The old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress.
The entrance to the catacombs looked nothing like you'd think an entrance to a catacombs would look. It was simple laundry room, complete with the scent of fresh cotton and light lavender. Wash bins and piles of clothes.
Using the tip of his black boot, Draco kicked a large, wooden washtub out of the way, revealing a small wooden hatch that was hardly any wider than Hermione. It would require an enlarging charm for him to fit.
"We're going down there?" Hermione swallowed, feeling nervous for a mountain of reasons she didn't desire to assess at the moment. But not the least of which was being trapped somewhere dark and alone with Draco Malfoy, Death Eater, no matter how semi-pleasant he'd seemed recently.
"What, Granger? Scared?" His voice was a gravely whisper that sent shivers and sparks all through her body.
Draco kneeled in front of the hatch and whispered something that sounded a little like parseltongue, but wasn't. It also sounded a little like Latin but wasn't that either. "Mara – mortem – dara - ky"
"What language is that?" she asked.
His grey eyes flashed up to her, but he didn't answer the question. "Back up, Granger."
She took a few tentative steps backwards as the hatch, not only widened, but twisted and changed. The small hole in the floor became a seven foot door. A door covered in dead vines with strange symbols carved across the stone. Something like a tomb.
"I don't know about this," she said.
"Can you think of anything better to do on Halloween?" Draco leaned in the doorframe, smirking at Hermione. Her face flushed.
"Fine." Hermione gripped her wand as tight as she could manage, her mind playing over every defense spell she knew.
She wasn't going down there for Draco, she reminded herself, she was going down there for her. To find the Fluxon Changer. To get out of this terrible place.
"Ladies first," he said smoothly, placing his cold hand on the small of her back. But how did she feel that it was cold through her sweater? There was something wrong with him... she should stop this, but she just didn't.
The catacombs were dark as the darkest night. The sound of dripping water, the sour scent of mildew. Her senses seemed to come alive in the darkness. She wouldn't have even known Draco was there if she hadn't felt his cold breath on her neck or his arm brush against hers.
"Asha-I-El-Lada-Cri," Draco continued in the strange language that was making Hermione more uncomfortable than she'd like, but there was something fluid, beautiful, about the sound of these distinguishable words on Draco's lips. The door slammed shut.
Hermione jumped. Draco placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. Once again, she shivered at the ice in his touch.
"What did you shut the door for?"
"We cannot progress if we do not shut the door," he whispered against her cheek.
Hermione nodded without thinking. It was so dark, nothing was visible, so dark, it felt like nothing would ever be visible again.
"Do not tell me, witch, that you have forgotten one of the most simple spells."
She didn't know why she wasn't moving. Or why she liked the sound of Draco calling her witch. She didn't know why she didn't pull away when Draco ran his hand down her wand arm until his hand laid on top of hers.
Fear... or something else. Something much worse. Attraction. No. It could not be that.
"Lumos," he whispered, his hand over hers, his mouth near her ear. The tip of her wand began to glow, illuminating the path ahead of them. How was that even possible?
Draco released her quickly then grabbed his own wand. "Lumos," he said again. Between both their wands, Hermione could see clearly. Its walls were dark, damp stone. The floor dirt and rocks. The tunnel seemingly never ending.
"It doesn't look like there is anything down there," said Hermione, her mouth dry.
"How our eyes can deceive us, Miss Granger" he said, then started walking. Hermione looked back at the closed door. There was no way out without Draco. She hurried to his side.
"Good choice," he said. "You were the one who wanted to have fun. So let's have fun. Malfoy style."
He looked over and grinned at her., his grey eyes painted with strips of pink. She knew she had made another horrible mistake.
They walked for several minutes in a heavy silence. The only sounds were their steps, the slight dripping from above their heads and the splash on the rocks below.
She slowed and let Draco take the lead. If Hermione wanted to find the Fluxon Changer and usurp the powers of the house, she had to try the spell Mr. Collingsworth had taught her when she first started working at the Reclamation of Lost Ancient Magical Artifacts Office.
It took all of her concentration, so she had to push away her fear, her hesitation, and the way Draco Malfoy looked in the pale wand light out of her mind. Then came the incantation, but she couldn't say it aloud. Hermione didn't trust Draco with this. Not with the power of Fluxon Changer. If she actually found it, she'd make up some story about what it was, but she couldn't think about that now. She had to focus.
A yellow light expanded like a tiny sun from her wand.
Don't look back, Draco. Please don't look back.
With a strange gust, the light blew out and an eerie explosion of sparks flashed then disappeared.
Draco turned around, his brow furrowed. "What was that?"
Hermione shrugged. "Don't know."
Draco held his gaze on her like he was trying to use leglimens, but Hermione was a master at occulimency. He would not get to her.
"Hmph. Keep up with me Granger." His voice was stiff, harsh. Not a request. Hermione quickened her pace to match his.
She waited, but nothing happened. All those sparks she sent out were supposed to create a trail to that which you most desired when you cast the enchantment.
Hermione sighed. Now she was down there with Draco for no reason at all.
But then she saw the lights start to congregate, leading from the tips of her finger, down to... oh, crap.
Collingsworth's voice sounded in her head and all she wanted to do was force it out.
You must be sure to focus when you do the spell. You must focus all of yourself, make the lost item the one thing you want more than anything in the world. Thi spell returns to you something you've lost. Your heart's deepest desire. So you must learn to control your desire.
The lights were spinning like a misguided halo around Draco's feet, slowly working their way up his legs like a rope intent on trapping him.
Control your desire.
Hermione took in Draco, the movement of his soft hair, the intensity in his steely eyes, the movement of his muscles. His laugh.
Merlin, his laugh. His real one.
She had failed to take Collingsworth's instruction. She did not control her desire. And why did she desire a heartless man like him? It made her physically sick.
The lights had made it half way up his body at this point. Hermione was just staring, staring like she'd lost that brilliant mind of hers.
"What the hell?" Draco smacked at the lights like they were flies.
Hermione gasped and dropped her wand, breaking the spell. The lights went off in a snap.
"Granger... what was that?"
"Uh, I don't know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't looking at you."
Draco let out a tiny laugh. "You've been looking at me since the first day you got here."
Anger surged through her. She had not been looking at him since the first day. Except... she had. Oh, Godric Gryffindor, he'd noticed this whole time and never said anything. What a prat.
"Get over yourself."
"Back at ya, mudblood."
Hermione gritted her teeth and without thinking she grabbed Draco's arm and shoved him against the wall. "What did you just call me?" Before Hermione could stop him, he flipped her around and pressed her against the wall. She gasped at the contact, at his body so close to hers.
"I called you what you are. Or did you forget? " His hand traced her left forearm then squeezed it tightly. "My filthy little mudblood." His eyes were glowing, like lights, red piercing lights, trained right on her.
My? The Nerve.
"You're insane," snapped Hermione.
"You've been lying to me."
Hermione felt a twinge of guilt even though Draco didn't deserve her remorse.
"Git," she snarled.
"Know-it-all."
He smirked. "Mudblood."
"Coward."
Draco slammed his lips to Hermione's, silencing her. She froze. What did he think he was... Draco's lips were rough, chapped, but moved so easily, so perfectly against hers that she couldn't help but kiss back, but feel every little movement of their mouths. Hermione felt a weakness in her knees. A weakness running from his kiss to her veins and traveling through her entire body.
Draco shoved her away as if she had been the one to kiss him, then looked at her with a level of disgust she'd never seen before. Not once. Not ever. He took off running deeper into the catacombs, leaving her alone in the blackest of darkness.
"Screw you, Malfoy. Screw you!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Hermione leaned against the wall, trying to collect her thoughts and calm her breathing before walking to the exit. Before banging on the door and screaming and hoping Starry or Lucky would come find her.
"Is that you?" she heard Draco's voice from down the wall. "Is it really you?"
Hermione wanted to ignore it but she couldn't. "Malfoy?" She walked a few steps in his direction. "Hey, Malfoy what's going on?"
"She's here," he said his voice as soft as a cloud, but still pained. He was saying this to Hermione, but then his focus changed. "I can't believe you're here...No. I won't leave you. I'd never leave you."
With her wand lit, she could see Draco, standing there, eyes perfectly focused as if there were someone in front of him, responding to his words, but there was no one at all.
"Malfoy. Come on. Let's go." Worry crept through Hermione like thousands of little spiders. He didn't respond to her. Didn't look her way.
Draco reached out and moved his hand as if he was stroking someone's cheek. It was one of the strangest things Hermione had ever seen and she had seen a lot of strange things.
"Yes. I'll stay. I'll stay here forever. It will be just like it was." Draco took a step forward. Hermione moved closer, morbid curiosity and a hint of concern consuming her.
"Malfoy! Malfoy!" Hermione shouted, but it was if he could not hear her. "Draco, please. Look at me," her voice lowered. He looked crazed. His glowing bright red eyes, his body rigid like someone had him under the Imperius curse, but there was no one there. No one in their world but him and her. "Draco you're scaring me."
Hermione grabbed his arm. Immediately, Draco tore away from her and smacked her across the face with the back of his hand. She slammed against the stone floor, sending jolts of pain through her body.
She scrambled away from Draco and looked up at him. It was if he had been emptied out, like he was no one. Then she felt the hot blood dripping from her nose over her lips.
"Yes. I'll come with you. I'll come," said Draco, his voice sounding as if he were near tears.
Hermione blinked trying to focus through the pain. There was something controlling Draco, trying to make him do something. Come.
Draco started to move forward and Hermione had the strangest feeling if he made the step he'd disappear. Be lost forever. She whipped out her wand.
"Stupefy," Hermione shouted. A red light blazed from the tip of the wand and slammed into Draco, sending him into the other wall. He slumped over, his eyes shut.
Hermione scrambled to her feet and started toward him. She made it to where he had been standing then stopped.
"'Mione," a voice whispered. A familiar one. "Hermione, listen to me. Listen." She turned toward the source of the voice.
"Harry?"
There before her in the catacombs of Malfoy Manor was the face of her best friend, smiling, his hand out. Merlin how she wanted to take it.
"You can leave here. All you have to do is come with me. Come, Hermione, and all will be as it was."
Hermione stood transfixed. He was as Hermione remembered him. So real. So real and all she had to do was follow him and she could leave. Be free with Harry.
"No!" she shouted. Hermione had seen this kind of thing before. In horcruxes. This was different, but yet the same. She could feel it in her bones and her blood.
Dark magic.
"You're not Harry!" she screamed at the fake Harry who didn't even react.
"Of course, I am. Don't you remember me?"
The temptation to reach for her friend's hand was nearly impossible to fight. It weighed down on her like a thousand pounds.
Hermione shut her eyes and threw herself at Draco. She tripped and landed on him, her hands spread across his chest. Her face inches from his. The memory of the kiss...
You need to get out of here.
This time the voice was her own. Hermione grabbed Draco's wand, pushed herself to her feet and flicked her own wand at Draco. He floated in front of her. She trained her wand on him as she ran as fast as she ever had toward the door, Draco gliding through the air in pace with her.
It hit her as she saw the exit in the distance. How would they get out of here? Draco was passed out and she was afraid to wake him. Afraid he'd go running back.
Hermione set Draco down and pounded on the door. Her voice cracked as she screamed.
"Somebody help! Lucky! Starry! Please. Please. Open up, you stupid door. Open!"
She sank down to the ground next to Draco. He'd wake up in a few hours and maybe, just maybe, the influence of whatever evil lurked in this catacomb would have worn off. Maybe he'd get them out of there.
The door squeaked open and Hermione's heart leaped. She was going to get out of there. Hermione never thought she'd be so happy to see the inside of Malfoy Manor. She lifted Draco with the spell again and climbed out of the catacombs.
"What happened?" asked Starry, a look of horror etched across her small face.
Suddenly, everything came back to Hermione in a rushing flood. Unstoppable tears poured from her eyes.
"It was... I don't know he was just talking to this person, but there was no there and it wanted him to come and then I tried to stop him, but he hit me. But it was like it wasn't even him..." Hermione drew in a shaking breath as she lifted her hand to feel the dried blood across her lips, the metallic taste on her tongue. Starry stared at her, frozen.
"Who he was talking to," Hermione calmed her words. "I think it was a woman. He seemed to... to know her. Please tell me, tell me Starry, who did he think it was?"
Starry's glassy eyes looked up at the unconscious, floating Draco and then back to Hermione.
"His wife," said Starry.
Thanks for reading and reviewing. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Let me know your thoughts :) Thanks again.