Anyone But Me

Chapter Sixty-Five

Guess what?!?

I'm baaackkk! ^.^

My apologies for being the absolute worst... You know how life likes to get in the way... So I will spare you my long list of excuses. Just know that this isn't another drill. I have been working hard over the last couple of weeks and now have a bunch of chapters stockpiled. Going forward I plan to release one every Friday for the foreseeable future and only have a couple more left to write before ABM is complete!

I hope this update has found you well, and know that you have been missed! I cannot wait to hear what you thought about this chapter. It has been a few years in the making, lol.

As Always...

Much love,

SlytherclawLuv

P.S. I have finished up with all of that editing I had promised in my last update. There weren't any major changes to the actual story (if you can even remember it at this point, my bad O.o ) but it might be worth the reread.

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"Legilimens!!"

Hermione's arm shook with fatigue as she attempted the methodical wand movements that had become second nature over the week and half of practicing. She had only managed to get glimpses inside of Draco's mind. Mostly just simple flashes of mundane bullshit, that she was pretty sure he was giving her freely so she wouldn't become discouraged...

The Quidditch Pitch from a bird's eye view. A random plate of breakfast. Her sitting outside and smiling. Theodore Nott looking confused at the wand that was pointed at his face.

And so many doors that she had lost count... They came in all shapes, sizes, colors and materials- but the message was clear enough. She didn't need the visual obstacle to let her know she wasn't allowed into those memories. The momentary black void that was the most prevalent conjuring did just fine to convey that boundary.

Soon he would make her take a break and she wasn't any closer to her goal than she had been at the end of the last two lessons. At this rate she would barely be able to access any of her parents' memories! Let alone do the delicate work that was going to be required of her.

She took another deep breath to center herself. Willing her own mind to fill with the image of a vast dark nothingness... And in desperation she tried a tactic that had failed numerous times before, without warning she rolled her wrist in the complicated motion and spat out the word as quickly as her mouth could form it, "Legilimens!!"

The room quickly faded away in a swirl of darkened mist, leaving her to stand in a dreary alley, surrounded by neglected storefronts that looked sinister under the cloud-darkened sky. Stacks of abandoned trash spilled over into the narrow walkway, adding to the foreboding ambiance.

"Come along now, Draco!" A sharp whisper sounded from behind her, causing Hermione to whip around and take in a very unexpected scene. Narcissa Malfoy, younger but as unmistakable as ever, grasped the hand of the equally unmistakable child at her side. She pulled him along even though he was clearly scared by the setting he had found himself in.

"Is... Is he dead, Mummy?!?"

"No, he most certainly is not dead." The clipped response was punctuated with a quick glare over her shoulder at a pair of soiled legs sticking out from behind an outside bin.

"Shouldn't we help him then?"

Hermione's heart broke for the innocence displayed by the miniature version of the callous boy that she had come to know only a few years later. She was unable to give it as much consideration as she wanted because she was forced to quickly follow the out-of-place pair so she could hear his mother's exasperated reply.