A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you guys liked the last chapter. Kingsley's pov was a little bit hard for me to write, as I prefer writing in Draco's pov. But anyways, I had this theory that Voldemort could have made more horcruxes anytime he wanted, specially when he did feel them getting destroyed, so I decided to use it here. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter!

Kingsley's eyes shifted to the witch sitting opposite Draco. "-Miss Hermione Granger."

Everyone, except the already spy and the would be spy, started shouting at once about how this was barbaric and they don't agree with it at all.

The most vocal protests were from Harry and Ron, for Hermione. And also of Blaise and Theo, for Draco, because neither of the pair of friends wanted their best friend to risk their lives like that.

Draco, despite the fact that his friends were shouting, sat completely still. He looked up from his hands to let his gaze fall at the witch who would have to be a spy like him, according to Kingsley.

She didn't meet his eyes, despite the fact that she probably felt him staring at her.

The blond wizard didn't know how he felt about this situation. On one hand, he guessed he should feel proud, that he was being trusted with such an important position and that he was no being considered just a filthy Death Eater here. No, he was being thought of as an Order member. And that should mean something, right?

But on the other hand, well, he didn't like the way he and Hermione were trapped in this. Being a spy with her was fine. But being married to her? That was not at all fine, because they weren't some dolls that could be played with in whichever the way the person controlling them liked.

Besides, what would happen when the war would end? Will they still remain married to each other? But as Kingsley said, it would not be Hermione who would be marrying him, it would be her disguise. So technically, after the war she would be a free woman, and Draco would be tied in a marriage to a woman who didn't even exist.

How fair was that? 

Was he ready to this for finally defeating Voldemort to ensure that they get to live in a peaceful world when at the same time, there was really no guarantee that their plan would really work though Draco was probably putting his and his parents' lives at risk here? 

No, he wasn't.

But then again, his life didn't matter much when it came to saving the Wizarding World and defeating the Dark Lord.

No, he was not ready, but still, he would do this.

For if the noseless freak was hell bent on destroying the peace and calm of this world, then surely the Malfoy Heir could show his stubborn side to him and stop him from doing so, no matter whatever it takes.

But he wasn't alone in this. 

He had to have Hermione's support, or more like cooperation in order to do this. 

And well the said witch had still not uttered a single word and was quite focuses on staring at her hands while everyone around her argued with Kingsley.

While that continued, Draco's mind wandered off to their various interactions over the years, ranging from downright bullying to a little peaceful and almost truce moments, for he could not think of any nice and sweet conversation that he had had with her.

Except well that of the moment between them on the staircase outside the Great Hall when the Yule Ball had almost finished in their fourth year.

But that was a story for another day.

Draco was still thinking about their interactions and everyone else was arguing when the Brightest Witch of Her Age ended the protests with a single word.

"Yes." She whispered.

It was as if someone had cast the stunning spell on everyone, for almost all the witches and wizards present in that room froze, even Kingsley, who hadn't expected her to agree this easily.

"Hermione-" Harry carefully started but was cut off by his brunette best friend.

"No, Harry." The muggle born witch shook her head. "My answer is yes. Yes, I will become the second spy and go to the Malfoy Manor and in order to do that, I will marry Malfoy. So yes, I will do this mission."

The fact that there was no anger or malice in her voice, but the feeling of her completely resigning to this when she said that she would have to marry Draco, didn't go unnoticed by the blond wizard.

Ron glared at the Malfoy Heir and then turned back to the muggle born witch. "But 'Mione, how can you-"

"It is not about how I can, Ron, but actually about why I have to do this." Hermione glared at him and then turned to look at everyone. "You all are just arguing about how it is not fair of Kingsley to decide on this, and believe me, I do appreciate you all doing this. But this is not we require right now. The thing is, we have to do something to stop You-Know-Who and well, I agree to do whatever it takes to achieve that."

"Even if you have to marry this git?" Seamus snarled, looking at Draco. "This git who, need I remind you, was a part of You-Know-Who's army just a few weeks back-"

"-And now he is a part of the Order, Seamus." Hermione crossed her arms in front of her. "I don't know how to explain this to you, but Seamus, times are changing and the situation is not really in our favor right now, so the more members we have, the merrier. And I hate to be rude, but you all are acting really stupidly here. You all are arguing about how I don't have to do this, but did anyone thought of arguing on Malfoy's behalf too, besides his friends?"

"Fine, I know most of you still haven't accepted him." She continued, "But what about Fred? Remus? Tonks? Colin? Oliver? Did all of them sacrifice their lives just for us to sit here and argue about how their can be another way? We don't have that much time right now. You-Know-Who is killing Order members as we speak and we still aren't doing anything for that. So if I have to become a spy to defeat him, I will. If I have to marry Malfoy for this, I will."

Draco could only look at her because he was definitely rendered speechless by her.

"Mr Malfoy,"  Kingsley turned towards him, "What about you? What is your decision?"

Draco slowly nodded. "I... I will do this. I will partner up with Granger as a spy duo to defeat the Dark Lord, and in order to do that, I will marry Granger."

The muggle born witch looked up at him and nodded. 

"Very well." Kingsley cleared his throat. "Since both Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy have agreed to do this, I should tell you all my plan. But be very clear, this whole discussion should remain here only. I don't want this to escape this room. There is a reason I only called some of you here, as I stated earlier, and I still stand by it. If I get to know that any one of you have told someone else about any of this, there will be severe consequences. Are we clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"And don't presume to think that I won't know if you break this rule." He continued, "Anyways, so about this plan. I thought that Miss Granger could disguise as a pureblood witch, and can be related to a respected family line, which we will discuss later. Through a plan I have formed, You-Know-Who himself would ask Mr Malfoy to marry her, and thus, the two would live in the Malfoy Manor and research about the horcruxes and pass information to us as well. That way, more people will be involved in the horcrux destroying process. Since You-Know-Who had himself wanted to make them marry each other, he wouldn't be suspicious of anything. We would be able to defeat him without him getting suspicious."

"And as for why You-Know-Who would make them marry each other, I will tell you both later on, Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy." Kingsley told them.

There was a glint in his eyes that Draco thought would definitely prove why Kingsley was sorted in Slytherin.

-------

Draco sighed as he came across yet another empty room. "Where the hell are you, Granger? How the hell did you manage to disappear so fast?" 

He had been searching for her for the past five minutes and still, he hadn't been able to find her, despite the fact that he had been following her perfectly until just a minute back.

And well, five minutes were a lot for Draco, who thought he had been wasting his time while searching for a girl who had left the room as soon as Kingsley had told them to meet him tomorrow. 

Blaise and Theo had then asked the Malfoy Heir to find the Brightest Witch of Her Age and for some weird unknown reason, Draco had agreed to do so.

Well, now he was facing the consequences. 

"I swear, Granger, if you are not in this room and I am simply wasting my time here, then I am going to hex you as soon as I see you tomorrow as a punishment for wasting my precious time and-"

Draco abruptly stopped when he came across a sobbing brunette muggle born witch sitting on the ground, leaning against the single book shelf of the makeshift library at the farthest corner of the highest floor of the Order's Headquarters. 

He took his handkerchief out from his pocket and handed it to her, ignoring her frown with a simple sigh.

"Of course." The blond wizard rolled his eyes and after looking at the dirty floor and scrunching his nose in disgust, sat down next to her. "Why would you be anywhere else in this house other than a small library? Once a swot, always a swot. And I hope that you actually realise that I am ruining my precious robes by sitting on this disgusting, nasty floor and-"

"Do you always speak this much?" Hermione sniffled.

"No this special treatment is just for you." He replied without missing a beat. "You should be thankful, you know? I don't do this for other beavers and-"

She instantly started laughing.

"And the so called Brightest Witch of Her Age has gone mad." The Slytherin Prince commented and shook his head. 

"Not mad," Hermione said in between her laughter which was mixed with her crying, "Just a little happy that at least someone has been acting normally."

"What do you mean, Granger? Care to speak in a way that I would understand? You are saying as if we all have gone mad and-" 

"Haven't we gone mad though, Malfoy?" She asked him. "Don't you think we have gone mad because of this ongoing war? Do you think that any of us still have their old selves within themselves?"

"No, but-"

"And then after we exit a meeting where a decision was made that would change our whole lives, you still act like the normal you and it is just," Hermione choked on a sob, "You may think I am crazy for thinking this, but it is nice to have a shred of normality in all this madness."

"You think me insulting you is normal?"

"No, but at least one of us is not bothered by the decision Kingsley has just made."

"You are the one who is clearly mad here, Granger, if you think I am not bothered by it." Draco shook his head. "You at least have an advantage that you won't be tied to me forever, because you will be marrying me in a disguise. And you will be rewarded for your services in this war. But me, Granger? I will forever be recognised as just a Death Eater, and not a Death Eater turned Order member, and I will be tied in a marriage to a witch who doesn't even exist."

"At least you will have the familiar feeling of your home. The only time I ever came to the Malfoy Manor was when I-"

She broke off when she saw him flinching at that, his eyes fixed on her arm, where the Mudblood- scar had been carved into her skin by his deranged aunt.

"If it helps with anything, the Manor has not felt like a home to me since the end of fifth year." The blond wizard whispered. "You are not the only one who deals with constant nightmares-"

"How did you even know that I-"

"I heard you." Draco cut her off, this time looking directly in her eyes. "When one of the meetings had finished late, I had slept on the living room couch. And well, when I woke up from the nightmare, I decided to visit this small library, and well I heard your screams when I walked past your room."

"I must have been really tired to forget putting up the Muffliato charm." She nodded to herself.

"Yeah well you were looking pretty tired." Draco commented. "Your bird nest of a hair was a complete mess and I even saw you drooling, I think-"

"Shut up, I did no such thing-"

"Oh you certainly did." The Malfoy Heir smirked at her. "And on the other hand I was looking like a very handsome-"

"Ferret?" Hermione started grinning at him.

"Oh now you have started this, beaver." He sneered at her as he grabbed a nearby book to hit her head with it.

She was about to protest when she heard Molly calling her. 

"I should go back to the Manor as well, otherwise my mother would not hesitate in sending a howler." Draco said as he got up from the floor.

"What a sight it would be, you getting the howler, I mean." Hermione snickered. "Also, here, thanks for your handkerchief-" 

"Keep it." He shook his head and started walking away from her. "I don't need it, partner." 

"Partner?" 

"Yeah well we will be spy partners soon, in case it missed your clueless mind, beaver." Draco nodded and she simply narrowed her eyes at him. 

Just as he had reached the end of the corridor, he looked at her over his shoulder and said, "For what's it worth, Granger, I am glad Mrs Weasley killed my aunt Bella."

Without waiting for her response, he climbed down the stairs.

Hermione sighed as she ran a finger over his initials monogrammed in the corner of his handkerchief.

That was the second handkerchief he had given to her, the first one being right after the Yule Ball.

And for some unknown reason, Hermione still had that handkerchief of his. 

---------

A few hours later.....

Draco sighed as he flopped down on his bed, having been tired from continuously playing Quidditch since he had come back from the Grimmauld Place.

But his plans of sleeping soundly after taking a shower were foiled when he heard the sound of someone apparating in front of his room, and he groaned when he recognised the familiar set of footsteps.

"So now you have figured out the several locking spells on my room, huh?" Draco said without opening his eyes.

"Oh no, we didn't want to waste our precious time by spending hours doing that." Theo shook his head as Blaise entered their best friend's room behind him.

"Oh yes." The Italian wizard agreed with him. "So we simply asked our dear Aunt Cissy and she not told us all the spells, but also the counter spells that were mentioned in the spell book of hers."

"Of course my mother has to be behind every time you two come here to disturb me." The blond wizard shook his head, but continued laying on his bed. 

Instead of getting up to greet his friends, according to the etiquettes he had been taught since he was a small kid.

Oh how disappointed Narcissa and Lucius would be, but then again, who is going to tell them because Draco was surely not going to do so?

"Really, dear dragon?" Theo tutted at him. "You are just going to lay there like a really lazy person instead of getting up to greet us? We should tell Aunt Cissy about this, don't you think, Blaise?"

"Oh of course." He nodded and then turned towards the door and shouted, "Aunt Cissa! Aunt Cissa, where are you? Your idiot son is-"

Draco got up in a flash and cast a Silencio charm on his best friend. "Shut the heck up, Zabini. You don't know how freaking scary my mother is."

But of course, the Italian wizard removed the charm using his wand. 

"Oh we do know." Blaise nodded. "That is precisely why I shouted, not that it would matter anyways."

Before the blond wizard could question why, his best friend, Theo explained it to him. "In case it escaped your brilliantly stupid mind, dear dragon, your bedroom door is closed and it has been warded with spells that you put on them."

"Why are you two idiots here anyway?" The Malfoy Heir asked them, ignoring his lack of observance. 

"Well we wanted to know what happened when you ran after Granger like a lovesick fool." Theo stated and flopped down on the couch, ignoring Draco's glare.

Blaise did the same. "So? Are you waiting for an invitation or what? Spill it."

The blond wizard rolled his eyes but complied as he sat down back on his bed. "Well I found her in the makeshift library and we-"

"Kissed?" Blaise suggested.

"Confessed your feelings for each other and then began a relationship?" Theo asked.

"Sod off, idiots." Draco snarled at them. He was not in a mood to tolerate their nonsense. "It was nothing like that. She was crying and well I..."

He took a deep breath and told them everything he and Hermione had talked about in that corner, trying to pretend as if they were two normal people instead of the spies they have just been asked to be.

And perhaps if they could just continued pretending then maybe they would be able to convince themselves that they were fine, that the result of the whole war hadn't just been handed over to them.

Maybe they would be able to work together while working towards a common goal.

But then again, it wasn't their war to fight.

They were just children and had been thrust into a war where everyone was so alike and so different, in reasons that mattered, and in ways that didn't.

----------

"My baby dragon!"

Blaise and Theo snickered as they heard that and Draco's face perfectly conveyed the expression of shock and horror.

"If I get to know that you two told anything about whatever we had discussed, I will not hesitate in hexing you into next month." The blond wizard threatened his best friends as he quickly drank a sobering potion and used magic to hide the multiple bottles of Firewhiskey.

Salazar knew what his mother would do if she got to know that he and his best friends had emptied almost a whole crate of Firewhiskey this early in the morning.

"Here, quickly drink them." The Malfoy Heir gave two vials of the same potion to the other two wizards in his room. "And don't you dare tell her that we had been drinking. She will kill me."

It had been a few hours since Blaise and Theo had arrived in his room that they suggested drinking some alcohol. 

Their talk about Draco and Hermione's discussion had lasted for hours, and all of them knew that sleep after that talk would not come easy.

So one bottle of Firewhiskey had turned into one crate of it as they kept drinking and talking about their seventh year in Hogwarts and the Battle of Hogwarts.

And as neither of his parents knew about that, Draco was not interested in telling them what their son and his friends had been doing in the early hours of the morning.

"Oh my dragon." Narcissa smiled at him as she entered his room, her husband walking behind her. 

She bent down to kiss his forehead and then looked at the three of them. "You all have been drinking, haven't you?"

"How did you know that?" Blaise asked and then realised his mistake a moment later.

"Thank you, Blaise," The Malfoy matriarch smiled at the Italian wizard, "For confirming my suspicion. But I would have figured it out without your help anyways."

She took her wand out and pointed it at the three young wizards and cast Scourgify. "That should remind you to make sure your breath doesn't give the smell of Firewhiskey." 

"Idiots." Draco grumbled as he shot glares at his best friend.

"You are an idiot here too, then." Theo told him. "Since you didn't remember to remove the smell either, you don't get to call us idiots."

"Well in my defense, I was busy in giving you the sobering potions," The Malfoy Heir lifted his chin up, "What excuse do you two idiots have?"

"Now now, wizards." Lucius stopped them before they could start arguing, as he was not interested in wasting his time like that.

"And anyways, mind telling me what made you three drink this much Firewhiskey in the wee hours of the morning?" Narcissa spoke with a tone which left the three young wizards, specially her son, with no choice but to do whatever she said.

The blond Slytherin Prince took a deep breath and motioned his parents to sit on the bed as he leant his hip against the couch his best friends were sitting on. "Shacklebolt had decided to held a meeting after I told him some confidential stuff. And in that meeting, he took a very important decision."

And so, he once again recounted the whole story, this time adding the little detail about the horcruxes which the Dark Lord had said.

But of course, excluding the little detail that he would have to marry Granger.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Draco?" The Malfoy patriarch spoke after a few moments.

"Are you sure you want me to do this, Father?" His son retorted. "I mean, I will be working with the Order, and against your Master. So do you still want me to do that? And whom will you be supporting? Your precious Dark Lord, or your son whom you have always called a disappointment?

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you have no right to talk with your father like that." Narcissa said as she got up with an angry huff. "I will show you the consequences-"

"Don't, Cissa." Lucius stopped her and looked at his son with a sad look in his eyes. "Draco has every right to talk with me like that. I, as you know, have ruined his life, poisoning him with hate instead of giving him love since he was a small kid, and then literally handing him over to the Dark Lord. He has every right."

He continued, "But son, I promise you that this time I won't be making the same mistake. This time, I will be supporting you, and not the evil wizard. And do you know why, Draco? Because despite the way we brought you up, you still became a better man. A man I could never think of becoming."

Draco stayed silent as his parents got up and left the room, not before both of them squeezing his shoulders, Lucius' touch a little hesitant, but firm.

Their relationship would never be perfect, their would always be a little coldness, the Malfoy Heir knew that.

But it was not that broken that it could never be mended.

"So earlier I found some letters our dear dragon had written to the love of his life, also known as, Granger." Theo cleared his throat as he attempted to lighten the mood. "Who wants to know what all things Draco had written in them?"

And then as Draco chased after Theo as he the latter ran around the room, the blond wizard knew that the mending process had already started.

----------

Next day....

Tap, tap, tap

Draco let out a groan and shifted his position on the bed, and used a pillow to cover his ears.

Tap, tap, tap

He thought about ignoring the sound again, but then the thought of the sound being of something important, something from the Order, finally woke him up.

Reluctantly, he got out of his bed and made his way towards the window, noticing an owl tapping its leg again and again on the glass.

He frowned as he let the unfamiliar owl inside and took the letter from it. He perched up on his desk, opening the letter as the owl ate the treats the blond wizard had offered him.

Malfoy,

His frown deepened as he realised it was the handwriting of none other than Hermione Jean Granger.

His soon to be bride in a disguise.

And as for how he recognised her penmanship as soon as he saw the letter, well, Draco was not going to answer that question.

I had to send this letter because you hadn't responded to something I had written in the protean charm galleon. Don't worry, you won't get caught because of this owl, I had made sure of that. And as for how, I am afraid I can't disclose that in this letter.

Check your galleon right now.

I will be waiting, ferret. 

(I wrote ferret so you wouldn't have any doubts regarding whether or not it is really me, as anybody can copy the handwriting)

-HJG

The Malfoy Heir kept the letter aside as the owl flew away and closed the window. After making sure that the window was perfectly locked, he hid the letter in his warded drawer and walked towards the bedside table where he had kept the galleon, hidden for everyone else, of course.

And indeed, there was a message from Hermione.

But whether it was important or not, he didn't know that.

Meet me at the dark alley behind the Leaky Cauldron at eleven o'clock.

Draco glanced at the clock, only to find out that he just had half an hour before he was supposed to meet Hermione.

Letting out a curse, he immediately hid the galleon back in the drawer and rushed to the enjoined bathroom.

Twenty five minutes later, Draco had taken a shower and chose to wear another one of his expensive suits.

He quickly locked his floo and reinforced the wards on his bedroom so that no one, specially his best friends won't be able to enter the room without his permission. 

After he had finished informing his parents that he was heading out for a task given to him by the Order, which was not a total lie, he left the Manor.

Even though he hated putting on his Death Eater robes and mask, the Malfoy Heir had to put them on for his platinum blond hair was easily recognisable, and ever since the Battle of Hogwarts had ended, people have grown more afraid of the Death Eaters, so no one tried to bother them anywhere.

And that's exactly what Draco needed that day.

He quickly found the alley Hermione had mentioned in the galleon but the said witch was no where to found.

Even before he could think of sending her a message through the galleon, he heard someone sigh and turned around to see none other than the Gryffindor Princess standing behind him.

"When the heck did you get here?" Draco asked as he jumped in surprise.

"I have been waiting here since five minutes, you prat-"

"But I didn't see anyone when I came here-"

Hermione simply held up a cloak in her hands as an answer to his unfinished question. "Harry let me borrow this."

"Of course Potter the Huge Ego Prat has an Invisibility Cloak." The blond wizard grumbled. "That is how you three did so many shenanigans but never got caught, well except for first year when I caught you."

"And that resulted in all of us getting detention in the Forbidden Forest and later on, you screaming like a little girl while running away from there." Without warning, Hermione grabbed his arm and quickly apparated them outside the backdoor of a muggle cafe.

"Learn to tell me before hand from the next time, witch." Draco snarled as he shoved her hand away and started walking away from her.

"You are going on the way which leads to a cinema." She called after him and started walking on the opposite direction. "Come on, follow me. Don't complain or come crying to me when you get lost, ferret."

"My father will hear about this." The Malfoy Heir muttered but decided to follow her anyways, as he didn't trust the muggles.

"By the way," Draco whispered to Hermione as they entered the cafe, "What is a cinema, beaver?"

She decided to ignore his doubt for now and simply led him towards a secluded booth. After she had discreetly cast the necessary privacy charms around them, she leaned forwards and placed her elbows on the table.

"Tell me how did you make sure that I wouldn't get caught after you stupidly decided to send me an Owl." Draco spoke before she could even open her mouth.

"Well as it didn't occur to your clueless mind, I simply cast a Notice Me Not charm on the owl and the letter, and some more protective charms and sent him to you." His companion shrugged. "And it was not a stupid decision. It is not my fault that you decided not to check the galleon. There could have been an important message, you know?"

"Yeah, like you demanding me to meet you in a dark alley from where on you proceed to take me to this roddy pub which for some unknown reason is all sickeningly pink." Draco scoffed. "As if we are really in a relationship and are having a date here."

Hermione immediately tensed and the wizard sitting in front of her mentally kicked himself. "I am sorry, Granger, I wasn't thinking and-"

"When do you ever think?" She snorted, trying to disperse the sudden awkwardness among them. "Besides, I hadn't called you here for this nonsense."

Hermione took a deep breath and then spoke the words that didn't fail in shocking Draco. "I want you to teach me how pureblood witches act like."

A/N: That's it for this chapter. It was 5000+ words. Hope you guys liked it. So, what did you think of the way Hermione and Draco accepted Kingsley's decision? And I think alongside Draco and Lucius' relationship, Hermione and Draco's relationship is also on the right track. Their conversation in the makeshift library should definitely help them. Random question: What is your opinion on Kingsley Shacklebolt? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you!

Next chapter on 13/8/21(Friday)

Until next time.