AN: Hello peeps! It is a beautiful Saturday here. Hope you are all having a great day. Sadly, I still don't own these characters. Only the plot bunny is mine.
Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love hearing from you. And for those that read but don't review, I get it. No pressure at all.
Lost Souls of Nott Castle
Chapter 20 - Unplottable
Hermione woke early the next morning. It was so early, the sun had just started to rise. Draco was still sleeping in the bed next to her.
She rolled over so she could see him better. His chest was rising and falling steadily with each breath. His blond hair was swept over one eye. His arm was curled over his chest.
She thought back to the previous day. To the way he had held her, kissed her, touched her. She bit her lip to hold back the smile as she remembered the look on his face as he lost control.
She knew, with every fiber of her being, that she was in love with the man lying beside her. She could picture their future together so clearly.
And it scared the shit out of her.
She was only eighteen years old. She had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. She didn't know where she was going to live after NEWT's. And yet, she knew, with one hundred percent certainty, that she wanted Draco Malfoy in her life.
She was fairly certain that he felt the same way about her.
That just scared her a little bit more.
She sighed deeply and rolled to the edge of the bed. She didn't want to wake him. It was Saturday morning and he deserved a lie in.
Quietly, she slipped out of the bedroom and returned to her own rooms. She took a long shower and dressed for the day in a yellow sundress. Then she sat at her desk and pulled out two pieces of parchment.
She took a cleansing breath, then started to write.
" Harry,
I am writing to let you know that yes, I am dating Draco Malfoy. I am actually quite happy. However, I am disappointed that my oldest friend would rather threaten my life than be happy for me.
I don't understand why you suddenly think that you and I should be together. We have always been like brother and sister. I miss that friendship. But we will never have anything more than friendship, Harry, and you need to accept that. If you can't, then our friendship is over as well.
You have threatened my life three times now. I cannot ignore that any longer. I am sorry that it has come to this.
Good bye.
Hermione"
On the second piece of parchment, she began writing a detailed account of the various times Harry had intimidated or threatened her in the last five weeks.
She was finishing her account when she heard a knock on her door. Rather than getting up to answer it, she wordlessly and wandlessly unlocked it and let it swing open.
"Granger?" She heard Draco's voice as he came through the door.
"In here," she answered. She was still writing and did not look up to see him walk into her bedroom. She felt his presence, though, as he stood behind her chair and looked over her shoulder.
"What's this?" He asked as he started reading what she had written.
"What does it look like?" She replied with a short laugh. What a silly question when he could read for himself what she was writing.
"It looks like you finally came to your senses and decided to take this seriously."
She could actually hear the smirk in his voice. She rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well, I still don't think he would actually hurt me, but I can't let him think it is okay to threaten me, either."
She addressed the account to Kingsley Shacklebolt. Then she folded both and addressed them for owl post.
"Do you want Theo's owl to take those? I can show you where he keeps her."
"That's okay. I don't want Harry to be able to trace his back here. And I want to deliver the one to Kingsley myself."
She stood from the desk. He immediately pulled her in to his chest and kissed her quickly.
"Good morning." He told her.
"Good morning." She smiled up at him.
They walked together to the dining room for breakfast, but Theo and Blaise were not there.
"Do you think they came back last night?" She asked. Then she had a sudden thought that maybe they had come home, and maybe they had seen or heard Draco and herself in the library. They hadn't exactly been quiet or discreet.
Draco smirked at her. Something on her face must have tipped him off to what she was thinking.
"They were here earlier. They went to the quidditch game." He did not comment on whether or not they may have witnessed or heard their little escapade the night before.
"You didn't want to go to the game?" She asked after she cleared her throat.
"I figured I'd spend my day off with my girlfriend. She's not a big fan of the game, so I declined the offer."
She bit her bottom lip to try to hide her smile.
"Girlfriend?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Can you think of a better term?" He challenged her.
She laughed and shook her head. Then he placed a small velvet box on the table between them.
The laughter left her eyes and it was replaced with a question.
"Open it." He pushed it closer to her.
Slowly she reached for it and wrapped her fingers around it. She glanced up at him before opening the box and looking inside.
There she saw a silver locket in the shape of an oval. On the front, her initials were etched into the cover, surrounded by an elegant scrolling border.
"Draco, this is beautiful." She looked up at him and blinked several times before looking back at the necklace in the box.
Gently she lifted it out of its box and opened the small clasp on the side. It opened to reveal a picture. She was sitting with Draco, her head on his shoulder, then they looked at each other and kissed.
She didn't know how he had gotten the picture, but it captured their feelings for each other perfectly. She licked her suddenly dry lips.
"Theo took it when we weren't paying attention. He has several of them if you want to see."
She was completely speechless. Her eyes just watched the loop over and over again, her heart swelling a little more with each pass.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but she couldn't find the words to express what she was thinking or feeling in that moment.
"Say something, Princess."
She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. Then she closed the locket and handed it back to him. He was confused until she turned around and lifted her hair off of her neck. She felt the weight of it against her chest as he clasped it around her neck.
Then she turned around and put her arms around him.
"I love it, Draco." She told him.
His hands wrapped around her waist and tugged her closer, holding her tight.
"I love you, Hermione." His voice was low, but strong. There was no uncertainty, no hesitation.
Her hands gripped his back as she held him tighter. Her heart was hammering so loudly in her ears that she was sure he could hear it too. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, tears of joy. She took a deep shaky breath.
"I love you, too, Draco." She said those words out loud for the first time and the truth in them washed through her. She did love him, so much.
She looked up at him and their eyes met. She didn't even try to hide her smile that time.
He leaned down and kissed her soundly. He even picked her up and twirled her around in a circle.
"Come on, Princess. Let's go deliver your letters. Then, I say we get ice cream."
She laughed but agreed and the two of them apperated to Diagon Alley.
Their first stop was the owlery, where she hired an owl to deliver Harry's letter. Then they went to the Ministry. Even though it was a Saturday, the Minister was in his office, and he was only too happy to see Hermione and catch up with her.
Draco was obviously uncomfortable, but followed her into the office and sat next to her across from Minister Shacklebolt. Hermione put the older man's questions to rest by taking Draco's hand in her own and lacing their fingers together.
They spent a good half an hour talking with him. He asked them about their plans for the future. When Hermione told him she wasn't sure which path she should take yet, he made a very good case for why she should consider coming to the Ministry to work for him. Actually, he said with him, not for him. She declined though. She might not know what she wanted to do, but she knew what she did not want to do - and that was anything involving politics or dark wizards.
Before they left, Hermione handed her letter to the Minister.
"I'm sorry to say this wasn't just a personal call, Minister." She told him. "I have a bit of a situation and I wasn't sure who else to turn to."
He took the letter from her, his eyes flicking back and forth from her to Draco then back again.
He opened the letter and scanned through what she had written. Then he sighed.
"I understand, Miss Granger. Please, let me know if there are any other issues."
"Thank you, sir." She shook his hand, as did Draco.
"Mr. Malfoy. I don't think I need to tell you how special this young woman is. I expect you'll take good care of her." The Minister told Draco as he turned to leave.
"I can take care of myself, Kingsley." She shook her head and laughed as she walked out the door.
"I'll do my best, Sir." Draco answered as the Minister chuckled.
"Why do people always think that I need people to take care of me?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder and continued down the hallway.
Draco caught up with her by the lifts. The lift was empty save for the two of them.
"Don't worry, Princess," he told her as the car started to descend. "I have no intention of taking care of you."
She turned and stared at him.
"That's very sweet of you," she replied with just a hint of laughter in her voice.
"I have my moments," he shrugged his shoulders and tugged her closer to his side.
When the doors opened, they stepped out together, side by side.
Their next stop was for lunch, followed by ice cream. Every now and then it seemed people would recognize them and realize they were together and not cursing each other. Some people stared. Others whispered to each other. Mostly, though, people ignored them to go on their own merry ways.
"We probably should have waited to do this until the charm was ready." Hermione commented as they were walking back to the apparition point.
"A little late now," he laughed. "I guess we'll find out how much we really need it."
"I'm almost ready," she told him. "We could test it tonight?"
"How can you be almost ready?" He asked. That's when she remembered they hadn't actually talked about her progress the night before.
"Well, there is one of the wand movements that I could use a bit more practice with. Otherwise, it's ready to go."
They reached the apparition point and returned to Nott Castle together.
"What is the risk if something goes wrong?" He asked.
The confidence in her eyes faltered just a bit.
"There is always risk in magic, Draco." She replied without actually answering his question.
"I know that." He held her arm and turned her back around to face him. "What is the risk in this particular form of magic?"
She bit her lip as she considered him. Harry and Ron had never asked the risks. They were about the final result and if anything went wrong, deal with it then.
Draco was more calculating than that. She supposed it must be why he was sorted into Slytherin. He wanted to know the risk, so he could weigh it against the desired outcome. Cunning. Deliberate. Brilliant.
"The biggest risk is that it would backfire completely. Instead of hiding this place from magic, it would hide magic from this place."
His eyes locked on hers. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. He understood. No one would be able to perform any kind of magic within the wards of Nott Castle.
"That's one hell of a risk to take, Granger. Are there others?"
She felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but at the same time, it was kind of turning her on. She shook her head to dispel those thoughts. This was not the time.
"It might not hide magic from this place," she said. "It might just hide it from the spellcaster. If it backfires. Which it won't."
The room was silent for a long moment.
"Hermione." His voice was laced with exasperation.
"Draco." She mirrored his stance and his tone.
She knew the risks. She had spent days reviewing the material, practicing the movements, reciting the words.
It was the only way to keep them safe.
Finally he sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"How sure are you that you're ready?" He asked.
She was shocked for a moment, sure he was going to try to talk her out of it. She bit her lip to hide her smile.
"Ninety percent. Maybe. There is one movement that is still a bit awkward. I won't attempt anything until I'm sure I have it, though." She turned and left the room. Her hair swayed back and forth against her shoulders as she went.
He followed her up the stairs to the library. There, they spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing her notes. She recited the words a hundred times. She practiced the movements over and over again, and still she was getting stuck in the same spot.
It was nearing midnight when Theo and Blaise returned home from the quidditch match. They found Hermione and Draco on the roof, taking a much needed break.
Hermione was only half listening as they described the game nearly play for play to Draco. Her mind was going over the charm. She was missing something and she needed to figure it out soon.
She had been practicing them separately, the words then the movements, because she didn't want to accidentally cast something before she was ready. As she lay on her chair, staring up at the stars, she decided to try something different.
She thought of the first line of the enchantment, then matched it up with the first set of movements. She went through the entire charm the same way. The second time through, suddenly something clicked.
The movement she had been getting hung up on was during a transition phase. She was trying to reverse her movement too soon.
She sat up quickly. She tried the movements again, this time she let her wrist arch around further, then she flicked it in a figure eight motion and smoothly reversed direction.
She let out a little squeal as she jumped up. The guys stared at her, wondering what she could possibly be so excited about. They had just been describing how their team had lost the match, after all.
She paid them no mind whatsoever as she ran to the stairs that led back to the library.
She returned to her notes and made the necessary corrections. Then she practiced the movements again and again. They flowed perfectly.
"You figured it out?" Draco asked from behind her.
She turned and nodded, biting her lip.
"It's ready," she told him in a quiet voice. Then a smile spread across her face as she realized it was true.
"I'm ready." She said with absolute confidence.
Excitement bubbled up in her throat and she could not contain it any longer. She crossed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck. He caught her, held her tightly.
"How sure are you?" He repeated his question from much earlier in the day.
"I'm positive, Draco. Let's do this." She was already on her way back up to the roof.
Theo and Blaise were still there. Draco followed closely behind her.
"Granger, wait!" He called out to her as she crossed to the center of the roof.
She paused then turned to look at him.
"What is it, Malfoy?"
He took a deep breath.
"Theo, drop the dome." He called out as he crossed to stand in front of her.
He placed both of his hands on her shoulders. He caught her gaze and held it.
"Take a deep breath," he told her. She did as he said. "That's it. Ground yourself."
Her lip twitched up in a smirk.
"Don't worry, Draco. I've got this."
His eyes searched hers again. He kissed her slowly. Then he stepped away.
"Of course you do, you brilliant witch. Let's see what you've got."
He joined Theo and Blaise while she positioned herself in the center of the roof.
She took a deep, cleansing breath. Then she raised her arms into the air. She blocked everything from her mind except for the task at hand. The words were there. The movements ready. All she had to do was put it all together.
She closed her eyes, then she got started. It took several minutes to go through the entire charm. She felt the magic flowing through her. She felt it infusing with the already existing wards. The words flowed smoothly across her lips and into the silent night. Her wand danced in her hand, smoothly executing the complex charm.
When she finished, the wards around the castle glowed a soft pink color, shimmered and disappeared from view.
She remained standing with her arms above her head for several seconds, then she slowly lowered her arms, her head dropping to her chest as the toll of the spell hit her.
From a distance, Draco had watched in awe as she completed the charm. He knew in his heart she had done it flawlessly. He watched as she dropped her arms and she seemed to collapse in on herself.
He rushed to her side, just managing to catch her as she collapsed. Her eyes fluttered shut as she landed in his arms.
"Alright, Granger. I've got you." He said. Then her vision faded to black.
AN: I love powerful Hermione! How about you?Until next week, lovely readers.-mezy