I was lying in bed a few nights later, wide awake with Draco sleeping softly next to me. I was still suspicious about Blaise but I couldn't put together Markinson and what happened at my house.
"Still thinking?" A deep voice whispered.
Jumping slightly I turned over and gave him a mock glare.
"I thought you were sleeping." I whispered turning as much on my side as I could to face him.
"I haven't been sleeping that much lately." He answered and began to draw patterns on my shoulder.
"Any particular reason?" I asked smiling softly at his familiar touch.
"Just keep on having the same feeling that someone is always watching us or behind us." He answered with a careless shrug.
"What do you think happened to the sword?" I asked a few moments later.
In the dark I could still see his profile illuminated by the moon and in this sense I was able to see his classic eye roll.
"Hermione why are you so dead set on believing the sword disappeared? Has it ever occurred that maybe Dumbledore did in fact know it's whereabouts, as you say he knows everything that goes on in Hogwarts? It wouldn't faze me to believe he knew of the legend and has since removed it from these halls." He said with so much nonchalance that I was taken off guard.
I smiled and replied,
"That's why we're going to go and talk with Dumbledore tomorrow."
He sighed and replied,
"You three and your bloody stubbornness."
I grinned at his sentence as it proved that he was getting to know Harry and Ron a little bit better, just the mutual feelings of regret and reluctance were there.
"Fine then in the meantime stop thinking about it. I assure you everything will fall in its place once you talk with him."
I nodded my head and closed my eyes just letting the feeling of his fingers on my skin soak through me until it gently lulled me to sleep.
When I woke up the next morning there was a rather large clattering outside of our curtains that had Draco springing up from his sitting position and grabbing his wand.
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS NONSENSE!" A familiar voice bellowed.
"I will not let you in another step if you do not KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN!" Madame Pomfrey yelled back.
I looked over to see Draco letting his head fall into his hands.
"What's wrong?" I whispered.
He didn't answer me but the question soon became revealed as the curtains were snapped open showing a furious Lucius Malfoy.
"So it's true then." He breathed glaring at Draco.
"Whatever are you talking about father?" Draco asked innocently.
"You and the Mudblood being chained together!" He said letting his cane come back down to his side.
I stood up instantly with indignation and replied,
"Well obviously its true you overgrown bat!"
I looked over at Draco who was glaring at me, which surprised me completely.
"You will do well to mind your manners." Lucius drawled.
Before anything else could happen however I saw a hand lay forcefully on his shoulder.
"Lucius, what an invigorating surprise." Dumbledore said.
"Albus I demand at once that these chains are removed from my son's wrist that attach him to Miss Granger."
"Ah, and there in lies the kink. These are no ordinary handcuffs, as the muggles call them, Lucius. They are charmed and I have been told by the Muggle Studies Professor that the certain key lies in America."
"Are we wizards or not! Charm the blasted things off then!" He cried out and I could see a faint tinge of red color his cheeks.
"That might just end up in the demise of their hands or worse, come with me and we will discuss this." He said and I watched him increase his pressure slightly on his shoulder.
"Very well, I will be retuning Draco." Lucius said with a pointed look.
When they swept out of the infirmary Draco turned his angry eyes on me that had me backing up slightly.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" He bellowed waving his hands around in the air.
"What are you talking about?" I asked completely baffled.
"If Dumbledore hadn't come in on time I would not be surprised if my father retaliated for the remark you blindly threw at him." He said still glaring at me.
I rolled my eyes and replied,
"As much as I enjoy you Draco, you're father is intolerable. He deserved every bit of as much as I decided to give."
I felt hands on my shoulder slightly shaking me,
"My father is not one to be trifled with, what you did was stupid. Your damned Gryffindor bravery got in the way again and you should know by now that bravery can only get you so far, sometimes killed."
Normally I would have bitten out a remark but instead I peered closely into his eyes and whispered,
"Were you worried about me?"
When I saw his gaze falter I let a delighted grin cross my mouth and said,
"You were! You were worried about me!"
Obviously fed up he rolled his eyes and practically yelled,
"YES I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"
I snapped my mouth shut and adverted my gaze to the patterns on the blanket covering us. I felt a warm caress on my cheek and looked up to see two determined silver orbs staring into mine.
"You get hurt and trampled enough with the wild excursions you play apart of with Potter and Weasley. Adding my father to the list is something I don't particularly want to happen."
I grinned and used my free hand and ran it down his face gently.
"You don't need to worry about me Draco." I whispered leaning my forehead against his.
"Of course I do, you're one third of the bloody golden trio." He whispered with obvious disdain.
I grinned and kissed him lightly on the lips before I let him pull me into his warm embrace.
"I'm not a damsel in distress Draco, I know what I'm doing along with Harry and Ron seeing as how we've been doing it for the last six years and none of us have been killed."
"Yet." He said directly afterwards.
I shrugged my shoulders and closed my eyes happily while leaning into his chest once more.
"Let's get ready and get out of here before my father decides to make another appearance." He said.
Groaning I nodded my head and followed his instructions.
"Hullo Hermione." A voice said behind me while Draco and I were on our way to breakfast.
Turning around I smiled lightly when I saw Dean standing there.
"Morning Dean."
"I haven't seen you around all that much." He said in a statement manner.
"I've been rather busy, yes." I said nodding my head.
"I see, well did you know that a Hogsmead trip is coming up this Saturday?" He asked leaning against the statue next to him.
I nodded my head and warily looked over at Draco who was heatedly glaring at Dean.
"I was wondering…" he began but Draco cut him off.
"If you are planning on asking her to the trip you can take those words, roll them up nice and tight, and shove them up your…"
"This weekend probably wouldn't be such a good idea." I cut in quickly.
He nodded his head sadly and continued on his way while I rounded on Dean.
"Do you want everyone to figure out what's going on between us?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
He sighed and lifted our cuffed hands to rub his eyes.
"I couldn't help it." He admitted.
I grinned and used the hand that was near his face to trace his lips lightly.
"Just control yourself." I said softly.
I became uneasy when he looked down at me and grinned with a delirious grin.
"Control myself?" He asked and began to walk me backwards.
Widening my eyes when my back hit the stonewall I nodded my head. I felt his hands run over my shoulders, down my arms, over my stomach, down my hips, and stop at the beginning of my legs, sending heat waves everywhere he touched.
"I don't think that now…" I began but he cut me off when he swooped down and possessively claimed my lips.
I was panting when he broke and he grinned before saying,
"I've noticed that you've seemed rather…stressed lately and I assure you I can find proper ways of using that frustration to both of our benefits."
Grinning I playfully pushed him away and replied,
"Right now we need to get Harry and Ron to see Dumbledore."
Sighing he leaned his forehead against my shoulder in defeat.
"Don't worry, I promise compensation." I said and smirked when his head shot up with a goofy grin on his face.
We walked back towards the Great Hall and just as we were entering, Ron and Harry came out.
"There you are." We all said at the same time and exchanged looks with furrowed eyebrows.
Shaking my head I turned around and said,
"Is Dumbledore still in there?" I asked.
They shook their heads in the negative and so the four of us were off to the Gargoyle that guarded his office. Although luck seemed to be with us as just as we reached it, it sprang open and revealed Professor Snape and Dumbledore talking intensely with one another.
"Professor we really must talk with you!" I said ignoring manners and interrupting the two adults.
"Ah, I was wondering when you four were going to come and see me. Severus we will discuss this matter later." Dumbledore said and the four of us watched him sweep away.
I was about to open my mouth but he held his hand up and said,
"Before we go on, Mr. Malfoy your father exited the castle some time ago but asked me to tell you that he will return soon."
I looked over as Draco nodded his head slightly and turned back to the aging wizard.
"Professor it's about the Sword of Balor." I said hurriedly.
"Yes, the Evil Eye, interesting how it along with the Professor of the link to the history of it has seemed to disappear is it not?" He asked in an almost distant voice.
"So you know then." I said feeling my heart fall knowing he must be disappointed we didn't come forward sooner.
"Well this is Hogwarts my dear, I know of all its happenings and to answer your next question, no it was not me who removed it."
We all remained silent for some time trying to think of something to say before Dumbledore responded,
"I expect that even as I tell you to leave it to us you will still get involved so I will only say this: Remain safe."
With that he swept away from us and we listened to his falling footsteps. As soon as those disappeared another set was heard. We all turned and saw our Muggles Studies professor headed our way.
"Professor Cathleann…" I said as she approached.
When she looked up we saw that she had tears in her eyes and her eyes were red rimmed.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked.
"I'm sure you've already heard the news, a sword from my classroom has been taken."
We all stopped breathing and waited for her to continue,
"It was a very historical and meaningful sword to me. It came to me by my father days before he passed away two years ago."
I narrowed my eyes slightly and asked,
"How exactly did your father come across it?"
She gave me a curious look and said,
"A merchant some ways away in Ireland ten years ago."
"Do you have any idea who might have taken it?" I asked her.
She sniffed and shook her head,
"It was a very powerful sword Miss Granger, anyone who knew of its history would not hesitate to take it." She replied.
"Did you tell anyone about it or that you would be bringing it to Hogwarts?" Ron asked eagerly.
"Of course not, no telling who might have overheard me telling of its location. All it takes is just saying the name and those who aren't exactly the most benevolent of wizards would understand its power."
We nodded our heads as she said softly,
"I'm working on finding that key for you two but in the meantime you four should be off to class, I'll see you in mine as well."
We bid her goodbye and watched her walk away down the empty hall.
"Now what? Dumbledore didn't remove it nor does he know who did. The Professor herself never told anyone about it and has no idea where it is and on top of that it could be in anyone's hands." Ron cried out.
"Let's just get something to eat before I become angry…er." Draco said and pulled me with him through the double doors as I waved over my shoulder to Harry and Ron.
That night we took the same spots in the library, pouring over the books, trying to find anything we could on the Sword of anything directly related to it.
"This is ridiculous!" Draco said and slammed his book shut.
The three of us all continued scanning the pages as I replied,
"This is research. Do you honestly think all we do is go out there blindly not knowing what's going on and constructively find a way to defeat Voldemort?" I asked.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair while we continued to open new books and scan the pages.
"Hey, weren't we talking about a boy named Lugh?" Ron asked.
I looked up and nodded my head so he pushed the book forward towards the middle and began to read.
"Lugh is known as a defender of the people, especially those who may be threatened by the forces of Nature. Lugh's spear is the flash of light that pierces the darkness. He is energy. A sun God and God of the sky and of Lightening, as well as death and rebirth. He is Mage, Alchemist and Sorcerer. See Lia Fail."
We all remained silent for some time until a noise from up front startled us.
"Time to get back to your dormitories!" Madame Prince called to us.
We began to pack up our bags when a book levitated off the table in front of me. We all stopped what we were doing and when the book opened on its own, we were all blasted back into our seats. I tried to rise up but found that I was stuck to the chair and when I looked at the other three boys I saw them struggling as well.
We were silenced when the book began to sing in an almost dark whisper:
The bringers of the sun - they who came from the sky
Tuatha de Danann is their names
an magical people who came to stay
with them they brings four mighty treasures
wonderful faeries came with them
indescribable is their beauty
A light arise in the sky - the faery people shine
they lead by Nuada's hand - the great king of this lands
they all fought in moytura against the formors of Balor
so a young boy called Lugh defy him to a single fight
The formor giant Balor was slain by Lugh his grandson
his eyes flew up into heavens so it became the sun
Dagda lord of wisdom-guide our souls to wisdom
drown us in your magic cauldron-bless our journey
So the milesians came to take the faeryland
so what they can do now ? will be the end of them ?
so they went to tir nan og the beautiful land of youth ness
led by Dagda they all gone the lord of reason took them all
All of them still alive live in the land of the free
this land call tir nan og a place beyond our dreams
When the song finished all of us finally jumped out of our seats as the book gracefully closed itself and fell back to the table.
"What. Was. That?" Malfoy said in-between breaths looking at the book as if it would attack any moment.
"I don't know but did you listen carefully to the song?" I asked grinning happily as the book incredibly helped us.
"No, I was rather too busy struggling with my animalistic chair." Draco replied and I couldn't help but grin as Ron had said something similar in first year on our encounter with Fluffy.
"The song said something about four mighty treasures. Besides the obvious Spear of Lugh there was a king mentioned named Nuada, and another man named Dagda who had a magic cauldron. I don't understand what the fourth treasure is but we are now exceptionally ahead of schedule." I said delightedly pulling my books together.
"What are you going on about?" Ron asked.
Sighing exasperated that they weren't able to put all the information together I said,
"Of everything we have learned about the two opposing sides we see that they each had their followers of worriers, each were enemies vying for the control of the land, and now we see that they each had certain weapons. Balor and the Fomorians had the Evil Eye and now I suppose the sword. The song was about the Tuatha De Danann and we see they had the four mighty objects."
"So…?" Draco asked as we walked out of the library.
"Everything comes in pairs! If the sword was taken by Voldemort and his deatheaters, then obviously the four opposing weapons are out there somewhere, along with their powers…" I began but Harry grinned and continued for me,
"Meaning that's its not indestructible and we will have a chance to defeat it."
I was so happy that I didn't even notice the obvious problem but Draco sure did.
"Right, but whoever has the sword as a major advantage."
"What?" Harry and I asked while Ron rolled his eyes, obviously he knew as well.
"They have the sword. Unlike us who have no idea where these four mystical things might be or the history behind them." Ron said.
I sighed and let my shoulders drop,
"Guess we'll be doing more researching tomorrow then." I sighed.
When Draco and I finally made it back to the infirmary I was about to crawl into bed when two warm arms wrapped around my waist.
"What?" I asked grinning and leaning into his strong embrace.
"Compensation Miss Granger…compensation." He whispered and leaned down to catch my lips in his.
(DON'T WORRY…IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OR THE ONE AFTER THAT…IT WILL BE PURELY SMUT)