Chapter 2
"The Magic wing?" Hermione said in disbelief.
Blaise smirked at her shock. "The regular muggle guests never see this part of the hotel, they have no idea that it exists. This wing is where you two Apparated earlier on this afternoon, in that dark deserted alleyway."
Pierre placed their trunks on the carpet, waved goodbye, then the elevator door closed behind him, and he disappeared.
"You two are in room 213," Blaise said, dragging them down the hallway. The portraits whispered amongst themselves, ducking in and out of frames to better see the new guests. "Here you go." Hermione gently placed her trunk on the ground, and slid the key into the lock. She turned they key and pushed the door open.
The room was decked to the brim with the most expensive commodities available in all of Europe. The bed was covered in satin and silk, a huge candelabrum hung in the middle of the room, illuminating every corner. An antique wooden desk sat in the corner, and a large wooden bureau encrusted with gold leaf sat opposite the desk. Hermione pulled her trunk in the room, and was tempted to gasp, but decided that it would be ill mannered.
"This is one of my favorite rooms," Blaise said, pulling the curtains back from the wide bay window. "It looks across the city, and you can see L'Tour D'Eiffel from here."
"Look, Draco," Hermione said, and she pointed to the tall spire in the far distance. "We could walk there."
"Well, I'll leave you two to unpack, and I'll see you tomorrow morning," Blaise said cheerfully, and without another word, skipped from the room, and closed the door with a slam.
Draco glared at the door, as if it was Blaise, and Hermione almost laughed.
"Draco, stop being so jealous," Hermione sighed. "He's just helping us out. And you have to admit; he's been very hospitable. He's let us stay in his hotel, he's giving us a tour of the city… what more could you want?"
Draco sat down on the bed, and he looked like he was at a loss for words. He scratched his head.
"I just feel that," he shrugged. "Perhaps we don't deserve to go on vacation. I mean, back at home, Harry is trapped with the Muggles, Sirius is back from the dead, and we're out here cavorting around."
"Draco," Hermione said, letting an edge of anger enter her voice. "We deserve a vacation. I know, I feel the same way about Harry, but there's nothing we can do about it. I promised myself that I would spend this summer getting to know you, and this seems to be the only way."
"You know me," Draco said, hurt.
"No," Hermione snapped. "Draco, I don't. I brought you back from the dead, and I love you. Those are the only two things I really know about you." She suddenly grinned. "Oh, and you're afraid of spiders."
He sighed. "You're right. But, I still feel guilty, like we should be doing something to help them."
Hermione sat down beside him and smoothed out his hair. "Of course, but, you need to relax and calm down. We've been evading and running into danger non-stop since May, and we're all very wound up. Especially you."
"Sorry Hermione," he whispered, leaning on her gently. "I'm just a little tired, and I guess I got a little freaked out when I saw Blaise. He's a reminder of what I used to be, and I hate that."
"Draco, you can't run from your past," Hermione said. "It'll just catch up with you. You can destroy your old ideals while still keeping your ideals, can't you?"
Draco nodded, but he wasn't so sure he could.
Hermione and Draco stepped out onto the Paris street as the sun set. The golden red streaked across the pavement, and they began walking.
"Darn heels," Hermione muttered to herself.
Draco looked down at her feet, and felt himself blush. She had such cute ankles…
"What are you grinning about?" she asked, nudging him slightly. He coughed into his sleeve, and shook his head.
"Nothing," he replied evasively. "Now, who are we visiting?"
"My friends the Boulangers," Hermione replied, as they walked in front of a small boutique. "They own an apartment here in Paris. They have a son about our age, and a daughter who just turned eleven. She'll be going to Beauxbaton next year with her brother."
"How did you meet them?"
Hermione grinned. "I was telling my dad that we needed to visit the Louvre, because I wanted to see the Mona Lisa. I told him that I'd read in a book called Famous Artists Who Were Wizards by Iefan Adsworth, which said that Da Vinci was a wizard. Mrs. Boulanger happened to be standing nearby, and she interrupted to introduce herself. Her family showed us around Paris, and I've kept in contact with her ever since."
"That's a sweet story," Draco said, evading a little Jack Russell terrier that was pulling at his lead and nearly pulling over his poor little old mistress. He didn't want his pants to get dirty.
Hermione nodded, and then stopped in front of a stairwell that led up into a building.
"This is it," she said, and pushed him up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a door. She knocked the lion knocker, and she almost swore she saw it winked at her. The door swung open, and a handsome young man with dark hair stood in the doorway.
"What are you selling?" the man asked, looking them up and down suspiciously. "Whatever it is, we don't want it." He was about to close the door when Hermione held up her hand.
"It's me, Hermione," she said. "I'm here to see your Mum."
"You're here to see Maman?" the young man said, looking her up and down again. Then he did a double take. "Hermione?"
"Luc," Hermione said warmly, giving him a big hug. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize me. Forgive Draco, he takes offense easily."
Luc looked over her shoulder; his face now open in welcome, and Draco nearly dropped the bottle of wine he was carrying as a gift.
Luc's eyes were the exact same shade as his father's.
A/N: Hah. The first chapter was a little dull... and now I've added the intrigue. Mwahahaha. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I just had to leave it off there. It seemed perfect at the time. Whatever. Leave a review:)
anglachel
