Slow Grenade

Chapter Thirty-Eight - Year Six

Sixth Year

There were only a few days left until Hermione was due to begin her sixth year at Hogwarts. She was sat with Harry and Ron at the Burrow and, instead of paying attention to their conversation, was ruminating on the last few months, trying to piece everything together.

Following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries she had recovered relatively quickly. Professor Dumbledore was reinstated as Headmaster, and the wizarding community were now finally aware that Lord Voldemort had returned to full strength.

She and Draco had been unable to spend much time together after Snape found them asleep in the hospital wing. Lucius had been sent to Azkaban and, despite Draco's protestation that he was unaffected by the news, Hermione knew better. She had written to him a number of times over the summer, always under a different pseudonym, but received no reply.

During their trip to Diagon Alley a few days prior, Hermione had seen Draco for the first time. He was in the notorious Borgin and Burkes, threatening the shop owner about one item that needed fixing and another that was to be kept for a later date. She had never heard Draco sound so vicious and it left her feeling unsettled.

Harry's voice suddenly bought her back into the present. "He's a Death Eater, he's replaced his father as a Death Eater."

There was a silence, then Ron erupted in laughter. "Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry. You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"

"It seems very unlikely, Harry" said Hermione, silently praying she was right. "What makes you think –?"

"In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."

"Well..." said Ron, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

"I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry," Hermione added.

"He showed Borgin something we couldn't see," Harry pressed on stubbornly. "Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it – he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with!"

Hermione exchanged a look with Ron. "I'm not sure, Harry..."

"Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join..."

He glowered at them and strode from the room. From that moment on, Hermione was counting down the days until she could see Draco again and disconfirm Harry's suspicions.

She had hoped to catch him on the Hogwarts Express, but Draco wasn't in the prefect carriage. Now, in the Great Hall, Hermione was worrying about where Harry had got to. She silently wondered whether it was possible to add a tracking device to the boys without their knowledge.

She and Ron were suddenly pushed apart, and Harry sat between them.

"Where've you – blimey, what've you done to your face?" said Ron, staring at him along with everyone else in the vicinity.

"Why, what's wrong with it?" asked Harry, grabbing a spoon and squinting at his distorted reflection,

"You're covered in blood!" Hermione gasped. "Come here."

She raised her wand, said, "Tergeo!" Siphoning off the dried blood.

"Thanks," he muttered. "How's my nose looking?"

"Normal... but why shouldn't it? What happened, we've been terrified!"

"Malfoy," Harry said quietly. "But don't ask more now, I'll tell you later."

She nodded, gazing over at the Slytherin table, yet again trying to get Draco to see her. He was looking everywhere and anywhere but in her direction and it was clear this was intentional; they always made sure to catch each other's eye at mealtimes, particularly the first one after months apart.

Hermione soon found that Draco's timetable was almost identical to her own, aside from Herbology, which meant they had nearly every class together. Despite this, he was still fervently ignoring her and she had yet to find a moment alone with him.

She, Harry, and Ron were heading towards the Potions classroom and saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level. Four Slytherins had made it through, including Draco; four Ravenclaws were there; and one Hufflepuff.

The dungeon door opened and Professor Slughorn's belly preceded him into the corridor. As the students filed into the room, his great walrus moustache curved above his beaming mouth and he greeted Harry and a Slytherin named Blaise Zabini with particular enthusiasm.

"Now then," said Slughorn once the class were settled. "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of things you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. Can any of you tell me what this one is?"

He indicated the cauldron nearest the supply cupboards. Hermione raised herself slightly in her seat and saw a potion with a mother-of-pearl sheen, steam rising from it in slow spirals.

She raised her hand and said, "It's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world." Slughorn nodded enthusiastically as she continued, "It's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell apples, cologne, broom polish – "

Hermione turned pink, willing herself not to look at Draco.

"May I ask your name, my dear?" said Slughorn.

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger? Granger? Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"No, I don't think so, sir," she replied politely. "I'm Muggle-born, you see."

She saw Theodore Nott lean close to Draco and whisper something. Both of them sniggered.

The rest of the class passed by and Hermione became increasingly flustered, it didn't help that Harry was cheating; his copy of Advanced Potion Making had been extensively annotated by a previous student.

Despite that fact that she didn't win the tiny bottle of Felix Felicis, Hermione found that she didn't mind because Draco was packing up slowly, telling Nott and Zabini to go ahead without him. She slowed down too and, once everyone had left, waited for him outside the classroom.

The second he was in the corridor, Hermione jumped in front of him. "Care to tell me why you've been acting as if I don't exist, Malfoy?"

He froze and stared at her, eyes ablaze. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I've only been a student here for, what, six years?" she said, petulantly.

Draco rolled his eyes and made to walk around her. "I'm busy, Granger."

Hermione was bewildered, she could feel her eyes well up with hot tears and swiped at them furiously. Draco made to reach for her but wrenched his hand back at the last moment.

"What is happening, Draco?" she implored. "Something is clearly going on, please talk to me."

Her heart was pounding as she watched emotions she couldn't decipher flash across his features.

He cursed and ran a hand tiredly through his hair. "Fine, the Room of Requirement, this evening?"

"Okay, yeah, I'll – " Hermione stopped talking as she realised Draco had already walked away from her.