The Missing Link

The Cat Out of the Bag

Narcissa Malfoy had a stare that inspired so much fear, it nearly put Dementors to shame. She was holding a newspaper aloft—clearly she wasn't at all pleased with what she found in it.

Hermione instantly awoke from her very very short nap, her head spinning a little as she had just started slipping into unconsciousness.

"Your Highness, the Princess and I would appreciate it if you granted us some privacy," Draco said cordially. "This after all is our palace and my room."

"I have no time for false pleasantries, Draco," Narcissa seethed. "Tonight I am your mother. And I demand to know what happened in Bulgaria."

"Draco what's going on?" Hermione asked wearily, wiping her eyes.

"You mean to tell me that you have no idea what your husband has been doing while he was away?" Narcissa said angrily. "Princess, keeping him in line is one of your responsibilities. I cannot believe you let this happen."

"Mother, none of this was her fault, she has no idea," Draco said exasperatedly.

"Draco, what the hell is going on?" Hermione asked again, this time her voice tainted with worry.

"His highness had a slip-up in Bulgaria, and met with one of his women," Cissa spat. She was shaking now. She threw the newspaper on Draco's desk. Hermione froze, and suddenly started to feel uncomfortable in Draco's bed. "How many do you have Draco?! Who else are you seeing besides Pansy Parkinson?! I can't believe this! I thought I raised you better than this!"

"Mother, believe me when I say that this is not what you think it is," Draco said calmly. "Would you please calm down and give me the opportunity to explain the situation?"

Cissa breathed. For a while it seemed that she had lost control of the situation. More than that however, the way she acted made Hermione feel like Narcissa had been waiting for this to happen.

"I will listen tomorrow," Narcissa said. "For now, I believe that you have something to discuss with your wife." She closed the door behind her gently. Hermione leaped out of the bed as soon as Narcissa was gone and took the paper.

"No, please—"

"A ROYAL RENDEZVOUS: PRINCE DRACO'S DAY AWAY FROM PRINCESS HERMIONE" the headline read. The headline was right above a picture showing Pansy stealing a kiss from Draco at the airport.

Hermione tried to grab for support as the room reeled around her after reading the headline; the closest was his armchair. She wrapped herself in her robe and pulled her knees up. The room was quiet and tense for a few moments. Hermione was reading the article silently.

"Okay," she said coldly upon finishing. "Explain."

"Pansy surprised me completely," Draco began. "I didn't know she was in Bulgaria and in the same hotel nonetheless. Then, she invited me to go on a tour of the city. I was tired from the convention and trying to act like my father for three days, when in fact I still have no clue as to what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do."

"So when Pansy invited you to go out, you said yes," Hermione confirmed. "You didn't take into consideration that you had a wife back home, one that you left without reconciliation, mind you."

"That's just it, we had a fight, I was lonely—"

"And you didn't even bother to think how I would feel about all of this?" Hermione demanded. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Draco, I try to be the best as I can to fit in. And I was hoping that you saw that. I'm just like you, I try to act like I'm okay, but I'm not. You jump at the first chance of your ex-girlfriend asking you out because you felt lonely?"

Draco looked away.

"Didn't you even stop to think that I could have been lonely too? You left while we were in a fight, after all. And the first thing you did when you returned was reprimand me for being sick. Wow. Fantastic. I appreciate it a lot."

"I was just concerned—"

"Draco if that's your way of showing concern then you obviously need to get a better sense of the people around you," Hermione chastised. "You can't always get away with caring passive-aggressively."

Both of them were quiet for a while.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I could replace Pansy Parkinson. I know how much you love her," she said as she left her room. "I just wish you could have told me about this, like a proper adult, instead of hoping it doesn't come out at all."

She closed the door behind her.

"It was never my intention to hurt you," Draco whispered into thin air.

____________________________________________________________

Dragon was pretty much resigned to the fact that her mother was not the neatest person in the world. She was an artist, and therefore preferred organized chaos, as always. He'd taken it upon himself to clean up each weekend. A task as simple as organizing his mother's desk relaxed him.

He arranged the documents by date, setting on the center the ones that needed urgent attention, and put in a pile the ones that have already been dealt with. He would explain the system to her later.

While he stacked the folders, however, a brown manila envelope slipped, and the contents spilled on the floor. They were photographs, he realized as they bent to pick them up. Except they weren't regular photographs. They were photographs of Draco and Pansy: holding hands, traveling, getting cozy, eating, and others. The largest of the photos was one where they were kissing. The photo was familiar, because he had seen a cropped version of it in today's paper.

"I'm home," her mum called in a singsong voice as she swung the front door open. He could hear her scuffling just outside the room. "What a day it has been. Where are you love?"

"In your office."

Bellatrix peeked in the door, tutting like a mother about to reprimand her toddler. Dragon was leaning casually on her mahogany desk, the envelope still in his hands but not in her view. "I told you you don't have to clean up here."

"You keep saying that and yet you still thank me every time I do," Dragon said smugly. Bellatrix smirked. "I have a question though." He held up the envelope. "I found this and didn't know which pile to put it in. Would you like to tell me where I should put it."

Bellatrix's smirk fell. "In the trash, thanks."

"Mum, I saw these photos in the paper today," Dragon said. "What are you up to?"

"Patience, darling," Bellatrix said. She pecked him on the cheek and snatched the envelope from his hands. "You'll see soon enough."

The whispers became louder as soon as the owls dropped the day's edition of the Daily Prophet. The news spread like wild fire in the school. In a week, the news about Pansy seducing Draco became talk of the town. Pansy was less than happy with the result, but she'd gotten what she wanted, hadn't she? She showed him what he was missing.

She just hoped she'd done enough.

_______________________________________________________________

Pansy was already pretty used to younger Slytherins taking a step or two back upon seeing her, but now everyone did it. No one looked her in the eye. And whenever she passed by a couple, she noticed the girls hold on to their boyfriends a little tighter.

She was now a Class A scandal. It was a surprise that the professors haven't started picking on her yet. But what she was really waiting for was a chance to confront the Princess herself.

And as if she had just whispered the wish, she turned the corridor and found Hermione Granger. She looked up at her and smiled weakly. She seemed off. Her hair was in a worse state of disarray than usual. Her eyes were deeper set, swollen, and had dark circles around them. She moved so lithely and yet so gracefully, like she was trying hard not to tumble over.

"Hi, Pansy," she said to her. "Can we talk?"