DRAGON'S HEARTSTRINGS || dramione | harry potter

Chapter Twenty-Four

They Apparated by the Forbidden Forest. They walked through the fields to the castle, and all the way there Hermione tried to talk Draco into taking off his Death Eater's mask which he was stubbornly keeping on his face no matter what she told him.

"You're acting like a child," Hermione scolded him. "I don't understand why do you feel the need to intimidate the Order. None of them are going to attack you because none of them are scared of you. Half of these people you went to school with, and the other half were your teachers."

"We will see," was all he said, keeping the mask on.

There was a figure looming by the main entrance to the castle, and Hermione recognized too late that it was Neville. He had his wand raised at them, ready to attack.

"Who are you and what are you doing here!" he demanded.

Hermione went forward, raising her hands in the air. "Neville, it's me, Hermione... It's okay, we came here to talk to Harry."

"And who is that!" Neville gestured to Draco without lowering the wand.

"It's Draco, he's with me." Neville's suspicions didn't seem to lessen. She turned to Draco and hissed at him, "I told you to take that sodding mask off!" Then she looked back at Neville. "Go on, ask me something only I will know, and then we can go on."

Neville stared at her. "What's the color and the name of her cat?" he asked Draco. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but Neville glanced at her to be silent. "No, he must answer."

Hermione watched as Draco evaporated the skull mask off his face, and when it was revealed to him, Neville had to take a step back. She was reminded that very little people had seen what the Malfoy heir looked like now, and she remembered her own reaction to his scared face and merciless expression.

"It's a ginger male cat named Crookshanks," Draco stated calmly.

Neville lowered his wand, turning to Hermione. "Why are you here?"

"We need to talk to Harry," she said. "Where is he?"

"They're having a meeting at the Great Hall. Follow me."

And so they followed Neville to the Great Hall. None of the four tables were fully sat, but it seemed that all the members of the Order that lived in the castle were gathered there. Snape was at the end of the Hall, heatedly explaining something to Harry and Pansy, while Hermione noticed the familiar faces of George, Angelina, Seamus, Dean, Kate, Anthony, Lee, Parvati and Justin. There were also McGonagall, Slughorn, Moody, Flitwick and Trelawney. The professors all watched Snape and Harry talk while George spoke quietly with Lee and Angelina, but when the three of them came inside, all conversation ceased.

Tens of pairs of eyes turned to them when Hermione and Draco started walking to the front of the Hall while Neville stayed behind. Harry was the first to recognize Hermione and the first to ignore the one who was with her – he moved to get to her, but Snape stopped him, eyeing Draco warily.

The tension in the Hall could be cut with a knife.

"I came here because we need to speak with Harry," Hermione said, her voice echoing throught the Hall.

Harry seemed like he wanted nothing more than to get to her, but Snape was still holding him down.

"May I ask why you felt the need to bring the High Reeve with you, miss Granger?" Snape sneered, cocking one eyebrow.

Hermione found these words strange – wasn't Snape the one who encouraged her to marry Draco? – but she didn't address that.

"I felt Draco could be useful on our mission," she said. "Of which's importance I know you're aware of, Professor."