"In My Life"
Chapter 13
Hermione froze as Lucius walked in through the door and spoke. She was almost positive that any lie she made up (even if her brain wasn't frozen and she could think straight) would not work this time. All the same, she tried to look calm as she waited for Lucius to notice her presence.
"Master Malfoy," said William, turning away from Hermione, "Miss Lestrange says that she wants to speak with you."
Lucius quickly looked over in William's direction and spotted Hermione. "Ah, Miss Lestrange, what is it you wanted to speak to me about? If, indeed, you did really want to speak to me. Perhaps that is just another lie to explain why you were in the kitchens when I told you to wait with the guests? Maybe you thought you could revive dear Draco?" Lucius smirked as he looked at the spot on the floor where he thought Draco lay. Seeing that his son was no longer there, his eyes widened and he looked around accusingly. "How did this happen?" he asked, the words short and separated.
No one moved for several painful seconds, but then William spoke, "We sent Hector in to tell you, sir, but he must not have reached you in time."
William nodded towards a figure standing near the door, and it was only then that Hermione realized that Draco was back in the kitchens. He was gazing determinedly at the floor, trying to prevent Lucius from getting a good view of his face. "I vent to tell you, sir, but I could not find you."
Lucius gave a growl of fury as he looked once more at the spot where Draco lay. "Miss Madison, er, pardon, Miss Lestrange, I am afraid that my faith in you has been somewhat strained for the last hour, so I hope you understand why it is necessary for me to place you in the dungeons, where I may be able to keep track of you." Lucius said with feigned politeness and a forced smile. "Hector! Secure Miss Lestrange near the kitchens, I want her somewhere close by."
Draco, still looking anywhere but at Lucius, nodded his understanding and took a firm grip of Hermione's upper arm, steering her towards the dungeons. Hermione glared at Lucius over her shoulder and received a mocking wave in return, but it was all for show; in truth she was stunned at her good fortune.
They headed down the cold stone steps in silence, not wanting to raise any suspicions. When Hermione felt they were alone, she spoke to Draco.
"What do we do now? We have less than five minutes and only one of the murderers is out of the way," she whispered.
Draco let go of Hermione's arm and turned to face her. "I don't know what we're going to do," he said after a pause. "I guess the only thing we can do is go back to the ballroom and fight them when the time comes."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Fight them?" She asked incredulously. "Not only are we outnumbered and considerably less experienced than they are, but they could kill half the guests by the time we manage to unarm or stun them."
Draco nodded grimly. "I know, but what else can we do? We don't have time to do anything else."
They fell silent for a moment, unable to bear the idea of watching their friends be killed off one by one for no reason. Eventually Draco came to his senses and realized that they were wasting the precious little time they had to get into the ballroom unnoticed.
"Quick," he said, gesturing down a dark corridor to their left, "Let's get ourselves inside and maybe we'll be able to stun the four servants and Lucius before anyone is seriously hurt or…." He didn't need to finish that sentence; Hermione already knew he was about to say "killed."
Hermione gave a hopeful nod that she hoped would encourage them both but only succeeded in looking weak and pitiful. She followed Draco as he half-ran, half-walked through the dungeons. They only had thirty seconds to get into the ballroom before midnight when they reached a stairwell leading to the small side hallway Draco had been in earlier. In their haste, a large ceramic vase was knocked off its elegant marble perch, creating a large crash that was undoubtedly heard in the ballroom. Neither Draco nor Hermione thought it wise to wait around for someone to find them, so they continued to run and eventually reached a small wooden door that opened only when Draco muttered, "Abrando."
They were just in time. Hermione had just managed to close the door quietly when they heard Lucius's magically magnified voice fill every corner of the large space.
"Ladies and gentlemen, members of the cast, crew, and all others in any way associated with the film production In My Life, tonight, your film was released worldwide! Congratualtions!" He said, sounding surprisingly sincere. All the guests applauded, patting each other on the back and offering words of congratulations to the people surrounding them. Draco hoped that his father would give a long speech; long enough, perhaps, for Hermione and him to find Vincent, Carl, Gerard, and William and stun them. He tapped Hermione on the shoulder and whispered for her to stun Vincent, who had just entered the ballroom on the other side. Hermione nodded her understanding and quickly started working her way through the crowd. Draco looked around but didn't see any of the others except for Gerard, who standing only feet away from Lucius.
Draco made his way through the crowd and, taking advantage of his disguise as Hector, tapped Gerard on the shoulder. Gerard looked around and frowned when he saw Draco.
"Hector, not now, Master Malfoy is making his speech."
Draco nodded, trying desperately not to look Gerard in the eye. "Yes, Gerard, I understand, bot I vanted to tell you that Miss Lestrange has escaped. I vent to check on her and she is gone."
To Draco's surprise, Gerard rolled his eyes. "Of course she has escaped, of course. I really don't see how things could go any worse than they already have without Miss Madison or Miss Lestrange or whatever the hell her name is disappearing and reappearing and telling lies all the time." He said angrily, heading towards the nearest exit. Draco followed close behind and when they were both outside the room and the door was closed, Draco whipped out his wand and muttered, "Stupify."
Gerard collapsed onto the marble floor instantly and Draco didn't bother moving him. He hurried back through the door through which they had both just come and looked around for Hermione.
Hermione reached Vincent quickly enough, but was having trouble thinking of a way to stun him without attracting the attention of nearby guests. Hermione thought frantically for almost a minute before realizing what she had to do. Drawing her wand out of her pocket casually, she carefully aimed for Vincent and muttered, "Imperio."
Vincent's eyes glazed over and his arms dropped to his sides. Now under Hermione's control, Vincent turned around and headed back in the direction of the kitchens. Hermione concentrated very hard on making Vincent leave the room. Never before had she performed the Imperius Curse, and she was finding it extremely difficult to keep her focus. It didn't help when she tripped over Mr. Foroy's foot and fell to the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss Madison, I didn't see you there." Mr. Foroy muttered, helping Hermione to her feet. Hermione quickly slipped her wand back into her pocket and smiled at her director.
"No, it was my fault, Mr. Foroy, don't worry about it." Hermione quickly looked around for Vincent, but he had disappeared. Inwardly cursing, Hermione turned her attention to Lucius, who seemed to be rapidly bringing his speech to a close. She felt someone tap her shoulder, and she looked around to see Draco standing behind her.
Looking around briefly to see if anyone was watching them, Hermione whispered, "I lost track of Vincent, I've no idea where he is!"
Draco nodded, fidgeting with the ring on his finger in thought. "I stunned Gerard out in the hall," he whispered, "but I don't know what to do about Carl, William, and Vincent."
Hermione shook her head. "We can't get to them now. Our only hope is to unlock the doors and pray that everyone can get out quick enough." She said it hopefully, but inside she knew it wasn't possible.