A/N: I bow before you, oh worthy readers. College is kicking my butt! OW! See!
Chapter 10
Midnight Visitor
I could go on, my daughter, to all the nights after that. To three weeks later when she officially moved in with me. Or even two months after that when she finally wore my ring around her finger. Yes, we were young, but we were not naïve. We loved each other past all of our prior differences. There was no one in the world that mattered more to me. But, the night before our wedding, I stayed in my shop late, contemplating the big step that I was making the next day. I had my feet stretched out in front of me and the ring I was to give her in the palm of my hand. What are you doing, Draco? Are you sure this is what you want? I thought to myself, frowning a bit. Yes. This is what I want. She is what I want.
A loud crash from the back startled me out of my thinking.
"Bloody hell…" I muttered, the adrenaline that coursed through my body causing me to shake a little.
I stood up quickly, silently making my way to the back door. It was a trait that Hermione always hated in me. My silent walk. But I would not let years of training go to waste. After all, she only despised it when I caught her singing her favorite Muggle tunes while she cooked or when she was trying to sneak clothes to my house elves. That last one I usually tried never to allow her to do.
I reached out for the doorknob, pulling my wand out to hold it in front of me.
"Lumos," I whispered and a small light erupted out of the tip of my wand. I flung the door open, thrusting my wand in the darkened room. The light illuminated the room, though there was no other presence inside but my own. However, the cauldron I had left simmering had been tipped over, spilling the contents of my hard work onto my newly cleaned floors. Those ingredients had been rare, not to mention expensive. Cursing, I waved my wand and the torches inside my workroom lit up. There was no trace of anyone having been there, though it would have taken someone with great strength to topple my largest cauldron.
Another wave of my wand and the contents of the cauldron, as well as the potion that had almost been completed, disappeared. It just meant that I would have to start all over again with new ingredients. The apothecary that I bought everything I needed from would be upset…he had to "pull a few strings" to get those for me. And those were strings that, from what I understood, could not be easily pulled again.
But it was not the action, nor the hassle that would follow, that worried me. I had the time and money to redo the potion a thousand times. What bothered me was the fact that someone had somehow gotten in the back room of my shop, tipped over the cauldron, and then vanished. Apperating was a possibility, but it was so quiet in my shop at the time, I would have heard the telltale "pop." Unnerved, I would have investigated further, had the sound of the bell above the door to my shop not rang. I ran to the front of the shop but, as I suspected, there was no one there. A cool breeze settled around me, the wind that had come from outside slowly becoming the same temperature as my shop. How he…or she…had gotten around me, I could not even fathom. The motives of the perpetrator were just as cloudy. I could not think of anyone who would want to do something less than murder me, so tipping over a cauldron would be childish and pointless for any of them. Sighing a little, I quit trying to figure out scenarios.
I didn't think there was really anything I could do that night. Whoever had been there didn't seem to want to hurt me…that much was certain. But I was nervous. So, before I left, I put wards around my shop that only I would be able to go through. Not even my beloved Hermione could get through. However, I thought as I locked up, feeling slightly cheered as the image of Hermione floated into my mind, we won't be home for a week. She will be with me. In America for our honeymoon. She had chosen the destination, and the country's capitol did seem to be the place to go. We had heard of the scenery there, and it would be much less of a hassle than fighting traffic in dreaded New York City- Hermione's second choice. I secretly harbored the suspicion that I would be hauled to more museums that I would every wish to see in any amount of time. But I would get my way eventually…that I was completely certain of.
With a lighter heart, I practically skipped home. Inwardly, at least. Outwardly, I hadn't changed much.
