Chapter 32: Mission Accomplished
Hermione had fallen asleep on the sofa, the Marauders’ Map open next to the Vestigium Globe on the coffee table in front of her. The fire had died down some, but the room was still warm enough not to awaken her.
Suddenly, she was being jostled. “Hermione, Hermione, wake up. It’s me, Draco. I’m back.”
Hermione woke up, startled and confused. She saw Draco, jumped up, and threw herself at him over the back of the couch. She hugged him, laughing with joy, kissing his cheek and nuzzling his neck a bit for good measure.
“Oh, thank God!” she said. “I was so worried about you!”
“I see that – so worried that you couldn’t sleep.”
Hermione batted his arm affectionately.
“Hermione, you remember my mother.”
For the first time, Hermione realized that they were not alone. Narcissa Malfoy stood behind Draco, looking a bit lost and bewildered.
“Welcome, Mrs. Malfoy,” Hermione said, as dignified as she could while standing up on the sofa, half hugging Draco. She let go of Draco and stepped down off the sofa.
“Thank you,” Narcissa replied.
“I thought she could sleep in the guest room tonight,” Draco said.
“Of course!” Hermione answered, walking around to where Draco and his mother stood behind the sofa. “I hope Ron and Harry didn’t leave it in too much of a mess.”
She and Draco took his mother to the guest room, which house-elves had obviously cleaned. Draco carefully helped his mother sit down on one of the two beds. Hermione left them alone for privacy, returning to the suite’s common room. She hoped Draco was not too tired to come back out and tell her all the details of what had transpired since he left them nearly three days ago. She was extremely thankful that he was safe, but Harry and Ron were still unaccounted for.
A few moments later, Draco came back into the common room. He joined Hermione on the sofa, holding her hand. Hermione scooted over close to Draco, put their joined hands on her lap, and rested her head on his shoulder.
“So, I want to hear everything that happened from the moment you left this room,” she demanded.
“Hermione, I’m exhausted.”
“I know that, but I have to know what happened.” Hermione sat up straight and turned to face Draco. “You can sleep in tomorrow; it’s Saturday. Please, Draco, I’ve been completely out of the loop for days. Harry and Ron aren’t even back yet.”
“All right.” Draco smiled at Hermione’s insistence. “Let’s see, when I got to Malfoy Manor Wednesday night, only my father was there. He immediately Side-along Apparated me to Durmstrang.”
“I thought you couldn’t Apparate to Durmstrang,” Hermione said. “Just like you can’t Apparate to Hogwarts.”
“Yes, but there’s still a small contingent of Dark Wizards on the faculty who lowered the wards so we were able to Apparate there. I figured at that point that there was no way you would be able to track me with the Vestigium Potion, due to the all the protective spells at Durmstrang.”
“That’s correct; we saw the light freak out during Apparition, then nothing.”
“So the professors at Durmstrang who still support the Dark Arts hid my parents, Crabbe’s dad, Carrow, and Rookwood in an abandoned wing of the school. They obtained wands for the four fugitives and let them plan their next course of action.” Draco paused. “By the way, my mother had bought herself a new wand months ago, but she was very happy to have her old wand back, so we’ll need to thank Potter again for that.”
“Yes, yes, you can thank Harry when he gets back. So what happened next?” Hermione urged Draco to continue.
“Well...” Draco paused again. “I don’t know you to tell you this, but to test their new wands, my father and the other three, well, they rounded up some local Muggles, tortured and then killed them. I wasn’t actually there to see it, but my mother told me about it.” Draco looked stricken. “Watching my father and the others kill the Muggles for no reason at all convinced my mother that the four of them had been irreparably damaged by their stay in Azkaban. I couldn’t help but think that the Muggles were probably very nice people, like your parents.” Draco was choking up. Hermione hugged him tightly.
“Shh,” she soothed. “You are safe now and those men will be sent back to Azkaban,” she said, realizing that one of the men she referred to was Draco’s own father.
Draco nodded, still in Hermione’s embrace, then sat back to continue his story. “By Thursday, the rest of the faculty had gotten wind of what the fugitives had done to the Muggles and they told the Dark Wizard professors that we had to be made to leave, immediately. That’s when my father decided we would move to my mother’s family’s castle in Romania and when I convinced my mother to let me write you one last letter.” Here, Draco perked up a bit. “Did I piss off the Weasel with the letter?”
“Yes, yes, you did.” Hermione had to smirk at Draco.
“I had to have a little fun with it.”
“The lies were so obvious, it made it easy to decode.”
“Yes, that’s what I had hoped. But I knew my mother and father would read the letter before I sent it, so I couldn’t simply tell you the plan was to go to Romania.”
“Wasn’t your father upset that you had, well, you said we had sex all over the castle.”
“But I never expressed any real affection for you, so he must have assumed I was just using you for sex, I think. He looked disgusted that I wanted to write you at all, but he was glad to see I was loyal to him and ending whatever it was that you and I had. I tried to make it seem as if I needed closure from being Head Boy. He seemed proud that I had been chosen for that.”
“So, the next day you all Apparated to the Black Castle in Romania?”
“Yes, we left Durmstrang early this morning, or is it after midnight already? Did you see me Apparate on the Globe? It would have only lit up for a moment.”
“No, but I wasn’t looking. Maybe the Aurors saw you, but they thought you were going there at nine p.m. from the Quodpot reference in your letter. Everyone was gone when I got back from class.”
“Oh, so you were not so worried about me that you couldn’t attend class?” Draco teased. “Actually, I’m glad you did. I’m going to have a lot of catching up to do.”
“My notes are probably pretty worthless, but I did manage to be physically present in each class. Mostly because I knew you were counting on me,” Hermione said. “So, come on, tell me what happened after that.”
“Once we got to the castle, we set up in the dungeons, which I knew would block the Vestigium signal again. My father cast protective spells all over the castle. I followed him around using the Invisibility Cloak, so that I might be able to dismantle some of the wards when Harry and the other Aurors got there, hopefully at nine p.m., if you’d deciphered my letter correctly; I thought it was better for them to come at night and for me to have some time to figure out the best way to let them in.”
“Yes, I think we deciphered everything in your letter perfectly.”
“Brilliance has its benefits.” Draco smiled at Hermione fondly.
“Right then, you spent the rest of the day in Romania doing…?”
“Not much. I told my mother of my plan to escape and convinced her that she needed to come with me. I told her that the Portkeys had all expired and that we’d have to Apparate to Hogsmeade. I told her I could bring her Side-along if she didn’t feel up to it, but she said she was able and willing to leave. She has been loyal to my father all her life, but I forced her to choose between him and me. Like I said, the Muggle killings really bothered her. She was never into that stuff like Aunt Bellatrix was. So the choice was pretty easy. She was mainly worried about what would happen to us if they caught us trying to escape.
“Later that evening, my mum stayed in her room, while I took the Invisibility Cloak and waited for Potter to arrive with the Aurors. When they got to the castle, I let them in past the wards my father had set up and led them to the room where the four men were meeting. I put the Invisibility Cloak back on before I entered the room, because, well, because I am a coward and I couldn’t stand to see the look of disappointment and betrayal that would be present in my father’s eyes if he saw me there.” Draco was choking up again. Hermione squeezed his hand, which she still held on her lap.
“So, I left them to fight it out and ran to my mother’s quarters. My mum and I ran out of the castle, just far enough to Apparate to Hogsmeade. Dumbledore’s brother was waiting for us at the Hog’s Head and he showed us to the portrait of his sister and we walked to the Room of Requirement through the tunnel.” Draco paused again. “I wonder whether Aberforth knows I plotted for a year to kill his brother,” Draco said, sadly.
“He must, but he probably knows the circumstances facing you at the time as well,” Hermione said kindly. “So you have no idea what happened to Ron and Harry? It was ten against four, so the Aurors should have had an advantage.”
“I know my father and the others were taken completely by surprise, but I know that when I ran from the room, they were battling like mad.”
“Even so, it should be over by now. It’s after midnight.”
“Well, I’m not sure Ron and Harry would necessarily come back here to report to us immediately. They probably had to take the prisoners to the Ministry of Magic. I wouldn’t think they’d take them directly to Azkaban, but I don’t know how these things work.” Draco stifled a yawn. “Look, Hermione, I am as concerned as you about how this all turns out, but I can’t stay awake any longer. I barely slept the whole time I was in Durmstrang. I’m sure they’ll wake us up when they get here.”
“Yes, you’re right. We should get some sleep.”
“Together?” Draco asked hopefully.
“Not with your mother in the next room,” Hermione scoffed.
Draco leaned over and kissed Hermione, slowly, softly, full of feeling. “I’m glad to be back,” he said softly.
“I’m glad you are back, too,” Hermione said. “But I don’t think I can sleep. I’m going to wait here on the sofa.”
“You mean you are going to sleep here on the sofa,” Draco taunted.
“Yes, well…” At that moment a tiny owl flew into the room. “Ron’s owl!” Hermione exclaimed. She retrieved the letter quickly, reading it out, ignoring Pigwidgeon, who pecked at her hand.
Dear Hermione:
“No ‘Dear Draco’?” Draco smirked.
Mission accomplished.
“He thinks he’s James Bond,” Hermione muttered.
“James who?” Draco asked.
“Never mind,” Hermione replied.
We captured all four Death Eaters and took them back to the Ministry of Magic. Harry and I are fine. Auror Williamson was Stunned, but other than that, there were only minor injuries. Harry and I will stay in London tonight, but come back to Hogwarts tomorrow to retrieve the Invisibility Cloak and fill you in on the details of the operation.
Your friend,
Ron Weasley
“Thank Merlin he didn’t sign it XOXO. I’d have had to hex him.”
“You are in no position to…” Hermione started, but Draco cut her off with a kiss.
After a few minutes, he hugged Hermione. “So now we can go to bed.”
“Yes, but separately.”
“Fine, I’ll just have to dream about you then,” Draco said, in a voice full of lewd implications.
“You are incorrigible,” Hermione said.
“That’s why you like me,” Draco replied confidently.
The next day Draco ate breakfast twice. First, down in the Great Hall with Hermione and Ginny, who was relieved to see Draco had fully recovered from his ‘illness.’ And second, he ate again in the suite with his mother, when she finally woke up after the previous few days’ disturbing events.
Ron and Harry showed up around eleven a.m., Ron acting particularly proud of himself.
“This is bloody brilliant!” he exclaimed. “Everyone at the Ministry of Magic is singing our praises. Fastest capture of Azkaban escapees in the history of the Auror office!”
Hermione sighed and shared a look with Draco. “Ron, you’ve met Narcissa Malfoy? Mrs. Malfoy, this is Ronald Weasley, and you remember Harry Potter?” Ron looked slightly chagrined.
“Mother, would you like to stay here and hear about the details of Father’s capture, or would you rather do something else? I could take you to the Library, or we could take a walk on the grounds…” Draco didn’t want to subject his mother to hearing about her husband’s capture by at least one clearly gleeful Auror-in-training.
“I think I’d like to go see Poppy Pomfrey in the Infirmary, to see if she can give me something for this horrible headache I have.” Draco stood up, as if to accompany her. “No, no, Draco. You stay here with your friends.” Hermione shared a look with Draco, then Ron and Harry, who were not overjoyed with their newly found ‘friendship’ with Draco Malfoy. “I was a student here, you know. I know the castle very well. We’re already on the third floor.”
“All right, Mother, if you are sure.”
“I am, Draco dear.” With that she kissed Draco on the cheek and exited the suite.
“So, friends, tell me all about what happened after I ran out of the room,” Draco instructed.
“Well, after you Stunned your father,” Harry began.
“What?” Hermione interrupted.
“Yeah, it was brilliant!” Ron said. “Draco was hidden under the Invisibility Cloak. First he Disarmed his father, then he Stupefied him. All before the other three had risen from their chairs!”
“Well, I was invisible,” Draco said modestly.
“Not entirely, your arm came out from under the cloak when you caught your father’s wand. The Ministry of Magic needs it, by the way, so I’ll collect it and the Invisibility Cloak from you before we leave,” Harry said.
“So if it was ten versus three at this point, how did Auror Williamson manage to be Stunned?” Hermione asked.
Ron and Harry shared a look. “Those three remaining Death Eaters put up a good fight,” Harry said.
“Yeah, that’s it. One of them must have hit Williamson,” Ron said. But Hermione noticed that he was starting to blush. His red tipped ears gave him away.
“You Stunned him, didn’t you, Ron?” Hermione said, smiling.
“What makes you say that?” Ron answered evasively.
“Your bright red face!” Hermione was now laughing.
“Oi, you shouldn’t laugh. He could have been seriously hurt.”
“But he wasn’t, so it’s all right,” Harry stated, suppressing a smile.
“I was going for Amycus Carrow when Williamson stepped in front of my curse. It was very crowded in that room. I’m not used to fighting in such a small space.”
“I’m sure we’ll be working on team coordination in our next Auror training unit,” Harry said, his smile now turning up the corners of his mouth.
“So, congratulations, Ron, Harry. You are once again the heroes of the wizarding world,” Draco said, shaking each of their hands.
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” Harry said honestly.
“I pointed the way then left,” Draco said diplomatically. “You did the dangerous part.”
“How is your mother?” Harry asked.
“She’ll be fine. She has me, after all,” Draco said, smirking.
“I’m going to have to take her statement, and yours. The big problem we are facing now is security at Azkaban. Did you happen to overhear anything that might help us figure out how they escaped?”
“No, I’m afraid not. They never mentioned Azkaban in any way. They were too busy planning to kill anyone and everyone associated with their capture and conviction. You might want to keep an eye on Durmstrang, though. There are faculty there who still support the Dark Arts. I don’t know names, unfortunately, but perhaps my mother heard something. Can you wait until tomorrow for her statement? I’m a little worried about her.”
“Well, the sooner the better, so she doesn’t forget something. Minor details are often important in cases like this. Why don’t you ask her how she’s feeling this evening? If she’s not up to it then, we’ll wait until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, you won’t mind spending some extra time at Hogwarts with Ginny,” Ron grumbled.
“You can go on home to London, Ron. I can take Mrs. Malfoy’s statement myself.”
“Really? Great. Thanks.”
Hermione tried not to be hurt by Ron’s obvious intention to leave Hogwarts as quickly as possible. She wondered whether she made him uncomfortable. But he had said they would remain friends after the break-up, calling it a ‘break,’ even. She wondered whether he had some other reason to be in London. A reason named Lavender Brown…
“So, Harry, are you going to tell Ginny about what happened this week, finally? I hate lying to her,” Hermione prodded.
“Yes, I’ll go see her now, in fact.”
“Of course you will,” Ron grumbled.
“Ron, stop being a hypocrite,” Hermione said. Ron and Harry both looked at her, surprised by her forcefulness.
“All right, then,” Harry fumbled a bit. “I’m off to see Ginny. I’ll meet up with you at dinner and come back here to see if I can talk to your mother,” he said.
“And I’m off to London. Maybe I’ll check in at the Ministry, keep apprised of what’s going on,” Ron said, walking towards the door with Harry.
“Be careful, Ron, with all this glory going to your head, you may have trouble Apparating back to London,” Hermione called out as they left. She turned to Draco. “So, why did you downplay your role in capturing your father?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t want to brag about something like that and it was my father. I’m still uncomfortable with the whole thing. When I was a little kid, I thought my father was the greatest guy in the whole world. Now look at me. My hero is a deranged madman, who escaped from prison and murdered innocent people. It’s as if I’ve lost part of who I am… I’ve lost my past and I’ve lost my father.”
Hermione gave Draco a lingering hug. “I’m so sorry,” she said, sincerely.
“I know. I appreciate your concern,” Draco said.
“It’s more than concern,” Hermione said, leaning in to kiss him.
“I know,” Draco responded in between kisses. “I appreciate that, too.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hermione learns what happened while Draco, Harry, and Ron were off on their mission to capture the Azkaban escapees.
Chapter End Notes:
This chapter was a difficult one. Early on I decided to tell this story from Hermione's point of view, so everything we read is something she sees (or thinks, etc.). But she stayed behind while Draco, Harry and Ron completed the mission, so I'm afraid this part of the story is anti-climactic. However, I set out to tell a romantic comedy of sorts, not an action adventure, so I hope I don't disappoint too many readers with this chapter.