end Game
Their feet thudded against an empty stretch of land in the middle of desolate countryside. Susan, Ernie and Pansy staggered as their feet sank in sand. The latter being thoroughly upset, shrieking about her shoes. The two Hufflepuffs simply removed their heels from beneath the warm and stood atop its peaks.
There was land all around them. Of what, varied. Some of sandy desert. Dense forest and grassland were at the north end while marshland similar to that of bogs back home was at the south. Draco's feet sank into the wet muck. A dark brown line against his joggers, the only grey trousers he owned.
A vast crystal blue sky lurked overhead. The nonstop horizon felt top of the world. Not a single obstructed the stretch of the sky for kilometers and kilometers.
The only figment in which was beyond the immediate land was a faraway distant mountain, capped white with snow. It was a faded blur at the farthest reach of sight.
A long lanky wizard with skin of deep, rich Earth pointed his hands at separate edges. Iman was his name. Each person was to stand an equal distance from another. It left their party of six stretched thin across the expanse.
"Where are we?" Susan asked. Her copper red hair burned under bright sun. It was loosely plaited down her back. A set of khaki dungarees with straps over her shoulders and a white cut-off t-shirt below. Her face held a narrow piece of yellow glasses just barely balanced at the end of her nose.
"Still in my country. Do not worry, young miss. I'd not take you out," Iman said in his assured tone. "A piece of land I have out here. Perfect place for Vahiy."
Susan flashed a look of doubt at her friend. Ernest adjusted his glasses, squinted against the bright rays of a summer sun, and examined the landscape around them. His hands dipped to the sand. Though he winced through the pain of touching sunbaked sand, he cupped a handful of particles and dispersed them through his fingers. It reminded Draco of a muggle scientist in the course of a discovery.
The wizard straightened his knees. "I'd believe this is Turkish countryside."
"Iman would not steal you. No, no, no. We are in Turkey. For Vahiy. You want to play Vahiy, don't you?"
Theo and Draco were eager. They looked at each other with excitement in their face. Both were prepared for a game. The long piece of Hawthorn was already in Draco's palm in the position they knew one another. Ready to play.
He was in the marshland to the south of the arena. The arena, as he realized they were in, was lined by dense indigo blue chalk.
Theo tossed down his robe.
Theo was just on the southern edge, not nearly within the mess of muck as Draco was. Ernie was given placement within the sand, as was Susan. Their distance stretched across the length of the entire area. Lastly at the northern end was Hermione and Pansy. It was clear who was who, even in the stretch of distance between Draco and them.
Pansy fought against the overgrown grass as it swayed in the wind. It kept touching her arms and legs. She danced and hopped and exclaimed against the itchy length of the large blades. The length of her cloak billowed in the hot breeze. She dragged a sleeve across her forehead, already drenched in sweat from the arid conditions.
"Oi, Iman." Theo called out with a smile. "Does it ever cool off out here?"
Their guide chuckled deep in his chest. "Not in the prime of day. No. The cold comes with dark. No, you won't be out passed dark. You'll be warm."
Ernie pulled his long sleeve shirt over his shoulders. His bare flesh, freshly inked from the troubles in Paris, exposed to the light of day. A dust cloud exploded around him as the fabric hit the ground. Thousands of particles of sand rose through the air in a visible line, and somehow floated north toward his female teammates.
"Ugh, Ernie. You got that in my eyes," Hermione cried. She used the sleeves of her blouse to wipe the edge of her eyes.
"I offered you shades," Pansy pointed out. She shifted her black rims down to the tip of her nose. "Told you, you'd regret it."
Susan removed hers. "Take mine, Mione."
For all their distance across the space, Draco heard them with clarity. There was no question to the conversation as it carried on meters away from him. He began to inspect what encompassed them. The wind blew north. It was harder to breathe. The bubble they entered upon apparition was influenced, bewitched.
Hermione waved the sunglasses away. "I like a clear line of vision. Thank you."
"Are you sure? They work well. I got them in an enchanted frog reserve. They look silly but they really keep the stuff out."
Susan was the one who needed the glasses. She stood in the midst of the desert.
"Keep them," his fiancé called out. "I prefer no shades. I'd hate to have an obstructed view."
"Hear that, lads." Theo chuckled. "Granger thinks she's going to win."
Draco smirked. He knew the depth of her competitive edge as it was the same as his. There was no doubt that she focused upon victory. He was centered upon it too. If only he knew what Vahiy was. A pre-formed plan would have made it easy, he supposed.
"I thought it was team effort," Ernie shouted.
Their guy shrugged. "You can do it either way. Some like to fight it out. I myself like it separate. But beginners are best with a team. Vahiy can be tricky."
Pansy snorted. "You think we can't win on our own?"
Except for the too-large sunglasses, Pansy came dressed to play. Theo hadn't enlightened them on the object of the game or what was required of them, but he was adamant that they'd have to move, perhaps run, at times. No dresses. No heels.
It almost convinced Pansy to abstain from the game.
Still, at Theo's urging, she joined. He promised fun. Fun was something they were yet to have on their holiday.
"The object is simple. Simple, simple. Reach the orb and you win." Iman pointed to the open center of the arena where he'd strategically placed all the players away from.
Theo frowned. "Is that all? Reach the orb?"
It perked Susan's mood. "That doesn't sound too difficult."
"Looks can be deceiving." They all turned to Draco in surprise. He held his wand, one hand in his pocket, unbothered despite the ominous tone.
Iman clicked his tongue in disapproval. His amber brown eyes smiled as he brandished his own wand, a slanted thing closer to that of driftwood that professionally made wands.
"I better get my money's worth!' Theo exclaimed.
"My money. My money." Draco corrected. "I paid for this adventure, if you don't recall."
"Right, well, our money." Theo wagged his finger. "Better be worth it."
The dark wizard nodded his head. "Oh yes, sirs. I believe you'll find it just the experience promised."
A wicked grin parted Iman's face.
Hermione and Pansy shared a quick look. Neither looked too satisfied with his explanation.
It was possible that there could be anything released within the arena. An ambush. A fight. An all-out bloody war. Her wand subtly waved in the movements of shield charms.
Although they were hidden from the truth of the game, Draco pictured it an obstacle course with obstacles in the way of the center orb.
Vahiy. He was unfamiliar with the Turkish language, thus was blind to what it meant.
Whatever it was, he was ready. His body bounced with anticipation. His palms gripped the length of his wand. Their clasp never faltered despite the sweat of the heat. It was ice cold. Poised. Ready for a moments notice to strike his weapon.
The object, the center. He needed center.
They all took their positions Iman had assigned. Draco crafted their spell patterns, realized that none of them intercepted another one. They were poised to tackle the obstacles on their own, without threat of the other players.
Sabotage was not mentioned. Granted, it was not outlined within the rules either. Was it possible gameplay?
Draco glanced around. Theo and Pansy were his biggest threats if it were. They knew just how to play games. His own mind jumped to the conclusion that their wands might ensure their capture of the orb. If the chance presented itself, Theo would be his first target. The ultimate goal was the center. He had to focus on that spot of sand.
Each of the players was given a necklace in the bazar. It was their portal back to safety, withdrawing them from Vahiy, and becoming a loser, as it was so eloquently put. The stones of their portals were comprised of various outer space bodies.
Hermione was given the blue moon. It was full round of grey marble. The weight pressed on her throat in constant reminder of the life line at her fingertips should she need one.
Pansy had the stone of Saturn encompassed with giant clear crystal rings. Hers was tied taut against her throat.
His own portal was a shattered star, with fragments of light spread throughout the strand. It was secured at his wrist for easy usage.
The black hole portal was given to Theo as he was very much a darkness that absorbed all light.
Ernie wore his as a necklace. One of Jupiter's moons, Europa.
Lastly was the most brilliant of all. Susan wore a great ball of light across her chest. The sun. It glowed warmly. It was so warm, in fact, that she had to have her shirted between the stone and her bare flesh.
All their portals were given one last check by Iman. Then he walked to the center of the arena. The players readied for the start. His arms adjusted his headdress.
"Ready, you?" He asked each of them.
They all nodded.
When he was satisfied that they were indeed prepared and willing, he raised his wand above his head. The slender thing looked like a twig in the distance. Curved, simple, more slender than the ones made in England. His wrist rotated the wand around his head, muttering a spell as he went.
They were intense as they heard his murmuring. None of them spoke the language. The only word they knew, the one that marked the start of the game, was the name of the game. "Vahiy!"
Iman apparated the next moment. He was pulled through a hole, disappeared as if he'd never been there, and left the group befuddled.
"What do we do?" Susan shrugged.
Nothing was different. It was the same stretch of land they landed upon minutes before.
Draco counted the minutes as they passed, more and more irate with the total dupe of a game. He'd just about had enough when a surge happened throughout the arena. Static electricity spread. Each breath shocked the back of their throats. Pansy's hand grasped her throat in shock, eyes blown wider than saucers, as literal sparks of hot blue lightening flew from her mouth.
White smoke appeared through his eyes. He looked down at his hands. A cloud emerged from his body, smoking without the flame.
His body stood rigid. The realization that it was white from his nose as he breathed a fire, the awakening of the dragon. It's power descended upon him in silence.
A snap ripped through the air followed by an 'ow!'.
All looked to see their friend as she clutched her hand. Her jaw was slack. Of course their eyes were first attracted to the mass of pure darkness amongst her palm.
Hermione startled away from the black orb. It flew out of her gasp.
"Are you alright?" Susan called. The concern inside her voice frightened by the turn in the air.
Wind started to rip through the space. The trees bent under its force. Everyone was nearly tossed to the ground when it burst through.
She stumbled to her feet. Her eyes were high in the sky.
The black mass, a celestial-looking body, a planet. It levitated through the open expanse. The higher it rose, the darker the arena became until it entirely blocked out the sun.
"Lumos," Draco spouted.
His wand lit with blue light. Theo, too, adorned his wand with a spotlight at the end. It panned through the black to find their other friends.
"Is everyone okay?" Ernie's voice echoed through the beyond.
A chorus of "yeah" answered back. Draco's heart raced until he heard the softness of Hermione's reply. It was lost to the sound of the wind, but he knew it was there.
The thought to cross the arena to join her side leapt to mind. More than once. But, his logic won through. It was against the rules of the game. It was against the respect for her powers, which he held far above his own. She was talented. Her power was not in question.
In truth, he just missed her. He liked to have her there to hold his hand. It was grounding to feel her close.
"Does anyone see anything?" He shouted through the air. "Anything that might be part of the game? Does anyone see the orb?"
"There's nothing but black!" Pansy screamed.
"I wish I wasn't scared of the dark," Susan quietly admitted. "It's creepy out here."
They were losing sight of themselves.
"Stay alert. There has to be something!" He reminded them.
A few seconds passed before he heard the sound of his fiancé's gasp rattled the atmosphere. His magic surged with the urge to protect her. It was torn at their distance, the unrest and question of what resided within the arena.
The chance to question her shock never came. Overhead, a burst of light rippled through the darkness. The sky was filled with balls of light. Like planets. The one centered within the sky, so close it was within arm's reach, shattered. A fiery eruption splintered the sky with light and color.
Pieces of the explosion spread to the other hanging planets. Their bodies fell closer.
"What the hell!" Theo cried. "What is this?"
A shower of sparks rained down. The leaves of the trees caught fire. Grasses ignited with easy as kindling. His eyes burned to watch the background of Hermione blare with fire. He gasped. His feet fought against the suction of the mud to get to her through a shower of fire of his own.
Hermione blasted a spell above her head. An invisible umbrella formed overtop her head. The line of red sparks showed the limits of her spell in a clear cut show.
The other witch dashed from the grasslands. Bits of fire touched her trackies. Her voice was filled with anger as she doused them with flame. "This was new!" She whined.
Ernie, Theo, Susan, and Draco had no cover from the descent of fire sparks. They all dropped low, their backs turned to the sparks, charms casted over their heads.
"Watch out!" Hermione screamed.
Fragments of the fallen planets fell to the ground. The entire arena was under attack from the sky. Celestial bodies thrust into the ground. A shower of sparks and lightening.
Just as the first bit split the crust, a burst of anti-gravity ward forced Ernie within the air, his legs kicked as he swam nothing through but air. His girlfriend screeched out in fear. There was nothing to catch him. At the last minute, he remembered his wand. He slowed just before he reached the surface.
Then panic set in.
Each of them were faced with a hail of planetary fragment and fire. They were thrown into the sky, pushed back into the warded walls, invisible to the naked eye but still solid.
Draco struggled to view Hermione through the wreckage. He felt her panic through their bond.
In his distraction, a shower of sparks poured over his head. The fabric of his clothes lit. Rings of fire ate up his clothes, and his flesh. The only option left was to dive into the wet, soupy marshland in hopes they might be doused. He emerged coated head to toe in black filth.
There was no time to waste. His feet carried him forward. An entire arena on fire killed the chance that he might reach Hermione's side through the chaos. The center. He had to reach the center.
It would end the game.
There atop the sand was a glowing orb. It was a full sphere, lit with greyish light.
"The orb!" Susan exclaimed.
Theo and Susan had found each other's side. They held onto one another as they moved. "Go!"
The pair of them sprinted. Their pace was stalled by the difficulty of the sand. It brought them to their knees time after time.
Through the light of the fiery rain, he caught a glimpse of Hermione. She had her wand thrust in front of her. Pansy was not far behind. They both ran. Their feet sped through the easy stretch of land.
A strong groan echoed from the tree line. The fire had eaten away at more of the bodies. Now the integrity of their bark was compromised.
"Run," Hermione told Pansy.
His heart leapt into his throat. All at once he needed to be there. She needed him. The power beneath his feet soared. Through the thickness of the bogs, he moved toward the sand.
The descent of a tree face first into his witch tore his inside from his bellybutton and wrapped them around his neck until he could not breathe. He was too far away, forced to watch as she was smashed with a tree.
It was clear they weren't going to make it. Not in time. The tree was too tall. The shadow stretched out before them on the ground as they ran.
Hermione stopped. "Wingardium Leviosa."
The body of the tree halted. Fire worked its way through the wood. It's hunger rather greedy.
Soon enough the fire would have the tree consumed of all its material. The spell would drop a blanket of ash and fire atop the two witches.
"Reducto!" Pansy's wand shot out the red spell. It turned the tree to nothing. The fire, gone.
The witches were able to bring themselves to the edge of their next terrain: desert.
Draco was in desert now. The constant fall of planets left him thrown back farther and farther away.
Ernie's voice carried through to Draco's ears. "Aguamenti."
A spray of water extinguished the fire to smoke.
Theo thudded against the ward of a fragment. He was thrown through the air. His limbs flailing. They watched as he climbed through the air of fire and ash higher and higher. There was the chance that he might fall to his death from the heights. Wards were unpredictable.
None of them were making enough progress. They were thrown backward too often. The center was impossible if they continued on in the same manner.
Draco observed a piece as it fell right above him. There was a line. It was faint. Around the piece of fallen planet, a line of the charm was lit. He aligned himself just right.
As it landed, his body was tossed several meters up in the air. It tossed around his momentum. He was thrown backward.
He thudded against the sand. His parted lips filled with blowing sand as he laid there to breathe.
It took a moment to muster the strength to stand again. His body ached. The war had taken its toll upon his body. Draco hadn't moved like that in years. His shoulder burned from landing on it so many times. There were seeping burns all over his chest. It was nothing like Quidditch.
He watched the sky for another piece. This time he ran backward, outside of its faint glow.
It didn't send him flying!
"Watch the ring. The ring around them." He notified all his friends. "If you're out of the ring, it won't toss you."
"What ring?" Pansy shrieked. "All I see is fire."
"It's there! A faint glow."
Theo's finger pointed high. "I see it."
Ernest watched above his head. The falling mass was so close. It was right above him.
"Move, Ernie, move!" Draco yelled.
"Get out of there!" echoed from across the arena. Pansy watched it as it happened.
The sharp jutting of the fragment skidded against the Earth. Ernie's body was lost between its rubble. The ground shook. All their cries covered by the grinding of rock as it slowed to a stop.
"NO!" shrieked Pansy. She dropped to her knees.
Susan covered her mouth. A stream of tears fell down her face.
"Keep going!" Theo shouted.
Hermione pulled the Slytherin witch back to her feet. Her hands cupped Pansy's face and pulled the distraught gaze back into the calming steadiness of the Gryffindor. Her lips moved. In encouragement. "You can do this."
They all turned their attention back to their own safety. The game was still on. They all had to hope and pray and wish and dream that no true harm had befallen their friend.
Not long after, the fragments of exploded planets stopped their fall. The arena turned quiet. The first silence they heard since the start.
It was eerie, the way it creeped in. All at once, sounds shut off.
Their eyes stayed fixed on the sky.
Soon they saw why. A shower of asteroids emerged through. Their balls of molten lava hurled to the ground. Hundreds at once.
Draco casted his shield. One of the asteroids melted against it, rendering it useless. He threw his shield out again, as another hurled at him.
There was no way to stay in a straight line on the journey to the center orb that still awaited their touch. Draco wound around in circles as they avoided the onslaught of fireballs. One forgetful slip would have them eaten away by the molten rock. One splatter of the lava just grazed his cheek. The burn was unlike anything he ever felt, including the Cruciatus at the hands of Voldemort.
When he regained his composure, he saw Susan close to the orb. She took to blasting the craters with a "Reduco" spell. Her wand fired every minute as she tried to break through their barrier to touch the orb and end the game.
Hermione and Pansy fought against a flurry of them all at once. A stream of water poured from the end of Pansy's wand, leaving a hard rock dropped to the sand the next moment once the cool water hit it. Hermione used a more subtle spell.
Arresto Momentum slowed an entire burst of the craters. However, the game sent them in such bursts that she gained little ground before she had to go again.
At one point she was tripped by all the fallen rock and fell forward down into a mound, only saved by the spell of Pansy as she dropped her water spell to cushion Hermione's fall.
The girls shared a moment together, before a burst of fire balls fell from the sky. One was too fast.
Pansy was hit square in the chest. Her body lurched backward, engulfed in flame.
"No!" Hermione exclaimed.
Their second teammate lost.
Theo started a dead sprint. His body barreled through sandy fire, bits of asteroid still melting atop the surface. There was not an opening. If anything, he raced against his death. The asteroids were coming. Their bodies breeched the surface of their arena with a sharp whistling. More power behind them. Larger.
There was a thought to let him fall. If he touched the orb first, Theo would be declared winner.
What did winner mean in a game where their deaths were promised in fire or crushing?
Draco swallowed his ambition to win and shot a powerful shield in the hopes that it would cover Theo long enough for his success at the center. It was all he could do. A shower of fire threatened his own safety. He jumped aside, used his water spell and doused some in the cold water, before he turned and tossed out a shield charm as he ran.
If Theo and Susan failed, someone had to win. Someone had to end the madness.
Out of the corner of his eye, Susan fell to the ground. Her wand still forced in front of her as the power of the asteroids against her shield knocked her off her feet. She was plagued with such defeat. Her face wrought with tension. Eyes widened with fear.
Perhaps she went back to her own memories of the war. The fire, the loss, the terror. It was all the same emotions that filled their hearts at the Battle of Hogwarts when their fallen peers littered the ground as dark figures took all they loved from the world. Draco might've not been battled by the Death Eaters, but their destruction still reached in through his chest. His home. Hogwarts. It was destroyed. All hope lost in the survival of Voldemort.
If he could do it all over again, he would have gained courage.
It was courage that brought him Hermione. The drunken state was minimal compared to the courage he mustered to address her socially. It was that show that won him the heart of the Gryffindor Princess. He earned his happiness.
The sky suddenly fell to darkness. Then light. A bright new sun emerged through the land. Fire instantly dissipated. The chunks of rock and fragment blown way within the sands.
Susan's hand rested against the orb. Her chest moved in exaggerated breaths.
A shrill noise erupted from their portals. It pulled their bodies through.
On the other side was the bazar. Iman awaited there, smile on his face, the hopeful expression on his guests.
Draco saw Hermione there. Her body was fresh and clean. He glanced down at his and realized the holes in his shirt were gone, as were all the burns. The path to her was instantaneous. He needed to touch her, to know she was truly safe. Somehow, he felt the touch of his hands would know if something was wrong.
The soft comfort of her magic filled his limbs. A comforting balance to his anxiety.
"I'm so glad you made it until the end," she whispered during their embrace. "I don't know what I'd have done if I had to watch you die like that."
"Me too," his lips murmured as they pushed against her forehead.
She was healthy.
He was pushed away from her. The long black locks of a troublesome Slytherin witch replaced him. She embraced his fiancé tightly.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione nodded. "I'm fine, Pans. It was all a game, remember?"
"The last time I ever let that dolt choose," Pansy snarled. As if suddenly reminded it was Theo's idea, she marched up to him. "What the hell is the matter with you, Theo? You almost got me killed. Hermione could have gotten hurt, you know. Pregnant women aren't supposed to be put under stress. You might've hurt the baby!"
Draco sputtered. "Bab-baby?"
"Pansy!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What the bleeding hell is going on? How come I'm the last to know she's pregnant?" Theo rambled.
Her lips formed an 'o'. "Oh Salazar. I'm so sorry Hermione. I for-r-got."
Their eyes leapt to the blonde, all who knew he was not one to be given shocking news. They waited. All faces twisted in doubt and anticipation. Veins filled adrenaline pumping their fingers, legs, arms full of reaction.
Hermione bit back her bottom lip as she looked upon a face she memorized a thousand times. It was not the way she wanted it said. Not through Pansy's blabbering mouth. Not with an audience around.
Suddenly, a smile spread across Draco's face. He grabbed the sides of her beautiful face. How was she so perfect in every waking moment? Her eyes sparkled in his delighted gaze. Perhaps it was the rush of adrenaline still pumping through him like a griffin on a train, but there was sheer, indescribable happiness at the little face cupped in his grasp.
He pushed his forehead against hers. The smell of her breath heavenly and hot.
"Are you?" His lips asked. "Are you really?"
A line of white teeth exposed below her lips. "I am."
"I'm going to be a father?"
She nodded. Her cool palm touched his. "We're going to have a baby."
He'd never had the urge to giggle ever before in his life, but in that moment, he felt an uprising of giddy panic that wanted to giggle. His smile stretched higher.
"One more time," he said. "Say it one more time."
"Draco Malfoy, you're going to be a father."
Father. Husband. Hermione Granger, the root of the two.
It was a high to experience the woman he loved tell him she was pregnant. His mind reeled. It played over and over and over again. The way her face looked up at him with such trust and love, their magics joined in delight at the now obvious nature of the change in her body. No wonder he was tense and overprotective. She carried the one thing in the world that would matter to him more than life itself. A Malfoy heir. His heir. Their child.
He forgot all about Vahiy and the distress it caused. They left the bazar a family.
Now, as Hermione moved, he felt the life of his child inside her. Its own magic formed a protective sack around itself. Each little wiggle alerted its father that it was there. He was accustomed the presence since it had been there since he could remember, though the mystery to what it was lifted. It was his child that disturbed their bond. Instead it formed its own bond in their magic.
"When did you find out?" He asked her that night.
She held her breath. "Paris." Her gaze lifted with a wince. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just wasn't ready. I – I hardly knew what to do when Pansy and I found out."
"Pansy knew before me?"
He'd have to ruin her day for that. Perhaps a perfectly timed comment about the state of her hair. That was sure to do it.
"Don't be angry. She was the one who did the spell," she explained. "I thought she meant that she learned it from when you were together. That's when I was so angry at her."
His eyes bulged. "Salazar, Hermione!"
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm going to blame it on the hormones from the pregnancy and not myself. Does that suit?"
He smirked. "As long as we both know the truth."
She playfully smacked his chest. "Hush, you. Don't make me turn on you. I'll become a right royal nightmare."
"Yeah, well, I've met you before. Shouldn't be much different."
Hermione sat up, mouth ajar. "Draco Malfoy," she said with a wagging finger. The only thing he noticed was his family ring fixed atop her hand. The large black stone a beacon to the marriage finger. "You prat."
His arms latched around her back and pulled her body downward to his awaiting torso. A burst of brown curls went everywhere. She wiggled in his hold. Her soft chuckles music to his ears. He plunged his face through the hair and snuggled right against her cheek, kissing through the course strands.
Through the curls, her lips found his. A lovely sigh from her mouth against his face. His hand found her jaw. His fingers danced down the length of her jaw down to her neck, holding her close.
She smiled. "I love you."
"And I love you, darling, more than life itself."
Hermione flipped her hair back. A fluffy mass of curl and brown in a tangled mess.
Would their child have those luscious curls? He loved their feeling as his fingers struggled through her locks.
"Do you think Pansy and Ernie will fair alright?" She asked him. "I don't know if I've ever seen Ernie so hurt after what Theo said."
Draco sighed. His palm rubbed against his forehead. "I'd say that was rather tame. You do remember who Pansy is, don't you? She's lucky no one has turned to stone at this point."
They laid there in the sweaty heat of the Turkish town, shutters of the windows wide open with the hopes of cool nightly air to break the bubble of the unbreakable fever. Summer was a strong season in the middle east. Moisture created another layer atop their skin. A sticky, damp texture to their bodies.
Pansy, Susan, and Hermione had gone into town for better summer clothes that retained less heat. They came back with long linen dresses and headscarves, as the locals said was typical.
Their rental was nice. Pansy booked a yalı. It was a traditional mansion by the seaside dating back to the times of the Ottoman Empire. The center hall of the house was topped with a large dome. Bay windows lined one side of the house, so an endless view of blue water was visible. It was entirely too large for six people, as was Pansy's style, but Draco really loved the place. He was entranced by the intricate woodwork. The minor details muggles carved into slabs of wood was breathtaking. How they did it, without the aid of a wand, baffled him.
Inside the house, Hermione wore a pair of short trousers and a simple camisole top. Her flesh was red from a day in the sun.
It was peaceful with the fresh air in their nostrils. Salty ocean breeze stuck to them, in their hair, on their skin. The perfume of summer.
"I'LL KILL THE WITCH!" shrieked through the room so loud that Hermione hopped out of bed.
She breathed hard. "What was that?"
He, too, was roused to his feet. "Sounded like a beached whale, so I'd guess it was Pansy."
"I'd have to let you," Ernest replied.
Draco left their room first. His hand held onto Hermione's as they strolled through the corridors down to the main room. The room had a few couches padded with tons of small decorative pillows. A small telly rested in the corner.
Pansy held a paper in her hand. Her knuckles crinkled the rough paper as her hands turned to fists.
"I can't believe she'd do this!" Pansy shrieked.
"What's happened?" Hermione called down the open stair.
Ernest cringed. "I don't think you guys should see it."
"Why?" Draco barked.
Pansy's eyes were fire when they found Draco's. She thrust the paper into his open palm.
"That bitch."
It was a Daily Prophet headline. Narcissa's face was front page in an intimate interview with a reporter.
"It has come time to clear my conscious. My son has fallen into plots to ascend to popularity by bewitching Miss Granger into some kind of romantic entanglement. I know my son. He is not in love with her." Her lips twisted to a polite smile for the camera. "It has plagued me for some time. He is my only child, but a mother must stop whatever she puts into the world. I beseech that their relationship be viewed with skepticism rather than support. Some one aid Miss Granger in being free of him. He is not well."
Draco was not certain what thoughts flashed through his mind in that moment. His entire body turned numb. All sensation of the room devoid.
The newspaper fell from his fingertips.
Hermione held her hands over her mouth. "She doesn't even know us. Either of us!"
"I'm sorry," he murmured. His hands went to her face. She was twisted with pain and fury that only fit her lion heart. He held her for dear life. "I'm so sorry, darling."
She shook the tears from her sad brown eyes. "Why would she want to hurt her own son like this?"
"That must have been when Blaise meant," Ernie added. "He said they got the papers in Italy. Remember, Draco?"
He blinked. "I'd forgotten that."
Pansy stomped her heels against the front page. "Stupid. Witch. Ruins. Everything."
"What are we going to do?" Ernie echoed. "Contact the Prophet? Have them pull the story."
"It's too late," Draco said. "This is days old. We're too late. The entire world is bound to have read it."
Hermione had grown quiet. Her arms were crossed across her chest, eyes scanning through her deepest thoughts. A troublesome curl toyed with the corner of her mouth.
Pansy exhaled. "Let's go back. London, I mean. We'll get them to write another story. I'll curse them myself if I have to."
"No."
It was Hermione's soft voice. She wore a twisted smile.
"No?" He repeated in disbelief. "We've got to get this pulled. It will ruin everything."
She licked her lips. Her hands touched his chest. Two open palms against each pec.
"Do you really want to marry me?" She asked.
His eyes flickered in confusion. "That's not urgent at the moment, darling."
"Oh it is," she said with a cheeky smile. "What better way to prove them all wrong if this proves to be a holiday for an elopement. She was not invited. She'll be the bitter old hag that wished she was there."
Pansy clapped. "Bravo. That's brilliant."
Draco scoffed. "Really? That's what you think we should do?"
She nodded.
"Harry and Ron would need to be there," Ernie shouted. "I wouldn't believe it if they weren't there."
Pansy smacked his arm. He was caught off guard by her power. His feet stumbled back behind him a few steps.
His eyes were wide. "What was that for?"
"You think Draco has Hermione bewitched?" Pansy questioned.
"No, uh, no. That's not what I meant."
"I'll Owl them now. Have them meet us in China," Hermione said.
She turned to leave the room. Draco latched around her wrist and pulled her back. "Are you certain this is what you want?"
Her eyelashes fluttered upward. "If you are to burn, then I am to. Remember? If this is to ruin you, I'll be there for it all as Hermione Malfoy." She breathed. "In the end, it won't even matter. Our lives will be so incandescently happy that those fools won't matter. A baby awaits us. It is just beyond our reach, but soon, it will be here. I'd prefer to be your wife a while before it arrives. Wouldn't you?"
His lips touched her forehead. "You're the best drunken night survivor I've had."
She smiled. "I won't be for long if you call me that again."
"I love you, too, darling."