This was written for Qoheleth's Malachy O'More challenge. See his profile for more information.
I drew the first motto – Ex Castro Tiberis – Meaning "From a castle on the Tiber." It's associated with Pope Celestine II.
Hope it's okay!
Disclaimer: Not my characters.
--
Ex Castro Tiberis.
He couldn't believe it.
He just could not believe it.
They'd been chasing their criminal for seven days now. A whole week. And suddenly the Italian authorities had decided to take their case away from them, saying that it was theirs, as it was in their territory.
They'd been in Italy for three days already for goodness sake!
Blaise sighed in frustration and turned to his partner. She was slumped against a wall, holding her head in her hands. He smirked when she groaned.
"This is just not fair! It's only when we're getting really close to catching him that they take the case away from us!"
"It might be a woman Granger." His voice came out as a mere whisper, almost lost on the wind, and it was clear that he hadn't intended for her to hear it. He had forgotten that she was an acute listener. She waved a hand in his general direction.
"I know that Blaise. But it makes it easier for me to imagine a man. Okay?" He gave a small smile.
"With all your failed relationships I wouldn't be surprised." She gave him a glare. He held his hands up in a surrender gesture. "Alright. That was a little harsh. But at least I didn't say –" She stood up hurriedly, and he stumbled backwards.
"Don't! Whatever you were going to say Zabini, don't. I'm not in the mood for this right now."
"And you think I am? We were this close Granger," he put his thumb and forefinger barely an inch away from each other, "do you really think that I want to give up?" She crossed her arms against her chest.
"Well you didn't put up much of a fight did you?" He rubbed his temples.
"I didn't exactly want to be thrown out of my home country did I?" he stepped closer to her. She didn't notice. She was to busy muttering to herself, gesturing wildly. He ducked when her arm came flying round and nearly hit him in the face. She didn't notice. He tapped her on the shoulder, then ducked again as her arm flew around. He saw her smirk this time, and instantly knew that she was deliberately testing his reflexes.
"Good job Zabini. Maybe you'll make a decent –"
"Granger…" His voice came out through gritted teeth. She could sense his control close to snapping. Blaise growled. Sometimes she was just so infuriating! "I've got an idea."
Before she could question what he was doing, or protest, he had grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her out of the house they were currently occupying. She stumbled along behind him as he expertly weaved through the crowds. She didn't even object to his hand holding hers, as she knew that she was sure to lose him if she let go.
She'd save her arguments for later.
"Hurry up Granger!" She could barely hear his voice above the noise, even though he was barely three feet away from her. The crowd was so noisy, with everybody buying as much as they could carry. Hermione continued to trip on the road, and cursed Blaise for his gracefulness. Some people had all the luck! The wind flew through her hair, and she could feel it tangling and swishing over her shoulder. Her eyes stung as the wind whipped up a storm into them. She attempted to cover her eyes to stop them from stinging, but deduced that it was a bad idea because she just blindly walked forwards whilst attempting to keep her footing. An attempt, she noticed, that was failing miserably.
Suddenly, as soon as he had started, he stopped, and she nearly collided with him. Her heart was protesting weakly from all of the exercise, and she berated herself for being so unfit. She'd have to go to the gym when she finally got home. What she did notice – and placed a satisfied grin on her face – was that he was just as out of breath as she was.
Maybe she'd drag him to the gym as well.
"Zabini!" Her voice was all breathy, and she took in a big gulp of air. "What on Earth was that for?!" He grinned at her, and raised an eyebrow at her expense. He wasn't even panting anymore.
"I thought of this place. We can watch for our criminal here." She glanced around. The sight took her breath away. She noticed the ripple of the wind whispering across the water; the sunlight dancing off of each wave, glittering and sparkling amongst the shadows. She could see the tinges of deep blue, and the hues of green and purple that swept across the riverbed.
"Blaise – It's…" she struggled to find a word.
"…beautiful?" his voice eloquently supplied. She simply nodded. "Well. We're nearly there anyway." Her head flew up to stare at him, and he threw her over his shoulder and apparated into the four walls of a castle.
"Why didn't you just do that before?" Hermione huffed. Blaise chuckled.
"Did you want to see the river?" His voice whispered across her skin just like the wind whispered across the water. She shivered slightly. He smiled.
"Ex Castro Tiberis." She stated knowingly. Blaise cocked an eyebrow. Hermione giggled.
"Indeed." She heard him mutter. "Though apparently my family wasn't on the best side of that Pope." Hermione giggled. He looked at her curiously. She drew a hurried breath. He continued to watch her. Her eyes flitted around the room, occasionally landing on him again to see if he was still watching her.
He always was.
"So. Where's the best viewpoint to watch for our man?"
"Woman." He muttered. It was Hermione's turn to raise an eyebrow. She corrected herself.
"Fine then, to watch for our person. Is that better?" He smiled and nodded, watching her curiously again. She turned away, hoping that he didn't notice the slight tinge to her cheeks. Though judging by his small smirk, he had.
Making a big commotion, he stood up – she hadn't even noticed that he had sat down – and unfurled his gangly frame. He stood tall and proud, his eyes watching her still. She stepped backwards as he yawned, and it was her turn to duck as one of his arms swiped at her. She glared at him playfully, before poking him in the stomach. He doubled over, laughing.
"Hey. That wasn't fair!" He thought that as her penance, he would grab her by the hand and pull her along, wrenching her out of her thoughts with a shriek. He laughed merrily as they ran through the castle, making sure to keep their voices down and ducking into doorways whenever they thought that somebody was coming.
He stopped suddenly again on in one of the rooms, and this time she did collide with him. She frowned, and was curious as to why he had stopped. She peered around his shoulder, and looked at the view.
She could see the river Tiber, and smiled softly, her hair glowing as the sun set. She wanted to take a picture; to capture this moment forever, but knew that it just wouldn't be the same. He turned to her, watching her again. She looked up and saw something different in his eyes. She smiled shyly and made to step away from him, towards the window.
He pulled her back.
Nestling her against his chest, they stared out of the window, their silence speaking volumes. They relished in the inaudible conversation that was going on between them, and felt comforted.
When he allowed her to pull back, the marvel had finished. Her stomach gave a delightful lurch as she looked at him staring at her intently. Without realising what he was doing, her pulled her to him, and brushed his lips against hers. She placed a hand at the back of his neck and toyed with his hair, deepening the kiss. His hair was slightly windblown, and her hands kept on getting caught on knots, but she was too absorbed in his ministrations to really care.
She pulled back after noticing a flicker of a shadow passing outside, near the river. She nodded towards the window, and he followed her gaze, nodding.
It was their criminal.
He placed a finger on her lips, effectively silencing her as he thought of a plan. She had no objection. She felt free.
A kiss.
A criminal about to be caught.
Breathtaking views.
And only one thought ran through Hermione's mind.
Ex Castro Tiberis indeed.
--
05/12/08