Quarrels & Loves

Assassins Bleed: Part II

As the War continued on, the Order got more desperate for a win. Kingsley sent Hermione out to battles more often and ignored when someone complained about her display of violence and use of dark magic. He never defended her, but he always steered the conversation away from her during meetings and Hermione was beginning to think that Kingsley thought that was the same thing.

Eventually, Harry and Ron stopped talking to her. It had started off slowly, but their conversation ceased immediately after one skirmish where Hermione had used the killing curse three times on a pack of werewolves that weren't being deterred.

"You have a way out of this mess," Hermione reminded Kingsley after a particularly rough meeting. "Draco and I were partnered to help win the War, not just kill uselessly. Give us more meaningful missions."

"I'm the one in charge, not you, Miss Granger," Kingsley snapped. Hermione frowned at him but Kingsley didn't look apologetic. "You and Mr. Malfoy will operate only as I see fit and based on what Severus reports, understood?"

Hermione nodded and the instant she was dismissed, she apparated to the safe house. Draco was already waiting for her as they'd established regular dueling practices when it became clear Kingsley wasn't going to assign them missions as often. The practices kept them on their toes and even though they both regularly fought during battles and skirmishes, it was better to practice on each other. Against Draco, Hermione could practice fighting with her non-dominant hand. With Hermione, Draco could work on new attack patterns that didn't make him predictable. Afterwards, Draco would share updates from Voldemort's forces and Hermione would suggest simply beheading the wizard to end it all.

Tonight, however, as Hermione apparated into the safe house, she could tell something was wrong. Draco was fidgeting and even though the movement was minuscule, Hermione noticed it immediately.

"What's wrong?" she asked. His wand was up before he looked up, but Hermione easily deflected the attack.

"Snape is under review," Draco told her. Hermione frowned and Draco nodded. "Someone noticed a trend in Dolohov's research and the speed at which the Order is able to protect against new spells and curses. Considering Snape played for Dumbledore earlier, he was the first suspect."

"What's that mean for you?" Hermione asked.

He was fine for now, he assured her. Most of the younger Death Eaters disappeared in the evenings to peruse foreign clubs and either get drunk, high, or have an excessive amount of sex.

"The Dark Lord has no reason to be suspicious of me," he said. Hermione nodded and sat on the sofa across from him. When she threw her legs onto his lap, he didn't push her away. "What does Kingsley think of everything? He's going to send us out more, right? I told him of half a dozen meet ups and we haven't been told anything."

Hermione scowled at the reminder of Kingsley, but was distracted a second later when Draco's hand found her ankle. She stared at it, but didn't comment on the motion.

"Kingsley will only take Snape's word," Hermione told him. Draco frowned and Hermione nodded. "He won't tell me why and gets snippy when I press."

"He probably still thinks I'll turn in fake advice to get you caught," Draco muttered, staring down at where her legs crossed his. "Snape is going to get caught eventually if he reports to Kingsley as often as he usually does. I'm the one who hears of meetings or battle plans soonest."

Hermione hummed before tearing her gaze away from his hand on her ankle. She looked up at his face and a few seconds later, he looked up as well.

"We don't need Kingsley's permission," she told him. Draco looked hesitant but she continued. "We handle missions quietly; there's no need for Kingsley to get involved. Draco," she pulled her legs off his lap and tucked them under her so she could lean closer to him. "If you have ideas, we should just go for it."