Winter passed without any more interaction between Hermione and Draco. Hermione had hoped to talk to him more after their conversation, but it seemed as if Draco was avoiding her. He shot out of Ancient Runes each day seemingly quicker than if he was one his broomstick. He always sat facing away from Gryffindor table, and he never, ever walked down the corridors without someone walking with him, making it seemingly impossible for Hermione to communicate with him without drawing attention. However, Hermione still felt his presence. Sometimes, if she was walking down a corridor alone, she would sense that someone was watching her. Whenever she would whip around quickly to catch the person, no one would be there, but she knew it was Draco. It was as if Hermione had a new guardian angel, one that never showed its face.
One day in early March, Hermione strolled purposefully towards her haven, the library. Harry had sent her a letter requesting information on Banshees and how to avoid their deadly screams, and Hermione had dutifully grabbed her quill and rolls of parchment to begin her research. Harry had survived his December horcrux ambush, while managing to stun two Death Eaters in the process and throw them into Azkaban. He and Ron had wanted to know where Hermione had gotten her information on the attack, but she adamantly refused- no one in the Order trusted Draco Malfoy, and Hermione didn’t want anyone turning down perfectly good information because of a supposedly ‘rotten’ source. Hermione was walking and pondering Draco Malfoy when a hulking shadow stepped in her way. Startled, Hermione stopped in her tracks. “Draco?” She tried to stop her mouth from twisting into a smile; speak of the devil.
“Hello, Hermione. First name basis still?” Draco Malfoy smiled slightly, obviously pleased Hermione hadn’t reverted back to surname basis. Grabbing her elbow slightly, he guided her into an empty classroom, setting her into a chair. Locking the door with a series of spells, he too took a seat and looked at her silently.
Hermione felt a slight blush color her cheeks; she wasn’t use to such scrutiny. Draco’s gaze seemed much more piercing than anyone else’s. Ron’s always seemed like a puppy dog’s, admiring her as if she was a dog bone with sprinkles on top. And Harry’s gaze was always tinged with sadness, seemingly weighed down with the weight of the world. Hermione’s thoughts began to wander, thinking of all of her acquaintance’s gazes, until Draco’s voice broke her thoughts.
“I have a new assignment.”
Hermione looked up, startled. She knew Draco was a Death Eater, not as prominent as some, but certainly powerful. And if Draco had an assignment, it meant Voldemort was plotting again. Her ears strained to hear every word.
“Ever since Snape was found to be a traitor to the Dark Lord-”
Hermione winced. Anyone who referred to Voldemort as the Dark Lord was instinctively bad. And yet she knew Draco would not be telling her anything if he was.
“-The Dark Lord has been desperate for information on the Order’s activities. We have nothing. We don’t know where your headquarters are, we don’t know how much you know- nothing. And seeing as most of our Death Eaters have been declared Enemies of the Ministry for years and they can’t show their faces, let alone befriend the Order, new recruits are the only options as spies.” Here he paused, apparently savoring the words. “Hermione Granger, meet the new Order of the Phoenix hopeful.”
Jaw dropping, Hermione threw him an incredulous look. “You? Trying to be a member of the Order? Impossible. They’ll never accept you! Most likely they’ll try to kill you the moment one of them sees you!”
“That’s where you come in, my dear. Seeing as I’ve already proven myself a follower of the light, whatever that rubbish phrasing implies, I don’t think your morals will be too shaken trying to help me. See, you will tell the Order that I’ve approached you, asking your help. You’ll simply explain to the Order that the Dark Lord had tricked me. He threatened to kill my mum and dad if I didn’t attempt to kill Dumbledore. Since then, I’ve been filled with grief, and am willing to spy for the Order. And the brilliant part about the plan is that I really will be spying for the Order! It’s You-Know-Who that will be tricked, thinking I`m spying for him!”
Hermione attempted to absorb all the information at once. It was a brilliant plan, really, and the Order was always desperate for more information on Voldemort’s whereabouts. The only obstacle would be to convince everyone that Malfoy was truly good, and surely they would accept him if Hermione did.
“Okay, Malfoy. You’ve got a deal.”
“No. Bloody. Way!” Ron Weasley was pacing number twelve Grimmauld’s place, his fiery hair matching his mood. “Malfoy’s the prick who’s been torturing us all these years! He’s been born to follow You-Know-Who! That’s his entire purpose of life, Hermione! Are you bloody insane?”
Hermione drew herself up, offended by Ron’s crude phrasing. “No, I`m not insane, Ron. In fact, I`m being perfectly logical, and you’d realize that if you’d simply put aside your bitter past for a moment.”
Ron’s face burst into a lovely shade of magenta. Harry, on the other hand, had been staring into his lemonade pensively, occasionally stirring his drink.
“Harry? What do you think of my plan?”
“Well…” here Harry looked remorsefully at Ron, as if apologizing, “I do remember Malfoy hesitating on the tower that night. I really don’t think he would have killed Dumbledore if he had the chance. And we are desperate for information,” here Harry looked at Ron as if to say, ‘sorry mate’.
“But…. but Hermione, how do we know if he’s trustworthy? Every good lie does have a thread of truth! He could just be feeding this to you!”
“True, Ron, but I know we can trust him. Do you remember the tip I gave you last December that your Horcrux mission was compromised? Well, Malfoy told me that.” Here she bit her lip, hoping a complete outburst could be avoided. She sighed inwardly with relief that she hadn’t said ‘Draco’; she didn’t think either boy could handle the first name transition with grace.
Two shocked faces stared at her. Awkward, heavy silence filled the room. Finally, Harry spoke slowly.
“Hermione. You could have gotten us killed then.”
“But you weren’t! That’s the brilliant part; we’ve already gotten proof that he’s on our side! He’s already been initiated!”
Ron managed to shut his mouth. “Fine, Hermione. Even though I still think he’s a nasty little ferret-” both boys snickered at the phrasing “-we’ll take him. But even one minor slip-up, one tiny indication he’s still dark at heart, he’s out of here. In pieces.”
Hermione nodded. She would take the compromise; it was worth it in her opinion. At least the boys were threatening to kill Draco after he messed up instead of before.
“Great. I`ll tell him. You can tell the rest of the Order.” Sitting up, she kissed both boys on the cheek (Ron turned an even brighter magenta), and taking a pinch of Floo powder, she shouted, “Hogwarts, Heads’ common place!” and she was gone.
“Bloody hell.”