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The Quiet Tragedy of Loving Her

Summary:

Who was Draco Malfoy?
Hermione Granger thought she knew.

Chapter 1: The Prophet Declares

Chapter Text


HEIR OF MALFOY VANISHES: WAR'S MOST INFAMOUS PURE-BLOOD PRESUMED DEAD

By Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent

In a war littered with casualties, one name has slipped suspiciously- and perhaps conveniently- through the cracks.

Draco Lucius Malfoy, last surviving heir of the once-influential Malfoy family, has not been seen since the Battle of Hogwarts, where witnesses place him amid the chaos of collapsing corridors, fleeing Death Eaters, and spells cast too fast to track. Since that night, the young wizard has vanished without a single confirmed sighting.

The Daily Prophet has learned, through highly reliable sources, that Narcissa Malfoy formally filed a missing person report with the Auror Office several weeks after the war's conclusion. The response? A shrug, a parchment stamped presumed deceased, and a case quietly shelved.

According to one Ministry insider (who asked to remain anonymous, citing "lack of interest" as policy), Aurors see little reason to expend resources searching for the son of two convicted Death Eaters.

"If Malfoy survived," the source stated, "he would have come forward by now. We have no evidence he left the battlefield alive."

No body has been recovered. No wand turned in. No trial held.

And yet, whispers persist.

Some claim the disgraced Slytherin was seen fleeing Hogwarts grounds before dawn. Others insist he met his end in the castle's ruins, another casualty of a family that famously chose the wrong side of history. The Ministry, however, appears content to let the matter fade, perhaps relieved to avoid the uncomfortable question of what justice would look like for a boy who stood too close to darkness, and then disappeared.

As for Mrs. Malfoy, she has made no public statement.

Whether Draco Malfoy is dead, hiding, or simply forgotten remains unclear. What is certain is this: in a war that promised accountability, one of its most notorious names has been quietly erased.

And one can't help but wonder-

was that by design?

Stick with me, Rita Skeeter, and we will crack this case together. 

Hermione stared at the article written in the Daily Prophet. She had read it about five times this morning after she saw a picture of Narcissa Malfoy leaving the ministry in all black, as usual, wearing a thick look of concern on her face but still trying to resemble power as she walked. Anybody that had ever seen or met the woman could tell that she wasn't feeling the power that the Malfoy name often wore like a crown, she was thinner than during the war and ghastly pale. Even if her eyes showed no emotion, the wrinkles on her forehead and the creases at her eyes told a different story. She was worried, scared. 

Hermione tried to picture it, Malfoy dead in a ditch somewhere and it felt wrong, filled her with a horrible emotion that she couldn't quite place. Sure, he had been an utter arse to her and everyone at Hogwarts; sure, he had almost killed Dumbledore, cursed Katie Bell, and nearly poisoned Ron; sure, he was a Death Eater. But he didn't deserve to be dead. It made her feel sick. His body wasn't amongst those in the Great Hall or Malfoy Manor. In fact, she had seen him leave the battle with both Narcissa and Lucius so what had happened after? She had always assumed they had apparated to one of their many homes abroad, gotten to safety. Clearly not. 

"Have you read 'Mione? Apparently the git is dead, about time I reckon, sad I couldn't do it myself," she jumped at the sound of Ron appearing behind her. She must have been that lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him enter the kitchen of the burrow. He couldn't really believe that could he? He couldn't actually be happy that Malfoy could be dead? 

"It actually says he's presumed dead by the Auror's Ronald. But all the signs point to that he's actually just missing."

"Yeah well let's believe that he's gone for good, the ferret definitely deser-"

"For goodness sake Ronald! Don't you think we've witnessed enough of our peers dying?" and with that she threw the paper at him and stalked out of the kitchen to the apparition point, leaving a very gobsmacked Ron Weasley wondering what the bloody hell had just happened.