What Is Left When All Is Said and Done

Chapter 5

Hermione immediately tried to wrest her hand away from his grip, but he anticipated her move and held on tightly.

"Dance with me." There was no doubt about it. It was Draco Malfoy.

"Where's Neville? What did you do to him?" Hermione wished she had been able to somehow stow her wand on her body, but it was impossible with this dress. She really, really regretted her choice of attire now.

"Dance with me," he repeated and twisted her arm until she was forced to draw near to him to escape the pain.

"What makes you think I won't just scream bloody murder right now?" she seethed at him. He smirked confidently at her; the expression was entirely foreign on Neville's face.

"If you were going to do that, you would've done so already." With a sigh, Hermione realized he was right. So why hadn't she done so yet? She could only attribute it to her innate curiosity as to what Draco was doing here of all places. She knew she was still safe; he hadn't brandished his own wand on her yet, and she was surrounded by friends. But that didn't mean she was pleased about her predicament.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"It should be obvious to you by now; I want to dance with you."

"Fine." She tentatively put her other hand, the one he wasn't already holding, on his shoulder. Draco's smile grew as he pulled her close to him so that the full length of her was pressed up against him. "What are you...?"

"Shut up, Mudblood. It's my turn to talk now." For the second time that night, Hermione's dancing partner cast the Muffliato Spell.

"How did you learn that?"

"I said, shut up!"

Hermione switched tactics. "Neville would never dance with me like this."

"What did you say?"

"I said, Neville would never dance with me like this. So if you want to keep your cover, you better let go of me." Draco saw the wisdom in her advice and reluctantly allowed her to put some distance between their bodies.

"Thank you."

"I'm not here to do you any favors, Granger. I don't have much time so bloody shut the hell up and listen. I need you to come with me. Severus is in trouble."

"Snape! That's what this is about? What makes you think I'd do anything for him? Or you for that matter?"

"You'll do it because you're a Gryffindor."

"And you're a Slytherin. So what makes you think I'd trust you?"

"You can't. But if you'd rather not see your friend Neville join his parents in St. Mungo's, you'll do as I say." He let her digest those words before continuing. "As I was saying, you're a Gryffindor, which means you're going to do what you think is right, no matter what everyone else says."

"And you're going to somehow convince me that going with you to help Snape is right?"

"Think about it, Granger! Do you really think Dumbledore was that stupid? That he'd trust Snape all these years without good reason?"

"But he's dead! Snape killed him!"

"He was dying already; he knew it was going to happen. And Severus would've died if he hadn't killed him."

"What are you talking about?"

"An Unbreakable Vow. He made one to my mother. If he didn't...."

"...If he didn't help you do what Voldemort had ordered you to do, he would die," finished Hermione.

"How did you know about that?" For the first time since the conversation had started, Draco was visibly confused, which made him actually look more like the real Neville would.

"Never mind about that. He still killed Dumbledore," she said resolutely.

"You're not listening to me, Granger. It was all part of the plan."

"You're telling me the Headmaster planned his own death."

"Yes."

"Draco, I think you need to be committed to St. Mungo's."

"I don't have time to argue with you, Mudblood. You're just going to have to believe me."

"How do you know all this, anyway? Aren't you a Death Eater?" There was a pause before Draco answered.

"Yes, well that was a regrettable decision."

"A 'regrettable decision'? A regrettable decision is not having brought your umbrella with you when it's raining. Becoming a Death Eater is not a 'regrettable decision.'"

"Fine, it was the worst decision I ever made in my life, all right? Are you happy now?"

"No, Draco. I am not happy. Dumbledore is dead, Neville is who-knows-where-and-in-how-much-danger, and I'm dancing with a Death Eater. I would have to say that I am definitely. Not. Happy."

"Gee, Granger. Did anybody ever tell you you're beautiful when you're angry?"

"What?"

"I didn't think so, because it's not true."

"That's it." Hermione wrenched herself free from him and started storming off the dance floor.

"Granger!" She ignored him.

"Hermione!" He grabbed her hand and spun her around. "Hermione," he repeated, dead serious. "Please."

That one word made Hermione pause. The Draco she knew would never plead with her, a Mudblood.

"Not until you release Neville."

"Fine."

"How do I know you'll do that?"

"I'll take you straight to him from here."

"No, we can't do that. I can't leave with you now."

"But...."

"Harry and Ron can't suspect anything." She couldn't believe she was siding with Draco at the sake of her two best friends. "I'll have to meet you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's too late. My mother and I, we're leaving the country tonight."

"What do you need me for anyway?"

"I need someone to watch over Severus when I'm gone."

"What?"

"He's not himself anymore, Granger. What he had to do...I think it broke him. I...I'm worried about him."

"Why do you even care?"

"He saved my life. It's because of me he's like this." It was hard for Hermione to believe that Draco could be moved by guilt, but with him wearing Neville's face it seemed minutely more possible. "How many times has he saved your life? Saved Potter's life? How many times has he risked his own life for all of us?" Hermione remained quiet. Draco could see he was getting through to her and kept pressing. "Think about it, Granger. He killed Dumbledore. Where do you think that places him in Voldemort's eyes right now?"

"He'd have proved himself trustworthy; he'd be privy to everything."

"Right. And for now, he's earned himself a bit of immunity. But if he keeps slipping, how long do you think that will last?"

"He's...slipping?"

"He had to kill the only person who ever believed there was something good in him. Something of worth. How do you think that would make you feel?"

"I...." Sympathy started to well up in her until suspicion met it head on.

"Why did you come to me? If you think that because I'm a girl, I'd be more gullible...."

"No, Granger. I came to you because your two friends are bloody idiots! They'd have thrown about a million hexes at me by now, and while I wouldn't mind being able to throw a few back at them, even I know my limits. And facing Potter and the entire Weasley clan right now is not how I want to spend my last few hours in England. Speaking of which, it's time for me to go." This time she was the one chasing him.

"Wait! How do I know you're telling the truth?" He turned around.

"I think I've told you enough already. If you still don't believe me, I guess I underestimated you, Granger." She stopped him once again.

"How do I find him?" He gave her a level, judging gaze. With the blink of an eye, his decision was made.

"Here." He tossed something to her. It was a green velvet drawstring pouch. Hermione could feel something small, hard, and heavy inside. "It's a Personalized Portkey. That'll take you straight to him, wherever he is." He cocked his head to one side. "Of course, since I won't be with you there's no telling how he'll react to you appearing there without any warning. But I'm sure you'll think of something." He started running away into the woods that surrounded the garden. Hermione could see his hair turning back to his familiar pale blonde. She tried to keep up with him, but it was hard as the undergrowth was dense enough to keep catching her dress.

"What about Neville?" she called out after him.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him," came the last lazy drawl she'd ever hear from him. And then with a pop he was gone.

"Wait!" Her last step towards where he had been caused her to trip over something large on the ground and she fell onto it. "It" turned out to be mostly soft, warm, and familiar.

"Neville!" When he didn't respond, she got on her knees (dress be damned) and inspected him. Except for a small bump on the back of his head and the fact that she couldn't wake him up, he seemed uninjured. Draco must have cast a Stunner on him, she realized. Since she didn't have her wand on her, she wouldn't be able to Ennervate him just yet, so she considered her options. She could try dragging him back to the party, but that would raise too many questions. No, her best bet was to go back alone and then come back later with her wand.

"I'm really, really sorry about this, Neville," she said while she tried to position him so that he'd be more comfortable. She then stood up and brushed off as much dirt and leaves as she could from her dress, but it was a lost cause. Anyone looking at her would have thought she'd have been running through the woods and rolling around on the ground, which, of course, was exactly what she had been doing. She'd have to somehow sneak back into the house and retrieve her wand without being seen, if at least to clean and repair her dress.

Luckily for her, Bill and Fleur had decided that moment to give their toasts, so she was able to use the distraction to make her way out of the cover of trees to the house. She was just about to open the door when she heard her name being called behind her back. She whipped around to find Luna Lovegood looking dreamily at her.

"Oh, Luna, it's only you! You gave me such a fright!"

"I didn't mean to do that. You look very nice today, Hermione." Only Luna Lovegood would have thought she looked nice right now.

"Oh...thank you. You do too." Luna was wearing a dress that seemed to be made out of the same material as the spangled silver robes she had worn to Slughorn's party last year. While perhaps it wasn't the most flattering dress she could have worn, at least she wasn't wearing her Spectrespecs. "What are you doing here? They're giving the toast now."

"Oh, Fleur asked me to wait over here."

"Why?"

"I don't think she likes my dress." Luna looked down at it and rubbed the fabric with her fingers. "It's too bad; it's the only dress I've got. My father doesn't really know how to shop for me." She said this so candidly that Hermione felt a twang of pity for the motherless girl. All of a sudden, she came up with a great idea.

"Look, Luna, I don't have my wand on me, which was why I was going back into the house. Since you have yours," she said as she removed Luna's wand from behind her ear and handed it to her, "could you do me a favor?"

"Sure." Luna's face had brightened considerably.

"I left Neville back there." Hermione pointed back towards the way she had come. "He was showing me where some puffapod flowers were that he had found, but I think we ran into some Wrackspurts along the way. Neville got so befuddled that he Stunned himself. Can you go back there and Ennervate him?"

"Oh, poor Neville. He does get himself into predicaments like this fairly often, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does. Now he might still be disoriented and not remember anything, so you'll have to tell him what happened."

"Okay." Luna started walking back towards the woods.

"Don't tell him about the puffapod flowers though. I don't want him going to look for them again and walking through the Wrackspurt swarm again," she called out after her.

"I understand."

"Thanks again, Luna."

"You're welcome, Hermione. I'm glad you can trust me with this." As the girl disappeared from sight, Hermione added guilt to her list of emotions towards the girl. She really shouldn't have taken advantage of her that way. Hermione sighed. It was a barely a few days since she had left Hogwarts, and already, she'd had to--if not outright lie to her friends--keep a multitude of secrets from them. She wondered how many more times she'd have to deceive them by the time this was all over. Severus Snape had better be worth all of this.