A Thousand Words

Chapter 15: Face of Beast

'Who am I supposed to check in with?'

A young woman with a gold Auror's badge pinned to her breast pocket turned to face Draco at the sound of his voice. 'Susan Arthur. She's the lady speaking to Arnold right now,' she said, pointing towards two huddled figures a fair distance away. 'She's busy, so you'll have to wait a while before you go talk to her,' the Auror added, her voice trailing away as her eyes travelled from Draco's scars to his thin cloak with obvious confusion.

'Thank you,' said Draco shortly, turning and walking away before she could say anything else. As he paced back and forth, he scanned the gathering, counting the number of heads silently. There were eight people there; four Aurors and four Hit Wizards, most likely. Even from afar, Draco recognised three of the Hit Wizards.

He began trying to identify the Aurors. A flash of red hair caught his attention, and he squinted, hoping against hope that it wasn't a Weasley. Unfortunately, just as this thought crossed his mind, the person turned around and confirmed Draco's worries. It wasn't Ron - Thank God, I don't know if I'd survive being surrounded by little children and that blundering idiot for an entire afternoon, Draco thought with an inward sneer - but the youngest Weasley, Ginny - Potter's girlfriend.

Draco grimaced. 'Fantastic,' he muttered, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets and resuming his pacing. 'Obnoxious students, below freezing temperatures, a Weasley, and -'

Draco stopped there, for he had just caught sight of a very familiar mass of bushy brown hair. He pursed his lips. '- and Granger,' he finished under his breath.

At this point, Draco realised that the Auror he had been waiting for was no longer occupied, so he trudged through the knee-high, untouched snow over to where she was standing.

'Draco Malfoy,' he said brusquely in response to her questioning look, holding out a hand.

She nodded and firmly grasped the hand Draco had offered. 'Susan Arthur,' she said. She spoke slowly in voice as warm and smooth as melted chocolate; Draco couldn't help but note how such a voice contrasted with Susan's sharp, stern features. 'You're a Hit Wizard, correct?'

'Right.'

'It's nice to meet you, Mr Malfoy.'

'And you as well, Ms Arthur. Do you know when we'll be leaving?'

'The kids are filing out right now, so we'll be leaving in a few minutes. We were waiting on your arrival.'

Draco turned away to hide his cringe. He hated being the delay for anything. 'I'm sorry I was late,' he apologised.

In truth, once he'd finished Starlight's letter, Draco had returned to his basement to scour Advanced Potion-Making for potions requiring three pinches of aconite. He had narrowed the list down to one hundred and forty-eight various potions, and had begun the process of eliminating those which did not have 'r two months' in their instructions when he fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.

'It's fine,' Susan said with a reassuring smile, 'fatigue gets to the best of us.'

Draco didn't know what to say to this, so he just nodded at her and walked away. He stopped when he reached the trunk of a bare-branched willow. His gaze wandered over to where Hermione and Ginny were standing, engaged in deep conversation with another Auror. He briefly wondered if either of them still communicated with their pen pal. His general impression was that everyone in his office had forgotten about the task, and he assumed the same applied to the other Ministry workers. For some reason, though, he didn't mind that he and Starlight were apparently the only ones still caught up in the silly assignment; in a way, this made their friendship seem even more real to Draco.

'Gather round!' came Susan's voice, interrupting Draco from his thoughts. He looked up and saw her gesturing for all the Aurors and Hit Wizards to move in closer to her.

'Do all of you know what we'll be doing this afternoon?' Susan asked once everyone was within earshot. There were a few blank stares, indicating that Draco was not the only one who had been assigned on such short notice. Susan seemed to notice this, for she sighed heavily and began explaining their duty. 'I'm sure everyone here has heard of the recent werewolf attack nearby. Minerva has asked me to gather a group of witches and wizards from the Ministry to accompany the students leaving for the holidays down to the Hogsmeade train station. Because we will be walking, those -'

'Why are we walking, ma'am?' interrupted a middle-aged man whom Draco recognised as Edwin Braveheart, a Hit Wizard who sat near Draco in the office. 'Won't it be easier for the students to take the carriages as they usually do?'

'Minerva feels it will be more appropriate for the students to walk. It makes our job of keep track of them much easier.' Susan looked around. 'As I was saying, because we will be walking, those stationed at the back of the procession must make sure no one falls behind. Our job here today is not difficult. We're simply here to make sure none of the students are harmed. In the case of an attack, follow whatever rules you've been taught, but remember that the student's safety is your first priority. Any further questions?'

Draco saw a few of the members of the group throw nervous glances at each other. Susan's speech made it sound as if the chances of an attack were very high, and Draco was sure that most of his peers were wondering if they would be spending Christmas alive and well after all.

'There's no need to look so worried,' Susan added with a small laugh, for it seemed that she too had noticed the tension amongst the people encircling her. 'Only a fool would try to ambush eight trained Ministry officials and over four hundred students. Now, wands out!'

And with that, she began to trek through the snow drifts towards the front gates of Hogwarts, where the students choosing to return home for the holidays were now gathering.

As Draco began following Susan, he noticed that Hermione, who was now walking without the company of Ginny, looked rather miserable. Though he was curious to find out which aspect of Hermione's perfect life had went wrong, Draco did not bother asking her; he knew better than anyone else what it felt like to have people poking around in his personal matters.

It turned out, however, that Draco did not have to go to the trouble of confronting Hermione. As the group made their way up to the front gates, Hermione, to Draco's surprise, tapped him on the shoulder and said, 'I didn't know you were assigned too.'

'Yes,' said Draco stiffly without looking at her, though he could now sense that she was walking alongside him. 'Where did the Weasley go?'

'She's talking to a friend,' said Hermione dispassionately.

Draco raised his eyebrows a fraction of an inch. The fact that Hermione had not gotten angry at him for his condescending tone was even more puzzling than her unhappy expression. However, he said nothing else, and continued to walk in silence, trying his best to ignore Hermione's presence.

'How are you coming along with the bit you found yesterday?'

'Why so sociable all of a sudden, Granger?' Draco asked, still resolutely looking forward.

'Why so eager to turn away company, Malfoy?' Hermione shot back, mimicking Draco.

'Your company,' Draco corrected. He broke off an icicle from a bush he passed and tossed it aside. 'In case you haven't noticed, we're not the best of friends.'

Hermione laughed dryly. 'I don't know how you figured that one out.'

'You've got a sense of humour,' Draco observed. 'This is earth-shattering.'

Hermione didn't say anything in response to this. Resisting the urge to turn and look at her, Draco glanced upwards and found to his relief that they were finally at the gate

'Malfoy,' Hermione said as Susan and McGonagall approached each other and began conversing in low tones, 'have you ever had a girlfriend?'

Draco couldn't help it this time. He swivelled around and stared at Hermione in disbelief. 'What?' he repeated, not sure if he had heard her correctly.

'Have you ever -'

Thankfully, at that precise moment, Hermione was interrupted by Susan ordering the guards to get to their assigned positions around the cluster of students. Draco hurried away from Hermione, flustered over the question she had asked him.

Unfortunately, as it happened, when Draco turned to see who would be patrolling at the back with him, he found the only person he had hoped it wouldn't be standing there.

'Looks like we're stuck together, huh?' remarked Hermione with a grim smile, stationing herself a few feet away from Draco and turning her gaze over the sea of heads to watch for Susan's signal to start walking.

'Why do you want to know about my personal life?' Draco demanded.

'Forget about it. The question just slipped out. I didn't mean to sound nosy.'

'You haven't got a chance with me, if that's what you were wondering,' said Draco, smirking. He checked over his shoulder one last time as the students in front of him started moving.

'That's not what I wanted to know,' Hermione replied, sounding disgusted. 'I just...nevermind.'

'Having issues with that pitiable excuse for a wizard?' Draco suggested lightly.

'At least he's a better person than you,' said Hermione, her voice tight with irritation. Draco could tell it took every ounce of resolution she had for Hermione to not lose her temper.

'So it is Weasley,' said Draco wisely. 'Well, I can't say I'm surprised. It's a wonder you've even tolerated his stupidity up to this point.'

'For your information,' Hermione said loudly, 'we had a row.'

'I'll remember this for future reference.'

Despite his indifferent tone, however, Draco's curiosity had skyrocketed. From the little he knew about Hermione Granger, she was hardly one to share her private affairs with anyone but her closest friends. What had Weasley done to infuriate her so much that she had to resort to ranting about it to people she disliked?

Silence fell between the two of them as the procession advanced onwards. Draco listened half-heartedly to the chatter of the students as he puzzled over Hermione's unusual behaviour. He longed to ask her what had caused trouble in paradise, but didn't want to show any signs of his interest in her problems.

'I made a list of the potions that require three pinches of aconite,' Draco said after a minute or so. The silence felt awkward to him, so he figured the best way to break it was to bring up the only topic both of them were familiar with: the case.

'And?' Hermione prompted. 'What did you find?'

'There are quite a few matches,' Draco said carefully.

Hermione nodded. 'I thought there would be.'

'I haven't started narrowing down the list to those with "r two months" in their instructions yet, though.'

'Do you need some help with that?'

Cocking an eyebrow, Draco glanced over at Hermione. 'You want to help me?'

She shrugged. 'We're both working on the case. We could help each other since we're from different departments.'

Draco glared at Hermione suspiciously. 'Haven't you got other things to do? I would've thought you'd be glad for a little time off to spend at the dump.'

'The Burrow isn't a dump,' Hermione said flatly. Suddenly, she stopped walking and held out a hand, indicating that Draco should remain quiet. Her eyes were fixed on the underbrush lining their snowy path. Draco watched as she wordlessly lit her wand and quickly swept the beam of light over the bushes twice.

'There's nothing there,' Draco stated before Hermione could affirm it. 'You're being paranoid.'

'It's better to be cautious than negligent,' Hermione snapped.

'Constant vigilance,' said Draco with a smirk, nodding in a mock-serious manner.

What appeared to be a reluctant smile flashed across Hermione's lips before she looked away again. Draco rolled his eyes. Who would have known? he thought with some amusement.

'Anyway, what do you say?' Hermione asked once she had put out the light issuing from her wand. 'We're mature adults; I don't see why it has to be a problem for us to work together to solve a murder.'

'You're the one who brought up our days at Hogwarts yesterday,' Draco pointed out. He exhaled and watched as the puff of misty fug dissipated away in the fading light, wondering when they would finally arrive at the train station.

'Stay close to the group,' Hermione said sternly to a chubby blonde-haired boy who had wandered off the path to go examine something on the ground. The boy scowled at her, but obediently returned to his friends, who were waiting for him impatiently. Once she was sure the student was safely back where he belonged, Hermione picked up the conversation again. 'I know. I shouldn't have.'

'I suppose Weasley planted the idea in your head.'

'No, I don't let his opinions influence mine, if that's what you mean,' Hermione retorted, sounding vaguely defensive now.

'Right.'

'If you don't mind me asking, Malfoy, what happened to your face?'

The question came out of nowhere, and caused Draco to stop in his tracks and turn to gape at Hermione. 'I do mind you asking,' he said, quickly gathering his composure and regaining his stride.

'Those don't look like ordinary battle wounds,' remarked Hermione. 'Did Voldemort do it?' One of the young girls walking in front of Hermione and Draco jumped and turned to look fearfully at Hermione.

'Don't say his name!' Draco hissed, almost on impulse.

Hermione sighed. 'The war is over, Malfoy. There's nothing to be scared of.'

'I'm not scared.' Draco felt animosity boil up within him at Hermione's comment. 'The name isn't just a name to me, Granger. I'm not like all those other cowards out there who were and still are terrified of the fabricated stories they read about in the newspapers.'

They were now passing through Hogsmeade village, which meant there were only a few minutes remaining in their walk. Draco sighed inwardly with relief. The sooner this is over, the better.

'You still haven't answered my question about your scars,' Hermione pointed out.

'I'd rather not discuss them.'

'It must have been pretty dark magic. Any regular scars could have been easily patched up by a Healer; even Snape was able to fix the wounds you got from that awful curse he came up with.'

Draco fleetingly remembered the scene back in sixth year...he had been crying, sobbing over what seemed like a hopeless task, when he looked up and saw Harry Potter standing behind him, watching him with a shocked expression. He winced, recalling the excruciating pain brought on by Sectumsempra. It had almost been as agonising as...

'Malfoy?'

Without knowing it, Draco lifted a hand and pressed two fingers against one of his scars. 'Yes, it was dark magic,' he said coldly. 'Nothing you'd ever be able to wrap your mind around, Granger.'

'I know more than you think,' Hermione said softly. She hesitated, then added, 'You know, they're not...they're not all that noticeable.'

'Perhaps you should try living with two long gashes on your face; then you can tell me they're not noticeable,' Draco said scornfully. He craned his neck to look over the heads of the students and see if they were at the station yet.

'Sorry,' Hermione apologised. 'You're right. Who am I to talk about the dark arts? All those years I spent in the Order, fighting against Voldemort and the Death Eaters...what do I know?' She rolled her eyes, an action Draco just barely caught out of the corner of his eye.

'Not much,' Draco replied as the Hogwarts Express came into sight, gleaming under the glow cast by the lit streetlamps nearby. 'Until you've actually served under his name, you don't know much at all.'

Hermione stared at Draco for a few seconds. Her eyes were narrowed, but not in a malicious way. Draco stared back, wondering what she was thinking.

After a while, Hermione said quietly, '3pm on Boxing Day. Meet me at The Red Dragon. This is a murder we're dealing with, Malfoy - not a homework assignment.' And on that note, Hermione spun around and walked away to go help load the luggage onto the train.