Absolute Power

17 - The Third Man

Hermione wakes up with puffy eyes and vows to herself to never cry over Draco Malfoy again.

He was just using me as a way to get out of there, she tells herself as she steps into a steaming hot shower. She doesn't know what she expected. A friendship with Draco Malfoy? Absurd.

Maybe more. Hermione curses the stupid voice in her head. Sure, he was good looking. Actually, that was an understatement. The man was beautiful. But he was an arse. A prejudiced, stuck up, well-read, intelligent, challenging, beautiful bastard.

"I need psychiatric help." She mutters, lathering vanilla-smelling shampoo into her hair. All her usual hair products that she needed for her thick curls was stuck back at Hogwarts, and she was seriously in need of a deep conditioning. She finds the thickest conditioner that Pansy has left her and lets it sit in her hair for a few minutes, leaning against the wall of the shower and pondering to herself. A knock on the door startles her.

"Hermione!" Pansy's voice calls to her.

"Be out in a sec!" She calls back, tipping her head under the water. Pansy doesn't listen, of course, and Hermione hears the bathroom door open. "Morning, Pansy."

"Morning!" Pansy chirps happily from the other side of the shower curtain. "You've got an owl."

"What?!" Hermione whips the shower curtain open and sticks her head out the side, finding Pansy perched on the bathroom counter.

"It arrived this morning addressed to you." Pansy waves a white parcel in the air. "Who knows you're here?" Her eyes narrow.

"No one!" Hermione promises, heart racing. "Let me just get this stuff out of my hair, and I'll be out in a second. Don't open it, it could be-" Before she can finish her sentence, Pansy rips the parcel open and scans the letter.

Hermione sighs and quickly rinses her hair before grabbing a fluffy towel and wrapping it around herself, joining the other girl next to the counter.

"Oh, Luna. That makes sense." Pansy passes the letter over to Hermione, now studying the small package with intrigue.

"Does it?" Hermione asks in disbelief, grabbing the letter and reading it over.

Dear Hermione,

I hope everything is going okay with you guys! Everything is a bit of a mess here with the Ministry having been taken over, but we're surviving.

The DA is still going strong; Ginny is doing a wonderful job. She taught us all bat-bogey hexes last week. A couple of us have started staying in the Room of Requirement overnight so the Carrows can't get in and destroy the place. It's quite cozy.

This ring will allow you to contact me, but I recommend waiting for me to call you in case I'm somewhere I can't talk. If it's an emergency, just twice the stone clockwise, and I'll be able to tell that you need to talk.

Good luck with everything. You're doing the right thing, and you're safe for now. Stay in the Manor. I'll call you when you get this.

Luna.

P.S. well done with Snape.

Hermione reads the letter twice before she gestures for Pansy to give her the ring. It's a sleek silver band with a bright blue sapphire atop it. It fits easily onto her middle finger.

"Yeah, Luna helped us into Hogwarts when we saved you and Draco. She has a knack for knowing stuff." Pansy answers Hermione's earlier question, admiring the ring on Hermione's outstretched hand. "This is gorgeous, by the way."