A/N: Thank you all again for the lovely reviews and all of the alerts! I love logging in to my email and seeing how many of you are excited for the next little bit. I hope you stick with it, as the plot starts moving a little faster. You're almost to the half way point!

Chapter 12: Potion a Brewin'

Hermione saw little of Draco for the rest of the afternoon, which she took to be a good sign. With any luck he had found a private area somewhere on the ship to work. The sun was starting to set and her stomach growled painfully; supper was soon. Hopefully they would be dining on something more appetizing than spuds. She sighed quietly and then jumped when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

"Draco I –" but when she turned her head she found it wasn't Draco at all. Bonny was leering at her with a small grin on her face.

"I'm not yer precious, I'm afraid, but you'll be comin' with me." She tightened her grip and began leading them to the captain's quarters again. A feeling like a cold hand gripped her heart. Had they been discovered? Sweat began to acquire on her forehead along the hairline. They passed through the door and Hermione prepared to see Draco with his hands tied behind his back on the floor before Rackham. But it was as empty of other persons as the last time she had been taken here.

Bonny released Hermione and walked over to her trunk of clothes again. Hermione didn't understand; did she need a new outfit? Surely it couldn't matter out here on the ocean. But rather than being handed a new vest or trousers, Bonny held out what seemed to be a long stretch of plain fabric, much like a thin table cloth. Hermione's eyebrows came together as she looked at the cloth.

"Take off the corset and wrap this around yerself." The redhead explained. When Hermione still looked perplexed she continued. "Ya can't be goin' ashore looking like a lass. Now wrap it tight and be done with it." Hermione's mouth fell open for a moment before she clenched her jaw. There would be no talking Bonny out of the idea, so Hermione turned away in an attempt at modesty and did as she was told, her fingers tugging on the strings.

During the process her eyes searched frantically, looking for where her wand might be hidden. The quick sweep showed her nothing and it felt like a stone settled in her stomach; she was going to have to search in and around everywhere at some point. Thankfully there were only two trunks besides the one with Anne's clothing. There was also a door at the end of the large bed. She didn't have time to discern what was in there.

When she had redressed, Hermione noticed how odd the vest hung as it previously hugged the curvy area that she had just concealed. She pursed her lips together and carefully set the rigid undergarment next to the trunk. "I'd like that back, if you please," she said in a clipped tone.

"If ya make it back on board, it's yers." Bonny told her, reaching up to grab a tricorne hat from a peg on the wall. It suddenly dawned on Hermione why she had been brought in here. They were going on shore? Everyone? That must be why they hadn't had dinner yet. "Tuck yer hair in," Bonny instructed as she shoved the hat onto Hermione's head.

"Erm, Anne, why are we going ashore?" Hermione asked, her fingers pushing her wild curls up into the curve of the hat.

She was met with narrowed eyes. "That's none of yer business. Juss go out there and bring somethin' back worth havin' and not before." She turned and began marching toward the door. Hermione was aghast. She was going to have to steal something from wherever they were about to dock! She felt her heart clench again when she realized their plan to retrieve her wand would have to wait for another night. But she couldn't let Bonny see her disappointment and steadily marched behind her, her mind reeling with possible solutions to her new predicament.

The sun was now sinking below the horizon and off to the south a sliver of land could be seen. They would be upon it within the hour if the wind kept up. Hermione began to fret. The men were shouting and excitement buzzed throughout the deck. She didn't see Malfoy, which both comforted and worried her. She couldn't wait for him. If he had been hiding out for the last few hours brewing a potion, chances were good that he had no idea what was going on.

As quietly as she could, Hermione stole down the stairs. One quick glance told her that he wasn't in the sleeping area. She searched the remainder of this deck but found no sign of him. She went below to the cargo hold, but there was no scent of potion in the air. Where could he be? It wasn't as if there were many places to hide on a ship. The only place left was the room adjacent to the cargo space. Frankly, she didn't know what was in there, but an attempt to turn the knob told her that it was locked.

"Malfoy? Malfoy! If you're in there, open up!" She said in a quick and loud whisper. No one appeared to have followed her, but that didn't mean she would be alone for long. "Draco Malfoy, open this door, now!" She was prepared to find something that would remove the hinges but she heard a click and needed no more conformation. She opened the door just enough to slip through and shut it behind her. Another click told her that he had used his wand to lock it.

The thickness of the air caused Hermione to choke a little. Fumes from the potion were mingling with the smoke from the fire below the cauldron. Hermione didn't question how the fire wasn't damaging the wooden floor; she didn't care. She coughed again and then sat down next to the man who was illuminated only by the fire and his wand light. Her back pressed against something cold. She turned and saw metal bars; they were in the brig. He cast a quick glance at her and smirked. "New look?"

"Malfoy, is it nearly ready? We're supposed to be going ashore in an hour or less." She was feeling too frantic and panicky to bother with his comment. She checked the state of the potion to see how far along he was. Her eyes darted back and forth from the cauldron to his face while she wrung her hands together.

Clearly unhappy with being interrupted, he stayed quiet while he counted his stirs. "I ran into a bit of a problem with the summoning spell. Borgin and Burkes hasn't been there as long as I thought. Thankfully the apothecary is as ancient as it claims." He dumped in what looked to be sopophorous bean juice.

Hermione gasped. "You stolethese?" She accused, gesturing toward the ingredients next to him.

"I'll send them back when I'm done. Besides," he sneered at her, "would you rather fight the muggle wench with your bare hands to get your wand back?" Hermione shut up for the moment, but then was reminded of the fact that their plan was ruined for the night.

"We'll have to keep it until tomorrow. There's no telling when we'll get back on the ship and it's doubtful that anyone will be sleeping." Though she had never participated in something like this raid, she assumed the crew would be far too excited to head straight to their hammocks. Malfoy was too busy pouring the potion and corking the bottle he put it in. Hermione pulled out her bag and tucked the bottle carefully inside while Malfoy sent the ingredients and cauldron away. They stood and moved toward the door.

"Best to wait until the fewest eyes possible are watching," She told him, stepping through.

The sight before her made her stop in her tracks. Bonny was standing right before them, but Hermione didn't miss the man who had turned them in that first night before duck behind a nearby crate. "Oh, ye have got more than eyes to be worrin' about now, missy."