Little Secrets

Chapter 6

All Friday night, Draco tried not to think about how Hermione would be spending part of her day at the mercy of Amycus Carrow.  He definitely didn't consider sending a letter to his mother and calling off their day at Hogsmeade just so he could try and argue Amycus out of whatever he was planning.  His homework was left alone only because he didn't want to do it, not because he was too worried to think straight.

"Can I borrow your Arithmancy work?"  Hermione asked, snapping Draco out of his state.  He blinked before realising he'd been staring at his potions book and gotten nothing done, let alone Arithmancy.

"I haven't done it yet,"  he muttered, flipping through his potions book and trying desperately to remember what he'd been reading.  He could feel Hermione watching him, but he refused to look up.

"I know,"  she replied.  This time he did look up to see an amused smirk on her face.  "You've been staring at your potions book for almost thirty minutes and I'm afraid the poor thing is going to combust."

Well, Draco thought, if it did, he'd have a valid excuse for not doing it.  Unfortunately, the potions book didn't seem to care and did not spontaneously explode in front of him.  He could feel Hermione still watching him, but now he was forcing himself to finish at least one homework assignment before he went to bed, so he didn't look up.  After a few more seconds, Hermione returned to her own work and the room fell back into a comfortable silence.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione finished all her homework first.  Even after Draco started focusing on the assignments and not on the horrible thoughts running through his head, he was only halfway finished.  He tried not to get distracted by watching her out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't help himself.  When she had all her work gathered, she disappeared from the table and went upstairs to her room.  Draco sighed, but at least now he didn't have any distractions and could finish his work.  That's not to say Hermione was a bad distraction; he rather preferred her to Crabbe or Goyle's pathetic jokes.  She was a much better study partner than any of his other friends, but she was just as much of a distraction.

Three hours later, Draco was only just finishing his homework and beginning to pack up his things.  He would have left his books and parchment scattered across the table, but he knew Hermione would frown at it and his mother would be visiting in the morning, so he took a little extra time to make sure the room was flawless.

Once he'd made it to his room, he got changed for bed and pulled out the letter from his mother to re-read.  He'd already read through it several times, but he couldn't stop himself from reading it again.  Even though it was short, he wanted to be certain there weren't any hidden messages he should know about before she arrived.  Of course, he doubted there would be and would just have to wait for an honest update in the morning, but he was too anxious to sleep at this point.

Even after putting the letter away and counting goblins, he found himself staring at the ceiling as his mind wandered.  It wouldn't be the first time he had been unable to sleep.  During the summer, he'd found himself awake at night more often than not.  Then, he could apparate to Blaise's house that held considerably fewer Death Eaters (his parents were the only ones, the lucky bastard).  Now, though, he was stuck in the castle and couldn't apparate anywhere.

At some point, he must have fallen asleep thinking about Death Eaters and summer break because he found himself waking up to someone knocking on his door.  The sun was streaming through the window and he had to blink several times before he was awake enough to get up and open the door.  Hermione stood on the other side and looked terribly uncomfortable.

"Your mother's here,"  she told him, rubbing one arm as she said so.  Draco glanced behind her to see his mother looking around the sitting room.

"What time is it?"  he asked groggily.  Surely it couldn't be that late, but when she said it was nearly 9:30 AM, his eyes flew open.  "Give me five minutes,"  he said before shutting the door in her face.

He ran between his closet and bathroom as quickly as he could, muttering spells to make his bed and fix his hair as he got dressed.  A quick look in the mirror told him he'd need a freshening up spell.  When he was finally certain he looked presentable, he grabbed his cloak and headed downstairs to meet his mother.

He wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't Hermione smiling at something his mother said and his mother looking just as amused.  Despite it being mid-morning, Hermione was only wearing her dressing gown and had her hair in a braid.  Clearly, he hadn't been the only one still sleeping when his mother arrived, but he felt bad that she had to be the one to greet her.  It didn't look like his mother cared much, though.  In fact, it looked like she was rather enjoying whatever she and Hermione were talking about.

"Draco!"  his mother exclaimed, drawing Hermione's attention his way as well.  His mother broke away from Hermione to wrap him in a warm hug.  As soon as her arms were around him, Draco couldn't help but smile.  He really had missed his mother and her hugs.

"Hello, Mother,"  he said, pulling away and kissing her cheek.  "I'm sorry I wasn't ready earlier; I suppose I forgot an alarm."

"I'll forgive you this time,"  she said, smiling up at him.  She turned back to look at Hermione then told Draco,  "We were just talking about school.  And you, of course."

"Oh, great,"  Draco muttered, imagining all the things his mother could have told Hermione.  With any luck, they wouldn't have had enough time to get to any of the truly embarrassing stories, but Narcissa Malfoy had yet to disappoint so Draco couldn't be certain.

"Your mother offered to let me borrow some more books for some research I'm doing,"  Hermione said with a grin.  Draco raised an eyebrow at his mother, not sure if it was the best idea given current residents at the Manor.

"Yes, of course,"  his mother said, smiling back at her.  "Just write up a list and when I return this afternoon, I can take it with me.  I can't guarantee when they'll get to you, but I will try."

"Perhaps you two should go to Hogsmeade without me,"  Draco suggested teasingly.  His mother shot him a look as Hermione quickly shook her head.

"No, you two go ahead,"  she said, adjusting her dressing gown.  "I have some things here and I've kept you long enough."

"Nonsense,"  Narcissa said.  She smiled at Hermione as she looped her arm through Draco's.  "We'll talk more later, sweetheart.  Have a wonderful day!"

"You too,"  Hermione replied with a warm smile.

Draco's heart plummeted as he realised the "things" she was talking about was detention with Amycus Carrow, but his mother was throwing a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace and calling for an address in Hogsmeade before he could pull back.

When he stepped out of the Floo and looked up at his mother, she was smiling and already leading him out of the old house.  Draco didn't recognise the place, but his mother seemed to feel comfortable in it so he didn't ask questions.  Just down the road, he could see the small town of Hogsmeade and happily took his mother's arm in his as they walked.  He was glad for his cloak as the wind was chilly, something he had anticipated with it being autumn.

"Hermione seems very sweet,"  his mother said nonchalantly.  He glanced at her.  "I can see why you've chosen to remain friends with her despite your father's opinions."

Draco's face darkened at the thought of his father and what he would say about his friendship with Hermione.  Before he could think too long on it, however, his mother patted his arm and drew his focus back to the current moment.  He couldn't help but sigh even as he tried to hold it back.

"She has detention with Amycus Carrow this afternoon,"  he muttered, kicking at a leaf.  From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother's face snap up to look at him and he could already imagine the horrified look on her face.  "She isn't worried—or at least she says she isn't—but she doesn't know what he's capable of."

There was a tense silence before his mother asked,  "Does he knew who she is?"

"I'm afraid so,"  Draco murmured.  His mother's hand tightened around his arm, but Draco didn't want her to let go.  His mother may not know Hermione like he did, but it was nice to have someone else worrying for her in a morbid sort of way.  At least now he wouldn't be the only one with preoccupied thoughts throughout the day.