"The first thing we need to do is talk to Theo," she said, marching down the stairs of her house with Draco beside her.
"Lead the way," Draco replied, amiably.
His tone caused her to stop and turn. She looked at him suspiciously to which he just smiled pleasantly. Something was off, she thought. But she couldn't quite figure out what. With a huff, she started walking again but stopped again 10 seconds later. She had no idea where Theo lived, she realized. Draco knew she didn't know and was content to let her make a fool of herself. Internally cursing herself, she turned and looked at him. He had the same stupid, pleasant smile on his face.
"Not going to lead the way?" he asked.
"Oh you know I have no idea where to go," she replied, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "Just show me where the hell to go."
"If you insist," he said, with a mock bow.
"Malfoy, this is serious," she snapped. "Stop fooling around."
His demeanor went from pleasant to cold so fast Hermione was shocked he didn't get whiplash. "Don't tell me how serious this is, Granger," he seethed. "It's my father lying in a bed."
Without another word, he shoved past her, walking briskly down the street. She had to jog to catch up with him and even when she did, she had to practically continue to jog to keep up. She knew she needed to apologize but Draco never gave her the opportunity. In a matter of minutes, they were at the front door of a dark red brick home. Draco knocked on the door. When there was no response, he knocked again and called out.
"Theo, mate, it's Draco," he called. "Open the door!"
But there was still no answer.
"Where could he be?" Hermione wondered out loud.
Draco banged on the door, louder than before, rather than answering her. He continued banging on the door for a full minute before turning to her.
"Well it seems dear Theo isn't home," Draco said.
"Where else would he be?" Hermione asked.
"Hell if I know," Draco replied. "What's next in Hermione Granger's ten-part plan to save Blaise?"
"Maybe he went to visit his father," Hermione said, thinking out loud. "We could check there."
"Brilliant," Draco drawled. "Let's go."
He breezed past her and they walked in silence to the town hall. Once they were in front of the doors Hermione paused.
"Malfoy," Hermione began, but he ignored her and pushed the doors open.
Hermione followed him. Her eyes scanned the room but she didn't see Theo anywhere. Draco ignored her and walked over to the bed where his father was. Neville and Hannah approached Hermione.
"How is everyone?" Hermione asked when they reached her.
"Everyone except Nott Senior has woken up," Hannah replied with a smile. "They're all a little groggy but they're fine. We're going to release them all tonight."
"What about Nott Senior?" Hermione wanted to know. "Why hasn't he woken up yet?"
"He may have had a stronger dose than the others," Neville speculated. "Perhaps he was the intended target and the others were just collateral damage."
"It's possible," Hermione admitted. "Should we be worried?"
"I don't think so," Hannah said. "We'll just keep an eye on him."
"Has Theo been to visit him?" Hermione asked.
"No," Neville replied. "We haven't seen him since he attacked Blaise earlier today."
"Hmm," Hermione said, pensively. "I'll write to Harry, ask him to check the monitors."
Hermione stepped away from Hannah and Neville and pulled out the journal from her bag. She quickly scribbled Find Theo Nott onto a piece of paper and pulled it out. She sent it away in a puff of green smoke. When she looked up, Draco was talking quietly with Hannah and Neville. Hermione re-joined them.
"- and you can take him back home in about an hour," Neville was saying to Draco. "We just need to do one last check up to make sure he's fully recovered."
"Thank you again," Draco said, shaking Neville's hand. "Have you seen Theo Nott?"
"We just told Hermione," Neville answered, indicating to Hermione. "We haven't seen him since his tantrum this afternoon."
A loud crash caused them all to whip around and look behind them. They turned in time to see Nott Senior half out of his bed and moaning.
"Seems he's awake," Hannah said, as she hurried away to help him with Neville close behind.
Draco looked at Hermione and said, "we should go back to Nott's house, see if we can find him."
"Malfoy, I'm sorry," Hermione replied hurriedly. "I shouldn't have said what I did."
"Leave it," Draco answered curtly. "Let's just deal with this."
"Fine," Hermione said, mildly hurt he hadn't accepted her apology.
Before they could leave, however, Draco's father called his name. Draco immediately went to his father's side. Hermione watched as they had what looked to be a disagreement before Draco resignedly waved her over. Hermione approached cautiously.
"Ms. Granger," Lucius greeted her.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Hermione fumbled in response.
"My son tells me that the two of you are going to see young Theo Nott," he replied. "But won't tell me why."
Draco gave her a look as she opened her mouth and she gave him a helpless look.
"We think he can help us figure out what happened to all of you," Hermione supplied, ignoring Draco's scowl.
"Would it not help to know the events of the evening in discerning what happened?" Lucius asked, mildly.
"It would," Hermione conceded, focusing on Lucius' face instead of Draco's pointed glare.
"My father isn't well enough to talk, Granger," Draco snapped. "He needs to rest."
"Enough, Draco," Lucius silenced his son. "I'm sitting right here and I'm not some sort of invalid."
"But father," Draco tried but Lucius silenced him with a look. It was the same look that had worked since he was a child. He didn't remember that, of course, but instinctively he quieted.
"Now Ms. Granger," Lucius said, addressing her directly. "What do you need to know?"
Hermione gave a nervous look at Draco but when he didn't say anything, she spoke. "Blaise told us there was a poker game," she supplied. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Lucius replied. "We get together every couple of weeks and have a poker night. It's mostly an excuse for a number of people to drink excessively. An activity that I typically do not partake in."
"You said typically," Hermione commented. "Did you...partake last night?"
"I did," Lucius told her. "Not being mayor is a difficult adjustment for me. So I had a drink to help...ease the transition."
"What did you have to drink?" Hermione asked, curiously.
"Nott had a bottle of Scotch he was bragging about," Lucius replied. "Said we'd never taste better. So I had a glass."
"Who else was there, father?" Draco asked.
"Everyone you see in this room passed through at some point or another," Lucius answered.
"Did everyone have a drink?" Hermione questioned.
"I can't say for certain," Lucius told her. "But it wouldn't surprise me. Nott was passing it around like it was water."
"What did it taste like?" Hermione wanted to know.
"Why the hell does that matter, Granger?" Draco interrupted before Lucius could answer.
"Overly sweet for my taste," Lucius replied, ignoring his son. "I didn't care for the taste nor the side effects."
"What side effects?" Draco asked looking at his father in confusion. "One drink shouldn't have any side effects."
"It made my tongue numb," Lucius replied. "A feeling I didn't care for so I didn't have more than one drink."
"How much did Mr. Nott have?" Hermione questioned.
"He had more than anyone," Lucius told her. "I didn't count but I'd wager at least five glasses."
"One last question, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said. "Was Theo Nott there?"
"He was in the house," Lucius replied. "After all he lives there. But I didn't notice him during the festivities."
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, you've been more helpful than you know," Hermione said.
"Rest now, father," Draco said, moving away from the bed. "I'll be back shortly to take you home."
Hermione turned to say something to Draco but he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from his father's bed. But he didn't stop there. He dragged her out the door, down the street, and didn't stop until they reached his front door. Once they were there, he released her and, without a word, walked into his house, leaving her to follow, which she did. She followed him into the library and tried not to flinch when he slammed the library doors shut behind them. Hermione could see he was angry but she didn't think the anger was directed at her so she sat down in one of the chairs and waited for him to say something. He paced for about 10 seconds before he exploded.
"It was fucking Theo," he shouted, his eyes burning into her. "Fucking Theo."
"Yes," Hermione replied calmly. "It's looking like it might have been."
"It's looking like it might have been?" he shouted. "It's looking like it might have been?! Merlin, Granger, there's no need to be so fucking democratic. Everything points to him! He's the one who accused Blaise in the first place, he's probably the one who had his father call for Blaise the night before, he lived in the fucking house so he probably knew when the poker night was happening and now he's MIA in a town that no one can leave. It's looking like it might have been him? For fucks sake, Granger!"
He threw himself down into the chair next to her and put his head in his hands.
"Malfoy," Hermione said, cautiously. "If it is him, the most important thing is for us to find him."
When he didn't answer she pressed on. "You're right, he can't leave the town, so where would he go?"
"I don't know, Granger," Draco said, lifting his head from his hands and shaking it. "I just don't know."
He didn't look angry anymore, she noted. Just drained. Absolutely drained.
"Well then we need to talk to the board," she told him. "Let them know what we know so they'll set Blaise free and look for Theo instead."
"You're right," he said, taking a steadying breath. "Luckily the head of the board is just upstairs. I'll go talk to her."
"We'll go talk to her," Hermione countered.
"I'm perfectly capable of having a conversation with my own mother, on my own," he told her. "I don't need your help."
"I know you don't," Hermione replied, putting her hand on his arm to stop him from rising out of his chair. "But I'd like to be there. Let me help."
The minute she touched his arm, she knew she'd made a mistake. She felt him tense under her hand and his eyes sharped.
"I warned you not to push me, Granger," he said, quietly before leaning forward and capturing her mouth with his.
There was no hesitation this time on either of their parts. He pulled her out of her chair and she slid easily into his lap. His hands fisted in her hair and she tangled hers around his neck as she pressed herself closer to him. When she slid further up into his lap, they both moaned at the contact. She clung to him as they ravaged each other's mouths. He pulled one hand from her hair and snaked it up her back, sliding his nails along her spine. Then all of a sudden she was thrown from his lap onto the floor. She looked up at him in shock but noticed he wasn't looking at her but looking toward the door. She followed his gaze and her mouth dropped in horror when she saw what he was looking at.
"Hello, mother."
A/N: Enter Narcissa Malfoy.
With regards to updates, I've realized I probably need to finish uploading the story before school starts so the story doesn't end up abandoned when I end up buried in work. I'll be trying my best to step up how often I upload!