Part 2 of The Sorting Hat's Mistake
Chapter 1
The blue tits and the robins seemed to chirp merrily among the wisteria outside the kitchen window, but Ollivander knew all too well that there was a secret war taking place in his front garden. The birds were in fact fighting over their various territories. Nature, he thought to himself with a sigh of exhaustion, as always still pertains the most powerful form of illusion.
As he turned away from the window, he saw the two young aurors sitting awkwardly by the table, clearly refusing to look at one another. Only moments before they had seemed, as far as he could tell, like two young lovers utterly oblivious to their surroundings. An odd combination in Ollivander's opinion, although now seeing both together in his rather small kitchen, he found that it was not actually odd at all. If that was what they were, however.
"So, this is your house Mr Ollivander?" said Hermione, gazing at him incredulously. She still couldn't understand how they had mistaken Ollivander to be kidnapped and to find him not only alive, but looking quite well.
"Yes, indeed it is Miss Granger, although I usually only come here during my holiday period. It is nice to get away sometimes from the frilly nilly of Diagon Alley. It can get quite tiresome at times."
"Oh, yes of course. I can understand that. However, it has come to the attention of the Ministry that-"
"Were you kidnapped, Mr Ollivander?" asked Draco bluntly, cutting Hermione off, which gave her an unpleasant surprise.
"Well, my boy, clearly I am here, quite alive and well-"
"Did you escape, sir?" asked Draco again in the same blunt fashion, which made Ollivander's expression change.
"I remember when I was held captive at your home boy. You always seemed very frightened I recall," said Ollivander, his voice critical and a little unpleasant. "In fact, I wager you were more frightened than I ever was. But I feel that something has changed within you since then? You seem, different."
Hermione observed Draco wearily throughout this exchange, but Draco's cold, almost disinterested stare did not waver at all. He might as well have been carved out of stone.
"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. But it is of no concern of yours."
"Hmm," said Ollivander, still gazing at Malfoy with a curious look on his face. "To answer your question, I would have to say this. I was staged. I only appeared to be kidnapped. In other words, what you saw was an illusion. Planned out very well and over a long period of time, but it was an illusion nevertheless."
Both Hermione and Draco frowned and gave sideway looks at each other.
"Er, umm, why did you do this?" asked Hermione, her previous authoritative tone melted away. "Why would you go through all of that trouble, simply for a vacation?"
"Oh my dear!" said Ollivander humorously with a chuckle. "I trust both of you not to mention this to the Ministry but it was to help a friend. A very dear, dear friend, who is almost like a son to me."
"And who, may I ask, if that?" asked Draco, eyebrows raised.
"Someone who was wrongly accused of a crime, quite similar in fact to that of Sirius Black's case, although not as serious. He had to come and see me urgently, a matter of life and death he had told me, but I had to make sure that he would not be found. I saw you two coming up my road and panicked, but upon recognising who you were I thought it would be safe and that you might be able to understand. And speak of the devil, here he is!"
Both Draco and Hermione turned around to face what Ollivander was now beaming happily at. Hermione's eyes widened, and she gasped. Draco blinked several times.
Tall, broad shoulders, the build of top Quidditch player with two almost black piercing eyes and thick, wedge-like eyebrows, the man standing intimidatingly by the small kitchen door might as well have been Viktor Krum.
"May I introduce Nikolai Krum, Viktor's Krum younger brother!"