Need [ dramione ]

Chapter 22

20 December 1998 - Two Days After the New Moon

When Granger had mentioned wanting to join him in the Forbidden Forest, Draco hadn't thought she really meant the Forbidden Forest. Not for potion ingredient gathering, at least. She was only two days off of a New Moon, and yet, she was wearing a pair of rather beat up leather boots and carrying a set of Herbology gloves in her cloak pocket.

She had been serious, then. He's not really certain what to do with her.

He wants to tell her to stay behind, but the letter from his Aunt makes him hesitate.

"What are we gathering today?" she asks, her hands shoved into her pockets.

"Thistle, Rowan Berries, and searching to see if there's any Winter Aconite."

She raises her brow at the last one, as he expected. He doesn't know if they'll find any, but-

"I already have enough preserved to get us through winter, so you don't need to worry about future brews, but I want to see if the change from normal Aconite to Winter can help at all."

She gives a shrug, and he knows she likely cares, but... he's the one brewing, after all. And... perhaps... it's a bit unspoken, that they don't need any false hope.

"So, after this, you'll brew the potion?" she asks as they fall into step, heading into the woods.

He nods, and together, they venture into the Forbidden Forest.

It's cold, of course, but the wind isn't blowing quite as hard within the forest. The snow is also not as thick within, whether due to the foliage or the magic, he doesn't know. It's warmer, though.

Warm enough, at least, that he knows the herbs he needs will be found.

"This is why I can never leave Hogwarts," she says idly as they venture deeper into the forest.

"What do you mean?" he asks, not looking back at her.

"All of the herbs needed for the potion... they either grow within the Forbidden Forest, or in the Greenhouses. Where else am I going to find potion supplies?"

He has an answer for that, even though he hasn't mentioned it to her yet.

"You could always purchase your potion from an Apothecary," he offers.

"And be placed on the registry?" she asks quickly.

He hadn't really thought of that.

"Once I'm on the registry... it doesn't matter if they change the laws. Once everyone knows, you can't take it back. What happens in ten, fifteen years, when they change the legislature again. What if they don't even change this legislature?"

She's not wrong.

"I'm the only werewolf left, Draco. I was serious about not staying here."

"Don't talk about that," he snaps, turning back to look at her. "You can't leave."

The look on her face says this isn't the time or place to discuss it, so he drops it.

"You know," he says as he nears the thistle bushes. "The Malfoy Estate... we have a number of greenhouses."

"Do you?" she asks, and he can hear the tightness in her voice.

"We do," he responds casually. "And a fair amount of property. It would be a suitable place for a werewolf to run."

A werewolf had run there previously, after all.

"That's if you even get your manor back," she says softly.