Unbidden Love Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Draco’s Task

The wind blasted into the house with the boy’s arrival, chilling the hall before the slamming of the bolted door kept it out. Draco Malfoy shivered violently as he unfastened his black cloak and tossed it unconcernedly on the floor. A maid, overhearing his thunderous arrival, shuffled toward the cloak and picked it up without meeting the boy’s eyes.

“Where is Father?” Draco demanded of her, unbuttoning his top collar button with haste.

He was in one of his moods again, so the maid knew to give him a simple, direct answer. No questions were to be asked about his whereabouts the past few days, though she couldn’t help but ponder over his absence. Where could the master’s son have gone without his father’s consent?

She kept her eyes focused on the dusty, stone floor. “He is in his study, Mr. Malfoy.”

Without another glance at the servant, Draco stormed out of the Entrance Hall to the left, unbuttoning his shirt further to let the air cool his chest. Although the weather was chill and blustery, he had exerted himself on the broom ride back. For what reason? He wasn’t exactly sure. All he knew was that the recent events and the gossip floating around was doing nothing for his emotional wellbeing.

“Father!”

Lucius Malfoy spun to face his son in his leather seat by the fire. His long, flowing blond hair glistened in the firelight, while the numerous silver rings on his long fingers sent dancing designs on the ceiling. He raised his eyebrows slightly as his son approached him in a rage.

“It’s all over London! No, it’s spread farther than London! Tell me, Father, for I can’t seem to understand myself…why did I let that little frump go a fortnight ago? She apparently can’t keep her large mouth shut and has told the entire wizarding world that Draco Malfoy released her from the Neo-Death Eaters’ hold for no apparent reason!” He was shaking slightly from both his emotions and his trip back to the Mansion, hovering over his father like an enraged assassin.

Lucius was not affected by his son’s temper. Entwining his fingers together and studying them thoughtfully, he replied softly, “Draco, Draco, you know why you let the Mudblood go. You should not care if she spreads the news to Eastern Europe; the details of her account should please you. She did not speak of a filthy villain who accidentally let her slip away, correct? She spoke of you like you had the human decency to release her from the captivity of the other Death Eaters. She is confused by your actions, which is exactly where we need her to be.”

Draco gritted his teeth together to halt an enraged cry. He lowered his voice slightly, trying his best to keep it steady. “You don’t understand what I’m getting at, Father! I know we should be pleased that she is oblivious to my true intentions, but the tale has become so fabricated that now some versions show me as a weak, incompetent kid who can’t keep her in my grasp! Do you know what these rumors are doing to our society? No one trusts our power now that they know the leader is a supposed kid!”

Lucius rolled his eyes with exasperation. “My son, you are too easily affected by what society thinks of you.”

Draco’s eyes flashed. “And why shouldn’t I be? It’s only through the rumors that we can begin to stir up fear and uncertainty among the community…”

“We have plenty of time for that later. As long as you placed the spell on Granger like I ordered, the plan is already in motion.”

“A simple tracking spell will do no good now, Father. So what if we know her every move? She knows nothing!”

Lucius eyed him suspiciously. “How can you be certain?”

“Multiple Death Eaters interrogated her before my arrival, but she appeared more confused the more questions they asked.”

“Rubbish, the girl knows!” Lucius spat. “If there’s anyone in this world worthy of knowing the secret, it’d be Hermione Granger.”

“What about that ginger-haired weasel…”

“He is too protected while living at the Burrow; he is always with someone else. Granger is constantly moving from work to home, thus making her more vulnerable. She lives with no one, correct?”

Draco shrugged. “I dunno; I don’t stalk her. I’d guess that she’s under fierce protection now since her capture.”

Lucius waved his hand curtly. “Irrelevant. She has to leave the house some time. And since you let her go, perhaps she’s…”

Draco’s eyes narrowed as he stormed closer to his father’s eager face. “Stop right there, Father, I know where you’re going! Don’t even suggest that I try to befriend Granger and somehow force her to reveal the details. Do you not recall how intelligent she is? That little Mudblood would be suspicious the moment she saw my face!”

Lucius paused after his son’s jabbering, stroking his chin slowly as his eyes studied the fireplace. “Perhaps, but I doubt she’d raise the alarm at your first arrival. She’s uncertain of you as a person, Draco. She isn’t convinced that you’ve completely joined the Dark Lord’s cause; her stories to the public prove that much. Use that ignorance to your advantage!”

Draco’s patience was wearing, making it difficult to listen to his father’s optimistic words. “And what if you’re wrong, Father? What if she really doesn’t know anything? The only option left is to drag Potter to…”

Lucius raised his hand, halting Draco instantly. “Don’t even start with Potter! That boy’s far too protected and is the first person the Ministry thinks we’ll try to get to. No, it’s far easier and safer to use the girl. We’ll have to consider other options if she truly is ignorant of the location, but I know Potter. He isn’t foolish enough to keep the location a dead secret; if something happened to him, he’d want someone else to keep it safe. Who else would be a better person to tell than Granger? That girl wouldn’t give up the location if she was tortured to death.”

“Exactly!” Draco cried with exasperation. “So what makes you think she’ll tell me?!”

“Because she has weaknesses Draco; everyone has weaknesses. Find those weaknesses, and you won’t even have to curse her. Do whatever you have to do to gain her trust, but I’m leaving it up to you. The whole operation rests in your hands, Son. Don’t let us down.”

Draco could only stare back.

*

She paced back and forth at least a hundred times, chewing relentlessly on her fingernails as the letter’s words flashed in her mind. She couldn’t believe it, her mind just couldn’t comprehend. How could Ron, the most loveable, loyal boy she’d ever known, do something this terrible? And while she was trapped in Hell, no less?!

The girl’s words created an unbearable nausea, but she couldn’t push them away. Even with the written words destroyed, she could still relate every part of that letter to someone else –

Dearest Ronald,

You were so kind to treat me to ice cream last night. I haven’t been on a date in ages, so it came as a pleasant surprise to be invited along by such a kind, mature boy! I had such a good time; I do hope we can do it again one day.

I am dreadfully sorry that I could not stay in London longer. My mum and dad live in Wales, you see, so I’m on holiday over here until university starts up again in the autumn. But don’t worry, I’ll be back in England before you can miss me!

Write back to me if you wish; I do enjoy a classic letter now that all I get nowadays are e-mails! Muggles do always want the fastest, easiest communication possible, don’t they?

Hope this post gets to you in good health!

Love,

Lucy Larkin

Hermione was now digging her fingernails into her palm, but she hardly noticed the pain this caused. Her thoughts were so powerful and harsh, she wouldn’t have been surprised if the entire household could hear her inner cries.

She must be the worst kind of goody-two-shoes to have the name Lucy! The way she wrote certainly predisposes her to be of the annoyingly sweet sort. Why, if I ever get my hands on that brat who lured my boyfriend into…

A sharp knock on her bedroom door jerked her out of her thoughts. She narrowed her eyes at the closed door. “You’d better back away from that door before I send a curse flying through it! I don’t want to talk to you, Ronald Weasley!”

“But I do,” came the reply.

Hermione started, hesitating for a moment before heading toward the door. She was in no mood for an audience as her sanity left her, but yelling at a face was certainly better than yelling in her head.

She slowly opened the door to find a distressed Harry behind it, his forehead already crinkled in a worrisome frown. “Hermione, we need to talk.”

Hermione gaped at him. “Excuse me, but are you part of this problem? The only person I want to talk to…well, mostly throw things at is a ginger-haired git who didn’t ever learn the meaning of loyalty.”

“He’s going to come up later; he’s already throwing things downstairs. Mrs. Weasley wasn’t too happy when her glass vase got thrown against the wall…”

“Harry Potter, this is no time for comic relief!” Hermione reprimanded, wiping at her eyes as the tears renewed themselves. It was like puberty all over again; waves of different emotions that wouldn’t end.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” Harry replied seriously, gesturing toward her bed. Hermione relented and let him in, where Harry situated himself on the edge of mattress.

“Did you know about this?” she demanded, her voice high and shrill. She didn’t care how childish she sounded or how much she overreacted. The incredulity of the situation had sent her over the edge. How could she have ever prepared for such a situation after she had just escaped from a horrific situation?

Harry sighed wearily, rubbing his hands over his face as if he were responsible for Ron’s actions. “Hermione, I know how terrible it was for you to have seen that letter, but you must understand that Ron was going to tell you about Lucy as soon as tomorrow.”

Hermione laughed shrilly. “Oh, I’m so glad I was going to be personally informed of this affair in an organized way! And you know her name, too, don’t you, Harry? Did you hear of this date before it happened? Did you pat your mate on the back and say, ‘Good on you, Ron, for ditching Hermione and going after a more exciting, spunky girl? You needed to shake things up a bit!’ Did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley approve of this girl, too?”

Harry glared up at her. “Shut it, Hermione; you don’t know what you’re saying! Let me speak before you go off on your cruel rants!”

“Cruel? You’re saying I’m being cruel? If I’m cruel, then how would you describe the actions of the prat downstairs who’s throwing stuff at the wall?” Hermione had completely lost it. There was no barrier between what she thought and what she said.

Harry bolted up and grabbed Hermione by the shoulders, staring hard into her eyes to silence her. “Hermione, listen to me for just a minute! Yes, what Ron did was wrong, but you misinterpreted the seriousness of the entire event. Ron and Lucy had simply become friends, and Lucy believed things had gone farther than they had. They were never actually dating, if you’ll believe me at all!”

Hermione glared back, not taking in a word of what he said. “You make it seem too simple, Harry, so easy to translate! Well, I’m sorry if I don’t believe what you said about their little rendez-vous. I believed Ron was too smart to put himself in that kind of situation. Don’t guys fall a lot when confronted with sexual temptation?”

Harry’s jaw dropped. “Sexual temptation? Hermione, what do you think this thing with Lucy was?”

“I don’t know, but how do you know what it wasn’t?”

Harry groaned and closed his eyes. Taking his hands off her shoulders, he backed away before peering down at her again. His eyes had lost their anger and been replaced with a deep sadness, something Hermione couldn’t quite understand.

“I said what I came to say, Hermione. The rest is up to Ron himself. But promise me that you’ll actually let him talk? Don’t scream at him until you’ve heard his side of the story.”

Hermione took a deep breath before letting out a disgruntled cry. She stormed away to the window, where she tried unsuccessfully to calm her ragged breaths and pounding head.

“Fuck, Harry, I’m not strong enough for this. All I wanted was to come home to a familiar, comforting family. Now my family has turned on me and I don’t know who to trust.”

She heard him sigh deeply. “Don’t discount us just yet, love. It’s not like we switched to Voldemort’s side.”

A tear fell from her eye as she imagined the possibility. Yes, it was true – however pissed off she was at Ron, she knew he wouldn’t betray her in that way. He wasn’t a Draco Malfoy, randomly switching from side to side whenever the need arose.

Pounding footsteps met her ears, and she turned to find Ron standing in the doorway. Before she could twist her face into a scowl, she noticed his expression. His eyes were wide as he ignored Hermione entirely and turned to Harry.

“Draco Malfoy’s crossing the yard to our house,” he said. “And he’s entirely alone.”