This was my entry to the recent DramioneLove Mini Fest 2016 on LiveJournal. It won Fan Choice Best Overall Fic, which I am absolutely ecstatic about. Thank you so so so much to everyone who voted for it! I'm a bit gobsmacked that it won anything really because the fest was of such a high standard. If you haven't already, definitely check it out. There are some really amazing Dramione stories there—and all just over/under 1000 words!

I chose Prompt #33: London Underground, artefact, owls. Word limit was 1000, which was a bit of a challenge. I like how this turned out though and I'm very tempted to write a full fic. I've got a few other stories in early stages at the moment though, so we shall see...

In the meantime, please enjoy this little action-packed snapshot, and please review!

Disclaimer: Don't own HP. Do own this fic. Please don't republish anywhere without my permission. Thanks :)

...

"Out of the way!" Hermione hollered, fake Muggle police badge held aloft as she struggled through the crowded tunnel.

She could see the thief just ahead, nothing more than snatches of white-blond hair between jostling bodies.

"Out of the w—"

Her words cut off with a gasp as someone shouldered her hard, sending her stumbling into the wall. Teeth gritted, she righted herself just in time to see her target reach the escalators and vanish like a shadow over the crest.

Hermione growled the worst word she knew and pressed on, faster, fiercer, until she was dashing downwards too, feet pounding on metal, hair whipping out behind her. She hit the bottom seconds before he disappeared into the nearest passageway… and grinned, exultant.

Draco Malfoy was hers!

Her triumph deflated somewhat, however, when she stepped onto the platform. It was packed, people everywhere. Still, she reasoned, there was nowhere to go, and he wouldn't risk an Apparition so deep underground.

He was here. She could feel it.

There!

She spotted a flash of blond hair down the platform.

Slipping the badge back into her pocket, she began winding her way cautiously towards him. Her heart beat harder with every step she took, dread rising like bile in her throat…and she knew why. Malfoy had been an Auror once, too. One of the best.

But it wasn't just that. No.

Draco had been her partner, her friend. She had trusted him. She had…

Never mind.

With hindsight, she should have seen it coming. He had always been drawn to dark magic—to the terrible artefacts they'd recovered. She hadn't realised how much until it was too late.

His latest theft was an ancient pendant, a string of tarnished golden owls with eyes like black onyx. Look too long into those empty orbs, legend had it, and the owls would take you for their own.

Personally, Hermione thought it was utter nonsense, but cursed or not, the pendant was worth a fortune and she'd been assigned to guard it while on display at a local museum. Its owner, a tempestuous wizard from a prominent foreign family, had threatened to sue them for every Knut they were worth should any harm come to it.

But that wasn't going to happen—not now she had Draco in her sights. She'd take him down, bring him in and return with the priceless pendant.

She closed in, adrenaline fizzing in her veins as she carefully, silently, manoeuvred herself into position…

It wasn't carefully enough.

Silver eyes snapped to hers. She froze, time blurring—then, in the barest space of a blink, he was off.

Hermione leapt after him. There was no spell discreet enough to take him out here, but she got her chance when a group of tourists stepped into his path. Draco floundered, just avoiding a collision before tripping, quite spectacularly, on their trailing suitcases.

She ploughed into him, sending them both slamming to the floor and tourists scattering. Her training kicked in as she scrambled to pin and cuff him…but unfortunately, so did Draco's. He reacted instantly, flipping over and throwing her off. She lunged again, and they rolled, over and over, all elbows and knees, until suddenly, sickeningly, the ground dropped out beneath them.

As one mass, they bounced off the track, landing on the rock-hard concrete below.

She lay there, dazed, slumped atop his chest. The impact had blasted the air from her body. His too, apparently; she could feel him fighting for breath beneath her.

Good, she thought viciously. She hoped he'd punctured a lung.

It took her a moment to gather her senses, but when she did, she noticed a small fabric bag caught on the track above her. It had fallen open, and Hermione saw a tantalising glimpse of gold.

The pendant!

She dragged herself to her knees, Draco grunting as she caught him in the gut. Ignoring him, she stretched out a hand towards the dangling necklace, then stopped, without knowing why.

A single owl swayed in the stale breeze. Those soulless eyes stared deep into hers, and she couldn't…she couldn't look away.

Entranced, she crept forward, lifting herself up between the tracks.

The wind picked up. A roar rolled through the tunnel like thunder as, beneath her fingers, the metal of the track began to judder. Something dangerous was coming for her, but Hermione found she didn't care.

She reached for the owl…

"Bloody hell, Granger!"

A strong arm seized her waist and hauled her backwards. The next thing she knew she was trapped beneath Draco's body, his arms held protectively over their heads as the train thundered over them.

The noise was deafening, screeching, showering sparks like rain.

Then, silence.

Neither of them moved. In the stillness, Hermione could feel Draco's breath flutter gently across her throat, the rise and fall of his chest against hers. The brutal realisation of what had happened—what might have happened—seeped slowly through her veins.

But then she remembered exactly how she'd ended up underneath a train to start with, and just who was lying on top of her, the entire length of his body pressed flush against her own, and hot anger washed over her. She went for her wand, but he was too quick.

In one swift move, he had her pinned, wrists above her head.

"Really, Granger," he said, looking down at her with amusement, "I'd have thought you'd have given up by now."

"Not on your life," she snarled, trying—unsuccessfully—to free her hands.

He chuckled at her wriggling and dropped his head so his lips brushed her ear.

"How about instead of giving up," he murmured slowly, sending dark shivers down her spine, "you just give in?"

She inhaled sharply, ready to snap back, but she couldn't because he'd caught her lips roughly with his own, and then he was kissing her—he was kissing her!—and ridiculously, inexplicably, she was kissing him back.

Her whole body sparked at his touch; it was almost frightening how viscerally she responded to him. She arched her hips, gasping into his mouth as the kiss turned dizzyingly deeper.

Too soon though, he drew back.

"Catch you later, Granger," he said.

Then, with a smirk and one final, swift kiss to her mouth, he was gone, leaving Hermione lying stunned and breathless below.

It wasn't until a minute later, when an alarmed tube worker dropped down to help her up, that she discovered the damn thief had snagged his prize from right under her nose once more.

...

Thanks for reading! Please do drop me a review to let me know what you thought. I had some really wonderful and thoughtful reviews as part of the fest and they just completely made my day.