A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is sooooo long but there was no good place to split it!
Also, I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to JK Rowling.
The next morning Hermione decided that the best thing she could do was pretend nothing ever happened. Chances were Draco wasn't even aware of his feelings, so why bring up something he had no control over? The best solution for all of this was deny, deny, deny! If she kept telling herself she didn't love him then eventually it would stop being true. Right?
"Good morning," smiled Draco as he grabbed her and rolled her on top of him, staring deeply into her eyes before meeting her for a sweet kiss. Hermione sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought. "What's wrong?" he asked, pulling away from her.
"Nothing," she answered. She climbed out of the bed and started digging through her backpack for some clothes.
Draco knew she was lying but didn't try to question it again. Hermione was entitled to her privacy, as much as it was killing him not knowing every little thing.
After both of them were dressed they went downstairs to breakfast. Sophie and Phillip were already there and feeding each other all lovey-dovey like.
"You two repulse me," said Draco, dropping down in a chair. Hermione sat down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She tensed up at first, but eventually relaxed and sunk into him. She knew she was being ridiculous.
Madam Rosmerta came over and brought them both pumpkin juices before they even ordered. "I heard a rumor you're all heading out of town today. Any truth to it?"
"Yes. I'm afraid Romania calls," said Draco.
"Sure will be quiet around here once you four are gone. What will the rest of us do for entertainment?" She winked.
Hermione smiled. "Well, what did you do before we arrived?"
"You know, I'm not sure. Not much of anything, I think."
Rosmerta took Draco and Hermione's orders and headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later Mr. Ollivander's owl flew in with some customers and dropped a letter on their table. Sophie picked it up and read through it between bites of pancakes.
"Viff pwafe wooks faw."
"Chew your food first, darling," said Phillip, smiling.
Sophie gulped down her bite. "Sorry, mon cherie. I said zis place looks far. Even eef we leave now we probably weell not get zere teell after dark."
"Is there an estimated timeframe in his letter at all?" asked Hermione. "It would be nice to know if this was a day long mission or if we'll be spending more than a week somewhere again."
"Are you already anticipating getting rid of us?" joked Phillip.
Sophie chuckled and rubbed her nose against his cheek. "Of course zey are, darling. Zey want to spend zeir last few weeks alone togezer."
"Well, that's just not true," defended Hermione, even though it really was.
"Do not worry, 'Ermione. We are not offended."
"Yeah. We find you two as repulsive as you find us."
"I really don't understand how that can be," said Draco. "The two of us don't sit around feeding each other and rubbing noses like bunnies. Well, not unless we're mocking someone."
Sophie rolled her eyes. "You see, zat ees exactly why you two are perfect for each ozer. You boz 'ave zis sense of superiority. Just because Phillipe and I are more affectionate zan you does not make us worse people."
"Well said, darling." Phillip and Sophie high-fived each other.
"You see? Why do you guys keep doing that?" asked Draco. "You're lovers, not frat boys."
Phillip and Sophie looked at each other and smirked. "Do you really want to know?" asked Phillip.
Draco and Hermione looked at each other inquisitively before nodding. They couldn't imagine their answer being anything too inappropriate. It was a high-five, not heavy petting.
"Well, ze first time we slept togezer eet was really 'ard to stay een ze mood seence you two were fighting so loudly," started Sophie.
This triggered Hermione's memory. The morning after hers and Draco's big fight in France Sophie and Phillip had said they heard them fighting, but couldn't hear what it was about. Now she knew it was because they had a hard time making out words between moans.
"When you two finally shut up we ended up climaxing at ze same time, so we 'igh-fived."
"It kind of stuck after that," laughed Phillip.
Hermione stared blankly at them. "So … every time you two sleep together …"
"We 'igh-five at ze end, yes," said Sophie beaming. "You two should try eet sometime. You are boz competiteeve and eet makes eet seem like a game."
"I thought it was a game," smirked Draco. They all laughed.
After they all finished breakfast they went upstairs to collect their backpacks and brooms. Before leaving Draco found Madam Rosmerta and gave her several more galleons. She was more reluctant to take them this time, but he insisted. She eventually gave in and walked them all to the door. She gave both him and Hermione a hug as they exited, making sure to pull Hermione extra close and whisper, "You're the best thing for him, dear. Don't let him go." Hermione didn't say anything back. She just smiled at the barmaid and left.
Sophie hadn't been wrong about this place being far. They had flown greater distances before, but normally had at least some assistance from the Floo network or a portkey. Plus, it was very well hidden. They had to travel through a lot of uncharted territory to get there.
When they arrived the sun had already begun to set. The dragon facility was located in some mountains in the middle of nowhere. It was a large, stone building that seemed to go on for miles. The doors were large and engraved with intricate scenes of wizards fighting dragons.
"Do we knock?" asked Draco, landing his broom by the door.
"I do not see why not," said Sophie, landing beside him. She immediately started banging on the door.
Within seconds the doors flew open and a familiar blonde witch emerged from the inside. She smiled when she saw all of them. "Oh hi. We all met in the desert," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Jen."
"Yes, we remember," said Hermione, taking her hand first. "How are you?"
"Wonderful, now that you're all here. We've been anticipating your arrival all day."
Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?"
Jen gave them a mischievous smirk. "Well, you're all kind of famous around here. Everyone just loved the article on you guys in the Daily Prophet. Especially Anna."
Sophie groaned.
Jen looked at her and then glanced over at Phillip. "Is it true about you two? Anna's been absolutely livid. No one in her family has been able to get a hold of Chastity to ask if it's true or not. She's kind of disappeared off of everyone's radar."
"Disappeared?" asked Phillip, looking concerned. "Has her mum tried to get a hold of her?"
"I think so, but she hasn't gotten back to her."
"That's not like her …"
Sophie looked horribly offended by Phillip's concern over his ex-wife. Phillip didn't notice but Hermione and Draco both did. They looked at each other and gave a knowing nod before Hermione said, "Could you please show us our way now, Jen? It's been a long journey and we're all very tired."
"Oh …" Jen looked from Phillip to Sophie and realized she already had her answer. "Oh, yes, of course. Follow me."
They all followed her through the doors, which magically shut behind them. They walked down a long, stone corridor with green and gold carpet lining the way. Enchanted torches floated just above their heads.
They eventually came upon two large, wooden doors that opened upon arrival. Just behind them was a room with a number of large fireplaces that seemed to be designed specifically for the Floo network. There were several doors in this room. They took the farthest one on the left and headed down another, smaller, hallway. Jen took them into the third door on the right. Just behind it was a sitting room with perhaps a dozen bodies in it. Everyone looked up from what they were doing as they entered, smiled and applauded.
"We all just loved your article!" some random wizard shouted.
"Please tell us you were able to punch that fascist in the face!" a familiar blonde wizard, similar in appearance to Jen, called out. They all remembered his name was Jay.
"Of course 'e deed," Sophie said proudly.
Phillip smiled at her before reaching out and grabbing her hand. Not even a second later the far door flew open and Anna came barreling into the room with Charlie at her heels. She locked eyes with Phillip immediately, then looked down at his and Sophie's clasped hands. Neither of them tried to hide it.
"Of course," she huffed. "Because that is just the sort of day I'm having."
Without giving them a second look she went over to one of the couches and fell into it. It looked like Charlie was going to follow her, but instead he walked over to where the new arrivals still stood with Jen.
"Hello Hermione," he said without looking at her. "I trust you've been well."
"Uh, yes … very well, thank you. And how have you been?"
"Also well." Charlie glanced sideways at Draco, who was making a point to look everywhere in the room but at him. "Jen, I'll go ahead and take them from here. You should probably go and check on Annaleigh."
Jen nodded and said goodbye before joining her friend on the couch.
"Please, follow me," said Charlie, leading them through the door he had just come from. They walked through several more doors and hallways before entering a small room with four single beds. "I hope you all don't mind sharing. We're a little short on space right now with all of the summer interns."
"Oh, zis weell be fun!" exclaimed Sophie. "Not once zis summer 'ave ze four of us gotten to share a room, even when we were using ze tents." She immediately claimed the bed by the window. Hermione took the one across from her and Draco and Phillip took the beds beside their particular witches.
"Uh, Phillip, would you mind if I had a word with you in private?" Charlie asked.
Phillip looked at Sophie, who shrugged. "You might as well just say it now. Everyone here is aware of my and Anna's situation."
"Okay then," said Charlie, glancing around the room. "I just thought you should know why Annaleigh's so upset right now. "The morning the article came out Chastity contacted her parents through the Floo. She was in hysterics, but before they could find out what was wrong she freaked out about something that was going on behind her and disappeared. No one has heard from her since."
"Do zey zink she ees 'urt?" asked Sophie, stepping forward. "Zandeecus ees a bastard but I do not believe 'e as eet een 'im to actually 'arm Chasteety. I am sure eet ees nozing, Phillipe." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Has anyone tried to go to his place and check on her?" asked Phillip, looking both concerned and confused.
"Yes but no one is home. They apparently went somewhere else after Hogsmeade, but no one knows where. Annaleigh has been really upset. No one in her family has ever trusted him."
"I see …" said Phillip, staring blankly at the floor. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sure Anna has no interest in speaking with me, so if you hear anything -"
"I'll let you know right away."
Thanks," said Phillip, sinking onto the closest bed.
Sophie sat beside him and rubbed her hands soothingly along his back. "Eet weell be alright, mon cherie," she whispered into his ear. "I am sure of eet. Chasteety weell turn up."
A bell chimed in the room. All but Charlie looked around for the source of the noise. "That means it's time for dinner," he said. "It's just this way." He motioned out the door.
Sophie stood up and headed out first, pulling Phillip behind her. Draco followed them out, but before Hermione could leave Charlie grabbed her arm, leaned in and whispered, "Ron saw the article." Hermione forgot how to breathe as she looked over at Charlie with wide eyes. "My family tried to hide it from him like they did with the last one but, as it turns out, he saw that one too. This time he was just too angry to play along with their games. I'm sorry."
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but before she could Sophie poked her head back in the room and asked, "Are you two coming?"
Hermione said, "Yes," before whispering back to Charlie, "We'll talk about this later."
Charlie nodded and exited the room, leading the four of them to the main dining hall.
This whole place was kind of like a mini Hogwarts. Everyone was more or less the same age and sat at one long table decorated with golden plates and goblets. But, instead of an enchanted ceiling designed to look like they were outdoors, there was a moving mural of dragons battling wizards and witches. Every few minutes Hermione would look up and see a different one. At one point she could have sworn the wizard was Charlie.
"Are those photographs?" she asked as art-Charlie dodged a fire ball.
"Sort of," said the real Charlie, looking upwards. "It was designed by one of our former employees. All of these scenes are from her memories. I think I look a lot more heroic up there than I actually did that day." He laughed. "That was one of my first missions. Needless to say, it didn't go well."
Halfway through their meal Annaleigh got up and walked out towards the common room. Phillip kept his eyes on her. Once she was gone he looked to Sophie, who nodded. He got up and followed her out. Now it was Sophie's turn to watch him.
"Are you okay with all of this, Sophie?" Hermione asked, leaning in and whispering into her ear.
"Of course I am," said Sophie unconvincingly. "Eet ees normal for 'im to be concerned for 'is ex-wife. At one time she was very eemportant to 'im."
"I think she was referring to him being alone in a room with a girl he shagged only a month and a half ago," said Draco, leaning in too.
Sophie rolled her eyes. "Anna 'as nozing on me. I am not worried."
She had that right. While Annaleigh was pretty she was nothing compared to Sophie. Besides, Phillip seemed completely smitten. He would never do anything to hurt her. But Hermione didn't like the way Daniel was eyeing Sophie from across the table. Apparently, he was still eager for his piece. Sophie didn't seem to notice. She was too concerned over Phillip to pay any mind to the other people in the room.
After dinner everyone left the table and headed for the common room. When they got there Annaleigh was sitting in a chair by herself. Sophie went straight up to her and asked where Phillip was, like there was no bad air between them. Without looking up, Annaleigh told her he went back to their room. Sophie left immediately.
Hermione and Draco were both exhausted, but they wanted to give Sophie and Phillip some time alone, so they stayed in the common room for a while longer. Neither of them were being especially affectionate, considering where they were, but after Hermione found a book on one of their shelves and started reading it, she unconsciously leaned against Draco, who put his arm around her. It wasn't until Charlie hightailed it out of there that they realized they had done something wrong. At this point it all just felt natural.
"So, your friends … how serious are they?" asked Daniel, sitting down beside them.
Hermione briefly looked up from her book before deciding Draco could handle this.
"Serious enough that you shouldn't try to do whatever it is you're thinking about," he answered.
"Well. It can't be that serious, can it? Last time I saw them they weren't even on each other's radar."
"That was the night they got on each other's radar, actually," said Hermione, turning her page.
Daniel raised his eyebrows high. "Really? I knew I should have stayed there and shagged her. If it wasn't for Anna."
Annaleigh, who was still slumped in a chair nearby, rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You know I never would've turned you in. I still don't know why you listened to me."
"I wasn't taking that risk. I love this job. Besides, that night didn't end up being all bad, did it?" He smirked over at Annaleigh, who turned a bright crimson. Hermione and Draco looked at each other and chuckled. It appeared that a third couple had also hooked up for the first time that night. But, unlike the others, it seemed like Daniel and Annaleigh were only a onetime thing.
"Please don't remind me," said Annaleigh, sinking even deeper into her chair. After a minute she sat back up a little and looked over at Draco and Hermione. "Could I ask you guys something?"
"Shoot," said Draco, stroking his hand through Hermione's hair.
"When …" she sighed. "When Chastity saw Phillip and Sophie were together, how did she react?"
Draco shrugged. "I dunno."
Hermione rolled her eyes. Never let a man do a woman's job. "She was mad at first and accused him of cheating."
"Baited by Zandicus, if I remember correctly," added Draco.
Hermione nodded. "But after all of the fighting happened she seemed really upset. She even started crying when she saw the two of them kissing."
"That's what I thought," Annaleigh said, staring blankly at the fire.
"So … about my chances with Sophie."
"Oh my Merlin! Do you never SHUT UP?" Annaleigh jumped out of her chair and stormed out of the room, making sure to smack Daniel on the head when she passed him.
He smugly smiled after her. When he turned back around Hermione was staring peculiarly at him.
"Uh … Daniel. Are you trying to make Anna jealous?"
His face stiffened. "What? Of course not! That is absolutely ridiculous!"
Draco raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because it seems to me like you have a thing for the hot ginger."
"I do not!"
"Oh my Merlin! You totally do!" laughed Hermione, throwing both hands over her mouth. When her giggles subsided, she asked, "Why don't you just tell her?"
Daniel looked skeptically around the room before leaning in and speaking under his breath. "Look, ever since the night we shagged Anna's been all weird. I wanted to talk about it but all she cared about was making sure Charlie never found out. The guy doesn't give two hoots about her. Don't know why she cares so much."
Hermione shut her book, knowing very well she was never going to get any reading done. There were too many dramatic people around. "Look, Daniel, could I be blunt with you?" He shrugged. That was as good as a yes in her eyes. "Anna likes Charlie because he's a nice guy. She's really upset right now and he's been with her every step of the way. You, on the other hand, are too busy trying to get under her skin that you're completely ignoring what she really needs."
"Which is?"
"Which is not some guy she recently shagged saying he wants to get into the pants of another witch, especially one she is clearly jealous of. Sophie makes Anna insecure. If you want to make sure she doesn't like you then, by all means, continue what you're doing. Otherwise, stop being a prick and go comfort her!"
Draco threw his head back and laughed. "And, on that note, I think it's time for us to head to bed, Mione." He stood up from the couch, pulling her with him.
On their way out, Hermione turned to a dumbfounded Daniel and said, "Think about what I said, will you?" He didn't say anything.
Back in their room, Sophie and Phillip were already fast asleep. Their beds were pushed together and Sophie had her head on Phillip's chest. They had done the same thing to Hermione's and Draco's beds.
After changing, the two of them climbed into their new double bed and fell asleep instantly. At least the current room arrangements kept them from staying up all night shagging for a couple of days. It would be nice to catch up on their sleep for once.
The next morning they were all woken up by someone banging on their door. Draco was the one to slump out of bed and answer it. An older man with a round and cheery face was on the other side with Charlie just behind him.
"Good morning. I'm Mr. Haugus, head of this establishment," he said, holding out his hand.
Draco shook it. "Draco Malfoy. Pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Malfoy. I have heard many great things about you from Garrick over the last couple of months." It took Draco a moment to realize he was talking about Mr. Ollivander. Sometimes he forgot the wizard had a first name. "I apologize for waking you so early, but our facility is rather large and I thought you would want to get an early start. Charlie here has agreed to take you around and help you choose your dragons."
"Wonderful," said Draco, staring coldly at the other Weasley. He knew what he was up to. He was babysitting, knowing very well Hermione and Draco wouldn't do anything with him around. The damn Weasley's and their family loyalty.
"Breakfast is in ten minutes. We will see you all there."
After they walked away, Draco shut the door and climbed back into bed, wrapping his arms around Hermione.
"Did he say Charlie's going to be the one taking us around?" she asked, burrowing her head into his chest.
"Yes," sighed Draco.
"Ron saw the article. Charlie told me yesterday."
"And are you okay with that?" he asked, looking down at her.
Hermione shrugged. "Guess I have to be." She took one last moment to breathe him in before saying, "We should get ready."
All four of them climbed out of bed at the same time.
"Ten meenutes to get ready. Zat ees just reediculous. Who does 'e zink we are? Ugly people?"
Despite all of that, Sophie was dressed and looking gorgeous in five minutes flat. She even had some spare time to do Hermione's hair in an elaborate twist. Her idea, not Hermione's.
Only a handful of people were at breakfast, since most of them didn't start their day for another couple of hours. After they ate, Charlie took them to a room that looked like a small library. He pulled out several books with photos and descriptions of all of their current dragons.
"So what deed you end up naming zat dragon een ze desert?" asked Sophie, flipping through the pages.
"Oh," said Charlie, brightening immediately. "I almost forgot about that. We ended up calling it an Egyptian Firestorm. I fought it, since it wasn't technically in Egypt, but most dragon names are approximate region specific, and everyone else seemed to like it."
"Egyptian Inferno was better," said a bitter Draco. He had almost won this.
"Well, I zink we should defeenitely get a 'eartstring from zat dragon. Eet 'as senteemental value."
"You weren't even there, Soph," said Draco, sitting down beside her.
"I know, but eet attacked you and 'Ermione when I was mad at you. Karma!" She and Phillip shared another high-five. "Ooh! Karma Chameleon! Zat ees what you should 'ave called eet! Eet blended een wiz ze sand, right? Karma karma karma karma, karma chameleon.
You come and go, you come and go …"
Hermione was the only one who didn't stare at her blankly. The witches exchanged a look and laughed.
"So what was zat dragon 'Arry Potter fought een ze Triweezard Tournament? We should get one of zose too."
"Ooh, a Hungarian Horntail. Good one, Sophie," said Hermione, sitting in the chair on the other side of her. "Do you still have the same one, Charlie?"
"We do, actually," he said, flipping through the pages of one of the other books until he found it.
Phillip looked at it and cringed. "Vicious."
In the end they chose five dragons, which was all Charlie said they had time for that day. After heading back to their room and gathering their supplies, Charlie guided them through a series of hallways and fireplaces that worked like the Floo network, only without powder and they only took them to places located in the facility.
Eventually they came to the lodging place of the Egyptian Firestorm. It was being held in a large space designed to look like a desert with an exact replica of the oasis it had been guarding. The only thing separating them from it was a thin piece of magical glass.
Charlie opened a small door in the glass and waited for them to do whatever it was they needed.
"Does anyone else want to try it this time?" asked Hermione, holding up one of the phials.
Sophie gladly took it. She mimicked what Hermione had done in the mountains to get the dragon to drink it. Once that was done, Phillip held out the book for her and she cast the extraction spell. Before long the heartstring emerged, only this one was golden. When they had it safely sealed in one of their jars Sophie smiled with a real sense of accomplishment.
Charlie hadn't been wrong about five dragons taking them the entire day. It took so long to travel between each ones location that, by the time they got back, it was nearly dinnertime.
Tonight Mr. Haugus joined them all for dinner. After spending all day with the dragons, Hermione had a million questions for him. "How many dragons do you house here?"
"Oh, I suppose we normally have somewhere between one and two hundred."
"What do you do with all of them?"
"Research mainly. We like to study their habits, learn about their specific skills. We have a devoted team here who spend hours upon hours observing them. We want to know as much about each dragon as possible."
"How long do you normally keep them for?"
"Normally just a year or two, but many of them hatched here and are a bit domesticated. We try to introduce them into the wild, but many find their way back here. Like that Horntail you visited today. He's been released at least a dozen times, but he keeps coming back."
"Hermione, let the man eat, why don't you?" joked Draco, grabbing her hand under the table.
"I'm sorry," she said, squeezing his hand. "I just never realized how little I know about dragons. It's all so fascinating."
"I'm glad we made a fan," laughed Mr. Haugus.
Across the table, Hermione noticed Daniel trying to talk decently with Annaleigh. Unfortunately, she wasn't having it and kept ignoring him to talk to Charlie. He sighed before looking over at Sophie, who was currently leaning against Phillip's shoulder. Hermione caught his eye and shot him a stern look. There was no way she was letting Sophie and Phillip become pawns in his pathetic game.
After dinner, Draco and Phillip got caught up in a very heated game of wizard chess. Halfway through, Hermione and Sophie got bored and went exploring through the halls. About thirty minutes into it they accidentally stumbled upon the large room with the fireplaces they had come across when they arrived. Charlie was there with his head in a fireplace while Annaleigh sat in an armchair behind him. She seemed to be his lookout, but was doing a horrible job at it.
"George, seriously, could you please keep Ginny out of the room." A pause. "Because I don't like your tone, Ginevra. I'm not going to try and break up whatever is going on between them. Now I regret telling you they were here in the first place." A longer pause. "While your conspiracy theories are amusing, I don't think that's the case. He seems to legitimately like her." A short pause. Charlie laughed hysterically. "Yeah, Malfoy's aren't exactly known for that."
Sophie looked curiously at Hermione, who shrugged. She had no idea what Malfoy's weren't known for.
"Harry, have you heard from Ron at all?" A very quick pause. "So he's gone completely AWOL?" Another quick pause. Charlie sighed. "Well, I'm not surprised. We all knew this was going to crush him."
"You should tell them how coupley the two of them are. No use sugar coating it."
Charlie pulled his head out of the flames and glared back at Annaleigh. "They are not coupley. She is going to get back together with my brother."
Annaleigh sighed. "You took off so quickly last night that you didn't get a chance to see how comfortable they looked. He was petting her, Charlie. Petting her."
Charlie turned red in the face. "You're not helping!" He stuck his head back in the fire. "Sorry about that. My lookout is being a nuisance." Another long pause. "I don't know, Ginny. I can't exactly ask her that. They're always together." Pause. "Yes, if I get her alone I'll ask." Short pause. "I will." Another short pause. "She's not going to want to Floo you, Ginny. She's not stupid. But maybe she'll talk to Harry."
There was a loud swoosh. Someone had come through one of the other fireplaces. Annaleigh jumped out of her chair and ran over to them. "Chastity! Where have you been?"
"Son of a -" Hermione threw her hand over Sophie's mouth before she could finish that sentence.
Charlie tore his head out of the fire, caught sight of the disheveled witch and stuck his head back in. "Sorry guys. Gotta go. Something important has just come up."
Once that was done Charlie ran over to where Annaleigh was hugging Chastity. "Everyone has been so worried about you! Your mum has gone absolutely berserk! Did that bastard hurt you?"
Chastity shook her head rapidly while Annaleigh moved tear-soaked hair out of her face. "No, no. Of course not. You know Zandicus is all bark and no bite. But I did it."
"Did what?" asked Annaleigh.
"I left him."
Sophie gasped. Hermione threw her hand back over her mouth. This time she kept it there.
"Y-you left him?"
Chastity nodded. "Uhuh. I've been trying to do it for months now but could never find the nerve. And then when I saw Phillip all happy with that Sophie I just couldn't take it anymore. When is it my turn to be happy again, Anna?" she asked, a whole new set of tears seeping from her eyes. Annaleigh pulled her in and hugged her tighter. "Is he here?"
"Uhh … what?" asked Annaleigh, giving Charlie a worried look.
"I went back to Hogsmeade to find him but they had already left. Someone there told me they overheard him and his group saying they were heading to Romania. Since they were supposedly in Hogsmeade to find a dragon I thought he might come here. Is he?" She pulled out of their hug and looked hopefully at her cousin.
Annaleigh sucked in her lips and looked at Charlie again. He had no clue what to do. She sighed. "Look, Chassy, I don't think you should see him right now. You're clearly upset and he's here with Sophie -"
"I don't care! I have to see him! I have to talk to him!"
"About what? You're not trying to get him back, are you?" Chastity cast her eyes to the floor. Annaleigh jumped back three paces. "Oh Merlin, you are! Chassy, don't! I saw him earlier this summer and he was completely miserable. He's finally happy again. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"He'd be happier with me."
"Don't be selfish! You left him, remember? You thought for sure there was something better out there."
"And I know now that there isn't. Could you please just take me to him?"
"No."
"Anna, I am your older cousin and you will do as I say!"
"By three months! I'm not taking you to him, Chassy! We're not kids anymore! You can't boss me around!"
"TAKE ME TO HIM RIGHT NOW, ANNA, OR I SWEAR I WILL -"
Sophie moved out of Hermione's grasp and pushed open the door, walking confidently into the center of the room. Hermione reluctantly followed her.
Chastity, Annaleigh, and Charlie all stared wide-eyed as they approached.
When they were standing in front of all of them, Sophie looked at Annaleigh and said, "Go ahead and let 'er see 'im, Anna. Eet ees not like eet weell make a deefference."
"Are - are you sure?"
"What are you asking her for? You're my cousin."
"She's his girlfriend, Chassy. I think she has a say in this."
"I'm his wife!"
"Ex-wife," corrected Sophie.
"Hermione, how long have you two been back there?" asked Charlie.
Hermione frowned down at the ground. "Long enough. Tell your family and Harry I'm not going to contact them yet. I want my last three weeks."
"Ex or not, we still share a bond you two will never have," spat Chastity.
"And then what happens after three weeks?" asked Charlie.
"I don't know yet," said Hermione honestly.
"You 'ave no idea what we share. Eet ees over between you two, Chasteety. But eef closure ees what you need zen I am going to geeve eet to you."
"Don't know?" repeated Charlie. "My brother deserves better than a 'don't know'."
"Phillipe ees een ze common room. I weell take you zere myself eef Anna weell not."
"No, I'll take her," said Annaleigh, moving so she was in between the two witches. She knew the claws were more than ready to come out. "Come on, Chastity. Let's get this over with."
"Anna, why are you being so negative?" asked Chastity, following her cousin out.
"Because I'm pretty sure you're about to make a fool of yourself."
"That was very brave of you," Hermione said to Sophie as soon as the other witches were gone.
"Yes … I - I am not worried. Phillipe loves me … right?" She looked to Hermione for reassurance.
"Of course he does. Phillip is crazy about you."
"Once upon a time, 'e was crazy about 'er too." Sophie stared blankly at the door Chastity and Annaleigh had just gone through. She blinked. "'Ermione, what 'ave I done? Phillipe cannot talk to 'er! What eef 'e takes 'er back?"
"He won't."
"You don't know zat! I 'ave to go een zere! I 'ave to see!"
Sophie made a break for the door. Hermione grabbed her arm and tried to hold her back. When that didn't work she hugged onto her shoulders, fighting with all her might against the desperate witch.
"Sophie, stop! You told her it was okay! You trust Phillip! He's not going to take her back!"
"I 'ave to know! I 'ave to know!"
"If I can offer you an alternative solution, will you take it?"
Sophie stopped struggling. "I am leestening."
"Alright then," said Hermione. She released Sophie and straightened herself out. "Follow me."
Hermione led her towards the door they had just come from. When they were almost through it, Charlie called after her, "Hermione, we need to talk about this!"
Swiveling back around on one foot, Hermione said, "No, Charlie, we really don't. But fine. Come to our room in the morning and I'll make sure we get some time alone. Will that suffice?" Charlie nodded. "Good."
She turned back around and led Sophie through the halls to their room, making sure to avoid the common room at all costs. When they got there she pulled out a fluid-like, silvery cloak.
"I forgot I borrowed this from Harry at the beginning of the summer."
"What ees eet?" Sophie asked while stroking the material.
"It's an invisibility cloak. We're going to use it to spy on Phillip."
"An eenvisibility cloak? Don't you zink zis would 'ave come in 'andy earlier een ze summer? Like, oh, I don't know … when we were trying to sneak up on a dragon?"
"I told you, I forgot I had it," snapped Hermione. "Now, do you want to spy on Phillip or not?" Sophie looked at the cloak and let out a deep sigh before nodding. "Good." She threw the cloak over both of them and the two quietly walked off towards the common room.
XXX
Draco and Phillip had just finished their game of wizarding chess when the doors to the common room flew open. Draco barely had time to celebrate his victory when both he and Phillip looked over to see Chastity scanning the room with swollen eyes. They stopped on Phillip, who gaped over at her. He jumped out of his chair.
"Chastity, where have you been?"
Chastity walked over to him and said, "Where I have been isn't important. I just really need to talk to you." She looked all around the room. "Alone," she emphasized.
Phillip looked to Draco for help but he didn't know what to do here either, so he shrugged. Phillip grunted and turned back to Chastity. "I really don't think Sophie would be alright with that."
"I've already spoken to her and she says she's fine with it."
"That certainly doesn't sound like Sophie," stated Draco.
"No, it's true. She really did say it was alright. Tell him Anna." Chastity looked at her cousin sharply
Annaleigh groaned. "I'm afraid it's true. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been standing right there."
"Oh … Uhh … Alright then," said Phillip, not knowing what else to say.
Anna mouthed the word, "Sorry," to him before going around and clearing everyone out of the room. Draco laughed when Daniel immediately jumped up to help her. Everyone seemed more inclined to listen to him, especially the witches.
"Do you want me to leave too?" Draco asked Phillip.
"Yes," Chastity answered firmly.
Phillip frowned. "I guess you'd better."
Draco nodded. On his way out he was about to shut the door when he felt something brush past him, along with some noises that sounded like breathing. Following an inkling, Draco reached out and caught hold of some fabric. He laughed before pulling it up and slipping underneath it.
"You sneaky little witches!" he said under his breath.
"Get out of here, Draco! There's no room for a third!" Hermione tried to push him out the back, but Draco pushed back.
"No way! If you get to go in so do I!"
Hermione started to push him again, but Sophie stopped her. "Oh, let 'im come, 'Ermione. We'll just push up against a wall and 'old eet een front of us, or somezing."
"This is Potter's cloak, isn't it?" asked Draco. Hermione nodded. "You've had this the whole summer?" She nodded again. "Did you ever think that maybe it would have come in handy, perhaps when we were sneaking up on dragons, or entering Acromantula nests, or I had to save you from those bloody vampires -"
"Zat's what I said!"
"I forgot I had it!" she said in a harsh whisper. "Now, if we're going in we should get to it before they realize the door is still open."
The three of them walked very close together as they slipped into the common room, one - or maybe all - of them accidentally brushing the door a little more open when they went through it. Phillip noticed and went over to shut it the rest of the way. They got out of his way just in time to avoid a collision. Once they were safely inside they leaned against the closest wall so no one would notice their ankles poking out the back of the cloak.
"So what did you want to talk about?" asked Phillip, returning to Chastity. He crossed his arms and casually leaned against the back of the couch.
"I -" Chastity stared down at the floor, as she was unable to look him in the eye. "Oh Phillip, I don't even know where to begin."
"Well … why don't you start by telling me where you've been these last couple of days? Your family's been worried sick."
"I didn't mean for them to be. When we left Hogsmeade that night we went to stay at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. The next morning Zandicus went to some urgent meeting while I went to breakfast. The person sitting next to me was reading the Daily Prophet and I asked to borrow it when I saw the photo on the front page. It was horrible. I contacted my parent's right after. I hadn't realized how awful I'd become. When I was in the middle of talking to her, Zandicus came back with his own copy of the article. He was freaking out about it. We ended up getting into this huge argument and I …" Chastity gulped back her tears. She finally looked up into Phillip's eyes and said, "I told him I was done. Leaving you for him was the biggest mistake I ever made. I know that now."
"I see …" said Phillip, feeling even more uncomfortable than he did before. "And how did he take that?"
"Not well," she said, half laughing, half crying. "He mentioned a few places I might consider sticking my wand and he left. I know I should have contacted my parent's right then and there but I really just wanted to be alone. I needed some time to think … And it was during that time that I realized that sad truth. The last time I was truly happy was when I was with you."
Phillip stared at her for a moment before moving his eyes uncomfortably to the ground. "Chastity, I -"
"Don't you remember what it was like when we first got married, Phillip?" she asked, reaching her hand out to grab his. He let her hold it, but he did not hold back. "Remember how much fun we had?"
"Yes, of course, but -"
"Remember the day we moved into our first flat together? We couldn't afford a honeymoon so when we arrived you had the entire place enchanted to look like Aruba. Well, I've been to Aruba now, Phillip, and you know what? It was nowhere near as great as those couple of days in our dirty flat drinking tropical drinks with little umbrellas."
Hermione kept hearing a weird sound. It took her a few minutes to realize it was Sophie grinding her teeth. Phillip looked around for whatever was making the noise, but became distracted once Chastity leaned over and kissed him.
Hermione and Draco each grabbed one of Sophie's arms immediately. She was already in the process of lunging forward and exposing them all. Draco threw his spare hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, since she was on the verge of screaming.
Phillip didn't push Chastity off of him, but he didn't kiss her back either. He was so stunned he didn't know what to do. When she pulled away she looked into his eyes for the answer she was desperately seeking.
"Chastity, I … love Sophie."
Hermione and Draco felt Sophie relax beneath their holds, but neither let go.
"Love?" repeated Chastity, moving away from him. "You - you love her?"
"Yes, I do. She makes me happy, Chastity. Happier than I ever thought I could be. Sure, she can be a bit dramatic, but that's part of what I love about her. No one can make me laugh like she does."
Chastity slowly began to shake her head and she continued to step backwards. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You and I were great, Chastity, but I think part of the problem was we were never friends first. You were my girlfriend within two days of us meeting and my wife only a year after that. Sure, we had passion, but once that died we were left to find out we had nothing in common.
The witch looked down to the ground, her shoulders bobbing as she started to sob. Phillip reached out for her but she just pulled away.
"I'm sorry you're hurting, I really am, but you and I don't belong together. I belong with Sophie. It's just a shame it took me a divorce, the loss of my job, hitting rock bottom, and two plus years to figure that out."
"I see …"
"I believe everything happens for a reason, Chastity. You're going to find someone who is absolutely perfect for you. Someone a million times better than Zandicus Thinx. But, I'm afraid, it's not me. Sorry."
"D-don't be," she said, wiping some tears out of her eyes. I wanted honesty and Merlin did I get it." She tried to laugh, but only ended up crying harder. Phillip reached out and pulled her into a hug. This time she did not fight it. She clung to him, sobbing hard into his chest. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Phillip. I know you never cheated on me, but telling myself that you did made it easier for me to justify my actions. I felt you drifting away from me, and Zandicus was there and he wanted me in the same way you used to. I just wanted that feeling back. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Shh … It's fine," he whispered while stroking her hair. "Everything is fine."
"You shouldn't be comforting me after everything I've done to you. I don't deserve it."
Phillip chuckled lightly. "You're being a little hard on yourself, aren't you? As long as you don't end up marrying that prick I could care less what you did. I really am over it."
"I can see that," she said, pulling away from him. She looked at him with her puffy, red eyes and smiled. "Good luck with Sophie, Phillip. I really do want the best for you. Both of you."
"And I for you."
Chastity nodded. "I should go. My parents should see that I'm alright. Tell Anna I headed home, will you?" She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "If I never see you again, have a good life, Phillip. You deserve it."
Chastity continued to wipe her tears while she ran out of the room. Once she was gone Phillip let out a loud sigh and fell over the back of the couch. He had only been laying there a couple of seconds when he heard the sound of muffled sobs. At first he thought Chastity had come back, but then there was a small yip. He recognized it immediately.
"Sophie?" he asked, standing up and following the sobs. He eventually located them near one of the doors, coming from midair. He reached out and felt a piece of soft fabric. He pulled it, revealing a weeping Sophie being held in place by both Draco and Hermione. Draco had his hand over her mouth in an attempt to silence her. It clearly wasn't working.
"What in the -"
"Hey, Phil! Fancy meeting you here! Isn't it fancy meeting him here, Hermione?"
"Oh! Umm … yes. Very fancy indeed."
"Is this an invisibility cloak?" asked Phillip, holding up the piece of fabric. Hermione took it from him and nodded. "Don't you think that would have come in handy -"
"When sneaking up on a dragon! Yes, I get it already! I forgot I had it, alright?"
"Phillipe!" Sophie leaped into Phillip's arms. The moment he was holding her he completely forgot that he was supposed to be mad they were spying on him. "I 'eard everyzing you said and you were right! You belong wiz me and I belong wiz you! But I am not dramatic!"
Phillip laughed and squeezed her tighter. "Whatever you say, Soph."
He leaned in towards her but before their lips could meet Sophie put up a hand to stop him. She took out her wand and cast a spell to remove all foreign saliva from his mouth, aka Chastity's saliva. Who knew there was such a spell?
The two started kissing, small at first, but then becoming progressively larger and less appropriate to be seen in the presence of others. Hermione pushed against Draco and used his arm to shield her eyes. She cleared her throat.
"Soph, perhaps we should move this elsewhere," said Phillip through heated breaths.
"Yes, I agree. We should defeenitely 'ead back to ze bedroom."
The two of them headed out the door, limbs and lips still tangled in each other the entire way. When they were gone Hermione and Draco stared blankly into the empty common room.
"Draco … did we just get kicked out of our room?"
"You know, Mione, I think we did."
"Huh … so … now what are we supposed to do?"
Draco put his arm around her and squeezed her close. "Tonight … we give them their night. But tomorrow … we get ours," he said, grinning mischievously.
Hermione grinned back. "Tomorrow sounds like a good night."
The two leaned in and kissed each other, both still blindly unaware of how wrong she was. Tomorrow was not going to be a good night at all. Tomorrow would be their worst night yet.
35
