Disclaimer: Who owns Harry Potter? JKR, that’s who!
Hermione hurried out of her office. Madame Marchbanks had kept her there a bit longer than she’d anticipated. She sighed as she thought about her latest client’s problems. Madam Marchbanks had hired Hermione to research magical and muggle methods of quelling motion sickness. As she needed to travel quite a bit for own work, she couldn’t afford to always arrive feeling sick and haggard. She’d tried different means of traveling, too, including riding the Knight Bus, using the Floo Network, and flying on both broomsticks and even carpets. Hermione’s latest effort for her client was a charmed bicycle. She’d just finished giving a demonstration to Madame Marchbanks when she realized she’d have to really hurry to get to the Order meeting on time.
As soon as stepped out of her building, she ducked into the alley and quickly Apparated to the neighborhood of 12 Grimmald Place. She always Apparated to a point behind a small shed at the edge of a nearby park. She glanced at her watch as she hurriedly walked towards the Order headquarters. When she got to numbers 11 and 13 she stopped and concentrated on the address that Dumbledore had given her years before. Within a few seconds, a large old house materialized right in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and marched up the sidewalk towards the front door.
Before she could even knock, the door opened to reveal a craggy old face staring directly at her. After a sweeping look at her and then behind her out onto the street, Mad-Eye Moody beckoned her inside. He grunted something that could have been a greeting or an admonishment for nearly being late. Hermione wondered which it might be and giggled slightly at the thought.
She headed downstairs to the large kitchen that also served as the main meeting room. She smiled as she remembered something her grandmother had said so long ago: “The most important events always happen in the kitchen.” As she came down the stairs, she looked around the warmly lit room. Her eyes immediately found two bright emerald green ones and she smiled a greeting. Then she waved at the red-head sitting next to Harry. She wanted to sit with them but the room was already quite full. She headed towards the back of the kitchen, to sit near an ancient set of cabinets. At that time, Dumbledore cleared his throat and she sat down before she noticed who she was seated next to.
“Welcome my colleagues. Thank you for giving up your Sunday evening. I am glad to see you all “ especially some of you whom I have not looked at in some time,” his eyes twinkling as he scanned the room. Hermione thought that he might be looking back at her or maybe just around her. She glanced to her side and bit her lip in surprise. Right next to her was none other than Draco Malfoy. She saw him give a small nod to Dumbledore though he didn’t seem to notice her at all.
She didn’t hear the rest of Dumbledore’s welcoming speech though she kept her eyes directly on the old wizard. She was too busy trying to suppress the unexpected burst of anger at being completely ignored by a man she’d been helping for five years.
What did I expect? she mused. That he’d give me a big hug and thank me for all my work? She felt some of her anger begin to dissipate. No, he has a secret to keep and so do I, she thought. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on anything other than the handsome blond man sitting about five inches away from her.
She wasn’t the only one trying to maintain her attention on the task at hand. Draco had nearly replayed the last board meeting in its entirety in his head in an effort not to openly stare at the bushy haired woman who’d sat so near to him. He’d been instantly aware of her when she’d come to the bottom of the stairs. He’d watched as she quickly scanned the room, undoubtedly looking for Potter and Weasley. He’d felt a rush of jealousy as he’d watched her face immediately break into a smile when she’d waved at her two friends. Then he’d watched her start to fumble through the small crowd, waving and briefly chatting on her way to find a seat in the back. He’d tried to make himself as small as possible so she wouldn’t notice him as she looked for a seat. He wanted her to sit by him but was afraid that she might choose not to if she realized he was right there.
Dumbledore had turned the floor over to Ron now. Hermione felt like a silly schoolgirl when she recognized that she’d missed just about everything the old wizard had said. With some effort, she forced herself to listen to Ron’s words.
“Er- well, there’s been quite an increase in Muggle-baiting lately. Of course, the Ministry fixes whatever’s broken, performs memory charms when needed, and keeps records of repeat offenders. I’m sure you’ve seen all this in the Daily Prophet.” He paused briefly, and Hermione noted that many people were nodding their heads.
“Well, we’ve been following a series of incidents that we’ve managed to keep out of the papers- and that’s what we need to talk about tonight.” Ron’s words were followed by silence.
“I personally have been investigating a series of magical crimes against Muggles that seem to target their children.” The silence was now broken by slight murmuring. “At first, I thought I was dealing with the usual vandalism of schools and parks and dangerous enhancements of toys. However, it’s really quite apparent that these incidents are actually traps- traps designed to catch young Muggle-born witches and wizards. Disillusionment charms prevent Muggles from seeing the traps but curious children who have yet to be identified for their magical nature are drawn in,” he paused again, allowing the implications of his words to sink in.
Dumbledore nodded to Ron, who then sat back down next to Harry.
“While there have been no deaths, there have been several injuries to young Muggle-borns. Because of the insidious nature of these crimes, I have called you all together. I believe that the remnants of the Death Eaters are working towards a common goal of terrorizing innocent magical children and their Muggle families. We must protect these children- they have no one else who would recognize their unique vulnerabilities.” With that, Dumbledore leaned back into his chair at the front of the kitchen. He seemed to be waiting for questions and comments.
Hermione looked around the room. Though the other members were murmuring to themselves, she knew that no one wanted to ask the question that was really bothering them. She didn’t want to ask, either. But she had a very personal interest in preventing someone from hurting young magical children residing in the muggle world. She stood, squeezing her hands into fists to calm the shakiness that she felt.
“Why would anyone target these children? What is it about them that makes them dangerous for Death Eaters?” As she sat back down she could have sworn that she heard a small sigh from the blond man to her right.
“Well, Hermione. That is the question to which we must find an answer. We’ve had no substantial trouble from Death Eaters in more than two years. Now we are noting an alarming trend- a coordinated attack on Muggle-born children. It behooves us to identify the perpetrators of these crimes and their reasoning for the attacks,” Dumbledore said. He paused before saying, “I do not think these crimes are without purpose, my friends. And I shudder to think what that purpose may be.”
For the rest of the meeting, various members of the Order gave briefings and led brainstorming sessions and discussions. By the end of the evening, the group had formulated a few resolutions. Some members would be working with Dumbledore to identify magical children living in Muggle London. Once their identities were known, others from the Order would keep watch on them. Still another group would work on mechanisms for protecting the children and their Muggle families. Hermione had wanted to work with each of the groups but Dumbledore had asked that she work on a different task.
At end of the night, Dumbledore walked towards the back of the room. He stopped in front of Hermione.
“I want to ask you to do something in particular, Hermione. Your research skills are needed to identify why Voldemort would want these children harmed- in other words, you must find the answer to your question from earlier this evening,” he said quietly.
“V-Voldemort!” Hermione gasped. “But I didn’t think he was involved or suspected- I mean we haven’t- well, no one’s seen him,” she stuttered.
Dumbledore continued to look intently at Hermione but his gaze also included the man still sitting next to her.
“I want to help with this task, sir,” Draco said, surprising even himself. Hermione whirled around to face him but he was looking directly at Dumbledore.
“I was hoping that you would be of assistance, Draco,” he said, looking from Hermione’s shocked expression to Draco’s resolute one.
“I trust you both will work together to find the truth.” With that, Dumbledore turned around and walked back to the front of the room.
After about a minute of studying his shoes, Draco willed himself to look at Hermione.
“Um,” he began, his voice faltering immediately, though he kept his gaze locked with her’s.
“Er- so we’re going to need to do some research, then?” she said, cursing herself for squeaking out the last half of her question.
Draco nodded. He suddenly pictured Louisa’s striking gray eyes and toothy grin.
“So to a library, right?” he said firmly, finding needed strength in thinking of his daughter.
“Well, actually, I have a lot of research materials in my office- we- we could access most of the magical texts in Britain from there,” she said, unable to hide the nervousness in her voice. He nodded his head.
“All right, then. I’ll be there tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock?” he asked.
She nodded, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. They both stood at the same time, giving an onlooker the suspicion that each was trying to escape from the other. However, rising at the same time within the confines of the back row and large wooden cabinets proved to be a bit difficult. Hermione successfully knocked Draco back onto his chair with her briefcase. He barely landed on the edge of his chair and was definitely now headed for the floor.
“Oh! Oh, oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, leaning down to offer him her arm. He grabbed it without really thinking, pulling her harder than she was expecting. She nearly fell down with him but managed to hang onto another chair for support.
She giggled, unable to suppress all the tension and anxiety that had been building up inside of her during the meeting. She wanted to cry or yell in frustration at the thought of Voldemort hurting muggle-borns but instead she watched Draco Malfoy struggle precariously and giggled.
When Draco finally was able to stand, he looked at the giggling brunette in front of him. He was a bit miffed because she was laughing at him. But he found that he couldn’t stay angry. There was something about her laugh- something that didn’t indicate any teasing or even happiness. She sounded a little bit sad. He regarded her while she continued to giggle.
At that moment, Harry and Ron approached the back of the room. Harry had noticed his best friend knocking over his former school rival and then her subsequent laughing when she tried to help him up. He had cringed, half expecting some kind of backlash from Malfoy. After all, he’d tormented her throughout Hogwarts. True, Harry knew that Malfoy spied for the Order, but he doubted that he’d changed so much that he’d resist being spiteful to Hermione. When he didn’t say anything to her, but stood there calmly looking at her as if she was some kind of new species, Harry decided to interrupt.
“Hermione, remember we have plans now. We’re going for drinks- come on,” he said.
“Yeah, Remus and Tonks are waiting upstairs,” followed Ron.
“Oh, sure.” She paused, looking at her two friends and then back at Draco who still hadn’t moved from her side. She took a breath and turned back to Draco.
“Malf- um…Draco, would you like to join us for drinks?” she asked, hesitantly. Ron’s shock showed clearly on his face while Harry eyed Hermione and Draco closely, watching for their reactions.
“No, no, thank you. I really should be going,” he answered, his words in a rush. Then he quickly walked past the three friends. When he reached the foot of the stairs, he turned back and said, “But I will see you tomorrow morning, Hermione.” And he ran up the steps before she could say anything back to him.
“Well, that was interesting,” said Ron, still watching the now empty stairway.
“Let’s go,” said Harry, putting his arm around Hermione and steering her out of the kitchen. He wanted to ask her more about her encounter with Malfoy but he figured that a more appropriate time would come up a bit later.
The three headed upstairs to where their friends, Remus and Tonks, were waiting for them.