Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot
Author's Notes: Hey kiddies, I'm going to be off to San Fransisco for the Martin Luther King Jr. hols so I'm giving you guys this chappy as a little pressie, extra long too, lol...enjoy!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"We're going on a little venture," said Draco, pulling Hermione by the arm.
"What?" Hermione had to speed up her pace to keep up with Draco.
"Aren't you tired of always working and working?" he asked, keeping up his quick pace.
"All that working? I haven't slacked off so much since I was born," said Hermione. Draco flashed her a grin.
"It'll be fun, trust me."
"That's the thing Draco, can I trust you?" she kidded. Draco took her hand and dragged her along and when they were alone (everyone else had disappeared into class) he pulled out an invisibility cloak from his pack.
"Let's go then," he said.
"Are we going to have to walk far?" asked Hermione.
"How do you stay so thin when you're so lazy?" asked Draco. "And no, it's not that far."
"It's a gift, really," she answered back. To actually fit under the cloak together, Hermione had to huddle close to Draco and he had to put his arms all the way around her. It took awhile to get to wherever Draco had planned because they had to walk slowly to make sure one of them didn't fall. Hermione ended up closing her eyes and burying her face into Draco's shirt as he led her on.
"Hogsmeade?" asked Hermione, incredulously. "You brought us to Hogsmeade?"
"What?" said Draco, sounding hurt. Hermione hugged him.
"It's perfect," she said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Won't like Professor McGonagall or Snape notice that we're both missing?" asked Hermione. She sipped her coffee carefully. It was still hot. They had walked around and poked around in little shops, the post holiday winter chill making their noses and ears hurt. At last they stumbled across a tiny French cafe and settled inside. Hermione stirred her coffee around. She made hers milky and sweet while Draco kept it black.
"They probably will but they probably won't be able to put two and two together. I mean, how many students do they see in one day?" Hermione was silent after Draco's answer, enjoying the steam of her coffee rising up and tickling her nose.
"Don't you think it's funny?" asked Hermione, sleepily. The whole day seemed surreal and the ambience of the small, intimate cafe almost put her to sleep.
"What is?" asked Draco. He also sounded a little dazed and Hermione moved close to him and yawned.
"That we're such opposites." Draco looked at their coffee mugs.
"I guess so," he said. He yawned too. "Maybe opposites do attract." Hermione was about to answer but was lured into one yawn after another. Finally, she gave up on trying to speak and she leaned against Draco, feeling the watery thud of his heartbeat against her ear. Hermione closed her eyes and let the soft buzz of the other people in the cafe fill her ears the scent of coffee and raspberry scones fill her nose.
THUD! Someone had walked in and slammed the door behind them. Hermione jolted awake. The pleasant murmur of conversation around her died down.
"What's going on?" whispered Hermione. Draco shrugged and pulled her close.
"Dead?! Dead you say??? That's impossible! Preposterous!" Hermione frowned. The voice was vaguely familiar.
"He's dead, you heard my right the first time," said another voice. Hermione couldn't see who that man was, his back was facing Hermione and Draco. He seemed to look annoyed, though, from the way he was standing and the way his hands were pushed into his robe pockets. The chattering in the cafe resumed. Hermione strained to hear the conversation.
"He was found dead this morning," said the second voice. "Cause of death seems to be from the use of no curse rather, he was killed by muggle ways, with a knife."
"Was he killed by muggles then?" asked the first voice, in amazement.
"That's impossible to even consider," scoffed the second voice. "He lived in a pure wizard neighborhood, high tech security, both magic and muggle, and had over thirty servants in the house."
"Then how could the killer have gotten away?" asked the first voice.
"The house had no charm to keep anyone from Apparating or Disapparating into it. He needed a quick way to get out of the house, his "job" called for him to leave the house in a hurry." The second man's voice made it sound as if job was a dirty word.
"Then the man could be anywhere! The killer is out loose!" cried the first voice.
"No!" snapped the second voice. "We must keep this quiet."
"So there is no clue who the killer could be?"
"There is one prime suspect that all the fingers point to. I am afraid to say it for I wish not to believe it."
"Who would dare do such an act?" asked the first voice, fearfully.
"Everyone who is investigating say that it is his own son who has done this," said the second voice.
"His own son?" gasped the first voice.
"He was missing today in class," said the second voice.
"No alibi, but also, no motive," said the other.
"There is motive, things are not looking well."
"But what can we do?"
"I told you already," the second voice said. "Keep it quiet!" There was a sound of footsteps fading away and the door slamming shut. Hermione looked at Draco, eyes wide. She knew the minute she looked into his face, he knew what she knew. The people who were talking were none other than Cornelius Fudge and Severus Snape.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hurry," urged Draco. The magic spell in the cafe had broken but Hermione and Draco had sat there, unmovable until suddenly, Draco seemed to spring into action and life. He grabbed Hermione's wrist and they both flew out of the cafe. They hadn't even bothered to throw on the invisibility cloak. They ran into Hogwarts, gasping and out of breath.
"We have to find Snape," said Draco. They ran....straight into Professor McGonagall.
"Professor Snape is looking for you," said Professor McGonagall. "As I am too. You both have left class for more...entertaining reasons I assume one time too many." Professor McGonagall grabbed both their wrists and started to drag them down the hallway.
"Professor McGonagall," protested Draco. "I must see Professor Snape."
"You are in no position to defy me, young man," said Professor McGonagall.
"But Professor!" cried Hermione.
"Minerva?" Professor McGonagall, Draco, and Hermione all looked up. Snape was standing before them, looking distressed.
"May I take these two for you?" He didn't wait for an answer and took them both by the hand and pulled them away into his office.
"Where were you?" asked Snape, breathing hard. Draco exchanged a glance with Hermione.
"At Hogsmeade," he finally said. Snape groaned.
"You couldn't have picked a worse time to leave the school grounds," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what happened?"
"I heard, some of it," said Draco. "At the cafe. That was you, wasn't it? The second voice?" Snape frowned.
"Draco, you're being charged for murder of your father," he said, looking worried.
"What?" Draco whispered. "Charged? For murder?"
"Yes, charged for murder," snapped Snape. "And now that you have no alibi that you were in school, it's a hopeless case. Your father was found dead, six stab wounds in the chest and stomach, lying there in a pool of blood in his own house. He even wrote a note." Snape tossed a parchment to Draco.
"I feel my strength failing," read Draco out loud. "But I do not wish for my death to be an unnoble one. To my wife, I love you and I always will. My mother and father, I will join you soon. And to my son, I condemn you never to return to my side, for my own son is the one who has done this to me..." The writing scrawled off, as if Lucius had died just as he was writing this. Hermione gasped and buried her face in her hands.
"This is bs," said Draco, harshly. "If my father had this much time to write all of this, he would have done everything humanly possible to save himself. Simple spells can heal any wound. And he never loved my mother. Never."
"How can you prove all of this, Draco?" asked Snape. "It's impossible."
"You can defend yourself," cried Hermione. "They'll belive you, Dumbledore will believe you!"
"No Hermione!" said Draco. "You don't understand."
"What?" whispered Hermione, forboding in her mind.
"If I go through with this trial, they're going to try me for murder of my own father and put me in Azkaban."
"Azkaban?" said Hermione, fearfully. Draco held her as she sobbed quietly.
"But this is all fake," said Draco, frowning. "There's something that doesn't fit."
"But the judge and jury won't see that, Draco," said Snape. "We need to get you out of here."
"I can't leave," said Draco. "I can't, I won't." Snape sighed, exasperated.
"Fine, but where will you go in the summer?"
"I have to think about it," said Draco, worry etching across his face. "But I know one thing for sure, Lucius isn't dead."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: So what really happened to Lucius? And what will happened to Draco? Oohh, I do love hot, criminal boys...lol....I hope you guys enjoyed this, please R&R on your way out!
Author's Notes: Hey kiddies, I'm going to be off to San Fransisco for the Martin Luther King Jr. hols so I'm giving you guys this chappy as a little pressie, extra long too, lol...enjoy!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"We're going on a little venture," said Draco, pulling Hermione by the arm.
"What?" Hermione had to speed up her pace to keep up with Draco.
"Aren't you tired of always working and working?" he asked, keeping up his quick pace.
"All that working? I haven't slacked off so much since I was born," said Hermione. Draco flashed her a grin.
"It'll be fun, trust me."
"That's the thing Draco, can I trust you?" she kidded. Draco took her hand and dragged her along and when they were alone (everyone else had disappeared into class) he pulled out an invisibility cloak from his pack.
"Let's go then," he said.
"Are we going to have to walk far?" asked Hermione.
"How do you stay so thin when you're so lazy?" asked Draco. "And no, it's not that far."
"It's a gift, really," she answered back. To actually fit under the cloak together, Hermione had to huddle close to Draco and he had to put his arms all the way around her. It took awhile to get to wherever Draco had planned because they had to walk slowly to make sure one of them didn't fall. Hermione ended up closing her eyes and burying her face into Draco's shirt as he led her on.
"Hogsmeade?" asked Hermione, incredulously. "You brought us to Hogsmeade?"
"What?" said Draco, sounding hurt. Hermione hugged him.
"It's perfect," she said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Won't like Professor McGonagall or Snape notice that we're both missing?" asked Hermione. She sipped her coffee carefully. It was still hot. They had walked around and poked around in little shops, the post holiday winter chill making their noses and ears hurt. At last they stumbled across a tiny French cafe and settled inside. Hermione stirred her coffee around. She made hers milky and sweet while Draco kept it black.
"They probably will but they probably won't be able to put two and two together. I mean, how many students do they see in one day?" Hermione was silent after Draco's answer, enjoying the steam of her coffee rising up and tickling her nose.
"Don't you think it's funny?" asked Hermione, sleepily. The whole day seemed surreal and the ambience of the small, intimate cafe almost put her to sleep.
"What is?" asked Draco. He also sounded a little dazed and Hermione moved close to him and yawned.
"That we're such opposites." Draco looked at their coffee mugs.
"I guess so," he said. He yawned too. "Maybe opposites do attract." Hermione was about to answer but was lured into one yawn after another. Finally, she gave up on trying to speak and she leaned against Draco, feeling the watery thud of his heartbeat against her ear. Hermione closed her eyes and let the soft buzz of the other people in the cafe fill her ears the scent of coffee and raspberry scones fill her nose.
THUD! Someone had walked in and slammed the door behind them. Hermione jolted awake. The pleasant murmur of conversation around her died down.
"What's going on?" whispered Hermione. Draco shrugged and pulled her close.
"Dead?! Dead you say??? That's impossible! Preposterous!" Hermione frowned. The voice was vaguely familiar.
"He's dead, you heard my right the first time," said another voice. Hermione couldn't see who that man was, his back was facing Hermione and Draco. He seemed to look annoyed, though, from the way he was standing and the way his hands were pushed into his robe pockets. The chattering in the cafe resumed. Hermione strained to hear the conversation.
"He was found dead this morning," said the second voice. "Cause of death seems to be from the use of no curse rather, he was killed by muggle ways, with a knife."
"Was he killed by muggles then?" asked the first voice, in amazement.
"That's impossible to even consider," scoffed the second voice. "He lived in a pure wizard neighborhood, high tech security, both magic and muggle, and had over thirty servants in the house."
"Then how could the killer have gotten away?" asked the first voice.
"The house had no charm to keep anyone from Apparating or Disapparating into it. He needed a quick way to get out of the house, his "job" called for him to leave the house in a hurry." The second man's voice made it sound as if job was a dirty word.
"Then the man could be anywhere! The killer is out loose!" cried the first voice.
"No!" snapped the second voice. "We must keep this quiet."
"So there is no clue who the killer could be?"
"There is one prime suspect that all the fingers point to. I am afraid to say it for I wish not to believe it."
"Who would dare do such an act?" asked the first voice, fearfully.
"Everyone who is investigating say that it is his own son who has done this," said the second voice.
"His own son?" gasped the first voice.
"He was missing today in class," said the second voice.
"No alibi, but also, no motive," said the other.
"There is motive, things are not looking well."
"But what can we do?"
"I told you already," the second voice said. "Keep it quiet!" There was a sound of footsteps fading away and the door slamming shut. Hermione looked at Draco, eyes wide. She knew the minute she looked into his face, he knew what she knew. The people who were talking were none other than Cornelius Fudge and Severus Snape.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hurry," urged Draco. The magic spell in the cafe had broken but Hermione and Draco had sat there, unmovable until suddenly, Draco seemed to spring into action and life. He grabbed Hermione's wrist and they both flew out of the cafe. They hadn't even bothered to throw on the invisibility cloak. They ran into Hogwarts, gasping and out of breath.
"We have to find Snape," said Draco. They ran....straight into Professor McGonagall.
"Professor Snape is looking for you," said Professor McGonagall. "As I am too. You both have left class for more...entertaining reasons I assume one time too many." Professor McGonagall grabbed both their wrists and started to drag them down the hallway.
"Professor McGonagall," protested Draco. "I must see Professor Snape."
"You are in no position to defy me, young man," said Professor McGonagall.
"But Professor!" cried Hermione.
"Minerva?" Professor McGonagall, Draco, and Hermione all looked up. Snape was standing before them, looking distressed.
"May I take these two for you?" He didn't wait for an answer and took them both by the hand and pulled them away into his office.
"Where were you?" asked Snape, breathing hard. Draco exchanged a glance with Hermione.
"At Hogsmeade," he finally said. Snape groaned.
"You couldn't have picked a worse time to leave the school grounds," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what happened?"
"I heard, some of it," said Draco. "At the cafe. That was you, wasn't it? The second voice?" Snape frowned.
"Draco, you're being charged for murder of your father," he said, looking worried.
"What?" Draco whispered. "Charged? For murder?"
"Yes, charged for murder," snapped Snape. "And now that you have no alibi that you were in school, it's a hopeless case. Your father was found dead, six stab wounds in the chest and stomach, lying there in a pool of blood in his own house. He even wrote a note." Snape tossed a parchment to Draco.
"I feel my strength failing," read Draco out loud. "But I do not wish for my death to be an unnoble one. To my wife, I love you and I always will. My mother and father, I will join you soon. And to my son, I condemn you never to return to my side, for my own son is the one who has done this to me..." The writing scrawled off, as if Lucius had died just as he was writing this. Hermione gasped and buried her face in her hands.
"This is bs," said Draco, harshly. "If my father had this much time to write all of this, he would have done everything humanly possible to save himself. Simple spells can heal any wound. And he never loved my mother. Never."
"How can you prove all of this, Draco?" asked Snape. "It's impossible."
"You can defend yourself," cried Hermione. "They'll belive you, Dumbledore will believe you!"
"No Hermione!" said Draco. "You don't understand."
"What?" whispered Hermione, forboding in her mind.
"If I go through with this trial, they're going to try me for murder of my own father and put me in Azkaban."
"Azkaban?" said Hermione, fearfully. Draco held her as she sobbed quietly.
"But this is all fake," said Draco, frowning. "There's something that doesn't fit."
"But the judge and jury won't see that, Draco," said Snape. "We need to get you out of here."
"I can't leave," said Draco. "I can't, I won't." Snape sighed, exasperated.
"Fine, but where will you go in the summer?"
"I have to think about it," said Draco, worry etching across his face. "But I know one thing for sure, Lucius isn't dead."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: So what really happened to Lucius? And what will happened to Draco? Oohh, I do love hot, criminal boys...lol....I hope you guys enjoyed this, please R&R on your way out!