The week Hermione and Draco spent together was a blissful time. Draco was careful to keep her away from any stressful subjects, while she allowed herself the time to simply enjoy his company. Even though they never spent the night together, Draco made sure she took her potions before going to bed. Then he would leave for the night, only to come back first thing in the morning with something to eat or a treat for Crookshanks. Indeed the poor cat was growing so fond of Draco that whenever he was not around he would desperately try to go out onto the terrace and across the balcony. Hermione was cautious of this behavior and kept the wards in place, preventing her ginger cat to go outside.
All the while, no one interrupted their time together, except for the occasional visits from Harry and Ginny, as well as Blaise checking up on Hermione and her treatment. Theo had been too busy with work, trying to find out about who could have gotten past the Hogwarts wards that night at the party, that he wasn't able to call on them at all.
The days passed by very quickly, or so they seemed. Between lunches and dinners, books and TV shows, the two had spent a delightful week. It was now Sunday, and tomorrow they would both have to go back to work.
"But I don't want to." Hermione whined.
Draco had just reminded her what day it was and in reply she threw a slipper at him. She was now curled up on the couch with a book in one hand, her free hand fumbling for the other slipper. Without being fazed by her 'weapon' of choice, Draco caught the slipper and strode towards the couch. He placed the slipper back on the floor beside the other one, making sure to place them slightly farther away from her reach.
"I didn't know Gryffindors were lazy and didn't like the work." He drawled, getting up to his feet and giving her a smirk.
"Well this one is, as of today." Hermione said with a huff. "I quite liked this time off, being able to do some of the things I never got to. Relaxing and just being able to breathe felt good." She stopped, looking far into the distance, a melancholic smile on her lips.
Draco leaned down and ruffled her hair, snapping her out of her reverie. She scowled at him and was just about to swat him with the book when an owl came swooping down the window and perching itself on a shelf. Its beautiful white feathers seemed to glow in the light of the room and its amber eyes looked around majestically.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, scrambling out of the couch, hurrying towards the owl.
"What?" Draco asked in confusion. For an instant he actually looked around, thinking he might see Harry Potter coming out from some corner of the room.
"This is his owl." Hermione replied distractedly. "I wonder why he is writing so late."
Draco followed her and watched as she unfolded the letter. It wasn't long and it seemed to have been written in a hurry.
Hermione, and Malfoy because I know you are probably there as well,
At that Draco smirked.
"You're damn right I am!" he said under his breath.
"Shush!" Hermione admonished. Her eyes were frantically perusing the letter, trying to read it as fast as possible.
We got one! We finally managed to catch one of the men belonging to this newly established Death Eater group! One of the teams we sent was able to retrieve him from a hiding place. The strange thing is that he was alone at the time. There were no other people around. At first I thought that to be very strange, since I know they only stay in groups, but after I have seen the guy myself I think I understand why he was left behind. The guy is mental! He speaks gibberish and does not make any sense. He doesn't even know his name or why he was where we found him.
I have asked to be allowed another interview with him tomorrow and I hope Malfoy will accompany me. Perhaps he might make sense of what this guy is saying.
Harry
Hermione and Draco finished reading the letter at the same time. They turned and looked at each other, confused and baffled by its content.
***
Draco went to Harry's office early next morning. He felt slightly agitated and nervous. Catching one of them was something they had hoped for, but now he didn't know what to expect. Also, the fact that Harry wanted him there during the interrogation gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. With trepidation he opened the door to the office that morning, looking around only to find Harry sitting alone at his desk.
"Ah, you're here." Harry said, raising his head at the sound of the door opening.
"Where was he found?" Draco asked Harry without any other introduction.
"A small cottage near the border with Scotland."
"You said he was alone." Draco continued asking, pacing the office under Harry's intense stare.
"Quite alone, yes. There was no one near the cottage and we could not find a single person to tell us anything about him. The nearest village was a few miles farther from where we found him, and no one knew him by name or face." Harry said, leaning back into his chair with a frustrated huff.
"And you also said he was talking nonsense?" Draco said, still pacing the room.
Harry nodded, brushing a hand through his messy hair.
"Yes. You'll see for yourself soon enough. But before we go down to interrogate him, I wanted to ask you something."
Draco stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Harry. Their eyes met for a moment and Draco saw a fleeting trace of doubt crossing Harry's face.
"Spit it out Potter, and stop boring me with this staring contest." Draco drawled, crossing his arms and leaning against the nearest wall.
"Well..." Harry started, but hesitated for a moment, closing his mouth into a line.
"Potter if you don't say it, I can find it out myself and you wouldn't like that, now would you? From what I heard you were never good at Occlumency." Draco smirked, but behind his confident attitude there was something else. It was a small grain of fear.
At Draco's words, Harry frowned. Eventually, he took a deep breath and spoke in a determined tone.
"Do you think it might be possible for you to recognize him? From before, I mean." Harry searched for his words carefully, continuing to stare intently at Draco's face. "When you came back after the Battle of Hogwarts, you said there was a group of Death Eaters who attacked Hermione. Could he be one of them?"
Draco's eyebrow shot up, getting lost into his blond hair. He did not know what to expect, but it was clear that Harry's question took him completely by surprise. Not wanting to rush an answer, he took a moment to think. Harry's question was somewhat justifiable, but nevertheless, he would have to disappoint him.
"It is possible he might be one of them. Though, I am afraid I will not be able to tell you for sure, Potter. You see, that day they were all wearing masks, just like they did at the recent party. I never saw their faces or heard their voices very clearly."
Harry sighed deeply. For one short moment he had hoped Draco might be able to identify the prisoner, but somehow he knew it was a long shot.
"Well" Harry said, getting up and heading for the door. "It was worth a shot."
"You still want me there?" Draco asked, not moving from his spot.
"Of course. You might not have seen his face, but you still know how their minds work better than anyone I know. Having spent time with them and all..." Harry's words trailed off and he looked slightly guiltily at Draco.
"Gee, thanks for the compliment Potter. And here I thought the 'Chosen One' Potter knows how Dark Wizards think better than anyone. I see I was mistaken." Draco mocked, giving Harry a condescending look.
"Let's go Malfoy before you trip on your own sarcasm." Harry said over his shoulder as he exited his office.
Draco shot a smirk at Harry's back and followed him out. They were halfway to the interrogation rooms downstairs when they were stopped by Hermione's voice. She had run all across the corridor to catch up with them and was now panting hard as a result.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?" Harry exclaimed surprised by her appearance.
"I... want to come... too." She said between deep breaths. "To the interrogation." She finished with a deep huff.
"No!" Draco interjected before Harry could even open his mouth.
"And why not?" she frowned at Draco.
Hermione finally caught her breath enough to put up a fight with him if she had to. She was determined to go and nothing either of them said could dissuade her from it.
"Because there is no need for you to come. Harry and I will be there, and I suppose Weasley as well." Draco said, turning a questioning look at Harry. He nodded in response. "See?" Draco continued, turning to Hermione once again. "You would just get in the way."
"Excuse me?!" Hermione yelped as if he had said something offensive.
"Hermione" Harry intervened, knowing very well he had to placate her before her temper would rise even more. "It might be dangerous. He is an insane Death Eater, we don't know what he might do. If anything were to go wrong during the interrogation I wouldn't feel alright with you being in harm's way."
"Harry Potter!" Hermione started, crossing her arms, and puffing up menacingly, "As I recall I had fought the same wars as you and Ron have. And I was always on your side. Trust me, to be able to defend myself if the situation calls for it."
"Hermione..." Harry tried but got cut off by her.
"Harry, I want to be there. I need to see him. It might..." she hesitated. "What if he was there? It might help me remember something, Harry." She finished pleadingly, staring into Harry's eyes, trying to convey her feelings to her best friend.
Draco's body stiffened at Hermione's last words. It was the last thing in the world he wanted, but he knew if Harry couldn't convince her, he would have even less of a chance to do so. Instead, he watched the two exchange stares, one intense, while the other one reluctant.
After a moment of silence, Harry sighed in defeat. He nodded slowly and gestured for Hermione to follow.
I hope he knows what he's doing. Draco thought to himself. Little did he know that Harry himself was hoping the same thing, without feeling confident at all.
Thank you all for reading this story! If you're curious how the interrogation will go, stay tuned for the next chapters. Until then, have a wonderful day! ^_^ <333