The Silver Envelope

The Safest Place

Hermione paced in her office, unable to sit still. Draco's eyes watched her, tracking her agitated
movements
Harry had shown up with two other Aurors to sweep the flat, informing her that she should wait at the Ministry for them to finish.
It was getting late now. She should probably tell Draco to go home, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say it. She'd missed him since the wedding. And now, after discovering that someone had possibly broken into her flat, she felt a horrible sense of dread. Her personal space had been invaded. Who knew what else the intruder had done in there?
As she passed by Draco for the umpteenth time, he caught her wrist. She stopped to look at him, surprised by the calm look on his face.
"Breathe, Hermione," he said quietly. "You're safe right now. We're alright. We're going to sort this all out."
She felt herself take a deep breath. Her eyes didn't move from his. His hand engulfed hers, his thumb marking slow circles on her skin. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded as she exhaled deeply.
"I should take some of my calming potion," she muttered.
"Where is it?" he asked.
"Desk drawer."
He stood, letting her hand go as he retrieved the potion from her desk. He popped the cork of it and watched her take a large gulp. A loose, languid feeling began to uncurl in her gut. She took several more deep breaths while the magic circulated, finally reaching her fingertips with a buzzing sense
of peace.
Hesitantly, he reached up and pushed her hair back behind her ear. Hermione looked up at him.
They hadn't been this close in so long. His sharp, pale features were strangely comforting to her.
Suddenly, she found herself wondering how long Harry would take to search her flat, not because she wanted him to finish soon, but because she wanted to prolong this moment alone with Draco.
But then he stepped back, his face slipping into a mask of casual blankness as her office door
opened.
"Hermione! Are you alright?"
Ginny barreled into her, bringing her into a tight hug. Behind her, Ron walked into her office, his eyes narrowing when he saw that Draco was still with her
"Yes, I'm alright," Hermione said.
Hermione hugged her friend back, her ire with her melting away. She'd forgiven Draco, after all.
"Harry told me what happened," Ginny said. "We were too worried to stay at home."
"You didn't have to come, Ginny," Hermione said. "Harry's taking care of it."
Ginny caught sight of Draco then. Her eyes brightened.
"I see," she said, and Hermione wasn't sure she was responding to her statement about Harry. She turned back to Hermione and demanded to hear the details of what had happened.
Hermione filled her in on their trip to follow Ignoma's trail, then to her flat to research elfish magic, where they'd discovered the missing notes and the overturned flowerpots. Ginny looked thoughtful.
"That is suspicious. But it might be nothing. Couldn't you have misplaced the notes?" Ginny said hopefully.
Hermione shook her head.
"I'm absolutely certain they were there when I left this morning."
Voices met their ears then, coming from down the hall. Harry was giving instructions to the other Aurors, presumably to follow up on what they'd found at her flat. By the time he entered Hermione's office and saw everyone grouped together and waiting for him, the other two Aurors had gone elsewhere. To Hermione's surprise, Harry was holding Crookshanks in his carrying basket. He set the annoyed cat down inside her office.

"Alright," Harry said with a large breath. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but you can't go back there tonight. We found something concerning."
Hermione's chest felt tight at his words. Harry licked his lips nervously, facing Hermione.
"The teabags in your kitchen were all dusted with a powdered substance. We sent it out to be analyzed, but it was likely some sort of poison, judging by the dark magic we detected," Harry said. "If you'd made yourself a cup of tea tonight, there's no telling what might have happened to you.
The floor fell out from underneath her. Ginny's arm wrapped around her waist for support.
"Did you find anything else?" Draco asked. "Surveillance devices? Anything stolen?"
Hermione felt dizzy as Harry answered, "No surveillance devices, thank god. But in order to determine if anything else was stolen, Hermione will have to go back and take a look around. I can go with her tomorrow
Hermione nodded absently.
Poison. Someone had tried to kill her.
Harry was still talking.
"Unfortunately, we attracted a bit of attention while we were there. Some reporters saw us," he said with a grimace. "I think they were hoping to catch you, Hermione, and ask whether you'd listened to Johanna's show."
She'd completely forgotten that the radio show would be on tonight.
"Do they know what you were there for?" Ginny asked.
"I don't think so, but things like this have leaked before," Harry said, an annoyed grimace on his face. "But whatever they print, we'll deal with it tomorrow. For tonight, we'll need to decide where you'll be staying."
Crookshanks meowed from his basket. The weight of Harry's statement slammed into her like a Bludger.
Of course. She wasn't going home tonight. Possibly not for a long time.
"We can set up a safe house for you," Harry suggested tentatively.
"No," Hermione heard herself saying. "No, I can't just hide away in a safe house. I won't be able to work I...I.
It was becoming difficult for her to breathe again. A safe house would mean that she would be locked away, not allowed to leave without Aurors dogging her every step. She would suffocate, and the missing house elves would never be found.
"You can stay with us, Hermione," Ginny said promptly. "Come live at Grimmauld Place for a while."
"She should come back to our flat, in case any reporters find her," Ron countered. Hermione didn't miss his use of the word "our." She pursed her lips. That flat hadn't belonged to her for some time now. He cleared his throat and finished, "Y'know, to keep up appearances."
"But whoever's after her will certainly go there first," Ginny said. "It's not safe."
"They'd probably try to find Grimmauld Place too," Ron said. "That house isn't exactly a secret
anymore."
The arguing voices began to overlap around her. Hermione felt dizzy and clammy, overwhelmed by the choices in front of her. Ron raised his voice over Ginny's, and Hermione had to grip the desk for support.
A deep voice broke through the others, leaving an astonished hush in its place.
"She'll be staying with me," Draco drawled lazily, sounding as though it were a given.
The room was silent at the cold pronouncement. Hermione turned to him in shock.
Draco looked perfectly relaxed bored, even. He was looking directly at Harry.