When Draco opened his eyes, he looked around confused. The word disappointment crossed his mind. He turned to the witch next to him intending to get clarification but she was already leading him toward a small bench on the edge of a city park.
They were obviously in muggle London and on a fairly busy avenue. Couples and families were strolling past. There were a bunch of muggles wearing bright uniforms. They were working ropes around the sidewalk's trees. When Hermione reached the free bench, the wizard noticed that many people had found seats around the park and were also watching the muggle men work.
Draco carefully sat next to his companion. "I don't get it, " he stated bluntly.
Hermione set both of their hands, still clasped, on her lap. "You will."
Turning his attention to the muggle workers again, he realized that the ropes didn't just cover the trees, but also swayed gently above the street. There were glass bulbs along the ropes. A memory from Muggle Studies was pushing it's way through Draco's brain. Before it could fully materialize a chorus of "all set" rippled from the men.
The street lamps went dark, Draco squeezed Hermione's hand. His anxiety started to build-he didn't do well in the dark after the war. He let out a breath when he felt her body weight lean into him. Her warmth was comforting and he found himself leaning into her as well.
Suddenly thousands of tiny lights turned on: the streets and parked look as if the heavens fell to the earth to light the night.
"Wow," Draco whispered, eyes wide.
"Wow," Hermione agreed. He looked down at her. She had a small whimsical smile on her face. The lights reflected in her golden eyes, the next word to float in his mind was goddess. He was no longer disappointed.
Maybe feeling his intense gaze, Hermione finally tore her eyes from the lights and looked at Draco. His grey eyes and platinum blond hair brightly shined in the lights. She could swear he was an elf from Lothlorien, made of starlight. Her breathing hitched as he leaned closer to her, eyes closing, she titled her head up toward him.
She felt a ghost of a kiss as a child ran past them, squealing in delight. Jumping apart Hermione couldn't help it, she started laughing. Draco joined her laughter a couple of seconds later.
Sighing, Hermione leaned back again the bench, "My parents would take me here every year for the Christmas lighting."
"You miss them," Draco watched the other families. They were gathering up their children, ready to head back home.
"Terribly," Hermione confirmed. "Thank you for sharing this with me. This has been probably the best date I've been on in a long time, no matter how unofficial it was."
Draco scowled as she said the word "unofficial". He supposed it was, he was supposed to be with another witch entirely tonight. Did she feel as if this wasn't real? Was it even real? Was she just being a good friend and got lost in the moment?
His head swam with questions as his stomach filled with lead. "Yeah, same here," was the only reply he could come up with. His steel eyes fixed on their hands still intertwined on her lap. Did she think she was doing him a favor or that he was doing her a favor?
The need to leave overcame Draco. There were too many questions, too many emotions fighting through him. Earlier, he would have given anything not to return to his dark empty flat, now it was exactly where he wanted to be. Safe with no confusing feelings.
Gently pulling his hands from her, Draco cleared his throat, "I should get going."
Now Hermione's eyes clearly shone with confusion, but she just said, "Oh, of course."
They both stood up, the street lamps were coming back on, the moment fading. Draco forced a smile, "See you Monday."
"Monday, then." Hermione nodded. She watched Draco walk a short distance away then apparate when nobody was paying attention before turning to walk home. It wasn't too late, there were still plenty of people milling about. Replaying the conversation she was trying to think of what she said that was wrong, or hurtful. Did she imagine the feeling of attraction? What if it was one-sided? No, he leaned down to kiss her. Maybe he just got lost in the moment, he was supposed to be on an actual date tonight. Shaking her head to hopefully shake loose the thoughts of steel eyes she started looking through the familiar shop windows.
She passed by a little muggle book store, one of those independent specialized ones that was open at all odd hours when she froze. The witch took a couple steps back until she was in front of the window display.
The peculiar shop seemed to focus on the occult. Hermione had probably passed it a million times. She remembered being fascinated by it when she was younger, when she had only dreamed of magic. When she started her schooling at Hogwarts she knew most of this muggle magic was just wishful thinking, so far from the truth.
There in the window were some gem-stones, ordinary looking quartz and amethyst but they were advertised as being "charged by moon cycles." Hermione bounced on the balls of her feet as the dots connected in her mind. She ran into the bookstore.
At 6:45 Draco Malfoy walked in the Auror office expecting to see an annoyed Granger at her desk waiting for him. He had been apprehensive about work today, but the weekend had given him time to distance himself from his emotions like a true Slytherin. They both had just got caught up in the moment on Friday. Neither of them would jeopardize their friendship or partnership.
The blond wizard did not see an annoyed Hermione Granger, he did not see any Granger. When he got to his desk he did noticed a note. Maybe she went somewhere?
Draco picked it up and felt his stomach drop. The note had the same aura as the death threats that are sent to the Manor. With shaking hands he carefully opened the innocent looking parchment. We're Watching You glared up at him. He dropped the note and wiped his hands on his trousers. Then, on a second thought he took the note, crumpled it, and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked at Hermione's desk and saw a similar note, but her's was red. It radiated with warning.
He took that one as well before the office could get too busy and crammed it into his other pocket. Where the fuck was she?
Swallowing down the feeling of panic, Draco spied a mess of black hair across the room. He quickly crossed over.
"Potter."
Harry's green eyes gave a half-hearted glare at the blond, "Malfoy."
Draco cleared his throat, "Do you know where Granger is? She usually isn't late." He checked his watch, 7:05.
Harry sighed, "She owled in sick this morning."
"She did?" Draco felt himself relax.
Nodding Harry replied, "Yeah, must be something bad. Wouldn't let anyone visit her over the weekend. Not even Ginny. Did you notice her coming down with anything on Friday?"
Draco fought the blush that was creeping up his neck, "Why would I notice anything?" He even added a bit of a sneer.
The Boy-Who-Lived fixed Draco with a deadpan stare, "Because you're her partner?"
"Mentee," He automatically corrected. Fuck. "Well, thanks."
Draco turned before Harry could form a response and walked from the office. It took everything to not run to the apparation point. The notes burned holes in his pockets. Granger not coming in?
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He muttered under his breath before apparating to her home.
He stealthily made his way up the front steps until he was outside her door. Music was faintly coming through an open window, some type of bluesy-rock. Draco sighed in relief, she was home. Taking a deep breath, he knocked loudly.
Adding to the list of things he did not expect to see today was Hermione Granger opening the door in running shorts that covered almost nothing, a black band tee shirt, and hair up in a messy bun. Well, her hair was always messy so that part wasn't much of a surprise.
They both stood frozen to their spots, Draco fighting the urge to run his hands over her golden body. Is this what she looked like in the morning? He must look like an albino in comparison under this early sunlight. A deep blush was starting to stain her cheeks.
He broke the silence, "You called in sick."
This startled her out of her embarrassment, "Yes." Without warning, she grabbed his hand, pulled him into her house and locked the door behind him muttering a few protective wards. Draco didn't have time to take in much of the house as she pulled him into the living room. It was a sight to take in.
Piles of books were stacked around the room, different types of rocks littered the small living room table, new charts that looked old and unfamiliar were spread out along with tea mugs. He noticed the map that marked the kidnappings and the moon calendar were in the collection.
His eyes looked over every article before settling back on her, she bounced a bit on the balls of her feet excited. She had an expectant smile on her face and kept quiet looking at him. He picked up a few of the books and flipped them over. They all had titles like "Moon Magic", "Pagan Portals", "Myth & Magic, Craft & Recipes, Rituals and Spells" but they weren't anything he'd seen before. Draco looked at the author's names and realized he hadn't heard of any of them.
He whipped his head around, his eyes wide, and whispered "Muggles."
Hermione look proud of him but there was an underlying emotion of sadness, "Muggles," she confirmed.
"Granger," Draco sighed, "This makes no sense." He put the books down in their respective piles.
"It makes perfect sense Malfoy! Nothing else makes sense. Muggles think the moon gives them all sorts of powers, they charge crystal and objects from moon cycles," She argued and started to pace. "Honestly I was stupid to not see it before."
Draco looked around the room again, it was bright fall day. Cold outside, but the sun's rays gave the room plenty of natural light and warmth. It was very muggle, still photos, some small kick-knacks, and one giant bookcase filled to the brim with both muggle and magical. "How would they be able to carry off muggle-born children that were using magic? How could they disappear without a trace? How could they even know what children would be muggle-born?
"Their magic might not be strong enough if there was a big group and there was a struggle at every site. They could have sedated the children to stop them and take them away. Muggle transportation of course doesn't register. As for the last question, they could have someone on the inside. Wizards throughout history have used muggles to do their bidding." She was speaking fast. Taking a breath she finally sat on the couch, "I think our suspicions about someone working on the inside have more sinister applications than we believed." Hermione put her head in her hands.
Draco slowly took a seat next to her, the couch was over-stuffed and comfy. He wrapped his slender fingers around hers and pulled her hands away from her face. He noticed just how little sleep she probably got over the weekend. "What would muggles want with a bunch of children?"
Her shoulders slumped more, "Muggles charge objects to get what they believe to be magic from them. To empower themselves, but it's never permanent. These objects constantly need recharging." Hermione gestured to a couple of the books, "I think by taking the muggle-born children, they believe they can draw out their magic for themselves."
Steel eyes darkened, "Like a sacrifice."
Hermione nodded, "To turn themselves into permanent witches or wizards."
"Why do they keep stealing children? After one, they should have realized it doesn't work."
Lowering their hands to her knees, Hermione turned his over and started tracing his palms, "I don't think they tried yet. I think they're keeping them somewhere. In most of these books, the number seven in revered."
"Then we still have time." Draco tried to be optimistic, but was distracted by her hands. He knew she was doing it absentmindedly, gathering her thoughts, but her fingertips felt like fire.
"One more moon cycle and all of England is now a suspect." Hermione smiled bitterly.
"Maybe not." Draco reluctantly took his hands back and pulled the letters from his pocket. He handed both to her, "These were one our desks this morning. The red one on yours. Maybe we can trace them or something, anything. They have to be connected."
He could tell from the way Hermione leaned away from them that she also felt the threat. Squaring her shoulders with bravery befitting a Gryffindor she opened his first, the We're Watching You almost made Draco shudder. The brunette laid it at their feet while she focused her attention on the red one. She slowly opened it then threw it to the ground as if it burned her.
There were no words, just a lock of familiar unruly golden brown hair.
The books mentioned above are real books and no, I do not own them either.