying potter. She was torturing Hermione about the sword because she thought they got it from her vault. She kept asking what else they took from it.”
The two boys sit in shocked silence for some time until Theo notices that madam Pomfrey and doctor sterling was watching them. Theo stood, leaving to talk to them.
“I know you like stories so I'm going to tell you one. I have known Theo since I was really young. He was my first friend, but my father didn't like me going to his house. When we went to Hogwarts, Theo was too quiet to be close with him. Anyways the day I met Theo it was because his house elf came to our house looking for a certain potion because Theo got hurt and they didn't have enough to treat the injury. My mother insisted on going to check on Theo and she took me with her thinking it might help calm him. His mother and mine were apparently really close but since she died whenever he was young. My father didn't allow her to stay in contact due to his father, but she always tried to seem like a motherly figure for him. I wish I had tried harder to be his friend since first year.”
“You are his friend now” Hermione whispers weakly
Draco eyes widen going from the floor to her. She was looking at him with half - lidded eyes that quickly widened at him. She sits up at a fast pace causing him to try to stop her, but he fills her by tugging his hand towards her. Before he could say or do anything her hand was on his head with an expression of concern.
“oh, my merlin, are you sick?”
“You shouldn’t be moving so much, '' he tried to tell her, but she continued to tug on him.
“Come here” she continues to tug at him trying to pull him onto the bed.
“Onto the bed?” he questioned outraged
She ignored the questions, finally pulling him enough onto the bed next to her. She pulls his head to rest on her, grabbing the bowl of water and rag from the bedside table. He tries to pull away from her, but she slaps his hand in a motherly way, bringing the rag to his forehead.
“You're burning up, what happened?”
He tried again to pull away, but she wouldn't allow it. He huffs in frustration allowing her to do whatever she was, figuring that fighting her wouldn’t be beneficial for either of them.
“I’m fine, it’s just a fever”
“Shh, close your eyes. You need rest” she scolds
He huffs again, knowing he wouldn't win at this moment
“Are you feeling, okay?” he asked softly, worried in his voice.
“Yes, I’m okay”
His nods not being able to fight the exhausting but tiredly examine her arm that was injured as he fell asleep.
“I'm okay, don't worry. I'm okay” she continues to mumble trying to calm him.
Hermione looks up from his sleeping form whenever she hears three people approach the bed with concern. They watch her with a mix of concern, relief, confusion, clearly unsure what to say. She looks to Theo before motioning with a head jerk to tell him to sit in the chair draco was previously in.
“How long has he been like this?” she asked gently, not wanting to wake him. He goes to ask if she was okay, but she gives him a firm head shake no.
“I think it started to build yesterday, Sunday. He slept most of the day, I think he was only awake long enough to shower in cold water. This happens to him from time to time. I was suspicious but I didn't know for sure until we were halfway here. I tried to get him to let me carry you, but he refused because he was too worried about your bleeding.”
Hermione closes her eyes taking a deep breath before her attention finds doctor sterling.
“Do they know?
Notes:
TW: Mentions of bleeding, Mentions and references of suicide and harming oneself. Mentions of effects of dark magic. References of a fever resulting from tampering with dark mark. Mentions of possible permanent injuries to major organs. References to nudity. Brief mention of death in a joking manner. Brief Mentions of torture and war crimes
Please let me know if I missed a possible trigger warning since this is a heavy chapter
5216 words in this chapter
So...to start this is a big, intense chapter, any predictions for the rest of the fic.
Also, sorry this chapter is a little late, the month of May I have been moving and am currently almost fully moved but will be spending much time to unpack everything. I still plan to try to upload every other Friday / Saturday
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 11: I Guess I'm In Love
Notes:
Part One of a double update
~ Make sure to read this chapter before reading chapter 12No Tw I believe but please let me know if I need to add some
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter Eleven: I Guess I'm In Love
Madam Pomfrey asks Theo to go inform the headmistress, Harry, and Ginny. Once he was gone, Doctor Sterling takes a seat on the edge of the bed “Theo doesn't seem to know anything about the appointment other than that you told him about it and to let Ginny know of any odd behavior from you.”
“And him?” she asked worriedly, gesturing to the sleeping male leaning on her.
“He made it clear that he knew you were having effects from the event, or he at least figured you were due to seeing me. I don't believe he knows the full story, but he knows from personal experience that tampering or messing with marks from dark magic causes negative effects like burning blood, fevers and such on.”
“Are you implying he is sick and is commonly like this due to him messing with his mark?”
“I vaguely questioned it, and his reaction made me believe so”
“Anything else?” Hermione asked unsure
“Yes, he implied that he was sending me his research anonymously. It sounds like he was looking into the object and the effects before beginning to suspect you had actual effects. Mr. Potter and Ginny should be joining you to see you. I didn't hear the full conversation but I'm pretty sure they talked more”
Doctor Sterling stands, Madam Pomfrey and her asking Hermione questions about how she was feeling and what happened. Headmistress McGonagall was the first to return to the hospital wing joining them at the end of their questions and potion instructions. The two healers left them alone with the unsureness of Draco, displayed on her face.
“I can have him moved into his own bed” her explanation was quickly cut off whenever Hermione violently shook her head no.
“I practically dragged him to lay down so I could hold the cold flannel to his head. For the moment this is how it needs to stay.
McGonagall gives her a nod, one of curiosity but also unsureness
“Are there any specific instructions for his fever?” Hermione questioned as she looked around.
“He has taken any potion they had for him already, it's a bad fever, I believe they have been regularly casting cooling charms trying to keep it from going too high to cause major negative effects. I think they were going to try the cold flannel whenever he woke but it seems that you beat them to it.”
“So, plenty of rest and try to apply coolness. I can work with that” she mumbles to herself.
“Don't overdo yourself, you are still recovering.” the Headmistress lectured.
“I don't intend to, he stayed with me so I can return the favor”
The headmistress turns her attention to the doorway to find Harry, Ginny, and Theo entering.
“It appears you have visitors; I'll check in later” she gives Hermione a nod before leaving, allowing the others to join her.
Ginny and Harry take a seat in the chairs and Theo looks to Draco. Before Theo could ask, she answered his questions.
“For the moment, he's staying here to sleep” Theo gives her a nod before setting a bag on the floor by the bed and leaving them to talk.
“You may ask as you please then I will ask my questions,” Hermione says looking among them. They both nod and Ginny speaks up first.
“How are you feeling?”
“I feel weak due to the blood loss but I'm not in pain currently.”
“Theo and draco said you weren't trying to…you know”
“I didn't and don't wish to die. I tried to use cold water to relieve the pain, but it didn't help so I tried bleeding it away and went too deep.”
“Can you describe the pain?”
“It feels like acid is in my veins or that bugs are crawling under my skin.”
Harry gestures to the bed “did you or he do this?”
“I didn't give him much choice channeling my Molly Weasley skills' 'Hermione smirks playfully.
“Is there anything you need?'' Ginny asked.
“I should eat soon but I have questions first.”
Ginny looks at Harry who shakes no.
“What are your questions?
“Do you know what happened after I went unconscious?”
“Malfoy caught your head as you passed out. Once Theo was there which was seconds after, he had Theo help him so he could use his shirt to wrap your arm. They gave you a blood replenishing potion and Malfoy got his robe onto you to get you covered while theo alerted blaise so he could get Professor McGonagall and Ginny. Malfoy carried you here while theo kept pressure on your arm. After Madam pomfrey stopped the bleeding you stayed asleep. Once I got here, Malfoy left for an hour or so to get cleaned up, then he's been here since. Ginny came and left for class. I stayed until lunch, then left with Ginny. I believe theo has been in and out as much as possible but missed the last class of the day to watch over you both.”
Hermione gives them a look of confusion but they shrug.
“What does he know about Doctor Sterling and I?'' Hermione asks with a stern look causing Harry and Ginny to look uncomfortable.
“He knows you didn't want to go to the appointment, that it causes negative effects on your mind. He also said he could see through your attempted to cover your stress about it.'' Ginny answers with Harry adding to the conversation.
“Apparently he's really observant because he saw you were concerned for him during 6th year. He said you were the only one to know how serious the situation actually was and that he thinks you didn't want to believe he was marked. I agree with that, anytime I said about it you were in denial.”
“ I figured he could tell I was stressed about the weekend, he had said about knowing I got bad news. I'm surprised he knew about 6th year.”
“He told me that messing with marks from dark magic causes effects like him and you have experienced but I don't understand what you two do to mess with it.”
Hermioen thinks about it for a moment. “The testing for the appointment is messing with it for me…I'm not sure about him though. Do you know anything about research?”
“Yes, he mentioned he was sending a journal or something with research about the effects and how the object and its poison use was made. He started looking into it after the war ended, wanting to help you even though he knew the scar was permanent he was trying to help with the effects. He probably felt guilty for not trying to stop it.”
Ginny noticed an odd expression come over hermione, causing her to think she was having a trauma flashback.
“Hermione?”
“I think he did” Hermione said
“What?”
Hermione looks to Draco in shock
“Hermione, what's wrong?:
“i…I think he did try to stop it, or he tried to lessen the effect”
Hermione closes her eyes trying to think about the room environment that day.
“He was doing something his mother didn't like. She kept trying to get him to stop and leave the room but he refused.”
Hermione opens her eyes looking at Draco again before looking back at them.
“Doctor sterling said something yesterday about, talking to him could be helpful because he could have insight on the properties of the dagger and it's possible he was the test subject while not causing damage due to his relative blood. I don't think they took into account the damage caused by both the curse and the poisoned dagger.
They watch her in surprise, thinking about her words
“Does he know what the appointment was for?”
“I doubt it, it seems the damaged cause wasn't something expected. He didn't seem to have a clue what they were testing and the possible reasons.”
“How am I dressed if he put his robe on me?”
“When Blaise informed me, he and I went to your domratory so I could grab your clothes. I figured whatever you were wearing was bloody or dirty or something. I will tell you though he seemed to try to keep you covered”
Ginny laughs quietly whenever she sees an expression of offense wash over Hermione's face. Hermione turns to Harry to say something. “ I thought men like to see women naked. He had a free look and didn't want it. He just dropped a towel around me.”
Harry shifts in his seat appearing very uncomfortable causing hermione and ginny to laugh loudly. Hermione stiffens whenever she feels Draco move in his sleep but chuckles lightly once she was sure he wouldn't wake.
“I called him prude-ish and now I feel a little bad,” Hermione says with a light giggle.
“You did call him gentlemen like though, whenever we talked on Saturday” Harry cut in
“Hmm, i guess so”
Ginny's attention turns away before looking back to hermione. “It appears that Theo went to grab you food” Ginny motions him over while Harry and her stand to wish her good bye sensing she wanted to talk to Theo alone. Once Theo got the hint that Hermione wanted to talk to him alone, he became visibly nervous.
“Theo? Do I scare you?” Hermione remarks in a joking manner but drops all the joking manners whenever theo expression change
“Theo? Why are you so nervous to be alone with me?”
“I'm worried about what you want to talk to me about privately” he says so quietly Hermione barely heard him.
“Why are you nervous though?”
“I don't want you mad” he confesses
“Okay…I don't think I have anything to be mad about. Everyone is fine and that is what matters”
He nods and stays quiet for a moment before giving her a small encouraging smile. “What were you curious about?”
“You went to classes before and after lunch but missed your last one, why is that?'' Hermione asks carefully but jumps up without disturbing Draco when she sees Theo's legs shake and his emotional walls come crashing down. She leads him into sitting down before kneeling before him to comfort him.
“Theo?” she asked cautiously “Did something happen to draco?”
“I was so scared”
“Okay…what made you scared?’
“Draco…his fever got too high…Madam Pomfrey had to pull me from class.” a strangled sob leaves Theo's mouth and Hermione takes his hands in hers. Hermione allows him to take as long as he needs and when he composes himself some he continues.
“When she went to check on him, he woke up but couldn't see anything. I guess his vision was a complete blur and they think the cooling charm wore off causing the fever to start causing serious damage.”
“Harry mentioned you are watching over both of us…why are you watching over me all of a sudden?”
“I didn't want you to murder him, but frankly, you're one bloody scary witch so I wouldn't have stopped you” tho says in a slightly lighter tone with a soft chuckle.
“ I would have murdered him?”hermione queried
“Yes but I think he understands now he needs to take care of himself along with helping you”
“That is correct but he also needs to let others help him”
Theo hums in agreement and Hermione reassures him that everything will be okay.
Hermione looks at theo wiggling her eyebrow at him
“What?” theo asked laughing confused
“So did you see my nude body..i know it's not exactly your thing but still” she asked in a cheeky tone. He looked at her confused, unsure due to her tone and expression
“No..you had a towel covering yourself and if you didn’t I wouldn’t be looking anyways”
Hermione throws her hands in the air dramatically causing Theo to laugh nervously.
“I thought men like women naked, or is it just that pure-bloods are afraid or something? '' she exclaimed dramatically.
“Hermoine, are you offended? and that sounds once again pretty prejudiced.”
“Very much, yes, two teen men had a chance to see a woman naked and didn't take it. You, I kinda understand but Draco malfoy didn't take the chance to see a woman naked. Draco Malfoy acted as if my naked body was Medusa '' Hermione remarks with great joking offense.
Theo stares at her like she was insane “Medusa?” he questions
“Yes, in Greek mythology, Medusa was a goddess but she was turned into a “monster” with snakes for hair. If someone looked at her, specifically the snakes it would turn them to stone.
“Interesting comparison but I can assure you that men usually do like seeing nude women at their consent. A woman on the edge of bleeding to death is hardly an appropriate time.”
Hermione scoffs with an eye roll “ I guess you have a point”
“Hermione, I promise anyone who sees you nude will go down in records for largest mouth drop.” he playfully nudges her shoulder.
Hermione returns to the bed, careful not to awaken Draco but at her movement, Draco's hands sleeply pulls her hand to his hair. She looks to theo with amusement, who was watching Draco in shock.
“Is this uncommon?” she asked quietly as she runs her finger through his scalp
She watches him nod and she gestures for the bag Theo had brought them. She used her free time to look through her notes, smiling at the muggle study ones.
“I think he was talking to me about these notes earlier.”
“Muggle studies?”
“Yes, it was nice”
She reads through the note that Theo bought for them as she eats the food he also brought her. He sits silently as he writes in his journal, well until Hermione calls his name for attention with uncertainty in her tone.
“Can I talk to you about something, probably important”
Theo moves to sit next to her on the bed “you can always talk to me”
“So you're aware of my appointment this weekend and have met Doctor Sterling. I'm sure you have an idea about things. Anyways, Doctor Sterling and Ginny think I should talk to Draco about what’s going on. Did you know he was looking into the poisoned knife and everything?”
“I knew he was working on something anytime he had a chance but he wouldn't talk to me about it.”
“He's sending anything he has about it to doctor sterling but it a lot worse than just the effects of the scar”
Theo's eyes widen in concern but she's quick to wave him off.
“It's worse in terms of my future, it doesn’t cause me major problems currently. Everyone thought I refused to know what was going on. Draco on the other hand knows me better apparently. I remember hearing him saying something like “you don't know her very well if you think she wouldn't have known everything going on.” he is correct, I have stayed up to date on everything through my records but making it seem like I didn't want to know. He gave Ginny my records from my bag but he doesn't know any of it because he knew I didn't want him to know.
They fall silent for a moment, Hermione unsure how much she wanted him to know and him not wanting to ask too many questions.
“They think the combination of the posions or dark magic mixed with my weakness from Bellatrix using the cruciatus curse on me allowed it to target certain organ processes. My body attacks itself in a way.”
“Are you worried about him knowing that…that day caused so much more damage than he originally believed. Damage that seemed to be permanent or widely serious could cause him…distress.”
Hermione nods and she sees as something makes sense in Theo's brain “Ginny said something about you not wanting to chance him knowing. Is it that you didn't want to tell him and take the chance of it “destroying him” Theo asked curiously .
Hermione nods slowly and sadly “I know that day caused a lot for him. If I tell him the outcome is worse than he thought, well I don't know how he will react. I don't hold him accountable and I don't want him to feel like he should be”
“It's really bad isn't it?” theo states aloud in a uncommon tone
“If things don't change, my future plan will be altered and it's possible I'll have to have that organ removed due to the damage it is infecting on itself. Doctor Sterling has me on really strong pain medicine sometimes to deal with the pain.”
“Oh merlin” he mumbles to himself
She waits until his attention turns back to her before she continues reaching for her bag.
“If I show you the medical reports will you keep them to yourself so whenever I do tell him, I can tell him myself.”
“Of course, he's not going to come asking. He knows you don't want him knowing at this time and he respects it.”
Hermione hands him the stack of parchment of the medical report and he returns to the chair so he can read it while she uses the restroom then relaxes while holding the towel to draco’s head again. When Theo finishes reading the medical report he looks to Hermione who had fallen asleep reading.
~~~
Draco’s eyes drift open, finding himself resting upon someone sleeping. He jumps up and out of bed, stumbling to a chair nearby. Once he got himself stable he looked around, finding himself in the hospital wing of the school. He looks up at the sound of footsteps approaching, finding they belonged to a healer.
“Mr. Malfoy, you're awake. How do you feel?”
“I feel okay, I am a bit confused, I must say.”
“What are you confused about?”
Draco shifts on his feet in discomfort. “How did I end up in that bed with Miss. Granger.”
“I believe when Miss. Granger woke earlier in the day. She discovered that you were ill and pulled you into the bed to tend to your fever.
The healer notices Draco trying to cover his discomfort so she tries to reassure him with a smile. “The bed next to you is yours, I'm sure it would be more comfortable for the both of you to have more room.”
“May I use the restroom for a cold shower”
“Of course but a bath will have to suffice. I don't believe you seem stable enough to shower and the water should only be lukewarm or room temperature so not hot nor cold.”
He nods with acknowledgement and she gives him a bag of clothes Theo had left for him, allowing him to bathe. Draco allows the water to cover his body as he tries to relax. After what was probably an hour he drains the bath and reclothes himself. As he climbs into the neighboring bed, Draco can't help but notice Hermione holding on for dear life onto the pillow Draco was formerly leaning against. His heart pings with hope that crashed down less than a second later. He watches her sleep allowing himself to fall back to the state of dreams.
~~~
I feel my body fill with contentment and acceptance. I guess mercy does exist sometimes for people like me. I feel the coldness increase as the light above me fades away. I expected to feel some fragments of regret but it is not present. “Don't let him follow me please. Make sure she takes care of him, he deserves to have someone like her looking after him” I speak to whoever is listening above as i allow my body and soul to separate into the darkness.
~~~
Hermione grasps a quick breath as images of unfamiliar memories rush through her mind.
A voice calling to her as a heavy weight blankets her body, a simple message “if you leave I will follow you”
Giggles coming from two children running in slightly too high grass
The feeling of being spun into strong loving arms.
A smile creeping onto her face with a sense of pride.
A sting to her cheek, rawness of her throat and the feeling of heartbreak.
A full body, overwhelming feeling of numbness.
The fight and pleads leaving her body as she sees someone drop onto the ground.
The tears running down her cheeks as she reads someone's journal in front of annoying authority figures.
A soft kiss to the crown of her head
She sits up feeling around the bed finding it empty. She tries to find the body belonging to a once enemy, relief flooding her seeing him asleep in the next bed. She allows her feet to find the cold tile floor as she tip toes towards the windows on the other side of the room. She smiles, taking a seat to go over her class notes.
~~~
I feel my body jerk up being pulled from the benthal. After my head overcame the surface water of the lake I was in, I opened my eyes to find myself standing in a crowded ballroom. I look around to find two of myself standing behind me. Whenever everyone's attention is brought to the stairs I turn back to find a breathtaking woman gliding down the stairs. I know this woman but I don't know who she is. As she descends the stairs I survey her from bottom to top. She's dressed in a floor length, dark emerald, satin gown that must have a slit because one of her legs is on display to show off a pair of silver heels. My eyes trace her leg up to discover that the slit in her gown goes high, presenting a tassel leg chain with a snake charm. The top of her dress includes a long v - cut to reveal her sternum but a long, elegant necklace in silver rests between her breasts to hide a scar. A scar I know she gained from a curse during the second wizarding war. Her arms are covered by long, fitted sleeves, showing off a few shiny rings and simple but classy done nails. Finally, her face was hidden with an extravagant silver, masquerade mask that held her perfect curls out of her face and her cherry red matte lips finished the look. I turn back to the pair of me to find one watching this woman with pride and love while the other looks furious at mother. Snarling about this gala not being safe for her and the disapproval of mother bringing her here at this time.
Draco sits up in bed, reaching around the bed for his journal. Theo clears his throat to get his attention and he looks up to find Theo sitting in a chair between the two beds while Hermione was reading and working on something.
“Do you need your journal?” Theo asked as he reached into the bag next to him. Draco nods, reaching for the journal Theo was holding up for him.
“What kind of dream was it”
“Two results of the same question”
“Was I still alive in this dream?” theo questions in an unserious tone resulting in a glare from draco. Draco glare turns into gaze towards Hermione in a curious manner. Theo follows his gaze before turning to see draco’s reaction
“Oh '' Theo says louder than planned, causing hermione to look up.
“Good morning…well afternoon. How are you feeling? " Hermione wonders as she turns her body in his direction.
Draco's voice softens as he responds to Hermione saying he feels better for the moment. She stands with a smile, going to hand him a goblet of water while placing her hand on his head. Draco feels a ping in his chest whenever she smiles wider as she informs him he currently doesn't feel like he was burning up. Following that interaction she returns to her bed to continue reading. Draco writes in his journal, stopping when Theo speaks up to question hermione.
“How did you know what the water and flannel was for whenever you woke and found draco feverish?” he asked the question that just occurred to him.
“That's one of the ways muggles treat fevers since they can't cast cooling charms.'' Hermione turns to Draco who was looking off in the distance. “ Next time you have a fever you shouldn't use cold water. It'll tell your body your cold which will raise your fever more and prolong it which isn't healthy overall.”
Draco’s thinks about her words before nodding and responding with “noted”
Hermione began to gather her things she was using before standing and looking between the two men. “I'm going to grab some food from the great hall for us” after she leaves Theo gestures to the journal. Draco rolls his eyes before mumbling to himself. “Must you know everything? can’t I keep something to myself”
“Nope, not when it involves the golden girl”
“Don’t call her that theo”
“Story tell draco”
Draco explains the dream causing theo to laugh.
“Are you going to ask to see her tits so you can see if she has a scar”
Draco looks to theo in shock “ of course not, plus it would be down the middle of her chest not across it”
“If you asked nicely she might show you, I think you kind of hurt her feelings a little.”
“What do you mean” draco asked perplexed
“Whenever you entered the restroom. She said you acted as if her body was “medusa” She said this conversation in a joking way but I think your behavior might have hit a nerve somehow.”
“She was bleeding badly, that is hardly an appropriate time”
Theo shrugs while shaking his head “I told her that sooo whenever you finally become a man and tell her how you feel then maybe you'll see her nude and boost her confidence,”
Draco gives him a look of disagreement before their attention is turned to blaise, Luna and Hermione entering the hospital wing. “She doesn't need anyone to boost her confidence, especially a man who has been a bully to her for years.”
“Aww, I don't hear a denial of feelings” Theo teases, causing Draco to whip a pillow at him knocking him to the floor.
Hermione looks at Draco in displeasure, resulting in him huffing and returning to his journal and Hermione helps Theo off the floor before handing him his food and taking Draco’s to his bed. Theo gives him a smirk whenever everyone starts eating but draco’s storms out of the bed. Theo jumps to his feet to follow after him, realizing he messed up.
Theo grabs Draco's arm but he tries to nudge it off. “ I was trying to joke with you….I didn't mean to upset you and i didn't perceive that you might actually”
“Just leave it Theo '' Draco snaps while closing the restroom door in his face. Theo stares at the door for a moment before turning back to the group of friends. He walks calmly over to grab draco’s and his food and draco’s shoes before thanking them for the food and returning to the restroom door to say something to the door. Luna, Blaise and Hermione watch as the pair walks out of the hospital wing. Luna and Blaise walk back to their classes with the absences of Draco and Theo yet to return back. Hermione pulls the curtains around the bed before settling down to sit cross legged in the middle.
She loosely lets her arms lay against her legs as she closes her eyes and begins to focus on her breathing. She allows her brain to drift into its zone while she allows her body to feel. She takes notice of the slightly colder atmosphere in her veins, how her head feels heavy with worry and preparation plans and the happiness that struggles to shine to cover the depression she became familiar with after the trials. She allows the emotions and memories to drift through her mind before tears race down her face as she falls to her side to curl into a fetal position, clutching her “Hogwarts : a history” book to her chest as she sobs herself into slumber. When she regains consciousness she discovers she is surrounded by the smell of apples and her face feels stiff from the dry tears. Hermione sits up, slowly pulling the curtains away to see that Draco froze, staring at the book in his hands at the sound of the curtain moving. He slowly glances at her and they stare into each other's eyes both sharing a mix of concern and pain. They stare unwaveringly for so long that it couldn't be anything but intimate. Draco closes his book pulling his legs towards him to break the moment. He motions to the spot in front of him and she stands without question to move to that spot but stops halfway between the bed timidly.
“I would like to braid your hair… with your permission of course” he speaks so soft as if she would scurry off like a scared animal.
She nods and gently sits in front of him. With so much care that she can't fathom that this was Draco Malfoy actions, he pulls her hair from the hair tie and starts to run his friends carefully through her curls to detangle them. She feels as his hand reaches around her head to gently grasp her jaw to tilt her head up. She smiles to herself as he dutch braids her hair with tenderness.
“You can braid” she states surprised
“I can, why are you surprised?”
“I just never would have guessed you could or would braid someone’s hair.”
“There's a lot you don't know about me, I wasn't always an evil little boy. Haven't you been told to not judge books by their covers”
Hermione laughs softly so his smile brightens even more.
“ I don't judge book covers. There's a reason the story is inside the cover. The cover is simply the protector of the precious contents. You don't have a sister, most boys who can braid usually have a younger sister.”
“I may not have a sister but I may have a wife one day” he tells her quietly almost in a shy way
“You have magic though.”
Draco goes silent, unsure what to say as he finishes her hair.
“I am finished with your hair,” he whispers. She pulls her hair over her shoulder as she turns around towards him but at the end of the bed so there's a few feet separating them.
“ just because you have magic doesn't mean you should use magic for everything. I'm a bit shocked im saying this to you granger”
She observes him thinking of what to say “does that mean your parents made you learn how to?” she asked confused
She jumps slightly whenever he bursts into laughter causing her to become a little uncomfortable. He stops laughing when he notices she looked completely unlike herself, frightened in a way.
“I'm sorry, I don't understand this” she mumbles as she quickly gets up to leave but Draco grabs her arm to stop her.
“I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. No, my parents don't force me to learn these things. My father doesn't know I do this and my mother taught me but I had asked her to, whenever I was younger, I learned before coming to hogwarts. From a young age I wanted to be able to do things for my wife without having to use magic. My father as you can guess who have never approved so I would get in trouble some times for watching the elves in the kitchen”
“You know how to cook?” hermione questioned unsure
“No” he answers half - heartedly with a frown appearing quickly but he tries to hid it by smiling
“But you would like to” she asked hesitantly to which he gives her a sad nod “okay, add it to your list then. We will try to teach you how to cook”
She smiles at the expression that comes over his face “ you would help me?”
“Of course I would, we’re friends aren’t we”
“Friends….yes we are friends”
She stands, turning to him with a serious expression “now the swot within is trying to escape. Since you look a lot better would you like to join me in get some missed class work completed.
Later that night both Draco and Hermione were released back to their dormitory and were able to return to class the following day.
Notes:
5415 words is in this chapter
Part one of a double update since I missed the last update time due to being unable to be moved into my room yet.
hopefully now it will return to every other Friday / Saturday~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 12: Half A Man
Notes:
Part Two of a double update
~ Make sure to read chapter 11 before this one~Tw in the end notes
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter Twelve: Half A Man
Blaise notices that Draco tenses at the sight of the headmistress entering the classroom. The pair watches as Professor Flitwick and McGonagall look towards them. After a nod of approval from the charms teacher, Professor McGonagall approaches them.
“Mr. Malfoy, will you please follow me?” she asked quietly. He nods and gathers his things before following her out of the class. He follows her silently throughout the school before she stops quickly turning to him.
“Mr. Malfoy, no need to be so tense. You are certainly not guilty of something are you?”
“No, professor, I don't think I did anything but I feel like I am in trouble for something”
“Oh nonsense” she mumbles as she turns back around continuing to lead him “Healer Spencer is here to see you after… recent events.”
“I haven't heard back from him?”
“Oh, he must have reached out to me first to try to arrange the details. I didn't realize he didn't respond to you and I requested for his first available time slot for you.”
She stops in front of the room she brought him to see his surprised expression.
“I hope that wasn't over-stepping, I just thought after what happened you might need to see him”
“Oh no, I appreciate you doing this. I guess I'm just used to certain people treating other certain people in other ways.”
She gives him a small sad smile. “I’ve always tried to keep everything equal, no matter the students and their house placements. I apologize that some things feel that way. I will continue to try to eliminate these sides and the treatment of them. Please do inform me of this type of treatment happening. I am truly here to help and guide my students. It truly is better to allow us adults to help the students with serious problems but I really hope this year will be different than previous years.”
“I agree and after last year I’m glad you are the head of the school because we as students need someone like you.”
She gives him a nod of acknowledgement and he enters the room.
Healer Spencer greets Draco, encouraging him to sit while starting his questions on how the school year was going, about the recent situation, his goals for the future, and his probations details. Draco feels positive about his conversations with Healer Spencer but his expression drops whenever he notices that he is becoming hesitate and worried about something.
“Is there something you are concerned about?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Your probation has been brought up due to a report about an incident last week between Miss. Granger and yourself. I was asked to discuss it with you because the details surrounding this incident seem to not be connected.” Draco appears to be confused trying to figure out what the incident he would be referring to so Healer Spencer continues “ Mr. Potter was questioned recently about Miss. Granger's behavior after seeing her during her away weekend and her hospital wing visit. We had a student report concern to the ministry because they believe it was possible you might have an…advantage over Miss. Granger. Mr. Potter assured them that her and your relationship didn't seem anything of concern and that he believed you were not any harm to her. From my understanding, he seemed pretty insistent that there was no way you would harm her and he was 100% comfortable with you being in her presence. I was asked to get your view of the incident while the headmistress talked to Miss. Granger.”
Draco stares at the ground as Healer Spencer talks unsure how to feel.
“Did this incident involve Miss. Granger and I an early morning last week and a young Gryffindor student”
“Yes, it appears so. I just need to know what your view of the situation was”
Draco explains his point of view with as many details as he can include and then it was time for him to head to lunch. On his way there her hears familiar voices along with rushed footsteps behind him
“Hermione, what's going on?”
“I need to find him”
“ McGonagall pulled him from class”
“I know, help me find him”
“Why?”
“His probation is being called into question”
Draco turns towards the voices at the two boys asking “what” in worry. He hears a gasp before a body collides with him. He knows from the smell of vanilla and lavender that it is Hermione. After she clings to him for a moment he pulls her away. “Hey, I'm okay.”
“They’re calling your probation into question”
“I know” he speaks softly trying to calm her but she doesn't react.
“ That morning we were running…. That boy reported it”
“I know, granger”
“They are going to come talk to you.”
She continues to ramble in a panic so he kneels in front of her tilting her face down to him as he rubs her hands.
“Hermione, breathe. I know all this already”
“What?” she questioned finally listening to him
He stands, taking her hand to lead her to the great hall and telling the group he would explain everything as they ate. After Draco explained everything to his friends, Theo and Blaise seemed relieved and relaxed while Hermione stood with an unreadable expression. The boys watch as she stands from the table and walks around it. Draco becomes worried that she may track the boy down but he feels her tug him from the table to stand. He expects to be hit by her but he once again finds himself wrapped in her arms. He stands shocked and unmoving as she mumbles into her chest about being worried. He hugs her back, rubbing his hand on her back to calm her. He tells her she is causing a scene when he sees many students watching and gossiping about things.
“I don’t care,” Hermione laughs as he holds him tighter. When Hermione finally lets go of Draco she points her finger one at a time at each of the boys. The three boys look a little frightened as she says “None of you, I mean it. None of you are allowed to misbehavior and cause problems for your probation. I do not want to storm the ministry to protect any of you prats.” After her statement she calmly walks back around the table to her seat next to Theo who unconsciously slides a little away from her.
~~~
The weekend comes around and Hermione is on her way to the library to distract her mind when she finds Draco once again writing in a journal. He looked up to her at her sudden stop when she entered the common room.
“Hello, granger”
“Hi….where is the others at”
Draco thinks for a moment before shrugging and she nods in acknowledgement. She shifts awkwardly on her feet and he looks to her unsure
“I have a feeling you want to ask or say something”
“Yeah, I guess. Would you like to join me? I was going to go to the library to study”
“Yeah, sure, okay” Draco starts to gather his book while she watches. They walk next to each other silently until she collects her courage and grabs his arm to stop their walking. He looks at her concern but she ignores it to tug him towards a window.
“There's something that been bothering me”
“Okay, I am assuming I did something”
Hermione tilts her head from side to side “In a way, yes. Do you remember the morning that I left for the weekend”
Draco shakes his head confused so she continues
“When I went to leave, you were asleep on the chair and I took your glasses and book away and I think you woke up because you seemed confused when I told you you were sleeping and repeated your name like it was odd to you. You started swinging your arm at me and claiming you were dreaming but I really don't think you were”
Hermione stops talking when she sees a weird expression go over Draco's face.
“That sounds familiar” he confesses “I thought I was dreaming, well…” he stops quickly unsure what to say
“I had my hair charmed. Did you think I was someone else?”
“Yes, well I'll explain my view but promise you won’t think I'm weird”
“Of course, you thought you were dreaming so why would I find you weird”
“I think your hair threw me off. I thought you were my mother, I'm guessing that's why I was confused when you said my name. She usually calls me her dragon when she finds me asleep. I thought I was asleep and dreaming so my mind was playing tricks on me changing your hair. I'm sorry for trying to swipe you away and I appreciate you trying to help me.”
She nods and motions to the direction of the library so they continue their journey there. They find a table, sitting diagonal from each other. They sit quietly each reading a book whenever they both look up to find Blaise and Luna walking towards them.
Blaise nods to an empty seat getting a nod of approval from Hermione. The pair each sit down at the table. Everyone but Blaise turns their attention to their work. Draco huffs in annoyance under his breath looking up to see Blaise looking between Hermione and him. Draco mouths “what are you playing at?” and Blaise smirks while looking at Hermione. Draco slams his book closed, standing from the table. Hermione looks to him concerned but his anger fades away while he tells her that he would be in the hospital wing to help Madam Pomfrey. After Draco leaves, Hermione's eyes shoot to Blaise who is watching him leave with curious eyes. He turns his attention to Hermione to find her glaring at him. He gives her a raised eyebrow of question but she slightly shakes her head returning her attention to her books. Eventually Hermione also slams her book close and leaves the library to try to find Theo After an hour of not finding him she writes to him on the card asking to meet up.
Theo? Can we meet up and talk?
I'm currently at the black lake.
Can I join you?
Of course
“Hey? Are you okay?”
“Yes, a bit mad though”
“Oh merlin, you're here to kill me aren’t you. I promise whatever I did I didn't mean to”
Hermione scoffs in fake annoyance before giving him a smirk
“This time Nott, you are not on the chopping block, it's actually your roommate.”
“Which one”
“Both in a way. does Blaise usually do things to get on Malfoy’s nerves”
Theo turns to Hermione with a look of curiosity. “In what way?” he asked softly, looking back to the water.
“I'm not sure, I could tell Blaise was looking between Draco and I. Malfoy huffed and seconds later he was furious and storming from the library.”
Theo shifts uncomfortable which tells Hermione that he knows something he doesn't want to say
“What is it?” Hermione asked hesitantly.
“It's really not my place to say but I will say something that could or could not be true. When we saw you returned to Hogwarts, we all shared a silent agreement to watch what we do around you because of the aftermath of the war.”
“Silent agreement like what?” Hermione asked in a nervous way.
“Not to do anything that might trigger or upset you. It seems like Blaise might have been pointing out to Draco that he was trying to or wanted to flirt with you. I would guess Draco got pissed because of this reason so he left and if I was to guess he tried to hide he was upset from you.”
“Yeah” Hermione says softly “his tone softened from the anger when he was talking to me”
“He is trying to do a lot of things” Theo says vaguely
“You’re being vague, you don’t want me to know something because it’s not your place to tell me. This silent agreement is different for Malfoy hence why he got so pissed”
Theo doesn’t say or do anything and acts as if he didn’t hear that sentence.
“Can you tell me how to navigate all this with him”
“Be patient with him. His life has been a lot different from yours. He’s trying to understand and learn this new life while trying not to upset you. For example, I'm pretty sure he freaked out when he woke up in that hospital bed with you. That’s why he was in the next bed over. Closeness freaks him out, particularly with you.”
Hermione looks up to take mental notes of his words.
“Will you help me?”
“Yes, I will do everything I can to help you understand and navigate him”
“Anything I need to be aware of?”
Theo nods as if he’s worried to say too much “Draco has this thing with his back. He doesn’t like people behind him. I guess since you kinda can’t see behind you so someone can hurt you. Though…his back is completely off limits, he becomes monstrous if anyone goes to make contact with it. He won’t say anything about it but from the nightmares and mumbles I think “his aunt” has something to do with it”
Hermione murmurs “interesting” under her breath and Theo gives her a questioning look.
“Harry said something weird was between Draco and Bella. The astronomy tower situation, Draco got an uneasy expression when she came up behind him and whispered in his ear or something.”
“If that’s the case, don’t ever bring it up to him. I walked behind him a few months ago and he got triggered and went psycho on me.”
“What did he do?”
Theo shifts uncomfortably and turns to look at her better “remember how you went into that traumatic state?”
Hermione nods so he continues “that’s what I would say it was. He slammed me against the wall and punched me giving me a broken nose and concussion then he realized it was me and panicked because of..my past.”
Theo stands up, holding his hand down to Hermione. He jerks his head motioning he wants to walk. He switches spots with her so she is away from the lake and holds his arm up for him to take. She lightly scoffs before taking his arm.
“Yes it’s necessary. What if something comes up from the water and grabs you” he says dramatically while lightly tugging on his arm.
“You are ridiculous, you are more likely to be a monster. Luring me to my death.”
“Oh please, must I remind you that you came to me”
She eyes him suspiciously before leaning towards him. “Could all be part of your master plan. Have your friends fight so I come to you and you can lead me into the forest to my death.”
“Don’t talk so down to yourself Hermione”
“Pardon?” She questions confused pulling him to a stop
“The brightest witch wouldn’t be so bright if she was tricked so easily” Theo states confidently
“True”
The pair continue walking when Theo could sense her hesitation and questions brewing.
“You can ask, can’t guarantee an answer but no harm in asking”
“Do you know what the snatchers and death eaters were doing to women, muggle women?”
Theo tenses but nods slowly. He looks at her when she doesn’t ask another question right away. He stays quiet whenever he could tell she was trying to sort her thoughts.
“I would have been kept alive…wouldn’t I?” Hermione asked, almost unintelligible. Theo gently pulls Hermione in front of him to look at her face
“Do you want honesty” he asked gently as he searched her eyes
She nods “lying to someone like me won’t do anything good”
“No, they would have done anything to keep you alive to serve them”
“Sexually?”
Hermione watches as Theo doesn’t move or say anything eventually he nods slowly
“And tortured?”
“To get any information from you, then to get you to behave the way they wanted. Hopefully not after that but it’s hard to say who would have had custody of you.”
Hermione goes to continue walking but Theo doesn’t join her. After getting a few feet she turns back to him with concern.
“You have a question about the snatchers don’t you?”
“Yes but it’s not right of me to ask. I don’t want to ask”
“I couldn’t answer if I wanted to?”
“You don’t remember, do you. You trauma blocked it?”
“With the pain from the curses and poisons, I think my mind plays false memories to make me think they are flashbacks. Harry and Ron say they didn’t do anything to me from what they saw and I haven’t…figured out a way to ask Malfoy.”
“Nothing sexual happened to you while Draco was around you so if you believe Harry and Ron then nothing happened to you while in the presence of one of those three.”
“How are you sure?” she asked skeptically unsure how to handle this information.
“The walk up to the school on the first day, he threw up when Blaise and I implied what the snatchers were doing to women.”
Hermione nods in understanding as to what he was saying. She mumbles his appreciation for his honesty in their conversation as she takes his arm once again with a smile. He takes her back to the living area to allow her to rest until dinner with the new information. Whenever they enter Draco shot us out of his seat but Theo gives him a silent no. Draco nods, watching as Theo walks Hermione to her door. Theo tells him that Hermione is fine before walking straight into the restroom to shower. Draco goes to their room to wait for Theo Draco looks up from the floor whenever he hears the bedroom door open seeing Blaise walk into the room, within seconds Blaise was slammed against the wall and begin held by Draco.
“What did you say to her” Draco snarled
“Say to who” Blaise asked innocently while acting cocky
“Hermione” Draco shoves into Blaise “why did Theo walk her back. Why do you have to chase her off? " Draco's voice began to break as he continually tried to push him into the wall more. “For once why must you be a dick” the tears break through the anger, just as Theo comes in and rips Draco off of Blaise.
“What in merlin is wrong with the two of you”
Draco storms out of the dormitory while Theo turns his displeasure toward Blaise.
“Did you have to provoke him in front of her?”
“I didn't think she would actually notice. Plus, I didn't know it would upset him that bad.” Blaise losing all cockiness to become serious. Blaise becoming uneasy due to Draco’s reaction
“Well those two will either fix and love each other or destroy each other.”
“Most likely both” Blaise mumbles and Theo agrees.
“How badly fucked is he” Blaise asked quietly but from the look Theo gave him he knew he didn't need an answer.
~~~
Draco storms away, walking on auto pilot until he finds himself standing in front of the entrance to the astronomy tower. His back connects with the wall, allowing his body to slide to the floor as he sobs into his arms resting on his knees. His eyes stop to shed tears and he turns his head as the exhaustion overcomes his body. He sits on the floor not moving, thinking. Thinking about what his future could look like. Thinking about how to handle the Malfoy legacy and what to do about the manor. Debating on how much he hates his father but how much he hates himself because he feels he should hate him more. Considering if the decisions he wanted to make, will be accepted or secretly loathe by his mother. Terrified that for the first time in 18 years he can actually make his own choices. Analyzing his past decisions to see if he could have done anything better. His mind goes blank whenever he hears light, feminine footsteps approaching but doesn’t move knowing it’s a prefect. He also doesn’t really care about getting into trouble after hours of sitting and not moving.
“Draco? Are you injured?” The girl from two years below asked softly. Draco lifts his head to look at her through his sore, puffy eyes
“I’m okay story” he murmured
“You're not okay, are you injured?”
“No, just sitting here sulking” he says lightheartedly. She nods but continues to look his body over for injuries.
“The headmistress should be here in a moment”
“That’s not necessary” he tells her, cutting her off but she shakes her head.
“The portraits informed me about a student sitting here. They thought you were upset but got concerned when you haven’t moved in a few hours. They were worried that you were injured and they missed it so they also informed the headmistress.”
Draco puts his head back down whenever he hears rushed footsteps approaching. Astoria stands and heads towards the professor. He listens numbly at their quiet conversation from their location a little distance from him.
“Are they injured?”
“No, not injured. It’s Draco Malfoy. I think he just needed a empty, dark place to be upset and think”
“The portraits said he had been here, unmoving for hours.”
The two witches look over at Draco who was once again staring into nothingness.
“Based on his body’s stiffness, he has been here for hours. Muscle memory probably brought him this direction until he remembered sixth year. He used to come here before…everything happened. He likes, well liked to look at the stars when he is upset or stressed.”
The Headmistress summons a chair and motions that Astoria could return to her prefect route. She sits and watches as Draco doesn't move for hours. She could tell he was awake by his breathing but did not acknowledge him. Once the sun begins to rise, Draco finally lifts his head to look at the headmistress.
“You don’t need to be here” Draco says softly in a monotone voice
“I’m worried about you”
“I’m not in contact with any dark wizards ” he answered with a scoff.
“I know, I didn’t imply you were. I’m concerned about how you sat in that spot unmoving all night awake.
Draco turns his head away trying to ignore her presence. She stands, walking towards him so she could stop in front of him. She releases a huff whenever he doesn't budge at her moving towards him. “Come on. We have something to do '' the headmistress walks away and Draco slowly follows.
She leads him to a mostly empty room, one that looks like an old storage area. “Do you have your wand?” She questions so he nods and hands it to her “I haven’t used it, do whatever you need”
“What do you think I need to do?” She wonders, confused on his wording
“Checking it for spells”
After waving her wand over his she hands it back to him.
“I have granted you access to use your wand. As long as you don’t use an unforgivable curse or harm anyone you’ll be fine. I brought you to this room so you can get your emotions out.”
He looks at his wand then towards her with confusion edged on his face.
“I brought you here so you can break anything you need to”
Draco raises his eyebrow then uses his wand to levitate a ceramic plate then looks towards the headmistress with suspicion. After noticing she didn't have a reaction he drops it while watching her. He flinches whenever the plate shatters but stares at the wall in shock. She slowly approaches him but he doesn't move so she places her hand on his shoulder. He quickly pulls away looking around the room “ Mr. Malfoy? What are you thinking about”
Draco sucks in a quick breath, turning to repair the plate and return it to its original spot. “ The night I let the death eaters into the school”
“Knowing what you know now, what would you have changed? '' she paused for a second “ I’m sorry I'm going to rephrase that. Knowing what you know now, do you think you could have changed anything”
Draco doesn't answer right away, he slowly slumps into an old seat. “The sound of the plate shattering brought me back to that night because Bellatrix destroyed the great hall.” he stares numbly at the ground, thinking about her question and she patiently waits. “I wouldn't be able to change Dumbledore dying, or having to go with them after he had died. I wish I could tell you about something happening that night. I wish I could have made sure the students were in a safe area that night. Dumbledore knew he was going to die, Snake did also. You would have been able to keep the students safe while understanding me not having a choice.”
She moves in front of him and he looks up to her filled with guilt. “Were the students in danger that night?” she asked, confused.
He shakes his head no. “The students weren't the group’s target but Greyback wanted her. I planned to secretly send her a message to stay in her dormitory but harry cursed me and when she took me to the hospital wing. She wouldn't let me talk and I was unconscious before I could warn her.”
“Miss. Granger?” the headmistress asked, almost inaudibly. He nods lightly before continuing.
“Professor Dumbledore had Harry with him. Hermione and Weasley were apparently looking for him. Greyback almost got her that night. I overheard him talking about being able to smell her in the halls and how one of the death eaters told him he would have her whenever they won the war. I think they just barely missed the death eaters passing in the halls”
Professor McGonagall conjures a few training dummies allowing Draco to throw spells at them before sending him for his potions then to bed since he wasn't in any condition to attend class.
~~~
Blaise and Theo move into the common room to sit until dinner waiting for Draco to return to the room. After Draco doesn't return and the small group goes for dinner, Theo becomes slightly worried whenever Draco doesn't show up. A voice in his head told him that he was fine and needed time so he decided to continue waiting. After listening to Blaise and Hermione discuss something homework related Theo jumps to his feet frustrated.
“We should go check on Draco” Theo rushes out with worry
Luna speaks up from the doorway, scaring the group “Draco is okay. The portraits are watching him. He just needs some time to himself.” Luna turns leaving to head to bed
Hermione and Theo share a look as she follows Luna into their dormitory. Blaise goes behind Theo directing him to their beds. Theo gives in letting himself fall asleep but wakes up overnight a few times to check the dormitory for Draco. After a few hours Theo gives up on waiting and leaves to the hallway to find him. After wandering around a few hallways Theo finds himself running into Astoria
“Theo? It's past curfew, what are you doing?”
“Do you know if Draco stayed in the Slytherin dormitory or maybe with Daphne? He never came back last night. I was trying to wait for him because he was angry with Zabini but I'm too worried to continue waiting”
He watches as she looks over her shoulder from where she was walking from before turning back to him. She places her hands on his shoulder before rubbing his upper arms to comfort him “ Draco is okay and unharmed. On my prefect rounds the portraits brought their concerns to me. They were watching over him but wanted me to check to make sure he was actually okay because he was in that spot for hours. Professor McGonagall is with him. Whatever happens he just needs time alone.”
“Is he in trouble” Theo asked worried that Draco mucked his probation up
“ I highly doubt it. She seemed to be waiting in a chair when she told me I could continue my rounds. She will mostly wait with him until he's ready to move or talk. He hasn't done anything to get in trouble.”
“He broke curfew, any little thing could be big in terms of his probation.'' Theo stresses unconsciously picking his fingers.
“ I don't think he was really aware that he broke curfew. Either way if he was in trouble she wouldn't be sitting with him. Everything will be fine, head back to bed” she turns him, giving him a few pats on the shoulder before a light push in the direction to the 8th year tower.
Theo returns to his common room but settles himself on the couch for the rest of the night. Early morning Theo wakes up to the door opening signaling that Draco had returned. Draco looks at him in shock and Theo looks Draco over before giving him a relieved smile. A mix of emotions flash over his face, ones of guilt for worrying Theo, for waking Theo but too tired to explain himself. Theo gives him a nod of understanding at the silence before jerking his head in the directions of their beds, telling Draco to get sleep. Theo follows Draco into the room and Draco mumbles sorry.
“Just get rest. I talked to story last night. I'll check in with you later but I'll kick your arse if the aurors shows up for you.”
Draco tiredly chuckles, climbing into bed. Theo turns to leave him to sleep but pauses when Draco, tired, reassures him.
“I was in the same place all night, McGonagall was with me until now. I don't think she is reporting it”
Theo nods in understanding and leaves the room while Draco allows his body to finally give into the sleep his body craved all night. Theo and Blaise walk Hermione to the hospital wing to get her potion before they all went for breakfast and class. Blaise and Hermione sit with Ginny and Luna for lunch while Theo grabs a few things and heads to their room to check on Draco. When Theo enters the room he nearly misses Draco who was sitting in the window seat looking out into the black lake. Draco slowly looks towards Theo who was standing arms crossed like a disappointed mother.
“Oh no. I'm in trouble” Draco jokes with a playful roll of his eyes
“You are if you don't tell me what the hell happened”
Draco becomes defensive and uneasy because he doesn't want to confess what he did all night. “I don't have to tell you anything” Draco responds in a tone of fake confidence but Theo could tell the hurt behind it. Theo doesn't budge in his stance as he responds calmly. “You broke school rules last night therefore, you violated your probation. Please explain or I'll inform them myself” Draco eyes jerk to Theo with bewilderment noticing Theo was hiding worry and pain.
“You would really send me to Azkaban ”
“Yes, I would. at least i know you would be save from yourself”
Draco stares at him with a mix of emotions when Theo mask cracks while a tear flows down his face “Were you trying to throw yourself off the astronomy tower?'' Theo questioned so softly Draco was shocked to have actually heard him. Theo doesn't see Draco moving but he begins to sob loudly whenever he feels Draco's body crush him into a hug.
“No Theo. I had a rough night but I wasn't thinking or acting on harming myself” he reassured the scared boy repeatedly. Once Theo started to calm down, Draco leads him to the couch and Theo hands him the food, he had brought for him, they silently eat until Theo breaks the silence with his thoughts
“I was so scared. Whenever you left I knew you needed time alone but then you didn't go to dinner and I said we needed to check on you but Luna said you were okay and Blaise forced me to bed. I kept waking to see if you had returned and eventually I gave up and left the living area to go find you and I ran into Astoria who just briefly explained that you were fine and with McGonagall and she looked towards the astronomy tower and my gut told me you were fine but I couldn't stop thinking about that night at the manor and what I would have done if you didn't show up and stop me.”
Draco listens as Theo rants in a panic manner about his worries, understanding why he was previously trying to hide his emotions and why Theo crumpled so fast and why Theo was asleep waiting for him this morning. Draco calming and without details explain the his night to Theo while apologizing for causing him to worry
“Were you occluding” Theo asked after Draco explained he didn't know he broke curfew because he sat there most of the night feeling numb. Draco shakes his head no in a disappointed way. “I was trying to but I couldn't. It just kept crumbling and my emotions felt too heavy and my mind was too tired and knew I wasn't in danger.”
“And McGonagall?”
“Just sat there after story left, until I acknowledged her then took me to an old room and granted me permission to take my emotions out of some old dishes but the sound of them breaking just brought me back to the night I let the death eaters into the school.”
“How did she react to that”
“Kind of went mind healer on me, asking how I felt about it.”
“And?” Theo probes
“And I hate myself”
Theo sits quietly, allowing Draco to speak freely
“I'm 95 % sure she is the reason I completed part of the task and she helped me even though I no way deserved it and in return I nearly got her captured by Greyback who did nothing but talk, plot and obsess about her.”
Notes:
TW: Mentions of sexual assault / Sexual slavery / Torture. Brief mention and references to trauma repressing. Multiple scenes and mentions of physical assault. Mentions of dissociation / Flashback. References to suicide
5709 Words in this chapter
This is the second part of a double update due to a missed update
if anyone hasn't noticed I love how other fanfic writer portray Theo. so it goes without saying that I absolutely adore Theo's sarcastic attitude and actions but crumbles so easily when it comes to worrying about draco and Hermione.
~LunaAmeythst203
Chapter 13: In My Veins
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirteen: In My Viens
The three boys look up confused when Ginny sits down in the spot that Hermione would usually sit in. They watch as she places a small dark grey box on the table along with a couple of envelopes. She looks around the table before looking to Theo to talk. “Is she avoiding you three also?”
“Hermione? She was gone before we got ready this morning. Madam Pomfrey said she was there for her potion early this morning” Theo replies confused
Draco stands and motions for Ginny to follow him. He leads her to their living area and towards the girl's dormitory.
“If I see her, I'll let her know you would like to see her, but I think she's trying to be invisible for the day.” he hands her a small black box with green ribbon on it. “You can enter her room and leave her items on her bed”
Ginny takes the box and enters the room with Draco watching from the doorway.
“Do they not know it's her birthday?” she asked curiously
“No, she asked me not to tell anyone when I asked her a few nights ago about her plans”
Ginny looks shocked when she exits the room. “You know her birthday?”
“Yes, just like I knew she would always avoid you on this day because her sidekicks usually forgot but you didn't. She has a special spot on the grounds where she would go to avoid everyone.”
“Is that where she is now?”
Draco shakes his head no and they walk together out of the dormitory. “She's visiting an old friend. She doesn't want to think about it being her birthday but what if you join us for dinner, casually” Draco suggests, and she gives him a nod before they head their separate ways. Draco starts his way out of the school towards the memorial monument that was placed in between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade so anyone could visit. As he approached, he spotted someone, a lady standing over Hermione who was sitting on the ground. He tenses seeing the familiar woman's features when she looks towards his presence. He watches as her eyes flick towards his arms, looking for a wand before she tilts her head towards Hermione holding a baby. He visibly relaxes, noticing the baby and figuring out this witch was his mother's sister, the one that was disowned and left with a grandchild after the war. He gives her a small nod before walking towards a ledge nearby to sit and journal while waiting for Hermione. Not long into his writing he sees a pair of shoes enter his vision. He looks up, finding that witch holding the baby in front of him.
“Hello draco, do you know who I am?”
Draco stands while nodding “my mom’s older sister”
“Yes, I'm Andromeda and this is teddy. I'm pleased to have finally met you. I've heard you are becoming a fine young man.”
At Draco's taken back expression she continues “your mother and I corresponded some during the war concerning you. I believe you knew Teddy's father as Professor Lupin, she reached out whenever she became worried that you - know - who could have you punished by greyback. Him and I were helping her prepare in case of that”
“Professor Lupin was helping my mother prepare?” he spoke aloud not to anyone in particular
“Yes, he was actually quite fond of you. If you ever wish to talk or get to know us better, I will very much enjoy that. Your mother and I are becoming close again since the war so she could always join if you would prefer.
“I think I would like that” he tells her softly. She raises her hand to pat his shoulder but stops midway giving him a smile and nod before turning to leave. He watches her leave before turning his attention back to Hermione who was speaking through light sobs to the stone. He carefully approaches her, finding her in front of the three names he knew she was there for: Remus J Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, and Fred Weasley. She flinches whenever he kneels next to her but calms when she can smell it was him. He softly pulls her body against his as he rubs her shoulder. They sit silently together until she sits up a little to look at him. Draco looks towards her and slowly reaches to wipe her tears.
“Can I ask you something?'' Hermione asked so softly as if she was afraid the atmosphere would shatter at the noise. He stares at her for a few seconds before nodding and turning his attention back to the stone. “My questions are out of curiosity and not negativity but why were you at the funeral service for them?” she watches as he tenses at her question, and she began to regret asking until he answers
“If I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure. I secretly always admired the twins; they reminded me of Theo in a way. I wasn't trying to cause issues, I just found myself there wanting to hear about my cousin and Professor Lupin. I was an arse when he was our teacher, but he always treated me fairly.”
She nods and he turns his attention back to her.
“How did you know I was there? My mother didn’t even seem like she knew”
“She probably didn’t. I spotted you sneaking in after it started. Teddy started getting fussy and I could sense Andromeda was stressed about him disturbing the service but not wanting to leave her daughter's funeral so I offered to calm him down so Narcissa could stay with her. I also watched you sneak away right before anyone else could see you.”
They sit in silence for a little while until Draco stands holding his hand out for her. “We should get going, class will be starting soon.” She takes his hand, and he helps her stand and offers her his arm. “There's something I want to show you quickly” he lets her lead him until she stops in front of another group of names and motions for him to look at. He looks at Hermione confused whenever he reads the two names. Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle. “How…why are their names here?” They continue walking back towards the school while Hermione explains. “Some of us have better influences and others have poorer ones. Those were two names I insisted on being included. They were also children, who didn't deserve to be products of this war and to die in the process.” he looks at her with an unreadable expression.
“Thank you, I know it probably doesn't mean much to the others, but I appreciate it” she squeezes his arm harder “everyone lost someone in this war one way or another. Good or bad, everyone should be allowed to be able to mourn them.”
Draco pulls her to stop whenever he notices her body language shifts dramatically as she holds something back.
“What is it Hermione?” she shakes her head no, not wanting to talk. “You're shaking, why are you scared?” Draco asked with worry. “I think you’re going to hate me” she whispers while not looking at him. “You made sure everyone’s name is here” he mumbles to himself. Hermione's eyes grow wide causing her to quickly jerk away from him. His eyes jumped up to her, finding her backing away in panic. “I'm not mad at you and I'm not going to hurt you”
“This. This is all a trick” she steps back once more, tripping on something but doesn't hit the floor hard like she is expecting. She is slowly lowered down by her wrist. She looks up to Draco, who was giving her a calm expression. “I promise on Athen. I promise on every star in the sky…every constellation. I promise on Astraea. J’ai le Petit promis Hermione. I'm not mad at you '' Hermione stares at him, taking deep breaths trying to calm herself. “You know French?” draco nods in confirmations “I do”
She stands brushing herself off and Draco follows her actions. “We should get to class before we worry everyone.” “The headmistress knows I am here.”
~~~
As they approach the potion’s classroom, Draco gently pulls Hermione to a stop before she could enter the room. She turns towards him with slight concern as she watches Blaise and Theo pass her. She raises her eyebrows in question causing him to nervously shuffle on his feet.
Draco clears his throat before rushing the words out, so he doesn't lose his nerve. “Would you like to be potion partners for today's potion? '' she stares with an unreadable expression for a moment before slowly smiling. “Sure, that sounds nice.'' They enter the room and Draco moves Theo's items to the other seat for him to be partners with Blaise. Theo approaches the table observing the blonde in his seat but continues to the table to sit next to Blaise. The classroom falls silent whenever professor Slughorn enters.
“Today you will be brewing a wound - cleaning potion. If this potion is successfully brewed it will have a purple appearance and when applied to a wound it will smoke and sting as it sterilizes the injury. Does anyone have any questions before you start?”
when no one signals that they have any questions he instructs the class to turn to the correct page and begin their brewing. Hermione and Draco calmly and efficiently work together as they brewed but Theo slowly becomes aware of her body weakening. Her smile and happiness slowly faded to fake. He watched as Malfoy and Hermione jumped at the sound of an ingredient container falling to the ground resulting in it shattering. He saw as every ounce of her fake happy personality went out the window. Draco turns to her to find her frozen in her spot but as soon as he goes to step towards her, she is swiping her book to the floor and storming from the class. Blaise , Theo and draco look amongst each other as the professor approaches them. After he cast a privacy charm, he looks at the book Hermione threw to the floor and her personal items she had left behind
“Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Nott you may go after Miss. Granger. Mr. Zabini, please inform Professor McGonagall that I don't believe Miss. Granger will be in any of her classes for the day.”
The three boys nod in understanding, they gather their items and prepare their potions for the end of class. With a final nod of approval, the boys leave the room to quickly do their tasks. They head for their living area hoping Hermione went there to hide. Whenever Theo and draco enter, they instantly know they are correct by the sounds in her dormitory but before they could move into the room more her door flies open. She goes to stomp from the room but Draco steps in front of her. Within a second Draco is slammed into a wall by Hermione with her snarling in his face.
“DO NOT COME NEAR ME. DON’T LOOK AT ME AND CERTAINLY I DON’T ALLOW YOU TO THINK ABOUT ME.” she gives him another hard shove before turning to walk away.
“What’s wrong? What happened to make you so angry?'' Draco asks her calmly, but she just turns and shoves him over the armrest of the sofa. Draco sits up from the spot he landed on the floor, watching as Theo and himself see Hermione striding from the common room.
“What in Merlin Bollocks just happened? '' Draco mumbles, rubbing his forehead that was dripping blood. Theo turns to Draco, just now realizing the position draco was in.
“Oh Merlin, your bleeding”
Theo helps Draco get to the hospital wing to get help. Where the healer mends his wound and confirms he has a concussion. She instructs Theo to return draco back to their dormitory for rest. When they got back to the room, Blaise was waiting for them. “There was blood on the floor?”
Draco lets out a fake laugh “I should have listened to Theo when he said that swot of a witch was incredibly scary.”
Blaise's eyes grew wide “she caused you to bleed?”
“Yes, threw me against the wall then over the sofa”
~~~
Hermione sneaks back to her room 30 minutes after curfew. Blaise notices whenever she enters that she was limping and with bloodshot eyes. He gets up rushing to her side and she is standing still staring at Draco who was sleeping on the couch.
“Does he hate me”
“No” he gently turns her head back to his view. “I don't think he can be mad at you but he's worried and confuse”
Blaise finally takes the time to fully take Hermione in. He spots her in a simple grey hoodie, under the hoodie was poking out a thin flowy black skirt that muggle dancers wear. She also wore white tights that showed her feet were bleeding.
“Your bleeding”
“I trained to hard, I'll be fine”
Blaise eyes her once again before coming to his conclusion. “You are a dancer?” he observes. She nods then side steps him to enter her dormitory before he could say anything else. She sits on her bed, sitting right next to what she would guess is a few presents most likely from Ginny and Harry. Hermione starts with opening her birthday letters from Harry & Ginny, George, Mr. & Mrs. Weasley, Percy, and of course Ronald because he can’t take a hint. She then moves onto the dark grey box that holds an enchanted quill that she knows is from Harry and Ginny. Her hands slightly shake as she slowly reaches to the black box with a green ribbon. She stares at it confused, trying to figure out who it is from. It's not from Ron because he wouldn't use anything other than red. Percy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wouldn’t send her an object in a box like this so that leaves George. She gets a feeling that this isn't from George either but can't figure anything else out, so she pulls the ribbon loose and opens the box. She slides to the floor with a gasp at the charm bracelet in the box. She gently pulls the bracelet out seeing a charm of her initial along with a sapphire charm. Sapphire because it's her birthstone. So, this wasn't from George because he wouldn't think of a present like this. She gently places the bracelet on her knee and begins to look at the box for more details. Under the box's insert she finds the words “Happy Birthday Granger.” Her face lights up knowing he got her a gift and that he came to check on her this morning until the wave of her actions hit her. She frantically searches around her wand to silence the room before her melt down wakes everyone up.
Draco jumps awake at the sound of knocking at the door. He looks around to find a paper that reads “Hermione came back and is in her room ~ Blaise '' on the table. He stumbles to the door to find the headmistress standing there.
“Mr. Malfoy is Miss. Granger here?” she asked with a tone of concern.
He nods and motions for her to enter then hands her the note.
“Is something wrong?”
“I just need to make sure she is okay. Yesterday would have been really hard on her and she used her wand last night.”
Draco gets a look of confusions, and she realizes that draco didn't know
“I'll explain after I check on her.” Draco nods and the headmistress enters the girl's dormitory finding Hermione slumped on the floor. She casts a diagnostic charm finding that nothing was wrong. She levitates Hermione into her bed and leaves the room.
“When Miss. Granger uses her wand for most spells without a professor's approval. I will be alerted to make sure she is okay.”
“Her wand is being monitored?”
“Yes, just like you are on probation, she is also but hers is a little differently. If you violate your probation to a certain level, you will be sent to Azkaban, if she violates hers, she'll get sent into a medical hold for mental health. For example, if you would have fallen unconscious because of her violence towards you yesterday she would have been evaluated because she would be towards that level and most likely would have been put on a hold.”
“You got an alert that she used her wand, so you had to come make sure she didn't hurt herself or someone else” Draco questioned as he put the pieces together.
“Yes, she casted a silencing charm because I believe she didn't want anyone knowing she was upset.”
“But is she okay?”
“Yes, she has been moved into her bed…. now why don’t you go back to bed for your classes tomorrow”
~~~
After about a week and a half later, Hermione was still subtly avoiding draco. The three boys noticed but not to an extreme that they were concerned. That Tuesday night he decided to confront her finally, so he searched all over the castle until he came upon a figure in the distance running up the bare quidditch pitch stands. He approaches the person, finding it was indeed Hermione running in an odd way while wearing weird dance shoes. He clears his throat to get her attention without frightening her. She turns towards him a little wide - eyed.
“Hi” she asks before turning back away and beginning to stretch on the platform. He takes a seat next to her watching her unsure. “Do you need something?” Hermione asked full of suspicion. “Is there a reason you are avoiding me” he asked quietly “yes” Hermione answered right away without giving it a thought.
“Can I ask what that reason is”
“Guilt” she answers once again immediately
“Guilt?” he queries
“Yes, I currently feel guilty, so I am avoiding you” she answers as she turns back towards the stairs to continue training. Draco follows and grabs her hand to stop her, but she flinches away from the touch. His eyes grew wide as he began to apologize but she cut him off.
“I feel guilty for treating you horribly on my birthday.” she unzips her pants pocket from her joggers to pull out the charm bracelet she got for her birthday, holding it up into view” meanwhile you got me this…right?” She watches as he nods in agreement.
“Just so I'm sure, I didn't do anything for you to avoid me or for you to be mad enough to throw me”
“No” she answers sadly “you didn't do anything; I just need some time”
“Okay, I'll give you time but I will be sitting over there in case you get into trouble” after giving her a smile he turns walking to the farthest point away from her to write in the moonlight.
After some time of Hermione running up and down the staircase of the pitch’s stands, she finally decided to call it quits. She looks from a distance at Draco who was leaning back staring at the stars. She approached him carefully to not disturb him.
“I'm done for the day; I'm returning to the castle” he turns his head slowly to her to look her over.
“Sit?” draco asked but also softly commanded
She takes cautions sitting next to him and he returns his vision to the dark sky.
“Do you have a memory from home that will stick with you forever”
“My dad teaching me to drive before Harry, Ron and I left on the run. They bought me a car whenever I got my license but didn't get to use it until a year later.” she tells him softly
“Theo would probably enjoy hearing about that”
“About me driving a car”
“Yes, he has always secretly been interested in muggle things like that. We used to talk about it when we were younger but of course hid it from our parents”
She hums in acknowledgment and tells him that she’ll tell him about it one day. She returns the questions, and they wait in silence while looking to the sky.
Draco releases a light chuckle, resulting in them both smiling. “Before we came back to school, my mother was at one of the French properties. I was in the manor library when Theo came to talk to me. That was before I started getting sick which encouraged him to move in. Anyways, he came to find me, but I wasn't exactly in a friendly mood so when he entered the library I snuck away and hid from him in the shelves.”
“Did he find you?”
“No, but he knew I was there. Said something like “I know you are here, so hint taken. I'll be back tomorrow, and you better be my friend then” after that he went to my potion supply room and stole a couple ingredients.”
“Draco? Do you believe in soulmates? That there is one particular person for you?”
“Yes, do you?”
“I hope there is” she tells him sadly “but I guess I'm scared there isn’t”
Draco looks towards her, slightly shocked and thrown off. “There is someone meant for you Granger and no matter how long it takes, it will be worth it”
Hermione gives him a smile, a smile that fills Draco with joy. He stands while holding a handout to help her up and a mumble of them needing to get back to their rooms. They strolled back to the castle in a calm silence waiting for the other to bring a conversation up.
“How is your list of tasks going?”
“My list of tasks?” draco asked bewildered
“Yes, you said you had goals you wanted to accomplish. How are they going?”
He goes quiet and Hermione starts to get worried but before she could stop him, he speaks first.
“Are we friends” draco questions unsure. Hermione looks at him, taken back but nods with her answer.
“Yes, I would say we are. Do you disagree?” she responds confused but he shakes his head signaling no. “In that case I have one completed goal.”
She smiles looking towards him. “I'm glad to hear that and one goal is better than none, plus you just started which means there's plenty of time”
Draco returns the smile to her, and they continue walking noiselessly.
As they come closer to the steps to go down to their floor, Hermione groans in pain. Draco grabs her arm to slow her fall as she collapses to the ground with her arms clutching her abdomen. He releases her arm and rushes to kneel in front of her.
“Are you okay”
She nods her head, but Draco could tell she needed a minute because of her tightly squeezed eyes and deep, slow breaths. He stays kneeled in front of her unsure what to do because he was worried that touching her would make the matter worse. After 30 some seconds she finally opens her eyes revealing them being filled with tears.
“Are you sure you're okay, should I get a professor?”
Hermione shakes her head in denial. “I'm okay, I'm just sore from training” draco eyes her, clearly not believing her and offers her his arm whenever he sees that she is attempting to stand. Once she was standing, she gives him a weak, appreciated smile and tries to release his arm but gets a sharp no in response. “I really think I should get someone.”
“I'm okay, I promise.”
He continues eyeing her, wanting to push the topic.
“I promise on Athen, every star in the sky, on my precious pinkies and Astraea. I will be okay”
Draco nods dubiously and leads her back to the room, demanding she hold his arm the whole way. He pretends not to notice the tensing she experiences from whatever was going on. Whenever they reach the entrance of her dormitory, she asks him if he knows if Theo was there to which he said he wasn't sure. So, she grabbed her parchment and quill while he went to check for Theo.
“No, Blaise and he haven't returned yet. They are probably in the library with luna.” he informs her.
“Would you mind doing me a favor?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes, what would you like me to do?”
She hands him a folded piece of parchment but still clutching it as she speaks
“Without looking at this note. Can you take it to the entrance of the Gryffindors tower and deliver a note from me to ginny.”
“Are you sure you’ll be, okay?”
“Yes, I'm just going to lay down for the night.”
He nods out of reluctance and leaves to deliver Hermione's note.
The following morning, Draco watches from across the great hall as Ginny sits waiting for something with her leg bouncing under the table. His attention is drawn back to her whenever she jumps out of her seat at the parcel that was dropped in front of her by an owl. Ginny turns towards him with panic and relief on her face and he jerks his head away pretending he wasn’t watching her. He can see Ginny staring at him for a few seconds before she rushes towards them and whispers something in Theo’s ear who also jumps up from the table and leaves with Ginny.
Blaise looks to Draco after they watch the pair leave the hall.
“What was that about?”
“Hermione. Something odd happened when we were walking back yesterday, and she insisted she was fine despite her collapsing in pain, but she had me deliver a note to Ginny so I’m guessing that’s it”
~~~
When Theo joins them in the classroom both Draco and Blaise stare at him with an expression of “care to explain” Theo sits down next to them
“I don't need to fill you in on what I do in my private time”
“Your private time” Blaise asked suspiciously
“Yes Blaise. My private time is well…. private. I don't need to fill you in on all my activities”
“Theo…. you do know you're making it sound like you were shagging either ginny or Hermione right”
Theo shrugs with a smirk and Blaise and Draco continue to eye him with annoyance.
“Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't, it’s called private information for a reason.”
“I don't think the chosen one, must I remind you, defeated the dark lord would like you implying you were shagging his girlfriend or basically his sister”
“Plus, we are your best friends and last I heard you're not exactly attracted to witches” Blaise adds in with a whisper.
They watch as Theo looks around the classroom before whispering back.
“Which is the perfect cover to get into a witch's bed”
Draco gives Theo a death glare which causes him to finally drop the act with an eye roll.
“No, I wasn't shagging anyone, but it's not my information to tell you so suck it up and drop the topic.”
“All I care about is whether granger is okay”
“Yes, she'll be fine. Ginny is handling the issue and I know about the situation if I am needed for anything.”
“Why you?” Blaise asked offended
“As you have evidently pointed out, there is something about me that differs from you both”
Draco and Blaise look at each other with shock and Theo notices so he continues.
“Yes, she knows, now are you two wankers done.”
Their conversation gets cut off when the professor begins their lesson. They agree as a group that Draco should share his notes with Hermione since she will most likely be able to understand his the best. They are given instructions for their projects and released to begin. Draco and Hermione were paired up, so he began looking for resources on their topic which was about the founding of Saint mungo’s. In class as he was sitting taking note of particular details, he wanted to look for he saw as someone approached his desk. After looking up to see it was Neville he turns to see if Blaise and Theo had also seen the classmate approach them. Theo addressed him first, figuring it would go the smoothest if he was the one talking.
“Neville? Is there something we can help you with?'' Neville shifts on his feet for a moment but eventually nods.
“I just wanted to let you three know that Seamus and Dean will be returning to school on Sunday. Luna knows where our floor is if Hermione ever wanted to visit us, but I wanted to warn you that Seamus might not be the happiest to see that Hermione has become good friends with you. Ginny will be informing Hermione about this but I have seen how Hermione had been with you three so I figured I would inform you also.”
The three of them nod their heads in understanding and thank Neville for his warning.
After their history of magic class, they head to herbology where they fill out a knowledge quiz to let professor sprout know where she should focus her attention on. Draco grabs some item (recommended by Theo) from the great hall for lunch for Hermione then starts his way to deliver her class notes and the knowledge test from class. He enters the common room to find the door to the girl's dormitory propped open a little. He knocks on the door, getting a groggy hum of acknowledgment.
“It’s Draco, may I come in to give you lunch and class materials.”
At Hermione's approval the door slowly opens allowing him access to enter. He places an object in the doorway to prop it open completely before approaching her bed.
“I'm sorry if I woke you”
She shakes her head as she shifts to give him her attention.
“I wasn't really sleeping” he tells him as she closes her journal which looks to be what she was reading. He watches as she places the journal on her nightstand next to a couple of vials with an odd greenish yellow liquid. She notices him staring at the potions with curiosity, so she tells him
“Doctor Sterlings brews them for me. They are kind of like a strong pain potion. I need to take them sometimes for…well pain.”
She notices as he looks around her bed in concern and before he could ask, she tells him that she is okay and that this pain is something that happened occasionally due to her arm.
“Does your arm hurt? I thought your stomach was what was hurting you last night.”
Hermione stays silent for a moment trying to come up with an answer to his questions. Draco notices her wariness and starts to apologize for his interrogation, but she waves him off.
“My arm doesn’t always bother me. The pain travels to a couple different places in my body”
Draco nods in understanding and places her food onto the bed next to her.
“Did you plan to stay? You can sit on the bed” she offers moving her feet to make a spot for him. He awkwardly stands staring at the spot, and she gives him a weird look.
“No no, I'll go. I just wanted to bring you food and class work. We can talk at a later time.”
Hermione rolls her eyes, understanding his body language saying he wasn't comfortable with sitting on her bed.
“Grab a chair from the common room and bring it in here” she commands but when he tries to argue she gives him a glare as he leaves the room to grab the chair. Hermione adjusts on the bed to place the food in between them. When he returns, he sets the chair down and sits looking very awkward. He looks up in shock at Hermione's light giggle.
“What” he asks feeling self-conscious.
“You don't need to feel so tense. Eat''
“I already did” he lies
“Liar, you came here right after class. you didn't have time to eat”
Draco sighs in annoyance and grabs a few berries from her plate. She hands him half of the sandwich he brought her and picks up the knowledge test fromher classwork. She starts to fill it out so he can return it to professor sprout. Once she hands it back to him, he moves onto explaining their project for history of magic. After bringing her a cup of chamomile tea and asking her what books she would like from the library he moves the tea and dark chocolate to the bedside table and leaves to return the knowledge test to professor sprout and get to his next class.
In their next class, Theo and Ginny were discussing Hermione quietly when Ginny randomly stopped because of Draco watching them while calculating in his head. Ginny scoffs playfully causing Theo to look up with confusion
“Why did you scoff”
“He knows, or at least he's figuring it out. You really can't hide anything from him”
“Who?” Theo looks up seeing Draco look amongst them suspiciously.
“Of course he does. He won’t bring it up to me, at least not for a while and he won't say anything to her unless she brings it up. He has always understood that girls don't exactly flaunt it but I'm sure he’ll be giving her food and beverages to help without making it obvious.”
“Do you think he will figure out why she sees Doctor Sterling?”
Theo watches draco for a few seconds before shaking his head no
“Not on his own. His aunt used to test the…object on him when she started creating it. I don't think he would be able to put it together that everything happening at the same time created that reaction.”
Ginny thinks to herself before an idea pop into her mind and she shares her thoughts with Theo to which he also seems a bit thrown off by but seemed to be also wondering the same thing now that the idea was put into the air.
Notes:
TW: Physical violence / assault, harm of oneself due to overwork, reference to mental health struggles. mentions of effects of trauma. mentions and effects of grief. mentions and references of aftermath of torture. references to dissociation. mentions of sexual activities (no actual sexual context or activities)
5677 words in this chapter
Is anyone else loving Theo, this wizard and his sass. Also, is Hermione showing signs of a romantic crush...yes, yes, she is. Did she also lash out violently towards said crush...yes, she did do that also.
Update is late again so I'm sorry. I got distracted and forgot to update then I procrastinated for a few days
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 14: I'll Be There
Chapter Text
Chapter Fourteen: I'll Be There
The three boys make their way from the living area as a group to meet Luna and Hermione in front of the staircase for the headmistress office. The five of them each receive a letter requesting a meeting with Professor McGonagall for that time and day.
“What could we be in trouble for? “Theo asked nervously.
“Nothing” Blaise answers “There’s nothing we could be in trouble for, let alone what Luna would be getting called in for also”
Draco stays silent, thinking as they walk together. Theo continued to throw concerns out of his mind while Blaise shot down every possibility that Theo came up with.
“Could it be a meeting with the mind healers?”
Draco speaks aloud, breaking their back and forth.
“What?” Blaise asked confused while Theo gave him a bewildered expression, so Draco continued.
“The mind healers are the ones that created the placements of the 8th year students and everyone in our living area got called down for a meeting at the same time”
“I guess that's possible” Blaise responds, and Theo seems more relaxed as he also agrees.
Draco continues to think, feeling as if that wasn’t the case as they round the final corner of the hallway. The three boys stop abruptly as they see that Ginny was also waiting for them with Luna and Hermione.
“Or not” Theo whispers no longer relaxed.
“Whatever this is, can’t be something bad that we did because we haven't done anything let alone with both Luna and Ginny.” Blaise mumbles back to Theo.
“How about something to do with Finnigan and Thomas? They are arriving tonight " Draco speaks again, barely audible.
The boys agree that is possible since the three girls were Seamus and Dean's friends and the three of them could be a “target” because of the new friendship between Hermione and them. Hermione waves to the boys with a smile while Luna greets them in her normal way whenever they reach the girls. Draco glances to look at Ginny who was leaning against a wall, clearly wondering the same thing as themselves. Once the group of six stand infront of the doorway the staircase appears and Draco motions for the girls to go first. Ginny leads while Luna follows her. Draco has Hermione go infront of him so that Theo and Blaise bring up the end. Entering the room, the boys look amongst each other after all of them seeing the same thing. Professor McGonagall noticed that the boys spotted the stacks of parchment infront of her at the desk.
“Everyone, please take a seat. Boys this doesn’t involve your probations so no need to look so concerned.” The headmistress beams from her seat.
After the group was seated comfortably the professor stood excited and began.
“I want to start off by saying that none of you are required to be here or partake in this proposal, but I would like you to stay until you are dismissed” The group all nod their head in understanding, so she starts the meeting.
“Due to last year's events, a group of professors, healers, and ministry workers came up with an idea to help the students adjust better this year. This proposal will include a few 8th or 7th year students to act as a similar role to prefects. Since all the 8th years are grouped together in a non-particular house, we felt we could create a role for a few select students to help guide the younger students, cheer up the school environment, reunite the students, etc. Since this is a new role for only this year, if you take on this role you will be the ones running it. Certain ideas will most likely still have to be run and approved by me, and you will also be allowed to attend prefect meetings to bounce your idea out to them also. As I had said before any of you can deny this role, but I chose you six because I felt you would be the best for this role.”
Professor McGonagall ends her proposal allowing the group to ask any questions they had. No one spoke up right away, so Draco decided to take the lead.
“You chose the six of us to run this new group?”
“Yes”
Draco gestures between Theo and himself before continuing.
“We are former deatheaters that are marked, why would we be considered for a role model position.”
“To start off, each of you had a part in the war. Despite what role you held during that time, each of you is held highly in some sort. For example, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini, and Miss. Weasley in quidditch. Miss. Granger, Mr. Nott, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Zabini for your high-level classes and knowledge. I believe a few years ago, you three girls were part of a secret group to help students. Miss. Lovegood, your knowledge in magical creatures and your knowledge due to your father's role with the quibbler. Mr. Malfoy, you said it yourself. Theo and you are former deatheaters that are marked but you are here and not in Azkaban with the others. Those are some of the reasons I chose you to be in these roles.”
The room falls silent, so Hermione takes her turn to ask her questions.
“What kind of ideas would we be creating for this position?”
“You can go in a variety of different angles; you can tutor the younger students or direct them in any knowledge they are seeking. You can plan events or activities to unify the students such as a chess tournament for fun. Students could reach out to any of you like if they wanted help flying, that something a quidditch player could help with or you could direct and connect the younger students with an older student with whatever they need, like if a student wanted to know about herbology type knowledge you could direct that student to Mr. Longbottom.
“Has our probation been taken into consideration?” Blaise asked since that involved at least half the group
“All 6 of you have been approved for this program, if you are on probation, I or any other professor can grant you whatever you need within reason. In terms of probation, I think this program can help build your image to whatever you wish it to be. I can tell you just these few weeks have already started doing that. “
Professor McGonagall becomes aware that Theo shifts uncomfortably in his seat before he adds to the conversation.
“May I ask something” the Headmistress nods in approval. “You mentioned unifying the students, have there been issues among the different houses? I know we always had issues and Hermione and Draco have already witnessed it this year.”
“The problems amongst the houses haven't been as worse as I expected but it's not due to friendships, it is out of fear. I don’t want students to be afraid of each other and or harming each other due to the fear.”
Once no one else seemed to have any current questions, McGonagall dismisses them but quickly notices that something seemed odd with Draco. As Theo and Blaise reach the door she speaks up, stopping Draco who is the last to leave.
“Mr. Malfoy, I apologize but do you mind staying a moment.” She watches Draco's shoulders drop a little and Theo looks at him with concern. Draco nods to him in reassurance and returns to his seat whenever the door closes behind the boys.
“Headmistress? You wanted to speak privately”
“No” she watches as his shoulder tense back up and he closes his eyes “but you did.”
She tries to wait quietly until he is ready to talk but whenever a drop of blood drops from his nose she rushes to the other side of the desk. She grows concerned whenever he doesn’t react to anything, so she carefully tilts his head by his chin, but he flinches away. She is filled with unease whenever his eyes slowly open and connect with hers.
“Mr. Malfoy, are you hurt?” After asking calmly she sees as his hand reaches the spot of blood on his face before she witnesses his walls of grey crash at once into blue. His head flicks to the side looking for danger and she pulls herself away to allow him space.
“No one is here but you and I” his eyes meet with
hers once again allowing her to witness grey trying to gain control over the blue once more.
“Draco, do you feel safe? Would you like to speak to another professor”
“No, everything is fine”
She exhales slowly before nodding “what would you like my assistance with”
He takes a deep breath before straightening his position into a polite manner. “I was wondering if I could get a copy of my probation and if it would be possible to get in contact with my probation auror.”
“Of course, I can’t make a copy on my own, but I will request one for you. What form of contact would you like to use to communicate with Auror Atkinson. I can request for him to come here and meet with you today, or you may use my office to floo call or I can give you his contact information to reach him through a letter.”
“in- person meeting preferably”
She nods before returning to her desk to look for something. “I will arrange a meeting for you and request that copy. Is there anything you wish to discuss?”
“No, I just wanted to talk to auror Atkinson.”
She gives him a nod but when he goes to stand, she motions for him to wait a moment. “Before you leave, I was wondering if you would be willing to meet with someone else, a mind healer that may be able to help you or at least give you advice regarding what happened a moment ago.” He nods for her to continue, and she hands him the parchment she had previously searched for.
He reads the parchment before glancing at her. “A female?”
“Yes, only if you are comfortable with that of course. If not, I can look into other mind healers to see if I can find a male who does similar work. I met Madam Riley during the recovering phase of the war and found her different approach to recovery seems to help. I think she may be able to give you advice.”
He reads over the parchment again then asks his own question.
“What about Healer Spencer”
“I wasn’t proposing you switch healers. You can see as many healers as you wish. I was just offering another resource for you but whatever you wish to do is your choice.”
He stands from his seat, fixing his attire to its appropriate appearance. “Thank you for the offer, I would indeed like to meet with Madam Riley.”
“Wonderful, I will set up a meeting with her also then”
~~~
Theo jumps awake, falling to the ground whenever he feels frantic hands shaking and calling him.
“Theo, I need your help” Draco whispers shouts.
Theo popped his head up over the opposite side of the bed before standing to his feet to climb back onto the bed.
“What’s wrong”
“I received a choice”
Theo mumbles fuck under his breath and turns his attention to Draco.
“Do you know when it’s going to happen”
Draco sits on the bed trying to pick the exact details from the dream.
“It happens in Hogsmeade. So sometime this school year and either Hermione accidentally gets shoved into a wall or I willingly allow the attacker to harm me.”
Theo stares at Draco reading the message in between his sentences.
“You need me to make sure she is out of the way so they can harm you”
Draco nods and Theo promises he will make sure Hermione is safe.
“I’ll need you around us tomorrow when we go”
Theo raises his eyebrow in a silent question to which Draco nods. “I think it’s going to be Finnigan. Neville warned us he’s going to be angry, and I could almost read it in his eyes at dinner tonight after Hermione walked with us before going to their table.”
Draco goes to return to his bed but is stopped whenever Theo grabs his wrist. He turns to find Theo trying to sort some mental thoughts.
“What is it?”
~~~
Hermione glances behind her, smiling to herself seeing that Ginny is getting along with Blaise and Theo. Her eyesight returns forward as Luna continues to drag her along with Draco walking next to the girls. He playfully rolls his eyes at Luna babbling about the magical creature she has seen since the end of the war. They just finished their first meeting for the group. She turns again to look for Ginny whenever she feels the environment shifts. She looks to see Draco scanning the area around them. His eyes connect hers and she can see something isn’t right, but she can tell he hasn’t figured the problem out. He continues to follow Luna who doesn’t notice the change. Within seconds Luna and herself was pulled behind Draco’s body who is looking off in the distance, but she can’t see a threat.
“Go to Theo please '' Draco speaks calmly and feels as both the girls move from behind him. He can tell Hermione is gone and he looks up in time to see a wand coming towards his face. He turns his back to the alleyway and steps evenly back with the attacker approaching him.
Hermione rushes to Theo, finding the trio looking at something through a window.
“Theo, something is wrong” Hermione blurts before turning to look for Draco and Luna. Her body is turned by the shoulders back to Theo before she could spot either of them. She is tugged into a hug and relaxes for a moment before understanding what is happening. She tries to pull away but the arms around her neck tighten slightly.
“Hermione, Draco will be fine. Please trust me”
“Do you see Luna”
She watches as Blaise walks away, most likely to find Luna. She allows her body to relax trying to trust the boys but then she hears it. She tries to shove him away and turn but he wraps his arms around her waist as she breaks free of his hold.
“They are going to attack him” she sobs out as she claws at his hands, but he just turns her in his hold.
“I know Hermione” he whispers but he knows she can’t hear him over her cries and the hits to his body but within seconds a strong force is brought to his face causing his vision to blur but he just holds onto her tighter.
“Finnigan” Draco speaks clearly as he looks to make eye contact with the wand holder
“Death eater” spit back at him. “Who do you think you are, coming back to the school you let murderers into.” Draco feels as if a jelly leg curse is casted at him, causing him to fall to the ground.
“Not so daring now, are we. Are you not going to fight back?
Draco continues to make eye contact as he says no calmly. Draco grunts in pain whenever he feels a kick to his shoulder shoving him back, off of his knees. He feels as his ankle gets lifted into the air pulling his body upside down. Draco feels as a spray of spit is shot into his face, so he just looks into his eyes again.
“How about now, deatheater”
“No” he says firm but calm but feels the anger flare whenever his already sore shoulder collides with the ground. A light scream leaves his mouth before he bites his tongue and turns himself back into his knees.
“I won’t fight you Finn…”
Draco gasps in pain as his chest and abdomen is filled with a collection of burning slices.
“I don’t know what your little group of deatheater snakes did for Hermione to even look in your direction but leave her the fuck alone before I….”
At the sound of Seamus' words cutting off Draco takes a deep breath and looks up to find someone stepping in front of him and throwing Finnigan back onto his arse. He feels his head fall again before his body falls sideways to the ground. His vision goes dark, but he can hear muffled words reach his head.
“You won’t ever do that again” Luna shouts in a firm voice as she shoves her wand in the boy's face.
“Luna? Why are you doing this.”
“You are attacking a classmate”
“He’s a death eater, you spent months in his dungeon why are you defending him after he tortured you”
“Seamus Finnigan” she states loud and clear. “You listen to me right now”
His shocked eyes meet her furious ones.
“Draco Malfoy Is Not, nor ever was a deatheater”
“Draco Malfoy never tortured me nor was I ever tortured in his manor. The only torture that happened involving me was the torture of Draco himself after he lied to Bellatrix Lestrange. He took my torture by lying, he told her he searched my mind and tortured me even though he didn’t so the attention was taken off me and put onto him. Then after hours of writhing on the ground due to the aftereffects of the prolonged crucio. It was Draco Malfoy who stumbled to the dungeon to bring me food, blankets and healing potions that he snuck down.”
Seamus looks to Draco who was laying on the ground then back to the witch holding the wand firmly in his face. He begins to stumble out Hermione’s name and Luna drops down to his level.
“Open your eyes and actually look because he has risked his life in multiple ways for her. All three of those Slytherin boys would burn the world for her safety and she in return. So, stand and leave before she breaks free of Theo and goes deadly on you.” Luna snarls before turning her attention to someone behind him then turning to Draco on the ground.
Theo watches as Blaise signals that whatever happened is over, but that Hermione needs to leave. Theo picks Hermione up and throws her over his shoulder before marching for honeydukes.
“Theodore Nott, put me down this instant” Hermione demands
Theo hums in thought “hmm…no thanks” a giggle spills from his lips whenever she starts to punch his back. “I can’t put you down, we need to go buy sweets for the blonde prat.”
“No!” She wiggles trying to get away, so he puts her down
“Draco is fine, but you can’t see him at this time. Blaise will get him taken care of while we buy some sweets for your protector.”
Theo carefully placed Hermione's feet to the ground right outside of the honeydukes shop. She huffs in frustration as she straightens her outfit before glaring at Theo who was presenting her a smirk of mischief. Hermione began to storm away from Theo when he steps Infront of her. Theo holds his pinky out to her with a small smile. “I pinky promise, we will go see Draco after we do this”
Hermione huffs again before taking a moment to glare at Theo. She links his pinky with hers and mumbles. “that’s a muggle thing”
Theo smirks at her before softly saying he knows then opening the door for her to enter first. Hermione grabs Draco and herself some sugar quills then Draco a few cauldron cakes. As the pair explores the shop, Theo pulls out some sweets as he informs her of who likes and dislikes what. Theo laughs to himself when he sees that Hermione was making mental notes of his suggestions.
The pair leaves the store, and Theo offers Hermione his arm when she realizes that she didn’t know where Luna and Ginny were. Theo looks at her with worry when Hermione tenses while stopping quickly.
“Hermione? Are you okay”
She starts to look around with panic, but Theo moves Infront of her.
“What are you panicking about”
“Luna..she wasn’t with me when I got to you.”
Theo closes his eyes thinking while Hermione looks for any sort of commotion.
“Luna stayed with Draco I believe. Blaise went to find her, and he stopped where you came from. I couldn’t see what was going on but Blaise signaled everything was fine, but I knew by his look that Draco got hurt.”
“What about Ginny? Do you know where Ginny went?”
Hermione watches Theo takes a deep breath before his eyes connect with her, obviously trying to find the best words to explain.
“We got a warning a few days ago. Ginny most likely went to deal with the aftermath. Draco told you to find me. Right?”
Hermione nods with furrowed brows so Theo places his hands on her shoulder to regain her attention.
“He knew this was going to happen. That’s why I had to keep you with me. No matter how much you fought me I promised I wouldn’t let you get involved because if you did, you would have ended up getting shoved and hurt badly. Sometimes Draco gets these dreams like Deja vu, but he is shown a few results of the same situation. This…incident was one of them but in both cases, he knew he would be fine but if you got involved you wouldn’t be.”
For a moment Hermione doesn’t move or talk so Theo observes her looking for a reaction or problems but eventually she gives him a stiff nod
“May we go see Draco now” she speaks ever so softly, as if the world would crumble if she was any louder.
Notes:
TW: physical assault, mentions of blood / bleeding. Mentions of Deja vu like dreams / nightmares. Brief mentions of captive and torture. non-consensual grabbing, holding, and carrying. (Theo holding Hermione in his arms while she tries to fight to get away then he carries her further away from the danger)
3633 words in this chapter
I had to add in the angry Luna. In the last movie there is a scene where Luna was trying to get Harry's attention and he was brushing her off, so she yelled at him, and I just loved how she had this instant change, so I of course had to include a similar situation. I also had to add a scene where someone throws Hermione over their shoulder for her own protection and she just smacking their back in outrage.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 15: People Help The People
Chapter Text
Chapter Fifteen: People Help The People
It was Monday, October 7th when the group met up after class to brainstorm their ideas in their common room. This is the first full meeting for their club, that they agreed to name “Guiding Wix”. They wanted to plan something for Halloween to encourage inter- house unity. Since Halloween that year fell on a Thursday they agreed as a group that the following day they should have their event that night after classes. So, they planned to propose that Thursday night, that Hogwarts will have their normal Halloween feast and Friday they would have their event where 7th and 8th years could volunteer to supervise the event until the non - graduating students went to bed. Once that time came around and the students were in their common rooms the graduating students would then have a responsible party so they could interact among each other since they were the ones mostly affected by the war. At the end of the discussion for the Halloween event they broke into two groups, Blaise, Luna and Ginny talking more in depth about the plan proposal to the headmistress and Theo, Hermione, and Draco creating a plan for tutoring like sign ups.
The next day their plans were approved so everyone started coming up with more in depth ideas and Hermione, Draco and Theo completed the sign up sheets for volunteers and students tutoring requests. They hung the sheets around the school and allowed a few days for students to begin using them. It was a Thursday night whenever Theo came rushing into the common room, practically jumping in excitement. Hermione looked up from a book she was reading to learn some charms she could use for the event.
“Theo? You look excited?” she said as he jumped onto the sofa next to her. Theo shoved a parchment into her face “we have a request” she grabs the sheet to look at it herself.
“Charms tutor ... .I don't know anyone who does really well in that class." Hermione states softly as she thinks. The pair falls silent for a moment until Hermione startles whenever Theo suddenly straightens
“Hannah and Holly Abbott, Hannah has tutored in charms before, and I've heard holly is also excellent in charms.” Hermione makes a note for herself to talk to Hannah and Holly. The pair prepare themselves for dinner to meet Draco, Luna and Blaise there. They enter the great hall to see Ginny sitting at their spot. When she looked towards Ginny and Luna's usual seat she saw Seamus glaring at her small group of friends. Her hand immediately shot out to grab Theo. He turned to look at her, finding she was giving him an angry glare.
“It was Seamus Finnigan. He attacked Draco, he’s the one who dislocated his shoulder and caused more slashes onto Draco's chest and abdomen.” Hermione turns away from Theo and she mumbles to herself “I’m going to fucking kill him” Before Hermione could step away from him, Theo wrapped his arms around her waist and hoists her off her feet.
“Let go of me Theodore, I'm done with this crap” she growls through her gritted teeth. Her scratching, kicking and angry huffs alerts the group of friends of the commotion but before anyone moves towards them Hermione was gaining the attention of the teachers and other students. “Its okay hermione, you need to calm down”
“He is supposed to be a responsible student for the younger students to look up to. This isn't okay!!!” Hermione's fighting causes the pair to crash to the ground and Theo loses his grip on the angry, thrashing witch whenever he tries to keep her from getting hurt in the fall. He tries to grab her as she was trying to scurry away, he sees as she gets scooped up while two pairs of feet go running for the headmistress. Theo jumps to his feet as Draco approaches from behind, they find Hermione once again fighting but in Blaise’s arms.
Within seconds her body crumples as she mumbles and bursts into tears “hee….he…attack another….student. A student who….who couldn't even…protect himself.” Hermione's sobs ring throughout the great hall while Draco gently places his hands onto her face to wipe away the tears.
“Everyone is okay Hermione; we need you to calm down.”
“I don't want to. He is supposed to be a role model. I thought he was my friend” she whimpers as she reaches towards Draco. Blaise allows her to cling to Draco and turns to see the girls striding towards them with the headmistress. Theo turns his gaze from the girls to the group of boys, where Neville and Dean have looks of horror and Seamus has a few unreadable expressions showing. The boys turn back to Draco and Hermione, finding her nodding to something. Draco looks up to them and whispers lightly about needing to take her to the hallway. Blaise grabs their items from the table while Theo joins Hermione’s opposite side. She links her hands with Theo’s while Draco places his hand on her back as they lead her from the great hall. They get her sitting on the floor out of sight of the other students.
Draco kneels on the floor in front of her encouraging her to breathe while Blaise sits next to her. Theo rushes to the headmistress whenever she enters the hallway with the girls. Ginny joins the group on the floor while Luna goes to arrange for food for the group. Theo explained the situation to the professor and not long after Madam Pomfrey was rushing towards them with a few items. Draco prompts Hermione to take the calming potion that is handed to him by the healer while she looks over her from a distance for injuries.
Once Hermione is calm enough to move, the group returns to the common room and eats some of the food Luna had grabbed for them. Draco has Hermione leaning against him and gets her to eat a little food before light, even breathing exits her body from slumber. He stays with her, slowly rubbing up and down her arm to allow her to sleep as the rest of the group separate into their own beds. Theo was the last to leave the common room, and placed a throw blanket onto Hermione's sleeping body.
“Do you need help moving her or are you staying out here?” Theo asks him gently
“Staying here, I don't want to wake her. Plus my scent is calming her I think”
Theo nods leaving the room but returning a moment later with Draco's blanket and a book. He pulls the ottoman stool over towards Draco’s feet so he can prop them up. Theo looks the pair over once again to make sure neither of them would be uncomfortable, he nods in satisfaction knowing Ginny got Hermione into comfortable clothing while Draco did the same thing quickly before Hermione joined them again. He watches Theo leave then props one of his legs on the ottoman and begins to read. Eventually, darkness pulls Draco into slumber, allowing his head to fall back against the back of the sofa and the previous reading material to fall from his hands. As he slumbers he feels slight moving next to him and something near his face causing his face to scrunch up but the heaviness pulling him back into unconsciousness.
Draco's eyes drift open just enough to catch the curly hair witch sneaking from the dormitory while tightening her hair after tying it up. Once she was gone for her run he slowly looked around finding his book and glass on the table near him. He smiles slightly before moving his legs to the couch and getting comfortable to lay down.
Draco is later fully woken whenever he feels something soft tickling his face, knowing it was Theo, Draco whips his hand out from under the blanket to hit him
“Fuck prat, you need to wake up” Theo mumbles while Draco smirks as he sits up from the couch. “Hermione is back from her run and getting ready. You need to get ready so the three of us can walk to the hospital wing.” Draco nods, heading for the restroom to quickly get showered.
Theo watches as they both take their potions but grows concerned whenever Hermione jerks with her hand flying for her throat.
“Hey? What's wrong” he questions, gaining Draco's attention who is now looking to her worried.
“Im fine, sometimes the potion can cause the injuries to reopen” the boys both look to her confused “at the manor…whenever Harry and Ron entered, she yanked me off the floor and nicked my throat whenever she held the knife or dagger or whatever it was to my throat.” Draco's gaze shifts from her a little as he thinks about that situation before nodding stiffly. Theo steps closer taking her chin in his hand “it didn't reopen, I can't feel it bleeding” Hermione says to reassure him but his eye just drifts to her before mumbling “there's a pink line there, like a brighter scar” he slowly releases her face allowing her to nod. “It was barely a cut so it scarred almost unnoticeable but the potions must have irritated it. It'll go back to normal”
Madam Pomfrey makes a note of the reaction before dismissing them from her care. When they enter the great hall they find Ginny, Luna and Blaise sitting together again. They smile at them before making room and waving them over. Hermione sits in between Theo and Ginny while Draco sits next to Blaise on the other side of the table. She sees Draco placing a mug in front of her while Theo places a piece of toast on the plate in front of them. Blaise drops a few pieces of bacon on her plate with a wink and a comment.
“You'll need it so next time you won't be so easy to contain.” she gives him a playful eye roll before making a showy bite of the bacon. After breakfast the small group goes to their first class which was defense against the dark arts with the new Professor Hastings. She was a young former auror from MACUSA who had long wavy brown hair, usually pulled into a messy bun. She watches from the front of the class whenever the 8th year and some 7th year students enter and take their seats.
“Class, today we will be discussing some dark magic that was created during the second wizarding war. These spells were left on my desk by an unknown source. Some of the spells don't have fully completed healing spells but each spell has details of its research. The first spell is unus habensque , this spell translates to vein pinholes. When casted this spell will cause a victim to slowly bleed from many tiny holes from the veins in the location of where the spell hits. For example, if this spell was to hit someone's forearm, it would cause the veins in the forearm to bleed from mini holes. It will cause the area to be covered in blood while the victim is unable to find the laceration due to it being hundreds of tiny holes. These spells will cause a moment of pain as if you were stabbed by hundreds of sharp points at one time. To stop the bleeding, you would cast repeciare operimentum once on the affected area. These spells will act as an invisible cover that will block the hundreds of holes from bleeding.”
She pauses allowing the students to ask questions and complete their note before moving onto the next one. Hermione glances over to the table to her left that contained Draco and Blaise. She watches in curiosity at Draco writing small choppy notes unlike the rest of the students.
“The next spell doesn't have a known full counterspell but has shown positive results from a clearing charm if casted by another person. This spell is invisibilia clavi which means invisible spikes. When casted it will cause unseeable restraints to wrap around the victims' major joints such as ankles, wrists, elbows, knees. If the victim moves while the spell is in effect, it will cause extreme pain as if the restraints are covered in ice shards that are imbedding the joints.”
Once again Professor Hastings pauses and Hermione sees that Draco was flexing his fingers from under the table. She turns to look to Theo who was seated next to her to find him also watching Draco.
“For the following spells it acts as a human control whistle. This is similar to a whistle that some muggles use to train dogs. For dog training, when the whistle is blown it makes a sound that dogs can hear but humans can not. For this spell though when casted it will create a high pitch sound that only the victim can hear. The sound will last as long as the caster holds it and it will cause the victim to become unmovable from the pain. This spell is casted as Imperium sibilus which means control whistle. There are no counter spells or charm to end the spells but the victim can grow a resistance to the sounds if it is casted on them enough. These spells, once stopped will leave after effects such as ear ringing, migraine, blurred vision. The witch or wizard who left me these details states that dark and quietness helps as a remedy.”
“For the final spell today is one that could be deadly. This spell will pull the air from the victim’s lung and make their lungs close until the caster allows the victim to breathe again. If this spell is held past the victim's unconscious state, it will cause the victim's organs to shut down from the lack of oxygen. There is a spell that another person can cast to stop the spell even if the original caster tries to hold it but the counter spell is unknown currently to the provider of these details. This spell is casted by the words aer suxisti which translate to air sucked.”
After answering any last questions from the students and informing them that the next class will also be resulting in similar notes, Professor Hastings dismisses class. Hermione and Draco left class together while Ginny pulls Blaise and Theo back to talk to them about something. As they were walking and talking, Hermione notices that Draco's head twitches sideways before he stops and looks behind him. When she looks in that direction she finds Finnigan looking at them with a look of horror while Neville was pale from shock. She looks to Draco to ask a question about what was going on when he scoffs with a tiny head shake. Before she could ask he looked at her and told her everything was fine before continuing to walk. She follows him but with a quick glance back she sees as Dean approaches Neville and Seamus was rushing in the opposite direction, away from his next class.
~~~
“Professor, I need to privately discuss an important matter with you immediately” the student rushed out. The professor looks the student over before nodding and leading them to the headmaster's office. Once the both of them were seated, the headmistress raises her eyebrow in question.
“What can I assist you with Mr. Finnigan”
“Today in defense we were taught about some dark spells that were created during the war. I have reason to believe that Draco Malfoy was the one to create them.”
Professor McGonagall watches Seamus for a moment before finally speaking up. “Those spells were created by strong death eaters, I can assure you that Mr. Malfoy did not have any part in the creation of them.”
“Professor!” Seamus practically shouts in frustration “he is a death eater”
“Mr. Finnigan those spells were created by the highest ranking death eaters, in particular Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov” she leans closer to him from her chair before continuing. “What makes you think that Mr. Malfoy had any part in their creation?”
Seamus shifts uncomfortably in his seat before looking guilty. “I casted the one that’s like a human control whistle on him. It was only for a second but whenever I casted it, the only reaction he had was a slight twitch. Professor Hastings told us that you can resist it with enough practice which means he has had practice with it.”
“Mr. Finnigan” The headmistress watches him silently for a moment, trying not to react to him admitting to attacking a student again. “You haven't been back to school for even a couple of weeks and this is the second attack on a student. You haven't even completed the detentions for the first attack. Not to mention it is the same student you attacked the first time. It is entirely unacceptable that you continue to attack this student. I should not have to inform you that you casted a dark spell that has little detailing surrounding it. It is impossible to know exactly what could have happened with you casting it. Draco Malfoy did not create these spells and we only have these details because of him. All the information the class taught today was put together by Draco Malfoy with a little help from Theodore nott. He came to me with this information and wanted it taught in case these spells were passed onto other death eaters that were able to escape capture. I passed the information onto Professor Hastings without the student's name because that was his wish. Now please return to class, I will request a meeting to discuss these matters at a later moment.”
He gives the headmistress a nod of slight annoyance before turning to head to the door. When he reaches the door, she calls for his attention once again. “Draco Malfoy did not choose to take the mark. He also didn't choose to have high ranking death eaters living in his home. Last year when Amycus and Alecto Carrow were in charge of punishments, it was not a pleasant time. Draco malfoy lived for months in the presence of higher and darker witches and wizards in his home, there is reasoning behind him having this knowledge. I can assure you that there are many things you don't know about other’s stories during the war” Seamus stands silently for a moment before leaving the office.
Draco and Hermione look up to see the headmistress entering the classroom and approaching Professor Penniwells. With a nod of approval the headmistress turns to the table Draco and Hermione occupied and strides towards them.
“Mr. Malfoy, can I ask you to come with me?” she asked softly. He looks at her for a moment before asking a question. “Am I in trouble for something?”
“No, I would like to discuss a certain matter with you” Draco glances at his classwork before returning his eyes to the headmistress. “I believe I know what this entails, I would prefer to stay in class. Can this matter wait until a later time, lunch time perhaps?” Draco questions quietly. She doesn't respond right away but she looks him over for any injuries or signs of discomfort. She eventually nods in approval. “Of course, learning is very important. If you prefer to wait until lunch time then please come to my office at that time but I will ask once again if you're sure that everything is currently okay.”
“Yes, everything at this moment is okay. If something changes I will act appropriately to handle the situation”
She gives him a single nod before leaving the classroom. After class, Draco pulls Theo aside to inform him about everything and asks him to walk Hermione to lunch with Blaise while he handles his business. Theo looks Draco over in worry but nods and links his arm with Hermione's, who laughs at the action.
Draco takes a seat in front of the headmistress who was watching him in concern.
“Would you mind if I request for Madam Pomfrey to look you over and make sure you are okay”
“I am okay but yes you can do that if you would like” he informs the Professor and she sends the request off. “I asked to talk to you about Seamus Finnigan casting the dark spell Imperium sibilus on you in the hallway after your defense against the dark arts class. Can you explain what happened from your point of view”
He explains the situation to her including how the spell didn't cause any effect on him due to his continue torture due to the spell and his resistance he had built up due to that torture. After Madam Pomfrey confirms he didn't have any last effect due to the spell they continue this conversation. Professor McGonagall announces that she is unsure of what action to take due to the attack.
“If I am being honest, I don't really care how or if there are any actions taken. The spell didn't have any effect on me but I would really like him to be informed that he could have caused major pain to a random student in the hallway, in particular Hermione. She was walking beside me when it happened and she could have easily been hit by it.”
Draco position slackens as he leans forwards to rest his arms on his knees in a stressful manner. “If she had taken that spell, it could have caused severe flashbacks and trauma to her. Plus after last night's chaos, she probably would need to be admitted for medical care. It is also unknown what could have resulted if another random student had taken the spell. A lot of students were affected in different ways during the war, many students don't know each other's stories which could have been a large disaster.”
she nods in sad understanding before agreeing with him. He was then allowed to head to lunch where he found Hermione laughing at something Theo had said. He allows his gaze to drift to the table spot where Seamus usually sits, finding his head down while Neville and Dean looked to be speaking to him in an angry tone. He takes a seat next to Hermione and instantly sees her flashing him a wide smile. He feels the tense nerves leaving at the sight.
~~~
It was finally the weekend before halloween and over the last two weeks the members of guiding wix were practicing their charms and planning everything for the halloween event. They have gotten a few more requests from students, pairing off with tutors and Hannah and Holly start their tutor while gaining a few more for the tutoring session. With a request from a second year, Ginny and Draco agreed to help the young witch with her flying after the event. Hermione had also got a request for arithmancy by a 5th year student. After a successful hogsmeade shopping trip for whatever they needed for the event the group returned to their common room. The group of six sat together in the common room when Ginny randomly jumped to her feet to make a declaration.
“I bet draco’s costume is going to be a vampire”
Draco raises his eyebrow in amusement. “Okay wealsette. Why is that”
“You don't have to do much to prepare. You already are a vampire”
Hermione snorts next to Draco while Theo's laugh fills the room. Hermione jumps in her seat whenever Draco pokes her side playfully. Hermione looks to theo who was snickering to himself
“Something to say Nott” hermione asks with a raise brow
“I think your costume will be that medusa goddess.”
“You think Hermione would choose a goddess costume” Blaise asked skeptically
Theo jumps onto his seat as he exclaims as he swirls a few of her curls “yes, her wild mane she calls hair can act like medusa’s hair of snakes”
She scoffs, pulling her hair away from him as she playfully whacks at him. Theo puts his hands up to show defeat. “Whoa whoa no need for violence little one” Theo jumps off the sofa to get away from the witch who now was lunging for him. He rushes behind the sofa to Draco's other side to whisper loudly. “I think the cranky witch needs her nap”
Hermione jumps over the back of the sofa and begins to chase Theo around. As he reaches the boys dormitory door, Hermione is swept off her feet by strong arms.
“Come on little witch, let's go for a walk” Draco speaks into her ear followed by a kick attempt from hermione. When it misses Draco, he just laughs, placing her down and offering her his arm. They leave Hogwarts castle and walk towards a spot near the black lake. Draco lays back on the grass using his arms to rest his head on, he looks to the dark sky filled with stars. Hermione sits with her arm wrapped around her knees looking out into the lake.
“Tell me about your childhood” Draco asks softly and Hermione looks back to see him still looking up to the sky. She shifts her body back a foot before laying down next to him
“What do you wish to know”
“Whatever you would like to share” he responds, finally looking over to her. Draco watches as she lightly giggles to herself. “In early primary school, a little girl who was mean to me took a pair of scissors and cut off one of my curls . I had noticed it laying on the floor later in class whenever I was returning to my desk and next thing I knew her ponytail full of hair dropped. I was over 20 feet away from her and she started screaming. Later that day during dismissal she burst into tears because it was short enough that her favorite teacher mistook her for a boy.”
Draco looks over her in horror resulting in her stifling her giggles. “How about you any accidently magic stories.
“The day I came home from Diagon Alley from getting my school supplies for 1st year. I come home to find my father burning my toys. I apparently had some type of protection on my childhood stuffie because when he went to try to burn it, he ended up getting burned and dropping it on the floor. It didn't leave a mark on him but anytime he picked it up it would be too hot then I supposedly walked in, picked it up and walked out like nothing happened. He ended up telling my mother about the situation and she told me a few years later”
“Do you still have it?” she questions with her head turned to look at him
“My mother had it in a protective box in her vault whenever I got home for summer following fourth year” he sees her nod in understanding before her gaze returns to the sky.
They fall silent but draco gets concerned whenever hermione quickly sits up
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah” she sighs “wanna hear a secret no one but I know”
“I don't think you” draco begins but she cuts his sentence off.
“I was named after a Shakespeare play, the winter’s tale. That's what my mum wanted to name me because she loved that play. They had a bet going on and whoever won would name me. My dad ended up losing so I was named hermione”
“And your dad, what name did he pick” he asked carefully
“Himalia, Greek mythology” she began to swot out but draco cuts her off
“One of Jupiter’s moons” she nods and continues.
“He loved learning about stars, moon, everything astronomy in general, he would have made it into a career but he didn't want to end up hating it by making it a everyday job so instead he kept astronomy as a hobby”
He stands holding his hand out to help her up and they start their walk back to the castle. “Is that why the stars comfort you, do they remind you of your dad”
She thinks for a moment before quietly speaking “yeah, I think so. It reminds me of when I was little and didn't care what others thought about me because I didn't understand the hurtfulness at the time.”
Draco fake gapes “Hermione Granger didn't understand things at a point in her life” she smacks his shoulder and he fakes acts that she hurt him. “You get what I mean. My dad and I had this type of relationship where we would sneak out of bed to the backyard whenever the stars were most visible. Every time my mum found us outside in the morning she would lecture him about dragging me outside in the middle of the night but I knew she actually adored it.”
“I wasn't able to ever sneak out of bed. Surprising enough, having elfs have a downside” he jokes and she scoffs in return. “We used to have a elf named cally, I could only get one foot out the door of my rooms before she appeared behind me asking where I thought I was going. After I was marked, it stopped happening. I would sneak outside and she wouldn't stop me but I knew she would supervise me. I would ride my broom in the dark and she was afraid I would get hurt and no one would know”
She pulls him to a stop with a look of curiosity but also sadness “you said used to?”
“Yes, I freed her, and she now lives in a safehouse I don't know about. The death eaters weren't nice to her and if I didn't do it then she wouldn't have lived. She takes care of my pet cat, eve. She is almost completely white, but she had black fur around her eyes that kind of look like glasses with bright blue eyes. Eve has a cat friend now, I found it on a mission with some high ranked death eaters. I don't know what it was about him, but I knew I needed to get him away from them. I remember disapparating home with him hidden in my robes and handing him off with my mom begging her to have nilley move him there also before going back like I never left. Cally calls him copper and after we graduate, I plan to bring all three of them home.”
She smiles fondly, trying not to let the sadness take over her, remembering her old familiar. During the war, she left Crooks with a neighbor before she left for Bill and Fleur's wedding.
Draco escorts her back to her room for the night but after hours of turning in bed, she calls quits on sleeping and moves to the common room for tea and a bit of reading. Draco wakes around 3 - 4 in the morning after sleeping his normal amount of sleep. After returning to the living area, he found that the conversation and walking with Hermione made him incredibly tired but it still didn't allow him to sleep a correct amount. He finds Hermione sitting with tea and a book and joins her on the sofa with her messy to do notes that he can't read but knows she can understand.
“You're awake?” He speaks tenderly, not wanting to be too loud in the silent darkness.
“I wasn't able to sleep so I'm drinking tea and reading, how about you?”
“I went out quickly once I got back so I'm awake already. Do you want a potion?”
She shakes her head no and he reaches over gently for her book. She looks at him with anger but he just gently pulls her to lay her head onto his lap and throws a blanket over her.
“What are you doing?” she looks up from his lap, him smiling fondly down at her.
“Reading you to sleep, you smell like lavender and van” she quickly reaches her hand to cover his mouth with terrified eyes. He nods in slight understanding and she removes her hand. “Lavender is said to help sleep and calmness so I was use it sometimes to help with sleep” “interesting” he comments then opens her book to read to her. She quickly drifts off to sleep at the peaceful reading of his voice not long after he starts. He marks in the book where she fell asleep then continues to read to himself. He eventually notices Hermione small twitches that turn into full blown scratching to her skin along with mumbles that sound like “need it gone, need to remove it, can't keep it” Draco gently shakes her awake and she sits up with a gasp. “I think you were having a nightmare. You were scratching yourself crazily” he tells her as she looks around. She nods in response and he pulls her gently to lay back down. “Are you okay?” she nods again, snuggling back into the blanket. “Just some memories resurfacing and I must have begun to act them out.” she yawns and closes her eyes again. “If you ever want to talk, let me know”
She nods sleepily, responding. “Tomorrow , tired. I trying to remove my natural scent but can't” draco makes out of her mumbles before so falls back into rest.
The following morning as they walked to the hospital wing for their potions she briefly explained that his comment about her natural scent must have resurfaced her memories about her scent on her scarf and how she scrubbed her skin raw trying to get the scent to go away. She told him that a snatcher had found her scarf then realized by her scent that it belonged to her and how she smelled of “it.” she didn't want to actually say the scent but he knew what she was saying by her reaction the previous night to stop his words. Once they got to the great hall, he made a note for each of the boys of that specific trigger and spent breakfast trying to think about what else was said or done that could be one. He remembers the snatchers calling her lovely and Bellatrix called her dearie. He notes anything else he could think of before passing them the notes secretly, watching them read them and returning draco with a silent nod of understanding.
Notes:
TW : mentions of past physical assault. panic attack, magical assault (student shoots a possible harmful spell at another student). Nightmare / harming oneself while asleep. references / mentions of previous torture
5737 words in this chapter
I love this chapter. Hermione needing to be manhandled so she doesn't commit assault or murder.
Theo and Hermione acting like children chasing each other around the room.
I enjoyed trying to make up spells that the death eater had made up and unfortunately tested on Draco. I would like to see what you guys thought of these spells and your thought on which ones and how often they were tested on Draco.
Predictions on what their costumes will be for the Halloween event?~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 16: Team
Chapter Text
Chapter sixteen: Team
It was finally the day of the event, the group had quickly eaten the halloween feast the night previous and gone to bed to have as much awareness and energy for the classes the following day then to prepare the great hall for it’s halloween event. When the group of six entered the great hall they found Neville, Seamus, Dean, Astoria, Blaire and headmistress McGonagall. Hermione stops at the door when she makes eye contact with Seamus. The three boys approach the headmistress to get their wands approved to get started decorating, Luna and Ginny instruct the other classmates on what they can help with. After noticing Hermione still unmoving at the door, the professor approaches her.
“This is his detention, I think he has a better understanding now so he shouldn't cause any problems.”
Hermione removes her eyes from him to look at the professor and nods. Hermione pulls out her wand, handing it to the professor.
“Is Mr. Finnigan's presents going to be an issue?”
“No, as long as nothing is started. I'm not going to do anything.” Hermione sighs looking at the headmistress. “It was something that happened in the moment. I figured it out when Theo and I walked into the hall and lost it because of what he was doing at that time”
Professor McGonagall nods then approves her wand before handing it back to her. Before leaving the hall, she places her hand onto Hermione and speaks quietly. “Those boys really care about you. Let them help you”
“I know” she responds almost inaudibly.
Once the headmistress leaves the hall, Hermione looks around the room to see who was doing what. Luna, Blaire, and Ginny were charming parchment bats and mini pumpkins to float in the air around the floating candles. Dean, Neville and seamus were setting the tables up with some wizarding games and putting game cards out along with some other activities. Blaise was setting up the food and beverage area (non alcoholic for the time). He was also preparing the beverage supply for the late night part so that they couldn't be accessed until the correct time. Hermione decided to join Draco and Theo who were lighting the hanging fire lights and hanging dark decorative drapes.
When she reaches them, she finds them struggling to get one of the drapes to lay properly against the wall. She smirks before gently grabbing the wand from Draco’s hand to give it to Theo.
“Why did you do that?” Draco asked, confused, causing Hermione and Theo to laugh. She takes his hands and links his fingers together to create a step “you’ll see, just try not to drop me”
“What? Are you planning to…climb me? "Draco asked, baffled. She gave him a smile that turned to a smirk. “Yes, in a way” he steps away from her when she casts a cleaning charm on the bottom of her shoes. “Why me, why can't you climb Theo”
She pulled him back to the spot by his wrist and fixed his hand once again. “Because you are taller and stronger than Theo.” She arranges him so that his back is to the wall then puts one of her feet into his hands and uses his shoulders to steady herself.
“Theo stand behind her please” Draco squeaks while she brings her second foot up. She smirks at him while responding “chill Malfoy, you won't drop me. Now slowly bring your hands up a little bit towards your chest” he does as instructed being cautious and observant. Hermione quickly fixes the problem and Draco brings her slowly back down until she tells him to pause. “On the count of three pull your hands away, i'm going to use your shoulders as my support.” he nods and she counts down, using his shoulders to jump up out of his hands with his hands finding her hips to help guide her down. She smiles and fixes his shirt on his shoulders before walking a few feet away to continue the work. She smirks as she hears Draco mumbles “fuck, that was hot” while Theo playfully shoves his shoulder to go in the opposite direction.
They continue working until they almost completely finish. Draco approaches Hermione with nerves which she doesn't notice when she asks without looking to him “Is everything ready”
“Yes but we have a small problem that needs to be fixed first” she looks at him finally knowing his appearance and furrowing her eyebrows “what is it? what's wrong?”
Draco turns motioning to another dark cloth that was even more tangled. “We tried to fix it but it's even worse than the one you fixed.” she giggles walking past him patting his shoulder. “Sure you didn't do that on purpose just so we could do that stunt again”
He follows her as he tries to defend himself while she just laughs. “Honestly, we didn't try to do this” Theo tells her, completely serious, noting her reaction with draco.
She looks at the drape a moment, calculating in her head before turning and looking at Draco seriously. “Did you struggle to hold me up last time?” she questions looking him over “No, I was fine”
“Perfect because this time it is going to be harder” before he could say anything Hermione calls and motions Blaise over. While casting a silent cushioning charm on the ground.
When Blaise reached the small group she explained what to do to the boys, grabbing Blaise’s hands and putting them onto her waist to explain how to lift her as she jumped then showed Draco how to position his hands together so that his wrist were touching and his hands created a U shape to curl his fingers around the side of her shoes.
The two boys look amongst each other in horror while Hermione just laughs.
“Now, one last thing you must do. I casted cushion charms below us, if I start to fall, move out of the way. It's only a few feet fall and it wouldn't be a fall I haven't done before. I can fall properly to minimize injury but if you are in the way we will both get hurt so if I'm falling, let me” she looks back and forth between the two boys who clearly didn't want to agree but eventually did.
The two boys get her up, correctly positioned and she looks down to meet draco’s eyes
“Are you both good” yep they both respond and she quickly but smoothly fixes the cloth.
“Draco, slowly bring me down. Blaise continue to support my ankles until you are able to reach my waist again.” They get her out of the lift without issue with Blaise supporting her waist while Draco grabs her forearm to help support her. Once her feet returned to the ground she looked at the boys before making her praise “You two were excellent cheer bases”
“Cheer bases,” Draco asked confused. “Yes the lifts you did were cheer lifts, you two were bases while I was the flier. Cheering is kind of like a sport.”
“People do that for sport” Hermione laughs at blaise’s comment.
“Yes, the magical world is actually pretty boring. Those lifts are nothing compared to what some people do. Cheering involved a lot of poses and tosses in those lifts and ground moves can involve a jump, back handsprings, cartwheels, turns and so on”
She watches them look at her confused, causing her to smirk. She looks at them for a minute before slipping her shoes off and steps onto the table to get over. “Granger! That's not lady like "Theo yells at her playfully. “Good thing I'm not lady like” she yelled back. Before standing in the middle of the hall, she takes one last look around everyone watching her before smirking. Hermione does a toe touch jump, moving back into a back handspring. She poses for a moment smirking at everyone watching in shock, she does a little run forward moving into a side aerial jump and posing again and doing a cartwheel backwards. She gives a playful bow before laughing at everyone's reaction.
Theo is the first to break the silence, not to Hermione's surprise.
“Damn Granger, you are making me once again question my gayness”
The group then looks to Draco who clears his throat to bring his mind back. “So um…you were a cheere person?”
“Not exactly” Hermione winks at the boys still in shock as she puts her shoes back on. She then turns, giving them a very slytherin look. “Too bad my costume tonight isn't a cheerleader uniform, I would have you boys drooling even more.” she approaches them to whisper. “They wear tight mini skirts with tight cropped tops that look similar to a vest.” She then walks away from them until Draco yells to her descending back. “I would never have let you leave the living area like that”she yells back, hearing them rapidly following her. “good thing that's not my costume then”
They return to their living area to get changed into their costumes and Hermione tells him to wait a moment in the common room. She grabs something from her room before pulling Draco into the restroom with a chair. “Can you braid my hair into two ponytails for me please” he nods in approval and does the requested task. After that she kicks him out of the restroom so she can change her clothes. She puts on beige skinny pants with a light green mock neck tank top. After returning to her room she finds Ginny and Luna wearing similar outfits. Ginny in a devil costume and Luna in an angel costume. Ginny looks Hermione up and down with a smirk before pulling Luna onto the bed and doing her makeup. She goes to her own bed to put a belt and thigh, storage holster then puts on her chest / arm wand holster. She ties up her heeled boots and completes her look with a leather cropped jacket. She applies a light amount of makeup to appear a little dirty before leaving the room with the other girls following.
Hermione feels Ginny push past her at the sight of Draco's costume.
“OH. MY. MERLIN!!” Ginny screamed “I was correct, you bastard. You are a vampire”
“Bugger off weaslette” Draco huffs in annoyance. Luna skips to Blaise's side who is dressed as a bartender.
She looks back to Draco who is checking her out “so this is something muggle, what are you?”
“Lara crofts, she is a character who is a highly athletic and intelligent British archaeologist / adventuress. Her character explores and investigates ancient, hazardous ruins and tombs around the world. she is similar to a curse breaker”
Draco hums in interest, taking in what she was saying. They watch as Theo enters the room finding no one recognizing what he is.
“Theo told us to ask you to explain what his costume is.”
“He is a muggle healer called a doctor. I would assume one that is also a medical researcher. That is what doctor sterling is but she works in a muggle hospital and a wizarding one. When working with witches and wizards she wears healer robes but when working with muggles this is what she might wear. She does do medical and healing research so she does have a lab coat like this "Ginny playfully bumps Hermione's shoulder while mumbling “swot” to her.
Blaise approaches the girls, holding his arm out to Luna then turning to Ginny. “Well, I can't just have the angel on my arms” he offers his arm to Ginny who takes it with a fake sniff and a nose in the air. Theo laughs at Ginny's imitation of being stuck up. He watches the trio leave the common room but when he turns back to Hermione and Draco to walk with them, he finds them in a private silent moment. Theo’s eyes go wide and he tries to sneak from the room but does bring them out of the moment unknowingly.
“Are you okay?” Draco asked softly and a bit awkwardly. She nods before clearing her throat to say “yes, sorry.” she apologizes then continues quietly to herself “Its just nice” he offers her his arm and she gives him a happy small smile. “What is nice?”
“You…your joyful happiness. You lost it for a little while” he looks down to her with a raised brow, finding her eyes waiting for him. “Is that so? You think I lost my joyful happiness”
“Yes. 1st and 2nd year, you had a self - righteous, smug attitude. 3rd and 4th year even though you were a arse doing it, you held a joyful happiness. Your smile went to your eyes. The taunts and pratty-iness was…almost playful. 5th year, it was still there a bit but that year held more of you trying to please others. After that it all disappeared…..so it's nice it is back.” She looks back to him whenever she finishes speaking to see him looking at her softly but with a look she can't place. After 30 seconds of connected eye contact he snaps out of it. “We should get going before Theo comes back to look for us”
They complete the last minute tasks and right before it reaches the time for the students to enter, the headmistress enters with a woman she hasn't seen before.
“This is the group who is running the club, and created the event.” the headmistress announces, motions to the great hall. The group of six approaches the lady and their professor with curiosity.
“Hello, My name is Olive Clarke. I work for the daily prophet and I was invited to write an article about your club and your event tonight.” the woman introduces herself while shaking their hands. “I was wondering if anyone would like to talk to me about the article.” Theo pushes Hermione in front of them, she turns to glare at her friends before turning back to the reporter to give her a smile and a nod. “Wonderful Miss. Granger, I would like a photo of all six of you. My cameraman will be here shortly and I only plan to stay a little while so i'm not disturbing this grand event”
The reporter turns to head in the direction of one of the tables in a selected area with Hermione following behind her.
“Miss. Granger, could you tell me a little about this club and the members of it.”
“A couple different groups of witches and wizards had an idea for this group to help students adjust after the events of the last few years. The six of us, Ginevra Weasley, Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy and myself were asked to be the members of the club. We have a similar role as prefects but without particular duties. The hope, like tonight's event, is to help the students reunite with other houses along with cheering up the environment of the school. This group also has a mentoring like sign up sheet. We recently paired a student up with a 8th year and her sister for class help and I personally will be tutoring a younger student for arithmancy in the upcoming days. This mentoring help isn't just for class though, it can be for many things. For example, also in the upcoming days, Draco and Ginny are going to be helping a student with her flying. As a graduating class following the war we just had, it's important to make sure we are there for everyone.”
“Do you have any information behind why the six of you are the leading members”
“I believe we are the best for this club, everyone with the exception of Ginny currently lives in the same living area in the 8th year tower. As many know, I held a large role in the war, but it didn't come without challenges. Ginny is a 7th year student and she was here at Hogwarts during the time it was overtaken by dark forces. She is also a big figure in the victory of the war along with Luna Lovegood. Even Though Luna wasn't here at Hogwarts the full year due to her capture by death eaters she was helping in the war. Now onto Blaise, Theo, and Draco, they are very important and needed in this club and its intentions. Due to their supposed sides in the war, they are seen as negative and harmful people. I think many want to look past their struggles and challenges but it's crucial that we see them for who they are and not what we want to see or what we are told to believe. All three of them were also placed into dangerous situations, some were able to hide away from these situations but those few who couldn't were trying to stay alive. Many fell victim to those dark forces, myself included but they were the ones living in those threatening times. I truly believe the six of us cover every side for proper effectiveness for this club's intentions.
“Final question, do you have a name for this club, what is the reasoning behind its name.”
“ We felt that “Guiding Wix” is exactly what we needed. Wix is the gender - neutral term for witch and wizard and the purpose of the club is to help and guide anyone and everyone who could use it.”
The pair stands after the interview, Olive thanking Hermione for her time. The group is pulled into a hallway for the picture while Neville and a few other 8th year students volunteer to welcome the younger students into the hall. They line up in a line with Theo pulling Hermione between him and draco. While the cameraman and the reporter got everything set up the group prepared themselves, the line going Draco, Hermione, Theo, Ginny, Luna and lastly Blaise. Luna and Ginny side hug each other while Theo has his elbows propped on the shoulders of the two witches next to him. Blaise places his arm around Luna's shoulder so she is snuggled into his side. Hermione quickly becomes aware of how tense Draco was. She looks to him before gently guiding his arm to curve around her back and then linking his fingers with hers from her arm that she has across her stomach. He watches her as she does this and after she looks at him with curiosity “is this okay” she whispers, getting a small nod and smile in return. Theo watches this interaction before huffing in fake annoyance and pulling Hermione's arm closest to him around his own waist. She laughs at theo’s antics causing him to smirk at her and dramatically stating “I need to be held also”
Right as the reporter pair gets prepared, Hermione elbows Draco's side, looking up to him. “I better see that joyful smile from earlier or you'll be in trouble with me.” Theo hears, cutting in as to no surprise to anyone. “Yeah Draco, think about Hermione setting up earlier, you couldn't have been smiling better.”
Once the photo was complete, the group started the event. The reporter sneaks out an hour or so into it after she has gained any information she needed. After speaking to a person or two privately in the hall.
Later in the night, Draco watches from a distance while Hermione tells the true story about her first Hogwarts Halloween. He looked over to see the headmistress also listening to the story as she shook her head in disbelief. A flash of a hopeful future flashes in his mind, of him watching Hermione with her kids, maybe their kids. Since Draco is standing behind her listening, he can’t see her face but he can see the young faces of students invested in her stories. Eventually Draco looks next to them when a hand lands on his shoulder, expecting it to be Theo or Blaise but finding a sad smile from his professor.
“So who’s closest to winning the bet” Draco speaks lightly, watching a look of surprise flash over her face.
“You know about that?” Responding in an uneasy tone.
“Father heard about the rumors surrounding the bet and wasn’t happy at all. No one was harmed in the repercussions.” Draco doesn’t notice that at the time Theo had approached him from behind.
“As far as my friends know, they were invited to camp out in a tent for the first summer home from school.”
Draco slightly jumps whenever Theo grabs his arm. “That’s a great story, did you tell it”
Hermione's attention is brought to them standing behind her and Draco sees as she gives the headmistress a guilty look. “I should have known you wouldn’t have gone looking for it. Professor Snape didn't believe it. He had stated “we both know Miss. Granger likes to prove herself, but surely you don’t believe her. She was clearly lying for whatever reason, plus I don’t recall seeing her there when it was announced. She’s a highly intelligent witch and she wouldn’t have done something so daft knowing about mountain trolls''
He watches Hermione as she looks taken back by the information just told to her but she is quickly pushed over on the bench when Theo sits to tell his story. Draco could feel the headmistress watching his tense expression as Theo tells the story of how Lucius has invited Draco's friends over for a campout in the yard and how they were all secretly scared of all the animal noises from around the tent. What theo did not know was that there was no actual danger and it was a punishment for draco. His father had made it appear dangerous to “make draco” man up. He wanted Draco to think he needed to protect his friends and learn how to be powerful. He also wanted Draco to learn that if he wasn't powerful and held in high regard that he would have to live that life constantly. Lucius' point was to make Draco realize that those who lived so low down, lived that way. That someone who wishes to be with someone of a non pureblood family was barely worthy enough as animal food. Draco doesn't notice but Hermione was watching Draco whenever the headmistress apologized that he had to endure that before moving onto another party of the event. Draco moves onto another group where Blaise and Ginny had gathered a crowd as they were playing a round of chess.
Draco looks whenever he feels a person lightly brush up against him as they stand next to him “Luna? How is the event going for you”
“Draco, it's going well but I must admit I came to ask you to come with me to the hallway for a moment.” he looks at her for a moment but nods when he can't decipher any feelings behind her request due to her normal tone.
“ I would first like to thank you ... .for standing up for me. I really appreciate it so thank you”
She looks at him in silence until a smile creeps onto her face with a nod “ you deserve for someone to be. Your actions show your true self and everyone deserves to actually know that you're not this horrible person. There is a reason you are here and not with the death eaters." She leans closer to say the next part inaudible to the other students “I saw what you did…during the battle here for hermione. Kingsley is the only other person that knows. He needed to know why you didn't immediately turn yourself in but no one else does. I saw your full-true self then and I havent figured out how or what you did but i know you helped hermione during her torture because I know she cant occlude and that bellatrix would have went to her mind for information. Bellatrix wouldn’t have repeatedly asked that question if she could have gotten the information herself. She also wouldn’t have torture hermione in a such way that she could stay cohearant enough if she already had the information she needed." Luna allows Draco to look uneasy, and surprised before she gently takes his hand to lead him into the hallway.
When they step out into the hall they find Neville, Dean, and Seamus waiting. Without thinking he uses his arm to pull Luna behind him so she is protected by his body. He attempts to ignore the smell of rotten breath and a cold chill that shoots up his spine. Due to letting his guard down, his body wasn't prepared for this action causing an inability to hide his shutter of having someone behind him bring flashbacks to his mind. Luna slowly goes around Draco, finding him staring straight ahead appearing calm but Luna could tell he wasn’t. She places her hand on his forearm feeling his body tense before taking a calming breath, like he was preparing himself for pain. After a few seconds his eyes hesitantly drifted to the witch who was completely different from what he thought. He reaches his hand out trying to pull her behind him again as he looks for the danger calmly. When she does move, almost fighting against his attempts, his eyes quickly drop to her starting to panic.
“No one is here to harm anyone. The boys don’t have their wands, you don't need to protect me.”
“Bellatrix was here” he says slowly looking around and she steps closer to her with concern.
“Draco?” Luna's eyes grew with concern “she’s died. She was killed in the war”
“No” he states calmly “it must have been a trick, she’s here…I smelled and felt her behind me.” His sentence gets cut off whenever panic rushes through his body. “Hermione” draco rushes out turning for the great hall but is stopped by a strong grip “Luna, I need to get hermione, she is going to kill her…I need to find hermione before it's too late.”
“I'll bring Hermione to you” Luna rushes out.”If you go for her, Bellatrix will find her faster. I'll get hermione while you keep watch in the hall ... .alright?”
“Take her somewhere safe, she needs to be safe” Draco mumbles out so she nods in understanding. “I will keep her safe, who can I send to you?”
“Theo can help me find Bellatrix, don't raise panic or suspicion.” she nods again turning to the three Gryffindor boys and mouths “Pomfrey now!” to them calmly leaving the hall before rushing to the hospital wing.
Luna rushes onto the hall and practically lifts theo out of his seat. Theo turns, seeing the uncommon look on Luna's face “draco?” he asks lightly “yes, hallway.” he goes to leave but she grabs his arm to stop him. “He thinks Bellatrix is alive and after Hermione. Said something about feeling and smelling her behind him.”
His eyes snapped to her. “Was someone behind him when this happened”
She nods sadly. Seamus wanted to say sorry for attacking him and I think he thought they planned to wait and attack him because he pulled me behind himself then I felt his body tremor and he switched. “Did he hurt anyone?”
She shook her head no “I sent them to get madam pomfrey but once he switched he didn't even react to them being there.”
Theo leaves to go help Draco and Luna finds Hermione and pulls her to Ginny to keep her distracted. Ginny immediately recognized something was going on and starts to keep Hermione busy so she's not looking for whatever Luna was worried about. Theo reaches the hall, spotting Draco standing against a wall, trying to hide in plain sight. He rushes to Draco, taking up the same position.
“What's going on?”
“Bellatrix is here” Draco whispers as he gazes around the corner. “She probably came for revenge on hermione” Theo quickly grabs the wand from Draco’s hand, pushes his hand against his chest to keep him press to the wall while putting the wand in his back pocket
“I need you to trust me ... .Can you do that? "Theo watches as Draco's eyes flash with confusion then slowly nods. “Sit with me then” theo states calmly as he sits into a cross leg seated position. Draco’s body slides down the wall causing his knees to go to his chest. Theo reaches for Draco's ankle, repositioning them so Draco was sitting the same way. He takes the blond’s arm into his hands, placing his fingers onto his radial pulse location. “Close your eyes, take deep breaths with me until I instruct you to stop.” A few minutes later Draco's heartbeat finally slows to a normal pace and Theo has him open his eyes.
“Can you tell me your name”
“Draco..Malfoy”
“What day is it?”
“November 1st during 8th year”
“Perfect, do you recognize where you are?”
“Yes, a hogwarts hallway”
“That's correct, you are back from a traumatic switch. Do you remember what happened?”
“She was here, I felt her presents behind me. I could smell her rotten breath and her breath on my neck and ear.”
“Do you remember Luna with you?”
“Yes?” draco answered a bit unsure “she went to Hermione”
“Do you know why Luna was with you?”
Draco goes quiet for a moment, theo recognizes him trying to remember but he just shakes his head no.
“Luna brought you to the hallway for something and you must have thought she was in danger because you pulled her behind you. That made you flash back to Bellatrix behind you on the astronomy tower. Bellatrix is dead, Molly Weasley killed her during the war and there were many witnesses to prove it.”
Draco’s body freezes with realization “Bellatrix is dead”
“Yes, Bellatrix is dead and can’t hurt anyone anymore”
“Bella is dead and I was in a flashback”
“Yes, are you ready to stand or do you need more time”
“Can I sit a bit longer”
Theo nods and response “of course” allowing Draco to do as he needs. Theo watches over Draco as he sits on the floor with his eyes closed while breathing calming breaths. Theo looks up down the hall at the sound of madam pomfrey’s shoe heels clicking on the floor along with three sets of feet. Theo holds his hand up to them, to assure them it was handled. The three boys enter the great hall and Madam Pomfrey calmly comes closer to the pair sitting on the floor. After some time, Draco's eyes slowly open, finding the healer and his best friend just waiting.
“Mr. Malfoy, are you okay?” Draco nods as he stands to his feet, Theo also jumping to him. “ I’m okay, I got trigger by something and got trapped in a flashback but i'm fully back now”
She nods, looking him over and casting a diagnostic charm. Draco gives her permission and after not seeing anything of concern she asks if they need a calming potion or anything. At their denial, she leaves to allow them to go back to the party. Theo notices that Draco's body fully relaxes when he finds Hermione is calm and safe. Hermione turns to them with furrowed brows whenever Ginny motions with her head towards the boys. She slowly stands allowing Draco to look her over. Draco hands start to lift to Hermione but he quickly pulls them away, seeing his intentions she nods in approval.
“Yes, you can do that” she speaks softly allowing him to slowly reach his hands to her face. “Your safe” Draco whispers, Hermione nods “I'm safe draco, nothing happened to me” his worried eyes find her calm but concerned ones. He hesitates with his question, clearly worried it would be pushing boundaries. “Can…can I”
“Yes, you can” she answers, cutting him off and instantly finding his arm wrapping around her neck to pull her into his body. She wraps her arms around his chest firmly, allowing him to breathe in her scent.
“Are you feeling better now?” She questions against his chest and gets a head nod. She continues to allow him to hold her until he pulls away with a thank you and a sorry. She quickly dismisses his apology and decides to make a joke to lighten the mood. “I was worried for a second, I thought you were going to start drinking my blood” a second of confusion flashes on his face but quickly gets replaced by a snort understanding the joke with his costume.
Hermione pulls Draco to sit next to her and within seconds, someone is handing Hermione a small plate of snacks that she has placed in front of him. He then finds Luna and Theo sitting down across from him and next to Ginny. Eventually the group finds themselves surrounded by students who were watching Blaise (who hasn't lost a single card game all night) and Hermione (who was looking confident and appearing to win) battle against each other. A collection of gasps sound at the look of Hermione giving blaise a confident smirk then in a very slytherin manner, laying her cards down to show she had officially won. Blaise’s assertive look drops causing his slytherin roommates to burst into laughter. “How are you good at everything?” Blaise grunts out in frustration.
“She's not good at flying, otherwise she would play quidditch” Theo adds in trying to help but find Draco and Blaise looking at her smirking.
“Theo” Draco speaks quietly, trying not to make Blaise any more frustrated. “She actually is good at flying. She just doesn’t” Theo looks to him befuddled and Draco simply supplies “room of requirements with the fire” Theo look a bit shocked but his response is cut off by Blaise “It is bad enough you had to beat me but did you have to act like a slytherin doing it?” With a smirk and a shrug, Hermione strolls away from the table like a girl boss.
“Honestly. I don't see how she wasn’t placed with the snakes but if she was, I don't think we would have had a Tom Riddle downfall.”
Notes:
TW : Brief mention of past Abduction / Torture. description of childhood punishment. (one that created fear of being in danger) References and mentions of previous torture. Flashbacks, dissociation, Post traumatic stress disorder episode. joke about vampires feeding habits
5696 Words in this chapter
So.... this Halloween chapter came out a little faster than originally placed so oops. Anyways in the first movie whenever the trio takes down the troll and the teachers run in. As Hermione takes the blame Snape gets an expression of disbelief and confusion as if he is saying "girl, what?" so I had in my own little thing of him expressing behind closed doors that he completely does not believe that Hermione was in fault. Also, can we talk about how Hermione is not holding back at all this chapter. she is showing off and making the boys "cough cough Totally not Draco" drool over her and then turning into a total badass woman and acting like a Slytherin
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 17: Friends
Chapter Text
Chapter Seventeen: Friends
Hermione stands up to make her end of event announcement. “Everyone, may I have your attention. It is time for the event to come to an end” The great hall sounds as multiple students react with disappointment. “We are so glad that everyone had a wonderful time, but all great things must come to an end, but I promise this is just the start. We will have plenty of chances to make friends. The fifth and sixth year prefects will escort everyone who isn't a seventh or eighth year back to your common rooms for the night. Thank you all for coming to the event and we look forward to seeing everyone at the next one. The prefects take over the control of the students and once the younger students left, Blaise used his wand to bring out their specific drinks. The headmistress reminds the students to be responsible, young adults then leave to allow them to celebrate, warding the doors so younger students couldn't enter until the morning. The child friends' games were switched with drinking ones.
Draco watches Hermione who was smiling at the students who were having fun. He holds his hand up to her and she looks at it confused. “Are you any good at dancing?”
She smirks and shrugs “maybe I am…. Maybe I am not. Are you asking to find out.”
Draco nods and she takes his hand allowing him to pull her to the designated area. Through the dance she steps on his feet from time to time, laughing to herself silently while Draco smiles in victory, thinking he discovered something she wasn't good at. As they turn in the dance her eyes find Blaise who was watching them. He raises his eyebrows at her and she holds her finger to her mouth, telling him not to expose her secret. She sees as Blaise laughs lightly with an eye roll and head shake. He mouths “Slytherin witch” before turning back to his table. At the end of the dancing, she pulls back to ask him the question.
“So was it maybe or maybe not”
“I think you should ask my bruised feet”
She scoffs and playfully hits his chest before Luna and Ginny pull her to dance with them. Draco heads in the direction of Blaise, taking the seat next to him.
“You should have tried to win against her by dancing”
“Is that so?” Blaise remarks clearly not agreeing.
“Yes, she's not terrible at dancing but with your lessons you could beat her”
“I disagree” Blaise says, clearly hinting that he knows Hermione would win in that battle also. Blaise sees Draco pull away slightly with confusion looking between Hermione who was wildly dancing with her friends and Blaise who was waiting for Draco to catch on. “Are you saying she was acting worse at dancing then she is”
I'm not implying anything, but I will remind you, that witch was placed in the wrong house” Draco eyes drift back to Hermione who winked at him knowing she was catching on. “What do you know, Zabini?” Blaise responds by smirking and acting as if he zips his lips shut and locks it away by throwing the invisible key behind him. “That bloody witch” Draco whispers shouts with Theo cutting into their conversation. “I told you she is frightening, she Slytherin trapped both of you. I'm not even going to mention how she has us wrapped around her finger. Anyone wants to bet on her to become the leader of the next war.” Draco and Blaise eye shot to him in shock at him discussing the dark lord.
“Sorry, too soon for that joke” Theo says with fake guilt. Draco eyes shoot to Blaise whenever his comment comes next. “She's powerful enough that there won't even be a war, everyone will just end up her followers before we notice.” Theo laughs at Draco's look of horror then places a fire whisky in front of Draco, telling him that he needs it more. Theo goes to join the girls who greet him in the group. Draco sees Hermione grab his hand, standing as tall as she can to spin Theo under her arm. Draco then allows his eyes to drift around the room, spotting Seamus standing there watching him with a glass of fire whisky. Draco maintains eye contact for a little while before looking at Theo and the girls. Seamus also looks in that direction and when Draco looks back to Seamus he jerks his head in the direction of the corner of the room after assuring Hermione won't see them sneaking off. Draco positioned himself in the corner so that Seamus didn't think he was going to harm him. Before Draco could speak, Seamus was beating him to it.
“I wanted to apologize.” Seamus says before cutting himself off at Draco eyes snapping to him “I'm sorry for” Seamus starts again but Draco cuts him off this time
“No, I don't want or need your apologies.” Draco states calmly.
“Malfoy” he begins to complain but Draco speaks again. “I'm not saying this in a stuck-up way.” Draco pauses for a moment “you were watching me before the…situations at Hogsmeade. What did you see before?” Draco queries and Seamus thinks about the question. “You were looking around for something, then pulled Hermione and Luna behind you. You said something to them, and they rushed away from you.”
“Do you know why I did those things?” Draco probes trying to get him to figure it out. Seamus shakes his head no so Draco continues. “I knew you were going to attack me, I put myself into a corner, so the spells weren’t going towards anyone…. I did the same thing just now.”
“You let me attack you and you didn't tell Hermione, she didn't know until she figured it out in the great hall and freaked out.” Seamus started to piece together what Draco was saying. “But what about Luna?” Draco looks at him with furrowed eyebrows “what about Luna?”
“If you planned to let me attack you, why did Luna cut in?” at Draco’s confused expression Seamus continues. “Luna used magic to shove me back from you and was defending you.”
Draco eyes grow wide as he looks to the girls who was now looking around “I didn't know that was her, I blacked out at that point” Draco admits “I sent them away, so they didn't get hurt in the crossfire, either way I don't want an apology but if you're going to attack someone, don't do it in a hallway full of students. Especially if you are using a non-complete, unstable spell you have little information about. You could have seriously hurt Hermione” Seamus shifted his feet with guilt. “That's what professor McGonagall said, after that I hoped that I just casted it weakly.” Draco looks around the room again making sure Hermione didn't spot them, finding that Theo most likely did because he was distracting her. “It wasn't weakly casted. If it was, I wouldn't have felt it.” “You didn't have a large reaction because you have a built resistant to it.” Seamus states but Draco doesn't respond to that statement. “I don't care what you do to me, but I will care if you do something to someone who lives on my floor of the eighth year tower. Blaise never got marked, he wasn't a death eater, and he used school to hide away. When Theo’s dad tried to force him to get marked, Theo went into hiding. He was discovered after the trio escaped the manor. At that time, I was placed into hiding and Snape was deactivating the tracking and summoning aspects of the dark mark. When Theo got marked, he resisted it until he gave in from the pain. He used the cover of recovery while Snape also deactivated his. He called for my friends to take the mark, but it was Theo’s dad who made Theo.” Draco goes to leave Seamus when he speaks up with a question.
“What about you?”
Draco says silent for a while, long enough he wasn't expecting Draco to answer but he does even though it was quiet. “I didn't resist as I was taking the mark…. but I wouldn't say considering the situation any of it could be seen as willingly. I was simply to prove a point and was to die on my mission.” Draco doesn't say anything for a moment. “The only person I think you should apologize to is Hermione” after saying that Draco walks away to return to his friends.
“Where did you go?” Hermione asks as soon as she sees him.
“Restroom” he answers simply, watching Luna who was looking around smiling calmly.
“We are going to play a game; do you want to play with us?”
Draco looks around seeing Theo, Blaise, and Ginny grabbing some drinks. “Who all is playing and what are we playing.”
“The six of us and truth or drink”
He looks at her with concern and her face softens a little at his look. “Are you sure you're okay playing that game”
She nods with a smile. “I trust you and the group, nothing will happen.”
Theo, Blaise and Ginny approach the group, Blaise handing a drink to Draco and Ginny giving Luna hers. Hermione reaches for a cup in Theo’s hand, but he steps away with a head shake. He hands her a silver cup and she scoff in annoyance. “Because I'm not in Slytherin I can't use the green cup” Theo laughs lightly making Hermione look more annoyed. “Not exactly, females are only allowed to use silver cups”
“Says who?” she demands, Theo looking at Draco who is unaware. “Draco’s rules”
“And what is that?”
“He made it, so the silver cups are charmed to turn bright orange if they get spiked”
Hermione's eyes go slightly wide, and Theo nudges her shoulder. “Your drink is also a lot less strong; Draco and I have fire whisky.” She nods in understanding and the group moves to an empty spot to play their game.
Blaise starts the game with a question to Luna “what is your least favorite magical creature?” she thinks for a moment then responds “I guess I would say gnomes since I have been bitten before, their teeth are really sharp. Ginny, favorite brother”
Without any hesitation Ginny answers the twins, getting a sad smile she then turns her question to Theo. “tell us the story of you losing your virginity” Theo eye immediately shot to Draco. “I told you that drunk; you promised you would keep it a secret”
Draco raises his eyebrows looking around the group seeing everyone looking curious but Ginny looking over excited “I didn't. I think it was a random question Theo” he looks at Ginny who nods then he immediately takes a drink, receiving a disappointed look from the red head. “Draco, tell us why you would always stay up late on party nights” Theo gets a look that says seriously but Draco answers. “I stayed up to make sure the girls got back safely without attachments” he says this in a nonchalant tone but finds Hermione looking at the cup in curiosity. His question was to her “in one of your “saving the world” plans is there a specific memory that sticks with you.”
She looks around the group knowing what she wanted to share. “During third year I had a time turner so I could take more classes” she starts to explain a quick back story but pausing when Theo, Ginny and Draco mumble swot under their breath, she sticks her tongue out playfully at them then continues. “I used the time - turner to save Sirius and Buckbeak. Professor Lupin was a werewolf and ended up turning and during the encounter Harry put himself as a target so as time turned Hermione, I had called the werewolf to Harry and myself." Once again there were mumbles of swot. “The memory is after we ran away with professor Lupin following us, we hid behind a tree, but we backed up moving around the tree into the opening and straight into the werewolf. Harry had turned our back to him and curved his body around me in an attempt to protect me.”
The group looked at her in shock and Blaise asked the question. “How did you two survive?” She smiled, glancing quickly at Draco then back at Blaise. “Buckbeak, right as the werewolf went to strike, Buckbeak got between us and chased him off.”
Hermione turns her attention back to Blaise “did you ever have a crush on someone who you couldn’t tell anyone about because it would make you viewed negatively.” Blaise freezes in his spot then quickly takes a drink catching the interest of Theo and Draco. “Theo, what was the third smell of amortentia?” Theo glares at Blaise before answering “it was the smell of leather” before he could continue the three girls looking at him in shock. “Normal leather not freaky leather” Theo tries to quickly supply. Theo then notices that Ginny's expression falls as she looks to Hermione to see if she picked up on something. Hermione did indeed pick up on it. “That's funny, at the burrow we snuck into Charlie's room, and you said something like his room smelled like leather because of his dragon and quidditch gear.”
Theo began to cough and choke before instantly turning the attention to Draco. “During the summer after fourth year we had a party at your house, and we dared you to skinny dip in the lake and then we stole your clothes. Tell the ladies about what you did after.” Theo says as Blaise and him hold in their laughter at the memory. Draco bites his lip in annoyance before turning to look at Luna since she was the least likely to react. “Since they ran off with my clothes, I used one of my mother's potted plants to use as a shield to return to the house. When I got into the hallway, Cally, a house elf, popped into the hallway I was using and saw the situation and was horrified. She had said something like “Master Malfoy, are you out of your mind?” I asked her to retrieve me a towel before giving me a lecture. She did not return with the towel before my mother had come down the hallway to see what the raise talking was about. So… the two major females in my life caught me in this unfortunate state. I have never seen my mother look so horrified before, but she looked at me, cleared her throat and turned around to walk back to her room without a single word to me.” he could feel Hermione and Ginny staring in shock.
“So, Luna, would you ever get with a female?” she looks at him and answers yes like it was nothing then turns to Ginny to ask a question. “I heard that you didn't get along great with your mum, do you have any funny stories?” Ginny laughs looking at Hermione who also laughs. “My mom wanted a daughter, let's just say she wasn't the happiest getting a daughter like me. I had come in the house from flying one day and my hair was completely knotted since I didn't pull it up. My mom was yelling at me about it, so I went into the restroom and chopped it. After I left the restroom, I called to my mom saying, “now it's too short to tangle as I went back outside.” Ginny laughed and Hermione cut in. “Molly went white as a ghost, I thought she would have a heart issue as the twins whistled in encouragement when Ginny passed.”
“Blaise, who did you lose your virginity to” he answers pansy in a tone that said he was bored with the answer. Blaise then turns to Hermione with some hesitation showing on his face. “Ask whatever it is,” she tells him. “Ron and you were together at some point, what happened?” she looks frozen for a second before chugging the cup. She stands quickly as he says shit and begins to apologize but she quickly waves him off. “I need more to drink; Ginny can tell you what she knows while I'm gone.” She walked off before anyone could move or talk. Blaise turns to Ginny, shock and panic in his face, but she also waves him off. “I don't know much; we were living together during your trials. The night after you all got released, Harry and I returned home to find Ron pissed out of his mind and Hermione’s stuff gone. After a few days we finally found her parents' house completely warded. We couldn't break in, but we were able to get her to respond to us. She told us she needed time, and we told her that if in two weeks we still couldn't, we would get Bill, my oldest brother to break the wards down. She had enough of the wards down the day before the time limit, but she wouldn't leave until she got on the Hogwarts express. Harry or he and I would go once a week to check on her, but she wouldn't let us stay pass making sure she was alive, and she would give us a single letter every day. One day Harry randomly stood from the sofa in our home and left. An hour later I got a letter saying he wouldn't be home for a few days. Harry never told me exactly what happened, but I got enough out of him to put together that I believe she tried to drown herself and Harry stayed those days with her to make sure she got better and to cast charms and “baby” proof the house. When she did it, she didn't fall unconscious, but I could tell that Harry had pulled her from the bath.”
Once Ginny stopped talking Draco decided to speak his question. “Do you think he said something to her about our trials?”
“He did, that wasn't it. She didn’t care what he said, she might have left but she wouldn't have locked herself up that long over what he said. I thought about it a lot, Ron has anger problems, but she would have defended herself if he tried to harm her. I haven't proved it, but I think he threatened her somehow because she would have left if she thought it was better without her there.” Ginny looks around quickly before saying the next part quickly. “When Ron was pissed, he told us she would be back once she was done whoring herself out for the three of you”
They group falls silent until Hermione rejoins them “So, Theo, what’s your body count”
He raises an eyebrow at her with her smirking in return. “Interesting question, I have had sex with three people. Now Hermione, do you own any sexy underwear”
She returns his previous look to him “interesting question also, lace yes, thongs no despite Ginny’s attempts” she turns to Draco observing his reaction before asking her question. “Have you been with more girls than the girls in your year's house?” Draco looks around the group debating on an answer but takes a slip of his drink. Hermione, Blaise, and Theo look at him confused as to why he didn't answer. “So Weaslette, do you find potter’s, auror robes hot?” she looked at him in disbelief then answered “what kind of question is that ferret, of course I do. Luna, why don't you tell our wonderful friends about the night of the Gryffindor party in fifth year.” The group watches as Luna half smiles with a slightly sideways tilted head looking at Ginny. “That night I straddled your lap, and we made out right next to your boyfriend, who was harry.” Theo and Hermione gasps in shock looking between the two girls. Luna acts unfazed as she turns to Blaise. “Blaise, why don't you tell our friends about the other night” Blaise looks around the group before confessing. “So, Luna and I are dating, and we were at the quidditch pitch, and we might have almost got caught by the fifth year prefects that night. Luckily Luna casted our clothes back on and started talking about magical creatures out in the dark. So, they couldn't prove we were doing anything”
Draco calmly looks between the group before calmly saying “I guess it makes sense now that you and Luna are always hidden away somewhere”
Their game continues for a few more rounds. Luna and Ginny did not drink at all, both unshy to answer anything. Theo jokingly flirts with Hermione to make Draco jealous. Draco being oddly private around certain questions and Blaise surprisingly drinking the most.
The rest of the night was spent drinking, dancing, and mingling before Ginny, Luna, Blaise and Draco cleaned the great hall up for the morning. Hermione and Theo sat in a corner too intoxicated while the event got cleaned up. After the great hall was returned to its original state, Luna and Blaise walked Theo back to their living area to get him in bed. Since their friends knew about their relationship now, Luna planned to sleep in Blaise’s bed to keep an eye on Theo. Draco refused to let Ginny return to her dormitory alone, so he picked a half-asleep Hermione up, allowing her to cling to his body. At the dormitory, Ginny transfigured Hermione’s costume into comfy lounge wear and held onto Hermione's holsters that she removed sometime throughout the night. After assuring Ginny made it to bed, he carried the now fully asleep Hermione to the sofa in the common room. He quickly changed, grabbed his blanket, book, and his journal materials. His places the blanket on Hermione’s sleeping form making sure to keep her arms free of the material. He collects a bucket, glass of water, and a wet flannel, placing it next to her before settling himself on the chair nearby.
Draco’s attention is pulled to Hermione sitting up from the couch with a groan. He grabs the glass of water from the table and hands it to her. She mumbles thanks and looks to him, her eyes growing wide. “Oh Merlin, I got drunk”
“It seems to be that way.”
“Did I say or do anything?” She asked, very wary of the answer. “Not that I am aware of, once Theo and you appear drunk, we sat you both in a corner and cleaned up after the event. We all checked on you both occasionally and Theo is way too drunk to remember if you said anything.”
She shifts on the sofa, appearing a bit uneasy. “I don’t remember much after playing the game with the group.”
“The four of us cleaned up, Theo was walked back to the dormitory by Luna and Blaise. They are currently his supervisor and we most likely won’t see him tomorrow. Once the great hall was cleaned, you were pretty much asleep. I carried you while walking Ginny back to her dormitory. She has your holsters, and she transfigured your clothes. Afterwards I carried you back here and got you set up in the common room so I could watch over you as I read my book.
Hermione hums, laying back down on her side. She wrapped her arms around the blanket, holding it against her face. “You, Draco Malfoy surprise me”
“Go back to sleep, Hermione Granger. We can build my ego at a later time”
She smiles softly as her eyes shut and she snuggles into the blanket more.
“You need sleep too” she says in a low faint voice, making herself say her peace before letting herself get pulled back to sleep. Draco debates for a moment, coming to the conclusion that she most likely wouldn't be sick and if she was, he knew he would wake.
Draco wakes to faint noises coming from the restroom, he spots the sofa is now empty and the bucket from the floor is missing. As he moves towards the door of the restroom, he could hear tiny sobs through the creaked open door. He knocks lightly as he calls out. “Hermione, can I come in?” he heard no response, but he could hear the sobs still continuing. “I’m coming in” he informs her, slowly opening the door to allow time for her to stop him. He cautiously looks around the room, still allowing time for her to kick him out. He finds her body sitting on the ground between the wall and the toilet. He slowly walks closer to her, and carefully pulls her hair out of her teary face and into a hair tie. She weakly tries to push his hands away, mumbling. He shushes her trying to calm her to see what she was saying. “Please leave” she sobs out as Draco rubs her back. “Are you sick because of the alcohol” she nods mumbling “disgusting”, asking him to leave once again. “Shush, you are far from disgusting” Draco grabs a wet flannel and turns her head towards him to wipe her face. “See, you are gorgeous as always”
Hermione scoffs and Draco looks at her with offense and confusion. “I haven't always been gorgeous in your eyes.” Draco shakes his head in disagreement as he stands. He takes her hands guiding her to her feet. Draco leads her to the sofa by a hand on her back. “Will you be fine for a moment alone” she nods, and he turns to go change in his dormitory. “Little boys that are jealous can say really mean and uncalled for things.” and with that he leaves her on the sofa.
When he returns to the common room, he asks her some questions before sending her to get ready. He made the decision to get some food in her system before they go to the hospital wing to get their potions. As they leave the hospital wing, he offers his arm to her and after a few minutes of heading toward their living area she gently tugs on his arm.
“Can we spend the day outside?”
He studies her for a moment but nods. “Did you have something in particular in mind to do”
“No, I would just rather be outside instead of inside our common room”
After going to their common room to switch into weekend clothing and to grab school materials. Hermione leads Draco to a spot outside in the grass and lays a blanket out for them to sit on. The feel of the air and sun on her face makes her feel better and more alive. She decides to start with her question in her mandated journal, she opens it being relieved at the question.
How has the last two months been back at school and what are your hopes for the rest of the school year?
She finds a small smile appearing on her face as she thinks of her response. She looks over the journal to peer at the blonde, who was leaning back on one arm reading a book. She writes about how over the last two or so weeks her nightmares and panic attacks have been minimal and how she thinks it's due to the boys she shares a living area with. She adds in how she believes the healing potions she is forced to take every morning don't do anything. She adds that she hopes in the next few months she can be a helping hand for the boys and how she hopes her process over the last few weeks continues. She closes her journal, setting it down next to her leg and begins to read through her notes for classes. Eventually she lays back and closes her eyes, allowing the outside environment to soak into her body.
Draco closes his book in confusion, sensing the environment around them changing. He looks to Hermione, finding a soft smile upon her face as she naps in the sunlight. He spots the journal by her side, getting reminded to do his own. He looks at his watch, determining he has time to do it before the others join them for lunch. He looks up whenever he hears the four friends approaching them. Luna lays a blanket out next to theirs, Theo immediately flopping down with some grunts of displeasure. Ginny pushes Draco legs away from Hermione so she can sit next to Hermione’s head.
“How the hell does she look so peaceful and not feeling how I am.” Theo huffs out in jealous displeasure.
“Hmm, guess you're more of a lightweight” Hermione whispers back in response while the group holds in laughter. Hermione head rolls towards Theo and she slowly opens her eyes to find him glaring at her. She smirks to him then reaches her hand above her head into her bag to blindly find what she is looking for. She motions him closer to herself and when he is leaning over her she places a pair of tinted glasses on his face and then pulls a bottle that rattles towards her face to read it.
“Do you have any medical problems, or have you taken any potions today?” At his response, she opens the bottle pouring a small red ball into her hand. She reaches for his arm, placing it into his hand. “Take this with water. Don't try to chew it, it is supposed to be swallowed whole. It will help with the headache you have.”
“Are you trying to poison me?” Theo asked as he inspected the object. She snorts lightly. “No Theo, it is pain relief medicine, it is harmless unless you have certain organs that are failing, or you try to take too many.” He picks the bottle up to inspect it himself before shrugging and swallowing it. The group eats the food Luna had brought them before Theo's head finds its way onto Hermione lap, who in response rolls her eyes and started to scratch his head. Theo hums in appreciation before looking over at Draco who was staring daggers at him. He looks to Hermione to make sure she wasn't watching him before sticking his tongue out at Draco. With an eye roll, Draco flashes Theo the finger before returning to reading his book. Not long after eating, Ginny announces she's going to go find her friend Blaire. Blaise and Luna eventually also leave, causing Draco to feel like a third wheel due to Hermione and Theo laying down making comments to one another about the clouds.
~~~
The following morning whenever Hermione leaves her dormitory, she finds Luna and Blaise discussing class assignments and she could hear Theo humming to himself in the shower. She quickly and quietly leaves the common room before anyone notices her. Concern grows in her mind, not knowing where Draco was after his mood suddenly changed yesterday out of nowhere. She figured he seemed off halfway throughout the day because of him supervising her overnight but she instantly felt something was wrong. Her shoes click against the ground on her way to the Gryffindor portrait. As she enters the common room she finds her redhead friend, reviewing quidditch notes.
“Hermione?” Ginny eyes zone in on her with concern “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, I was just hoping to talk to you” Ginny eyes watch as hers looks at the notes in front of her. Ginny puts the notes down, offering her a smile. “Not important, they can wait” Ginny states as she stands to loops her arm with Hermione’s.
“Where are we off to?”
“Hospital wing for my potion then to get breakfast” Ginny nods in understanding before asking Hermione what was bothering her.
“Did you say something to Malfoy yesterday?” Hermione blurts out causing Ginny to pull her to a stop. “No, nothing past our normal teasing banter” Ginny replies with confusion. Hermione doesn't answer, seeming lost in thought until ginny questions her worry.
“Did something happen?”
“He seemed off yesterday after everyone joined us for lunch. Like the atmosphere between us went from calm to tense. At first, I thought it was just him being tired, but I just have this feeling I can't shake.” Ginny raises an eyebrow at Hermione, resulting in her growing frustrated
“Gin, what is it?”
Ginny holds in a snicker as she answers “could it be because of the fight”
Hermione's eyes grow wide. “What? What fight”
“They were fighting over you” she gets out no longer having the ability to hold her snicker anymore.
“Over me!” Hermione looked more confused “who is they”
“Malfoy and Theo” at those words Hermione stops in shock, yanking Ginny back.
“Oh merlin, you don't even know what you did, do you?” at Hermione’s unmoving expression Ginny continues after mumbling to ask herself why they ever avoided Malfoy because he is always providing entertainment.
“I'm pretty sure you were making Malfoy jealous whenever Theo had his head on your lap, and you were scratching his head. He was glaring at Theo, like nonverbal, wandless killing curse glaring. Theo noticed him doing this and looked to see if you were paying attention before acting like a child by sticking his tongue out at him, full on teasing him.”
“Malfoy knows Theo isn't interested in me” Hermione looks over to her whenever she hears Ginny laughing.
“That doesn't matter, Theo had all her attention and Malfoy apparently didn't like that”
Hermione huffs in annoyance at the statement as she gets her potions from Madam Pomfrey, instantly continuing the conversation whenever they were dismissed.
“He could have had my attention before when it was just the two of us, he could have simply implied he wanted it”
“Draco Malfoy is far too much of a prat with pride to admit to wanting a witch's attention. He's used to having what he wants thrown at him. Plus, he probably wouldn't want to make you feel the need to do it.”
The pair share a look before they both say “boys” out loud with an eye roll. They enter the great hall finding it decently empty due to it being an early Sunday morning. Ginny and Hermione approach the spot where Draco was seated.
“Malfoy” Ginny addresses with a nod, getting a “Weaslette” in return. “Are we still meeting up later at the pitch?”
“Yes, Blaise and I will be there” at his response Ginny nods, turns and leaves the pair alone.
Hermione and Draco sit in awkward silence for a few moments.
“So…how has your morning been so far?” Hermione questions, hoping to start a conversation. Draco eyes her for a moment then responds
“It was fine I suppose. I went for my potion as soon as the curfew ended, then I came here to write." Hermione just nods as she bites into her toast. “Did you get your potion already?”
“I did… Ginny and I just came from there. I wanted to talk about something, but Theo was humming in the shower and Blaise and Luna were busy in a conversation. Ginny was the best option either way.”
Hermione follows his look towards Ginny.
“So, are you all good now? Ginevra’s talk with you was beneficial?”
“It was indeed” they fall silent again, so Hermione decides to bring up what Ginny said.
“So, Blaise, Ginny, and you are meeting at the quidditch pitch?”
“We are, we wanted to watch each other's flying skills to see how to help Juliette Reid.
They continue to make small conversation until Luna, Blaise and Theo join them. As they ate Blaise and Hermione looked up to a second year Ravenclaw witch with strawberry blonde hair in twin braids.
“Oh hello” Hermione greet her
“Hi, I’m Juliette Reid” she stares politely looking at Draco with curiosity. At her introduction Draco and Theo lookup spotting the girl. Draco eyes grow wide in terrified shock and Theo head jerks to look at him. Blaise notices the weird reactions she introduces everyone at the table. At her unchanging reaction she clearly knew who Draco was. “I just talked to Ginny; I look forward to our tutoring sessions. She invited me to watch Blaise, her and you are today. Would that be fine with you?’
He awkwardly nods then speaks up. “Of course, I will see you there” she gives him a smile and nods before returning to her spot. Hermione, Blaise, and Theo attention are brought to Draco as he stumbles to stand before excusing himself and briskly leaving the hall. Hermione and Blaise turn to look at Theo for answers but get cut off by the Sunday prophet being delivered with a front-page headline about their group along with the picture of the six of them.
Guiding Wix
Hogwarts’ newest inter-house unity group
Full article on page 3
Notes:
TW : References to possible domestic abuse / assault, Mentions of past suicide attempt. Mentions and References to retching due to alcohol intoxication. Altered mental / physical abilities and unconsciousness due to alcohol consumption. discussion of relationship activities, sexuality exploring, previous sexual actions. wizardry war jokes. References to actions taking for females' safety
6152 Words in this chapter
Of course, pure blood bred Draco Malfoy would stay up to make sure the female snakes were returning safely back to the dormitories and creating something to limit the possibility of the females being taken advantage of. As cold as Draco makes himself appear I completely believe Draco would do whatever possible to keep those around him out of harm's way. I think Narcissa would have made sure he was raised this way.
I certainly don't think anyone is surprised at Theo making a dark humor joke about Hermione being the next dark lord and they all agree she would do it so sneakily and well that no one would know she had them under her control. Also, Theo... clearly gay Theo, flirting with Hermione to mess with Draco because he knows Draco's secrets and his feelings towards Hermione~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 18: Softcore
Chapter Text
Chapter Eighteen: Softcore
Theo grabs the prophet to read it aloud
In the photo above, pictured from left to right are Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Theodore Nott, Ginevra Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Blaise Zabini, the six members of Guiding Wix. This group hosted their first event for the school year on Friday November 1st, which was a Halloween party to create inter-house unity. I had the opportunity to interview a few of its members along with observing part of the event. Miss Granger informed me that after last year's events, the group’s goal is to lighten the mood within the school's walls. The hope is that they can generate a happy environment to allow the students to get to know each other from different houses outside of the learning expectations. Another part of Guiding Wix allows the older students to help mentor the younger students in a wide variety of classes and tasks. Miss. Granger explained how they already set up a tutor session between two sisters one eighth year and one seventh year to help a younger student with class related tutoring. She also expressed excitement for her own tutoring session with a younger student starting within the following days. This mentoring option also allows for students to ask for help with activities outside the learning setting. For example, I was informed about Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy who would be helping a younger student with broom flying. When I interviewed Mr. Malfoy during the event, he indicated his eagerness to work along with Miss. Weasley throughout the mentoring in flying. Mr. Malfoy also stated his gratitude to be able to be a part of the positive change for the future. He aspires that the group can be a positive leading hand for students who are growing up in similar conditions as he did. He briefly mentioned a pair of older students who were known for their actions in the school that brought joy to the students around them and he hopes this group can give younger students that same feeling that his peers experienced during those earlier years. When asking Miss. Granger and Mr. Malfoy about their thoughts on why they thought the members were chosen, they both had similar responses. Both students expressed how each of the members experienced different struggles and challenges throughout the past, resulting in offering different perspectives. One thing in particular that stuck with me after talking to Miss Granger is how she talked about the importance the three wizards hold in the group. The following statement is from Miss Granger “Due to their supposed sides in the war, they are seen as negative and harmful people. I think many want to look past their struggles and challenges but it's crucial that we see them for who they are and not what we want to see or what we are told to believe. All three of them were also placed into dangerous situations.” After seeing how beneficial this first event was and how this group of friends created such a strong bond, I personally look forward to seeing and hearing more from Guiding Wix.
After reading the article, Hermione finds Blaise and Theo looking at her with an unreadable expression. They watch her silently until Blaise speaks his thoughts
“You actually said that?”
“Yes, from the first day everyone was under the impression that the Slytherin house is only full of evil witches and wizards. That is not true and with that statement, we are just creating more hatefulness. You both were just as much as children as anyone else but because of how others view you, others think your stories matter less. Nothing will change on its own so I will fight as much as needed to make sure that no one else has to experience what we did. We can’t change the past, but we can change how we look towards the future. I think we can all agree how the Slytherin house gets viewed differently than the other houses and it's not fair to those students.”
Within seconds Theo was pulling Hermione out her seat and into a tight hug as he expressed his appreciation and agreement. Once they returned to sitting at the table, Hermione changed the subject.
“Now that we are finished with the prophet. Theo? What was the whole thing with Malfoy? " Hermione asked, causing Theo's happy mood to instantly turn grim. Theo shifts uncomfortably not knowing how to start, Blaise understands what Theo was trying to and his eyes go wide.
“She was one of the students assigned to Draco last year.” Blaise states rather than questioning but Theo nods. Hermione looks in the direction of the girl.
“Neville said about practicing the unforgivable on first years. Is that what you're talking about?”
“Yes but no.” Theo answered but Blaise cuts in.
“It was more of she was assigned to Draco as punishment. She was one of the few students that stood her ground including standing up against us as older Slytherins. With all honesty she reminded everyone of you but the Carrows…treated Draco differently. The lessons of the unforgivable were a yearlong thing for Draco. They made Draco Crucio her as her detentions because they weren't happy that Draco didn't kill Dumbledore, so they made him practice to not be a disgrace. I never knew her name, but I knew it was a first year Ravenclaw. Draco didn't fight the action because he knew it would have been worse if it wasn't him doing it, but Draco also got “detentions” for “being in capable of doing it”
Hermione looks to Blaise confused as to why he was using air quotes. Blaise notices her reaction and begins to explain before she could ask
“Draco is capable of doing strong castings of those curses. He acted as if he couldn’t. His detentions were always with Alecto and when he would return, he was always getting drunk, and he was always statue-like." Blaise pauses a moment at Hermione's expression of horror and concern. “I don't think she ever casted Crucio on him, but I think she did cast Imperio on him before.”
Hermione hesitates to ask her question but eventually starts to ask “are you implying she would” Theo cuts her off with a nod then clarifies. “Draco won't talk about certain things involving her. The best way to explain it is there were two separate actions of his detentions. One side when asked about it he would give vague details and the other…. he would shut it out completely. As you may know many Black family members are able to use legilimency, in particular Narcissa. He was injured badly in the war and I think she used it on him and found out about his detentions. I believe she knows because she would question me about it with fake reasoning. I personally think she would attempt to and when he didn't react to it, she would move onto cutting and bruises.”
Hermione stands to excuse herself but at the boy's reaction she informs them that she isn't going to directly ask him about it which seems to relax them. Hermione goes to ask Juliette to talk privately to which she agrees. Whenever they enter an empty classroom Juliette instantly speaks
“I know what you are going to ask. I have no problem working with Draco Malfoy and I don't hold anything he did to me last school year against him. I didn't testify against him for a reason”
Hermione nods slowly and Juliette speaks again. “If he is willing to help me then I want his help. I know he received more pain than he gave and if I am being honest. I think he needs more people to treat him as a human so that is what I am going to do.”
“I just wanted to make sure you didn't wish to switch mentors. We are trying to help everyone the best way we can so if a switch is needed that is what we will do.”
“I don't need or wish a switch for myself but if that is what he needs then I completely understand”
Hermione offers her a smile and nod “I will talk to him but please don't hesitate if you have an issue. Ginny doesn't live with the rest of the group so if you prefer to talk to her, you can see her in the Gryffindor tower but the rest of us are in the living area of the bottom floor of the Eighth-year tower”
Hermione then heads to the quidditch stands, hoping to find Draco. After not finding him, Hermione returns to the school to ask Blaise and Theo when she practically runs into him talking to the headmistress with a privacy charm. She takes a seat down the hallway and starts to read, hoping one of them will come to her after their conversation. Eventually she feels a small tap to her shoes, and she looks up to find Draco staring down at her. He offers his hand to her, helping her to her feet.
“Would you like to walk with me to the owlery to send these letters off”
She nods and they walk in silence until they exit the castle
“Am I correct to assume you talked to Miss. Reid after Theo and Blaise told you about her and my past”
“Yes, you would be correct.” she confirms
“You will find her a good replacement for me…right”
“She wishes to have Ginny and you mentoring her. She said she will understand if you don't want to help her, but she wants your help in particular and she doesn't hold the past against you.”
He nods but doesn't respond verbally as he heads to the top of the owlery. “I was talking to Professor McGonagall about requesting an appointment with both my mind healers.”
“You see two mind healers?” Hermione asked in surprise
“Yes, I just recently started seeing the second. Professor McGonagall suggested her because since the end of the war I have struggled with my occlumency. If I tried to build the wall hard enough, I would start to bleed from my nose. Its highly dangerous at the moment so we are trying to find other methods”
“Like meditation?”
Draco confirms that he was using one of the methods.
“Would you be agreeable to go somewhere with me to talk?” Hermione asked shyly.
Draco nods but she could tell he was extremely nervous. She links her hand with his, squeezing it to give him the comfort he needed. They don't talk as Hermione brings Draco to the hallway where the room of requirement was located. At the realization, Draco tugs back on Hermione's hand out of instinct causing her to turn to him, discovering his fear.
“Hey, Hey. I'm not taking you to that part of the room. I am going to request the room of requirement; I think you know it as the come and go room. I am going to summon a cozy, quiet area so we can talk.” She can see his body calm, but a new fear flashes in his eye. She squeezes his hand, and he returns the gesture but before returning to their journey he pulls her attention back to voice his concerns.
“Granger…” Draco speaks with a cracking voice. “I don't think I'll be able to tell you what you want to know .... Whatever the boys told you.” he rushes out before clenching his eyes closed with a deep breath. “I don't think…. I'm not ready.”
Hermione watches as his eyes look past her instead of at her. She used her other hand to reach his face to turn it back to her
“I don't intend on asking you about your school year last year. Can we continue this conversation privately?”
Draco nods and Hermione brings him to the room of requirement which she has summoned, a dim room with a few pillows and a large piece of furniture similar to a sofa. Draco sits facing where Hermione would be sitting. Once she is seated, she takes his hand into hers again and she rubs her thumb along the back of his hand.
“As I said in the hallway, I don't intend to ask you about your school year last year. I understand you might not be ready to talk. I want you to know though that, you can always talk to me if you want to. I would hope that by now you know I am not one who will judge you because of the past so if you would like I would be willing to listen and talk to you. To answer your question, yes Blaise and Theo did fill me in on some information but that isn't the reason I asked to talk.”
Hermione pauses to allow Draco to respond. He nods in understanding and motions for her to continue. “I have known for a little while that some of the Black family has legilimency abilities, in particular your mother and aunt.” Hermione notices his body tense, so she changes her wording. “In particular the Black sisters, I know you can use occlumency. Do you have the ability of legilimency also?”
Draco nods his head slowly responding “yes” quietly sensing where the conversation was heading
“With that being said I really would appreciate it if you were honest when answering my next question.” Draco nods in understanding so she continues “Have you ever used legilimency on me without my knowledge. Before you answer I want you to know that if you did, I will not be mad I just want to know”
Hermione feels Draco fingers tightly before he carefully pulls his hand from hers and She waits for him to answer.
Draco turns his eyesight from her whenever he answers. “Yes, I have been in your mind before by using legilimency. I have only done it once and I did not intend to use anything for my benefit.” Hermione carefully grasps his hands again, he turns his eyes back to her, clearly worried about her reaction. “You said it was only once, did this happen at the manor during my torture?” she searched his eyes which were wide with panic. “That day is a little fuzzy, but did Narcissa try to get you to leave the room during my torture?”
Draco looks away again and she could see him clenching his eyes shut so she continues to rub his thumb against his hand in comfort.
“Yes, Mother kept trying to get me to leave the room. There were a few reasons she tried to but one of the reasons is because she knew I was trying to protect your mind, and she knew I would get into huge trouble if I was found out.”
“Knowing what you know now, do you regret not leaving?”
Draco turns away from her slightly, shaking his head no so Hermione probes a little
“No, you don't want to talk about it because you are not ready to or no because you're afraid of my response.”
“My answer feels selfish and insensitive” he tells her softly with guilt.
“Can you tell me why you feel that way”
“You were the one tortured, I shouldn't feel this way”
Hermione moves to be in front of him calm and slowly. “Just because I was the one under her, experiencing pain doesn't mean I was the only one with trauma from that day”
He nods though it was barely a movement. “I wish I didn't have to witness that day; I relive that moment all the time, but I don't regret staying in that room with you. I know we didn't get along at that time or in the past, but you didn't deserve that, so I know it probably didn't mean much but I wanted to be there for you in a way.”
“I don’t hold your responsible for that day in any way. I know it might seem foolish but with you staying in that room it really did help me during it." Hermione lets out a light embarrassed chuckle that causes Draco's eyes to soften at her “I'm not going to lie and say it was a pleasant moment happening in front of someone who wasn't a great person towards me. It was mortifying being vulnerable in front of you, but I did see your reaction to it. You looked more scared at the manor than you did during 6th year." Draco nods in understanding and then they return to their original positions on the furniture. Draco senses her hesitation for the next part of the conversation so he gives her some time.
“You have more questions about that day?”
“I do, I talked to Theo about it briefly before and he assured me of some things, but he wasn't there” Hermione confirms with an expression that Draco doesn't fully understand.
“If you want to and are ready to talk about it. we can”
Hermione shifts in her spot and Draco gives her a big look of patients to allow her to talk whenever she is ready.
“I talked to Theo a while ago, he had correctly guessed that I showed signs of trauma blocking some parts of that day. I don't remember actually being assaulted by a snatcher that day. Ronald and Harry assure me that nothing like that happened to me in their presences but…"Hermione trails on and Draco picks up.
“But because you possibly blocked certain things, you can't be sure you weren’t assaulted because you were away from Ronald and Harry for a time in the manor”
Hermione finds her eyes drifting down to the cushion but Draco gently pulls her chin back up to his eyes, wiping her few stray tears.
“From the moment you entered the manor to the moment Dobby disapparated you away. I could see you the entire time. After the snatchers brought you into the manor they were not in your personal space. She was the only one within touching distance”
Draco sees as she slowly nods in understanding and he could tell she felt some relief.
“Is our interaction a conversation where I can ask questions or is it you telling me a little bit of your struggles”
Draco watches as her body tense for a split second before her fingers flex and unflex with a deep breath. He waits for her to collect herself and eventually she nods before her eyes find him, showing an unreadable expression.
“You can ask…I will try to answer”
Draco grasps her hands to squeeze them “If that’s all you want to share, that’s fine. We don’t need to continue”
Hermione sighs lightly to herself.
“I know I don’t need to continue, well..I do need to continue but I know I won’t be” Hermione clears her throat in discomfort “I know you won’t make me answer anything I don’t wish to. I have a proposal for you to ask your questions and if I’m not ready to discuss it then I’ll say pass and we will move on.”
Draco shifts in his seat
“Hermione? Why do you say you need to continue?”
“My mind healers and friends have been wanting me to talk to you.”
Draco nods in understanding that she needed to talk about it.
“Do you remember when you had that big traumatic flashback towards the beginning of the year?” Hermione nods so he continues his questioning. “Do you remember what was going on in that moment, would you be able to explain it a bit so I can better understand to help”
Hermione's stands from the couch and Draco freezes in worry trying to figure out what he said wrong when he finds Hermione sitting on the floor a few feet away. He pauses and observes Hermione when she positions herself so she is seated on the floor criss crossed with her arms loosely resting on her thighs.
“Along with missing parts of that day. I also experience false memories. That day in particular when I started to wake, I found an unfamiliar weight on my body and when I opened my eyes I saw the roof which I also didn’t recognize. I thought I had been taken prisoner and I started to freak out”
After Hermione stops speaking, Draco stays silent to take a moment to turn her words around in his mind to fully grasp them but then gets cut off when he senses eyes on him. He looks up to find her staring wide eyed at him.
“I’m sorry” she mumbles under her breath in a way Draco knows she was slightly frightened.
“I don’t think you have a reason to be sorry. Why do you feel sorry” he asked softly, looking her face over.
“I said something you didn’t like and made you upset or mad” she speaks just loud enough that he heard.
He slowly stands from his seat moving a few feet towards her so he could sit a few feet away from her.
“Can you look at me please” he speaks quietly
After a moment of hesitation, she finally looks up, finding him looking over her face.
“I’m not mad and I’m not upset with you. You didn’t say anything wrong. Can you tell me why you thought that?”
She takes a deep breath and Draco knows she is trying to calm herself. He waits patiently while she looks around the room before answering.
“You got a look on your face, you looked angry. I was scared you would yell in my face and or …. I got hurt last time. Last time someone had a similar look”
Draco pulls a cloth from his pocket and slowly holds it out to her to take. He holds his breath but releases it when she takes it with a soft thank you.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I was processing what you were telling me so I could fully understand the situation. I would never hurt you on purpose. I know we haven’t had the greatest past but I would never take my anger or frustrations out on you.
Hermione just simply nods so he decides to move on with his questions.
“That day during your panic. You were worried about someone or multiple people getting you. Can you tell me who “they” are?”
Draco watches her body go tense but after a moment of stillness she gives him a light stiff nod
“I don't know who they are exactly but I know Dolohov, Greyback, and Scabior had a particular fascination with me. Less of Scabior, to him I was just a typical female prisoner. Greyback, he wanted to own me. He in particular liked my scent. Dolohov, he hated me. He cursed me in the department of mysteries and he wasn't happy that the curse didn’t affect me like it should have due to me silencing him.”
Draco’s eyes widen whenever he sees her hand reaching for the neck of her top. She pulls it down to show the slight bit of the scar above her cleavage. He quickly closes his eyes but opens them slowly whenever she calls his name to look.
“It's long. It goes across my chest. He …. In a duel during the battle of hogwarts. He made a comment about the mark the curse left and its location. I think knowing the actions Greyback and Dolohov wanted me for, plays into the false memories.”
“Actions they wanted you for” Draco asked cautiously
Hermione shakes her head but doesn't look towards him. “The snatchers had plans for me in the forest before your manor, but Greyback states many times about his sexual intentions with me and his wants to…”
Hermione takes a deep breath, quickly wiping her face. “To taste me, he wanted to bite and mark me”
Hermione flinches whenever Draco jumps to his feet but he doesn't notice because of his pacing around the room.
“And Dolohov” Draco stutters out. “he..he wanted…you as his own…right?”
“He mentioned something like that yes”
Draco stops with his back towards Hermione and she sees as he shakes his hands in stress. She watches in silence before hearing him speak.
“They can't hurt you. Dolohov is in Azkaban, Greyback and Scabior are both announced dead.”
“Greyback’s body was never recovered” Hermione whispers, too quiet for Draco to hear. He turns to her with concerned eyes.
“I'm sorry, what was that?”
He sees Hermione clench her eyes shut and speak slightly louder just enough for Draco to hear. “Greyback isn’t dead. His body was never recovered and I can feel in my bones that he is still alive”
Notes:
TW: Mentions of torturing younger students. Multiple Implications of sexual assault towards different people. Mentions of nonconsensual actions of enter one's mind. several examples of trauma responses. Implications of assault and abuse, particularly domestic violence. mentions of injuring oneself in the attempt to create comfort and safety. brief Implications of being held hostage for personal and sexual uses.
4119 Words in this chapter
So..Hermione takes a huge step forward by opening up to Draco about her trauma and experiences through the war. She also unintendedly revealed that someone has done actions to create fear within Hermione outside of the war. We see a glimpse of Draco's actions, trauma, and fears due to the war while opening up a little by allowing her to know how he's struggling. Hermione additionally drops the knowledge that she believes that a particularly cruel and vicious werewolf is indeed not dead and very much alive. Any predictions on how Greyback will come into the story and where he has been and what he is planning. As some may know Gut feelings should be taken seriously, and Hermione's body knows that Greyback's Presumption of death is not true
~ LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 19: Rewrite The Stars
Chapter Text
Chapter Nineteen: Rewrite The Stars
Hermione sits in the quidditch pitch stands, watching Draco fly aside Juliette while Ginny calls out moves, tricks and positions. Ten minutes prior to the end of the tutoring session, Hermione looks down to Ginny when she uses her whistle to call the pair to the ground. She spots a 6th year Hufflepuff student walking from the pitch and Ginny nodding to Draco before he collects his things and heads for the castle. She rushes to Ginny in worry and slightly relaxes whenever she finds Ginny appearing calm. Ginny dismisses Juliette before turning to Hermione with a small smirk.
“Enjoy watching your boyfriend fly?”
Ginny laughs loudly at Hermione's glare.
“He's not my boyfriend Gin” Hermione grumbled causing Ginny’s smirk to widen
“But you want him to be…don't you?” Ginny accuses while wiggling her eyebrow at Hermione.
“Fine! I'll stop but you better make a move soon before I do. Anyways, Draco was asked to go to the headmistress office after tutoring and before you panic. No, it wasn't anything bad, if it was McGonagall would have come for him herself.”
~~~
Draco approaches the entrance to the headmistress' office but freezes in the doorway at the sight of Kingsley Shacklebolt , the Minister of Magic. He quickly glances around the room finding Theo seated on one of the chairs and the headmistress moving toward him
“Mr. Malfoy everything is fine, and no one is in trouble. Please sit, we are just waiting on Mr. Zabini to join us." Draco gives a stiff, nervous nod as he takes the seat next to Theo. A moment later Blaise joins them. The minister hands each of them an envelope with a wax seal on the back.
“Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini, as you know, all three of you are now the heads of your families. You have asked to be informed of any ministry fundraising gala events. These envelopes hold your invitations for the event. Your invitations are also given due to Guiding Wix. if you need to travel due to acquiring dress robes, you can put your request in with your probation aurors. You can also bring a guest, but you would need to fill out the guest form to get your guest approved. If you don’t have any questions or concerns, then that concludes our meeting.”
The three boy’s nod in understanding, standing to tuck their invitation in their robes. Before Draco could walk away, Kingsley called for his attention. “Actually, can I talk to you for a moment privately?”
At this statement, Professor McGonagall excuses herself while Draco retakes his seat.
“Over the last few months you have made anonymous donations of wolfsbane, that I assume you brewed yourself and donations of funds to pay for others to brew this potion. Miss. Granger has previously requested to visit some victims of lycanthropy, in particular children affected. The full moon is approaching in two weeks. I was wondering if you would like to attend the tour along with her.”
Draco slowly looks at the minister with a look of shock but eventually nods. “Yes, if that is possible, I would like to attend with her”
“I will get that arranged then and send you the information. I did have something else to discuss though now that we are here”
Draco nods for him to continue and Kingsley could tell he was a little nervous.
“Before I say anything I want to make it clear, I am not asking you to disclose anything, and this conversation isn't under the terms of a ministry conversation.”
“I understand,” Draco replies with slight curiosity now.
“I'm not sure if you are aware but Remus Lupin was a werewolf. He was turned when he was a child by Fenrir Greyback.”
Kingsley pauses so Draco confirms “I was aware of him being a werewolf, I wasn't aware of when or how he was turned.”
“Before the last battle, Remus had left a letter in case he was killed. This letter regarded you. Your Aunt Andromeda brought it to me since I was the top surviving person on the list. Remus asked for me to look after you due to a possibility of Greyback being hired to have you turned into a werewolf as a punishment for disobedience. Hypothetically if that did indeed happen, Andromeda may be able to help or answer questions you may have, though she doesn’t know much. Miss. Granger is also someone who could very much help you. Anyways during the war your mother was in contact with Remus for that reason. Due to your contribution to the wolfsbane I just thought that it might have happened, so I wanted to bring it to your attention and offer help. Otherwise, I don't have anything else to say.”
Kingsley stands and goes to offer his hand to Draco when he notices he did not also stand.
“I wasn't turned at any point. If the war had a different outcome I would have been. After the manor incident, my mother sent me into hiding with professor snape. My parents told him I went after the trio during their escape because if I didn't leave, I would have been locked up until I could have been turned. I contribute because I can. I was on the dark side of the war, so I am overly aware of how many got turned, specifically how many children did.”
~~~
The headmistress calls Blaise to ask him to send Luna to the office, after that she went to find Hermione and ginny. The two girls were walking together from the quidditch pitch when they heard quick, heeled footsteps approaching. Ginny looks up to find the headmistress coming towards them.
“Headmistress.” Ginny greets causing Hermione to lift her eyesight from the floor to also greet the professor. “Miss. Weasley. Miss. Granger, I was just looking for you. Would you two please accompany me back to my office for a conversation?”
“Is something wrong, Headmistress?” Hermione asked, trying to glance behind the older witch knowing she just had Draco in her office. The headmistress sighs with a small smile “No, everything is fine, dear” they nod in confirmation and follow the headmistress back to her office. They find Luna, informing the Minister of Magic of a particular magical creature that she believed was infesting his office. The minister informs the three witches of their invitations and updates Hermione of her visit with the children. Hermione walks behind Luna and Ginny who were talking excitedly about the event and their thoughts of attire.
~~~
Hermione looks up from her studies to find Luna and Ginny practically jumping in joy as they enter the dormitory.
“I see you two had an excellent afternoon” Hermione notes out loud before Ginny jumps onto Hermione's bed in front of her.
“We both found our dresses for the charity event; would you like to see?” Luna asks, getting a nod of approval from Hermione. She watches as Luna disappears behind the changing divider. After a few moments, she reappears to display a light blue tulle dress that went a little above her ankle. The dress has long sleeves that are see through with a high neckline. Luna approaches the mirror in the room to look at herself in the dress and Hermione sees that the dress had little gold and white flowers.
“Do you think Blaise’s bow tie of his dress robes should match my dress?” Hermione thinks for a moment before shaking her head no. “You shouldn’t directly match; he should wear a tie that goes with your dress so when you're together you match but when you're separate you don't look together.”
“I like that” Ginny adds lightly. “Then that is what we will do” Luna then turns to Hermione with an inquisitive look. “Do you have dress robes for the gala?” Hermione shakes her head no before adding in. “I'll be going in a few days to get something; I have an idea of what I want so it shouldn't be hard.” Luna returned back to her usual clothing and then Ginny jumped up to show off her dress. Hermione's jaw goes slack whenever she sees Ginny re-entered their view to show off her dark purple-ish red dress. “Ginevra Molly Weasley, your mother will have a heart attack whenever she sees you in a dress that tight” ginny uses her wand to put her hair into a messy bun before turning to show off the dress that hugs her body tightly and the wide, off the shoulder straps that didn’t show off her chest and cleavage. “Well the plan is for Harry to drop with a heart attack” Ginny exclaims with a smirk and wink before scurrying back behind the divider to change because Hermione had grabbed a pillow to whack her with.
After some time of giggling and excitement, Hermione found that Luna had fallen asleep and how the air had shifted whenever both girls noticed. Hermione’s head slowly turned to Ginny who held regret, sadness, and hesitation in her features.
“I figure that already, Gin”
Ginny’s face softens, giving her a small smile of comfort. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened that day?” Hermione shakes her head no before clearing her throat. “I can’t, we promised to never talk about it. If he breaks his promise, maybe you'll find out but I don't intend on it.”
Ginny takes Hermione's hands in hers as she gives a reassuring squeeze. “Harry and I won't let him near you. I've already told Harry to tell him to not bother you so you'll be fine.”
She lifts out a disgruntled huff as she flops back on the bed next to ginny
“Harry and you will enjoy your night together and will not act as a bodyguard for me because I am a big girl who can protect herself…Understood”
Ginny rolls her eyes with a “yes madame” before getting smacked with a pillow then resulting with the girls climbing together into Hermione's bed with a fit of giggles.
The two of them lay together in calm silence until Hermione looks over at Ginny's movement.
“Are you going to ask” she whispers into the dark room
“Ask what”
“Theo or Draco to escort you to the charity gala”
“Gin” Hermione says with defeat and Ginny sits up with a head shake of disapproval.
“No don’t Gin me, show Ronald Weasley that whatever he did wrong doesn't affect you. If you don't want to ask Malfoy, then ask Theo. I have seen them both with you. Theo would take you as the gentleman he is or if you regain your lion courage and ask the one you should be going with. I think you would really enjoy your night with the ferret.” At Hermione's glare Ginny holds her hand in defeat with an apology and correction to the nickname.
“What if he declines my asking?” she asked with a frightened voice.
“Then he will lose out on a great night, and you will move on to a better wizard.” Ginny shoots her an encouraging wink then continues. “How about you ask them at the same time, for example say something like would either of you handsome wizards like to escort me to a charity ball that is coming up. I know Theo sees the same thing as me so he will give Malfoy a chance to accept and if he doesn't then he will. They were raised as pureblood gentlemen; they won't take it as a date unless you imply it is.”
Hermione nods in thought before agreeing with the plan and assuring she will do that.
~~~
Hermione exited her dormitory to find Draco burning a hole in the floor with his nervous pacing. She clears her throat to gain his attention, and he freezes at the sound before slowly turning in her direction. “You want to go…right? They’re not making you go as a punishment or something”
He lets out a soft, embarrassed chuckle “No Granger, I'm not going as a punishment. I have my reasons for wanting to go” he offers his arm to her, but she shakes her head no and slowly links her hand with his to allow time for him to pull away. Once their hands were fully grasped, she slowly peers up to search his reactions but finds him watching her in return. “Is….Is this okay with you” she whispered, getting a whisper of yes in return. With a shared look of ready agreement, the pair makes their way to the headmistress's office to floo to saint mungo's, a particular wing. As they approached the doorway to the hospital wing they would be visiting, Hermione pulled Draco to a stop. He turned to her with concern and found her appearing uncertain.
“Are you okay?” he asked once he placed himself directly in front of her. “I guess I just don't understand, did you want to come because you felt guilty?” Hermione searches his body for anything but finds his body unmoving before he takes and releases a large slow breath. He gently pulls her to a bench nearby. “Yes, I suppose in a way I do feel guilty. The Minister offered this visit because he knew I was anonymously donating for this wing. A few order members knew of something with me during the war.”
Draco watches as her eyes search for the hidden marks, sitting patiently for her to connect her eyes with his once again. Draco answers her questions before she could ask them. “I wasn't bitten or scratched in any way to be changed or turned into a werewolf or to have werewolf characteristics” Hermione nods in understanding at his statement knowing the hidden message.
The pair walked together into the hospital wing and down its hall passed all the little solitude rooms. They find themselves at the entrance of a large room with many children playing, but Hermione instantly notices that a young boy with curly, dirty blonde hair is becoming stiff at the sight of them. She looks around quickly to find a woman watching the boy in panic but before the mother could move the boy ran towards them. She watches in shock as Draco slowly lowers to his knees when the boy stands in front of them with tear filled eyes. She barely heard Draco as he asked to hug the young boy who quickly threw his arms around Draco's neck in a stronghold.
“I've been so brave, so brave. Just like you asked of me” the young boy mumbles out through his tears. Draco gently pulls the boy back from his body to use his thumb to wipe his tears. “I know Sam, you are the strongest little boy I have ever met. Did you plant the flowers like you wanted to.”
Hermione and Draco looked up to the woman who approached them and placed her hands on Sam's shoulders.
“Yes, I planted them and talked to them like you suggested. Auntie helped me plant them, but she lets me talk to them alone if I want to.”
Draco pulls the boy into him once again for a tight hug and whispers words that Hermione could make out, sounding like “I'm so proud of you and I know your mom and dad are also.” when Draco stands again she could tell he was worried about the woman's reactions but as he reaches his shaking hand out to her, he gets grabbed into a tight hug.
“Thank you for everything you did for them and for Sam. He talks about you all the time.”
“Is there anything else I could do?”
“You have done enough; you gave his parents a merciful death and made everything as comfortable for him as you could.” she pats his shoulder before saying her last message for him.
“I'm guessing you know about that little boy” Hermione asked quietly, breaking the silences that fell over Draco and herself after Sam and his aunt left them. Draco nods sadden “yes, unfortunately I know his story and am a part of it”
“You killed his parents to end their torture” Hermione questions even though it was more of a statement. With a light yes, Draco walks away to talk to one of the healers in the room so Hermione heads to a table with a few little girls. Hermione found herself watching Draco as he encouraged the kids at each table by acting silly while having them make faces of defiance and strong powerful words.
“He's proud of you too” Hermione's head whips around at the young voice from next to her. She sees as Sam takes a seat.
“I'm sorry, I don't think I understand” she says as she looks between the boy her age and the young boy forced to grow up too fast.
“I said Draco is proud of you also, you are Hermione Granger?”
She looks at the boy with suspicion before answering “yes, can you tell me why he would be proud of me”
“You won the war, you saved him. He told me I shouldn't worry because your friends and you would fix everything, and he was right." Hermione lets his words settle in her mind but when she turned back to him to answer he was already gone.
Hermione squeezed Draco's arm as she watched in discomfort as they surveyed the healers restraining the young children before placing them asleep with a potion.
Draco leans close to her ear to murmur to her “Trust me, this is the best way for such young children going through the transformation. Once the kids are turned and not harmful then they will have full range of their rooms for the night. This is the best way to prevent injury.”
She finds herself tucking herself against his arm she was holding onto until Draco moves his arm to pull her into his side to rub her back in comfort. “I know this is the best way. It does not make it any easier though. Hermione finds herself smiling slightly and watches as the children put on their brave, protective faces before the healer puts their small bodies into a state of unconsciousness.
Draco leads Hermione back to the floo but before she goes, she steps in front of Draco to get her attention. “Would you like to accompany me here again?”
“Would you want me to?”
Hermione rolls her eyes playfully as she swats his arm “Of course I would, you make those kids feel strong, powerful and in control. They need someone like you”
Draco takes a deep and slow breath but nods, “I would love to accompany you, I would just need ministry permission again.”
With that being said she gives him a strong nod before turning and disappearing into the floo, him following her after.
As he re enters the headmistress office he stumbles but gets stopped by a hand grabbing onto his left forearm. With panicked eyes, he looks up to find her big brown eyes looking at his arm. He tenses, trying to pull his arm away but she just presses her left forearm into his.
“Everyone left the war with pain and trauma but we, we left the war with victory and survival marks. Everything happens for a reason and these marks show we won. We survived so don't let yourself or anyone else make you feel bad. Make it known that mark doesn't define you or anything you do because you will do great for this world.” without another word she looped her finger with his and dragged him with her. With her moment of courage and confidence she pushes Draco to sit on the sofa of the common room and calls for Theo.
He rushes out of his dormitory, fixing his shirt to see what was wrong but finds Hermione standing in front of a flustered Draco who was sitting on the sofa.
“Is everything okay?” Theo asked concern and suspicious as he approached but felt his body being shoved by hands on his chest into the spot next to Draco. Draco’s eyes jump over to Theo, smirking slightly at Theo’s baffled expression. Theo starts to sputter trying to get his sentence out. “Did she just” Theo starts but gets cut off by Draco “Manhandled both of us, yes…yes she did.’ Draco jerks his head in the amused witch's direction “That is Hermione Granger, what did you expect”
The two wizards turn to Hermione with raised eyebrows. “Would you like to explain why you manhandled us?”
Hermione rolls her eyes before explaining. “I was wondering if either of you would like to accompany me to a charity gala at the Ministry in two weeks on December 7th.” The two men look at each other, having silent conversations. Hermione takes a step back when they both look back to her at the same time. At the same time, they both tell her they would be honored to attend the gala with her. Hermione narrowed her eyes at them, coming to the conclusion that they were already invited. “You were already invited?” she questions and gets a nod in return. “Yes, Draco will be your date, but I want to at least get a dance”
“Perfect” Hermione states before turning to strut to her dormitory but gets stopped by a light grasp to her wrist.
“Are you sure you want me to be your date, it could cause you problems” Hermione places her hand on him to be comforting. “Yes, I want to be your date. As you previously stated, I am indeed Hermione Granger, and I am capable of taking care of myself.”
He gives her a nod of understanding. “Is there a particular color or something you want me to wear” She shakes her head no “I haven't gotten something yet; do you have something in mind…maybe something plain”
“So are black dress robes good then” he questions with hesitation thinking it will be too dark but is surprised when she says it sounds great.
The following morning, which was Sunday, November 24th, Hermione disappeared from Hogsmeade village into an alleyway in London. She was hoping to find a dress along with shoes for the gala knowing she already has a cloak to fend off the cold December air. She left the changing stall and stepped onto the mirror platform to see how she looked in the halter neckline dress that was wine red and full length but quickly decided against it and returned to the stall to try on the next option. The next dress was a black tiered mock neck dress that was midi length but also chose against it because Draco's robes would be black so she wanted to wear a dress of a lighter color. The third dress she chose to try on is a sage green satin dress. This dress had thin straps and a neckline that showed off a little bit of cleavage. Hermione turned back and forth in the mirror for a bit of time debating with herself whenever the worker approached to ask if she would like assistance.
“Hi, I'm Selena. Is there anything in particular you are looking for?” Hermione turned to the young lady who worked in the store with a smile.
“I have a charity event approaching at the start of December, so I was looking for a dress to wear.”
“That sounds wonderful, I saw you tried on a few dresses. Are there any certain details of those dresses you liked or disliked?”
Hermione turned back to the mirror and the worker came closer to stand near her. Hermione ran her finger along the neckline of the dress where her scar was on display. “I like this fabric and the lighter color, but I don't like how low the neckline is, and I would prefer longer sleeves.”
Hermione waits to watch the young worker think to herself. “Do you have a particular dress length? I have one in mind, but it doesn't reach the floor”
“I can wear a dress that isn't floor length, but I don't want a dress that ends at my knees or shorter.” she saw as the workers eyes lit up before she turned and received a dress. Hermione felt herself smiling, watching the lady carrying a dress towards her. She took the dress and made her way into the changing stall, finding herself growing more self-confident in the dress. When she stepped out the employee immediately found that Hermione seemed pleased and encouraged her back onto the platform to look in the mirror. Hermione turns in the mirror looking at every angle.
“So, what are your thoughts about this dress”
Hermione nodded with an excited smile. “I think this is the one, any suggestions on shoes and hair?”
Selena looked at her facial features before gently gathering Hermione hair into her hands and twisting it into what looked like a messy bun. “For hair I think you should do a bun or a similar style with a few of your curls free. As for shoes, let me grab a few options.”
Notes:
TW: Mentions and references to death and torture of parents. Many mentions and references involving lycanthropy, including being bitten, children being infected, the use of infection as a punishment, preparing for the change and such on. references to children being rendered unconscious and restrained as protection again oneself.
4187 Words in this chapter
To start off, I truly believe that Draco would give victims merciful deaths whenever possible. Finally, Draco is no longer hiding this part of him; he is slowly allowing his mostly fake persona to drop. I love the idea of Draco being silly and encouraging bravery in children during a scary time. I also love Sam coming up to Hermione and being like "he knew you guys would do it" like Draco was secretly rooting for the golden trio to win. I can also see Ginny getting a dress that make herself feel sexy and gorgeous while also being a little scandalous in the terns of the wizarding world
Additionally, I think I will be moving the updating day closer towards the nights of the day off from work. it's still going to be every other week. Currently somewhere around Monday night to Wednesday night so I'm not attempting to upload in the night during the middle of my workweek before heading to bed for work the next morning.
Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well and if you have any predictions or thoughts, I would love to hear them~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 20: Triggered
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty: Triggered
Draco and Theo jump awake and out of bed at the sound of screaming. They look to each other in shock for a moment before the screaming intensifies.
“Granger” both boys say before running from the room to go to the girl’s dormitory to investigate the screaming. As they reach the door for the girl’s dormitory, it opens, and a panicked looking Luna slips out.
“What’s going on?” Theo rushes out at the witch they have never seen so uncomfortable before.
“She’s in some type of state.” Draco notices that Luna shifts on her feet awkwardly looking at him strangely. Luna's voice lowers at her next statement.
“She was like this the first night at the cottage. I believe. Fleur didn’t know what to do and had to silence the room until she stopped screaming because she wasn’t reacting to anyone or anything.” Luna glances back to the screaming girl who was currently in the silenced room . “You two can try to see if your presence helps but when this happened before, I remember Ronald and Harry must had made it worse because Fleur ended up warding them from her room for the first few days”
Draco's body stiffened, starting to piece together that this happened after the manor but Theo pushed for more information because he wasn’t understanding.
“Fleur?, cottage? What would have caused her to enter a state like this that her best friends had to be warded away?”
“Torture from a madwoman” Draco speaks barely loud enough to be heard but Theo’s head whips to his direction in full understanding”
Draco closes his eyes for a moment to think before coming up with a decision. “Luna, go talk to Ginny. She can get a hold of Fleur and Harry. I believe Fleur married Ginny’s older brother so she should be able to easily contact her.”
Draco then turns to Theo “As for us, one of us needs to stay with her while the other gets the headmistress here. We need to figure out who stays and who goes.”
Luna lets the boys into the girl’s dormitory before running to Gryffindor's tower. As the boys approach Hermione’s body goes rigid and her sobs are instantly cut off as if she was a blank wall. She doesn’t show any signs of actually seeing them, more of sensing two male presences entering the room. Draco instantly notices this action before turning to whisper to Theo.
“She knows you're not interested in women right?” Draco asked carefully, getting a nod in return. “Get my blanket off my bed, my scent usually calms her. You're staying with her while I get the headmistress since I think she may be more comfortable with someone who’s not attracted to her.”
Theo nods once again in understanding. He quickly grabs Draco’s blanket before he leaves to inform an adult about the situation.
“This blanket is Draco's. He thought that his scent might calm you because it has helped in the past.”
Theo slowly and cautiously places the blanket bundle at the end of her feet that she had pulled up towards her seated body. After that, Theo pulls a chair to the end of the bed to be in her line of sight as she stares off into nothing. He becomes aware that since entering her line of sight and Draco leaving, her body had become a tad bit less rigid. Though her sobs have not restarted since Draco left, the tears have begun again. Theo watched as silent tears streamed down Hermione's face as she stared blankly through him. Theo lowers his gaze to his fingernails waiting for her to return to herself. He jumps at the sound of blankets shuffling and a sob breaking into the silence of the room. When he looks up, he finds Hermione's body pressed up against the headboard of her bed, shaking her head with Draco’s blanket held to her face. He watches carefully waiting for her and eventually, she slowly lifts her face. She makes eye contact with him for a short period before she looks at every detail of the room to not miss anything.
“No one is going to hurt you, you are safe here” she looks back to Theo who had recently sat up and leaned closer to her. “You are at Hogwarts for your eighth year. It is currently November 28 of 1998. The war ended almost 7 months ago.”
Hermione stutters out his name along with sobs that seems more of relief then of distress
“Th..Theo” she sobs out
“May I come closer?” Theo asked carefully, not moving until he got permission.
Hermione nods, begging through her sobs. “Please come here”
Theo stands to cautiously approach the bed and Hermione shifts over to make room for him. “Please sit with me” Theo nods, sitting on the bed next to her. “You can lay on me, if you want,” he whispers quietly. He sees her nod then with consideration, she slowly moves her head onto his shoulder. He shifts and slowly moves his arm to rub her back. “Is this okay?” he asks, getting a nod in return before she relaxes into his body.
Theo slowly rubs her back, stilling at a soft grunt from her as she tightens her fist. “Are you in pain? It's the end of the month, you'll be getting…." Hermione cuts Theo's words off with another grunt “ yes, most likely by the morning but I need an appointment with Doctor Sterling.” she whispers. “Are you out of your pain potions?” Theo asked, looking towards her nightstand. She nods before mumbling again. “Not working, pain is worse. Doctor Sterling needs to do another exam to see how long I have until a more permanent solution needs to happen.”
“I'll get in contact with her to set up an emergency appointment. I'll be careful with my wording. I know you know what's going on. You can talk to me, just so you know.”
Theo waits in the silence until Hermione pulls Draco's blanket to her face.
“I know, tired now” Hermione manages to say as she was mostly asleep. Theo goes to leave the bed but her grip tightens on Theo's arm. “Stay” she whimpers before Theo notices her drift off into sleep.
Theo reaches for the rest of the blanket, using it to cover her. He listens to her soft breaths until he hears multiple footsteps enter the common room. Theo lifts his finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet as he sees Draco and the headmistress come into view. He watches as Draco nods before getting pushed by someone who was making their way through them. Draco carefully grabs their shoulder. “She's asleep, Potter.”
Theo sees as Harry slowly steps into the room. “She fell back asleep recently and I'll need to talk to Ginny tomorrow.” Theo answers
Theo notices Harry eyeing Hermione and himself and Theo moves to leave the bed but feels Hermione grasps him tighter like before but finds that she is still asleep. Draco steps into the room when he sees this interaction. Draco looks to Theo whenever he sees that Harry is becoming upset. After getting a nod of approval Draco looks around. “Theo isn't interested in women, that's why he stayed here with Hermione, she knows.”
Harry instantly relaxes and Draco sees as Theo looks unsure, trying to leave the bed once again. Draco turns, following Theo’s gaze to the headmistress who was walking in.
“Im sorry, headmistress” Theo goes to constitute but she cuts him off with a hand up. “You are an adult Mr. Nott” she answers to calm his nerves but they could see she had heard what Draco said to harry.
“Is she okay?” the headmistress asked lightly. Theo nods and motions for her to sit in the seat he was previously using. He then turns to the two wizards in the room “May I speak privately to the headmistress?” After a second the two wizards both nod and leave the room. Theo turns to the headmistress filling her in on what he suspects and the surface level of information not wanting to expose too much without Hermione knowing.
After making sure Theo was fine for the night, the headmistress goes to leave the dormitory, leaving the door propped open at his request. Harry leaves to talk to Fleur and Bill while Luna decides to stay with Blaise for the night. Theo watches from the dormitory doorway as Draco settles himself onto the sofa, Theo knowing Draco needed to feel close to Hermione.
~~~
Theo’s eyes flutter open due to the movement on the bed next to him. As his sleepy eyes fully open, Theo finds a space next to him empty. He sits up in bed slightly panicked to find Hermione jumping away from her wardrobe as she gives a frightened squeak.
“Shite, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Everything is okay, do you need anything.” Theo questions in a rush.
“Nothing’s wrong, I was just on the way to take a bath before classes.”
“I was going to send a letter to Doctor Sterling, do you need me to stay here?”
Hermione shakes her head no and Theo stretches as he climbs out of bed. Theo peeks out into the common room before looking back to Hermione who was watching him confused.
“Draco is asleep on the couch.” Theo warns and Hermione walks towards the doorway to peer out
“Why didn't he go back to his own bed?” she whispers, confused. Theo leans forwards in a way a young child would with a secret. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Draco was worried about you so he wanted to be close.”
Hermione nods slowly as she looks towards the common room once again.
“I'm going to need more pain potions, I took my last one this morning. It usually lasts all day but with the extra pain it's wearing off faster.”
“Understood, I will handle it” Theo assures her before gesturing to the common room for her to go first. Theo quickly changes into his uniform before making his way to the owlery to use Draco’s eagle owl named Marcia or nicknamed Mars.
Draco turns over on the couch, waiting to drift back into sleep but he hears something odd. Due to the faintness, Draco sits up trying to determine whether the sound was in his mind. He jumps up, rushing to the restroom door at the sound of falling items.
He knocks on the door but gets no response so he knocks again then calls out.
“Hermione? Can you please open the door for me”
Draco hears a sudden silence then the lock on the door slowly turns. He watches as the door opens at a leisurely pace. He could see the figure step back allowing the door to fully open before watching Hermione sink to her knees with her head down. He watches confused as she mumbles something he didn't catch. He looks back around the common room before stepping into the restroom to find a towel to drop over Hermione's nearly nude body. He freezes whenever her body slightly flinches at the contact of the towel. He watches as Hermione stays as a statue, slowly moving back towards her. Draco sinks to the floor in front of her trying to see her face to try to figure out her odd behavior
“Hermione?” He speaks with concern and confusion. Hermione slowly looks around, obviously for someone.
“I’m not allowed to respond to that name. He believes I’ve been reprogrammed”
“Reprogrammed, he?” Draco mumbles to himself, befuddled. “Who are you talking about?”
Her eyes jerk over to Draco, a bit scared. “Doll Master?” She says a bit confused “doesn’t he know you’re interacting with his golden doll”
Draco feels his stomach twist with a bit of familiar unease. Doll master, he thinks to himself.
“Yes, let’s get you back to your bed.” She looks at him for a moment before slowly nodding. Draco watches the look on her face, instantly knowing she was occluding. They enter the girl’s dormitory and Draco gestures to the bed.
“Do you want to sleep in what you have on or do you have something you wish to wear.”
Without a word, Hermione walks to the wardrobe and grabs out a plain purple nightgown. Draco turns away trying to give her privacy but looks back to Hermione whenever she climbs into bed.
“Go to sleep, I’ll be out here if you need anything.”
Draco tells her before rushing to leave the room and wait for Theo.
Theo returns to the common room, finding Draco pacing the floor while tugging on his hair. Before Theo could react, Draco swipes everything from the table causing the sound of crashing to echo in the room. He watches in shock as Draco’s head lowers to rest on the table before Draco’s body slumps to the ground. He looks around for a sign of Hermione but finding no sign of her, he cautiously approaches Draco's crumpled body on the floor.
“Can't remember, Can't remember, Can't remember, Can't remember, Can't remember” Draco repeatedly mumbles to himself as he slams his palms against his forehead in frustration. Theo softly takes his wrist into his hands pulling them away to stop Draco from harming himself.
Draco jerks his arms, trying to pull them out of Theo’s grasp. After a moment of fighting Draco falls onto his back causing Theo to tumble on top of him. Using this interaction to his advantage, Theo quickly pins Draco's arms to the ground. Draco’s fight slowly leaves his body as he begins to hyperventilate.
“Draco, you need to breathe” Theo tries to speak calmly but his voice wavers. “I can’t help you if you can’t communicate with me so take some deep breaths with me”
Eventually, Theo was able to coax Draco enough that Draco finally started to breathe himself out of his panic. After fully returning to reality Draco looked at Theo, who was very much straddling him.
“Theo?” Draco asked with a hint of confusion. Theo scoffs with annoyance. “Blonde prats are not my type. Though I may start to think, I am your type since I was pulled onto you ... .by you” with slow movements, Theo releases Draco’s wrist and stands up. Theo offers his hand to Draco but he shakes him off and sits himself up. Theo lifts a chair that Draco knocked over and sits down in it.
“Can you explain what happened?” Theo asked calmly. He waits patiently as Draco stays mute as he organizes his thoughts. “Do you have reports of the other trials from that time?” Theo eyes him suspiciously before slowly nodding. “I have some of the major ones, who are you looking for?” Draco could hear the worry in Theo’s voice that he was attempting to contain. Draco shifts on the floor before standing again.
“I don't know,” Draco confesses. “You don't know? You asked about something and most likely went into a destructive state over something you don't know” Theo states irritated.
Draco nods before leaning against the back of the sofa. “Yes, do you know anything about one of the death eaters having dolls?”
“Dolls?” he repeated as he stared at Draco like he was insane. “As in toys that little girls play with?”
“Yes but women being kept as captives. Do you know if there was a death eater or multiple death eaters holding women as dolls”
After a long time of staring at Draco in blankness, Theo turns his head towards the girl’s dormitory door. “What did she say?” Theo finally questions and gets a small huff in response. “I woke up to a small crash in the restroom. I asked her to open the door and when she did, she dropped to her knees. she wasn't fully dressed, seemed to be in a vest and knickers so I placed a towel on her and knelt in front of her.” Draco turns, placing his hands on the back of the sofa and his back towards Theo as he continues to speak. “She said she wasn't allowed to respond to her name ....something about him thinking she had been reprogrammed or something like that. She also referred to herself as his golden dolls and he was the doll master”
Draco pauses, waiting for Theo to say something. When the other wizard doesn't respond, Draco turns back to him. Theo eyes lift from the floor to Draco’s
“I don't remember anything like this. Could it have been something she imagined or falsely believed.” Theo asked softly not wanting to re-panic Draco. Draco stiffly shakes his head no. “No, I can't link my memories together but the term “doll master” caused my stomach to twist like I have heard that before but I can't figure it out. I just can't remember but I know I heard it in the manor.”
Draco watches as Theo looks down to his watch. “We will look into it. Ginny will be here soon to watch over Hermione. We are trying to get her an appointment today with Doctor Sterling." Theo stands running his hand through his curly hair. “You get ready for the day. You need to get your potion. We can talk more on the way there and so on.”
Theo heads to the restroom to get washed up, opening the common room door when there is a knock, who he would assume was Ginny. He opens the door to find her in lounge clothes with a small bag on her shoulder.
“How is she doing?” Ginny asked, looking around the common room. Theo gestures her into the room and closes the door behind her. “She was getting a bath whenever I left this morning but apparently she went into some type of state, Draco put her back in bed.” Ginny looks a bit concerned, watching as Theo shifts on his feet awkwardly. “Do you know anything about Hermione being called someone's golden doll or of someone known as the doll master.” Ginny eyebrows furrow with confusion and she slowly shakes her head no.
“Why do you ask?”
Theo sits down on the sofa. “Hermione’s items in the bathroom were dropped or thrown to the floor. When Draco entered she referred to the doll master reprogramming her to no longer recognize herself as Hermione, that she was his golden doll. I pretty much had to pin Draco to the floor and repeatedly try to talk him into breathing because he was panicking whenever I returned. He was repeatedly saying something about not remembering then started to smack his face. Whenever I got him calmed to talk he was asking me about the trial reports and the doll master. He made a comment about feeling like he heard that term before in the manor but he can't figure the memory out.”
Ginny shakes her head in disagreement. “No it doesn't sound familiar to me, I'll ask Harry whenever he stops in. He is supposed to grab a few pain potions from Doctor Sterling and bring them for Hermione before going in for auror training. He should have information about her appointment also, I will try to let you know but if I cant I'll leave a note on the table for you to update you.”
Theo nods with appreciation and allows Ginny to join Hermione while he goes to check on Draco. He enters his dormitory and grabs the few trial reports he has from his trunk while Draco finishes getting ready.
“Has she mentioned anyone in particular?” Draco nods then fills Theo in on what he knew of the snatchers and death eaters Hermione had mentioned.
“I briefly mentioned it to Ginny, she doesn't know anything but she's going to bring it up to Harry whenever he drops Hermione's potions off and to give Ginny information about her emergency appointment.”
Luna and Blaise join them at the table, they ask the pair the same question about the doll master but doesn't succeed in gaining more information so while they eat they review the trial reports that Theo had brought with him.
Before class, Draco writes a letter to his mother before joining his friends in their class for defense against the dark arts. The class were given an assignment, they were to research corporeal patronus, their uses, and two possible forms theirs might take and what traits are linked with each one. For those like Hermione, who already knew were supposed to look more detailed into their own and what other option theirs might be. The class were informed that during a nearby class from then for the next few classes they would be practicing. Theo and Draco share a glance while noticing a few students look in their direction. Professor Hasting noticed this reaction and instantly informed the class that as long as they were putting an effort in, they would pass. After she dismissed the class she asked the three slytherin boys to stay.
“I understand that those with the dark mark are not usually successful with casting this spell. As long as you completely put an effort in to cast the spell you will pass but I wanted to offer that if you are unsuccessful in the time limit and wanted to be able to. I would be willing to work with you outside of class” the three wizards nod in understanding before they are dismissed from class. They head to their next class which was transfiguration with Professor Penniwells before lunch. Theo and Draco decided to check in with Ginny and Hermione for lunch but whenever they enter the common room they find that Ginny left them a note
Dear snake boys,
Hermione and I went to meet with Doctor Sterling while you were in your second class for the day. I am unsure how long the appointment will take but we should return before curfew tonight. Harry also said this doll master situation did not sound familiar but he will be looking through some of the trial report to see if he can find anything. If I hear back from him I will inform you. After Hermione woke she seemed pretty normal and didn't make any sign of the previous night or morning but she did ask about the both of you.
The Weaslette
During lunch, the boys continued to look through the trial reports but still came up empty. After classes ended for the day, Draco found himself sneaking off into an empty classroom. He sat in the middle of an old desk with parchment surrounding him. With his eyes closed he tried to think and make note of everything he could remember about anything death eater related. He filled the parchments with random notes from certain associates particularly death eaters usually had on their person to any wording he might have heard someone saying. Throughout the thinking session an unfamiliar room kept entering his mind. He tried to think of where in the manor this room might have been located. Also his mind kept repeating the same sentence that made no sense to him but he knew it would be important at some point. “In a crevice of the knowledge territory, is the guide for the object of great importance” deep down he knew Bellatrix was involved but he also knew most of the manor was personally tainted due to the crazy witch. Until it was curfew time, Draco found himself writing in his journal of the less major things that happened to him in the war, wanting to make a note of everything he could think of.
He returned to the common room to find Hermione asleep in a ball of his blanket on the sofa. He finds himself smiling slightly at the sight. He tucks the blanket around her at her shiver and shifting in her sleep. He quietly crept to change into lounge wear before taking a spot on the chair nearby to read. Whenever he hears Theo step into the room, he looks up and Theo sits on the table to talk to Draco. Theo snickers at the sleeping witch, informing Draco that Ginny “made” her sleep in her bed with her but obviously she was waiting until Ginny fell asleep to sneak out here.
Theo also informed Draco of the barest information of Hermione's appointment, letting him know Hermione was given an increase to her potion and that she was temporarily banned from the restroom without someone else's approval. She needed someone to open the door for her because they didn't know how her body would react to this appointment though this one was way less intense. Later that night, Theo brought Draco a cup of tea, knowing he would be staying with Hermione overnight.
Draco feels something poking him, bringing him out of his sleep. In his tiny bit of awaken awareness, he brings his arm up to the object probing his shoulder, finding a finger attached to a hand which he could assume was attached to one Hermione granger.
“Granger?” he asked drowsily, “Do you need me to open the restroom for you?”
“Yes,” Hermione admitted quietly before continuing. “I'm sorry for waking you, Ginny is snoring away so I figured maybe you would be easier to wake.”
He nods in understanding, standing with a stretch to relieve the painful muscles due to sleeping in the chair. After letting Hermione into the restroom, he heads to the kitchenette to make them a cup of tea as he waits for Hermione to return. A short moment later, she joins him in the kitchen, to add hot water to an object he found odd. He places the mug on the table in front of her whenever he takes a seat in the chair again.
“What's that?” he questioned with interest.
She looked at the object then at him with surprise. “It's called a hot water bottle. You put hot water in it and you can use it for warmth to help deal with pain.” he nods slowly, taking in the information before reaching next to the chair into his satchel. He pulls out a small box and hands it over to her. She opens the box to find a few small vials of what she assumes were oils like lavender which can be used for calming. Also in the box she finds two chocolate frog packages, a small package of a variety of nuts which looked to be walnuts, cashews, and almonds and the final thing included a few packages of dark chocolate. She looks up to find Draco looking indifferent as he drank his tea while continuing the book he was reading whenever he fell asleep
“I hate you” she mumbles to herself but at Draco’s knowing smirk she knows he heard him.
“Sorry Granger, I'm too observant. Also the tea has lavender in it so it'll help with aiding you back to sleep.” She watches as he speaks without looking towards her. After a moment of staring at him she speaking softly
“Thank you, I really appreciate it”
She notices as his eye freezes on the book but after a short moment, he slowly looks over to her, finding a gentle smile.
“No need to thank me. It's what friends do, Not to mention it is common decency.” he tells her quietly before returning to his book while she returns to her cocoon of apple scented warmth.
Notes:
TW : Multiple references and examples of dissociation / nonresponsive trauma response.
Implied destructive behavior with harmful actions towards oneself.
Examples of Mental breakdown and slight memory loss (feeling something is familiar but not being able to remember the details.)
References of abduction / being held hostage / submissive slavery. Mention of mental / emotional reprogramming (kind of like Stockholm syndrome) (This is referenced all in a dissociation state so none of this actually happens, but the character believes at that moment someone else holds control over them)4585 words in this chapter.
Any predictions on what this means or what it is referring to “In a crevice of the knowledge territory, is the guide for the object of great importance”
who do you think the doll master could be and how Hermione knows of them enough to impact her life.
Patronus were also mentioned so what form do you think the Boys's will take? Do you think Hermione's will stay the same or do you think it will change? (if so, what do you think it will change to?)
So.... Hermione is having a rough time this chapter...Oops and draco starting to crack a little because he's putting too much pressure on himself trying to help her and because of any guilt he is still holding.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 21: Someone To You
Chapter Text
Chapter twenty-One: Someone To You
Towards the end of astronomy, Draco planned to talk to Hermione, but she was dismissed from class a little before the regular dismissal. He assumed she had a session with her mind healer so he decided he would head to the common room to wait for her to return. He worked on class assignments as he waited but after a few hours. He starts to feel nervous but jumps at the sound of the door opening. Blaise walks in with Luna and looks at Draco with an eyebrow lifted in curiosity.
“Are you still waiting to talk to Hermione?” Blaise asked, thinking they had already talked.
“Yes, she hasn't returned yet.”
Luna tilts her head with a quirky look. “She is standing in the courtyard. She seems to be a bit cold watching the snow fall.”
Draco nods slowly, places a cloak on himself and grabs a spare to go check on Hermione. He starts his way to the courtyard and whenever he reaches the area he spots her through the opening of the wall. He stops and watches her from a distance as she looks up to the sky to allow the snowflakes to fall onto her face.
“Hey, I was hoping to talk to you,” Draco speaks as he approaches her. She quickly turns away from his voice and wipes her face.
“Granger? You okay”
“Hmm yeah, I’m fine” she answers as she clears her voice.
He cautiously walks around her, finding signs of her previous tears but not finding anything majorly wrong. “I brought you a cloak, Luna said you seemed a bit cold.” he wraps the cloak around her and pulls the hood up. He uses his thumbs to wipe the tears from her lashes. She tries to turn her head away from his hands, but he stops her knowing she was doing it out of embarrassment.
“Just know you can talk to me, if you would like to”
She doesn't respond right away but eventually she speaks so softly it took a moment to make out her words
“Even if it's about a certain large family of redheads,” she asked shyly, causing him to pull away a little to look her over.
“I thought I got along well with the weaslette” Draco jokes, getting a laugh in return following with an eye roll. He then becomes serious, tugging the cloak tighter around her body. “If you want to talk to me about Ronald, we can do that but first I demand we go inside.’
They get halfway back to their common room whenever she realizes that he had search her out because he wanted to talk to her
“Wait, you wanted to talk to me. That's why you came to me.” she states worried
“I came to you because you were turning yourself into an ice block. What I wanted to talk to you about can wait.”
Hermione shakes her head in disagreement. “No, you waited for me, it was important”
Draco released a sigh “Granger, I promise it is not anything important. I just wanted your opinion for tomorrow. If you want to talk about Ronald, then that is the conversation we are having.”
She rolls her eyes at him. “Fine but neither of us are sleeping until we have your conversation.”
Draco nudges her side as they walk. “We should worry about defrosting you first.”
Hermione scoffs in offense and he opens the door to the common room with a smirk. He tells her to get herself settled on the sofa, moments later he drops a blanket over her shoulder and hands her a cup of tea. He takes his place on the opposite side of the sofa and waits for her to start with her concerns. He watches Hermione return to her normal self as he sips his tea. Hermione takes a large breath after placing her cup down and turning to Draco.
“Ronald will be at the gala tomorrow” she rushes out and Draco nods. “I figured he would be. Are you happy or upset about this information.” he asked calmly, resulting in Hermione pulling her knees to her chest and wrapped the blanket tightly around herself like a shield. “I don't want to see him,” she whispers her confession. Draco nods slowly, figuring that on his own based on her previous reactions whenever he was mentioned.
“What do you need from us or me?”
Draco noticed her eyes were beginning to water so he called her to regain her attention. “Do you no longer want me to accompany you?” he asked softly but her eyes flash to him with fear and she grabs his hand
“No, No please. I want you with me” he nods in understanding and runs his thumb along her hand. “Okay, if Ronald tries to talk to you, would you like one of us to come to pull you away.” Hermione looks into his eyes with desperation and gives him a small nod. “I will let Blaise and Theo know and I will make sure someone is keeping an eye on you.”
Silence falls over them for a moment, Hermione unsure what to say while Draco tries to carefully choose his next question.
“I know you have said before that you made a promise not to talk about what happened between the two of you but can you give me a little more information so I can be prepared for what could happen.”
“I can try,” Hermione nods slowly, thinking about what she can say. “He promised me that he would leave me alone and that neither of us will speak of what he did, or of what happened.”
“But you're worried he will do or say something to you at the gala despite the promise he made?” Draco questions with some confusion. Hermione nods then explain. ‘He sent me a letter on my birthday, but I sense that he also sent a gift that Ginny made disappear.”
Draco flips the words around in his mind before concern sinks in. “Did he threaten you?”
He watches as she tenses at his question before shaking her head then hesitates and says she didn't think so. “You don't need to say anything, but it seems like he didn't threaten you verbally but made you feel threatened in a physical way. We all will be there for you, but I might have to make a pact with Ginny that if he does something to you, she'll have to punch him.”
The pair laugh together. “Why does Ginny need to do it?” Hermione asks through her giggles. “Well, you see, a certain little witch threatened us three boys, not to screw up our probations. Plus, he is her brother, she probably had been waiting to do it. Plus, if she did do it, no one would bat an eye.” she releases a huff of amusement with a headshake. “Well, her mother is already going to avada her because of her dress. Why not add onto the crime.”
Draco looks at her with interest. “Her dress?” he watches as her eyes go wide with exaggeration. “Yes, she has a dress that's super tight, Molly is going to murder her.”
“Hey, if she wants to make a scandal, that's her choice. Is that the only problem with it?”
Hermione falls back onto the sofa. “Well, the top of the dress covers her chest but it's off the shoulder so I don't think Molly will be pleased with that also. Though I wouldn't be surprised if she did it just to mess with Molly.”
Hermione sits back up whenever she hears Draco's laughter. “What's so funny, Malfoy?”
She asked with her arms crossed. “Sorry, I just can totally see the weaslette doing that”
They fall silent for a moment, so Draco decides to turn the conversation back on track
“Putting Ronald aside, is there anything else concerning you about the gala tomorrow?” Draco asked cautiously, Hermione gets a unreadable expression over his face
“Who will have to be the big scary bodyguard tomorrow?” she asked with concern. Draco becomes serious looking Hermione over, attempting to read between the lines.
He leans forward, taking her hand in his. “What is it? What is worrying you.”
Hermione throws the blanket off of herself, starting to pace around the common room. Draco waits patiently as she paces, knowing she will talk whenever she is ready. “What if someone attacks us?” Hermione whispers out. Draco jumps to his feet, right as Hermione collapses to her knees bursting into tears. “Who are you worried about getting attacked?”
Hermione doesn't answer as she sobs into Draco's chest. He gathers her into his arms, taking her to the sofa. When he tries to set her down, she clings harder to him, so he places her onto his lap, rubbing her back to comfort her.
~~~
Theo, Luna and Blaise return to their floor. Theo walks in first, stopping at the sight on the sofa, causing Blaise to knock into Theo.
“What the fuck Theo” Blaise exclaims but his rant gets cut off by Luna’s hand covering his mouth with a hush. “They're sleeping, we don't want to wake them.
“What?” he asked, muffled by Luna's hand. Theo still not returning to the conversation, standing jaw dropped at the sight. Theo jumps at the feel of someone's hands landing on his shoulder. “It's not very polite to stare, Theodore.” Theo slowly turns his head towards Luna, still shocked. “Am I the only one who sees that the Draco Malfoy and the Hermione Granger, is sleeping in each other's arms?”
“They are adults Theo; they don't need supervision.”
Theo’s eyes light up with an idea. “That sounds like a perfect idea. Sleepover in the common room for Theo”
Luna goes to move in front of Theo. “That may not” Luna began to tell Theo, but Blaise cut her off. “Let him, Draco can yell at him in the morning.”
The couple watches as Theo practically skips off into the dormitory to change for bed. A moment later returning to the common room with a blanket. Blaise watches Theo pulls the center table towards the fireplace and one of the lounge chairs back. Blaise plants a kiss onto Luna's hairline. Luna heads into her dormitory while Blaise heads to his with a head shake of disapproval at Theo's actions of settling himself on the floor. Theo lays on the floor staring at the roof whenever he hears a groan from the sofa. He looks over to see Hermione trying to stand up. Theo gets to his feet, helping Hermione onto her feet and seated onto an ottoman.
“What you doing?” Hermione mumbles through a yawn. “I just need a minute to get him laying down on the sofa.” Theo pulls Draco down onto his side. Then turns to Hermione. “Where do you wish to sleep?”
She rubs her face with confusion “what's going on?”
“It looks like Draco, and you fell asleep together on the sofa, do you need help back to your dormitory?”
She shakes her head and climbs next to Draco onto the sofa. Theo watches in shock before shaking his head and heading to his dormitory and grabbing Draco’s blanket to place it over the sleeping pair. He returns to his spot on the floor and falls asleep.
A few hours later, Theo's eyes drift open finding a pair of silver eyes glaring at him. Theo smirks in response. “Morning” Theo says before closing his eyes and returning to his sleep. Before he knew it, Theo was waking due to water being poured onto his face. Theo shoots up into a seated position rubbing the water from his face.
“Enjoy the show, Theodore” Theo’s eyes go wide. Slowly looking up to the little witches' eyes that were on fire. “Ding ding, your turn on the chopping block now” Theo looks frantically around for someone to save him but only finds Draco giving him a knowing smirk.
“Um…hate to break it to you but if you kill me, you won’t be able to be together.” without a second thought Theo goes running for the restroom as objects go flying towards him.
Hermione then turns to Draco who was looking a bit annoyed and amused. “So, what exactly happened?”
Hermione sits down on the sofa and curls up on her side. “I think I woke up on your lap, Theo helped me to that ottoman, and he laid you down then I climbed back onto the sofa next to you.”
Draco nods slowly. “You were crying, I carried you to the sofa and you wouldn’t let me put you down so I'm guessing we fell asleep like that.”
Hermione releases a groan, sitting up to look at Draco. “Do you know the time?”
He looks around, discovering it was four ish and lets her know.
“Why was I crying”
“You were worried about someone getting attack”
Draco lays back down and gently guides Hermione back into her place.
“Back to sleep Ma Lune” she nods into his chest “I am scared Theo, Blaise, and you might get attacked because people think you three are death eaters. I am also scared that I might get attacked for being with you boys”
Draco pulls Hermione's face to look at him. “Not that long ago, a certain blonde, Ravenclaw which had said “All three of those Slytherin boys would burn the world for her safety and she in return.” so I guess it goes without saying that we won’t let anything happen to you and I know you won’t let anything happen to us”
Draco tugs the blanket over them and tucks a curl behind her ear. “Is this okay?”
Hermione nods and snuggles into him. “Okay, sleep now ma lune. We will need it for tonight”
Eventually Hermione's eyes jump open at the sound of the door opening. Within seconds she could feel the blanket get ripped from their bodies. “Okay, love birds, time to get up”
Draco eyes open at the feel of Hermione getting pulled away from him.
He rubs his eye and sits up to see the Weaslette standing above him. He gives her an unimpressed look before laying back down with his arm covering his face.
“Wakey wakey ferret, we have a gala to go to”
Ginny grabs his arm pulling him back to a seated position
“Weaslette, why the hell are you here?” he grumbles
She jerks him off the sofa, obviously moving along with the situation. “Someone has to kick your arse into shape.” He gives her a glare before looking around for Hermione.
“I sent her to shower. I have to deal with you before I can deal with her mane of curls.”
Draco looks to the redhead with confusion as he asks his question. “Deal with me. What does that mean?”
She tips her head in the direction of his dormitory, and he gives her a shocked and bewildered expression. “Weaslette, last I checked you have a boyfriend. One that can send me away forever.”
Ginny scoffs with an eye roll while gesturing angrily to the door again. “Oh, get over yourself, ferret”
“My dormitory mates are most likely sleeping in said room”
Ginny gives Draco an angry shove to the back and towards the room. “Theo and Blaise are currently grabbing some breakfast for everyone.” She gives him another shove. “Now, show me your dress robes for tonight because they better not be fully black.”
“Damn you Gryffindor girls and the need to manhandle and throw men around” Draco mumbles to himself as he opens the door for her. Ginny struts past Draco, throwing him a smirk and a blown kiss. “And you will do your best not to get on our bad side.” she tells him.
“Once again, trying to imagine how life would be if either of you girls got placed into Slytherin” he mumbles to himself once again.
“Malfoy” she exclaims “dress robes now.” she tells him with crossed arms and a tapping foot.
Draco pulls his dress robes from his wardrobe, handing it over to the redhead.
“My mother sent them, there are a few colors they can change to. She was hoping she could get me to wear something other than black.” he gestures to the robes. “Apparently you think the same”
Draco waits as Ginny flicks through the different dark colors. Green, Navy, Grey, Purple, Black. He sees a small smile creep onto her face while she chooses the color she wants. She holds the robes up to his body and gives him a firm nod. “This is it, this is your robes for the night.” Draco smiles back as he hangs the robes up, but Ginny could see he wasn't actually happy.
“I know you like your black clothing, but this change will really do you favors tonight” she tells him causing him to turn back to her confused. After a moment, he understood what she meant. “I waited yesterday for Hermione. I planned to get her opinion on the color I should wear but she was worrying about your brother and about us getting attacked. I think she had a panic attack and she cried herself to sleep in my lap.”
Ginny’s face flashes with sad understanding and she leads him to his bed and motions to ask to sit down also. At his approval she takes a seat and takes a deep breath.
“Did he hurt her?’ she asks with hesitation. Draco shifts on the bed showing his discomfort. “He definitely did hurt her. She didn't say how, particularly saying she couldn't say anything because they had a promise. Though in my opinion, I would say he did something to make her feel physically threatened.”
Ginny watches as Draco turns paler than usual.
“You just put pieces together about something.”
He nods, placing his hands on his head. ‘I need you to not react before hearing me out, okay?” she eyes him suspiciously but nods in agreement.
“So, we were talking one day and whenever I was taking in what she had said to me. She took my look as something to fear. I had explained and gotten her calm but she had told me that last time someone had given her that look, they screamed in her face and hurt her. So, she thought I was going to hurt her also.” she notices whenever he looked at her, she could see the concern in his eyes.
“You think that someone is my brother?” she asked, afraid of his answer. He nods slowly. “I'm sorry I know he is your brother but the way she reacted to both conversations makes me think that.
Ginny shakes his apology off. “I have asked Harry the same thing. My brother, with how many siblings I have, has shown anger and jealousy in the past. So yes, I can't disagree with you.”
Ginny slaps her hands onto her knees before she stands up “so we don’t let him get a chance to get her alone.” Ginny points a finger at him. “You are her date. If he hurts her, I'll come after you.”
Ginny watches a small smile appear on his face. “Sounds perfect, weaslette. I already told her. I indeed plan to pull an excuse is she needs ones”
Ginny nods and goes to leave but Draco makes a snarky comment before she exits the door. “You won't be able to come after me if your mother kills you first for your attire for tonight.” Ginny turns back to Draco, grasping. “She told you about my dress?”
Draco smirks, patting her shoulder. “Excuse me mademoiselle” then Draco passes her through the doorway.
Draco enters the restroom to clean himself up before Madam Pomfrey brings the morning potions for Hermione and himself and before the boys return with breakfast. Before the boys could start getting ready for the gala, they each had an appointment with their probation auror. Draco had his appointment first, followed by Blaise and finishing out with Theo.
~~~
Once they have eaten, Ginny pulls Hermione into the girls dormitory and Luna heads to the restroom to shower. Ginny places Hermione on her bed before pulling out her makeup bag. Ginny starts with doing Hermione’s fingernails in a soft blue and pink marble color that reminds Hermione of cotton candy due to the light white color within. Once Ginny completes them, she moves onto her own while Hermione uses the matching blue to paint her toenails. Ginny paints her fingernails a simple off-white color to match with her shoes and toenails. Luna returns to the room and gets her nails done in a gold ish white color to match her dress’s flowers. After Ginny got Hermione's hair fully dried, she began to style it so that her hair was in an updo bun with some strands loose and curled. Hermione then moves to help Luna get her hair dried and styled. Hermione styles Luna’s hair into a half up with a white flower hair clip. Ginny moves to the mirror to place her hair into a large hair clip that holds all of it into an updo. Once the girls got their hair and nails completed, they each moved onto their makeup. Hermione sits in front of the full-length mirror to do her makeup. She applied a light bit of eye liner and mascara along with a nude colored eyeshadow that had a shimmery look. She finishes the look with a light glittery pink color to her lips. Ginny uses Hermione’s hand mirror to charm white eye shadow and a darker look using eyeliner and mascara. Ginny completes her makeup with matte dark red lips and a light dusting of shiny powder to her nose and cheekbone. Luna does her makeup by using a light blue and white combination of eyeshadow and a clear glitter gloss to her lips.
Ginny returns to her dormitory to finish getting ready and to wait for Harry to pick her up. Hermione exits her dormitory to find light mumbles coming from the restroom which had the door slightly open. She knocks on the door as she slowly enters. She finds that Theo releases grunts of frustration as he tries to style his hair. Hermione pushes his hands away from his hair before turning him towards her. She uses her wand that she had gotten professor approval for use, earlier that day to cast charms to dry his hair. Hermione then moved onto casting a charm Ginny had taught her for her curls. Once she got Theo’s hair looking how she wanted, she turned him back to the mirror to show him.
“How? How can you make my hair look this much in order when your hair used to be a frizzy bush." Theo tells her, causing her to scoff and smack his shoulder playfully.
“It's called I learned to tame it. Do you think my hair doesn’t look good, Theodore?”
Theo’s eyes grow wide, and he babbles out that she looked very pretty before he realized she was messing around with him. She smirks and makes her way from the restroom to allow him to get dressed. She exits the restroom finding Luna joining Blaise in the common room. Blaise was dressed in simple black dress robes that had a white undershirt and gold - white bow tie that matches the flowers on Luna's dress. Luna was sitting on a lounge chair in the common room as Blaise put her nude heels onto her feet. Luna finished her attire for the gala by putting in a pair of earrings and matching necklace that looked made by herself. Ones made of white flowers that went well with her hair clip. Hermione compliments the pair on their approaches before watching as Theo exits the restroom dressed in dark green and black dress robes. She tells him that he looks incredibly handsome before returning to her dormitory to get changed.
Draco sits on the end of his bed, staring at the dress robes hanging up to be put on. He doesn't know how long he stares off into nothingness until the door slowly opens. Theo slowly comes closer, bringing Draco out of his thoughts.
“Hey, everything okay?” Theo asked cautiously as he took a seat next to Draco. Draco nods but doesn't give a verbal response.
“Are those your robes for tonight? You are going with dark blue.”
“Yeah, Ginny barged in this morning and dragged Granger off the sofa and into the shower and then dragged me in here to see my options.”
Theo looks slowly back and forth between the dress robes and Draco.
“Do you not like them? I can turn them back to black if that's really what you prefer.”
Draco shakes his head in disapproval “No, the color isn't the problem.”
“But there is a problem” Theo concludes, and Draco shrugged in response.
Theo stands from the bed causing Draco to lift his head but finds Theo's hand in his hair, messing it up. Draco slaps his hand away with a look of shock.
“What the fuck, Theo” Theo smirks in response before leaning closer to whisper.
“You look hotter with a fancy messy do. Plus, that witch is about to blow you off your feet. Your mother would be disappointed if you didn't at least take her breath away.”
Theo pulls him to his feet by his elbow. With a pat to his shoulder, Theo tells him he needs to get changed. Draco starts to get changed into his robes while Theo looks through Draco's jewelry. He pulls out a silver watch that his mother gave him a few years ago, one she had his initials and constellations engraved into. Theo pulls out a necklace chain that has a dragon pendant. He looks at it curious when he finds that the dragon has a sapphire gem in the dragon’s mouth. Theo looks over the rings that Draco has. He passes over the Malfoy signet ring, knowing Draco probably wouldn't want to wear it. Instead Theo pulls a silver ring out of the box, one with his name engraved inside and emerald and green alexandrite stones.
Draco approaches the bed to place his shoes on, and Theo approaches with the three items of jewelry. Draco looks at them before gesturing to the bedside table that sat a box. "I need those rings also”
Theo nods and grabs the box to look inside, finding two matching rings.
“These are matching couple rings,” Theo says out loud. Draco looks up to him with an unreadable expression. “Technically, yes.”
“Are you two a couple now? What happened last night?”
Draco stands and approaches the mirror in the room and places the jewelry on.
“We are not a couple and last night we fell asleep together after she panicked and cried herself asleep into my chest.”
“She had a chance to sleep elsewhere but she climbed back onto the sofa to lay with you” Theo tells him with suspicion “and I'm guessing you're going to give her the ring to wear”
Draco looks up to him in the reflection of the mirror. “Yes, it is linked to the one I'm going to wear so if she needs me. She can trigger it to let me know.” Draco then turns to Theo “You'll help me keep her safe right. You will help me watch out for her.”
Theo nods and pulls Draco into a hug causing Draco to release a shuddered breath
“ Of course I am. Is that what was happening last night and today”
Draco nods as he pulls away from Theo’s hug
“We were talking last night about her worries about Ronald attending the gala tonight also. She started panicking about the possibility of us or her getting attacked tonight which is why she was crying.”
Theo reaches for Draco’s collar to fix it. “You look incredible, but I think she might have you beat” Theo smirks and messes up Draco's hair once again. “Come on, let’s go see if the brilliant witch is ready” The two boys exit the dormitory, finding the witch has not returned to the common room. They didn't have to wait long because a moment later the two wizards looked up to find her exiting the room. Draco’s mouth drops open at her sight causing Theo to snicker behind him.
“No need to drool, drakey- poo” Theo whispers. Draco elbows Theo in the ribs in a sign to tell him to shut up.
Draco approaches her, taking her sight in. Hermione was dressed in rose smoke, a satin dress that was just above ankle length. The dress was long sleeved with a mock neck and elastic waist. She wore a pair of light nude, lace - up heels with a silver necklace with sapphire gemstones that her mother had passed down to her. He noticed she was wearing delicate, tassel earrings that had shiny rhinestones. Draco lifted her left hand to kiss her knuckles whenever he noticed she was wearing a thin ring that had three different gemstones placed in a row. The stones were Ruby, her father’s birthstone, Sapphire for her own birthstone, and Amethyst for her mother’s birthstone.
“This is a stunning ring, perfect for a gorgeous and elegant witch like yourself” Draco tells her before placing a soft kiss onto her knuckles. “Thank you” she tells him with a smile that lights her eyes up.
“I have a question for you, and I was hoping you would hear me out before shutting me down.” she nods for him to continue so he does. “I was hoping that you would accept this ring and to particularly wear it tonight.” Hermione's eyes go slightly wide so Draco continues. “It's just a ring, well not just a ring.” he shows her the ring in his hand. The ring in his palm was an adjustable silver ring that had a few different star gems along the band.
“This ring is linked to mine” Draco shows her the ring on the middle finger of his left hand. His ring was a solid band that had a few gems cut into the band that was also in the shape of stars.
“The reason I would like you to wear it is because if you turn this star once and then this star it will cause my ring to turn warm to let me know you triggered it. If you want my help, you do that, and I will come to you” she nods in understanding as he shows her how to activate the ring." So may I place this ring on your finger so you can wear it tonight." Draco asks her, clearly nervous of her answer.
Hermione nods slowly “yes, I will wear this ring under one condition” she tells him as she keeps a smirk off her face. Draco takes a deep breath before asking her what the condition was. “I would like you to clasp this bracelet onto my wrist” she opens her palm to show him the charm bracelet with a H charm and a sapphire charm that he had given her only a few months ago. He carefully picks the charm bracelet from her palm with a smile. “I would be honored to clasp this bracelet onto your wrist.”
Draco hooks the bracelet around her left wrist before sliding the star ring onto her finger on her right hand. “Can you easily turn the stars of the ring?” he asks her and gets a nod in response. “Okay, you can trigger it at any time you want me to find you, okay? Even if someone makes you slightly uncomfortable, you let me know and I will come find you.”
Hermione looks up to him and he could see she wanted to ask him something
“What is it Hermione?” Draco notices her hesitation, so he gives her a nod of encouragement.
“Can I hug you?” she asks him in a small voice. Draco looks a bit concerned and nods in approval. Hermione wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Thank you” she tells him.
“Why are you thanking me, Hermione?”
“I express my concern for tonight and you have this ring to help me reassure me of my safety and make me feel more comfortable so thank you”
He pulls back slightly to give her a reassuring smile.
“I will do everything in my power to make you as comfortable and safe as I can.” Draco gestures to Theo “We all will do that. Ginny and Theo already know about your nerves for tonight and will keep an eye out for you. I planned to tell Blaise the same and I guarantee that Ginny has already let Harry know of the situation”
The three look amongst each other, all agreeing they are ready to go to the event. Draco offers his arm to Hermione to which she takes it with a smile and Theo walks aside Hermione. Opening the door for the pair and offering his arm to her at the staircase to help make sure she doesn't get hurt.
Notes:
TW: Mentions and references of a possibly physical attack. References to a previous domestic abuse relationship. Panic attacks. Mentions of Punching / Harming a sibling
5528 words in this chapter
Of course, Theo had to be like "oh, guess I'm supervising tonight" because he knew it would make Draco irritated, but he wasn't expecting Hermione to wake me up with water to the face. Also, Ginny barging into the common room and breaking the sleeping pair apart and sending them onto their way to completely their tasks. Ginny grew up with six older brothers, and Hermione is her and Harry's sister so now she's treating Draco as her brother even though draco and Hermione aren't a couple.
This is kind of Part one of three of the gala. The next chapter starts at the beginning of the gala and will hopefully be posted around Dec 9th - 11th
Sorry, it's a little late. I planned to post it yesterday but end up cleaning and doing laundry until super early in the morning~Lunaamethyst203
Chapter 22: "Slut!"
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty - Two: “Slut!”
Draco steps through the floo into the atrium of the Ministry. Watching for the green flames to appear again signaling Hermione was traveling through. After a moment he spots the flames and offers his hand to the materializing witch only to catch her by the waist as she stumbles out of the fireplace. He holds in his smile at the feel of her hands finding stability on his chest.
He looks up from her hands to her face finding her eyes staring at her own hands on his chest. He sees a look of horror upon her face, so he speaks to get her attention.
“Are you okay?” He asks softly, using the hands on her waist to turn her out of the way of the fireplace so Theo doesn't slam into them. Hermione nods in response but she still doesn't move her eyes from his chest. “If you are okay, why do you look terrified?” Hermione jerks her hands from his chest, looking at him wide - eyed. “I’m sorry, I tripped”
Draco slowly releases her from his grasp, stepping back to give her a little room. “I know. Everything is fine.” Draco offers Hermione his arm and she takes it with a small smile. They walk up to Theo, who was waiting a few meters away. They head to the entrance of the hall where the event was taking place. Hermione squeezes his arm in fear but finds Theo placing his hand on her back and Draco’s hand squeezing her hand.
“We are with you lune”
They enter, finding their table where Luna and Blaise were waiting for them. The five of them were seated together while Ginny and Harry were seated with Ronald, Arthur and Molly a few tables away. Draco pulls the chair out for Hermione and helps her in before taking the seat next to her. The small group talked quietly until dinner and drinks were served. Hermione looked confused at the feeling of being watched. She finds Draco watching her, Hermione covers her mouth with her hand as she finishes chewing.
“What is it?” she asked confusedly, rubbing her thumb under her lip.
Draco shakes his head, looking down at the table with a smirk. “Nothing” Draco answers but Hermione gives him a look causing him to give in. “I suppose I just never expected you to appear so proper.”
Hermione rolls her eyes half-heartedly before returning to eating. After a moment she looks to her left at the sound of Theo trying to gain Draco’s attention.
“Mother is here?” Theo whispers looking at Draco before using his head to gesture to Narcissa sitting across the room. “Has she noticed us?”
Theo shakes his head no and Draco makes a motion of understanding. “Just make sure I greet her before she greets us”
After eating the room began to mingle around the room. Draco stands, offering his hand to Hermione who takes it with a smile. “Harry and Ginny are over there, talking to Kingsley. Would you like me to take you over to them while I greet my mother.” Draco whispers in her ear. She pulls back from him with an unreadable expression. “Because you don't want me to accompany you or because you think I don't wish to accompany you” Draco looks over her face for a moment before holding his arm out to her. “If you would like to join Theo and I, you are welcomed to”
The three of them head in the direction of Narcissa. Theo greets her first with a kiss on her cheek then to her knuckles. Draco grumbles behind him so Theo steps away with a smirk in Draco’s directions. Draco doesn't greet his mother immediately, noticing Narcissa was observing Hermione and himself. Her eyes drift over to her son’s, and he steps forward to kiss her other cheek.
“Mother” Draco begins to introduce the two witches. “This is Hermione Granger. Hermione, my mother Narcissa” Hermione gives her a nod of acknowledgment
“Wonderful to see you again, Mrs. Malfoy”
Narcissa shakes her head in disapproval. “Narcissa, please” she gives the older witch a nod of understanding. “Okay, Narcissa. Please call me Hermione then.”
Narcissa looks among the three students before her attention is back on Hermione
“You look beaut” Draco and Theo cut her words off with a clearing of their throat but they both see as Hermione freezes at the word.
Narcissa looks to Draco with confusion and Theo jumps in to slowly lead Hermione away. He feels as her body is tense when his hand is on her back but unsure of any other way to calmly remove her from the room. They enter the women’s lavatory and Theo sits her down on an ottoman in the part of the lavatory where mirrors and counters are located to freshen up appearances. Theo kneels in front of her, hoping to help her but he could see the blankness in her eyes, what looked like occlumency. He lowers himself fully to the floor in front of her, making the choice to allow her to make the next step.
Draco and Narcissa watch as Theo guides Hermione out of the door, most likely to a private area. Once Hermione leaves their sight, Draco turns back to his mother to find an expression that looks neutral to others, but he could see her nervousness. Without looking at Draco, Narcissa speaks low “What did I do?”
Draco shakes his head, in barely noticeable movement but Narcissa finally looks to her son. “I don't know the exact reason, but I have made a list of items that could or do cause flashbacks for her. Calling her beautiful I know for sure is one of them. She has shown a bit of trauma from the snatchers.” Draco kisses her mother’s cheek once more before mumbling about talking to Harry.
Draco approaches the back of Harry and Ginny, talking softly so they can only hear his words. “Hermione is in a flashback. Do you know anything about the word beautiful triggering her.” Harry and Ginny look at each other, sharing a silent conversation before turning to Draco with a small head shake. “Not exactly, lets go to the hallway” Draco leaves first with Harry and Ginny following him. Once they were out of sight of the room, Harry grabbed Draco’s shoulder. Harry pushes him into a room nearby, the men's bathroom. Draco flashes a look of concern to Ginny. Ginny gives him a smirk while Harry checks, silences, and locks the room.
“You can do legilimency right?” Harry asks and gets a look of horror in response
“Well,” Harry pushes and Draco nods slowly. “It's a skill I have but I can't do it. It'll violate my probation.” Harry grabs Draco’s arm and slaps his wand into it. “I can't remember details directly so if you see for yourself, you will be able to help her better”
Draco shakes his head in disagreement but Harry pushes “no one will find out because I'm the one having you do it, Ginny is a witness, and it will be my wand not yours.” Harry pauses for a moment. “For Hermione”
Draco looks between Harry and Ginny but eventually gives in.
Harry feels a light chill enter his mind. It reminds him of a breeze coming off the coastal water. He pulls the memory of the snatchers to the front of his mind. Draco carefully goes through the memory, seeing that Scabior called his attention to her by calling her beautiful. He watches as fear crosses her face for a second before desperation and determination is expressed as she turns and runs for safety. Harry quickly follows her with the redhead behind them. They run together dodging the spells flying at them until Harry stops at the sight of Hermione pausing to look at him. Within a moment, Hermione casts a spell at him. Draco knew it was the stinging jinx. She grabs his glasses and shoves them in his pocket. They have a quick conversation before Hermione is ripped off of him by snatchers. Draco feels his stomach drop so he tries to pull out of Harry’s mind but before he could there is a strong tug keeping him there.
Draco continues with the memory seeing the snatcher holding her behind while Hermione bends and twists trying to escape. Scabior approaches her and Draco knows this is the moment that Hermione had vaguely explained during their morning whenever they ran into that young Gryffindor. He feels bile rising in his throat, seeing the whole scene is worse than he could imagine and tying together that this was a moment that deeply affects her because she had implied this moment many times before. Scabior had asked her name and then immediately catches her scent, making a comment of her smell of vanilla and how she would be his favorite. He sees how Scabior leaned towards her in a way that gave the impression of kissing her and how Hermione pulled back in disgust. Scabior grabs Hermione’s upper arms and starts to drag Hermione off into the woods. She tries to fight him by digging her heels into the ground, but Scabior just lifts her off her feet by an arm around her waist. Much like how Draco did to keep her from running into that young student during their run. Scabior drags Hermione about 5 meters before the other snatcher gets his attention because of Harry and the weasel. Scabior hands Hermione off to Greyback while investigating and controlling the two boys. Draco looks to Hermione, spotting that Greyback was nudging her throat with his mouth as he whispered in her ear. Draco could see that Hermione kept attempting to build walls in her mind to block everything out, but she kept failing. At the announcement of them taking the trio to the manor, Draco pulls out of Harry’s mind.
Draco quickly turns and retches into a bin, once finishing Draco turns to the sink to splash water onto his face. Harry and Ginny turn to give him a little privacy to collect himself while Ginny tries to comfort Harry at the sight of his face of illness.
Draco walks back to the couple. “Theo is still with her. I'm going to go be with them. She is in the women's lavatory so you can join whenever you are ready.” with a nod, Draco leaves heading to Theo and Hermione.
Draco enters the lavatory, cautiously to find Theo sitting on the floor in front of the frozen witch. Theo looks up and slowly shakes his head no, signaling Hermione hasn’t resurfaced yet. Draco sits down, back against the ottoman that Hermione was sitting on. Close enough for her to smell his scent but not enough that she could feel his body. The two wizards sit silently waiting for Hermione but eventually slightly jumps at the sound of a quick, unsteady breath.
“What, what happened?” Hermione asked unsure, looking around the room and between the wizards. Theo moves a little closer to gain her attention.
“You disassociated due to a trigger from trauma.” Theo informs her. Hermoine nods slowly while a slight flash appears on her face. “How long was I gone?” she asked with embarrassment as she stands and runs her hands over her dress. Draco and Theo stand up, fixing their clothing also. “It lasted give or take 10 minutes” the blonde wizard answered softly. She nods and turns to look at her appearance in the mirror. The wizards wait patiently until she turns to them flashing a partly fake smile. At her gesture both boys offer he their arms and they return to the room. As they enter, they find the tables had been moved to the sides of the room to allow couples to dance together.
Hermione turns to the boys, and they find her with an expression of slight excitement. She quickly turns to Theo before holding her hand out to him. He accepts her hand, and she pulls him towards the dance floor. Theo places a kiss softly to her knuckles and she playfully rolls her eyes before giving a bow. Theo continues his silly antics by curtsying back to Hermione. She pulls him towards her by both hands and they begin a dance together. The pair dances by circling and spinning around each other, similar to a simple country swing dance. Theo and Hermione take turns leading throughout the dance but ends the dance with Hermione dropping Theo into a small dip which causes the pair to lightly giggle together. She pulls him back up and they start to sway together to a song that has a slower pace and Theo leads her. She allows him to lead and places her ear to his chest.
“People were watching our last dance” Theo softly tells Hermione. He feels as she smiles to herself. “Does it bother you?” she questions with amusement.
“Not one bit” Theo tells her as he rests his chin against her head. “We could be dancing a lot worse”
“Let them watch then,” she whispered to him. “This world needs a bit of giddy silliness”
Theo agrees with her statement then slowly twirls her out then back in to continue swaying together.
After Theo and Hermione leave to dance together, Draco returns to his mother.
“They look lovely together” Narcissa speaks aloud just enough for Draco to hear.
“Yes, they certainly do. Do you think it will cause a scandal”
The two of them inspect the crowd watching the dancing pair. “It’s hard to predict.” Narcissa informs Draco. “It can be described both ways, so it’ll depend on the writer. If they want to use this moment either in a scandal sense or in a united way on both sides.”
Narcissa and Draco fall silent, watching as Blaise guides Luna onto the floor next to Hermione and Theo. After a few songs, Narcissa places her hand on Draco’s arm as she passes him with a knowing look. “If I'm not mistaken, it appears that your date is dancing with your friends rather than her date.” Draco traces her eye line to find the wizards had traded dance partners so that Luna was dancing with Theo while Blaise danced with Hermione. Draco observes his friends dancing with the witches and approaches as the song begins to end. Theo notices Draco on the sideline so he shares a look with Blaise before the wizards twirl the girls back into their original partners arms. Theo sees the fondness in Draco’s eyes as he dips Hermione, then when she is pulled back up Theo leads her to Draco by her hand. Theo places a light kiss to her cheek with a whisper.
“Take your dance with him seriously” followed by a smirk as he pulled away while passing her hand over to Draco.
“May I dance with you, my lady?” he asks softly. Hermione lightly laughs with a nod
“I would be honored to dance with you” she responds, allowing him to lead her to the floor. He gives her a bow with a kiss to her knuckles and she gives him a small curtsy. They dance together, perfectly as they make small conversations.
Throughout the dance Hermione notices that Narcissa's eyes have glanced at them a few times as she socializes with another guest of the event. When she goes to look up to Draco, she finds that his eyes were already trained on her with an expression she has never seen on him before. When their eyes connect, Draco clears his throat as he looks away and Hermione spots the faint pinkness of flush appearing on his cheeks. Hermione reaches to his cheek and pulls his gaze back to her.
“You are allowed to admit you were watching me, you don't need to be embarrassed” she tells him in a whisper to not be overheard. She gives him time to think the words over as they continue to calmly slow dance together. At the end of the dance, he dips her in a manner more intimate and elegant then Theo had previously done.
“You, Hermione Granger, is the most radiant witch I have ever seen. So, no I was not watching you. I was completely wonderstruck by you.” After Draco declares he pulls her out of the dip.
He smiles gently at her, knowing she was trying to process what just happened. He leads her to the table Theo was sat at. After Draco helps her into her seat once again, they sip their drinks while discussing the event. Eventually, Draco excuses himself to ask his mother to dance when he sees she is watching him. Hermione not long later also excuses herself to socialize. Blaise and Theo keep their focus on the brunette as she moves person to person, talking lightly until they both notice Hermione posture straightening. The boys share a concerned glance amongst each other before they make their ways to the witch.
“Look, it truly is the death eater slut. It is so pleasing to know the youngest Weasley son could get away from you since he wasn’t enough for you unless he was tending to your whore habits.”
Hermione inspects the random wizard insulting her before she gives him a smirk that even Molly Weasley or Narcissa Malfoy hasn’t yet mastered.
“Clearly, you are mistaken about me. To start, Ronald did not leave me, I indeed left him. The reason though is none of your damn business. Secondly, I am what many call the golden girl, or brightest witch of her age. I did not get those names by sitting on the sideline. I am standing in front of you despite escaping a fully grown mountain troll at the age of 12, getting petrified by a basilisk snake at 13, protecting Harry Potter from a werewolf at 14, fighting death eaters multiple times between the age of 16 and 19. In particular getting torture by Voldemort’s right-hand witch, Bellatrix Lestrange, then right after turning into said witch to break into her vault. One that is one of the most guarded vaults at Gringotts then rode a dragon out of said bank. I am someone who fought and aided in winning the second wizarding war. I made my own parents, unaware of them having a child and sent them to a different county to protect them. Successfully might I add since not one single death eater could find their location.”
Hermione leans in closer to the wizard who was very much inaudible with shock at the way she was responding to him. Whisper to him with fake confusion “Also, if I remember correctly, a certain journalist went quiet for a little while around my fourth year.” she pulls away from him with the same smirk from early “I wonder why that is? Well anyways, next time you want to make comments about someone. Might I suggest actually looking into who they are and what they are capable of doing.”
Hermione acts as if she was going to walk away but he found a wand pointed at his throat while his wand was missing. “For your information, death eater slut or any other nickname doesn't mean anything when you have a literal slur carved into your body.” With that she drops his wand onto the ground and struts away like the bad ass she knew she was followed by the two wizards who came to her rescue but quickly discovered that she indeed had it handled.
Draco looks over to the red-headed witch who is suddenly snickering to herself. Harry and himself followed her gaze to spot the brunette witch who was striding back to her table with an air of confidence. With Blaise and Theo following her like bodyguards that she clearly didn't need.
“Good luck with that witch, Malfoy.” Harry tells him while Ginny adds her comment in. “Whatever she has done to you in the past was child’s play compared to the berating she gave that wizard.” Draco gives them a stiff nod before excusing himself to follow Hermione, Theo and Blaise.
Draco approaches the table his friends were sitting at. He watches Hermione in confusion as she ignores Theo’s questions. Draco takes his seat next to her, but she doesn’t even appear to notice him. He tries to follow her eye line and discovers she was observing random wizards at the gala. Hermione jumps out of her skin at the barely physical touch from Draco’s cautious nudge.
“Shhh” Draco tries to soothe her “it’s just me. Can you tell me what you were doing”
Hermione shrugs as she looks around the room once more before her eyes meet Draco’s. Hermione finishes the sip from her champagne glass and stares at the bottom of the glass for a moment before returning her eyes to Draco. She glances at the other boys then stands to excuse herself.
“Would you like me to escort you?” Draco asks as he lays his hand on top of hers that was resting on the back of her chair.
“No, thank you though. I’m going to the restroom and asking Ginny to come with me.”
Draco gives her hand a small squeeze before pulling away.
“Watch out for any trolls,” Theo jokes. At his words Hermione pauses in her walk away. She stays frozen for a moment before turning her face to Theo. She stares blankly for a moment before giving a single nod. The three boys watch as she approaches Ginny and Harry before both girls disappear into the hallway
“Well, that was odd” Theo says out loud at the same time Draco also speaks up.
“Something’s not right”
Theo and Blaise look at Draco with confused expressions.
“Why do you say that” Blaise asks as he starts to look around for anything suspicious
“Whenever I got to the table, she was lost in her own head. Looking around for something or taking in the people here. I accidentally scared her out of it and then a few moments later she was excusing herself from the table. It was almost like she was confused or suspicious of something”
Theo looks to Harry then towards the hallways the girls left out of.
“Do you think someone cast something on her?” Blaise asked in thought, trying to determine if anything seemed off.
“I honestly have no clue. I made eye contact with her a few times throughout the exchange and her eyes didn’t portray anything” Draco responded then Theo stood up to switch seats so that he was sitting where Hermione was previously. Theo spots her glass and picks it up to inspect it. Blaise and Draco began to stand up from the seats.
“What are you both doing?” Theo asks as he lifts the glass towards his nose to smell.
“Theo, stay here for the time being, in case you notice anything strange. Blaise can walk around and talk to acquaintances, and I’ll go talk to Potter to see if he notices anything.”
The three boys attend to their separate tasks while Hermione and Ginny return to the room to start talking to Kingsley.
~~~
Ginny nods with agreement as she links her hand with Hermione. As they walked together to the restroom, Ginny noticed that Hermione was fully scanning the room in front of her. Once they reached the hallway Ginny gently pulled Hermione to a stop.
“Hey, Mione?” She asks quietly. “Is there something that is the matter?” Ginny asked her softly. Hermione looks around the hallway before nodding, saying she was fine, and they could talk more in the restroom. Hermione goes into the restroom stall and Ginny touches up her makeup in the mirror. Ginny connects eyes with Hermione through the mirror as she leaves the stall.
“What did that wizard say to you?” Ginny asked in a whisper whenever Hermione started washing her hands. Hermione rolls her eyes to herself then looks into Ginny's eyes. “Just pretty much put his input in about my whore habits. He’s also seemed pretty happy that your brother seen my so-called habits and left me”
Ginny doesn’t respond right away, instead she looks over Hermione for anything hidden.
“Are you scared of him? Why were you looking everywhere like you're afraid”
“No, I had one glass of champagne, but it made me more mellow than it usually would have, and it had a cherry hint to it so I’m being cautious.”
Ginny hums and comes up to Hermione, using her hands to move Hermione’s face to look over her one last time before they return to the gala.
Notes:
TW: Mentions of trauma / trigger response, references to dissociation. Mentions and references to the snatchers chase in the harry potter and the deathly hallows part one movie. Implications of attempted sexual assault. Implications of a possible drugging. Mentions and implication of degrading, slut shaming, slur calling...you get the point. Mentions and references to everything / a lot of bad things that happen to the golden trio during Hogwarts years/
4114 Words in this chapter
Theo calling Narcissa mother, it just warms my heart. Also, of course I have to add in a BAMF Hermione Granger moment. I think this may be one of my favorite chapters because it has darkness / angsts and lightness / silliness at the same time. I love the details of Hermione having soft moments with her boys.
Any predictions or thoughts on why Hermione started to act odd / why she felt mellow?
I'm sorry the update is late again. December is such a bad time for me because it is hectic with work and Christmas preparations, but I made myself finish the update tonight.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 23: Seventeen
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty - Three: Seventeen
Hermione breaks off from Ginny whenever she feels someone grab her arm and lead her to a corner of the room. She couldn't see him, but she knew who it was. Finally understanding about her champagne. Ronald pins her into the corner, and she shoves him back by hitting her hands against his chest.
“You bastard, you slipped something into my drink.” Hermione starts to feel panic creep into her mind. She goes to trigger her ring for Draco whenever the weasel notices and crushes her hand in his in an attempt to stop her.
“I need to talk to you, it's important and it can’t wait.”
Hermione tries to fight to free her hands but he shoves her back against the wall.
“We need to get back together mione, they are creating a marriage law. Once the law is passed everyone will have a few months to show promising information of being in a serious relationship or the ministry will pair you up with a marriage partner.”
Hermione quickly alerts the ring, before kicking his shin and trading places with him.
“We made an agreement, one that only benefits you. Yet you are the one that continues to break it. You leave me the hell alone and I won't speak of what you did for me to leave you.” Hermione leans into his face. “This is your last warning, leave me alone or I will bury you.” she feels as someone grasps her shoulder carefully and she knows it was Draco. She turns to leave with her group of friends but turns back to the redhead, “Even if you were the last man on earth, after what you did I would never get with you again. Not to mention, I am not distasteful, I will not have to get with you to be in a relationship, there are plenty of men who are interested in me for me. I thought you learned this in fourth year." Hermione walks away with all four of her boys following her and leaving Ginny behind.
“I don't know what crawled up your arse but figure your shit out.” Ginny snarls in the weasel’s face before pushing him back into the wall and storming away.
Ginny approaches her friends, seeing Kingsley was leaving the group and going in the direction of the platform.
“Did you let Kingsley know about us leaving?” Ginny questions but before anyone could answer everyone’s attention is turned to the platform.
“I would like everyone to welcome Miss Granger to the stage. One of the members of Guiding Wix”
Kingsley announces as he steps back from the platform and everyone's attention is turned to her, who was looking a bit taken back.
At Hermione's frozen state, Draco steps towards her. Carefully placing his hand on her back. Hermione turns to him and with an encouraging nod she gives him a small smile and allows him to lead her to the small set of steps leading up to the platform. As Hermione takes her first step she clenches her hand with nerves but instantly notices Draco was offering his hand for her to grasp as she steps onto the platform. Hermione looks back to Draco once she was safely on the platform and he mouths to her that she will do great. With a nod she whispers a thank you and he steps back away.
Hermione takes a deep, settling breath as her gaze runs over the crowd.
“Hello, everyone. As many of you may know, I am Hermione Granger. I am a muggle born witch in her last year of hogwarts. I am also one of the members of the guiding wix group. This group was created to lighten and reunite the students and school environment after the school and its students who were used as a point in the war. The six of us were chosen because we bring a variety of enlightenment to the school. The war affected many witches and wizards and since the start I have taken notes of many different reactions. Some of you had no part in the war at all, and honestly it shows because it’s clear that it was as if nothing happened at all.”
Hermione pauses in her speech, watching as some attendees shift in discomfort while others are acting as if they are superior to other witches and wizards.
“A lot of lessons have resulted due to the war. If you were to look around, you should be able to determine whether the person next you are part of those who created these lessons or if they are those who have to learn the lesson before history repeats itself. Everyone who had a part in the war had their reasons. It might have been good intentions for good reasons or bad intentions for bad reasons but there are also bad intentions for good reasons and good intentions for bad reasons. As a child in this war, I say with great disappointment that most of the adults in this room failed me, you failed my classmates and you failed each other. I nearly died in this very building a few years ago, something that could have been greatly different if the return of a dangerous person was taken seriously. Instead, an innocent person was blamed because he was also failed by this ministry. This person was Sirius black who died that night. He lost his life protecting every one of us by fighting against dark witches and wizards.”
Hermione looks to Harry to see his sadness flow from his eyes as she feels her own run down her face.
With a slow and steady breath she continues.
“I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side as we work towards reuniting our world. I have seen my fellow members at their worst and at their best. I saw during the battle, one of my fellow members risked their life to move the younger students of their own house along with rival houses to safety. I saw as my fellow members watched the death of their own family and continued on because grief doesn’t have a place in battles and wars. I saw the fear in their eyes as they saw people they loved and hated getting harmed, tortured and killed. I was there, I was within the battle. There are witches and wizards around you that were in the middle of the battle. Lives were ended, lives that some hold lesser because they were muggleborns, or blood traitors, or lycanthropes. Their lives were spent being looked down on for something they had no control over but they still risked and lost their lives to protect our magical world. This magical world that treated them like scum but they still did it. In the end it amazes me that literal children are better at seeing one true self and looking past mistakes then adults can. So, I hope as you leave here tonight, you can think back on how you can better this world and allow the witches and wizards around you to make mistakes and be forgiven for them.”
Hermione looks once again throughout the room, discovering most of the room staring in shock due to her speech with only two bodies actively moving. As she reaches the steps she spots as Draco holds his hand up for her to take for stability as she descends the steps. While Theo holds a flute for her to drink once she is safely on the floor. Draco goes to move his hand back to her back but she stops him by placing her hand on the inside of his elbow. At the same time she links her fingers with Theo’s who looks taken back but quickly smiles in response. Before leading her back to her group of friends, Draco leans towards her to whisper in her ear.
“You did incredible, just like we knew you would. Your speech was gorgeous and inspiring "Hermione lightly squeezes his arm in response as the group leaves the hall. Noticing as she passes Kingsley and the headmistress, the minister gives her an unapologetic apology at the fact he threw her unexpectedly on stage for a speech.
Hermione links her fingers back with Theo's on their journey to the floos to return to school.
Before reaching the atrium, Hermione has a realization and she stops abruptly causing the wizards next to her to cease their conversation. Draco goes to ask her if she was okay when she cuts him off with an apology followed by her telling them she would be back.
They watch confused and concerned when she turns around walking back in the direction they came from but stands down when she grabs Ginny and Harry's hands to pull them aside.
They look to Hermione in concern but before they ask she was already asking questions.
“Do you know if George is working on anything similar to calming draughts?”
Ginny immediately shakes her head, showing she didn’t know anything. “George doesn’t allow me to know about any product testing unless he’s using them on me, I’m at school so he wouldn’t have access to me.” Both witches turn their attention to Harry who seems to be thinking about something. Harry looks up to Hermione with slight recognition in his eyes.
“I’ll ask George about it. I feel like it might have been mentioned in passing. Why do you ask?”
Hermione hesitates for a moment, unsure how they will react then asks quietly. “Ronald slipped something in my champagne so he could talk to me easier. Before he grabbed me I was talking to Ginny about my champagne making me feel more mellow than it should.”
Hermione sees as she spoke that Harry’s face continued to grow dreadful then Harry snapped into auror mode. “Anything else different or odd about your drink?”
Hermione starts to shake her head no, whenever she remembers the taste. “My champagne had a faint cherry taste but other than that, no.”
He nods and tells her that he will talk to George and that he will make sure George will get in contact with her.
The group makes their way to the floo and into the headmistress office. Blaise and Luna were the first ones down the staircase. Informing their house mates that they would see them back at the dormitory before leaving them in the hallway. When Hermione, Theo and Draco descended the staircase from the headmistress office she spotted Ginny and Harry on the other side of the hallway, most likely waiting to tell her good night. She approaches and hugs them both wishing them a good night and to speak soon. When they start to leave so that Harry could walk Ginny back to Gryffindor tower, Hermione turns back to her own escorts and reaches behind her to pull her heels off one at a time. Hermione looks up once she has both heels dangling from her fingers, finding Draco with a look of horror.
“What?” Hermione asked, confused, hearing Theo snicker at Draco’s reaction.
“Why did you take your shoes off?” Draco questioned in a tone she couldn’t quite grasp.
She raises her eyebrows at him, glances at her heels then feet before looking back up to him.
“My feet hurt because I’ve been standing in high heels all night.”
Draco moves closer to her, gently pulling her heels from her hands. “They are actually block heels” he tells her, causing Theo to laugh and Hermione to look affronted. Draco turns towards Theo handing the heels to him before scooping Hermione up princess style. Her body stays stiff for a moment before relaxing into his hold.
“Why did you do that?” Hermione questions looking up to him and catching a glimpse of Harry and Ginny secretly watching them from down the hallway. “The floor is disgusting, lune. You are not walking back to the dormitory barefoot.” Draco tells her and she rolls her eyes and he starts towards their rooms. Hermione looks over Draco’s shoulder to spy on Theo, spotting that he was following them while inspecting her heels. She lets out a light chuckle but Draco notices.
“What’s so funny?” He asks and Hermione whispers back to not catch Theo’s attention “Theo is inspecting my shoes. I chuckled because it’s like the stereotype that gay men like fashion.” Draco smirks down at Hermione and turns to look back at Theo. At the notice that he had attention on him, Theo blushes while dropping his arms down and behind him which results in Draco and Hermione bursting out laughing. Draco swivels back forward and continues but soon feels Hermione poking her finger into his chest. “Hey mister, You shouldn’t be laughing at Theo when you knew what kind of heels they are”
Draco playfully scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Theo knows also.” Draco fake pouts but then responses seriously. “We were trained from the moment we could walk about proper everything. So yes we know the proper fashion for which event for both witches and wizards.” Hermione nods, showing she understands before asking her question.
“Why did you need to know about women’s fashion” Draco doesn’t answer right away, a bit taken back at the question.
“So if my wife asked me to grab a specific pair of shoes out of the closet, I know what I’m supposed to bring her” Draco pauses for a second before smirking and saying the next sentence in a mock tone of Ginny from the year of the triwizard tournament. “I’m not wearing those heels, they are ghastly with these dress robes”
When the trio approaches the entrance of their dormitory, Theo moves in front of them to open the door. Theo follows the pair in and Draco drops Hermione over the back of the sofa onto it, causing a giggle to escape. The trio freezes whenever the restroom door opens and Luna walks out, hair messily plaited down her back and in a matching set of yellow long sleeve button down pajamas with white flowers. With a goodnight, Luna disappeared into the boys dormitory to sleep with Blaise.
Draco leans over the sofa to look at Hermione and she looks up to him. Theo then follows Draco's action so he can see her reaction. “Does it bother you? That Luna sleeps with Blaise all the time." Hermione thinks about it for a moment before shaking her head no. “I hardly ever see Luna in the dormitory” with a stretch Hermione stands from the sofa taking her heels from Theo and wishes the boys a goodnight then disappears into her room to settle for the night.
Draco turns to Theo, allowing his mental shields to fall a little. “What do you think he was trying to talk to her about?” with a sigh Theo motions to the sofa and they move around the sofa to sit. “He was trying to convince her to get back with him. implying she needed to be courting with someone." The pair share an uncomfortable look amongst each other before breaking off to head for bed.
Draco wakes with a gasp, feeling a heaviness over him as if the air was sucked from the room. He looks over to Blaise’s bed, finding no disturbances then over to Theo who was asleep but showed signs that he also notice the change in the room. He stands carefully from the bed not wanting to wake anyone but as he reaches the door. He hears a voice from the room. He looks over to find Luna sitting up in Blaise's bed and her tired eyes on him. “The nightmare, she won’t fight back but be careful with physical touch until she's awake.”
At his nod of appreciation, Luna returns to laying down.
Draco sneaks across the common room feeling the air becoming harder to breathe. He reaches the door knob, wondering if it was going to let him in but as he touches the knob the door slowly pops open without it needing to be twisted. Draco knows the magic was allowing him to enter to help her. Draco cautiously steps into the room, finding Hermione laying still and fully asleep. She appears perfectly fine but Draco could sense her body was completely tense and that she was the one putting off the magic to make the air thick. At his thoughts the room brightened a tad bit, not enough to wake her but enough that she could see the surroundings whenever she did wake. He sits on the bed by her legs but not close enough to make contact with her. “Hermione?” he calls quietly but her eyes pop open instantly. Her body doesn't move but he could see her looking around with just her eyes. She finally allows her eyes to settle on him. Without moving or talking she just lays watching him.
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Hermione shakes her head no, bringing her hand up to her throat. “Does your throat hurt?” she once again shakes her head no. “Can you talk?” he asks with a bit of worry but she shakes her head again without trying to talk. This time she slowly sits up in bed, taking in the room before looking down at herself. They stare at each other, clearly confused but Draco stands. “I just woke you because you were putting off magic that was suffocating. You can return to sleep and I'll be in the common room if you need anything. He reaches the door whenever he hears a panicked “wait.” He turns to Hermione to find fright and confusion on her face and he feels realization settle in his stomach. “No one constricted your voice. You can talk. You are at Hogwarts and you are safe." She throws off her blankets and stands in an old t-shirt which looked like something she stole from her dad and a pair of leggings. “Thank you” Hermione tells him as she grabs a blanket to wrap around herself and follows him into the common room. Draco sits on the sofa grabbing a book along the way and she lays next to him with her feet pulled towards herself. “You can stretch out, put your feet on my lap or you can turn the other way and rest your head on my leg. If you want to” Draco offers so she sits up watching him for a moment before nodding and turning around. With a bit of hesitation he starts playing with her hair and looks down to find her looking up to him. “Is this okay?” he questions and she nods with a smile. After a few minutes of him running his fingers through her scalp he asks her his questions. “Would you like to speak about the gala or about your dream?” with a nod she finds his eyes and tells him that she would.
“So at the gala Ronald slipped something into my drink that I assume is a product that George was testing, some type of calming agent. It wasn't anything major but it made me feel like I had a few more flutes then I did. Anyways he was trying to convince me to get back together. I told him to leave me alone before he regretted it. Anyways because of that I had a dream about Dolohov and his “dolls” So, I guess I was just distressed whenever I was sleeping due to the dream.” Hermione stops talking and after a few moments of Draco not responding she looks up expecting to find him asleep but he was just staring off. “Draco?” she calls gently after a moment he looks down to her but she could tell he was trying to understand something. “Yes, I'm sorry. Dolohov had dolls?” Draco questions carefully thinking back to something she said a few weeks ago. “Just something I heard before” she tells him quickly, starting to shut down. “Anyways what are you reading.” he allows her to change the subject, picking up on her starting to worry about what she said. Draco continues to run his fingers through her hair as he reads to her, with the hope she falls asleep.
He continues reading into the morning as Hermione naps. Eventually Blaise and Luna leave the dormitory and Theo wakes not long later. After getting ready for the day Theo starts to make tea for the three of them whenever there is a knock at the door. Theo answers it, returning with the headmistress. At the sight of her Draco sits up a bit more but not enough to wake Hermione.
“Good morning headmistress. Is there something we can help you with today? " Theo asks as he offers for her to sit. She takes a seat looking at Hermione with curiosity. “For the morning so far I have visited the 8th year tower and this is my last stop before I call for all the 7th years.” the boys nod in understanding so she continues. “ I received a letter from the wizengamot yesterday morning asking for me to talk to all students graduating this year regarding courtships and betrothal contracts”
Theo and Draco share a look of confusion.
“What about courtships and contracts?”
The boys notice as their headmistress appears troubled. She released a slow but loud breath through her nose before looking back and forth between the boys
“I was told to make a report on every graduating student, they want to know everyone who is contracted to marry after leaving Hogwarts and who is in a relationship to marry.”
Draco starts to inform her of his contract with the greengrass family but he doesn't notice that the Professor's attention was on Theo who was in his own world of thinking. Something clicking in his head. “They are looking into enacting a marriage law. We just had a war that resulted in a huge percentage of death of an already small community. They are trying to determine if they will need to take actions to increase population” Theo finally says out loud, cutting off Draco's thoughts. Theo and Draco look to their headmistress who looks sadden but slowly nods. “Yes, I heard some rumors last night similar. At the moment they're not trying to push for a law requiring marriage and children. They are hoping to encourage courtships so in a few years they don't have to put a law into place. The population numbers were getting dangerously low after the first wizarding war and now with the second war they are even lower.”
This conversation caused something to dawn on Draco. “And this is the reasoning behind him drugging her last night.” Draco looks to Theo as he continues “ He was implying that Hermione needed to be courting someone, that they needed to get back together. He must have heard the rumors and thought if they got back together at least they couldn't get paired up with strangers in the event of the law.”
The headmistress abruptly stands from her seat looking in shock at Hermione. “Pardon me? Did you say Miss. Granger was drugged last night?” She asks disturbed.
The boys explain the event of their night and reassured the professor that the dosing she encountered was a small percentage of what a calming draught would be. The headmistress looked a little eased but was still visibly concerned. The headmistress goes to leave the room but Draco stops her to express worry about Hermione's nightmare.
“Mr. Malfoy after hearing of the events of last night with Mr. Weasley, I intended to request a mind healing appointment so I will inform her healer of her nightmare as well.” she looks between the two wizards again “Thank you for informing me of the events that have happened at the gala and overnight. I will send a letter to Miss. Granger regarding her appointment. Also I believe having the graduating students make a small report regarding the courtship and marriage contract will be the easiest way to collect that information so expect to hear back about those topics before winter break” the headmistress updates the boys before leaving with a nod.
After the headmistress leaves Theo looks to Draco finally allowing his emotions to show. Emotions of terror but Draco quickly lifts a hand to stop him.
“We will figure that out in a moment but first we need to send Ginny and Harry a letter to meet with the two of us today, hopefully whenever Hermione is in her appointment.”
Theo helps Draco move Hermione's head from his lap without waking her. The two wizards head into their dormitory, leaving the door propped open so they could hear if the witch napping, shifted in her sleep
They start to write the letter to Ginny, letting her know they would like her to get in contact with Harry because they needed to meet as soon as possible regarding Hermione. Draco had Theo add in that the headmistress was arranging for Hermione's mind healer to meet with her and that the meeting they needed concerning Hermione was not an emergency. Draco didn't want the couple to think something major happened with Hermione and start to panic.
After sending the letter off, the boys sit together on the floor between their beds. Draco leaning against his while Theo does the same with his. They sit in silence for a moment, Draco wanting to allow Theo to express his worries at his pace and Theo trying to keep himself calm.
“I don't know what I should do. I can't be paired up with a witch, she'll be locked in a one sided relationship. I don't think I could live a life like that. I mean the one time I was with a witch was a total wreck.”
Draco instantly noticed that Theo was clenching his fist as he talked, digging his nails into his palms.
“Theo” Draco calls calmly. At Theo's non changing position, Draco calls him again finally getting his attention. Theo looks up slowly to his friend, finding concern in Draco’s eyes while knowing Draco finds despair in his own.
“You can go about this in a few ways. To start, you can set up a time slot with professor McGonagal. Inform her of your sexuality and get her opinion on how she thinks this will affect you. She told us, they don't want to make us get married. Maybe in that case you can be excused from having to have a child. There are a ton of kids left without parents so it's possible you can marry a wizard and they will allow you to adopt a child or children that are left without an adult to care for them.” Draco pauses, allowing his words to rest in Theo’s mind. He looks up to his best friend, sparking with hope settling into his eyes.
Theo nods in agreement. “Yeah maybe I can get them to allow witches and wizards like me to marry our preferred partners but we can adopt. Daphne will also need to be part of this line of discussion. I don’t think she is currently in a relationship with a witch but I know she has no interest in wizards.”
Draco nods in agreement. “Yes, daphne has no interests with men just like you have no interests in women so in the case of wizards and witches having to be paired with each other and producing a child maybe daphne and you can work something out so that you marry each other while knowing you both can’t share feelings.”
Draco knows he took away some of Theo's hope but Theo agrees that it would be better knowing it would be mutual partnership rather than a relationship with one sided feelings.
“Finally, they are looking into current or planned courtships in the future so it appears to be that if you are already in a courtship, they won't break it up. In that case, if you are married to a wizard it could be easier to argue for the ability to adopt rather than them having to break up an established relationship over the incapability of producing a child.”
Theo nods, agreeing that Draco was making a good point. The wizards both accept that at the present time there was nothing set in place and that they would handle the problem together as it becomes an issue.
At lunch, Ginny slips a note before making her way to her seat with her friends. He looks to Hermione before opening it out of view, finding that Ginny and Harry already had a plan for Harry to come talk to her regarding the news from the headmistress. Ginny tells the boys to meet her in the hallway on the seventh floor 30 minutes after lunch ends which is the same time Hermione was meeting with her mind healer. Theo looks up to Draco, slowly sliding the paper across the table to him to read.
Once lunch concludes, Draco returns to the dormitory. Telling Theo he had to retrieve a few things for the meeting so Theo walks Hermione to the headmistress office. Knowing Professor McGonagal wanted to talk to her before the appointment. Theo starts his journey to the seventh floor, finding he was the last to arrive when Ginny was leaning against the wall while Draco had stacks of parchment.
“Okay, we're both here. When and where will Harry be joining us? " Theo asks Ginny but she just smirks as the room of requirement door appears and the door opens. Draco and Theo share a look of suspicion before following the witch through the door. At the sound of the door clicking shut, Harry appears out of nowhere as the cloak falls to the ground.
“Okay snakes, what's going on?” Harry asks as he looks over the stack in Draco's hand.
Draco looks next to himself as a table appears into the room. He moves up to it, setting the pile of parchment down and spreading it out along the table. Pulling out a mostly blacked out section.
“I know who the doll master is”
Notes:
TW: stereotyping gay men liking fashion, Implied / References to domestic abuse, references of LQBTQIA+ Topics (Homosexual characters), Implication of a character dissociating and having vivid dreams. references of a character making someone else nonverbal / mute of out cruelty. Implications / references of sexual slavery / being held hostage
Mentions of the following topics
~drugging someone
~first and second wizardry war
~forced marriage
~torture, death, murder
~children / students being soldiers in war
~a lavender marriage / one - sided marriage (LGBTQIA+ member being forced into a heterosexual marriage5013 words in this chapter
Hopefully you guys all her Ginny's "that's ghastly" tone from the fourth harry potter movie in your heads because I did so I had to include it.
I can also picture little baby draco getting his fingers smacked with a ruler or something for not knowing proper names for women's fashion accessories.
Did Hermione just give a whole gala of guest a verbal lashing…Yes, how else would she give a unexpected speech other then defending the people who stood with her and scolding the others about having to be better.I would love to hear who you think Hermione refers to in her speech.
I also enjoy marriage law Fics, so I decided to add a sprinkle of that into the story so any predictions on the story line of that~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 24: Dolls
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty- Four ~ Dolls
Draco looks around at the faces surrounding him. He hands the section in his hand over to Harry. “What do you know about Dolohov?” Draco asks the wizard, Harry looks up from the section to him. He stares at the blonde unblinking for a while before slowly nodding. “His trial report is mostly blacked out as I’m sure you saw. From my knowledge as he was waiting for his trial something happened and they changed it to private. So the blacked out parts are whatever they don’t want the community to know.”
“Do you know where Hermione was whenever his trial got switched to private?” Harry glances at Ginny, looking for an answer. She closes her eyes for a moment before nodding. “It was a few weeks after your trial. She was still in lockdown in her house.”
Draco glances at everyone in the room before looking down whenever he spoke his question. “Is it possible that Hermione is the reason his trial turned private?”
The room stays silent so Draco looks up, finding Theo’s eyes wide in shock, Ginny looking confused and Harry looking frustrated. Whenever Harry and Draco make eye contact Harry starts. “No, if it was private then Hermione wouldn't be allowed there and we would have heard of her being there. She would have been noticed by someone.”
“That isn't what he meant.” Theo tells Harry, barely loud enough to hear. “He's asking if it's possible that Hermione gave the auror the lead to the information that is blacked out.”
“What? No, Hermione wouldn't know anything about.." Harry explains before Ginny cuts him off by grabbing the papers with a gasp. “How could we have been so dimwitted to not put it together. Harry, his trial was during the same day that you found Hermione in her bathtub " Ginny turns to Draco. “You are saying that Antonin Dolohov is also known as the doll master. That his trial got changed to private because Hermione gave them information which led to proof that he had dolls.”
Draco nods. “She has told me about his obsession with her.” Draco shifts uncomfortably, looking at Ginny only. “She had an episode last night. She was putting off a type of suffocating magic because she was in distress. Whenever I woke her up she didn't talk because she thought she couldn’t and she was very cautious of her movements. She told me that her dream was caused by the weasels' actions last night. She talked about Dolohov and his dolls and when I questioned whether he had dolls she started to shut down, saying it was just something she heard.” Ginny nods in understanding, nudging harry. “You need to look into it, see if you can find anything out.” draco cuts in “also try to reopen the greyback investigation.”
Harry’s head jerks to Draco in confusion. “Do you know something? Did something happen? He was pronounced dead.”
Draco turns away from them. Now facing the table, not wanting to share too much. Everyone in the room stared at his back as they waited, eventually Draco turning quickly to face them again.
“You know how sometimes some people will get a feeling of unease in their body before something bad happens.” At everyone's nod or agreement, he continues his reasoning. “Hermione is pretty confident that he is alive. She says she can feel it in her bones.”
The group stares at him trying to read more into his expression but at the same time Ginny and Theo look at Harry who nods. “I will see what I can do and what I find.” Harry goes to look through Dolohov's report again but Ginny grabs it from his hand. Theo and Draco sense they were about to have a private conversation based on hearing Ginny say their headmistresses name so they make their way to the other side of the room for their own private conversation.
They sit silently next to each other before Theo looks to draco. “Are you planning to talk to Hermione about the possible marriage law?”
Draco shrugs, not looking at theo. “If I talk to her, it's not going to be because of the marriage law. I've liked her for a very long time and life can change within seconds but I don't want to finally court her because of the marriage law. We both have a lot of history and we both have a lot of scars. I don’t want to push everything just because of the marriage law.” He finally looks over to his friend. Theo nodded slowly, expressing he understands. “I guess the question is whether you would have this discussion with her with or without the headmistress asking us for our betrothal information.” “yes” draco answers “yes in a normal stance I would be talking to her about it because i have thought it over for a little while. Last night I decided it was time to express my interest even if she doesn't feel the same. I need her to know now before our relationship progresses any more” Theo pats his shoulder and tells him that he agrees with his plan.
Hermione leaves her mind healer appointment looking for the first wall to sit against. She slumps down the wall, trying to calm the panic brewing in her body. Her session with Madam Riley resulted in her feeling shaky and exhausted. They talked about Ronald the previous night. Hermione vaguely explained her dream. Hermione told Madam Riley about her fears pertaining to the information she just received from the headmistress. Madam Riley had to ground her after a panic attack about the thoughts of the ministry pairing her against her will to someone who will treat her badly. Hermione worries about getting paired with an abusive pureblood like Cormac McLaggen or Marcus Flint. Madam Riley assured her that she wouldn't let that happen. That she would step in if it came to that situation. Eventually Hermione agreed that her friends would figure something out to protect her before something like that would happen.
As Hermione left the mind healer appointment she made the decision she needed to talk to someone specific, someone who was there when “He” planted his thoughts in her mind. She takes a deep breath, brushes her clothes off and starts her way to her dorm to change into comforting clothes before making her way up the eighth year tower. Neville opens his door to find Hermione with a sheepish smile. He looks her over, before stepping back to allow room for her to enter with a single sentence from him. “I had a feeling you would be coming to talk to me today”
After their meeting in the room of requirements, Harry left Hogwarts to prepare for the engagement that Ginny and he agreed to make happen soon. Ginny and Theo went to talk to the headmistress and Draco returned to the living space to wait to talk to hermione. He was pacing the common area whenever there was a light knock on the door. He nervously looks around the room before slowly making his way to the door. His stomach dropping and his face whitening at the sight of Seamus Finnigan and Dean thomas. Seamus went to talk but Dean noticed the fear flash in Draco's eye so he placed his hand on Seamus' shoulder, cutting off his words. With a hesitant smile, Dean starts to speak. “There's nothing to worry about. To start off, Hermione is perfectly fine we just came to get you. She is currently asleep on our common room sofa. She needed to talk to Neville but her exhaustion took over. He asked for us to get you, thinking it would be best for you to take her back here because it would be more comfortable for her.”
Draco relaxed at the words, giving them a nod of appreciation as he stepped outside to follow them. He walks behind the pair up the staircase until Dean opens his door for Draco to enter first. Through the doorway he comes to a common room that was cozy with warm tones but also held a woodsy vibe. At his appearance, Neville stands from his chair with a genuine smile. Draco eyes drift to the witch curled up on the sofa, freezing on her when he spotted her dressed in familiar black, white and green plaid pajama bottoms and an even more familiar green jumper that he would bet one of his vaults on that it has his quidditch number on the back of it. He doesn't even notice that dean and Seamus disappeared into their dormitory but eventually looks to Neville whenever he speaks to him.
“Will you be okay to get her back?” Draco nods in response but then verbally answers. “Yes, I will be fine. Thank you for letting me know "Draco reaches down to the ground picking up her bright pink slippers and sliding them into the pocket in the back of his trousers. He feels a bright smile creep on his face whenever he sees she has mix-matching fuzzy socks. One light blue with white stars and the other bright purple with different versions of some type of mammal / animal that was grey and brown. He steps towards her but his attention is called to Neville once again. “I don't know her relationship with anyone from her living area but it'll probably be best for someone to stay with her overnight. I just know Luna has been staying with her boyfriend but I am sure she will have nightmares tonight. Since fifth year, Hermione isn't really supposed to take dreamless sleep.” with that Neville turns and retreats to his dormitory leaving Draco alone in the room. Draco scoops Hermione into his arms, causing her to lightly sniffle before burying her face into his chest with her arms looping around his neck. He carefully uses the hand supporting her back to open the doors along his path. Draco tries his best to avoid jostling her as he descends the staircase. He knocks on their door using his foot in the hopes that someone else is back in the room. He waits a moment before starting to shift hermione right as the door opens by theo. As he enters through the doorway hermione starts to rub her face against his chest, signaling she was starting to wake. Within a few seconds of stillness, Hermione retreats back into slumber, Draco slowly letting his breath go. He mindfully lowers her body to the sofa. Jumping slightly at the feel of her fingers clamping onto his shirt with desperation. He looks down to find her brown eyes, wide and watery. “Hey, everything is okay.” he tries to soothe her in a calming tone. “You fell asleep at Neville's and I just carried you back.”
Hermione nods, showing she understands and relaxes into the sofa but when he tries again to pull away she holds onto him again. “Hermione?” He starts to ask with concern but she cuts him off. “Stay with me?” she asks quietly before looking away to whisper please. He stares at her, trying to read her face for anything wrong but eventually nods. “Okay but I need to change for bed first.” her face lights up with a smile and she releases his shirt as theo returns to the room ready for bed himself. He gestures to the book in his hand right as the door bangs open revealing Ginny who herself was also in bed clothes.
Draco exits his room, stopping suddenly at the sight of the common room. He first spots the red headed witch bundled in her blanket in the place Hermione was previously at. Next, he spies Theo sitting in a lounge chair with a throw blanket over his lap and smirking, badly behind a book. Lastly his eyes linger to the floor, finding Hermione sitting crossed legged on a makeshift bed made of blankets and pillows on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table that was pushed out of the way. At her giddy smile, he finds himself softly smiling. He looks at her waiting for her directions but finds Ginny speaking first. “Ferret, you'll be sleeping next to the table because mione thinks i will step on you if you lay close to the sofa.” with an raised eyebrow he looks at hermione. “She won't step on me. If you were laying there she would go out of her way to step on you and claim an accident."He looks back to Ginny to find an evil smirk forming on her face and with a nod he takes his spot next to hermione.
“Okay, we are playing 2 lies and 1 truth. You will make three statements, everyone else will declare which one they think is the truth and once everyone makes their choice you’ll announce the truth and explain why the others are lies. Everyone understand?” Ginny explains to the small group and everyone agrees. Ginny makes hermione start who tries to think for a moment to come up with something.
“ 1 ~ In second year an older student hexed me into a cat.
2 ~ I have snuck into the slytherin common room before.
3 ~ I stole ingredients from Snape to brew a potion in myrtle’s restroom.”
Hermione waits for them to make their choices. Ginny and Theo declare that she had snuck into the common room. Ginny saying she knew because of the group doing it during second year and Theo saying he wouldn't be surprised if they did during the trio list of bad adventures. She turns her head to Draco to find him smirking. “Though all those things are true in one way or another the truth is you stole ingredients to make polyjuice potion in myrtles restroom. You weren’t with the other two whenever they snuck into the common room, something went wrong with the potion that caused you to turn into a cat." Hermione's mouth drops in shock as Draco states his thoughts. “How do you know that?”
“Crabbe’s hair started to turn red before him and who I assume was Harry ran from the common room. I saw you sneak away into Severus's storeroom during the commotion in the class and I saw you in the hospital wing right after they snuck into the common room. So I will take a not so wild guess and say you stole ingredients to brew polyjuice and the hair you meant to use for your polyjuice adventure was cat hair instead of human hair which led to the two Gryffindors having to go without you.”
Hermione huffs with her arms crossed facing away from draco. Ginny and Theo, staring slack jawed at him. “Point to the ferret” Hermione mumbles, causing Draco to smirk wider before tickling her sides until she leans back against him.
Draco goes next, twirling a strand of hermione's hair as he thinks
“1~ After Hermione punched me in third year, I sent a letter to Lucius demanding for her to be expelled.
2~ The one and only time I visited Lucius in azkaban. I declared to him that I was gay and wouldn't marry a witch before leaving.
3~ i have kissed a total of two boys”
Ginny narrows her eyes at draco. “You tried to get Hermione expelled and you're attempting to throw us off by using two lies involving boys.” Draco looks unbothered looking down at Hermione to find her glancing between theo and himself before she sits up quickly.
“Oh my goodness” she pointed with accusation between the two wizards “you two have kissed before” Theo burst out laughing. “I think you have kissed theo and another boy” Hermione tells him and theo agrees “My guess would be that you kissed an older slytherin boy and myself. There’s no way you would still be a Malfoy if you told Lucius that and I know you didn't write to him about Hermione during third year.”
Draco shakes his head slowly. “No points to anyone. Theo is the only wizard I have ever kissed. Which Lucius somehow knew about. Which made it so much better when that declaration was the last thing I said to him.”
The group asks how there was no downfall to that situation to which Draco explained that with lucius in azkaban, he can’t control anything with the malfoy property and possessions. Theo took his turn next.
“1~My father once caught me with porn
2~ during a slytherin detention with snape. I slipped him a note saying something along the lines of “are you going to spank me for being a bad pet”
3~I’ve slept outside more times than I have in my bed at nott manor.”
Ginny picks the first option while Hermione tells him she thinks that he slept mostly outside at home because his father was awful. Theo looks to Draco for his answer but finds Draco staring off in shock.
“Draco knows. What is the truth?” Theo asks with a smirk.
“I can’t believe that note was you. He accused the twins of it and when he found out it wasn’t them, he made McGonagall talk to all the slytherin girls.”
At Draco’s words hermione head whips to Theo while Ginny bursts out laughing. Once Ginny calms down she takes her turn.
“1~ I kept leaving spiders in Ronald's room and allowed the twins to take the blame even though they knew it was me.
2~Tonks was the person who told me how to get Harry’s attention.
3~ I had a crush on the ferret.
Hermione stares at Ginny trying to figure out the lies. Theo immediately thought Ginny went to Tonks for relationship advice. Hermione decided that maybe Ginny might have had a crush on Draco because of an off handed comment she used to make. And Draco said he could totally see Ginny torturing the weasel with spiders.
Ginny growls in frustration at Draco winning his third point. The group plays a few more rounds of the game. With Draco winning to no one’s surprise. Ginny drowsily looks over to Theo once she notices the duo on the floor had fallen asleep together, not touching but turned towards each other.
“Is she the only witch he has ever actually liked?” Ginny whispers to Theo who looks at the pair before nodding. “Yes, he’s always had a thing for her. It started off as the boy who pulls the girl's hair.”
Ginny nods sleepily, staring at the pair. “Do you think he would ask her about courting?”
Theo nods, “if you want to be technical he has already given her an interest gift. It doesn’t mean anything but pure bloods give courting gifts which is usually a set of jewelry and the charm bracelet was him putting his feelings out into the world. I think instead of giving her a set of jewelry through their relationship, he will add meaningful charms. Speaking of courting gifts, if Potter plans to ask you to marry him then he needs to get you a courting gift first.”
Ginny raises her brow at him in curiosity and he waves her off saying he will write Harry to inform him of his duties. The room grows silent before Ginny speaks up again.
“He will always treat her properly, right?” Theo looks over to her confused so she continues. “I think Ron hurt her before and I don’t want her with anyone with the slight chance they would.” He nods showing he understands. “Do you know why lucious has a cane?” Ginny furrows her eyebrows in confusion “Uh, no what does that have to do with anything” Theo gestures to the sleeping blonde on the ground. “He is why. Lucious slapped narcissa when draco was 8 and in response draco used accidental magic and sent lucious into the wall." Ginny's eyes grow wide looking at the blonde. “His anger triggered his god parent bond. Within minutes Severus showed up and found Draco standing between his unconscious father and his mother who was in a glowing bubble."
Theo pulls a chain out from under his shirt. Cautiously handed it over to Ginny to show her the ring on the chain. The ring being a curved two stone ring, one stone was garnet and the second was blue topaz. “Father used to abuse my mother. He killed her when I was 5. He wanted another son, a spare heir and she was carrying a daughter. Once she was gone, his anger turned to me whenever I made the smallest of mistakes. Draco has only ever hit one person. He punched me before we returned to school because I triggered his trauma and he thought I was going to hurt him. He didn't even know it was me at first but when he saw it was me, he went into a spiral because of my past with my father."He carefully takes the ring in his fingers and waves his hand over it removing a glamour. Theo hands the ring back over to let her see the words written inside. My son Theo, Forever my sunshine “This was my mothers ring. Unless I was by my father, this ring was around my neck. My mom’s bedroom was locked and this ring was the key. Father never knew that when he couldn't find me it was because I was in my mom’s bed. I slept in her bed 90 percent of the time. Anyways back to the point, two or so months ago, Draco asked to see it for the day. This being my most important object, I hesitated for a moment but overall I gave it to him because I trusted him. Later that night he returned it and explained that he put a ward on it so that no one would be able to hit me again. He didn't want to chance hurting me again so no, I don't think draco would ever harm hermione. I also guarantee Draco charmed the bracelet he gave Hermione with the same ward on it.”
Ginny gives him back the chain and ring and laid back down on the couch as he placed the chain back under his shirt.
Hermione's eyes drift open finding the blonde next to her sleeping peacefully. She slowly sits up first, spotting legs up in the air against the back of the chair. After closer inspection she finds a head of curly brown hair resting on the ottoman. She attempts to stifle her giggle but fails due to the sound of shuffling next to her. Hermione looks back to the blonde, finding a scrunched expression on his face and his hand lightly patting the part of the makeshift bed she had previously been. His whole body tense shortly for a moment almost as if he expected something to happen. She watches quietly as he’s eyes flick open looking around before finding hers. He stays quiet and unmoving as he searches her face.
“Hermione?” He asks with caution. “Are you okay” in return she smiles and reaches over his body to pull her beaded bag from the coffee table and she pulls a small square metal object from it. “Is that a muggle camera?” He whispers and she nods with a smug grin, gesturing to the sleeping wizard. She snaps a picture and jumps to her feet and takes a picture of Draco trying to block the camera. With quiet giggles she runs to the restroom for safety while Draco tries to grab her.
After closing the restroom door, she slides down the door to view the picture. His hand takes up most of the image but in the space between his index finger and his thumb is a perfect shot of his face with a huge smile. She is so captivated by the image that she doesn’t notice the door had cracked open, sliding her in the process or the tall wizard that had snuck into the restroom. A clearing of a throat brought her out of her musing causing her to grow still in panic and shock, holding the camera to her chest protectively . Noticing this reaction he retreats to sit on the floor across the room.
“I’m not going to take your camera, nor will I delete the photo as long as you don’t sell it to Rita skeeter.”
She looks up to him with confusion, but soon finds that he was making a joke but grows serious.
“Don’t show Theo though. He’s getting sassy and grouchy.” A small smile grows on her face and she nods in agreement.
She stands from the floor and asks him to help her move Theo to the floor where they slept.
After Theo was comfortable on the floor without waking, the pair turned towards each other asking their questions at the same time.
“Would you like to go on a run with me?” Hermione asks as Draco asks. “Can we talk about a few things”
They both go quiet, taking in the others' questions. “Yes, let’s go for a run then we stop and talk. They separated to get ready and meet each other outside the door. Hermione dressed in black fleece lined leggings with a thick, mauve, long sleeve workout top underneath a black puffy gilet. Her hair in a neat, high ponytail with a knitted ear warmer headband to finish off the outfit. Draco’s outfit consisted of thick, dark grey joggers, a heavy duty dark green puffer coat and a simple black wool knit hat.
They start at the highest floor, running through the hallways from the top to the bottom. As they enter the courtyard, Draco suggests that they talk now but Hermione shakes her head saying they needed to keep going. She jumps away, giggling from his reaching hands. He finally locks his arms around her waist and spins her around. She rolls her eyes before becoming a cooked noodle, going relaxed in his arms and throwing her head back against his shoulder. He places her back on her feet, and she huffs like a rebellious child. “I suppose we can have a very important conversation now, my lord” Hermione tells him as she gives him a bow. His face instantly scrunches up in horror and disgust.
“I beg you with everything in me” draco takes a small dramatic pause as she grows confused at his reaction “please never refer to me as that ever again, it reminds me of very bad people”
Hermione goes pale at his words and the message written between his words. “I'm sorry” she whispers out and he instantly recognizes he went about it wrong. He grasps her hand and leads her to sit down next to him on the bench. She notices on the short walk over to sit down that he was trembling so once they were seated she allowed him time to organize his thoughts for a proper conversation.
“I'm sorry I snapped at you.” Draco goes to continue talking but Hermione cuts him off. “You did not snap at me, something I said and did upset you so you set a boundary. If you wish to explain why you were upset you can tell me or you can just expand on the boundary so we can have a full understanding." Draco looks at her, slightly taken back but nods and starts to explain. “You did an action of obedience along with wording that applied i am above you. We are equals. I have made a multitude of wrong actions in the past, I do not wish to be that person. You in particular are a special person to me, I do not want you thinking you are below me in any way. I know that one day I will be the lord of my house but my wife will also be the lady of the house, we will have the equivalent amount of respect for each other along with equivalent power over the household. I never want to be referred as someones higher power”
After his explanations, Hermione makes and asks statements to clarify. That lord malfoy is okay but that blank lord is not. That mutual bowing for example before a dance is okay because both parties show a respect for each other rather than one sided actions such as only one party bowing to the other implied a ranking in superiority.
After Draco and Hermione had an understanding of the boundary he moved onto the first part of the conversation he needed to have with her. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday.” He starts and Hermione starts to crack her fingers but immediately blurts her worries out. “Are you mad you had to get me from nevilles yesterday? I promise I didn't mean to fall asleep there. I went to talk to him about something only he understands and I was overwhelmed and exhausted and just fell asleep.” she explains as she looks at her fingers in shame. Draco gently tilts her head up so she could look at him. “I am not upset about anything. You are an adult and you can do as you please as long as you are safe. Before I start, I need you to know that I do not want you feeling the need to explain anything to me. If you wish to confide in me , that is okay and I will always be here to listen but I don't expect a denial or approval of anything I say. I am simply going to explain my view of the situation, my concerns and my theories. I also need to confess something.”
Draco tells her, his view of all the interactions between them about the doll master. While explaining the interaction between them in the doorway of the restroom, he sees that she went horrified at the knowledge that she had dissociated. He tells her that he is concerned that she is trying to bottle up this situation and expresses that he thinks she should talk to someone about it. Draco tells her with guilt that he was worried about her and went to Harry, ginny, and theo about the doll master and their theory of who they were and that harry was going to look into it. He apologized and told her that he also suggested for Harry to look into Greyback because of the gut feeling she gets regarding him.
“You believe that Dolohov is the doll master but you don't have actual reasoning behind it other than the theory.” Hermione questions as she blinks her eyes to hold off her tears but one escapes as he nods. Hermione quickly wipes away the tears and sucks in a breath.
“Yes, Dolohov is the doll master. That is what is explained in the blacked out pieces of his record. I trust the four of you won't pry into the personal details involving me surrounding the doll master. I appreciate your concern, you are correct. It is not healthy for me to bottle it up, as of yesterday, my mind healer knows about it and that is why i went to see Neville yesterday. He is the only one that knew about any of the situation prior to the end of the war because he was right next to me whenever it was first expressed. I will let Harry know the same as I have told you. Finally, i'm glad you told harry about my worries about greyback, i don’t want him to have the chance to do something for the simple reason of them not looking for him.”
At the end of that conversation, Draco awkwardly moves onto the second part of the conversation he wanted to have with her.
Notes:
TW: panic attacks. Mentions of an inappropriate note send to a professor regarding of corporal punishment. References to suicidal behavior. Mentions of sentencing trials. References and mentions of a death eater holding hostages. Mentions of a marriage law. Brief mention of sexual material. References to child abuse. A reference of Voldemort and his actions / ruling
5305 words in this chapter
Don’t we just love Theo, I could seriously see him sending snape a note like that. Any thoughts on what else Draco needs to discuss with Hermione?
I’ve been trying to work on the fic, but I’ve been sick every month for least three months straight if not longer. I am finally getting into writing the part I’ve been waiting for this whole time which I’m thinking will be between chapters 27 and 32. Which will be the groups winter holiday break.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 25: That Way
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-Five ~ That Way
“So……” Draco starts off awkwardly. “There's some rumors going around about a marriage law possibly going into effect.” Hermione watches him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion but says quietly to see where he was taking this. “I am not sure if the headmistress discuss this with you but the ministry has asked for her to collect any information about students that are graduating and if they have courtship or betrothal agreements in place.” he pauses so she asks what he had told her to which he explains that he had a betrothal contract in place up until he became the head of the house and broke it off. “So, you need to find someone to get into a courtship with?” Hermione asks with hesitation to see what exactly he was implying. Draco huffs out an uncomfortable short laugh. “No, I'm not going to try to find someone just because they might make a law. There's a specific person I would like to ask to start courting but if she declines then I will wait and see what the ministry does.”
Hermione noticed she was digging at the skin around her fingers so she tucks her hands into the pocket of her gilet “what if this witch declines because she's already in a courtship or betrothal contract. Isn’t that common for purebloods?” Hermione asks, trying to keep her voice calm and not tremoring. “I don’t think she would be, purebloods keep their traditions private and she’s not pureblood. I have liked this witch for a while. I feel that she and I get along well but I'm worried she doesn’t feel the same way I do. I have wanted to court her before this marriage law rumor came out but I didn't feel like it was time to introduce the idea yet so I waited.”
Hermione tries to hold herself together even though she can feel her heart slowly cracking.
“What about now? Do you feel like you and her are ready for a courtship?”
Draco stays silent for a moment but shakes his head back and forth in an undetermined manner. “I think she and I would be okay to start a courtship now but I would prefer to wait” “you would prefer to wait but you don't feel like waiting is an option?” Hermione questions with concern and interest. Draco shakes his head no but stays silent for a short period so he could correctly gather his thoughts. “I'm afraid if I wait, the ministry will pass the law and pair witches and wizards up. There are a lot of people who would love to be paired up with her, but a lot of them will be for the wrong reasons. I don’t want her to be paired up with someone who will harm her or try to break her. She doesn’t deserve that so I hope that even if she didn't share the same feelings as I and doesn't have anyone in mind who will treat her correctly, that she would be willing to enter a formal relationship with me so she would at least be safer.”
Hermione nods slowly in thought. “Then you should ask her. If you think you and her, get along well, especially enough that you would want to be in a courtship with her then the worst she can say is she doesn't feel the same about you. If she has someone, she wants to enter a courtship with, then at least you know she will be safe. If she doesn't have anyone then you can propose your idea about a formal relationship and you can explain your reasoning, the worse she can say is no but at least you would know that you tried.”
Draco smiles softly and the pair look up to the sky as snowflakes start falling softly around them. Their eyes meet at the same time and Draco tells her that he agrees with her and that he will take her advice. Hermione watches as Draco looks at the time on his watch, before standing and holding his hand out to her. “We should get going, we need to get our potions, change into our uniforms and get to breakfast.” Hermione feels her heart fully break at the last bit of hope disappearing at him not asking her but she hides it behind a smile as she takes his hand. He stares unblinking at her for a minute before smirking. Before she could ask what was going on, Draco spun her around in circles three times by a few of her fingers and moved his hand in a circular motion above her head to lead her spins in a half circle around his body. Draco then pushes her away from his body so that he pulls her into a spin into his arms releasing her hand in the process so he can grab her other hand. He pulls her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss on her knuckles before holding both her hands in his.
“Miss. Hermione Jean Granger, I know we have just started to actually get to know each other but I have had feelings for you for a while. I would like to officially ask you to enter into a courtship with me, where we can continue to explore our relationship with the intentions of falling into love with safety, honesty, and trust.”
Hermione takes a step closer to him, looking into his eyes. “Do you promise to always dance with me, spin me in circles around you?” she questions in a whisper but at his nod, Hermione takes a step away from him, breaking the connection of their hands.
The pair stare at each other as the snow continues to fall around them. “Mr. Draco Malfoy, it would be an honor to enter into a courtship with you.” she quickly holds her hand up to pause his movement causing him to look a tad confused. “I would love to enter into a courtship, but I will require some help and guidance as this type of relationship is one that I am not familiar with due to courtships being a pureblood tradition.”
Before Draco could answer that he would of course help her, Hermione was leaping into his arms for a hug while he wrapped his arms around her to lift her off her feet and spin them in circles.
The couple got so caught up with each other that they didn't notice their friends spying on them. They didn't notice the clicking of the cameras, both muggle and magical from their friends wanting to capture this moment for them. No one notices the stern professor just across the courtyard, watching the joyful couple spin around. She smiles to herself as the couple’s friends scurries away to avoid being caught by the pair leaving their moment. The professor waits for them to leave but grows puzzled when Hermione and Draco pause as he reaches into his coat for something. The professor creeps closer to the couple to see him handing her a small jewelry bag. Hermione dumps the small silver object into her palm, then smiles up at Draco. After returning the object to the bag, he plants a small kiss on her temple, and they disappear into the hallway. The professor lifts the charm she placed to keep that part of the castle student free for the time the couple was using it and makes her way to the great hall for breakfast.
The group walks into their defense against the dark arts class, finding the tables and chairs were removed from their spots and pushed along the wall. In the center of the room there were cushions in a circle. The students set their bags on the tables and lean against them as they wait for Professor Hastings. She enters and directs the students to take a seat on the cushions. “ So I've said recently that we would be doing the patronus charm. This year will be the N.E.W.Ts so your teachers are going to start going over possible pathways for them.” The Professor takes a pause taking in everyone's expression before continuing cautiously. “I am going to start with the patronus charm, but we will be doing the boggart lessons some time once we return from yule break.” She sees as everyone in the class reacts in one way or another, all negatively. “I'm giving you the warning now, but this lesson won't be as a class but in smaller groups. Anyways back to today's lesson. Can anyone tell me what the patronus charm is, what its purpose is?”
Hermione and Theo's hands are the only hands to go up but professor Hastings nods for Theo to answer. His answer is very similar to the textbook and the professor moves onto the next question. “Does anyone know what you have to do to cast this charm?” Professor Hastings sees as a couple students show an expression as if they know but no one but Hermione raises their hand. “To cast the charm, it is said the caster needs to muster and hold onto the happiest memory they can think of, the happier the memory is the stronger the casting will be. If they lose focus of the memory then the casting will drop." Hermione pauses in her talking, growing wary to continue. Professor grows curious at what she was holding back so she encouraged her to continue. “Well the statement isn't entirely true.” Professor Hastings tilts her head asking her questions “How so Miss. Granger”
Hermione takes a look at the students before looking at her fingers as she answers “my friend was taught to cast the charm in third year because the dementors were drawn to him because he held a lot of darkness within him due to his past. He didn't have happy memories due to being raised in a negative household. At that time, he didn't have memories from just school that were strong enough. He was able to cast his patronus by using powerful thoughts about his parents that he lost as a baby. He didn't know anything about his parents when he came to Hogwarts, he saw them for the first time through a magical mirror then through a photo album gifted to him. So overall, his patronus wasn't casted by happy memories but powerful thoughts about his parents being happy”
After Hermione stops talking, a few students look at her curiously, knowing she was referring to harry. “That is interesting to hear, hopefully that extra information might help some students in their castings. Thank you for sharing.” Hermione nods at Professor Hasting and she moves onto the next question. Asking the class to raise their hands to get an estimate of who has casted a patronus before. Afterwards, instructing the class to close their eyes and follow her steps as she leads them through the process of meditation. As she looked over, the Professor noticed that Luna and Blaise's hands were linked, and they appeared to be doing the best in the activity. Surprisingly not far behind was Neville. While some other students like Ginny and Theo would fall into relaxation then start to grow restless before being able to return to relaxation. Finally growing sad due to Draco, having to approach him to pull him from the practice.
Professor hands him a cloth, gesturing to his button that had blood from his dripping nose. “You're excused to the restroom” the Professor unlocked his wand so he could remove the blood from his shirt. “You are trying to occlude instead of meditating. I'll have an open spot later if you would like to return and practice on your own.” Draco nods and leaves the classroom, the Professor turning her attention to Hermione who was staring at her cracklings fingers. The person called Hermione to follow her to the edge of the room.
“You have meditated before, correct?” At Hermione's nod the Professor gestures towards the corner of the room. “Why don't you go sit with your back against the wall with a ward around you, practice your meditation like that and see if you are more successful?” Hermione looks around the classroom at the other students then back to her professor to see Professor Hasting’s hand out stretch for her wand to unlock it. Hermione tries her suggestion, becoming more productive.
Draco returns to the classroom, freshened up. He stops and stares suddenly at the witch sitting in the corner with her back to the wall and the bubble around her glow faintly. Professor Hastings goes to come up behind him but Draco quickly jerks toward her at the sound of her feet a few meters away. She examined his tense expression before approaching him closer by facing him. Draco looks back to Hermione but answers the question she thought but wouldn't ask. “I can’t have anyone approach me from the back.” he mumbles loud enough for her to hear, and she just nods, showing she heard him.
“She was struggling big time. Her magic was trying to lash out for protection. She couldn't relax with everyone else in the room, so I suggested putting the ward around herself, separate from everyone and she's doing perfectly now.”
After all their classes the group met up to discuss the next event and Draco made his way to the defense classroom to meet with the Professor. Draco knocks on the classroom; within seconds the door slowly opens, and Professor Hastings looks up to him with a smile. “Oh, Mr. Malfoy” she stands, reorganizing her papers and tucking her wand in her hair. “We won't be staying in this classroom, there is a classroom towards the Slytherin common room that we will be using” Draco follows behind the Professor as she leads him to the classroom she planned to use. He looks to the floor, trying to calm himself, trying to keep his mind from drifting to the prior year. They entered the classroom that had a window under the black sea with a window seat below it.
“I'm going to have you sit in the window seat and put a ward around yourself. A ward so no one can enter it but so you can still hear me.” with nervousness he takes his wand back and moves to the seat. After setting the ward, he slides his wand into his bag as directed. Draco turns his attention to the Professor. “I want you to drop all your shields” she stares at him for a moment with her head slightly tilted. “Or as many as you can”
Draco’s eyes don’t shift from the spot on the wall they were directed at. Professor Hastings waits patiently, knowing he heard her but hasn't thought the actions through yet. She watches as his eyes quickly jump to the door of the room. “The headmistress is the only one who knows where we are and how to access the room.” She waits silently as he examines her, but she feels her heart stutter whenever Draco's eyes slowly start to shift color. They stop on a faint blue color, and she recognizes that was as far as he could go.
She instructs him to close his eyes and take in a slow deep breath. She informs him to focus on the sound of her voice to allow it to ground him. Telling him to continue to take deep breaths, each deeper than the last. She directs him to focus on the feeling of his breaths throughout his body and to find any place through that holds stress.
“Allow each spot of your body to relax, one at a time. Let your face relax….loosen the tenseness of your jaw…let your shoulders drop.” She leads him throughout each location before telling him to let his normal breathing return.
“If you have a thought drift into your mind, acknowledge it then let it drift away so your focus can return to your breathing.”
Professor Hastings stays silent for some time, minutes as she watches Draco carefully. Spotting as a thought floats into his mind, as he thinks about it for a moment before releasing it to continue drifting. She softly calls his attention back to her without frightening him.
“I want you to pull forth happy times only within your life. Try to allow your mind to find the happiest. Maybe try to imagine how you want your future to look like. Create a happy memory in your mind. Think about every important idea of this memory. She watches as the corner of his lip tilts up.
“Think of every detail, as if you were assigned to write an essay only on this single memory. Focus on the smells that surround you. The feel of the air against your skin. Whether it's causing goosebumps from the chill or the sweat from the heat. The type of noises within the environment of the memory. Look for the little details. If there's a bird flying from one branch to another. Maybe bugs pausing at each flower to pass along the pollen. Ice being formed on a window ledge. How about taste? Do you taste the remains of a celebratory drink of champagne or is it closer to the taste of creamy liquid from ice cream?”
Professor Hastings falls soundless again. Waiting for the wizard to show signs that he had gathered and inspected every detail of the memory. Waiting for his face and body to show complete relaxation.
“Perfect, now inhale and exhale three times. Slowly into a deep breath, hold it for a moment then exhaling slowly. Again, one deep breath in slowly, hold…now out through your lips slowly. Last time, deepest breath yet, in slow…..hold…..now out through your mouth. Excellent, let your eyes reopen.”
Draco's eyes open, a light blue shining through before slowly dimming back to the faint blue of being partly occluded. He sees as the professor smiles softly at him.
“Pick up your wand.” she tells him, he doesn't move right away but at her head tilt he does as he was told. She grabs her wand and directs him through the motion of the spell. “Say it with me. Expecto Patronum” she says, resulting in a bird to fly around her. A raven to be specific. Draco repeats the words a second following her. A small but mighty white light leaves his wand. In his shock, his wand falls softly onto the rug between his feet. He stares in shock at the spot the light was at, now hearing or seeing the professor praising and encouraging him. His gaze slowly looked up to hers, her beaming as if he was her best friend who just won the biggest award.
A week has passed since Draco meditation practice. This is the last defense class before winter break starts. The group gathers the guiding wix’s sign up parchments for the winter event as they make their way to the classroom. Everyone feels nervous knowing today they will be trying to cast their silvery animal forms.
Professor Hastings directs the class to stand evenly spaced in a circle around her. She has them close their eyes to pull forwards their memory, once completed she gives them permission to start trying to cast the animal. After seeing the students' animals, she gives them a nod of approval to take a seat. The professor feels a moment of sadness, though not surprising at the confirmation that the last students standing were the ones that held the most darkness. The group left including Neville, Theo, Hermione, Blaise, Ginny and Draco. The small group pauses from casting, taking each other with the realization that they were the ones left. Professor hasting one at a time, looks at each student, starting with draco.
“Draco, take a deep breath. Think back to our meditation practice. Remember my instructions.” She waits as he closes his eyes, taking a single long, slow, and deep breath. Allowing his eyes to open once again and casting the spell with steady and serene words.
“Expecto patronum” Bursting from his wand and flying around is a falcon. A creature that represents someone who had a troubled soul in the past. Someone who chooses to step away from the darkness of evil habits and into the light of a new positive future.
“Excellent work, Mr. Malfoy. Perfect form for you if I may say so myself. You may take a seat "Draco gives her a nod of appreciation and her gaze turns to Hermione to go next. Draco doesn't take his seat right away; he steps towards Hermione to whisper in her ear.
“You got this, just relax and let it happen. You have already done this.” he pulls away to look at her. “You are the best of the class. Don’t let me show you up now. Okay granger? Show me I still have competition.” Hermione smiles up to him softly and nods. He plants a quick kiss on her temple and strides to his seat.
Hermione tries again to cast her silvery animal form but results in a light flicker of silver. Professor takes in Hermione's look of defeat and calls her to step close, casting a muffliato charm for the private talk.
“Your memory is tainted due to the war, right” Hermione nods in agreement. “Is it a memory of your family? Your birth family?” Professor Hastings questions not knowing exact details and Hermione nods once again. After a short time, professor Hastings smiles. “Reform the memory. Your birth family might be tainted but your chosen family isn't.” Professor Hastings glances over at Draco. “You have friends that support you. Harry.. He is your brother, is he not? Miss. Weasley, your sister?” Hermione gains a small smile looking one at a time at her chosen family. First at Draco, then to Theo, followed by Ginny, finishing with Blaise and Luna. She turns back to her professor. “Yes, you are correct” Professor Hastings nods towards the corner Hermione had previously meditated in. “great, go make your memory”
Professor Hastings moves onto Blaise, Ginny and Theo. Each casting their form after realizing they needed to do the same as Hermione. They needed to recreate their memory of family.
Blaise’s form taking up a rottweiler. A patronus for a caster who allows their environment to influence not only their confidence but also calmness. Someone who is known to be diligent and Protective.
Ginny’s form stays as a horse, a chestnut mare to be exact. A feisty animal, just like herself. One that will jump headfirst into danger to protect her loved ones.
Theo’s form puts up more of a fight due to his harmful, dangerous childhood. Slowly growing brighter, the more he tried. Eventually his small animal zoomed from his wand. His form is known for being playful like himself but fiercely defensive when needed. Cute but dangerous when they are threatened. A pine marten. Fitting for Theo as he was someone who went through hell as a child but stayed determined, allowing his strong will and silly, child-like personality to hold him through the hardships.
Professor Hastings then gives Neville some tips, similar to how she helped Draco and Hermione.
She waited for him to gain some confidence, Hermione rejoining the smaller group now.
Neville looks at Hermione as she gives him an encouraging look that tells him she believes in him. He casts the spell and a badger leaves his wand. An animal form to show how Neville has grown from the child he was whenever he arrived at Hogwarts. The boy who struggled with fitting in and classwork. the boy who was cowardly had become a man who is not in one's eye until he needs to become stubborn and aggressive to protect those who matter. Someone his parents would be proud of. Hermione throws her arms around him in excitement, praising him before his close friends due the same before everyone's attention turns to her.
Hermione is the last one standing. Though she would usually feel defeated and disheartened at being the last one to achieve the goal. This time she doesn’t, she knows no matter what she has those around her who will hold her up. So with one last look at her friends… no, her family, Hermione closes her eyes and casts the charm “Expecto patronum” Hermione's eyes growing wide at the large animal that forms, no longer her otter swimming around but now a lioness. A lioness silvery form for a lioness witch. A witch that is not only brave, practical and hardworking but would do anything for her friends. The unusual form for the witch that chose to give up her entire life for her best friend. The witch that stood by her loved one's side even though she knew it wouldn’t go as planned. The witch who trapped a witch as a bug into a jar simply for writing false stories about her friends and herself. Also, the witch who is afraid of heights but jumped head first onto a fire breathing, flying creature to get her friends to safety, like seriously jumped onto a dragon and flew out of a building. The lioness witch with the lioness patronus.
The event created by guiding wix was planned for the Sunday before Yule break, the event being a snowball battle. Any student who wanted to participate in the battle could sign up by signing their name, year, and house. Two days prior the sign up was taken down. Blaise and Hermione start to assign the students to one of the six teams with 18 students on each one. Once the teams were created, Draco and Ginny box up the color coded, sport robes for each of the four houses.
After everything was ready to be handed out. Hermione went to Neville’s floor to deliver 2 sets of silver, 1 set of scarlet, 1 set of kaitoke, and 1 set of lilac robes. Blaise makes his way to visit Daphne and to leave her dorm mates their robes which included 1 set of scarlet, 1 set of lilac, and 1 set of gold.
The way the battle was set up, two teams at a time would go up against each other. Their sport robes displayed their team colors, and they were charmed so that whenever their robes turned black they would be eliminated from the round. Each round lasted 5 minutes so at the end of the time the team with the most standing would win that round and the team moved up in the ranking system.
Each team was led by 2 eight-year students.
Team one ~ Lilac Baubles, led by Susan Bones and Ernie MacMillan.
Team two ~ Scarlet Hollies, led by Daphne Greengrass and Dean Thomas
Team three ~ Silver Stars, led by Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott
Team four ~ Iceberg snowflakes, led by Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger
Team five ~ Gold Tinsels, led by Theo Nott and Justin Finch-Fletchly
Team six ~ Kaitoke Firs, led by Blaise ZabinI and Seamus Finnigan.
Luna felt her role was best assigned as being the announcer and Ginny and her friend Blair were assigned into team five : Gold tinsels.
The day had arrived and the team leaders from each team had contacted their teammates with a location within school grounds and the meeting time so they could discuss strategies for the event. At the start time the team leaders guided their groups to their reserved locations as they waited for their turn to plan. The professor and student who chose not to play in the snowball battle had gathered around the battle area. Which was actually the grounds of the quidditch pitch. In the middle was a waist height barrier made of snow to separate the playing teams. Each playing team also had a pile of perfect snowballs that replenished themselves at the back of their sides.
The teams would start the game facing each other with a hand on the barrier. Once the whistle was blown their teammates would run back for the snowballs and they could start the battle. If a team member was hit with five well thrown snowballs within a minute then their robes would turn black, signaling they were eliminated and they would make their way to their team’s location.
Three 2nd year girls sat together watching the battle and giggling to themselves. One Ravenclaw and two Slytherin.
“Look at them. Tell me, you don’t see it.” The Ravenclaw motions to the pair playing the game. The raven haired Slytherin girl named Corvina Wilson scoffs. “He is the pureblood slytherin prince. He would never fall for her. He is just using her as practice.”
A happy sigh leaves the other Slytherin girl, Blossom Martin. “He looks at her like he would sacrifice himself for her to be happy.” Juliette nods and whispers to herself. “He did” but no one heard her. Just like very few knew what he had done for her. Corvina looks at Juliette with calculating eyes. “How can you defend him, see the good in him? He tortured you, and you just forgive him.”
Juliette motions to the game once again. “Watch him without bias. Watch how he interacts with his team, how he interacts with the other teams.”
The witches watched Draco carefully, spotting the barely noticeable gestures he gave to his teammates. Giving thumbs up to the players he could whenever they got eliminated to show them, they did a good job. Using his seeker skills to catch a snowball that was going for a 1st year Hufflepuff witch’s face. Passing his snowballs to his teammates so they can play more while he retrieves snowballs.
“So, he’s a good team player, doesn’t take away the fact he tortured people.” Corvina told them as she glared at him, from his spot with his team on the sidelines. Juliette huffs in frustration, starting to stand to leave but is stopped by a hand. She looked to her hand to find Blossom was the one who stopped her. “We don’t understand, even children who got torture by their parents, grow to hate their parents. He's not your family. No one is making you be his friend or to like him.”
Juliette sits back down but turns herself away, trying to hide her emotions starting to bubble up. “Do you know what happened to Neville Longbottom's parents?” Both girls nod but Juliette doesn't see, knowing they do know. “That would have been me, if anyone else had actually cast it on me. I would have been permanently indisposed or I would have died.” Juliette felt as tears started to roll down her face and she shifted her sight to her hands. “Draco could barely cast it, but he could enter your mind. The first time I got crucio it was from the male carrow, so if you get a chance to never experience that pain again. You learn to act. Every Time I was left outside the come and go room, He was the one who carried me to the doorway for healing." She wipes her face and turns to her friends.
They were watching the game still but turned to look at her whenever Juliette did. Juliette gestures to Theo and the slytherin girls nod to show they understand.
“Remember the day that Theodore carried me to the slytherin dorm, into Draco’s and his room. He didn't know what Draco usually did with us. The male carrow wanted to do -” the girl's eyes grew wide at Juliette shake of disgust. “Well, he wanted to do disgusting things to me. Draco started a fight with him, so he told everyone else in the room to leave and directed Goyle to deal with me. He dragged me out of the room by my ankle. As soon as the door closed, Theodore decked him at the same time Pansy groin kicked him. Theodore immediately turned his attention to me while Pansy verbally assaulted him. Theodore took me to their room and Pansy stayed back after Goyle scurried away. Draco didn't know about any of that but after Goyle disappeared for those three days he came back slightly changed.”
Blossom goes back to enjoying the game while Corvina seems to be struggling mentally with something. Without looking up, she spoke. “Why didn’t the older kids of the other houses take the attention off of the younger students?”
Juliette releases a defeated sigh. “They tried to, it didn't matter. The slytherin house could get away with it because they were Slytherin’s. Your house was held in a higher regard so the older students could get away with taking the blame. The other houses didn't matter.” Understanding hits Corvina, letting herself nod and the girls return to silently watching the rest of the matches.
The final round would determine the winners, whether it was the Iceberg Snowflakes or the Gold Tinsels. Everyone's eyes grow wide whenever three 2nd year boys on the Gold Tinsels line up to target Hermione. One boy was from Slytherin, one boy was from Gryffindor and the last one was in Ravenclaw. Right as the snowball went to hit her, someone took her hits while they took her tumbling onto the ground with them. Everyone watches in worry, Hermione rolling off of Draco's body she landed on. The couple land side by side, looking at each other in silence. Juliette could see the two were staring with each other with eyes of love but everyone else got concerned, resulting in Luna calling a pause so injuries would be assisted. The three boys froze in terror as Theo ran over to see what was going on but before anyone could reach them, Hermione and Draco burst into laughter. Draco stood and offered his hands to Hermione, helping her back onto her feet. The couple realized that Draco had been eliminated, Hermione laughing while patting his shoulder as she passed him. Draco turned to look at the three, still terrified boys.
Draco steps around the barrier, toward the boys. Draco places a hand on the shoulder of two of the boys, while Theo directs the last boy into a little circle.
Draco looks at each of the boy's guilt ridden faces, waiting to get yelled at and punished but Draco's face just softens. “Gentlemen don’t team up on women.” One of the boys, the Gryffindor, goes to apologize but Draco cuts him off with a head shake. “No need to apologize, we are just having fun.” Draco gestures behind him to Juliette, Corvina and Blossom. “Girls like gentlemen. If you want those lovely witches to like you back. Show them who you actually are and the gentlemen within you. Got it?” The three boys smile and nod in agreement. The game finishes with the results of Gold Tinsels winning
6th place ~ Lilac Baubles with 2 loses
5th place ~ Scarlet Hollies with 1 win and 1 lost
4th place ~ Silver Stars with 1 win and 1 lost
3rd place ~ Kaitoke Firs with 2 loses and 1 win
2nd place ~Iceberg Snowflakes with 2 wins and 1 lost
1st place ~ Gold Tinsels with 3 wins
Notes:
TW : Making self-bleed from pushing self to hard. mentions of torture. Implied references to sexual assault. mention of physical assault
Overall, this chapter is a happy one, I Believe the next few will be happier until everything happy comes crashing down.
5873 words in this chapter
I did not intend on them getting together already but hey sometimes things change. So far in my mind and plans nothing major has changed just some future scene will need to be shifted. overall, I'm loving this chapter and the next few. I just finished writing chapter 27 this morning and I'm loving all the fluffiness finally happening.
I apologize again for the missed update, I got distracted with my mom's dog finally getting a mass removed and the recovery of it following.
I would love to hear predictions or thoughts for the upcoming chapters~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 26: Mastermind
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-Six ~ Mastermind
Draco was looking at Hermione with suspicion during breakfast the day before Hogwarts students would be departing for winter holiday break. Hermione and Ginny were seated away from the boys, discussing something involving the break. Blaise would be getting released from his probation that day, so he was planning to travel to visit his mother. Luna had plans to be going between visiting Blaise and his mother and visiting her father. Hermione would be going to spend the holiday with Ginny and Harry so Draco and Theo would be on their own in Hogwarts since they were still on probation.
Ginny and Hermione look up as the owls start to deliver letters throughout the students. They grab and read one delivered to them before their faces light up and they rush out of the great hall. The three wizards watch the two witches disappear from view right as a letter each dropped in front of them. At the same time, they pick up the letters, seeing they were from their probation aurors.
“We knew mine was coming today with the time for my meeting but why did you both also get one?” Blaise asks the two puzzled wizards. Theo and Draco shrug and start to read their letters.
“We also got a time for a meeting with our aurors.” Theo tells them, Draco adding his thoughts in. “It’s probably just an update and a reminder for Theo and I to behave over break”
Their group of friends had a free period first after breakfast. That was the time Blaise had his meeting so while he was getting released from wand restrictions and Hermione and Ginny were off doing whatever they were up to, Theo and Draco went to the library to study until they had their meeting.
A few minutes prior, Theo and Draco were waiting outside the headmistress office right after Blaise and Luna had gone off to discuss and celebrate his new freedom. They climb the spiral staircase and are welcomed into the office. They take a seat to talk to their probation aurors.
The wizards take in the appearance of both their aurors and share a glance of confusion.
“Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Nott, the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt has approved of the requests made.”
Theo and Draco look at each other bewildered, trying to piece together what was going on as they were handed the approved request.
Headmistress McGonagal clears her throat, dismissing the aurors. Once they were gone, she drops the spells and speaks to a new auror, who was sitting in a corner of the office with his own paperwork that the two of them didn’t notice.
“Mr. Potter, I sense this request was created without their knowledge, can you please fill the two of them in.”
Harry nods, collecting a few items and approaching them. He leans against Professor McGonagall's desk and starts to explain. He starts with the letter to Kingsley from Hermione and Ginny. The witches had written requesting that Draco and Theo be granted permission to spend the holiday with them. They planned on staying with Hermione in her house.
She moved into her parents' former home after her breakup with Ron. The house had a master bedroom with its own restroom and two bedrooms around the same size with a Jack and Jill restroom.
Harry then pulls out a box, he opens it to display 5 metal bracelets. Two of them looked similar to watches without the numbers and watch hands, two of them were thin chains with a ruby charm and the fifth was a thin band with a red line directly in the middle around it.
“The two bracelets that look like watches would be the two that you will wear if you accept. The two chain ones with the charms will be for Ginny and Hermione and the last one is mine.”
Draco takes the box from him, looking over them without picking them up
“If you agree to spend the holiday at Hermione’s house then tomorrow, I will meet you at the train and we will all put on the bracelets, and I'll cast the monitoring charm on them. As long as you are within 100 meters of one of us you won’t violate your probation.”
Draco speaks without looking to Theo because he could feel Theo vibrating with excitement.
“Well, Theo would definitely want to. Maybe make sure Hermione is prepared to have him in her muggle home.”
Harry watches Theo with curiosity but nods slowly as he stands to leave. He exits through the door to go into the Hogwarts hallway. Theo and Draco look at each other, sharing a silent conversation before turning to their headmistress. Draco speaks to her.
“Would we be able to leave our wands with you?” McGonagal narrows her eyes slightly looking between the pair. “Why would you want to leave your wands behind? Mr. Potter is an auror so he can grant permission to you within reason”
Draco starts to fidget with his fingers but then straightens in his seat looking at the headmistress. “I don’t want it with me. Hermione offered me a while ago that she would teach me how to cook. I don’t want to be tempted to reach for my wand.” Draco takes a deep breath in and a slow breath out before continuing.
“In truth, Muggleborn Hermione Granger came into the school and humbled me. She proved that everything I grew up with wasn’t true. There are bad, disgusting, and stupid muggles but there are good, clean and smart muggles also. Just like there’s good and bad wizards. The only difference is we were born with an advantage, but they were able to keep up, no they were able to pass us with our advantage.”
The headmistress nods slowly, looking at Theo. “And you Mr. Nott? Why would you want to leave your wand.” Theo shrugs nonchalantly, but the headmistress could tell he was hiding something. Headmistress McGonagal looks between the two wizards before coming up with a decision.
“Okay, I will hold onto your wands during the holiday break under one condition.”
Draco and Theo nod for her to continue.
“Tomorrow whenever you meet up with Mr. Potter to get the bracelets applied. I’ll have two boxes for your wands. I want both of you to write an explanation of why I’m holding onto your wands. I won’t read or even open them unless someone needs to know why I have them.”
After agreeing with the headmistress, they return to their room to start to complete the task. Along with packing for the holiday. They look up at the knock at the door, finding Hermione standing there with a smirk. “Are you going somewhere boys?”
Theo jumps to his feet and squishes Hermione in his arms before giving her the grandmother special of cheek pinches and covering her face with kisses.
“You are a gorgeous, intelligent witch. You should be a snake with your deal making. I don’t know how you did it, but I will forever be in your favor.” Theo exclaims and finishes with a big fat and wet kiss to the center of her forehead. Hermione giggles while lightly pushing Theo away from her. She looks to Draco who was looking at her, Theo noticing and clearing his throat to break the moment between the two.
He shifts awkwardly on his feet, not knowing what to do. Theo knew they were courting but they didn’t know that Theo knew.
“Would you like a moment alone”?
Hermione shakes her head no, then gestures towards the common room with a nod. “I was actually going to ask if you would take a walk with me”
Draco stands and she turns away, allowing him to follow her out of the living area. They reached the hallway that was empty, silent, and dim. Draco watches her as she stands still in the hallway before she slides her hand into his and leads him up the staircase
When reaching the courtyard, Draco gently stops walking, causing Hermione to pull to a stop.
“Are you okay? You keep clenching your hand like your nervous”
Draco moves to go in front of her whenever she nods without looking at him. “Lune?” Draco calls gently, tilting her head up with his finger under her jaw. Hermione pulls her hand out of his and wraps it around her abdomen. She looks into his eyes and Draco releases a breath of relief at the sight of her eyes showing worry and guilt and not fear.
He steps towards her, hooking his fingers around her hand to pull her with him towards a window ledge so they could sit. Draco sits on one side while Hermione sits on the other. Hermione wraps her arms around herself again, so Draco just observes her for a moment.
“Hermione?” Draco tries again “can you talk to me about what’s wrong. I didn’t see fear in your eyes, but you were nervous, worried, and guilty. Can you tell me why so we can work through it.”
Draco waits for a response that comes in a whisper after some time. “Are we allowed to touch each other?” Her head then whips up, eyes flaring. Draco could tell her reaction, and tone was out of defense and not anger. “Are we even allowed to be alone right now!” Hermione exclaims with frustration. Hermione stands and starts to pace around the hallway while mumbling. Draco follows her, granting her time to regain herself. She stops in the middle of the hallway and turns to Draco with tears running down her face and watery eyes. Draco steps towards her and wraps his arms around her. His chest muffles her sobs as she wraps one of her arms around his back to tug him closer. He pets her head, giving her words of comfort. Once she starts to calm, she pulls away and Draco uses his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
“Whatever it is, you have me. We can work through it together. We’re courting so you aren’t alone. All you have to do is talk to me.”
Draco pauses before continuing. “If you can’t or don’t want to talk to me than just say and I’ll Walk you to whoever can help”
Hermione places her head back against his chest, her right ear to his heart.
“I don’t understand any of this. I don’t know the rules. Some courtships don’t allow the couple to touch, some don’t even allow them to be alone because they need a chaperone.”
Draco nods against her head, understanding her stress. “The rules are whatever we make them to be. Most families don’t allow babies being born out of wedlock because it causes problems for the inheritance.”
Hermione pulls away to look up at Draco. She could sense he wanted to be tense but that he needed to be completely honest. “What would happen to a child born out of wedlock?” she asks and Draco smirks with amusement. “My my Miss. Granger, are you worried you will have a child out of wedlock.” Hermione scoffs and whacks his stomach. “No, you prat. I worried about my child being harmed.”
This sentence quickly sobers him, realizing this is completely an understandable thing she could be worried about. Draco cups her face, gently caressing her cheeks. “I would never let that happen. If it was our child, my mother would try to pressure us to get married before he or she was born. If we need to run to safety, then off, we will go.”
Draco feels as Hermione has become to actually relax. “You really think your mother would be okay with you marrying a muggle born?”
Draco quirks an eyebrow at her with a smirk. “Any muggle born? No. You, absolutely. Malfoy always gets the best.” Hermione rolls her eyes, smacking Draco harder as he laughs. She starts to laugh also before she grows serious with Draco following. “What if I can’t give you children?” Draco allows her to finish the question before showing his disapproval. “No, you would not be giving me children. You would be making us parents. In this relationship it will not be me and you, it will be us. Now to your question, then you don’t give us biological children, if we want children then we can adopt. If the earth is giving us to each other but not the ability to have children, then that is how it should be. I don’t intend for us to live our lives from a rulebook made hundreds of years ago.”
Hermione jumps up, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. After that she pulls away a bit to look up at him. “Can I kiss you?” Hermione asks him with slight hesitation. Draco looks from her eyes to her lips, pausing for a moment then returning to her eyes. Draco nods in approval and Hermione walks him back so he is pressed against the window edge. She softly grasps his chin to tilt it down towards her. She smiles up to him softly before gently pressing her lips to his. Hermione pulls away and their eyes connect.
Draco spins their position, Hermione instantly bracing her hands in the window ledge to jump up with his help. She sits back on the ledge, Draco leaning in with his hips between her knees so they could deepen the kissing with his hands cupping her face. They continue snogging until Hermione pulls back slightly, Draco recognizes she is starting to disconnect into panic. He pulls back completely, taking a step back to give her space. Her brown eyes immediately fly up to his light blue and she calms from panic to embarrassment.
“I’m sorry” Hermione repeatedly tries to get out through her heavy breathing. Hermione goes to slide off the window ledge but as soon as her feet touch the ground her body starts to collapse but Draco quickly steps forward catching her under the arms and starts to steady her. He hushed her as she continues to apologize, crying into his chest
“It’s okay, I’m not mad. Are you comfortable telling me what happened?”
Hermione nods and he leads her to sit down on a bench. “Whenever the snatchers captured us. I had someone holding me from the back and Scabior got in my face acting as if he was going to kiss me.”
“Okay” he responds as he nods in thought. “Do you know at what point everything changed” he asks softly “At what point you went from being okay and responsive to panic and discomfort.”
Hermione stands from the bench, walking to the window ledge. Draco gives her time just turning to watch and wait. Hermione runs her finger along the middle frame divider of the window. “It was just you being close to my face while my back was pressed against this piece of frame.” He nods slowly thinking of a solution.
“So, it was just the environment? It wasn’t you snogging someone?” Draco questions and Hermione confirms. Draco stands from the bench and offers his hand to her to take. Together walking back to their floor.
Once there they find that their friends have left. He leads her into the boy's dormitory so they can continue to talk as he packs for the holiday. Hermione lays down on top of his bedding, head towards the foot of the bed. Laying on her back, looking to the roof, she asks her question lingering in her mind. “Do you think Theo and you will be okay in a muggle home?” Hermione looks over her shoulder to Draco when he doesn’t answer right away. She finds him still turned away but frozen. Hermione sits up on the bed gently calling to him. He turns to her with a small smile. “Sorry, yes, we will be fine. I don’t know if you’ll be fine though. Theo is super excited to learn muggle things.”
She slides off the bed to join him on the floor where he was packing. “What about you? Will you be fine.” Draco doesn’t look at her, just continues to pack but he answers fairly quicker than she expected. “I think you could live in a dirt shack, and I still would be fine with it compared to my housing the last few years.” Hermione rolls her eyes before helping him put his items into the trunk. “Well, I don’t live in a dirt shack but it’s not a manor with 100 rooms. It is a three-bedroom house though, with a decent size library so hopefully it will meet some of your standards.” Hermione tells him as she stands with a smirk. Draco’s head jerks up to follow her. “I’m assuming Ginevra and Potter will be sleeping together. So does that mean I get the pleasure of having my ears bleed from Theo's excited comments about muggles.” Hermione shrugs with a suspicious smirk as she approaches the door to leave. “Hey, what’s that smirk about?” Hermione just smirks wider in response, so Draco jumps up to grab her as she slips right out the door. She giggles as she slips right out of his grasp. Draco playfully chases after her, but she once again escapes him as she slips into her room with a comment. “No. Theo, you and I will all have our own rooms.”
The next morning, Theo and Draco left the living area first to take their wands to the headmistress along with their written notes as she requested. The pair then meet their friends in the great hall for breakfast before they depart on the Hogwarts express for the holiday break.
They meet Harry at the main door a few minutes after Ginny leaves. They find Harry hooking a gold chain around Ginny's neck. At a closer look it was a simple gold necklace with a square Ruby gem. Hermione hugs Harry with a questioning look. “A Ruby necklace?”
Harry nods with a small smile. “I was made aware that I needed to give her a courting gift. It felt perfect for Ginny. It’s a potter heirloom. Ruby is my birthstone, and I found out my dad gave my mom his birthstone, plus red matches gin’s skin tone so well” Hermione pulls him into a hug again to whisper into his ear. “I agree, the square cut is perfect for her.”
After all, five of them had the bracelets charm onto their wrists they started their journey down to the train. Harry and Ginny went down hand in hand while Hermione hid behind Draco trying to escape Theo's flying snowballs and snatchings. Draco walked between the two completely unbothered until Hermione went to run around Draco again just to get scooped up by him and thrown over his shoulder. She giggles before pounding on his back playfully demanding he put her down. “If you say so, lune.” Draco tells her, pulling her into his arms. She tries to cling to him when she sees he is dropping her into a pile of snow but fails as she gets carefully dropped in with a squeak from the cold. Before she could sit up Theo was jumping next to her. She looks up to Draco's hand to offer her help with a slightly apologetic look. She grasps the hand and tugs him in next to her. After the small group finishes laughing, she finds Harry and Ginny watching them with exaggerated amusement.
On the train, Draco, Hermione and Theo took up the seat on one side while Harry and Ginny took up the other side. Theo was seated closest to the door with Draco in the middle while Hermione laid on her side. Her head resting on Draco’s thigh and her feet nudging against the window wall. Harry sat next to the window with Ginny leaning against him, curled into his side.
Within minutes of the train on its journey, Hermione was rocked to sleep by the train's vibrations and Draco running his fingers through her scalp. Ginny and Harry spent the train ride, discussing things about the wedding. Theo was reading a book while Draco stared out the window as he continues playing with Hermione's hair. Draco gets lost in his thoughts, thinking about little Hermione growing up and how in a short time he will be getting an insight into her home as a child. Wondering how his youth compares to hers. How his upbringing was completely wrong because he doesn't believe that Hermione is scum like he was raised to know but he can’t imagine what a muggle upbringing would be.
“Wow, she looks so happy” Harry mumbles to Ginny. Draco was too far away in his own mind to realize they were talking about Hermione. Ginny was showing Harry the pictures the friends took of the couple during the morning Draco asked her to enter a courtship. The pair talk about how they don't think they have ever seen Hermione look that happy before. How the couple appears to fit perfectly together as if they have been in love for years.
Ginny continues to talk but Harry's eyes drift up to watch his best friend…no, his sister and her soulmate. How even asleep, Hermione radiates calmness and joy. How Draco continues to be nurturing and loving to Hermione as he is in a whole other world within his mind. Observing Hermione become slightly restless and tense, entering a nightmare but Draco is tuned into her so within seconds he is pulling his scarf off to place near her nose, instantly calming her. Perceiving that Draco with a tender smile watching her asleep for a time stopping moment before his eyes return to the environment outside.
Harry looks back down to Ginny, finding her using a little disposable camera to catch the moment he just witnessed. Harry quirks an eyebrow at her and Ginny simply shrugs then whispers. “They are going to regret not being able to capture these moments. I figured she would like them as a wedding present.” With that, Harry feels something settle into his chest. The knowledge that no matter what happens in the future he knows Hermione is safe within Draco’s arms. Smiling to himself, knowing that Draco may be the only person on the earth willing to drag Hermione kicking and screaming if it meant she would be safe.
Experiencing the awareness that while Hermione and himself and all the other Gryffindors with their stupid bravery would selflessly lay down their life for anyone and everyone. Draco would only do it if it meant Hermione was safe. Granted Harry would also sacrifice himself to protect Hermione, and Hermione has proven she would do it in return for him. He knows for Draco it’s completely different. Yes, Ginny has jumped through fire for Harry and Hermione had gone through torture to protect him and he drove headfirst into a chamber with a deadly snake to protect Ginny but deep down he knows he wouldn’t be able to stun Ginny or drag her away for her safety like Draco would do for Hermione. While Harry would happily take a killing curse for either of his girls in an attempt to tackle them to the ground, he knows Draco would stand tall and willing in front of it. That Draco would go through years of torture or being carted off to Azkaban with a smile if it meant getting revenge for someone hurting her. Finally comprehending the snakes are loyal to one another that they would take care of her if Draco did get carted off to Azkaban.
Draco gently wakes Hermione once the train enters King's cross station for departure. Draco gets off the train first so he can offer the two witches a gentlemanly hand off the train. Harry a few minutes behind as he was shrinking and storing the luggage of the group. The group heads to the muggle side of the station to find a location to apparate from. Draco and Theo taking everything in awe as they pass through. Harry side-alonging Ginny and Theo while Hermione takes Draco. Appearing behind an abandoned building a little way from Hermione's house.
Notes:
TW: Dissociation / panic attack. mention of having a baby out of wedlock. References to danger and or death to a baby/ the baby parents. Implications of torture, death and incarceration. References to sacrificing oneself. Referencing to causing a loved one to become unconscious for their protection. Implications to fertility issues
4035 words in this chapter
So, Theo and Draco are going to be spending the holiday in Hermione's childhood home. Thoughts on how this is going to go. Predictions on how they will spend the holiday, or what they will discover about Hermione. Draco and Theo will be leaving their wands behind with the headmistress, will this be a good thing. will that choice cause regret. Any predictions on what Draco's Christmas gift will be for Hermione and vice versa.
I think I'm most likely to drop down to uploading a new chapter once a month instead of biweekly. I've been trying to write one chapter or more per uploading schedule and have not been able to. I just finished chapter 28, so currently still two chapters ahead of uploading but trying to write more to stay a bit of head.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy!!
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 27: Iris
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Iris
The group looked around the corner of the building. “Mrs. Adkins isn’t home.” So, we shouldn’t have any problems” Hermione tells them as she waves them to follow. They get about halfway towards the house. Whenever a middle-aged woman steps out of her house. Hermione turns to Ginny, tossing a set of keys to her and using her eyes to motion for her to take the boys to the house.
Ginny catches the keys and grabs Theo and Draco’s elbows to pull them along. Draco overhears the beginning of the conversation as a little girl ran out into Hermione's arms.
“Minnie!!! You been gone forever”
“Rosie, you need to put a coat on, it’s snowing out” Hermione scolds the girl as she picks her up in a hug. Hermione then turns her attention to the girl's mother. “Mrs. Johnson, how are you doing?”
Mrs. Johnson takes Primrose from Hermione with a sigh. “I would be a little better if little Parker started to sleep through the night but little Rosie was helping with her big sister duties. So your parents are enjoying their business in the new location?”
Hermione smiles softly, nodding in confirmation. “Yes, for the most part, they are mostly retired though.”
As the group reaches the door of Hermione’s house Draco looks back to see Harry and Hermione talking to Mrs. Johnson while the girl runs back in the house.
He looks back to find Ginny looking at the keys confused. “Any chance either of you know how these work.” Theo shakes his head no and Draco steps towards the door to look at the keys. He flips through them looking at the door knob. He examines the keys before inserting a key into the lock area and unlocking the door knob but the door doesn’t push open. He spots the deadbolt lock and examines it to find the correct key, finally getting the door to open.
“How in Godric did you figure it out?” Ginny exclaims as she walks past Draco. He sets the keys into the dish next to the door. “The keyhole and the key have the same word” Draco tells her as he shrugs. He looks over his shoulder to find that Theo has already disappeared. “Theo! What are you doing? This isn’t your house.” Theo pops his head out of the room next door with a smile. “Hermione has a television!” Theo tells them, vibrating out of his skin. Theo disappears again, Draco turning to Ginny who was snickering. “Have you been here before?” Ginny starts to walk down the hall so he follows her. “I’ve been here a few times but I’ve always come through the fireplace with Harry.” Ginny goes to the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out a package of berries. Draco sits on a stool at the kitchen island bar. “How are berries here if Hermione's been at hogwarts?” Draco questions her with suspicion and curiosity. “Harry” Ginny answers. “He checks in occasionally, we’ve been hoping to find or hear about her cat. He ran away last year before everything went down and we have yet to find him. During the gala at the start of the month Hermione talked to Kingsley and asked Harry if he would restock the house for holiday breaks.”
At that Hermione and Harry return to the house and they look down the hall right as Theo goes jumping out into the hallway with a few VCR tapes. They watch as Hermione laughs with a nod as Theo jumps away back into the room with joy. Harry and Hermione share a look before laughing together. They walk past the lounge calling Theo to follow them. They join Ginny and Draco in the kitchen. Harry starts to unshrink the luggage.
Hermione gestures for the two new wizards to follow her as she shows them around. That the backyard could be accessed through the dining room that was this door left of the kitchen. The door to the right of the kitchen leads to the laundry room which has a half bathroom. She then takes them upstairs. Pointing out that the door to the right is Theo's room which was the room she grew up in. The next door on the right is the door to the linen closet and the last door on the right would be Draco’s room that used to be the guest room. The first door on the left is to the master bedroom and bathroom, where Ginny and Harry would be staying and the next door on the left is the door to the library. Draco asks where she would be staying but she just changes the subject.
Hermione orders pizza for the group, pops popcorn and gathers a bottle of wine with glasses for the group for the movie. The group gathers in their pajamas. Since Theo asked her to pick her favorite film. Hermione chose the 1998 version of the parent trap. Explaining to the group she grew up on the 1961 version and instantly bought the new version whenever it was released a few months ago.
The small group sits down together in the lounge to watch the film. Theo laying on the floor. Draco and Hermione taking up one sofa and Harry and Ginny taking up another.
The movie starts and the scene where Annie pulls up to the camp in the limo plays. Theo jumped up from his laying position to point it out and claim that Annie was Draco. The group laughs and Draco rolls his eyes and pokes Hermione side teasingly.
The group watches with interest as the girls begin to fence and Draco sits up in shock whenever Hallie pulls Annie into the water trough whenever she offers her hand to help. “Hey you did this to me this morning”
Hermione smirks widely and says “yes I did, this is indeed my favorite movie”
Hermione looks to Harry whenever the poker scene comes on knowing the song “Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood & The Destroyers” would remind him of Sirius. Harry was smiling softly, indeed reminded of his godfather.
Theo bursting out laughing whenever Annie had to jump into the lake nude. Exclaiming to the group “Wow, Annie really is Draco” resulting in Draco throwing a pillow at his friend and Ginny snorting into Harry’s side who was very confused at the comparison.
Draco looks concerned whenever Hermione sits up, clenching her eyes shut and plugging her ears. The whole group minus Hermione jumping whenever the twins scream because Hallie pierced Annie’s ears. Once it was over Hermione whispered to Draco that she’s never liked that scene so she always blocks it out. Draco nodded in agreement.
As the movie plays Hermione slumps more into Draco's side. Draco twirls one of her curls. At Hermione repeated yawning, Draco pulls a blanket down from the back of the couch and lays it down on his girlfriend.
About halfway through the film Theo sits up, looking at Hermione. Giving her a weird look.
“Hmm, I don’t like miss step mother. She’s a bit much” Hermione snorts “I completely agree. Don’t worry the twins will put her into her place” Not long later, Theo was giggling at Martin the butler, claiming he had to be a little fruity. Laughing even harder at Martin's leather jacket and boots. Hermione looks over to find Harry looking even happier seeing Martin reminding him of Sirius.
Theo sits up from laying down once again looking at Hermione and she waves him off “Cruella De Vil, from the 101 dalmations. I have the film and we can watch it tomorrow.”
Theo nods, laying back down. Hermione looks up to Draco who was very interested in the film, far more than she expected him to be.
Hermione notices that Theo has grown suspiciously quiet so Hermione slides to the floor. Discovering Theo was mostly asleep, Harry and Ginny were completely asleep and Draco was fully awake and captivated by the film. Hermione crawls next to Theo, shaking him awake. “Wake up, there’s about 20 minutes left. Plus it’s just getting to the good part.”
Theo rejoined right as the group was leaving for the camping trip. Theo absolutely loses it at the girls tormenting Meredith with the lizard along with all the other tricks. Theo looks at Hermione with a mischievous look with ideas of pranks to play. Eventually waking the whole house hollering with laughter whenever Meredith wakes up floating in the lake. The group finishes the film before Harry practically carries Ginny up the steps and Theo follows by literally crawling up the stairs, grumbling about Elizabeth ruining the movie.
Hermione starts to gather the dishes around the lounge and place them in the sink. Draco helps her out. “I can see why you like the film,” Draco tells her. Hermione nods, turning her attention to washing the dishes, Draco taking a seat at the kitchen island bar. “Have you lived here since you were born?” Draco asks her, Hermione humming in acknowledgement, then looking over her shoulder at him. She uses her head to motion to the laundry room. “My mom’s water broke in that room. She was grabbing my dad’s coat so he could go to work but I apparently had different plans for the day. Within a couple hours I was born. 10:29 the morning of my due date.” Hermione smiles softly looking off into the distance as if she could see the memory happening at that moment. She uses her soapy finger to gesture to him. “Where you're sitting is where I sat when baking cookies with my dad for the first time” Hermione then points with her soapy finger to the corner, right of the door to the dining room. “I took my first steps from that corner.” Hermione laughs to herself, turning her attention back to the dishes. Draco came around the kitchen island to lean against the corner next to her. “My mom was making dinner and my ball rolled away. She turned to wipe her hands so she could grab it for me but whenever she turned back I was walking over for it”
Draco grabs the towel from Hermione's shoulder. He starts to dry the dishes she was setting down. Once she finished washing, she put away the dishes he had dried. Hermione looks at the clock on the wall, looking at Draco with a smirk “Are you tired yet?”
Draco shakes his head, looking at Hermione with suspicion. “Perfect, go grab your shoes.” Draco stares at her before slowly turning and leaving the room. When Draco returns, Hermione has her winter boots on, along with a winter beanie and scarf. She hands Draco’s to him and grabs her coat along with his. Once both of them are fully ready, Hermione leads him outside to her car. Draco’s eyes went wide. Draco looks at Hermione as she opens the door for him silently asking if she was serious. “Yes, get in. We are going for a ride. I left a note for everyone else.” Draco slowly gets in the car and Hermione gets in on the driver's side. As she starts to drive, Draco holds onto the door with clenched hands. “You said your dad taught you to drive?” Draco questions looking worried, resulting in Hermione laughing. “Yes, my dad taught me to drive.” Hermione confirms. “Your dad cared about you, right? You know how to do it perfectly.” Hermione bursting out in laughter. “Yes, Draco. My dad loved me very much and made sure I was safe whenever I was driving.” This seemed to relax him some because he released the grip he had on the door handle. Hermione clicks on the radio, allowing it to play softly in the car.
She drives until parking the car on an outlook hill. They exit the car, leaning on the hood to look at the scene of england. “This is where my parents fell in love.” They stand there taking in the view for a little longer before Draco hears the perfect song come on. He moves to the car, turning the sound up a little. He turns back to her, snow softly falling between them. Draco holds his hand up and she takes it. They dance around in falling snow in front of the headlights of her car, Draco twirling Hermione and laughing together. That is until lights find them, solid yellow to be joined by red and blue. Hermione laughs into Draco’s chest and Draco goes terrified. Hermione wiggles free from Draco whenever she hears the door open. “Hello officers,” Hermione greets the two men in uniforms in a friendly manner as they get out of the vehicle to greet her. “May I see your licenses?” Hermione nods. “It’s in my purse in my car, so I’ll grab that for you. He doesn’t have a license and left everything at home. I kind of sprung this ride on him.” The officer that was driving approached Draco and she could hear him answering some questions and the second officer followed Hermione, looking through the car windows to the backseat. Hermione turns to hand him her license but is shocked by a familiar face. “Oh officer smith, here is my license.” He takes the license, looking at it before looking up to her again. “Minnie? Wow, I haven't seen you in a long time.” Hermione shrugs with a smile. “I’ve been off at boarding school for a while. Just got home for the holidays earlier.” He nods before becoming serious with a fake authority appearance. “Miss. Granger, may I ask what you are doing up here at this time?”
Hermione rolls her eyes playfully. Our other friends already went to bed, so I decided we would go for a drive.”
He raises an eyebrow at her, glancing at Draco. “Are you two drinking any type of alcohol?” Officer Smith asks her and she answers no. He glances at the back seat again with a flashlight causing Hermione to giggle. “No, officer, we aren't doing anything sexual either.” He looks Hermione over before glancing at Draco with a nod. She feels as Draco approaches and slides his hand over the center of her back. He asks her to walk her through her night and when she does, the other officer nods in confirmation that both stories were the same.
“Alright you two. Everything seems to be in order but I suggest you get home before the snow storm starts.” Hermione nods showing she understands and Draco goes to the passenger door to get in. “Mr. Smith?” She calls stopping him and He turns back to her. “Yes, Hermione?” He questions back, looking curious. “I was actually going to contact Carol tomorrow. My mom is still out of the country but do you think they would let me stop in to help with the Christmas event. It’s on Monday right?” He nods in verification. “Yes, I think Carol and the girls would love to see you. I know Claire misses you teaching her. Bring your friends, Carol would like to meet him” the officer refers to Draco. “Sounds perfect, let Carol know but I think I’ll like to surprise Charlotte and Claire.”
Hermione gets back in the car and Draco raises an eyebrow at her. “That’s the second time someone called you Minnie?” Draco questions and Hermione rolls her eyes. “That’s what you're asking, not the fact we were questioned if we were drinking and doing sexual activities?”
Draco shrugs as Hermione pulls back onto the road. “I figured that was a normal line of questioning. Two teenagers, alone in an empty area. We weren’t doing anything wrong. Simply enjoying the view.”
Hermione goes on to explain that her parents called her Minnie sometimes so people who knew her when she was a child occasionally called her Minnie.
Hermione stops the car back in its original place, looking over to Draco who was asleep against the window of the door. She reaches over to Draco's shoulder to shake him awake but his eyes pop open in fright right before she reaches him. Hermione squeaks, pulling away her hand and smacking it against the car’s dash. Hermione shakes her hand out and Draco looks at her worried and scared. “I’m fine. You fell asleep on the way back. Let’s go inside and you can go to bed.” Draco nods and Hermione goes around the car to open the door for him. Hermione takes his arm, leading him out of the car. With his arm hooked over her shoulder she helps him inside and up the stairs to the room he was staying in.
Once inside the room Hermione sits him down on the bed and he flops back laying on the bed wrong. Hermione laughs before grabbing his hands to pull him back up to a seated position. “Not yet, Draco. I need to get you out of your shoes and winter clothes before you sleep in the bed correctly.” Draco groans in disapproval but stays sitting up as she pulls his winter clothes off. Draco watches Hermione's face and she focuses on helping him.
Afterwards she pulls his leg up, placing his foot onto her thigh as she undid the first shoe. “You know you are very pretty. Your scattering of freckles goes well with your brown eyes, with their sprinkle of gold throughout your irises.” Hermione looks up through her lashes at him before moving his first foot to remove the shoe. “Thank you Draco.” Hermione whispers back looking into his eyes, finding them more blue then she has seen before. “You must drop your shields whenever you're tired because your eyes are very light blue and I’ve only ever seen them silver,” Hermione tells him, turning her attention to the other foot now on her thigh. “Only the adults around me as a young child know I have blue eyes. I was trained to occlude at a young age because of my ability to enter anyone’s mind without me knowing and without most of them knowing. I am able to enter whoever’s mind I want without any problems but if they are highly skilled occlumens they will be able to tell. That’s how my parents and Snape found out. I entered Snape's mind as a young child and he explained it to my parents.” Draco explains as Hermione folded the blankets down for him. “Does that mean you're in my mind right now?” Hermione questions out of curiosity and not out of anger or fear. He shakes his head no. “My eyes are bright blue. I haven’t had all my shields down since I was fully trained at the age of 8. I need to have all my shields down to unintentionally enter people's minds but even with the shields up I can enter whoever’s mind I want while keeping my eyes silver.” Hermione hums in acknowledgment, telling Draco good night and that she planned on picking his brain at a later date about this topic. “You are going to bed soon right?” Draco asks her and she nods, planting a soft kiss to his lips.
Hermione heads downstairs to lock up the house before bed. She starts at the front of the house, locking the front door, checking that all the windows are locked on her way to the back door. Once fully sure everything is locked up, she starts back down the hall towards the front door to set the alarm system before heading upstairs. She creeps down the hallway avoiding the floor planks she learned as a child that creaks through the house. She slips through the door of the library, slowly clocking the door with the door knob turned so the door closes without a click. She stands still to listen for movement before tiptoeing to the bookshelf in the middle of the room.
Hermione kneels down and pulls a book out of the third shelf from the bottom. She runs her finger along the shelf edge right below where the book was at, pressing down on where it appears was a crack. She listens for the light pop before returning the book and moving two bookshelves to the left of the previous one. She reaches under the closest chair pulling out a foldable step stool. She steps onto the stool and pulls down a navy blue book about Helen of Troy. She grabs the charm on the edge of the book’s ribbon and crosses the door and rubs the charm along the last bookshelf. The bookshelf lifts out from the wall and she returns the book to its place and the step stool back under the chair before sliding through the opening now created.
She descends the metal spiral staircase. Around the corner she passes through the double doors into her small personal dance studio. She waves her hand over the wall next to the door on the right, speaking as she does “la beauté se trouve à l'intérieur” With a shimmer a necklace appears on the wall. A necklace with a delicate silver rose charm. She picks the necklace up from the hook and the closed mirror pops out from the wall. She places it back on its hook and waves her hand the opposite way saying “beauty is found within” and with a shimmer the necklace disappears once more. She pulls the edge of the mirror to her and steps through the doorway into a small room, the side of a large storage closet. To the right was a door, to the left was a nightstand between her and the bed tucked against the wall. Right in front of her was a large wardrobe taking up the rest of the wall in front of her.
Hermione pulls the wardrobe doors open and slides out a drawer to change into new sleep bottoms, selecting a dark green satin pair that had light pink and white flowers to match her long sleeve white top. She enters the small bathroom through the other door to prepare for bed, afterwards climbing under the blankets and entering a peaceful slumber.
Hermione's eyes flutter open at the feel of someone shaking her shoulder. “Mione, it's past noon. Are you okay” she hears coming from the green eyed wizard. Hermione buries her face into her pillow before rolling away from Harry and pulling the blankets over her head. “Hermione, Malfoy is worried about you. He pretty much pulled me out of bed whenever he got up and couldn't figure out where you were sleeping.” Hermione didn't respond, most likely she was back asleep.
Harry pulls the blanket away from her face, placing a hand on her forehead to see if she feels warm. He feels as her face scrunches up but before she could speak he was asking his question. “You don't feel warm, are you feeling sick.” he feels as Hermione shrugs but mumbles something he didn't catch. He asks her to repeat herself and she snuggles into her blankets then whispers her response. “I just feel tired. Head too heavy, tired” Harry hums , standing up from the bed. “I'll let you sleep a little longer but your boyfriend wants to see you. I understand being afraid but you can trust him.” Hermione rolls over looking up at Harry for a moment before her eyes fall shut again. “I know I can but it's hard to let go of the fear.” Harry nods showing he acknowledges her anxieties. “It's currently 12:22, if you don't come upstairs by 2. Malfoy and I will be returning to pull you out of bed.” Hermione eyes pop open trying to figure out if he is serious but she nods. “Fine I suppose , but under no circumstances is Theo allowed to know.”
Harry returns up stairs to exit the library, finding Draco sitting in the hallway waiting for Harry to return. “Is she okay?” Draco asks as he stands up from the floor. “Yes, she says she is really tired. I think she might be getting sick but isn’t showing any signs yet. I told her she has until 2 to get out of bed or we would both come and pull her out.” Draco glances over Harry’s shoulder to the library but nods and moves to the staircase.
Harry follows Draco down to the kitchen where Draco started to look through the cupboard. Harry takes a seat in curiosity but doesn’t question him. “So, did you grow up in a house like this?” Draco asks Harry and Harry laughs before cutting himself off whenever Draco looks at him strangely. “Not exactly. Hermione grew up with quite a bit of money. Not like your family riches but her mother comes from money. Growing up Hermione didn’t tell anyone how her life actually was. I found out over the summer but she was raised like a pureblood with girls like pansy.”
Draco looks at Harry in shock and Harry releases a sigh.” Hermione's father was “below” her mother, and Hermione's grandparents stopped talking to her mom whenever she married him without their permission. Her mother kept Hermione in that world growing up but didn’t make it her whole world. While you were top of everything in your world, Hermione was doing it in both worlds. She was on track to be going to Oxford, and before we went on the run she was supposed to be a debutante.”
Draco looks around the kitchen, seeing it in a new light before looking back to Harry. “I was raised in a home with my uncle who was a director of a company, my aunt was a housewife and my cousin was…well a lot like goyle. As soon as I was out of my crib and started to show magic I got abused and punished. I grew up in the cupboard under the stairs. If I did the slightest thing wrong I got locked up.” Draco pales and grows serious. “So the rumors weren't lies, you were practically the muggle's house elf.” Harry nods and shrugs as if it wasn’t something that bothered him. Draco goes back to looking through the pantry and Harry tilts his head sideways at Draco in thought. “Do you like reading about history?” Harry watches as Draco pauses in his search, tilting his head back and forth. “Yeah, as long as it’s not Professor Binns teaching it”
Without a second word, he watches as Harry leaves the room and he could hear him walking upstairs most likely to the library. Draco finds everything he was looking for, setting them on the counter. He walks down the hallway to the sitting room to find that Theo and Ginny had the living room a mess with every film pulled out from the shelf. Draco takes a seat on the sofa where he was last night.
“ Theo!!” Ginny screams holding up a box. “What do you think this is?” she asks Theo as they look through the box of unmarked tapes. “Let’s find out.” Ginny puts the tape in and Harry returns with a stack of books. “What are you guys watching?” Both Theo and Ginny shrug, explaining they found a box of unmarked tapes. Harry shifts uncomfortably on his feet, his face turning flush. “Umm…maybe they're unmarked because they're not for public viewing. Like personal films for personal…activities.”
Ginny and Theo look at each other wide-eyed before shrugging and hitting play. Draco starts to read one of the books.
The film starts playing on the home video. The film was shot by a young male was filming a young woman. The man was teasing the lady and she was acting annoyed but was clearly falling in love with him. As the home video plays it shows as the couple graduate from the university, get engaged and the start of their lives.
Draco looks up from his book and freezes whenever he sees the couple getting engaged. He recognizes the surrounding area, the same place they were at the night before. The camera turns to show a group of friends celebrating the newly engaged couple. Draco’s suspicions are confirmed whenever he sees a younger version of the law enforcement officer Hermione knew from last night. Next to him was a lady who was holding a newborn.
Draco lets out a choked laugh and Theo, Ginny, and Harry turn to Draco. “Hermione is going to kill all of you.” When they all look at Draco with confusion and pausing the film, Draco continues on to explain. “The couple that just got engaged are Hermione's parents.”
Harry looks back to the screen with interest and Theo asks how he knows this.
“After you three went to bed, Hermione drove me and her to that location. She wanted to show it to me. That man now holding the baby is Officer Smith and I’m guessing he is holding their daughter Charlotte and the woman next to him is his wife Carol. Officer Smith stopped and talked to us last night to make sure we weren’t up to any mischief. It appears that Hermione and I will be going to a charity event tomorrow and he said Carol would like to meet Hermione's friends so she will probably be asking the three of you to go also.”
Without another word, Draco stands from the sofa and gestures to Harry to follow him. Harry instructs Draco on how to heat tomato soup on the stove and how to work the toaster. Harry laughs at him whenever Draco flings soup in the kitchen out of fright whenever the toast pops and scares him. Harry helps him clean up the mess before directing Draco through the library and telling him that under no circumstances is Theo allowed to know any of this.
Draco looks around inquisitively at the room of mirrors before Harry calls his attention to the wall and shows him how to activate the spell to make the necklace appear. Once the mirror door popped open, Harry gave him a nod before disappearing to return to the library. Draco knocks lightly on the mirror before slowly entering. Hermione was still in bed so he set a tray of tea, soup and toast to her bedside table. “Hermione?” Draco calls softly, tucking a curl behind her ear. Her eyes flutter open and a small smile appears whenever she sees him. “It’s 2 o’clock my lune. It’s time to get out of bed.” Hermione hums, sitting up and taking the cup of tea from Draco’s hands.
Hermione eats her food then she grabs an outfit from the wardrobe and heads into the bathroom to change. She returns in a light grey shirt tucked into black jeans with a blue, white and black flannel over top. They step back into her studio and Draco asks about it but just receives a smirk in response. She runs out of the room, Draco chasing after her. “Are you not going to tell me?” He calls her and she giggles. “Nope, figure it out on your own, Mr. Second in your class” Draco catches her around the waist whenever they reach the library. “So what’s everyone else doing?” She asks and Draco snorts. “Hopefully preparing for them to be murdered by you” she looks at him concerned but he just waves her to walk.
They enter the sitting room, Draco leading her to sit on the sofa. She stares at the screen with tears gathering in her eyes. “Where did you find these?” Hermione murmurs, looking at Theo and Ginny who looked guilty. They show her the box and explain they didn’t know because the tapes were unmarked. “I didn’t know they existed. I mean, I knew my dad recorded things as I grew up but I didn’t know there were tapes.” Hermione tells the room. “We just got to the point where you're born.” Theo tells her and she leans back against Draco. “Ginny, Theo and I will go to the store in about an hour to grab things to make for dinner. Why don’t Draco and you watch the parts we already watched? It’s about your parents. Your dad recorded their relationship before having you” Harry suggests and Hermione nods. Theo hits play on the film, the group watches as Hermione was a baby. Draco peeking over her shoulder as he braids her hair.
Notes:
TW: References / discussions to sexual context. (No smut or anything happens)
implications to possible pornographic material (someone implies an object might be that, said objects are not that)5403 words in this chapter
I loved the movie The Parent Trap growing up. So much my family hated me because I would play the movie then reverse the tape then play it again. Since I was watching the movie at the time of writing this, I had to include it in the story. The scene that Hermione blocks out is also the scene I have always blocked out. Furthermore, I just needed to include a background for Hermione so that draco got a bit of a reality check. I think he needed to actually see that the wizardry world, in particular the scared 28 families like his isn't so different from muggles.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 28: I Choose You
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-eight: I Choose You
Theo, Ginny, and Harry returned home with bags of groceries and placed them in the kitchen.
Draco and Hermione move into the kitchen. They get the bags unpacked while Hermione directs the three of them up into the library to the white, in-wall bookshelves that were in the closet. She directed Theo and Ginny to pick a game to play.
Hermione turns to Draco who was looking at the ingredients left out on the counter. He looked up to find Hermione smirking at him. “Are you sure you want to assist me with making dinner?” Draco nods with a shimmer of excitement in his eyes. “Okay, for dinner we are making a ham and potato layered casserole. A fruit salad and pudding pie for dessert.” Hermione tells him as they take turns washing their hands.
Hermione sets the bag of potatoes, a glass mixing bowl, the correct knife and a food peeler in front of Draco, then moves the rubbish bin next to him. Hermione picks up a potato and shows him how to peel the outer skin from it. He nods showing her that he understands so she moves on to show him how to chop them in slices and places them in the mixing bowl to be rinsed. He gives her a nod, so Hermione begins making the sauce needed for the casserole.
After some time, Hermione is pulled from her thoughts whenever Draco is calling for her. She turns towards him, finding him holding the bowl of sliced potatoes. “You said about rinsing them?” He asks as he moves the bowl around. Hermione nods and motions for the sink. “Wash your hands again then you would fill the bowl up with water and swish the potatoes around in the water. Dump the water out using your hand to hold the potatoes in the bowl.”
Draco does as instructed, Hermione watching from the corner of her eye as Draco starts dropping pieces of the potato into the sink. She bites her lips to keep from laughing but fails at his huffs of frustration.
“Don’t just laugh at me.” Draco grumbles to her. “You're right, I'm sorry.” Hermione responds with a stoic face. She goes over to the sink and helps him dump the water out before picking up the dropped pieces to rinse and return to the bowl.
They both pause looking up to each other whenever they hear someone running down the hallway and staircase while screeching like a child.
“Theo” Hermione says at the same time Draco says “Nott”
Theo comes running into the room, holding up a colorful box. Ginny and Harry follow him with a sense of annoyance. Theo jumps around pumping the box into the air and Hermione ignores him looking at Harry. “Can you help him set it up? We will be in as soon as the food is in the oven.”
They start to put the casserole together while watching through the doorway of Theo attempting to put together the colorful board game of mouse trap while Harry undoes what Theo does, making it correct. They start the preheating in the oven once the food is layered together. Standing next to each other at the kitchen island, Hermione cuts fruit for the fruit salad while guiding Draco in the process of making chocolate pudding for the pie. After putting the casserole in the oven and the fruit tray and dessert in the fridge to cool.
Draco and Hermione join the pair in the dining room where Harry was finishing with setting up the game correctly. Hermione holds in a chuckle when she watches a wave of expressions, mostly of being intrigued and curious pass over Draco's face.
The small group sits down together, Hermione deciding not to play since it was only 2 to 4 players. She would be helping the others play because three of the players were purebloods and Harry only knows how to set up the game because he had to set it up a ton as a child for the Dursleys, but he wasn't allowed to play. Draco chose the green mouse, Theo the blue piece, Ginny the yellow one and Harry the red. Hermione decided that they would go in age order, Theo going first because he was born on December 30th of 1979, then Draco born on June 5th of 1980, followed by Harry born on July 31st of 1980 and finishing with Ginny being the youngest born on August 11th 1981.
Theo smiles happily at Hermione while Ginny scowls. Hermione stuck her tongue out at her childishly before instructing the group on how to play. She circles the table, looking like a professor observing her students.
Draco was the first out of the game, not seeming disappointed like Ginny who followed him by getting caught next. Theo upped his game, flirting with Harry to fluster him. Ginny encourages the behavior, knowing Harry's secret along with finding his reaction funny. The game ends with Theo winning, him celebrating by pulling Harry out of his chair and forcing Harry to dance with him to imaginary music. Harry looked to everyone else in the room with eyes begging for a rescue.
Harry releases a breath of relief whenever Ginny seems to be coming to his rescue but instead, she grabs Draco's hand, forcing him to dance with her. Hermione smirks as she hits play on the radio. The song “pump up the jam” by Technotronic is the first to play and Hermione joins Draco in dancing, Ginny moving to her boyfriend. The group laughs together at Theo dancing by himself as if he had an invisible partner. The song ends playing the next song. Hermione burst out laughing, doing the motions of the dance while Harry rushes to sit down, leaving Theo, Ginny, and Draco to watch her in horror. Eventually a smile appears on Theo's face as he copies Hermione's movements. With a laugh Ginny joins in on the movements. The three of them look to Draco with expectations but he shakes his head no, arms crossed against his chest. “I don't know what this is but it's a strong no.”
With a Slytherin smirk Hermione comes up behind Draco, face pressed to his back and pushing her fingers to entwine with his. Draco puts up barely a fight as she makes him go through the arm movements. She then plants her hands on his hips to improve his hip swaying when he fails to put enough energy in. Ginny then tugs Harry out of his seat doing the same with him. Harry puts no energy in at all while Draco actually starts to do it because he was just being stubborn before and was enjoying the silliness now.
“What kind of song is this?” Theo asks Hermione but Harry answers instead. “It’s called the Macarena -” Harry starts but gets cut off by Hermione before he could call it stupid. “And what he was going to say is, it is legendary."
The “Macarena” by Los Del Rio comes to an end and Hermione points for Harry to clean up the game as her and Draco leave the dining room to get dinner from the oven, Theo following them after turning up the music. The group hears Harry groan in displeasure as “...Baby one more time” by Brittney Spears comes on, him knowing Theo, Ginny, and Hermione would love this song. Very quickly the three of them start to catch on, singing along very badly. Hermione makes Draco dance with her, him playing annoyed but she could tell he was happy by his smile peeking through.
They take the food to the center of the table and Hermione plates it while Theo and Draco get everyone drinks. The small group picks their seats at the table, Draco to the right of Hermione, Theo on her left and Harry across from her with Ginny on his right.
The group of friends discuss topics ranging from quidditch, to school, to Harry's career as they eat supper.
Later that night, after everything was cleaned up, they sat down to watch the movie Hermione promised Theo that they would watch before they head their separate ways to bed. Hermione leaves her bathroom to find Draco asleep on her bed with an open book to his chest. With a head shake she climbs in next to him, snuggling into him after moving his book to the nightstand. They wake up the next morning to Harry coming into the room to look for something in Hermione's closet. Draco groans, covers his face with his arm and Hermione looks over her shoulder to her brother.
“What are you trying to find?” Hermione mumbles and Harry tenses. “Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Ginny said her dress needs a sweater.” Hermione hums, directing him to her bottom drawer telling him that the cream-colored crop sweater would go with Ginny's dress.” Harry leaves, the couple spending another hour in bed together before getting up for the day. Hermione hands Draco three ties, the cream tie for Harry, the colorful one for Theo and the dark green / black tie for draco. He returns to his room to change clothes while Hermione gets ready in her room.
Draco’s breath catches whenever Hermione steps down the staircase. She was in a long sleeved, dark green, flowy, velvet dress that stopped right before her ankles and had a matching tie around the waist. She had her hair half up so her curls could be neat but free. With black mary jane kitten heels and a black crossbody clutch purse. She smiles at the three wizards, dressed similarly with different ties. Ginny comes down the hallway in a simple, long, navy dress with the cream cropped sweater and matching kitten heels. Her flaming red hair was in a simple updo, and she had a cream hand clutch.
They gather into the car, Hermione driving, Draco in the passenger seat and Harry, Ginny, and Theo in the back, Ginny in the middle of the two wizards. Hermione clicks on the radio, everyone singing along with the exception of Harry. Hermione looks in the mirror, taking in Harry’s distance stare. “Harry?” Hermione calls softly, with a jump and a shake Harry’s green eyes connect with Hermione's brown. They share a silent conversation, Harry nodding and linking his hand with Ginny’s.
After driving awhile, Hermione pulls into a parking lot of a banquet hall. Draco opens her door and offers his hand to help her out and Harry follows in his lead helping Ginny.
Draco goes to pull his hand away to move it to her lower back, but Hermione links her fingers in his and squeezes slightly. They approach the building. Draco and Hermione first, followed by Ginny and Harry and Theo at the back. They reach the glass door, and Hermione reaches for the door handle when not one, but two hands softly swat her hand away.
She glances to her right to find Theo opening the door for the group. She gives Theo a light “thank you” as Draco pulls her through the open door and disconnects their hands so he could open the second door. Instead of walking through the door, Hermione steps to his side again, reconnecting their hands and allowing the other couple and Theo to go through first.
The couple reaches the door to enter the ballroom; Ginny reaches for the door. Hermione turns her face into Draco's bicep to hide her laughter at Theo's scoff and whacks Harry's head before he opens the door for them. Draco looks at Hermione with an amusing smile and poking her side. “What are you laughing about? They just did the same thing as you did.” Hermione pulls her face from his arm with a fake pout. “Yes, I did. Both Theo and you scolded me for it. Which is why it's funny that Ginny and Harry didn't take the correction.”
Before Draco could respond they couple bears footsteps stop behind them and a clearing of their throat. “Well, that is my kind of a man.” They turn to find the police officer from the other night behind them. Hermione's smile goes bright as he holds his arms out so she could hug him. When they separate, Chris holds his hand out to shake Draco’s. With an exchange of names and greeting, Chris gestures to the door and they move to enter it. Draco holding it open with a look of disapproval at Hermione attempts to open it. Chris whispers in Hermione's ear as he passes. “Your mom will love him. She won't even have to train him.” Hermione waves him off, Draco smiling proudly. “Yeah, yeah. Mom raised a lady wanting a gentleman for her daughter but dad. He raised an independent woman.” Hermione comments getting a chuckle from the older male. “Oh, trust me, I know. He was quite proud to brag that his charming daughter punched a rich bully that liked to taint her." The couple’s faces grow pink at his words and Chris smirks.
Hermione pulls Draco along with her to their other friends who were introducing themselves to Carol.
A few hours later, Carol finds Draco scanning the room for something, or rather someone. He senses the body approaching him and he quickly turns to find the kind-hearted motherly lady. She takes a step away, understanding on her face. “Hi, dear. Hermione is down the hall with my girls. If she was who you were looking for, the sound of the piano will lead you to the room.” With a nod of appreciation, Draco slips from the room and into the hallway.
Draco follows the sound of the soft piano melody. Stopping in the open doorway of a smaller room. He instantly spots Hermione's pair of kitten heels next to a pair of brown Mary Jane flats with a small heel and bow. He glances into the room finding an older girl with dirty blonde hair with her back to him as she plays the piano. His gaze shifts to his girlfriend and the younger teen dancing along with her. He watches as the teen goes through the movements, Hermione following along. Hermione obviously recently learned the dance but instructed the younger teen through mastering the dance moves.
He watches for a moment, until the younger girl, Claire sees him and freezes before hiding out of his view behind Hermione. At this movement, the older sister Charlotte stopped playing the piano and looked in the direction of Draco. Instantly Charlotte jumps up, coming between Hermione and Claire to shield her younger sister. Hermione goes to turn to look at the girls, but Charlotte holds her in place, making her tense in worry.
“There is a blonde man watching us.” Charlotte whispers in Hermione's ear. Hermione relaxes, smiling to herself. “Draco?” she calls out loud to the person not being able to see him but guessing it was him. “Yes, ma lune.” Draco answered, stepping farther into the room. Hermione runs and leaps towards him and he catches her in a hug. He looks over Hermione's shoulder towards the two girls. “Your mum directed me here.” he states looking between the older girl and the younger who was peeking out from behind her sister. “Charlotte?” he asks, looking at the older sister before looking at the younger one “Claire?”
Claire goes to step away from Charlotte, but she grabs her and pulls her to stand against her. “Hermione, who is this?” Charlotte questions not liking Draco. Hermione turns in Draco's arms to look at the two girls, realizing they were extremely uneasy. Hermione pulls out of his arms stepping towards them. “I told you I was dating someone. This is him.”
Charlotte holds onto Claire tighter with fear in her eyes. Noticing this Draco leans towards Hermione's ear. “I'm going to give you a moment alone, I'll be in the hall.” Without a second more Draco leaves the room, closing the door behind it but leaving a crack open to eavesdrop.
Before Hermione could ask, Charlotte was continuing. “Why would you bring him here?” Hermione looked confused. “I introduced him to your mom; Harry is here with his girlfriend and another one of our friends.” she sees anger flashing in her eyes before she screams. “He hurt you, Hermione. Why are you still with him? Why would you have him meet my mom? Why would you let him near us?”
Hermione takes a step back, shocked at Charlotte's reaction. “Hurt me. Lottie, he didn't hurt me?” Hermione waits, as she inspects her as if she was looking for a lie. “The hospital called dad. I was with him that day. You told them you didn't want them contacting Harry and dad was in your file. I overheard the conversation between the nurse and dad. They speculated that you were a victim of domestic violence.”
Hermione looks taken back but shakes herself back into focus. “I've only been talking to Draco since we went back to school. I didn't know him at that time.” Hermione uses her head to gesture to the piano. With a nod Charlotte follows and they sit together. Hermione starts to play the piano as she talks. “At that time, I was dating a friend from school named Ronald Weasley. I didn't want Harry to come because I didn't want him to know. Harry and Ron were like brothers. One day they will be brothers in law because I know Harry will marry Ginny." Charlotte nods slowly in understanding. “Are you afraid they will choose him over you?” Hermione shakes her head no. “I can't tell anyone what happened because one, we made a deal not to speak of it and two, because I don't want my friends to go to jail for murder. I don't talk to him anymore”
They stare in silent conversation through looks before Charlotte asks her final question. “Is Draco one of these friends?” Hermione nods, explaining in muggle terms about Sirius Black, how he easily escaped prison whenever it came to his godson being in danger. That he didn't have to wait 12 years to escape. He only escaped because he wanted Harry safe. How Sirius died coming out of hiding to protect Harry. “Draco is a lot like Sirius. Draco doesn't have the heart for evil and that has gotten him into trouble but when it comes to his loved ones, he would do anything and gladly go to prison if it meant they were safe.”
Charlotte pauses in her playing to think but Hermione continues. “So, he would be willing to murder someone to protect you” she asks skeptically but Hermione answers within a second. “Yes, if he deemed that they were a big enough threat that they would continue coming after me. He would.”
Charlotte goes silent for a moment then nods and asks to formally meet him.
The group returns home, going off into their separate directions to their rooms to change into less formal wear. They gather in the sitting room doing their own things before dinner. Harry working on his assignment for auror training. Draco reading one of the books Harry suggested. Theo and Ginny were sitting on the floor playing wizards chess. Hermione was reading a book of her own.
Hermione glances over her book, across the couch to see Draco entranced by his book. “What are you reading?” she questions softly, putting her book to her side. “A book about muggle history. Harry told me he thought I would like it.” The book was ripped out of his hands by Hermione. Draco tries to grab it back, but she jumps to her feet to look at it out of Draco’s reach. Worried that Hermione might fall, Draco hovers his hands over her hips. Next thing he knows she was turning towards Harry and throwing the book at him. The book hits him in the arm and Hermione loses her balance but lands onto Draco's lap from him catching her. Draco wraps his arms around her waist, holding her to his chest as Hermione yells at her brother. “Why would you let him read that”
Harry stands up, holding his hand up compliantly. “I didn't make him read anything he didn't want to. He seemed to be interested in history, and I thought learning about these events could help him relate and understand." Hermione jumps off Draco's lap, in the process of storming to Harry but is grabbed around the waist and carried out of the room.
Draco places Hermione on the counter of the kitchen island. resting his hands on either side of her body. Making a subtle demand for her not to try to leave but not crowding her too much. “Can you tell me why you didn't want me reading about those wars?” Hermione tries to move away but Draco gently leads her leg back into this place. “What is it lune?” Draco examines her face before gently drawing circles with his thumb on her knee. “You can tell me, whatever it is.” Hermione glances to his eyes but looks into his chest. “I don't want you thinking you were anything like them. I don't want you to feel guilty for things you had no control over. We were made to be child soldiers; we should never have had to go through a war.” Hermione rests her head on his chest, and he reaches up to run his fingers through her curls as she bursts into tears. Draco reaches down to rub her back, as she sobs louder.
Draco moves her arms to loop around his neck and tells her to hold on tight as he scoops her into his arms bridal style. Draco carries her down the hallway, up the staircase to his room to lay her down. He sets her down on the edge of the bed and she rolls over, curling into a ball.
He taps her back, signaling for her to scoot over. She moved a little over and he tapped her again causing her to shift a little more. “Lune, you may be tiny, but I am not. I’ll need a little more room” with a huff, Hermione rolls over. Now facing him and giving him enough room for him to lay down next to her.
Draco uses his thumb to wipe away a fallen tear from Hermione's cheek before pulling her to his chest and tucking her head under his chin.
“Is there something you would like to talk about, or would you rather just lay here?” Hermione shakes her head no, pressing her face into his chest. He holds her for a while, slowly running his hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her. Eventually Hermione pulls away and he looks to her to see what she was doing. “Can you roll over?” She asks in a whisper. Draco inspects her emotions for a moment before turning away from her. Draco feels as Hermione places herself against his back, resting her forehead in between his shoulder blades.
He waits in silence, waiting for her to ask her question. “Do you promise that if you start to get upset reading those books, that you will stop?” He nods his head as she answers, knowing she couldn’t see as she was still pressed to his back and taking in his scent. “Yes, Hermione. I promise if what I am reading starts to upset me I will stop reading it.”
Hermione nods into his back and they fall back into peacefulness. Draco taking note as her breaths begin to soften but freezes whenever her hand slides under his shirt. He starts to relax whenever her hand stays splayed over his navel. Hermione quickly falls into slumber, Draco allowing himself to fall into a slight sleep.
Coming out of the light nap at the knocking on the door. He calls out soft enough not to wake the sleeping witch. Harry enters the room. Looking over the pair, ending in Draco’s face. “She’s okay, just emotionally exhausted” he answers before Harry could ask. Harry hums in understanding as his eyes focus on the hand under Draco’s shirt, tilting his head in interest.
Draco noticed his attention and answered once again before he could ask. “She randomly did it as she fell asleep.” Harry returns his gaze to Draco’s. “You didn’t stop her though?” Harry queries and Draco shrugs, answering that it wasn’t harming anything.
Draco carefully slides out of the bed, moving his pillow to lay next to her. “You didn’t have to get up.” Harry tells him. “I was just coming to tell you I ordered take out and was leaving to go pick it up.” Draco nods, going to the desk to write a note to Hermione. “I need to tell you something so can I go with you?” Harry agrees, looking to Draco in suspicion. They both look back to Hermione who now had her hand under her shirt, resting below her bust. Draco looks at her in confusion and Harry notices. “If I was to take a guess, she probably wanted to rest her hand on your chest but didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. She did that a lot while we were on the run. He used to make jokes about it, but I’ve concluded she does it whenever her mind is stressed because the movement of breathing and the warmth of skin brings her comfort.” Draco agrees that it makes sense and Harry leaves telling him he would meet him by the door to leave.
The two wizards get in Hermione's car and Harry starts the drive to pick up their Chinese food. The first five minutes of their drive the pair was quiet, music quietly playing. “You wanted to talk to me about something? Does it involve Hermione?” Harry asked anxiously, glancing to Draco. He looks over to Harry with a tad bit of worry. “No….i didn’t plan to discuss Hermione with you. Is something wrong?”
Harry shakes his head no, releasing a breath of relief. “No, not that I’m aware of. I guess Theo just had me worried about pureblood traditions”
Draco smirks and quirks an eyebrow at him. “Pureblood traditions as in what exactly?”
Harry shrugs, his face turning slightly pink. “I don't know, Theo implied that you needed to ask for permission to marry Hermione." Draco bursts out in laughter and Harry grumbles. “You don't need to be an arse” Draco clears his throat, apologizing for his behavior. “You're right, I'm sorry. Theo was being a prat. I didn't intend on asking for your blessing, but I will if you think it is necessary. I am not planning on proposing for a little while.”
Harry nods, turning his attention to the road as he turns. ‘Do you require that?” Draco asks, trying to regain Harry's awareness. Harry hums and glances at Draco whenever he doesn't answer. “Require what?” Harry finally asks. “Do you require me to ask for your blessing before I propose to her?” Draco asks straight out, in a non-joking manner.
Harry doesn't answer right away, glancing back and forth between the road and Draco. He gives him a moment, knowing he had to wait for him to make his discussion. With a sigh, Harry answers. “No, I trust Hermione.” Harry stops at a light and takes a long look at Draco inspecting him. “I trust that Hermione can take care of herself. I know she'll be okay with or without you. She took care of herself whenever Ronald wronged her so if you wrong her, I know she'll keep herself safe. The only thing I hope for is that her partner will take care of her. You have shown time after time that you can and would.” They continue to drive, almost reaching the shop whenever Harry speaks. “Maybe you were right in the first year. Maybe I should have been friends with you.” Harry scoffs then continue. “I mean the sorting hat wanted me in Slytherin, maybe that is where I should have been placed.” Harry speaks more to himself out loud than to Draco, but he answers anyway. “I disagree. I would not have been a better friend at that time. I needed to be shown what I was becoming, and you wouldn't have had Hermione to save you” Harry hums as he thinks more about that.
The pair falls back into silence now that Harry wasn't worrying over what Draco had to say. That was until he processed that he had no idea what was so important for Draco to talk to him about. “You wanted to talk to me about something?” Harry remembers and Draco cracks his fingers but agrees. “In the book I was reading, something came up that reminded me of a death eater project. He had a few highly skilled followers organizing it and needed lower ranking followers to supervise this project. I don't know much in terms of this project, but it sounds a lot like prisoner confinement areas. I thought maybe this information could help” Harry thinks about what Draco told him, agreeing that this sounds important and that he would look into it.
Draco waits for Harry to return to the car with the food, thinking about what Theo could have said. He watches as Harry approaches the shop's door carrying two large paper bags. He gets out of the passenger seat, opening up the door to the back seat to help Harry. Once they settled back in the car, Draco turned to Harry before he started to drive. He turns his head to the other wizard sensing the stare. “Can I help you, Malfoy?” Harry asked suspiciously. “You said Theo made you think I was going to discuss my courtship with you. I know Theo doesn't tend to have a filter so what else did he say?” Harry's face flushes, him quickly glancing at Draco before starting to drive. “Potter” Draco scolds, causing him to flush more. With a huff, Harry glances at Draco as he keeps driving to keep his mind partly distracted from the conversation. “Fine, I’ll tell you ...but I'm going to be vague about somethings concerning Hermione and you can't ask her or me any questions about those details. Also, if we are going to talk about this you will not interrupt because i want this conversation over as quickly as possible” Draco agrees with Harry's terms, so Harry begins to talk.
“Theo was making jabs about me being careful not to walk in on Hermione and you in your room. I do not go about investigating my sister sex life, I have theories of my own, but I believe Hermione has not told you things straight out. Can you tell me what you know for sure from Hermione and what you have theorized so I don't betray certain matters.”
Normally Draco would put up a fuss about the way this conversation was going but he completely understood Harry's hesitation. “She has not told me many things, but I have figured out for myself that she has some abnormal issues considering her reproductive health. She shows signs of having trauma about being assaulted, I don't know for sure of all the aspects of it, but I believe most of her trauma comes from her thoughts about the possibility of it happening. Hermione has asked me about our relationship in the chance that she would not be able to have children. I am aware that this line of questioning was far more than a simple question. That being said, I have no desire to pressure her into anything, nor would I hold her inabilities against her.” Harry nods, tapping his finger on the steering wheel as he thinks.
“Her issues started before the final battle. Sometimes the pain from those issues can make her unaware of the difference between reality and her thoughts. Do you know who turned Professor Lupin into a werewolf?” Draco narrows his eyes but shrugs. “I've never been told for certain but since you're asking I can assume it was greyback since he used to talk about Lupin.”
Harry nods, turning onto a different street before glancing to Draco to take in his expression. “I am assuming based on your reaction that I don't need to tell you what things he did to children and women he victimized. Remus heard of him becoming a snatcher. He also knew about his particular interest in Hermione.” Harry grips the steering wheel as he takes in a sharp breath. “Remus told me not to let any mistakes happen because Hermione would pay for it. She could have gotten away, but she stayed and now her life is very much ruined. There might come a time where I make the choice to break her trust and tell you how serious this is. If this happens, I need you to focus your anger on me so you can help her. I need to know you won’t hold this against her because if she needs to have this procedure. You may be the only person who can fully help her.”
Draco doesn't answer verbally, he nods in understanding. The two wizards share a silent conversation through a stare. “How long are they thinking she has before this procedure will be needed.” Draco asked slightly above a whisper. “Originally, they said a few years but over the last few months it's gotten worse so last I heard was a year.”
Notes:
TW : Brief moment of "Stranger Danger" (it's Charlotte and Claire not knowing Draco) Mention / Reference to Domestic violence. Mentions of World Wars. Mentions of reproductive health issues and infertility. References to Kidnapping and sexual assault
There is a specific paragraph discussing WW2 if you want to skip this conversation. it's the paragraph starting with "The pair falls back into silence now that Harry wasn't worrying over what Draco had to say. That was until he processed that he had no idea what was so important for Draco to talk to him about."
5604 Words in this chapter
Three songs are Specific mentioned in this chapter
Pump Up The Jam ~ Technotronic
Macarena ~ Los Del Rio
...Baby One More Time ~ Britney SpearsHas anyone pinpointed what draco did a few times in this chapter. More specifically how the action was different. Theo feeling comfortable and allowing his childish side to show. Also, Chris and Lottie knowing a little bit about Hermione's relationship with the weasel. Predictions on what happened to make her emergency contacts get called.
Next 2-3 chapters are the ones I've been waiting for since I started writing this fic in early October of 2023.
WARNING: Ronald Weasley!!~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 29: Burning House
Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty - Nine: Burning House
Hermione wakes up in a slight panic in the middle of the bed of the unfamiliar bedroom. After a moment she processes that this was the guest bedroom in her parents home ....well her home now. She sits up trying to regain what had happened to cause her to be there. She feels the bed next to her, finding it a tad bit warm. She concludes that Draco has left her a little while ago. She spots a glass of water, a mouth wash cup with a single pain reliever and note on the bed side table.
She reads the note from her boyfriend. He tells her that he was going with Harry to pick up food because he needed to talk to him. Draco left the pain reliever in case her head hurt from crying and he told her to take it if she needed it. She stretches, getting out of Draco’s bed. She fixes the bed linens and slips out of the bedroom into the library to head down to her room to freshen up now that she feels sweaty. She goes into her restroom to use a flannel to wipe her skin down to remove the uncomfortable perspiration.
She checks the time before deciding on expelling some energy so she changes into thick black tights with light sheerness. She slips into a maroon leotard and ties on a dance cardigan. Hermione checks herself in the mirror as she pulls the top of her hair into a messy bun. Hermione steps into her room of mirrors and starts clicking through songs. She starts with a couple upbeat songs to stretch out to. She then moves onto practicing some dance moves and spins before finding a song with a specific feel to it. She didn’t take notice of the blonde watching her from the window in the door. She began to improvise a contemporary-lyrical dance to the song open arms by journey. Matching her speed, spins, and jumps to the pacing of the song. She ends the song with a slow forward shoulder roll onto her back, catching her breath looking up to the roof.
Hermione looks over to the door when there’s a light knocking as it opens. She knows it’s Draco entering so she smiles softly as she sits up to look at him more full on. Draco offers her a hand to help her stand from the floor. “Did you enjoy the show?” Hermione asks with a smirk. Draco rolls his eyes in response. “Dinner is ready, if you would like to accompany us.” Hermione nods, walking across the room to grab the skirt from the railing. She wraps it around her waist and ties it. He quirks an eyebrow at her in question and she folds her arms in disapproval.
“Do you have a problem, Mr. Malfoy” she asks in a snooty tone. Draco slightly holds his hands up in defense. “I don’t have a problem but are you wearing that to dinner?” She smirks slightly as she asks her question. “I am indeed, it is my house last time I checked.” Draco bows his head, holding his arm out for her to take. “Of course Miss. Granger. You are correct as always. My deepest apologies” Hermione playfully slaps his chest as she takes his arm and the couple begin to chuckle softly.
Ginny, Theo, and Harry were in the sitting room looking for a movie to watch that night whenever Ginny nudged her boyfriend to get his attention. She used her head to motion towards the kitchen, standing and pulling Harry with her with a finger to her lips to tell him to stay quiet. She grabs her camera off the coffee table as she pulls Harry into the dining room . She motions for him to stay on one side of the doorway into the kitchen when she sneaks to the other side. They peaked around the corner as Hermione was trying to clean up from dinner and wash the dishes while Draco continued to pull her towards him to dance. Even though she was trying to act annoyed and irritated Draco, Harry and Ginny knew she actually wasn’t.
Two songs play as they move around each other making them dance uncoordinated. Draco threw his head back in laughter whenever Hermione moved behind Draco to put her hands on his hips, directing him in how to shake his bum. He finally allows her to return to the dishes, him sidling up to her to help.
Ginny jumps whenever she feels someone approach her from behind, finding Harry standing behind her and Theo in Harry’s previous spot. Theo, Harry and Ginny goes to return to the living room whenever a specific song comes on the radio and they all freeze. Hermione stands at the sink, taking the song in whenever she feels arms wrap around her waist. She holds onto his arms as he moves her into the open space of the kitchen. She moved his arms so they wrap around her chest and arms. Hermione and Draco sway together, her back to his chest with her head tilted back against his shoulder. Hermione starts to sing along to the song “can’t help falling in love” under her breath, Draco humming with her . Hermione turns in his arms, continuing to sway along as the song comes to an end. Draco scoops her up princess style into his arms to tilt her into a dip, her arms still wrapped around his neck. When she gets back onto her feet Draco places a soft kiss to her forehead but Hermione tilts his head down for an actual kiss.
Theo accidentally makes a noise so the three of the spies run for the sitting room before they get caught. Draco and Hermione break apart from their kiss due to hearing a sound. They look over to the dining room but find nothing. The couple share a glance, shuts the music off then heads for the sitting room. They looked suspiciously between Theo who was relaxing in a chair and Ginny who was lying between Harry’s legs and against his chest. Theo notices them and sits up to show them the movie cover. “Does this movie work” Hermione smiles widely whenever she sees he was holding up “home alone”. “Yes, I think you’ll love it Theo.” With the decision made the group separates to change into their pajamas and settle down to watch a movie with pop corn.
Halfway through the movie, Draco glances over to find Hermione laying against the sofa with her head in an awkward position. He hooks his right arm under her knees and cups the back of her head. He pulls her body towards him by pulling carefully on her legs, supporting her neck to lay her down to be more comfortable. Draco pulls her feet into his lap and tucks the blanket from over the couch around her body. His attention turns back to the movie as he rubs and massages her feet and ankles.
As the movie starts to end, he looks over to Ginny and Harry to find Harry dozed off and Ginny silently communicating to Theo. Draco casts a charm over Hermione so their idiotic plan doesn’t wake her and watches the rest of the movie, waiting to see what they were planning. The end credits start to roll and he spots as Ginny slips away from Harry’s side. Harry turned a little in his sleep so he was now laying on his back more. Theo creeps over, Draco’s eye growing wide whenever he sees that Theo was climbing onto the couch to lay on top of Harry. He sees the smirk come onto Harry’s face and he knows something big is about to happen. Within a second Harry flipped them so that he was straddling Theo who was now a bit flush. Ginny watches in shock as Harry whispers in Theo's ear before leaving the room and heading upstairs. After a minute of no one doing anything other than Draco chuckling, Ginny approaches Theo asking what Harry whispered. “He said that he was in a serious relationship that I wouldn’t be interested in becoming a part of.” Draco shakes his head, picking Hermione up and taking her upstairs to his bed. He knows Hermione checks the house before bed so he heads downstairs to do that task, passing Ginny and Theo returning to their own rooms.
Draco does the check of the house, grabs them each a glass of water and returns upstairs to his room where Hermione was sleeping. He carefully climbs in next to her and she barely even moves at the disturbance. He drifts off to sleep, counting the freckles over her nose.
Hermione opens her eyes, feeling the heat lick at the skin of her face. She finds flames everywhere around her. Hermione could see she was standing on the ruined grounds of Hogwarts, she was surrounded by bodies. She steps out of the circle of flames that was around her. The first body was identified by the gold chain around their neck, followed by the body that has a cuff bracelet on the left wrist that is engraved with “pungere per primo.” Hermione continues through the graveyard that now takes up the grounds of her beloved school. She chokes back a sob at the next set of bodies she comes across. A body with a necklace chain holding their mothers ring. One with a golden ball within their hand. The next body with immaculate silver glasses. She continues to walk through the bodies, death caused by her own magic. Identifies their bodies by their metal accessories, a butterfly hair clip, a mushroom pin, a cat brooch. Everything was too overwhelming for her. She glances around once more to the bodies of her creation. Without anyone else alive she decides to cast fiendfyre and greet death.
Hermione wakes up with a silent scream followed by gasping for air. She looks over to her boyfriend also laying in the bed. She watches as his face scrunches in confusion before his eyes flutter open, looking at her. Draco rubs his face, trying to clear the sleep from his mind. “Are you okay?” Draco whispers, getting a nod in return from Hermione. Draco examines her, taking in the heavy breathing. He reaches for his glass of water and hands it to her. Hermione mumbles a thanks, taking a few slips of the drink before apologizing for waking him. “You didn’t wake me, Lune. The sudden temperature change did. I’m just not used to muggle home thermostat.” Hermione nods in understanding but secretly looks to her hands. Draco moves back a bit and gestures for her to lay down but Hermione shakes her head. Draco sits up in bed whenever Hermione starts to get out of bed. She uses her hand to push his right shoulder back down . “Go back to sleep, I’m just using the rest room.” She tells him as she slips into the bathroom. Draco tries to stay awake but falls asleep, waking up two hours later.
Hermione stands in the bathroom for a moment, splashing water onto her face and hoping Draco will fall back into slumber. Hermione slowly opens the door back into the room, finding Draco asleep so she slips out of the room into the hallway. She checks the time to discover that it was still early in the morning and the sun hadn't quite risen yet. Unease still fills her body so she tiptoes down the hallway, her hand hesitating on the door knob of the master bedroom. The one where Harry and Ginny were sleeping. She slowly pushes the door enough to pop her head in, feeling some of the restlessness leave at the sight that the two of them were peacefully asleep. Hermione cautiously closes the door before turning completely around doing the same action with Theo's room. When she pops her head into her room, Theo is asleep but he does start to wake up. He looks up to her with sleep still in his eyes so she starts to apologize. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you” Hermione starts but Theo cuts her off. “You seem uneasy, is something wrong?” Hermione shakes her head no, and he nods in understanding. “Would you like to lay down?” Theo asks shifting to make room for her but Hermione shakes her head no, explaining it’s still early that she plans to go for a walk and that she just wanted to assure herself that everyone was okay.
Hermione then travels down to her room to change into fleece leggings, a fleece long sleeve and a thick hoodie. She puts thick wool socks on before placing on her most trusted running shoes. the pair of shoes she had cast spells on for safety and to prevent slippage. She then goes to the front door to put the rest of her winter gear on. She tucks her wand into the inner pocket of her puffer gilet, also tucking her safety devices and identification into the hand pocket. She leaves a note for her friends on the door and begins her run around the neighborhood. Hermione gets a few roads away whenever she slows to a speed walk. She feels a prickle of trepidation, knowing someone is watching her but just assumes it was someone looking out their window. She looks around to see if anyone is nearby and decides to cut the run short and head home. Hermione stops at a cross walk and looks around the area once again due to the feeling increasing. She looked around one more time as she was walking towards the abandoned building. Once she was hidden from view she felt a little better but still casted a few spells to make sure she couldn’t be followed home.
Hermione opens the door to hear “girls just want to have fun” blasting over a speaker. At the sound of the three voices singing along, Hermione creeps to the doorway with curiosity to find Theo standing on a wingback chair singing into a television remote. Draco and Ginny were stepping on and off of the sofa as they sang, Ginny into Hermione's hair brush and Draco into a different television remote. She stifles a laugh whenever she spots Harry in the other wing back chair, eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyed exhaustion. She continues to watch from her position, leaning against the doorway. The next song comes on, and not long into it Theo spots Hermione. He dances over to her, singing along to “Jessie’s girl” and pulls Hermione to dance with him. Hermione pretends to act mad while Theo forces her to dance. She steals Theo's “microphone” singing to the song. Ginny jumps off the couch to join the pair so Draco pulls the coffee table out of the way before also joining them. The four of them jump, dance and sing along to the song and the next one that comes on. Ginny passes the hairbrush over to Theo and starts to use her wand. Hermione yanks Harry to his feet making her dance and sing with them to “uptown girl.”
They continue to go on until a frantic knocking comes at the door, Hermione hits the off button on the radio as she passes to the door. She opens the door and finds Mrs. Johnson holding a crying baby Parker and Primrose jumping for joy. Before Hermione could greet her Mrs. Johnson was talking. “I’m so sorry to ask Hermione but is there any way you can watch Primrose for the day? Parker is very sick and needs to go to the hospital.” Hermione agrees, taking Primrose’s day bag from the distressed mother. She tells her to call her if she needs anything and sends Mrs. Johnson on her way to take care of the baby.
Hermione leads Primrose into the sitting area to introduce her to her friends. Harry gets up to get a start on breakfast while Hermione tries to find something for Primrose to watch. She finds a cartoon kids Christmas movie. Harry calls that breakfast is ready and the group moves into the dining room to eat. Harry had sausage, eggs, and toast on the table, waiting to be plated. Draco picks Primrose up, placing her into her seat and bats Hermione's hand away to do Primrose’s plate himself. The group and the little girl eat their breakfast before collecting in the sitting room to watch the movie. Draco continued to read his book while Harry did paper work and the ladies plus Theo watched the movie with interest.
As the movie was coming to an end she started to worry at how quiet the little child had become. She sat up in a panic to look around and found her watching the movie with her dummy in her mouth. Primrose was curled up in Draco’s lap, slumped against his chest while Draco was reading his book in a way to not disturb the girl. She looked to her side, after feeling someone bump her with their shoulder. She finds Ginny reaching under the coffee table and grabbing a camera to take a picture of Draco and Primrose. Hermione then crawls to the chair next to the sofa where she was at so she could keep a better eye on her.
Hermione looks to Primrose as soon as the credits start to roll and she instantly starts to wiggle in Draco’s lap. He immediately puts her book down, turning his attention to the girl and picking her off his lap when he discovered that she wanted to stand. Once she was on her feet, he went to stand to make sure she wouldn’t wander off but stopped whenever she started to tug on Hermione's hand while exclaiming repeatedly . “Minnie! Potty!” Draco chuckled to himself, getting comfortable on the couch again whenever Primrose started to drag Hermione down the hallway to the restroom off of the laundry room.
With Mrs. Johnson’s approval the group then moved to get ready to go holiday shopping. It happened to work out since Harry got called into the ministry so now there was enough room in the car for everyone. Hermione walked over with Primrose to grab the spare car seat from the house. When they got back over to the house, Ginny and Theo were playing in the snow like children and Draco was leaning against Hermione's car waiting for her, taking the car seat from her as soon as he saw her. Hermione left Primrose to play with the other so-called children while Hermione showed Draco how to put the car seat in. Neither of them taking notice of their nosy friend once again capturing this moment.
They all pile into the car, Primrose behind Hermione who was driving so Draco could keep an eye on her from the passenger seat. Ginny was in the middle of the back seat next to the car seat with Theo on her left. Hermione drives them to a shopping center and parks the car. Ginny helps the little girl out of the car seat and holds her hand until they are safely onto the sidewalk. When Hermione joins them, Primrose grabs her hand also to walk between the two ladies. Draco was walking slightly in front of them. Ginny unclasps her hand from Primrose with a wink to her before she jumps onto Draco’s back. Draco plays up a stumble, grumbling about her being too heavy. That resulted in Ginny smacking the back of his head with laughter as she returned to her feet. Primrose at that point had connected her other hand with Theo’s so Ginny was now walking with Draco. Walking with him, more like bumping into him every few steps.
They get into the store, Ginny pulling Draco away, him giving Theo a look that says to stay with Primrose and Hermione. As he was pulled away he could hear Primrose laughing at how silly Theo and Draco were being with them making the ladies hold their arms.
Ginny and Draco walk through a few shops before coming across a jewelry shop. Draco gently leads Ginny into the store, not sure why but something was pulling him. “Draco? Why are we going in here? Don’t families like yours have tons of jewelry.” Draco laughs lightly to himself. “Yes, our vaults have all our ancestors' jewelry but Hermione is special, and I think her pieces will be in this store” Ginny nods in understanding and they start to look around the cases. Eventually Ginny stops, looking at something in the case in front of her. “Draco” she calls softly, Draco comes up and pauses whenever he sees the same thing as Ginny. It was a jewelry set, a necklace, a bracelet, earrings, and an engagement ring. A sapphire and emerald leaf tear drop jewelry set. “This is the set” Ginny murmurs to him and he agrees.
They start on their way to meet up with the others while Ginny stops Draco by tugging on his arm. He turns towards her looking concerned. “What is it? What's troubling you?” Ginny paused not knowing how he would take it. “What are you supposed to get someone as a gift when they ask you to marry them”
Draco smiles at her softly, seeing her shifting nervously on her feet. He cautionly places his hands onto her shoulders to pull her into an awkward hug. “If you love them. If you want to spend the rest of your life together. You would give them your love. Tell them yes” Ginny pulls away smacking his stomach. “That’s not helpful. I know Harry is going to propose to me on Christmas and I have no idea what to give him that equals his gift.”
Draco wipes the single tear from her cheek. “Give him a yes. If I was to ask Hermione to marry me on Christmas all I would want is a yes in return. I would want to know she was happy and safe. So I would suggest having Hermione help you work some of her DA galleon mastermind work. Make him something matching with you so you can talk through it. You can have your answer to his question already on it”
Ginny's eyes light up with joy whenever she understands what he was telling her. She pulls him into a tight hug before grabbing his hand and dragging him along to meet Hermione, Theo, and Primrose.
After eating lunch the group moves together onto the next few stores. Primrose walks between the two wizards while Ginny and Hermione talk about Harry’s gift. They continued shopping until they all felt like they had their Christmas shopping done. Primrose was starting to cling to Draco and with a shared silent conversation between Hermione and himself, Draco scoops the little girl up. Ginny and Theo walk behind them, taking a picture of the little girl sucking her thumb as she starts to doze off with her head resting on his shoulder. “I don’t care what the Malfoy records say, that wizard is going to be a girl dad” Theo whispers to Ginny who agrees with him.
They return to the house, Primrose napping all the way there but waking up whenever they get home. As soon as Draco unbuckled Primrose she was pulling him into the backyard and pushing him into the snow. The whole group played for a while before eating dinner and watching other movies until half the group fell asleep.
There was a knock at the door and Draco and Harry looked at each other. Ginny shifts off of Harry so he can answer the door since Hermione was laying against Draco with Primrose laying against her. Draco watches the doorway to the sitting room to see Harry and a man enter the room. He smiled at the man, as the man looked around all the sleeping guests including his daughter curled up asleep. Mr. Johnson looks slowly over all of Hermione's sleeping friends. He comes around the couch looking at Draco as he lifts his daughter. “I’m glad Hermione has friends with her, it looks like you guys had a great time”
Hermione shifts, reaching around her for the girl. Before jerking awake. Draco leads her head back to his shoulder as he shushes her. “It’s okay, Primrose's dad has come to pick her up, everything is okay.” Hermione hums into his chest, falling back into sleep. Draco untangles himself from Hermione and stands holding his hand out to Mr. Jackson to shake. “You have a wonderful daughter and it was a pleasure to get to spend the day with her.”
Following the handshake, Draco gathers Hermione into his arms. He uses his foot to nudge Theo awake from the floor. Harry walks Mr. Johnson to the door before gathering Ginny into his arms also. Draco follows a crawling Theo up the stairs with Harry right behind him.
“I already locked up the house” Draco hears Harry tell him as he goes to enter his room. He nods in understanding and wishes the other wizards a good night
Draco shot up in bed, breathing heavily. Hermione starts to stir in an attempt to wake up. Draco rubs her arm, trying to soothe her but she pushes away his efforts. “What is it darling, what happened?” Draco pulls Hermione into his arms. “I just feel uneasy, it’s probably nothing. I just want to keep you safe.” Hermione turns in his arms and tilts his chin down to kiss him. “You do keep me safe, Draco. Is there something I can do to help you feel better.” Draco nods and they sit up.
Draco explains what he wants her to do, walking her through the steps. The moon light shines through the window as Hermione casts a spell to make a cut into Draco’s hand. He places her star ring into his palm with the small puddle of blood. He instructs her on how to move her wand over the ring and the spell to use. Once finished, Hermione cleans everything up and they lie back down. Draco reaches to his nightstand to pick up one of his rings. His Malfoy signet ring. Draco grasps her right hand and slides the ring on her index finger before placing a kiss to her knuckles.
“This ring will allow you to apparate into the manor. If you are in danger then it’ll take you there because no one can get you due to the blood wards.” His fingers then shift to her star ring on the middle finger of her left hand. “We just warded this ring so that no one unwanted can apparate you away.”
The group decided that they would spend Christmas Eve that night at a pub. Ginny wanted the group to meet up with Charlie since he was in town.
The girls were getting ready together in the master bathroom. Hermione pulled Ginny’s hair up into a high ponytail then curled it with some tinsel. While Ginny did her makeup, Hermione made Draco do her hair. Ginny made fun of him the whole time but Draco put Hermione's hair into double dragon braids with tinsel down into two ponytails. The girls then kicked Draco out of the bathroom so they could get changed into their selected outfits.
Ginny was wearing a leather skirt with a midnight blue turtle neck tucked into it. She also wore a black lace camisole corset over the turtleneck. To keep warm in the winter air Ginny also wore thick tights and booties she could dance in.
Hermione’s outfit consisted of a maroon satin camisole top tucked into a nice pair of black jeans. She chose to wear black ankle boots with a heel and a cream colored cropped puffer jacket. They come down the stairs to Theo wolf whistling at them. Harry and Draco take their ladies hands, passing over their purses and walk them outside to the apparition point to travel to the meeting place. Whenever the group gets there Ginny jumps into his brother's arms for a hug while George pulls Hermione into a hug. Whenever the witches pull away from the brothers Ginny felt a nudge and saw Hermione gesturing to Theo who was hiding. Hermione pulls Theo a little bit away from the others. “What is it?” Hermione asks softly, Theo playing with his nails with nerves. “It’s his smell” Theo whispers “remember the conversation about dragon and quidditch gear” Hermione nods so Theo continues. “I smelt it a few times over the years. It is Ginny’s brother” Hermione gets an evil smirk on her face and grabs Theo's arm to drag him back to the group placing him right between Ginny and herself. The witches lean back to wink to each other before Ginny gives Theo a shove right into Charlie. She plays it up as if it was an accident but everyone in the group knew it was on purpose with the exception of Charlie.
They walk together down the street to the pub, entering and finding a table whenever a familiar blonde floats over to them, dragging along her boyfriend. “Luna?” Ginny questions “what are you doing here” Luna tries to smile in reassurance as she answers but Ginny could see the pain in her eyes. “I’m here because I’ll be needed. You are going to have to let it happen and she is going to need your help.” Luna smiles randomly and brightens again and she pulls Ginny onto the dance floor. Charlie tugs Theo with him to get the group drinks. Harry, Draco, Blaise and George all find a booth to sit at and Hermione goes to join the girls in dancing.
Not long later the group joins the girls on the dance floor. Ginny, Luna, Blaise and Harry were hung out near each other. Charlie was flirting with Theo who was acting shy about it. While Draco was getting irritated by George who was continually stealing Hermione from him as they danced.
Hermione freezes, getting a feeling that bugs were crawling all over her. She knows someone is watching her. She frantically looks around for someone. The combination of feeling overwhelming and looking around quickly causes Hermione to stumble into Draco. He looks at her with concern and tells George to get her some water. Draco takes her arm, leading her to the table. Hermione doesn’t allow him to push her to sit, telling him she needs to use the restroom. He tries to ask her to wait but before he could she was already gone. Draco goes to Ginny with a sense of panic coursing throughout him.
“Ginny, would you mind going to the restroom to make sure Hermione is okay. She started to get panicky and ended up falling into me.” With a nod of agreement Ginny leaves, heading down the back hallway to the restroom. She returns to the table looking uneasy, she tries to hide her worry but Draco instantly sees it. Before Ginny could tell him Hermione wasn’t in the restroom he was already talking. “Go get the rest of the group back to the table”
With a determined nod, Ginny turns to Luna. Ginny did not know that Luna was already aware of what was happening and had already sent George and Charlie on their mission. Draco glanced down the hallway to the restroom and became aware of the street light coming in through the cracked open door.
Hermione was on her way to the restroom whenever a door was flung open in front of her. Before she could react someone had turned her around and dragged her out of the building with a hand covering her mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist. Hermione took a slow but deep breath in through her nose. She slowly drifted her eyes around and relaxed slightly whenever she recognized the arm of pale skin with freckles known to the Weasley family.
She knows Bill, Charlie, and Percy wouldn’t need to attack her from behind so she rules those three wizards out. She decided that it was either George, trying to prank her or Ronald who would have to attack her from behind. Knowing the fact that she was just with George who is getting her water she has determined that this has to be her ex boyfriend.
Ronald finally stops pulling her away from the door, as her mind starts to spin on what she can do. “Godric Mione, you are so beautiful in this outfit” He murmurs into her ear as he runs his thumb along the underside of her breast. She feels as his other hand was wandering from her bum across her hip to between her thighs. She tenses at the invisible pain of trauma flaring through the side of her jaw. A moment later, Hermione could feel his hard-on pressed against her bum. Hermione could tell he was trying to apparate her away, she could hear his confused comments on why it wasn’t working.
Thinking quickly, Hermione decided to double attack. She quickly bites his hand hard at the same time as she slams the heel of her ankle boot into his foot. She was almost fully away whenever she felt a tug in her hair and pain coursing through her face. She screams in pain whenever her face hits the skip bin that was behind them.
Unable to deal with the pain, Hermione's body collapses to the ground. Ronald was unaware because he was staring at the blood on the lid of the skip bin. Hermione starts to crawl away from him and jumps to her wobbly feet whenever the door she was dragged through, flies open. She stumbles for them and they instantly pull her behind them. She takes in his scent and knows she is now safe.
Draco shoves the door open and immediately sees Hermione stumbling towards him. He could tell she was hurt but didn’t have enough time to take in her injuries. Without thinking, he pulls her behind him to use his body as a shield for her. Draco looks to Ronald who was still staring at the blood and then at his hand. Draco keeps his eyes on the other wizard but puts one of his arms behind him to keep Hermione close to him. “Is he alone?” Draco questions and Hermione nods into his back as she sobs. Draco's voice and Hermione sobs pulls Ronald out of his musing. A light passed them and deep down he knew Ronald had called the Aurors. Draco looks Ronald in the eye, speaking calmly. “I suggest you leave before this gets really bad.”
Ronald burst out laughing. “You won’t have time to kill me before the aurors show up, deatheater” Ronald spits onto Draco’s shoes. “I’m not going to kill you.” Hermione flinches and holds a death grip onto Draco whenever pops of apparition appear behind her. At the same time, the door next to them opens and their friends come out.
Draco feels as if someone was trying to pull Hermione away from him. His heart breaks at Hermione screaming and digging her nails into his abdomen to hold onto him. He holds his hand up, speaking to the aurors. “Give me a moment, I’m going to come with you. Just let me get her to release me.” Draco turns in her arms, noticing all the wands pointed at him but ignores them to focus on Hermione. He gently tilts her face up to his eyes, clenching his teeth at the disaster of a state her face was in. “Hermione, lune.” He called gently. Draco quickly glances at his friends. Finding Harry holding an angry Ginny in his arms, Luna staring off behind him, most likely at Ronald and Theo staring between Hermione and him. “I need you to go to Theo, he will keep you safe.” Hermione goes to refuse but he cuts her off. “I need you to trust me, do you trust me?” Hermione nods and loosens her hold so Theo could take her.
As soon as she was out of his hold, the aurors were shoving him to his knees. Draco looks to Hermione and finds her watching him horrified. “I love you Hermione.” He told her and looked to Theo but Theo was already talking to him. “She will be safe with me. I promise.” Theo tells him as his body hits the ground and he feels the cuffs latch into his wrist. Draco is jerked to his feet and could see Hermione fighting like hell in Theo's arms whenever he disappears
Notes:
TW : Fire / Burning, multiple character death and implied suicide in character's dream, implied stalking, attempted kidnapping, physical assault, mentions of one character murdering another, Major character arrest and Sexual assault / Groping. (If you want to skip this scene, it is towards the end of the chapter and the paragraph starts with "Ronald finally stops pulling her away from the door" it is just that one paragraph and you can restart reading at "Thinking quickly, Hermione decided to double attack"
6132 Words in this chapter
Songs mentioned in the chapter
- Open Arms ~ Journey
- Can’t Help Falling In Love ~ Elvis Presley
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun ~ Cyndi Lauper
- Jessie’s Girl ~ Rick Springfield
- Uptown Girl ~ Billy JoelMovie mentioned in the chapter
- Home Alone, 1990 American Christmas Comedy film... someone seems to be getting replaced. Wonder who that is?
Anyways how are we feeling about Ginny and Theo being chaotic crazies?
what do you guys' think is happening to Hermione's magic? In Hermione's dream who do you think each item belongs to? In particular who do you think the item with the Italian words "Pungere Per Primo" belongs to?Update - My fingers took on a mind of their own so, the next two chapters (30 - 31) will not be the trial like I planned. I just started creating the chapter (32) which is the start of the trial, and I believe it will span over two chapters so chapters 32 and 33 will most likely be the trial chapters. it is possible that I will update the next chapter in 2 or so weeks.
I would love to hear any predictions, thoughts or questions on how the next four chapters will play out?
~ LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 30: The Other Side
Notes:
TWs in the end notes
Ma situation, ha. Elle est tout ce qui compte. Je ne l'ai pas protégée de lui. Il l'a eue et elle s'est blessée. Je mérite d'aller à Azkaban. J'étais un mangeur de mort, mais au moins j'étais là pour la ramasser et me tenir entre elle et le mal. Ma situation n'a pas d'importance, pas comparée à elle. S'il vous plaît, laissez ma situation aller et concentrez votre attention sur elle
roughly translates to
My situation, ha. She is all that matters. I didn't protect her from him. He got her, and she got hurt. I deserve to go to Azkaban. I was a death eater, but at least I was there to pick her up and stand between her and harm. My situation doesn't matter, not compared to her. Please let my situation go and focus your attention on her
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty - The Other Side
Harry’s blood freezes whenever he sees Ginny rushing to him with panic laced throughout her facial expressions. Ginny opens her mouth to speak to him but at the same time Harry’s auror badge starts beeping and flashing. They look at it confused until it shows “Code: DEA. 1 visible perpetrator (13,1,12 - 4,18,1) . Located: Niffler Burrow.” Harry mumbles that that’s a death eater attack code. They both slowly look up to each other in worry. “Could this mean Hermione have gotten taken or hurt by this death eater.” Harry looks back down to his badge examining it. “It’s someone who hadn’t gone to Azkaban, because instead of their Azkaban number it has the number associated with their name…...just give me a minute to puzzle it out.” Ginny watches as Harry starts to work it out before his face turns pale.
Harry starts to look around, as if he’s looking for something particular. “Fuck” he exclaims as he grabs onto his girlfriends hand and pulls her with him. “Harry! What is it? What’s wrong? What do you know?” Ginny starts to ramble off. “It’s Draco. Something is very wrong” Harry turns and tells her before dragging her to the table.
They got to the table and everyone but the Weasley brothers were there waiting. “We need to figure something out quickly. Hermione is missing and someone reported Draco as a death eater attack. If he has his wand out at all then the aurors will have reason to kill-“ Harry is instantly cut off by Theo “ he doesn’t have his wand. Him and I left it with Headmistress McGonagall. Harry lets out a breath of relief. “That’s good. There’s no way he could have hid it, if she has it.”
Harry turns to look between Theo and Blaise. “What are the chances of him harming someone to protect Hermione?” Both Theo and Blaise announced that he wouldn’t at the same time. “The only way Draco would go after someone for hurting Hermione was if he had nothing to live for. He almost died for Hermione before. If she was alive he wouldn’t do anything with the slightest chance of her getting harmed.”
The three wizards continue to talk but all pause whenever Luna starts to count down. “5…4…3…2…1” she looks up to look at Harry. “Now it’s time, they are outside of the exit door by the restrooms.” They all stare at her opened mouth but she just gets up and walks down the hallway. All the friends running after her. Luna pauses for a second staring at the group before pushing the door open.
The group burst through the door right as aurors pop into the area behind the couple. Draco who was using his body as a shield and Hermione who was holding onto him like the earth was going to disappear from under her feet. “YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!” Harry hears Ginny scream as a red blur soars past him. He wraps his arms around Ginny’s waist, lifting her off her feet. Ginny fights to attack her brother like she’s a rabid dog. Spit flying out of her mouth as she screams and swears at Ronald.
Hermione watches in panic as Draco is slammed into the ground. She tries to fight for Theo to release her. Theo’s hold is just growing more secure to hold her into place. Draco is then popped out of the area with an auror on each of his sides. A heart wrenching scream echoed throughout the alleyway. A magic reaction lashing through the area resulting in multiple fires flaming up. Ronald jumped away with a scream from the skip bin that was inflamed with the blaze of Hermione's anguish. Theo flinches at the flames licking up his body but he continues to grip the flaming girl. Hermione sobbing and screaming nightmare sounds.
Harry watches Ronald look at Hermione, how bad of a state she was in before smirking and disappearing. Everyone’s attention turns to Theo, Hermione and the flames encasing them. Seconds later, Luna spells water on them to put out the fire. Putting out the sounds from Hermione and shocking her into an emotional shut down. The shock triggers Hermione's magic to push Theo back and to surround her in an electrical barrier of crackling lightning.
Theo and Harry rush to kneel in front of her but she doesn’t even notice. Hermione continues to stare blankly at the place that Draco had disappeared from. Theo goes to put his hands through the barrier but Harry slaps his hands away. “What are you doing?” Harry exclaims and Theo looks to Harry calmly. “I’m trying to help Hermione after she was attacked and forced away from the one person that makes her feel safe.” They hear a scoff behind them but Theo ignores it and reaches for his friend.
Theo grits his teeth as the lightning zaps his arms but he pursues his actions. He finally gets close enough to place his hands on her face. Hermione flinches at the touch looking panicked until she sees it was Theo who was touching her. She calms down and the electrical barrier falls into non-existence. Theo takes Hermione's face in his hands to examine her injuries. She lifts her arms to grab and hold onto the wizard in front of her.
Harry, Blaise , and three other male voices say “no” at the same time as Hermione feels a metal cuff clip onto each of her wrists. Instantly, Harry nudges the auror away, lifting the edge of his coat to protect Theo’s face. Blaise tucking Hermione's face into his body and using his hands to shield the rest of her face. Luna tugging Ginny towards her to cast a protego. The magic suppression cuffs exploded off her wrists. Metal shards causing cuts on the three wizards and witch, and to bounce off Luna’s shield.
Before anyone could speak Kingsley, followed by Charlie and George were storming towards them. “Auror Ashford, Auror Ross! What is going on here and why did you attempt to contain Miss. Granger's magic?” Kingsley booms in an authoritative manner. Both aurors turn with annoyance but immediately straighten whenever seeing the minister. Kingsley stares with an eyebrow raised waiting for an answer but when none come he turns to Harry. “Her magic was lashing out. Caught some things on fire.” Harry gestures to Theo and his burnt clothes. “Luna casted water to put the flames out. It sent Hermione into shock and her magic put an electrical barrier around herself. Whenever Theo got it to drop, Aurors Ashford and Ross put the cuffs on her.”
Kingsley looks around at everyone before looking down to the wizard who was trying to help the catatonic witch. “So she caused the burns to herself by accidental magic but what about the injuries to her face.” Kingsley asks in an attempt to be stern but the look of concern wins.
“She was attacked by -“ Harry started to tell the minister but was cut off by Auror Ross. “That death eater Malfoy” the Auror spits and Kingsley with interested puzzlement turns his attention to him. “That death eater Malfoy” He repeats slowly. “I don’t recall getting a report of Lucius Malfoy escaping Azkaban. It’s a bit surprising considering how easily he went compared to the others.”
Harry holds back laughter at the minister smirking at the Aurors annoyance. “His son. Draco Malfoy. He was also a death eater.” The Auror was cut off by a loud laugh from the minister. The Aurors go silent in shock, Kingsley pulls a parchment from his robes and hands it to Harry. “Mr. Potter, this is the arrest warrant for Ronald Billius Weasley. You are the lead in this arrest. Auror Ross, Auror Ashford you’ll be accompanying Mr. Potter in this arrest. I want him placed in the interrogation room.”
The minister then turns to the siblings. “Ginny, George, please go to doctor sterling’s healer facility. Let her know we need her assistance for Hermione and to bring another healer if available.” He hands Ginny a portkey, explaining how to activate it. He lets them know that it will bring them to a meeting room by his office and that Doctor Sterling will know her way.
Kingsley then looks between Theo and Blaise but before he could speak Luna speaks up. “I will go with Blaise to get Lady Malfoy.” The minister nods once and the couple apparates to the manor. Kingsley turns his attention to the pair on the ground and the last Weasley sibling. “Mr. Nott, do you think you could carry Miss.Granger.” Theo confirms and Kingsley explains to the wizards what to do to get to his office. He told them that he would be at his office after he spoke with Draco. The groups separates with their different tasks.
Blaise and Luna appear right before the gate leading up to the manor. Blaise holds his hand up against the gate and it swings open to let them through. Luna follows, keeping up with his pace. They reach the door and Blaise once again holds up his hand and the door also clicks and swings open like the gate did. They enter the manor and a house elf pops into the hallway. “Mr. Zabini?” The elf questions glancing behind the couple. “Ziggy, can you please awaken Lady Malfoy. She is needed as soon as possible. Have her ready to leave the manor please. We will wait for her in the yellow parlor” The elf hesitates for a moment but pops away with a quiet, almost inaudible crack.
Ziggy appears in the room to find Narcissa sitting in a chair in her room, staring at a little locket. “The mistress has guests waiting for her in the yellow parlor. It is an emergency, they requested Ziggy bring mistress to meet them when the mistress is ready. They said the mistress needs to leave the manor with them.” Narcissa stands and brushes her robes of dust and lint. “Thank you Ziggy. Is it Mr. Potter?” Narcissa questions, moving towards the mirror to check her appearance. “No mistress. It is Mr. Zabini and Miss. Lovegood.” Narcissa freezes and turns to Ziggy slowly. After a moment she nods. “Thank you, you are dismissed”
Ziggy pops out of the room and Narcissa leaves the room with the locket wrapped in her hand. Narcissa heads to the yellow parlor, the heels of her boots clicking quietly. She reaches the door, taking a tense breath and glances to the inside of the locket then pushes the doors to open. Blaise instantly greets her with a kiss to her cheek. Luna looking at an empty chair with a tilted head. Blaise noticed the slight tremor in her hands but before he could speak Narcissa was asking her question. “Who is with Miss. Granger?” Blaise farrows his eyebrows in confusion. “We have come to inform you about Draco-“ Narcissa cuts him off before he could finish. “Yes, Draco is injured but he is fine. Miss. Granger, I'm assuming since Draco would only give his signet ring to her, is in high levels of distress. High risk levels to be exact.”
Blaise looks even more confused and Narcissa shows him the locket. “It changed this morning. It used to only be Draco’s ring because he would always have it on. I charmed his ring during the war because I needed to know how well he was. It split into two sections this morning, the ring and Draco’s magic.” Blaise explains what happened and they leave to go to the minister's office.
Kingsley landed in the emergency apparition point in the DLME. He goes storming for Robards office. The Aurors within the room watch with wide eyes. Kingsley starts to pound on his door. The door opens and Kingsley is waved in by the head Auror. They don’t talk as they each take a seat on opposite sides of the desk. “I’m just going to say it straight out. How do you know about this situation already?”
Kingsley takes a deep breath. “Miss. Lovegood has some type of seer ability. She was aware of something happening tonight. She knew when the moment was that she needed to send two of the Weasley boys to me.” Robards nods, understanding and curiosity appearing on his usual stoic face. “Auror Becca Taylor, technically broke into my residence tonight. She was here whenever the alert come in and she was concerned that Aurors O’brian, Lynch, Ross and Ashford would use unjustified force to restrain Mr. Malfoy.”
Robards glances at his watch and looks up to the minister. “They should be completed with the arrest process. Shall we go down to the holding cells before they attempt to start the Azkaban process.” Kingsley stands from his chair, Robards following. “Yes, I have no doubts that they will complete as much of the process as they can. I have no plans of allowing them to ruin his life.”
They pair precedes down to reach the holding cells. Sharing an uneasy gaze whenever they spot Auror O’brian and Auror Lynch leaving the area with smirks and evidence bags. The pair pause to watch them as they submit the evidence bags into the storage room. As the two Aurors disappear, Robards moves for the door to the cells but freezes whenever he realizes that Kingsley didn’t move. “Disillusion yourself and activate a self writing quill. I want his and my conversation recorded and filed”
Robards gets a look of strong disagreement, Kingsley trying to speak but is cut off by the head Auror. “This isn’t a good idea. If your goal is to drop the charges then we can’t have this conversation recorded. Mr. Malfoy could incriminate himself.” The minister gives him a shit eating grin. “I bet you a galleon that he doesn’t care about himself. That he will only be willing to discuss Hermione Granger." Robards looks unsure but agrees to the bet. Once Kingsley was satisfied with Robards actions they reach the cell that Draco was being held in.
Kingsley sees the state that Draco was in and looks to the spot he suspected Robards was placed at. He can’t even feel any happiness at the thought that the Aurors made a big mistake. “Draco” Kingsley calls out but he doesn't move, so he calls to draco again. Draco turns his head showing bruising and swelling. He jumps to his feet and rushes to the bars whenever he sees Kingsley. “Minister, please. You were in the order with Hermione. Please make sure she's safe.” Kingsley holds his hands up to stop him from talking. “Hermione will be kept safe from Ronald.” draco clenches the bars of the cell. “It's not just him; someone was stalking Hermione yesterday morning.”
Kingsley is taken off course, not expecting the turn in conversation. He motions him to continue, Draco goes on to explain how he noticed Hermione came home from the run while under a disillusionment charm. That there was no reason to do this unless she felt watched. That she knew for sure that they didn’t know where in particular where her house was located. “Okay, that will be looked into. Can we discuss your situation now?” Draco steps back, looking offended. “What do you mean discuss my situation, my situation doesn’t matter” Draco says through clenched teeth as he paces the cell. Soon falling into mumblings of French. Kingsley freezes in shock, getting flashbacks from other male of the black family pacing and rambling.
“Ma situation, ha. Elle est tout ce qui compte. Je ne l'ai pas protégée de lui. Il l'a eue et elle s'est blessée. Je mérite d'aller à Azkaban. J'étais un mangeur de mort, mais au moins j'étais là pour la ramasser et me tenir entre elle et le mal. Ma situation n'a pas d'importance, pas comparée à elle. S'il vous plaît, laissez ma situation aller et concentrez votre attention sur elle"
Kingsley glances uneasily at the invisible auror again. “Draco, I need you to promise that you will make an effort to actually care in your trial”
Draco stops mumbling, his head snapping to Kingsley. Draco narrows his eyes, stalking towards the bars of the cell. “You…want…me…to…care about myself. No, Hermione is all that matters. The focus needs to be on Hermione and her safety.”
Kingsley rubs his hand down his face, groaning in his mind at Draco. He turns his face back neutral. “I’m pulling your file; it will be used in your trial.” Draco glares at the minister. “You can’t do that. You’ll need my mother's and my approval.” Kinglsey laughs, causing Draco to flinch. “No, I need Narcissa's approval using her ring ....and Hermione’s, right? She has your signet ring, doesn’t she?”
Draco looks away uncomfortable. He removes his jacket and puts it between the bars of the cell. He turns around so that his back is to the minister, Draco speaks. “I think our conversation is finished. Please take my jacket to Hermione.” Draco moves to the corner of the room, sits down and ignores that the minister was still trying to converse. Kingsley takes the jacket and leaves the area. Auror Robards follows him, reappearing whenever he is out of view of Draco. Without a word, Kingsley holds his hand out waiting and Robards places the galleon into his hand with a nearly silent huff. They submit the report of Kingsley's and Draco’s conversation and the minister picks up the sealed report from a little over 7 months prior.
Theo and Charlie appear in a meeting room. Hermione was in Theo's arms, tucked against his chest. Her eyes were closed but Theo could tell she was still awake. Charlie started to walk Theo to the minister's office. Theo endeavors to set Hermione down on the sofa but she clings to Theo. She reminded him of a cat trying to avoid being bathed. Except for that she had tears running down her face. He repositions her, then sits down so she was kind of sitting on his lap. Her face was still buried into his chest.
Hermione doesn’t even notice whenever Theo turns her face to get a closer look at the bruises and laceration. Theo’s eyes run slowly along her body, inspecting it to get a record of her injuries.
Theo flinches whenever Charlie drops down in front of him. At that moment it’s like Hermione was previously held up by strings that were cut at Theo's flinch. Her whole body releases all tension and she slumps down, Charlie barely catches her head as it goes to slam into the sofa arm rest. Both wizards look at Hermione's face, her eyes are closed but she has tears streaming down her face. Theo looks uneasy, finding it weird that Hermione’s breathing was normal, that her body was reacting as if nothing was wrong but she was visually crying.
His eyes snap up to Charlie whenever he speaks. “Both of you are burned. What happened while we were gone?” Theo takes an uneasy swallow. “Well, when we found them, Hermione was clinging onto Draco while her face was injured ” Theo gestures to her face. “It’s safe to assume that Ronald hurt her, then called the Aurors to arrest Draco. When the Aurors showed up, Draco had to convince the Aurors to wait a moment so he could get Hermione to safety. They used unnecessary force to cuff him and when they disappeared. Hermione’s magic caught us on fire and when Luna put us out she went into this state.”
They both freeze whenever they can hear three sets of footsteps coming towards the office, the pair of heeled shoes coming frantically. They share a knowing glance whenever the heels stop at the door before a knock followed by the door slowly opening. Theo looks at Narcissa but her eyes are focused on Hermione. He could see the desperation in her eyes. Without looking at Theo, Narcissa asks him the question. “She needs healing attention. Is someone taking care of that.” He goes to answer but is cut off by rushing footsteps again, followed by Healer Sterling, another healer, Ginny, and George entering the office.
Charlie goes to meet George on the other side of the room. Luna and Blaise follow them. Narcissa takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of the minister's desk. And Ginny moves over to the sofa where Theo and Hermione were. Theo watches Ginny's face as it flicks to Hermione’s face before jumping away. She watches as a privacy divider gets placed by the healers followed by a healing table. Healer sterling looks to Theo. “Ginny can you come here and support her head, she has gone a bit cooked noodle.” Ginny walks to Hermione’s head, placing a hand on either side of her head to hold it up as Theo stands. They place Hermione onto the table and she allows him to put her down but her body stays relaxed but her eyes fly open and her eyes stare straight ahead.
As he goes to pull away Hermione claps onto his wrist, her nails drawing blood. Her eyes stayed blank, but they also went paler. He sits down on the edge of the table, hooking his hand with hers and squeezing to show he was there with her. Healer sterling approaches to see where to start. “This is Healer Rae, if you want to move to the sofa. She can take care of your burns.”
Before Theo could speak, he was exclaiming in pain due to Hermione vice gripping his hand. “I don’t think she’ll let me leave her.
Healer sterling nods once and pulls out her wand. “Can you examine her eyes? Something seems unusual with them.” Healer sterling activates a self-writing quill to record her vitals. Healer Rae moves in front of Theo, casting a diagnostic charm and moving his legs around. Healer sterling carefully opened one of Hermione’s eyes and shining low lumos before doing the same with the other eye.
“Pupils are equal and reactive.” Healer sterling states for both Theo and her record then casts a diagnostic charm on Hermione's head. “Mild concussion, bruising of the zygomatic and mandible bones -“ Healer sterling cuts herself off, eyes jumping between Theo and Ginny. “I didn’t see Harry here, is he nearby?” Healer sterling questions to Ginny while healer Rae had Theo's attention to get permission to vanish his trousers to get access to the burns. “No, he’s arresting my brother.” Healer sterling looks disappointed and walks to a corner of the minister’s office. She waves her wands along the wall and it slides open, showing a phone in the opening. They all watch her in different levels of curiosity and amazement as she punches a number in and brings it to her ear to talk. “Chris, he’s done it again. It’s not as bad but the situation is so much worse. Yes, we’re at the ministry, minister Kingsley’s office. I’ll see you whenever you get here.”
Healer sterling moves back to the table without a word to everyone in the group. She hands Theo a potion, motioning for him to take it. “It will help prevent the burns from being infected.” With a nod Theo takes the potion and looks down to his now wrapped legs. He shimmies himself into the pair of lounge pants with his one free hand and shifts himself to both help and to stand out of the way of the healers. Healer Sterlings spells Hermione's camisole to lengthen and instructs Theo to lift her so they could pull it down her legs. With her camisole now covering more of her body they spell off her jeans and jacket to have better access to the burns. They treat the burns and wrap them like they did with Theo.
Healer sterling spells the same potion she gave Theo into Hermione's stomach. A moment later a rushed set of footsteps was approaching the office. Ginny and Theo couldn’t see the door open but they could see the group on the other side of the privacy divider. The group all moved as one ....with the exception of Luna, to make a wall of bodies and wands. Narcissa in the middle head raised high and the wand leveled at his throat. Ginny peaks around the divider to find officer smith with a camera over his shoulder but before she could do anything Narcissa was speaking.
“What do you want with my daughter?” Chris's worried expression cracks showing a slight smile. “Hmm, when I saw Minnie and Draco a few days ago they didn’t tell me they were betrothed, let alone married….Cissy.” Narcissa wand falters a tad as she tilts her head in investigation. Her eyes then blow wide in shock. “Christopher Rosier?” Narcissa questions and he shrugs. “Haven’t been a rosier for a while, it’s smith now.” Before anything else could be said, healer sterling was calling Chris to her. “Excuse me, Cissy. I need to see my goddaughter.”
The next thirty minutes is spent with the healers healing Hermione's face after officer smith took pictures for evidence. He was then tasked with holding the cold compress to Hermione's jaw as they worked to fix the fracture. They finished with everything they could do to aid Hermione.
“Is there anything you can do to return her from a catatonic like state?” Healer sterling holds up a few potions. “ I can spell a calming draught into her stomach. It may bring her out but it’s not guaranteed.” He agrees that he thinks they should try it so healer sterling administers the potion and checks her watch for the time. Some time passes, the calming draught not changing anything in Hermione's state except for that she started to tap her fingers on the table.
Officer Smith, Theo, and healer sterling look up to Ginny whenever she releases a breath of relief a moment before storming away from the area Hermione was in. She returned a moment later carrying something. She comes around the table, looking like she was on a mission. She drops to her knees at the edge of the table by Hermione's face. Ginny lifts Hermione's head putting the jacket under her head and watches for any reaction from the lifeless witch. She watches as Hermione twitches and she knows like always that Draco’s smell is what Hermione needs.
“I saw that, I know you're just below the surface. You need to drop the shield. We need you to return, I need you to.” Ginny waits to see how Hermione reacts and decides to see if Hermione was present at all. Ginny stands and watches as Hermione's eyes track her. She smiles softly at her success. “You can’t hide forever, the longer you push away the more the pain will be.” Hermione whispers a no, and Ginny gives her a disapproving look. "Stop occluding. I refuse to let my terrible brother bring you down. Not when you withstood torture at the hand of Bellatrix Lestrange. So get up. Let us help you please.”
Hermione nods slowly, she tightens her hand in a squeeze to let Theo know she is okay. With a nod, Theo stands and helps Hermione to sit up, planting a kiss to her head before turning to leave. He feels a hand pull him back and he feels hands grab his face. Hermione kisses his curly locks, mumbling an apology for burning him and a thank you for being here for her. “Of course Mi, I’ll always be there for you.”
Hermione turns around looking at Chris. He gives her a comforting smile and moves his hand to her to give it a squeeze. “Is Saint Mary Elizabeth’s open at this time?” She asks him in a whisper. He nods and offers her his hand to help her off the table. “Would you like me to take you there?” Hermione nods slightly, looking to healer sterling for permission. With approval from the healer she moves her attention to the minister. He looks between Chris and Hermione and nods. “Are you planning to come back or are you going home after?” Hermione looks to Chris then slowly to everyone in the room. She reaches to the table and grabs Draco’s jacket and slips into it. “I‘ll be back, we have a plan for Draco. correct?” She questions and Kingsley nods, saying they would be discussing it now. As they leave Kingsley tells Hermione if she decides to not come back to let him know and they would talk in the morning.
Notes:
TW : Unintentional arson. Attempt at sibling murder. Multiple unlawful abuse of power. Mentions of arrest warrant for past and currently domestic violence. References to physical assault. Mentions of domestic violence / domestic abuse. Mentions and references to stalking. Mentions of injuries including cuts, burns, bruising, swelling and fractures. References to accidental magic. Scenes of a character being in shock / in a catatonic mental state
4775 Words in this chapter
I stayed up most of the night last night to finish typing out chapter 32 so that I could upload this chapter a little earlier than I have been. I am hoping that I can upload chapter 31 around the start of august.
An arrest warrant had been activated for Ron so next chapter we will get a little insight of how he acts while being arrested. Any thought or predictions of what Ron will say in terms of the night's actions. Also, we got some information of why Hermione broke up with Ron and next chapter will supply a little more and we will know everything in terms of why their relationship ended by the end of Draco's trial (thinking by the end of chapter 33)
..... plot twist about Officer smith and did anyone catch onto someone else in the chapter. I would love to hear your thoughts and see if anyone caught onto the little hint planted. Three people are connected, and I want to know if anyone figured it out.
what do you think is in Draco's file that Kingsley is having pulled for the trial and why do you think draco doesn't want anyone knowing about said file?
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 31: The Archer
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty One : The Archer
Chris leads Hermione through the hallways, both quiet for a while except their shoes clicking on the floor. “How are you here?” Hermione asks, Chris looking over to her. “Healer Sterling called me. He fractured your jaw again. It wasn’t as bad this time so it was easier to heal but it still happened.” She gives him a disapproving look. “I know…that’s not what you meant. I was born to the Rosier family.” He sees as her eyes sadden but he shakes his head to stop her. “It wasn’t bad, they didn’t kick me out of anything. I went to private school. Everyone just thought I got the opportunity to go to one of the other magical schools. My parents let me change my name whenever I turned the age of an adult. They agreed with me that it might have been better being a muggle.” Chris stops explaining and Hermione stays quiet, thinking in her head as they make their way outside to his car.
They reach his car and he instantly puts on the heat since Hermione was still in the camI turned dress and Draco’s jacket. He reaches behind her seat to grab Lottie’s dance bag. Hermione takes it from him when he suggests that there might be a pair of Lottie’s sweatpants in the bag. He starts driving as she finds the bottoms and shimmies into them. He continues driving, both of them silent until he stops at a red light. “Hermione?” He questions in a whisper and Hermione tenses, knowing his questions were going to be difficult to answer. “What really happened to your parents?” He pauses for a moment before continuing. “I know what kind of events were happening during the last year.”
He grows uneasy whenever Hermione starts laughing that turns into bawling. He pulls over, not feeling like he could continue driving at that moment. “Did they kill your parents?” He asks and Hermione shakes her head no. “Did you do something to your parents?” He waits for her to answer, her responding in a whisper. “I did something illegal to them” He nods slowly to himself, letting his thoughts settle. “Illegal in magical or muggle terms.” Chris notices it was difficult for her to respond so he shuts the car off, deciding that they could walk the rest of the way to the church.
He gets out and goes to her door. Hermione not noticing him getting out , shown by her jump whenever he opened her door.
“What I did was magical so it wouldn’t be illegal in the muggle world.”
They walk together, her head resting on his chest and him rubbing her right arm in comfort. “So your parents are alive then” Hermione shrugs then goes on to explain. “David and Jean Granger no longer exist. They are now Wendell and Monica Wilkins.” Hermione pauses in talking to look at Chris, sadness filling her eyes. “You have a baby nephew. Phoenix Wilkins. They don’t know they have a biological daughter.”
He looks confused when Hermione asks him what he knows about the latest wizarding war. “I know that a dark wizard was killed by a child or something, like 15-20 years ago and then recently his followers resurfaced.” he explains, unsure why she was asking. “Tom Riddle, was his birth name. He was defeated the first time by a baby….Harry was that baby.” Understanding starts to dawn on him. “So you were a target due to being friends with him.”
Hermione starts to laugh “No, I wasn’t just a target. I was labeled undesirable #2. I was the muggleborn, labeled the brightest witch of her age and the golden girl. I obliviated myself from their memories and sent them away. It had a time limit. If I didn’t reverse the effects within a year it would become permanent. I knew it was possible I would die. By the time I found them I had two days to reverse it. They were already having a negative effect from my presence and they had just adopted an orphan baby. I made the choice to let them go.”
They stopped on the sideway, Chris attempted to process all this information. “You thought you could die?” His questions with disbelief and Hermione smiles softly but in a sad way. “I almost did-“ Hermione told him whispering the last part “-still might” Chris pulls her into a hug, Hermione bursting into sobs. He starts to rub her head, mumbling comforting words to her. She pulls away, looking away from him. “Are you planning on going to Draco’s trial?” Chris answers that he would be. “You're not going to hear many good things about Draco whenever he is younger.” Hermione warns him, Chris shaking his head. “I know all about him. I knew of the magical world so every time you mentioned Malfoy I knew who you were talking about. I trust that he isn’t bad anymore. I know you and you never would have fallen in love with him if he was bad.”
Hermione looks away looking shy “who says I have fallen in love with him” Chris smiles, kissing her forehead. “You did Minnie. I see it all over the two of you.”
They continue walking, the church now within view. “You knew Narcissa? I heard you call her Cissy earlier” he nods explaining that he knew all the sacred 28 kids around his age. “Does that mean you knew her sisters?” She asks uncomfortably, knowing she needed to tell him if he was going to hear about it anyways “Trixy and Andy.” He questions and Hermione snorts a laugh. He gives her a questioning look and she holds her hand up. “Andy is still alive. She might be at the trial. She lost her husband, daughter and son in law in the war. She’s raising her grandson alone.” Hermione tells him in a caring tone before her voice turns to venom. “She” Hermione snarls as she tugs her sleeve up. “She carved this into me and she is how I nearly died. I almost died in Malfoy manor.” He pulls her into a hug again, wipes her fallen tears away and they enter the church together.
Harry was staying in the observation room while head Auror Robards and Auror Taylor interviewed his friend. “Mr. Weasley, can you tell me what happened between Miss. Granger and yourself on June 16th of this year.” Harry rolled his eyes, annoyed with how Ronald was acting about the situation. Ronald was relaxing in the chair as if he wasn’t just arrested. “We broke up, she was an uptight bitch that thought she could do whatever she wanted but criticize me. I told her to get out and she left crying. I hadn’t seen her until the gala a few weeks ago.”
Auror Taylor takes notes on what he was saying. And Auror Robards asked the next question. “Was there any physical contact between the two of you during or after the break up? Did she harm you? Did you harm her?” Ronald scoffs at the question and Harry feels his nails dig into his flesh. “No, she came home and started flipping out on me for being asleep. I fell asleep after coming home from mourning my brother. I told her I had enough that we were done and she better be gone by time I got back. I left and went to a wizardry pub.” Robard nods and Auror Taylor speaks up. “Are you willing to submit your memory of this interaction as proof?” Ronald scoffs out a laugh. “So you can tamper with my memory and make me the villain….not a chance.”
“Okay, can you explain to me from your point of view what happened tonight?” Auror Robards asked as auror Taylor switched parchments. The head Auror notices that Ronald was eyeing the parchment and smirking to himself whenever he sees the words “witness account in terms of Draco Malfoy’s trial.” Ronald puts on a fake face of concern as he starts to tell his story.
“I was walking back towards my brother's shop. I’ve been helping George with the shop since my brother, his twin passed away due to being murder by death eaters. I heard a commotion in the alleyway so I made my presence known. He was shoving her into the skip bin. She was fighting him but he was trying to get into her knickers. I grabbed his shoulder and jerked him away from her to find out it was that death eater and mione. I instantly sent the alert to the Aurors and he sent a stunner at me and as I dodged it he casted the imperious curse on her to make it seem like he was protecting her whenever the Aurors showed up.” Ronald finished and Harry could pick up on Ronald looking satisfied.
“You said Mr. Malfoy sent a stunner at you then cast an unforgivable on Miss. Granger?” Robard questions and Ronald agrees. “Okay, Auror Taylor, please return to the scene and cast the spell so you can get a replay of the events of tonight. Also find that wand that Mr. Malfoy used.” She gathered her reports and with a nod left the room. Robards looks to the interview window and speaks out loud. “Wait for me in my office. I will be interviewing everyone from tonight so I’ll start with you”
Robards stands and heads for the door before pausing and turning to Ronald. He steps towards the table again, setting down and rolled up parchments. “Mr. Weasley, this is a restraining order. You are not allowed within 100 feet of Miss. granger unless it’s in a public location. In terms of a public location you're not allowed within 5 feet of Miss granger. This restraining order was activated the moment you cause physical harm to Miss Granger." Ronald was frantically reading the parchment and Robards left the interview room and locked the door.
Chris and Hermione walk back into the minister's office. Everyone there, taking notice of how different she looked now. She cracks her neck, then her fingers before taking a seat at the chair in front of his desk. She looks at his desk, noticing the different stacks of reports. She listens as a few people talk about a variety of items related to Draco. She looks to the door whenever it opens and the head Auror and another Auror enters the room. She watches with confusion whenever Harry shoots across the floor and blocks the other Auror from her view. “Head Auror Robards, I think you just have to get Hermione's account of tonight’s events. I will walk her to your office to wait for you.” Harry goes towards her and she flinches, going dazed at his sudden movements. “Auror trainee potter!” Kingsley and Robards say at the same time. They share a knowing glance, moving to a corner of the room.
Auror Taylor stands stiff at the door, jumping when the two older wizards addressed her. “Auror Taylor, I will take those reports and evidence from you. I will handle the conversation here. Please escort, Healer sterling, Miss. Weasley, and Miss Granger to the smaller conference room in the Aurors office. Healer Sterling will be doing the questions while you do the recording.” They look around for Hermione and become confused whenever they don’t instantly see her. Eventually finding Theo sitting cross legged in front of her while Hermione had her knees to her chest, tucked into Draco’s jacket. Her face was tilted down into his jacket but her eyes were just barely visible as she looked at Theo.
“I think it would be best for Theo to go with her rather than me.” Ginny tells them, walking towards the pair with caution. Theo flinches but looks up at everyone. “You're going to go with Hermione for the recording of her night.” He nods and shifts on his knees, Hermione watching him from her hiding place. “Darling, we need to go with Healer Sterling and Auror Taylor to answer some questions. Are you ready to go.” Hermione hid her face in the jacket. “I don't want to talk about him” she mumbles but he hears her. “I know but he's harming you, it's time to talk about it. They want Draco to take the blame for it and if they let that happen then he will just continue to take advantage of you.” Theo’s heart stops whenever he sees her flinching at that word but starts to reassure her. “I won't leave your side. I will be with you every step. I promise draco that I would keep you safe.” Hermione looks to him and nods, reaching up to theo. He reaches towards her, shifting on his feet so he could support her.
Hermione loops her arms around his neck and wraps her legs around his waist. He wraps his arms around her back, Hermione buries her face into his shoulder and clinging to them like a koala. They move towards the door to leave but Hermione's head shoots up. Looking at Harry when she hears Narcissa saying she would grab him a suit from the manor. “No!” Hermione blurts, everyone looking at her peeking over Theo's shoulder. “No black” Hermione demands looking at Harry. “Take Narcissa to the house, find him a royal blue shirt, grey trousers and a tie of some color.” Harry watches her for a moment, trying to find her motive but nods and agrees. She puts her face back into Theo's shoulder. Narcissa starts to argue that Draco needs his own clothes, Harry assuring her that Hermione had her reasons.
Theo carries Hermione the whole way to the conference room. Hermione staying in his lap as Healer Sterling asks the questions, Auror Taylor recording Hermione responses.
Everyone has returned home for the night after collecting and organizing everything they needed for Draco’s trial the next day. Kingsley had called for an emergency probationary hearing since he couldn’t just release Draco himself and wanted it dealt with immediately. The group of friends decided that they would sleep as a group in the living room since they didn’t want Hermione left alone. They made a bed of blankets on the floor, Harry sleeping on the left, Ginny sleeping next to him on his right, Hermione on Ginny’s right and Theo on the far right so that Hermione was between Ginny and Theo.
Theo, Ginny and Harry jump awake at the sounds of loud beeps. They know right away something is wrong by the smell of something burning and that Hermione was missing. Theo jumps up, running for the kitchen and the couple follows.
Theo gets to the kitchen finding Hermione facing the oven that had flames building over the stove as she stirred something. He grabs her shoulder pulling her away from the flames. Harry cast to put the flames out. At Theo's sudden jerking of her body, the bowl falls from her hands. It crashes into pieces causing a scream from her chest. She stops screaming, recognizing the kitchen and looking to Theo's panicked and angry eyes. “What were you doing? Why didn’t you contain the fire when it first started.”
Hermione looks around confused at her friends. She finds the same expressions in their faces…anger, worry, and panic. “Fire?” she questions, her eyes landing in the burnt wall above the stove. Realization dawns on Theo's face, he slowly looks over Hermione's body for injuries. “I think you were sleeping, sleepwalking and cooking.” Theo tells her,Harry adding that her smoke alarm woke them up.
Hermione goes stiff, looking at the charred wall. Without a word, she turns away and walks upstairs tense. Theo rushes after her while Ginny and Harry look to the wall, fixing what they could.
Theo sits on the edge of Draco’s bed, rubbing her back as she sobs into Draco’s pillow. Once she calms down he stands, moving into the bathroom. He fills the tub with hot water, adding in eucalyptus bubble bath and lavender bath oils and salt. He nudges Hermione, telling her to go get in the bath, her doing as told without another word. He gives her ten minutes to make sure she is in the water before he enters the bathroom. He grabs a few supplies from the bathroom counter, moving to sit on the edge of the tub to pull her hair up into a bun. He applies a skincare face mask and allows her time to relax.
After 20 minutes he returns to the bath. He removes the mask for Hermione's face and washes her hair, noticing the slow tears. “Do you want to talk about it?” Theo asks softly as he wraps her head with a towel to contain the wet strands. Hermione nods and he hands her a towel and her bathrobe. He steps out while she situates herself. He returns and unwraps her hair, applying her daily serums and creams to her hair while she talks through her thoughts.
“Draco doesn’t deserve this, he was arrested trying to protect me. This never would have happened if he wasn’t with me.” Hermione looks into his eyes in the mirror. “What if he goes to Azkaban for this? I’m bad, I caused him to get arrested, I burned you Theo. I nearly just killed my friends”
Theo moves around kneeling in front of her, mixed emotions running through his eyes. “Hermione, Ronald caused Draco to be arrested. That is not your fault. I need you to know that if Draco goes to Azkaban, he’ll just be happy that he was trying to protect you in the process. He loves you.” Hermione shakes her head, ranting that Draco is going to grow to resent her. That she messes everything up around her. “You don’t owe anyone anything. It is not your fault that you were not ready to be physical with Ronald. It wasn’t okay for him to cheat on you and try to force you into things you weren’t ready for. It was not okay for him to take his anger and frustration out on you. That is his problem, not yours.”
Hermione seems to give in, agreeing that Ronald wasn’t her fault. “I still caught you on fire, I nearly burned the house down with all of you asleep. I’m becoming a monster” Theo cuts off her rambles with a sad smile. “You're not a monster, you were also asleep and that is what the beeper is for, it’s supposed to let us know when there’s a fire.” Hermione laughs softly through her tears, correcting him that it’s called a smoke detector. “As to catching me on fire, well you did that. I have a few questions for you.” Hermione nods telling him to continue. “Did I get mad at you for catching me on fire? Did I throw you away from me? Did I just stop trying after your magic threw me back and put an electrical barrier around you.” Hermione shakes her head no. “Exactly! I knew you weren't trying to hurt me. Your magic, mind and body was in danger mode and you were trying to protect yourself after you went through something traumatic.”
Theo moves back behind her to finish with her hair. “What will I do about my magic lashing out, I already hurt you.” Hermione's voice weakens as she speaks her next words. “It was more than just distress. I was having dreams and putting off heat before Ronald did what he did. The morning I went out for a run…it was because my body was trying to catch Draco and I on fire” Theo nods as if he already knew her confession. “After the trial is done, we will get you help. We still have some time before we need to return to Hogwarts. I’ll have Harry talk to Healer Sterling so she can admit you for a few days to let your magic relax.”
He comes around her grabbing the facial creams, carefully applying them onto her face. She watches as she relaxes at his reassurance. “What will we do if Draco gets sentenced to Azkaban?”
Theo smirks at Hermione. “We will open your next chapter for law breaking. We will put your healing on hold and use your new passion of arson to commit trespassing, property damage, assisting escape and any other crimes. I mean it would be new for me but not for Harry and you.” They share a knowing look and laugh. “We won’t have to worry about that though. Draco won’t get a sentence. He has you on his side and you are an incredible witch that won’t let it happen” Theo starts to apply light makeup to hermione. “Can I be admitted after the trial?” Hermione queries and Theo could sense she was worried and wanted help as soon as possible. “Of course, if that’s what you want to do then we will make it happen.” She agrees and Theo sends her on her way to get herself into comfortable clothes. Theo goes to update Harry, so that he can go talk to her.
Harry knocks on the door of Draco’s room. He hears a soft “come in” and he finds Hermione placing clothes into a bag.”Theo said you want to get admitted to Healer Sterling care for a few days so that your magic can settle.” Hermione looks at her brother for a few seconds but turns back to her bag. “I’m scared, I don’t want to hurt anymore people.” Harry takes a seat on the bottom of the bed. “Okay, we will go after Draco is free again. We will stay at Grimmauld until everyone goes back to school” Harry tells her that he’ll get her house fixed up after they return to Hogwarts.
Hermione sits in the bed next to him. “Do you think my wand breaking could account for how bad my magic lashed out?” Harry’s head jerks to look at her in shock. “Yeah ... .I know. I’m guessing they have my wand as evidence and that is why you acted weird yesterday.” Harry agreed, saying he wanted to break it to her softly since she was already struggling. That fell quiet, Hermione breaking the silence with a whisper. “I've been being stalked over the last few days.” Harry gives her a questioning look so she continues to explain. “The other morning I woke up, dreaming of fire and I was subconsciously heating up the room. I went for a run that morning and someone was watching and following me. Draco knows, he woke up the next night in a panic and warded my ring so I couldn’t be apparated away without permission. He also gave me his signet ring, if I was in danger I could use the ring to get to the manor and under the blood ward”
Harry asked if it could have been Ronald watching her and she said no, that he found out where she was due to George and Charlie being with them and took the opportunity. Hermione takes a deep breath before continuing. “Ronald tried to leave with me and was confused. It wasn't working. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to find out through the memories I submitted. Last night when he pulled me away from the door, Ronald was touching me inappropriately. I stomped and bit him to get away and that’s when he slammed my head into the skip bin.”
Hermione waits for the question Harry was going to ask next, knowing he was going to. “Hermione? Did he?” Harry falters and Hermione answers anyway. “I broke up with Ron because he tried to. He accused me of whoring myself out for the slytherin boys. Said I was just trying to tease him and that he was sick of it.” Hermione started to rub her thumb along the opposite thumb joint in nerves. “He held my hands above me with one hand, using his legs to pin me down as his other hand undid my jeans. When he started to tug them off, I kicked him off of me. He got angry and hit me a few times.”
She freezes and Harry waits, allowing her to stop if she needs to. “I left and went to one of London’s muggle hospitals. That’s where I meet healer sterling. I locked down my house and hid because I didn’t want you to know about the injuries because he dislocated and fractured my jaw. I don’t remember much from that hospital trip between the pain and the medicine but she told me she knew who I was and she was going to contact you. I refused but apparently she contacted Uncle Chris because at the charity event Lottie told me her dad and her knew about it.
The pair sits in silence for some time until the knocking on their door removes them from their musing. Ginny pops her head into the room, Hermione gets up from the bed and starts to continue packing her items. She glances at Harry who was looking at her. Hermione nods once and slips from the room. Heading down to her own bedroom while Harry tells Ginny what she told him.
Hermione takes a breath, looking over her face. Making a note in her mind to put ice on her jaw and cheek bone. Shell also notes to ask Harry to glamour her face. She walks up the spiral staircase, exiting out of the library to find Ginny leaning against the opposite wall, waiting for her. They stare at each other but Ginny straightens up. “Can I hug you?” Ginny asks softly and Hermione freezes. “ You've never asked before?” Hermione questions, not understanding the change. “You were hurt yesterday and might prefer your space for a while.” Hermione smiles softly and nods her permission as she opens her arms for her friend.
Ginny wraps her arms around Hermione. “I’m sorry for what my brother has done to you. I love you, Hermione. I promise we will get Draco back to you one way or another” Hermione nods into her friend. They separate and Ginny takes Hermione's hand to lead Hermione downstairs. The girls head downstairs to open their Christmas gifts before Hermione takes her hair out of the towel and everyone starts getting ready to leave.
Harry hands out the pastries and Theo sorts everyone’s gifts. Hermione looks sadly at the gifts for Draco. Harry insisted that Ginny had to open gifts last, ending with the gift that he was holding onto until the end. Ginny told him he wouldn’t understand her gift right away but that he would after. They agree that Theo could open his gifts first, then Hermione would. Harry would go after her and Ginny would go last.
Theo decided to open his gift from Harry first, it being 3 self inking quills that were in a variety of colors that Harry thought matches Theo's chaotic personality. Theo’s eyes blow wide whenever he opens Ginny’s gift to find a self made magical version of a furby that she enlisted George to help her create. He opened the joint parcel from Blaise and Luna that contained a bottle of his family's fruity wine that Theo enjoyed and a book on divination from Luna . Hermione and Draco also gifted him books , her gift being based on time travel methods and Draco's gift being on a variety of different magical artifacts.
Hermione's turn was next and in her joint parcel from Blaise and Luna was a small wine tasting set that contained 5 vials of different flavors of floral wines and a book on magical bonds with creatures. Theo gifted her lavender bath supplies and sugar quills. She opened Ginny’s gift next which contained a medical potion kit. Hermione gives her a grateful smile, knowing Ginny listened to her whenever she considered healer research.
She picks up Harry’s gift next. Inside was a magical emergency kit that included a compass-like object that was similar to the Weasley family clock. Each person has its own sections and the section would change colors to show their location / state of mind. Hermione had the ability to add whoever she wanted but the compass currently showed that Blaise, Luna , Ginny, Theo, Harry, and herself all marked in baby blue meant content and at home. Draco was marked bright orange meaning distress and unsafe. Hermione also found a tiny hollowed out book that contained vials of blood marked by different people’s initials. She mouths a thank you to Harry, him knowing this helped with her anxiety.
Hermione starts to fiddle with the wrapping on the last gift in front of her. Her gift from Draco. She looks up to Harry who nods in encouragement. She opens the side and slides the book out, laughing to herself. Inside was a healer training book, the same book she got Draco. Harry then slides another box to her. Clearly a box that would contain something expensive and breakable. It was the size of a dinner plate and about two inches deep. Hermione takes it with confusion and Harry starts to explain. “This was a gift that Draco planned to give you. This is your courtship gift.”
Hermione flicks it open to find two silver necklaces. The main necklace was an elegant leaf teardrop necklace, it had many little oval emeralds throughout the necklaces that looked like leaves. Throughout the emerald were six circle sapphires. The other necklace was a simpler version. It was just a silver chain with a sapphire in the middle with an emerald oval leaf on each side.
Ginny leans over tapping the fancier one, telling Hermione to wear that one today.
Harry’s turn was next, from Blaise and Luna he also got a wine tasting set of earthy wines and a self painted portrait of Harry’s parents. From Draco he got a book that contained personal accounts and writings from aurors. Theo gifted him a collection of potter history. Hermione's gift to him contained a simple set of dress robes and a tie pin / cufflinks sets that had antlers engraved on them. Finally he opened Ginny’s gift that was a small box that contained a dog tag necklace with a square peridot on the left bottom corner. He lifts it out to feel it warm in his hand, flipping it over to find it spelled “yes” before disappearing.
Hermione covers her smile with her hand, happy for her friends.
Ginny decided to open Draco’s gift first, it was an older book detailing information about the start of quidditch and big moments and players since the start. Blaise and Luna gifted her a wine tasting set of herbal wines and a photo album with a ton of open space for their future but it was started with a variety of photos of Ginny, Harry and the both of them as a couple. Hermione's gift to Ginny was a planner and a few outfits / robes for press conferences and a sexy black dress. Theo’s gift was a collection of reports on different quidditch teams, their try out and contact information. He also gave her an advanced broom cleaning kit. Finally she picks up the small box from Harry, she opens it to find a silver snitch fluttering out and up towards the roof. Ginny stands up to catch it and looks down to find Harry on his knee holding an open ring box out to her.
“Ginevra, I have known you since right before I stepped through the platform to enter into my start of the magical world. You might have been the youngest in your family and the only daughter but you never let that hold you back. I have watched you become a fearless, powerful witch. I saw you master spells that were years ahead of you. I know you have your life planned for yourself . So Ginny, will you allow me to follow you at your side and do me the honor of becoming my wife and my future.” Ginny simply smiles down at Harry not giving him a response. He starts to shift his eyes to Theo and Hermione whenever he feels his dog tag heat again. He looks down at it to find the same word appearing and disappearing again. Finally understanding he jumps up and tugs Ginny into his arms. They smile together as Theo and Hermione cheer them on. When they separate Ginny places her hands on his face for a kiss and he slides the ring onto her finger. Hermione takes Ginny’s hand to examine the gold ring that has a square ruby with three oval diamonds on both sides
Notes:
TW : Cursing / Inappropriate language. Discussion of obliviating parents. Mentions / References of death, torture (Bellatrix's torture of Hermione) Mentions of death eater attacks. Mentions of accidental fire within house and accidental magic in the form of fire. Discussions of a character possibly going to Azkaban. References of a character using an unforgivable curse on other character (Imperio) (this doesn't actually happen)
THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING TOPICS. A mention of cheating / infidelity. A discussion about a character being attacked and Sexual Assaulted recently. A discussion of Past attempt at sexual assault (Attempted Rape) Mentions of Domestic abuse.
5464 Words in this Chapter
I realized that I made a mistake in chapter 26, it has been fixed but it was a little mistake. Ginny's courtship necklace is gold, not silver like previously stated.
A photo of Ginny's courtship necklace and engagement ring can be found on my Instagram / TikTok (both posted with this chapter update today) or on Pinterest. All three is under lunaamethyst203
Also, under these accounts is the reference pictures of Hermione's Courtship necklaces.Next Chapter is part one of Draco probation trial, thoughts on how that's going to go, any questions about anything. Do you think Ron will get punished for his actions and if so what do you think his punishment is going to be.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 32: Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty - Two : Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?
Everyone met up in the minister's office. Everyone decided that the younger witches and wizards would go in pairs. Hermione and Theo would lead the first pair, followed by Harry and Ginny with Blaise and Luna bringing up the back.
Kingsley would go himself as minister in his ministry robes to avoid showing favoritism. Chris would be walking with Narcissa , posing as her bodyguard.
Before leaving the house, Hermione had straightened her hair and used gel to slick it back into a twisted bun. She was dressed in a black spaghettI strapped jumpsuit with wide legs. She had an emerald velvet blazer opened on top of the jumpsuit. As she walked down the hallway, head held high ignoring the flashes of the camera as her black ankle strapped stiletto heels clicked on the floor. She had her hand tucked into Theo's elbow, her star ring and Draco’s signet ring on display for the photos.
Theo was dressed in white sneakers, black jeans, and a white dress shirt under a castleton green colored jumper.
Harry was wearing his Auror training robes at Kingsley's request, allowing Harry to appear authoritative as he walked with Ginny. Harry’s hand intertwined with his fiancées
Ginny had her new ring turned into her hand to hide it. Her heels also clicked on beat in confidence. They were black heeled pumps with pearl straps tied in a bow in the back. She was dressed in a Prussian blue colored sweater dress that fell to knee length with a black belt at the waist. She had black sheer tights on to give her legs a bit of a tanned look. She had her hair styled in a high curly ponytail with a few loose curls framing her face.
Third in line, Blaise wore a dark blue solid flannel jacket over a black shirt and black trousers and black dragon hide shoes. He walked with Luna, escorting her with his hand resting on her lower back. Luna wearing deep sea green overalls over a sapphire blue laced long sleeve. Her matching blue tinkerbell flats left shimmers behind as she walked.
They gather in the courtroom, finding their seats as everyone else enters and takes their designated spot. Hermione smirks to herself seeing Rita Skeeter taking a seat and activating her quick quotes quill, knowing that once the probation trial starts, anyone not involved last night would not be able to speak of certain events outside of the courtroom.
Everyone’s head turned to find Chris entering in his police uniform, Narcissa following behind. Narcissa was wearing cream colored pointed toe, ankle strapped stilettos with a cream silk blouse under a dark juniper women’s vest suit.
A door on the opposite side of the room opens and two Auror walk out a bruised Draco in magical cuffs. One Auror being Draco’s probation Auror and the other being the female Auror from last night, Auror Taylor. Hermione tries to stand but she feels as Theo and Blaise hold her arms while another hand lands on her knee, that hand belonging to Luna. She goes to protest but Theo cuts her off. “Harry and Ginny are going to talk to him. Just stay here and keep your head.”
Ginny and Harry move down to the main platform to talk to Draco. She gasps whenever Draco turns his face towards them, exposing the bruising. Before Ginny could ask Harry was already growling out the questions. “Was it the two aurors that arrested you yesterday? Why am I even asking if I know it was. I’ll file the paperwork and get it handled.” Harry gets cut off by Auror Taylor answering his questions. “The minister and I already have the situation handled.” Harry gives her a nod of appreciation and she hands him a jar. “Give this to Miss. Granger. She’ll be called to apply it soon”
Harry nods in understanding and glances at his fiancée who was holding her hand open to show Draco her ring. Harry watches as Draco smiles widely. He pulls Ginny into his chest, her hugging him around the chest. Harry could hear Draco’s whispers. “Congratulations ginevra. I’m so happy for both of you. Make sure you always kick Harry’s arse into shape. You will be his wife, we’ll make sure you're treated that way.” They separate, Draco turning to Harry who was offering him his hand.
Draco takes his hand but pulls him into a hug to pat his back. “Congratulations man, I hope you two will finally have some peace in your life. I hope you're prepared to be her husband, cherish her but know if you wrong her we'll come after you.” Draco tells him, Harry leans back to smirk at him. “I would say you don’t scare me, because you don’t but you would have Hermione on your side and she scares me. I won’t ruin it.”
Draco nods and pats his back. Kingsley enters the room and starts the trial. Requesting for everyone to find their seats. “Thank you everyone for coming, today’s trial will determine whether Mister Draco Malfoy had violated his probation. I now open the floor if anyone would like to make first comments.” Kingsley announces and Auror Taylor stands near Draco.
“Minister, I would like to start off this review of actions and evidence by submitting this medical and abuse of power report.” She hands over the reports to head Auror Robards and the minister. “I would like for the record to note the visible injuries to Mister Malfoy's face. These injuries were created by Auror Lynch and Auror O'Brian after he was place in a holding cell. We have similar accounts from all the witnesses that these two Aurors used unnecessary force to make the arrest. Mister Malfoy left the alleyway that he was arrested in without any injuries and was found by minister Kingsley and head Auror Robards moments after Auror Lynch and Auror O'Brian left the holding cell.”
Kingsley announces that the injuries and reports were noted for the record. He read aloud the healer report along with the statement from Draco. “Mister Malfoy is the statement that you gave healer Rae, true and accurate.” The minister questions and Draco confirms. Kingsley looks to Hermione, gesturing to Draco. She nods, acknowledging him and Theo leads her to the steps to escort her down. Theo then returned to his seat.
Hermione pulls Draco’s glasses out of her blazer’s inner pocket and places them down next to Draco, knowing he was going to need them.
She turns her attention to him, standing in front of Draco, looking at his injuries while he tries to refuse to look at her. Hermione glances up whenever she feels a hand on her shoulder. She finds Auror Taylor passing her to move to the witness stand.
“Auror Taylor, please sign your witness statement. Confirming your testimony will be nothing but the truth.” The Auror picks up the provided quill, looking over the agreement and signing it. She turns it to the next page to look over the page she would sign after her testimony. She turns her attention to the minister to show she was ready to continue at the same time that Hermione had finished applying bruise paste to Draco's face and was allowing Theo to escort her back to their seats.
“Auror taylor, can you explain what occurred last night in the terms of Mister Malfoy?” Kingsley asks her and she straightens in her seat. “I was in the DLME last night whenever a patronus came in to inform us that there was a single perpetrator death eater attacking a magical bar called the Niffler’s Burrow. Said perpetrator was said to be Draco Malfoy. I was aware of Mister Malfoy receiving special permission to spend the Christmas break with Miss. Granger and her friends. I had helped my trainee, Mister Potter, to charm the bracelets to follow the special permissions.
“How long has Mister Potter been training under you?” One of the members of the wizengamot asks her. “Auror trainee potter has been under my instruction since he started his training. On the other hand, my Auror partner changes bi-weekly to allow Auror trainee potter
“ to receive a variety of instructions.”
She pauses, looking to see who all was in the court room. She continued her statement after not seeing the partner. “My current partner is Auror Ross. Whenever the patronus came in all four of the Aurors jumped up getting excited about arresting Mr.Malfoy. These four Aurors were Ross, Lynch, Ashford, and O’Brian. Specifically I heard Auror O'Brian say he couldn’t wait to show that spoiled rich prat where his place is. I also heard these four Aurors laughing about getting away with whatever they do to him because of it being the holidays, that no one would notice.”
Penelope Clearwater spoke up next. “Auror Taylor, what did you do after the four Aurors disappeared to go to the incident scene.”
She nods in acknowledgment. “I went to head Auror Robards residents, I knew minister Kingsley was going to be called in and wanted to speak to the head Auror. This situation is way farther than just Mister Malfoy.”
The minister nods and Auror Taylor steps down after signing the last page of the witness statement. Kingsley then calls Robards to the stand. He signs the witness statement and is asked about the recorded conversation. He reads the report of the conversation out loud. “Head Auror, why was this conversation recorded?” An older witch in the Wizengomat seats asked with a serious expression. “The Minister requested it. He wanted to make a point to me. I warned him that Mister Malfoy could incriminate himself and he assured me he knew that Mister Malfoy's priority would be focused on Miss. Granger.”
Everyone’s eyes were drifting between Hermione who stayed stoic and Draco who appeared a bit uncomfortable. The same older witch spoke up to ask Draco a question. “Mister Malfoy? Were you aware that you were being secretly recorded in this conversation?”
Draco’s eyes shift around to where he knew his friends were sitting to the minister to the head Auror and finally settling on the witch asking the question. “No madam, I was not aware.”
Her expression turns even more stern. “Would you like this report to be removed from the record in the trial?”
Draco shakes his head slowly. “No, I’m not embarrassed to care about Hermione. I do care about her and it’s not a secret.”
“Head Auror Robards, can you inform us about the witness statement from Mister Ronald Weasley.” Robards starts to shuffle the reports in front of him. He reads off the report that Ronald had given them. “You don’t seem to believe that Mister Weasley was telling the truth,” Mister Greengrass asked the head Auror. “I don’t, he’s lying. In June, the Minister came to me with a medical report of a domestic abuse case. A restraining order was put into place under the circumstances that if this wizard causes harm to this witch again that the restrictions will activate and the arrest warrant would also activate.”
“So the restraining order and arrest warrant has been activated and I’m assuming you mean to tell us that this domestic violence incident was between Miss. Granger and Mister Weasley” Mister Greengrass asks for clarification. “Yes, those items activated last night but I also received a report from Hogwarts Headmistress, Minerva McGonagal that one of her students was given a substance to lower her senses at the ministry gala.” The wizengamot asks the head Auror a few more questions before he submits the variety of evidence and signs the last page of the witness statement.
Kingsley then calls Headmistress McGonagal to the stand. She signed the statement and the questions began. She went on to confirm that Ronald Weasley had slipped something into Hermione's drink to make it easier to get her alone. She moves on to explain the positive influence that Draco has had on many of the younger students. How she has overheard many groups of students correct each other on how Draco actually is. Using Miss. Reid as an example. She also explains that she had recently seen a decrease in the bullying between students in different houses. “Headmistress? Is there anything else you would like us to know?” She nods, pulling two narrow boxes from her robes. She opens them showing that instead each one contained a wand. “These are the wands of Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott. Before winter break they both requested to leave their wands with me. Both of these boys are on wand probation. I was hesitant at first, not wanting to hold onto something so personal of a student’s. I agreed but requested each of them to write a short description of why I was holding onto them. I would like to read Mister Malfoy’s to you now.”
Kingsley gives her a nod of approval and she unfolds the parchment. She glances at Draco, before clearing her throat and beginning to read. “I, Draco Malfoy, had requested the Headmistress of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry to hold onto my wand while during the holidays, I am visiting the home of the witch I am in a courtship with. I am in a courtship with Hermione Granger, one of the most incredible witches I have ever met. I hope over the next few weeks I can get a view of how wrong my family's beliefs are. This item is an object that I was raised to believe symbolizes that it makes me better than others born without magic. I grew up with every advantage to keep me ahead of the rest of the wizarding world. Even with these advantages I was still bested at every corner by a witch who was new to this world. I am pleased to have this opportunity to view how different but not worse of how people born without magic have been able to thrive. ~ Draco Lucius Malfoy (I have every intention to hold onto the promise she made me a few months prior. This promise was that she would teach me over time on how to cook food the muggle way.)
“Mister Malfoy, you had hoped to learn some muggle things. Can you tell us what muggle things you have learned.” Robards had asked the question this time. “I have helped Hermione make a few different meals. Along with assisting Hermione with cleaning up the house. We have watched some of Hermione's family's homemade films about her parents lives. We have watched some muggle films and played muggle boards games, danced to muggle music and harry had recommended me to read some history books on muggle war. It’s crazy how similar some of what his side was doing is similar to these wars in muggle history.”
Robards nods, backlogging Draco’s words before moving his attention back to the headmistress. “A few last questions before you finish your witness statement. Can you tell us how long you have had ownership over these wands. “ Robards has asked her. “I have had both the wands since the day the students have left for the holidays.” Robards nods, asking his next question, holding up the evidence bag that holds a broken wand. McGonagal gasps at the sight of the wand, her body feeling with sadness as she looks in the crowd to the wand’s owner who was sitting stoically. “Headmistress, are you able to tell us who this wand belongs to?” Mcgonagal sits up straighter in her seat. “That wand belongs to Miss. Hermione Granger.” She speaks aloud slightly lighter than her regular tone. “Is it possible that someone else, like Mister Malfoy could have had or used her wand.” She shakes her head no, going on to explain how Hermione's wand has medical restrictions on it that wouldn’t allow anyone else to use it.
Kingsley thanks the headmistress and she steps down after signing the final page of the witness statement. The minister calls Harry to the stand next. He starts by detailing what happened last night. “We were at the niffler’s burrow last night whenever I saw hermione fall into malfoy, I was about to see what was going on but I could see he already had her handled but a moment later he returned without hermione and asked Ginny to check on her in the restroom and when Ginny came back looking worried Draco knew something was wrong. We had gathered the group to search for her but Draco had also gone missing and I got the auror alert saying he was creating a death eater attack. I knew something was wrong.” Everyone took notice of the expression coming over Harry’s face. The look of him reliving something traumatic. “We found them outside in the alleyway. Draco was standing between Hermione and Ronald. I didn’t see much at that time of the interaction between Malfoy and Hermione due to Ginny seeing the way her brother was acting. He was smirking at the scene, happy at what he caused. I had to stop Ginny from attacking her brother.”
Harry freezes in an attempt to collect himself, blinking away tears and clearing his throat. “I could hear Hermione screaming, she sounded broken. I've never heard her sound like that. She was tortured by Bellatrix and barely took a step back. I saw the aurors shoving him to the ground. I saw Hermione fighting Theo to get back to him. As soon as the aurors disappeared with Draco, Hermione's magic lashed out. I could feel it ripple through the alleyway.”
One of the female wizengamot spoke up next. “It seems clear that Mister Malfoy means a lot to Miss. Granger." Harry nods in agreement at that statement. “Can you tell us how you feel about Mister Malfoy?” Harry stays silent for a moment trying to think. “I haven’t spent a lot of time with him since the end of the war. I've been in auror training while he's been at Hogwarts. One of my first interactions with him, he pissed me off. He explained my sister to me, he was right. That was the moment that I realized he was nothing like I thought. I mean yeah, he can be an arrogant prat. I saw that at any moment that something could go wrong, he was always looking as if he was ready to jump into the line of fire to protect his family. During sixth year everyone could see how serious things have gotten for him. Every time I saw him after Dumbledore you could see him wishing for it to stop. He was hoping for safety. He’s not an evil person. He’s not like the rest of them. I believe he has held up a version of himself to protect who he truly is. I also believe he held the beliefs he was taught even though he didn’t truly believe them.”
Harry went on talking a little more, answering more questions, signed the witness statement and moved onto the next person. The next person was Ginny who was overly happy to be doing a witness statement. She practically skips to the stand while Blaise smacks the back of Harry’s head. Lecturing him about not escorting his fiancée down the staircase.
“Miss. Weasley, what would you like to share with us.” Ginny holds up a bundle of pictures and a box. “Minister, can you have the court viewing pensive brought out. Also can you have the guard auror approach to enlarge these pictures.”
Ginny’s requests were being completed and she signs her statement. She begins holding up a picture taken during the Halloween event for guiding wix. The picture shows Hermione dancing with Draco. “This was taken during our group's first event, which was on Halloween. During this moment Hermione was pretending to dance badly and continuously stepping on his feet. The Draco you think he is wouldn't have been dancing with her, having fun with her. He never would have been having fun with someone he's supposed to hate someone who was stepping on his feet for the fun of it.
She starts to shuffle through the pictures whenever she hears a scoff from one of the older wizards. She narrows her eyes at him. “Would you like to say something mister?” The wizards scoffs, mumbling something to himself and the minister looks to him “please share lord Burke”
With all eyes towards him he finally speaks. “Whatever photos you show us with Miss. granger doesn’t mean anything. She’s known as a war heroine. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to use her to make his image better.”
Ginny straightens in her seat. “I suppose you have a point. What are your thoughts of spending your day with a muggle girl , say age 4 that you just met.” Before he could contain his expression, Ginny caught the look of disgust on his face. “I could see that look of disgust. Too bad Mister Malfoy didn’t find that little girl disgusting.” She holds up two pictures of Draco and Primrose. “This is Primrose. A muggle girl we were asked to babysit a few days ago.” She gently shakes one of the pictures to draw attention to it. “This picture shows Draco holding Primrose. We were watching a movie together and when we looked back to check on her. This is what we found. Pureblood Draco Malfoy holding a muggle girl while she leaned against his chest while he was attempting to read his book. He only met her two hours prior. He had just met her whenever he helped her into her seat and served her breakfast. Hermione tried to do it herself and he wouldn’t let her. He could have kept his hands muggle free and let Hermione take care of her but he didn’t.
She shakes the other picture, showing the picture of Primrose sucking her thumb and evidently drooling onto Draco’s shoulder as he carries her.
“How many of you know what a shopping mall is?” Ginny asked, looking around to see everyone’s reaction. With a sigh, she starts to explain. “A shopping mall is a large building that contains a bunch of stores, restaurants, and so on. Anyways, we were leaving a muggle shopping mall after going Christmas shopping whenever this picture was taken.”
Burke scoffs again. “That doesn’t mean anything. Who to say that Mister Malfoy was carrying her because no one else could.”
Ginny smirks as she stands from her seat. “Why don’t we test that statement then. Hermione, Theo. Would you both please come down here?” Theo escorts Hermione down the stairs waiting for Ginny to give them further instructions. Ginny and Hermione share a silent conversation before Hermione scoops Ginny up princess style. Hermione does a slow spin to show everyone before placing her back on her feet.
Hermione smiles whenever she hear Burke complaining that Hermione held Ginny not carried her. She turns to the minister. “Minister, please note that Theodore Nott is a good foot taller then me.” As soon as she finished talking she leaned down, wrapped her arms around Theo's thighs and threw his upper body over her shoulder. Theo lets out a rather girly squeak trying to grasp onto Hermione's body as she ignores his reaction. She turned to Burke, curtsied with a smirk and carried Theo up the staircase to the platform of their seats, her stiletto heels clicking on each step. She sets Theo back down and turns back to Burke. “Does that meet your satisfaction, lord Burke?” Kingsley agrees and allows her to return to her seat, allowing Ginny to continue.
She holds up the last picture, turning her attention to Draco. “Draco, can you tell us what is going on during this picture?” He squints his eyes before placing his glasses on with a huff. He looks at the picture for a moment before recognition dawns in his face. He gives her a glare but overall begins to explain. “That is a picture taken of me whenever we went to the shopping mall with primrose. Hermione was teaching me how to put the car seat in for her.”
At that time the viewing pensive was fully ready and the memories were confirmed to be not tampered. The guard enters the first memory.
The memory was of the first morning in Hermione's house. Harry had just come out of the library and told Draco that she was sleeping and possibly getting sick. The crowd watches as they start talking about Harry’s and Hermione's childhoods. Also, shows Harry and Draco talking as he looks through the food pantry. The memories skip ahead to show Harry directing Draco through making Hermione's food.
Draco glances through the court rooms to see Hermione's reaction, watching her eyes grow wide whenever Draco accidentally flung soup in fear. She looks at him, wide eyes and he shrugs and mouths that he was sorry.
The memory plays as Draco sets the tray of food for Hermione. It skips ahead to him waking her up and instructing her to eat. The memory ends and he feels as eyes turn towards him. He looks around to find officer Smith looking at him proudly.
The next memory plays, also from a few days ago. The memory starts by showing Draco on one side of the sofa, Hermione on the other and the pair playing footsies as they each read their books. It was obvious that they were giving each other flirtatious looks as they peeked at each other over the books. Eventually Hermione takes notice of the book and steals it from him. She stands on the couch to keep it from him. It was clear that Draco was very in tune with Hermione as he held his hands up to catch her. The memory plays out to show her throwing the book at her brother and Draco carrying her out. Skipping to later whenever Harry checks in whenever they were napping and Draco and Harry talking about her finding comfort in his chest moving. The memory ends and Draco could feel that people were viewing him differently.
The auror guard pours in the next vial. This one was from the night of the Halloween dance. Everyone within the court room watches as Draco refuses to let Ginny leave alone. Draco scoops Hermione up, her arms wrapped around his body and he supports her body with one arm while he leads Ginny to the dormitory with his other hand on her lower back. They make small talk on the walk there, Draco asking about her brothers. Ginny asks about how Hermione was actually doing. They reach the door to the dormitory and Ginny transfigures Hermione's clothes for bed and carefully unbuckles Hermione's harnesses around Draco’s support. She stands in the doorway, both of them not saying a word. After a moment Draco awkwardly nods and turns to take Hermione to bed but Ginny stops him. She tells him that she appreciated him making sure she got back to her dorm safely and how well he was taking care of her best friend.
The next memory view is from a bit away. This was the memory of Ginny and Harry secretly watching Draco, Theo and Hermione from a distance after returning to Hogwarts following the gala. They snicker at the disgust in the wizard’s faces whenever they saw Hermione removing her heels. They share a look whenever Theo was given her shoes to hold and Draco scooping her up into his arm to take her back to the dorm.
That was the last of the memories that Ginny had submitted for viewing. Ginny saw as a good amount of witches and wizards were looking between Draco who was watching Hermione and Hermione who was watching him. His attention was drawn away from his girlfriend whenever a witch on the wizengamot speaks up “It has come to my attention that you have referred to Miss. Granger as Lune in place of typical nicknames? Why is that?””
Draco glances at Hermione before going back to the witch. “Our group of friends has discovered that Hermione has struggled with certain terms. We have worked around them. I call her Lune which means moon in French. She once told me that her mother chose the name Hermione and her dad chose the name Himalia. I knew that Lune was the perfect name for her. Himalia is one of the Juniper moons.”
Ginny signs the needed paperwork and steps down to sign copies of the evidence to be kept in the records.
They call officer Smith to the stand next. He tells the wizengamot about how he watched Hermione grow up. He told them that the few times that he saw Draco and Hermione over the break he took notice of one thing. That if they were in the same area that Draco was in tune to where Hermione was and how she was. He talks about how over the years of Hermione talking about Draco during dinner it was a secret knowledge between the adults that there was something to their relationship. That he could tell that this was the true Draco Malfoy.
“You have met him twice. You can’t possibly know anything about him. I don’t even understand how you are here during the trial, you’re a muggle police officer so unless you are here to add muggle criminal charges then your statement doesn’t mean anything.”
Officer Chris turns to the wizard speaking, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t know who I am, Lord Greengrass? The empty seat beside you would have belonged to me in another timeline. That seat will belong to my niece in 50 days and one day will belong to my granddaughter.”
Notes:
TW : Mentions of unlawful abuse of power. Mentions of injuries. (bruises) Swearing. Mentions of false accusations / falsely arrestment. References to world wars. Mention of someone's broken wand. Mentions of a domestic violence incident. Mentions of a drugging / roofie incident
4973 words in this chapter
I love the friendship developing between Harry and Draco. Also, Harry "barely" knowing Draco but is being protective because he could see how much Draco loves Hermione.
Did anyone guess this was the reasoning Draco started calling Hermione "Lune"
Any predictions on how Chris knows that he granddaughter is going to be a witch and which daughter do you think it'll be.I would love to hear any thoughts and predictions for the rest of the fic. I would also be glad to attempt to answer any questions you may have (attempt because I don't want to spoil to much.)
Anyways, Thank you for reading and I hope you are enjoying this rollercoaster ride of a fic.~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 33: Labour
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty-Three : Labour
Everyone looks between the two men. Mister Greengrass looked confused and annoyed and Officer Smith looked smug. “My name is Christopher Smith but I was raised in this world. My birth name is Christopher Rosier. Pandora was my sister but she happened to be born the same day as our cousin Evan. Our family just never corrected the assumptions that they were twins.
“I went to boarding school with the queen's sons. My wife and Hermione's mother went to school with Diane, princess of Wales.” Everyone’s eyes shifted towards Hermione who was still sitting stoically.
He goes on to explain that from muggle's point of view he was simply a muggle but that he's done quite a bit of work to assist in the wizardry world. “ I know more about this world than it seems like I do. I helped manage most of the attacks by the dark wizards in the muggle world. I've worked closely with a wizard and witch. The witch is a healer and doctor and the wizard was an auror. I’ve worked with them for years. A few years ago I was called in for a Hogwarts student supposedly attacking his muggle cousin. The parents wanted their nephew charged. I had an idea of what actually happened, I saw the dementors myself so I called my friend in and she treated him.” Officer Smith looks to Harry who looks at Hermione with surprise. They looked throughout the court rooms and it was obvious who knew and who didn’t.
Theo escorts her down before returning to his seat. She signs the first part of the statement before turning to Head Auror Robards for questioning. “Miss. Granger, can you tell us about what happened last night.” Hermione nodded and started to explain that she was having a good time with her friends whenever she started feeling uneasy so Draco walked her to the table to sit down. “I refused to sit down and went to use the restroom but I was grabbed from behind before I got there.” Hermione pauses and Head Auror Robards continues. Can you tell us who it was that had grabbed you.” Hermione nods and takes a deep breath as she looks amongst the few Weasleys within the room. “It was Ronald Weasley who had grabbed me”
As Head Auror Robards went to continue his question a scoff cut him off. Everyone’s attention turns to the wizard on the wizengamot. “Do you have an issue sir?” Hermione asks with annoyance lacing her tone. The wizard sits up straighter in his seat as he sneers at her. “I hardly think you are stable enough to talk. You clearly don’t actually know who attacked you and you should not be allowed to ruin a hero’s life because he upset you.” The court room grows still as anger flares in her eyes. She calmly stands up and walks down from the witness stand. She stands in the middle of the room looking up at the wizard. “Ruin a hero’s life” Hermione growls and waves her hand in front of her face removing the magic that hid the bruising from the night's event. “You call this ruining a hero’s life because he upset me-“ Hermione goes to continue but is cut off by the wizard. “You are clearly not stable, this is why mudbloods shouldn’t be in our world. Giving up your hero boyfriend for a ride on a death eater’s cock. Godric you hide from your own medical issues, thank Merlin you can’t reproduce.”
The room falls dangerously still, no one knowing how to react until a loud laugh echoes through the room and Kingsley starts gesturing for the Aurors to remove him. “No! He will stay” Hermione snaps and the court room doors that had opened for him to be taken had slammed shut causing everyone to freeze. “You are right. I can not reproduce” Hermione pauses as Draco repeatedly tries to stop her, telling her she doesn’t have to reveal personal information. Hermione waves her hand and Draco falls silent. She glances around the room, seeing most of the witches and wizards looking to her as if she was Voldemort.
“I don’t hide from my medical issues, I know that my reproductive organs are attacking themselves. I know that it is likely I will never be able to birth my own children. I know that at this rate I'll have to get my organs removed so they don’t kill me. That word that you casually throw around. It was carved into my body. I have to look at mud blood carved into me for the rest of my life knowing it is slowly killing me. I don’t hide from anything.” Hermione tells him in a calm voice that makes the room fill with uneasy energy. “You just admitted you can’t have children, you think that death eater wants anything to do with you.” Hermione smirks as she steps closer to the wizengamot wizard. “Draco Malfoy is not a death eater. He never was but yes. My fiancé does want me because my value as a human does not depend on whether I have the ability to pop out children.”
Everyone looks to Draco finding him looking proud and Hermione doesn’t have to look to know he is. The wizard stands from his seat and starts to storm towards Hermione. She can hear as aurors start to approach to handle him but Hermione holds her hand up to tell them to wait. “Draco Malfoy is a death eater, he has the mark on his wrist.” Hermione raises her head to him to show she’s more superior. “Yes, he is marked but he's not a death eater. Draco Malfoy was a child. I was a child. Draco Malfoy was a child when he made an impossible decision to keep his family safe. Harry Potter was also a child when his parents were murder while the wizard that murder them attempted to attack him every year that Harry went to Hogwarts. I was a child whenever I made myself an orphan to protect the lives of my parents. I gave up everything for this world, a world where wizards like you in high places treat witches and wizards like me like their shit on the bottom of your boot.”
Hermione snarls at him, stepping even closer to him. “I am a war hero for a reason. You would be dead or wishing for your death if us children didn’t save you. Now I advise you to leave this courtroom with the rest of your dignity.”
He leaves the room, followed by two aurors. Hermione twirls her finger resulting in the doors snapping shut. She takes a look around, taking the charm off of Draco and returns to her seat. “Head Auror Robards, please continue.” Hermione tells him in a polite tone. He clears his throat and shuffles his papers to continue. “Can you tell us how Mister Malfoy was involved in this situation?” Hermione nods, collecting her thoughts before answering. “I had attempted to get away from Mister Weasley but he caught and harmed me. When he injured me, I collapsed to the ground. Draco had come out to look for me and I lunged for him and he used his body to shield me.”
Head Auror Robards holds up the evidence bag that held her broken wand, a slight whimper exits her mouth. He put it down to hide from view at the same time everyone's attention turns to Draco who had caused the chair to rattle. She turns to him, giving him a look that she knew and that it was okay. He returns an apologetic look and visually calms down.
“That wand is mine. It was in my jacket last night and I don’t know where I lost it.” He nods and continues his questions. “Is it possible that Mister Malfoy could have taken your wand to use.” She instantly starts to shake her head in disagreement. Explaining that not only would he not be able to use it but in the last four months he has never even acted like he would use it for anything. She answers a few more questions before she directs for her first memory to be played. As it starts to play from the moment before she was uneasy. Hermione looks to her hands, not wanting to see the event of herself getting hurt. Clenching her eyes shut, hearing her face hitting off the skip bin. She hears Draco talking in the memory and glances through her lashes to look at Draco's reaction. He was already looking at her and she knew that he had been watching her the whole time.
The memory ends right as she is moved into Theo's arms. “Was this the first time that Mister Weasley had harmed you?” She shakes her head no, looking down to not look at anyone. “No, the first time he physically hurt me was when I broke up with him.” They play that memory and Hermione looks to Draco for reassurance to find him once again not watching with everyone else. After the memory ends they read Hermione's medical report which tells everyone that during the first assault she had her jaw broken and the second time resulted in a minI fracture. At this reveal Ginny and Harry realize that this is why she locked herself away, Hermione didn’t want them seeing her injuries because she didn’t want to explain it. They showed the pictures of Hermione's injuries from both of her attacks.
Head Auror Robards moves onto the next section of questions. “Mister Malfoy probation Auror received a report that he had attacked you towards the start of the school year. Is this true.”
Everyone watches as Hermione starts to appear annoyed. “That report was completely false. Draco and I were doing a morning run together whenever I was about to run into the boy that reported it. Draco grabbed me out of the way to prevent me from colliding with the student. The situation was just a misunderstanding.”
He nods, showing her that the response was recorded and he moved onto the next part. “Miss. Granger, can you walk us through Mister Malfoy and your relationship from the start of school”
Hermione nods and goes on to explain how at the beginning of the year she felt uneasy and unsure on how Draco was going to react. “I was expecting him to be angry towards me. He wasn’t. He was relieved and regretful. Within the first few days he was asked to walk me back to our dormitory, I don’t think I’ve seen him so concerned before. If he wanted to, he could have allowed me to get hurt.”
Hermione takes a pause allowing the words to settle. “Draco has become one of my only forms of safety. Since returning to Hogwarts he has always been there. If I was struggling then he put me first even if seeing me like that caused him distress. He is not evil. I will not let you take him away from me.”
Hermione then gestures for the Auror to add the next memory into the pensive. This was the rest of the memory of last night after Draco had disappeared. She chooses to watch the memory this time because she didn’t have a grasp on the events. She stares blankly as she watches herself fall into a comatose state. The memory ends and she slowly looks around finding a variety of expressions throughout. Theo was smiling at her to comfort her. Harry looked uncomfortable, she felt some feelings of disgust from the pureblood wizards. Her eye line drifts to Draco to find him looking concerned, she feels as her face flushes and quickly jerks her head away. She realized that Head Auror Robards was trying to get her attention.
“I apologize Head Auror, can you repeat your question?” She looks to him, finding her watching her. “Would you like to take a break Miss Granger” Hermione shakes her head no, telling him she was fine. Head Auror Robards nods slowly, almost doubting she was being honest but continues anyways. “During this memory you didn’t seem to be yourself, can you tell us what was going on for you.”
Hermione takes a deep breath, collecting herself “I was told that it was likely between the pain, being grabbed from behind and having Draco whisked away. My brain got overwhelmed and shut down putting myself into a comatose state.”
He asks her a few more questions before asking if there was anything else she would want them to know. She tells everyone the next few memories she has to play shows who Draco truly is. “Draco is a caring person who has finally gotten the ability to be himself. Don’t take away his chance now, not when he didn’t do anything wrong.
The guard Auror enters the next memory and it begins to play. Everyone in the courtroom watches the awkward but intimate moment of them staring at each other after Hermione wakes in the hospital wing, knowing that Draco covered her and made her comfortable after she fell asleep. They see as Draco invites her to sit in front of him so he can carefully untangle her curls and braid them as they talk.
The next memory plays, showing Draco and Hermione walking through st. Mungo’s. Right before Sam came running to Draco and their discussion about Sam's parents. The memory continues to play out as Draco walks away to talk to the healers and Sam talks to Hermione. Him telling her that Draco is proud of her for winning the war. He told Sam that they don’t need to worry because Hermione and her friends were going to save them.
Hermione's final memory goes into the pensive and begins to play. Hermione and Draco looking at one another as the memory of Hermione's panic attack at the start of the school year starts. The courtroom watches as Draco talks Hermione through the panic attack and assuring her that her friends were safe. The memory continues to play and Draco turns his focus to the memory whenever he sees that he has left and Hermione was trying to talk to Theo to ask where he went and if he was okay.
Hermione signs the witness statement and steps down and Kingsley calls for a 10 minute break.
She steps towards Draco and he instantly reaches out to cup her face, careful of her injuries. “Are you okay?” She nods, not voicing her words and he pulls her into his chest. He plants a kiss to her hairline and she wraps her arms around his middle. He feels as she shudders in his arms and he starts to rub her back as she begins to break down. “I’m so so sorry I couldn’t be there for you. Has Theo been helping you” Draco feels as she nods and he continues to rub her back and murmur reassurances to her.
They separate and he escorts her to the hallway to get some water. They walk amongst the courtroom crowd whenever he sees someone storming towards them. Draco instantly steps in front of Hermione as he turns them so she was between the wall and himself. Hermione wraps her arm around his waist as she feels someone hit Draco before the person gets pulled away from him. She peaks under Draco’s arm to find Ronald being pulled away. She storms from behind her boyfriend, coming face to face with her ex as Draco tries to stop her.
Ron’s attention is caught by Hermione moving towards him. “How could you do this? How could you whore yourself out for a death eater.” Ron snarls at her and she simply raises an eyebrow. “He’s not a death eater. I left you because you were cheating on me and broke my jaw after attempting to assault me.” Ronald starts to fight the Aurors trying to hold him back as he growls in her face. Before he could say another word she started to talk again. “I gave up everything for you. I stood by your side. While doing so I gave up my family. I supported you instead of going for my parents. I will never have them back because I chose you. You were right about one thing though. When you left us when we were on the run. We had no family. We thought you were our family but we were wrong, we found our family and I won’t let you take that away again.”
An unreadable expression comes over Ron’s face and she steps closer to him. “You had a chance to keep Harry as your family but you fucked that up to. All you had to do was leave me alone. You dug your grave. I have help to get out of mine.” Hermione turns, walking away while her family follows behind her as reporters ramble their questions and snap their cameras.
Hermione and Draco reenter the courtroom first, followed by Harry and Ginny then Luna, Blaise, George. Theo and Charlie at the end of the group.
They return to their seats, Theo and Charlie with Hermione while Harry and Ginny walk Draco back to his seat. Ginny watches as Blaise and Luna go to talk to the minister. No one noticed that George was sneaking off to talk to his dad. Charlie sits on her left and Theo takes up her spot on the right . Eventually Harry and Ginny sit in front of her while Luna and Blaise sit behind her. It became clear that her friends were going to surround her. She looks to Draco to find him watching the group, looking pleased with her being protected.
The court session restarts and Theo is called to the witness stand. He signs the paper and the head Auror starts the questioning. “Mister Nott-“ he starts but is caught off guard at the slight flinch from the wizard. He pauses and Theo slowly opens his eyes. “I apologize, please call me Theo.” The head Auror observes him for a moment but nods and restarts. “Mister Theo, can you tell us about your relationship with Mister Malfoy.” Theo looks to his finger then to his brother then to the head Auror. “Draco is my brother. Missus Malfoy and Draco are the only family I have ever known. Most people know of my father…..you didn’t know my father. He was way worse than anyone else knows. The Malfoys knew what kind of man he was.” Robards moves on, asking a few questions while Theo answers to the best of his ability. “Miss Granger showed her memory of last night. Why do you think Mister Malfoy gave her over to you rather than Mister Potter."
Theo looks at Harry who looks confused at the questioning. “He looked around for someone who could fully keep her safe. Harry was trying to keep his fiancée from killing her brother. Everyone already knows that Harry would keep her protected but I made a promise to Draco a while ago that I would do whatever I had to to keep her unharmed.” Robard narrows his eyes unsure how to ask the next question, Theo waiting patiently knowing what was coming. “You said you promised Mister Malfoy you would do anything to keep Hermione protected, she caught you on fire. Why would you still hold onto her when she was hurting you?” Robards asks and Theo glances at Hermione and gives her a look of reassurance.
“My father was a terrible person. Hermione wasn’t the first person to catch me on fire. Though she is the only one to feel bad about it. I’m only alive because of the Malfoys. They were the ones to get me healed when my father left me broken, bruised, burned and bleeding. They stopped my death more times than I can count.”
Theo watches as a string of thoughts gather in the Aurors head. “If Mister Malfoy got convicted today and he went to Azkaban. Would you continue to protect Miss Granger? What would you do?”
Theo lets out a light chuckle before looking at the head Auror. “If Draco wasn’t around to protect Hermione then I will be dead before I let anything happen to her…..but if you're putting him in Azkaban then you better find a cell for her. You are crazy stupid if you think she would let him stay there. Not to mention you would be stupider to think everyone in our group wouldn't help them. Smart wizards know that it’s the witches that pull the strings and I can promise you that Hermione Granger, Ginerva Weasley and Luna Lovegood will burn this ministry down before you can blink if you get on their bad side.”
The court room grows quiet with unease as Theo is dismissed from the witness stand.
“The wizengamot calls Missus Narcissa Malfoy nee black to the stand.” Hermione watches as Theo walks up the courtroom platform to offer his arm to his pseudo mother and escort her to the witness stand. She signs the first step of the witness statement as Theo returns to his spot next to Hermione. “Lady Malfoy, do you believe that pure- bloods are better than muggle-borns or half-bloods?”
Narcissa doesn’t answer right away, trying to figure out how to word her statement. “No, I don’t believe purebloods are better. I believe they are raised with an advantage. Blood status doesn’t actually change anything. Your level of knowledge and power is determined by your actions. Everyone has a different variety of abilities.”
Narcissa takes a moment to look amongst many witches and wizards. “Are you okay with your only child being in a relationship with a muggle born?” Robards raised his eyebrows in surprise at how quickly she answered his question. “Yes” she takes a deep breath to contain herself before continuing. Narcissa glances at her sister and Andy’s grandson. “My sister married a muggleborn. She was supposed to be married to Lucius. Whenever Andy broke the contract I volunteered. I knew it would keep the Malfoys from coming after my family. I also knew he wasn’t as cruel as his father. Andy would have been too outspoken, I knew how to be obedient in public view.”
Narcissa pauses and Robards asks his next question. “You seem to hold a fondness for your husband, even though he was a death eater who did terrible things” The witches and wizards in the room watch as she saddens. “I love my husband. Each family brought a different advantage to Tom Riddle. Severus Snape could create or brew whatever he wanted while having access to his enemies. Antonin Dolohov has the ability to create some of the worst spells. Us as Malfoy has the financial backing. Lucius thought becoming a death eater was going to be a lot different. It didn’t take long for him to realize it was wrong. He never set out to hurt women or children but he wasn’t a perfect man. I didn’t approve of how he raised Draco but we had parts to play. We knew he could come back, we didn’t know how. Lucius thought he went into hiding after his attempt on baby Harry. He said he felt watched and that it was like he was being tested.”
Narcissa looks to Draco and then to Harry. “Draco was instructed to become friends with Harry. We thought if we had connections with Harry whenever he returned that he would realize that the prophecy was wrong.”
She noticed that some witches and wizards leaned closer in interest. “Do you still believe this?” Robards asks her and she shakes her head.
“No, Tom Riddle was angry. We thought he supported our traditions. He didn’t, he used everyone of his members. He wanted revenge against muggles”
Robards then opens the floor to Narcissa to plead for Draco's case that he doesn’t deserve Azkaban. “Draco isn’t a death eater, he got marked in an attempt to protect his family. He got hit by a girl when he was 14 and it terrified him. My son acted cruel but he’s not evil. I would like to read a few things for you.” Narcissa tells them as she places a journal in front of her on the stand.
Everyone's eyes drift to a shuffle where Draco was seated. Everyone was growing curious at the wizard who was growing pale and panicked. “Mother, don’t do this” Draco begs in a voice of dread. “I’m sorry dragon but this shows who you truly are.” Narcissa tells her son in a voice meant to calm. “Mister Malfoy, why would you not want your mother to read something that could help you” Kingsley asks but isn’t heard by the wizard. “Mama” Draco starts to beg in a whisper. “Please don’t do this. She doesn’t deserve to find out this way. Please mama.” Everyone else shifts between the mother and son, Narcissa staring at her son with a look of heart break. Draco tries one last thing to get her to stop her actions. “If you love me, you won’t do this.” He tells her in a broken voice as tears run down his face, knowing it won’t work but he had to try. “It’s because I love you that I am doing this.” Narcissa looks away from her son as she says the words then clears her throat as she opens the journal causing Draco to look at the floor.
There’s a shuffle from the seats on the platform and Draco looks up to find Theo guiding Hermione out of the room. She allowed him but was clearly confused and asked what was going on. “It’s okay Hermione, you deserve to hear this information from Draco himself in a private conversation.”
Theo and Hermione disappear from the courtroom and Draco visually slumps in relief and the minister notices. He speaks his decision while looking at Draco with concern. “I will allow this journal to be read out loud and used in the defense of Mister Malfoy but anything learned from this reading is strictly confidential until Mister Malfoy approves of it”
Draco drops his head but kingsleys could see him mouthing his appreciation.
July 5th 1992
Father is angry with me. He’s claiming I’m not trying hard enough because I let a mudblood beat me in classes. That’s not possible because I spent just as much time as she did on my studying . How can someone with stolen magic beat me? I was raised to be at the top. I suggested that it might be possible that she’s not actually a mudblood. Once I asked the question I saw it, I saw that it made him grow curious. My question piqued his interest.
Narcissa flips forward some pages to find the next entry she wanted to read.
December 21st 1992
If Potter is the heir of Slytherin then how is he not in Slytherin? Also why would perfect Potter want to hurt the mudblood, aren’t they friends. She had to have tried to steal his magic.
August 1st 1993
Mother and father are acting weird. Father keeps asking mother what her cousin could know about the dark lord and mother keeps insisting that he was innocent. That this wizard, Sirius black would never have hurt his friends. She keeps telling father that there is no way her cousin would be a follower of the dark lord.
June 18th 1994
The mudblood hit me! That makes no sense. If I could steal someone’s magic why would I bother to hit them. If mudbloods could steal magic, why don’t they?
December 26th 1994
Why would a quidditch star want to go to a dance with her? You would think someone from a pureblood belief school would know not to look in the direction of a mudblood. Though maybe she just pretends to be a mudblood. There’s no way she would have been able to clean up that nicely any other way.
June 18th 1996
She’s a smart one, slytherin smart. I wonder if I can find her true parentage. I could use the knowledge for myself, to find out why she’s lying. Maybe she’s not lying, she might not know, then I can jump in and help her learn everything she needs to know. I can convince Father, I just got to find her biological parentage.
June 19th 1996
I can’t believe Father messed up. What did he get us into? Father got children hurt, mudblood or not she nearly died on a mission he was leading. She’s my age, and nearly died. The dark lord tried to kill a baby, Father just killed us all with this screw up.
May 9th 1997
How can someone so smart be so stupid. I tried to warn her but no, she was focused on covering my arse. Saint fucking granger saving poor house elves and teenage death eaters with suicide missions.
July 5th 1997
It doesn’t make sense. He's not a pureblood, he has to be half blood. Why would purebloods be ruled by a half blood? He's half-blood like Professor Snape. A halfblood descended from a pureblood family. If he’s a gaunt, that would explain the parseltongue ability. It would also explain why purebloods would follow him. He's half blood, Dumbledore was a half blood, Severus Snape is half blood. Potter is half blood and so was Grindelwald. They have better abilities because they don’t have full pureblood genetics. Mom’s other sister married a muggleborn and Auntie Bella was angry that Andromeda’s child got the black magical ability that hasn’t shown up for generations.
Narcissa closes the journal looking anywhere but at her son. “Missus Malfoy, why did you find it important for us to be aware of these journal entries.” Robards asks and Narcissa looks to the head Auror. “Throughout these entries you can tell Draco was starting to question what he was thinking. Miss. Granger was making his view point shift. within the first few years it was obvious that she intrigued him. I eventually told my husband that the pureblood lines were going to end.” Narcissa glances at her son, Draco who was looking away from everyone’s stare. Narcissa nods to the guard Auror who then pours a memory into the pensive.
Draco looks up when the memory starts to play, curious at what his mother would show.
Narcissa was stepping through their bedroom to Lucius who was sitting on their balcony. Lucius had an open letter on the patio table, tapping his finger on his glass of fire whisky. “What did his letter say, love?” Narcissa asks as she steps between her husband's legs. Lucius sighs before looking up to her face. “He’s still insisting that Miss. Granger can’t be a muggleborn.” Narcissa hums as she positions herself on her husband's lap. “Do you think he actually believes that? This isn’t the first time we have heard this questioning. It’s just a different witch this time”
Lucius doesn’t respond and Narcissa stands from his lap. “We both know the pureblood lines aren’t going to last. We also both know if Miss. Granger was a pureblood you would have already set arrangements in order” she tells him before disappearing into the manor.
The memory ends and Kingsley asks her a question to clarify. “When did this memory take place?” Narcissa straightens up and answers the minister. “Two weeks after Draco returned for his fourth year.” Kingsley nods, noting it down for himself.
The next memory plays, and instantly words start to spiral from the witches and wizards that were in school with the golden trio during their third year. The memory shows Draco showing up in the manor in front of his mom in his death eater gear and holding a ragged orange cat. Draco was begging his mom to have nilley, their house elf, to take him and keep him safe. He said that he didn’t want Aunt Bella to torture and kill it. The memory ends and everyone’s attention turns to Arthur Weasley who had stood up. Everyone expects him to be angry so everyone is stunned at his question. “That's crookshanks, did you know that?” At Draco's confused expression Arthur continues. “Hermione Granger's cat. She left it with a neighbor but crooks is part kneazle so he’s smart and escaped from them” No one taking notice of Blaise and Narcissa sharing a glance, having a silent conversation.
“Missus Malfoy, please move on to your last defense source.” Draco could see as she opened the sealed file and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He shifts in his seat, attempting to make himself smaller. “This file was sealed before Draco’s trial after the war. It explains why there was a delay in the scheduling of that trial.” Narcissa clears her throat and reads the report. It explains that Draco was currently not healthy enough to attend his trial. He goes on to explain that during the final battle (Hogwarts) he had taken a curse meant for someone else. The curse cast was meant to slowly turn all the victims' organs toxic.
“Mister Malfoy, can you tell us what happened in this situation?” Draco doesn’t respond so Head Auror Robards calls for him again. “I was waiting for the Aurors to arrest me. There was some order of the phoenix members moving bodies and that’s when I saw Dolohov focus on her and raise his wand to cast something. I intercepted the spell because if it had hit her then by the time she found out she was dying, it would have been too late to save her. Luna Lovegood saw it happen and found my mom to get me home while she talked to Kingsley Shacklebolt"
Robards leans back in his chair with curiosity. “Who was the curse meant to hit?” Draco sighs, looking to his group of friends, confirming she wasn’t there. He looks back to the head Auror as he answers.
“Hermione Granger”
Notes:
TW : Mentions of dementor attacks, Mentions of death eater attacks. Discussion of a physical assault. Discussion of domestic assault / violence. References to attempted SA. Mentions and references to reproductive organ problems, including possible infertility. Crude Language including vulgar and offensive speaking and use of swearing / profanity. Use of slurs (Harry Potter slurs). References to child soldiers, and harming ones family in a attempt to save them. Mention of attempted child death. Brief moment of a one side physical attack. Reference to changing ones memory without consent. Discussion and references to child abuse / victim briefly explaining their parents harming them through various ways. Mentions of possible character death. Reference to animal cruelity.
5688 Words in this chapter
I freaking love Hermione in this chapter. She is so done with everyone and is NOT going to hold herself back. Hermione is making it very clear that this is not something she will stand back on and does not care what others think. Draco just being a little simp cause he's totally like "hey, you don't own them anything" but then she silences him and he's just like "you go off girl"
I can't get over the fact that Draco is clearly upset and doesn't want Hermione to know something, but she trusts both Theo and Draco to the point she allows Theo to take her away from the hearing and doesn't fight it at all.
~LunaAmethyst203
Chapter 35: Chapter Song Titles and Information
Summary:
Chapter playlist -
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1et7ZGAFFscJlp1fZ35m0E?si=aPoGwIgLQu664OwWEkKTYA&pi=qCrOvg2rRa6hnSong playlist -
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6MpDOXTCGSDyOH2UXLMUNk?si=7kzat-UdRo-_h4Fb8QJBqQ&pi=ypEBVlsUR3m5fPinterest board -
https://pin.it/3ZRRWGwENTikTok account -
https://www.tiktok.com/@lunaamethyst203?_t=ZG-8wt3AxoFmTJ&_r=1Instagram account-
https://www.instagram.com/lunaamethyst203?igsh=OXJ2d3c5cjJ0Y2ky&utm_source=qr
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Daylight ~ David Kushner
Suffocate ~ Hayd
Is Anyone Listening? ~ Lisa Heller
What Was I Made For? ~ Billie Eilish
Broken ~ Isak Danielson
If You Only Knew ~ Alexander Stewart
Love And War ~ Fleurie
This Is Me Trying ~ Taylor Swift
Everything I Wanted ~ Billie Eilish
Hold On ~ Chord Overstreet
I Guess I'm In Love ~ Clinton Kane
Half A Man ~ Dean Lewis
In My Viens - Feat. Erin Mccarley ~ Andrew Belle
I'll Be There ~ Jess Glynne
People Help The People ~ Birdy
Team ~ Lorde
Friends ~ Chase Atlantic
Softcore ~ The Neighbourhood
Rewrite The Stars ~ Zac Efron, Zendaya
Triggered ~ Skydxddy
Someone To You ~ BANNERS
"Slut!" (Taylor's Version) ~ Taylor Swift
Seventeen ~ MARINA
Dolls ~ Bella Poarch
That Way ~ Tate McRae
Mastermind ~ Taylor Swift
Iris ~ The Goo Goo Dolls
I Choose You ~ Forest Blakk
Burning House ~ Cam
The Other side ~ Ruelle
The Archer ~ Taylor Swift
Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me? ~ Taylor Swift
Labour ~ Paris Paloma
See You Later (Ten Years) ~ Jenna Raine
Notes:
This Chapter will be updated with the chapter song titles whenever a new chapter is posted
Also, any chapter post updates will be uploaded on my "LunaAmethyst203" Instagram and TikTok account
My "L'amour est plus fort que tout ~ Dramione" Pinterest Board will be updated and changed on a random (weekly / daily) basis. This board include pin of things I envision for this fic along with outfit / Jewelry Inspiration and anything else so you can see what is pictured in my mind
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