A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I loved reading all of your theories about the drugs, haha! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. HUGE shout out to Hollowg1rl for alpha/beta reading this, and giving me wonderful advice!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter fourteen and be on the lookout for chapter fifteen soon!
It wasn't too much longer after she'd called Malfoy that Officer Boot was bringing her into one of the interrogation rooms to wait for her attorney to show up. God, Hermione wondered just why she'd had to go and call Malfoy, not wanting her life any more entangled with his than it already was. Still, he was the only lawyer whose number she had memorized, so she supposed she shouldn't be too hard on herself about it.
She could have called Fenrir, except she had no idea how to get ahold of him. She could have called Remus, but she was afraid of what kind of judgement he might bestow on her for getting herself mixed up in this kind of situation. Would he believe her if she told him that the drugs weren't her's, and she'd never seen them in her whole life? Hermione supposed she would never really know the answer to that, seeing as she had called Malfoy, out of all of her options, and now he was coming here to help her out.
Hermione wasn't sure if she should feel a little bit of relief when she finally saw that white blond hair of Malfoy's pop into the room. "Hermione, wish we were meeting under better circumstances."
She looked him over. This was the most casual he'd seen her, with a baby blue collared shirt and khaki shorts that did nothing for his complexion. "Yes, thank you for coming." Hermione said. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."
Malfoy gave her an indulgent smile. "Hermione, nothing is too important when you are the one asking for help." He told her, staring into her eyes. It made her uncomfortable, but she supposed if that was the way he wanted to be, there wasn't much she could do to stop him. After all, she was in dire need of his help if she didn't want to spend the rest of the night in jail. "Now, I understand that you were found in possession of a large quantity of cocaine during a routine traffic stop?" He asked, taking the time to leaf through her intake paperwork.
"Well, yes, I was speeding, and I didn't have the proper license to ride my motorcycle, but I swear to God, Malfoy, I have no idea where the drugs came from. I've never even touched drugs before." Hermione said, knowing that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to admit guilt.
He held his hands up to her. "Hermione, shh, calm down. I believe you." He said, staring into her eyes with confidence. "But in the future, I would not admit to anything. Let me do all the talking for you, okay?" He asked with a laugh. "Now, can you think of anyone who might have put the drugs on the motorcycle? I understand that you've been working at a bar frequented by a motorcycle gang that is known for trafficking."
Her eyebrows knit together in confusion about what he was saying. Surely, he couldn't be suggesting that the Iron Wolves had been using her as an unwitting drug mule, could he? After all, that would have to be done at Fenrir's behest and they'd just had a conversation about keeping her out of his business. She didn't believe that he would go back on his promise so quickly, it just wasn't possible.
She shook her head, nibbling on her lower lip. "No, they wouldn't have done that. I trust the guys at Howl, and I know that they wouldn't do something like this to me." Her mind thought about the Death Eaters, but she wasn't about to tell Draco about them, knowing that she'd severely injured Rabastan and she didn't want to be tied to that in any way.
Draco's amicable smile dropped for a moment. "Alright, let me just go discuss with the officers outside then." He stood, leaving her with all alone in the little room."
She couldn't hear anything while she was in there, and the whole time, she couldn't stop thinking about what it was that had happened. Was it possible that one of the Iron Wolves could have done this to her? She knew that Fenrir had promised not to involve her in business, but it wasn't as though criminals were really known to be trustworthy. Hating herself for doubting him, Hermione rested her head on the table until they came back in.
Malfoy was flanked by Officer Boot and Officer Parkinson. "Alright, we've been having a lot of issues with motorcycle gangs in this area, so here's what we are going to do." Officer Boot said, with a smile like he was doing her some big favor. "We are going to have you collect a little information for us, and in exchange, we will drop the charges against you, except for the speeding ticket."
"Get information?" Hermione questioned, before she figured it out. "You want me to wear a fucking wire?" She might be naive, but she was smart enough to know that motorcycle gangs did not take kindly to snitches. She wasn't about to put her life in jeopardy, just to get out of this, when she knew she was innocent.
"Well, if you don't think you could get the information..." Officer Parkinson said, snidely. Oh, Hermione was not a violent person, but in this moment there was nothing she wanted to do more than punch that snot-nosed little bitch in the face. She'd had an attitude with Hermione all night, and she'd purposefully kept her phone call from her. Then she had the audacity to act like she was better than Hermione in some way. It was enough to her blood boiling.
"No, I don't think I could get any information. I am a bartender there, not a member of the gang, and definitely not a partner. What makes you think they would say anything incriminating around me in the first place?" She argued, wanting to seem like the littlest nobody in the county.
Malfoy cleared his throat. "Listen, Hermione, they know about how...close you are with Greyback." He tried tell her something with his eyes, but what that was wasn't entirely clear.
Hermione recoiled immediately. "How do you know about Greyback?" She questioned, wondering just how much Malfoy knew about her in the first place. She thought that they'd been pretty discreet so far. It wasn't as if she was shouting from the mountain tops about her new boyfriend. Had Malfoy been following her?
"Hermione." Malfoy said with a sigh, as though it were a chore to explain this to her. "I make it a habit to learn all of my clients secrets - this way, no surprises pop up at trial. But the police...they make it a habit to figure out known associates of the people that they are keeping tabs on."
That seemed a bit odd to her. The police knew her as a known associate of Fenrir? Why didn't they say anything about it when they were arresting her, then? It seemed as if Officer Boot was going to let her go before they found the cocaine on the bike.
Malfoy leaned in fairly close to her, dropping his voice an octave, even though the police could still hear everything that he was saying. "Think about it, Hermione, you might even get something on tape that could help Sirius. You know that he's been charged for doing...business with the Iron Wolves right?"
No, she had not known that at all. Perhaps that was why he'd been so insistent that she shouldn't work at Howl, but she wished that he would have just come out and said it if that was really how he felt.
"Take the deal, Hermione. Think about it, you could get out of here and help Sirius at the same time." Malfoy was really pushing her into this, wanting her to take the deal of course. Thinking about Sirius being stuck in jail, she could feel her resolve crumbling slowly. She had told her guardian that should would do whatever it took to get him out.
"How about this?" Officer Boot started. "You just give it a try. You don't even have to get any information. If it happens, it happens. This is the best option that you have Miss Granger. Really, it's your only option."
Hermione could feel tears forming in her eyes, and tried to blink them back. She didn't know what to think anymore. All of this was so confusing and she knew that there wasn't really a good choice here. There was no reason for there to be drugs on the motorcycle, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Okay." She said, hanging her head, hoping that she hadn't just made the worst decision of her life.
After being released, Hermione reluctantly slunk into Howl. She'd been trying to put it off as long as possible, but she knew that there was no putting it off. The wire that was hidden underneath Sirius's red Beck t shirt felt like it was burning her, pressing into her skin. She felt like she was practically shouting that she was spying on them, and she hoped that they would forgive her...eventually.
Officer Boot had told her repeatedly not to press for information, just to keep her ears open. Hermione hoped that she could just...forewarn Fenrir about the wire so that he didn't say anything in front of her, and then she could be done with all this legal bullshit.
Her boyfriend was sitting at the bar, looking a little bit worse for wear, when she found him. He had a purple bruise on his jaw, looking like someone had clocked him. "Fenrir." She got his attention, her breath leaving her while she thought about the terrible, terrible mistake that she'd made agreeing to wear the wire. He looked like he was going to speak, but Hermione held her hands up. "Wait, don't say anything, let me just get a look at you."
She cupped her hands and held his jaw, frowning when he hissed from her touching the tender skin. She stared into his blue eyes and tried to mouth to him that she was wearing the wire, but he pulled her into his chest, hugging her and pressing a kiss to her forehead. His hand rested on her waist, right where the wire was secured.
He froze immediately, his hand following the plastic that was hidden under his shirt, and Hermione gasped, seeing the way that his face transformed. "What the fuck is this, Hermione?"
Her eyes slipped closed at this use of her first name, hating herself for doing this. She'd tried to warn him, but everything had gone to shit so quickly. "I wanted to..." She trailed off, not really sure how to go about it. She didn't think the police would appreciate her saying that she tried to warn Fenrir about the wire, but she didn't want him to be mad at her.
Fenrir stood up, nearly knocking over the chair he'd been sitting on. "Are you wearing a fucking wire Hermione?" He growled - literally growled. "Oh, I should have known better, Peach. As soon as you walked into the bar, I knew that you were trouble, and that I should have never let Remus talk me into letting you work here, Sirius's ward or not."
"It's not like that, Fenrir. Please, I can explain." Hermione begged, tears fully formed in her eyes. "I didn't mean to-"
He laughed at her. "Oh really, Peach? You didn't meant to put on a wire today? How stupid do you think I am?" He asked. Even though he was mad, Hermione could clearly see that he was very hurt as well, faced with her betrayal. And why shouldn't he be? "I'm leaving, and by the time I get back, Peach, you better be the fuck out of this bar. And don't ever come back." He snarled.
Hermione felt tears run down her cheeks, and she could feel the eyes of the few patrons left in the bar staring at her with disdain and pity. Fenrir turned on his heel, massive fists clenched to his sides, looking like he had to restrain himself from breaking something. "Fenrir, wait!" She called after him, not wanting him to walk out of her life, but he didn't even hesitate as he walked out of Howl, slamming the door behind him.