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Chapter 4

Hermione arrived at St. Mungo's with Pansy and Ginny hanging on her both her arms, all three of them fighting back tears. Gulping, Hermione strode up to the witch at the reception and asked where she could find Ronald Weasley.

"Fourth floor," the witch replied in a bored drawl.

Hermione nodded her thanks and led a still sniffling Ginny and Pansy towards the clattering lift, where they zoomed up to the fourth floor, squished between other visiting wizards or healers.

When the doors opened, they were greeted by bleary-eyed Mr and Mrs Weasley, who gave them all a watery smile. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here; the healers said that Ron will be alright and he should be waking up any moment now."

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked, hugging Mrs Weasley.

It was Mr Weasley who spoke, "Apparently, it seems as though someone performed the Cruciatus Curse numerous times on Ron and was about to kill him, when Ginny arrived to drop of something, thus, making the attacker disapparate."

Hermione cupped a hand to her mouth in horror whilst Pansy dissolved into fresh tears.

"There, there, dear. It's alright." Mrs Weasley patted Pansy awkwardly on the back, and was startled when Pansy threw herself upon her shoulders, sobbing loudly.

"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked her father, who was looking slightly concerned at Pansy's behaviour.

"Um, he should be arriving any minute now." Mr Weasley checked his watch just as Harry stormed out of the lift, demanding to see Ron. "Yes, yes, of course; we were just waiting for you to arrive."

Hermione watched as Harry hugged Ginny tightly and held her hand as they walked in to Ron's private room. A feeling of jealousy washed over her body and Hermione suddenly wished that she was Ginny. She didn't feel attracted to Harry in that way, heavens no; it was just that she wished that she had someone to hold her, and tell her everything was going to be alright. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she looked up from the floor to see Ron stirring slightly in his bed, the stark white pillow contrasting with his flaming red hair. He had bruises covering his face and arms; in fact, he had bruises covering every inch of his body that Hermione could see. There was a long cut from Ron's hairline down to the corner of his mouth, and a gash just below his left eye. Bile rose in her throat as she saw some blood beginning to ooze out of one of the numerous cuts on his arms. How could anyone do this? So heartless and cold-blooded. Hermione watched as Mrs Weasley gently swished her wand and the blood, which had begun to trickle down his arm, vanished.

Ron opened his eyes and winced at the bright light. He began to raise a hand to shield his vision, but hissed with pain as a forming scab cracked in the crook of his arm. "Bloody hell." They heard him whimper.

Pansy let out a watery chuckle and kissed his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been trampled on by a group of stampeding Hippogriffs. What happened? All I remember is opening the front door to a guy with a plant."

Hermione stole a worried glance at Harry and Pansy, who both matched her expression. The mysterious person called 'T' attacked and killed Barnabus Gaul and now, may have attacked and almost killed Ron Weasley! What was going on?

"Hello, sorry I'm late." Panted George who ran in through the door. "What's going on, lil' bro'?"

"I've been attacked by a mysterious stranger." Grumbled Ron.

"Hmm, I'm not so sure, Ron." Harry frowned. "I assume Aurors have been contacted…" he trailed off, lost in thought before continuing. "Right, Pansy, stay here with the rest of the Weasley's. Hermione, you come with me."

Hermione nodded, curious as to where Harry was going to take her.

"Harry," Ginny began to protest, but Harry silenced her with a swift kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be back soon," He promised.

Hermione waved goodbye to the bewildered Weasley's and Pansy, and followed Harry into the lift where he was tapping his foot impatiently. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked, once the doors had closed.

"That the plant came from the guy who calls himself 'T'?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "I wish I knew why the plant is important. I just have a feeling that the person who attacked Ron also killed Gaul."

The lift doors opened and Hermione and Harry rushed towards a fireplace in the bustling St. Mungo's reception area. "We're flooing to my office, okay?" Harry told her, and grabbing a fistful of powder, he stepped into the fireplace and shouted, "Harry Potter, Aurors Office," before disappearing in a whoosh of green flames.

Hermione, slightly nervous, mirrored Harry's actions, and appeared four seconds later in his slightly messy office, where she found Harry rifling through his drawers and filing cabinets for a file, on which she assumed, was the Barnabus Gaul case.

Rolling her eyes, she raised her wand and murmured, "Accio Barnabus Gaul file."

A file zoomed into her outstretched hand from the drawer which Harry was about to search next.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Harry asked wistfully, feeling fairly stupid.

"Because you act before you think. It saves a lot of time when you do that." Hermione replied wisely. She handed Harry the file who muttered a quick thank you. He was about to open it when he paused and looked at his wand lying on his desk. "I suppose it's polite." He murmured to himself more than Hermione.

Before she could ask what was possibly going through Harry's mind, he had picked up his wand and a Stag appeared which then rushed off, through the wall and out of sight.

"Who was that to?" Hermione had caught on. Using his patronus, Harry had sent a message to someone. But whom?

"Malfoy." He ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"Why?" Hermione asked angrily. "It has nothing to do with Malfoy. And as if he would care if Ron got attacked."
"He's involved in the case, Hermione, as much as me in fact. I can't deny him that right."

"But it's Malfoy!" Hermione protested weakly.

"Yes, that is my name, Granger. Potter, why have you called me at six o'clock in the morning?" Malfoy emerged from Harry's fireplace and wiped a speck of soot off his shoulder.

"Ron's been attacked." Harry sighed, placing the file on his desk as he sat down in his chair.

"Like I would give a damn about Weasel. If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the Manor."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What, so you can catch up on your beauty sleep?"

"Precisely," He shot back with a smirk. "You could try getting some, too."

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she strode right up to Malfoy, who was at least eight or nine inches taller than her small 5 ft 6 frame, and poked him in the chest. It was the first, small physical contact they had made in six years. "Excuse me, ferret boy, yo-"

"Hermione, please." Harry interjected. Hermione turned to him slightly agitated.

"Did you hear what he just said?"

Harry nodded and sighed. "Yes, I did. But we have no time for this. Malfoy, we need you because we think Ron's attacker is connected with the Gaul case."

He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "In what way?"

"Well, Ron said that all he can remember is just before the attack, when someone rang the doorbell with a plant. Then, what we think happened is the Cruciatus Curse was used on him but Ginny arrived to drop something off at his house, before the attacker could kill Ron."

"But that could be just a coincidence." Malfoy argued. "Look, I really must be getting back, Potter. I cannot be dealing with petty incidences to do with Weasel and a plant."

"But this is your job!" Harry roared, standing up from his chair and glaring at Malfoy. "You are my partner for this case. I am your boss at this very moment and you will do as I say."

"And what do you say, eh, Scarhead?" Malfoy hissed, his fists clenched at his sides.

Harry paused for a moment, forcing himself to relax before answering in a cool voice, "You are to stay here with Hermione whilst I go and find out whether the plant had a note, or whether it was also a Fanged Geranium."

Both Malfoy and Hermione burst into fits of outrage at being ordered to stay together.

"Harry, why are-"

"I am not staying in a room, on my own-"

"Why can't he-"

"What have I ever-"

All Harry did was to walk into his fireplace and floo himself back to St. Mungo's.

Hermione fell silent as she watched her best friend disappear. What a traitor, leaving her with Malfoy like this! Talking of which, he was still ranting to himself at why he had to be left with a know-it-all.

"Malfoy, do us a favour and shut the hell up." To her surprise, he did as he was told. "Thank you."

Malfoy scowled as he sat down in Harry's chair, placing his feet up onto the desk. "And what's to stop me from flooing right out of here?"

"This." Hermione replied shortly. She pointed her wand at Malfoy and said loudly and clearly, "Petrificus Totalus."

Malfoy instantly went rigid in the position he was in, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh as his furious expression was left on his face, just before he realised what Hermione was about to do. Only his eyes moved as he watched her go round to the other side of the desk and sit down in the opposite brown, leather chair.

"Now," she began, picking up her wand and the file which still lay on the desk. "If you promise to not leave, I will undo the spell. If not, well, you'll stay like that until Harry gets back."

Hermione smiled sweetly at Malfoy as she lifted her wand and the file. "If you want me to undo the spell, look at my wand. If you want to wait, then…look at the file."

Malfoy's eyes immediately turned to watch her wand. She raised it, and muttered reluctantly, the counter-curse. His muscles relaxed and he stretched whilst giving Hermione the coldest look he could muster. "You really do know how to charm a man." She didn't answer but only laughed so he continued. "And what's to stop me from stunning you now?"

Hermione ceased laughing and quickly shouted "Protego!" as Malfoy whipped out his wand and yelled "Stupefy!" The beam of read light bounced off Hermione's shield and blasted a bookcase next to the fireplace.

Malfoy growled and dodged Hermione's stinging hex, and sent another stunning spell her way, which missed her by a hair's breadth.

Hermione ducked behind Harry's desk as Malfoy began to send stunning spell after stunning spell in her direction.

Stretching her arm blindly around the desk, she cried "Tarantallegra!" She suddenly heard Malfoy's shoes tap against the wood flooring in a crazy beat and she crawled out from the safety of the desk, to watch him struggle to send a spell at her. He aimed another wobbly stunning spell which hit a filing cabinet. It fell over and the drawers all opened and they both watched as mounds of papers and files poured over the floor.

"Finite Incantatem." Hermione flicked her wand in Malfoy's direction whose crazy dancing finished. "Why the hell did you just do that?"

"I didn't mean to!" Malfoy scowled. "It was your fault; if you hadn't made my legs start dancing, then that wouldn't have happened!"

"Don't you dare blame this on me when Harry comes back! It was your fault and you know it!" Hermione stamped her foot in frustration. "We need to clean this up."

"Right, I'll leave you to it…" Malfoy started edging towards the fireplace.

"Oh no you don't, Draco Malfoy!" Hermione raised her wand and aimed it at his neck. "You are going to keep your Slytherin butt right here, and help me clean up this mess which you made."

Looking at her, Malfoy thought that Hermione really did look quite formidable. Her brown hair was tangled and knotted, her face was flushed and pulled into a snarl and her eyes blazed with anger. Malfoy nodded, just to keep the bookworm's mouth shut.

Hermione eyed him beadily as he began to wave his wand to clean up the scattered papers. She was about to join him in clearing up, when the worst thing possible could have happened; Harry arrived.

His jaw dropped when he saw the state his office was in, and when he saw Malfoy and Hermione's scarlet faces – well, in Malfoy's case it was a tinge of pink – his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What have you been doing in here? No, wait, don't answer that. I'd rather not know."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, slightly embarrassed. "It was nothing like that, gosh no." Malfoy nodded his head furiously to agree with Hermione. "We just had a little…squabble."

"The room looks like more of a battle field to me," Harry gazed around his nearly destroyed office. Books from the shelf had been torn and thrown across the room; his desk had large scorch marks; the wood floor was scratched; his chairs ripped and not to mention the whole filing cabinet business.

Hermione apologised, and hugged him awkwardly. "We were just cleaning it up when you arrived." She then hurriedly began to wave her wand quickly about the room. Books repaired themselves and flew back to the shelves, the filing cabinet and all the papers zoomed back into their place, the chairs were repaired and the floor was rid of all the scratches.

"Cor, you did that in the space of about five seconds," Harry admired, all anger forgotten at the sight of his office in his normal state. "Well, they don't call you the brightest witch of our age for nothing."

Hermione blushed and Malfoy rolled his eyes. "So, did you find anything useful?"
"Well, I talked to a Healer and he said that some of the cuts on Ron's arms looked as if they had been caused by something other than a spell."

"Did you say to them that you thought a plant had something to do with it?" Hermione asked excitedly.

Harry grinned. "Yeah, and they said that it could be so. The Healer said it could have been a Fanged Geranium or something similar."

Hermione squealed and clapped her hands. "And that person who calls themselves 'T' would have sent it! Oh, so now we know the cases are linked!"

Harry's grin faded. "Yeah, about that. I asked Ginny who said that there was no plant when she arrived at Ron's place. So, that must mean the attacker took the plant with him when he left."

"So you don't know for certain if there even was a plant, let alone a note?" Malfoy questioned sceptically.

"Ron said he saw one!" Hermione shot back fiercely.

"As far as I'm aware, Weasel has just returned from a state of unconsciousness. He could be suffering from concussion. He may not have his facts straight."

"Of course he isn't suffering from concussion!" Hermione snorted. "Even the Healer said that the cuts on his arms were caused by a plant."

"But you don't know that it was from 'T'."

"So, you're saying it was a coincidence?" Hermione asked, angrily.

"I'm just looking at it from all views." Malfoy replied innocently.

"I can't be dealing with this. I'm going to work." Hermione sniffed and stepped into the fireplace where she promptly disappeared from view.

*

When Hermione flooed back to her house, she realised that she wasn't due to open the store for at least an hour. Thankful for the spare time, she took a shower and then lay on her sofa for a quick nap.

She was awoken by a loud crack and she screamed as Olivia peered into her bleary eyes. "Hermione! Why are you sleeping? It's twenty past nine!"

"Crap! Oh, I'm so sorry! I am so tired. I had such a busy day yesterday, last night and then ruddy early this morning." Hermione yawned and grabbed her bag. "Shall we go?"

"Well, yeah, but I need to tell you something." Olivia's eyes gleamed. "While I was waiting outside the shop, Blaise Zabini came and asked me if I wanted to have lunch with him! Is it alright if I go, please?"

Hermione beamed for her. "Oh I'm so pleased! You two would make a lovely couple; you're both young and gorgeous."

"You don't think the age difference will matter do you?" She suddenly asked worried. "I mean, he's six years older than me."

"Course it doesn't. And yes, you can definitely go." Hermione grinned. "Take my arm and I'll Apparate us both there."

Sorry for such a slow update!! Well, I hope you liked this chapter! Reviews are greatly appreciated, you know *hint hint*. Haha.

Thanks!