Chapter 14 - Escape
"Hermione - it's only seven o'clock in the morning and if you trod that same bit of flooring one more time I'll have to replace the carpet."
"Sorry. I've got too much nervous energy to burn off and I fear I may have destroyed your punching bag with a bit of accidental magic after breakfast." She paused, shuffled a few feet to her right then resumed pacing. "The legislation is coming up for a vote soon and I want to know what Draco's tests are going to show and I'm used to having a schedule and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy and..."
"And you need to stop and breathe, okay?" Neville blocked her path and lightly gripped her shoulders. "All this is doing is getting you more wound up. At this rate you'll collapse before noon and then I'll have to take over the pacing and I'm pretty I won't get the sequence correct."
"I don't have a sequ..." Hermione glanced down and let out an involuntary chuckle. "Oh, Merlin. I've been following the same pattern that's on the rug, haven't I?"
"Now that you mention it..."
"I apologize, Neville. I think I just need to get out for a little while."
"Great idea. Let's walk around the grounds for a bit."
"No. I mean 'out'. As in - somewhere different."
"Hermione, you know we can't do that. We still don't know who's trying to hurt you. It's not safe."
Neville could almost hear the gears grinding furiously in her mind until her eyes lit up. "We do know one thing."
"What?"
"What is the one common factor amongst everyone on the board?"
"They don't like you?"
"Besides that."
"Hate to sound like we're back at school but I'm gonna need a little help here."
"None of them are Muggle born."
"Yeah. So?"
"So, let's you and I escape to Muggle London for a few hours. It feels like ages since I've been in my favorite book stores."
"No. Sorry. Too dangerous."
"Please? Just for a little while. I have plenty of Muggle money on me and the clothes you've got on won't raise any suspicions. I know all kinds of safe apparation points in the city. I'll even make it worth your while. I'll take you to Kew Gardens."
He tried to hide his interest at the mention of a garden but must have failed because she rushed to expound on that point. "It's the one of the largest and most diverse collections on the planet. Hundreds of acres and tens of thousands of plants from all over the Muggle world. Their rose garden alone has over a hundred different species. Not to mention the herbarium which contains millions of specimens."
"Hermione..."
"Come on, Neville. A few minutes in the bookshops..."
His eyebrows lifted and she backtracked slightly. "Okay. Perhaps a bit more time than that. Then a quick trip so you can see the highlights of Kew and we're back before anyone even knows we were gone."
"It sounds tempting, Hermione. Honestly. Maybe someday. But right now it's too risky. I can't control any of the necessary variables in a city the size of London."
"But the city's size is what makes this work! Don't you see? It's one thing to track me down someplace like Diagon Alley or the Ministry where there's a couple of hundred people at most but in Muggle London we're just two people mixed in amongst millions. Much better place to stay hidden, wouldn't you agree?"
"I see what you're saying but I still think this is a bad idea."
She crossed her arms and gave him a hard stare and in that moment he knew he was done for.
"Fine. It's seems you leave me no choice." She summoned her wand, her jacket and her bag. "I'm going, with or without you. You either grab hold of me in the next thirty seconds or you can jolly well wait here until I get back."
She raised her wand and he swore furiously under his breath as he summoned his own jacket and slipped his wand into an inside pocket. He wrapped his arm around her waist and muttered, "Damn it, woman. If something goes wrong you're going to hear one hell of an 'I told you so.' "
"Noted," she said with a self-satisfied smile before whisking them off.
A few seconds later they appeared in the back alley of Muggle London behind a row of shops which included a variety of both new and used book stores. At first Neville was on high alert but before long he got swept up in Hermione's enthusiasm as she pointed out the many authors and titles which had inspired her over the years.
After a while he even allowed himself the luxury of imagining that this was almost a date of sorts, relishing the times she took his hand to pull him into a succession of shops then onto one of the double-decker busses for the trip to Kew. She led him to the upper deck and found seats away from everyone else, giving her the opportunity to provide a running commentary of the many sites they passed along the way.
Once they arrived at Kew, Hermione purchased their tickets and was leading Neville down a path towards the Rose Garden when they passed a grounds crew cutting the formal lawns. Hermione inhaled deeply, enjoying one of her favorite scents when she came to an abrupt stop, her gaze shifting between the workers and Neville. He spotted the all too familiar look that occurred when thoughts where coming at her so fast that she was having trouble processing them.
He gave her a moment then asked, "Hermione? You okay?"
His confusion deepened when she grabbed his shirt, pressed her nose against his chest and took a big sniff. She then backed up, turned and tested the air in the other direction. She paused then repeated the exercise twice more.
He was now seriously alarmed. He waved a hand in front of her face while scanning the surrounding area for threats. "Hermione? Can you hear me? If you've been hit by a confundus, find a way to let me know, okay?"
She shook her head and blinked. "What? No. Sorry. It's...I just realized. You - you smell like freshly mown grass."
"Do I?" Neville blushed and rubbed his neck. "Is - is that a problem? I mean, I hope I haven't been offending you with...I mean - should I be using a different soap or..."
"No! It's not a problem at all. I think it - you - smell nice. I just never...put the pieces together until now."
"Oh. Okay. Thank you. I think."
Hermione studied him briefly then took his arm. "Come on. I need to show you something."
She pulled him along the path until she arrived at a particular grouping of shrub roses. "My Mum loved the smell of these. She said the aroma made her think of the future - sweet and full of promise."
Neville made a mental note of the name of that particular variety and silently vowed to have some planted for her as soon as possible before asking, "What do you see in the future, Hermione?"
"You're not asking me to channel my inner Trelawney, are you Nev? I'm sure you remember how I feel about that particular branch of magic."
"I'm serious. Have you given any thought about what you'd like to do once the vote passes?"
Hermione sighed. "You seem awfully sure it will pass."
"Of course I am. You've set your mind to it. I'd never bet against anything you've put your heart into."
"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." She gazed at one of the flowers then said, "I'm not sure what comes after that. I want to do something that matters but maybe not so much in the public eye."
"Like what?"
"I was considering teaching. What do you think?"
"I think you'd be fantastic! I know I wouldn't have made it through school without you."
"Yes, you would. You're a brilliant wizard and always have been. You just lacked confidence and a proper wand in the early days."
"See?" He tapped her lightly on the nose. "You always know the right things to say. We need more teachers like you."
"You mean Muggle born?"
"I meant tough yet encouraging but...yeah. Now that you mention it, we certainly need more Muggle born instructors as well and not just teaching Muggle Studies. You could provide fresh perspectives in all the disciplines. Keep people from getting stuck in ruts and accepting things just because that's how they've always been. Show all the students, not just the Muggle borns, that skill definitely isn't tied to blood lines."
"Now look who knows all the right things to say. Flatterer."
"Not flattery," he said. "Truth. There's a difference. Look it up. I'm pretty sure it's in a book somewhere."
Her eyes twinkled as she took his hand and began pulling him towards the large glass structure behind them. "Come on. I can't wait for you to see inside the Palm House. It was built specifically to house a wide variety of rainforest plants. The kind of things you wouldn't normally see in Britain."
Once they entered Neville was hard pressed to determine if the flush on his cheeks came from the warm, humid air of the tropical greenhouse or from the fact that Hermione remained by his side and continued to hold his hand while she rattled off a constant litany of facts from the official brochure.
As she rhapsodized about a plant which was almost two hundred years old, he had to fight a sudden urge to gather her in his arms and kiss her. He was on the verge of giving in to the temptation when a little boy, no more than seven or eight years old, ran up and tugged insistently on Hermione's sleeve.
"Lady? Lady? I'm supposed to give this to you."
They looked down and despite the temperature in the room Neville's blood turned ice cold. The child was holding an envelope made of a familiar parchment with Hermione's name scrawled on the front in what Neville prayed was red ink.
He pulled Hermione away from the boy and placed himself between them. "Who gave that to you?" he asked, trying to keep the growing panic from creeping into his voice.
"I - I can't remember," the boy said, suddenly looking confused and agitated. "I think they were wearing a hoodie but...it's all a bit fuzzy now."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it," reassured Neville. "If you don't mind, would you please place it on there?" He gestured towards the waist high railing which separated the walkway from the plants.
The boy did as he was asked. "Thank you," said Neville. "Now, be a good lad and run back to find your parents, okay?"
The boy complied and as he disappeared around the corner Hermione gripped Neville's arm and spoke with a barely contained rage, "They used a child, Nev. A Muggle child."
"I know. And we'll deal with that later, I promise. However, we've got bigger problems at the moment. Mainly, how did they find us and where are they right now?"
"There's one way to find out."
"How?"
"See what's inside the envelope," she said.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Neville asked.
"Better than waiting to see if it explodes like an unopened howler in the middle of one of London's largest tourist attractions."
Neville scanned the area around them, suddenly wishing that they weren't surrounded by such dense plant growth. Too many hiding places for his liking but they didn't have any other solid options at this point.
"Stand back," he said. She hesitated then did as he asked. "Cast a concealment charm and keep an eye out for Muggles while I do this, okay?"
While she secured the area, he tapped the envelope lightly with his wand. It sprung to life and began unfolding itself like a coiled serpent until it resembled a dark, malevolent version of a howler. It undulated ominously in the air before a sinister voice hissed at them and the sound made the hairs on the back of Neville's neck stand on end. It had been altered to the point where it sounded neither male nor female but instead simply dripped with a tone that he could only describe as pure evil.
"Hello, Hermione. I just wanted to let you know that I could have killed you and your boyfriend at any point today but I've decided keeping you in suspense is far more entertaining. I like the thought of you holed up somewhere, cowering in fear, waiting for me to strike." At this the envelope darted forward a couple of inches, causing both Neville and Hermione to jump. "So, keep looking over your shoulder. Next time I may decide I've had my fun and put an end to you."
A small spark unexpectedly ignited on the top corner of the note. "And there won't be anything left of this for your little friends to analyze, so don't even bother..."
With that the entire thing burst into ball of electric blue flames before vanishing without a trace.
Neville struggled to regain control of his heart rate. "You okay?"
"I'm not physically hurt, if that's what you're asking," Hermione replied in a shaky voice. "What do we do now?"
"Are there any Muggles that can see us?"
She took a quick glimpse around. "No."
"Then you hold tight and we get the hell out of here."
Hermione wrapped her arms securely around his waist. "What? No 'I told you so's'?"
"No, because now we've got to tell Harry what's happened and I reckon we're both going to get enough of that from him, don't you think?"
"I think I'd rather face the person trying to kill me instead of having that conversation."
"Yeah. You and me both."