The Mudblood and the Dragon

Chapter Five

Draco's owl returned home the next day and, Draco was complaining again. "I want out of here!"

"There's nothing I can do about that, Draco." Hermione had become accustomed to calling him that.

"You're the brightest witch in our year! Don't you know any spells that can get us out of here? I want to walk around the halls. I want to see my friends!"

"Draco, you're the brightest wizard in our year, why don't you figure out something?" Hermione said as she read her novel.

"I DON'T KNOW ANY SPELLS TO LET US WALK DOWN THE HALL WITHOUT BEING SEEN!" Draco roared. "Don't you think I've racked my brain?"

"I don't know. Sometimes it's hard to tell," Hermione answered.

"Very funny, Granger, but, really, do you know how to get us out?"

"Well, the door is unlocked. It's just a matter of not being seen," Hermione noted.

"If only father had bought me an invisibility cloak," Draco joked.

"That's it! Draco you're a genius!" She yelled and kissed him on the cheek. Hermione gasped and turned a surprising shade of red. Draco, on the other hand, turned ghostly white. There was an eerie silence before Hermione said, "Sorry."

"Why am I such a genius?" Draco asked, trying to ignore the moment.

"Well, it's a little risky, but if you let me borrow your owl, I can get us out."

"What's the plan?" Draco asked as color started to return to his face.

"There's no time for questions, just give me your owl."

"I want to know your plan, before I start giving away my owl," Draco argued.

"If you want to leave then you'll give me your bloody owl!" Hermione yelled.

Draco felt silent, but finally nodded.

Hermione scribbled a note to Harry asking for the invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. Draco read over her shoulder as she wrote.

"Why did you write that I'm driving you insane?" Draco asked, obviously wondering if she had gone insane.

"Draco, it has to sound believable. If I say, 'Draco an I are having a great time, and want to sneak out to the Astronomy Tower to have a nice snog' then Harry would think the owl was sent from someone else."

" 'Sneak out to the Astronomy Tower to have a nice snog'? I never agreed to this!" Draco yelled.

"It was just an example," Hermione whispered. "Now," she said, turning to the owl. "Send this to Harry Potter."

The owl flew out the window, towards the Gryffindor Tower.

"What is this map thing?" Draco asked.

"It's a map that Harry's father and his friends made when they were in school."

"What's so special about it?"

"It shows where people are at the exact moment, and it shows all of the secret passageways in the castle. Why am I telling you all this?" Hermione asked herself.

"I don't' know, but I'm glad you are." Draco answered. "And where did Potter get the cloak? Those things don't come cheap."

"Dumbledore gave it to him for Christmas in our first year," Draco's eye's widened and Hermione explained why Harry had received it from Dumbledore. "It belonged to Harry's father, James and he left it in Dumbledore's possession before Voldemort blew him up. Dumbledore was just passing it down to Harry," Hermione answered.

"You sure your boyfriend will send you the cloak?" Draco asked, obnoxiously.

"He's not my boyfriend," Hermione said as she turned away from Draco and the window.

"Then why would you snog him?"

"We broke up over the summer, you git."

"Well, then why would he give you the bloody invisibility cloak?"

"Because we're still friends," Hermione answered.

"Are friends supposed to do those kind of things?" Draco asked. She nodded. "My friends would never do something like that."

"You have friends?"

"What do you call Crabbe and Goyle?" Draco asked.

"Bodyguards," Hermione replied.

Draco chuckled. "That's about all they're good for. I could never have an intelligent conversation with them."

"Same with Harry and Ron, but I know they're really smart. They can become Aurors if they really try."

"Potter and Weasley? Aurors? I really can't see it," Draco commented.

"If you had told me during our first year, that they'd be training to become Aurors, I would have told you that you were insane. Now, it's different. I really think they can do it."

"What do you want to be?" Draco questioned.

"I told McGonagall that I want to be an Auror, as well. I was considering continuing S.P.E.W. and really-"

"What?" Draco interrupted.

"What?" Hermione asked confusedly.

"S.P.E.W.?"

"Oh, Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. It's opposed to house elf enslavement," Hermione explained. "I started it during our fourth year, after Barty Crouch presented his elf with clothing at the Quidditch World Cup."

"I remember that," Draco said. He got quiet, trying to avoid the topic of the World Cup.

Hermione had wondered something for a long time and now seemed like the perfect time to ask.

"Draco? Remember in the forest at the World Cup, when you said that Death Eaters could tell if someone is a muggleborn or not? Well, was that true, or were you just saying that to be a jerk?" Hermione asked.

"That was actually true," Draco confirmed. "How else do you think the Dark Lord could find the muggleborns in our school and set his basilisk on them?

"You do realize you just called them muggleborns instead of mudbloods, right?"

"You're not the only one who's slipping," Draco joked.

Hermione laughed. "How do Death Eaters know who is a muggleborn?" she asked.

"How the bloody hell should I know?" Draco answered.

"Everyone knows your family supports Voldemort, and-"

"That's right," Draco interrupted. "My family supports the Dark Lord. I don't."

Hermione's eyes widened. He doesn't support Voldemort? But, but, but...

"Oh, Draco, I'm sorry," Hermione apologized. "I didn't know. It's just that, your dad's a Death Eater, and I- I just assumed you'd be one too."

"Well, you're wrong. I used to support it, but after seeing my father thrown into Azkaban for supporting it," he said. There was a small pause. "I just don't see the point in supporting someone if you're going to be locked up for the rest of your life."

Hermione gave him a reassuring smile. "Draco, I should probably tell you something," Hermione started.

"Uh-oh, when girls say that, it's never good."

"You're right, it's not really bad though," Hermione said. "The other morning, I heard you talking with your mum. I heard about your father."

"Oh, that," Draco muttered. "Well, it would have been in the paper anyway. You just no the true story, as opposed to the hogwash the press will tell everyone."

"Draco, there's more," Hermione added. He nodded. "Er, I sort of took your owl to tell Harry and Ron, too. I'm really sorry."

She expected him to start yelling and throwing things at her, but he just nodded and said, "You really don't do anything without them, do you?"

She nodded, "No, I don't."