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How To Train Your Auror	By : Alcoholic_Rootbeer Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 7512 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I will not make a profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
Wolves and werewolves, baby
scratching at your door
Said there's wolves and werewolves, baby
scratching at your door
I think I fed them earlier,
I don't know what they're here for
The horses, they've got their fright on
it don't matter what you do
The horses, they've got their fright on
it don't matter what you do
They're gonna trample all the chickens
and come on in after you

~"Wolves and Warewolves" by The Pack A.D. (And yes, they totally spell it Warewolves on the album)
Being locked away in a prison cell was nothing new to Draco Malfoy. After the War, his entire family had sat for two weeks in holding while awaiting trial. He had never been able to alleviate the sudden smell of piss and shame every time he thought about his seventeen year old self sitting lonely in his lone cell waiting for the Dementors to come and take him. They hadn't, obviously, but being back here, sitting in a dreary cell that so resembled his old one made his bones shiver down to the marrow.
In the back of his mind, Draco saw Hermione's eyes. Her big, brown, wet eyes that had looked practically as horrified as he felt when she watched him being dragged into custody. Beside her in his mind's eye, he could see Diggle's smug expression. He had thought, for a split moment, that Hermione had played him the entire time, but that had faded the moment he had watched Diggle hold Hermione in his arms. That wave of her fingers… what did it mean? What was Diggle holding over her head to make her so silent?
He glanced up at the stone walls, folding his hands between his knees to keep them from shaking. He couldn't think of a single way to get out of the situation he was in. He knew his fingerprints were going to be all over the evidence, and with a quick spell anyone would have all the evidence needed to get him tossed out of the Auror division all together. Damn it! He had gotten so caught up in his feelings for Granger that he had broken his cardinal Malfoy rule: Don't get caught. If his father could see him now…
His head perked up. His Father. Lucius Malfoy wasn't an affectionate man, but he'd be loyal enough to get Draco out of this jam. Even with his Death Eater status, he had enough ties at the Ministry. It would be a matter of getting a letter sent out. Surely he was allotted that, right?
There was a clanking sound from down the hall, and the sound of keys jingling before footsteps approached his cell. Much to Draco's anger and chagrin, Auror Gregory Diggle smiled triumphantly at him from the other side of the metal bars. "Such a tangled web we weave, eh Malfoy?"
"Sir." Draco growled, sticking his nose up in the air and turning his face away from Diggle. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of losing restraint; he was going to show Diggle that even if he was in chains, he wasn't going to be controlled. He heard a smug chuckle.
"A Malfoy till the bitter end."
"What would you know of my family?"
"Enough." Diggle scraped the cell keys along the bars, the metal clinking in different tones as the keys strummed. "How does it feel to be bested?"
"I don't know. I'll be sure to ask you that when this is all through."
"Bold words coming from someone in cuffs. But you should be used to those by now."
"What do you want, Diggle?" Draco sneered. "Besides to flaunt your pompous, fat head around like a show trophy."
"I just came to tell you that Hermione sends her regards… She'd tell you herself, but she's a bit preoccupied at the moment."
That caught Draco's attention. So much so that he lost his cool head and jerked his head destructively in Diggle's direction. He made to stand, but the chains around his ankles were secured to a metal loop through the floor under his chair, making it difficult. He settled for jerking against his restraints and glaring. "If you've touched a single hair on her head…"
"I'd never do anything to endanger her," Diggle replied, observing possible specks of dirt under his nails. "She means a great deal to me. You too, from what I gather."
"When I get out of here, mark my words. They're going to need to send me Azkaban after, because I'm going to kill you."
"Love to see you try."
"I bet you feel just extra peachy-keen out there, don't you? The only reason you have me locked up is because you know I'm too much of a threat to you on the outside."
"Quite the contrary," Diggle smirked, eyes trailing over in Draco's direction. "I want you to witness what comes next." He smiled such a predatory smile that Draco's stomach filled with fear and he nearly threw up. He pushed the vomit back down his throat and began to breathe heavily.
"What the Hell does that mean?"
"I thought you'd have figured it out by now. Oh well." Diggle slung the keys over his shoulder, his finger caught in the loop to hold them there. "This really was ahead of schedule, but when Miss Granger mentioned the Gray Magic, I knew it was too risky to let you two flail around wildly in the dark. What if you stumbled onto something?"
At the mention of Gray Magic, Draco's ears prickled. He debated on what to say, and took a chance. "So, it's true then. You work for Cane."
Diggle didn't seem at all bothered by the accusation. He simply shrugged. "I wouldn't say 'work for' per say… But neither did you, did you? You were his partner, weren't you? And yet you still betrayed him. Such a black sheep."
"Come in here and I'll show you black sheep. I'll give you two black eyes, you sodding bell end!"
"Language," Diggle tisked. "Cane trusted you. He had such faith in you… but you always fell short. Such potential. -No matter. I want you to know something." He leaned close and put a hand on each bar next to his face. "Listen, now, because this is very important. Are you listening?" He smirked. "I'm going to tear down everything you love, Draco Malfoy. I'm going to strip away any bit of happiness that you have left in your pathetic life. And when I'm done, I'm going to take Hermione away from you too. I'm going to make her forget that a sod like you ever existed in her life. It's for the best you know."
Draco growled, jerking his arms against the chains that connected his hands to his legs. They rattled, but he was thoroughly at the chain's mercy.
"But she's going to watch what happens, first. She's going to watch the havoc that is inflicted, all because you decided to keep your secrets to yourself."
"What does that even mean? What are you and Cane planning?"
"Details? Oh no. No details for you, I'm afraid. You'll see soon enough. I'm not that cartoon villain who loves to reveal all of his secrets. Unless you'd like to share what's in that sawdust filled head of yours?"
Draco glared, but said nothing.
"Pity." Diggle began to walk away, but Draco panicked and shouted, "Wait!" He came back, green eyes filled with satisfaction. "Yes, Draco?"
Draco hadn't anticipated what his next words would be. Fear gripped his chest and clung tight. He settled on attempting a smug smirk and said, "Don't I get a letter? It's my right, I get one letter."
"Yeah? Tell it to your warden. I'm not on duty for another thirty." And with that, Gregory Diggle stalked slowly out of the hallway, leaving Draco Malfoy alone in the darkness.
Hermione's mind swam through spell after spell as she stepped into the floo and headed to her house. She couldn't come up with one that would remove a type of Imperius curse, but there wasn't any, and even if there were, there would be no guarantee that it would work against this Gray Magic. With a shower of green flames, she arrived in the comfort of her own home. She leaped out and took off towards her parchment drawer. "Have to get this to someone," she muttered, pulling out a pencil and sitting down at her desk. But as her hands came down to write, it hovered over the paper but wouldn't make contact. She sighed, and told herself she'd write a grocery list to test a theory. The hand fell slack, and she was allowed to write 'milk, eggs, shite on Greg Diggle's head.' She smiled, half triumphant, and crumpled up the paper.
The door to the bedroom swung open, and the annoyed voice of Astoria Greengrass piped up. "Miss Granger? Is that you? Everything alright?"
"I'm in the kitchen!" Hermione shouted, wanting to add 'everything is certainly not alright', but the spell did its job. Astoria found her and raised her smooth eyebrows up in surprise.
"What are you doing home so soon?"
Hermione really wished that Diggle hadn't commanded her not to cry, because if any time was the moment to break down, it was right now. Instead, she sat her pencil down on top of the table and set her face in her hands. "D-Draco…" She forced the word out of her mouth.
"Draco?" Astoria's eyebrows furrowed together. "What has that man done now?"
"Nothing!" Hermione screeched, a Hell of a whole lot louder than she intended. "I-I mean… Draco's… b-b-b…" She fought against the spell, telling herself it was simple information on Draco. That didn't mean she had to mention Greg. As her mind sifted through the loophole, her mouth came to her own control again and she sighed. "Draco's been arrested."
"For what?"
"Stealing."
"Stealing? That doesn't sound like Draco!"
"It's worse than that." She knew she had said too much, because her mouth clamped shut.
"Did he murder someone?"
She shook her head.
"Then what?"
"Can't say."
"Can't or won't."
"Can't."
Astoria blinked a few times. For as vain and shallow as she appeared to be, Hermione had to give her credit, because she pieced together Hermione's situation quickly. "Someone's controlling you."
She wasn't allowed to nod, but she blinked once. She desperately hoped Astoria would understand. She did.
"Is it Cane?"
Two blinks.
"Well, that doesn't help me figure this out, Hermione."
"You said my name." Hermione's mouth fell open, shocked.
"And apparently, the spell preventing you from speaking has only one purpose; to keep you from talking about who's done wrong to Draco. Am I right?"
One blink.
Hermione thought about Diggle's exact words. "Astoria… would you call us friends?"
"Friends?" Astoria stared at her, baffled. "Well, not really…"
"Oh, thank God!" Hermione felt the spell release from her. "Astoria, you're absolutely brilliant!" She leapt across the table and threw her arms around the Greengrass woman.
"Yes, well… I know."
"Greg told me I couldn't talk to my friends about what had happened, but if we're not friends, the magic doesn't really work, see?" She jumped up from her chair. "Greg figured out that Draco and I stole files out of his desk, and he means to have Draco imprisoned and-"
"Hold on. Slow down." Astoria threw up a finger. "You two stole files out of your Superior Officer's desk?"
"My late husband's files, to be precise-"
Astoria threw her hand further into the air. "Wait a moment! What do you mean 'late husband'? Did I miss a memo?"
"Astoria, I don't have time for this!" Hermione threw the pencil and parchment across the table. "I need you to write what I'm about to say all down, alright? Just do it!"
"Alright! Alllllll-right." Astoria grabbed up the pencil and began to jot down bullet points. "Continue."
"He used Gray Magic to use an Imperius like curse on me. He can control me physically, but not mentally. Are you writing this down? Every word?"
"I'm not known for quick writing, Miss Granger. You'll have to give me a moment." Her fingers curved around the pencil as she skillfully wrote.
"Must you be showy with your letters?"
"If I'm not, no one will believe I've written it." She finished dotting her punctuation. "Alright. -Wait, this is Greg? As in, Greg Diggle? That man you went on that date with Saturday night?"
"Yes! Write it down!"
"Look, Miss Bossy-Pants, I'm beginning to understand why we're not friends in the first place." As Astoria wrote, Hermione could see why Draco had loved the woman. She was irritating, yes, but she was sharp and could quip with the best of them.
"He told me to come here and wait for him. I'm not sure what he plans next, but he practically admitted that he's known about Draco and I for some time. If that's true, he means Draco quite a bit of harm."
Astoria's eyes popped, and she scribbled the last bit down without her flourished letters. As soon as she was done, she jerked her head up to meet Hermione's. "Draco's in serious trouble, then."
"Yes." Hermione nodded. "Oh my goodness! Astoria! Can you close down the floo? Maybe we can-"
But there was a furious eruption of green flames from the fireplace, and then Greg Diggle stepped into the living room. "Oh, Miss Granger? Are you here?"
"Quick!" Hermione whispered, nudging down to the note. Astoria waved her hand, and the letter disappeared. Diggle followed the sound of Hermione's voice into the kitchens, and when his eyes set on Astoria, Hermione realised she had made a terrible mistake in underestimating his arrival time. She thought she would have time to hide Astoria, but now… now it was too late. She screamed at herself on the inside.
"Oh? Guests?" Diggle smirked, crossing his arms. "I really don't have a lot of time, Hermione. Tight schedule, you see." He stepped through the kitchen threshold and grinned Astoria's way. "Ah. I recognize you. Astoria Malfoy."
Astoria kept her calm demeanor as she sneered, "It's Greengrass, actually."
"Oh, yes. Of course. Divorcee." Diggle glanced up at the clock on Hermione's wall. "Oh dear me. Is that the time? I really should be getting back to work. Hermione, be a dear and go grab the baby."
"What? I'll be damned if you-" Astoria shot up out of her chair, but Diggle flexed his fingers, and a whip of black smoke jutted from them and hit Astoria clean in the face. She fainted instantly. The smoke fell to the floor, a pile of white powder.
"Such a shame. I have such a bad back on rainy days." He glanced up to Hermione. "The baby."
Hermione jerked as she fought with her body, but it only obeyed Diggle, forcing her shoes to follow her feet to the bedroom; Scorpius lay sleeping in his crib in a dragon onesie with footies. Hermione's heart sank as she scooped him up into her arms, taking a moment to grab his blanket too. Scorpius started awake in a burst of cries, and Hermione felt horrified tears ran down her cheeks as she said to him, "Sshh, Scorpius. It's alright. It's just me, now. Quiet, love… shhh…" Scorpius's cries diminished as he recognized her soothing voice, and he snuggled onto her shoulder. "I won't let him hurt you, Scorpius. I solemnly swear." She snuggled the baby tight against her, gathering up the diaper bag and the bottle of still warm formula from his crib. She swallowed hard and came back out into the living room to find Diggle standing there with Astoria slung over his shoulder.
"Oh good. He's cuter than what I imagined."
"He looks just like his father," Hermione sneered, earning a contemptible glare from Greg. "If you so much as look at him-"
"Hermione, do shut up."
Her lips sealed together.
"Thank you. Now, if you'll kindly grab my arm, we'll be apparating."
Her arm reached out and touched his. In a quick POP, she was slung into a tightness of swirling vortex and gut wrenching dizziness. When they landed, it was in front of an older, quaint looking home in between two ginormous Oak trees. Scorpius shrieked out of fear from the apparation, but Hermione managed to calm him down by patting him on the back and kissing his ear. Diggle led the way, Hermione on his heels as he told her to follow, until they were inside the white French doors that led to the entryway. The wallpaper (a hideous display of seventies flowers) was faded and peeling, and the furniture looked as if it hadn't been sat in in many years. Thick layers of dust covered everything from the banister that led upstairs to the old lamps that sat as timeless pieces on rickety wooden coffee tables.
"You may speak now," Diggle told her, and Hermione felt the release of the spell, breathing in through her mouth and tasting the musty air.
"You don't honestly think you're going to get away with this, do you? I will find a way out of this, I swear it on my life, and when I do I'll tear apart the world to take you down." She followed him as he led her down a short hallway to a black painted door. Diggle shrugged and said, "Be a dear and open the door." Hermione reluctantly reached out with her free hand and turned the knob. Diggle pushed it open with his knee and introduced her to a vast, expansive library that could have made Belle from Beauty and the Beast envious. This room looked brand new, though she knew that were impossible, because the books kept here were very, very old. This must be the only room used in the house, she thought to herself. She forgot momentarily of the danger she was in and reached out to touch a row of books. The ceiling was arched at the top and hovered a good sixty feet - an expansion spell, she noted, because the roof of the house had only been two stories tall.
"Is this where you and Cane do all of your evil plotting?" She taunted. Diggle tossed Astoria onto a nearby couch. This one was plush, green, and very new. "If you think people won't notice that I'm gone, you're wrong. Harry will find me. He'll get this whole mess sorted out with Draco, you'll see-"
"Enough." Diggle raised his hand and silenced her. "For the brightest witch in our lifetime, you sure do yammer on a lot, you know that?" He offered his hands out. "Shall I take the baby?"
"You'll have to pry him from my cold, dead hands." She glared.
"Tempting," he smirked. "But I think I rather like you alive, so I suppose the baby stays with you." He snapped his fingers, and Astoria's eyes shot open as she struggled for breath. She bounded off of the couch, coughing, before looking up from the floor at Diggle and Hermione. When her eyes found Scorpius, she growled.
"That's. My. Baby." She seethed. "Hermione. Give. Me. My. Child."
Hermione glanced to Greg to see if he would order against it, but when he didn't she dashed across the room and set Scorpius in Astoria's arms. Astoria cradled him tightly, checking him over. When she was convinced he was alright, she glared heatedly back up at Diggle and flipped him the bird.
"Classy," he rolled his eyes. "Well, ladies. As much fun as this has been, I really must be off. Big plans! Big plans…" He strolled up to Hermione and cupped her cheek. "Don't leave. Don't contact anyone. You are to wait until I return. If Astoria attempts to leave - kill her." He gave her a wink. "Give us a kiss?"
"If you're not going to force me, I'd rather see you rot in Hell."
"Another time." He pulled his hand away. "I'll never force you into anything, Hermione. At least, not romantically. You'll come around, sooner or later. It's just a matter of time. I'll be sure to tell your boyfriend 'Hello' - if he survives long enough."
Dean shifted nervously in his chair, waiting for the class bell to ring. He had met a cute muggle girl at the new coffee shop he visited on lunch, and he was practically bouncing in his chair to tell someone. He glanced around the room anxiously for Hermione so he could dish out the details, but as the bell rang and Greg stepped in the door, his chest tightened. Hermione was never late for a class.
Greg waved his hand to Dean and stepped in front of the class. "Right. Should we test out those potions?"
"Sir." Dean raised his hand. He knew the drill: even though Greg and him were mates, he still had to be cordial in class. When Greg glanced over and nodded, Dean spoke again. "Where's Hermione?"
"Ill, I'm afraid." Greg shrugged. "It seems our own Auror Malfoy was caught stealing. Poor girl witnessed them bringing him in. Got her shaken up." He looked around to the class. "I guess that's what we get for allowing a Death Eater into the Ministry." Half of the room lit up in sniggers. Dean did not. He didn't particularly think Draco Malfoy had the purest of hearts, but he had seen him in action. He'd give his life for any one of the men in this classroom, which was more than the other sods could say for themselves. He still remembered the way Malfoy had ran at the burning Leaky in an attempt to save Roman's life. Malfoy stealing? There'd have to be a reason, he thought miserably.
But it still wasn't like Hermione, even with all of the stress, to miss a class. He'd seen her push through worse events and still rank highest in marks.
"Sir?" He raised his hand again.
"Yes, Auror Thomas?"
"I'd like to be excused from class, please."
Greg raised an eyebrow. "We're in the middle of a lesson."
"Yes, I know that. But just this once? Hermione's my friend, sir. If she's hurting, I'd like to be there for her."
"No." Greg Diggle shook his head, giving Dean a stern smile. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait." He lowered his voice. "If you'd like, the both of us can visit her after class together, but now isn't the time." He smiled back up to the classroom and began again, "As I was saying, perhaps if we started on a simple poison to test… one that takes a while for the bloodstream to…" His words faded out of Dean's ears as his gut told him something was terribly, terribly wrong. And Dean's hunches were few, but when they were there they were always right. He gathered up his books into his book bag and stood up from his chair. Greg cut himself off mid-sentence and craned his head towards Dean. "Auror Thomas. What are you doing?"
"I'm going to see my friend, sir."
"I haven't excused you from class."
"I'm aware of that, sir."
Greg's eyes narrowed, and he shrugged. "Very well. But if you leave, know that you're breaking a direct command from your Superior Officer. I'll have to take your name off of the list of applicants for this year."
Dean's stomach dropped, but his resolve was not shaken. "You do what you have to, yeah?" He pushed in his chair and turned to leave.
"Dean." Greg almost sounded pleading. "Do you know what you're giving up?"
"I've waited two years. What's another?" He shrugged up his strap of the book bag and made his way to the back of the class, eyes hard pressed on him. When he made it to the door, he took in a deep breath, exhaled, and stepped into the hallway. Two different paths were presented before him just like the two sides of the hallway. On the one hand, he could leave and check up on Hermione immediately - no doubt she was hurting pretty bad if Malfoy was incarcerated. But then there was the other path, the one that spoke from that 'always right' gut of his, that said he needed to pay Draco Malfoy a visit.
Sighing again, he nodded firmly to himself and took the left path towards the elevators that would take him all the way down to the holding cells. Whatever Malfoy had done he'd need to hear it straight from the Thestral's mouth.
Draco stared up at the stone ceiling, straining for any bit of light that would peer through the cracks. It was daylight outside, he knew, but that didn't stop the hours from feeling like an unending complexity of twilight. He slammed his fists down on the edge of his chair and tried to summon up any bit of magic in his system, but the cuffs prevented him from doing so.
He feared for Hermione above all else. When he got out of this prison Hell hole - yes, when and not if, he was going to make sure to knock out every single one of Greg Diggle's perfectly straight teeth.
Someone's voice carried from the far end of the hall.
"I just want to visit with him. I'm an Auror in training… No, I don't have a badge yet, but what does that bloody matter? Statute Six, paragraph eighty three says any imprisoned witch or wizard awaiting trial is afforded one visit by family and one by legal- counsel. And I'm his third cousin twice removed, so if you'll excuse me…"
A few hard stomps later, Dean Thomas's face came into view, his face lit up by the tip of his wand. He gave Draco a hearty wave and smirked. "Someone's been a naughty boy."
"Third cousin?" Draco smirked back.
"Twice removed." Dean nodded.
"You've got cleverness, I'll give you that." He rubbed his chin. "What do you want, Thomas?"
"I heard they locked you down here for theft. I was going to comfort Hermione first, but I thought I might get your side of things before-" Dean cut himself off as Draco jerked up on the chains and tried to stand. "Everything alright?"
"No." Draco whispered. "Things are most certainly not alright. Hermione's in trouble. You should have gone to find her first, you stupid sod!"
"Hey, no need to get nasty." Dean furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean Hermione's in trouble?"
Draco opened his mouth to answer, but there was a deafening boom from somewhere up above his head. The hanging lights of the hallway swayed angrily as the foundation above Draco's head shook. Tiny pebbles broke off from the top and crumbled down around him. A furious shriek that sounded like metal grinding against fire and more metal screamed from the Ministry above them. Draco threw his hands up as best he could to shield himself, and Thomas cast a quick protego spell as part of the ceiling came crashing down around Draco Malfoy's head. The spell rebounded the debris, and Draco was left shaken and huffing frightened breaths as he stood in a perfect circle of rubble. He glanced over to Dean and gave a nod. "Thanks."
"What the bloody Hell do you think that was?" asked Dean. "I'm going to go check with the guard."
"Thomas!"
"Be right back."
"Don't leave me!"
But it was too late - Dean's footsteps echoed down the hall. He stopped short, though, and he whistled. "Blimey!"
"What!?" Draco shouted, pulling against the cuffs. "What is it?"
"The entire hall's crumbled in! We're stuck down here!"
"Fuck!" Draco kicked out at nothing and fell back in his chair. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Dean jogged back to him. "Fuck." He agreed. "Why do I get this sinking feeling that this is connected to Hermione."
"Because it is." Draco pushed his arms out to Dean. "Look. I'll explain it all later, alright? Just… get me out of these."
"Hey now. It's one thing to come in here and check in on you. It's an entirely other thing to break you out."
"You think you're ready for whatever the Hell is up there on your own?" Draco pointed to the crumbled ceiling, where an ominous black hole lurked. He watched Dean calculate all of the variables, much like Hermione would have.
"You've got a point." He brandished his wand forward. "Alright, Malfoy. This might sting a bit."
Hope you like? Please don't forget to review! If you have a moment.
A.
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How To Train Your Auror