~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 16: Life Goes On ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry stared disbelieving at the scene in front of him. Draco and Hermione kissing. His mind refused to process this thought. All Harry saw was a blind and insane rage. He stood there watching Draco as he watched her plane leave then finally walked up to him. Draco turned around.
"It was for the best Potter. You know this" he said.
"How do you know what's best for her?" Harry growled at him.
"No one can get to her now. Are you going to tell me that you wouldn't have done the same thing?"
"She belongs here, where she can be protected!"
"By whom? You? You made anyone near you a prime target by announcing your presence to the world. Never can resist the attention can you?"
"I would have done everything in my power to keep her safe!"
"So would I. I did what I had to do to keep her from harm, and if that's sending her away and never seeing her again then so be it."
"No, you sent her out there by herself, defenseless, where anyone can find her!"
"She is not defenseless, she can take care of herself. No one knows where she went except you and me."
"And I bet you are just dying to tell your master, aren't you? Like father like son."
Draco grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt, Harry grabbed back, both of them drawing back their fists.
"Don't speak about things you know nothing about, Potter."
"If I even get a hint that she is in any danger, I will come after you, I will hunt you down."
"We each need to do what we think is necessary."
"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TWO! YOU BOTH SHOULD KNOW BETTER!" Kingsley's face contorted in rage as he yelled at a bruised and beaten Harry and Draco. "WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING STARTING A FIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A MUGGLE AIRPORT? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE DEGREE OF CHAOS WE HAD TO FIX! DARE I ASK WHAT THE FIGHT WAS ABOUT THAT CAUSED THEM TO CALL MUGGLE SECURITY?! YOU BOTH ARE ON SUSPENSION AS OF NOW!" Harry and Draco both protested but Kingsley cut them off. "THE DECISION IS FINAL! NOW GET CLEANED UP AND OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!!"
Harry and Draco both hobbled out of his office bruised and bleeding. They had worked each other over considerably before muggle security had to break them up. Neville had called in the aurors. Harry sat on the examining table as the medi-witch patched him up.
"Can I come in?" a voice asked.
Harry looked up to see Cho standing in the room.
"Can you give us a moment?" Harry asked the medi-witch who nodded and left the room.
"What happened?" she asked as she examined his new wounds.
"I had a disagreement with Malfoy."
She smirked, "He is a cheeky git isn't he?"
He smiled and laughed but grabbed his ribs in pain.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"
Harry nodded.
"Listen, the reason I came by was to talk to you about last night. I know that you have just come back and all, but I want you to know that I never really stopped liking you, Harry. And I don't know what's going on in your life, but I really like spending time with you, and I was hoping that you might find some time to fit me into your life again."
Harry looked away in deep thought. The ache inside of him grew to immense proportions now that Hermione was even farther away from him.
"Well, anyway that's all. I'll be going now" Cho turned to leave the room.
Malfoy was right in a way; Hermione would be safe if she was away from him. That's what he did seven years ago; put space between him and her. But it still hurt like hell to know that she wasn't coming back.
"Cho, wait a minute."
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Something had happened. She knew it, felt it deep down inside. Draco seemed desperate to get her on the plane, get her far away. She had a bad feeling about this. Not that she didn't believe his intentions were true; he was just not telling her the whole truth about something. Something else was bothering her, too. She saw him as she waved to Draco from the plane. Harry. Harry was there. Why? She knew that Ginny had written to Neville and her family of their whereabouts. That meant that Ron knew, and if Ron knew, Harry knew. But he had respected her privacy and kept his distance. She was grateful for that. Her vacation had been spotted with memories of him. A stranger that looked like him, a smell that would take her back to the past, a sound, a song. All of these things nearly put a hamper on her trip. But he never came for her until now. Why? Did he know that Death Eaters had found her? Was he going to turn her in to the aurors? No. Harry would never do that. Her stomach turned at the thought that he might have seen her kiss Draco. It was a spur of the moment thing, acting on feelings that they had been dancing around for years. He had said that he loved her, but did she love him back? And what about Harry? She couldn't think about that right now. However, both of them in Cannes was not a coincidence.
She unbuckled herself and got out of her seat. A stewardess had spotted her and was walking toward her. Hermione walked quickly to the back of the plane toward the lavatories.
"Mademoiselle, ze plane will take off soon! Please return to your seat! Mademoiselle!" she cried out.
But Hermione ignored her as she kept on walking. She found an empty stall and locked herself in as the stewardess barely missed her and was now pounding on the door. Hermione pressed herself against the door trying to block out the noise as she concentrated.
CRACK!!
She had successfully apparated herself out of the plane and in front of the Sun Riviera Hotel. She darted behind some bushes when she heard voices approaching nearby.
"The train station. Quickly now!" said a familiar voice.
Hermione peeked around the bushes at Ashton Montgomery, now unstunned, climbing into a cab. Just the person she was looking for. Hermione darted out of the bushes and hailed down another cab.
"Follow that cab to the train station, please."
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Harry stared out of his office window at the grey sky outside. She had been gone nearly two weeks now. He couldn't stand not knowing what she was up to. Why he didn't just go after her, but he couldn't. In a way, Malfoy was right. Voldemort would get to her if he knew where she was. But Harry wanted to make sure that Hermione was watched over and protected.
A knock on the door knocked him out of his thoughts.
"Come in" he said.
Cho peeked her head in.
"How's your day going?" she asked noting the pile of paperwork on his desk.
Harry quickly covered them and threw them into a box, but not before she noticed that he was again working on Hermione Granger's file. This displeased her. She was working toward a new relationship with Harry but it seemed she could never get close to him. His mind was always elsewhere, he was always at work or doing something else late at night so their dates were few and far between. Harry knew this and felt a little guilty. He was neglecting Cho, he felt bad about it, but he had his plate full with work, Hermione's safety, Voldemort and the Order. It was something she couldn't understand. He also knew that she wanted to be publicly known as Harry Potter's girlfriend, but he couldn't do that. Anyone close to him was a target but she didn't seem to be able to grasp that.
"Fine" he said as he got up out of his chair.
She walked into his office and closed the door behind her as Harry approached her, giving her a small kiss on the lips. She hugged him tightly as she deepened the kiss.
"Tut tut, Potter. Snogging on the job. What would Shacklebolt think?" said a drawling cold voice.
"Don't you knock, Malfoy?" Cho asked annoyingly as she and Harry jumped apart.
"What do you want?" Harry asked dryly.
"I was looking for Chang. She wasn't in her office so I figured she was in yours. Shacklebolt's looking for you. He wants your report on the Stimson file."
Cho promptly left the room throwing back a small smile at Harry and a scowl to Draco. Malfoy noticed the hastily stuffed file on Harry's desk and smiled.
"What does your girlfriend think of your little obsession?"
"I don't discuss my love life. Especially with slimy little gits like you."
"Hey, I'm just glad to see you moving on. And the lovely Miss Chang is quite an improvement from the little mudblood."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "If I recall correctly, you were kissing the little…"he couldn't finish the sentence as anger began to build inside of him.
"Yes. Yes that was quite nice" Malfoy said with a small smile. "Her succulent lips, the way her body presses against yours so you can feel every curve. Merlin, if she shags the way she kisses…" Malfoy let out a low whistle. "It's a pity I never got to try out the goods before she left."
The anger inside Harry grew as Draco continued.
"I'll just have to ask Krum. But from the sounds of it, it was quite good."
Harry reached his breaking point as he launched himself at Malfoy. Draco struggled against him and threw him off long enough to reach for his wand. Harry grabbed his forearm and pinned it against the wall. Draco winced and shoved Harry off of himself again.
"Don't you ever speak that way about Hermione!" Harry snarled.
"Don't threaten me, Potter" Draco's tone was equally dangerous. "Especially when you have no grounds to. Do that again and I will make you pay dearly."
"If you even come near her you will be sorry."
"Are we talking about Cho or Hermione?" Draco smirked and walked out of his office, running straight into Ron. "Watch it Weasel" he said nastily before walking into his own office and closing the door.
He rubbed his forearm and yanked his sleeve up. The Dark Mark was slowly fading into his skin. Potter had forced it to reveal itself. How?
"You've just barely got off suspension, and as tempting as beating the snot out of Malfoy is, you don't need to lose your job over it. Although, it might be worth it" Ron added as an afterthought.
Harry's mood lightened considerably as they both laughed.
"So what are your plans for tonight?" Ron asked.
"I promised Cho I would go over to her place to watch a movie."
Ron grimaced inwardly. He didn't like Cho one bit. He was a bit disappointed that his two best friends couldn't or wouldn't work things out. And he really did not like the idea of Harry seeing Cho again, even if it was on the rebound. He looked at the files on Harry's desk.
"Any luck?" he asked him.
"No. I don't know if she stayed in New York, I don't know if she's okay and healthy, I don't even know if she's in any danger" Harry ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. "Malfoy closed their account so I can't even track her."
"She'll turn up, mate. Don't give up hope."
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"No, the deal in Cannes fell through, what do we do now? Uh-huh. Right. Prague?! Okay, I'll meet you there in two weeks" Ashton hung up the phone.
Hermione had followed him to Paris and he had stayed there for about a week. Gut instinct told her that was no ordinary phone call, Ashton told her that he was on vacation, a call she made to his office in London confirmed this. So why was the talking business with whomever was on the other line. She followed him back to the hotel.
He was doing things people would normally do on vacation, he lounged by the pool, took in the nightlife, brought pretty young things to his hotel room for the night. When he wasn't in his room, she would sneak herself into his room to search it for any clues. More than once she had nearly been caught. The worse time being when she had to hide underneath his bed for an entire night while he entertained a young lady he had brought home that night. She was scarred for life from that incident. But she found out something very interesting that night. She had snuck out from under the bed when she heard his light snoring. Ashton talked in his sleep. He was muttering something underneath his breath. She leaned closer to catch was he was saying. He was lying on his side with one arm hanging out of the bed. She was careful to stay away from that but he startled her when his other hand reached over to scratch his forearm that dangling over the bed.
"…loyal to you, Master…" he muttered softly.
Hermione's heart pounded and she momentarily forgot to breathe. No, it couldn't be. Was he a Death Eater? But he didn't have the Mark so he couldn't be, right? She had to find help in this matter without drawing attention to herself or leading others to her whereabouts. She had left the room immediately to find an owlery.
It had taken her nearly a week to find one. She scribbled on a piece of parchment then enchanted it. There was only one person she could trust to figure this out. She followed Ashton to Prague on the train later that day.
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"Mum added her the day she came back to the burrow" Ron explained as Harry looked up at the two new hands on the Weasley family clock.
His was on "Home"; Hermione's was on "Lost". Harry fought down a feeling of despair. She had been gone for about a month now.
"Is there anything I can help you with Mrs. Weasley?" Cho asked in the background.
Harry had brought her over to the burrow to meet the Weasley's. He did take note of the look of disappointment in Ron and Ginny's faces. But what the hell was he supposed to do? Wallow forever in sorrow? He and Cho had taken their relationship a step further. Harry wouldn't forget the look on Ron's face during breakfast one morning when he walked in on him and Cho cooking breakfast. Cho had only been wearing one of Harry's button-down shirts. It was a look of disgust, and their friendship was straining just a little bit since. Ron always found an excuse to leave the flat whenever she came over to hang out with him. And the times that she stayed the night, Ron never came home until the afternoon. But now Ron was forced to acknowledge her and their relationship.
Dinner was awkward as the Weasley's could sense the tension in the air between Harry, Ron, Cho and Ginny. The other Weasley's tried to make do with small talk. They were thankfully saved by a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Mr. Weasley said a little too happily as he leapt from the table.
Harry looked at Ron who was giving Cho a calculating look. He was sick of this. He set his fork down and leaned over to hiss at Ron.
"Just what exactly is your problem?"
Ron opened up his mouth to answer but was interrupted by his father.
"Look who stopped by this evening."
Lupin walked into the dining room looking a little worried about something.
"Remus! So glad you could join us. Please sit down" Mrs. Weasley offered.
Lupin held up his hand. "I'm sorry Molly. I just stopped by to have a quick word…" Harry rose from his chair, "…with Ron."
Harry stopped mid-action as he and Ron exchanged a puzzled look.
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Ron got up out of the chair and followed Lupin outside in the back.
"What I'm about to show you can only be between the two of us. I don't want Harry to know about this, I'm giving my word, you have to give yours."
"I'm not giving my word about anything until I know what it is you're talking about."
Lupin looked around then reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. Ron took it from him and unfolded it.
"It's blank" he said.
"I received this about a week ago and had completely forgotten about it until today. Watch."
Lupin tapped the paper with his wand and said "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
Words began to appear on the paper. Ron immediately recognized the writing.
"It's from Hermione!"
"Shhh!"
"Sorry" Ron began to read the letter.
First I want you to know that I am okay and well. I will not tell
you where I am for obvious reasons. But I believe I have discovered
something that will help us. First and foremost you must promise me
that you will not tell Harry about this letter or that fact that I sent it. He
has enough to worry about and from the rumors that I hear, he has
moved on with his life and I wish not to interfere in it. Now that you
have promised this I need your assistance with something. Could
you please ask Professor Snape if the Death Eaters are still wearing
the Dark Mark on their forearms? This would assist me greatly. Take
an ad out in the Daily Prophet with just a Yes or a No. Thank you so
much. And don't worry I'll be fine, I can take care of myself.
"I have reason to believe that Hermione is in danger" Lupin said.
"We need to find her immediately" Ron said determined.
"I agree. We'll leave tonight."
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Harry couldn't stand it. He got up from the table to put his plate away in the kitchen. He slowed his pace down right by the window so he could look outside. Ron and Lupin were in deep discussion and Harry swore he saw them mouth his name then look suspiciously back to the house. Lupin handed Ron a piece of paper. So it was about him, huh?
"Will you bring out dessert, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley called out from the dining room.
Harry jumped. "Yes. Yes I will."
He carried the cake Molly had made earlier to the dining room then sat back down as she served everyone. Ron and Lupin walked back into the house.
"Just in time for dessert dears" Molly said cheerfully.
"Not tonight mum, I've got to leave. Listen I might be gone for a few days, Harry" Ron had a grave expression on his face.
"A few days?" Harry asked.
"But where are you going?" Molly asked.
"I'm sorry, Molly, but we can't say" Lupin explained.
The Weasley clock made a clicking noise as Ron and Lupin looked up at it. Ron gave Lupin a fearful look then grabbed a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace.
"Diagon Alley!" he shouted.
Lupin followed after him.
"What on earth is going on?" Molly asked.
Harry got out of his chair to look at the clock. Hermione's hand had moved to Mortal Peril. Harry ran to the fireplace.
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Hermione had followed Ashton to a gothic church. It was a dark and rainy night in Prague as Hermione did her best to keep up with him. She stepped inside the church, candles lit the altar illuminating the inside of the church, warmth was emanating from somewhere within. She scanned the patrons in the church pews. Crap! She had lost him. Suddenly a hand clapped over her mouth muffling her surprise as she struggled against her capture. She was being dragged from behind into a stairwell that led up to the bell tower. She was cold again as she was flung on the hardwood floor. She looked up and saw the enormous bells of the church in front of her. Lightning flashed across the sky followed immediately by a crash of thunder.
"Vat is she doing here?" asked a voice she recognized immediately. Her stomach dropped.
"I gave you one simple order and you couldn't follow it" Ashton shot back. "How can you hope to be a Death Eater when you can't even follow simple instructions?"
"It's not my fault. I lost him somevhere."
"All you had to do was keep Malfoy out of this. He fucking showed up at the hotel!"
"And vat about her" said the man as he stepped out of the shadows.
"You! You traitor!!" Hermione screamed at him.
The man pulled out his wand and yelled "Obliviate!"
Hermione flew back against the wall and crumpled to the floor.
"You idiot! Now look what you did!" Ashton roared. He ran to Hermione and cradled her in his lap.
"I'm sorry. I panicked. I…" the man was stuttered as he paced back and forth holding his head. "Is she going to be alright? I didn't mean to hurt her."
"Hermione? Hermione wake up honey" Ashton coaxed at her.
Hermione let out a moan and opened her eyes. She gasped and rolled away from him, scrambling to a wall far away from him.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Oh, fuck!" a man in the corner grabbed his hair and began pacing.
"Shut up!" yelled the other man. "Do you not remember me?" he asked her.
She squeezed further against the wall. "Where are we? How do you know me?"
"Do you not remember who you are?"
Hermione was terrified and confused; her instincts told her to run. But to where? She didn't even know how she got here in the first place.
"What's my name? Who am I?" she cried softly.
The man walked up to her slowly. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."
