Chapter 4

Hermione pulled on her favorite jumper over her blouse, grabbed her purse, and hurried out into the hallway. Draco rushed out and shut the door gently, pushing the key into the lock and twisting.

"Hurry," Hermione said impatiently, tapping her foot. "Blaise and Luc were supposed to have met us two minutes ago!"

Draco shoved the key into his pocket, grabbed her hand and they ran to the elevator. She punched to button, and Pierre was there almost instantly.

"Ground floor?" he asked cheerfully as the door closed, and he was already pulling out the crank.

"Yes," Draco replied tersely. "Sorry, we're a little late."

Then the elevator began to stretch and squeeze, and Hermione closed her eyes, her stomach lurching dreadfully.

Finally, they hit the ground with a thud, and she slowly opened them. The door slid open, and she smiled at an elderly couple as they tottered onto the elevator. She grabbed Draco and hauled him out into the lobby.

Blaise was at the front counter, chatting with Marie amiably. As soon as he saw them, he made his polite excuses, and hurried over to them.

"Ready to go?" he asked, his beret tilted at a rakish angle. He winked at Hermione, who smiled back, much to Draco's chagrin.

"We're meeting my friend Luc too," Hermione said on tiptoe, looking for him. "He said he'd meet us."

Blaise stroked his chin. "Is he the chap with the grey eyes standing outside the front door?"

"Well, he's not here," Hermione said finally. "Perhaps he is outside. Let's go see."

"Maybe he forgot," Draco said hopefully. Hermione gave him a withering glance, and he looked at the ground shamefully. "Or not."

And as soon as they stepped outside the L'Hotel Magnifique, there was Luc, leaning against the stone wall, smoking.

"Bonjour," he said with a nod, holding his hand out to Blaise. "I am Luc Boulanger, Hermione's friend."
Blaise shook Luc's hand firmly, grinning. "Boulanger, son of the infamous Jean-Pierre Boulanger, mathematician extraordinaire?"

"Yes," Luc replied with a smile. "My father is Jean-Pierre."

"Took a class from him once," Blaise said. "I think he liked me fine, but my grades were abysmal. Got kicked out of the school."

"My dad teaches at Beauxbaton, did you go there for a while?" Luc asked in interest, his eyebrows going up. "Because I didn't recognize you."

"I went for a few months," Blaise explained. "And then my parents had me go to Hogwarts, because they wanted me to be taught by Severus Snape. Which reminds me, Draco, how's good ol' Snape doing?"

"Ah," Draco said with a nervous look at Hermione. When she nodded, he continued. "He's fine, very busy."

"How are your parents?" Blaise continued as they set off down the street toward downtown Paris.

Hermione looked up in alarm. Draco bit his lip.

"We're, um… Estranged," Draco said lamely. "Bit of a fight with my dad, you know."

"Really, I thought he was in Azkaban," Blaise continued, oblivious to Hermione's panicked expression.

"Uh, the fight was before he got put in prison," Draco said quickly, hoping that Luc wasn't listening too closely. Unfortunately, he was, and he had a rather catty expression on his handsome face.

Hermione tried to change the conversation.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Apparently, Blaise didn't hear, and he blundered on.

"How's your mum holding up?" he asked. "I know she never really believed in the cause, she always told my mum that she thought it'd get you all killed."

"You could say that," Draco said cautiously. "Let's talk about this later, Blaise, Luc might not be entirely comfortable hearing about my sordid family affairs."

"Oh," Blaise cast Luc a discerning look. "You're right. I'll shut my mouth."


First they went to see the Arc D'Triomphe, walking along the Champs d'Elysées. The beautiful trees were waving in the light summer breeze, and Hermione took Draco's cool hand in her's, while Luc and Blaise chattered good-naturedly about Beauxbaton.

They Apparated across the street to see the Arc D'Triomphe, because the traffic was terrible, and there seemed to be no speed limit as they whipped around the round-about.

Hermione imagined Napoleon's army marching through the Arc, and shuddered. Draco wandered off to go look at the carvings on the magnificent Arc, while Hermione took a seat, just to gaze up at the imposing piece of architecture.

Luc sat down beside her, his handsome face set gravely.

"Hermione," he said suddenly, turning to her. "I never thought you were the type to hang around Dark wizards."

"Draco's not a Dark wizard," Hermione laughed, remember Draco stunning his father only a few weeks before.

Luc looked at her solemnly. "His father's in Azkaban."

"I know," she said flippantly. "Draco helped put him there. Stop worrying so much, you think I'd be going out with him if he was a Death Eater, or something?"

"And that Blaise fellow," Luc insisted. "He seems nice, but did you notice how he talks about the 'cause' so calmly? He supports it, that's why."

Hermione stood uncomfortably. "I trust Blaise, I know you don't. But I do. He's a good kid, and Draco trusts him. If I can't trust Draco, than who can I trust?"

Luc stood as well, taking her hand in his, clearly wanting to avoid talking about Draco. "You can trust me Hermione, you've known me for years."

She stared into his deep grey eyes, and couldn't shake the cold shiver of premonition that slid down her back. She pulled her hand from his grasp, and eyed him angrily.

"Can I?" she asked, her voice rough with raw emotion, walking over to Blaise.

Draco watched Hermione pull her hands from Luc's and walk away. He popped his knuckles nervously, glad that he had decided to trust that Hermione wouldn't cheat on him. If he had gone over, like he had wanted to, she probably would have gotten mad at him. He shook his head ruefully. It was his fault for falling in love with such an independent woman. But then he remembered Pansy Parkinson, and was glad that Hermione was able to save her own butt, as well as his.

Hermione walked over to Blaise, who was running his hand over stone pavement. She sat down next to him.

"It's too bad about that Luc kid," Blaise said finally. "He's nice, and he thinks he's doing the right thing, but he's going to try to do something about Draco."

Hermione looked down, unable to believe it, but knowing it was true. "I agree."

Blaise sighed. "I know Draco doesn't trust me either. Don't tell him this, but I know about what his Dad did."

Hermione looked up, shocked. "Then why did you ask him about it, if you already knew?"

"Thought it'd make him come out of his shell," Blaise continued glumly. "He's changed a lot. He's better, a lot better, but he's scarred by the fight with Voldemort, and his fight with his loyalties."


A/N: Okay, I don't think I'm going to be able to update until let's see... hmm. Monday? Sorry folks, but I have unavoidable deadlines... and papers to write... ergh. I don't think I've started on my essay yet... Anyhoo. See you all on Monday.