Partners - Chapter 3 - Jane Doe
Title: Partners
Author: leopion
Beta: Lolabri, S. A. Blossom, and olgameisterfunk
Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger
Genres: Romance, Humour, Mystery.
Spoilers: DH minus epilogue
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: As you all know, I do not own Harry Potter. And if you happen to wonder about Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, I don’t own that either.
Summary: An unexpected proposal shook Hermione to her core. Reeling, she staggered through the night and found herself in Malfoy's dungeons. Hermione thought it was the end, but it was really just the beginning...
(Written by Darkwinter999 from ff.net)
AN: This fic was inspired by marmaladefever’s Eight and Eighth. Therefore, I want to thank her for the great fic and for giving me permission to use some of her ideas from it.
Partners - Chapter 3 - Jane Doe
by Leopion
Unsuccessful escape attempts had eventually led to desperation. Hermione decided to try out an idea that she had considered utterly stupid in the first place: Apparating out of Malfoy’s house. Quite unexpectedly, it worked and before she knew it, she found herself in the room she was sharing with Ginny at the Burrow. Ginny woke up immediately after hearing the loud ‘pop’ that accompanied Hermione’s appearance.
‘Gosh, Hermione! Where have you been? Ron’s been searching for you everywhere.’
‘At least he didn’t look where I was,’ replied Hermione sourly.
‘Okay, you’re right. But you still haven’t answered my question,’ said Ginny, folding her arms across her chest.
‘I... was at somewhere Ron wouldn’t expect me to be. Happy now?’
‘All right, I won’t press you,’ said Ginny. ‘I understand that you’re angry. I mean, if Harry asked me to marry him now, I sure would be freaking out too.’
‘So you’re not involved in this, are you?’ asked Hermione sceptically.
‘Certainly not! If I knew, I’d have told him to wait for the opportune moment,’ giggled Ginny.
Hermione smiled, feeling rather relieved that at least Ginny sided with her.
‘So, do you know where Ron is?’ she asked. ‘I don’t want to run into him anytime soon.’
‘Maybe at Grimmauld Place, you know, either whining or sulking over you.’
***
Ginny was almost right because Ron did both of the above, alternately of course. He was currently at the whining.
‘Can you believe it? I did exactly what it said and she refused!’ exclaimed Ron, pacing in front of the fireplace, a book swinging in his hand.
Harry, who had been forced to listen to Ron for nearly three hours, gave a drowsy reply, ‘Yeah, I do believe it. And you’ve said that like a million times this evening.’
‘But I can’t believe it!’ yelled Ron, still pacing madly, his face as red as a tomato.
Finally, fed up with Ron’s ranting, Harry decided to get it over with. He stood up from the couch and snatched the book from Ron’s hand.
‘Hey!’ protested Ron. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Checking if you really followed the instructions, of course,’ said Harry dryly.
‘You don’t believe me? I thought you were my best friend!’ shouted Ron in frustration.
‘I’m always your best friend, Ron,’ assured Harry. ‘That’s why I tend to offer constructive criticism.’
‘Very touching!’ remarked Ron sarcastically, but gave up nevertheless. Seeing Harry flipping through the pages, he advised helpfully, ‘You should check out Chapter Ten, mate. That’s Irresistible Proposals.’
‘Okay, now... Irresistible Proposals. Part One: Choosing the Right Moment. Blah blah number six: If you two have just gone through a life-threatening experience, it’s a golden opportunity to propose. Did you follow this, Ron? Because if you did, I think you should have asked her right after the Final Battle.’
‘Yeah, I did. But just look at the next rule, will you?’
‘Ah, rule number seven: If you are to propose your girlfriend, make sure that you two have officially dated for at least three months (love at first sight or not). Otherwise, she will be scared away. So you’ve mixed these two up?’ asked Harry, trying hard to stifle a laugh. ‘That really sucks, you know.’
‘Bloody hell! Is that supposed to be constructive?’ asked Ron sulkily.
‘Well, maybe not. But listen, mate,’ said Harry, struggling to keep a straight face. ‘Seriously, I don’t think you should apply these... tricks,’ he held up Ron’s copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, ‘to Hermione.’
‘Guess you’re right. I bet the author of this book had never thought that one reason for a witch to turn down a proposal is that she hasn’t sat her N.E.W.T.s. That is just too...’
‘Hermione-ish!’ prompted Harry.
‘Exactly!’ agreed Ron bitterly.
***
Harry trudged back to the couch, exhausted. He silently thanked Mrs Weasley for summoning Ron. Unfortunately, no sooner had he tumbled onto the couch did a soot-covered Hermione step out of his fireplace.
‘Hello, Harry!’ she greeted.
‘Morning, Hermione!’ replied Harry without any sign of enthusiasm.
‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up,’ she apologised. ‘But can I stay here? You know, after what happened last night, I-’
‘It’s all right, Hermione. Just take your usual room,’ said Harry, then he began snoring even before his head hit the couch.
***
Hermione was having lunch with Harry in the dining room of Grimmauld Place. She still couldn’t quite believe her luck: She’d made it out of Malfoy Manor plus she’d had a whole Ron-free morning. Harry was reading the copy of the Daily Prophet which had been delivered that morning.
‘I fant belieeef wey shtil let rita sfeete ork at the proffe,’ he commented with a mouthful of chicken. Hermione gave him a disgusted and somewhat confused look. With some difficulty, Harry swallowed all of the food in his mouth.
‘I said, I can’t believe they still let Rita Skeeter work at the Prophet. Uhm, wait, yeah, serves him right!’
‘Serves who?’ asked Hermione from across the table.
‘Malfoy,’ replied Harry.
‘Malfoy?’ echoed Hermione. Did this have anything to do with the incident? She hurriedly took the newspaper from Harry. Phew, her name was nowhere to be found, but... Malfoy was arrested? Hermione turned to page ten to read the rest of the article. It was not much information really, just going on about how the Malfoys had always been faithful followers of You-Know-Who (It was ridiculous that they were still keen on not mentioning his name until now. That evil bastard was dead, for god’s sake!), and they were now suitably punished. At the end, there was a short paragraph about Malfoy’s arrest.
Draco Malfoy, who was under house arrest for his Death Eaters activities, has been arrested for violating a clause in his earlier sentence. Mr Malfoy, 18, was taken into custody early this morning after a sign of Apparition was detected at his house, the Malfoy Manor...
They arrested him because she had Apparated out of his house?
‘This is not fair,’ said Hermione, unaware that she was currently thinking aloud.
‘What?’ asked Harry incredulously. ‘There can’t be a more suitable place for him than Azkaban.’
‘He doesn’t deserve that, Harry,’ said Hermione. ‘Not for following Voldemort just because his life was threatened. It wasn’t something that he asked for, and you know that better than anyone else.’
‘But our lives were threatened, too. Did we bow to him? No! Malfoy always had a choice, Hermione,’ countered Harry stubbornly, then his eyes narrowed.
‘Why are you defending him anyway?’
‘I’m not defending him. I just say what I think is right. Why do boys always so easily jump to conclusions?’
She threw her arms up in the air and strode out.
Once back to her room, Hermione threw herself onto the bed and sighed. No matter what Harry said, she still didn’t think Malfoy deserved to be in Azkaban. And it didn’t help at all that it seemed to be part of her fault that he ended up in there. Okay, she could argue that if Malfoy had let her out, she wouldn’t have Apparated out of his house, hence none of these consequences would have happened. But it wasn’t his fault that she got locked in his dungeons. It wasn’t his fault he was angry at her unkind remark either. Sure, she didn’t mean it, but still...
Should she or shouldn’t she notify the Ministry about Malfoy’s innocence? It was the right thing to do, all right. But it would also produce undesirable outcomes. Hermione shuddered at the thought of what Rita Skeeter might write.
It is indeed highly questionable what a young girl like Miss Granger was doing at the Malfoy Manor at four o’clock in the morning.
Now that was just the least of her worries.
***
After three days of consideration, Hermione made up her mind to go to the Ministry. She told Harry that she needed to go to Diagon Alley to buy some books and supply for the new school year, an effective alibi. She didn’t want Harry and Ron to know yet. Actually, she had a plan up her sleeve-it wasn’t very potentially effective, to be honest, but still worth a try.
After leaving the house, Hermione went to a café to put some Concealment Charms on her face before heading for the Ministry. As she entered, Hermione found the sparkling fountain was once again taking its place in the Atrium. After asking about where to report on Malfoy’s case, she was directed to the third floor. Stopping outside a wooden door with a plaque that read Bernard Legis, Vice Head of Magical Law Enforcement Squad, Hermione took a deep breath and knocked.
***
‘I’m sorry, Miss Granger, but I am not in the position to decide this. Would you please wait for a few minutes while I go ask for permission from my superiors?’
Without waiting for Hermione’s reply, the Ministry officer walked out of the questioning room and into a small office, where he strode directly towards the fireplace, scattered some Floo powder, and spoke clearly before sticking his head into the green flame. ‘The Minister of Magic’s office!’
He was greeted by the Minister’s receptionist, who automatically said, ‘Good evening, sir. How may I help you?’
‘Please tell the Minister that there’s Bernard Legis waiting to talk to him.’
‘Certainly. Please wait for a few seconds,’ said the receptionist as she walked into the Minister’s office and came back exactly twenty-three seconds later.
‘Now I’ll connect you to the Minister’s fireplace, Mr Legis.’
Bernard Legis saw the hallway before him blur before turning into a handsomely decorated office. Kingsley Shacklebolt was already standing next to the fireplace.
‘Sir, as you had ordered me to keep you posted on Mister Malfoy’s case, I am here to inform you about the latest developments.’
‘Yes, please continue.’
‘Today, a witness has come to my office and claims that she was the one who Apparated out of Malfoy Manor. I have checked her wand with our database. It matches perfectly. However, she refuses to let her identity be known to the public.’
‘Who is she? Just tell me, I’m not the public as you put it.’
‘Hermione Granger, sir.’
Kingsley seemed to be slightly startled by the name, but then his expression turned thoughtful. After a few moments, he finally said, ‘Tell her that if she wants to be a Jane Doe, then she will be, but on one condition.’
***
It’d been three days since Draco was sent to Azkaban, and somehow watching his parents’ either listless form or insanity seemed to become the most normal thing in the world. It was the way it had to be. The Dementors still visited his mother on a daily basis, but ignored him as though he didn’t even exist. Well, they did remember to feed him, to keep him alive. I will spare your life for a while, to make you watch. Those sinister words suddenly echoed in his mind. Was fate simply playing the same game with him as he did? As if on cue, a sharp pain shot up his left arm. Although the pain didn’t last long, it struck him as odd. Now that Voldemort was gone, it was supposed to be just a mark, a mark that was used to separate the poor innocent chaps under the Imperius Curse from the evil bastards who had served him willingly. Sarcastically, there were much more powerful and terrible things than that stupid curse.
As usual, a Dementor came in, but instead of Narcissa’s cell, it stopped in front of Draco’s. As the chilly mist began to drown him and his brain was starting to go numb again, he heard it - a cold, high-pitched voice that he had become so familiar with. A flash of green light raced forwards before colliding with another light in the air, causing a mass explosion, and then... nothingness. Everything disappeared as abruptly as it came. The warmness began to come back to him. He looked up to see a silver cheetah hovering above, followed by one of the men who had arrested him.
‘There was a witness who came to clear your name this morning. From this moment on, you will be released from Azkaban,’ he announced.
***
‘Shit! He was released.’
‘Watch your language, Harry. And who was released?’ asked Hermione, trying to sound as astonished as she could, although she already knew the answer to her own question.
‘Malfoy,’ answered Harry. ‘Can you believe it? There was a girl who came to the Ministry yesterday morning and claimed that she had Apparated out of Malfoy Manor. They don’t even say her name. Isn’t this suspicious?’
‘What if it’s true? I mean, you never can tell if anyone comes to his house or not. And I’m sure that the Ministry has investigated thoroughly before letting him out.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I... guess so.’
‘Am I talking to Hermione?’
‘What?’
‘Don’t you always want concrete evidence?’
Hermione made a face. If the fact that she was the one who Apparated out of Malfoy Manor was not concrete enough, then she didn’t know what was.
‘Never mind. You’ve got letters from Hogwarts... and the Ministry,’ said Harry, slightly puzzled.
‘Why would they send me letters anyway?’ asked Hermione as she took the envelopes, once again desperately trying to fake a surprised tone. There was nothing new, just a formality to officially announce her one-year ‘imprisonment’ in Malfoy Manor with Malfoy and some details about how they would study from a distance during the year.
‘What is it?’ asked Harry.
‘My sentence to one-year ‘imprisonment’ in Malfoy Manor!’ said Hermione, a rather defeated expression on her face.
Harry’s jaw dropped all the way to the floor. ‘What?’
‘It said that for Malfoy to continue his education while under house arrest, I have been assigned as his study partner, or in other words, babysitter. So I’ll be living with him in Malfoy Manor and studying from there.’
‘You’ll be living with that slim git? Don’t worry, I swear if he does anything to you, I’ll choke him with my bare hands.’
‘You’re not afraid of leaving fingerprints?’
‘Eh... right. Maybe I’ll need to wear gloves,’ said Harry with a mock seriousness. They both laughed. When the laughter subsided, Hermione was drawn back to the reality. It was going to be a painfully long year.
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Author: leopion
Beta: Lolabri, S. A. Blossom, and olgameisterfunk
Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger
Genres: Romance, Humour, Mystery.
Spoilers: DH minus epilogue
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: As you all know, I do not own Harry Potter. And if you happen to wonder about Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, I don’t own that either.
Summary: An unexpected proposal shook Hermione to her core. Reeling, she staggered through the night and found herself in Malfoy's dungeons. Hermione thought it was the end, but it was really just the beginning...
(Written by Darkwinter999 from ff.net)
AN: This fic was inspired by marmaladefever’s Eight and Eighth. Therefore, I want to thank her for the great fic and for giving me permission to use some of her ideas from it.
Partners - Chapter 3 - Jane Doe
by Leopion
Unsuccessful escape attempts had eventually led to desperation. Hermione decided to try out an idea that she had considered utterly stupid in the first place: Apparating out of Malfoy’s house. Quite unexpectedly, it worked and before she knew it, she found herself in the room she was sharing with Ginny at the Burrow. Ginny woke up immediately after hearing the loud ‘pop’ that accompanied Hermione’s appearance.
‘Gosh, Hermione! Where have you been? Ron’s been searching for you everywhere.’
‘At least he didn’t look where I was,’ replied Hermione sourly.
‘Okay, you’re right. But you still haven’t answered my question,’ said Ginny, folding her arms across her chest.
‘I... was at somewhere Ron wouldn’t expect me to be. Happy now?’
‘All right, I won’t press you,’ said Ginny. ‘I understand that you’re angry. I mean, if Harry asked me to marry him now, I sure would be freaking out too.’
‘So you’re not involved in this, are you?’ asked Hermione sceptically.
‘Certainly not! If I knew, I’d have told him to wait for the opportune moment,’ giggled Ginny.
Hermione smiled, feeling rather relieved that at least Ginny sided with her.
‘So, do you know where Ron is?’ she asked. ‘I don’t want to run into him anytime soon.’
‘Maybe at Grimmauld Place, you know, either whining or sulking over you.’
***
Ginny was almost right because Ron did both of the above, alternately of course. He was currently at the whining.
‘Can you believe it? I did exactly what it said and she refused!’ exclaimed Ron, pacing in front of the fireplace, a book swinging in his hand.
Harry, who had been forced to listen to Ron for nearly three hours, gave a drowsy reply, ‘Yeah, I do believe it. And you’ve said that like a million times this evening.’
‘But I can’t believe it!’ yelled Ron, still pacing madly, his face as red as a tomato.
Finally, fed up with Ron’s ranting, Harry decided to get it over with. He stood up from the couch and snatched the book from Ron’s hand.
‘Hey!’ protested Ron. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Checking if you really followed the instructions, of course,’ said Harry dryly.
‘You don’t believe me? I thought you were my best friend!’ shouted Ron in frustration.
‘I’m always your best friend, Ron,’ assured Harry. ‘That’s why I tend to offer constructive criticism.’
‘Very touching!’ remarked Ron sarcastically, but gave up nevertheless. Seeing Harry flipping through the pages, he advised helpfully, ‘You should check out Chapter Ten, mate. That’s Irresistible Proposals.’
‘Okay, now... Irresistible Proposals. Part One: Choosing the Right Moment. Blah blah number six: If you two have just gone through a life-threatening experience, it’s a golden opportunity to propose. Did you follow this, Ron? Because if you did, I think you should have asked her right after the Final Battle.’
‘Yeah, I did. But just look at the next rule, will you?’
‘Ah, rule number seven: If you are to propose your girlfriend, make sure that you two have officially dated for at least three months (love at first sight or not). Otherwise, she will be scared away. So you’ve mixed these two up?’ asked Harry, trying hard to stifle a laugh. ‘That really sucks, you know.’
‘Bloody hell! Is that supposed to be constructive?’ asked Ron sulkily.
‘Well, maybe not. But listen, mate,’ said Harry, struggling to keep a straight face. ‘Seriously, I don’t think you should apply these... tricks,’ he held up Ron’s copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, ‘to Hermione.’
‘Guess you’re right. I bet the author of this book had never thought that one reason for a witch to turn down a proposal is that she hasn’t sat her N.E.W.T.s. That is just too...’
‘Hermione-ish!’ prompted Harry.
‘Exactly!’ agreed Ron bitterly.
***
Harry trudged back to the couch, exhausted. He silently thanked Mrs Weasley for summoning Ron. Unfortunately, no sooner had he tumbled onto the couch did a soot-covered Hermione step out of his fireplace.
‘Hello, Harry!’ she greeted.
‘Morning, Hermione!’ replied Harry without any sign of enthusiasm.
‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up,’ she apologised. ‘But can I stay here? You know, after what happened last night, I-’
‘It’s all right, Hermione. Just take your usual room,’ said Harry, then he began snoring even before his head hit the couch.
***
Hermione was having lunch with Harry in the dining room of Grimmauld Place. She still couldn’t quite believe her luck: She’d made it out of Malfoy Manor plus she’d had a whole Ron-free morning. Harry was reading the copy of the Daily Prophet which had been delivered that morning.
‘I fant belieeef wey shtil let rita sfeete ork at the proffe,’ he commented with a mouthful of chicken. Hermione gave him a disgusted and somewhat confused look. With some difficulty, Harry swallowed all of the food in his mouth.
‘I said, I can’t believe they still let Rita Skeeter work at the Prophet. Uhm, wait, yeah, serves him right!’
‘Serves who?’ asked Hermione from across the table.
‘Malfoy,’ replied Harry.
‘Malfoy?’ echoed Hermione. Did this have anything to do with the incident? She hurriedly took the newspaper from Harry. Phew, her name was nowhere to be found, but... Malfoy was arrested? Hermione turned to page ten to read the rest of the article. It was not much information really, just going on about how the Malfoys had always been faithful followers of You-Know-Who (It was ridiculous that they were still keen on not mentioning his name until now. That evil bastard was dead, for god’s sake!), and they were now suitably punished. At the end, there was a short paragraph about Malfoy’s arrest.
Draco Malfoy, who was under house arrest for his Death Eaters activities, has been arrested for violating a clause in his earlier sentence. Mr Malfoy, 18, was taken into custody early this morning after a sign of Apparition was detected at his house, the Malfoy Manor...
They arrested him because she had Apparated out of his house?
‘This is not fair,’ said Hermione, unaware that she was currently thinking aloud.
‘What?’ asked Harry incredulously. ‘There can’t be a more suitable place for him than Azkaban.’
‘He doesn’t deserve that, Harry,’ said Hermione. ‘Not for following Voldemort just because his life was threatened. It wasn’t something that he asked for, and you know that better than anyone else.’
‘But our lives were threatened, too. Did we bow to him? No! Malfoy always had a choice, Hermione,’ countered Harry stubbornly, then his eyes narrowed.
‘Why are you defending him anyway?’
‘I’m not defending him. I just say what I think is right. Why do boys always so easily jump to conclusions?’
She threw her arms up in the air and strode out.
Once back to her room, Hermione threw herself onto the bed and sighed. No matter what Harry said, she still didn’t think Malfoy deserved to be in Azkaban. And it didn’t help at all that it seemed to be part of her fault that he ended up in there. Okay, she could argue that if Malfoy had let her out, she wouldn’t have Apparated out of his house, hence none of these consequences would have happened. But it wasn’t his fault that she got locked in his dungeons. It wasn’t his fault he was angry at her unkind remark either. Sure, she didn’t mean it, but still...
Should she or shouldn’t she notify the Ministry about Malfoy’s innocence? It was the right thing to do, all right. But it would also produce undesirable outcomes. Hermione shuddered at the thought of what Rita Skeeter might write.
It is indeed highly questionable what a young girl like Miss Granger was doing at the Malfoy Manor at four o’clock in the morning.
Now that was just the least of her worries.
***
After three days of consideration, Hermione made up her mind to go to the Ministry. She told Harry that she needed to go to Diagon Alley to buy some books and supply for the new school year, an effective alibi. She didn’t want Harry and Ron to know yet. Actually, she had a plan up her sleeve-it wasn’t very potentially effective, to be honest, but still worth a try.
After leaving the house, Hermione went to a café to put some Concealment Charms on her face before heading for the Ministry. As she entered, Hermione found the sparkling fountain was once again taking its place in the Atrium. After asking about where to report on Malfoy’s case, she was directed to the third floor. Stopping outside a wooden door with a plaque that read Bernard Legis, Vice Head of Magical Law Enforcement Squad, Hermione took a deep breath and knocked.
***
‘I’m sorry, Miss Granger, but I am not in the position to decide this. Would you please wait for a few minutes while I go ask for permission from my superiors?’
Without waiting for Hermione’s reply, the Ministry officer walked out of the questioning room and into a small office, where he strode directly towards the fireplace, scattered some Floo powder, and spoke clearly before sticking his head into the green flame. ‘The Minister of Magic’s office!’
He was greeted by the Minister’s receptionist, who automatically said, ‘Good evening, sir. How may I help you?’
‘Please tell the Minister that there’s Bernard Legis waiting to talk to him.’
‘Certainly. Please wait for a few seconds,’ said the receptionist as she walked into the Minister’s office and came back exactly twenty-three seconds later.
‘Now I’ll connect you to the Minister’s fireplace, Mr Legis.’
Bernard Legis saw the hallway before him blur before turning into a handsomely decorated office. Kingsley Shacklebolt was already standing next to the fireplace.
‘Sir, as you had ordered me to keep you posted on Mister Malfoy’s case, I am here to inform you about the latest developments.’
‘Yes, please continue.’
‘Today, a witness has come to my office and claims that she was the one who Apparated out of Malfoy Manor. I have checked her wand with our database. It matches perfectly. However, she refuses to let her identity be known to the public.’
‘Who is she? Just tell me, I’m not the public as you put it.’
‘Hermione Granger, sir.’
Kingsley seemed to be slightly startled by the name, but then his expression turned thoughtful. After a few moments, he finally said, ‘Tell her that if she wants to be a Jane Doe, then she will be, but on one condition.’
***
It’d been three days since Draco was sent to Azkaban, and somehow watching his parents’ either listless form or insanity seemed to become the most normal thing in the world. It was the way it had to be. The Dementors still visited his mother on a daily basis, but ignored him as though he didn’t even exist. Well, they did remember to feed him, to keep him alive. I will spare your life for a while, to make you watch. Those sinister words suddenly echoed in his mind. Was fate simply playing the same game with him as he did? As if on cue, a sharp pain shot up his left arm. Although the pain didn’t last long, it struck him as odd. Now that Voldemort was gone, it was supposed to be just a mark, a mark that was used to separate the poor innocent chaps under the Imperius Curse from the evil bastards who had served him willingly. Sarcastically, there were much more powerful and terrible things than that stupid curse.
As usual, a Dementor came in, but instead of Narcissa’s cell, it stopped in front of Draco’s. As the chilly mist began to drown him and his brain was starting to go numb again, he heard it - a cold, high-pitched voice that he had become so familiar with. A flash of green light raced forwards before colliding with another light in the air, causing a mass explosion, and then... nothingness. Everything disappeared as abruptly as it came. The warmness began to come back to him. He looked up to see a silver cheetah hovering above, followed by one of the men who had arrested him.
‘There was a witness who came to clear your name this morning. From this moment on, you will be released from Azkaban,’ he announced.
***
‘Shit! He was released.’
‘Watch your language, Harry. And who was released?’ asked Hermione, trying to sound as astonished as she could, although she already knew the answer to her own question.
‘Malfoy,’ answered Harry. ‘Can you believe it? There was a girl who came to the Ministry yesterday morning and claimed that she had Apparated out of Malfoy Manor. They don’t even say her name. Isn’t this suspicious?’
‘What if it’s true? I mean, you never can tell if anyone comes to his house or not. And I’m sure that the Ministry has investigated thoroughly before letting him out.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I... guess so.’
‘Am I talking to Hermione?’
‘What?’
‘Don’t you always want concrete evidence?’
Hermione made a face. If the fact that she was the one who Apparated out of Malfoy Manor was not concrete enough, then she didn’t know what was.
‘Never mind. You’ve got letters from Hogwarts... and the Ministry,’ said Harry, slightly puzzled.
‘Why would they send me letters anyway?’ asked Hermione as she took the envelopes, once again desperately trying to fake a surprised tone. There was nothing new, just a formality to officially announce her one-year ‘imprisonment’ in Malfoy Manor with Malfoy and some details about how they would study from a distance during the year.
‘What is it?’ asked Harry.
‘My sentence to one-year ‘imprisonment’ in Malfoy Manor!’ said Hermione, a rather defeated expression on her face.
Harry’s jaw dropped all the way to the floor. ‘What?’
‘It said that for Malfoy to continue his education while under house arrest, I have been assigned as his study partner, or in other words, babysitter. So I’ll be living with him in Malfoy Manor and studying from there.’
‘You’ll be living with that slim git? Don’t worry, I swear if he does anything to you, I’ll choke him with my bare hands.’
‘You’re not afraid of leaving fingerprints?’
‘Eh... right. Maybe I’ll need to wear gloves,’ said Harry with a mock seriousness. They both laughed. When the laughter subsided, Hermione was drawn back to the reality. It was going to be a painfully long year.
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