Chapter Eight
Draco made his way stealthily out of the chateau. He was on his mission to buy saffron and all the other magical ingredients they needed to get back to Hogwarts, and he had dressed up in the most inconspicuous outfit he could find in his wardrobe - a dark, unremarkable cloth suit.
He ordered one of his coachmen to take him to the centre of Paris and to drop him off on the Champs Elysee, a strange sight to Draco's eyes when he saw the absence of all the Muggle designer stores lining the famous avenue. What really freaked him out was the absence of the Eiffel Tower, which was not built until a century later. It was the bloody symbol of Paris, and the person who designed it wasn't even born yet!
He walked along the Champs Elysee, asking a passer-by where the markets were. When he finally got decent directions, he found himself feeling very out of place in the sea of shouting, lower class people. He probably looked out of place too with his expensive tailored suit, and he caught more than a few of them glaring at him.
He vaguely remembered learning about the French Revolution in Muggle Studies last year, and he wondered if he was living in the Revolution at the moment. He doubted it - if he was, those peasants would probably be wielding axes and threatening to behead him.
He calmed down and was brave enough to ask one of them which stall sold saffron. He asked the vendor for a pinch of saffron, and was surprised to find that it cost him a fair bit - it was barely enough to flavour a dish, but a pinch was all they needed for the Potion. Then he remembered Snape saying that saffron was very expensive because it was rare, and because of its magical properties - though the Muggles didn't know that.
After leaving the market, he was at a loss. He didn't know where the Wizarding quarter was, at least not in this century. He had been to the modern Paris Wizarding quarter several times, but he highly doubted that it was still in the same place. But it was worth a try anyway.
He made his way to the bookshop that was the entrance to the quarter, and was surprised to find that instead of the old musty bookshop that he had been to in modern times, it was a fairly new one. His hopes rose as he entered the bookshop, it was all very familiar to him - it was exactly the same one, only newer. He strode over to the counter and awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Are there any magic books behind that door?" Draco asked, hoping the salesman would get the hint.
"No. No magic books." the man replied bluntly, looking at him suspiciously.
"What about a Wizarrding quarter, Monsieur?" Draco tried again, hoping very much that this was not a Muggle.
"Very well, come with me." the salesman said quietly. He led Draco to a small storeroom and told him to sit down in the chair. Draco obeyed, wondering if this was going to be an interrogation or something.
"Put out your wand hand." Draco put forward his left hand. (He was left-handed.) The man placed a wand in his hand and asked him to perform a simple spell.
"Wingardium leviosa." muttered Draco, making a book rise off its stack. It had been so long since he had performed magic. The salesman smiled and clapped him on the back.
"Welcome, brother. Come with me." He led him to a room joined to the storeroom and tapped several bricks with his wand. Just like at the Leaky Cauldron, the wall moved apart to form a doorway.
"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur." said Draco gratefully, as he stepped into the Wizarding quarter.
The Paris Wizarding quarter was not so different from Diagon Alley, the same cobbled street, and the same types of shops - menageries, apothecaries, bookshops etc. He made a beeline for the apothecary to buy the Potion ingredients. He emerged fifteen minutes later, with all the ingredients in tow. He grinned, finally feeling a sense of hope - they were on their way back to Hogwarts.
--
"How dare you keep this from me, Dumbledore?!" exclaimed Lucius Malfoy angrily, "My son has been missing for a week!"
"Lucius you must understand that -"
"I don't need to understand anything, I already knew how incompetent you were. I demand that you bring my son back now!" Lucius shouted.
"Its not as simple as you may think, Lucius. We do not know where in the past they are - and though we have tried to search for his name on your family tree, it has been hindered by the fact that your family seems to reuse their names for their children." replied Dumbledore calmly.
"Leave my family out of this." spat Lucius, "If you cant find Draco on the Malfoy family tree, why don't you look for the Mudblood on her family tree?!"
"We haven't been able to find the Granger family tree." answered Dumbledore.
"I refuse to believe that. Surely the Mudblood's family would have documented their family tree somewhere! Or are Muggles really that stupid?" growled Lucius.
"Very well I will contact the Granger family. I'll inform you of any progress made, Lucius." said Dumbledore serenely. Lucius glared at him.
"Get it done, Dumbledore. Or else I'll have to intervene." snarled Lucius, and with that he swept out of Dumbledore's office. Once he had left, the Headmaster summoned Fawkes to him and sent him on a mission to locate the Grangers, they needed to work fast - time was running out.
--
Hermione was sitting stiffly in a carriage once again with Xavier. They were on their way to the city of Paris for a spot of sightseeing. She nodded and smiled politely to Xavier's comments but she wasn't listening to him at all - she was wondering whether Draco had bought the ingredients for the counter potion yet.
She continued to stare out the window, pretending to admire the sights in order to block out Xavier's voice.
"Marie?" She rolled her eyes. What now?
"Yes, Xavier?" she answered politely.
"Where would you prefer to dine for lunch - at a restaurant overlooking the Seine or back at the chateau?" he asked.
Hermione did not answer, because at that moment she saw a certain someone walking along the street carrying a cloth bag laden with goods. It was Draco - there was no mistaking that telltale blond hair and his arrogant strut as he strode along the sidewalk.
Hermione grinned, he had done it! He had bought the ingredients for the potion - at least that's what she hoped was in that cloth bag. Like Draco, she too felt a sense of hope that cheered her up immensely - they were going home!
"Is that Julien?!" asked Xavier suspiciously, looking out of the carriage. Hermione panicked - what if he suspected something?
"Uh...it certainly does look like him doesn't it?" replied Hermione weakly, "But um, I don't think so, Julien is not as tall as that man."
Hermione hoped that her lie would hold, and fortunately the tailored suit that he was wearing really did make him look taller than usual and Xavier settled back into his seat, apparently satisfied with her answer.
"You're right. So what will it be, darling? Lunch on the Seine or at the chateau?" he asked with a smile. Hermione thought for a moment - on one hand she really wanted to see have lunch on the beautiful Seine river, but on the other she wanted to get back to Draco and the potion as soon as possible.
"As lovely as lunch on the Seine sounds, I think I'd prefer lunch at the chateau - I'm feeling a bit tired." she answered sweetly.
"As you wish." he said with a tight smile - he obviously wanted to have lunch on the Seine.
"But if you want to have lunch on the Seine I wouldn't mind." she added quickly, not wanting to make him suspicious. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect, he raised his eyebrows at this change of mind.
"No, no it is quite alright. I'd prefer to have lunch back at the chateau too - our chefs are the best in Paris." he replied. Hermione smiled at him, but he did not smile back, he knew something was up - and he was determined to find out what it was.
--
Draco snuck back into the chateau just in time for lunch. He quickly changed into his usual outfit of a shirt and trousers before making his way to the dining hall. Only his parents were there, and he made small talk with them throughout the meal. He wondered where Granger and the git were. Most likely on a date again, he thought sourly.
He couldn't stand this situation - why did Granger have to be engaged to that smarmy idiot? Xavier was obviously just toying with her, she was just going to get hurt in the end. But why do you care? He berated himself. It wasn't as though it really mattered anyway, since they were going back to Hogwarts soon.
He finished his lunch and excused himself from the table. He went back to his room, and spread the ingredients out on his mahogany desk. Perfect. Not a thing was missing. Now - what was the method for the potion again? A loud knock startled him.
"Come in," he said.
"Monsieur Malfoy, there is a man waiting for you at the back entrance with a delivery." said one of the butlers.
"Thank you, Alain. I'll be down in a moment." he replied with a smile. As the door shut he quickly put the ingredients back into the cloth bag and hid it in his wardrobe. He hurried down to the back entrance where he met the salesman from the Apothecary.
"Monsieur, here is the small pewter cauldron that you ordered." he said, holding out a heavy looking box.
"Thank you very much. I'll take it from here." Draco said gratefully, taking the box from him. He was right, the box was very heavy and he staggered from the weight of it.
"Do you need some help, Monsieur?" asked the salesman worriedly.
"No I'm fine. Thank you again, you may go now." Draco snapped, sending the man on his way.
He brought the box back to his room without anyone noticing and took out the cauldron. Draco picked it up and wincing from the weight of it, took it to his bathroom where he decided that they would brew the potion. But upon opening the bathroom door while balancing the heavy cauldron on his knee and other arm he collided with someone and the cauldron dropped to the ground...landing squarely on his foot.
"HOLY SHIT!!! OW!!!" he yelped, hopping around on the uninjured foot.
"Oh my god, Malfoy! Are you ok?!" It was Granger of course.
"Bloody hell! Look what you've done you bitch!" he screamed at her. He was certain that he wouldn't be able to walk for a couple of days. He sat down on the toilet and removed his shoe and sock.
"I'm so sorry! And hey! Don't call me a bitch." she yelled back at him. But she softened upon seeing his swollen foot - it really was a sight. It was already bruised and had swollen to double its usual size, but that was normal considering he had just had a bulky cauldron dropped on it.
"What are you doing in my room anyway, Granger?!" he barked out, trying to ignore the pain.
"I...well I saw you with a bag and I wanted to see if you had gotten the potion ingredients yet." she explained quietly. She moved over to where he sat, and took a closer look at his foot. It looked very painful, she was about to say some comforting words when he spoke again.
"Well then what were you doing in my bathroom?!"
"Looking for the ingredients." she replied nonchalantly. He gave her a sceptical look, and she shrugged, "They weren't in the room, so logically I looked for them in here."
"Fine. Whatever, Granger. Do you have any idea how to make the swelling go down?" he asked weakly.
"Well, I guess we'd better get some ice for you." she replied, "Although there wont be any freezers in this era. So I'm not sure where they get their ice from. So I'll run some cold water for you."
She turned on the tap in the bathtub and helped him sit on the ledge while he soaked his swollen foot in the water.
"Better?" she asked kindly.
"Yeah, much better." he answered with a small smile which she returned. It was an awkward moment between the two - never before had they both been so civil to each other.
"I'll be back soon." she said, leaving the room. He nodded.
She went down the stairs in search of the kitchen, and after asking several maids she found her way there. Unfortunately they didn't have any ice cubes on hand at the moment, but they did have a jug of slightly iced water that Hermione gratefully took from them.
She made her way back to Draco's room and found him almost slipping off the ledge of the bathtub.
"Whoa, need some help there?" she asked.
"Yeah, that would be nice." he replied sardonically.
She put helped him out of the tub and placing his arm around her neck, she supported him all the way back to his bed, where she had placed the jug of iced water.
"Here, it's the best the kitchen could do." she explained, watching him wince as his foot came into contact with the icy water.
"I'll be fine. Look, um maybe you should come back tomorrow - I'll be better and we can start brewing the potion." Draco suggested as she hid the cauldron in a cupboard inside the bathroom.
"Sure. I'll leave you to rest then...and I'll tell Xavier that you injured yourself...um in the library when a heavy book fell on your foot." she grinned. He laughed at the ridiculous lie -
"Yeah Granger, trust you to think up something like that. Sounds like something that would happen to you." he joked. She gave him a mock glare but laughed as well.
"Shut up Malfoy. So I'll see you tomorrow then..." she said quietly. He nodded and she turned to leave.
"Wait, Granger." She turned back around and looked curiously at him.
"Uh, th-thank you." he stammered.
"No problem, Malfoy. It was my fault that you're hurt, so you're my responsibility." she replied, albeit awkwardly.
"Well, thanks again anyway." Hermione nodded and left, closing the door with a soft click.
Once outside, she leaned against the door a bit confused about how her relationship with Malfoy had changed - they were no longer enemies, or even acquaintances now...they might even be friends, she thought giddily. They were finally civil to each other, and Hermione found that Malfoy might not be so bad after all - under that whole jackass attitude of his he might even have a sense of humour. Or a sense of kindness, she thought wryly.
So Hermione strode back to her room in a bit of a daze - she did not notice the pair of eyes which had been watching her every move.
--
A/N: YAY! Another chapter done...see more Hermione/Draco action this chappie : ) Thanks everyone for your reviews - hopefully we'll get past the 60 mark this week? nods enthusiastically Actually...I wont be updating until we get past the 60 mark so pleaseeee review! Thanks again!
Special thanks to: Starlight-Heart, Meg, emikae, silverkonekotsukari, The Singing Hippo, Lady-Delphinea and ilovetom88! You guys are the best : )