If Only in My Dreams (Dramione)

Chapter 20: 12 Grimmauld Place

The next few days were awkward, to say the least. Shortly after Draco had returned Harry's handshake, Hermione had taken down the Apparation wards and they had left Draco's house, arriving at 12 Grimmauld Place, which Draco soon learned was the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry's acceptance of Draco's request had come with some stipulations. First, that Draco would not be allowed to have a wand and, second, that he would remain under tight surveillance.

Draco had agreed to both, having expected them from the start.

Draco was surprised to find that he was allowed a considerable amount of freedom within the house. He had assumed he would have been locked in a room for the duration of his stay, having contact only with Harry. Some days he thought he would have preferred that. But instead, he found himself partaking in regular group meals and had access to almost every room. He figured Hermione had intervened on his part, so he wasn't treated like a complete criminal.

Before they had arrived, Hermione had shown Harry the expansive library that Draco had enchanted to be part of his house, and Harry agreed that it should come with them, to help them in their research.

So, Draco had walked Hermione through the steps of the spell and the library of Malfoy Manor was now a welcome addition to 12 Grimmauld Place.

The house was a bustle of activity and Draco soon became accustomed to many new faces filtering in and out, at all hours of the day and night. Draco was mostly met with cold suspicion that warmed to begrudging acceptance when Hermione or Harry pleaded his case. In all, there were only a few who treated him differently.

Mrs. Weasley, who spent much of her time cooking for the group, had shaken her head sympathetically when she had seen Draco and told him he needed a good meal.

Ron continued to either ignore or insult him, causing Draco to respond likewise, although he found himself curbing his insults for Hermione's sake.

Ginny Weasley didn't say much to him, but he caught her watching him many times. At one point, when he was looking at Hermione, he caught Ginny's gaze and saw a questioning look in her eyes. From then on, Draco tried extra hard to make sure his feelings for Hermione didn't show in his face.

Lupin, who was married to Draco's cousin Tonks, had treated him the most amicably. Perhaps, being a werewolf, he felt some compassion for Draco and the particular type of monster he was viewed as being.

Harry and Draco got on surprisingly well, and Draco found he was rarely annoyed by him at all. They spent most of their time discussing plans on how Harry could find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes.

Although Draco had been received better than expected by most members of the Order, he could feel the tension rise every time he entered a room. This caused him to retreat to the library whenever he had a chance, mainly for a sense of familiarity.

So now he sat at his desk, thankful that the library had come along with him to this new, unstable territory, with books spread out in front of him. He figured it wouldn't hurt to solidify his somewhat rocky situation by finding any additional helpful information that he could.

The door to the library opened slowly and Hermione walked in.

"I thought I'd find you here," she said with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

Assuming she was referring to the injuries he had sustained from Greyback's posse and not his mental state, he shrugged. "Not bad, considering...just a bit sore. You?"

Hermione had reached the desk now and rested her hands on the chair across from him. She nodded. "I'm not noticing any pain at all. My cuts weren't anywhere near as deep as yours."