A/N really sorry guys, forgot to post yesterday! Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter. I hope you're all enjoying this so far and that it's not dragging - if you've got any improvements then I'd love to hear them because I can't help but notice the drop of views recently. And on a brighter note, the story continues!
Chapter 31 - The Ridiculous Idea
"Draco -" Ginny began but Draco wasn't listening. Inside the whirlpool of thoughts swirling around his head he felt a pool of anger bubbling up from the depths of him and he stood up sharply, taking the ring out from his pocket and clutching it tightly, as if it where the last piece of Hermione he had left. "I'm going after her," he said forcefully before turning to leave, only to be met with Ginny, hands folded across her chest, blocking the doorframe. Three figures skidded to a halt just behind her, causing the redhead to look around and stare. "What in Salazar's name happened in -"
"What are you doing here Theo? Blaise? And you Pans?!" Draco stormed angrily, cutting across Theo, "Get out of my way Weasley." Ginny stood defiantly in the way, knowing that no good would come of him going on his own. "I SAID GET OUT OF MY BLOODY WAY!" Draco roared, pushing the girl to the side.
"Hey hey HEY!" Theo yelled, stopping his mate from leaving Hermione's dorm.
"Draco?!" Pansy said aghast, catching Ginny and helping her up to her feet. Blaise had meanwhile joined Theo in trying to stop Draco from acting irrationally. "GET YOUR HANDS THE FUCK OFF ME THEO!" Bellowed Draco, shoving Theo into Blaise.
"Draco STOP!" Cried Ginny, furiously, "Calm down for Merlin's sake!"
"Calm down. CALM DOWN?! Are you INSANE WOMAN?! MY GIRLFRIEND HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED BY MY OWN FUCKING FAMILY, -"
"Whoa back up dude. What?" Blaise asked, backing away in utter shock.
"Hermione's been taken?" Pansy asked in a small voice. There was a slight pause.
"Draco you can't seriously be contemplating finding her yourself," the redhead stated.
"Don't be ridiculous," Pansy said shortly.
"What do you propose on doing? Knocking on the door and asking them to hand her over? Rampage the building? It's a suicide mission, Draco," Ginny said strictly. Theo had gone into the room and was picking things up, examining them. "I don't care, I'm getting her out of there," Draco breathed.
"No, your not," Blaise said firmly, taking Draco by the wrist but he shook him off. Blaise continued, "I don't even know what happened but I know enough to say that what your doing is mad."
"What do you bloody suggest then, huh?" Draco demanded, stamping frustratedly.
"I don't know!" Ginny choked, the first of her stubborn tears starting to slither down her cheeks.
"Any of you?!" The head boy asked the small gathering of people around him. There was no response but a cluster of solemn, timid looking faces. All of them knew Draco when he was angry and it was not a pleasant atmosphere to be in. "Exactly," Draco said, "And it's not like there's a frigging army I can just take along so -" Ginny made a squeaking sort of sound and everyone looked at her.
"Well actually... There is..." She teetered. All four Slytherins looked at her. "Well there's Dumbledore's -"
"No! I'm not bringing a bunch of ill trained kids -" Draco began but Ginny cut across heatedly.
"They're not ill trained!" She said defiantly.
"Half of you are!"
"What would you know?"
"Besides, they'd only follow Potter," Draco sniped.
"Well it was only an idea!" Shot back Ginny. The two of them stood heatedly, glaring at each other.
"I have an idea," Theo said awkwardly, "Whether you like it or not is an entirely different matter. In fact, I know you won't like it." Draco was looking at his friend, frustrated and wishing he'd just hurry up with the point. Theo was now holding up Hermione's picture of her, Harry and Ron. Draco looked from the photo to Theo, confused. "We could just go and find Potter," Theo said slowly, causing Draco to cry out in up roar.
"Oh yeah, great plan! Let's all go on a big party adventure to find Potter and Weasel, two of the people I hate most on this Salazar forsaken planet after the Dark Lord. Then we can all go back to Hogwarts and train a load of kids to fight death eaters and then go on a happy rescue mission to get Hermione back! I see no flaws in that at all!"
Everyone was silent, even Theo, who didn't look like he wanted to press the matter. That was however, until Pansy said, "That's not actually... A bad idea... No hear me out Draco!" She began after Draco gave her a mortified look, "Ginny here must have some idea where her boyfriend is, and then you and her can go off finding him whilst us three... Cover for you. Yeah we'll cover for your absence and, um, you can tell Scarface what's happened and he'll come back and we can go break Hermione out."
"I'm sorry, Pansy," Draco began angrily, "But how exactly is Potter going to be any better than me?"
"She's not saying that!" Ginny snapped, "I wouldn't let him go on his own any more than I'd let you but your both very good duellers so at least then we'd stand a chance -"
"ARE WE JUST IGNORING THE FACT THAT POTTER AND I HAVE BEEN ARCH NEMESIS SINCE FIRST YEAR?! If I turned up at Merlin knows where they are then who's to say we wouldn't kill each other then and there?"
"Me," Ginny said firmly, causing everyone to look at her, "I am Ron's sister, Harry's girlfriend, Hermione's best friend and your... Well I don't know but -"
"Friend, Ginny, the word is friend," Pansy stated dryly.
"Yes, that. I suppose. Anyway he wouldn't kill -"
"Fine! It's your bloody funeral though. All of you!" Draco said angrily, fed up that they were wasting so much time. He turned and slumped on the sofa, trying to get his heart rate to go down to normal.
No one spoke. The three Slytherins and Ginny looked cautiously at Draco who looked like a wreck. His hair was sticking up from all the times he'd run his fingers through it in frustration, he was sweating and breathing heavily and none of them really knew what to do. "Is he alright?" Ginny asked in a whisper so that Draco couldn't hear.
"No," Pansy said in a hushed voice, "When he gets like this... I've never even seen him this distressed. He - He really likes her, doesn't he?" Ginny nodded. "I don't understand, really I don't. I mean she's a mu...ggleborn," Pansy quickly corrected herself. Ginny looked outraged, but just as she was about to speak Pansy cut across hurriedly, "No that's not what I meant. I meant that she's... Well I meant that I just don't get it but that doesn't matter. What matters is is that Draco needs to man up and go with you to find Potter. He's the only one that can really do anything. We all hate him in Slytherin but - what we do, it's his fault that we lose the house cup and the quidditch cup - but we all know that the entire outcome of the war will be down to him. So -"
"What war?" Ginny asked sharply.
"Oh get out of your hole Weasley," Theo said as if she were stupid, "You of all people should know that the war is coming."
"I... I know. I just didn't want to, you know, believe it," Ginny said quietly.
"What do we do about..." Ginny began, nodding in Draco's direction. Blaise looked up at Draco and cautiously walked over to him. The others watched with bated breath. Blaise took a deep breath then said, awkwardly, "Hey... Mate... She's gonna be alright, you know that don't ya? She can easily pull through this shit, man. I mean if it were a Hufflepuff then maybe not," he chuckled, "But she's a Gryffindor. You know, bravery and all that shit. You don't need to be worried about her. Now get off your lame arse and go with the redhead to find Scarface and Weaslebee." Draco's expression hardened and he looked to the rest of his mates before nodding and getting up, leaving most of the weight he'd felt in his stomach on the sofa.
"So then Weaslette, where's Potter?" Draco asked casually. Ginny's face fell and Draco took a moment to work out why - then his face fell too. "You do know where he is don't you?" He asked, with a hint of annoyance and worry in his voice.
"Well... I..." Ginny began awkwardly, not having thought about this tiny little flaw.
"Well there goes that brilliant idea," Draco said in a voice laced with sarcasm, frustration and anger.
"You must have some idea where he is," Theo said.
"Or what he's doing," Blaise added.
"Granger knows what they're doing," Draco said, kicking the sofa.
"Think Ginny!" Pansy demanded frustratedly.
"I'm trying!" Ginny said loudly, turning to face them all. Everyone else fell into an agitated silence.
"They went on Halloween right?" Pansy asked more calmly.
"Yeah," Ginny said quietly, then speaking up a little she said, "Harry was saying goodbye to everyone, said something to Neville, then Ron dragged him out and they flew from Gryffindor tower."
"Flew as in broomsticks or floo powder?" Theo asked.
"Brooms," Ginny clarified, "They'd been given a letter from Tonks saying that things were bad and had decided to go after the Halloween ball."
"What happened once you'd found out they'd gone?" Pansy asked, whilst Draco tapped his foot fast, thinking.
"Hermione and I legged it up to the tower, Hermione ran to the window. We had a conversation and cried a bit... She... She mentioned something about - Oh Merlin what were they called... Something about the boys going to find... Godric I can't remember what they were called," Ginny sighed. Draco looked up, expression of which Ginny could only assume was deep concentration.
"They went to find something?" He asked, confused. Ginny nodded. "What the hell can take so long to find and is so important?" He asked, bewildered.
"I don't know," Ginny confessed, "But they made it sound like it had to be done to stop You Know Who, if that makes any sense."
"What did he say to Longbottom?" Blaise asked.
"I don't know," Ginny replied.
"Come on Draco, you know stuff about Dark Arts, what is Potter trying to find?" Pansy asked, leaning back against the kitchen cabinet.
"I don't bloody know," Draco retorted.
"You're the death eater!" Pansy snapped. Everyone stared at her. "Shit, I didn't mean that," she mumbled.
"Yeah well maybe if you hadn't been whoring yourself out to everybody then -"
"Alright that's enough!" Blaise said loudly just as Pansy raised her hand. Both angry Slytherins eyed each other angrily.
"I didn't hear you complaining," Pansy muttered sulkily.
"That's because everyone else was too far up your arse for you to notice," Draco snarled back.
"HOW DARE YOU!" She shrieked.
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Blaise roared whilst Theo leapt off of the sofa and grabbed Pansy round the middle to stop her from killing Draco.
"That's it!" Ginny said loudly. She'd been pacing, trying to remember what Hermione had said.
"What's what?" Draco spat, wand out.
"Whore," Ginny said, then quickly shielded her mouth with her hand.
"They're looking for whores?" Blaise asked, unconvinced. Theo burst out laughing whereas Pansy scowled.
"No you idiots!" Ginny said, furious with herself, "Something like a horcrux!" Draco's face went a deathly white. "But I don't know what that means," she admitted.
"Looks like someone does," Theo said, letting go of Pansy and nodding at Draco who was sitting on the sofa looking sick.
"Care to explain Draco?" Pansy said icily.
"Hey," Blaise muttered to her. There was a pregnant pause before anyone said anything.
"Um... They're like objects that contain part of someone's soul. If the Dark Lord has a horcrux I'm willing to bet that there's more than one of them," Draco said uneasily.
"Wait so he's got his soul in objects? That's sick," Ginny said repulsively.
"What kind of objects?" Theo asked.
"Anything really, but it's really dark magic, horcruxes. If Potter and co are hunting them down then Merlin help them," Draco said, feeling sick. How on earth were they to find two people who were hunting things which could be anything? "Have you got any idea what they are, Ginny?" Draco asked. Ginny shook her head.
"Maybe," Blaise began, getting up heavily from the arm of the sofa, "Granger knew."
"Where you going?" Theo asked, joining his friend who was heading towards the girl's dorm.
"She might have like a letter from them or something," Blaise continued, walking over to the damaged remains of Hermione's desk.
Amongst the wooden splinters, smashed ink bottles and ruined scrolls of parchment, Blaise pulled out a bundle of envelopes, tied together with a single piece of twine. Draco snatched them from his grasp and untied the knot. "Hey!" Blaise scowled.
"They're hers!" Draco snapped back. Blaise narrowed his eyes and continued rummaging around whilst the others piled into the room.
Minutes later, Draco sighed and tossed the envelopes onto her bed saying, "Nothing." Suddenly, a green blur shot past Pansy's ear and she screamed, batting away whatever had just zoomed past her.
"What, is that?" Theo asked, staring at the green dragon who'd landed on top of the bundle of items.
"A Christmas present," Draco muttered, trying to shoo away the green dragon model.
"I've seen that before," Blaise murmured, "Like years ago. Where -"
"I used to have one when I was a kid," Draco said shortly, "Just -" but the dragon had pulled out a small scrap of parchment and had dropped it onto Blaise's lap. With a roar of harmless orange flames, it took off again and soared out of the open door.
"What's it say?" Pansy murmured, everyone huddling closer around Blaise. Draco leant down and squinted at the writing he recognised as Hermione's. It comprised of four columns headed "Destroyed", "Found and undestroyed", "Known" and "Possible". Under the 'destroyed' heading were the items: "Tom Riddle's Diary" and "Marvolo Gaunt's Ring". There was only one item under the "Found and undestroyed" category, and that was "Salazar Slytherin's Locket". Nothing was under the "Known" category but quite a few things were jotted down under "Possible", including "Helga Hufflepuff's cup?", "Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem?" and "Godric Gryffindor's _?".
"Merlin's beard," Ginny murmured, "There's loads!"
"Where do go to keep a low profile?" Theo murmured wonderingly.
"I think I know where they could be..." Ginny uttered into the silence. Crookshanks mewed loudly.
"Where?" Pansy asked.
"I can't tell you," Ginny said firmly, not meeting their eyes.
"Oh for fuck sake Ginny!" Draco said angrily.
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just you can't know. I'll take you," Ginny said, nodding at Draco, "But the rest of you'll have to stay here."
"Fine by me," Theo said, surrendering with his hands.
"Well what the hell are we waiting for then?" Draco asked, heading for the door. Hermione scanned the untidy room before spotting exactly what she was looking for and stooping low to pick up Hermione's beaded bag. Shouldering it, she ran out after Draco, calling "Cover for us!" to the others. Pansy sighed, shaking her head.
"Wait up!" She called to the blond boy who was storming off ahead.
"We've already waisted enough time," he spat, "The last thing I need is for you to slow me down."
"In case you hadn't realised, I am the one in charge here as I am the only one who has the slightest idea on where they might be," Ginny said crossly. Draco spun around angrily and said, "Just because your Hermione's best mate does not mean I have to listen to you!"
"Yeah well sod off then. I can apparate there on my own," Ginny snapped back. Draco thought furiously before realising that he was in a losing position. Therefore, he simply sneered at her and walked on, quickly.
Draco was thinking that their unformed plan was going creditably well until a tall figure rounded the corner. "Mr Malfoy, Miss Weasley, what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall's shrill voice sounded. Her mouth was the thinnest of thin lines. "We were..." Draco began, trying to explain why they weren't in the great hall. "We were..." He coasted around for words.
"Taking Hermione back up to the head dorms," Ginny cut in effortlessly. McGonagall and Draco turned to focus their attention on her. "She's caught flu or whatever, doesn't want the whole school to know."
"Why isn't she in the hospital wing?" McGonagall asked severely.
"Says its too cold and she wants to stay by the fire," she replied back.
"Hmm, very well," McGonagall sighed, striding past them. Draco smirked, silently impressed.
Once she was out of sight and earshot, they backtracked and walked to the large front doors, heaving one of them open. "That was a decent excuse," Draco began, "Before she realises that Hermione is nowhere to be seen in the castle."
"By which time we will be miles away," Ginny snapped, taking the lead and almost running towards the iron gates, Hermione's handbag swinging from her shoulder.
"That's Hermione's," Draco said suddenly from behind her.
"How observant of you," Ginny sneered back.
"She takes it everywhere with her. What's in it?" He asked, curious to know.
"She takes it everywhere with her in case she ever needs to run away or escape. Inside is a second wardrobe of clothes, easily enough for three people, rations, a small amount of muggle and wizarding money and whatever else she finds necessary. There's probably a first aid kit and potions bag in there too," Ginny said, as if to prove something. Draco stared.
"It's tiny," Draco stated.
"Undetectable extension charm," Ginny said, smirking.
"Bit cautious much," Draco muttered, eyeing the tiny survival bag.
"No one died from caution!" Ginny snapped.
"Famous last words," Draco hissed quietly. Ginny ignored him.
Just when Ginny was getting just about sick of Draco's snide comments, they'd reached the iron gates and were slipping out through them. Ginny outstretched her hand, chilly wind whipping her hair. Draco looked at it, almost repulsively. "Just take it, Draco," Ginny sighed. When he did not, Ginny grabbed his hand tightly in frustration, causing him to wince in pain and not prepare himself for the sudden sensation of being sucked down a plug hole and the innocent "pop!" And they were gone. An owl screeched loudly into the night and the wind swept through the grounds and forbidden forest, removing any traces of the two students being there.
...
"No more!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Please stop! Please just stop no STOP!"
"Tell me where they are you insolent bitch!" The other woman screamed back. She smacked the smaller girl across the face, furiously. "CRUCIO!" She yelled.
"You'll never find them! Never!" The girl choked, grinning sardonically, "You'll rot in hell knowing you failed!"
"You bitch," breathed the older woman, increasing the intensity of the curse before turning and stalking out of the cell. Hermione lay there, breathing hard and covered in blood. She looked at the generous dinner she'd been given - rather thrown through the bars. A scrap of bread, stale but enough to keep her alive. She reached out for the bread, feeling hungry but it was snatched from her outstretched fingertips by a scurrying of tiny little feet. "Hey!" Hermione called angrily as the rat took her bread and scurried off. She would've ran after it but her muscles ached too much. They couldn't starve her anyway, there'd be more food. Curling up, she tried to ignore the pattering of rat feet in the opposite corner and steal a few hours of deserved sleep.
A/N Can't think of much to put here but as always, please review and come back in two weeks for another chapter!