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HP: The Unchosen One-Malfoy SI Ch.23
🕑 Added 2025-03-08 17:07:22 +0000 UTCChapter 23
HERMIONE GRANGER
The Hogsmeade trip had been rather eventful, especially with Harry finally getting permission to visit the magical village, though she had not been able to join him, for she had already made plans with Cassius, Tracey, and Daphne.
They had met up for lunch in the Three Broomsticks, but Harry had chosen to spend most of his time with Ron, Dean, and the other boys while she explored the village with Cassius and the others.
And much to her surprise, their third year at the school was proving itself to be more exciting than any of the previous years, which was not as easy as one would think given that the three of them had smuggled a literal dragon out of the school in their first year, and stopped a Dark Lord from coming back to power.
But the Third Year carried with it one surprise after another, and as she sat there in the common room with Harry and Ron, any lingering trace of anger and frustration from the Gryffindor team's exit from the Quidditch cup was long replaced by surprise, and joy at the exoneration of one Sirius Black.
“So, you are finally going to meet him next weekend,” Ron asked, and Harry nodded as he continued to stare at the letter he had received from his godfather.
“Yes, that is what Dumbledore said,” Harry replied as Ron nodded.
“That is sick, man,” Ron added, joyed by the news, as was she.
“I am happy for you Harry,” she added as her friend nodded.
“I don’t even know what to say or what to write. Dumbledore has asked me to write to him, but I don’t know what to do,” and he had never had a family, or at least one that cared for him, so she could see why he was nervous.
“Just tell him about your time at Hogwarts,” she added as he looked at her.
“About your favorite subjects, classes, teachers, and about your trip to Hogsmeade,” she added, giving him some ideas just to get started, for that was all he needed help with.
For once he got over the initial hump, he would know what to do.
“Yeah, man, just write about anything,” Ron added as he shrugged.
“Because if this letter is anything to go by, the man is rather eager to talk with you,” and indeed, that was true.
“Well, there is still time until dinner, you could visit the Owlery before going to the Hall,” she added as she stood up, for she was already late enough for their study session.
“Where are you going?” Ron asked, and she replied easily.
“To the library,” she answered. He frowned at her answer and hesitated before he finally opened his mouth.
“To meet with Mafloy and his friends,” and they were her friends as well, but she nodded nonetheless.
“Yes, why,” she asked, but she already knew the answer to that.
Ron had learned enough not to lash out and seemed to be thinking hard about what to say. His efforts were visible as he opened and closed his mouth, and when he said nothing, she began to move.
“Well, then I will be goin...”
“Wait,” he jumped up stopping her once more as she turned to face him.
“Do you really think you should be friends with him still?” he asked, and as she tried to reply he added.
“I am not speaking bad of the guy himself,” and at least they were beyond that.
“But still, you have read the Prophet as well,” he added slowly, and that did make her quiet down.
“You have read what his family did, of how his father is on the run,” and indeed she did, and a part of her wondered if it would have affected her more, if only she did not know the truth.
“Ron...” Harry cut in, much to her surprise.
“Cassius is not his father,” and she was surprised by his words, as was Ron, whose eyes widened.
“Maybe, but his father was a follower of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named,” and that maybe true.
“And Sirius was accused of being a Death Eater as well,” she added, even though the argument was weak.
“But Lucius Malfoy is guilty,” Ron cut in and she could not retort.
“Sirius was innocent,” he added, and she sighed.
“He is my friend Ron, and he is not his father, nor will he ever be,” she chose to believe in him, for he had not yet given her any reason to doubt him.
The words settled the argument, and Ron realised it as well, as he shrugged.
“So be it, just be careful with him,” he added with sigh.
“You may trust him, but I do not,” and they may have mended their friendship, but the cracks would perhaps never heal, but she nodded.
“I will be,” and as she was about to leave the dormitory, she heard Harry calling after her.
“Hermione.Hermione, wait,” and she stopped and looked back and watched Harry running after him.
“Yes,” she asked, as he stopped infront of her.
“I want you to pass on a message from me to Malfo—I mean Cassius,” and that was a surprise, but she remembered that, unlike Ron, he had even expressed a desire to meet him, yet the meeting had never materialized because of intervening circumstances.
“What message?” she asked, still curious for from what she could remember she could not remember him and Harry talking much.
“I want you to tell him ‘Thank you’ for saving my life...” and he seemed to hesitate as she nodded.
“I will mention it,” but Harry was not yet done as he looked into her eyes and opened his mouth, yet she saw him decide against it in the last moment as he shook his head.
“Yes, just tell him that,” and she nodded, curious about what he wanted to say.
“I will,” she said, and with a final nod, he turned away from her as she left for the library, and as she came upon their usual desks, she found them empty except for Cassius as she raised a brow.
“Hi,” she greeted him, and he returned her greeting, looking up from the book he was reading.
“Hi,” and she plopped down beside him as she pointed out towards the empty seats.
“Where are Daphne and Tracey?” she asked, and he shrugged.
“It’s just you and me again today. They are taking a day off,” and that was a surprise, but she nodded nonetheless, as she reached for the stack of books beside her, and began her homework, and she was surprised at how easily she was able to manage it all after giving up Divination and Muggle studies.
“You are already done,” Cassius’s voice came from the side, startling her for a second as she nodded nonetheless.
“Yes,” and he frowned at that.
“So quickly,” he said, eyeing the clock, and there was still an hour left until dinner.
“Yes, I listened to you and gave up Divination and Muggle studies,” and he seemed a bit surprised at that.
“Good for you. Those subjects are mostly useless, at least with how they are currently taught,” and she agreed with him.
“What are you working on?” she asked, as he slid over the book towards her and she frowned as she did not recognise the texts.
“What is it?” and it was rare for her not to recognize a book.
“It’s an old runes book,” and indeed the pages were thin and yellowed, showing their age, and she wondered where he had gotten such a book.
“Is this from the library?” and much to his surprise he shook his head.
“No, it's mine,” and as she skimmed through it, she found it far more advanced than their textbook.
“Why are you reading up on advanced Runes,” she was curious, for this was beyond the scope of even the OWLs.
“For my little pet project,” he replied with a yawn, and it still surprised her to see him being so nonchalant about their coursework, but she had long come to terms with it.
“Why don’t we go for a walk?” she suggested, and the weather outside was good and they had been sitting here for hours, and it would be good to get some air, witht eh added advantage of being able to talk openly.
“Sure,” he said, and they packed up their books and put them in their bags as they walked towards the track outside the grounds and began to walk.
“So, what is this project of yours that you have been working on?” and it had come up quite a few times, and she was much curious about what it was that was taking him months.
“Well, it is something that I have been working on for years,” and that made her even more curious, for what was a thing that would take him years.
“And what is it?” she asked again as she slowly kicked away a stone in their path, and when he did not answer, she looked at his face, as he gave her a conspirational smile.
“I don’t want to spoil it, but you will know soon enough. It is almost complete,” and that was a bit of a letdown, but she nodded nonetheless; after all, she could not force him to say anything.
And she was a bit surprised that there was not much to talk about between them. They could talk of spells, and theory, but she wanted to know more about him on a personal level.
“So, what are your plans for Christmas?” she asked, for November was nearing its end, and soon December would come, and Christmas was always a bit of a joy.
“Given that I will be here at Hogwarts, I would say nothing,” and the words caught her by surprise.
“You are not going home for Christmas,” for she knew for a fact that he had not stayed at the school for Christmas the last two years, very few people did.
“I am not,” he said after a small pause and the way he said those words felt a bit strange to her, for she could feel the pain in them.
“What happened?” she asked, and he looked into her eyes before he finally sighed.
“It’s my mother,” and she knew much more about her now than she had several months ago and knew that he was the closest to her in his family.
“She knows,” and the words stilled her as her feet stopped, and as did his own, as her head snapped towards him.
“What?” she asked sharply, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
“How?” she asked him again as he gave her a helpless shrug.
“It doesn’t matter now, but she either knows or at least suspects my part in exposing Peter Pettigrew,” and then it clicked why he had been so distraught following the news about his father.
“We have always spent our Christmas together, all of us. But this year, she has asked me not to come home,” he added, and she could not imagine what he was feeling right now.
“Will Draco be staying as well?” she asked, knowing that Harry would not like that, but as he shook her head, she realized his real pain.
“No, he is going back home,” and that confirmed his words from earlier about his mother’s suspicion.
From their time together, she knew Cassis cared much for his mother. She was the only person he looked up to in his family, and now she blamed him.
To have your own mother shun you like this. She could not even imagine it.
“You can join me,” she found herself offering, much to her surprise, as his eyes widened.
“We usually just have a small family dinner, and I know my parents would love to host you,” now that the words had slipped out of her mouth, she did not back down and continued even though she had not talked to her parents about this yet.
But she did not think that they would be bothered by it.
“No,” but he denied her request politely.
“I will be fine,” he assured, but she could tell that he had been devastated by this entire thing, and there was little that she could do to help him now.
“Well, enough about me, tell me what you plan to do with all your extra time...” and suddenly he cut in and changed the topic as they began walking once more, this time her hand slid into his own, as she soaked in his warmth while trying to share some of her own as they continued their walk while remaining oblivious to the lingering gazes from behind.
.
.
.
Behind them, a pair of Slytherin girls watched this rather romantic walk. The brunette chuckled as she saw the two of them holding hands.
“See, this is why I wanted to give them some time alone,” she defended her choice as the blonde rolled her eyes.
“Look at how cute and innocent they are together,” she said as she rubbed her hands excitedly.
“There is nothing innocent about Cassius,” Daphne retorted as Tracey shushed her.
“Shush! You saw how down he had been for the last few days because of the whole thing with his mother. This will cheer him up,” she said, pointing towards the couple walking together.
“Let’s hope you are right,” the blonde added as she slid out of the bushes, and the brunette soon followed after.
“Of course, I am right. You know how good I am when it comes to things like this,” and as much as Daphne would like to deny it, she did have a knack for things like this.
“Are you sure that we should not speak to him about that other thing?” Tracey asked a bit softly, and that ‘other thing’ was what had started this all and had unravelled the Wizarding world of Great Britain by exposing the hidden traitor Peter Pettigrew.
And while many speculated about who was the person who had done this, Tracey and Daphne knew that all of it was his doing, for they knew no person other than him who was capable of doing such a thing.
“No, there is a reason he did not involve us with this thing,” Daphne added, as Tracey’s face dulled, for she knew those reasons very well, for Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater, and Cassius had exposed the man, leading to his death.
And though long forgotten, it was tradition for the Death Eaters to strike back harshly at people who arrested, exposed, or attacked one of their own.
Cassius had kept them out of this to protect them and their families, for if it ever got out that they were involved in this thing, they and their families would be in much trouble.
“Are you certain that it was his doing?” she asked again, and Daphne nodded.
“I am,” and she had no reason to doubt her friend.
“But I still wonder, how did his mother figure it out?” Tracye asked for this was what bothered her most.
“I do not know, but you must remember that she is his mother,” Daphne added as they headed back to the castle.
“And she knows Cassius better than anyone else. If I could figure this out, then there is little to say that she could not....”
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Comments
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
FallenMetalGod
Thank you. There are nice, normal things going on, which is always good. However, that normally means something big is about to happen. Great job, as always, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Almaz Zakytkazy
Thanks for the chapter!
f_2004_nashef
Thx for the chapter
