A/N: I apologise for not updating yesterday, but it was a particularly nasty day and i didn't get time to update. Thank you so much for reading and loving. To the person who said this story could've been better- I know, honey. I know. But sometimes real life gets in the way and things don't go as planned :)) However, I thank you for reading and taking time out to review! *hearts* To the darlings, Lynx and Ditte3, I'm so glad you're enjoying! Thank you for reviewing all the chapters x
Treasure Hunt
Chapter Ten
He mumbles something under his breath, and Hermione strains her ears to catch whatever he's saying.
"Louder," Malfoy hisses.
"I don't know him, but his friends call him Viktor"
Hermione's eyes widen. "Krum? Viktor Krum?" She asks.
"Y-yes" Xavier squints at her.
Malfoy lets out an inhuman growl and shoves him back against the wall, holding him in place by placing an arm over his neck.
"What else did he ask you to do?" He grits out.
Hermione licks her dry lips.
"I...I don't know. Please let me go" he cries.
"Not until you fucking spill it" he growls at him, and Hermione is reminded of the hateful boy that she knew at Hogwarts. He sounds very much like his old self, and she's scared.
"I-I.." he stutters and turns his gaze towards Hermione, silently begging for her help.
She shakes her head. "Tell us," she says, the word us making her stomach clench.
Xavier heaves a sigh, but Malfoy pushes him harder against the wall, almost cutting off his oxygen.
"I will tell... I will tell you everything" he cries.
Malfoy clenches his jaw and loosens his grip on the other man.
"That Viktor...He...He asked me to poison Nott and Malfoy" he admits.
Hermione gasps.
"And?" Malfoy prompts.
"And, what?"
"What about Her- Granger?" He asks.
Hermione's heart is beating frantically fast, not at all because he was about to say Hermione.
"He...said that he she was a good person. He asked me to bring her to him once I was done...with you both."
Hermione's nostrils flare. How dare he?!
Moving with bolting light speed, she flings her hand across his face and slaps him. Hard. The sound reverberates around the room.
"And you were just going to murder them?" She's seething with anger.
"He said that they were bad men! He asked me to check their forearms for a sign of a dark skull!" He tries to reason.
"So? You didn't think twice before poisoning Theo? What the hell, Xavier? And here I actually thought you were a decent human being, but you're nothing but a vile, pathetic murderer." She spits the words at his face.
"Forgive me Ms Hermione, but he said that Malfoy and Nott were the ones who murdered and tortured-"
"Shut up!" She yells having had enough. "Just shut up!"
His mouth snaps shut, and he presses it into a thin line.
"What did he offer you?" She asks after a moment.
"What?"
"In return... for killing them" she clarifies.
Malfoy, who was listening quietly up until now, stands up straight.
Xavier's cheeks redden and he looks away.
"Spit it out" she snarls at him.
"He said...He promised... he'd let me have you" he says in a small voice.
A crack is heard in the room and it takes her a moment to understand that it was the sound of Malfoy's fist colliding with Xavier's nose.
He'd broken it.
And then, he lifts a leg and knees him where it'd hurt the most, making him fall to the ground, grunting in pain.
"You fucking tosser!" Malfoy yells as he kicks him as hard as he can.
Theo enters the room, his wand in hand. " Draco!" He yells as he dashes towards them, but Hermione grabs his arm and stops him. He looks at her questioningly, but she only shakes her head.
Her eyes are stinging with tears of rage and her breathing is laboured. What was she? a toy? A toy... she closes her eyes as she fights an internal war. In the end, her frantic brain wins.
Her breath hitches in her throat as she sees Remus and Tonks crumble, their hands linked together. She sees Fred's smiling face before he departs and hears George lets out a strangled cry. She feels the waves crashing around herself, drowning her, and she gasps for breath. She feels the water pulling her down, cutting off her oxygen completely. She needs to get out. Out out out. She gasps as the need to draw a breath increases, and she screws her eyes shut.
"No, no no" she pants, and her back hits something solid. Just when thinks she has drowned, she feels two strong arms wrap around her middle, holding her steady.
And she knows it's Draco.
Her heart immediately calms down a bit, but her eyes are firmly screwed shut.
She feels his arms as they hook around her knees and neck, hauling her up in his stronghold as he begins to walk. She then feels herself being lowered onto a bed, and then he's shoving a spoonful of the calming draught in her mouth.
She swallows, and immediately feels herself being transported back to the present.
Her eyelids flutter open and she blinks several times, tears falling from her eyes. Her lips quiver slightly, her cheeks flaming hot due to embarrassment.
Draco's arms are still around her and she dares not to look into his eyes, knowing that she'd find them blank and hollow.
But she does, anyway.
Peeling her gaze away from her sleeves, Hermione raises her eyes to his. And he's already looking at her. A few more tears fall from her eyes when she sees that his eyes are shinning with emotion. They're not empty. No- they're filled with emotion she can't name, and her stomach flip-flops. His hair is tousled and some strands are falling on his forehead. He's staring at her through hooded eyes, and she's mesmerized.
She's suddenly very much aware of his arms around her.
And then, exhaustion takes over, and she's falling asleep in his arms. She thinks she's dreaming, but she could've sworn she felt him press his lips to her temple.
She drifted off into a dreamless slumber, thinking he might have added some dreamless sleep draught to the calming draught.
Day Twenty Two
She's alone when she wakes up, and last night feels like a nightmare and a dream, all in one.
She remembers the feel of his arms around her, and her cheeks flame as she scolds herself for breaking down in front of him.
Suddenly, she scrambles out of her bed and darts towards the lounge, bare feet.
"Theo," she calls.
"Morning, Granger," he greets from the kitchen.
Hermione enters and finds him packing fruits in his bag. She furrows her brows as she approaches him, eyes silently asking him a question.
"We're leaving", he declares.
Hermione bites her lower lip. "Where's...?" She trails off.
"He's showering, " he says, pointing towards the bathroom.
"Right...Theo?"
"Mhmm?"
"What happened after I...?"
"Oh," he says. "We obliviated him and sent him on his merry way"
Hermione frowns. "That's it?"
Theo smirks at her. "Why, Granger, were you hoping to find him in pieces?"
Hermione snorts in a very un-ladylike manner. "No, I'd have liked to chop him up myself"
Theo's eyes widen. "I'm joking, Theo," she says, rolling her eyes.
He shakes his head. "I can't believe Viktor Krum," he says, frowning.
"Me too" she mumbles. "Slimy git," she says bitterly.
"Talking about me, Granger?" She hears the familiar drawl, and heat crawls up her cheeks. She turns around, facing him. "Think so highly of yourself, do you?" She bites back, but there's a tiny smile playing at her lips.
Theo watches them with amusement in his eyes. Everybody was acting extra cheery today. Maybe it was normal or maybe because they didn't want awkwardness to settle between them.
Draco cocks his head to one side, his eyes roaming over her face.
She squirms under his gaze and turns back around to face Theo. "I'll go and pack my stuff. We can leave in an hour" she says before she walks towards the door.
Draco moves a little to the side, so she has to bump into him a little as she exits the kitchen. And the scent of aftershave follows her to the room.
ooo
"Do we have everything we need?" Hermione asks.
"You ask that one more time, Granger, and I swear to Salazar I will hang myself" Theo replies.
Hermione huffs at him and grabs her bag. Dra- Malfoy comes out of his bedroom, his bag thrown over his shoulder. He looked like...nothing.
"Ready?" He asks. And she almost swoons on her feet because his voice is heavy with sleep.
"Yes," she replies and looks away, blushing because the question was directed towards Theo.
Malfoy looks at her, a smirk on his face.
She glares at him in response.
"Yeah let's go," Theo says, smirking at them both.
Hermione grabs the cloak from the bar stool and hangs it over her shoulders. She has named it as 'the cloak' because she doesn't know what else to call it. Certainly not Malfoy's, and not her own either.
"You coming, Granger?" her head snaps up upon hearing Theo's voice from the main door. "Yes!" She yells back and jogs towards the two men, making sure to avoid eye contact with the blond as she adjusts her-his- the cloak.
ooo
"Where exactly are we going?" She asks, sniffing slightly.
"No idea" Theo mutters, shivering. The winter winds were howling and slapping mercilessly against their cheeks, and she remmebers Malfoy's advice and casts a quick warming charm, but the cold still remains.
Hermione motions towards the blond who was walking in front of them, and silently asks Theo to ask Malfoy where he was going.
Theo seems to get her and he gives her a lopsided grin before he calls out, "Draco!"
Malfoy stops and turns around to look at them. "Where are we going?" She asks.
Malfoy raises a brow at Theo and then turns towards her. "Out of this town" is his reply.
"What?" She hisses. "You know we can't do that! The answer to our clue is lying here somewhere and you want to leave?" She questions.
Malfoy scratches his jaw and throws a dirty look her way. "I don't know about you, Granger. But I value my life more than finding the damn clue" he retorts.
Hermione pinches the bridge of her nose. "But you obliviated him, didn't you? Then what's the danger?" She taps her foot impatiently.
"And they call you the smartest witch of our age?" He scoffes. "Dont you remember what McGonagall said, Granger?" He tsks. "She said the other trios will be at the same place as us. Which means that Viktor Krum is in this town this very minute"
Hermione's eyes widen. She had actually forgotten about this bit of information. Oh God. Krum is here and he wants to kill Theo and Malfoy. Oh Lord.
"Let's go" she exhales. "Let's leave this town. We can come back once we've figured out the clue" she draws her eyebrows together and raises them, her lips pushing out into a pout.
Suddenly, Theo pinches her cheeks, making her scowl. "Theo," she chides, rubbing a hand over her cheeks.
"What?" He says." You were looking so cute"
Hermione swats him playfully on the shoulder, her eyes instinctively turning towards Malfoy to gauge his reaction. His face was blank as if he had expected her to turn and look at him.
Prat.
"Where do we go?" She asks.
"Take us to the place where you went camping with Potty and Weasel" Theo says, and Hermione is hit with a ton of emotions at once. First of all, her heart feels heavy upon hearing Harry's and Ron's name. Her best friends, her brothers. Gods, did she miss them both! Secondly, a lump forms in her throat at the mention of 'camping'. She clearly remembers the day in the Forest of Dean when Harry had spoken Voldemort's name and they were caught. Caught and brought to...Malfoy Manor.
She looks at Malfoy, and he's staring at her, as if he knows what she's thinking about. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and Theo seems to take that as a no.
"What, no camping with the Slytherins?" He asks, pouting.
She rolls her eyes, still getting over the emotions. "Fine. We can go there if you want to freeze to death."
Theo's eyes narrow and then widen. "Oh.." he says.
"Oh, indeed," Malfoy replies. "Lets get going, shall we? I have a place in mind" he says.
"We're going to walk there?" She asks, bewildered.
"No, we're going to a hiding spot" he replies.
"Oh" it makes sense now. He wants to apparate which he obviously can't do in front of so many muggles.
"Wait... then why didn't we apparate from the guesthouse?" She asks.
Malfoy huffs, but it is Theo who answers. "Because, Granger, we didn't want to risk anything. What if that tosser gets his memories back and forms alliances with Krum once again? He'd know where we were and he possibly could trace our magic back to us."
Hermione nods, feeling lost. "You didn't need to worry about that. Viktor is not as smart as most people might think" she says.
Malfoy turns around sharply to look at her, and she looks at him with wide eyes.
"You would know that, wouldn't you?" He sneers.
"What?" She's thoroughly confused.
"That your Viktor isn't as smart-"
"Stop," she interrupts him. "All I meant to say was that he's stupid"
"Who is?" Malfoy asks, his eyes suddenly blank and void of any emotion.
She pulls at her hair. "Viktor, Malfoy!" She almost yells.
Malfoy let's out a humourless chuckle. "Did you hear yourself, Granger? You called him by his given name"
Hermione closes her mouth, and then opens it again, only to close it once again.
"Krum, Draco" she restructures her sentence, and his eyes shine grey in response.
And then, Theo screams.
I hope this was fine. What do you guys think? Please review! xx
P.s Treasure hunting will begin in the next chapter :))