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Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or anything else. I only own the plot.
Chapter 4 Caught
The man, whose name was Neville, led Draco out of his city. He had never been outside of Sirena before. This was all new to him. Although he was eight-teen, his parents had forbidden him to leave Sirena. Now he knew there was no turning back. Hermione was right under his fingertips. In a small matter of time, he would see her beautiful figure and never have to worry of loosing her again.
It was an extra hot day in the desert. Then again, it's always hot in the desert. Draco felt as though God had turned the heat on a little more. The sun came down on his back, scorching it and burning him to the core. The desert stretched for miles in all directions. It seemed to roam on and on forever. Following the man was easy. He never looked back to see if he was being followed.
At long last, the man came to a giant rock and turned around it. There was a lake. It was big for being in the middle of the desert. If someone had told Draco that it was here, he would've said that they were crazy. Right in the middle was another large rock. It stood straight up and towered over them. Draco wondered why the man had brought them here of all places. Was he just thirsty or was there something more? His question was answered.
Neville stepped up to the shore of the lake and stood up proud and strong. He looked out to the rock. Then he took out a piece of paper wit two words written on it. Neville was very forgetful and would forget anything told to him in a matter of minutes.
"Open sesame." He read off of the paper. Draco looked curiously over at him. For a minute, Draco was convinced that he was mad. Then suddenly, the water began to shake. It created large waves that crashed against the shore.
It happened in an instant. One minute, the waves were going crazy. The next they were parting right in front of Draco's eyes. The bottom of the lake became clear. Seashells and plants became visible. The water formed two walls on each side to make a walkway to the rock. Finally, the water calmed and the walkway was safe to walk through. Neville smiled and began to walk down. Draco quickly followed trying to hide and sneak at the same time.
Neville came to the base of the rock and knocked three times. A part of the rock opened to reveal another man by the name of Blaize.
"Welcome back, Neville." He said gesturing him inside.
"Hello Blaize. How's things here?" asked Neville as he entered the rock. Draco crept forward. There was no way to get in with Blaize and Neville right there. Just then, Draco got an idea. He picked up a small seashell, and wedged it in the door just as it was about to close. It worked. The door was still partly open. Draco pressed his ear to the door. When he was sure that everyone had gone, he pushed open the door and entered.
Draco gasped. The rock was hollow. It was huge and looked similar to a temple of Egypt. Torches lined the passageways going in all directions. There were paintings of landscapes and portraits. Statues of gods and famous heroes stood all around.
The rock was like a giant maze. Draco looked in all direction, but had no idea where to go. Blaize and Neville had gone off somewhere and Draco was left all alone in the barely lit passage. There was nothing left to do, but to pick a way to go and pray that it was the right one. So, summoning every ounce of courage he had, Draco started down a passageway that looked semi-lit.
Without looking back, Draco started to walk down a passage not knowing where he was going. He didn't dare take a torch in case he was found. Since it wasn't properly lit, he couldn't really tell what was where. All he could tell was where the floor was and leading to. He heard little squeaks from the ground. He knew it to be rats scurrying across to the other side.
Just when he thought that the tunnel would never end, the tunnel opened up. Inside was another large chamber. This one was far better lit. The walls were decked out in jewels and gold that lined the walls. The floor was marble and the firelight danced off it making it seem very illusional. In the middle was what looked like a throne. It was gold. This throne room almost put his parents' throne room to shame.
Before Draco had a chance to investigate or even to look around properly, he heard voices coming from behind him.
"So you gave him all of the money?" asked a voice. Draco's heart gave a huge jolt. He knew that voice. It was Hermione's.
"Oh, yes. Every last thing we owe him. And he invited us to a festival down in Egypt. He says it'll be quite an event. Good time to really do some stealing." Said another voice, which Draco was sure it was the man he had followed, Neville.
"And you didn't screw this up in any way?" asked yet another voice. This one Draco couldn't place. He heard more footsteps and now knew that there were at least five people coming towards the throne room. He had to hide. Searching the room wildly, he looked over to find a large vase just big enough for him to fit into. Draco quickly ran to it and shoved himself inside just as the others arrived.
"Yeah, remember the last time we sent Neville to do something? He ended up lost and followed by a dog." Said more voices. Hermione, Neville, and three other people came into the room.
"Guys, we can trust Neville. He's the newest one here and he just needs some extra training. So no making fun of him, Harry, Ron, and Dean." Said Hermione as she walked up to her throne and sat down.
"Aw, you're no fun, princess." Said the man whose name was Harry. Draco listened from his pot as they talked on. Soon he heard other people come in.
"Good, Justin, Seamus, Dean, Ernie, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaize, you're all here. Right now, for this meeting, we have to decide on where to head to next. We can't stay around here for long." Said Hermione still sitting on her throne.
"According to what I heard in Sirena, the King and queen are out looking for us. The punishment if we're caught is death, but they aren't looking really hard." Said Neville.
"Then why do we have to leave? We could run in circles around those guys." Said the man whose name was Ernie.
"They are probably looking for anyone suspicious." Pointed out Ron. They nodded.
"Bet you the prince is probably the lead of it all." Said Blaize with a hint of amusement in voice. Draco listened harder if it was possible.
"Leave him out of this." Said Hermione glaring at Blaize.
"C'mon Princess Hermione." Said Justin. "You know you like him. He was still wearing your bracelet for God's sake!"
"Yeah, you would look so nice sitting all day in the palace day after day, week after week." Said Seamus in a taunting tone.
"Why the hell would I ever do that? You know perfectly well that I have no desire to be queen of anything, but this clan. Now can we please get on with our meeting?" asked Hermione sounding very annoyed.
It happened in an instant. One minute, Draco was fine, but the next he had a strong erge to caught from all of the dust in the vase. He left out a muffled cough, but it was then that no one was talking. The cough echoed through the vase and was heard by Hermione and her clan. They turned to look at it.
"Princess, if you're so smart, what was that?" asked Neville, looking very scared.
"I dunno. Crabbe, Goyle, go look a whatever is in that vase." Ordered Hermione. Crabbe and Goyle were like to bodyguards for the clan. They never went in. but stood outside for a look out. Cautiously, both men stepped up to the vase. Draco kept quiet, but it was too late. Crabbe went around the back, and pushed the vase over. Draco came spilling out and to the feet of Hermione. The clan gasped.
"That guy looks awfully familiar." Said Dean starring hard at him. Ron hit in over the back of his head.
"Well duh! He's the prince of Sirena." Said Ron pointing to Draco. Several members of the clan gasped again.
"How'd he get here?" asked Justin to everyone.
"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione in a cold voice. Inside, she was happy to see him, but how could he have gotten in here?
"I… I… I followed that guy in.," stuttered Draco pointing at Neville. Neville blushed and looked at his feet.
"Smart move, Slick." Said Blaize rolling his eyes at Neville.
"Well, now that you've seen our lovely hide-out, we can't very well just let you go, now can we. You could tell your parents where we are and that could be the end of us." Said Hermione going back up to sit on her throne.
"But I won't-" started Draco only to be cut off Harry.
"It's simple. We'll hold a trial for him. Hermione can be judge. Everyone who has an idea can share it then. If we like him, then he can stay. If not, then we'll think of something." Said Harry looking up at Hermione as though asking silently for permission. The others nodded in agreement. Hermione smiled.
"Great idea, Harry! Boys, to the room." Commanded Hermione pointing to a chamber to the left of them. Draco gulped as Crabbe and Goyle pulled him towards the door.
A/N: All right, that's all for now. I hope it was enough. I'm updating Clue: The Mini Mysteries soon and Harry Potter and the Last Crusade was updated earlier this week, but there will be another update possibly tonight. Also, I might start my seventh fic, Just Joking. It'll be under Humor, PG-13, Draco and Hermione. Please read it! Thanks so much for reading this and please review!
Me,
RonFan