dragons_can_learn | A dubious reunion

A dubious reunion

Draco was a Malfoy, and one of the lessons he'd learned was to never tell anyone anything. Not even Hermione although he told her more than he told most people, and although Hermione knew his basic goals and plans she didn't know all the plans he had in store. And McGonnagal was unaware that Hermione was even involved.

"You ready, Hermione?" It was amazing how good she looked in his robes and he glanced appreciatively at her as he took the handful of flue powder. "Hogwarts Reception Room." One squeeze of her ass before he stepped into the flames.

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Draco shrugged. "Just because you roll the dice doesn't mean you shouldn't try to weight them first. But we might as well see if we can find the door. Think it's worth trying a spell or two to help?"

"We will run into having different solutions to the same problem. I don't mind you not liking mine. And you are free to do whatever research you feel is necessary."

Draco shrugged. "Let's use your way first." If it worked it worked and if it didn't there were still other options.

Hermione frowns. "Don't be like that."

Ron and Harry always treated her like that. Like she didn't think their opinions were important. And it hurt to think Draco was treating her the same way.

"Like what?" Draco was genuinely confused, not understanding the dynamic.

"All of the sudden, all closed off." Hermione explained. She waves her wand over the books that she wanted to take, shrinking them down so they would be easier to carry.

"I just want us to be honest and forthright with each other."

Draco blinked, looking confused and hurt - but not shrinking the trapped scroll because he didn't want to risk triggering anything. "Sorry. I was thinking and agreeing to your plan. I didn't realise that was closed off?"

"What were you thinking about?" Hermione decides to start fresh. Because it seems both of them are hurt right now.

"I would like to know Draco. I always want to know."

Draco shrugged. "Mentally spellcrafting. Wondering what the safest way to open that scroll was, and which location spells actually work in Hogwarts. Nothing concrete yet. Your plan's a good one I think so that part's settled."

"Do you think that there might be any consequences of taking the scroll from this room, before it is opened?"

Another shrug. "Only if it was written in here, which is unlikely. Do you think we should drop these books off at the library so Madame Pince can start organising them?"

"That is a good idea. You know how much I love a library."

"Just as long as we don't stay there too long." Draco smiled, teasing slightly, as he summoned a small pile of books he'd left to the side to take to the library. "Are we ready?"

"Define too long..." Hermione moves so she can link her arm with his.

"Yes. Let's go."

Draco took her arm with a smile. "Your favourite place in Hogwarts?" Not that Draco wasn't a fan of the library.

"It was one of the few places where I could just be me... and not have to worry about Ron or Harry bothering me."

Draco laughed. "Crabbe and Goyle were also both allergic to the library. Although Pansy liked it a lot more than she pretended to."

"What was your favorite section?"

"Either potions or history." He shrugged with a smile. "I was banned from the Muggle Studies section for excessive laughter. And if even then I knew it was bad..." He let the sentence trail off as they approached the library doors.

"What do you expect, when it is non-Muggles trying to write about Muggle history?"

Hermione took a deep breath as they entered the library. Familiarizing herself with the smell of the books and parchments again. And sighed deeply.

"I was pretty close to having read every single book in the library. But now we have some new ones to make renewing that task even more interesting."

Draco shrugged. "At least them to have picked up something more recent than the 1905 Encyclopaedia Britannica." Another shrug. "And you've barely started on either my library or the official Malfoy one."

He turned and smiled. "A pleasure to see you again, Madame Pince." His bow was almost courtly as he took and formally kissed her hand, causing the librarian to blush. "We've found a few books while visiting Hogwarts and was wondering if you would like a look. This one's a scroll hundreds of years old and possibly trapped."

"Thank you, Draco. And Hermione." She took the scroll. "If you're willing to part with books you've found?" Her tone was a lot more eager than her manners let her be as she looked at the scroll intently.

Hermione frowned slightly when Madame Pince took the scroll from Draco. She had thought that he had wanted them to break the curse on it. But just shook her head slightly.

She placed her books down on a counter, casting the spell to enlarge the items again. "That is why we are here. So that many of these could be added to the library."

Draco was of course putting the rest of his books on the counter beside Hermione's - but Madame Pince was preoccupied. "Thank you Hermione and Draco." Clearly Hermione wasn't the biggest bookworm in the room and Draco, impressive in his own right, was a distant third. And Mme. Pince was intrigued by the puzzle.

"Shall we leave her to it." Draco smiled at Hermione before lowering her voice. "Sorry, I realised while I was talking to her that that wasn't a trap so much as a test for us. Excellent bait by Hogwarts."

"You could have said something to me, when you realized it." Hermione pointed out. She felt a little disappointed, quite honestly.

"I only did after we walked in to the library." Draco frowned. "What would you prefer me to have done?"

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