From Venice with Love

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Now that they were married, Hermione was finding it harder and harder to act like she hated Draco in public. The best she could do was to avoid him whenever possible in class and in the halls. He had put his wedding ring on the chain that held his dragon necklace as he couldn’t wear it for obvious reasons. Hermione was told to wear hers and slowly let people know she had gotten married over Christmas Break. That way her pregnancy, when obvious, wouldn’t be so much of a shock. Hermione decided letting Lavender know was the best plan. Sitting next to her at lunch in February, Hermione put her left hand up in front of her to reach for the pumpkin juice.

“Hermione!” Lavender squealed immediately, grabbing her hand. “What a rock! Did you get married?”

Hermione nodded. “Over Christmas Break. My parents were very unhappy but we are so in love and what’s done is done.” She leaned towards her to whisper. “I don’t want people to know though, Lav. I can’t believe I forgot to take the rings off. You won’t tell, will you?”

“Of course not,” Lavender assured her, as Hermione slipped the rings into her pocket.

That evening, she was studying in the library when Draco came up behind her. “Guess what I heard today?” he said, putting his patrol schedule in front of her as if he was asking a question.

“What?” she asked, trying not to smile.

“I heard you married some devastatingly handsome bloke over Christmas Break,” he said.

“Did you now? I guess my secret’s out then.”

“Too bad. Don’t forget to be cross with Lavender,” he said.

“You know,” Ginny said, making them both look up, startled. “I can’t believe I couldn’t see this before you told me. It’s a little obvious,”

Draco stood up and glared at her. “Now you say that. Never crossed your mind before though.”

“I don’t feel like arguing with you, Malfoy,” Ginny sighed. “Just watch it. You looked almost pleasant there and someone, read Pansy, is bound to notice.” She jerked her head towards a table of Slytherins who were glaring at them, Pansy Parkinson most of all.

“Watch out for her,” Draco said to Ginny quietly. “She’s pretty angry that Hermione married a pureblood. She’s apt to start something and there’s only so much I can do.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Hermione said. “She wouldn’t dare, I’m Head Girl.”

“Just watch your back,” Draco said loudly with a nasty smirk for Pansy’s benefit before sauntering off.

“I can’t wait for this year to be over!” Hermione said to Ginny, who was taking out her books. “It’s been so stressful. There’s N.E.W.T.S., Head Girl Duties, now all this mess!”

“After school you’ll have to be hidden, Hermione,” Ginny said. “Hopefully the war will end quickly.”

“It’d be easier if your bloody husband would give us anything,” Ron said as he and Harry dropped their bags on the table. “Moody says that Malfoy won’t tell them a thing.”

“When did you see Moody?” Hermione asked. Harry and Ginny glared at Ron. “Well?”

“Last week,” Harry admitted. “He came to see us.”

“What for?” Hermione said.

“Asked us to feel you out, see if Malfoy told you anything,” Ginny said uneasily. “We said no, of course, but he said he’d tried interrogating Malfoy but he wouldn’t say anything.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hermione asked.

“We didn’t want to upset you.” Harry said. “It’s not like we agreed to look through your things.”

“Moody wanted you to look through my things?” Hermione said, a little too loudly.

“Shhh!” Ginny said. “He thought maybe Malfoy left some things in your room.”

“Like what? A map of the dungeons in his house? A list of all his father’s illegal artifacts?”

“They want to search the Malfoy house in Venice but it’s unplottable. You mentioned that you’d been there, so he thought that maybe-“

Hermione cut Ron off. “I certainly never told him I’d been there, only Ginny.” She turned to glare at the red-haired girl who wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“I mentioned it to Harry, who mentioned it to Moody when they were discussing where the Venice house is at an Order meeting,” Ginny whispered.

“So, you want me to show the Order where the house is.” Hermione said, her voice growing louder. Getting some “shhh” from the tables around them, she slammed her book closed and stomped out of the library.

Ginny, Harry and Ron quickly followed her outside. “Why would I be able to find it? It’s unplottable and I’ve only been once.”

“It recognizes Malfoy blood,” Harry said. “We know the street it’s on. You’d be able to see it.”

“I’m only a Malfoy by marr- oh, I see now. The ceremony.” Hermione was now livid. “You tricked Draco into using his blood in order to protect me, when what you really wanted was to make it so I could help you with it. I can’t believe Professor Dumbledore would sink so low!”

“It will protect you!” Harry insisted. “This is a side effect we only thought of after, I swear!”

“You know, Draco told me that you’d do this but I told him there was no way that you would betray me.” Hermione was so angry she was crying now.

“Who betrayed who first?” Ron yelled back. “I can’t believe you slept with him! And then lied to us about it. How could you, Hermione? After what his father did to Ginny? To Harry?”

“Ron!” Ginny snapped at him. “Quiet!”

“No! I’m not treating her like glass anymore,” Ron kept going. “She’s married the enemy, we can’t trust her!”

“I trust her,” Ginny stuck her chin out defiantly.

“Harry?” Hermione looked at him through her tears.

Harry shook his head. “I trust that you would never do anything to hurt me on purpose,” he said. “I don’t trust Malfoy though.”

“You understand that I can’t take you to that house,” Hermione said.

“You need to understand this is more important than you and that git that you married!” Ron shouted. “It’s about Harry staying alive. Any bit of information is useful. Anything to get rid of Voldemort. You used to get that, Hermione.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.” With that, he stalked back inside.

“I’ll talk to him,” Ginny said, running after him, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

They were silent for a minute, and then Hermione spoke. “Let me talk to Draco, Harry. I’ll try and get him to agree.”

“And if he won’t?” Harry asked.

“I’ll decide that when it comes to it,” Hermione said quietly, wiping away her tears. She pulled out her necklace. “Can you come see me? We need to discuss something,”

A minute passed before the answer came back. Hermione put the necklace back into her shirt. “I’ll come by your common room after,” she said. Harry nodded, not looking at her, and Hermione left to meet Draco in her room.

He was already there when she arrived. “What’s wrong?” he said immediately, looking at her red, puffy face. “Did Pansy find you?”

“No,” she said, relaxing into his arms. He let her stand there a moment before pulling back to look at her.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Did Mad-Eye Moody come see you?” she asked.

Draco stiffened a little. “Who told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter. Did he?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”


Draco shrugged. “It was nothing. I didn’t want to upset you.”

“What did he say?”

“He wanted information about my father’s dealings, houses, things like that.”

“Draco, Harry asked me to show him where your house in Venice is. He says because of the ceremony I would be able to see it. Is that true?”

Draco’s eyes narrowed. “Why? If I say yes, would you do it?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione answered honestly. “Is it true?”

Draco didn’t answer for a moment, and when he did his voice was laced with barely concealed anger. “Yes, Potter is correct. You’ll be able to see and enter the house. Every house, even Malfoy Manor.”

“I see,” Hermione said.

“What do you plan to do?” Draco crossed his arms in front of him, his eyes cold and hard.

“Draco, is there anything in that house that would help Harry?” Hermione asked slowly.

“I don’t know,” His voice was like ice. “My father doesn’t go there much, but it’s a possibility.”

Hermione sighed. “I need to help Harry, Draco. Please try and understand that.”

“I completely understand,” Draco said, looking at her in a way that made her skin crawl. “Tell me, how long did you plan this? Convenient you were in Venice when I was, isn't it? That you ‘forgot’ a charm so you’d get pregnant, so that I’d marry you and Dumbledore could talk me into the blood magic that he said was to protect you.”

“What?” Hermione gasped, horrified. “You can’t believe that!”

“I can’t believe that you would betray me like this!” Draco snapped at her, his face filled with anger. “You’re married to me! Your loyalty should be with me!”

“Draco, I love you. That doesn’t mean that I’ll let Harry die! I’d never be able to live with myself if I could have helped him and didn’t. You have to understand!” she pleaded but his face remained unmoved.

“You do what you have to,” he said, slamming the door on his way out.