Trust
Now you're standing there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth
(The Policy of Truth-Depeche Mode)
~*~
Hermione was standing, leaning against a table, one leg crossed over the other as she lightly tossed the cup from one hand to the other as she muttered to herself. She was making Harry nervous, the way she was handling the horcrux and he had to fight the urge down to just snatch it from her hands. The thee of them had sought solace in the Room of Requirement after Hermione had at long last eaten her dinner and had already transfigured a cup to replace the one they had taken from the case.
"Well," Hermione sighed, "we have to find someway for the piece of Voldemort's soul to manifest itself to destroy it. That seems to be the common denominator here." To Harry's relief, she set the horcrux down to rest on the table. "At least I think that's what we have to do."
"Sometimes the simplest solution usually works," Ron said as he took out his wand.
Harry looked at him. "Ron, what are you-"
"Reducto!"
Harry grabbed Hermione and practically yanked her down to the floor face down before he moved on top of her, shielding her from Ron's spell that rebounded off the cup and bounced crazily around the room. Ron hid under the table until the spell finally landed on a chair and destroyed it. The room immediately replaced it with another one.
Hermione removed her hands from her head and chanced a look around the room.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked her and she nodded. Harry moved off of her and helped her to her feet. "Well, we won't do that again, will we?" he said pointedly to Ron.
"How the hell was I to know it was going to do that?" he asked innocently.
"Look, it's late," Harry said, "Let's just sleep on this and figure it out some more tomorrow, alright?" He took the cup and stuffed it into a pocket in his robes. Hermione nodded reluctantly and Harry took the lead in leaving the room. It was late and they knew that Mrs. Norris and Filch would be patrolling the halls. They hurriedly made their way to the Gryffindor common room where Hermione separated from her friends.
"I'll see you two tomorrow," she said sleepily as she turned to walk away.
"Just a moment," Harry said, letting the portrait close behind him as the two of them stood alone in the hall. Hermione turned to look at him as he approached her.
"I need you to promise me something," he said softly to her.
"Of course, anything," Hermione replied, a little concerned about the agitated look on her friend's face.
Harry scratched the back of his head. "I need you to promise me that…you won't do anything…dangerous with this horcrux."
Hermione's features softened and she took his hand in hers. It felt warm, slightly rough and calloused in spots. "I can't do that, Harry," she said softly. Harry frowned. "I can't do that because it conflicts with a bigger promise," she explained. "A promise I made to you before when I said I would do anything to help you defeat Voldemort."
"And I would do anything to keep you safe…and Ron…safe, too," he added quickly.
Hermione smiled. "Goodnight, Harry," she whispered softly and stood on tip-toe to kiss him gently on the cheek before turning to walk away.
She was feeling tired and sleepy but the memory of the way Harry's hand felt in hers, the slight roughness of his stubble on his cheek when she kissed him and his very presence made a little grin grow on her face as she floated to her room.
The grin dropped when she saw who was waiting for her.
"What do you want?" she asked, irritated that he burst her little bubble of contentment.
Draco was leaning against the wall next to the portrait and slightly pushed himself off of it to greet her. "I could just brush off your despicable manners and attribute it to you being a mudblood and all but you really should work on your greetings."
Hermione smiled brightly. "Okay," she said in an overly cheerful voice. "Malfoy, get the fuck out of my way."
"Ooh, Weasel has your knickers in a twist because he hasn't fucked you yet? I know. I looked at the list. Don't worry, I'm sure it's not entirely your fault that he isn't attracted to you in that way. You can't help who your parents are."
"Is there something you want or are you just standing here taking up space?" she asked.
He grinned. "Time for another field trip, Granger," he said and walked away.
Hermione hung her head. She was sooo tired but she found herself willingly following the Slytherin jerk.
*
The Leaky Cauldron was busy tonight, the pub filled with witches and wizards welcoming the weekend and celebrating the end of another work week. Hermione and Draco easily were able to slip in unrecognized in the crowd and made their way up to the rooms on the upper floors. Draco stopped at one of the doors on the fourth floor and knocked.
"Fizzing whizbee," he said to the door. Hermione looked at him and saw that he was blushing slightly and not meeting her gaze. The door unlocked and his mother opened the door.
"Do you have everything ready to go?" he asked as he walked into the room.
Narcissa eyed Hermione uneasily. "Mother?" Draco asked, getting her attention. She turned to her son.
"Yes, did you talk to…him?" she asked, glancing again at Hermione.
"We've got to get you out of here tonight," Draco said, looking out of the window in the room.
"Where will I go now?" Narcissa asked quietly.
"Someplace where I'm sure he would never look to find you."
Narcissa looked at Hermione who shrugged. She turned back to her son. "The Four Seasons," she said softly. Hermione's eyes widened.
Draco looked at his mother. "I've never heard of it."
Narcissa opened her mouth to say something but then closed it and looked away, ashamed.
Hermione looked at her. "It's, uh, a muggle hotel," she said softly. Draco looked up at his mother sharply then looked away, cursing loudly.
"Look what we've been reduced to. My mother staying in some filthy muggle…"
"It's actually quite nice," Hermione spoke up.
Draco said nothing for awhile before he finally said a quiet, "Fine."
"There's only one problem," Hermione said. "You don't have any muggle money."
"And we can't access the vault," Narcissa added.
Draco pursed his lips together as if he were holding back a tirade he so badly wanted to launch into.
Hermione sighed and looked at an armchair in the room with detachment. "Well, two of us don't have access to muggle money," she said lazily. Draco swooped down on her in an instant, his arms rested on either arm of the chair, trapping Hermione into it. But she wasn't afraid. She had the upper hand.
"How much?" he demanded.
"Not enough to take her to the Four Seasons but enough to put her up in a nice place with room service," she answered.
"Take us there."
"I'm not taking you anywhere," Hermione protested.
Draco pointed a finger in her face. "You swore to help me."
"I know what I did," she snapped back. "But I want something from you this time." Draco stared at her. "Carte blanche. Blank check."
"I know what it means," Draco snapped at her. He regarded her for a moment before answering. "Where are you taking us?" his tone was slightly resigned.
"It's in town, follow me."
Hermione was in a seriously agitated mood, she was tired and cranky. Her moment of happiness with Harry had been rudely interrupted by the presence of this blond haired git and now she was obligated to smuggle his mother into a muggle hotel. From what, from who, she didn't exactly know.
The lobby of the hotel was carpeted and outfitted with plush furniture in a cream color that was just asking to have coffee spilled upon it. Hermione and Draco walked up to the marble countered front desk where a man was standing behind it, looking like he had better things to do than deal with these two young people.
"Can I help you?" he asked, lazily.
Hermione, in the mood for some serious payback, linked her arm around Draco's and pulled him close. "My fiancé and I need a room for the night and we were wondering what you had available."
Draco stared at Hermione, his lips pursed together in a fine line.
"Single or double?" the man asked.
"Single of course," she replied then leaned forward and in a conspiratorial whisper said, "All this wedding planning is driving us crazy. We need some alone time, if you get my drift. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" she beamed up at Draco who now looked as if he was torn between throttling her right now and risk the muggle police or just behaving and playing along.
"That's right…sunshine," he said in a false cheery voice, unhooking his arm from hers and moving it to her shoulder where he squeezed it tightly.
Narcissa followed behind the two of them as the room was paid for by cash Hermione had taken from a credit card and the bellhop took "their" luggage to the room. Seeing that his mother was set up nicely, he ordered her not to leave the room.
"The money Granger used will be enough for two days. We'll be back to find some way to get more money and get you out of here."
Hermione looked away as Draco hugged his mom and examined the Fire Escape routes on a laminated square piece of paper by the door. There was a small tug at her sleeve and she looked up to see Draco opening the door for them to leave. The lighting in the hall was soft on the eyes and their footfalls were quieted by the soft rug underneath their feet. She pressed the button to call the lift and waited for the gilded doors to open. The two of them walked inside and Hermione leaned against the side panel after pressing the button for the lobby. Draco stood on the opposite side, leaning against the back of the lift, hands resting on the railing as he crossed his legs. Hermione reached out and pulled the Stop button then turned to him.
"Are you loyal to Voldemort?" she asked him.
Draco looked at her. "You don't seriously think I'm going to answer that question."
"I want to know what side you are playing on."
"Who said I'm taking sides?"
"Don't toy with me, Malfoy," Hermione said quietly. "I know what happened last year. I know you were ordered to kill Dumbledore and that you chickened ou--."
"You don't know anything," he said disinterestedly, gazing blankly at the door in front of him.
"You didn't answer my question," Hermione repeated.
Draco looked over at her and walked over, stopping just in front of her. "You really want to know, huh?" She looked up at him, determined. He grinned softly. "Too bad." He reached out and pushed in the Stop button, letting the lift resume its journey. The silence continued all the way to Hogwarts.
~*~
"Harry! Harry wake up!"
Harry rolled over to see that Tonks was shaking him.
"What is it? What's the matter?" he asked, shaking his head, clearing it of sleep.
"Meeting in McGonagall's office, quicky," she said before moving onto Ron to wake him.
Harry sat up and put on his glasses. Isis hissed softly in her cage next to his bed, muttering about Ron's snores. He scooted out of bed and put on some dark grey sweats and a white t-shirt.
"Ron! Get up!" Tonks whispered fiercely.
"What?" Ron whined.
"Meeting in the Headmistress' office…now Ron!"
"I'll get him there," Harry offered as he put on a pair of trainers.
"I'm going to find Hermione," Tonks said as she walked out of the door.
"She's in her room," Harry muttered.
"No, she isn't," Tonks said dismissively. "She's probably out on rounds."
Harry stared at her as she left the room. Hermione wasn't in her room. He knelt down and opened his trunk, pulling out the familiar folded piece of parchment that was the Marauder's Map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said, tapping it. Lines grew from the area his wand had touch, vining over the paper as it drew the halls of Hogwart's. He looked to the Head Boy and Girl suites and found that she was, indeed, not there. He looked at the library, the Great Hall, the Headmistress' office. Hermione was not at Hogwarts.
Harry erased the map and pursed his lips together in annoyance. Where the hell was Hermione?
"Did you find her?" Ron asked as he pulled a sweater over his head.
"Come on," Harry muttered, "let's go."
Wand in hand, Harry marched down the hall. "Hey man, what's the hurry?" Ron said, agitated, as he scrambled to keep up with his friend. Harry didn't answer him, he wanted some answers from the Head Girl.
"Hey you two," Tonks joined them as they went down a set of stairs. "Can't find her anywhere. Can you think of-oh!"
Hermione and Draco parted ways at the statue of the witch on the third floor, the journey held in silence. She was glad to be rid of the company anyway, it had been a long night and she just wanted to get some sleep. She rubbed at her eyes and yawned as she turned the corner…
…and ran smack into Nymphadora Tonks, er Professor Tonks, accompanied by her two best friends.
"Hermione! Thank goodness we ran into you," Professor Tonks said.
Hermione was more than a bit startled, "Er…okay," she said unsurely.
"Professor McGonagall has called an urgent meeting in her office, I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Oh, um, I was just in the…Great…Hall," she said, floundering terribly.
"Really? I could've sworn it was empty when I looked," Tonks said, wrinkling her brow.
"You must have just missed her," Harry spoke up and Hermione looked at him. "I saw her in the Map," he crossed his arms and Hermione's eyes widened slightly.
"The Map?" Professor Tonks asked, turning to Harry.
"Nothing," Harry said dismissively and stepped forward. "Let's get going, we don't want to keep McGonagall waiting."
Harry reached out and took Hermione's upper arm as the group continued on its way. Tonk's was ahead of them as the trio walked side-by-side in palpable silence. There was an odd tension in the group and Ron opened his mouth to say something to lighten this strange mood but thought better and kept it shut. From the corner of his eye he saw Hermione attempt to yank her arm from Harry's grasp but was unsuccessful.
"Fidelius," Tonks said to the gargoyle, allowing them access to the rotating stairs up to the Headmistress' office. The four of them walked into the room to find that the rest of the Order was already there. Harry hesitated at the threshold of the doorway, having already been in this place so many times that it brought a wave of memories that were still raw and painful to him.
Hermione sensed his hesitation and looked up at him with sympathy in her eyes. But Harry didn't look at her, his gaze became steely again and he tugged her into the room.
"Good, we're all here," Lupin said as he gazed around the room.
"Are you sure this is the best place to meet?" Arthur said, hesitantly, as he gazed around at the portraits.
"They have been frozen," McGonagall said. "No one is privy to this conversation. Go ahead Mr. Shacklebolt."
Kingsley stepped forward. "We have just learned of an attack just half an hour ago at the Leaky Cauldron."
Hermione inhaled sharply.
"Several guests were injured but no one was killed," Kingsley finished.
"Oh thank goodness," McGonagall said, a shaky hand on her throat.
"The Dark Mark was hovering above the place so there was no question as to who was behind this whole thing."
"But no one was killed?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"So they just attacked the place for the heck of it?"
"We think that they were looking for something or someone," Kingsley said.
"They attacked the place in the middle of the night. The only people there would be Tom and his guests," Lupin said.
"We're in the process of getting that list and account for all of them. If someone doesn't show, then we'll know who they were after."
"And when we do, we then have to find out why," Harry sighed.
*
There was more silence among the trio as they walked back to the common room. Hermione left them to go to her rooms but Harry didn't follow Ron. He went after Hermione.
"You want to tell me where you were tonight?" he asked her.
"Harry," Hermione sighed.
"Don' even think about lying to me, Hermione. We both know that you weren't in the castle tonight."
"Are you spying on me?" Hermione asked.
"Tonks couldn't find you so I checked on the Map. You weren't anywhere on it."
Hermione remained silent. She couldn't think of anything to say in her defense. Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I'm going to ask you this only once and believe me when I say that I hate the fact that I have to even ask this." He looked closely at her. "Did you know about the attack on the Leaky Cauldron?"
Hermione's eyes widened. "Of course not!"
Harry looked into her eyes but Hermione looked away from him. She very well knew what Harry was capable of.
"What are you hiding from me, Hermione?" he asked softly, reaching out to touch her hair.
But Hermione stepped away from him. "Don't be silly, Harry," she said and moved past him. Harry reached out and grabbed her.
"Hermione…"
"It's late Harry," she said and hustled away.
Harry stood alone in the corridor. Isis' words floated to his memory. Ssshe'sss hiding sssomething. A sssecret, a very dangerousss sssecret. The low sound of Lupin and Shacklebolt talking down the hall caught his attention and Harry went to the banister to see the two of them walking down the stairs to the front doors of the castle. He hustled after them.
"Harry?" Lupin asked as he approached the two men.
"Hey," he nodded to his father's friend. "Could I have a quick word?"
"Sure," Kingsley replied.
"I need to ask a favor of you," Harry began. "I was wondering if I could use some sort of…" he looked away from Lupin. "…tracking device."
"Tracking device?" Shacklebolt asked. Harry could feel Lupin's gaze burning into him. "Is this for a student, Harry?"
"Er…yes," he said.
"Do you have a lead?" Shacklebolt asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"I would if I could but the tracking devices we have go haywire here at Hogwarts. Too much magic."
"I don't need it for inside the castle," Harry explained.
"You need it for a student going outside of the castle?"
"Yeah," Harry replied.
Draco watched the three of them from the shadows of the corridor to the dungeon before slipping silently away, undetected.
~*~
Ron and Luna sat together at the Gryffindor table even though her house was playing against Slytherin today. Ginny stared at her brother's horrible eating habits but Luna seemed unfazed. Harry was, as usual, brooding silently across from them.
"Hey Hermione," Ginny said brightly, greeting her friend. Harry stabbed angrily at his plate and Ginny and Ron looked at each other questioningly.
"Hey guys," Hermione said, taking a seat next to Ginny, diagonal from Harry. Ron felt the tension once again settle upon them and he shifted uneasily in his seat.
"So, uh, what do think of today's match-up?" Ron asked, trying to start conversation.
"Should be an exciting game," Ginny offered.
"With Ravenclaw winning, of course," Hermione winked as she buttered some toast. She suddenly felt as if she were being watched and she chanced a glance over her shoulder at the Slytherin table where Malfoy was surrounded by a small huddle of his friends no doubt discussing the latest move by the Death Eaters.
"Did you see the paper this morning?" Luna said. "The Leaky Cauldron was attacked late last night…or very early this morning, however you want to look at it," Luna drew out a copy of the Quibbler and gave to Harry's outstretched hand. He unfolded it and munched on a scone as he read it.
Ginny turned to Hermione. "So are you going to make it to this match?" she asked, nudging her.
Hermione grinned wryly. "Yeah. Ernie is going to take care of the stragglers today."
"Good, I was hoping to walk you out," Harry said from behind the paper then lowered it slightly to look at her. "Wouldn't want you tripping down the stairs again, you know." Hermione rolled her eyes at his comment.
"Heads up, Harry," Ron said as an owl came zooming into the Great Hall. Harry's seeker reflexes caught the package that sailed toward him as the owl just as quickly left the room. It was a small package that was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a simple string. He opened it and saw a small grey box and a small folded piece of parchment with it. Harry opened the paper and immediately recognized the werewolf's handwriting.
Trust is essential in any relationship, be it with a loved one or a friend. It is the very glue that holds that bond together. But it is a fragile thing. It takes only suspicion, not proof to take it all away.
Think carefully before acting, Harry.
"Who's it from?" Hermione asked.
Harry looked at her, the bushy brown haired girl who he had first met when she bustled into his and Ron's compartment on the train so long ago. "It was from Lupin, he just wanted to say hi."
"That was nice," she smiled back at him, breaking his heart a little. During his fourth year, his friendship with Ron had been sorely tested when his name was spit out of the Goblet of Fire. And now he felt as if he were losing Hermione, losing her to something that he had no control over. It was at that moment that Harry realized that he wouldn't get back that special friendship he shared with her. So much had happened and changed between them that they could no longer go back to what they used to be and now it was a fight to salvage whatever tenuous bond of friendship that he had with her that was rapidly fraying.
Ginny turned away from her conversation with Hermione to see the saddest expression on Harry's face. It was only there for a moment but she caught it all the same, following his gaze to Hermione and she wondered what in the world could cause him to react that way. Especially since the three of them were now engaged in conversation about what to do this chilly November morning.
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