Chapter 2: Plans
Hermione apparated out the front of a large home, the front garden was bursting with flowers and plants that most ordinary people had not seen or in fact heard of. The house was at least four stories tall and each level was surrounded by a balcony that was filled with more plants. Hermione walked up the uneven path to the door; she raised her hand to knock but quickly jumped back as green sticky fluid was squirted at her from a plant that grew around the front door. Hermione was covered in the smelly green fluid and she shook her head. Only Neville Longbottom would have a plant that squirted its guests with vile fluid. She quickly muttered a spell and all of the fluid disappeared, and she magically rang a bell so that Neville would know that she was there.
Footsteps were heard from inside the house and moments later, the door opened.
"Hermione! How nice to see you!" Neville said. He had a warm smile on his face as he ushered her into his home.
"How have you been Neville?" Hermione asked him.
"I've been well. There is something that tells me that you have not just dropped in for a chat Hermione. Why don't I get some tea together while you sit down and tell me why you're here." He said all this with a smile to let Hermione that he was not offended.
"Sorry Neville. I should really come to visit you just for a chat and a cup of tea, but I really do need your help with something, but the only trouble is that I can't actually tell you much about it. The only thing I can tell you is that I need help finding someone." Neville looked up from pouring the tea with a puzzled look on his face.
"Ok, but how can I help you? If you can't tell me who it is then I can't tell you where to find them."
"No Neville, I think that you misunderstood me. I need your help to brew a potion, with ingredients that I know only you have so that I am able to have a more specific avenue of searching for my missing person." At this Neville nodded and handed Hermione her tea. "Of course, if I have it then you are welcome to use it! As soon as we have finished with the tea, we can go to my laboratory and start to mix your potion." "Thanks Neville, I owe you one! Where is Luna by the way?" "Luna is great. Can you believe that we have been married for two years now? It's been fantastic!" The smile on Neville's face was wide and happiness rolled off him in waves. When they got married it was the most unlikely union, however they were making it work and Hermione could not be happier for the both of them.
After they had finished their tea, Neville led Hermione down some stairs and into a dungeon like room.
"Do you know even though I hated Potions when Luna and I were redecorating Gran's house and we put in my lab I couldn't have it anywhere other than in the 'dungeon,'" Neville laughed at himself and led Hermione towards the centre of the room where his main work bench was. "So what are we going to be making?" Neville asked.
"Well I thought that we could make a tracking potion, you know the one that Professor Snape mentioned in our seventh year. If I take it while thinking of the person that I want to find then it will make me instinctively head towards that person. It has a lot to do with feelings I think."
"Hermione, you're forgetting that I didn't take seventh year potions. But luckily I do know the potion that you are talking about. Let me just look it up in one of my books and I will tell you if I have everything and how long it will take to make."
"Thank you so much Neville! I don't know how I can thank you!" Hermione smiled.
After looking through one of his many books lining the walls of his Lab, Neville shook his head. "Hermione I think I have some bad news and some good news."
"Well Nev, I guess you better start with the good news." Hermione said.
"Well the good news is that I have everything that I need to make the potion for you, the bad news is that it is going to take two weeks to make. So how about you come over in a fortnight and have dinner with Luna and I and that way you can have your potion as well." Neville smiled at Hermione and even though she was disappointed she was glad that it wasn't going to take longer to make than two weeks.
"Thank you so much Neville! You don't know how much I appreciate it. And the dinner invitation is very much welcomed." Hermione smiled at Neville. "I don't mean to be rude and leave just as you have agreed to help me but I really must be going, I need to do as much background on this case as it possible. Thank you again Nev."
"It's not a problem Hermione. I look forward to seeing you again in two weeks, and if you have a friend that you would like to bring with you then do so."
"Thank you for the offer Neville, but I think that I will come by myself."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After Hermione had left Neville's home she apparated back to her flat in London, she needed to collect some things and make a plan for the next two weeks. As she sat her cat Crookshanks came up and rubbed against her legs while purring loudly. "Hello Crooks!" Hermione smiled down at her pet and scratched his back before once again opening the Malfoy file and began to look through the contents incase she had missed a clue as to his whereabouts. The only thing that Hermione could see to do was to go to the Malfoy Manor and have a look around there. No one was living there now, not since Lucius had been captured and taken to Azkaban and Mafoy's mother had moved to France. Well if nothing turned up at the Manor then she would head to France to talk to his mother, because it made sense that he would keep in contact with his mother.
Hermione apparated out the front of a large home, the front garden was bursting with flowers and plants that most ordinary people had not seen or in fact heard of. The house was at least four stories tall and each level was surrounded by a balcony that was filled with more plants. Hermione walked up the uneven path to the door; she raised her hand to knock but quickly jumped back as green sticky fluid was squirted at her from a plant that grew around the front door. Hermione was covered in the smelly green fluid and she shook her head. Only Neville Longbottom would have a plant that squirted its guests with vile fluid. She quickly muttered a spell and all of the fluid disappeared, and she magically rang a bell so that Neville would know that she was there.
Footsteps were heard from inside the house and moments later, the door opened.
"Hermione! How nice to see you!" Neville said. He had a warm smile on his face as he ushered her into his home.
"How have you been Neville?" Hermione asked him.
"I've been well. There is something that tells me that you have not just dropped in for a chat Hermione. Why don't I get some tea together while you sit down and tell me why you're here." He said all this with a smile to let Hermione that he was not offended.
"Sorry Neville. I should really come to visit you just for a chat and a cup of tea, but I really do need your help with something, but the only trouble is that I can't actually tell you much about it. The only thing I can tell you is that I need help finding someone." Neville looked up from pouring the tea with a puzzled look on his face.
"Ok, but how can I help you? If you can't tell me who it is then I can't tell you where to find them."
"No Neville, I think that you misunderstood me. I need your help to brew a potion, with ingredients that I know only you have so that I am able to have a more specific avenue of searching for my missing person." At this Neville nodded and handed Hermione her tea. "Of course, if I have it then you are welcome to use it! As soon as we have finished with the tea, we can go to my laboratory and start to mix your potion." "Thanks Neville, I owe you one! Where is Luna by the way?" "Luna is great. Can you believe that we have been married for two years now? It's been fantastic!" The smile on Neville's face was wide and happiness rolled off him in waves. When they got married it was the most unlikely union, however they were making it work and Hermione could not be happier for the both of them.
After they had finished their tea, Neville led Hermione down some stairs and into a dungeon like room.
"Do you know even though I hated Potions when Luna and I were redecorating Gran's house and we put in my lab I couldn't have it anywhere other than in the 'dungeon,'" Neville laughed at himself and led Hermione towards the centre of the room where his main work bench was. "So what are we going to be making?" Neville asked.
"Well I thought that we could make a tracking potion, you know the one that Professor Snape mentioned in our seventh year. If I take it while thinking of the person that I want to find then it will make me instinctively head towards that person. It has a lot to do with feelings I think."
"Hermione, you're forgetting that I didn't take seventh year potions. But luckily I do know the potion that you are talking about. Let me just look it up in one of my books and I will tell you if I have everything and how long it will take to make."
"Thank you so much Neville! I don't know how I can thank you!" Hermione smiled.
After looking through one of his many books lining the walls of his Lab, Neville shook his head. "Hermione I think I have some bad news and some good news."
"Well Nev, I guess you better start with the good news." Hermione said.
"Well the good news is that I have everything that I need to make the potion for you, the bad news is that it is going to take two weeks to make. So how about you come over in a fortnight and have dinner with Luna and I and that way you can have your potion as well." Neville smiled at Hermione and even though she was disappointed she was glad that it wasn't going to take longer to make than two weeks.
"Thank you so much Neville! You don't know how much I appreciate it. And the dinner invitation is very much welcomed." Hermione smiled at Neville. "I don't mean to be rude and leave just as you have agreed to help me but I really must be going, I need to do as much background on this case as it possible. Thank you again Nev."
"It's not a problem Hermione. I look forward to seeing you again in two weeks, and if you have a friend that you would like to bring with you then do so."
"Thank you for the offer Neville, but I think that I will come by myself."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After Hermione had left Neville's home she apparated back to her flat in London, she needed to collect some things and make a plan for the next two weeks. As she sat her cat Crookshanks came up and rubbed against her legs while purring loudly. "Hello Crooks!" Hermione smiled down at her pet and scratched his back before once again opening the Malfoy file and began to look through the contents incase she had missed a clue as to his whereabouts. The only thing that Hermione could see to do was to go to the Malfoy Manor and have a look around there. No one was living there now, not since Lucius had been captured and taken to Azkaban and Mafoy's mother had moved to France. Well if nothing turned up at the Manor then she would head to France to talk to his mother, because it made sense that he would keep in contact with his mother.