Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Dare	By : Tassanaburrfoot Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 82898 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 11
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Don't own any of the characters. Am not making a profit.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Hermione buried her face in her hands as she sat upon the marble bench. Draco had told her not to wander about the Manor without him and she assumed it was because of some sense of control. She had been wrong, however. Storming through the Manor, bristling with anger, she learned very quickly that he had had a very good reason for not wanting her to be by herself.

The walls were chilly, much unlike the warm glow they had the previous night. And as she passed various portraits, she could see them looking at her with contempt and whispering to one another, though she had no idea what they were saying. There was a sinister feeling in the air that gave her pause and made her consider turning back. But she wouldn’t.

Luckily for her, however, she found a glass door that led to an enclosed garden. She happily let herself in, checking to make sure there weren’t any deadly wizarding plants nearby. She did see a few mandrakes, but they were contently buried within their own pots.

The garden itself was beautiful. To her surprise, there were more normal plants than there was magical. The smells of jasmine, rose, and gardenia filled the air and made her smile, momentarily forgetting why she was upset. When her eyes fell on the lavender plants, she froze. And now she sat on the creamy marble bench, hiding her face as tears fell from her eyes.

She closed her eyes as she tried to reconcile with herself. Draco had lied to her. Though she knew such a thing shouldn’t surprise her, he was a Slytherin after all, it still hurt. And what hurt even more was that he had essentially raped her. She wasn’t stupid. Hermione knew he had known she was a virgin and yet, he still continued.

All this time she had been deluding herself into believing that that hadn’t been the case. She just kept denying it, wanting to believe that what they shared that first time had been passion and then misunderstanding. She had known better, of course, but she had allowed her heart to keep believing that he hadn’t raped her.

He was just trying to protect her virtue? Not likely, she scoffed. He had wanted her, even admitted such, and, like the spoiled aristocrat he was, he just took her. She jumped when she felt a hand lightly touch her back. Looking wildly, her eyes fell on the beautiful Narcissa and she calmed.

Turning her head, the young witch wiped her eyes before glancing at the woman again. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I…”

The Pureblood smiled kindly at her. “It’s alright,” she replied. “I should apologize for startling you.” The blond woman allowed her eyes to drift about the garden. “Such a lovely place, isn’t it? Lucius had built it for me for our tenth wedding anniversary.” Her smile grew as she gazed at the flowers. “He really is a kind, caring man. I’d never known anyone to love as much as he, though,” she let her eyes flit to Hermione, “I’m sure you know of him differently. He can be as ruthless as he is generous.”

Hermione sighed and shook her head. She had no real interest in talking about Lucius Malfoy, but the thought of Daphne still plagued her mind. As upset as she was by what Draco did to her, there was something even worse, and that was Daphne’s murder.

She glanced at the Pureblood witch. “What do you think happened last night?” she asked, bluntly, though there was no malice in her voice.

The smile on Narcissa’s face faltered as it took on a more thoughtful appearance. “I wish I knew,” she whispered. “All I know for certain is that my husband is innocent. And I believe Draco to be innocent in this as well.”

“Draco raped me,” the girl blurted and then slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in shock. She hadn’t meant to say that. “I mean, I…”

A single blond brow lifted as Narcissa glanced at the girl. She tilted her head in confusion. “Draco would never…”

Hermione closed her eyes and dropped her hand in her lap, bowing her head. Staring at the girl, Narcissa became troubled. Softly, she breathed, “When?”

The Muggle born chanced a glance at the older witch. “Our first time together,” she answered with a catch in her throat. She swallowed past the lump that had been forming there. “We… He claimed he didn’t know I was a virgin, but when I asked him to stop, he didn’t. He just…” Closing her eyes again, she took a deep breath. “After everything was said and done, I just… pretended it didn’t happen the way it had.” She let her eyes meet the blonde’s. “I won’t lie, Mrs. Malfoy. I love your son very much, so much that it hurts. Realizing what he’s done…” she shook her head. “I still love him and…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t want to lose him, but I’m not sure I can forgive him just yet. Upon realizing this, it’s making me question other aspects of our relationship, but…” She sighed and looked away, “Right now, it’s not even the most important thing.”

The older witch took her hand into her own. “This is important,” she said. “You have made Draco so happy over the past couple of months and something like this, something that you may deem as inconsequential can have a lasting impact upon your relationship that you may not even notice right away.” She looked pointedly at the younger witch. “He needs to apologize to you and the both of you need to have a long talk about what happens next. This happened, Miss Granger. It’s not going to go away if you try to ignore it.”

Hermione nodded. She knew Narcissa was right. “We also need to find out what happened to Daphne,” she commented. “There were so many people here last night and we know, for a fact, that she was murdered. The question is: who would have both motive and means of doing it? And how?”

Narcissa frowned. “There were six of you in Draco’s suite last night, if we include Miss Greengrass. The problem is, Miss Granger, I wouldn’t think any of you would be capable or even desire her death.”

Hermione shook her head. “No. Theo and Luna were too busy getting to know one another privately and Draco and I…” she blushed and didn’t finish the thought. “I do know Blaise mentioned that they had a row, but I don’t think he would have gotten that angry with her. He just doesn’t seem like the type of person who is capable of cold blooded murder.”

“So it was a guest who had snuck in while the rest of you were sleeping? The Healers did time her death at around three in the morning, so the five of you would most certainly have been asleep.”

“Three?” Hermione asked, perking up. Her eyes widened. “They said that? Three in the morning?”

Narcissa gave a single nod of her head. “And she didn’t fall to her death, either. She was already dead and the murderer had thrown her over the balcony.”

Hermione nodded. “I saw the drag marks and a bit of Daphne’s hair was caught on the door. But Draco and I were still awake at three. How thick are those walls?”

The older witch pinched her lips. “Not very,” she responded, thoughtfully. “Though, you said that she and Mr. Zabini had argued, yes?”

“Yes, and Draco and I didn’t hear them, but that could simply be because they were being quiet.” The wheels in Hermione’s head were turning. “We should have heard a shout, or… There wasn’t any indication of a struggle from what I could see, but that could simply be because I missed something.”

She glanced at the door to the gardens that lead back into the Manor. The realization of her rape was suddenly pushed to the back of her mind as she went through those last moments she had seen Daphne and being with Draco. Her memories of so early in the morning were hazy, but… She turned back to Narcissa. “My apologies, Mrs. Malfoy. You wouldn’t happen to have a pensieve, would you?” she asked.

Narcissa frowned in thought, tapping her finger against her lips. “Actually, I believe Lucius may have one,” she said slowly. “In his study…”

Hermione’s eyes widened as she paled. That was one of the last places she wanted to go. “His study?”

The Pureblooded witch nodded. “I don’t know if he still has it, but if he did, that is where it would be,” she commented with certainty.

The Muggle born weighed her options. She wasn’t thrilled with the idea of returning to that study, but she knew she needed to use the pensieve. There may be something in her memory that she hadn’t seen, something more, some clue that would let her know what she may have glanced over. Steeling her Gryffindor courage, she took a deep breath and sat up straight. “Alright,” she said with a finality. “We’ll go look into this pensieve, then. If there is something in my memories, then I am bound to find it.”

The older witch watched the girl curiously. She had seen such determination before, but this was, somehow, different. All those years watching her husband and son plot their ideas of making it to the top seemed pale in comparison to this girl. Narcissa gave a small smile. “I shall take you there, then,” she offered as she stood up.

Taking one last glance at the garden around her, Hermione stood as well and followed the Pureblood back into the Manor and into Lucius Malfoy’s study. The last thing Hermione wanted was for her boyfriend’s mother to look into her memories and see what they had done that night. However, Narcissa was persistent, informing the young witch that it would be better to view the memory with two sets of eyes, in case Hermione missed something.

So, blushing furiously, Hermione allowed the older witch to step into the memory with her. The moment they entered into the dream world, Hermione’s blush became even deeper.

“You looked wonderful tonight,” he commented as he loosened his tie and slipped off his outer robes.

Hermione smiled prettily and looked down, her cheeks coloring slightly. “Thank you,” she whispered demurely. “I messed up at supper, though.”

He snorted. “No you didn’t,” he argued as he strolled to her and put a hand on each of her shoulders, turning her towards him. He lifted a finger and pushed her chin upwards so she could look at him. “You acted exactly the way I expected you to. You were poise, elegant, and beautiful.”

“But the things Theodore’s mother said…”

“Nott’s mother is a bigoted hypocrite,” he growled. “And you are not to pay any mind to any of the drivel that drools out of her mouth.”

She tilted her head. “Not long ago, you were…”

He kissed her deeply, silencing any words and ending any of her thoughts.

Narcissa glanced around, not really paying attention to the scene as her son picked the girl up and carried her to his bed. Walking up to the bedroom door, she pressed a delicate ear against the wood and listened. Hermione quickly followed.

The bushy haired girl had never seen the inside of a person’s memories before, so her eyes were wide, looking around in fascination. She watched as the couple undressed one another. “Oh! He tore it!” she hissed angrily as she saw Draco toss her bra carelessly, the strap of it detached.

“Miss Granger,” the Pureblood witch called, drawing her attention back to the task at hand.

Shaking her head, Hermione turned back to the older witch. “We should be able to go out, shouldn’t we?” she asked as she pressed a hand to the wood.

Narcissa turned the knob and pulled. The door didn’t budge and the Pureblood glanced at the young witch. “But we should be able to hear,” she suggested.

Hermione nodded and knelt in front of the keyhole and peeked out. The room before her was dark, minus the moon beams that seeped onto the carpeted floor. She could just make out the balcony door from the corner of the keyhole and tilted her head a bit to, hopefully get a better view. Luck wasn’t on her side. She sighed and waited, until she heard it.

“Stupid boy,” Daphne hissed as she stormed into the common area. She paused at the fireplace. “Where is the Floo Powder?” she demanded, looking around. “Fucking Draco!”

She stormed across the room, her bare feet hitting against the carpet loudly. “It has to be somewhere around here,” she muttered as she searched bookshelves and opened and closed the desk drawers.

Hermione glanced at Narcissa who shook her head. They both knew the Floo Powder was on the mantel. Frowning, the Muggle born turned back to the keyhole and heard the click of a door shutting.

“What are you doing here?” Daphne snapped as she turned to the new person.

“You’ve been a naughty little girl, Daphne Greengrass,” said a deep, heavily accented voice.

Hermione’s eyes widened. It was hard to tell whether the voice was masculine or feminine as the person had spoken so quietly and deeply. Alarmed, she found herself standing up and whirling around to see herself and Draco going at it like two rabbits. “Hey!” she shouted at the couple.

“Shhh!” Narcissa hissed, grabbing the young witch’s arm and pulling her back down. “You’re in a memory, Miss Granger. They can’t hear you.”

She stared wide eyed at Narcissa. “We have to do something,” she insisted. “We have to stop it!”

The Pureblood took a deep breath and replied calmly. “Miss Granger. There is nothing either of us can do at this juncture to prevent this girl’s death. However, we can discover her killer. But only if we are quiet and listen.”

Still upset, but seeing the truth in Narcissa’s words, the Muggle born kneeled down again silently berating herself for being so stupid and listened more to the conversation.

A lamp was knocked over. “Don’t come any closer,” Daphne warned in a panicked voice. “All I have to do is shout and people will come.”

“Don’t mistake me for a fool, little girl,” the voice said and the swish of their robes indicated that they were moving closer to her. “No one is going to come for you. No one is going to miss you when you are gone. I know what Blaise has in store for you. You’ve become an obstacle and like all obstacles, you must be dealt with if Blaise has any chance with the Granger girl.”

“Blaise isn’t interested in her,” Daphne insisted with a squeal. “He said it. Tonight. Told both Malfoy and Granger.”

“Mr. Malfoy will be dealt with accordingly.”

There was no scream. Just a soft cry, a yelp, and Hermione and Narcissa heard the body fall, lifeless, onto the floor. They could hear the person, whoever it was, dragging the girl across the floor and it almost sounded like they were struggling with the weight, though Daphne couldn’t weight much more than Hermione, if that.

The Muggle born couldn’t see anything through the keyhole and, try as she might, she couldn’t open the door. She even tried an unlocking spell, but that didn’t work either. She looked desperately at Narcissa for a moment before they heard the balcony door unlock. She fell back to her kneeling position and tried to see what was going on. The person, whomever they were, dragged the body outside and then… nothing. The balcony door closed without a sound and they were being pulled out of the memory.

Hermione fell back onto the soft rug, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared at Narcissa. “You don’t think Blaise’s mother…?”

The older witch pursed her lips, obviously thinking as well. “I wouldn’t exactly put it past her, to be sure, however, the voice didn’t sound like hers.”

“That voice was too quiet to really be able to tell who it could have been,” the bushy haired girl pointed out.

Hermione scrambled to her feet then. “I’m going to go look again in the sitting room,” she told the blond as she pulled out her wand.

Not paying attention to where she was going, Hermione opened the door. “I’ll bet…” she started and then collided against something hard and solid. With an “oof!” she stopped and glanced up in annoyance only to come face to face with an irritated Draco.

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back into the study and continued pushing her until her back was against a wall. Grabbing her wand from her, he threw it behind him and glared at her. “Where. Have. You. Been?” he growled, enunciating each word, his voice soft, but sharp.

Hermione swallowed. “I’ve been with your mother,” she told him as she pressed against him to, hopefully, push him away.

His fingers dug into her shoulder painfully. “I told you when I brought you here that you do not go anywhere in this Manor without me. I told you the Manor was dangerous and you could hurt yourself, but just like any other time someone has tried to warn you of things, you ignored me.”

“You’re hurting me,” she whispered.

He slammed her into the wall. “Good!” he hissed. “Maybe a little pain will help the warnings to sink in. You don’t leave those rooms without me. You don’t go anywhere in this Manor without me knowing where you’re going, what you’re doing, and who you are doing it with.”

“Draco. Let her go,” his mother ordered.

“Say it, Granger!” he growled. “You won’t do this again. You won’t go…”

“What are you afraid of?” she challenged suddenly. Her eyes narrowed as she grew angry. “In case you’ve forgotten, I can take care of myself. I helped defeat Voldemort. I took down your father and a slew of Death Eaters. I’m not afraid.”

Narcissa placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “Release her,” she commanded again, her voice barely a whisper.

Draco dropped his hands, but remained glaring at Hermione. “Why did you leave?” he demanded accusingly. “You said you wouldn’t leave.”

“And I didn’t,” Hermione said. “I just needed some fresh air. To think. Draco, do you have any idea what you’ve done? The mark you’ve put on our relationship?”

He snorted. “You and I have been together for months now,” he argued. “Long after that little incident. If it really was that big of a deal, you would have said something a long time ago.”

“I didn’t realize what you had done then,” she spat. “You raped me!”

“I didn’t,” he countered.

“Yes, you did!” she shouted incredulously. “You knew I was a virgin, you knew I didn’t want to have sex, and yet you did it anyway. You didn’t stop to take my request into consideration even though I asked you to stop several times.”

“You didn’t tell me to stop,” he said, pointing at her. “You’ve never told me to stop.”

She opened her mouth, furious, to shout, but then hesitated as she realized he was right. She never told him to stop. Snapping her mouth shut, she frowned. “But I did say ‘no’,” she commented, her frown deepening. “And I continued to say ‘no’.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not the same word and it doesn’t mean the same thing,” he reasoned. “I thought you were just being a shy little virgin. I didn’t know that you were wanting to stop. And I already told you, up until that point, I had already believed you to not be a virgin. And I’m not the only one. Many people think Krum had been your first while others believe it was either Potter or Weasley. Now, no one will dispute that I was your first or that I am your only.”

Her expression hardened. “How do you know I won’t be with someone else? What if things don’t work out the way you think they will? Just because we had sex doesn’t mean we’re going to get married. And you still raped me, whether you’ve deluded yourself into believing otherwise. I may not have said ‘stop’, but I did say ‘no’.”

“Why is this even relevant now?” he growled in annoyance as he ran a hand through his hair. “You’re thinking too much, princess. It happened. Whether or not it was rape, it still happened. And now we’re together. We’re dating and that isn’t likely to end anytime in the near future. Honestly? If I had my say, it wouldn’t end period. And that still doesn’t answer my questions of where you were and what you were doing.”

“She was with me, Draco,” his mother answered. “And it would behoove you to let the matter drop. Miss Granger hasn’t been harmed and she is quite well, although possibly a bit shaken from your outburst.”

He raised a brow. “And what were you doing?” he asked again.

“Looking at memories!” Hermione snapped, narrowing her eyes in irritation. “Happy now?”
Frowning, Draco released the young witch and took a step back. “Memories?” he echoed. “What -?”

Sighing, Hermione walked past him and allowing herself to sink into a chair. “My memory, in particular,” she clarified. “Your mother said that Daphne had been killed at around 3am. You and I were still awake at that time, so I thought that we might have heard something that we missed.”

He shook his head. “No we weren’t,” he argued. “Granger, we…”

“Oh, darling,” Narcissa interjected. “You most certainly were. Given what I now know for fact, I really do hope you truly intend on making an honest woman out of Miss Granger here.”

Hermione wasn’t sure whose face blushed the darkest, her own or Draco’s. Draco stared at the Muggle born as though he’d never seen her before. “You brought my mother into a memory of us having…” his mouth gaped as though he was trying to let the word out, but he was having difficulty as his eyes grew wide.

Letting her eyes fall to her lap, for she couldn’t bear to continue looking at him, she mumbled, “I thought I would have heard something before we started…”

The Pureblooded wizard shook his head. “Why didn’t you come and get me? I should have gone with you.”

“Have you heard nothing I have said?” she asked, her eyes snapping up to him indignantly. “I was angry with you and I feel I have every right to be. You’re lucky I don’t knock you on your arse and be done with you.”

Something dark flashed through Draco’s eyes when she said that and he approached her. “You wouldn’t dare,” he said calmly, and Hermione could feel the violence in the air.

She stood at that. “Don’t you threaten me, Draco Malfoy!” she hissed as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. “You may be physically bigger than I am, but don’t you forget who makes the highest grades. Don’t forget that I fought a war, that I helped defeat one of the most powerful, deadliest wizards of all time. I took on your father, and I can take you on, too!”

He didn’t bother to try and move closer to her. There really was no point, especially when she was pointing that wand at him because, truth be told, he knew she was right. Taking a step back, he eyed her as he thought it through. He would have to find another way. Some way where he wouldn’t have to worry about her running around the Manor aimlessly.

He allowed himself to deflate, sitting on the couch as the exhaustion began coursing through his body. “I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he said softly, urgently. “Eventually, it’ll be okay and I won’t have to demand to know where you are around here, but for now…” He glanced up at his mother and then back to the girl. “The Manor doesn’t see you as family, princess. It sees you as an outsider. And, as such, if it feels threatened, it will protect itself from invasion.”

Lowering her wand slightly, she looked at him curiously. “You talk as if the Manor is some sort of living thing.”

He nodded. “It is,” he told her, then he grimaced, “sort of. There are so many enchantments within this Manor that it might as well be. And many of these enchantments are geared to respond to people who don’t live here. Take Father’s portrait, for example.” He waved a hand at the portrait that Hermione had forgotten about. Blushing, the Muggle born quickly looked away. Draco smirked. “It’s designed to attract those who don’t live here. Colleagues, acquaintances, people we may or may not like. It’s harmless to my mother and myself, but, as I’m sure you’ve already discovered, it can be pretty alluring to someone who isn’t family.”

“But?” she asked, pointedly ignoring the portrait.

“There are worse things,” he explained. “Remember that my father was a Death Eater. There are things within this Manor which are designed to kill usurpers, and, more often than not, they can’t always tell the difference between friend or foe.”

She nodded slightly. “So, what protects you? And how do the Aurors know that something in the Manor did not kill Daphne?”

“Blood magic,” he answered. “And Daphne died in my rooms, correct? There’s nothing in my rooms that would be designed to kill her. Restrain her, maybe, but not kill. And there certainly isn’t anything in my rooms that can drag a girl to the balcony and toss her over.”

Hermione gave a slow nod as a thought struck her and she looked from Draco to Narcissa and back again. “They’re after you,” she told him.

Confused, Draco tilted his head and Hermione explained, “In the memory. We weren’t able to tell who it was, but they did say something. They said, ‘Mr. Malfoy will be dealt with accordingly,’ right before they killed Daphne.”

Draco looked at his mother as well. “Was it a man or woman?” he asked and the older witch shook her head.

“It was difficult to distinguish as they were speaking softly. Miss Granger suggested it might be Nefertiti, but somehow I doubt that. She would never do something so foolish, knowing she’d get caught, and I doubt she’d ever want to harm you, darling,” the witch said as she sat next to her son.

“She wouldn’t have to harm him,” Hermione pointed out, her fast mind going through it all. “All she would need to do is convince me not to be with him.”

Draco’s eyes shot to hers. “And how would she do that?”

The bushy haired witch thought for a moment. “Try to claim you raped Astoria?” she suggested and then gave a slight laugh. “Though, I doubt she could do anything like that.”

“She’d be lying if she attempted it anyway,” he said, leaning back on the couch. “I never raped Astoria. Nor do I intend to.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. “I know a way to permanently prevent her from trying to take you away from me.”

“Simple,” she said, “I don’t intend to leave you. Though I know we’ll have to work through this whole rape issue of our first time together, I do believe we can. As you’ve said, we’ve been together loads since and, honestly, while I’m hurt by it, it doesn’t really bother me as much as it probably should. Of course, we also have to work on your anger issues because today was completely unacceptable…”

“Granger,” he repeated and she realized he had been calling her. Once he had her attention, he continued, “The solution is simple. We could just get married and be done with it.”

“We can’t,” she argued. “You’re not old enough and… Wait. What?”

Her eyes widened as he slid off the couch to kneel before her. Taking her hand into his, he murmured, “I know I’m not old enough yet, but my birthday is but a few months away.” Looking up into her honey eyes, he reached up and cupped her cheek. “Marry me, Granger? And not just so Zabini’s mother can get off our backs, but marry me because you love me and I love you. I can’t bear the thought of living without you and I know we’ll always be together anyway.”

She sat in stunned silence as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. “I was going to save this for later,” he told her, “but I really don’t see the point.”

He did not wait for her answer as he slipped the ring on her finger. Looking back up at her, he realized she hadn’t moved. Her eyes filled with tears that did not fall. “We’re still so young,” she whispered finally.

He smirked. “We are,” he admitted, “but loads of people marry young.”

She bit her lower lip and looked at him, tears filling her eyes. “I would love nothing more than to marry you, Draco,” she whispered.

His eyes hardened as he heard what she wasn’t saying. “But?” he pried, wanting to hear her say the words.

She took a deep breath and sighed, “But we’re just too young. We’re not even finished with school yet and I doubt the Headmaster would allow us to keep our Head Boy and Girl status if we were to get married.”

“I don’t give a damn about that status,” he growled.

“But I do!” she insisted. “I have been working hard the entire time I’ve been at Hogwarts, hoping and praying that I’ll achieve Head Girl. If I marry now, I throw all of my hard work away.” She looked at him pleadingly, taking his hands into hers and helping him to stand. “Please understand? This is important to me. If you need an answer, one that will satisfy, then, yes, Draco. I will marry you. Despite the problems we have and the things we need to work through, I will marry you. Because I love you. Just… let us finish school first. Be the Head Boy and make your parents proud of you and let me do the same for my parents. Then, after we graduate, we can marry.”

“As soon as we graduate,” he pressed, looking down at her and she nodded.

“But we’ll need to work through these problems, too, Draco,” she told him. “It’s not just the fact that you raped me, there’s also the lying. That has to stop. And this anger you have, whatever it is, I won’t let you abuse me. I will fight you every time and you know I will win.”

He closed his hands over hers after slipping the ring on her finger. “Consider this a promise ring, then. This is my promise, my vow, to you, my princess, that we will marry and that I will always love and protect you. We will work through what you’ve said. I will never hurt you and if what I’ve done in the past has harmed you, then we will work together to get passed it. I am sorry that I’ve hurt you.”

She nodded quietly, looking down at the ring as it glowed. Tilting her head curiously, she glanced up at him and he smirked, “It’s old magic, Granger. My vow is sealed now.”

Her eyes widened at that as she touched the ring and stared at it in awe. Looking up into his eyes, she could see something there she hadn’t seen before. Honesty. And she knew that he was being the most honest he’s ever been.

A difficult road lay ahead of them both, but Hermione was confident that they would get through it. She did not see Narcissa hesitate. As Draco leaned down and kissed her tenderly, pulling her into his arms and allowing her to bury her face in his chest, he glanced up at his mother and met her eye. The older witch looked from her son to his girlfriend, concern written over her face while Draco smirked in triumph.

(II)(II)

Hermione sighed as she handed the phial over to Draco. “Let’s try again,” she said, looking at him expectantly.

He took the phial and looked at her curiously. “You want me to go with you this time?” he asked, a slow smirk lifting his cheeks. “I didn’t know you were a voyeur, princess.”

She snorted, shaking her head. Taking his hand, she led him over to the pensieve. “Focus, Draco,” she said bossily. “We’re trying to figure out who was in the room with Daphne. Your mother and I have already looked, but really I can’t tell. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I need another opinion to formulate my thoughts.”

He lifted his brows as he poured the memory into the plate. “When are you going to learn, Granger? I’m always right,” he said as he leaned forward, his face submerging into the bowl. Hermione followed him.

As embarrassed as Hermione had been the first time she had gone into the memory and had seen her and Draco having sex, it was nothing compared to the way Draco watched it. She drew in an aggravated breath, grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from the scene. “Draco!” she hissed.

He glanced at her and his eyes flitted back to the pair. “We can just view it again,” he told her.

She glared at him. “If you want to see that so badly, then you can look at it later. Right now, we need to focus,” she told him as they went to the door.

Like his mother had done, Draco tried to open the door. “I don’t think we can go through,” Hermione explained. “Your mum and I…”

But the Pureblood wizard rolled his eyes, took out his wand, and said, “Alohomora.” They heard the lock click and Draco opened the door, giving Hermione a bored look. “Honestly, Granger, sometimes I wonder if you really believe you are a witch.”

Her eyes widened slightly before pushing passed him irritably. “I’m not the only one who didn’t think of that,” she said defensively.

“I never claimed my mother had much common sense, either,” he told her as he followed her out of the room. “Though it could also be because she was worried about what the two of you might see.”

They watched Daphne look about for the Floo Powder. “Fucking Draco!” they heard her say and Draco frowned.

“What the hell is she doing?” he asked as Daphne began searching the bookshelves and desk. “It’s on the bloody mantel, you stupid bint!” he growled, waving a hand at the mantel.

“Draco,” Hermione piped. “She can’t hear you.”

He glanced at the Muggle born and something caught his eye. Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her close to him as a cloaked figure entered the room. Neither one could see the person’s face as they spoke with Daphne, issuing their warning. Hermione buried her face in Draco’s chest as the person ended Daphne’s life with a silent spell, though this spell wasn’t anything Draco had witnessed before. A wisp of smoke seemed to pour from the person’s wand and enter into Daphne’s body through her nose. And then she just crumpled to the floor.

“It’s done,” he told Hermione as he watched the person drag Daphne’s body towards the balcony.

He grimaced as the lifeless head hit the side of a table, toppling over the lamp with a crash. How had they not heard that? It seemed the person struggled with getting Daphne’s body out onto the balcony, but a tug freed her from the door, leaving a bit of hair Draco knew they would find the next morning. The person grunted as they lifted up the body and threw it over.

Draco’s eyes widened slowly as he watched the person “clean up”, repairing the lamp with a wave from the wand, and closing and locking the balcony door. The Pureblood pinched his lips as he walked up to the balcony door. “I never lock this,” he said, mostly to himself. “How did I not catch that it was locked?”

With a loud crack, the person was gone and Draco and Hermione looked at one another.

Coming out of the memory, Draco sat in one of the armchairs, a troubled expression over his face as he thought. Hermione joined him, taking the other chair as Narcissa looked at them both anxiously. She had been waiting for their return and was, even now, waiting for one of them to respond.

“It was a man,” Draco said suddenly, sitting up.

Hermione shook her head. “But the way they walked, though,” she insisted. “I’ve never seen a man swing his hips like that. It had to have been a woman.”

“A woman wouldn’t be that tall or have as broad of shoulders,” he pointed out.

“If she wore heels, she could be,” Hermione claimed. “Besides, there are tall women out there.”

“Not any that we’ve invited,” he argued.

“And the broad shoulders could have been padding or…” her eyes lit up as she snapped her fingers. “Polyjuice Potion! They could have used Polyjuice Potion to change their appearance.”

“Then why the cloak?” he asked, looking at her. “If they were using Polyjuice Potion, it would have been the perfect way to frame someone.”

But Hermione was already shaking her head. “Only for a little while. Until the Aurors used Priori Incantatum.”

This only made Draco frown more. “If that was the case, then why the bloody hell is my father still in prison? And what was that spell?”

The Muggle born witch bit her bottom lip. “The Aurors have no proof your father did anything,” she told him. “They should be releasing him soon as they can’t legally hold him for long. As for the spell…” She let her voice fade away as she thought some more, her brows furrowing in her concentration. “I’ll have to go back and look again as I didn’t get a clear…”

“Don’t bother,” Draco said. “That bloke, or witch, whomever they were, didn’t speak any incantations. They just sort of waved their wand in an ‘S’ pattern and this grey smoke came out of it that sort of wrapped itself around Daphne like a snake and went into her nose. And then she was dead. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It sounds almost like a spell the Dark Lord would use,” Narcissa stated. “Though he always preferred the Killing Curse itself, but I remember Bellatrix did enjoy that spell.”

Both teenagers looked at the older woman and she shrugged. “I still don’t know what it is or even called,” she told them. “I just know I’ve seen them both perform it.”

“But Voldemort and Bellatrix are…”

Narcissa nodded. “Yes, my dear,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have taught others, however.”

Draco nodded. “And the Zabini’s were never Death Eaters,” he told Hermione. “Nefertiti sympathized with Voldemort, but she never took the Mark or even attempted to do so. In fact, the Zabini’s had stayed out of the war completely.”

There was relief in Hermione’s eyes, but it was short-lived. The facts they had before them seemed to exonerate Mrs. Zabini, but they left more questions than answers. Who was that person? And what was that spell that had been performed?

Author's Note: So, long story short, the past weeks or so have been uber busy and I just haven't been inspired. However! Here's a new chapter to thicken the plot a bit. :) Thank you, as always, for sticking around and reviewing this story. For those who have asked for an update, I hope I didn't disappoint. I am not abandoning this story by any means, I promise.

raevynstarr: So, what I just wrote has you fuming right about now? Or antsy? :)
Sean Wright: I have read your review several times by now and even change a bit of chapter 6 just because I was annoyed that so many people (you were the straw that broke the camel's back) that had a problem with what Hermione had said about abortion. I do hope you weren't being sarcastic when you called my story a "damn good story." Yes I do believe abortion is wrong, but I know it won't kill a woman. And I also believe that a woman has a right to choose one way or the other. Thing is, like you pointed out, Hermione can be a vindictive little bitch at times. Think she cared that Marietta Edgecomb has "Sneak" perminantly written on her forehead? And we will never know what happened to Umbridge in that forest, but how much do you want to bet that that was part of the reason Umbridge was so giddy about the Muggle born Registration? I've always, always said Hermione and Draco belong together.
southernshadow: THANK YOU! Oh, God, do you see my frustration? Lol! But then, I don't know many Potterheads who don't overanalyze a story. Lol. I do enjoy when people point out grammatical errors and such with kindness. I am my own editor, so sometimes I can miss a spelling or two. And, yeah, I agree that the Lucius/Hermione scene was nice. Was actually considering writing a one shot of it of what "could have happened". Maybe a dream sequence or something? Dunno. Haven't decided yet.
- 15
- 16
- 17
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Dare