Disclaimer: Because I am afraid that some brainless idiot will come on here and tell me off for not having a disclaimer when clearly everyone knows that this is a fan fiction; I want to make it clear that I do not own Harry Potter and Co. Only the plot. Nothing more, nothing less.

Summary: On the hunt to find who committed the WaterMose Killings, Hermione Granger places herself in a situation bonding her to Draco Malfoy. But how much is she willing to risk, and how much does she really know about him?


Full Moon

By Dime-Piece

(1)

The sun was slowly disappearing behind the tall evergreen trees as the cold wind blew through a mangled mane of golden brown curls. Hermione Granger took long strides as she analyzed her surroundings. Besides tall trees of different shapes and various bushes, there was not much to see. With the help of her compass wand, she continued to walk northeast only pausing periodically to take a good look around. This process went on for at least an hour before she reached a clearing. Sitting down on a half buried log, Hermione took a few sips of her bottled water. She was becoming exhausted from her investigation.

But she was determined to find something that would direct her to the right path. Those poor people had been killed horrifically and what caused those deaths would not plague her mind as long as she could do something about it. Three deaths in the span of a month. Tattered body parts, unrecognizable faces and blood kept replaying in her mind. It was absolutely dreadful, being exposed to all that gore. She hadn't actually stumbled across those bodies here at WaterMose Woods where they took place; she saw pictures of the murder scenes. And she just hoped that all her years of training would be able to help her fight off whatever it was that slaughtered those wizards.

The sun had now been replaced by the crescent moon and Hermione was beginning to regret taking up this assignment. She thought of what Ron Weasley was doing back at the office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Most likely filing papers, she thought. The idea of boring paper-filing seemed to be a hundred times better than being alone in a dark forest, freezing cold. She sighed heavily as she tried to figure out her next step. Sadly, she had not found anything remotely imperative for the WaterMose Woods killings and if she left now, the case would be unsolved and closed.

Hence, no justice served.

It was than, in that state of mind where she felt anything could jump out at her, she heard a faint muffled sound. Hermione stood up, wand out, desperately looking for the source of the sound. But before she could take a step closer to the direction she thought she heard the sound come from, something crushed leaves and twigs beneath their foot behind her. Hermione sharply turned around, finding nothing within eye distance.

It was now that her heart began to beat quickly as her breathing became rigid. Her imagination was beginning to take a toll on her and in frustration, kept darting her eyes from place to place. She felt she was being watched, or maybe it was just paranoia. Whatever the case, cold sweat began to drip from the sides of her face, as she retraced her steps back out of the woods.

Why didn't I bring Harry Potter's old invisibility cloak? She wondered.

A twig snapped not far from her and she stopped walking instantly. Whatever it was following her or watching her, she did not want to give it the pleasure of being scared to death.

"Show yourself!" Hermione said out loud.

The grip on her wand was even stronger to the point of her knuckles whitening. An eerie silence followed. The tree leaves stopped swaying and she could feel the temperature slowly dropping. She kept circling where she stood; attempting to keep a full 360 degree view. That's when she saw something move from the corner of her eye. She flashed the light of her wand in its direction only to come across a small squirrel running up a tree. Hermione took a deep breath. She felt so foolish. Her imagination was getting to her.

After a minute passed and she composed herself, she continued to leave the woods. She promised herself she would not spend another minute searching for clues. She looked up to the sky, mouthing a "sorry". She really wanted to be the one who solved the case. She wanted to give the families of those victims some sort of closure. But it just wasn't going to happen. Not tonight. Unless someone decided to be generous enough and tip her department.

The problem was no one knew how the killings happened. A few thought it was the work of a creature while other's assumed it was a psychotic wizard or witch. Hermione never thought that there could be anyone crazier than the deceased Tom Riddle. Not even Death Eaters, Tom Riddle's servants, whom have all been placed in Azkaban, could have done such damage. Looking back to the adventures and near death experiences she had in her former school, Hogwarts Witch Craft and Wizardy, she was surprised she couldn't figure out who or what was behind all of this. Especially all the countless times she, Ron and Harry have solved mysteries.

These recent deaths have brought the Wizarding community into frenzy. It hadn't been too long ago when everyone feared their lives. But to have this start all over again was a dismal.

But this time the ministry was taking more precautions. The best Auror's and Hit Wizards were assigned different jobs; some searched the victims' homes for any clue as what attacked them while others investigated WaterMose Woods were the killing's occurred. After three months of no leads, most of the staff at the Magical Law Enforcement department gave up. But not Hermione. She didn't know what exactly gave her the idea that she would find something but her subconscious kept nagging her. She didn't want to see or hear about another innocent death. It was for this reason she asked Percy Weasley, Minister of Magic, to let her explore further. He grudgingly allowed this.

Hermione remembered Harry and Ron's faces when she had told them of her plans. Their eyes held a look of sympathy. Ron had advised her to give up because everyone else had but it was only Harry who understood why she had to go through with this. He would have come along to help her on her first day but he had promised Hagrid a visit, a week prior. And knowing Hagrid, she didn't want to keep Harry back. As for Ron, he had his own duties to handle. She knew from then on, she would be on her own in solving this case. But she hadn't expected to start losing her own sense of reality here.

The amount of trees lessened, and Hermione knew she was coming to the edge of the woods. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she found the small red ball she had hidden earlier. It was a two-way portkey back to her office.

A weary smile plastered across her face, she would be home soon; away from this Merlin forsaken forest. Just as she bent over to touch the ball, she heard a distinct crunch of leaves. Her head snapped sideways and her eyes narrowed to see the root of that sound. But once again, she was certain there was nothing beyond the darkness of the trees.

"Granger," a voice echoed in the emptiness.

Instantly, her heart began to beat fast as she stood up straight holding her wand in duel position.

"Who's there?" Hermione asked sternly but deep down she was scared shitless. Her eyes frantically searched her area. Slowly, a silhouette of a shrouded man took form as he stepped out of the shadows. Hermione gave the stranger a scrutinizing look. He wore a heavy dark cloak, completely hiding his features. A hood rested on his head, concealing his eyes and nose. The only thing in her view was his twisted half smile. Hermione could almost mistake it for a smirk she once known, but she was too afraid to know why it looked so familiar.

"Put your wand down," the stranger spoke.

"And if I don't?" Hermione challenged.

"We duel," he replied slyly.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked. She just couldn't put a finger on why this person sounded so recognizable.

"You wouldn't want to know," he responded, "and I kindly asked you to place that wand down but I guess you'd prefer a fight?" He exposed his right hand towards her, assuring her that he was well equipped with a wand.

"I'm not searching for a fight but I would be a fool to put my wand away," she said coolly, "and I'll ask you once again, who are you? How do you know my name?"

"You never change? Persistent as always, looking for answers. There are no answers here."

"So you know me from somewhere? Where?"

"Granger--"

"I asked, where!" Hermione said crossly.

"Hogwarts. Now place that wand down, Granger, or I will not be sorry for any harm that may come your way," he replied slickly.

"I will lower my wand if you tell me who you are,"

"Give up, Granger. If you can't figure it out yourself, I won't tell you. Expelliarmus!"

Hermione wasn't prepared for the spell and had her wand knocked right off her hands, flying ten feet across from her. She knew there was no point in running towards the wand; he would immediately cast another spell. She provoked him long enough and her only option was to play along.

"So, stranger. What do you want if you won't tell me who you are?"

"I do not want anything from you except that you leave this place and never return."

"You've got to be kidding me. There's an on going investigation. Are you not aware of the WaterMose killings?" Hermione questioned. "Unless...you were behind it," she said, as an after thought, warningly. Although a small voice in the back of her head was assuring her that this stranger had nothing to do with the deaths.

"I assure you I am not as low and despicable. Have you not figured it out already? The damages on those wizards were not made by man."

"And how do you know this?" Hermione asked darkly now beginning to doubt her small voice in her head.

"I know enough. But what you need to do is stop coming here unless you'd like to be the next victim smeared across the Daily Prophet."

"I am an Auror, and I am certified to protect myself in all types of dangers. You claim you know me, than you are aware of the battle with Voldemort a few years ago. We took him and his cronies down. So do not try to advise me on what to do or not to do."

"Tell me, Granger, how can one fight or protect themselves from the unknown?"

Hermione glared. Who was this man? What did he know that the Ministry did not? She took a step back from him, not that it would do anything for her but she was suspicious of this stranger's motives and she wanted to keep a good long distance from him.

"That's exactly what I'm here for. To find out what the unknown is," Hermione said.

"And say you do find out what it is, how well will you be prepared? Or do you just run on instinct and luck?"

"I run on knowledge."

"Ah yes, the brightest witch of our year, if you claim to know so much than you already know that there's more to being an encyclopedia," he said smartly.

"You were in my year? What house are you from?"

"Are you still trying to guess who I am?"

"Obviously, you know me. I'd like to know you," she responded. This caused the stranger to laugh darkly. She didn't understand this sudden outburst. What was exactly so funny that she had said? "What's the matter with you?" she questioned.

"Nothing's the matter. Now, you really must go. You've wasted my valuable time already."

"I am not heading anywhere until I get answers."

"And answers you shall not receive. Get the fuck out of here Granger. I've warned you long enough. Do not place me in a situation I'll regret."

"Pardon me?" she asked in shock. What was he suggesting?

"I will not hesitate to harm you if you do not leave this forest."

"You have no claim to this forest so no amount of threatening will change that fact."

"Merlin Granger! What the fuck is wrong with you!" The stranger yelled and right after, he recoiled and placed a hand on his chest. Hermione without doubt could hear his hard intake of breath. She could see him wince. Could he be in pain? Was he having a heart attack?

"Are you—" Hermione took a step forward.

"Fucking go! Leave! I'm doing you a fucking favor bitch!" He breathed in a low voice.

It was than that something in her snapped to attention. Hermione didn't know whether she should be shocked the tone of language he used on her or whether she had slowly figured out who was behind that cloak. Images started to flash before her eyes as the wheels of her brain began to turn. Those words were unmistakably the same as the ones her childhood enemy had last said to her. And as much as that being a complete surprise it still didn't make much sense. He was dead.

Draco Malfoy was supposed to be dead.