Blood Ties

A/N: Thanks again for coming and reading my creation. Just a few note, I've had a question as to how Hermione knows that Harry is a horcrux when Voldemort didn't know himself. She doesn't know for sure but she saw his memories of the night he killed Harry's parents. She can see the parallels in the other instances when he knowingly created a horcrux. This is why she believes that he is one. Hopefully this chapter will clarify things a bit better. 

Chapter 24

They returned to school around midday on Sunday. It was early enough that they could still meet with Dumbledore. Hermione was anxious to get in to see the Headmaster. She would have come first thing in the morning but Draco had insisted that they do some shopping.

She had never purchased so much clothing at one time. She thought that he might just get her a few robes but she was sadly mistaken. He'd purchased enough things to fill the wardrobe back at Hogwart's. He'd bought her an arm load of undergarments. He bought things that she herself never would have bought for herself but she admired them anyway. She just never saw the need for her under things to be lacy and pretty. No one ever really saw what was under her clothes.

And the amount that he had spent was outrageous. She had argued with him for almost an hour over the amount of galleons he had spent. She didn't really need all those things, she could manage with a few sets of robes and a few changes of clothes. He had finally commanded her to be silent and he paid for the piles of clothing.

Hermione seethed silently as the sales clerk bagged everything up. He hadn't stopped at just clothing. He'd also visited the jewelry shop in the alley and had bought necklaces, bracelets, and rings. He'd visited Gringotts as well and removed even more jewelry from the Malfoy vaults. He'd also let her pick out some rare books that he had stored there. She'd rather appreciated the books. Some were so rare, that she'd never seen them in print before.

After he'd sent her packages back to Hogwart's, he'd led her down the dark passage that led to Knockturn Alley. She wanted to ask what he needed to get here, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. It wouldn't do for one of Voldemort's spies to report back to him that the young Malfoy heir was seen cavorting around with the wizarding world's most infamous muggleborn.

She waited for him in the alley at his behest when he entered Borgin and Burkes. She waited for him nervously and kept her eyes on the ground as she leaned against the brick wall on the side of the store. She had heard Fenrir Greyback in the next store over. She didn't want to draw the werewolf's attention. He would immediately know her for what she was.

She jumped slightly, startled as Draco appeared at her side. "Come," he said. "We must go before Fenrir leaves Madame Tulle's."

Hermione shuddered slightly as he disapparated them silently. The werewolf scared her even though she knew that she'd be more than a match for him should it ever come to a fight. He was bad news, plain and simple. He didn't think of his condition as a curse, he reveled in it. He regularly hunted children so that he could increase the size of his pack. He had been the one to infect Remus.

Hermione stepped away fro Draco the moment their feet touched the floor of their dorm. She was eager to meet with Dumbledore. She needed answers. Draco sensed her need and followed her without argument as she made her way to the Headmaster's office right away. She was grateful that he didn't try to stop her. She had to know.

She whispered the password and followed the winding stairs up into the office. She knocked and entered as she heard him beckon from within.

She stood before him and peered into his eyes for a moment before she lowered herself into a chair. Draco took a seat as well as she read the old man's mind. There was nothing of importance so she decided to bait him a little, to try and lead him into a conversation in the hopes he would let slip what she wanted to know. She wasn't one hundred percent sure that Harry was a horcrux but there were too many elements that were eerily similar the night that Voldemort killed Harry's parents. There were too many things that were parallel to the othere times the megalomaniac had created a horcrux. She was certain that it was something that the madman hadn't intended to happen but merely an unexpected consequence.

"There are six," she said finally. "Possibly seven."

She heard him mentally name off a few in his head. The cup, the ring, the diary that Harry had destroyed, the necklace, and the diadem.

"Nagini," she prompted. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "And Harry."

End Note: So, thoughts? I cherish each and every one of your comments and favorites. It makes my day to see emails in my inbox. Leave me some love peeps and I'll see you Tuesday.