Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks as always for the wonderful feedback and I'm pleased to hear so many of you are enjoying the shift in dynamics between them. The good news is that I finished writing this story over the weekend so I'll be shooting for updates in the 3-4 day range now.
Alpha love as always to the wonderful Kyonomiko. Errors are my own.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise.
Despite himself, Draco found a grin spreading across his face when Theo Portkeyed into the tent a few minutes after he'd been hauled out of the pit by Granger, Thomas and Hikari. He decided he would try to have more grace with Hikari for helping him, despite that the man was still a Granger-level swot.
But even Granger wasn't so bad, he supposed.
Theo dropped his medical bag on the hard ground and cocked a brow. "What the fuck did you do?"
"It's classified," Draco said with a snicker. "But let's just say, Granger nearly ripped my hand from my arm trying to save me from an unknown magical force."
Granger scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.
"Right," Theo said, drawing the word out. He prodded at the dislocated joint of Draco's wrist and Draco winced. "That is what it looks like. But not to worry, it's a simple enough fix."
"You'll note he's alive, so at least we succeeded," she huffed.
Theo paused from rifling through his bag and looked between the two of them. "I must say, I am glad to see you both still alive, this long into your expedition. I'd expected one of you to have killed the other by now."
Draco released a tight bark of laughter even as Theo slathered some sort of numbing agent on his wrist. He waved a hand, sharing a glance with Granger. "She's been tolerable enough, I haven't needed to do away with her just yet."
Her eyes narrowed but the corners of her mouth twitched. Draco held her stare while she blinked at him, an infinitesimal shake to her head.
"That's what he'd like you to think," she finally said, glancing at Theo. "I'm just biding my time."
Theo paused what he was doing, his jaw dropping as he stared between them in mocking astonishment. "I let the two of you out of my sight for, what, four days and this is how you're speaking? Merlin save us all."
Draco fired him a glare at the moment Theo smacked his wrist with his wand, snapping the joint back into its correct alignment.
"Fuck," Draco bit through clenched teeth, drawing the syllable out. He pressed his lips together, forcing a tight breath out through his nose.
"All fixed," Theo said with a banal smile.
Draco scowled while Granger tittered, sinking into a chair in the tent. "Will I need to take care of him like a little baby?"
Theo raised his hands. "Whatever you two need to do behind closed doors –"
"Shut up, Nott," Draco hissed. A flush appeared high on Granger's cheeks and she clamped her jaw shut. He gave his wrist a tentative twist, flexing the hand. "It's tender but fine, Granger. Thanks for the offer, though." He shot her a crooked grin, ignoring Theo.
Theo leaned back in his seat, an amused look on his face as he observed the exchange. "So, when you say an unknown magical force –"
"It's classified, Nott," Granger deadpanned.
"Well I've been called here, so I obviously have clearance to act as your on-site Healer," he clipped, raising a brow.
"Technically, we called for Randall," Draco said, his lips curving into a smirk at the look on Theo's face.
"This is what I get for travelling halfway across the world to ensure my best mate is feeling well," Theo said, shaking his head in an exaggerated fashion.
"Honestly," Draco said, pressing at his temple with his good hand. "While you're here, the least you could do is to give us an update on the other Aurors."
Theo gave a flippant wave. "Fine. The first two – Cary and Milano – are at St Mungo's under constant observation now. The trace of the magic in their blood is advancing, but slowly. Potter's is advancing too, but he is still only stopping by for testing. Finnigan – we don't know why, but the magic in his blood is remaining consistent."
"It hasn't advanced in the same way?" Granger asked, her voice sharp.
"No," Theo said with a shrug.
"Well, what's different?" she asked, and Draco could see the cogs whirring in her brain. "Why is it not increasing? Has there been progress with a method to fight the magic off?"
"No progress on that front, I'm afraid," Theo said, shaking his head. "And we don't know about Finnigan. It could be anything, quite frankly, and since we haven't been keeping him under constant observation it's difficult to say. It could be activity level, sleep cycles, nutrition – hell, it could be his own natural magic."
"But none of the others have shown the same signs?" Granger went on; Draco felt his own brain spinning in an attempt to sort out the information
"No," Theo said again, shaking his head. "Randall is trying to bring Potter and Finnigan in for steady observation but they claim they need to work, what with you lot having so many Aurors out here, on top of the two in St Mungo's already."
Draco ran a hand through his hair, grimacing. "Thanks."
"You'll want to take it easy on that wrist for a couple days," Theo said as he began to pack things back into his bag, despite not having used half of them in the first place. "You know, switch to the other hand or maybe Granger can… help you…"
Theo trailed off at the look on Draco's face and rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Thanks, Theo," Draco clipped, his jaw set.
"Yes, thanks for coming, Nott." Granger had either ignored or misunderstood Theo's last jab and for that Draco was thankful.
Theo gave an odd sort of salute. "Have fun out here." Then he activated the Portkey and left.
Draco sagged back in his seat, the weight of the day hitting him, and he realized he felt exhausted. He exchanged a look with Granger; her lips were pressed together in an uncertain sort of way.
"I guess," she began, playing with the quill that lay on the table. "We should send an owl about this."
By the time they arrived back to the hotel in Lahore, an owl with a response was waiting for them. Hermione accepted its missive while Malfoy hovered off to the side.
"Burke and Robards want to speak with us," she explained, her gaze flying across the parchment. "They're making arrangements to meet us at the Magical Consulate."
"Great," Malfoy grumbled. He rummaged through his bag for the Portkey that would take them back to the Consulate.
Hermione's gaze flickered to her watch and her eyes widened. "In ten minutes."
He sighed, rubbing at tired eyes. He looked as if he wanted nothing more than a meal and to sleep "Then let's go."
A few minutes after they arrived – Shah had provided them a small boardroom to use – Robards and Burke Flooed in, looking concerned.
"Tell us about this pit," Robards said by way of greeting. "We can only get so much information from your updates."
Between the two of them, Hermione and Malfoy were able to relay the entire story of what had happened since arriving in Pakistan, how Naveed had been convinced the tunnels didn't exist, and how Dean and Hikari had discovered the pits. They detailed the occurrences of that day, how Dean and Malfoy had nearly been swallowed up by the pit and had just escaped.
Robards frowned as he carded a hand through his hair, a heavy furrow to his brow. "It sounds like you were following proper safety protocol," he said. "It makes me wonder what sort of magic is truly at play here, as if we weren't already wary."
"When the pit collapsed," Burke said, his expression pensive, "where did it lead?"
"Nowhere," Hermione said, shaking her head. "It just dropped straight down."
"Not into the tunnels you're looking for?" her superior continued. Hermione hesitated for a moment, glancing at Malfoy.
"No," he shook his head. "From what I saw before Thomas and Hikari covered it back up, it just carried on deep – beyond our ability to see."
"I only ask," Burke said, "in the event that the tunnels are hidden in the same way as the pits. If the pits were some sort of magical offshoot of the tunnels."
"We wondered that too." Malfoy rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand; Hermione noticed he wasn't using the other at all. "Which is why we wanted to look into them to begin with. Because why would they be hidden, and why were they made in the first place?"
"I can't help but wonder why they were doing so much digging," Robards said, scratching the stubble on his jaw. He shook his head, his eyes tight. "Were they searching for something? Hiding something? Constructing something?"
"The pit was between the remains of two dwellings," Hermione explained. "Why would they have done that intentionally?"
"So a collapse, then," Malfoy inferred. "We've spent the entire time here so far trying to find evidence of the tunnels – this has been the first potential sign, and it obviously didn't go well."
"What a disaster," Robards grumbled. "And meanwhile I've got four Aurors growing sicker in the hospital." His gaze flickered between Hermione and Malfoy. "Not to say any of this is your fault."
Hermione shook her head. "We've been trying to decide if we should keep pushing this lead in Harappa or take a visit to Mohenjo-Daro – the largest city of the Indus Valley civilization – to see what we can find there."
Burke and Robards both considered the thought, sharing a glance. "Go to Mohenjo-Daro tomorrow," Burke said after a moment. "At the very least, you'll know what you're dealing with there. Maybe something will connect back to make sense of this whole mess. Sometimes it helps to take a look at the bigger picture."
Hermione nodded. Malfoy cast her a grimace and shrugged.
"Onwards to Mohenjo-Daro it is."
Following a quick meal in the hotel restaurant, Draco had returned to his room, Granger at his side. He hadn't checked back with the front desk with regards to any more rooms – and she had yet to mention it – so for the time being, Draco was content to carry on with the arrangements how they had been.
And the fact that he was able to see Granger in her sleep shorts each night had nothing – very little – to do with it.
Although the couch was uncomfortable, and sleeping at an awkward angle was bothering his neck. Perhaps Granger wouldn't complain if he took the bed tonight.
There was a tiny, niggling voice in the back of Draco's head, as he stared at her, her legs stretched out in front of her as she leaned against the wooden footboard at the opposite corner, that suggested the bed was more than big enough for the two of them.
They had been using the extra blankets on the couch, so it wasn't as if they would need to share. And they could always construct a magical barrier between them if Granger was concerned, or if – Merlin forbid – she kicked in her sleep.
The thought of her sleeping in the same bed, of waking up to her face on the pillow beside his, had Draco feeling a little warm around the collar. He slipped the top two buttons of his shirt, his mind running away with the thoughts.
"Malfoy," Granger snapped; he blinked to see her watching him, her brows high. "What is it?"
He'd been staring. At Granger. Blankly like an idiot, no doubt.
Draco cleared his throat. "I was just thinking."
Granger snorted, turning the page on her book. "Clearly. Anything important, or is the vacuous space between your ears running away with your brain?"
Draco scowled, dropping his chin. "Excuse you and your rudeness. Of course it was important."
"Fine." Granger marked her page and looked up at him. "What was so important that you were staring at me for three minutes without blinking?"
"It was not three minutes." He grimaced. "And I was not staring at you, I was thinking and I happened to be looking forward."
Not a chance he was going to tell her he was thinking about the way she might smell up close. The touch of her soft breath against his neck. What her skin would feel like beneath his hands. He would sooner renounce his family.
"Are you even hearing yourself?" Granger snickered, flashing him a grin. "Fine, Malfoy, keep your secrets."
He folded his arms. "Secrets. What am I, twelve?"
Granger raised a brow and returned to her book. "You sure act twelve some days."
Draco couldn't quite tell whether Granger was being facetious, or whether she was pestering him over something he'd done. She was impossible to read, sometimes, and this was one of them. There was no reason he could think of as to why Granger would be teasing him.
She cracked a smile and he swallowed. "I'll tell you what I was thinking about, because I'm not twelve and I don't keep secrets."
She was bloody teasing him. Draco glared at her. He ground out, "Go on, then."
"I was thinking we ought to use a severing charm to split the bed in two, that way neither of us have to sleep on that lumpy couch," she said.
Draco froze, checking to be sure his Occlumency shields were proper. There was no way Granger was an Legilimens – although there probably wasn't anything she couldn't figure out if she set her mind to it.
She shrugged and carried on. "We don't have to, of course, but I was only thinking about why we hadn't done it sooner. Then we can just seal the halves back together before we leave."
He choked out, "If that's what you want to do." If Granger split the bed he would have no excuse to sleep beside her – but he couldn't tell her not to do it without a better reason.
She gave an absent shrug before he could think of anything and waved her wand at the bed. Nothing happened.
"Odd," she said, her brows knitted. She cast the spell again. "I guess they've put protective enchantments on the furniture. It probably isn't worth the effort to dismantle the wards."
Draco pursed his lips with a dismissive flicker of his brows. "Well, you tried."
"Right," she sighed, swinging her feet off the edge of the bed and making to stand. "I can just ask again with the staff in the lobby. Surely someone's checked out by now. Then I'll get out of your space –"
"We can share," Draco blurted, his eyes wide. She tensed, her hands pressed into the bed at her sides. "I'm used to you being here."
There was a heavy pause in which Granger stared at the wall, Draco stared at his knees, and the air between them felt suffocating. He opened his mouth to say something else, anything to break the silence, but closed it again when she released a tight breath.
"Share," she repeated. Her eyes flickered to his and away again.
He raised his hands. "We don't have to. Merlin, Granger, it wasn't the most outlandish thing I've ever said to you."
"As in, you, Draco Malfoy, sharing a bed with me, Hermione Granger."
The sound of his given name on her tongue set a shiver chasing the length of his spine, even as he rolled his eyes. "Never mind."
Granger's head turned to face him, her eyes keen on him. "I'm just trying to be sure you know what you're saying."
"I know what I said," Draco said, his voice gruff. "But I take it back. If you want to get your own room, then go. I was just trying to think of a situation that worked for us both."
She continued to stare at him, her expression stoic. She breathed, "You're serious."
He shrugged, feeling his defensive hackles raise. If she didn't back down this was going to escalate and he was probably going to say something he'd regret. There was something about her tone that got under his skin, as it always had.
"I'm having a shower. If you're still here when I get back, I'll assume you're staying," he ground through his teeth, rising from the bed and storming away.
When he returned from his shower, clad in pyjama pants and a t-shirt, Granger was seated cross-legged on the bed in her sleep clothes. Something leapt in his stomach and he squashed it.
"Still no more rooms?" he snipped.
She fired him an irritated look. "I didn't ask."
"Look, Granger, obviously I shouldn't have said anything," he waved a hand. "Sleep on the couch if you prefer."
"You'll stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine." She gave him a half-hearted glare.
Draco froze, his eyes landing on hers.
Granger went on as a bright flush rose to her cheeks. "If you touch me, I reserve the right to smack you."
"I don't want to touch you," Draco lied.
"If you move too much, I'll put a barrier down the middle of the bed." She raised a brow.
"Put up the barrier now," he challenged. "This isn't to inconvenience you, Granger, despite how you're acting." He rubbed at his sore wrist and her eyes followed the motion; something in her harsh expression softened.
Her voice was quiet, almost apologetic, as she said, "I just didn't know whether you were playing at something."
"What would I be playing at?" he asked, swallowing the thick lump in his throat. He applied too much pressure to his wrist and winced as the tender joint flared up.
Granger only shook her head. "Nothing, I just… nothing."
Draco blinked at her. He would have given his Gringotts account to know what she was thinking in that moment. A wry grin quirked his lips. "Don't keep secrets like a twelve-year-old, Granger."
She fired him a withering stare. "Fine. I wasn't sure if you were meaning something by it."
"Something," Draco said, dropping his hands at his sides. "As in –"
She gave a sort of jerky, noncommittal flail. He caught his lower lip between his teeth to stop from laughing at the look of mortification on her face, despite that he felt the same.
"Ah," he clipped. "You thought I was trying to get you to share the bed with me so I could lay my filthy ex-Death Eater paws on your soft, heroic skin."
A flush came to her cheeks but Draco crooked a grin, allowing her to ease her humiliation. The sooner they could both get past this, the better, as far as he was concerned.
"No," she hissed, staring down at the bed. "Not how you've made it sound. Merlin, you know I don't think of you like –"
His voice was quiet, a tilt to his head. "I'm not like that, Granger."
"I didn't think… you were." Her expression was sheepish, and she opened her mouth to say something more, but nodded instead. And with no more excessive fanfare, she slipped beneath the blankets on the far side of the bed.
Draco waved the lights off with his wand before climbing into the other side.
In an instant, he knew it was a bad idea. The bed wasn't so large that he couldn't feel the heat from her body in the space between them. He could see the faint outline of her curls in the dark on the pillow beside him, and the scent of her danced around him. His eyes slid shut but the awareness of her was a singular, palpable thing.
Her voice hitched as she breathed, "Good night, Malfoy."
Draco swallowed a breath, wondering whether he would sleep at all. "Night, Granger."