Lost Image | dramione

22 | the real question

His mother was acting very peculiar. There was something in her rigid movements and tight-lipped smile that spoke of trouble, and as they broke off from the ball and walked down an empty hallway Draco started to grow pretty concerned himself.

"Mother..." he started, and she whirled on him, a finger to her lips.

Without a word, she cast a muffliato and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Now we can talk. Draco, I need you to stick close to Hermione tonight..."

Draco blinked. He was feeling particularly irked at being dragged away from that very girl, and now her ironic words made him want to just roll his eyes and walk back to the party. Something about the seriousness in her face, though... he listened.

"I just had a disturbing conversation with Mrs. Parkinson." His mother's eyes wandered the hall over his shoulder, as if she expected someone to pop out of the shadows at any minute. "You know very well the kind of conversations one would have in the days when the Dark Lord was still secret... double meanings in every sentence. I feel as though... there was a veiled threat in some of the things she said to me tonight. Keep Hermione and her friends close until the end of the party, when we return all the security spells to their regular settings."

Draco listened with growing unease. "Do you think the Parkinsons are involved with the new... activity?" It was more than he could believe- hadn't Pansy herself told him her parents had warned her off Nott for that very reason?

Narcissa Malfoy shook her head distractedly. "I don't know Draco. I used to know everything about the old families... but times are still rocky, and you never know who might crack under pressure. It could be that the Parkinsons are being forced to do something they don't want... If Irena would have just been more direct with her speech... but maybe she was being watched?" She shook her head, disturbed. "I don't believe anyone would dare try any mischief in such a crowded place, but make sure you stick together just in case. Potter is an Auror now, I hear, and that Weasley girl is in training. If problems break out, I'd rather you be close to them."

Draco almost laughed, thinking of how backwards it all seemed... but his mother's face didn't make it possible for laughter to come. She was scared of whatever Pansy's mother had told her.

...

It had only been a couple of minutes, but Hermione still wondered what his mother could have said to put such a frown on Draco's face.

He leaned in close to her, completely ignoring Harry and Ginny, and she almost thought he meant to kiss her. She flushed, her eyes darting to Harry's shocked expression, but instead he turned to the side of her face, his breath soft against her skin. "We'll need to talk later. Stay close."

Hermione pulled away and looked up at him, her expression surely betraying her shock. Talk about what?

She felt herself grow oddly calm and focused as she realized that something must be wrong. His tone was too sharp, too serious. Her eyes scanned the room, as if she expected dark wizards to jump from the shadows of the domed ceiling.

Harry picked up on her mood instantly, tensing. She noticed he kept his hand close to the pocket where he tended to keep his wand.

"Well, this is going to be a fun party." Ginny said sarcastically.

Draco shook his head. "It's probably nothing. Let's just act normal."

"Oh. Then either way we're up for a boring time."

The four of them stayed together for the rest of the Ball, not even daring to dance. Hermione wasn't sure why the caution was needed, but she had a feeling she'd rather not find out. There were no instances of "the guys going for drinks" or any of the usual nonsense that separated couples at parties.