Draco Malfoy and the Deathly Hallows (BOOK 7 of 7)

Chapter 11-The Sword

The Golden Trio appeared with a crack in front of a familiar building. There was a rumble as number 12 Grimmauld Place broke out from between 11 and 13.

Hermione raised her wand as she opened the door and walked in. "Lumos," she whispered. The hallway ahead was clear so she beckoned for Harry and Ron to follow her.

The quietly made their way into the living room and turned on the lights.

"Let's get some rest," Herimone suggested. "We've had a taxing day."

With a yawn, Ron asked, "What time is it?"

"Must be after midnight," Harry told him. "C'mon, I'll take the armchair."

Hermione made her way across the room. "I'll be back with some pillows and blankets." She climbed the stairs slowly, just in case Kreacher was still around, and found herself back in her old room. She grabbed the necessities from her and Ginny's old beds as well as the spares in the wardrobe before returning to the living room.

"Here," she handed out the bedding. "I'll take the couch, if you don't mind, Ronald."

The redhead just shrugged. "That's fine, I was going to ask if you can transfigure this table into a mattress."

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem."

"Alright, I'm off to the loo."

"Harry, can you help me with this?" No response. "Harry?" Hermione looked over to find her best friend staring off into space as he mindlessly situated an ottoman at the foot of the reclining chair.

"Harry!"

He jolted and turned to her. "Sorry, I was just remembering...."

"Sirius?" Hermione guessed.

"I hadn't heard a single thing about him since he was captured. And then the Daily Prophet at the end of last year published that article about 'the rightful death of a fugitive,' but who knows if that was just Death Eater propaganda? On the other hand, maybe I'm being too hopeful."

"There's no such thing as too much hope," Hermione said. "I mean, it hurts when you're disappointed, but it's better than thinking negatively the whole time and therefore not putting in any effort."

Harry sighed as he sat down. "And what about you? You must really miss your family."

And Draco, she thought.

"After this war is over, I plan to go to Australia and give them their memories back."

Frowning, Harry asked, "Can that be done?"

"Not to my knowledge. But I have to figure it out." Hermione finished transfiguring the table into a bed.

"Oh, sorry, I should have helped you," Harry told her.

"It's fine. Anyway, I've been thinking how there's no way their memories are really gone forever."

"Hope," Harry simply said.

"Hope," Hermione repeated.

"Hope," Ron spoke as he re-entered the room. "Clearly I missed something."

"Just remembering our family," Hermione explained.

Ron approached the makeshift bed. "Thanks, Hermione." As soon as they were all settled, he turned off the lights with the Deluminator and they were fast asleep with no idea who was also asleep just up the stairs.

The following morning, Draco woke to the sound of clanging down below. Groaning, he pulled on a robe and made his way downstairs.

"For Merlin's sake, what the bloody hell is that?" he shouted as he approached the kitchen. To his surprise, it was Wormtail fumbling around while Snape was putting together a potion.