AN: Glad you liked the last chapter. I love that church scene so much and I was so excited to post it.
On to other news. Editing is killing me. I need to write again.
As such new story ideas. It appears that you all like my world building and characterization best. Please vote for your favorite idea.
Dragon fic: Charlie and Hermione centered around time travel during the second world war and how dragons were utilized. (heavy world building) Adventure
Dark Ages fic: Hermione and Draco set int he times of proper castles and royalty. Post war-ish, . Still contains Harry and Ron. (Heavy characterization, politicking, heavy canon alteration and world building) Fantasy
Triad fic:Harry Hermione and Draco are soul bonded and still basically hate each other. They are forced to live together and deal with it. (Smutty, exclusivelycharacterization.) Slice of life/ Romance
Prequel: To this fic that focuses on what Hermione did while she ran around the world for 5 ish years.
God it was freezing. Draco woke up with a groan, his toes felt like ice and his breath was coming out in short spurts of steam. If Hermione took down the weather proofing charms just to annoy him he was going to hex her across the damn haunted forest.
Their night had been rather fruitless. The tavern had settled back into the exact set up of the first night. All silence and broodiness until Draco offered another round, starting when he saw the same money from yesterday had appeared back in his wallet. Hermione stomped back to the mill without a word after a quick dinner. She pouted for no less than twenty minutes before grousing over to her bed, quickly pulling the covers over herself. He settled into his own twenty minutes later and she was fast asleep at that point. But perhaps she had woken up?
When he rolled over to grab his wand he was surprised to see the witch in question, perfectly still. As if she had been frozen in time. Deciding a hex was worth waking her he called out.
"Granger?" The air around him shivered with power. He heard hoofbeats pound against the packed earth outside, drawing closer. It was odd; he wasn't really used to the sounds of horses anymore, wizard or muggle. Sure, his family had an ancient line of war horses when he was a kid but his mother insisted they be removed after he was kicked by one at age eight.
He threw his legs over the edge of the bed, hissing lightly at the feeling of cold earth against his soles. He stood before continuing his thought. The animals sounded too big to be plow horses. No he was willing to bet they were the regal beast of battle. Large hulking things that didn't shy away from a fight. Baying howls added to the growing din as he drifted towards the door.
A hunt then, likely after some dangerous and wild beast. A grand prize to be sure. He hadn't hunted in years, not since Theo's father took them out after foxes when he was ten. Theo cried like a baby and the elder Nott never spoke of it again. He hadn't realized how much he missed it. The vicious growling of dogs, the crashing undergrowth, the shouts of men. It was intoxicating.
He reached for the doorknob, prepared to fling open the wood and join his fellows on a midnight ride through the densely packed wood. Surely there would be some worthy game, perhaps a large feast after to-
"-Co?" He jumped when he felt Hermione hand touch lightly on his arm. He hadn't even heard her get out of bed. She was shivering next to him in an oversized shirt with her hair twisted up messily.
"Hm." His gaze drifted back to the door, his hand following.
"What are you doing?" Hermione's hand closed over where his rested on the cool rusted metal.
"Don't you hear it?" He questioned gazing at the mossy planks as if he could see the hunting party on the other side. They threw up their arms in greeting, beckoning. An overwhelming need to get outside shivered through him. "They're calling me."
Hermione's face was scrunched up in confusion, her breath coming out in small pants. Something flashed in her eyes, a sliver of fear. It was enough for him to shake out of the stupor he hadn't realized he slid into. The thick magic sloughing off him like a coat.
"You don't hear them?" He questioned taking a step back from the entrance. The pounding of impatient hooves clattered outside the door. Hermione's gaze followed his.
"I do now." They both stared at the door waiting for it to crash open.
"I want to go outside." Draco forced out, feeling a heavy layer of magic begin to coat him again. He tried to fight his way to the top only for his thoughts to grow calm and placid. Throwing himself into a sea of emotions.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Hermione responded, pulling him back to his bed. He controlled his legs from bounding forward and allowed himself to be tucked in, his gaze never leaving the door. As soon as her hands were off him he found himself back at the exit, not remembering even getting up.
"Draco." Hermione had appeared at his arm again, pulling him back to bed. "You can't go out there."
"Why not?" He questioned breathily as she cast a sticking charm. He couldn't even sense her magic, a thought that he only spared a moment's sadness for.
"I don't think you will come back if you do." The snorts of the horses could be heard by the water, he could nearly see them jostling for the prime spots.
"I have to go." He whispered as soon as her back was turned. He shrugged off the sticking charm as if it wasn't there. Barely registering the resistance. His mind began to cloud but he only got a step before her arm had wrapped around his waist. He glanced down at it curiously.
"You need to stay." She whispered into his back gently walking him back to his bed. She dragged him down in it, untangling her arm. He felt his body jerk the moment her skin left his. Instantly she replaced her hand on his shoulder, pulling herself into a sitting position.
"I'll keep watch. Just try to go back to sleep." He stared at the door unable to respond. "We'll deal with it in the morning."
He settled into the mattress, feeling fuzzy headed and blurred. Hermione continued to stare at the door as her hand drew lazy circles on his shoulder. At some point sleep took him, his dreams filled with vivid jumps and heart wrenching squeals.
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He came to with the distinct feeling of a cobweb over his face. He supposed it was not all that surprising considering the state of the mill. He brushed his hand against his face, catching in a knot of something substantial.
When he breathed in, the heavy smell of cinnamon and honey drew him fully awake. His eyes adjusted to the late morning light filtering in through the pathetic window. The air had warmed considerably, reaching a comfortable temperature, if not a bit hot.
He became aware of a weight pressing on his chest, a familiar one. With a groan he looked down already knowing it would be Hermione. She was collapsed in a heap on his chest, her right cheek digging into the skin above his heart. Her lips slowly rose and fell with each breath, the small sounds of wakefulness slipping out. They pressed shut as she lazily opened her eyes, still laden with sleep.
"Some guard dog you are." He quipped, his voice still raspy with sleep. A flicker of shame flashed in her eyes when they met his only to melt away into a smug confidence.
"Big talk for someone who needed a nanny to keep away the nightmares." She chuckled, settling back down with closed eyes and noticeably not jumping off him like he was on fire.
"Granger? Are you seriously going back to sleep?" He balked at the idea. She should be blushing and launching off the bed at breakneck speed.
"You said it's a holiday. We're supposed to sleep." She muttered lightly against his skin. He made the very conscious decision it was not considered a kiss in any way.
"I'm still naked." He challenged, trying to avoid thinking about how soft she felt. Her upper body was draped gently over his with her legs still kicked out on the side of the bed. If she shifted too much things were going to get awkward.
"You're wearing boxers." She huffed with a sigh, nuzzling further. "I didn't get any sleep 'cause of you."
The cold wash of reality from last night shocked him back awake. He rose gently, jostling her off him and into a sitting position. He made a point to drape the blanket thickly across his lap while she blinked away sleep.
"What was that?" He questioned allowing his gaze to fall on the door. He felt no need to go outside at all. As a matter of fact, in the light of day, he never wanted to go back outside again.
"Not sure." She answered with a yawn, stretching high as the hem of her shirt rode painfully up her thigh. Suddenly, this vacation felt more like a deathtrap in more ways than one. "I think we better find out before tonight though. Breakfast?"
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"Wilde Jagd" The old woman supplied as she rocked. Hermione had been thrilled when they found the woman rocking in front of the general store. Her glassy eyes stared out along the deserted plaza while she spoke but Hermione was more than certain she was aware of everything around her.
"The Wild Hunt?" Draco questioned with a raised eyebrow. Hermione scratched down the words in a pocket notebook before questioning him.
"You're familiar?"
"It's in an anthology by Wilhelm Grimm." He responded warily. She had noticed he was on edge all morning, hardly surprising considering the circumstances. Currently he was leaning against a wooden support beam with his arms crossed, fidgeting with his cloak.
"Wait.. as in the Brothers Grimm?" She clarified, picturing a rather large collection of traditional fairy tales in her parent's library. Her mother didn't let her read it until she was ten but she had of course peaked at it on occasion.
"I think he may have had a squib brother. I can't remember though." He kept his eyes pinned on the town elder who was smiling lightly.
"But those are just fairy tales."Hermione flicked through her memories of the book. They were dark for children's stories, products of their time. Surely they were just stories though.
"You read those to children?" Draco looked at her as if she had grown bunny ears.
"Not the point." She huffed lightly.
"Right well if the brothers' research holds true we need to get out of here and quickly."
"We have weeks left!" Hermione ventured watching the way he twitched in irritation at any stray noise. He was more on edge than she thought and she guiltily wondered if he wasn't able to sleep after all. She hadn't meant to curl up on him like that, she was just so tired.
"War." He huffed aggressively pinning her with a look filled with guilt and fear. "It's an omen of war."
Hermione's sharp intake of breath was interrupted by a high pitched cackle next to her. "Wodan cares not for the scuffles of us mortals. He is eternal."
"What does it mean then?" Hermione asked politely before Draco could snap at the woman.
"Wodan's arrival marks the time of a quest." She hummed lightly. "He recruits both heroes and sacrifices."
"Well then, he has terrible judgement for coming after me." Draco growled glaring at the blind storyteller.
"The judgement of a God supersedes any opinion of your own. If he marks you a hero you are a hero child. Push not against your destiny"
"Couldn't he just... Ask politely?" Hermione questioned as she chewed on her quill. Draco's eyes shot sharply to her face and he shifted uncomfortably.
"The old gods do not request. They demand. The Schwarzwald is their hope, the last bastion of antiquity. If they want him, they will take him. It is fate."
"Screw fate!" Draco snarled, pulling away his gaze from her face and shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Sweet little mouse." The crone laughed again. "You cannot refuse the forest. Something is wrong, Wodan wants it dealt with. The old ways will always live here, even as we push them out."
"Fine." Hermione reasoned. "If we make it whatever it is go away will he leave Draco alone?"
"Hmmm." The old woman rocked as she thought. "So they say. When a hunt is complete he will return to his slumber. A prize of glory and gold awaits his chosen few."
"I have both glory and gold. I do not need more." Draco hissed. Hermione nodded as she stood brushing off the dust from her red cape. She had taken to wearing clothes that the locals did in hopes they would blend in more seamlessly. She made a point not to acknowledge how pleased she was that Draco had done the same.
"Okay so we just walk up to him, ask what he wants, hop on a horse and then I can sleep?" Draco questioned with a sneer.
"Oh, no child." The crone shook her head. "You cannot join him on his hunt. He does not tarry for the foolishness of mortal man. If you join his party, you will never come back."
Draco looked absolutely apocalyptic and Hermione decided it was the perfect time to bow out. Which was unfortunate, she had wanted to ask about the creature the worker had seen as well. She guided a pouting Draco past the bakery and back to the fields so that they could talk in private.
"She's insane." He threw up his hands as he broiled, the laughing fading out behind them. "I say we leave anyway. Fuck the cursed village. It's not our problem."
"Do you know where to apparate to?" Hermione hissed as she grabbed his wrist pulling him to a stop.
"We can take it a kilometer at a time." He countered with a growl. Eyeing where her hand held his wrist with an odd look.
"Until we land in the center of a lake. You don't apparate without knowing where you are going."
"I know!" He yelled, ripping his hand away. She tried to ignore any offensive she felt. "Why are you always touching me? Stop that."
"God you're temperamental today. I don-"
"We can just jump to the top of each hill we see and do it that way. We can camp where we have to, I am sick of this place." He wrapped his arms around himself protectively. If he weren't so angry she would have assumed it was for comfort.
"I don't know about you but I don't want to test if the magical ghost pack can break down a fabric tent. Besides we can barely cast anything accurately here as is." The first time she sent a tripping jinx Draco's way after a rude comment at breakfast she sent him flying twenty feet. They had agreed to no more directed magic and certainly no apparition. Her power scale had been thrown out of control so close to the forest and it made splinching a real fear for the first time in years. "Look, the return portkey I made will drag us back to my workshop in another eleven days. Am I really so horrid that you can't last a few days lounging about with me?" Hermione knew it was a bit manipulative but she really needed to talk him down. Judging but the way he stiffened it had worked. "We can stop looking into whatever is going on in the town and just pretend it's some sort of themed heritage attraction."
"It's not awful. It's just…. I just don't like this Hermione. I feel like we're being dragged into something against our will and I have had enough of that to last a lifetime." He sighed gazing warily towards the trees. The forest followed them everywhere here, it was never out of sight.
"You would do horribly as Harry Potter's best friend then." She smiled kindly. "As long as we're together we'll be fine, they can't just take you." Hoping to comfort him she wrapped her arms tightly around him in the sort of hug Molly Weasley would give on Christmas, practically crushing him.
"Oof. You hug like a man." She barked out a laugh, swiping his hair into his face. He regarded it with a scowl before pushing it back expertly.
"You hug like someone who needs more of them." She supplied cheekily, unlacing her arms. She shivered as his warmth was replaced with cold spring air. "Come on, I think I saw some cat tail growing by the river and I need some for my stocks."
"But Granger." He whined, throwing his head back before falling into step easily beside her. "It's a holiday."
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He woke that night in much less of a fit. After settling comfortably in his bed he closed his eyes and wrapped the cover around him. When he woke this time it was to a heavy weight around his waist and alarm bells sounding from a caterwaul charm. He wasn't even aware he had gotten up.
"Granger?" He was able to murmur out before the solid clattering of the hooves on the pavement up to the mill could be heard.
"I'm here." She whispered softly from somewhere behind him. "Come on back, nice and easy."
Draco allowed himself to be guided, deeply fighting the urge to just tear across the floor and rip open the door. Her small warm hands burned against his skin as she pulled him back to his bed without pretense. He twisted one arm around her shoulder, a bit too tightly if her exhale of air could be trusted. She kept one arm loose around his waist for security while she called over her bed and fused them back into a queen. He let himself be pulled down softly into the sheets almost marveling at the care she took as she leaned over him. If it were Blaise or Theo, Draco would have been blasted back into the bed without so much of an 'as you please'. The longer her palm lay flush against his abdomen the quieter the sounds of horses and knocking.
"I won't ask you to-" He stated before she hushed him. She lightly pulled the conjoined quilt over him and tucked in the side against the wall.
"It's fine." She yawned, settling next to him with a shiver, blocking the edge of the bed with her body. It was about that moment he realized that the reason her hand was so warm was because the room was so cold.
"Wait no. You get under, I'll-" She cut him off again, shuffling her body under the thick blanket as well, closing it around them. His pulse jumped as the skin of her thigh brushed lightly against his as she curled into him. He could feel her strong heart beat against his bare chest and his body responded eagerly.
"It's fine I trust you." She mumbled softly into his chest, completely unaware of the head rush the statement subjected him to. "Go to sleep."
Somehow feeling like he was in grave danger he wavered on where to put his hands. He was fairly sure sleeping with them folded across his stomach would result in them landing somewhere unacceptable. He could sleep with them behind his head but then her face would be wedged directly below his armpit and he was sure that wouldn't be pleasant. He could rest them at his sides but they would likely reach for the temptation of her at some point and that would lead them to a line he certainly couldn't cross. If she didn't kill him first. He felt like a leach for even considering it after such an innocent and trusting gesture. The late night interruptions were getting to him but that was no excuse.
His panicked adolescent thoughts were interrupted by her pulling lightly at his arm. He let her draw it up and away so she could fit more snugly to his chest. With his arm raised awkwardly above them he found no other place to naturally put it other than sliding it under the blanket and laying it directly on her back. All and all it was not all that different from how they had slept on the couch together a couple of months ago. Just a lot less clothes and the same amount of fantastical interference.
"Night Draco." She murmured, already half asleep.
"Night Granger." As her breath settled into steady labored puff the sounds of the hunt flickered further and further away. He pushed a stray curl behind her ear preening as she curled into his hand. By the time he found sleep it was to the gentle puffs of her breath.
World Building with Om
The Wild Hunt:
An interesting mythos across most of Europe. The consensus is mostly the same. that in the middle of the night spirits of the hunt come for humans and request to be joined. If the human takes them up on it they most likely wont come back but on occasion can. Sometimes the hunt just steals evil humans away, sometime they only take anyone who has actually seen them. It can be an omen of war, strife, plague, death or rarely heroes.
Historically speaking it is thought that The Wild Hunt represents the anger of the old heathen gods for being replaced and forgotten. Regardless, when the wild hunt goes riding, you do not want to join.
Money Magic:
Draco's wallet had a conversion charm on it that magically withdrawals from his Gringotts account directly as well as converts it to the regional currency.