Someone's after Granger… it's all because of you…someone is after Granger because of you.
The words Blaise had spoken bounded around Draco's head, giving him a headache.
It can't be. That foreshadowing shit only happened in movies, in books, in tragic tales of live, love and death. They can't have gone from joking about assassinations to actually bearing witness to the beginning of what was sure to be an attempt at Hermione's life. That just didn't happen to people like them.
But then again, normal people don't spend eighteen years fighting a guy like Voldemort every day, but Potter seemed to be an exception to that, so why was this any different?
Because Granger's already survived someone trying to kill her. That should only happen once! That happened in this house, too. Maybe she should leave… but…
"When you say someone's after her, you mean-?"
"Someone wants her dead, Draco, and they tried hiring me to do it," Blaise told him. He wasn't supposed to be there, telling him this. He wasn't meant to tell anyone. But someone had practically begged him to. They'd even tried to buy protection for Hermione. And they were paying a lot more than the person who wanted her dead. He wasn't here for Granger's sake, though; he was here for Draco's.
Draco stared at his friend. That's too fucking cliché. Now I'm going to have to fight him to the death for Granger, and I'll end up killing him, but not before I get fatally wounded, and Hermione'll have to kiss it better, but we'll both end up dead somehow.
"I said no."
Well, that's a relief. I won't have to kill him… yet.
"How the hell is it my fault, though? Who the fuck wants her dead?"
"I don't know who it is. They sent a letter, I didn't recognise the writing, all it said was I'd be sent twelve thousand galleons if Hermione Granger was disposed of."
Draco nearly laughed, but the situation was too serious for even a smile. Twelve thousand galleons was nothing to a man like Blaise Zabini. Either the person that wanted Granger dead was incredibly stupid, not that desperate for her to stop breathing, or they just didn't know Blaise. Probably the former, going by their choices of trying to hire Blaise as a hit-man; he was well known for his abilities.
"And how is it my fault?"
"You're stealing someone's kid, apparently… and she's a lying, cheating bint of some description. First I thought it was Weasley, you know, with the trials, but he's too stupid to think of hiring a hit-man. It has to be a friend of his, though. Someone who knows about the trial and someone who doesn't approve of her or you getting the kid; especially not both of you, it would seem."
Draco pondered this for a while, wondering how Blaise even knew about the trials in the first place, and it seemed plausible – there were a lot of people who wanted him, and his family, dead, because of what they'd done in the war – but there was one thing he didn't understand.
"Why can't I tell her this?"
"Because if you tell her, she'll either freak the fuck out, or she'll somehow manage to get herself killed." Blaise paused for a moment. "Or both."
"I think you underestimate her," Draco said.
"I think you underestimate me," Blaise replied. "Trust me, mate. You don't want to tell her. Besides, if she knows, I can't do the research I need to."
Draco's mind went blank. "Research? For what?"
Blaise shook his head. "Mate, you're dumber than I thought."
Draco glared at his friend.
"You want to find out who's after her, don't you?"
"Yeah," Draco replied warily. "What's that got to do with research, and her not knowing about it?"
"We can use her-" Blaise held up a hand as his friend began to interrupt.
"She's not going to be bait for some-"
"Not as bait, but as something to follow. If someone wants her dead, they'll keep an eye on her through something constant. We need to find out what that is, and the less she knows, the better; if she looks like she's searching for them, they'll off her before we find them, and we don't want that."
No, we don't, Draco admitted silently. Blaise seemed to sense this, and nodded.
"I know what your plan is, mate, and I need you to keep doing it."
"Plan? What? I don't know what you're-"
"Love interest, Draco. You're acting as her love interest, and she's being yours, for the trial, and I need you to keep doing it."
"How do you even-?"
"Your mother does actually talk to me, mate."
Well that answers the 'how does he know about the trials' question, Draco thought.
"Look, it's not important; just keep doing what you're doing."
"Uh… why? What's the point in that?"
"Be something constant in her life, you ninny, even after the trials. They probably won't try and kill her until after the whole things been settled, so you need to stay as close to her as possible, alright?" Blaise told him, getting to his feet. Draco followed suit and they walked towards the arm chairs to one side of the desk. Draco took a seat in one, and Blaise moved towards the bookshelf nearby, scanning through the old tomes.
"What if I don't?" Draco asked. He had no intention of not doing it, now that he knew why he had to, but he had to ask, just in case.
Blaise pulled a book out from the shelf and sat in the armchair beside Draco's.
"If you don't look after her, you'll lose someone else you care about."
Draco stared at Blaise curiously, one blonde eyebrow raised, but he said nothing.
Blaise chuckled, seeing his expression, and began to flip through the book he held.
"Mate, you slept in the same bed as her, and you've been living with her and looking after her kid for like a month. I'd be more surprised if you didn't start to care about her. I'm just waiting for you to marry her now. I shotgun best man, by the way."
"Whatever," Draco said. Why does everyone think I'll marry Granger? "What's with the book? And what am I gonna have to do?"
"You'll have to go with her wherever she goes, and if you can't, send a house elf or something; maybe two, so she's never alone. That's the key thing," Blaise told him, not looking up from the book, which he failed to tell Draco about, much to his annoyance. "Do not leave her alone. Not even for a second, alright?"
"Why the fuck'd you make me leave her in her room then?"
"She's in your house, stupid. No one'll get her here."
"Weasley nearly did."
This made Blaise look up. "What?"
"He got past the wards somehow. First I thought it was because Potter did something to them, but they were all fine when I checked. He got past them, and I didn't fucking notice."
Blaise looked down at the book in his lap. "I have a theory as to how he got in here, but Granger'd probably know more about it than I do."
"What's your theory?"
"Stellas Flammam," Blaise answered. "Powerful magic, though; I doubt even Potter could cast it. Actually, I doubt even Granger could cast it."
"What the fuck is Stellas Flammam?"
"Powerful magic," Blaise repeated. "Merlin's hairy balls, mate, do you ever pay attention?"
Draco simply rolled his eyes. "Want me to go get Granger?"
"No," Blaise answered, turning back to the book in his lap; the book on ancient charms. "If we're going to ask her about it, we need a better excuse than curiosity."
They sat in silence for a while; the only sound was Blaise turning the page every few minutes, when Draco got an idea.
"Unspeakable business," he said.
Blaise looked up from his book to see his friend smiling at him. "What?"
"You're an Unspeakable, you nitwit. No one except you knows what those guys really do, so just tell her you need it for a work assignment or something. I already told her you are one."
"You told her? Fuck, mate, I told you not to tell anyone!"
"It's Granger, Blaise. She would have found out eventually, even if she never saw you or heard someone talk about you. Hell, now that she has a job in Regulation and Control, she'd find out on her first day."
"Whatever," Blaise replied, and he was silent for another moment, before he looked up at Draco and sighed. "Go and get your girlfriend then."
"She's not my fucking girlfriend, Zabini," Draco told him, getting to his feet.
"Then you'd better bloody change that, hadn't you?"
Draco stopped dead and turned to face his dark-haired companion. "What?"
Blaise gave a non-committal shrug, smirking at the book in his lap, and turned a page. "You heard me, mate: 'Do not leave her alone. Not even for a second'. I think she'd be a bit freaked out if you followed her around without reason."
"I think she'd be more freaked out if I just walked up to her and asked her to be my girlfriend," Draco retorted.
"Tell her it's all part of the plan for the trials."
"Blaise, I'm not going to date Granger."
Blaise didn't look up from his book, smirking silently to himself, and Draco groaned, running a hand down his face.
"I hate you," Draco declared.
"I know, mate. I know. Now go fetch your girlfriend so I can figure out if we need to get some Aurors back to ward your house again."
Sighing, Draco made his way up to Hermione's room, contemplating what was the best approach at 'asking her out', so to speak, and decided a direct approach was best, so when Hermione opened the door, he ran a hand through his hair and lifted his head to meet her eyes.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Hermione stared, dumbstruck, at him for three minutes and twenty six seconds before speaking.
Draco counted.
"Wh-what?" she managed finally, her hand clenching the door handle tightly.
Suddenly, Draco wasn't as confident as he had been.
"For- for the… you know, the trials, and the, uh… publicity thing. I thought it would be… well, better, if we pretended to be a, uh, couple. I mean, after the last trial I- I think they'd be a bit shocked if our relationship didn't change."
Nodding in understanding, Hermione stared down at the base of the doorframe before meeting his eyes again.
"Yeah, alright. I-Is that all you wanted? I was… planning on-"
"Locking yourself up in your room until your meeting tomorrow?"
Hermione remained silent, pulling her hand from the doorknob, and tugged on her shirt – a grey, thigh length one – self-consciously as he stared at her.
Rolling his eyes for the hundredth time, Draco reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Come on, Granger. Blaise needs to talk to you," he told her, pulling her out of her room and down the hallway.
"Talk to me?" she asked, walking quickly to catch up with his long strides as he pulled her along. Sparing her the trouble, Draco slowed, but neither released their hold on each other's hand. "About what?"
"Some spell… Stella's… flame-man or something."
"Stellas Flammam?" she asked.
"That sounds about right. What do you know about it?"
"Well, it's… it's a really old spell," Hermione began, taking on the tone she so often used on Harry and Ron during their school years. "It's Latin for 'flame of the stars' and… it's like a combination of a directional charm and the Lumos charm, created by Stella Originali in the 8th Century. It allows the caster to see in the dark – that part ends if you say 'lux' – and, uh, if they so wish, to direct them to any place they desire to go – with the additional spell 'dirige me', and it ends with 'Mihi venit'. You can end it all with the word 'finite', as well. The caster of the 'flame of the stars' spell can follow the light to any destination. Stellas Flammam can also direct the person to places hidden under 'undiscoverable' charms - though not the Fidelius Charm, because that requires word from the secret keeper - and will act like starlight in the way that wards cannot stop it… If a person is following the light of the Stellas Flammam then the wards will be destroyed temporarily to let them through, making it appear as though the person just got lucky or the wards were just… gone. It's a very advanced spell - much like the Patronus Charm - and it is rare for underage wizards to cast it properly - there may be catastrophic accidents if an uneducated witch or wizard were to perform it, as, if cast incorrectly, it will destroy the casters wand, and most likely their entire self, with white flames that are as hot as the sun. It is also a very rare spell to be used publicly, as introductions of the Lumos and Direction Charms have led it to be deemed unnecessary, though many witches and wizards that know of the spell beg to differ."
"You know you sound like a teacher when you talk like that," Draco told her when she was finished. "A teacher reading right from a text book…"
She gave his hand a painful squeeze and hit him on the arm with her free hand. "You know, if you're going to be my…" Hermione paused, struggling to get the word out, because it was Malfoy. "…boyfriend, you're going to have to be less of an insufferable git."
"Now, now, Granger," he told her, releasing her hand and swinging his arm across her shoulders. "If this is to be a relationship of equals, I get to be an insufferable git – which I'm not, of course – if you're an insufferable know-it-all… and we both know that will never change."
Hermione elbowed him in the side, and they walked in silence until they reached the door to Draco's study, Hermione remaining under Draco's arm.
"I take it Blaise knows?" she asked. "He was your… inspiration for this, wasn't he?"
Draco took his arm off her shoulders, deciding mentally that he could beat himself up about it later, and nodded.
Hermione grabbed hold of the handle of the door, took a deep breath, and pushed her way in, nearly knocking Blaise over in the process.
She reached out and caught hold of the front of his shirt, and Draco looped a quick arm around her waist to stop her toppling over.
"Nice catch, Draco," Blaise said, eyeing Draco's arm that was still around Hermione's waist as he steadied himself on his own feet, and Draco was unsure at that moment what Blaise was really talking about.
Hermione let go of his shirt, taking a step back because of his unnerving closeness, and bumped into Draco, the long necklace she wore jingling as it hit his arm.
"S-sorry," she whispered, though she didn't move to get away from him.
"Don't worry about it, Granger," Draco said, casting Blaise a curious look as he released Hermione.
Blaise gestured towards the arm chairs and Draco nodded, pushing Hermione slightly in the right direction. They each sat down – Draco and Hermione next to each other on the two-person sofa and Blaise on the arm chair across from them – and Draco leaned back comfortably.
"What's, uh, what is it that you need me for?"
"A person broke into one of our… top secret areas. They weren't someone that was normally allowed in, but they got past the wards somehow, and it's been put to me to figure it out, because I'm one of the only guys allowed to visit the place. I had a theory about Stellas Flammam, because I've heard of it before, but I don't know much about it."
"Oh, okay…"
They sat silently for a while before Draco spoke.
"Tell Blaise everything you told me on the way here," he told Hermione.
So she did.
"Okay… so there's a twenty-two year old out there somewhere who can cast the most powerful magic known to wizard kind; bloody brilliant…"
"You think Weas- the guy could have used that to get in?" Draco asked when Hermione finished. Hermione didn't seem to notice his slip-up, as she continued speaking, not even stopping to glance at him as she spoke to Blaise.
"A twenty-two year old use the 'via lucis'? I don't think so."
"Hold up, Granger… I thought you said it was Stellas Flammam."
"Well, it is, but… well, that's only the incantation. It's technically called 'via lucis', which is Latin for 'light the way'."
Blaise smirked. "You really are the brightest witch of our age, Granger."
Hermione smiled, a light blush creeping up her cheeks, and Draco felt himself become… jealous? No way!
Well, all things considered, she was still technically his girlfriend, so he had a right to be jealous. But that didn't mean he was going to be.
Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at Blaise. "Maybe he got someone else to cast it for him?"
Hermione instantly shook her head. "It only works for the original caster, so… he wouldn't have been able to do that."
They sat in a thought-filled silence for a while before Hermione jumped slightly, getting an idea.
"Polyjuice Potion!" she yelled, slapping herself on the forehead repeatedly. "Why didn't I think of it before?"
Blaise and Draco met each other's eyes and blinked blankly at one another, after jumping slightly at her outburst.
Hermione groaned. "You two are so much like Harry and Ron."
The glares they sent her were as instantaneous as their protests.
"I am nothing like either of those two-!"
"-Slimy fucking gits and I have nothing in-!"
"Alright!" Hermione shouted over the top of them. Their eyes went wide, and their mouths hung open as they cut themselves off.
She huffed. "I was just saying; they used to do the same thing."
"Right…" Blaise managed.
Draco closed his mouth with an audible snap and looked at Hermione. "As you were saying…?"
"Oh, right," Hermione shook her head. "Polyjuice Potion," she paused. "You both know what that is, right?"
"If we say no, will you just continue anyway?" Blaise asked.
Hermione groaned again. "Polyjuice Potion is a potion that, when you add a hair from a particular person, allows you to physically transform into them for a certain amount of time, depending on how much you take. Understood?"
Blaise nodded.
"Okay, so, someone could have used Polyjuice Potion to transform into whoever you saw, Blaise, and they cast the 'via lucis' – for Godric's sake, Draco, Stellas Flammam! – And then they could have tried to get in. I don't know how they could have changed their voice to sound like someone else's though – they did sound like the person they looked like, right?" At Blaise's nod, she continued. "Hmm, maybe a…" Hermione's voice trailed off and she got to her feet and walked to the bookshelf nearby, silently running her index finger along the spines. After a moment, she looked back at Draco. "You don't happen to have a copy of Antiquissima deleniti anywhere, do you?"
"Anti... what now?"
"Antiquissima deleniti," she repeated. "Most ancient spells?"
Blaise held the book that he'd been reading through before out to Hermione. "Here."
Hermione took it, feeling well within her element, and plonked herself down beside Draco, not caring that her knee was touching his. She began flipping through the pages, muttering the word 'mutare' under her breath.
"Ah ha!" she cried at last, jumping and slamming her finger on the page, causing Draco and Blaise to jolt in alarm, for what must have been the third time since Hermione had arrived. "Mutare vox – to change the voice of. This spell allows the caster to temporarily change their voice to that of another person, provided that they are in the same area when the spell is cast, and the, uh, victim is facing the caster."
"Granger, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Blaise asked.
Draco continued to look on in bewilderment.
"That person – or someone appearing to be that person – cast two of the most powerful spells known to the ancient Wizarding world, and they're… well, I don't know what they're doing."
Blaise swallowed noticeably and shook his head. "The why is not important right now," he told her. "I need to know how… and who."
"The only way you can figure out who is to find a piece of the person's hair on the scene and put it in an aqua revelare solution – which is just augumenti water spelled with 'Omni revelio' – and do a DNA test on what it leaves behind."
"And the how…?" Draco asked.
Hermione shrugged, closing the book in her lap slowly as she looked at him. "The only way you can figure that out is if you ask the person themselves… and until you figure out who they are, you can't figure out why or how they did it."
They sat in a comfortable silence as Blaise thought it over, and Hermione tapped the book in her lap nervously.
"Is… that all?"
"Oh," Blaise looked up from where he was staring vacantly at his feet and smiled. "Sure. Unless… Draco?"
Draco shook his head, giving Blaise a curious look before he turned to her. "You can go," he said.
Hermione smiled, handing him the book, and got to her feet. "I'll see you later, then?"
"Yeah," he replied, slightly awkwardly.
Hermione nodded and had just reached the door before Blaise called out.
"Hey, Granger!"
She turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"
"Thanks for your help," he said, beaming at her.
Slightly taken aback, she nodded. "You're welcome."
"Oh, and Granger?" he called out again as she began to turn. Draco thought that, judging by the slight flash of irritation in her eyes, she didn't like being called back too much. "Don't go anywhere alone, alright? Being who you are and staying with who you're with makes you a target, and we wouldn't want to lose you and those brains of yours."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said, casting a curious glance at Draco, who shrugged.
She made to leave again, but turned back one last time, looking at Draco. "Will I see you for lunch later?"
"If I'm not working," Draco told her.
She smiled. "Alright," she looked at Blaise. "Bye, Blaise. It was… nice to see you again."
"You too, Granger; keep yourself safe, alright?"
"If I must," she said, and she was gone, pulling the door closed behind her.
Casting a silencing charm as soon as she was gone, Draco turned to his companion and glared at him.
"What?"
Draco just shook his head. "You think someone could have pretended to be Weasley to get to Hermione?"
Blaise smirked at Draco's use of Hermione's first name and nodded. "Yeah, I definitely do now. I just don't know who. Maybe we'd better get some Auror's around to put you under the Fidelius Charm."
"For the sake of her? That's… a bit extreme." Though, if he were being honest with himself, Draco would have said it was perfectly reasonable. But, because it was Granger... well, of course he couldn't think like that.
"Mate, you've wanted to do that since the end of the war, and I know it. Now you have a better excuse than protection of your mother… and Potter is bound to agree if it's for the sake of his best friend."
"No, not Potter… he'll want to know why, and then he'll think that we should tell her, and then he'll do it himself no matter what we say… and he might tell Weasley, anyway."
"Who should we get, then?"
"No one, we'll do it ourselves."
"Two people, Draco? That's… that's never been done." Blaise stared warily at his friend. "You need at least five people, and even then… it's difficult magic."
"We'll bring Nott in too, and my mother. That's four people… and we all excelled at Charms, anyway. We can do it, easy."
"Draco…" Blaise began warily.
"Blaise, there is someone out there who can cast two of the most powerful charms I've seen in my life. If they can do those themselves, I think four people can cast a Fidelius Charm."
"Who's gonna be your secret keeper, then?"
Draco hadn't thought of that.
Blaise smirked. "Me?"
"You don't mind?"
"You're my best mate," Blaise replied. "Besides, there's less chance of me talking to whoever this… person is than you or your mother, or even Granger. That makes you pretty safe."
"What'll we make the actual words?"
"Malfoy Manor?"
"Too easy, that could slip out in conversation."
"Malfoy's house?"
"Same for that," Draco replied. "And that's kind of stupid anyway."
Blaise glared at Draco, and then paused in thought. "What about Black Manor?"
Draco considered it for a moment. "Perfect."
A/n: Okay... so... that was kind of a long wait, but this is a fairly long-ish chapter, so you should forgive me. DO IT. ...please?
Did everyone like it?
I will point out now that, yes, Blaise is now an official part of the story and there will be some other characters joining in along the way.
I NEED HELP, THOUGH. I've got a character, right, and I can't decide whether to make her good or evil. YOU GET TO CHOOSE.
I won't tell you who it is, and NO, to clear up any initial thoughts, SHE IS NOT THE PERSON AFTER HERMIONE. XD
Just let me know whether you want another friend or foe in the story - if there's a tie of 'votes', I'll just add someone else in, because that is possible at this stage.
ANYONE EXCITED TO SEE THEO? CAUSE I AM! :P
Excerpt from a chapter coming up:
"Stay with me," she begged in a low voice, which was cracked from lack of use and crying, as she looked up at him.
"I don't know if I should… it's…"
"Please," she asked, the rejection settling uncomfortably in her chest. "I- I need-"
Draco nodded, in understanding, pity or agreement of need, he didn't know, though it didn't bother him much if he didn't think about it.
"Until you fall asleep," he promised, and he swore to himself silently that he definitely had to get around to beating himself up about all his actions.
O_o You anxious to find out what's up yet, or do I need to do some illegal things? XD Just kidding, R&R&L chickadees.
This was a long a/n, but you don't mind, cause you love me... or, at least, you love my story (hopefully)
XD I LOVE YOU GUYS!
~ Originalitys