Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hermione stood down the street from the Hog's Head, reluctant to enter. The last time she had been there had been the night they had destroyed Voldemort. And the night she had also learned the ugly truth about Albus Dumbledore, something that had been hard for her to accept. But she knew that if anyone had the answers, it would be Aberforth.

Pulling her hood over her head so she would not be recognized, she walked towards the tavern.

The interior was dark and dirty, every bit as seedy as she remembered from her Hogwarts' days. Taking a seat at the bar, she was careful to ensure that her bare skin didn't touch anything.

Aberforth took his time getting to her. "What'll it be?" he asked in a bored tone of voice.

"I need some information. Do you have a few minutes?" she said quietly, not wanting to be overheard or recognized.

"Hmph. I heard you were back," he said gruffly as he picked up a dirty glass and wiped it out with a dirtier rag.

"Please, it's important," she implored. She knew of no one else she could turn to for help.

He glanced around a moment. "Come back in an hour. Come to the side door."

She spent that hour wandering around Hogsmeade, amazed by how much of it looked the same – apparently untouched by the battle. Businesses that had closed under Voldemort were open and flourishing along with several new ones. Signs of rebirth were everywhere, making her more aware than ever of the stagnation in her life.

She froze as she approached what had once been Zonko's. It was now Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Deciding she still wasn't ready to face Ron, she quickly turned back the way she had come. Because she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing, she bumped into someone hard enough that she fell backwards.

Ron caught her before she fell over. "Hermione! What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you, too, Ron," Hermione replied sarcastically as she straightened her cloak.

"Oh! Er... Welcome back. It's... er... good to see you." He mussed his hair as he ran his hand through it, clearly uncomfortable with meeting her unexpectedly.

Hermione decided to take control of the conversation and get the awkward moment out of the way. "Congratulations to you and Lavender."

"Oh, thanks. You wouldn't..." He shifted nervously, unable to finish the question or look her in the eyes.

She deduced that he was trying to ask her if she was interested in attending the wedding and pre-empted, "No, that's okay, but thanks for the offer. I hear you and George are doing well," she said to change the subject and pointed towards their new shop.

He smiled proudly. "Yup. Business is booming. Everything's been getting steadily better since all the fuss died down. What are you up to?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm still getting used to being back. It's only been a few days, but I have a lot of options." Knowing her hour was almost up, she added. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied uncomfortably to her retreating back.

She mused that it hadn't been that awkward – at least for her. She wasn't entirely sure that Ron had moved on from her, but at least she knew for sure that she had made the right decision by walking away from a relationship with Ron. Besides, she was young. It wasn't like she had to find the right man for her right now.

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When she knocked on the side door, Aberforth answered it right away and led her to the sitting room. "So what is it you want to know?" he asked without preamble.

"I was wondering what you could tell me about Abraxas Malfoy," she replied simply.

"Abraxas?" he asked in shock. "Why do you want to know about him? He's been dead for years."

"I know that. If you could, I just think it's important." The less she had to explain to him the better, not that she thought he would go around telling people she was trying to reconvict Lucius Malfoy.

"I thought you'd be asking about Lucius. That'd make more sense," he said as though he knew why she was there.

"If you don't have any information about Abraxas then I won't waste your time," she replied curtly and rose to leave.

"Sit down, girl!" Aberforth said gruffly. "I didn't say I didn't have information. I'm just surprised you'd be interested in Abraxas. Anything particular you want to know?"

"What was he like? Was he into the Dark Arts and such?"

Aberforth snorted. "Wouldn't be a Malfoy if he wasn't. All those Slytherins are into the Dark Arts to some degree. As to what sort of person he was, if you think Lucius was bad, his father was ten times worse. Back in the days of... Grindelwald there was a segment of the wizarding world that wanted to join with him. Abraxas was one of them, and he was pulling strings in the Ministry trying to make it happen. They never got enough support to put their plan in motion, but that didn't stop Malfoy from working behind the scenes. For a while there he was the Minister in everything but name."

"He used the Imperius?" Hermione asked, sitting on the edge of her seat.

"No, that's all but impossible. Too many Aurors are around the Minister, and they would notice that. Malfoy had the Minister blackmailed. Thankfully for the rest of us the Minister died unexpectedly, leaving Malfoy out of direct power. But that's the same strategy he used to build up his empire. He bribed and blackmailed his way to the top. Ministry decrees were passed that would hurt his competition. Oh, the Malfoys have always been rich, but he really expanded their reach and their fortune. Lucius is nothing compared to his father. He likes to pretend to be like Abraxas, but he's always fallen far short."

She knew how ruthless and cold-hearted Lucius could be. After all he had tried to kill Ginny and had shown nothing but hostility towards Muggle-borns. How anyone could be worse than that, she didn't know.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking. And believe you me, it could be worse. To the best of my knowledge Lucius has never had anyone murdered. Oh, he's threatened curses and cursed a few families, things of that nature, and he's spread his share of social lies, but Abraxas wouldn't bat an eye at having one of his rivals disappear. And had he gotten his way... Well, let's just say that I don't think you would have ever ended up at Hogwarts. Is that enough information for you?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow, almost daring her to ask for more.

She was still trying to digest how a person could be that horrible and still be respected publicly, but she forced herself to ask, "How did he treat Lucius?"

Aberforth gave her a knowing smile. "Naturally he expected Lucius to follow in his footsteps and tried to instill his cruel nature. Lucius pretty much had his life laid before him from childhood. It wasn't until after the first war with Voldemort that Abraxas stepped into the shadows. I think he was devastated that he wouldn't get a chance to finally implement his anti-Muggle ideas. He stepped out of the limelight after Lucius was exonerated, supposedly in ill health, but I know better. He was perfectly healthy until unexpectedly dying of dragon pox." Aberforth stared into space above her head, as though remembering something from the past.

Could it really be possible? Could Lucius have been telling the truth about being forced to become a Death Eater? But even if he had, he clearly did support the pureblood superiority ideals. "Do you think that Abraxas pushed his son to be a Death Eater?" she asked cautiously.

Aberforth rubbed his chin in thought. "I honestly don't know. I wouldn't put it beyond Abraxas, but Voldemort gathered up a lot of the young men from Slytherin. It's just as likely that Lucius joined because it was the vogue thing to do. He's made no secret of espousing the Slytherin belief that purebloods are better. Does that answer your question?" He gave her a knowing smile, very much like his late brother's.

"As much as you could. You've given me the information I wanted, and I'll have to determine if it answers my question or not."

"Well, I'd best get back to the bar," he said by way of dismissing her and showed her to the door.

After she left, she walked aimlessly down the street and out of town. She wasn't sure where she wanted to go. The deeper she dug into the Malfoy past, the more likely it seemed that Lucius was telling the truth – as unlikely as that had seemed. Even presented with this compelling evidence, she just didn't want to believe him. It was much easier for her to believe that he was evil, that he had willingly become Voldemort's servant and relished that position of power in the shadows, and that he was just waiting for his opportunity to show his true colors.

She sighed as she realized she had walked nearly to the Shrieking Shack. There was really only one thing left for her to do – she would have to speak with Lucius Malfoy. Since it was getting late, she would wait until tomorrow when she was reasonably sure that she would not be interrupted by Harry or Ginny.

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Ringing the bell at number 12, Grimmauld Place, she forced herself to be calm. She had to approach this objectively no matter how much she despised Malfoy and thought he was liar.

Lucius opened the door. "Miss Granger, I regret to inform you that neither Mr. Potter nor Miss Weasley are here."

"That's fine. I didn't come to see them. I came to see you," she stated calmly.

Lucius looked confused. "Me?"

She thought she could almost see a flash of panic in his eyes. "Yes, you. I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

As though he knew what she wanted to ask about, he said coldly, "I have already satisfied both the Ministry and Mr. Potter."

"I know that. But you haven't satisfied me," she replied firmly. "If you are going to be difficult, I'll just get Harry to order you to answer my questions. It's really easier if you do it voluntarily, don't you think?"

He sighed knowing that she would get her way. "Very well." Standing aside, he held the door open for her and followed her down the kitchen. He sat at the table across from her.

Just like with Aberforth, she was not offered anything to eat or drink, but then again Malfoy was Harry's servant, not hers. He said nothing, forcing her to make the first move. "I reviewed the record of your trial." Pausing, she gauged his reaction, but there was none. "You claim that you had no choice in becoming a Death Eater." She waited for affirmation, but there was none. While she hadn't expected him to offer up his life story, she had expected some level of cooperation.

She sighed and decided to get to the point. "Did your father force you to become a Death Eater?"

"You read the transcript of my hearing," he replied evasively.

She slammed her hands on the table and jumped to her feet so she was looking down at him. "Damn the transcript! Your life has been full of nothing but despicable acts. You bullied the Hogwarts' Governors into removing Dumbledore so that Slytherin's heir could get on with killing the Muggle-borns and half-bloods. You attacked a bunch of children in the Ministry. I know that you lied to the Wizengamot the last time. Imperius Curse, my arse! That was the easy, coward's way out."

"Easy?" he growled menacingly as he rose to his feet and leaned over the table so that he was staring her in the eyes. "You think that was the coward's way out? You know nothing about my life. That was anything but the coward's way out."

When he didn't elaborate, she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "I find that hard to believe." She was going to force him to defend himself. And by getting him emotional, she was more likely to get the truth out of him.

"You have been in the wizarding world for a handful of years. You know nothing about our history that you did not read in a book. Even now, you have never really been in the wizarding world. You fled Britain as soon as the war was over," he said accusatorially, regaining his seat.

"I did not flee!" she replied defensively. "I owed it to my parents to bring them home as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible? You spent nearly a year hiding from the reality here in Britain. You have no right to judge me. Potter and the Wizangamot have taken me at my word, yet you still live in the past trying to judge me for my past actions."

"And you had some epiphany that makes you a better citizen?" she asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You, who defended Severus Snape many times to your friends, are now unwilling to believe that a person can change?" he shot back.

"You bet I am. You only do what is best for you. Once you saw that Harry was going to prevail, you switched sides."

"You're wrong," he said quietly.

"Excuse me?" she asked, leaning forward, not entirely sure she had heard him correctly.

His piercing grey eyes bore into hers. "You're wrong. You have no idea the horrors of Azkaban. What he did to Draco... " He shuddered and after a few moments of silence where his focus seemed to be elsewhere, he continued. "Changed me. It is true that my father wanted me to be a Death Eater. I will not lay the blame entirely with him, though. When the Dark Lord began gathering followers, it was not as an army of destruction, but a group dedicated to preserving wizarding purity – something I had been raised to believe in. As time went on, it... changed. The Death Eater name was adopted, and it became clear that he wanted to take over through violence, that operating behind the scenes was no longer an option. At that point, I was trapped. To leave would mean death or dishonor if I could possibly hide from him – as unlikely as that was. I ingratiated myself to him, trying to keep my hands clean of direct violence. But at the same time, I tried to plan my escape, find a way to maintain family honor. If I could not do that, I knew that I might as well be dead because my father would see to that if I did anything to dishonor the family.

"When the Dark Lord returned, I was once again faced with the choice of join him or die. As I am quite fond of living, I chose the former. Again, I tried to keep my hands clean of the violence, but obviously failed at the Ministry. I underestimated Potter and the rest of you and paid for it. While in Azkaban, I had nothing but time to think. I knew without a doubt that supporting him was wrong, but I had no escape."

"Only because you had been abandoned!" she shot back at him.

"No! Because what he was doing was wrong. What the group of you showed me is that blood doesn't matter. A group of... misfits was able to best some of the most talented purebloods. In prison I began to rethink everything that I had been taught, everything that my father had pounded into me as the way things should be. It was then that I realized Voldemort was going to fail – that he was blind to the truth.

"When I was finally released from Azkaban, I saw how right I was. Bella had offered him my home, something I could not change and something that I wouldn't have been able to prevent had I been there. I was a prisoner in my home, forced to watch the genesis of the horror he wrought." He stared into the distance, as though reliving events.

"I did everything in my power to resist him. I tried to keep my family safe and out of the battle."

"Well you failed with Draco. He tried to kill us," she said sarcastically.

"Did he? Or was it one of the others? Unfortunately, Draco was given a very difficult burden at a young age. My failure and the price he had to pay for it have caused him a great deal of difficulty. I have not been as good a father as I could have been," he said morosely as he looked down at his hands, clearly ashamed.

Hermione had to concede that Lucius did have a point about Draco. And Draco had not tried to kill them. His tale was so compelling that a part of her wanted to reach across the table and give his hand a squeeze. "Why did you agree to be Harry's servant?" That was one thing that was not covered in the trial transcript.

"Given the choice between a year of servitude and returning to Azkaban, it was really not a difficult decision," he replied simply.

She was somewhat surprised at his blunt honesty. "But why Harry?"

"It was not my decision, but his. You would have to ask him," he stated simply

"And what happens when the year is up?" She was truly curious.

"I rebuild, redeem the Malfoy name, start a new life. Does that satisfy your curiosity? Are you now convinced that I have no intention of killing Potter in his sleep?"

She was stung by the last comment. While she hadn't trusted Malfoy, she had never thought that he would actually harm Harry. To do so would be to put his life in jeopardy. "Thank you," she replied simply and rose from the table to leave.

Once again, she was given a lot of information to digest and decided to take a walk while she tried to understand her newfound sympathy for Lucius Malfoy.

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A/N: As always thanks to my wonderful beta who I cannot wait to name for her invaluable assistance.