Chapter 5: The Tracking Potion
Hermione speed towards the Ministry going as fast as she could so that if Fred and George tried to follow her, she would be to far in front to catch up with her. Though Hermione knew that they could apparate quite easily, she was not thinking clearly and forgot about it, because if she had been then she would have done it herself! Looking down at her watch Hermione saw that it was already nearing lunchtime and walking faster than she had been before she went into the secret workers entrance of the Ministry and set out to find Ron and Harry.
Meanwhile Somewhere in Muggle London.
A handsome 22-year-old man was strolling down the busy sidewalk, he was tall and muscular, and his icy blue grey eyes held none of the cold reserve they once had, but they radiated warmth. Blonde hair that had once been slicked back and long was now short and spiky and sticking up all over the place looking like he and just tumbled out of bed, run his hands through it and left it as it was, which was exactly what he had done. His long stride was taking him closer to the music shop where he worked, he looked down at himself and took in the baggy dark blue jeans, tan hiking books and white singlet under his navy open shirt and shook his head, there were still days where he couldn't believe how much life had changed for him since he left the wizarding world four years ago. With a smile on his face, he walked into 'Sounds Alive' the music shop he had been working in for the past year.
It had taken Draco a long while to adjust to the muggle world, and in fact how to survive without magic, but now he had it down pat or so he thought, there were times when he was at home in his small apartment when he looked guiltily around him, even though he knew there was no one there, and did something with magic, like light a fire or help with cooking his meals. When he walked into the shop all of the other workers, especially the new girl Janice, greeted him, Janice was 20 and totally hot and did not hesitate to tell Draco that she thought he was and if he was interested. While Draco was flattered with the attention, he had not done anything to encourage her in fact he had told her quite bluntly that he was not interested in getting involved with her. While Janice had been slightly hurt by his rejection of her, she now saw him as a challenge and tried to come on to him at every available opportunity. When Janice had first made her move, Draco had every intention to take her up on her offer however when he had opened his mouth to say yes he was as surprised as she was when he said "Thanks but no thanks." The old Draco would never have dreamed of turning down a girl like Janice especially when she was offering herself so freely but Draco had changed and even thought there were times when he regretted turning her down, most of the time he was pleased and content with the changes.
"Hey Draco honey, how you doing?" Janice walked over to Draco and slid behind him pressing against him as she walked around the counter. Draco knew that she had had plenty of room to move with out touching him but did not say anything.
"I'm fine Jan, how about you? I thought I saw your boyfriend leaving as I got here." If Draco thought that mentioning her boyfriend would discourage her, he was wrong.
"Oh you know him! He is always checking up on me, the way he is you would think he doesn't trust me," Jan pouted and batted her eyelashes at Draco who shook his head and went to serve a customer.
His day went by quickly because they were so busy, and as the wall clock struck 7:00 pm Draco waved to the others as he left for the day.
"Draco! Draco!" Janice was running as best as she cold in her 5 inch heels, to catch up with him.
Draco stopped, turned, and waited for her to catch up. "Hey, I just thought that I would invite you to a club tonight, all the guys from work are going, but I forgot to mention it to you! You're more than welcome to bring a friend. So are you coming?"
"Um, where are you going?" Draco asked.
"Oh, you know that new place, 'Just Jazz' it is going to be heaps of fun. So?" Jan leaned in towards him hoping to entice him into coming by giving him a glimpse of her ample cleavage.
"Um, I'll think about it, if I decide to come you will see me there otherwise." With that, Draco turned around and walked back to his apartment.
When Draco got to his apartment, he flopped down on his overstuffed caramel sofa and rubbed his face. While many things about him had changed over the past four years there were some things that had not, his lack of friends being one of them. Sure, he was friends with the people that he worked with and whenever he saw his neighbors he always waved and smiled, but he did not have any close friends, no one to confide in. But then again maybe that was a good thing, if he had a muggle friend then who knew what sort of secrets he would have let slip. However, the irony of wanting a muggle friend was not lost on him, Draco Malfoy king of the Purebloods, hater of all things muggle was now almost entirely living as one and pretending that the wizarding world did not exist.
Later that night after eating a simple meal Draco was watching some television program about a family that was too good to be true, 'The Brady Bunch' or something like that. It was and old show, it was a 'rerun' but Draco had no idea what that meant. Lying on the couch he was contemplating going to that club, jazz music had really grown on him while working in the music store, when he was in a down mood it seemed to flow into his soul and it never failed to make him feel better. Everyone that he had heard talking about 'Just Jazz' were raving about how fantastic it was, so after pulling himself off of the sofa Draco decided that he would make an appearance, besides he may find himself a girl there so that Jan would leave him alone.
After stripping off all of his clothes and standing naked under the hot shower spray Draco let his mind wander back to Hogwarts and his final days there. It seemed like a life time ago that he was there fighting in the hallways with Potty and Weasel and bucktooth Granger. But she wasn't a bucktooth anymore, he remembered after he had jinxed her and she had visited the hospital wing she came back with perfectly straight and even teeth. Thought that hadn't stopped him from picking on her and throwing the occasional jinx at her for the remainder of their time at school together. He wondered what had happened to her, and not for the first time. There was something about Granger that stuck in his mind; it could have been that she was the only girl who ever really stood up to him, or it could be the fact that in their fourth year she had slapped him so hard across the face that he had the imprint of her hand for almost an hour. She was feisty, he had to giver her that, but she had also been an annoying know it all who's worst nightmare would be to only score 99/100. It was because she was so annoying, he reasoned, that he still thought of her at all. He guessed that she would be working at the ministry, with Potty and Weasel, the dream team together always. With a scowl on his face he stepped from the shower and dressed in baggy black jeans with a black shirt. He almost never wore black anymore because the colour reminded him to much of his father, but Draco also knew that black looked good on him and tonight he wanted to look better than ever. He had a strange feeling that something out of the ordinary was going to happen tonight and he couldn't put his finger on it.
Back to Hermione.
Hermione stood out the front of the Longbottom home and cautiously knocked on the front door. Thankfully no stinksap was squirted at her this time, Neville must have warned that plant like she asked him to. Moments later the front door was opened by Luna looking as odd as ever in a floor length dress that seemed to be made entirely of leaves, and on her head was a hat that was a lion with a raven on its back. Hermione was startled by her appearance but was careful not to let it show.
"Hello Luna, how are you?" With a smile on her face Hermione was ushered in the house and she followed the silent Luna towards the dinning room. "Um, Luna are you ok?" Hermione was beginning to worry, Luna was acting strange. well stranger than usual. She just nodded and motioned for me to follow her.
"Hello Hermione, don't mind Luna she is trying out a potion for me that I have invented, not sure how long the not talking will last, it is a bit of a nasty side effect that I hadn't planed on, but you know these things happen!" Neville was smiling at her, he was carrying a large tray of food and he placed it in the middle of the table.
"Hello Neville." Hermione was unsure of how to respond to Neville making his own potions, though even she had to admit that since he had left school and the treat of Professor Snape he had flourished and he was regarded quite highly in the Wizarding world for his great knowledge of plants and for of course his extensive greenhouses. His making of potions was still quite mediocre, though the more plants of his that were used the better his potions. That was why Hermione had turned to him to make the tracking potion for her and she had not attempted it herself.
Their meal went by quite smoothly considering that Luna could not talk and Neville, who was known for his clumsiness at Hogwarts, did not spill a single drink. Before they knew it Midnight had rolled around and it was time for Hermione to take the tracking potion.
Down in Neville's lab Hermione was perched on the edge of her stool while Neville was stirring the mixture one last time before spooning it into a vial that Hermione could drink from.
"Ok Hermione, when you drink this, your mind has to be full of the person that you want to find. Their name, face or any memories, if you have any of course, of that person. Otherwise the potion will not work. Now what will happen when you drink this is that you will feel a little sick to your stomach but that will pass quite quickly and then you will see pictures in your head, they could be of where the person lives or where they are at that exact moment, the longer you close your eyes the more fragments or pictures you will see. Now the potion will last you exactly one hour, I will give you some more to take with you but you are only allowed to take it this once and then again another time. If you take it any more than that it could cause serious side effects, which I'm sure you don't want." Neville smiled as he said this and handed Hermione the vial that he had filled.
"Thank you so much for this Neville, after I take this I wont be able to stay, I want to leave straight away, the sooner I find this person the better."
"I understand, next time though don't leave it six moths before we see you." Neville smiled again and watcher Hermione take her potion.
Hermione looked at Neville and smiled back, "Well bottoms up!" She said and she scrunched her eyes up tightly and grabbed her stomach as the potion made its way down. She felt incredibly sick but the pain was gone in an instant and she saw a large caramel sofa, which looked so comfortable she wanted to lay down on it. Then the picture changed and she saw the city by night, the picture changed again and she saw a club that she had heard about 'Just Jazz' she had wanted to go there herself but hadn't had the time. It looked like she was going to go there now.
Hermione opened her eyes and thanked Neville and Luna as she ran out the door and seconds later with a pop she was in her apartment and in her bedroom looking for some suitable clothes to wear. After changing into a skintight red halter dress with a flared skirt and matching heels, and putting her hair up in a loose bun with curls hanging down all over the place. She looked good and she knew it. Her appearance had changed a lot since her school days, her hair had tamed itself and was now a mass of curls and she had put red highlight in her hair that matched her dress. Before she left she scribbled a note to Ron,
Dear Ron,
I have a good lead on our missing person. Hopefully it pans out I'm leaving right now! I'll get back to you as soon as possible with all the details, I don't want to miss this lead!
Say Hi to Lav,
Hermione.
Ron wasn't going to be happy with the lack of details in the letter but at the moment she really didn't care. Besides it was him that always complained about putting too much in a letter, because 'you never know who could intercept it Hermione!' Hermione tied the letter to the leg of her owl Serendipity and let her out of the window.
Hermione could feel the excitement building up in her, she always got this way when she could feel the end of a mission. Hermione was unable to wipe the smile off of her face as she grabbed her purse with room for her wand with a pop she left her apartment and re appeared a block away from 'Just Jazz' where no one could see that she had appeared out of thin air.
Walking towards the club she realised that she was nervous. At Hogwarts she and Draco had been enemies, they fought all of the time and they never lost a chance to jinx one another. Hermione knew that even if she found Draco at the club tonight her mission would be far from over, 'in fact' she thought with a feeling of dread, 'it was about to begin'.
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A/N: Thank you to essence-of-forever and avri who both reviewed again! And to Befuzzled who reviewed as well! Thank-you! By the way, here is Draco as you requested, I hope that you like! :) Sorry it took so long for me to let him make an appearance but I wanted to get that whole background thing out of the way!
Remember you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for this story!
Hermione speed towards the Ministry going as fast as she could so that if Fred and George tried to follow her, she would be to far in front to catch up with her. Though Hermione knew that they could apparate quite easily, she was not thinking clearly and forgot about it, because if she had been then she would have done it herself! Looking down at her watch Hermione saw that it was already nearing lunchtime and walking faster than she had been before she went into the secret workers entrance of the Ministry and set out to find Ron and Harry.
Meanwhile Somewhere in Muggle London.
A handsome 22-year-old man was strolling down the busy sidewalk, he was tall and muscular, and his icy blue grey eyes held none of the cold reserve they once had, but they radiated warmth. Blonde hair that had once been slicked back and long was now short and spiky and sticking up all over the place looking like he and just tumbled out of bed, run his hands through it and left it as it was, which was exactly what he had done. His long stride was taking him closer to the music shop where he worked, he looked down at himself and took in the baggy dark blue jeans, tan hiking books and white singlet under his navy open shirt and shook his head, there were still days where he couldn't believe how much life had changed for him since he left the wizarding world four years ago. With a smile on his face, he walked into 'Sounds Alive' the music shop he had been working in for the past year.
It had taken Draco a long while to adjust to the muggle world, and in fact how to survive without magic, but now he had it down pat or so he thought, there were times when he was at home in his small apartment when he looked guiltily around him, even though he knew there was no one there, and did something with magic, like light a fire or help with cooking his meals. When he walked into the shop all of the other workers, especially the new girl Janice, greeted him, Janice was 20 and totally hot and did not hesitate to tell Draco that she thought he was and if he was interested. While Draco was flattered with the attention, he had not done anything to encourage her in fact he had told her quite bluntly that he was not interested in getting involved with her. While Janice had been slightly hurt by his rejection of her, she now saw him as a challenge and tried to come on to him at every available opportunity. When Janice had first made her move, Draco had every intention to take her up on her offer however when he had opened his mouth to say yes he was as surprised as she was when he said "Thanks but no thanks." The old Draco would never have dreamed of turning down a girl like Janice especially when she was offering herself so freely but Draco had changed and even thought there were times when he regretted turning her down, most of the time he was pleased and content with the changes.
"Hey Draco honey, how you doing?" Janice walked over to Draco and slid behind him pressing against him as she walked around the counter. Draco knew that she had had plenty of room to move with out touching him but did not say anything.
"I'm fine Jan, how about you? I thought I saw your boyfriend leaving as I got here." If Draco thought that mentioning her boyfriend would discourage her, he was wrong.
"Oh you know him! He is always checking up on me, the way he is you would think he doesn't trust me," Jan pouted and batted her eyelashes at Draco who shook his head and went to serve a customer.
His day went by quickly because they were so busy, and as the wall clock struck 7:00 pm Draco waved to the others as he left for the day.
"Draco! Draco!" Janice was running as best as she cold in her 5 inch heels, to catch up with him.
Draco stopped, turned, and waited for her to catch up. "Hey, I just thought that I would invite you to a club tonight, all the guys from work are going, but I forgot to mention it to you! You're more than welcome to bring a friend. So are you coming?"
"Um, where are you going?" Draco asked.
"Oh, you know that new place, 'Just Jazz' it is going to be heaps of fun. So?" Jan leaned in towards him hoping to entice him into coming by giving him a glimpse of her ample cleavage.
"Um, I'll think about it, if I decide to come you will see me there otherwise." With that, Draco turned around and walked back to his apartment.
When Draco got to his apartment, he flopped down on his overstuffed caramel sofa and rubbed his face. While many things about him had changed over the past four years there were some things that had not, his lack of friends being one of them. Sure, he was friends with the people that he worked with and whenever he saw his neighbors he always waved and smiled, but he did not have any close friends, no one to confide in. But then again maybe that was a good thing, if he had a muggle friend then who knew what sort of secrets he would have let slip. However, the irony of wanting a muggle friend was not lost on him, Draco Malfoy king of the Purebloods, hater of all things muggle was now almost entirely living as one and pretending that the wizarding world did not exist.
Later that night after eating a simple meal Draco was watching some television program about a family that was too good to be true, 'The Brady Bunch' or something like that. It was and old show, it was a 'rerun' but Draco had no idea what that meant. Lying on the couch he was contemplating going to that club, jazz music had really grown on him while working in the music store, when he was in a down mood it seemed to flow into his soul and it never failed to make him feel better. Everyone that he had heard talking about 'Just Jazz' were raving about how fantastic it was, so after pulling himself off of the sofa Draco decided that he would make an appearance, besides he may find himself a girl there so that Jan would leave him alone.
After stripping off all of his clothes and standing naked under the hot shower spray Draco let his mind wander back to Hogwarts and his final days there. It seemed like a life time ago that he was there fighting in the hallways with Potty and Weasel and bucktooth Granger. But she wasn't a bucktooth anymore, he remembered after he had jinxed her and she had visited the hospital wing she came back with perfectly straight and even teeth. Thought that hadn't stopped him from picking on her and throwing the occasional jinx at her for the remainder of their time at school together. He wondered what had happened to her, and not for the first time. There was something about Granger that stuck in his mind; it could have been that she was the only girl who ever really stood up to him, or it could be the fact that in their fourth year she had slapped him so hard across the face that he had the imprint of her hand for almost an hour. She was feisty, he had to giver her that, but she had also been an annoying know it all who's worst nightmare would be to only score 99/100. It was because she was so annoying, he reasoned, that he still thought of her at all. He guessed that she would be working at the ministry, with Potty and Weasel, the dream team together always. With a scowl on his face he stepped from the shower and dressed in baggy black jeans with a black shirt. He almost never wore black anymore because the colour reminded him to much of his father, but Draco also knew that black looked good on him and tonight he wanted to look better than ever. He had a strange feeling that something out of the ordinary was going to happen tonight and he couldn't put his finger on it.
Back to Hermione.
Hermione stood out the front of the Longbottom home and cautiously knocked on the front door. Thankfully no stinksap was squirted at her this time, Neville must have warned that plant like she asked him to. Moments later the front door was opened by Luna looking as odd as ever in a floor length dress that seemed to be made entirely of leaves, and on her head was a hat that was a lion with a raven on its back. Hermione was startled by her appearance but was careful not to let it show.
"Hello Luna, how are you?" With a smile on her face Hermione was ushered in the house and she followed the silent Luna towards the dinning room. "Um, Luna are you ok?" Hermione was beginning to worry, Luna was acting strange. well stranger than usual. She just nodded and motioned for me to follow her.
"Hello Hermione, don't mind Luna she is trying out a potion for me that I have invented, not sure how long the not talking will last, it is a bit of a nasty side effect that I hadn't planed on, but you know these things happen!" Neville was smiling at her, he was carrying a large tray of food and he placed it in the middle of the table.
"Hello Neville." Hermione was unsure of how to respond to Neville making his own potions, though even she had to admit that since he had left school and the treat of Professor Snape he had flourished and he was regarded quite highly in the Wizarding world for his great knowledge of plants and for of course his extensive greenhouses. His making of potions was still quite mediocre, though the more plants of his that were used the better his potions. That was why Hermione had turned to him to make the tracking potion for her and she had not attempted it herself.
Their meal went by quite smoothly considering that Luna could not talk and Neville, who was known for his clumsiness at Hogwarts, did not spill a single drink. Before they knew it Midnight had rolled around and it was time for Hermione to take the tracking potion.
Down in Neville's lab Hermione was perched on the edge of her stool while Neville was stirring the mixture one last time before spooning it into a vial that Hermione could drink from.
"Ok Hermione, when you drink this, your mind has to be full of the person that you want to find. Their name, face or any memories, if you have any of course, of that person. Otherwise the potion will not work. Now what will happen when you drink this is that you will feel a little sick to your stomach but that will pass quite quickly and then you will see pictures in your head, they could be of where the person lives or where they are at that exact moment, the longer you close your eyes the more fragments or pictures you will see. Now the potion will last you exactly one hour, I will give you some more to take with you but you are only allowed to take it this once and then again another time. If you take it any more than that it could cause serious side effects, which I'm sure you don't want." Neville smiled as he said this and handed Hermione the vial that he had filled.
"Thank you so much for this Neville, after I take this I wont be able to stay, I want to leave straight away, the sooner I find this person the better."
"I understand, next time though don't leave it six moths before we see you." Neville smiled again and watcher Hermione take her potion.
Hermione looked at Neville and smiled back, "Well bottoms up!" She said and she scrunched her eyes up tightly and grabbed her stomach as the potion made its way down. She felt incredibly sick but the pain was gone in an instant and she saw a large caramel sofa, which looked so comfortable she wanted to lay down on it. Then the picture changed and she saw the city by night, the picture changed again and she saw a club that she had heard about 'Just Jazz' she had wanted to go there herself but hadn't had the time. It looked like she was going to go there now.
Hermione opened her eyes and thanked Neville and Luna as she ran out the door and seconds later with a pop she was in her apartment and in her bedroom looking for some suitable clothes to wear. After changing into a skintight red halter dress with a flared skirt and matching heels, and putting her hair up in a loose bun with curls hanging down all over the place. She looked good and she knew it. Her appearance had changed a lot since her school days, her hair had tamed itself and was now a mass of curls and she had put red highlight in her hair that matched her dress. Before she left she scribbled a note to Ron,
Dear Ron,
I have a good lead on our missing person. Hopefully it pans out I'm leaving right now! I'll get back to you as soon as possible with all the details, I don't want to miss this lead!
Say Hi to Lav,
Hermione.
Ron wasn't going to be happy with the lack of details in the letter but at the moment she really didn't care. Besides it was him that always complained about putting too much in a letter, because 'you never know who could intercept it Hermione!' Hermione tied the letter to the leg of her owl Serendipity and let her out of the window.
Hermione could feel the excitement building up in her, she always got this way when she could feel the end of a mission. Hermione was unable to wipe the smile off of her face as she grabbed her purse with room for her wand with a pop she left her apartment and re appeared a block away from 'Just Jazz' where no one could see that she had appeared out of thin air.
Walking towards the club she realised that she was nervous. At Hogwarts she and Draco had been enemies, they fought all of the time and they never lost a chance to jinx one another. Hermione knew that even if she found Draco at the club tonight her mission would be far from over, 'in fact' she thought with a feeling of dread, 'it was about to begin'.
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A/N: Thank you to essence-of-forever and avri who both reviewed again! And to Befuzzled who reviewed as well! Thank-you! By the way, here is Draco as you requested, I hope that you like! :) Sorry it took so long for me to let him make an appearance but I wanted to get that whole background thing out of the way!
Remember you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for this story!