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How To Train Your Auror 2: Family Ties	By : Alcoholic_Rootbeer Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 7990 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I will not make a profit from this story

Chapter List
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Thank you to waymay for proofing this chapter, and for allowing me the experience of going with her to Harry Potter World next week! OMG I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN. DO YOU SEE ME CAN'T EVENING?
Shout out to LightofEvolution, who needs all the warm fuzzies.

~A.
Her dirty paws and furry coat,
She ran down the forest slope.
The forest of talking trees,
They used to sing about the birds and the bees.
The bees had declared a war,
The sky wasn't big enough for them all.
The birds, they got help from below,
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow.
"Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men
Theodore was livid. It took quite a bit to set the young Auror off. He was always bragged upon for having a cool head and objective point of view, situation be damned. Well, almost always. Because, right here in this moment, he could feel the pinprick of anger cascade up his neck and into his brain, rewiring it for action.
In a quick burst of actions, he thrust his hand out and produced a hot, white ball of magic, sending it hurtling towards Lindy at alarming speed. It struck her clean in the chest, sending her toppling backwards into a portrait of Lucius Malfoy, whose eyes went wide upon impact. Lindy smacked hard into the painting, becoming disoriented enough to drop his wand. Theodore wasted no time; he thrust his hand out again, this time beckoning his wand to him with a show of wandless magic.
"No you don't!" Lindy shouted, "Expelliarmus-"
"-Protego Maxima!" A magical shield countered Lindy's spell, which rebounded and bounced off into an expensive looking vase inside a glass case. The glass shattered, and the vase tipped, ready to fall. Lindy took her chance, waving her wand and sending the vase hurdling it at Theodore's head. He smashed it with a wiry red light from the tip of his wand and glared in Lindy's direction.
"That's more like it," she smirked.
"You're one of the White Wolf's animagi," Theodore scrambled, trying to catch his breath.
"Catch on quick."
"You're an Auror!"
"I was an Auror," she said, nearly proud. There was a stiffness in her tone, however, as if the words tasted bitter on her tongue. "Things change. -Serpensortia!" A white light erupted from her wand and transfigured into a snake, causing Theodore to throw up a thicker protection spell. The snake landed with a thwack before falling to the floor and hissing. Quickly, he hopped over the snake and cast a wordless transfiguring charm, morphing the reptile into a plush doll.
"Why?"
Lindy waved her wand over her head and sent a gust of freezing rain, which pelted upon impact like shards of tiny glass. Theodore, in turn, twisted his wand wrist and evaporated the water into small puffs of steam.
"Why?" he asked again.
"I don't need to explain myself to you. -You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" Lindy raised her wand arm to cast a spell, but Theodore was quicker, shouting, "Bombarda!" The young witch was sent flying backwards through a hallway window, the glass shattering upon her impact. Theodore rushed after her, peering his head out the window to find her sprawled out on her back, arms extended, blood pouring from a cut on her cheek.
"Shall I help you up?" he called out the window.
"Quit being studious!" she shouted back, sending a full binding curse his direction. Theodore blocked it simply and hopped out the window onto the ground just beyond the gardens.
"Lindy, let me help you." Theodore watched her wand hand twitch. "I can-"
"Stop it," she scrambled to her feet. "I don't want your help, you idiot! I want you out of my way!" With quick precision, she sent the shards of glass around her in Theodore's direction. He blocked most of them, though there were a few that managed around his spell, slicing into his shoulder. He ignored the pain and took a step closer. "Stay back!" she warned. "I don't want to do this, Theodore, but you brought this on yourself. Crucio!"
Theodore was quick enough to dodge the spell and retaliated. "Impedimenta!" Bolt was hit in the arm with a blaze of turquoise light; she tensed up, unable to move. "Expelliarmus!" Her wand was cast from her hand and landed across the lawn. "Accio wand!" It landed safely within his grip. "Petrificus-"
"Confringo!"
A fireball the size of Lindy's fist zoomed through the air. Theodore made quick use of his magic. "Aguamenti!" The fireball snuffed out.
"You think you've won?" she seethed.
"I'm not trying to win," he said, his voice grave, "I'm trying to understand why you would turn on the Ministry."
"The answer is obvious, isn't it?" The restricting spell released her, and she stumbled backwards. "You, out of everyone, should understand his vision."
"What vision, Lindy? Attacking children? What honor is in something like that?"
"He isn't attacking them. He's helping them form their full potential."
"You can't, honestly, believe that."
"I do!" She stomped her foot on the ground, determined. "Abraxas isn't the enemy here, Theodore. The Death Eaters deserve what's coming to them. Do you not remember how it was? What it was like? What the War took from us?"
"Of course I do." His voice grew quiet. He didn't want to relive those painful reminders. He didn't want to think about any of it.
"Then you know protecting them is wrong."
"No, Lindy," he shook his head. "I don't. Incarcerous!" Thin chords burst from his wand, and the next moment, she was on the ground, bound and gagged.
A shrill gasp sounded from behind them, and Theodore whipped his head around in time to catch Astoria standing at the broken window, mouth agape, eyes wide. "What on… earth...Theo?"
"Astoria," he called back. "Put the kettle on, would you? I think I fancy some tea right about now."
"This is everything?"
"Everything Luna could find, yeah. Do you think it's wise? Keeping her here, I mean? We should inform the Ministry-"
Jameson's eyes locked with Dean's, and the younger Auror shook his head. It still amazed Dean how a man of Theodore's ranking could still command authority. "-If Lindy defected from the Ministry, we can only assume others have as well. We can't make it known we have her in custody until we ascertain all we can about the situation. You should contact Auror Potter, though."
"Already on it." Dean waved his phone as Astoria, seated across the table, gave a dramatic sigh. The two men turned their eyes on the witch, who looked overjoyed to be included, finally, in the conversation.
"What will you do with her?"
"Interrogate, of course."
"I don't like the idea of that woman being anywhere in the same vicinity of Scorpius. -How did she get inside the wards in the first place?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Dean gave a hefty smile, despite being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night to floo over to the Malfoy Manor. Lucius and Narcissa sat in the parlor room, after also being flung out of bed in the middle of the night to accompany him. In all honesty, Dean was thankful he had business to attend to now, instead of facing the wrath of Draco's parents. Especially Narcissa, who had mumbled something about 'beauty sleep' being not just for the young.
"The wards I set up were careless," mumbled Jameson as he began to pace the floor. "I took into account for animagi after the kitten debacle at the Ministry -I didn't think about metamorphagi."
"She's a shifter?" asked Astoria.
Dean picked up the list Luna sent him and exchanged glances with Jameson, who nodded his head. Indeed, it would be in their best interest to keep Astoria in the loop. "Luna says Lindy's parents died during the second War, and she was adopted by the Bolt household shortly after. Her real name is Lindy Travers. Niece of the known Death Eater Laurence Travers."
"How could the Ministry miss something like that?" Astoria demanded to know.
"Sealed records. The adoption was a closed one -Ministry staff have no ways of looking those up without a warrant. Thank Merlin for Luna Lovegood. -But now we know Lindy's true origin."
"Which would explain why she's in cohorts with Abraxas Malfoy," said Jameson. "She's a Sacred Twenty Eight member. And a talented one at that. We can only assume he's had his talons in her for a while now…" He sighed, strumming his knuckles on the table. "Let me talk to her first. I grew up with her. Went to school… maybe I could reason with her."
"Oh, yes," Astoria snapped, waving her hand about, "By all means, reason with the witch who runs ties with one of the most powerful wizards in all Britain." When the two Aurors gave her quizzical looks, she shrugged. "What?"
"How do you know Abraxas is all that powerful?" asked Dean curiously.
"Because, dear, I was a Malfoy once. The library is full of rich family history. Abraxas was a talented wizard. Top marks in NEWTS. Excellent at wandless magic. A true tour de force."
"Yeah, well -if he's so powerful, what's he doing with all these kids?"
Jameson answered with a look of serious concern. "He's building an army. One he knows we wouldn't touch, with our morals the way they are."
"That's bang out of line," Dean mumbled.
"Indeed. Please. Give me ten minutes with her," offered Jameson. "If I can't strike a nerve, you're more than welcome to try whatever means necessary."
"Alright." Dean nodded. "Give it your best shot. We're all counting on you."
Hermione fell asleep with her head in Draco's lap sometime ago, while he nursed on his liquor respectably. Harry and Diggle arrived through the door thirty minutes before, disheveled and unhinged. Diggle said nothing as he approached his once enemy and picked up Hermione's untouched glass before throwing it back in two gulps. Then, he poured himself another, retreated to the window overlooking the town, and peered up at the moon. Harry, on the other hand, took a seat on the edge of the bed, rubbed his tired face in his hands, and sighed.
"You two sort everything out?"
"As much as we could," Draco replied, absentmindedly stroking curls out of Hermione's face. She looked so serene like this, as if the world wasn't being held together by a frayed string. He wished he could peer into her mind and see what it is she was dreaming of (and in all honesty, he knew he could), but he focused his attentions on Harry, adding, "You look like you've seen a ghost. The both of you."
"It's… a long story," Harry said, glancing sideways to Draco. "Anyway, you should be resting. Big day tomorrow."
Draco snorted a laugh. "When was the last time you got a wink of sleep? Days, I imagine."
"Something like that." Harry gave a sideways grin, though it was hollow. "Dean sent me a text."
"A what?"
"A message to my phone."
"Oh. That muggle thing," Draco sneered dully. "What did it say?"
"Jameson has Bolt in custody."
Draco nearly flung himself upright, but caught himself at the last moment, moving gently as to not disturb his blushing bride-to-be. Hopefully. If he stayed alive long enough. "That's brilliant. Serves the little cur right, pulling one over on a Malfoy." He gave a snooty scoff to repress the feeling of inadequacy he felt. He'd been willing to believe himself the lowest of the low for allowing Lindy to die; the knowledge she was alive and arrested should have put a warmth back in his bones, but it only hollowed out his heart more. The one time he trusted someone new, let them in just a little, and they worked for the enemy the entire time. What a load of bollocks. "They get anything out of her yet?"
"Jameson's up first. Hopefully he'll get something we can use before morning."
Draco nodded his head, hopeful. His eyes trailed over to Diggle, who seemed off in his own little world. "Hey, asshat."
"Eloquent with your words, as always." Diggle's lips curled upwards, though his eyes didn't steer from the moon lighting the room. "To what do I owe the displeasure?"
"What happened in the pensieve?"
"Ask Auror Potter. I'm sure he'll love to clue you in."
"I'm not asking Potter," Draco said tersely, "I'm asking you."
"Malfoy," Harry warned, but Draco would have none of it.
"-So, what's the verdict, then? Is my bastard of a father responsible for all your emotionally unstable discrepancies?"
Finally, Diggle moved, though it was to tuck his head and stare into his glass of amber liquor. Seconds dragged on until he sighed and spoke. "It seems… I owe you an apology, Draco Malfoy."
Draco's first instincts were to glance to Harry to make sure he, indeed, heard correctly. Judging by the look of sheer surprise written across the other man's face, Draco had most certainly heard at least what he assumed was correct. They couldn't both be wrong, could they? "Pardon. I seem in need of an ear-cleaning charm, because I must have misheard you. That sounded oddly like an apology. Come again?"
"Don't be a worm," sneered Diggle, turning his green eyes on Draco. "You heard me perfectly well."
"Maybe I did." Draco forced a smirk, though his heart was pounding. "Still, it isn't every day your arch nemesis admits to being wrong. And on such a grand scale."
"I thought I was your arch nemesis," Harry said with a calculated grin.
"Things change, Potter. Don't get jealous on me, now."
"Ugh. Your blossoming friendship is enough to make me vomit where I stand." Diggle took another sip of his drink. His eyes shifted over to the book and stone nearby, but Draco wasn't concerned. He had already set up several containment spells, as well as stinging hexes should anyone attempt to remove the items before tomorrow morning. He didn't need to tempt fate by allotting one of the most dangerous criminals in history a chance back at the very thing which turned him evil. "So, what now? Who plans to wield the Gray Magic?"
"I do," Draco said firmly.
Diggle outright laughed. "You? You've no idea what to do with it. It isn't as simple as picking up a wand. There's layers of unraveling the Gray's potential."
"Hermione seemed to do just fine," Harry said flatly, crossing his arms. "Defeated you without a day into it."
"Yes, well, she's the brightest witch of our age, isn't she? -Malfoy's fear will consume him. It will consume you, Draco Malfoy. Mark my words."
"You have any other suggestions on how this works? Because we're not giving it back to you," Draco leered.
"I'm the most capable candidate," Diggle said definitely. "Besides Hermione. But if you let her walk in on that battle, you're walking her into a death trap. Surrounding her with purebloods with a vendetta against muggleborns? Do you think it wise?"
"She can handle herself," Harry snapped. "She's been through bloodier battles."
"And besides," Draco added, "She'd never forgive us if we kept her out of the fight. She's as stubborn as they come."
"So I'm to be offered up to Abraxas tomorrow with no means of defending myself? Or you?" Diggle pointed an accusing finger while gripping his glass. "I haven't forgotten about my Vows just yet. And I rather enjoy living. I'm to keep you alive at whatever the cost. So give me the tools I need to do so."
"Forget it." Harry shook his head. "You're not getting your hands on the Gray again."
"Then you're sentencing both Auror Malfoy and I to the green mile." Diggle's eyes met Draco's, exchanging solemn glances. "You know what I speak is the truth. You know the only way out of this is if we work together."
"And I'm supposed to trust you? Just like that? After all the years of backstabbing and terrible things you made me do? After all that you've done?"
"You seem to forget that before you decided to walk away from it all, we were allies. I didn't force you into it. We did well as a team."
"I have Hermione now. I don't need another partner."
"And at what cost are you willing to put her in danger for? The Gray chose love from Miss Granger because she is filled with so much of it. Look inside yourself. How much love do you truly possess, Malfoy? Is it enough to sate the Gray?"
"I don't see you with a Pandora Stone to quench its thirst this time around." Draco raised an eyebrow. "So what could you possibly have to offer it?"
Diggle smirked. "Anger. So much of it. I'm filled to the brim with it. I could harness it as a weapon. My hate for pureblood elitists is stronger than any love someone could offer the Gray." He glanced to the other men and shrugged. "Think on it. You want to keep Auror Malfoy alive? This is the best chance you have."
"We'll take our chances with Hermione, thanks," Harry replied gruffly, making Draco swell with pride. At least he wasn't alone in the sentiments. "If you think we're handing over The Gray to a murderous psychopath like you, you've gone round the bend even further than we thought."
Theodore inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his lips. He did it to calm himself -the dungeons were as stuffy as they were foreboding. Lindy Bolt sat in a metal chair, arms bound behind her back with magic dampening cuffs (Ministry regulation, of course). Ten feet across from her, on the other side of the damp, stone environment sat another chair. This would be the one he would interrogate her with, once the time was right. But, for now, Theodore wanted answers: ones that couldn't be given under Ministry time. Even still, he brought down with him an ever-quotes quill, a bottle of fresh ink, and a lengthy parchment, setting them all down on the table in the far corner of the room.
Lindy stared down at the floor, eyes narrow and irritated. Even he could tell the emotion written across her face: contempt.
"I've come to talk," he said once setting up the quill. His feet echoed in the sparse room as he made his way to the spare chair and took a seat. "Just you and me."
"And an ever-notes quill," she sneered.
"I assure you, it's simply for precaution."
Lindy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes. Regulations. Dear, sweet Theodore Jameson. Always one for giving one hundred and ten percent. Not a stone unturned. Not a hair out of place. No, not for dear, quiet Jameson."
"Your tone indicates I rub you the wrong way."
"Oh, was it the tone?"
His eyebrows bunched together. "Sarcasm."
"Yes, Spock. Sarcasm."
"Star Trek references? Really, Lindy?"
"I'm impressed." She raised an eyebrow.
"Just because we're magical doesn't give us the right to be ignorant," he said indignantly. "Besides," he added, "It isn't the first time someone has made that reference."
Lindy nodded slowly, and then she tilted her head to the side. "So, off the record… what is it you wish to ask me?"
Theodore cleared his throat and placed his hands in his lap, wand within his grasp. "How long have you known you were a Metamorphagus?"
"How long?" she repeated the question, pursing her lips together. "Since I was seven."
"When did you realize?"
"I was at a birthday party with my friend, Trish. You remember Trish, don't you? If I recall, you were quite smitten with her when we were little."
"We barely knew each other then, just as we are strangers now," he said curtly.
"How quick you are to dismiss your roots," she noted. "Anyway, your knowledge of Trish isn't important, except for her beautiful hair. You remember how it flowed in golden ringlets down her back like honey. I'm sure you remember. No boy could keep his eyes off her."
Theodore sat quietly, waiting.
Eventually, Lindy continued. "I remember being so envious of her silky locks. I was a redhead, and was constantly picked on for it. The fact anyone associates redheads with being soulless harpies is nearly the most insulting thing." She shrugged. "I wanted her hair, and the next thing I knew, I had it."
"That explains why you're listed as a redhead on your file," he said. "Yet you're not a registered metamorphagus. Nor are you registered as an animagus. Recent discovery?"
"Hardly," Lindy snorted a laugh.
"On the record then." He sat up straighter. "How long have you been working for the White Wolf?"
Lindy sat stark still, eyes flittering gracefully over Theodore's features. It made his stomach turn in knots. "You should let me go, Theodore."
"Not on your life, Bolt. -Why are you working with the White Wolf?"
"You're so sure you're on the right side of the War. But are you, I wonder." She leaned forward. "Tell me, Auror Jameson. Why did you become an Auror?"
"That's hardly relevant."
"Oh. I think it is. I feel our resolves flow down the same path. We both lost something that day. Someone." Her eyes bore into his. "The sooner you admit it, the sooner you can begin to see my side of things. When this is all through, Theodore, you're going to be begging me to take you with me. You're going to realize why The White Wolf's way is the only way. And you're going to turn against the Ministry. Mark. My. Words.

Please feel free to leave a review, if possible. Keeps me spirits high!
~Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. I stand with Standing Rock.
~A.
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How To Train Your Auror 2: Family Ties