Chapter 3

She had barely finished knocking when the heavy wooden door swung open in front of her. She found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy. It was suddenly even stranger for her to be here. She had seen him every day for seven years and now she had not seen him for a whole year.

He hadn't changed much. His hair was slightly longer and fell neatly around his neck, almost to his shoulders. He looked as if he had lost some weight, his features more defined, yet he looked healthier than when she had last seen him at Hogwarts. She assumed that he was not as stressed and rundown now as he had been during that last horrible year.

She remembered being surprised during her seventh year to see Malfoy there. After the final battle the school had reopened. She and many of her fellow students had had months of school work to catch up on before they were able to graduate. Many of the Slytherins didn't come back to Hogwarts after that. Most of them had had parents who had ended up in Azkaban or had fled the country, taking their families with them.

Draco's parents had both gone to Azkaban, despite their slight change of heart during the final battle. Instead of staying alone with the house elves in Malfoy Manor, he had come back and completed his year at Hogwarts with the rest of them. He had kept to himself mostly since there were only two or three other Slytherin seventh years left and everyone had left him alone as well.

"Granger," he nodded, gesturing for her to come inside.

"Malfoy," she replied, following him back into his office.

Before sitting down she surveyed the room. The first thing that she noticed was that it was huge, the second was the wall. It was hard not to notice the wall. Malfoy's office was obviously positioned on a corner of the building. Two of the walls were made of two uncut pieces of glass. There were blinds that could be pulled across the windows but, judging by the dust on them, they had not been pulled for a while.

"I never would have expected this," she mused.

"Expected what Granger?" Malfoy snapped. "Are you insulting my office?"

"No, I just never would have thought you would want to be in a place so open. I've never seen so much glass in my life. You have glass doors, a glass elevator, glass walls," she said gesturing around the office. "After living your whole life in dungeons, I would have thought you would be accustomed to the dark and dreary."

"Just because someone is accustomed to something does not mean that they like it," Draco said softy. "Besides, glass is modern, it's in style," he added quickly.

"Sure, whatever. Let's get this over with," Hermione said, sitting down in the chair directly across from his desk.

"Of course," he said, taking his own seat. "First order of business if I'm going to be editing this book is the title."

"I don't recall agreeing to let you edit my book yet Malfoy."

"I did say if," he said, rolling his eyes at her.

"I don't even care anymore. I've had so many complaints about that title that we could change it to Salamander Pus for all I care."

"Ok Granger, let's just cut the crap and get to the real reason that you are here."

"Ah huh! I knew there was something in this for you!"

"Did you really just say ah huh? Never mind…Of course there is something in this for me! Do you really think that I would be willing to work with you if there wasn't? I want to know where you got your information about the Founders." Draco said angrily.

"You know, you keep saying that about the Founders, I really don't know what you're talking about. From what I can recall, I didn't add much information that wasn't already in the original book."

"No, you didn't, which is why I want to know where you got the information from in the first place."

"Why are you so interested in the Founders anyway Malfoy?"

"Have you ever noticed how little information there is about them? It's like something is being hidden from us."

"But why does it matter, why do you care so much about four people who died thousands of years ago?"

"Not four people Granger, just two of them. I want to know what happened to Slytherin and Ravenclaw after they left Hogwarts."

"What do you mean they? Slytherin left Hogwarts, not Ravenclaw."

"You're wrong, you said it yourself in your book. Salazar left Hogwarts and Rowena soon after that. The only difference is, Slytherin didn't come back, Ravenclaw did and shortly after she died of a broken heart! Do you really think that that is a coincidence?" Malfoy was practically yelling now.

"Um, yes?" Hermione said slowly. "What would suggest that they were romantically involved?"

"I don't know, I just have this feeling and I can't stop thinking about it."

Draco stared across his antique desk at Hermione. He had to make her understand, he had to get her to work with him. He had to figure out this mystery before it drove him crazy. He couldn't understand why he was so compelled to it in the first place, he just was.

It had all started in his fifth year when he had read Hogwarts a History for the first time. When he had reached the chapter about the Founders he had been extremely intrigued. He had soon found himself very disappointed when he realized that there was actually very little information contained there. After that he had spent way more of his time that he would ever admit in the library trying to find more information. He could find nothing.

What particularly drew him was Ravenclaw's eight month absence. He knew that Slytherin had gone off because of a disagreement with Gryffindor and had eventually done some pretty evil things, but what happened before that? Why had she left so soon after him and why had no one ever researched this and found out before?

It had quickly become an obsession for him. He could not stop thinking about it, he couldn't stop looking for more books about the Founders. It was slowly driving him insane. One of his colleagues knew that he was interested in the history of Hogwarts so he had immediately informed him about Hermione's book. Draco had had a copy of the manuscript in his hands only a few hours later.

At first he had been disappointed all over again. Hermione's version truly didn't have much more about the Founders in it than the original had, but it did have one thing. It had one line that had led him to believe that the author shared his views. It was his one hope that there was someone out there that might believe what he did. He had immediately called the author without even looking at her name to try and set up a meeting.

"Malfoy?" Draco realized that she had been speaking while he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Ok then, explain this line to me then," he said pulling an extremely rumpled-looking copy of the manuscript out of the top drawer of his desk.

"And Rowena followed Salazar from the school and the four friends were divided until their deaths," Hermione read the sentence that he pointed to.

"Why would you say that she followed him if you didn't think that she left for him?" Draco asked her.

"Malfoy, I really think you are reading way too far into this. That thought never even crossed my head, I'm pretty sure I actually got the wording from another book-"

"What book?" Draco interrupted impatiently.

"I don't remember!" Hermione said loudly. "I researched this book for six months before I wrote it, do you really think I can remember off the top of my head where the inspiration for one sentence came from?"

Hermione was really beginning to regret ever coming here. Malfoy might not look that much different but, like Hogwarts, he obviously was. Hermione was actually wondering if his mind was coming unhinged. He seemed so desperate to have this puzzle revealed to him. It was a puzzle that she had no idea even existed up until this point.

"Do you have a list?" he asked.

"A list of what?" she was starting to feel really annoyed.

"A list of the books you used for references!"

"Of course I do, but it's at my flat and it's probably thirty pages," she told him.

"If I could just look at it I could cross off the books that I've already looked at and narrow it down…"

"Well, I suppose I could mail you a copy," Hermione told him.

"No, it'll take too long, we can go get it right now."

"You're not coming to my flat!" Hermione exclaimed. "You have lost your bloody mind Malfoy!"

"I have not," he said with a smirk. "I'm just very studious."

"I don't know Malfoy, I mean, I really only came here as one last desperate attempt to get my book published. Despite what I told you last night, I haven't had any other offers, just a very long stream of rejections. You are the first person to show any interest in it whatsoever. As much as I want to have it published, I don't know if I want to work with you, especially if you're going to be acting like a crazy person," she told him sternly.

"I'm not crazy, I just really feel that there is some huge unsolved mystery here that someone needs to tap into. I meant what I said though, I really do want to publish your book. I was a bit put off of course when I found out that you wrote it," Hermione glared at him, "But I'm still willing to edit and publish it if you're willing to help me with my own research."

"I just don't know Malfoy, I'm very busy right now. I've got a job at the Ministry and I have all of these notes that I've been trying to read through for almost three days now. I don't think I'll have time for anymore research."

"Come on Granger, just let me come to your flat. You know you want me to," he said with a smirk.

"Wow Malfoy, for a second there I almost forgot you were an arrogant prat," Hermione said. "I think we're about done," she got up to leave.

"Hermione wait," Hermione turned at the sound of her first name. "I really do want to edit your book and I think I need your help with this Founder business. Don't you think that there's a possibility that I'm right? That Rowena fell in love with Salazar and followed him away from Hogwarts?"

"I suppose it could be possible," she said with a sigh.

"And if it is possible, don't you want to know what they did in those eight months that they were together?"

"Alright Malfoy, let's go."

A few minutes later Hermione was showing her childhood enemy into her flat. She was glad that the place was at least clean. Sometime during her busy last few days she had managed to get the dishes done so at least there was that. Malfoy stood awkwardly in her living room, appearing almost as though he wished he hadn't forced himself into her home.

She realized after they arrived that she had no idea where the list was. She had finished the book over a month ago and hadn't looked at any of her notes since then. She turned to Malfoy with an odd look on her face.

"What?" he said.

"I don't know where it is," she said.

"I thought you said you had the list here."

"I do have it here, I don't have it out and ready though. I wasn't expecting to have you force your way in and start demanding that I give you my stuff!" Hermione said feeling exasperated.

"Well, I guess I'll just try to make myself comfortable while you find it then," Draco said looking disapprovingly around her living room.

Hermione turned on her heel and walked into her bedroom in a huff. Malfoy really was a spoiled brat. He expected everyone else to walk around and get him whatever he wanted. She didn't know why she was even doing this for him, she just wanted him to leave her alone. She hoped that after she did him this favour he would do just that.

She quickly started rummaging through her desk. She found all sorts of interesting things, including a Quidditch Book that Harry had given her for her fifteenth birthday. She smiled to herself, Harry never had learned the art of gift-giving. She kept looking and came across a few sheets of notes, but not the list. She came back into the living room to find Draco glaring at her television. Feeling spiteful, she grabbed the remote and flicked it on.

"Shit!" Draco yelled, jumping off the couch as the sound blared through the room.

Hermione had to lean on the wall to steady herself because she was laughing so hard.

"You think it's funny do you? What the hell is that thing?" Draco demanded.

"It's a television, it's not going to eat you!" Hermione said, resuming her search.

She looked in all of the drawing and cupboards in the kitchen but she still could not find it. She really needed to invest in a filing cabinet to keep all of her things in order. Suddenly she remembered where it was. She ran back into the living room and pulled open the drawer in the bottom of her coffee table.

"Found it! Malfoy?" she asked when he didn't respond.

"What are these?" he asked.

Hermione turned and found that he was holding Professor Snape's notes in his lap. He had begun flipping through them.

"Stop!" Hermione yelled. "No one is supposed to know that I have those! They're confidential."

"What are they?" he asked looking confused.

"They're Professor Snape's notes."

"What?" Draco said looking utterly shocked.

AN: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - I added this chapter to thank you guys!

I know it's short, but it does explain a few things. :)

It might be a few weeks now before I add a new chapter to this story or my other one, I'll try not to keep you guys waiting too long.

Please review this chapter and let me know what you thought.