Sins of the Father

Disclaimer: All characters presented in the fic are the property of
J.K. Rowling. I just like to play with them on occasion

Author\'s Note: Written for elementaldeity for the dmhgficexchange on livejournal.


Special Thanks: Terri, Inell, Zephyr and especially nakhash_mekashefah
for the wonderful feed back especially in the eleventh hour.

Chapter Eight
Testing the Bond

Draco returned to the office feeling much better than he had in some time. For
the first time, perhaps, in his life, he felt as if he had a purpose that was
his own. Potter might think that he would be able to keep Draco from Rookwood
but Potter wasn\'t a Slytherin. Draco knew that Snape would involve him once the
time was appropriate, but until then he would have to bide his time. Certainly,
helping Potter track down some of the other war criminals would prove to be
more satisfying than waiting idly. It had to be.



Hermione didn’t bother to look up when he entered the room. She had felt his
presence from the moment he Apparated outside of the Ministry\'s telephone booth
and immediately felt relieved. She did not, however, want him to know how
uneasy his absence had proved, choosing instead to focus on the report in front
of her.



They worked in silence well into their normal lunch hour. Draco was unsure of
how to breach the uncomfortable silence between them and Hermione was
unwilling. And so, as opposed to finding the words to discuss what had led to
Hermione’s departure last night, each simply settled for the inexplicable
satisfaction that togetherness brought.



It was well into the afternoon before Draco set aside his quill and ink to
address Hermione. “All right, Granger, I think we have both avoided this for
long enough. I do believe that you wanted to discuss finding a way to break
whatever curse we’ve been burdened with?”



Containing her urge to wince at the snide tone used to convey his words,
Hermione raised her head as she set her face. Offering him a half-smile before
speaking, Hermione replied smartly, “Malfoy, I do believe that is one of the
most useful things I’ve ever heard you say.”



Simultaneously, Hermione and Draco rose and retrieved their cloaks, neither
feeling that their office was an appropriate location for the coming
discussion. As they stepped out onto the street, Hermione turned to Draco. She
had to suppress the urge to smile knowingly and ask him where to eat; the
routine had become so embedded in her. Before Hermione could speak, Draco
raised his wand and indicated a small Muggle café located nearby before
Disapparating with a \'pop\'; Hermione soon followed.



The start of lunch was barely cordial. Neither Draco nor Hermione cared to
admit the fact that the only desire either had was for her to return home and
make the intolerable yearning go away. It had only been one night, but it was
more painful than all of the nights they’d spent apart since graduation.



Hermione decided to approach the subject quite calmly and rationally. “I do
believe, Malfoy, that we are not making matters any better by sharing our
living quarters. At best, we are allowing our tolerance, to whatever discomfort
we experience when apart, to lessen. Entirely more likely is that we are
strengthening the bond, making it more difficult for us to part.



“I think that we would be wise to plan on going back to our previous living
arrangements. We are doing nothing more than setting ourselves up for disaster
when we truly have to part company.”



Draco listened to her words and could not find any fault with her logic. But he
still did not like the idea. He couldn’t have articulated his objections if he
tried, but they were there. Pushing aside his opposition to Hermione’s
suggestion, Draco spoke.



“Perhaps you are correct. I don’t want you to feel as if you have to move out
though. As I stated before, I can easily return to the Manor and leave you with
the flat, if you prefer. The lease has been paid in advance for the year, so
you needn’t concern yourself with that.”



Hermione hesitated. She was an independent witch and hated to think of
accepting such an offer. However, the thought of returning to the Burrow under
Molly’s questioning gaze was harrowing to say the least.



“That would be very kind of you if you are sure you don’t mind. I had rather
grown accustomed to my independence and sleeping in Ginny’s twin canopy bed
amidst her assorted stuffed hippogriffs and diricawls is a bit odd to say the
least.”



Draco’s face eased as he let out a laugh, “Weasley still sleeps with stuffed
animals? I would have thought that she had grown out of that by now.”



The rest of their lunch slipped into the comfortable banter each had grown
accustomed to since they began working at the Ministry. Draco made some
questionable remarks about how much Ginny had matured over the years and
Hermione scolded him appropriately. Both wished that they could forget the
previous night but were too prideful to admit it.



“Well, I suppose that we should get back to the Ministry,” Draco offered, as
the conversation ended in abrupt silence. “You can return this evening. I’ll
send word to the elves at the Manor to fetch my things this afternoon.”



Hermione smiled graciously as she thanked him for his consideration.



In the weeks immediately following Draco’s departure, Hermione felt more alone
than she had her entire life. As hurt as she’d been by her parents’ deaths, not
even that tragic event made her feel the emptiness that had been left by
Draco’s absence.



To make matters worse, he had taken two weeks leave in order to tend to
’private affairs’. Initially, her evenings were spent writing in her journal,
trying to process all of her emotions. Because she was unwilling to admit that
she did miss Draco, however, Hermione could make neither heads nor tails of the
situation.



Abandoning introspection for research, Hermione began to comb through old texts
brought home from the Ministry’s library in search of ancient spells bonding
individuals together against their will.



It had been after the first week, Hermione hitting dead ends at every turn as
she tried to find some spell to explain the past year, that Harry popped in on
her one day, insisting that they grab a bite to eat.



Hermione raised her head, eyes darkened from the fretful \'sleep\' she had
managed to get over the past week.



"Thank you, Harry, but I really have a lo..."



Harry shook his head. He\'d been working with Draco over the past week and
noticed a bedraggled appearance that he now saw mirrored in his best friend.



"Hermione Granger, would you deny your oldest friend the presence of your
company at lunch?" Harry asked as he folded his arms across his chest and
allowed the corners of his mouth to fall into an exaggerated pout.



Looking up at her friend, Hermione couldn\'t help but smile. "Do try not to
pout, Harry, it doesn\'t suit you."



Sighing, Hermione grabbed her cloak and swung it around her shoulders.
"Where would you like to go?\'



Harry grinned brightly and threaded her arm through his own. "Someplace
that I think we\'ll both enjoy, Honeydukes."



Hermione laughed. "Harry, that\'s ridiculous. Firstly, Honeydukes is all
the way in Hogsmeade-"



"And to think I thought that you were a witch? You do remember Apparation,
right?" Harry responded, a grin on his face.



Hermione shook her head, not able to let go of the fact that a trip to
Hogsmeade in the middle of the day was not practical, regardless of how fast
they could get there. "Fine, but Honeydukes isn\'t lunch."



Smiling at his friend, Harry took Hermione\'s hands in his own. "I know
that you were raised by dentists, ‘Mione, but even you at some point of your
life must have experienced the delight that candy has to offer.



"To speak plainly, you look like you need something to take the edge off
and I\'m hoping that the familiarity of Hogsmeade, with a heavy dose of
chocolate, will do the trick."



Harry noticed the hesitation in her eyes and put on his \'pout\' once again.
"C\'mon ‘Mione, I\'ll even treat you to a butterbeer. Besides, I have to go
by Fred and George\'s shop soon or they\'ll have my head."



Hermione laughed again as she looked at Harry\'s face. "If only to wipe
that pathetic look off your face... yes."



Hermione laughed as Harry\'s face lit up and they, once again, linked arms,
Apparating into Hogsmeade.



As Harry was guiding Hermione about Hogsmeade, Draco was back in Wizarding
London. Ron and Harry had been given a case involving one of their former
classmates who apparently found it amusing to reveal his magic to Muggles
before Obliviating them.



It really was quite ridiculous the constraints that the Aurors had to work
under. For a case that seemed so simple, so straightforward, Draco knew exactly
how the situation needed to be handled.



The wizard was a relatively upstanding member of society. He ran a rundown inn
for those with limited means. Draco was quite sure the simple threat of
long-standing ramifications for his hobby would be enough to put him to bed.
But no, according to protocol, Harry and Ron were expected to uselessly follow
the man, waiting to catch him in the act and arrest him, truly a waste of
resources.



Draco strolled into the inn and approached the owner.



"Mr. Slaugh?" he questioned, taking in the small, rounded man who
appeared nearly hidden behind his large- rimmed glasses.



"Wh- wh- what can I do for you?" the wizard asked.



Draco understood his hesitation. His establishment was barely reputable and he
certainly would not be accustomed to receiving patrons of Draco\'s ilk on a
daily basis. Of course, Draco was not a patron either and cleared his throat to
respond.



"I do believe," Draco drawled, as he removed his gloves from his
hands, "that you would be more interested in knowing what I can do for
you.



Draco allowed the ghost of a smile to cross his lips as the innkeeper briefly
raised an eyebrow after his eye darted down to the emerald bearing the Malfoy
crest on Draco\'s pinkie finger.



"It appears as if you have quite an interesting pastime, Mr.
Slaugh. Some of my associates are currently conducting an investigation to see
that you are justly compensated for your actions."



The wizard’s eyes darted back and forth, before retreating up and to the right.
Draco gave Mr. Slaugh\'s feeble mind time to process his words, looking around
the dusty lobby. Chuckling Draco wondered how many questionable activities the
man was a participant in.



"Mr. Slaugh, I am here to give you one, and only one, warning. The
Ministry does not look kindly upon individuals revealing their magic to
Muggles, neither by intent nor accident. Furthermore, it is unacceptable to go
about casting Obliviate when one does.

"Now, I have assured my colleagues that you are a reasonable man. I would
expect that, after our talk, the British Ministry should not expect to receive
any more alerts causing one to question your motivations."



The man looked at Draco, silent, before a smile crossed his lips.



"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," the man responded, vocalizing his
recognition of the crest upon Draco\'s finger. "I\'ll be sure not to give
the British Ministry cause for concern."



Draco smiled to himself as he excused himself from the shop. He doubted that
Harry would find his solution to the problem to be acceptable. But he doubted
that Harry and he would ever see eye to eye as to how problems were to be
solved. They certainly didn\'t when it came to Augustus Rookwood.



Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were having a wonderful time wandering about the
small settlement of Hogsmeade. Laughing as they wandered the streets, Hermione
felt the tug of nostalgia as part of her wished that she were still a student
living within the confines of Hogwarts.



Of course, she and her friends had thought they were quite mature while they
were there. Working every year to defeat Voldemort and protect Harry from the
Dark Wizard served to inflate the typical teenage attitude that they should be
treated as an adult. But now, living in her own apartment, working with
individuals that discredited her intelligence for her age, and not having the
comforting presence of Albus Dumbledore to make her feel as if it would all
work out in the end, let her know just how much like children they had been.



"Hermione," Harry interrupted her reverie, "do me a favor while
we\'re here, let\'s just have fun. I don\'t want you lecturing the twins or
carrying on about how foolish I\'m behaving. I need a break from the real world
and I can see that you do as well, even if you won\'t admit it."



Laughing, Hermione inwardly sighed in relief. Honestly, she could do with a day
of fun, even if she weren\'t known for it. "All right, Harry. But from the
sounds of it, I should notify the Ministry that I won\'t be returning."



"Don\'t worry about that, ‘Mione," a familiar voice called, as Ron
Weasley approached with Luna Lovegood. "It\'s already taken care of."



Hermione looked between Ron and his girlfriend. \'What is she doing here? It’s
not a Hogsmeade weekend is it? Of course not,\' Hermione answered her own
question, after all it wasn\'t even the weekend.



"It\'s good to see you, Luna, but shouldn\'t you be at Hogwarts?"
Hermione asked.



Ron smiled at Luna, as if to say \'I told you so.’



Harry laughed. "Apparently, Luna decided that, with the defeat of
Voldemort behind us, she didn\'t really feel as if she had a need to continue
her studies at Hogwarts."



Hermione shook her head. She\'d always known that Luna had a different
perspective on much of reality, but she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, surely
she saw the value in education.



Turning back towards Ron, Hermione pursed her lips and shook her head slowly,
tears forming in her eyes as she considered how long it had taken her to notice
what was going on in his life.



"Oi ‘Mione, that pleased to see me, are you?"



The familiar ache in her chest was still present, but the sight of her two best
friends, here in Hogsmeade, was enough to put the sensation to the back of her
mind.



Hermione should never have allowed Draco\'s presence in her life to alienate her
from her friends. Harry had told her that he understood, but she doubted that
he did. Ron was, thankfully, too busy with Luna to notice much outside of his
relationship and work.



Hermione looked back to Ron before smiling at Luna, not wanting to ignore her
presence. Luna had never acted as such, but Hermione had enough sense, after
the \'Cho incident\' in fourth year, to show her friends love interests
the proper respect, even if they were often clueless about it.



Throwing her arms up to wrap them around Ron\'s neck, Hermione slapped him
lightly on the back of his head. "Of course I\'m happy to see you, Ron.
It\'s been too long, hasn\'t it?"



Ron squeezed her playfully before lifting her off the ground.



"Way too long, why haven\'t you been round ‘Mione? You know that it\'s
dangerous to leave two bachelors to our own devices for too long. Even that git
Malfoy has been by since you have..."



Hermione\'s eyes flashed at the mention of Draco before she regained her
composure. Looking behind her two friends, she was pleased to see that they
both were clean and in clothing that could be considered matching - though a
bit eclectic.



"Oh, I don\'t know, Ron, it appears as if Luna is making sure things don\'t
get too out of hand. Tell me, how much longer do you plan on being a
bachelor?" Hermione teased, as she winked at Harry.



The day turned celebratory as Ron pulled out Luna\'s hand and tapped his wand to
her ring finger, casting a revealing spell. They traveled first to Fred and
George\'s shop where Harry disappeared into the back with George as Hermione and
Luna conspired over what pranks they should try on Ron.



Draco arrived at Godric’s Hollow several hours later to meet Potter as had been
agreed. He hadn’t been looking forward to the inevitable confrontation that
always came when he and Weasley were within arms reach of each other. While
tracking down the trivial criminals, that Potter and Weasley had been assigned
to, proved to be distracting, it was not enough to take the edge off of his
desire to get at Rookwood or the relentless ache that he’d felt since moving
back to the Manor.



Hermione had been right. The pain had dulled to the point where he could sleep
at night, though the dreams that came with that sleep were discouraging in
their own right.



As Potter opened the door to let Draco in, he quickly grabbed the blond
wizard’s arm as he nearly doubled over in pain. “Ron!” he called sharply from
the entryway into their home, “Come help me.”



Draco gritted his teeth as he tried to stand erect again, pulling his arm away,
“Let me go, Potter!”



Ron, arriving at the doorway and seeing the struggle that Draco was presenting
against Harry’s grasp, rushed to firmly lock Malfoy’s arm in his grip. “Oh no,
you don’t, Malfoy,” he said, as he helped Harry pull the wizard into the
kitchen.



“You idiots, where is she?” Draco demanded, as they sat him in the chair, his
hands landing heavily on the table to thrust himself back up.



“What are you talking about, Malfoy?” Harry asked, holding Ron back from
physically restraining him again.



“Something’s wrong! We’ve got to find her,” was all that Draco said, before
grabbing his wand and Apparating away from Godric’s Hollow.



“What the bloody hell?” Ron asked, looking at Harry with utter confusion. “Why
were you holding Malfoy back just now and why did you let him go?”



Harry sighed in exasperation. He now regretted agreeing not to let Ron in on
Hermione’s living arrangement as right now it was slowing him down. Turning to
Ron, his eyes set and determined, he said, “Ron, I can’t explain it all right
now. Just suffice it to say that Hermione is in danger and we’ve got to find
out where Malfoy’s gone.”



Draco Apparated first to Ministry Headquarters. It was very unlike Hermione to
take time off. Harry had told him earlier that he was taking her to Hogsmeade
for the afternoon so he figured she would return to put in some late hours. As
soon as he arrived at the phone booth outside, however, the aching in his chest
told him otherwise.



Disapparating with a ‘pop’, the ache dulled as Draco found himself
outside of their flat. Where, before, he had felt a constricting pressure in
his chest threatening to crush some vital yet metaphysical organ, he now simply
felt a driving rhythm resonating throughout him as if his heart were beating
hard and fast. Looking up the stairwell that led to their flat, Draco gripped
his wand before taking the steps two at a time.

 

Draco had been careful not to Apparate directly into their flat because, if she
were in danger, he did not want any other parties to be notified of his
arrival. As he slowed down and struggled to regulate his breathing amongst the
drumming in his ears, Draco noted that the door to their apartment had been
left ajar.



When Draco stopped to listen, he heard nothing coming from the apartment and
quietly pushed the door open, holding the wand in close to his body, ready to
defend himself if necessary. When he stepped inside, the room was indeed empty,
but a cold chill greeted him as a familiar scent invaded his senses. Rookwood.