why it was that Harry was awkward with her, even now, when Draco never was, never made a single move that didn't seem purposeful and meant, or a single hesitant gesture, and why did she have to think about him right now when she should be thinking of nothing but Harry?
'I'm sorry,' he said gently. 'After all you've been through, and I'm blithering on about letters and Malfoy and nothing very important…'
'I don't want to talk about Malfoy,' interrupted Hermione tearfully, stood up, and kissed him. She felt his hands slide up her arms, the familiar pressure as he cupped the back of her head, reaching up to pull the chopsticks out of her hair and tossing them aside, letting her hair fall down around them. He was still Harry, so familiarly Harry in that way that wrenched at her heart, the feel of him the same, the fine slender bones of his hands and wrists and face, the untidy hair that brushed her hands. She slid her fingers lightly down his back, knowing she ought to touch him, but feeling as if she hadn't any right…
This is worse than the Cruciatus Curse, Hermione thought miserably.
This is awful.
'Hermione,' said Harry softly, pulling away from her.
'What?'
'You're crying.'
'I'm sorry…'
'No. Don't be.' He pulled her closer to him, threading his hands into her hair, and kissed her eyes and the tip of her nose. 'It's all right,' he said. 'I'm never going to not trust you again.'
But it's not all right, Harry, she thought miserably. It is very much not all right.
They both heard the door being opened at the same time, and turned their heads to see Charlie enter, carrying what looked like a pile of clothes. He glanced at them, and said resignedly, 'At it again, are we?'
'We're not 'at' anything,' said Harry, with dignity, although he stepped away from Hermione. 'We were just talking.'
'That's right,' said Charlie, with a grin. 'You just got to talking, suddenly tripped, and fell on each other's lips. Happens all the time.' He tossed the pile of clothes onto the bed, and said, 'Hermione, I've brought you and Ginny some old t-shirts to sleep in.
I'm sorry if they're a bit ratty, but it's all I've got. Harry, get along with you. Back to the boys' tent.'
'Goodnight, Harry,' said Hermione, a little too quickly. She felt, rather than saw, Harry look at her with a quizzical expression on his face, but she didn't return his glance.
He bent and kissed her lightly on the temple. 'Sleep well,' he said.
Remus Lupin had never before been to Malfoy Manor, but he if he had, he would have been astonished upon arriving there, battered leather case in tow, to see how much it had changed.
The giant spiders were gone, as was the vicious attack topiary, the spiky portcullis, the magical land-mines and the Jigsaw Hexes. The Bottomless Pit was still there, although Aurors from the Ministry of Magic had surrounded it with blinking signs that read 'Danger: Approach And Risk Hurtling Through Empty Space For All Eternity.'
The Venus Flytraps and black hedgerows starred with malignant-looking flowers had been replaced with neat herbaceous borders that would one day sprout daisies, if Narcissa had her way.
When Lupin Apparated into the drawing-room, he found Sirius waiting for him there, wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and an ear-to-ear grin. 'Harry's all right!' he announced, by way of a greeting. 'So is Draco.'
'They're all right?' echoed Lupin, astonished and relieved 'How do you know?'
'I owled Ron Weasley yesterday,' said Sirius, taking Lupin's case from him and indicating that his friend should follow him upstairs.
'I figured if anyone might know where Harry would be, his best friend would. Anyway, I got a letter back this morning from Charlie Weasley — they were with him at that dragon camp he runs. I owled him back, and he's sending them home tomorrow morning. He says they're all perfectly fine.'
'They went to look for Hermione,' Lupin said, feeling both relieved and disquieted. 'Didn't they?'
'Yes, and she's with them now,' said Sirius, turning a corner. As they passed through the halls of the Manor, Lupin noted the suspiciously light square patches on the walls where various portraits had been removed, and the score marks along the floors where heavy furniture had been dragged away. 'And according to Charlie, they're all in excellent health. Of course, when Harry gets here tomorrow, I'm going to kill him, so the point is moot.'
Despite his feeling of anxiety, Lupin laughed.
'What?' said Sirius.
'You,' said Lupin. 'Being a disciplinarian.'
'I know,' said Sirius gloomily, pausing in front of a large oak door and pulling a ring of keys out of his pocket. 'What can I tell him?
'When I was your age, I never would have dreamed off sneaking away from school in the middle of the night and not telling anyone where I was going, and oh, by the way, there's a spot on the North Tower that affords an excellent view right into the Ravenclaw girls' showers.''
'I think it was the Hufflepuff girls,' said Lupin. 'Not that I know what you're talking about, because I don't.'
'And then there's Draco,' Sirius added, even more gloomily. He found the correct key and inserted it into the lock. The door swung open. 'I haven't the faintest idea what to say to him, and Narcissa won't be any help. She feels so guilty about Lucius and everything that happened that she wouldn't discipline him if he burned the house down.'
Lupin whistled as they walked into the room beyond the door. It was Lucius' library; an enormous, hexagonal room with a ceiling that disappeared into darkness and dust motes far above. Huge bookshelves lined the walls, reaching so high above their heads that the tallest shelves could only reached by climbing the carved mahogany ladders, kept upright by magic, that were ranged around the room at intervals. Lupin could tell just by looking at the spines of the books that many of them were incredibly ancient and rare.
