Chapter Nine: Burn Bridges of Stone
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. 'Aight?
A/N Edit: I went through this thing and edited all of my mistakes. I apologize for leaving them in the first place.
Draco closed the door to Granger's room behind him. It clicked with a sense of finality. He could not ignore what had happened tonight.
Something had changed; there had been a shift in his chest.
His heart beat more frequently now.
She had caused the shift in his chest.
Whether it was Granger's honesty, her listening skills, or perhaps that she had been the only person to touch him, to really touch him, with meaning in years…something had changed.
Draco walked to his own room quietly; thinking all the while about what made him feel so different now. He couldn't place this feeling, he couldn't place the uncertainty he sensed. It was new, and it left his skin running in tingles.
He opened his door and walked in. The door shut automatically behind him. He sat on his bed and placed his head in his hands. Relief; that, was all he could feel.
The next morning went by silently. But not awkwardly. Hermione buttered her toast on her own, refusing to allow the house elf to do it. Malfoy seemed to be watching her out of the corner of his eye. It made her uneasy. What made her uneasy was the way he was looking at her.
It was neither a disparaging look nor one that criticized her. But it was inquisitive. His murky grey eyes followed her around the kitchen from behind the rim of his coffee cup with ardent consideration. Hermione felt the back of her neck heating up as she bit into her toast facing the sink. She could not look at him, nor could she accept the fact that he was looking at her.
Malfoy's eyes hid every real emotion Hermione had learnt over the years. They were languid pools of secrets. And it startled her. Hermione had never imagined that there could be a single person so well crafted and built in stone.
But even Draco Malfoy had a breaking point. Hermione had seen that little crack in him last night. She had simply been spewing idiocy and she had expected another good slap, but had been surprised at his own admission. We were all human, but some were more human than others.
Hermione finished her toast and turned around to face Malfoy. But he was no longer there.
"I trust you, okay" he said as he waved his wand over her head.
Granger snorted at his comment, Draco ignored her "You can wander about, but you can't willingly attempt to make an escape from me, the spell will recognize this. And…" he turned around to look for the little package he had left on the table earlier. Draco walked over and picked up the little blue box. He brought it back to Granger; she was looking at it sceptically. What did she expect? A snake to pop out at her? Knowing Granger, that was probably what she was expecting. Draco rolled his eyes.
He opened the box for her and watched her eyes light up, and then go cold just as quickly. She was doing well at hiding her true thoughts from him. Legitimacy was one thing, but reading facial expressions was another. And Draco was far more skilled at facial expression. A minor flicker across a seemingly blank face could tell him all he ever needed to know.
"What do I have to do?" she asked touching the necklace in the box. It was a modest emerald stone on a white gold chain. Granger's eyebrows had disappeared under her curls. Smart girl, at least he wouldn't have to spend too much time explaining.
"You simply hold it tightly, even your will for my help will work. Then I will be notified" Draco said raising his hand and waggling her fingers before her face. A matching ring sat on his middle finger.
"And will you know where I am?" Granger asked as she took the necklace out of the box. She held it curiously in front of her face. It was glowing.
Draco snapped the box shut and threw it back on the table, "My wand will lead me to you. While I find this to be excessive, one can never be too sure" he said turning back around and away from her.
Hermione pulled the necklace over her head. It was nice, and powerful. She would have loved to research something like this back in her Hogwarts days. The necklace contained a charm of epic proportions. It was basically a protective charm, but the limitations varied by who had casted the charm. The spell had been dated centuries back. And while many different items had been used for the charm carriers, jewelry was most popular, and inconspicuous. Hermione recalled crossing over a glass bracelet in Dumbledore's office that she was sure had contained the spell for it had the same glow that most of these object tended to exhibit.
Dumbledore must have been a strong wizard to cast such a spell. Hermione wondered who he had casted it for. But it could have been entirely possible that it was not his spell, but one item that had come into his possession.
This charm was quite unbreakable and unfading. There was nothing to break it but the original casters will. Hermione fingered the necklace gently. She wondered how far this piece went back in the Malfoy line. She doubted that Malfoy could have managed this one on his own. And if he had, Hermione was worried, for it was sure to be faulty then.
"Here" Malfoy said as he came back towards her.
Hermione looked up in surprise, "What?" she asked stupidly, her mind had been elsewhere.
"Money" he said simply as he extended a fat pouch towards her. Hermione looked at him with a raised brow. Malfoy looked bored, and maybe a tad annoyed with her.
"Well, if you are going shopping you need money" he said in exasperation.
"I said window shopping" Hermione clarified. She didn't want to buy anything; she just wanted to get out for a while without him hounding her the whole way.
"I don't need windows, what a peculiar girl you are" Malfoy muttered as he dropped the pouch into her hands "Honestly" and with that he walked back up the stairs and to his study.
Hermione sighed and weighed the money in her hands. There was probably enough in there to buy her a house. She threw the heavy load into her purse and exited the villa; she was going to buy him windows, just to show him.
Wall to Wall Wizard Furnishings Hermione smiled and walked towards the building. All of the muggles walked past it without a second glance, it must have been charmed in some way. She pulled open the door and stepped inside. Instantly her head began throbbing. The cool blast of air-conditioning hit her hard and her skin broke out in goosebumps.
"V aux io aiutare tu?" a plump friendly man asked coming out from behind the corner.
Hermione blanked. So, her parents had taught her Sicilian but had never really bothered to expand her knowledge of Italian. "Io avere bisogno specchio" she stuttered unsurely, positive that her grammar was horrid.
The man blinked unsurely, "Uhh…" Hermione was mortified, clearly he couldn't understand her, she had only asked for mirrors.
"Non parlo italiano" Hermione said with another grimace.
"No problemo!" the man laughed clapping his pudgy hands together. He reminded Hermione of a hamster, short and squat, with watery eyes and whiskers. A mouse, but nicer than a rat. "Mirrorz? I cana find you a mirrorz!" he said in excitement as he began to walk down further into the store. Hermione followed him silently and gratefully. If she had had her wand she would have simply been able to perform a charm on herself and she would have instantly been an awesome speaker of Italian. She wondered where her wand was now…
Hermione squeezed in-between the living room sets. Floating, colour changing, vampire repellent furniture. Hermione had never been a great fan of wizard furnishings. She had always loved her parent's old Victorian furniture, and she had been excited to inherit it all. But who knew where it was now, either burned to the ground, or left to drown in dust. She heaved a loud sigh.
"Mirrorz!" the man said in an exaggerated tone of excitement as he opened a room at the back of the shop for Hermione. The whole room was covered in mirrors of all shapes, sizes, and degrees of magic. Mirrors that told you your desires, faulty mirrors of Erised, mirrors that said the truth, mirrors that helped you dress. "I'lla be back!" the owner said as he walked out of the room and left Hermione to browse.
She walked around the room silently; the mirrors were all speaking to her as she passed…
"Oh that hair!"
"You want true love…"
"Death approaches you sweetheart"
Hermione ignored them all. A glint of silver caught her eye; Hermione crouched down on the ground. A tiny open shaving mirror sat at the bottom of the pile. She picked it up gently, "And what do you do?" she asked softly. She wiped off the grimy surface with her hands.
"I am a mirror of many talents" it replied in an odd voice. It had the deepness of a mans tone, but the gentle tongue of a woman's intonation.
"Oh really?" Hermione asked skeptically.
"Yes, you ask me questions, and I reply" the mirror said.
There was no change in its surface as it spoke; the voice simply came from it. The only change was the heat it pooled into Hermione's palm. "What kind of questions?" Hermione asked with a raised brow. She stood straight and kept her eyes on the little mirror.
"Matters of the mind and soul" it replied.
"So…everything really"
"Cheeky are you?" the mirror said in that same deep tone. If it had a face Hermione would have imagined it to be smiling at the moment.
"Can I ask you a question?" Hermione asked, instantly mentally smacking herself for being redundant.
"You can, but I guarantee no answer"
"Will I ever be freed?" she questioned desperately. And as the words left her mouth Hermione realized how pathetic she sounded. Asking a toy mirror about her fate. There were gypsies down the street, she might as well have consulted them for all the good it would have done her.
"Free from what? You are free my dear" the mirror said in confusion.
"How can I be free, I'm being held hostage by a man I loathe" Hermione said with an annoyed scoff. Oh lord she was sad, getting angered at an inanimate object that was clearly charmed to annoy.
"But love, freedom is a matter of the heart. And you, appear to still be free before my eyes" the mirror replied calmly.
"You have a name?" Hermione asked coolly. Her fingers had twanged sharply with the desire the snap the damn thing shut, but she had resisted.
"Verity is my name"
"Where on earth did you come from" Hermione asked in confusion.
"France I believe originally, but I have been in existence for a long time. It's difficult to keep track of all of my moving about"
"That's all and well" Hermione said. She snapped the thing shut. She was tired of talking now, but certainly wanted to continue the conversation later. Hermione would buy the mirror.
"No zale, no zale" the owner said shaking the three necks that supported his bloated head.
"Why on earth not?" Hermione asked agitatedly as she leaned upon the sales counter with her elbows.
"Not for zale" The man simply repeated.
"How about…" Hermione reached into her purse, she pulled out the whole bag of money Malfoy had given her "for this much?"
The mans small watery eyes widened, he grabbed the bag and turned it around dumping all of its contents onto the countertop. Wads of paper money fell out along with coins.
"Yes, for zis much, yes" he said in awe.
"Good" Hermione smiled.
The people on the street were all glistening with sweat as the temperature continued to rise. Dark clouds were rolling in over the sea, the hope for rain was clear on all of the people's faces. Hermione kept smoothing her hair with her hands; the humidity was doing little for her. Her hair was huge, her dress clung to her wet body and she felt so weighty. The thick air was heavy and slowly the clouds continued to roll closer over her head. Hermione was praying for a little rain. Odd enough since she was always crying for the sun while in England.
Thunder rolled above. She continued down the stone streets, she had promised to be back by dinner. If she wasn't…well, some hair tugging wasn't exactly out of the question. She quickened her pace and turned the corner. Another clap of thunder broke, joined soon by a smothering of lighting. It flickered down the whole street and caused Hermione to nearly jump out of her skin.
Then the rain broke through. It fell heavily and coolly. Hermione sighed lightly and tilted her head up. Her flesh broke in bumps and her hair was soon plastered to her face. She just let the rain fall on her, cooling her skin and refreshing her completely. It pattered on the stone loudly and soaked her dress through.
Hermione lowered her head and continued her way back to her house. The house…Draco's house…whatever it was.
After a minute or two the rain was no longer fun nor refreshing. It beat like mad on her now and it felt as though she was being bombarded with hard rocks. Hermione quickened her pace; she could hardly hear her breathing over the pelting rain. A small stream of steam began to issue from her lips with every breath. Hermione had not been aware that rains in Sicily were so cold. This was a drastic change in weather, even for a world wrecked by global warming. A chill ran down her spine.
Hermione stopped and stood silently, straining her ears to hear…what? Something…
Another cold chill racked her bones, something felt off… Hermione began walking again. As quickly as she could without breaking into a run. She didn't want to look like a complete lunatic. A faint yell reached her but it was drowned by the sound of the storm. Hermione looked backwards trying to place where the sound could have come from.
All around her everything had become shades of grey. Her eyes flickered back up to the sky. Swirling purple clouds began to drown out even the distant blue. What was happening? Hermione began to panic, she was never a fan of storms, and this looked like a class A hurricane or something.
"Oh Malfoy, where are you when I need you?" she muttered quietly to herself. She shrieked as another clap of thunder sounded over the small town. There were no people on the streets, the blinds had been pulled down in every home, Hermione felt alone. And dare she say, rather scared at the moment. She began moving again, walking at a frantic speed. Another yell, this one was closer. And then another, this one seemed more like a scream.
What was going on? Why the hell were people screaming? Was it because of the storm? Did that have anything to do with it? Was there a tornado headed her way? Impossible, the land was far too elevated for a tornado to be able to form. So it must have been a tsunami or something. Well…maybe she was grasping for straws. Hermione's mind kept frantically churning out scenarios as she practically flew over the sidewalks on her way back. She would take the damn scorching heat back if it meant getting out of the rain.
A piercing scream reached her ears from nearby. It was close, very close. It began to die away, and it didn't seem to be because of the rain. More yells continued, each weaker than the last until they completely faded. Hermione was in full panic mode now. She grabbed her necklace tightly in her fist and squeezed it.
"Come on Malfoy, hurry up, I'm scared shitless and something is going on here" she whispered jumping nervously on her feet. The steam continued to rise from her lips, the temperature was continuing to drop, what was happening?
She didn't know where to go, if it was worth it to continue on her way or to just wait where she was. "Come on" she pleaded to no one. Hermione began to cry, from hopelessness, fear, worry, uncertainty. Something was happening, and she did not know what, what was worse was that she had no form of protection. She was without a wand.
Another cold chill ran down her spine, this one shook her through for a good thirty seconds. Hermione turned around, nothing; it was all grey, all barely visible through the rain and mist that had begun to form about her feet. A different coolness touched her nerves now. A familiar one, but not in any pleasant way. "Oh shit" she muttered in desperation.
Dementors, it must have been. She could feel them; she could smell the rot now. They were near. But why? What business did dementors have here, now? Unless Voldemort had sent them, but why? Hermione couldn't understand any of it. "Hurry up Malfoy" she whined in desperation as she clenched the necklace tighter, she could feel it digging into her flesh, the pain numbed by the cold.
"Granger?" she heard him call.
"Malfoy!" she cried back in relief to the general direction his voice had come from.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Fucked if I know!" she replied angrily looking around for him.
A cold wet hand wrapped around her wrist, Hermione screamed loudly. "Shut up" Malfoy growled as he clapped his other hand over her lips. "They're by us" he added into her ear. Hermione could feel his body pressed against her back, his hair sticking to her neck, his warm breath sliding down her chest.
He released her mouth. "Can't you use your patronus to drive them away?" she asked quietly, a trace of a whine in her tone.
"No" he whispered back, "There are many, thousands probably…although I can't understand why…"
"You and me both" Hermione muttered.
She felt him spin her around and grab her tightly around the waist, pulling her flush against him, his head bent to her ear, "I'm going to apparate us away, but they will sense the magic, so do not be alarmed if they attempt to swarm us"
Hermione's witty reply was cut short with another unpleasant sensation, "they're nearby" she said in a singsong voice.
Black fleeting shadows were closing in on them, but in a second they had all disappeared.
"What the hell are dementors doing in Sicily" Hermione raged as she dropped her soaking wet dress at the door and took the bathrobe from Malfoy's hands.
"I don't know" he said with a deep frown.
"Shouldn't you? You and Voldemort are buddy-buddy, you mean to say he doesn't share this information with you?" Hermione asked tying the robe tight around her body and continuing to the living area where a fire had been lit. She dropped on the couch.
Malfoy followed her; his eyes were cold and his face hard. "The dark lord does not see it fit to share every single piece of information with me" he replied.
"Not even something as important as this? Surely he sent you here, so why didn't he tell you that he planned to attack people?" Hermione asked rationally.
Malfoy was silent, apparently stumped for an answer he appeared to be really thinking about her question. Hermione found this odd. Just what was Voldemort up to when he wouldn't even tell his most prized death eaters about his plan?
Draco look up at Granger, she was a smart girl. A little hotheaded, but she asked all of the right questions. What did this mean? Was it accidental? No, hardly anything was accidental when it came to the dark lords plans. So it must have been planned well, but why had it been kept from him. Draco had not even the slightest inclination that this was going to happen. So who was entrusted with this information? Was anyone? What was the dark lord planning? Was his position in danger?
No, impossible. Draco was smart and loyal, the dark lord recognized that. So what was this raid about? Surely it was not simply to siphon out the souls of innocent people. Was this a message to the Sicilian wizarding communities, a warning of his power against them, a threat? Possibly…probably.
He watched Granger get up and walk back to the door. She grabbed her purse and came back to him. "I bought you something" she said simply.
Draco's eyebrows rose, "You bought something for me?" he asked in surprise. What if she had bought him poison, or a trap, or something that could harm him, he didn't put it past Granger to try and harm him.
"Yes I did" she pulled out a small brown parcel and handed it to him. Draco looked at it skeptically. He ran his hand over it but he did not sense any dark magic. There was strong magic within it, but it did not seem dangerous.
"What is it?" he asked cautiously.
"Well, you'll have to open it" Granger said nonchalantly waving her hand at him.
Draco opened it slowly and carefully ready to drop it cold should the need arise. He ripped off the brown paper and found a large green jewelry box to open. He opened it and finally a small rounded silver thing fell into his hand, he dropped the box onto the couch. The silver circle was about the size of a large pocket watch, but it did not appear to be so. "What is it?" he asked.
"It's a shaving mirror" Granger replied calmly.
"You bought a mirror? For me? What for?" Draco asked in confusion as he flipped it open, inspected the outside, looking for mysterious traces of poison on it.
"To inspire confidence in you!" she said with a false brightness, "No, to boost your vanity"
"Ha ha, sad little Granger, can't even make a proper joke. No wonder you were the wet towel of the trio" Draco grinned as he shut the mirror.
"Ha ha, sad little Malfoy, did you know you have a bug in your hair?" Granger retorted smartly.
Draco glared at her "There couldn't be a bug in my hair, it was raining outside" he said with confidence. But he didn't last long before the paranoia overwhelmed him. He picked up the mirror she had bought and checked his hair. No bugs, none at all.
"You are a liar" he said coolly.
"I thought I saw one" she said uninterestedly.
"Hello"
Draco nearly dropped the mirror in surprise, "It spoke!" he cried out.
Granger was laughing at him.
"You bought me a speaking mirror? What is it supposed to do? Insult me when you can't?" he asked with a sneer.
"If you like" the mirror said in complete seriousness.
