Hermione turned her back on him and left, hearing him take out his wand and mutter a quick cleaning spell.
What a bitch, I can't let those bastards to get away because she's stupid and selfish! Draco thought on his way out. He took a small paper from out of his breast pocket, memorized the address and apparated away.
The aurors surrounded the big house to check for any dark spells or protection systems and discovered that the building was strongly warded.
"We have to draw them come out…at least one of them!" Harry stated "but, we'll probably have to wait until morning…."
The night was cold. The street, eerily empty but yet, silent and peaceful. The team could only hear the soft hum of the streetlight. Suddenly it started snowing, and the aurors covered themselves with a few spells.
"For the first time ever, we have Christmas mission." Ron whispered to Harry as they huddled underneath the invisibility cloak.
"Yeah, but if we catch them during the day, I think we could make it for lunch!" joked Harry
"Lunch?!" snorted Ron "I hoped we were going to make it for breakfast!"
"Mate, didn't you eat before we disguised?"
"That was just a snack…" rolled his eyes Ron
"Your future wife must love cooking; you know what they say! A man's love runs through his stomach" Harry teased.
Ron said nothing, he thought about his last experience with a woman. She was sweet and kind. Truth be told she was so kind, that she didn't want to hurt anybody by dating him. He tried a few times to convince her to give them a real chance, but she rejected last time he saw her, Pansy acted very strange, looking around like she was hiding, not wanting someone to see her. In the end, as the disappointed he was, he respected her decision and wished her all the best.
"Is that Narcissa Malfoy?! Damn it…." cursed Harry
"Bloody hell, what is she doing here?" Ron wondered. They watched as she crossed the street and went directly to Gream brothers house
"Is she crazy?! I told her strictly, not to show herself in this neighborhood!" Harry was livid. He took his wand out, ready to petrify her, but he didn't get the chance. As soon as the door opened, a green light bolted out directly at Narcissa.
Ron froze in place, expecting for her to drop dead on the doormat… To their immediate surprise, she didn't even flinch! The spell couldn't touch her. It was as if she was behind glass.
All the aurors attacked the man standing at the door, it was the younger brother Sebastian, they captured him, only his eyes were moving, he was blinking like crazy.
"Call the other one" Harry told him.
"Release my brother, you pigs!" someone screamed behind him. Richard Gream and the man who was supposedly his lawyer were behind them with raised wands.
"It's over Gream, you are surrounded." Harry stated. "Give up your wands and drop to your knees, arms on your head."
"That's the last thing I will do, Potter." laughed Richard, suddenly his face becoming serious. He reached out and grabbed Narcissa, wand aimed at her neck.
"Release my brother, or the lady dies."
"Try me, Yankee." smirked Narcissa and took out her wand
"Mrs. Malfoy, don't!" yelled Harry "Step away, we will take care of him!"
"As if, Potter."
The whole neighborhood was then lit by the exchanging of curses. A cloud of dust appeared, surrounding the two, and for a moment there was impossible to see a thing. All the aurors heard was someone the sound of punches and cursing,
"You … wanna piece of me…." Smack! Smack!
"Take this, you bloody bastard… you will die…. in terrible torment…"
As the cloud lifted, Harry saw Draco Malfoy beating Richard Gream with his bare hands, his face covered in blood. The "lawyer" was lying motionless on the ground. One auror had his wand pointed at his head.
"Malfoy! Stop! You are going to kill him!" yelled Harry
"He's crazy, stop him" said Ron "How… how did you…?"
"Ever heard of Polyjuice potion, Weasley?" yelled back Draco and punched Richard one more time
"You wanted to kill us… try me now, you...filthy... son... of a bitch!"
"Harry, stop him! We still have to write a report and to press charges… You know I hate paper work. Let's not create anymore, alright?" said Ron still holding onto other brother.
"Don't bother, I'm done here…" said Draco as he let go of him. He rose up, his hair was a complete mess, his hands covered in blood, but he was pleased.
Hermione visited Harry and Ginny's the next day do find out what happened. She was very disappointed in Draco's actions and even more so disappointed that he didn't obey her orders, but at the same time she was very proud of him. His plan was very effective and very courageous. She hadn't slept all night after Harry sent Ginny a note as the girls were about to leave the Gala. She was immobilized when Ginny mentioned that Draco was there.
"Malfoy beat the shit out of him, I had never seen him so angry or cruel!" explained Harry but he suddenly laughed.
"Why are you laughing, Harry?" asked Hermione anxiously
"Because… because … as I told you he was polyjuiced as his mother and… well, the effect of the potion was gone and he was still dressed as a woman!" explained Harry "It was a strange view to see- Draco Malfoy, dressed elegantly, beating a man as an animal…"
"I can't imagine it but… you have to admit his plan was good." Hermione justified "At first I was pissed, but he did help you Harry." Before Harry could answer, Ginny came in, serving lunch.
"And where are Gream Brothers now?"
"At St. Mungo's under guard." explained Harry "I questioned them thoroughly, only they weren't being very forthcoming, so we had to administer Veritaserum. Only then did they inform me that they wanted justice for their family members who were killed in the second war. They wanted revenge on the Ministry as well for not helping those family members when they were kidnaped"
"This is terrible" said Hermione "The war has been over for six years, but…. The victims, the ones who are willing to take justice into their own hands…they're still out there."
"Unfortunately," nodded Harry "Let's hope there won't be any more…"
"Hermione you haven't touched your meal" Ginny pointed out. "You should eat, you look so pale."
She swallowed; truthfully, she wasn't hungry. Her stomach had contracted into a ball the moment she found out about what happened.
"It's getting late, I have to go now, it's Christmas Eve. My parents will be arriving in a few hours" Hermione told them. Harry and Ginny insisted she stay, but in the end, she left.
Draco was drinking whiskey by the fireplace, thinking of the events that had happened. He was feeling relieved that he got what he wanted. He put those scums in Azkaban, he beat and took out all his anger on the one who was most arrogant and continuously hitting on Granger. The one who gave them the invitations. What if she had wanted to attend the damn opening? What if she died there, buried by the debris of the explosion, or suffocated of the smoke from the explosion?
"Master…." Said the house elf "You have a visitor"
Its Christmas Eve, who could that be? he thought but told the elf to let them in anyways.
"Drinking after a tough night?" asked his visitor. Smirking he sipped again
"The way you look, it seems you need one too, Granger"
"Yes, maybe I need one" she snapped and crossed her hands
"How do you drink it?"
"With an explanation" said Hermione not taking her eyes of him.
"You are not my wife or girlfriend, Granger. I don't owe you shit." Draco told her with low growling voice. He was tired of talking and explaining. It was all he had done. To Potter and his team, to his mother before he left France, and again this morning to Blaise.
"I am here as your boss" she stated firmly. "You need to answer for your deeds. You didn't obey me, when I clearly instructed you not to go. I refused to sign the documentation. I told you how dangerous it was."
"That was your first mistake, you knew how good my plan was. What were you expecting me to do?! To obey and stay like a puppy…." He crossed his legs and sipped again "All you had to do was sign the form!"
"You came to me as a lunatic, acting psychotic!" Hermione explained still standing. "I decided not to sign anything… I wanted you to be…"
"To be what, Granger?" Draco asked suspiciously when she fell silent.
"Safe…" she whispered.
"Rubbish" he groaned and stood to face her "You didn't sign it because you are annoying, little, know it all…"
She smelled his whiskey breath and said "Say it… finish that sentence. Tell me what a know-it-all- filthy mudblood I am!"
Draco looked at her, really looked at her. He wanted nothing more than to grab her, shut her mouth with his, to tear those robes and make her scream with pleasure. His pulse raced, her face was so close to his, her skin smelled divine, turning him on. This witch was driving him mad with desire. He knew what he wanted to do, but instead he refrained, and replied with a cold voice.
"I was going to say "bitch" actually because you have been acting like one from the first moment that I took the position in the Ministry." he didn't step back. He stayed, face to face, inches apart from hers.
"I have busted my ass at work and you are still unpleased. I have been doing phenomenal projects and inventing spells, which by the way saved my ass in France! You are never happy, never satisfied with anything that I ever present. Admit it Granger, I will never be anything more than Death Eater in your eyes,"
Hermione didn't say anything, instead she backed away, turned, and took something from her coat pocket.
"After the holidays, Harry will be giving the Minister a full report of last night, so they can use it in trial." Hermione told him. "Here." She thrust the paper forward. "This is my permission for you to join the mission…If Harry doesn't show it in his report, you will be sanctioned and probably fired for putting your life and other's at risk…"
Draco stared at the paper unbelieving.
"You have to know something about me, Malfoy… I have never once saw you as a Death Eater." He wanted to say something but she continued.
"Thanks to my reports to Kingsley, you have been promoted twice. So, I think that I have appreciated your hard work very much…. I never said a thing because I wanted you to keep working industriously…and you did…" she swallowed hard and after few seconds said
"It's getting late, I'm going now… have a nice holiday, Malfoy. See you at work."
Blaise plan was working perfectly, he couldn't wait for this whole thing to be over. He hated to use Pansy, but that was the only way to win his business and to be happy away with Tahmina- the love of his life. He wanted her selfishly, passionately, he was ready to kill for her. It broke his heart when he went to her place to pack his stuff and to tell her that the plan was in action. Upset was an understatement…
"Why are you doing this?!" Tahmina was crying as he packed his things.
"You know why, this is for the best for us, baby. I'm trying to build us a future." Blaise was speaking fast, he was worried.
"The sooner I close the deal with Nathaniel Parkinson, the better…"
"But why do you have to move in with her! Why do you have to marry her?" Tahmina was sobbing now, watching him with desperate eyes.
"That was the deal, baby" he stopped and faced her "If I marry his daughter, he will sign the deal and soon I will be very, very rich and we can disappear from here, forever."
"But I don't need to be rich, I just want to be with you." Tahmina touched his face and he took her hands into his while softly tracing circles on them.
"Besides, don't you want to be independent and save?" she tried desperately to get him to give up this ridiculous plan. Blaise rose an eyebrow.
"The bastard threatened me…After my mother died, I got nothing. Making this deal is the best way possible for me to build my future, and I want my future with you, Tahmina"
After short silence, she wiped the tears and asked
"What do you want me to do?"
"Do nothing" Blaise instructed her. "Wait for me…The moment you hear we filed for divorce, be ready to pack your things and leave quickly"
"Okay…" she said slowly. Blaise took her in his arms and kissed her passionately.
"I love you, more than anything in this fucking world, Tahmina"
"I love you too, Blaise" she whispered into his arms and rested her head on his chest, ready for this to be over.