Chapter 6

Hermione was certain she was going mad.

First, she was barely able to Floo without ending up two buildings down, Apparating made her ill in a way she hadn't experienced since she'd first learned to do so, and her Portkey to work ended up taking her to her coat closet instead.

But now... it was too much. Hermione stared in dismay at the mirror. Her hair was totally out of control. A simple drying spell had frizzed it so badly that she could hardly see through it. It was almost a foot tall all the way around. It was ridiculous.

She got back into the shower, washing it with more conditioner than ever before. She didn't try another spell, but mangled it into a tight, wet bun.

She Accioed her purse and ended up with a disgruntled Crookshanks.

The wards she placed on her front door turned it hot pink.

Hermione was nearly crying in frustration by the time she made it to work, barely in one piece. She had never, ever had her magic betray her like this. Her spells and charms were usually perfect; even difficult ones came easily to her. This is unacceptable, she informed her wand in no uncertain terms. It didn't listen, boiling her coffee all over her desk instead of warming it.

She'd been preparing to live life as a Squib when she heard a cry from across the floor. A stream of invectives followed, and Hermione had to snicker at the inventiveness of the curses. She got up to see what the fuss was and stumbled when she saw Draco being attacked by a feisty tawny owl.

The owl had its talons entrenched in Draco's arm and was flapping its wings wildly. No wonder it's cranky, she thought, owls are nocturnal after all, for goodness' sake. I'd be cranky, too.

Stifling her laughter, Hermione ran to Draco, who was holding his arm away from himself and shouting at his assistant. The assistant looked beside herself, shooing the owl with a folder while trying to maintain a safe distance.

Hermione grabbed a doughnut right out of a watching a co-worker's hand and offered it to the wayward owl. It made a strange hissing noise at her before grabbing the doughnut and promptly flying out the open window.

Draco's arm was bleeding, and he was obviously in pain, gritting out a, "Thank you" to Hermione before setting a glare so vicious upon his assistant that she nearly burst into flames.

"Come on," Hermione said. "Let's get you to the infirmary." He settled the glare on her, but Hermione was not impressed. She took his unwounded arm and led him to the elevators.

"Bloody owl could have killed me; I swear they are a hazard. We shouldn't have let that one go; it is obviously intent on mayhem."

Hermione clucked reprovingly, trying not to laugh out loud at his grumblings.

Hermione could have healed his wound herself, had she been confident in her abilities at the moment. Actually, Draco could have healed it himself, she realized.

When they arrived at the infirmary, Draco was taken right in. She waited patiently, glad to have something take her mind off her strange condition, but nervous for Draco. He had actually been cut up pretty badly. About fifteen minutes later, he came out of the room with a murderous gaze.

"Incompetents! The lot of them! First using owls with violent tendencies, and then hiring Healers with no healing ability! My father will not be pleased...."

In times of stress, Hermione noticed, Draco reverted to his younger days, using his father's name as a shield, as though it could actually protect him. She believed it was a defence tactic and most likely entirely unconscious. It also meant that Draco still trusted his father implicitly to protect him.

"What do you mean? They couldn't heal you?" Hermione was confused; she'd had that same Healer take care of her many times, most often for exhaustion.

"No! The Healer said the spell wasn't working, and then potion they use as a back-up didn't work either. You know what they had to do?"

Hermione had an idea, but she shook her head.

He hissed, "They healed it the Muggle way! Sweet Merlin's balls, what is the wizarding world coming to? They cleaned it and bandaged it. What on Earth is that going to do? It's still bleeding!"

Draco was shouting, and people were staring as they made their way back to his office. Hermione tried not to incite him, but it was almost impossible. Draco on a rampage was nearly irresistible to not goad.

"Goodness, Draco, you'd think they tortured you. It'll be fine! Relax. You're being melodramatic."

Draco's eyes widened as the magic words fell into place. He took a deep breath, ostensibly preparing himself for an explosive outburst at her expense, and Hermione grinned wickedly. Just as he was beginning to let the vitriol spew forth, Lucius Malfoy walked into Draco's office.

When he did, a strange silence fell over the three of them. Draco's mouth was still open, but his words were on pause. Hermione's smile slid from her face, and Lucius stopped mid-step.

In a second it was over. Draco began to shout at his father regarding incompetence in general, and his hatred toward owls and Healers specifically. His father rolled his eyes and winked at Hermione, and she snorted. Both waited patiently for Draco's outburst to come to a close. Draco had at least kept his voice down this time. Lucius was nodding, lips twitching especially at the part where the Healer had abused him with disinfectant.

Lucius drew his wand imperiously and aimed it at Draco's bandaged arm. Hermione immediately put her hand on his arm.

"Actually, Mr. Malfoy, I think there might be a disruption in the building's magical defences. I've been having trouble with my magic, and now with the Healer being unable to heal Draco, I think something might be wrong."

Lucius looked at her pensively, but lowered his wand. "Draco, have you tried to heal it yourself?"

Draco looked a little embarrassed, saying, "No. I think Hermione's right. My magic's been off lately, too."

Lucius went pale. Hermione wanted to ask what was wrong, but she held her tongue. Could he think they were under attack?

Lucius schooled his features back to impassivity and raised his wand back to Draco's arm. He murmured a few healing spells, one to heal the deeper lacerations, one to stitch the surfaces together, and a last one to diminish scarring. He performed that one twice, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. Merlin forbid that Draco have an imperfection.

The spells worked perfectly, and Hermione undid the bandages to reveal near-perfectly healed skin. Only a faint white scar remained, barely visible.

Draco looked at his father questioningly, but Lucius only said, "I suppose the Healer will need to be replaced."

Draco looked sheepish and cleared his throat before asking Hermione for some privacy. She left quickly, feeling confused. Once back in her office, she cast a small lumos, and a shower of sparks lit her paperwork on fire. She sighed.

"Draco, how long has your magic been off?"

Lucius wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. He was certain this would end badly.

"Only today, really. And maybe a bit yesterday. Why?"

"It seems unusual, doesn't it?" The best way to get information was to act ignorant, Lucius knew.

"I guess. It's never happened to me before, so I noticed it acutely. I'm sure it will be back to normal any time now." His voice denoted his need for reassurance of this fact.

Lucius nodded. "I'm sure you're right. But let me know if it continues? And if... anyone else experiences it?"

Draco nodded, and Lucius launched into the reason he was in his son's office in the first place. He told Draco a client of his wanted to donate to a few charities for tax purposes, but required more information first. Draco helped him assemble a package and wrote out some additional details. Lucius accepted the bundle and thanked his son upon leaving.

Lucius hated wasting his son's time; there was no client. He placed the papers in his desk drawer, not wanting to throw it out since Draco had put it together for him. He would look through them later and perhaps donate a little to ease his conscience.

The truth was he'd had a hunch, a feeling that told him to get to Draco's office now. When he'd followed his intuition, Draco hadn't been there, and Hermione had been gone as well. He'd tried to find them, but upon returning to Draco's office to wait, they'd come back and Lucius had discovered his son wounded by an errant fowl.

Like any father would be, Lucius was pained to see his son hurt, even if it was superficial. But he'd been taken aback to hear Hermione casually mention her magic being interfered with. Most wizards and witches wouldn't admit a weakness like that. And many would recognize it as the influence of a strong affection. Love, his mind corrected him. But not all witches or wizards ever experienced that disruption, even those who were truly in love. A disruption like that suggested a compatibility between magics trying to settle themselves, trying to combine.

Usually when the two afflicted people were in the company of one another, the disruption settled and the magic would work again. Lucius took the chance, and his magic worked perfectly. He was sure it worked because Hermione was there and that she was the missing piece of his magic.

But Draco's magic had been faulty as well, and that could only mean that Draco also loved Hermione and shared a similar connection. And there was no way to tell whom Hermione loved, but clearly it was Draco, as Lucius had only encountered her a few times. The disruption was unconscious, though; recognizing love even before the witch or wizard would, recognizing its magical mate with the person being unaware.

It was clear that neither Draco nor Hermione had experienced it before, but Lucius had. He and Narcissa had both dealt with it for about a week before it had dwindled. Lucius assumed it meant their magic mingled, though there had been no problems after they'd split up. Lucius hadn't thought of it until now.

The fact was his magic would be haywire forever, because there was no way Lucius could not only steal Hermione from Draco, but sentence him to life without magic as well.

The Slytherin Death Eater in him wanted to rebel against his magic deciding a Muggle-born witch was his perfect match and resented the fact that he was to be tied down after only just being divorced. The man in him, the wizard, wanted to share himself with Hermione and see how good they could be together, magically and otherwise.

But the father in him always won, and Draco's happiness superseded his own. He would just have to learn to live with it.