HP: The Unchosen One-(Malfoy SI)

Chapter 12

HERMIONE GRANGER

After the match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, she walked to the abandoned classroom once more for their so-called Practical lesson, which had again been pushed back by a day because of the upcoming Hogsmeade visit.

Initially when she had learned about the visits, she had thought that she would visit the place with Harry and Ron. But Harry had not gotten his permission slip signed, and her friendship with Ron was under much strain at the moment.

So, it seemed that she would be visiting the ancient and historical village all by herself, which was not as enthusiastic as going with friends. She could have asked Tracey and Daphne, but it just did not feel right for some reason.

So she stayed silent and practiced the Patronus charm along with Daphne, Tracey and Cassius, who was a bit less enthusiastic about the lesson, and as she saw him clap his hands, it was time for an break.

"Ok, let's take a small break," and with that, Tracey and Daphne put down their wands as well. For while Patronus charm was their major project of the year, it was not the only thing they worked on.

They practiced charms, transfiguration, and whatever they wished to—the whole point of the lesson was to do so together.

"Should we just end the lesson right here for today?" she mentioned as she saw Cassius plop down on an empty chair, and both girls beside her shrugged as they all turned towards Cassius.

"It's just that you seem too tired for this," and he shrugged.

"I am tired, but this is nothing. I can just sit around and you guys can practise on your own," he said, but it was Tracey who spoke up.

"Don't you have a House celebration to attend to?" she asked, and indeed often times the celebrations after a Quidditch match ran wild, and lasted late into the night specially with the next day being a weekend as well.

"House Ravenclaw does not take part in such debauchery. We have too many nerds in our house for such a thing," and it was the blonde Slytherin who taunted.

"Says the biggest nerd of them all, who, after winning, is sitting here practicing magic," and she chuckled as he rolled her eyes.

"Your team won last weekend from what I can recall," and Daphne did not mind as she raised a brow.

"Unlike you, I was not part of the team," and that was true.

"She is right about that," she added, and he chuckled.

"And I will, like it to be known on the record that I was made to join the team forcefully," and that was a surprise to her.

"So, about the lesson?" he asked as the two Slytherin added.

"Let's end it here for today. We can continue next weekend," he nodded.

"So be it. You can leave if you want. I will clean up," he said, and they both walked out of the room while she stayed to help him clean up.

"You can go as well. I can clean up by myself," he said, but she shook her head as she began to push back the chairs and dummies.

"No, it's fine," it was not like she had much to do after going back. Well, she had homework, but she did not want to tackle it all today.

She did not miss his eyes following her as she put back the chairs before he spoke up suddenly.

"So, how is Harry?" she asked, seeming a bit taken aback by the question as she turned towards him.

"Fine, why?" she asked.

"I know that he must have been devastated by the loss he suffered from my brother," he began, and she nodded in understanding.

"Yes, he was," the whole House was in a way, and now after, seeing Ravenclaw play as well as they had, she wondered if their House still had a chance of winning the Quidditch championship.

"Still, I never knew you were such a good Quidditch Player. But why didn't you play in the Second year," he sighed as he pushed his hand through his hair, and unlike Ron and Harry, they were cut and combed to perfection, as he answered in a lazy tone.

"I am not actually that big a fan of the game and had no intention of playing until Clearwater forced me to," and she frowned.

"Clearwater?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, she is a prefect and kind of bullied me into joining the team," and she chuckled at that, making him frown.

"Why do you find that funny?" he asked, and she clasped her lips at once, though he did not remove his eyes, so she answered.

"It's just that I find it odd that a Malfoy can be bullied so easily," and indeed, she could not imagine someone bullying Draco.

"Oh, you have no idea," and there was something rather odd about that tone as she finished cleaning up.

"So, we are done?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, it seems we are," and then, before she could leave, he suddenly called after her once more.

"Granger, wait," she stopped and turned to face him again.

"Since we are free, why don't I help you catch up with things we mastered in the last couple of years," and she frowned at that. Though she was just going to waste the next hour and a half otherwise, and learning new spells was far better than that.

"But aren't you tired?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"For this type of stuff, it won't matter much," and the offer was tempting. She had read the list and had been fascinated by just how ahead the three of them were, and so after a bit of thinking, she nodded and joined him once more.

"Ok, so why don't we begin with the basics of chantless magic," she wondered how he knew of the thing that had fascinated her the most.

And so, the lesson began, as he helped her cast a few spells without chants. Basic spells, like Lumos and the Disarming charm, but she found it odd as she lost herself in the lesson.

As the lesson continued, it began to dawn on her about just the kind of situation she was in. A year ago, she could hardly have imagined herself alone with a Malfoy, and yet a few months later, here she was, standing in a room alone with a Malfoy, and she realized just how much life had changed for her.

After an hour, she was quite capable of doing the two spells without chants as he stood opposite to her, she focused on his wand and focused on the spell she wished to chant as she made a quick half circle.

WHIP!

And so it happened as Cassius's wand took to the air, and she jumped and caught it right in her hand.

"YES! I DID IT!" she jumped up in joy at her achievements as Cassius clapped from the other side.

"That was quite impressive," and he walked upto her, and she felt her face flush in embarrassment as she realized what she had done.

"Here," she handed him back his wand, noticing how it was quite different from hers.

"It's white," she noticed, and he nodded.

"Yes, because of the wood. Its yew," he answered, and she nodded as he pocketed the wand.

"So, before we go, I wanted to ask you something," he began, and she nodded as he looked into her eyes.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

0000

NARCISSA MALFOY

Life had changed a lot over the years. She had gone from being Narcissa Black to Narcissa Malfoy. Marrying Lucius had thrust her into a war she had little interest in.

She was born a Black into one of the richest and most influential families of Great Britain, and yet now few even remembered the family which had once held great prominence in the wizarding world.

Though they were not the only ones who had vanished as a result of the war, the Whites, the Mckinnons, and even the Potters, for that matter, all these families that once boasted half a dozen members to their names, had been decimated.

It was a loss. A great loss. She had lost friends and family to that war, losing her sisters, her cousins, her parents. The war had taken it all from them.

And though her husband might not be happy to hear it as such, she found the current era to her liking. She found the peace to her liking, and unlike his own ambition and desire of seeing the Dark Lord return, she held nothing of the sort.

For she knew that if such a day were to come, her family would be torn apart.

And while she would never abandon Lucius despite her distaste for the Dark Lord, she feared that one of her sons shared no such loyalty.

"It seems our son has made us proud," Lucius added as he finished reading the letter, and put it back on the table as they are their breakfast.

"Draco has just led his team to victory against the Gryffindors," and she had read of it as well and was perhaps just as proud of their eldest as Lucius.

"Though I do wonder if you helped him buy that new broom?" Lucius asked. While they were rich, that was a big purchase and a waste of money for a school competition.

"No. I did not," she answered truthfully, making him frown.

"Then how did Draco save enough to buy a Firebolt?" he asked, both impressed and surprised by their eldest's acquisition of the latest Broom.

"Perhaps he had some money saved," she suggested, and Lucius scoffed.

"Perhaps," she answered, knowing that it would not be wise of her to divulge Cassius's savings to him.

"Though might I add, that he was not the only one who won a Quidditch match," she added, and saw Lucius's lips thin at the mention of their second son, as he answered with much less enthusiasm.

"Yes, he mentioned that Cassius has also joined the Ravenclaw team," and it still did not sit right with him that their son had been sorted into a House other than Slytherin.

"Yes, and they have just won their first match against Hufflepuff as well," she had received a letter today telling her about the match and all.

"Yes, that is good for him," but the enthusiasm was far lesser than what it had been for their eldest.

And that was the reality of her life, for the war that had once torn apart her family was not yet over. Its vestiges still lingered, and a part of it lingered right here in this mansion infront of her eyes.

"I have also received some other concerning word about our other son as well," and she raised a brow.

"What?" she asked. Lucius's lips thinned as he looked into her eyes.

"That he has been fraternizing with a mud blood of all people," and she closed her eyes, knowing that Draco might have let it slip in one of his letters. Either this was deliberate or a mistake she did not know. However, she prayed that it was a simple mistake.

"It is a school. I doubt he can choose who he might get paired up with," she suggested hoping that it would slide over.

"No, but we both know that it is more than that," Lucius added, and she had known that such a day might one day come. And she had hoped that it would not come for years and years.

"He is a young boy. Let him do as he wishe..." and Lucius shook his head.

"And let him tarnish our family name. My name," he voiced out coldly as she put down the cup and looked into his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how it would reflect on me? On us. On our family. To have my own son making friends with a mudblood of all people," and she knew his fears.

"He is our son," she added, and Lucius's lips thinned. For all his distaste, she knew that he did care for Cassius, perhaps less than Draco, yet he did care.

"And that is why you must control him," he suggested, knowing full well that of the two of them, it was her who could influence their youngest.

However, in this matter, she knew that she would fail.

Cassius had always been a strange boy, too quiet, too observant, and too opinionated. He reminded her so much of her two cousins, Sirius and Regulus, not just because of his hair and eyes but because, in many ways, a blend of the two.

He was quiet and studious like Regulus but had a tongue and mind as sharp as the older Sirius. He also ascribed to Sirius's idealogy, and though she still wondered how the boy never really cared about the idealogy of the dark Lord.

No. It was not apathy that he held for the idealogy of blood supremacy. He had loathed it. He had always had, and that much was obvious to them all, but she had prayed and hoped that this would fade over the years.

But her prayers had gone unanswered, and the divide between him and Lucius had only gotten wider and wider as he grew up and became bolder and bolder in his defiance.

"And what if I can't?" she asked, fearing how Lucius may answer.

"Then, I must do what I can to protect this family...." she closed her eyes as Lucius rose from his chair and walked away, as she sat there sighing at the dilemma she now faced.

She loved her son. Cassius had always been her son. While Draco looked upto his father, Cassius had always gravitated towards her. He was mature, smart, and more perceptive than any child she had ever seen, but he was also too stubborn and headstrong.

"Why must you do this, Cassius?" she whispered to the air as she lamented his decisions, knowing full well what it would one day lead to.

0000

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