Chapter 16.
Hermione was sitting in her cell, trying not to lose her temper again.
Fleur was playing with her hair, chatting flirtatiously with Millicent Bullstrode in her cell. Hermione knew that she had put Fleur up to it this time, but it still didn't stop the burning jealousy. Millicent had a hand on the wall beside Fleur's head and a smug grin on her face, as if she truly believed she had a shot with Fleur.
"Stupid woman," Hermione cursed under her breath.
Finally, after what seemed like an age of Fleur's flirtatious smiles and murmuring, Millicent nodded her assent. She straightened up before leaving Fleur's cell again, shooting a superior smile at Hermione on her way out.
Hermione growled and got up, walking into Fleur's cell.
"So?" Hermione asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. There were bigger things at play.
"She is getting harder to manipulate," Fleur sighed heavily, "It would have been so much easier to get her to smuggle in the ingredients rather than the actual potion. She's suspicious now too."
"We don't have the weeks that it would take to brew it," Hermione replied impatiently, "As long as she doesn't tell Pansy or any of her Death Eater friends, we'll be good."
"That I want polyjuice potion in here?" Fleur replied, "I may as well have asked her for file baked in a cake."
"Relax, she still seemed just as smitten with you as ever," Hermione said darkly. Fleur shook her head.
"Not so," Fleur replied, "She accused me of stringing her along today. It won't be long before she gives up and gets bitter with me."
"It doesn't matter," Hermione replied, "If we get that potion in then we won't need to worry about the inmates in here much longer."
"Do you really think it will work?" Fleur asked, still looking unconvinced.
"Sirius escaped. Bellatrix escaped. Escapes have happened in the past. There is no reason we can't pull off an escape either," Hermione said.
A silence fell over them. The two girls looked at each other.
They hadn't talked about the latest kiss. Hermione wasn't sure if Fleur's mind was still on Bill and trying to rebuild her marriage when she got out of Azkaban. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. As much as she would love to fish for an opportunity for more kissing, she had learnt her lesson since Pansy. Allowing herself distractions in the form of sexual desires would only offroad her.
"Well… I'd better go shower," Fleur finally said awkwardly, before taking her leave.
Hermione sighed and leaned her head back against the cool stone wall.
She shut her eyes and replayed the last kiss with Fleur. The relief and comfort in the kiss. The softness of Fleur's full lips against hers. How deeply Fleur seemed to care about her.
Hermione opened her eyes again, pulling herself together. Now was not the time to get distracted.
She headed out of Fleur's cell, coming face to face with Pansy Parkinson. She sighed inwardly. Still better than being attacked by Bellatrix, she supposed.
"Granger," Pansy greeted with a smirk, "Striking out with your lawyer again? I hear she's moved on."
"Dream on, Pansy," Hermione shot back.
Pansy smirked, before biting her bottom lip flirtatiously.
"I will," Pansy replied, "So… I received great news from my lawyer today. Seems our time of being roomies is just about at an end."
"You're in here for murder," Hermione gaped. How was that a low key offender?! The Justice Party surely couldn't have that much sway already.
"Allegedly," Pansy smirked, "So… I know we've been at loggerheads in here… But, it really has been fun."
Hermione recognised the look in Pansy's eye with supreme irritation. Pansy was flirting with her.
'After everything she's pulled she thinks I would lower myself to go there again…?!' Hermione thought to herself with fury.
But then another thought crossed her mind. Pansy being released. The polyjuice potion set to be smuggled in.
"It has been fun…" Hermione said slowly, watching with mild disgust as Pansy's grin grew. She wondered if Fleur hated manipulating others with her sexuality like this.
Hermione walked slowly into her cell, inwardly rolling her eyes as Pansy followed her.
'Now who's getting distracted by their sexuality, Pans?' Hermione thought to herself mean spiritedly.
She spun around, pushing Pansy against a wall so roughly the raven-haired girl gasped. Roughness was necessary for what she was about to pull off. It was just a happy coincidence that she didn't particularly mind hurting Pansy a little bit.
Pansy pulled Hermione in for a kiss. Before she could slip her tongue into Hermione's mouth, Hermione bit down hard on Pansy's bottom lip before breaking the kiss.
Pansy gasped and smirked.
"You like it rough now, huh?" Pansy panted, the arousal evident in her eyes.
Hermione nodded, grabbing a fistful of Pansy's hair and making sure to yank as hard as she could. She pulled Pansy's head back, kissing at her throat and nipping. As she kissed the Slytherin's neck, she removed her hand roughly from Pansy's hair, making sure to take at least a strand of the raven black hair with her.
She withdrew then, taking a step back from Pansy and shaking her head. Now was the time for her big Oscar moment.
"I hate you Pansy… I can't do this…" Hermione said, doing her best to look conflicted. Pansy shot her a boastful look.
"And yet you still kissed me, Granger," Pansy smirked, "Guess you just can't resist."
Accepting that nothing more was going to happen, Pansy flashed a sneering grin and sashayed out of Hermione's cell.
Hermione released the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding, shaking her head and looking down at the dark strands of hair in hand. Unpleasant but worth it. She would just have to put up with Pansy thinking she had her wrapped around her slithery finger.
Hermione turned, realising someone was watching her.
Fleur was leaning in the doorway of her cell in a towel.
"That was a pretty passionate display with Pansy just now," Fleur commented, her face painfully neutral.
"For the plan," Hermione said, gesturing to the strands of hair in her hand.
Fleur either couldn't see the hair from where she was standing or didn't care, shaking her head and turning her back on Hermione, stalking into her cell.
Hermione frowned, wondering what it meant. Was Fleur jealous? Or simply disapproving of Hermione kissing Pansy? If it were the latter, Hermione really couldn't blame her. If it was the former… Hermione shut her eyes, trying not to think about it. The last thing she wanted to do was go down the rabbit hole of thinking about the complicated situation between her and Fleur.
The next couple of days went excruciatingly slowly for Hermione. Fleur was distant with her again. Pansy was shooting teasing, smug looks at Hermione around the prison. Worst of all, by far, was the wait to see if and when the polyjuice potion would be smuggled into Azkaban.
Fleur was walking into her cell and Hermione stopped her in the hallway, asking her discreetly if there was any news of the smuggled potion.
"Do you know how it is coming in? With a guard? In with mail?" Hermione asked, unable to keep her anxiety from boiling over.
Fleur shook her head, looking nervous about the entire situation.
"No idea, Millicent never told me," Fleur replied, "I didn't want to press her too hard since she seems to be getting impatient with me."
"Speak of the devil," Hermione hissed, nodding down the hallway.
Millicent was coming towards them, something in her hands.
"Get out of here, she won't want to talk with you here," Fleur urged.
Hermione nodded, backing off. Instead of leaving entirely, she retreated into her own cell. Millicent bothered her the same way that Pansy did. She just didn't trust the strong looking woman.
Hermione feigned being busy arranging some books in her room, paying attention to Fleur out of the corner of her eye.
Millicent walked in holding out the package to Fleur. Fleur smiled flirtatiously at Millicent before reaching out for the package. Millicent swiped it away at the last second, holding it behind her back.
Hermione restrained herself from rolling her eyes.
Fleur's smile faltered a little bit. She tried to reach behind Millicent's back playfully. Millicent reluctantly let her snatch the wrapped package.
Fleur smiled, placing it carefully on the small desk in her cell.
Hermione was trying harder than ever to look like she wasn't paying attention. Really, she was so eager for Millicent to finally leave so they could get the plan on the go. Well, that and for Millicent to finally be gone from Fleur's life once and for all.
Indulging jealous thoughts for a moment, she realised she really hadn't been paying attention to what was going on in Fleur's cell. Zoning back in again, she dropped the books in her hands.
Millicent had pinned Fleur against her cell wall and was kissing her forcefully. Fleur's hands were scraping and slapping at Millicent, trying to get her to get off her.
"Fucking hell, why are there never any guards around when they're actually needed?!" Hermione growled, leaping across to Fleur's cell.
She wrenched Millicent off Fleur and shoved her hard.
"Back off Bullstrode," Hermione growled.
"She's not your property," Millicent snapped.
"She's not yours either," Hermione hissed.
Hermione wasn't even sure how Fleur was reacting right now. She was so furious all she could see was Millicent and her stupid smug face. How dare she?!
As much as Hermione had raised her fitness, Millicent Bullstrode still had a towering and strong frame. Azkaban had sculpted Millicent into a heavily muscled woman who looked like she liked to fight.
But none of that mattered to Hermione right now. Her temper had boiled over and all of her frustrations were being channelled into this moment. Being falsely imprisoned, Fleur's life being ruined, Pansy taunting her, the Justice Party, Millicent forcing herself on Fleur.
Hermione launched forward, vaguely aware that Fleur was calling her name out somewhere in the background.
Hermione didn't even land a hit before Millicent hit her so hard that Hermione fell to the floor. She was dazed for a moment, pain searing her side and her head. She got up, shakily, hunched over and clutching her ribs.
As Millicent began to smile triumphantly, Hermione dropped the act and tackled Millicent as hard as she could. She dropped her shoulder and collided squarely with Millicent's stomach. The large woman went down, hitting the stone wall on the way. Hermione didn't wait. Her fight with Bellatrix had taught her enough about dropping her guard. She began punching Millicent repeatedly.
Hermione only stopped when Fleur pulled her off Millicent, wrapping her arms around her to stop her from striking out any more.
"Hermione, stop," Fleur begged, "The guards will come. We cannot go to solitary."
Hermione finally went limp in Fleur's arms, taking in her surroundings for the first time.
Her knuckles were throbbing and bruised. Millicent looked a total mess.
"Go to your cell and I will sort her out," Fleur instructed.
"Will you be okay alone with her?" Hermione asked, reluctant to leave.
"You can watch us from your cell," Fleur soothed, "And I will be fine. Just let me deal with this and keep us out of trouble."
Hermione slowly moved to her own cell, sitting on the cot and nursing her knuckles. She couldn't believe she had lost it like that. She tried to get another look at Millicent but couldn't quite see how bad it was. Millicent was still on the floor of the cell and Fleur was kneeling in front of her. No doubt smoothing things over and attempting to heal Millicent up a bit.
Just the thought of Fleur being nice to Millicent after what she had just pulled drove Hermione crazy. But she just tried to focus on the goal of the polyjuice potion and getting out of Azkaban.
All the annoyances would soon be worth it.
Eventually, Fleur left her cell with some bloodied cloths, mouthing at Hermione that everything was okay. Millicent herself got up and left the cell soon after, coming to stand in Hermione's cell doorway. She had two black eyes and a cut lip and looked considerably worse for wear.
"If you're looking for an apology—" Hermione started in a hostile tone.
"I'm not," Millicent cut off bluntly, "You're lucky Delacour is your mate. But the second she isn't around? I'm going to get you back for that."
"You were forcing yourself on her," Hermione seethed.
"She owes me," Millicent grunted, "She's been stringing me along for ages now."
"Yeah, that sounds like the logic of a Death Eater… Bigoted and a sexual predator," Hermione shot back.
"Shut up! You're lucky you caught me off-guard," Millicent growled, her hands tightening into fists.
Fleur was returning now, coming down the hallway towards the cell. Millicent's narrow eyes shot over to the blonde before scowling at Hermione again.
"You're dead," Millicent snapped, "Next time you're on your own."
She turned around and trudged off.
Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes. At least if everything went to plan, Millicent wouldn't have a chance to make good on that threat.
Fleur came to stand in Hermione's cell.
"When are Death Eaters gonna stop threatening me?" Hermione sighed, shaking her head.
Fleur came and sat beside her, healing potion in hand. She took Hermione's hands in her own and began to rub the potion into Hermione's knuckles. The blonde looked conflicted.
"You shouldn't have done that," Fleur replied, "We are so close to the end. Everything could have been ruined if we had gone to solitary or Millicent had taken the potion back."
"Well, excuse me for caring if you get assaulted in prison," Hermione snapped, wrenching her hands out of Fleur's.
Fleur frowned.
"How many times do I have to tell you I can look after myself?" Fleur said defensively.
"Didn't look like it from where I was standing," Hermione barked.
Fleur frowned, irritated with her.
"Well, maybe you can tell Pansy all about it," Fleur shot back, before getting up and walking out of the cell.
Hermione sighed, getting up as well. This thing between her and Fleur was distracting them both from the plan. They would have all the time in the world to talk things out and explain later. For now, they needed to get back on track.
She entered Fleur's cell.
"We should just get out now while we can," Hermione said quietly.
"Agreed," Fleur said in a clipped voice.
She had opened the package, a thermos. Satisfied it was actually a polyjuice potion inside the flask, she nodded at Hermione.
"Can you get a guard in here?" Hermione asked.
Fleur beamed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Easily."
Hermione stood in Fleur's cell as Pansy, running her hand through raven hair. The polyjuice had worked well, transforming her into the Slytherin flawlessly. Millicent may be a psycho, but she had good potion sources on the outside.
Fleur had just changed into a guard's uniform, recently transformed into Greg.
She had lured the guard into her cell where Hermione had jumped out and knocked him out. Stealing his uniform and stuffing him under Fleur's prison cot, they now had the final piece of the plan. Happily, they now also had Greg's wand.
"Okay, now, the exits aren't far from the rooms where we used to meet for our client-lawyer discussions," Fleur said, smoothing down her uniform.
It was strange seeing the cruel and macho Greg in front of her acting so effeminately.
"You need to act more like a dude," Hermione replied flatly.
Fleur frowned, but nodded.
They walked out, Fleur aiming her wand at Hermione and attempting to act like the macho guard.
Hermione felt her heart in her throat as they made their way through the tangled maze of halls to the room right by the exits. It had a large number of doors branching off from it.
There was another guard there, who looked quizzically at them.
"Parkinson has a lawyer visit," Fleur grunted in her best Greg impression. This appeased the guard who shrugged before heading out through one of the doors.
"Great, now let's go," Hermione hissed at Fleur.
Fleur didn't move, her lip setting into a firm line.
"I'll be right back," Fleur replied, "Stay here and try to stay out of sight."
"What?!" Hermione yelped, "Where are you going? I'm not in chains—anyone coming in is going to think I escaped!"
"Odds are nobody will come in here before I come back," Fleur muttered, before slipping out through one of the doors.
Hermione inwardly cursed. As a lawyer, Fleur would have been around Azkaban many times and known where a large number of doors and hallways led. Hermione was helpless to follow her. She had never got this far before.
Nervous, Hermione went and stood against a wall, hoping fruitlessly that if she flattened herself against a wall nobody would notice her.
The time seemed to stretch on and on.
'Where the hell is she?!' Hermione thought angrily, 'This wasn't in the plan! We're both going to get caught! The polyjuice will wear off soon!'
Finally, the door opened and Fleur emerged, leading a confused Harry and Ron with her.
Hermione swore.
"Come on, we don't have much time," Fleur insisted.
They didn't have much time to talk, hurrying out after Fleur. Fleur's curse breaking experience was paying off as she quickly broke any locks on their way out.
Hermione could scarcely believe it as they finally opened a door to a dusty clearing. Dementors were swooping around above.
"Now what?" Ron asked.
"Now we run to the edge of those trees. There is an anti-apparation charm in place here that I can't break," Fleur replied, "Once we hit the trees, we can apparate away."
An alarm sounded behind them.
"Now or never!" Hermione exclaimed.
The group broke into a sprint, running as fast as they possibly could. Hermione could feel her features beginning to shift as the effects of the polyjuice potion faded.
The Dementors high above began to swirl restlessly before some at the edges noticed them and started flying towards them at speed.
Hermione's lungs were burning as she finally reached the edge of the forest. She felt a coldness fall over her and a feeling of despair.
"Expecto patronum!" Fleur shouted.
Hermione turned to see four Dementors chased off by a bright shimmering falcon patronus.
"Grab me!" Fleur shouted. Hermione stumbled forward, grabbing Fleur's arm. The alarm was increasing in sound and there was a deafening swish as more Dementors swooped down on them.
Then suddenly there was silence.