Secrets From Beneath

Notes:

Ptrst - Thanks for your comment :)

Sabi4ever - Thank you :). I think there'll eventually be a romance, but I'm taking it really slow to keep it a bit realistic.

rising waves - lol thanks so much! I hope this chapter lives up to the last one.

Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot - lol thanks for reviewing :). I hadn't read many stories with Draco's POV, so I thought I'd try it out. I'm glad you found the last chapter funny, it was very fun to write :D.

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Chapter 3

When I arrived at Gringotts a few seconds later, I noticed that there were several people there already – a few goblins (including my boss), a couple of unidentifiable witches who may be from the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Magic, and of course, Granger. She looked very calm as if she wouldn't even budge one bit if, say, a dragon was breathing down her neck. Speaking of which…

"Granger!" I yelled in her ear, causing her to jump.

"Malfoy! Don't ever sneak up on me like that again!" she chided as she caught her breath.

"Oh, and what you did to me earlier wasn't any different?" I asked curiously, remembering the incident vividly.

"I had to wake you up for important matters! But YOU didn't have to yell just now. My ears were functioning perfectly, if you must know."

"How can you be so sure," I mumbled under my breath, earning a death glare from Granger.

"Anyway, am I needed for anything here?" I asked, eagerly wanting to return back to my bed. Ah, my sweet, luxurious bed.

"There may be some people who want to question you, since you were present at the office when the attack happened. There were also several people who heard the two men argue, but there were no eyewitnesses, however."

"But had exactly happened?"

"I wasn't really informed about the specifics, but supposedly, a man had attacked another in some sort of robbery situation, but both men had disappeared before anyone knew what was really going on."

"I see." I couldn't believe all of this had happened right under my very nose. I must've been VERY tired and over-worked to have noticed the incident. I blame Olenair, and Granger, of course.

"I understand why I'm here, but I don't understand what you're here for," I questioned, realizing her unexplained absence.

"Olenair was informed about this incident, and then he contacted me. He instructed me to speak to you, and find out if you've noticed anything out of sorts," she explained coolly. Ah, I should have known. Little Miss Perfect would do anything for the boss if it meant that she would receive some sort of reward at the end. Why on Earth haven't I figured that out?

"Well, I haven't witnessed anything, so can we just get this over and done with? I'm feeling very tired after I was woken up with such an awful appearance," I said impatiently. I saw Granger frowning deeply, but didn't retort my response.

"You ungrateful, little-"

I didn't hear the rest of her mumblings as she had already walked off furiously, but I was simply delighted. Who knew Granger had some mental disabilities, talking to herself like that? I should send her to St. Mungo's to investigate on her mental health. I mean, one must take careful precautions especially when working with a woman who was completely and utterly insane.

When I realized that I was standing alone smirking to myself, I quickly changed my expression and looked around to see if anybody caught my action.

Nope, nobody. Good.

I quickly searched the area for any sign of an insane woman with extremely frizzy hair that could secretly please me in hexing, or a short, plump goblin who was in dire need of some satisfying entertainment in his life. Alas, I saw the two of them chatting away with one of the investigative witches near the front entrance of Gringotts. I walked towards them, hoping to catch a bit of their conversation, but as I got closer, they all glanced at me, wearing frustrated expressions on their faces.

Oh, how I felt so at ease in their company.

"That's him," Olenair pointed his stubby finger right at me. I suddenly felt as if I was the criminal, being caught in the middle of doing an illegal act. Except that I didn't do anything wrong… this time.

"Hmm," the witch from the Ministry of Magic checked me from head to toe. I was about to say that I wasn't interested in middle-aged witches who looked as if they hadn't slept, and bathed, in ages when she spoke first.

"So, Mr. Malfoy, would you mind describing to me your account of what had happened?" she asked sternly.

"Well, I was working late due to-" I paused when I saw Olenair's disapproving face, "to certain circumstances. I had a huge amount of workload to complete in such little time, which was not my fault in the first place. I mean, I did not do anything wrong, so I didn't know why I was punished to-"

Olenair interrupted me when he faked a cough to stop me from going any further.

"Well, anyway, as I was saying, I was too occupied with other matters that I, in fact, haven't noticed any other peculiar noises in the neighbourhood," I concluded very nicely, if I must say so myself.

"I understand," the witch nodded slightly as she jotted down a few notes. Being the curious person, I leaned forward a bit to find out what she was writing about, but unfortunately, she seemed to have sensed my looming presence and immediately looked straight up. I, somehow, managed to have repositioned myself in time, pretending to be dusting off my clothes, even though they were completely free of any lint, hair, or any other such things.

Oh, wait, what was that? Did I just spot a hair on my robes? No, no, it just couldn't be. It was probably just my imagination. I couldn't possibly be losing so much hair at such a young age. Preposterous.

"Well, seeing as Mr. Malfoy hadn't witnessed much of the attack due to his own affairs, I think we're done here. We'll be in contact if we have any further information," the stubby witch said, shaking Olenair's hand, and then Granger's. Strangely, she ignored me and went towards her co-workers.

I knew I didn't like her from the very first impression. I just knew it.

"I must be taking off, if nothing more can be done. The bank's opening in a few hours and I must need to rest. I'll see you in a while, Hermione," Olenair said, giving her a warm smile.

He then turned to me with a cold expression and simply said, "Malfoy," before apparating back to his home. I really do hope that the dream that I had not long ago would come true.

Granger and I were left alone with an uncomfortable silence that made me more interested in my shoes than ever before. What was the name of the shop that I bought them in? They were pretty expensive and I hoped that I could purchase another pair, just in case.

"So, Malfoy…" Granger started, hoping that I would start a conversation. However, I had no intention of doing that; I was more engrossed with my shoes than I'll ever be with her. And that's saying something.

"Malfoy…" she repeated, but more intolerant this time.

"What is it you want?" I snapped. "Did you want me to comment on how lovely the weather was today? Or how entirely outdated your wardrobe is? Or how sickening it makes me feel whenever you act all perfect around the boss?"

Granger looked shocked by what I had just said. To be honest, I was too. I hadn't expected that those words would come out of my mouth so freely like that. I should do it more often.

"N-no," she said, clearly upset. She seemed to have wanted to say something, but changed her mind, and instead kept her mouth shut. I wondered what she had wanted to say.

"Look, Malfoy, I understand that you have some issues against me. It has clearly been evident for a long time now, ever since all those times you had made fun of Harry, Ron, and I, and called us numerous childish names. But I want you to know th-"

By this time, I had tuned out of Granger's little speech. If she had expected me to listen to what she had to say, especially after mentioning Potter and Weasley, she was wrong. I wanted no part in this conversation, which was why I began looking at everywhere but Granger's face. I was beginning to feel extremely bored and was almost about to hex her to shut up, when I spotted something on the ground behind Granger. It was partly covered in mud and hidden along the edge of the building, which was probably why no one else had retrieved it. I was beyond fascinated at the unknown object and decided to investigate it myself, when Granger's voice came back into my mind.

"-which was why I wanted it for quite some time now. What do you say?"

I looked confused. What had she been telling me just now?

"I say…," I said hesitantly, desperately thinking of an answer. "…it's fine."

My response seemed to have worked since Granger's eyes had widened in surprise. I am so good.

"Really? Well, I would never have… I…" she stuttered, trying to find the right words. "That's…great! Just great!"

I couldn't distinguish whether that was a bit of sarcasm or just happiness, but I could go either way. I didn't care, as long as she would get out of my way so that I could find out what that object was.

Goodness' sakes, why is the woman still talking?!

"I should have proposed it much earlier if I had known you would actually agree to it! I just… I… I don't know what to say!"

Good! Now sod off.

"I just… this is… I mean, this could be the start of a new beginning, do you think?"

"Yes, yes, whatever you want," I said impatiently, my eyes still on that object. It was shimmering in the dirt now, daring me to come closer, except I couldn't – Granger was still talking.

"I never knew that you would agree to it so quickly. I had gone through what I had said so many times in my mind because I had no idea how you were going to react, but I just-"

"Granger!" I shouted out, my eyes now on hers. "Would you stop blabbering? I have a headache right now, and can't be bothered with anything else."

"Oh. All right, then," she said, a bit confused. "I guess I'll see you in a bit."

She still remained where she stood, and just when I was beginning to wonder when she will ever move, she apparated herself away. Finally.

My eyes went back to the shiny object, still glistening in the dark. I came closer towards it, and carefully reached for it. When it was in my hands, I realized how lucky I was to have possessed such great eye vision. The object in my hand seemed very valuable; it was a silver necklace, and from it, dangled a pendant that was in the shape of a small creature which seemed dragon-like and entwined with another creature – a snake. I looked closer, and to my surprise, they were actually moving around creating some sort of tiny diamond in the middle. The sight was really very beautiful, and I was glad I didn't have to share this new discovery with anyone else. Making sure that no one was around me, I carefully put the necklace in one of the pockets of my robes so that I would be able to examine it more at home-

Which reminds me, I must get back to my bed soon, or else I wouldn't be able to get up to work in an alert manner.

But I'm never alert and willing to work, so what would it matter if I overslept an hour or two?

Nope, I'm certain Olenair wouldn't care at all.

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TBC.
please R&R.