Devil Doesn't Bargain

The Cottage

"Oh goody, I've been dying to know what's going on."

Hermione and Malfoy jumped so violently in surprise that they knocked their heads together and collapsed onto the ground.

"Gods, Theo!" Malfoy hollered, rubbing his forehead gingerly. "What the hell is wrong with you? How did you even get in here?"

Theo plopped onto the floor beside them. "Easy. When I saw the two of you duck out of the party, I followed. You disapparated, so I followed you to the manor. And then I disillusioned myself, and oh golly, wait for it, wait for it...I followed you up the stairs!"

"I hate you," came Malfoy's stoic reply, but Hermione could tell he was trying desperately hard to hide his amusement. She chuckled.

"We did say we'd fill him in."

"Exactly!" Theo exclaimed triumphantly. "So spill. Things were just getting good. Obviously, Hermione here has had a revelation, decided she's going to trust you with it, and was preparing to tell you her evil little plan. Carry on, love." He gave her a toothy grin.

She glanced at Malfoy and the pure exhaustion on his face had her biting her lip to hold in a laugh. It was like watching a pair of siblings. The boys clearly loved each other; Theo had a knack for pissing Malfoy off that she usually only saw in the Weasley twins. It was adorable. She'd have to ask Malfoy how the boys had gotten so close, but that could wait. Instead, she leaned back on her palms and crossed her legs at the ankles. She let her eyes drift over the boys.

"Have either of you ever heard of a horcrux?"

"Now, now, Granger. No need to be vulgar," Malfoy retorted smugly. Theo high-fived him across their little circle. She rolled her eyes. It took the better part of an hour, but she managed to explain the purpose of horcruxes, how one creates one, and Voldemort's supposed creation of seven different ones. She explained the reality of her time on the run with Harry and Ron, that they weren't just in hiding, but also searching. She explained how difficult it was to properly destroy these horcruxes, and that to her knowledge, there were three remaining. With every passing minute, their faces grew graver. Even Theodore appeared pensive as he listened. Finally, she explained the urgency: Voldemort knew. He knew that at least three of the horcruxes were destroyed so far, including his diary, the locket, and the cup. His knowledge made everything more complicated.

For a while, no one spoke. Well, no one spoke aloud at least.

Are you sure you want to bring Theo into this?

I was going to leave it up to you. Worst case scenario, I'll wipe his memory. I'm spectacular at obliviate, remember?

That's dark, Granger.

Just keeping things real, Malfoy.

He actually might be able to help us. He hates the dark lord more than anyone I know, so he'd be motivated for the cause, at least. Not to mention he's sneakier than a shadow.

Why does he hate the dark lord?

Not for me to tell.

Fair enough.

"If I have to watch you guys stare dreamily into each other's eyes for one more second, I'm going to vomit."

Hermione ripped her eyes from Malfoy's and felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She mumbled an apology and redirected them. "So what we need to do is combine the hunt for horcruxes with our orders to track down the cloak or the stone. If those are the orders," she paused. "Oh, sorry Theo, so the dark lord already has the Elder Wand, we were just tasked to track it down, and we think he's going to ask us to find these other two items–"