Work Text:
McGonagall had been hesitant when she received the request for a meeting with the young Slytherin. He'd never respected her position as a Professor and always had a sarcastic remark ready when she used her authority in a way that chastised him. Looking at the young man across from her now, she saw no resemblance of the boy who'd walk the halls with his nose in the air, too good for the standards of the school. The wizard looking back at her from the other side of her large, mahogany desk looked worn. Dark circles marred his gray eyes, striking as they met hers.
"You wished to speak with me, Mr. Malfoy?" She questioned, setting her wand to the side and folding her hands.
He nodded sharply, his platinum hair loose and ghosting across his forehead before he pushed it back. He was taller then most of the other students, veins visible in his arms as the muscles tensed. His jaw tightened as he looked back at the elderly witch, organizing his thoughts as best he could before deciding to speak.
"I'd like to start by saying that I will be unable to answer any questions you may want to ask me." He said coldly, grabbing the black bag from the floor and setting it on top of the Professors desk. McGonagall watched him carefully, her kind eyes full of worry and curiosity.
All traces of childlike features were gone from the towering man. Even at the young age of 17, he looked well beyond his years from both exhaustion and conflict. "I hope you understand, I'll probably ask them anyways." She said calmly, watching as he withdrew a long, thin chain from his satchel. She contained her gasp only by covering her mouth with a trembling fist. Dangling from his index finger was a stunningly beautiful necklace with an over sized emerald covered with twisting, silver vines.
"Am I safe in assuming you have absolutely no right to possess such an object?" McGonagall asked, pushing back from her desk and circling it until she was standing beside the stoic looking wizard.
"You are correct." He said easily, laying it out on the surface of the desk and standing as well.
"This was your Great Grandfather's amulet." She said, mostly to herself as she lifted her wand in order to examine that stone without touching it. Malfoy only nodded, gathering his bag up again and slinging it over his chest.
"Granger." Her aging eyes flashed when he spoke the name, confusion evident across her face. "Whatever it takes for you to convince her to wear this, do it." He said harshly, turning his back on her and pushing the chair he'd occupied against the desk.
Before she could think of which question to ask first, Malfoy rolled up the sleeve of his robe and thrust his forearm out. McGonagall stared back at him with horror, clutching her heart in despair. The snake moved across his skin tauntingly, the ink stark against his pale complexion.
"Dear boy." She muttered, reaching out to him before he recoiled, covering his arm once again and straightening his robes.
"It was clear to me I didn't have much of a choice in the matter." He explained coldly, looking away from her and striding over to the expansive window overlooking the Quidditch pitch.
"Your mother?" She asked with worry, her eyes sympathetic as she stared at his back. It straightened visibly, but he stayed fixated on the scenery blow now blanketed in snow.
"It seemed the best way to keep me compliant." He said, still facing the window as she came up behind him, gripping his shoulder tightly. He stood taller in front of her as she followed his eyes out across the field. It was well past curfew. However, trudging through the snow were the familiar outlines of the Golden Trio, disapproval in McGonagall's eyes. "Granger has a habit of following those of lesser intelligence into dangerous situations." He started, biting the inside of his cheek as he continued to watch the curly haired brunette. Snowflakes melted into her cloak as they fell, snow up to her knees as she walked alongside her friends. As if sensing she was being watched, Hermione fell behind the boys for a moment, stopping her strides and looking up towards McGonagall's office window. If she was surprised to see Malfoy staring back at her, she didn't show it. She merely held his gaze for a long moment before turning to catch back up with Ron and Harry.
"I seem to remember you wishing her dead not so long ago." The graying woman pointed out, staring at her students retreating forms as they disappeared into the forest.
"If I'd been anything less then cruel to her, my father would've beaten me within an inch of my life." He revealed calmly, as if this was nothing the Professor should concern herself with. "However, this year I've been given a rather impossible task, and her life is in too much danger for me to do nothing any longer."
McGonagall's eyes narrowed as she pulled his shoulder back, forcing him to turn around. They stood eye to eye with matching height as she glared harshly back at him with deep brown eyes. "If you're in some kind of trouble, Mr. Malfoy, we can go to the Headmaster right now." He shook his head firmly and crossed the room. Picking up the forgotten necklace, he pushed it hard into her palm and stepped back.
"Voldemort knows that Potter is useless without her." He was finding it harder and harder to say her name without giving anything away.
"You care for her." McGonagall said skeptically, closing her fingers around the necklace before pocketing it in her robes. His laugh startled the older witch, the sound genuine and deep as it bubbled up from his throat.
"I love her." He said with amusement. "And I'll do whatever the Dark Lord demands of me if it means keeping her safe."
She opened her mouth to pry but he was out of the room before she had a chance, the door closing with a soft click as if he hadn't been there at all.
The amulet weighed heavy in Professor McGonagall's cloak as she pulled the young witch aside, instructing Ron and Harry to make their way to the Great Hall.
The library was completely empty with the rest of the students at dinner, classes having been done for the day an hour prior. McGonagall took a seat beside the girl who was looking exceedingly nervous at the palpable tension surrounding them.
"This is about Malfoy, isn't it?" Hermione whispered, folding her hands across the table to keep from fidgeting.
The older woman forced a look of confusion across her face, but Hermione merely lifted a brow and waited for the dramatics to cease. Finding the words stuck in her throat, Professor McGonagall pulled the chain from inside her emerald cloak and set it in the center of the table.
Hermione's chair squeaked loudly in the empty room and she quickly remembered herself, bracing herself against the table as she looked at the glowing emerald in front of her. "That's Abraxas Malfoy's amulet." Hermione muttered softly as if speaking to herself.
"It was suggested to me that you wear this."
Hermione shook her head and pushed up from her seat before McGonagall could continue. "If anyone should be wearing something like this, it's him." She said, taking a step back from the table. "He's the one surrounding himself with dangerous Death Eaters with You-Know-Who taking up residence in his childhood home." She added with disgust, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful piece of antique jewelry.
"If I can speak plainly with you," McGonagall began. "Mr. Malfoy seems quite unconcerned with his own safety and seems focused on keeping you safe through this impending war."
Hermione's eyes softened at the admission, rolling the gem between her fingers before sliding the chain around her neck. The pendent hung between her breasts, the chain disappearing from sight once the clasp closed.
"This is an incredibly old, ancient object. I imagine it's riddled with much more then concealment charms." McGonagall offered, watching as all traces of the necklace vanished from view around her neck.
"I trust this can stay between us?" Hermione asked nervously.
"No one will hear about your relationship from me." she promised with a small smile, touching the young witches hand gently across the table. "All of you children deserve a lifetime of happiness after so much dark, and if you find it with each other, that's all the better."