Everything Has Changed (short story)

Still Searching

3 months later...

"God damn it Draco! We have looked over everything a thousand times! The answer isn't here!" Harry yelled pacing his office. He was sure that if he paced this stretch of carpet anymore he would wear a hole in it. He glanced at Draco, one of his closest friends, who had his head in his hands as he reread the same document for the billionth time with red rimmed eyes.

This was all they had done, after they were forced to cancel the search after a month: poor over the same documents. Witness statements and reports. Trying to find something that could lead them to Hermione. Ron wasn't here. After Draco was forced to call off the search, Ron stormed away, convinced he could find Hermione by himself. He asked Harry to come but he declined.

"Why Harry??!!! Why aren't you coming to search for Hermione with me?! Don't you care??!!!" Ron's face was as red as his hair, apart from the bags beneath his eyes which were black.

Harry exploded in rage. Ron had been a bastard to Draco and everyone who wasn't Hermione. "Of course I care Ron!!!!" Harry screamed. "She is my sister!!! My best friend!!!" I need to help Draco question people! To try and find a lead! Then they will reopen the search and we will find her!"

"Your not staying behind to help! Your staying behind because Draco has you in his back pocket! He hasn't changed! He's still the bully and bastard that he was in Hogwarts!"

"No Ron. He's changed! Your the one that needs to grow up. You need to stay here and help us find her!"

"This isn't helping! Its just you and Draco spending hours in his office trying to find Hermione's GRAVE!" Ron was red-faced and panting. "Stupefy!"

When Harry opened his eyes, Ron was gone.

"Harry?! Earth to Harry?!" Draco was waving his hand in front of Harry's face.

"Ummmm yeah Draco?"

"Right, you know the guy who took Hermione?"

"Yeah." Harry had read Draco's report at least 50 times and heard Draco wonder aloud about him.

Draco started to pace, his suit crumpled and his hair messy. "He must be my father illegitimate child. It's the only reason why they are the spitting images of each other.But with who? If my father recognized him then..." Draco trailed off. Next thing Harry knew, the door was swinging and Draco was no where in sight.

Draco ran and jumped the steps that he and Hermione had laughed and kissed down almost 10 months before. On every other step, he saw her face, the way she bit her lip when she was concentrating, her wide smile, the little frown mark in between her eyebrows when she was concentrating. His lips tingled with the memory of their kiss.

Eventually, he reached the bottom of the stairs and sprinted to the Department of documentation, in the very basement of the ministry. The air there was musty with the smell of old parchment and ink. The old witch in magenta robes on the front desk looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"What can I do for you Minister?"

"My family file. All of it," Draco panted.

The woman disappered for a moment or two. When she returned, she was levitating a file too big and heavy to carry. The Malfoy name is one of the earliest recorded in magical records which would explain the thickness of the file. This didn't cross Draco's mind. It was recent history he was after.

Draco levitated the file over to the table he was sitting at, old and scratched on the surface. When the file dropped onto the table Draco went straight to the back of the file, to his fathers heirs. In there was his old school reports, detention cards, O.W.L and N.E.W.T.S results as well as cringy pictures of him from every school year. Did I REALLY slick my hair back like that?! Thank Merlin I stopped by third year.

He carried on flicking through papers, scanning them quickly, then discarding it.

Flick.

Discard.

Flick.

Discard.

Flick.

Discard.

Flick.

BINGO!!!

The parchment was quite recent, made in the last 10 years. Just before the war Draco guessed. He recognized his fathers handwriting. It read:

I, Lucius Malfoy, Head of the house of Malfoy, declare my heir and the future owner of my estate as Draco Lucius Malfoy. Draco Lucius Malfoy, the heir of Narcissa Black and myself will inherit both the Black and Malfoy estates my demise. On Draco Malfoy's demise, the estate will pass either to his son, and his son only, or his half brother, Lucius Cygnus Lestrange. Lucius Cygus Lestrange is the son of Bellatrix Lestrange and myself, born a year after my legitamate son Draco.

Attached to the file was a picture of Draco's father. Draco looked a little closer and saw his aunts beetle black eyes. Draco reread the parchment. 'the estate will pass either to his son, and his son only'. Draco rested his head on the file, breathing in the musky smell of the ancient parchment. Well, Draco thought, the estate can only pass to my son, and Hermione is the only woman I will ever love. Jeez, the thought of her being hurt is driving me 6 feet under..... Draco thought over the news reports and interviews claiming him to be a failed minister of magic and a broken man. He's winning. I have to be strong, I cant let him win. Draco took the page from the file along with his half brothers birth certificate. He then apparated back to Harry's office full of more hope than he had thought possible since the day Hermione was taken.

While Draco had been gone, Harry had been pacing again, mentally going over anything and everything he and Draco had learned in the last 3 months.

All they had learned was that Hermione's abduction was to hurt Draco. This was the main reason Ron detested Draco but Harry knew with all his heart that Draco would have given anything to have her with him now.

They first looked at the usual suspects, showing Draco a picture of each but none of them were the man who took Hermione. They read the witness statements and searched everywhere, knocking on every door in every wizarding community and even getting on the muggle news. But nothing. She was gone without a trace. Malfoy Manor was under so many wards and protections that nobody but Draco, Harry and a selected few could enter. Every Manor house and holiday of everyone involved with Voldermort, Lucius and the Death Eaters were searched from top to bottom. Nothing.

Hermione was gone.