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Consequences	By : Aline Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 33797 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
Chapter 24. War Council.

The next day at breakfast,
Hermione was in a good mood, she hadn�t had morning sickness, and she had
managed to avoid Ron by going to the hospital wing early to see her mother, now
she was at the Great Hall table, between Malfoy and Neville, who had
accompanied them to breakfast. Harry was on Malfoy�s other side, where Hermione
had insisted for him to be, doing his best to ignore the blond and talking with
Nochland, trying to get to know the girl better. Ron was at Neville�s other side,
trying to make Hermione notice that he was annoyed and ignoring her.

The Head Girl was not paying any
heed to the red-head, she had not allowed him to speak to her since the
previous day and she wanted to keep it like that, besides, she was feeling good
and was actually hungry, so the food she was putting on her plate was presently
demanding all her attention. Malfoy was looking at her plate too, with disgust
on his face.

�Granger. Are you sure you�re gonna eat that? That
must be unhealthy.�

�Why? It�s fruit and eggs and
bacon, a perfectly normal breakfast Malfoy.�

�I wouldn�t call �normal� to scrambled eggs mixed up with
papaya and tofu, besides, the entire thing is covered with yoghurt and
mayonnaise, and you even have some olives there!�

�Oh, they�re really good, do you
want some?�

�Are you crazy? I want to keep a
healthy stomach, thank you.�

Neville had also been glancing
at Hermione�s curious breakfast and made a sound of surprise when he realized
that the girl really intended to eat her culinary creation.

��Mione, why are you eating that? It doesn�t look� well, you�re going to be sick later if you eat
that.�

�Oh, don�t worry Neville, it�s pretty safe.�

�But why are you eating it?�

�Mmm,
well, Malfoy here made a dare and I�m going to win it.�

Neville glared reproachfully at
Malfoy for making stupid dares, and the blond looked at Hermione very offended.

�Hey! Don�t blame me for your
crazy ideas!�

Hermione giggled and started
eating, both Draco and Neville turned a bit green.

Movement on the Head table
distracted Malfoy from the spectacle, he looked over and was really surprised
to see that his godfather was back, Dumbledore however didn�t seem happy and
Draco frowned, maybe something had happened.

His question was answered with
the arrival of the owls, there were too many for a Sunday, a good number of
them went directly to the headmaster and some went away in search for the
students that weren�t present. It was strange, everyone got at least one
letter, some from the Ministry of Magic. Malfoy�s scowl deepened, he had one
Ministry letter and one from the Gringotts� Switzerland
branch, along with the Daily Prophet. He started to hear many surprised gasps
around him, this was not good, he searched the head table for his uncle, who
had his impenetrable fa�ade in place and didn�t return his look, he sighed and looked at the paper�s front page.

Upon seeing the picture it
wasn�t necessary to read the front line, Malfoy felt his mouth going dry, the
panicked wails of the students followed soon. He tried to think coherently and
analyze the situation, he needed to remain in control, block the sensation of
Potter and Hermione stiffening at both sides of him, and not show any trace of
insecurity. He started to read the article.

�Gringotts
Destroyed in Seconds!!

Saturday afternoon was terrifying upon seeing the Dark Mark above
the remains of Gringotts� building. The attack was in
the late afternoon, when the bank was about to close. Though nobody saw
anything unusual the entire day, witnesses reported that there was a thunderous
sound and many people from the surrounding establishments could practically
feel how the wards of the building cracked and crumbled! The next thing the
witnesses knew, Gringotts was melting in front of
their very eyes�!�

Malfoy looked at the picture
again, the dark mark hovering above the blackened carcass of what had been a
big building, it was almost impossible to recognize Gringotts
in that mass of melted stone. Draco continued reading, hearing in the
background Dumbledore�s exhortations to calm. There wasn�t much more
information on the newspaper, nobody was seen getting out of the building, so
the goblins, along with the wizard employees and the clients that could have
happened to be inside, were presumed dead.

The carcass of the building was
still very hot and for some reason no one had been able to approach it. No one
had any idea of how deep the damage had gone, for all the Aurors
knew, the vaults could be destroyed. Malfoy blanched at the thought of it, if
the vaults were destroyed so was whatever were inside of them; money, artifacts, important documents, family heirlooms, all gone;
some of those things were unique. It would be impossible to repair the damage.

Draco groaned while the students
around him were trying to remain calm and listen to Dumbledore�s assurances of
safety. Safety. As if that were possible. This was it,
the real crisis had begun, even if the vaults were
intact there was absolutely no way to get to them. The Ministry was in serious
troubles now, all the funds and payment for Ministry employees, including Aurors, were on that building. Damn. Practically all the wizarding society of England
and a big part of Scotland
had their savings there.

Draco gulped; Gringotts� destruction meant no money for anyone� except
the richest families, the ones that had not only one but two or more vaults in
other Gringotts� branches around Europe.
Many of the purebloods also had personal vaults in their mansions or other
properties. Malfoy opened the letter from the Swiss Gringotts
and learned that for security reasons the bank was not going to make any
transactions for anybody, if he wanted to access his vault he had to go
personally to Switzerland.

And even more, besides the
money, there was the fact that Gringotts� security was
believed to be one of the most powerful in the magical world, and it was
destroyed in a matter of seconds and no one had a bloody idea of how it was
done! Now the Ministry was really screwed. And the light side
too.

Draco opened the envelope that
had the Ministry crest on it and found three letters, one announced that O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were not to
be applied that year, other informed that the spells named unforgivables
were going to be punished with death upon the caster and that floo network and owl mail were going to be subjected to the
highest security measures. The last letter invited him to take part in an
express Auror training.

Malfoy felt slightly sick,
Hermione�s hand on his knee distracted him somewhat and he took it in his in a
comforting gesture, then he looked over to her and saw that her eyes were
watery and she was biting her lower lip, he had to fight the impulse of
embracing her and forced himself to pay attention to what the Headmaster was
saying. Dumbledore fought hard to maintain some resemblance of calm in the
Great Hall, and he ordered the prefects to lead their housemates to their
respective common rooms to finish their breakfast, then the seventh and sixth
year�s prefects will reunite with him and the Heads of House for an important
meeting.

The students started to stand up
slowly after Dumbledore dismissed them, Draco sighed and stood too, ready to
leave, however Potter stopped him before he had time to walk away.

�Malfoy. I have to ask you. What are you going to do now?�

Draco sighed and looked
unhappily at where Hermione was trying to shoo the first years out of the Great
Hall.

�I don�t know Potter. Do you
think I can have the chance to find a time turner and go back a few years, when
life was easy and I was really happy with it?�

Harry lifted an eyebrow, not
used yet to Malfoy�s dry humor.

�I really don�t think so
Malfoy.�

�Pity. Let�s go Zabini.� Said Draco to Blaise, who had
approached while they were having their little chat.

Both Slytherins walked past
Hermione in their way out, Draco briefly touched her shoulder and said a fast
goodbye to her. The rest of the Slytherins followed Malfoy outside of the Great
Hall, and Harry reunited with his housemates to walk with them to their common
room.

After everyone was in their
respective Houses, the seventh and sixth years� prefects went to the meeting
room. Harry and Hermione walked along with Ginny and Leo Darlic,
the sixth year�s prefects. Ron had wanted to go too, but Harry convinced him to
stay in the common room and wait for them, since he wouldn�t be allowed to
enter the meeting anyway.

It was a miserable walk, Ginny
was trying unsuccessfully to hold her tears and Hermione didn�t know what to
tell her. The oldest of the Weasley brothers, Bill, worked for Gringotts, he had been in London since his weeding the
previous year, and Mrs. Weasley had written to Ginny and Ron, telling them that
Bill had not returned home, neither did his wife Fleur, who also worked for Gringotts.

Hermione wanted to cry too, she
loved the Weasley family dearly and had approached Ron again to try and console
him. Harry was furious and ready to go hunting Voldemort
himself. It was clear that the situation was critical, if Voldemort
had succeeded in destroying Gringotts, what stopped
him from attacking Hogwarts?

The meeting went by fairly
quick, the Headmaster informed them that some parents would be arriving soon to
retrieve their children, some of them would even stay at Hogwarts along with
some Aurors that were going to help the reinforcement
of the wards and to give special training to the fifth, sixth and seventh
years, so they could be ready to defend themselves. At that point the sixth
year Hufflepuff girl cracked and asked what use would
that be if they were trapped inside a melting building, her housemates tried to
console her, but she had voiced the fear of everyone and the Headmaster had to
assure once again that nothing was going to happen to the castle, though no one
seemed very convinced of it.

Hermione felt as if she had
suddenly been transported to another reality and felt the need to go see her
mother right away. Draco was very quiet, no doubt considering what could be the
best course of action, the Gryffindor girl hoped that the blond wouldn�t want
to leave, she wouldn�t bear to lose him now and was determined to stay at her
friend�s side, she needed to fight, besides, Harry would need all the help they
could give him, it would be unfair to abandon him now. Hermione sighed, she
wanted very much for Draco to stay at her side and with their child, and she
was sure that the Slytherin would be a really good help to defeat Voldemort.

Dumbledore�s voice took her out
of her thoughts, the Headmaster was giving instructions for the rest of the
term, and suddenly he turned to the Slytherin�s Head
of House.

�Severus, aside from the
training that we are going to get from the Aurors,
I�ll like for you and your students to teach the rest of the school some of the
Dark Magic.�

Many gasps could be heard upon
this, Malfoy scowled deeply and turned to see his godfather, who seemed impassible.

�What exactly about that?�

�As much as you can in theory, I
want you to complement Professor Donovan�s teaching of DADA, I also like for
the students to learn some basic dark spells, maybe one or two of the most complicated
ones, but not the unforgivables, something that could
be useful on self-defense.�

�As you wish.�

�Fine. Well then, you�re all dismissed.�

Everybody left the meeting room
feeling slightly shocked, Dumbledore had never before allowed the actual teaching
of the Dark Arts in the school, it made them wonder
about the seriousness of the situation. Harry tried to stay behind to talk with
the Headmaster, but Dumbledore sent him to his common room, saying that there
would be another meeting later and that he wanted Harry to be at his office
with Hermione and the Weasleys at five. The
Gryffindor boy gave up grudgingly but noticed that Malfoy had not left with the
rest of the students, he wondered if the blond had made up his mind.

Once they were alone, Malfoy
looked up directly in to the Headmaster�s eyes; the man returned the look
seriously.

�Is there something else you
wish to tell me Mr. Malfoy?�

�You are not going to win this,
and you know it.�

Dumbledore�s face lit up with a
smile before answering the youngster.

�Quite the
contrary Mr. Malfoy. I can assure you that we
are going to win.�

�How can you be so sure?�

�Because,
young man, the alternative is not worth living for.�

Malfoy didn�t move a muscle, he
recognized the options, they will win or they were going to be dead, there was
nothing else now for any of them. He thought about Hermione and the baby and
wondered what it would feel like to be trapped inside a melting building, he
scowled mentally at the image, he very much preferred
a painless death.

�How could you stop Hogwarts
from being destroyed like Gringotts was? You don�t
even know what happened!�

The Headmaster smiled widely and
the glint in his eyes seemed to brighten.

�Actually Mr. Malfoy, we know
what happened, and you have my word that we also know how to prevent it.�

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, he
didn�t trust Dumbledore, but he recognized him as an intelligent man, and he
knew that as much as he wanted to just take Hermione and get the hell out of
there, the girl wouldn�t leave willingly, and even if she will and they managed
to get out of Britain, if Hogwarts fell there won�t be a future for them
anyway. Draco sighed inwardly, there wasn�t more options, it was all or nothing
now, he cringed at what he was about to do but he had no choice, not if he
wanted to keep Hermione safe and at his side.

After McGonagall gave the
security instructions to the rest of Gryffindor House and the respective speech
about staying calm and trust in the safety that Hogwarts provided, she left and
the students slowly started to go to their dormitories or other places where
they could assimilate the striking news.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny
were in Harry�s room, the one that used to be Ron�s when he was prefect, trying
to reassure themselves. The black haired Gryffindor was in the windowsill,
looking into space, while the girls were on the bed and Ron paced restlessly
through the room, cursing under his breath. Ginny was crying quietly in
Hermione�s arms, no one knew what to say, they were unwilling to acknowledge
Bill�s and Fleur�s deaths, and were holding to the
bare hope that somehow they may still be alive.

Suddenly Ron stopped his pacing
and looked directly at his best friend.

�You have to do it soon Harry,
you have to kill that bastard now, we can�t continue loosing people like this!
You have to stop him!�

�Ronald Weasley! That�s not
fair! You can�t ask Harry that! It�s not his responsibility!� said Hermione
indignantly, Harry barely turned to look at them.

�No Hermione, he�s right.�

�Harry! It�s not right! He can�t
ask you to go hunting Voldemort, that�s not what you
have to do!�

�Then what am I supposed to do
Hermione?! I am the one who�s supposed to end this according to that blasted
prophecy! I should go and confront the bastard once and for all!!�

�Oh, and you suppose he�s gonna be waiting for you all alone and would agree to an honorable duel and that the best man wins?! What about his
followers?! Or do you think that the Death Eaters will let you get to their
leader without problems?! You don�t even know where he is! You can�t attempt to
go find the bastard without help!!�

�Hermione�s
right Harry.� Said Ginny.
�You need the Order�s help to locate You-Know-Who and defeat him. The Death
Eaters are not going to simply give up.�

�Then we must ask Dumbledore to
put more effort into it!� said Ron. �I�m sure that Snape knows where that
bastard is hiding!�

�You know professor Snape�s reports Ron. Voldemort
keeps changing his hiding place after each meeting. And the Order had not been
able to track him down, not even his Death Eaters know where to find him until
they are practically in front of him!�

�Well we must do something!!
Things can�t continue like this!�

Ron was visibly frustrated and
angry and Hermione didn�t feel any better, she knew that Bill�s almost certain
death was a heavy burden for them all and she was frustrated too for not being
able to do something to help.

�Dumbledore wants us to go to
the Order�s meeting this afternoon.� Said Harry glumly.
�I�m going to tell him that we need to move now, we have waited long enough, Voldemort needs to be stopped!�

�Yeah mate! The
sooner the better!�

Ginny sniffed and Hermione lent
her a tissue to wipe her tears; the red-head girl was really upset and was
willing to talk about anything to keep her mind away from her older brother.

�It�s too bad that we can�t
follow Snape when he leaves to his meetings with You-Know-Who. If we had been
smarter we could have tracked down some of the Slytherins that took the mark on
Christmas.�

�Yeah!� said Ron furiously �Christmas
was the time to discover them all! Dumbledore knew what was happening and did
nothing to stop it! Did he tell you anything at all Hermione?�

Both Hermione and Harry had
turned slightly red at the mention of Christmas, but neither of the Weasleys noticed it, the bushy-haired girl tried to compose
herself and coughed absentmindedly.

�Well, I really didn�t see much
of the Headmaster during Christmas; I really just kept to myself almost the
entire time.�

�Damn! How
could we be so stupid?!�

�Let it go Ron, we can�t do
anything about it now.� Said Harry, turning away to look through the window.

�I know, I know!�

�It�s a shame to ignore what
happened then,� continued Ginny, Hermione wished her to shut up without luck
�after all, it was after Christmas that Malfoy started to change his attitude
and get closer, did you notice it? Am I right Hermione?�

The Head Girl�s blush deepened
and Harry tried very hard to seem like he was very interested in the trees that
could be seen outside his window, however he still heard Ron�s voice.

�That sneaky git! I don�t care what you
think of him Hermione! I�m still sure that he�s a bloody spy!�

Hermione sighed and tried to not
snap in anger at Ron�s words, she wanted to show support to the Weasley
siblings, not to get into an argument.

�Listen Ron, I don�t want to
talk about that anymore, it�s useless.�

�But �Mione,�
said Ginny, wanting to set things right between his brother and Hermione, �just
listen to him, we all are pretty worried about this. Malfoy is driving you away
from us and it�s not fair! I know that you think he has changed but no one
changes so drastically from one day to the other! Harry, tell her!�

Harry pretended to not be paying
attention and stubbornly continued looking through the window; Ron answered in
his place.

�That�s right �Mione, he�s not worth your trouble, he�s going to hurt you
badly if you keep trying to be nice with him! Really I don�t know what the
Headmaster has in his head, but making you spent time with the blond bastard is
the worst thing he had ever concocted!�

Hermione was on the verge of
tears, her voice dropped dangerously when she answered, even
Harry turned to look at her.

�The Headmaster wanted for us to
forget our differences and work like a team, so the school could be united and
the students could feel safe.�

�Like I said, I don�t know what
he has in his head! Malfoy can�t team with anyone! Let alone forget certain
differences!�

Ginny�s and Harry�s mouths
dropped open, Hermione was shaking with anger now, she glared at Ron and stood
upright.

�How dare you!�

�It�s the truth Hermione and you
know it! Or do you think he sees you as an equal? That�s not going to happen!
If he has changed so much why he kept calling you a mudblood
in front of everyone?! You tell me!�

�Ron stop!�
Harry moved from the windowsill to stand at his friend�s side, and grab his
arm. �Listen Ron, the Headmaster thinks that Hermione�s friendship can bring
Malfoy to our side, and that it would be good if she succeeds at it, we would
have more support from the Slytherin�s part and you
know that it had been useful this far.�

Ron looked at Harry wide eyed,
he couldn�t believe his ears.

�What?! You can�t be serious Harry!! What do we want that slimy git for?!�

�You are a pureblood too, you
tell me!� said Harry in desperation; Hermione was looking intently at him too.
�Ron, Malfoy has his own power and you know it, the Headmaster wants him with
us, and truly even if Malfoy wasn�t required, wouldn�t it be nice if we could
prevent Voldemort from having more supporters?�

�I can�t believe it!! Are you
suggesting that we allow the bastard to go and snatch Hermione away to hurt
her?!!�

�I didn�t say that! Of course we
won�t allow that to happen! I�ll never allow him to hurt her, and I�m going to
make sure that he knows it! But Ron, it may make a difference if we try to just
get used to him, to be civil, it won�t hurt us.�

�Oh yeah? And what other wishes do you have Harry?�

�Please Ron��

�No! I can�t believe you have
fallen for it too! We can�t allow the git to get any
closer than he already is! He�s as much of a Death Eater as his father, and
he�s never going to be anything else!�

Hermione spoke then in a cold
voice.

�Well, for a Death Eater he has
been a lot nicer than you this past months, perhaps it�s us the ones that
should change sides then.�

Harry looked at her with
pleading eyes, but she ignored him and walked to the door, getting outside the
room, Ginny sighed unhappily and followed her friend, stopping only briefly at
the door to look at her brother.

�Maybe we are doing something
wrong, we shouldn�t be fighting like this now, maybe we should let her do
whatever she thinks its best.�

She exited the room and Harry
sighed tiredly, Ron started pacing again.

�I can�t believe this! Have you
all gone insane?! I wish we had the Marauder�s map to spy on Malfoy all day,
I�m sure that sooner or later he will contact someone from outside and then you
would listen to me!� and he stomped out of the room without looking back.

�Yeah, wouldn�t it be nice if we
discover him doing something nasty?� said Harry dispassionately, the mental
image that formed in his brain was of Malfoy and Hermione snogging
and he blushed fiercely. He wished then that Hermione decided to tell Ron the
truth, maybe that way the red-head would stop speaking to her and they all
would have some peace; but then again, telling Ron most probably would make
things worse, surely he would go and try to murder Malfoy. Harry sighed and
thought that there really wasn�t anything that could make things better now.

Ron climbed down the stairs
feeling betrayed, he couldn�t believe that Harry was on Hermione�s side in this
Malfoy mess, Harry should be at his side on everything, Hermione would never
realize her mistake if Harry supported her decision! Ron was pretty upset, she
should know that he despised Malfoy and would not tolerate the prat, besides, she was his woman, whether she liked it or
not, there won�t be any other wizard who wanted her; everyone knew that
Hermione Granger belonged to him! He should make sure that the girl understood
that they were fated to be together and that he wouldn�t tolerate her somewhat
extravagant ideas of sympathize with an enemy of the family.

Ron walked into the common room
in time to see Hermione exiting it and he followed her with a frown, she shouldn�t
be going outside the tower alone, why was she doing so stupid things lately was
beyond him.

The corridors and halls of the
castle were deserted, it seemed like no one was on the mood to wander around.
After some turns Ron was sure that Hermione was heading to the Hospital Wing
and he remembered that her mother was in there. The boy didn�t want to enter
the ward for the �special patients�, he knew that he will be seeing Bill in
each bed, so he followed the Gryffindor girl to the infirmary and settled
outside to wait for her.

Hermione spent nearly an hour
with her mother, checking if everything was alright and telling her about the
school and how she shouldn�t worry because she was safe now, her mother
wouldn�t answer, she would only stare at her with quiet eyes, but Hermione knew
that it would be like that at times. Mrs. Granger had spoken very little since
she had awakened, but she recognized her daughter and the magical treatment had
been pretty helpful, she would be more talkative soon and Hermione feared the
questions that were sure to come.

After a long while, the girl
left her mother�s side grudgingly and walked through the deserted hospital
wing, thinking about Malfoy and wondering if she should go looking for him, she
wanted to talk and ask him what his plans were; there was nothing else to
occupy her mind, since the dance group had been cancelled for the day. She
remembered then that Harry had left her a note in the morning, saying that they
had to meet in the potion�s lab, they were going to store the last potions for
the class� project, it was important that they finished that one project
because she had the feeling that those potions would be needed really soon.

Hermione sighed and hoped that
Draco would make an appearance in the potions� lab to help them, she hurried to
the infirmary�s door, intent on going to the dungeons as soon as possible,
however she froze on the spot when she exited and discovered a waiting Ron on
the corridor. The red-head looked to her and sighed impatiently, reaching over
to grab her hand.

�Finally! You surely took your time �Mione. I was
getting bored here!�

Ron attempted to drag her along
the corridor, but she shook her hand away and retreated a few steps.

�Ron? What are you doing here?�

�I�m waiting for you! You
shouldn�t be wandering the castle alone, now let�s go to the tower, we still
have some time before lunch.�

Hermione retreated even more,
looking at the red-head with pained eyes.

�Go away Ron, I have other
things to do.�

�What are you talking about? If you
have homework you can do it in the tower, come on �Mione!�

�No Ron! I didn�t ask you to
come with me, I don�t want to go with you, I want to
be alone!�

�You�re not going to be
wandering the castle alone! I�m going with you, as your future husband I have
to protect you.�

The girl gritted her teeth in
frustration and glared to the boy.

�You�re not my future husband
Ron! Why can�t you understand it?!�

�That�s nonsense �Mione, and you know it, we love each other!�

�No Ron! I don�t love you! I
only wanted for us to be friends!�

�You�re only confused �Mione! You want to be with me! You would never even look to
another boy and everyone knows that! There�s no one else you could want!�

�You� you�re talking like an
egotistical prat! And it�s not true Weasley! I love
someone else!�

�What?! Don�t say stupid things, that�s not true!�

�You heard me! I�m in love with
another boy! So leave me the hell alone!!�

Hermione turned on her heels and
started running down the corridor, Ron looked astonished for a moment before starting
after her, suddenly she turned around and cast a stupefying spell on him, it
hit home and Ron fell down to the floor while Hermione resumed her run to the
dungeons.

Hermione returned to Gryffindor
tower just because she had to meet the others to go with the Order, she had
been pretty upset all day and had not eaten a thing since breakfast. Harry had
asked what happened when they met in the potions classroom but she hadn�t
wanted to tell him, and he had assumed her sadness was due to Malfoy�s absence.
That was another thing that worried Hermione, she had meant to ask Zabini, who
helped with the storage, about Draco�s whereabouts,
but the boy was as clueless as she; it seemed that no one had seen the blond
since the prefect meeting.

The Gryffindor girl had thought
about going to their room in the dungeons, but it was too risky to do it,
someone could follow her. So once they finished with the potions, Harry had
walked Hermione to the infirmary again before going outside for a walk, and the
girl had stayed at her mother�s side until it was time for the meeting.

Hermione walked slowly to the
tower, she was not thrilled to have to see Ron again, but she supposed it
couldn�t be helped, after all the boy�s parents were part of the Order and he
was Harry�s best friend. The girl sighed, feeling awful about their broken
friendship and continued walking; she turned around the corner and was greeted
by a sight that shocked her.

Harry was shoving Ron into the
nearest wall, and screaming to him with every ounce of anger he had. Ginny was
looking at them in desperation, evidently not knowing what to do to stop them,
Hermione ran to join her, intending to ask what was happening when she listened
to Harry�s words.

�Listen you twit! I have never
touched Hermione in that way! She�s my friend and there would never be anything
else between us!!�

�And you think I�m going to
believe it a second time?! Do you think I�m stupid?!�

�Well, you�re doing a fine job
convincing me of it!!�

�You
bastard!!�

Ron managed to shove Harry away
and immediately started throwing blows at him, the black haired boy had no
choice but to answer and soon both of them were
rolling on the floor. Hermione was shocked into silence for a moment and then
turned to the Weasley girl.

�Ginny, what�s happening?�

�Oh, um� well, you see, Ron says
that you told him that you love someone else and� well he just assumed it must
be Harry since there really is no one else��

�What?!!! Stupid, stupid moron!!�

Hermione had her wand out in an
instant, and before Ginny could react she had cast a body-bind curse on the two
boys, effectively stopping the fight.

�Now listen to me Weasley! What
in the world makes you think that Harry is the one and only boy in all the
damned school that could appeal me?! Have you no brains at all?!! Or you just
happen to ignore that there are at least another twenty or so boys in the
castle that could qualify?! You�re an imbecile that�s what you are!! And I
don�t want you to speak to me ever again! Do you hear me?! I�m not talking to
you ever again!!�

She gave him a hard kick in the
leg to emphasize her words and then lifted the curse that affected Harry, Ginny
lasted a little while to recover from the shock.

�Herm, I� oh, please, he�s just
jealous because he really loves you.�

�Oh yes Ginny! He has been
showing how much he �loves� me for
weeks now! Please! If that is the way he really is I�m very glad to have him
far away from me! I�m sorry Harry, I know he�s still your friend, and I�m sorry
that you got caught in the middle of this mess.�

�It�s all right �Mione. Don�t worry.�

�I think that I better wait for
you at the Headmaster�s office, I don�t want to listen to �him� anymore, see
you there.�

Hermione hurriedly wiped away a
few tears that had escaped her eyes before starting the walk to Dumbledore�s
office, Harry stood up and yelled after her.

�I�ll go with you! Ginny, could
you please take care of Ron?�

�Yes, no problem.�

�Hey Hermione! Wait!�

Harry took a run after the upset
girl, leaving Ginny to deal with her obnoxious brother. The red-headed girl
watched her two friends go and finally gave a deep sigh and attended Ron. As
soon as the Weasley boy was free of the hex he started shouting his brains out.

�That bitch! How dare she?!�

�Ron! Please stop it!�

�How could you
defend her Ginny?!! You know that she�s supposed
to be with me!!�

�Yes! And she�s never going to
realize that if you keep being a prat Ronald!!�

�What?!�

�Oh for
Merlin�s sake! Would you stop being a bastard
for just one moment and actually think?! I know that she can�t possibly be in
love with someone else, she told you that because she�s tired of your attitude
and she wants you to leave her alone for a while! She had had a lot of stress
this year Ronald and frankly you are not helping in the least!�

�What do you want me to do if
she�s doing stupid things all the time?!!�

�You could at least try to
control your temper and speak things over instead of yelling at the top of your
lungs how idiot you think she is! Honestly Ronald! How many girls do you think
would like their boyfriends throwing out their flaws to their faces?�

Ron crossed his arms in
annoyance, his anger receding a little.

�Ok then, what should I do now?
She�s probably going to pretend she has a platonic love or something like that!
Maybe Harry is even going to help her, since he also thinks that I�m the one at
fault here!�

Ginny sighed in resignation at
her brother�s stubbornness, things shouldn�t be this complicated.

�Look Ron, just let her be for a
while, sooner or later she�s going to realize that she belongs with you and
she�ll come back.�

�What if she really thinks that
she�s in love with someone else?�

�Well, I suppose she can have a
crush or something, but really Ron, is not as if someone would actually return
her feelings!�

Ron didn�t seem too convinced,
but he relented and both Weasleys walked hurriedly to
Dumbledore�s office.

The meeting room in Grimauld place was literally crowded, Hermione had never
seen so many wizards in the meetings, now it seemed like the entire Order was
attending, there even were some secretive persons that remained hooded and
didn�t greet anyone but Dumbledore. Hermione didn�t want to be there anymore,
she was angry and also pretty sad, besides, the atmosphere of the house was
depressing, you could almost see the nervousness radiating
from everyone present.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were not
the only ones that seemed near tears, Hermione had greeted them without really
knowing what to say. What can you tell a mother to console her for the loss of
a child? Hermione had felt very awkward and ended saying some useless words and
then took a seat between Harry and Dumbledore, looking devastated and wishing
the meeting would be over soon, Harry threw her a preoccupied glance before
glaring directly at the Headmaster.

The Order members were worried,
the real burden of the war was starting to be too heavy for some of them, and
they still have to face an actual confrontation with the Death Eaters and their
allies. Hermione wondered if there would be such confrontation at all, or if Voldemort would decide that long distance attacks were far
more effective and safer. Apparently she wasn�t the only one thinking on those
lines, because the first questions to Dumbledore were how the Order were
supposed to defeat an enemy that wouldn�t fight face to face and that couldn�t
be located until too late. Others seemed to be primarily concerned about the
panic that had been escalating among the population.

Molly Weasley was more
preoccupied about other things.

�How are we going to protect the
children Albus? How are we going to know that they
are in a safe place?�

�Molly, Hogwarts is safe��

�How do you
know that Arthur? Gringotts
was safe too! So safe that now is nothing but a carcass of molten stone! I lost
a child in there! I�m not losing another two on another �safe� place!!�

Everyone looked expectantly at
Dumbledore, Hermione felt tears threatening to spill out from her eyes and her
hands closed over her belly protectively. She looked at the professor too and
the serene eyes calmed her a little; the Headmaster of Hogwarts was a smart man
and surely he won�t let the wizarding world fell
without a fight.

�Molly, I�m sorry that you had
to suffer such a horrible trance. But do tell me, your magical clock tells that
Bill is indeed dead?�

�The clock doesn�t show anything
Albus! Bill�s name had disappeared from it!�

�Ah, I see. Perhaps the clock
doesn�t know what had become of him, but don�t worry anymore Molly. I can tell
you that he�s fine, and very much alive.�

Hermione felt release and shock
at the same time inside her and coming from everyone in the room, at her side
Harry was gaping in incredulity, he snapped back to reality when Dumbledore
continued speaking.

�I�m afraid that we had to let
you think otherwise for a while, it�s necessary that Voldemort
is convinced that his recent attack had been entirely successful.�

�And it wasn�t?� asked Remus Lupin from a corner,
looking as surprised as Hermione felt.

�I�m pleased to say that the
wards that Professor Snape, Alastor Moody and I
designed resisted the attack quite well. There is in fact a room under all the
melted stone that remains intact and where the goblins and wizards that were in
the bank presently inhabit, a little crowded but alive, I can tell you also
that the vaults are untouched. We will be able to get the people out of Gringotts in a day or two, of course we are going to do it
discretely, no one can know a thing about this.�

Everyone started asking
questions and demanding details of how the wards had been done, Dumbledore gave
scarce information on the matter, and he was adamant that they should show a
worried and even fearful fa�ade to the public eye.

�But, we�re only going to
encourage You-Know-Who to attack again!� said a man that Hermione recognized as
a young Auror, Dumbledore just smiled at him.

�Precisely, and we have to make
sure that his next target would be Hogwarts.�

Hermione felt panic rising
inside her and wondered for a moment whether the Headmaster had gone crazy,
Harry stiffened at her side and nearly shouted in her ear.

�What?! But professor that�s insane!!�

�Albus,
you can�t be serious!�

Mrs. Weasley had palled visibly
and her husband embraced her, looking at the Headmaster in puzzlement, the old
man maintained a serene face and proceeded to explain his plan. Apparently
Hogwarts� wards were ready to resist whatever magic Voldemort
decided to cast upon them, Gringotts� attack had
demonstrated that the wards were adequate and the Headmaster had set up a trap
for when Voldemort appeared in the castle�s vicinity.

�How do you know that
You-Know-Who is going to make an appearance this time? He hadn�t done it in any
of the other attacks.� Asked Shacklebolt, the
Headmaster smiled knowingly at him.

�Ah, but Hogwarts is a symbol to
him, and he knows that if he manages to destroy it he will as well win the war,
my guess is that he would like to see the castle�s carcass in person.�

�What if he decides to attack
some other place before?�

�That�s why we must try our best
to be the most attractive target, I have invited the Minister of Magic to a
conference the next week, and I�m going to suggest him to set provisional
headquarters in the school. Also, I�m going to allow some of our student�s
parents to take refuge in the castle, of course the ones that prefer to take
their progeny home would be free to do so, but I think that the half-bloods and
many of the muggle-borne would be more reassured at
the prospect of being near their children and let them finish the school term.
Maybe even some of the purebloods would be willing to show their support and
confidence in us by staying too.�

�Of course we are going to be
right there Albus!� said Mrs. Weasley passionately

�But do you think the Minister
will accept? Deius is a proud man, he doesn�t like
pity.� asked someone that Hermione didn�t recognize, Moody huffed in despise at
the question.

�He really doesn�t have anywhere
else to go. People is afraid, no one wants to have Ministry Offices in the
vicinity, they are too a likely target.�

�That�s why we are going to
convince him to secretly move to Hogwarts,� the Headmaster continued, �of
course a good placed spy would surely alert Voldemort
about the Minister new whereabouts.�

Everyone turned to look at Snape
then, the man was leaning casually on a wall near some hooded men, looking
slightly bored, the rest of the Order members weren�t
entirely satisfied.

�But Deius
is a pureblood, he has been neutral until now, but I can say that he�s
seriously considering if it is really a good idea to oppose
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, given that the most prominent families are supporting
him openly.� That was not an Auror, but a Ministry
employee, Hermione wondered how many spies Dumbledore had.

�Ah, yes. It is most unfortunate
that many of Voldemort�s supporters are from the most
powerful families indeed, but I expect that at least some of them would let
their children at Hogwarts, that would surely show Deius
that he�s not the only one willing to trust us.�

Surprisingly, Hermione saw that
many of the presents seemed ratter embarrassed, she frowned in question at
Harry, but the boy only pressed his lips tightly, finally one of the hooded
figures spoke, Hermione could say it was a woman by the voice.

�Well, that is if he would
consider them reliable, no offence to anyone, but we need someone of the most
ancient families to support us openly for the rest of them to start considering
their options. As the situation is now it would be a miracle if the Slytherins
remain in Hogwarts, and as soon as they�re gone we will be seeing again at how
the purebloods slowly make their way to You-Know-Who�s side, maybe this time
there won�t be anyone willing to remain neutral.�

Someone huffed in disgust,
Hermione supposed it was Ron being a child as usual; Dumbledore ignored the
rude sound in favor of answering rather cheerfully to
his people�s fears.

�Oh, I know that no one wants to
see history repeats itself, but I�m confident that this time things are going
to be different.�

Hermione automatically thought
about Harry and she frowned to herself, she believed that everybody was
expecting far too much of her friend, and not only those that knew about the
prophecy, Harry was only a boy, they all were too young, the only reason of why
they were allowed to attend Order meetings was because the situation was
serious and Dumbledore, surprisingly, had decided that they needed to know more
about it. Still, they expected her friend to become a murderer, and that simply
wasn�t fair. She was surprised when someone talked in an annoyed tone.

�Why? Because
of the Potter boy? Ha! Actually, the fact that he had survived an attack
before doesn�t guarantee that he can do it again, besides, even if he really
can fight You-Know-Who I suspect that his loyalty to you, Dumbledore, will not
be enough to the purebloods. We really need the Slytherins to remain in Hogwarts!
At least a few of them! If they do it, the purebloods with children in the rest
of the Houses would certainly be more at ease.�

Out of the corner of her eye,
Hermione saw Ron opening his mouth to complain, but Mr. Weasley shut him up
before he could do more than that. Also, the girl noticed that everyone seemed
to agree with what the man had said, even Lupin and Tonks were nodding
thoughtfully. Hermione sighed, she knew of course how wizarding
society functioned, she had read about traditions and
history. If the Slytherins, that were known as the most cunning wizards, that
often recognized the winner side in every conflict, decided to trust in Hogwarts�
safety, it would mean a lot to many people, and it certainly would make Voldemort want to crush the castle as soon as possible.

�Do not worry my friends;
Slytherin House would not loose any more students than it already has.�

�Why are you so sure?� asked Tonks.

�Oh, they are still wavering,
most of them are from families that remained neutral the first war, they only
need the correct leading and we�re going to provide it.�

Many eyes became incredulous,
Dumbledore stood up and gestured with his hand towards Snape, Hermione narrowed
her eyes, thinking about the professor�s spying duties, but before she could
think anything else the Headmaster announced:

�May I introduce you a new
member, a young one, but he would be very helpful indeed. Come here my boy.�

A hooded figure at Snape�s side visibly flinched, but advanced none the less
to the Headmaster, a general gasp of surprise was heard when the hood of the
cloak fell to reveal a slightly uncomfortable Draco Malfoy.

Hermione blinked and then felt a
smile cracking her lips, she nearly shouted in joy, but several whispers
reminded her of where she was. She looked around to see the shocked faces of
the Order members and felt a little apprehensive, Draco really wasn�t
everyone�s favorite person; sure enough, after a few
moments the first complains could be heard.

�Are you sure of this
Dumbledore?�

�This is really serious, how can
you know he�s not going to betray us?!�

�Well, we already have Severus
Snape in here.�

�Snape�s
case is different! The boy�s a Malfoy!�

�Easy
everyone! I trust him, and I can guarantee that
he�s going to be loyal to us, you have my word for it!�

�Mph, if you say so Dumbledore��

Alastor Moody wasn�t happy with the situation, Hermione could see that
since Dumbledore�s trust was enough to some people, many others looked that
they still wanted to argue the point. However, Ron�s voice was the one that
could be heard; evidently the boy was beyond annoyed.

�Professor you can�t do this!
You can�t possibly trust him!�

�Ron, be quiet!� said Mrs.
Weasley, but Ron paid her no heed.

�This is insane! He�s going to
betray us the first chance he has! Harry, tell him!!�

Many frowned at the boy�s
exuberance, but everyone turned to look at Harry with curiosity, evidently
wondering if the dark-haired boy would fight Dumbledore�s decision. Harry was
biting his lower lip in thought; he had barely paid attention to anyone�s
words, more preoccupied in assessing the whole situation.

He had promised himself that if
Malfoy offered an alliance he would accept it, but now that it was actually
happening he felt apprehensive. Dumbledore had wanted Malfoy on their side since
the beginning, but could the boy really be trusted? Hermione would say yes
immediately, but Harry wasn�t so sure of that. What did they know about Malfoy
anyway? What reasons could the boy possibly have to betray his own family? The
fact that Draco Malfoy had been dating Hermione of all people was insane
enough! But Dumbledore was right in one thing: the Slytherins in Hogwarts
needed leadership and Malfoy would be an ideal choice, it was not lost to the
Gryffindor boy that the Slytherins so far had supported Malfoy�s decisions,
except Crabbe but that hardly mattered because the
boy had already been expelled.

So, Malfoy was in fact the
leader of Slytherin House, the question was, would they still follow him in a
fight against Voldemort? Harry thought of Artemisa,
he really didn�t know the girl, they had only talked a few times, but he wanted
to have the chance to get to know her better, he had realized that not all the
Slytherins shared pureblooded ideals and many weren�t
so prejudiced against muggles or muggleborns,
they only needed a little push in the right direction.

Harry glanced briefly at
Hermione, they were risking too much, he wasn�t sure he wanted to do it, but Voldemort wasn�t giving them much choice. He tightened his
lips, and praying to God that this was the right thing to do; he walked over to
Malfoy and offered his hand.

�Welcome to our side Malfoy.�

The blond studied Harry for a
second and then shook the offered hand politely. Ron�s disbelieving shriek was
heard in the background, but Hermione was so happy that she hardly cared, she
wanted to go and hug her boyfriend tightly, but she didn�t dare to do it in
front of the entire Order of the Phoenix, one surprise was shock enough for
some of them and she really wanted to break the news to the Weasleys
in a different way. So, she settled for approaching the blond and offered her
hand too.

�I�m really glad you decided to
join us Malfoy.�

They could hear Ron�s now
distressed warning for Hermione to get away from Malfoy, but the girl just
ignored it, Draco smirked and took her hand, kissing it with a bow. Hermione
blushed, but felt very proud at the same time. That gesture of Malfoy succeeded
in cooling the grown ups a little, and Mr. Weasley put an end to his younger
son�s protests. Hermione spent the rest of the meeting in a much better mood.

When they were ready to return
to the school, Hermione saw the Weasley twins surrounding Malfoy, she walked
over to the group in fear of a confrontation, but Fred and George apparently
just were making sure that Malfoy knew they would be alert around him, the
blond boy only smirked at them and then his eyes fell on Hermione, she smiled
and told the twins that their mother was waiting for them, they evidently
didn�t want to leave her alone with the blond but Harry�s arrival put them at
ease and they walked away to find their parents. Harry and Draco glared at each
other briefly before Harry sighed and looked around in discomfort, glad that
they were in relative solitude.

�We better go now �Mione, Ron and Ginny are with their family, and I really
want to avoid any shouting match with Ron right now, I�m too tired for that.�

Draco smirked and raised an
eyebrow at the Gryffindor.

�The weasel is giving you
troubles Potter?� Harry glared at him, and Hermione sighed tiredly.

�He�s being a prat, that�s all.�

�Tell me something new Granger.�
Draco looked at Hermione and narrowed his eyes at her unhappy face. �Has he
done something stupid again? Or�?� he left the question open, he didn�t like
the idea of the Weasley boy hurting his girl in anyway, Hermione could see what
he was thinking and shook her head.

�He�s not been so nice lately,
but I don�t really care anymore, I told him that I won�t be talking to him
again, I just want him to leave me be.�

�Good.� Malfoy said with a bit
of satisfaction, he wanted the Weasleys far away from
what was his. He earned a nasty look from Potter for that.

�Listen Malfoy, I�m accepting
this situation in part for Hermione�s sake, but that doesn�t mean that I�m ok
with it, I�ll still be watching you, and if you make one wrong move with
Hermione you�re going to be very sorry!�

�The same goes for you Potter.� Said
Malfoy, glaring at his nemesis, Hermione sighed at them.

�You men are impossible! Let�s
go Harry; I think McGonagall is waiting for us.�

�Yeah, let�s go.�

Harry turned away and Hermione
mouthed a �later� to Draco before following her friend to the floo. The blond boy watched them go and then decided to
find his godfather to do the same.

Hermione relaxed on the blankets
at Malfoy�s touch over her body, it had been a long day but the boy was doing
wonders to help her forget about it, his hands were caressing each part of her
with incredible tenderness and his mouth was trailing a path of kisses one
every inch of her skin. She felt wonderful; Draco�s
teasing on her nipples was sending jolts of pleasure through her, his hands
were tracing circles on her flanks and moving over to her belly, they stopped
there and then she felt his fingers doing strange movements, barely touching
her skin. Draco started to whisper some strange words that Hermione barely
heard, she frowned and concentrated in her partner�s voice, it was not Latin,
she was about to ask Draco what he was doing when she felt magic surrounding
her and getting stronger at her middle, the boy stopped his chant and she felt
the magical energy melting into her, leaving a feeling of comfort on her.

�Draco? What did you do?�

Malfoy�s mouth was at her neck
now, resuming its previous activity.

�Don�t worry pet, it�s an
ancient protection spell for the baby, Dumbledore gave it to me today, if
anything bad happens our child is going to be fine.�

�Oh Draco,
thank you.�

�I will protect you both; you
don�t have to worry about it.�

They kissed passionately and Draco�s fingers found their way to Hermione�s wet entrance,
he started to work magic there and the girl spread her thighs widely for him,
she moaned her pleasure when a finger slowly entered her, too slow for her
liking, her hips started to push against Draco who smiled mischievously and
continued teasing her, rubbing her clitoris while inserting another finger. He
worked her for a while and finally his fingers retired and he changed his
position slightly to take her.

He entered her slowly, savoring the feel of her surrounding him deliciously tight,
he waited until he was completely settled inside her to kiss her mouth and
start moving, her legs around his waist helped him to gain momentum and he
thrust increasingly hard. Hermione loved it; she met his thrusts with equal
force as her mouth worked on his neck and shoulder, both of them moaning their
pleasure until they were almost breathless.

They didn�t stop until they were
both exhausted and cuddled in each other arms, Draco�s
hand playing with Hermione�s curly locks, and kissing her forehead softly and
muttering quietly.

�Mine. Both of you are mine.
Never doubt it.�

Hermione smiled happily in her
lover�s arms and let herself fall in a quiet slumber.
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Consequences