Conspiracy beneath....
Disclaimer: Harry Potter & all HP characters are copyright J.K. Rowling.
Hogwarts
Ron and Harry had noticed the long absence of Hermione, so they went to Dumbledore about this. They were accompanied by
Professor McGonaggal(who by the way was very anxious about it too) to Dumbledore's office. When asked about this, apparently, even
Dumbledore himself had no answers to it....
"About Hermione's absence," said Dumbledore, he paused for a while, looking at both Harry and Ron, then continued in a heavy tone,
"I can't confirm where she is."
"But professor..." Professor Mc Gonagall spoke, but was interrupted by Harry and Ron.
"It's been 2 days since we last saw her!" groaned an anxious Ron.
"Where could she been? Professor, if you know where she is please tell us!" Harry continued as he moved closer to Dumbledore and
pulled the elderly man's hand, shaking it.
Dumbledore held up his hand, telling Harry to calm down. But before Dumbledore could say anything, the door bursts open. Snape
marched hurriedly right in, with Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson trailing close behind. In Snape's hand were a copy of the Daily
Prophet.
"Professor!" called Snape out load toward Dumbledore as he marched closer.
Harry let go of dumbledore's hand as the elderly man turned around to face Snape.
"What is it Severus?" asked Dumbledore, with a look that indicates he knew nothing.
"Have you seen Mr. Malfoy lately?" Snape asked again, anxious. Dumbledore shook his head, Harry and Ron exchanged looks and
blinked in confusion, Crabbe and Goyle swallowed timidly, and Pansy Parkinson wiping tears off her cheeks.
"Then you should've read this," said Snape, handing Dumbledore his copy of the Daily Prophet.
The cover says:
Son of the famous Lucius Malfoy is believed to be the next kidnap target of a group of dark wizards, who were said to escape from
Azkaban last week. Besides, the missing cases of many muggles lately were also believed to be their doings....
After reading this, Dumbledore looked at Snape, his mouth half agape. Mc Gonagall took the paper from Dumbledore and read it
together with Ron and Harry.
"Do you think..?" Snape's voice trailed off.
Dumbledore looked at him, not giving a reply.
"Possible," he reply shortly. Almost everyone flinched, even Ron. "But.. but this is just a mere guess. So everybody calm down, we'll
contact the Ministry and work it out right now!"
The three professors exchanged looks. "But professor, what about Hermione?" interrupted Harry. Dumbledore turned to Harry, he
lowered his upper body, leaned his hand on Harry's right shoulder and whisper to him, "I'll explain somethings to you, but later." He
then turned to his fellow students and ordered them back to their dorms, reassuring them that they'll be updated about their friends
whereabouts.
Back at the dungeons
Draco and Hermione was again, thrown into a dungeon, locked up and tightly guarded. They both tried to struggle from the grip of the
hooded figure, but, however hard they tried, they still failed.
"GOD DAMMIT! Let me out!" demanded Draco forcefully as he rushed towards the closing doorway. Hermione was paralyzed, no matter
how much she wanted to run, she can't. She was thrown on the dungeons grounds so hard that it leaves her sprawling, and obviously it
made matters worse for her. She could feel the pain deep down inside her thigh bones when she moves, the broken bones, like a
dagger, seems to cut into her other muscle.
In the midst of her sturggle to move, she heard Draco lashing out sarcastic remarks and demands on the background. The whole
situation looked as if her head was shaking so violently, she could collapse the very instance. And then, she felt a shock throught her
head, it just blacken out, momentarily. She collapsed. Draco saw this and rushed to Hermione. All that ensures her that she
is still alive are Draco yelling, "Granger! Wake up! Granger...." Then, everything went black again....
After like what seems to be a long time, Hermione woke up. There, she found herself still inside the dungeon, but her body was
cushioned by a bed. "Wait! I'm in a dungeon, why is there a bed then?" she thought curiously. Then, she sat up, scanning for a
familiar face that was with her before she fainted. And there she found him, sleeping at a corner beside her bed, wrapped up in his
cloak and all curled up. He looked like a ferret curling up and wrapped in it's tail to keep warm in the colder seasons.
Thinking of colder seasons, it's rather chilly down here, so she removed her blanket, bend closer and covered him carefully, not
wanting to wake him up. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes, the obnoxious Draco Malfoy actually looked quite cute while sleeping(well
ferretes are cute arent' they?), with that head of messy blonde hair, it made him looked better. Feeling attracted to such a weird thing,
she went closer, her heart pounded faster and she wondered why. But as she moved closer, she could feel her leg hurting more, then...
SMACK!
She suddenly loses her grip and crashes right into him and it woke him up immediately. Draco's eyes flew open, darting towards
whomever who had rudely disturbed his sleep--Hermione Granger. Hermione was frightened, she then shoved herself off him, trying
hard to get back on the bed.
"What do you want?" he asked in a chilly manner, moving slightly away from her.
What does she want? She was doing him a favour, and this is all she gets? Hermione didn't speak, instead she gave him a look
that could answer his question.
"I didn't ask for it," Draco replied, his tone a little warmer. Hermione went silent again. Then she remembered what happened to her,
as she turned to survey the dungeon, she asked "What happened to me Malfoy?"
"What else?" Malfoy shrugged. "Our frail little book worm fainted yesterday," he finished mockingly with a smirk playing around his
curved lips. Hermione ignored this and continued, "what about the bed?" She turned towards Draco, asking for an explanation. "You
didn't magicked it out did you? Even if you could, I bet an obnoxious, muggle-hating git like you wouldn't," said Hermione scathingly,
hitting Draco back hard for mocking her. He glared at her, then a grimace surface on his face. "I asked for that bed , for you were
injured, and I swear I'll bang my head against the wall if you keep on being a crybaby!" he paused for breath, "I hate babies," he
added quietly.
(ADDED)"You know Granger, when I was feeling sick, my mother used to kiss and hug me a lot, and even sung me to sleep and it
made me felt much better." said Draco. "But... that was a long time ago," Draco added suddenly, a distant look on his face. This was
another surprise Hermione didn't expected, what? Draco Malfoy knew what mother's love was? She was looking at him with her mouth
half gape, not believing. "Well of course for someone like you, with parents who are working like cows to meet ends, will never
experience it," Draco mocked again, smirking at Hermione.(/ADDED)
Hermione wanted to retort, but bofore she could, a tall figure in dark coloured robes appeared in front of the dungeon's door. It was a
young man about her age, maybe slightly older.
"Sorry to interrup, but my master wants to see you now," he said silkily. Hermione stared at him with horror, while Draco's usually cold
expression was a little broken. The young man then gave Hermione a cheeky wink, which made Draco threw him a threatening look.
After muttering something under his breath, the dungeon's door opened. The young man gave Draco a look telling him to get out now,
then he yelled "Mobilicorpus!" which lifted Hermione into the air. Draco had no choice but to follow.
On the way to the young man's (so-called) master, they entered a very beautiful part of the castle. Draco figured that it should be a
castle since it had dungeons and passageway. Then they entered a corridor, they were many potraits of witch and wizards handing on
it's walls. For a particular one with a handsome young lad in it, gave whoever that looked at it a feeling of great eeriness. No doubt
Draco never met Tom Riddle, he got a feeling that this potrait was his.
Hermione, however on the other hand was floating on air, looking very akward. She was holding to her skirt so tightly as if someone
was trying to peek under it. And indeed, someone had been. The young man from just now was doing so and it annoyed Draco
greatly.
"What are you looking at git?" Draco asked finally, through gritted teeth.
"Oh nothing," the young man replied as he whistled, trying to look innocent.
Draco didn't knew why did another guy peeking under Granger's skirt would anger him. He didn't even understand why would
he stayed beside her the whole night making sure she was alright. Eitherway, what was done was done. But he wouldn't mind staying
with that mudblood, if that could get him out of here.
Soon, the young man led them into a study. Inside the study, there sat someone in a chair that has it's back facing the three of them.
"Master, they're here," the young man spoke in a shaky voice.
The chair turned around, it happened to be the hooded figure that Draco and Hermione met the other day, the one which told them
Lucius Malfoy's a traitor. Last time they saw him, he was dressed in dark hooded robes, but this time, he was in a what seem to be a
surplice, no doubt Hermione wondered why.
"Very well," replied the man in the chair. He rose up from his seat, and magicked out 2 chairs, then politely asked Draco and
Hermione to take a seat too. The young man who brought them there put Hermione on one of the chair, while Draco sat down
unwillingly.
"We never did have a good introduction I guess," said the man as he smiles humorlessly. Hermione snorted, what introduction did they
need? All she wanted was to escape from this place with her father safely. Draco was also giving the man a look, judging from his look,
he seemed to be thinking the same as Hermione.
"I'm Kehyrdius Notterfort," he smiled once again, then he turned to the young man and introduced him too. "This is Wooster, my
assistant." Draco's usually icy façade cracked upon hearing this name, "Rooster," he muttered with a silent laughter. Hermione who
was seated beside elbowed him, how can he laugh in the middle of such a frightening "meeting".
Wooster's face darkened a deal lot, and he held up his wand ready to hex Draco, but Kehyrdius held up his hand, indicating that he
shouldn't.
"I suppose the purpose of meeting you two personally was to discuss a heavier matter?" Kehyrdius breathed out lightly, silencing
Draco.
"Booop… booop!" then there came sound of bubbles forming fiercely. Immediately, Hermione and Draco turned towards the direction
where the sound came from. On the table at the corner of the study, there stood a cauldron with dark green liquid inside it. The liquid
bubbled dangerously, and a trace of fetid smell issued from it.
"The PolyJuice Potion II!" Draco and Hermione said in unison.
"Ah, you spotted it finally!" said Kehyrdius dryly. "Let's get to business, shall we?" he continued.
"So it was YOU! You stole the PolyJuice Potion II and the antidote!" Draco said accusingly while Hermione looked at Kehyrdius in horror.
"Yes yes it was me," replied Kehyrdius. Wooster looked at them with a smile of victory on his face. "Now shall we begin?" repeated
Kehyrdius again, "If not, I can't guarantee that I'll need you alive tomorrow," he finished maliciously.
"What do you want from us?" questioned Hermione, her voice shaking in rage.
"Not you two, only you Ms. Granger."
There was total silence in the study. Draco and Hermione exchanged weird looks, not knowing what to say nor do.
"All you need to do is provide me information about the Hogwarts grounds, Albus Dumbledore and most of all, Harry Potter," he
finished with a heavy tone. He looked at Hermione, asking for a reply, but got none. Then Hermione gave him a look that says "What
about him?" "As for Mr. Malfoy…. I'll wait for his father's arrival to decide whether to let him go or not."
And again, there was that akward silence. Nobody spoke nor move.
"What… what do you mean let him go?" squeaked Hermione.
"Master means, if Lucius Malfoy did not come in time, he may only be able to collect his beloved son's dead body," Wooster answered
her, his eyes glinting maliciously..…
Thanks to those who reviewed!! It took this lazy bum sooo long to get writing again, but the next chapter will be up in 2 more days!
Please R&R!