Hello! Thank you times a million to all of my wonderful reviewers! I appreciate all of your comments to this story. School is out so I'll be updating much more than ever before. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or anything else except the plot.
Chapter 9 The Festival of Fire
"Wake up, Draco! Time to get ready!"
Draco rubbed his eyes and sat up. Justin had disappeared out of the room. Then Draco remembered. Today was the day, the Festival of Fire! How could he forget? Draco jumped out of bed and hurried to get ready.
The Festival of Fire was a special festival to praise the sun Gods. It was also set to celebrate the very beginning of summer. People came from all over the world to the small town of Panera just celebrate this event. There were parades, eating contests, music, and of course dancing.
It was a paradise for regular people, but also thieves too. Thieves from all around would come to pick pockets and to also have a good time. Those who usually hid heir faces while stealing were able to pass off as normal citizens. Hermione and her clan were one of these people. After stealing a little, they were free to enjoy the festival.
Draco rushed down from his room and into the dinning room where everyone was already waiting. Hermione looked up as he entered and blushed just a little. She remembered that sweet kiss that they had shared just after escaping the palace. After that, Hermione had a hard time concentrating.
"Okay everyone… ummm… well, we're good to go, I think. Yeah so, ummm…. Does anyone have a spare pocket knife that we may need?" asked Hermione trying to concentrate. It wasn't working. The clan tried to hide their small laughs and snickers. "Well then, ummm… Neville, will you please get the umm… those things with the humps on their backs… ummm…"
"They're called camels, Hermione. Say it with me now, camels." Said Blaize while Hermione just glared at him.
"Say this with me now, Blaize, pooper-scooper." She said in a fake sweet voice. The clan roared with laughter. Blaize sat there with a disgruntled look on his face.
"I didn't even know we had camels." Said Draco looking around to see where they might be kept. "At least we don't have to walk."
"They aren't for walking." Laughed Dean. "We use them so they can carry our things. We'll be staying there over night in a special inn that's run by thieves."
"Won't they steal from us though? I mean, they are thieves…" trailed Draco.
"Nope. It's thieves' code. We don't steal from each other. It's just not right, even for a thief. Not even Adam steals from other thieves, and that's saying something." Explained Harry. Neville left and rounded up the camels as the others packed a small basket of some extra clothes and weapons. At six in the morning, the clan set out with five camels to the small city of Panera.
Draco wasn't sure where they were after a while. Everyway seemed like an endless desert with nothing but sand, sand, and the occasional cactus. The sun was barely raised, but the desert was already becoming a boiling, hot place to be. Draco wiped the sweat off his head and looked toward Hermione. She was leading the clan in a direction that looked like a desert as far as the eye could see.
"Are you sure, we're going the right way?" asked Draco as he approached her from the back of the line where he was stationed.
"Of course I'm sure. I grew up in the desert. I spent a good five or six years just exploring the desert and finding my way around." She said. From the back where Draco was, they could hear someone singing.
"Ninety-nine bottles of wine on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of wine. Take one down, pass it around. Ninety-eight bottles of wine on the wall." Sang someone, who was identified as Ron. Some of the clan laughed a little and joined in with Ron in singing because they were so bored. Even Draco, who had moved to the front with Hermione, began to sing. Hermione also joined in though she was still watching where they were going.
"One bottle of wine on the wall, one bottle of wine. Take one down, pass it around. Zero bottles of wine." They sang when suddenly, Hermione stopped them.
"Look!" she exclaimed. "We're here!" They looked past her and saw a small town that was flooded with people coming in on camels, horses, and even some rich kings on elephants.
"Let's go!" yelled Seamus. The clan began to move again and soon reached the entrance. There, Hermione opened her basket that she was carrying on one side of her camel. She pulled out twelve scarves from the basket.
"Here, take these." She said as she passed them out to everyone. "Put them around the bottom part of your face."
"Why?" asked Ernie trying the scarf around his face.
"To hide your ugly face. Why do you think? So that no one can see your face while your stealing and they won't recognize you when you take it off at night so we can party. Duh!" said Draco. Everyone looked at him then laughed.
"He got you there, Ernie!" said Harry slapping Draco on the back.
"That was pretty good. I'll give you that one." Said Blaize, who was also laughing quite a bit. Hermione tried not to laugh and embarrass Ernie, but it was hard. Finally, she calmed down and led everyone inside.
Panera was a humble little town just a few miles away from their hideout and Sirena. They were governed by a wealthy sheik, which was as close to royalty as you could get. The town was decorated with pictures all around worshiping the Gods. Fountains and flowerbeds filled with desert flowers were filled throughout the town. People from places as far as Europe were here to celebrate and party hard. Hermione led them though all of the packs of people that littered the town to a small, rundown-looking building that weren't worth a second look, but she led them right to it.
"This is it." Hermione stated. Seeing the looks on their faces, she added, "It's much nicer inside. C'mon." She opened the door, and they gasped. It certainly was nicer. The walls were painting with murals of places all around the word, like Italy, China, and the rain forests. People wearing the most exotic things that Draco had ever seen. Hermione told them to wait here while she went to check in. Several people came to greet them, but Draco didn't know any of them. Suddenly, he did see someone he knew parting through the crowd.
"Draco! How are you, old boy? Ah, and Harry, Ron, Justin, oh, and the rest of you." Greeted a voice Draco knew well.
"Arty! Nice to see you again." Said Draco. Arty laughed.
"Oh, no need to sound so formal." Laughed Arty happily. The others came and talk to Arty for a while when Hermione finally came back. She greeted Arty and led the rest of them up to their room. They unpacked a few blankets, packed their ropes and knives, and headed out.
It was almost noon by the time the clan was on the streets. Music played from several directions and people were all around eating and admiring the decorations. As the clan turned onto the main street that went through the town, they saw that it was being opened so that no one could walk down the center.
"What's going on?" asked Neville to Dean.
"It's the parade. Famous people from all around come and line up to show off their fancy things or wives. Some musicians even play too. It's pretty cool to watch. There's even a clan of belly dancers that are supposed to be in it this year." Said Dean looking up and down the street to see any sign of belly dancers. The other members who were listening to Dean also began to look around for them. Hermione just laughed and took them into an alley.
"Okay, we're splitting up for a while. Remember, this is just pick pocketing, nothing more serious. Don't remove your scarf for anything, even for a kiss, Blaize." Said Hermione looking at Blaize's crestfallen face and smirking. "Don't wander too far. We'll meet back here when the parade is over. After that, we can head to the eating contests. There's bound to be plenty of people there." They nodded and began to walk away. Hermione grabbed Draco's arm and held him back. "You're staying with me." She said smiling. Draco nodded dumbly and followed her out into the sunshine.
The parade had started. People had lined the street looking from place to place. Draco could see several of the clan members sneaking around and picking a few pockets. He and Hermione were just starting when they heard a few women whispering among themselves.
"So he's not going to be here? I think I might cry!" exclaimed one of them. Another woman patted her on the back.
"Nope. The king and queen came alone. Prince Draco hasn't been seen or heard from since the day after his birthday. Some think he ran after that girl. They say she seduced him and now he's a walking zombie!" said another in a hush whisper. Draco and Hermione looked at each other and smirked.
"Seduced? I think it goes the other way around." Said Draco in an arrogant voice. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, you had me going." She said smiling at him. She quickly pecked his cheeks and went off to finish her work with Draco close behind. Just as they were about to finish, a voice boomed over them.
"Make way for King Lucius and Queen Narcissa, rulers of Sirena!" yelled the voice. Hermione and Draco's eyes widened and looked towards one end of the street. There, on top of a large elephant, sat Draco's parents looking bored and waving slowly to the crowd. Hermione made eye contact with Draco and motioned for him to follow her back to the alley. The rest of the clan, having heard the announcement, was already gathering there.
"What should we do, Princess?" asked Neville, his voice shaking with every word. Hermione straightened up.
"Nothing. We've got enough for today. We'll wait for tonight and go to the big party tonight." She said easily. She then turned to Draco. "You're parents are probably too high class to attend a party for middle class people and thieves such as ourselves. We should be okay." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and followed Hermione out of the alley and back to their room.
The rest of the daytime was spent at the thieves' inn. Hermione and her clan sat in the lobby there and talked to thieves who passed in and out. They met up with Arty again and Sir Jacob and Charlie too. The group had fun playing cards, eating, and even sending one at a time out for a half hour. At long last, it was evening, and the party in the square had begun. It was time to remove the scarves. The clan left the inn and headed for the square.
Panera Square was filled with hundreds of people going this way and that. Some were busy eating while others were enjoying the company of the others. Bright candles and flower were hung for decoation. Music was playing in a small section that was filled with people just dancing. When they reached the square, Hermione turned to address them.
"Okay guys, we've got the night off so feel free to do what you please. Remember, if there's trouble, we'll send the sign." She assured them. "We'll meet back here at the dancing place at two in the morning so we can make sure that we're still here. Have fun!" she exclaimed as everyone went their separate ways.
Draco went off on his own for a while. He wanted to be with Hermione, but too much of a good thing can make it a bad thing. So he decided to eat a little and maybe find her at the dance later on.
!
"Lucius, I'm bored." Said a very bored Queen Narcissa. King Lucius turned toward her.
"There's nothing here to do. Why don't we see what the commoners are doing tonight?" he suggested. Queen Narcissa thought about it and agreed. King Lucius summoned a few guards and took Queen Narcissa out.
It was barely midnight when they arrived. People tried not to stare back as the king and queen looked down on their subjects and tried hard not to make any rude comments. They headed for the dance and began a fancy waltz that didn't belong in with the common people. As they finished, Queen Narcissa looked over her husband's shoulder and saw him with his lips on someone else's.
"Draco!"
!
"Want to dance?" asked Draco extending his hand to Hermione, who was sitting on a bench watching everyone dance. The clan had come to the dance floor and was pairing up with the single women around them. Harry was with a pretty redhead, and Ron was with a blonde. Even Blaize had a partner, who was a brunet. Hermione was all alone, until now.
"I accept, your highness." She said smiling up at him. He pulled her to the dance floor and they danced in perfect rhythm to the music. Her hips swayed and twitch just as his did. Draco placed his hands on her hips and gently guided them along with his. They danced in the middle with all of their friends. Suddenly, Draco spun Hermione around and captured her in another sweet kiss. She was smiling wildly as she immediately opened her mouth to allow his tongue in. He tasted her sweet tongue and explored her mouth. Their hips were still swaying in perfect motion with the music. Just as Draco was going to pull her aside and kiss her properly, someone shouted his name.
"Draco!"
Draco and Hermione broke apart quickly and looked for the source of the voice. They turned and saw Draco's parents. Hermione gulped and quickly tried to think of something to do.
"Draco! What are you doing? You're kissing that, that… thief! She's bewitched you! She has you under your spell!" exclaimed Queen Narcissa. Without thinking, Draco grabbed Hermione's "sign", which was a small firework, lit a match, and sent it off creating a large commotion of people trying to get away. The clan saw the sign and left immediately after saying goodbye and leaving a farewell kiss to their dates. Draco and Hermione dodged as quickly as they could out of the square and back to the inn. In the distance, they could hear shouts of, "Find them!" and "Kill her if you find her!" When they got back to the inn, they ran up to their room.
"What do we do now?" asked Justin looking at Hermione. All eyes were ion her as she tried to catch her breath.
"We must leave immediately. Quickly, pack your things!" she shouted ad there was a rustle of feet and people packing. IN a minute, they were finished and sneaking out the back door. Hermione and her clan narrowly escaped Panera by exiting out the back gates and hurrying back to their hideout.
A/N: Was that long enough? I hope so. I'll really like this chapter and I hope you do too. I'm so sorry it took so long. The next part will be up very soon so stayed tuned!
Me,
RonFan