One More Year

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Is she...?"

"Give her space."

"She doesn't look good."

"She just needs room to breathe."

Hermione tried to make sense of the voices around her. She scrunched her eyes closed even tighter before slowly opening them. "Hermione are you okay?" Draco's concerned voice hovered above her.

Hermione quickly shut her eyes again. "I think there's something wrong."

"What's wrong?" Draco's tender voice washed over her, laced with concern. His hand gently cradling her head.

"You look green," she said shakily.

Draco swore.

"Language!" Reprimanded Narcissa.

"Finite incantem" muttered Draco. "Open your eyes Hermione." He brushed the hair lightly away from her face.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes again and looked around. An overwhelming number of people were standing over her, looking down at her with a range of concerned expressions on their faces. Hermione carefully started raising. She could see Saxon, Sam and Lovell bound and unconscious, on the floor in the corner. Draco supported her as she rose. She caught Ron's eyes, narrowed suspiciously at how familiar Draco was touching her.

The sudden loud bang of a door closing averted everyone's attention. "That would be the aurors." Harry stated with a serious expression on his face. He looked tense as he made his way into the hallway to meet them.

As the aurors entered, the room erupted into total chaos. People were being questioned in each corner of the room. Sam, Saxon and Lovell had been magically carted off to what Hermione assumed was either the Ministry or Azcaban. Hermione had managed to find herself a chain in a corner, her entire body felt drained.

Harry finally managed to escape from a huddle with a stern looking older wizard in the corner and make his way over to her. After satisfying himself that she would be fine, he managed to quickly fill her in on what they knew. Sam and Saxon were Ernie Macmillan's parents. Them along with their friend Lovell had been trying to enact revenge where they saw fit after the war last year. Ernie got them hairs from Theo and Blaise for the polyjuice potion and they were supposed to have kidnapped Draco. Ernie knew that Draco wasn't going to Hogsmeade so it would be the perfect time for the plan. But instead they had found Hermione and without knowing when Draco would return, they panicked and grabbed her instead. Ernie apparently had never noticed or never mentioned how close her and Draco were and they seemed to think that getting Hermione in on their cause would help them. Hermione had to swallow the rage trembling out of her during this story. The thought that she had been nice to Ernie for all these years and this was how he repaid her.

She could see aurors searching the Malfoy residence which filled her with a rush of anger. She had already told her story to three separate aurors and they knew the truth, yet they were searching the Malfoy house to try and prove that they were somehow involved in the crime. She sat alone in a corner, arms crossed tightly over her chest seething at the injustice of it all. She caught Harry arguing quietly with another auror before he caught sight of her and returned to her. "Why are they still searching the house?" She asked Harry accusingly before he even stopped beside her. "I already told them that the Malfoys were the victims in all of this!"

"Hermione," he muttered quietly as a warning, "be careful what you say. People are listening."

Hermione's nostrils flared, eyes widening, "I don't care if the entire Ministry is listening. I hope they do listen! Harry-"

Harry grabbed her arm gently, pulling her up from the chair and further into the corner, "Hermione, I agree with you. But there's more at play here than you realize." It was only then that Hermione noticed the glare one of the aurors were giving Harry. He stared back, not breaking eye contact, bristling with anger.