AN: I have some rough concept sketches of various places in the universe. Would you all like to see those? I can set them up on a deviantart account somewhere or something. They aren't good, and most are landscapes but if it'll help you picture the world... let me know.
When Draco woke it was late. The sun had already begun to filter through the window on his balcony and was shining rudely into his eyes. A blurry mess of hair was exactly where it had been stuck the previous night however a gentle shift of his shoulder indicated the charm had worn off. Hermione was beginning to stir while he planned the most uncomfortable way to wake her up. A devious smile grew on his face at the idea of unceremoniously rolling her off him and onto the floor with a loud yawn.
"I think I am going to be sick if you don't wipe that smirk off your face." The disembodied voice ruined all complex plots as he bolted upright flinging the poor girl onto the opposite side of the couch as her eyes flew open.
"Aw, I thought it was cute." Theo supplied from the kitchen as he rooted around the icebox. Draco turned his attention back to an apocalyptic wizard blocking the floo, and thus any chance of escape. The air around Blaise practically crackled with fury, witch didn't go unnoticed judging from the light quivering next to him on the couch. He risked a glance at Hermione who looked to be trying to make herself as small as possible. Her skin had blanched white and her face was hidden in her hands.
"Don't be a coward, Granger. It's a bit late to pretend you're some faceless one night stand." Blaise growled roughly. Draco flinched at the bite of the statement and sighed. In spite of the target of his statement, Blaise's attention remained firmly on Draco, waiting for an explanation.
"Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't what it looked like?" He offered casually as his mind twisting over itself looking for a plausible explanation. He pulled his arms above his head in a tall stretch, pulling the knotted muscles in his back. All the cushioning charms in the world couldn't make sleeping upright anyone's definition of comfort.
"I generally like to hear the circumstances before making half-cocked assumptions." Blaise scoffed, staring at Hermione who had settled herself into a contrite position, looking very much like an admonished school girl. While Draco found it almost cute, Blaise looked like he wanted to set her on fire. "However, this is fairly damning."
"It really-" Draco started with a shrug, not exactly sure how he was going to end the statement.
"Are you brainless! What in Merlin's name were you thinking, messing around with her? She's supposed to be gone. Dead. Missing. Do you have any idea how bad this looks?"
"I don't think she's dead." Theo responded making his way into the living room with a plate of toast. To Draco's surprise he offered one to Granger and she took it, nibbling at the butter coated crust.
"Thank you for that very helpful addition Theo. And for feeding the enemy." Blaise growled at the other boy who looked nonplussed munching on his toast. "If you would like to fill the rest of us in on the situation you have so cleverly unraveled since Draco isn't..."
Theo looked back and forth between Hermione and Draco blankly, his eyes calmly but thoroughly taking in the scene. By the time he swallowed dramatically, Draco felt mildly violated and Hermione looked no better off. Nosy bastard.
"They've been in contact for a while. I'd wager she's the one who took his vow since we haven't heard about it." Draco sighed dreaming of all the ways this morning should have gone. Blaise merely growled turning away from the younger wizard and redirecting his ire back to Draco and Hermione.
"What are they even doing here?" She questioned. Hermione's toast seemed to have given her some amount of energy and she wasn't swooning over him so at least that was an improvement. Not that Blaise would see it that way.
"Us?" Blaise spat with enough venom causing her to flinch. "What are you doing here? What is Hermione bloody Granger, who no one has seen in ages, doing at the Death Eater's house snuggling on the couch like a pair of horny teenagers."
Draco flinched. He knew the barb had been directed at Hermione but it was clearly meant to hurt him. Blaise knew the weak spot, it was so Slytherin of him to use it to his advantage. Draco was about to answer when Hermione spoke.
"I was incapacitated from a spell after a trip. Draco brought me back here to fix me up." Hermione responded rather calmly as she daintily grabbed a scone from Theo's offered platter.
"Which by the way, you should break that habit." Draco sneered. If her library wasn't such a dreadful mess he would have been able to treat her there and they could have avoided this whole thing.
"She's been here before?" Blaise questioned as everyone in the room looked at the volatile wizard blankly. He growled looking less than thrilled to be the last one on the boat. He turned his ire back to the witch. "We are here because Draco didn't show up for work. After the state he left this apartment in yesterday we needed to check for a body. We didn't think it would be yours we found."
"Can we discuss this later?" Draco questioned holding his head in his hand. His two lives were starting to bleed into each other, something he had worked so hard to avoid at the beginning. As small part of him felt pity that Hermione had gotten caught up in this lecture, Blaise tended to go for the throat when he was angry. While it wasn't anything he thought she couldn't handle, the whole reason they were there was really his fault. If he had just controlled his temper they would both be starting their respective days peacefully away from each other.
"No. We will discuss this now." Blaise stomped up to him, rage rolling off him in waves. "What in the actual fuck do you think you are doing shagging Hermione Granger? More importantly what do you think you are doing even talking to the filthy mudblood slag? Do you want Potter to have a reason to hang you? A reason for me to hang you?"
"There's no premise." He responded tritely.
"He will make one. For fucks sake Draco! If this gets out it looks like you have been harboring information from a ministry investigation. It looks like you imperiused her into playing house pet."
"Obviously that's not true."
"That's not how the papers will see it. After all that work we did to move on and you had to go and muck it up over some tart." He sneered in Hermione's general direction. "She's not even pretty. What else are they to assume? What possible reason could she ever have to associate with the likes of you?"
Draco tried not to show that the lash hit instead choosing to slowly and purposefully glance at Blaise's arm. Hermione cocked her head to the side as she followed the motion, eyes dawning in understanding. Her mouth formed a small little 'o' shape.
"Don't try to blame me for this." Blaise responded, gripping his arm close to his body. "This is your idiotic doing."
"Well…" Draco spoke surprised not to be immediately interrupted. He glanced around looking for any way to take the ire off him. His eyes landed on Hermione who was sitting properly on the couch watching the tongue lashing blankly. "Aren't you going to say anything. He called you a mudblood. I get a wand to the throat and he gets hands folded in a lap. How is that fair?"
"She's fucking filth but her pathetic choices are not my problem." Blaise hissed trying to pull the conversation back. When Hermione spoke her voice was quiet and measured.
"I am not upset because it is not me he is angry with."
"Of course not, he doesn't know you. Why would he care about damage to your image?" Draco scoffed, crossing his arms.
"He's not mad about that either." Theo supplied from next to her. He had that look on his face that indicated he thought Draco was dreadfully dense. Silence hung in the room for a few moments, the lack of sound filling the room as everyone stared at Blaise.
"He is upset you didn't tell him." Hermione finished with a disgusting sympathetic tone in her voice. He almost laughed at the audacity of it. He was more than prepared to start in on a rant about how preposterous it was when Blaise flinched. Draco drew his attention back in on the other boy who had pulled back front he assault, drawing his arms to his chest and forcing his face into a blank surface.
"Oh."
"Uh, Miss Granger?" Theo suggested lightly.
"Hermione is fine."
"Right then. May I suggest we head to the kitchen and throw up a silencing charm? I don't think this is going to end pleasantly for our eardrums." Hermione nodded and followed Theo to the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder before a thick black wall was thrown up behind them. He had to force his attention from where she disappeared to the suddenly much more uncomfortable situation in front of him.
"Blaise-" Draco started, unsure of what to say. Blaise was the calculating one. He understood the risk to certain actions and how to best maneuver through them. He was not the emotional one. Everything with Blaise had always been so easy. Blaise followed a clear logic that resulted in expected outcomes not rooted in 'feelings'. He hadn't even considered that hiding it from him him would upset the usually callous man.
"I am NOT mad about that." Blaise shouted immediately proving Theo correct. His temper at a rolling boil, hissing and spitting at anything in range. "That would be a sentimental and idiotic thing to be this pissed about."
"And yet you are." Draco finished trying to keep his voice even and his own reactions in check. When they had all turned into Hufflepuffs? He blamed Theo, Granger may have something to do with it as well. Terrible influences really.
"No." Blaise spat in a way that made Draco nervous his own wand wasn't out. "I just... How long?"
"A couple months." Draco responded honestly. He barely noticed that his wrist was burning.
"Months?!"
"Since India." Blaise swore angrily, dragging his hand over his face with a wince. He stared at his arm in realization before letting it fall to his side limply.
"The fucking cure-all."
"She needed someone to fly into a thunderstorm so she could catch a lightning bolt." He offered by way of explanation.
"A thunderstorm. Of fucking course. All this time. You have been lying to us. Disappearing. Coming back torn up with mysterious excuses. I know you've taken an Unbreakable Vow but you didn't even try to tell us. We could have helped you find a way out." Blaise growled as he paced in front of the floo like a trapped beast.
"You think Hermione Granger is going to enter into an unbreakable vow that three idiotic Slytherins could squirm their way out of?" Draco question impudently. He knew it was baiting the man but he didn't fucking deserve this. And neither did Granger for that matter. Draco was not one to coddle and Blaise knew that. He had done what he needed to and the consequences were his own. It was none of Blaise's damn business.
"We could have tried. There are other ways." Blaise responded hotly. "The cure-all didn't even work and now you're trapped."
"What other ways? Did you want to put a hit-wizard on her? Slip some arsenic in her tea? We aren't those kind of people Blaise. I knew the risk and I took it, for you. She even helped me figure out why the Cure-All didn't work. She had given me other avenues to try without question. If anything, she is more useful in this whole endeavor than I am. What makes her deserve to die for my stupid mistake?"
"I'm not saying that!" Blaise shouted back. "Christ I'm not a monster! I am just saying-"
"That you were hurt I didn't tell you." Draco finished coldly. Blaise scowled and clenched his fist. In a move he felt as totally out of character Draco sighed lightly, forcing the anger from his body. He ran his hand through his hair, releasing the smell of pine and winter as it fell back into his face. It felt like last night was ages away at this point, just one small slip that created an avalanche catching all of his friends in its path. "For what it's worth I am sorry. I've felt rotten about it. I never wanted you all to find out like this."
Blaise stared at him for a measure, taking in his open posture. Draco had made a point not to so much as twitch for his wand, still sitting on the coffee table. He was defenseless, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the armed wizard in front of him. After a moment Blaise sighed too, sliding his wand up his sleeve before adjusting his suit.
"...You are spending too much time with that bitch Gryffindor. You are getting all noble on me." He hissed before and grabbed his arm stretching out his fingers. The excess movements of the argument had irritated it, making the muscles raw and sore. Thankfully Hermione had provided him with the flavorless recipe for her pain potion and he had just finished brewing it yesterday. It would make a fine peace offering.
"You need more pain potion. I'll grab some and then we'll head into the kitchen." Draco stated plainly as he headed off into his study. Throwing a blank look at the wall.
"I still don't like it and I am still pissed at you." Blaise growled, pretending not to notice the sidelong glance. He fell into a cautious but familiar step beside Draco, an odd but not unwelcome comfort in the uncertain situation.
"I would say that's fair." He offered lightly, trying to get back to more steady ground.
"See there. You sound down right reasonable. Normally you would be throwing grade-A tantrum."
"I'm not that bad am I?" Draco questioned with an eyebrow raised.
"Don't worry." Blaise said with half an exasperated smile. "We love you anyway."
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"So…." Theodor Nott was standing across a table from her after just throwing up the privacy wall. She fingered the back of the chair in front of her, not really sure how to respond. It had been a good while since she had actually met anyone from her old life. Let alone a pureblood with a house predilection for casting curses at muggleborns.
"So." She responded back. He sighed and pulled out the chair on his side settling into it. Following his example she settled in her spot and they just stared at each other for a good minute.
"I need a drink." With the practice of years he conjured forth a thick crystal glass and a small barrel of firewhiskey.
"It's…" She cast a quick tempus charm. "Eight in the morning. Don't you have work?"
"I don't think you want to pass any harsh judgments on the only thing separating you from the shitefest going on in the living room." Theodore responded with a shrug.
"I wasn't." She lied . Figuring she had nothing to lose she swiped his drink. After all, she didn't have to go into work. "I just wanted to be sure you filled mine."
If he was shocked he made no indication of it. Just a small smile as he called forth another glass for him. "So…"
"This again. What an intellectual conversation." Hermione responded, swirling her glass. She has had firewhiskey before of course. The amber liquid sparkled with a flicker of flame to indicate its age. It was going to burn quite heavily.
"Would you prefer to talk about why you have been in hiding the last five years?" Theo questioned shooting back his drink and pouring another. He seemed utterly unconcerned with the tendrils of smoke leaking out of his mouth.
"Would you prefer to talk about your time turners?" She took a sip feeling the burn slip down her throat, stoking her courage. She wondered which came first, the muggle drink or this.
"Fair point. Well I can assume you are a decently skilled potioneer considering how wrapped up you are with Draco." He began to sip his second drink, shoulders releasing their tension in response.
"Mastery. They gave me a certificate and everything. It's serving as a coaster on my coffee table. You?"
"No. I am worthless when it comes to making something new. I can fix broken potions or adjust them to fit as needed. But throw me in without a baseline and I am hopeless. What did you make?"
"Elixir of lucidity." She responded as he arched his eyebrows in surprise. "You know it?"
"Yes. Draco gave me the recipe to play around with. I hope you don't mind." Something about his tone indicated he didn't really care one way or another if she did mind. "I am starting to wonder if any of our recent windfalls had been just luck."
"Best someone uses it. Lord knows it didn't do me any good." He nodded thoughtfully and gazed out the window. The clouds rolling in threatened snow. It would of course melt before it hit the streets coming down as dirty rain. She supposed when you had the money for a penthouse one of the amenities was being able to actually see snow in the winter.
"I should thank you for the sphinx." Theo remarked to the silence. "Even if you did almost kill me."
"Are they not behaving? I can talk to the queen-" She stopped as he held up his hand, an easy smile drifting to his face.
"No, they are as amenable as a man eating creature can be. The near lethal experience was when I added the usual amount of hair to a stitch-fix potion. The rip was fixed but the fabric multiplied enough to nearly smother me."
"I had mentioned its efficiency to Draco. He's quite hopeless isn't he." She sighed as she shook her head.
"I suppose he is. Well would you like to talk about anything in particular?"
"I'd actually like to ask about your supposed greenhouse." She was rewarded when his eyes sparkled and he refilled her glass.
"Ask away."
When Draco entered the room Theo and her had fallen silent from their discussion on newt liver. Blaise followed throwing back a blue vial that looked to be filled with some sort of pain potion. The two joined them at the table, glasses appearing in front of them full of deep amber liquid.
"Alright then." Theo stated to the tense air. "Who's up for a round of curling?"
Hermione smiled deviously in spite of herself. She was remarkably good at bar curling. When she was still in Britain she had a favorite muggle bar she used to sneak off to when avoiding things. The regulars balked at such a young girl wanting to learn the game but she won them over eventually. Without missing a beat she gently slid her drink across the table towards Theo. It came to a perfect stop just over the edge of the table by a few centimetres. She was rusty but it was still an excellent opening move. Theo's shocked face smoothed into a steady smirk.
"Not bad Granger. I was going to go easy on you but I don't think it's your first time." With a push of his own crystalware the drink came to rest so precariously over the edge she was certain it would spill into her lap, but no.
"Shite." With a grimace she tossed back his drink, refilling it from the barrel. Instead she focused her attention on Draco.
Approximately 30 minutes later they were all far too drunk for a weekday morning. Draco looked ridiculously tired and Blaise had finally relaxed into a state of prowling indifference. Only Theo appeared unchanged. Draco had snapped the glass off of the table mid pass.
"You have already ruined my favorite set of tea cups. If you break my bar set there will be hell to pay."
"You could take your tea cup back anytime." She muttered weakly.
"Why would I when you so charmingly wash it for me every time? Like a good little house witch." He chuffed.
"As charming as your domestic squabbles are I think we can focus on the explanation part of the night." Blaise responded swirling his drink.
"I thought Draco told you."Hermione glanced at Draco who was still palming the crystal glass. Thin red lines snaked up the back of his hand. She quickly dug in her bag while muttering. "Moronic man."
As if it was second nature she pulled out the healing potion tossing it to the blonde. He caught it and slung it back without so much as a sniff. It was a process they were certainly used to at this point but it certainly rose eyebrows from the other two. She didn't know if she should be offended or flattered that they thought she was capable of poison.
"So…" Blaise began.
"Christ. Can't any of you start a sentence with something else?" Hermione rolled her eyes as she manipulated the trail smoke coming out of her mouth into a spiral.
"Well I don't see you starting a conversation about this?" Blaise responded hotly, ignoring Theo's chuckle. "I don't exactly know how I should be speaking to you anyway."
"Well you've reached the pinnacle of propriety earlier when you called her a mudblood slag. At this point anything you say will be a disappointment so you might as well get it over with." Draco responded as he shook out his hand. The red lines were fading but not disappearing. He had waited too long; she hoped it didn't scar.
"Maybe that was slightly uncalled for." Blaise acquiesced before he hardened. "Only slightly. I wasn't aware you were a thing."
"We aren't." Hermione corrected quickly.
"Some details would be nice then." Blaise growled. "Since the blond betrayer over here can't tell us anything without spending the rest of his life in a series of lonely nights with no outlet."
"That seemed rude." Hermione responded lightly when Draco's eyes darkened.
"Yeah well I am pissed and think I have every right to be."
"Okay. Well I guess I will start from the beginning." As so she did.
World Building with Om
Firewhiskey:
A whiskey like concoction I am sure most of you are familiar with. However, if you were unaware, canonically it is said to stoke courage in the drinker. I have added a nice smoke effect just for fun.
Stitch fix potion:
Got a rip in an item of magical clothing? Pour on some stitch fix! It will duplicate the original fabric to perfection filling in the gap with precision without effecting any enchantment on it!