2 | Vulnerable
[Yesterday, 9:30 pm]
In her own flat, Hermione had been scanning her case files in her meager living room, occasionally sipping Butterbeer from her favorite mug. It was already in the middle of September, and the chilly, cold weather is now starting to take a bite at her. The heat from the fireplace, also constantly used as a Floo Network, did little to warm her up.
Malfoy, Lucius, the folder read. She opened it cautiously and stared at the infamous Death Eater's face, goosebumps creeping up on her shoulders. "Where are you, Lucius? Where are you three?"
Four months ago, she was tasked to set up monitoring wards on the Malfoy Manor. She reported to the head of the MLE that she had already done the job and will keep them posted if there were any movements, and it was a gargantuan risk. She hadn't set up the wards yet, up until now. She just couldn't. The agonizing memories of her being tortured and catcalled by Bellatrix Lestrange in that Manor was still as clear as crystal in her mind. From time to time, she looked at the really faint scar of the word "mudblood" on her right arm. Even if she couldn't make out the words, it was still there, like Harry's lightning scar was; and it was a constant reminder of her inferior social status in the Wizarding World.
It didn't really bother her anymore, being called a mudblood. In fact, it already had been a long time since someone called her one. She almost forgot the feeling. The only effect it did cause her was numbness.
She was still reviewing the Malfoy case files when someone knocked at her door.
She looked up from the folders, her eyebrows knitted. No one ever really came at her flat except for Harry and the Weasleys, and they usually came here by floo, but she figured that it was just a muggle mail guy. Once a month, someone would come at her flat to present her an envelope, and it is usually about the expenses of her flat, the monthly rent, that is.
"I'm coming!" She said, straightening her work clothes. When she opened the door, she was only met by the cold gust of wind. There was nobody there. She leaned out to check if a kid was just hiding behind the bush, pulling a prank at her (it happened once.) She started to close the door but stopped when she noticed a rolled parchment, secured with a knot, on her welcome doormat.
She picked it up and went inside.
Malfoys. Spotted at Godric's Hollow at 9 pm. Bring the Ministry.
It was all the parchment had said. Her instincts kicked in the second she read it. She picked up her wand from the coffee table in front of her, and brought nothing else but the parchment. She extinguished the orange flames of the fireplace with her wand, grabbed the floo powder, and stepping into the fireplace, she shouted loud and clear: "The Burrow!"
"Bloody hell, Hermione!" Ron jumped back in a scare. He and George had been playing wizard chess, and two of them stood up in confusion. "It's almost ten in the evening! What are you--"
"Harry? Where's Harry?" She said abruptly. She started moving up the stairs when George shouted with a snicker, "Take it easy, Hermione! Mum's already dozing off!"
"Harry's in the loo!" Ron muttered confusingly.
While she was running up the flight of stairs, she called out to him in a reply, "Get dressed, Ronald! And floo to the Ministry immediately! Get whoever aurors you can and get them to Godric's Hollow!"
Ron instantly must've realized that the Malfoys had already been seen. He didn't even protest when she ordered him (which he usually doesn't like ever since their first year.) He hastily got up, took his coat and flooed to the Ministry to inform the others.
"Harry!" Hermione furiously half-whispered at she knocked on the door. "Harry, it's them!"
It took him exactly ten seconds to opened the door."The Malfoys?" He said alarmingly, readjusted his round eyeglasses.
Hermione took a deep breath. "Yes. At Godric's Hollow. We need to move now!"
All the fuss and commotion seemed to awaken Mr. And Mrs. Weasleys. Arthur and Molly came out of their own room in their sleeping garments, with dreary eyes and alarmed expressions. Ginny, who was obliviously seeping tea in their kitchen, joined Fred and George in the living room as they looked up at the second floor. Errol showed no inclination that he understood the direness of what was happening.
Harry and Hermione quickly went down the stairs, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley trailing behind them. "Is it the Malfoys?" Arthur asked Harry.
Harry nodded in response, taking his coat that was on top of the dinner table. "Yes, sir. But you don't need to worry. We're not even sure if it's them."
Hermione was already waiting outside by the front porch. Before Harry could even join her, Ginny gave him a peck on the cheek, her eyes worried. He plastered a brave smile, and squeezed her hand for a second, nodding at the Weasley twins in the process. "We'll be back late." He said to no one directly.
He stepped out onto the front porch beside Hermione, who was scanning the surroundings with anxiety. Despite this, she still put on a determined face, to which he raised his eyebrows.
"They could be hiding anywhere, Harry. The minute we step down the road, make sure that you ready your wand." She said to him in a half-whisper.
"Who's the real auror between us?" He asked her with slight humor. He took Hermione's hand and together, they apparated to Godric's Hollow.
They stepped down at the middle of the road again, just like last time. The place seem more deserted than three years ago, when they had been looking for horcruxes there. The houses weren't adorned with Christmas lights and decorations, and only a little snow covered the roads. There weren't any signs of the Malfoys.
"Ron?" Hermione whispered in the air. The two of them were careful not to attract any attention, especially muggle attention. They didn't want to make it into the headlines of a muggle newspaper; Two People Claim to Have An Unbelievable Set of Magical Skills.
Harry did a three-hundred-sixty degree turn, his eyes doing a quick scan of the vicinity. He was about to tell Hermione that there was nobody here, until the two of them heard a faint sound.
"What was that?" Hermione asked him. She eyed the cemetery at their right, an anxious feeling seeping into her veins. She gripped her wand tighter and pulled Harry by his coat. Together, they sauntered slowly and quietly towards the cemetery, their eyes glancing around like a hawk and their bodies in a slight crouch.
The silence was eerie. The weather suddenly seemed colder and a gust of breeze blew Hermione's light brown hair out of her face, her eyes squinting. The two of them were clever and careful enough not to let their guards down, but they didn't hear another sound, so Harry began lowering his wand, until--
"Stupef--"
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted and ducked, shoving Harry on the ground to protect him.
It was Draco. It was him, hiding behind one of the tallest tombstones on the far corner of the cemetery. She didn't know where Lucius or Narcissa was, but she was sure that they were just lurking along with him somewhere.
"I told you to always ready your wand!" She whispered at Harry, who grasped his wand tighter, his eyes wide yet determined. This was his job. This was what he spent his three years training for. Hermione was right, he shouldn't have let his guard down.
They ducked behind the fences of the cemetery, careful not to make a sound. Harry started crawling into the cemetery and was making his way for cover behind a tree. Hermione was about to call for him, but she thought that it wasn't the best option. She always knew that he would pull off something like this, something gallant and brave yet so incredibly daft at the same time. He was filled with instincts and quick decisions. He was still the same Harry. He was always, always, ready to sacrifice.
She faced to peek at the spaces between two fences. She can see Draco and Lucius, who was hiding behind another tombstone. Narcissa was nowhere to be found. Draco look almost hesitant, and Lucius seemed to coax him to continue. Before Harry could take cover behind the tree, Lucius himself stretched out his wand and said, "Petrificus To--"
"Expelliarmus!" A voice behind Hermione said, disarming Lucius, much to his dismay.
She turned around in surprise. It was Ron who had casted the spell. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas was there, too, who had also become aurors the same time Harry and Ron did.
"Come out, Malfoys!" Seamus shouted. "Accio, wand!" Lucius' wand flew to his grip, causing him to smile a bit. Dean snickered along with him, but still, the three aurors had their wands ready.
Harry give the three of them a thumbs-up, peeking out of the tree. He was the first one to see Narcissa, who had also been ducking behind the tree near to the tombstones where Lucius and Draco had been hiding. Harry was surprised that Narcissa didn't bothering attacking them. Instead, she just stared at the scene silently, her wand in her grip.
"Stupefy!" Draco shouted.
"Bloody he--" Ron didn't bother finishing his sentence. The three aurors blocked the spell and ducked behind the fences with Hermione, who was still peeking behind the spaces of the fence. She knew what was coming next. She knew that he would try to stun one of them again the minute one of them stood up. He was waiting, with his wand up and ready. Hermione stood up slowly, vulnerable and open.
Dean tried to pull her down. "Hermione, what are you doi--"
"Stupefy!"
Hermione blocked, shouting. "Expelliarmus!" Draco's wand went sprawling out from his grasp. And without hesitation, she shouted, "Accio, wand!"
Draco stared at her with an unreadable expression. He tried to glare at the same time, but his eyes were tired and empty, like he already knew that this was going to happen. Hermione's gaze went to Narcissa, who was still ducked behind the tree, her wand down, staring sternly.
Why wouldn't she attack them?
The four aurors broke into a run to where the Malfoys where, but Hermione still stayed put. Harry picked up an unconscious Lucius, and Narcissa already succumbed to Dean and Seamus, while Ron gripped Draco's arms hard, his eyes filled with rage.
Draco still stared at Hermione, even when Ron chained his wrists.
Hermione broke the eye contact and began gazing around, looking if there was anyone else watching. She had hoped that the person who sent her the anonymous letter would approach her, so she could finally thank whoever that is for helping them out.
But no one else was there.
"Go home, Hermione." Harry shouted at her. "We'll bring them to the Ministry."
And so she did.
[Present]
"Harry," Hermione called him the minute she stepped down from the elevator and into the Level Two of the Ministry. Harry left the interrogation room before she did, apparently in a rush. She was having a hard time keeping up with her friend, shoving past the people walking in the opposite direction. Her voice was drowned out by the cacophonous crowds talking and whispering about a myriad things, but mostly, she knew that they were talking about the interrogation of the Malfoys, catching words like, "About time Lucius goes to Azkaban!" And "Did you hear? Harry Potter actually stood up to be a witness of the Malfoys!"
When Harry didn't turn around to her call, she tried again. "Harry!"
He turned around and stopped for a minute. "Not now, Hermione." He shoved past two fellow Aurors with a smile.
Despite what Harry said, Hermione still trailed behind, keeping up with him. When the two of them turned left to the Aurors section, the corridors were less crowded. Both of them cautiously entered Harry's own office.
It has been five months since Harry and Ron finished their three-year auror program. And since then, Harry had been receiving various promotions from the head Aurors. It took him by surprise, really, but his fellow Aurors claimed that he had more experience fighting off Death Eaters years before than all of them ever did in their whole Auror careers. Ron, too.
Hermione just stood by the door. "So, what are we going to do with Malfoy now?" She asked.
Harry looked pretty lost and preoccupied. She was starting to think that he didn't hear her, until he said, "We will go to the Manor. Me and--where's Ron?"
"He left before the trial ended. He might be at the Burrow."
"Just leave him be. I'll just call in for Finnigan." He said. "I'm going to set the terms with him. We can't possibly let him feel that he's free now. He's still under house arrest." He paused, looking at Hermione with a hesitant expression. "You come with us, too."
It took her a while to nod. "I'll...I'll set up the wards."
He nodded, not quite looking at her. "What's up with you and Malfoy? I saw the two of you had that staring exchange at Godric's Hollow."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know." She started to say. "Well, actually, I think I know." She reached for the crumbled parchment in the inside pocket of her robes. "I think Malfoy was the one who turned themselves in to the Ministry."
"What? That's highly mad, and unlikely." Harry said in disbelief, reaching for the parchment, his eyes scanning the parchment. "Malfoys. Spotted at Godric's Hollow at 9 pm. Bring the Ministry." He read out loud, his eyebrows knitted together.
"Have you seen that handwriting before?"
"It's Malfoy's." Harry gave the parchment back to her, remembering the teasing flying airplanes Draco used to send him during their third year. "But it could be anyone. It could be anyone who knew him in the past well enough to forge his handwriting."
"But they haven't been in touch with anyone for three years."
"We don't know that, Hermione." He said. "You know yourself that forgery is possible."
She nodded. This was true, of course. "Are we going to the Manor now?"
Harry shook his head. "Maybe later in the afternoon. Malfoy haven't even had the time to settle down. Let's not bombard him."
She chuckled. "Since when did you care about Malfoy?"
He looked at her with uncertainty, then he shrugged his shoulders non-chalantly. "Both of his parents are in Azkaban, Hermione. He's practically alone." He said. "Let's go get lunch."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hope you guys loved this chapter! I found the Godric's Hollow part quite challenging to write, since this is my first Harry Potter fanfiction. Please do vote and comment!
Solemnly swear that you're up to no good?
-Ally xx