Dragon vs. Maiden XI
Previously ...
She wanted to throw her arms out and scream in excitement for she knew that no matter what were to happen... she would never be the same again.
Port of Inverness, Scotland. Midnight
Hermione sat on the steadily swaying bed, her hand on her tummy. It had been two days since they had departed Draco's family's holding in Glenmorgan, and she was still finding her sea legs.
A natural sailor like his father, Scorpius seemed utterly at ease in his wall mounted cradle. Certainly 'twas not the surroundings that made her queasy for they were as plush as the tower-room she had been held captive in. Her bed may have been nailed to the wall of the sturdy ship, but it boasted a thick mattress of goose-down and several large pillows covered in the bright silks made in the Far East. But she couldn't admire any of it with the wild roiling inside her stomach.
"Twas like when she was about to begin her courses. Oh dear... was she about to begin her courses?
She hefted herself off the bed and ran to the bathroom, reaching under her petticoats for that tell-tale damp. Just wonderful she thought with a huff... exactly what she needed, and she didn't even have her herb basket to mix herself a brew to help calm her unruly body.
However, she also felt a sigh of relief. After all, 'twould be a sad end to the beginning of her grand adventure should she discover herself incompatible with sea travel. She searched her travel case for anything that could be used as a rag.
She felt herself in a devilish mood, she had not slept properly in days and had not been allowed out of the rooms she had been unceremoniously dropped in... again... in that very same amount of time.
How like a man! She huffed in indignation, there wasn't a single rag to be found in her case and tearing up one of the expensive items of clothing he had provided for her was unthinkable.
Of-course the logical side of her cajoled that Draco wasn't expected to know about unruly female maladies like bleeding like a stuck pig for four to five days every month, yet hadn't the man been married?! Surely, he must know that this was an event that took place like clockwork every month and he had after all insisted that she not return under the cover of darkness with the help of one of Dobby's spells to retrieve anything from her cottage. Nor taken any of her suggestions while purchasing things for her.
She had to find something she could use, everything in this godforsaken cabin was far too fine to rip and use as a rag. She apologised to God for breaking a promise before walking out of her bathroom and to her cabin door determinedly.
While she had given her promise to Draco that she wouldn't leave her rooms without an escort, Scorpius was asleep, and this was an emergency. She was sure the storeroom shown to her earlier by Draco would have exactly what she needed.
Grabbing a warm woollen shawl from the back of a chair she very gently undid the deadbolt, making sure to be as quiet as possible. Seeing the walkway empty and Draco's cabin door shut she quickly slipped out and shut her door behind her carefully.
She tip-toed to the very end of the narrow walkway and slipped inside the storeroom. Spotting the muslin, she quickly tore a few large swaths. Enough to last her a few months because God knows how long the Dragon was going to keep her prisoner in her rooms this time she thought with annoyance.
Well... at least this time she wasn't alone, and he had to let her out some time if was ever to see his son.
Hermione was a little shocked at her bitchy turn of thought but smiled ruefully... her courses brought out the hydra within if she was being completely honest.
As she began to make her way back to the door, she heard the muffled sounds of someone trying to be very-very quiet outside the storeroom door, she stopped to listen intently. She didn't recognize those footsteps, she had after all become intimately acquainted with all the various sounds that Draco and his crew made while being stuck inside her cabin for two days.
Curious but cautious she moved closer to the door, making sure to hold her own long skirts up so that they didn't swish against the ground and give her up to the intruder.
Nearer to the door she could hear the soft even breaths of someone walking softly so as to not wake anyone or not be betrayed by the creaking of the old wooden floorboards of the ship.
She twisted the knob ever so slightly and peeked out from the crack in the door. His back was turned to her, but she knew that he didn't resemble any of the few trusted men Draco had told about her and his son being on the ship. This area of the Basilisk was out of bounds to the other sailors.
She stepped out of the storeroom and shut the door behind her.
"Halt." she said in a clam voice, "And just who are you, my good sir?"
The man who turned to look at her was so charmingly handsome Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat.
Curiously his cold green eyes lit up with interest when he saw who it was that had stopped him.
"Well... well... well..." he replied in a beautiful baritone, the husky resonance of his Highland accent rubbing across her nerve endings, "Just who do we have here... never say that cold bastard has gotten himself a woman, I wouldn't warrant it."
Hermione stiffened in outrage, handsome as the man may be his social skills lacked any kind of sheen.
"I do believe." she said in a chilly tone, "It's customary for the guest to introduce themselves. Most especially when the host." she said emphatically, "was not expecting them."
"Why you're from the Highland." Replied the stranger with a delighted smile, moving towards her with the grace of a man who clearly knew his way around a ship.
"I must ask again sir... just who are you?" she raised an arm to stop him from getting any closer.
"My name is Theodore... but for you my dear... Theo will do." He said silkily, a mischievous smile curving his lips as he bowed gallantly before her.
...
Draco prowled the filthy dockyard impatiently, where the hell was Zabini? He should have been here half an hour ago, again he flipped open his watch, brooding as the smaller hand dragged further down.
Was Blaise in trouble, Draco would find that hard to believe. He had seen Zabini jump into burning ships with naught but a saber between his teeth and his own fists.
Suddenly out of the misty shadows emerged a familiar figure, Draco recognised the tall, slim form of Blaise Zabini immediately. 'Twas these very same attributes that helped the man blend into the background so well or even worse... to be underestimated.
Draco knew that any man who made either foolish mistake would pay a heavy price.
"My Lord." Blaise said reaching out to shake Draco's hand, the men briefly clasped hands while reaching out to thump each other on the back.
"You're late." Draco said moving away from his friend.
"I was unavoidable detained. I'm afraid I have bad news Draconis."
"What is it?"
"MacNott was not on his ship when I breached it earlier today and the crew on this vessel is strange..."
"Strange? How do you mean?"
"Lazy, inattentive, incompetent. I feel like something is afoot, if not in his own vessel where would he be?"
"In mine... mayhap..." Draco said quietly, the soft rage in his voice sending a shudder down the other man's back. But in an instant his rage transformed into something far more visceral... fear.
"My son... and Hermione..." said Draco in a strangled voice, "He could have seen them."
The last part left unsaid... he could have hurt them.
...
TBC
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