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Blood traitor	By : Dramionia Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 13404 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

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Thank you for all the reviews!

Chapter 6

New Allies

When Ginny stormed into the Gryffindor common room out of breath, she looked around. Harry and Ron were not there, so she ran up the stairs to their dormitory, knocked and, without waiting for an answer, she opened the door. She almost collided with Neville, who was just leaving, headed to the Great Hall for dinner. She quickly apologized to him then burst into the room and, seeing that Harry and Ron were alone, she slammed the door shut with a bang.

“You won’t believe what I have just seen!” she cried out in response to their questioning glances.

“What?” they asked at the same time.

“I don’t believe it! I still can’t believe it, despite the fact that I saw it with my own eyes,” she said as she walked nervously around and tried to stop the shaking of her hands.

“Well, spit it out already,” Ron urged her impatiently, suspecting that it was just a stupid rumor or something like that. Ginny didn’t comment on his nasty tone, because what she wanted to say was more important.

“I was walking back from the pitch when, near the entrance, I saw Malfoy embracing Hermione!” She looked at the two boys, waiting for their response. She thought they would scream and say that it was impossible, that it was a delusion. She thought they would inquire about the details of exactly what happened and what the circumstances were, and then they would ask if she was certain that the people she saw were Malfoy and Hermione. To her amazement, neither Harry nor Ron seemed to be surprised by this revelation.

“Did you hear?! I saw Hermione and Malfoy!” she repeated.

“Yes, we know,” Harry said sadly.

“How?” She was surprised by his answer.

“It’s been happening for some time,” Ron explained.

Ginny suddenly understood why things were strained between the boys and Hermione. “Is that why you don’t want to talk to her?” she asked.

“Yeah. The worst part is that she still denies everything, even though we’ve caught them so many times,” said Ron.

“Since when did you know?”

“From that evening when you found us frozen in the empty classroom,” explained Harry.

“But we suspect that it may have lasted a lot longer.”

“I can’t believe it!” Ginny said and sat down hard on Ron's bed. “Tell me everything from the beginning,” she asked after a moment.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and both of them nodded slightly. They came to the conclusion that since Ginny already knew so much, they might as well tell her the rest.

“We saw them shagging in that empty classroom. They didn’t know that we were there,” Harry began.

Ginny's jaw dropped and her hand went immediately to her mouth.

“It's impossible,” she finally whispered. “Maybe it was some kind of hallucination?”

“We haven’t been seeing things, Ginny! It was real!” burst Ron.

“At first, I thought that it was the effect of some kind of potion, but then I remembered I overheard them quarreling a few days earlier. It was only after I saw them together that I realized that they argued like a couple, rather than enemies. Hermione said something about being a pure blood and Malfoy didn’t deny it. Then he said that it was Hermione’s idea to use Kreacher to lure me into the Ministry. Hermione also spoke about the fact that they were a couple and that they would get married in the future,” Harry continued to explain.

“But Hermione is a Muggle-born. And I don’t believe that she was behind the trap to lure you into the Ministry,” insisted Ginny. “When we fought in the Ministry, she was on our side.”

“I also thought it was bullshit, but then I saw them―” Harry was not able to finish his sentence, because he remembered the horrible experience of not being able to turn his head away from Hermione and Malfoy. “She played her role well at the Ministry. The Death Eaters knew that she was on their side, because Dolohov didn’t use Avada Kedavra when he cast a spell at her. He could have killed her, but she came out of that fight without much damage.”

“No, no, no!,” Ginny said, not wanting to believe that it was true.

“Since then, we’ve seen her with Malfoy a few times on the Marauder’s Map. They meet in the same classroom every time,” added Ron, when his little sister calmed down a little.

“Also, Malfoy saved her from the falling bookstand during our DADA lesson. He thought that no one saw him, but we did. Later, she visited him in the hospital wing,” ended Harry.

“This is really a little too much to be a coincidence or mistake,” said Ginny, with resignation in her voice. “But, somehow, it’s still hard for me to believe in all of this.”

“Yeah. The same goes for us,” Ron agreed with her.

“We need to know the whole truth, so now we’re trying to discover Hermione’s pure-blood status and if she is helping Malfoy with his mission. But we still don’t have much. Malfoy disappears from the map and Hermione, as usual, spends most of her time in the library. Has she asked you any strange questions, said something suspicious?” asked Harry.

“No, I don’t remember anything like that,” replied the clearly upset red-haired girl.

“We wanted to search through her belongings, but we can’t enter into the girls’ dormitory. Can you help us?”

“I don’t think we should Ron...” began Ginny.

“Ginny, it might be important!” said her brother, irritated with Ginny’s hesitance to help them.

“Do you think we will find something about her being a pure-blood? I think we should start from there. I don’t know how to go about checking someone's background. Her Muggle parents could have adopted her or something.”

“Yeah, Ron and I are stuck on the same idea,” admitted Harry. “We don’t know how to solve it.”

“Can’t we just talk to her?” Ginny asked shyly.

“That is not an option,” protested Ron. “She is very intelligent. She has been able to deceive us this whole time. She could easily pull the wool over our eyes, again.”

“Right,” Ginny agreed, and all three fell silent, dangling their heads and thinking about the answers to the nagging questions.

*****

Narcissa Malfoy walked through the dark streets of Muggle London and looked around. The Muggle dress she was wearing caused her a lot of discomfort. Despite the fact that Narcissa knew that this outfit would help her blend in with the environment, she couldn’t stop feeling as if she was wearing something highly inappropriate and downright funny.

Since it was a Saturday night, from time to time Narcissa would pass a group of drunk, screaming young people who staggered around singing terribly vulgar songs out of tune and who sometimes tried to talk to the witch. Narcissa went on, however, not replying. She preferred not to enter into any interactions with Muggles because they filled her with disgust. And after watching them tonight, she hated Muggles even more than before. But she knew that she was in this terrible place for a reason: she was looking for a Muggle who would be suitable for the implementation of her plan. Unfortunately, so far no one had raised her interest. A homeless person who had no family and friends would be the best choice.

At this point, she passed an advertisement pillar that caught her attention. She looked at the ragged, unmoving Muggle poster hanging on the post and couldn’t believe her own eyes. A familiar face looked at her from the poster. A new, brilliant idea popped into her mind. Although the character in the picture lacked the aristocratic facial expressions and beautiful, long, blond hair, Narcissa found the similarities sufficient enough for her needs. She came to the conclusion that a simple spell would solve the hair problem and she hoped that only a few people would be able to notice the absence of noble features. The poster informed the public about a meeting between fans and Jason Isaacs, a famous British actor. The appointment was set for the 15th of April, which meant that only a few days separated Narcissa from implementing her plan. She smiled to herself, looked around and pulled out her wand. She waved it negligently and the poster detached from the pillar, rolled up, and flew straight into Narcissa’s pocket. She looked around again, and when she was sure nobody saw her, she apparated with a crack.

*****

Hermione and Draco stood in front of the stone gargoyles wondering which sweet delicacy could be the password to Dumbledore’s office. They were beginning to lose patience, because they had probably mentioned all the sweets they could think of, ranging from Lemon drops, to Every Flavor Beans, to Chocolate Frogs.

“You are such a teacher’s pet and you don’t even know the password,” mocked Draco. He knew he should be nice, but he just couldn’t restrain himself from teasing her.

“Shut up, Malfoy!” Hermione wanted to add something else, but suddenly the stone gargoyles began to move slowly. Hermione and Draco looked at each other, puzzled, and then at the open entrance, where, a moment later, the tall figure of the old, bearded wizard with half-moon glasses appeared.

“Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, what a surprising visit. And you are here together. To what do I owe this pleasure?” the old man asked, smiling at them genially.

“Good morning, sir. We need to talk to you urgently,” Hermione replied immediately.

“Of course. Come in, my dears,” the headmaster said, and then turned his back to them and walked into the office.

For a split second, Draco thought that now was the perfect opportunity to kill the old man. He only had to quickly pull out his wand and hit him with a spell on his back. “How unwise of Dumbledore to turn his back to people,” thought Draco. However, the idea was rejected as quickly as it had come to his mind. After all, Dumbledore had to stay alive to protect him.

Draco and Hermione went after the old wizard and entered his office.

“Sit down, please,” Dumbledore suggested when everyone entered into the study. He waved his wand and two seats appeared in front of his desk. He sat in his usual place behind the table. “So why did you come to me?”

Draco and Hermione sat down on the places offered to them and they began to look around. There were a lot of books in the office. Hermione had to restrain herself from getting up again and checking to see what titles could be found on the shelves. There were also piles of magical items and bottles of various potions. Portraits of all the former headmasters of the school, most of who pretended to be asleep, hung up on the wall. Phineas Nigellus was peeking with one eye, wondering what important issue made his descendant and the Mudblood come to the headmaster’s office at the same time. Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, sat on its perch, close to the headmaster’s desk. The bird was busy with cleaning his feathers and seemed to pay no attention to the newcomers.

“We wanted to tell you―” Hermione began.

“We have to say two things,” Draco cut her off.

“I understand. Miss Granger, please continue.”

“I…I don’t know how to begin,” Hermione stammered, blushed and looked at Dumbledore’s blackened hand, resting limply on the desk. For the first time in her life, she couldn’t answer a question smoothly.

“It all started some time between the end of February and the beginning of March,” Draco said. He was also uncomfortable with telling anyone about the recent developments between him and Granger, but he realized that Granger wouldn’t be able to voice what had happened.

“It was the end of February, just before Ron's birthday,” she interrupted.

“I think it was someone's stupid joke,” Draco continued, not paying attention to what Hermione said. “Someone made a potion that made me think about Granger in a way that I've never thought of before.”

“In what way?” the headmaster asked.

“Well, you know...” The boy said, slightly irritated. “I saw her everywhere in indecent poses and wearing revealing clothes. She would tempt me and then disappear. As a result, I couldn’t stop thinking about her,” he finished, embarrassed, and his usually pale face was now red.

“And you, Miss Granger, did you have similar symptoms?” the headmaster asked.

“Yes,” she replied quietly and, like Draco, blushed beet red.

“So what happened next?”

“We don’t know how it happened, but it intensified and, at one point, we weren’t able to control ourselves and ended up doing it when we ran into each other,” Draco explained, even more embarrassed. Although he had a lot of experience in this area and talked with his housemates on such topics, he never had to externalize in front of any adult, especially the school principal. Although he told this story to his mother, he did it in a letter, which was much easier.

“I can’t believe it! My great, great, great grandson was with a Mudblood!” Phineas Nigellus was outraged, but nobody was paying attention to him.

“Do you still have these visions?” the headmaster inquired.

“No. It stopped after we...well, you know.” Draco didn’t know how to put into words what he wanted to convey. None of the words he normally used when talking to his colleagues fit the current situation.

“I understand.” Dumbledore saved Draco the trouble of having to talk further about that night. “It had to be the Effectus Cupiditas potion. Did you turn to me so that I could find and punish the perpetrator? Why only now?”

Both Hermione and Draco got red again.

“It's not that,” muttered Malfoy.

“Then what is it?” the headmaster asked.

“Granger is pregnant,” blurted Draco.

Hermione looked at him as if betrayed. She had hoped that Malfoy would say it in a little less pointed a manner.

“It's not our fault. It’s because of the potion that we didn’t think about the consequences,” she tried to defend herself.

“You can’t kick us out of Hogwarts!” Suddenly, Draco got frightened.

“And do you mind telling me why, Mr. Malfoy?” Dumbledore asked, even though there wasn’t even a hint of severity on his face.

“It's quite complicated,” Draco said. “The second cause of our visit will explain everything to you.”

“Take it easy, my dears,” the headmaster soothed them. “First, you have to finish talking, then we will think about what are we going to do with this situation.”

“This is my child and I don’t want anything to happen to it,” the boy said.

“Even if it is half-blood?” the headmaster asked, becoming interested in Draco’s response.

“Yes,” Draco answered without hesitation.

“Interesting...”

“We need your protection,” Draco continued his explanations. “But before I say anything more, you must first promise me that I won’t find any negative consequences for what I've done so far,” Draco said, setting his condition. He was afraid to tell the truth, because he knew that he almost caused the death of two Hogwarts students: Katie Bell and Ronald Weasley.

“Mr. Malfoy, it’s difficult to promise such things without knowing the case, but we'll see what I can do when I hear the whole story,” Headmaster Dumbledore answered diplomatically.

Draco hesitated for a moment. His whole life he was taught not to enter into agreements if the conditions were not sure, but the boy came to the conclusion that there was no other choice but to take the risk. Upset to the limit, he clenched his hands on the arms of the chair he was sitting in so tight that they became almost completely white due to the lack of blood flowing to them. Then he opened his mouth to tell Dumbledore everything.

"Okay then,” he began shakily. “Last summer, I was called to the Dark Lord.”

Hermione's eyes widened in horror.

“I officially became a Death Eater, and then the Dark Lord entrusted me with a mission.”

“So, Harry was right the whole time!” Hermione blurted out without thinking about what she was saying.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore continued to stare at Malfoy with an understanding smile.

“Yes, he was right!” Draco replied, annoyed. “Granger, can you stop interrupting me?!”

“I'm sorry,” she replied, embarrassed.

“The Dark Lord threatened to kill me if I refused to perform this task.” Draco hoped that if he portrayed himself as a victim he would get more goodwill from the headmaster.

“What was this task about, Mr. Malfoy?”

“The task has not yet been completed. I still have time to fulfill it by the end of the school year. It consists of two main parts: first, I have to allow Death Eaters access into the castle,” he explained. “And second, I have to kill you,” he added, a lot quieter.

Hermione gasped, horrified.

“Interesting.” Dumbledore seemed to be unmoved by these revelations. “And how did you intend to do this?”

“I wanted to let Death Eaters into the school through the Room of Requirement. I found the vanishing cabinet in there, which leads to its partner in Borgin and Burkes. However, the cabinet at Hogwarts is broken and, for the past few months, I have tried to fix it. So far, I haven’t succeeded.” The last sentence he uttered quietly, as if ashamed of his incompetence.

“Very clever,” the headmaster praised him, which left both teenagers in complete amazement.

The boy also felt some satisfaction, because this was the first praise he received in connection to the mission assigned to him by the Dark Lord.

“And how were you going to kill me, Draco?” the headmaster asked after a moment.

The boy turned red from embarrassment because of whom he was telling all this to.

“With regards to the accidents of Bell and Weasley, they were not the original target,” he said, his voice completely abandoned of self-confidence.

“Ron and Katie could have died because of you!” Hermione exclaimed, upset, and got up from her seat.

“It wasn’t on purpose, okay?!” shouted an irritated Draco. What he was saying was not easy for him, and her interruptions hampered him even more.

At the same time, Hermione cursed herself for not believing Harry. Because of her skepticism, Ron almost died. She was also angry at Malfoy for even thinking about killing anyone. Now, two images of Malfoy fought in her mind: one, who she met recently, cared for her and the well-being of her unborn child and the other was an absolute killer. She was no longer sure which one of them was real. In order not to attack Malfoy, she had to remind herself that he had no choice; that, if he had done otherwise, he would die.

“Calm down, Miss Granger. I'm sure that Mr. Malfoy has changed his intentions. After all, he is telling us everything,” Dumbledore reassured her. “Mr. Malfoy, were you working alone? How did you give the necklace to Katie?” asked Headmaster Dumbledore.

“I cast an Imperius Curse on Madam Rosmerta. She gave it to Bell,” the boy replied.

“Madam Rosmerta!? How did I not figure that out!?” Hermione wondered aloud.

“Well, back to the point,” Draco continued, ignoring Hermione’s comment. “Granger, because of her background, is threatened by the Dark Lord, and what threatens her also threatens my child, so I can’t perform the task entrusted to me. But if I don’t do this, he will kill me as soon as I go back home for the holidays,” explained Draco.

“It is indeed a difficult situation,” admitted Headmaster Dumbledore, and he became thoughtful. “I think the safest course of action for both of you would be if, for the time being, this issue remained between us. Don’t talk to anyone about the child, including information on its father. You have to keep it a secret for as long as possible, even into the next school year. Give me some time and I’ll come up with the best place for Draco to hide during the holiday period. Some place where Voldemort won’t find him.”

Draco wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to the sound of the Dark Lord’s name.

“I will contact you when the time comes.”

“Sir, what about my schooling?” Hermione asked hesitantly.

“Do you have problems with any of your subjects, Miss Granger?” Headmaster Dumbledore asked, pretending not to know what Hermione meant.

“Of course not!” The girl frowned. “I was just wondering if, because of my condition, I will still be able to continue my education, sir.”

“Of course, my dear. Why wouldn’t you be able to continue studying? I think we can make some arrangements, when it becomes necessary.” Headmaster Dumbledore calmed her fears and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Sir, there is something else,” Hermione began hesitantly.

“Yes, Miss Granger?”

“Harry and Ron told me that they saw us together and now they don’t want to listen to any of my explanations. Ginny knows as well. All of them are not speaking to me,” Hermione admitted sadly. “But they don’t know about the baby,” she said after a moment.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

“Harry is a smart boy. When the moment comes, we will deal with him and Mr.Weasley.”

Hermione felt relief flooding her. She had been waiting for so long to hear such words of comfort. Dumbledore was so confident that she didn’t doubt the truth of these words for a moment.

“But for now, you two must learn to work together. You have to forget all the differences that divided you, because now you stand on the same side.”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

“Is that all, my dears?” Headmaster Dumbledore asked, giving them a clue that it was time to leave the office if they had nothing more to add.

“Yes,” they said at the same time, and got up from their seats. They said their goodbyes at the door and left the office.

“Did you hear everything?” Headmaster Dumbledore asked when it seemed that he was all alone in his office.

“Yes,” said a voice coming from the dark recesses of the room. “I would never suspect that young Malfoy was capable of behaving in that way.”

“I told you that you should have more faith in him. He has a pure heart. However, I believe that he didn’t tell us everything and he is just starting to grow up. Despite all of this, I think we won that battle and very soon he will start to understand everything and will make the right decisions.”

“I hope so,” replied the voice. “And is that why you won’t reconcile her immediately with her friends?”

“Exactly.”

“And what about Draco’s mother?”

“I think Draco has nothing to do with what she did.”

*****

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table deep in thought as she picked at her plate of food with a fork. Thanks to the potion from Malfoy, she hadn’t been troubled with morning sickness, but she had no appetite at the moment.

Suddenly, a flock of owls flew into the Great Hall and shoved her out of her reverie. One after another, the birds sat on the tables in front of the recipients of their letters and parcels. One of the owls sat down in front of Hermione. The girl untied her copy of the Daily Prophet from the animal’s leg, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin, which she used to pay the bird for the newspaper.

Hermione unfolded the newspaper and, once again, grabbed her fork to finish her breakfast while reading. Suddenly, she froze with her eyes fixed on the front page.

Neville, who sat next to her, noticed her strange reaction.

“Hermione?” he asked, interested in what she was reading. He didn’t receive any response. Hermione’s eyes were now scanning the text that was published in the Daily Prophet. Neville looked around and realized that almost all the students who had subscribed to the Daily Prophet were reading it right now and they were equally moved by some information in the paper.

“Hermione, what happened?” he asked hesitantly. She said nothing, but handed him the paper. Neville looked at the first page and also froze in shock. At the center of the page was the big headline: BELLATRIX LESTRANGE FOUND DEAD. Neville’s eyes immediately began to scan the article underneath.

Our trusted source in the Auror Department reported to us that some time yesterday, during the late evening hours, a witch walking by Knockturn Alley found a body dressed up in Death Eater’s robes. Horrified, the woman immediately notified the appropriate authorities, who soon tackled the matter.

According to preliminary findings, the body of the deceased was found visually uninjured. There is also no indication that the dead woman was recently suffering from a terminal illness. Therefore, it is almost certain that the death was due to the casting of an unforgivable killing curse on the victim. Based on the wand found with the victim, she has been identified as Bellatrix Lestrange, a known Death Eater who escaped Azkaban, where she was serving a sentence after the disappearance of You-Know-Who more than fifteen years ago. Narcissa Malfoy confirmed the murdered woman as her sister.

This death is so mysterious because the Avada Kedavra curse, which is prohibited by law, is only used by You-Know-Who and his followers. Bellatrix Lestrange has always been known for her loyalty to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, so it is highly unlikely that it was he, or any of his followers, that was involved in the murder. Nothing, however, can be excluded until all the circumstances of Bellatrix Lestrange’s death are explained.

The Auror Office ensures the public that they are doing everything possible to clarify the matter, but it is not a secret that the death of Bellatrix Lestrange is convenient for them and it can be assumed that none of the Aurors will actually attempt to find a wizard who, in reality, has done them a favor. Unofficially, several ministry workers have told me that they suspect that Aurors operating on their own are behind the murder. According to my source, these Aurors feared that if Bellatrix Lestrange was caught and locked in Azkaban, she would run away again.

Does it mean that this is just the beginning and now Death Eaters will be found dead every day on our streets? What about other Death Eaters who have escaped from Azkaban?

We will keep you updated about the details of this fascinating story.

RS

The information about Bellatrix's death spread like wildfire throughout the Great Hall, and the noisy conversations between excited student grew. Students who had not read the article yet tore the newspaper from their colleagues to see such a stirring text for themselves.

Draco Malfoy sat thoughtfully before his copy of the newspaper and wondered how he should be feeling in this situation. He didn’t know whether he should mourn the death of his aunt, be glad that one of the staunchest supporters of the Dark Lord was dead, or maybe fear some mysterious avenger, like others who wore the Dark Mark on their forearm.

The other Slytherins also seemed to be moved by the recent revelations, because if it was true that someone was murdering Death Eaters, this meant that most of their parents' lives were threatened.

The feelings of the students from other houses were completely different. Most of them were smiling and joking about the death of Bellatrix, pleased with what had happened. Many assumed it was a lone avenger who decided to deal with the supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on his own.

“I am sure that someone is doing the dirty job for the ministry,” Ron said to Harry. “First was the mysterious disappearance of Snape, and now, Bellatrix. I wonder who will be next,” he added with a smile.

“You're right. It’s certainly not Voldemort who did it,” Harry agreed with him. “Last night, I found myself in his head again. He was furious and threw the Cruciatus curse at all of the Death Eaters who appeared within his sight. I didn’t know why he was so angry. Now, it's clear he was concerned about Bellatrix’s death.”

“Anyway, we have one less problem,” said Ron, who bared his teeth in a wide smile.

*****

In a dark cell of Malfoy Manor’s dungeon, a penetrating cold reigned. Draco sat huddled on the icy floor. His clothes were all in rags and his body was frostbitten and aching from the curses of other Death Eaters. Draco looked at the door that was almost invisible in the darkness of his cell. The sound of footsteps coming from behind the door caused a huge lump to form in his throat. He had a feeling that when the door opened, nothing good would happen.

A few seconds later, it turned out he was right. He heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, and then the door opened, letting a shaft of light into the interior. At first, the light blinded Draco and he couldn’t see who was on the threshold. After a while, his eyes became accustomed to the new conditions and he saw Dolohov and Avery entering his cell.

Just behind them strode another figure. When Draco looked at his face, a shiver ran down his back. The Dark Lord stood before him with only fury on his near-human facial features.

“And what will you tell me now, Draco? Was it worth it to betray me for the Mudblood?” the red-eyed man asked with severity.

“My Lord, I had to do it. I had no choice,” Draco stammered quietly.

“Silence! I won’t listen to your pathetic explanations! First, you betrayed me and now you've killed my most faithful...”

“My Lord, it wasn't me!” Draco rapidly denied.

“How can I be sure? If you could socialize with the Mudblood, you could also kill Bellatrix,” while saying this, the snake-faced wizard pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco.

“My Lord, please...” Draco begged, but Voldemort was unyielding to his requests.

“Avada Kedavra,” the parselmouth said through his teeth, and a green beam sped towards the blond.

Draco opened his eyes. His whole body was drenched in sweat and his hands were still shaking with fear. When he finally calmed down, he felt a great anger. Why did he have to go through all of this? When would he be able sleep in peace at night? Why was this Mudblood complicating his life so much? What if the Dark Lord really found out and killed him for treason? He didn’t want to die. The worst part was that even if he didn’t want to die, he had no other choice. There were only two options: certain death if he fulfilled the mission for the Dark Lord and then the Mudblood would be killed along with other Muggle-born students when the Death Eaters break into the castle, and almost certain death if he didn’t perform the task and continued to protect the Mudblood. He was afraid that the solution Dumbledore would come up with to protect him woudn’t be enough. Wasn’t he sentenced to death regardless of which path he chose? And he had to walk around on tiptoe whenever he was near that damn annoying Mudblood. When would it finally be over?

Draco was tired, not only mentally but physically, because the recurring dreams meant that he woke up in the middle of the night. He couldn’t go back to sleep when he was filled with a number of concerns. In order to sleep peacefully, he drank a Dreamless Sleep Potion from time to time before going to bed. But the blue shadows under his eyes still deepened. He hoped that something would happen soon and would improve the situation just a little bit, something that would give him even a glimmer of hope.

*****

Because of the nightmares plaguing him, Draco couldn’t sleep, so he went to the library before breakfast. He decided to write his potions essay and didn’t want intrusive Slytherin girls to disturb him by trying to comfort him after the death of his aunt. When he got to the library, he sat down at one of the tables in the corner of the hall, pulled out a roll of parchment and some books and started writing. Unfortunately, he was unable to focus on what he was doing, because his thoughts still ran in the direction of the recent events. While he thought about his situation, Draco suddenly felt a presence beside him and looked up from the almost blank parchment.

“Hi,” she greeted him hesitantly. Here was the cause of his recent troubles.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, annoyed by her presence. “No one should see us together.”

“I just wanted to know how you feel.” Her face flooded with a blush. “It was your aunt, after all. Were you close to her?”

“Why do you care?” he snarled. “Shouldn’t you be with the other Gryffindors right now, celebrating her death?”

“Although I didn’t like her, that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand that you can feel differently about your aunt’s death,” she answered calmly, sitting down in a chair on the other side of the table.

“Don’t worry. I'm a big boy and I can handle it,” he tried to dismiss her.

“I'm sorry I asked.” A delicate hint of resentment could be heard in Hermione's voice. “I thought you would be fed up with the Slytherins consoling you and having to dwell on a great loss to the Death Eaters. I just wanted to know how you really feel,” she explained while standing up from her seat.

“It was not easy to like her or love her. I'm more worried about my mother and how she is taking it. Now that I’m here and my father is imprisoned in Azkaban, there is no one close to her in the Manor and, after all, Aunt Bella was her sister,” he said when Hermione had already turned away to leave. She nodded in understanding.

“So, your mom is important to you?” Hermione said rather than asked. “What do you think she will do when she hears about the child?”

“I don’t know. She loves me, but on the other hand she disowned her second sister because of the same reason.”

“Are you not afraid of that?”

“Granger, I didn’t ask you for a private therapy session.” Draco was irritated when he realized what kind of conversation he let her pull him into. “I made my decision and I’m aware of the possible consequences. How I deal with this is not your business. Don’t bother me. I have to finish an essay for potions.”

Hermione shook her head.

“As you wish, but if you want to talk, just let me know,” she said, leaving. She offered this proposal not only to help him deal with whatever was bothering him, but also in order to be able to understand his mind and why he chose to keep the child, knowing that by doing so he may lose his own mother and all the people whom he was close to. Besides, wasn’t Malfoy tied to the money that his parents had? If they remove him from the family tree, wouldn’t he lose the millions of galleons that he had always liked to brag about? Hermione had already decided that she would give him a chance, but she still couldn’t trust him completely. Something didn’t fit in this puzzle. Somehow, she couldn’t believe that Malfoy was willing to sacrifice so much for this child.

At the same time, Draco wondered about what he had said to Granger. The truth was that he was worried about his mother, how she felt about being at the mercy of the Dark Lord without a loved one next to her. Draco realized that while he was afraid for his life in the safety of Hogwarts, his mother was exposed daily to the wrath of the Dark Lord.

He was surprised that Granger was interested in this at all. If he were in her place, he would be glad for the death of Bellatrix and wouldn’t think about how her nephew felt. Once again, he realized he didn’t understand Gryffindors and their way of thinking.

*****

On the same day at breakfast, Draco got a letter from his mother. Without finishing his meal, he got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. Passing the Gryffindor table, he noticed that Granger was talking with Seamus Finnegan, laughing with him and joking about something. He felt a touch of irritation. It angered him that she could behave freely and carelessly when they had such a great problem over their heads. However, he stifled this feeling and didn’t think about it any longer. He went out into the hallway and toward the courtyard. He didn’t want any of the other Slytherins to look over his shoulder when he read the letter, because there could be some information that his colleagues didn’t need to know. When he got to the courtyard, he found the most secluded bench, sat down and spread the roll of parchment sent by his mother.

Dear son,

Perhaps you already know about your Aunt Bella’s death from the Daily Prophet. I just wanted to write to you and say not to worry about me, because I’m handling the situation. Aunt Bella was not very well-liked and had many enemies, and I’m sure it had to end this way sooner or later. The three of us (you, dad and I) are still alive and that's the most important thing.

I hope that Bella’s death didn’t depress you too much because now you have to focus on the task of protecting the girl.

I am glad that you were able to finally make some progress on this issue and that you have such an important ally in Dumbledore himself.

I believe that everything will work out and that things will go in the right direction, finally. I wanted you to know that not only bad things have happened to our family recently. I don’t want to write about it in a letter; it is better if you get the news as a surprise.

Meet me at the Hog’s Head during your next trip to Hogsmeade. I'm sure that after our meeting, your mood will be as good as mine at the moment.

Love,

Mum

Draco was surprised by the indifference with which his mother wrote about the death of her sister. He knew that they had never been very cordial to each other, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t feel some kind of sisterly love for one another. After a while, the boy came to the conclusion that his mother was playing tough, not wanting him to worry. At this point, he couldn’t do anything about it. He decided that when he met with her, he would pressure her and find out what she really felt and then he would help her cope with the pain, which she must certainly feel at this point.

When he came to this conclusion, he began to wonder what surprise his mother wrote about. He knew she wouldn’t mention it to him if it was any boring, old crap. But what surprise could his mother have for him when there were only problems piling around and every day was dominated by the fear of whether or not they would survive all this turmoil?

*****

At the same time, Hermione worried not only that she didn’t fully understand Malfoy’s motivations, but also about her own condition. So far, she had failed to visit the hospital wing, even though she knew that Madam Pomfrey should know about her pregnancy and check whether the child was developing properly. Hermione had always been reasonable, but in this case her common sense failed her. She was ashamed and didn’t know if she would be able to confess to the mediwitch that she was expecting a baby. Confessing it to Dumbledore had been a completely different case. First, Malfoy was with her when she talked to the headmaster and second, the old wizard was not known for reproaching others and instead he focused more on solving problems. Pomfrey wouldn’t only lecture her about how irresponsibly she behaved, but she would also ask her about the baby's father and Hermione couldn’t give this information to her, not yet. The less people knew about the whole thing, the better. Hermione seemed aware however, that a visit to the hospital wing was inevitable and, sooner or later, Madam Pomfrey had to learn of her pregnancy.

So now Hermione walked towards the hospital wing and she felt as if her legs were like cotton. She was so nervous that her every step came with great difficulty. When she reached the door leading to the hospital wing, she stopped, trying to collect all of the Gryffindor courage that she had. She took a few deep breaths and pushed the handle.

When she stood in the doorway, she noticed that the hospital room was not empty. On the bed opposite the door lay a first-year Hufflepuff with a green face, who most likely was the victim of someone's stupid joke. A few beds further lay an older Ravenclaw. Judging by the sweat pouring down her face, she suffered from some kind of magical disease that caused high fever. A few more beds were occupied and the curious student watched her.

“Miss Granger,” Pomfrey's voice greeted her. “What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?” the witch asked, approaching Hermione.

The girl felt panic beginning to embrace her. She didn’t want everyone staying in the hospital to hear what she had to say.

“Oh, no. No, it's not so urgent and I see that you're busy. I'll come another time,” she stammered, and turned on her heel to leave.

“Nonsense, my dear. I'm not so busy. Tell me what happened. I'm sure we can handle it,” she heard Pomfrey’s voice say from behind her. She didn’t stop, however. She ran to the library as fast as she could.

While she was there, she sought out the required shelf, chose a few books and then hid in the darkest corner of the library, making sure that no one saw her. The books she chose were related to medical diagnostic spells.

When she noted all the necessary spells that she needed at that moment, she put the books down on a shelf and went on to search for other books about pregnancy and its progress. She selected the thickest of the books, but before she sat down at the table to get on with her reading, she looked around again and transfigured the cover of the book so now it looked exactly like a manual for numerology.

Hermione spent the whole afternoon in the library, and when she returned to her dormitory, she immediately hid in the bathroom. There, she used her notes and, one after another, casted all of the diagnostic spells at herself. She calmed down a bit when she finished, because none of the spells indicated any abnormalities and, if casted correctly, it was presumed that she had nothing to worry about. Hermione knew she was very good with spells and probably didn’t make any mistakes. That’s why it was so easy to convince herself that her visit to the hospital wing was not necessary at this point, and that it could wait a little longer before she revealed her secret to Madam Pomfrey. Much calmer, she got back to her room and threw the piece of paper with the list of diagnostic spells into her trunk.

*****

The awaited trip to Hogsmeade took place a few days later. Draco walked into the Hog's Head and looked around. He saw Narcissa at the same table that she sat at last time. However, now she was not alone. A dark, hooded figure sat next to her. The covering was so deep that Draco couldn’t see the face of his mother’s companion. He became slightly worried, but went to the table and sat down in the vacant chair.

When he was seated comfortably, he didn’t know how to ask who the unknown person was and what was going on. Before he could say anything, he saw the hand of the mysterious person. On one of the fingers gleamed a well-known gold signet ring with a snake engraved on a malachite bowl.

Draco looked at his mother’s face, which now hosted a wide smile. He responded to her smile with an equally wide smile of his own and looked back at the hooded figure. Narcissa had been right, Draco’s mood clearly improved. He even forgot for a moment about all the mounting troubles and the terrible situation in which he found himself.

“How?” he asked, still grinning.

“It's all because of the Slytherin cunning and cleverness of your mother,” replied the hooded man.

“Oh, don’t overdo it,” the woman cut him off. “I'm hopeless. I can’t even cast Avada Kedavra.”

“Don’t worry, my dear. It was not that simple in this situation. I think I would have had similar difficulties if I came against the same circumstances,” the man said, defending her.

“What are you talking about?” Draco asked, interested in their discussion. “I still don’t understand how this happened. There was no news in the Daily Prophet that about you escaping from Azkaban.”

“Because I'm still there,” Lucius said, clearly pleased with something.

Draco made a face expressing his absolute lack of understanding.

“At this point, it doesn’t matter how,” answered his mother. “All that is important is that we are together again.”

“This is the best surprise,” said Draco.

“I'm glad I gave you such joy,” Narcissa said and looked at her son with tenderness. “But it doesn’t mean, that now our problems will solve themselves,” she changed the subject. “I told your dad about everything and our plan hasn’t change. The most important thing is that the Mudblood has agreed to keep the baby.”

“But I still don’t understand how Draco could allow such a situation to happen. Son, how could you do such a thing? And with a Mudblood?” her husband interrupted.

Draco felt very ashamed and lowered his head, not wanting to look at his father at the moment.

“Lucius, don’t torment him. You know very well that it was not his fault. Nobody would be able to resist the effect of such a powerful potion. We all make mistakes and he didn’t even have control over what he was doing at the time.”

“But how could he have been so careless and let someone insert that potion into his drink?” Lucius persisted.

“I'm sorry. I must have let my guard down for just a moment,” Draco replied quietly.

“What's done is done,” Narcissa tried to end the discussion. “Tell me, my darling, did anything important related to us happen recently at school?”

“No, not really,” Draco thought aloud. “Can you tell me if Aunt Bella's death has something to do with the disappearance of Professor Snape? They still haven’t found him, and all the Slytherins are considering a connection between the two,” he added after a moment.

“We know about as much as you do. Aurors told me to identify Bella when they found her body, but after I did, they didn’t give me any further explanations. I know as much as anyone who read the article in the Prophet,” explained Narcissa.

“Everyone in Slytherin House is afraid that someone is murdering Death Eaters and that their parents might be next.”

“What nonsense!” Lucius frowned. “Besides, why do you believe that Snape is dead?”

“If he is alive, then where is he?” Draco asked, still unconvinced.

“My son, don’t worry about that now. Focus on defending the Mudblood and getting her trust. Your father and I will take care of the rest,” answered his mother.

“Dad, do you know what weapon the prophecy speaks of?”

“I analyzed the contents of the prophecy many times and I have to admit that I have no idea what kind of weapon it could be. Our family forgot about it a long time ago, so I'm curious how you will find it.”

“Do you think I should start looking now? Where do I start?”

“I think that the prophecy says that you will find this weapon by accident, but only if you stay close to the Mudblood,” Lucius explained, and Draco just nodded in understanding. “Let’s go back to your task. Does the Mudblood trust you completely?” Lucius asked, changing the subject.

“I'm not sure. She still asks questions like why am I doing this and how is it possible that I came to terms with the fact that you will turn away from me when you find out about the child.”

“Nosy chit! The girl should bow down to her betters,” Lucius exclaimed, irritated. “She should be glad that you made this decision and not think about the reasons why.” Lucius thought for a moment. “When you talk to her, you have to say what horrible parents we are and how glad you are to be unleashed from us,” he added a moment later with a serious face.

“It will be difficult,” said Draco, and he smiled slightly. “And do you think it's so easy to believe that I would give up the family fortune without regret?”

“She will believe you,” Narcissa replied. “Alfard Black, brother of your grandfather, Cygnus Black, didn’t have a wife or children. He died when you were five, but because he loved you, he left all his money for you in his will. Until your seventeenth birthday, all the money will be in our family vault at Gringotts. When you turn seventeen, this part of our family fortune, galleons, gold and jewelry, will be automatically deposited into your private account. The same applies to his estate and house-elves, which are currently being used at Malfoy Manor. It's quite a fortune because Uncle Alfard had a knack for business and instead of spending what he had, he invested the money and multiplied his original inheritance tenfold. You got nearly a third of our family’s assets after his death,” explained Narcissa. “So you'll still have millions of galleons even if you are cut off from us. You can tell the Mudblood this, and then she will come at you even more, hoping for social advancement.”

“She would rather dream about freeing my house elves,” Draco laughed.

“That’s why Mudbloods shouldn’t live among real wizards.” Lucius grimaced in disgust as his wife nodded, fully understanding and sharing her husband's opinion.

“Everything seems so easy with you two,” Draco confessed after a short silence that reigned at the table.

“Together, we are the perfect team,” Narcissa laughed.

Draco couldn’t disagree with her. Most teenagers didn’t treasure the time spent with their parents, but it was different for the Malfoys. Draco could talk to his parents about everything because they were the only people in the world whom he trusted and whose opinion mattered to him.

He believed that the three of them were a perfect family and his parents had the best marriage that ever existed. Despite the fact that each of them had their own opinions and sometimes had different views on certain things, they always reached a compromise. To the outside world, they never showed that they didn’t agree on something and just took a united front on all issues. His mother often gave way to his father, but he also agreed with many of her ideas.

Draco dreamed that one day he would find a girl with whom he could get along with as well as his parents. So far, none of the Slytherin girls that he met were even close to his requirements. Most of them looked at him with admiration and were ready to do everything he asked of them. None of them even tried to be his partner, someone who would be a real support in situations such as this. Draco often used the adoration bestowed upon him to his advantage, but didn’t give those girls any serious thought.

An hour later, Draco said goodbye to his parents. Before returning to the castle, he had to buy a new quill and a number of other school supplies. He also wanted to visit the Quidditch shop and Honeydukes.

While following one of the streets in town, he saw Granger. The girl didn’t see him because she was too busy talking to Seamus Finnegan. They were both joking and laughing. At one point, the boy grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the back. Anger swelled inside of Draco. “How dare she!” he wondered. “She is pregnant with my child and is flirting with a bloody Gryffindor! What if it’s more serious than it seems at first glance? She has no right to behave like that!” Draco was tempted to approach the girl and tell her what he thought, but he realized that he couldn’t cause a scene, because everybody would realize that they had some kind of connection. Besides, he told her that they were not a couple, so in theory Granger had every right to flirt with who she liked. That thought didn’t calm him, but not seeing any other solution, he decided to ignore what he just saw and went to Dervish and Banges instead.

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Blood traitor