Thanks to Honoria Granger for alerting me the typo.

Another thing that I would like to make it clear, the previous chapter is a spin-off, narrated from the 3rd perspective of Hermione Granger, so the chapter would be extremely similar to Chapter 5, which is narrated from the 3rd perspective of Draco Malfoy.


HG's POV

Make up has never been a talent for Hermione, the Winzegamot was full of elderly who had gotten married for at least half of a century, the Auror Office did not require her to wear make up, Harry and Ron knew her for more than a decade and she mainly stayed in Malfoy's Office for the case of Phelps, wearing make up would only make Malfoy sneer at her.

Morgan offered her help, it was her area of expertise, before Hermione could say anything, she had applied eye liner and all sorts of cream on her.

"If I had not known you, I would have thought you always apply mask and moisturizing cream on your face," commented Morgan. "You are a natural beauty. If only you know how beautiful you can be."

"Come on, we are Aurors, not models."

"I am not talking about your work," said Morgan. "I am talking about your life."

"What my life?"

"Your love life."

Hermione could not believe what she had just heard.

"You are still thinking that I should go and seduce Malfoy?"

"All men like beautiful ladies."

"And Malfoy is not any man," explained Hermione. "He's a Malfoy and I am just any Muggleborn whom he thinks does not fit to be his wife."

"And now you are creating excuses for yourself."

Hermione did not say anything. Was what she had said an excuse? At least it was truth.

"Imagine how lovely you will be tonight, even Phelps would fall for you."

Phelps...since the last encounter, more mystery shrouded around the case. Judging by his amiable appearance and seemingly friendly character, he did not seem to be suspicious at all. If he was hiding something, surely he would not appear in front of her, at least he would alter his looks first.

"All done!" Morgan exclaimed. "Now look at you."

Hermione stared straight into the mirror, she looked a lot different from her old self. The eyes looked more energetic and the cream covered up her freckles. She twirled around, everything looked almost perfect, if she had to complain, the back was a bit too breezy.

"Could wear a coat or something," said Morgan as she noticed Hermione's eyes staring at her back. "But trust me, you are going to be the spotlight tonight."

"The Prince is the spotlight," clarified Hermione. "I am just a guest, a guest under the disguise of Emma Watson. So don't call me Hermione in front of anyone, understand?"

"Yes, Your Loveliness," replied Morgan, smiling sweetly.

A knock rang at the door and Turner sped straight to the door, Malfoy came, and immediately his head turned left, looking at Hermione. Under the bathroom light, her translucent skin glistened. Her back was flawless and smooth like velvet. Realizing that he had been staring at her for too long, he slightly shook his head, regained sense and said,

"Trying to seduce all men, are you, Granger?"

"Well that's none of your business!"

Malfoy tried to argue but he turned away and muttered,

"Put on a coat!"

Hermione looked at Morgan, much annoyed and whispered,

"See?"

Morgan shrugged and they went out of the bathroom, Turner was standing up at the window, looking at the River Mtkvari. Malfoy was resting in the armchair, seemingly not interested in anything.

"So, here's the party schedule this evening," began Turner. "The party officially begins at six sharp, guests will have some fun and dance till nine, then it's time for the coronation session and the party will end at around eleven."

"Even longer than the Yule Ball," sighed Morgan.

"Well what do you expect," snapped Malfoy. "It's a coronation ceremony, not any school events."

"One thing that we must all remember," said Turner. "Our identities."

"I have notified the Ministry about that," explained Morgan. "We would be under the pseudonyms of Anne Anderson and Frank Lustig, Emma Watson and Tom Felton."

"What kind of name is that?" scoffed Malfoy. "Anne Anderson and Frank Lustig?"

"Too late to change," announced Turner. "The Ministry has already changed the names, from this moment onwards, staff of the hotels would only address us with those names."

Malfoy looked displeased and Hermione somehow noticed that he muttered a vulgar word.

"Back to our business," said Morgan. "Even though the royal family are wizards and witches, Muggles are invited and so we have to hide our wands."

"How are we supposed to do that?" exclaimed Malfoy. "We are wearing suits and gowns, dancing and chatting!"

"So either place our wands somewhere in a room," said Turner. "Or one of us is going to stay in the corner and guard them."

"One of us stay," said Hermione immediately. "We cannot risk anyone stealing our wands."

"She has the point," mumbled Malfoy, looking at Turner.

"Fine, I will guard your wands," said Turner.

"Me and Marcus will stay at the corners and try our best to observe the environment," said Morgan and she swished her wand, a map conjured in front of them. "Hermione and Draco can...walk around and keep your eyes on Phelps."

"Certainly someone always have her eyes on him," sneered Malfoy and instantly Hermione's face turned scarlet.

"At least I know how to stay professional," snapped Hermione. "Someone will just flirt with girls and forget his job."

"At least I don't defend a suspect right at the beginning just because he looks like someone from childhood."

"At least I know 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty'!"

"Hey, calm down," said Turner. "If we start arguing here, we are never going to know our plan."

After a moment of silence, Morgan began,

"The Georgian crown is rumoured to be magical, as the heir to the throne ascends and wears this crown, his name would appear on the stone wall of the castle. But if the heir does not wear it within a year, the last holder of the crown would automatically become the ruler. And if the heir is killed, the killer will become the heir unless they have offsprings."

"Sounds like Elder Wand," said Hermione. "The winner gets to keep the Elder Wand."

"Even worse than Elder Wand," said Morgan darkly. "You can still live after defeated and have the wand taken away. In this case, the heir must die."

"So we must male sure that Phelps does not steal the crown or harm the Prince," said Malfoy, drawing conclusion.

"Just stay on guard."

They nodded and handed over their wands to Turner. In order not to rise suspicion, they took a taxi. It was a relief that Hermione could use Russian, the driver originally wanted to overcharge them since knowing that they were foreigners. But Hermione's impeccable Russian beat him and both side agreed to pay 10 lari before departing.

The palace was just like Hogwarts, only that it was not surrounded by water or enchanted. Muggles could still see it, as the taxi driver was able to point at the palace. The driver dropped them off at the entrance and they went in with their invitation cards in their hands. A young chestnut brown haired women waved at them.

"Good evening, I am Tali, please follow me."

She led them to a chamber on the far end of the aisle. As she closed the door, she began,

"I hope that you all understand this is a secret request, I inform no one but the Prince, not even the Princess knows this."

"Yes, we understand."

"We cannot take any risk, the coronation session would be recorded for television. It is fortunate that no journalists will be coming."

"Leave it to us."

Tali nodded.

"I trust you. When you are ready, proceed to the ball room."

Tali left. And as her footsteps faded, Malfoy muttered,

"Strange..."

"How strange?" asked Morgan, concerned and alarmed.

"She tells no one but the Prince? How is she so sure that the Prince won't tell his wife about this? What's more, she is Shafiq's assistant."

"You have the point," said Turner, worried. "But this is not the appropriate time for discussion. Now everyone take one."

Turner lay out his hand. Four small round balls were in his palm.

"Contact chocolate balls, much like Muggles' wireless communicator," said Turner. "We will be able to hear from others and talk to them even when they are far away from each other."

Hermione swallowed one and so did others. After getting used to it, Turner began,

"Code for today, Snitch for Phelps, Quaffle is the crown, Bludgers are the Prince and Princess."

"What about Tali?" asked Malfoy.

"Erm...broom."

They headed straight to the ball room and it amazed them. It was almost the size of two Hogwarts Quidditch pitches, a little bit larger than the international Quidditch field. Crowds were everywhere and they saw the the royal couple standing at the front of the room. Beside it was a glass box, the crown lay smoothly inside it on a cushion.

"Prince Nikoloz...Princess Tania."

Princess Tania was dressed in a tight black evening gown, her dark brown hair was tied in a bun and her lips were red like blood. The wide deep eyes glanced sideways as if she did not care about the ceremony. Her gold earrings and diamond necklace glistened under chandelier, creating an air of aristocracy and elegance. Though Hermione hated to admit, Princess Tania was a typical Pureblood and a woman that was always out of anyone's reach.

Prince Nikoloz was the opposite of her, he was a cheerful man, always smiling and greeting guests with politeness. A true Prince Charming, Hermione would describe. The only thing that looked weird was that he did not seem to have the compatibility with his wife, their contrary auras made people unable to believe that they were a couple.

"I think we should just stay here and keep a lookout," suggested Morgan.

Hermione agreed and without further delay, she and Malfoy hurried towards them and greeted.

"Good evening, Your Highnesses."

"Please, call me Tania," said the Princess.

Despite the seemingly warm and friendly invitation, Hermione could feel that she did not want to be addressed by purely her name.

"You must be Mr. Felton and Ms. Watson," said Nikoloz. "Please enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you."

As they backed away and examined the area, Malfoy asked,

"What do you plan to do tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Well, we can't stick together for the whole night," he explained. "It would raise too much suspicion."

"And someone just comment that I look too seductive."

"I didn't tell you to go for men!" said Malfoy angrily, gritting out words through his teeth. "What I mean is Phelps is probably spying on us, so we have to be careful."

"Hello? Can you hear me?" asked a voice in their brains.

"Yes, Morgan?" answered Hermione.

"The Snitch is up the stairs, coming in any time, be prepared."

"Great," mumbled Hermione.

The door swung open and Phelps emerged in his silvery-white tuxedo, his eyes scanned across the room and finally met Hermione's. Smiling, he slid through crowds and came towards her. Malfoy sniffed with annoyance and went off.

"What a surprise to see you here, Miss Watson," said Phelps. "We meet again."

"Indeed a surprise but I am glad you are here."

"May I have a dance with you?"

He bowed and offered his hand, Hermione accepted without hesitance. It would be a great opportunity to open his mind and perhaps he might let slip off some important details during conversation. He escorted her to the middle of the ball room and music immediately started. He bowed as Hermione curtsied, and his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Waltz of the Flowers, like it?" he asked.

"I never doubt Tchaikovsky's talent, but this one is going to be long."

"Don't worry, I will guide you."

He was good at dancing, Hermione had to admit. Within the first few minutes, she could find back the feeling of dancing with Krum at the Yule Ball.

"You come here alone?" he asked.

"No, I have a few friends here."

"Did you not dance with them?"

"No, they are not fans of dancing."

"Then I am truly honoured, to have you as the dance partner."

His clear blue eyes stared into hers, they were warm and swirling, and the longer she stared, the dizzier she became. A round of applause snapped her out of reality and she saw Phelps bowing, quickly she hid her awkwardness with a curtsy.

"You dance well, Miss Watson," said Phelps as they got out of the dance floor.

"You flatter me," replied Hermione as she felt her cheeks growing scarlet.

"Never would I imagine that you would be invited," said Phelps as they got out of the dance floor and headed to the balcony. "Are you a journalist of Britain?"

Hermione remembered that Tali had mentioned no journalists were invited in this coronation ceremony. So she replied,

"No."

"So what is your occupation?"

Hermione's mind span, what occupation would make her appearance reasonable?

"Have a guess," she said, hoping that it would help her gain more time for thinking.

"You are making my life difficult," he said, laughing. "You are asking me to find a needle in a haystack."

"I believe your intelligence and luck can help you."

"I give up."

"I work for a jewellery company."

"Asprey?"

"You got it."

"Wow, British Warrant holder," he gasped. "Now that's the real surprise."

"You? You don't seem to be any businessmen."

"I am just one of the many assistants of the royal family," he said. "I just get lucky to be here."

He was not totally lying, only the royal family would know how many assistants they had.

"Where in Britain are you living?" he asked. "Don't tell me to make a guess. Britain is too large."

Hermione chuckled and she answered,

"I lived in Derbyshire before, but currently I live in Wiltshire."

"Derbyshire! That's my home town too!"

The exclamation and excitement on his face made Hermione dazed, unable to react. Could he really be what she had been thinking?

"Don't tell me you lived near the Hospital-"

"Yes, I was! Royal Derby, right?"

Hermione was speechless.

"You are that bushy haired girl!"

It was an awkward moment, then a voice rang,

"Ladies and gentlemen, the coronation session will begin in thirty minutes."

"Please be excused," said Phelps and left after a deep bow.

Soon after he disappeared into the crowd, Malfoy came.

"You notice that your cheeks were blood red, don't you?"

Hermione touched her cheeks, it was steaming hot.

"It's a torture hearing you and that Phelps flirting-"

"I am NOT flirting-"

"Not flirting?" yelled Malfoy and he went closer to Hermione. "And who says 'have a guess' then?"

"That was just a line to help me-"

"Help you what? Get him into loving you?"

"Stop it, Malfoy! I am serious!"

"Oh, yeah? I am serious too. I told you, he's a suspect-"

"And he's innocent until we get enough evidence-"

"Evidence? What just happened is an evidence of you being coquettish and a betrayal-"

"Betrayal of what?"

"Of me!"

Malfoy was staring into her eyes, trying to make her stop talking. Hermione gulped, and tried to reason,

"I told you, I am just trying to get more information out of his tongue-"

"You say that again-"

"Look, I am being serious!"

"You say that again-"

"I told you-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Malfoy stopped her with his lips, and his tongue invaded as she gasped. Each time when she tried to breathe in for more air, his tongue went deeper, seeking more. He pushed her backwards until her back could feel the cold stony wall. Her tongue tried to shove off his tongue but the touch made hers numb, unable to defend herself. Finally when he backed off, his eyes were still penetrating, looking intently hers. She was nearly out of breath, panting hard and unable to speak a word.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for joining us tonight at our castle," said Tali. "And now, may I invite His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan bishop of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, Ilia II."

An old man got up from the chair and with the help of a young man in red. He spoke a lengthy Georgian speech and then it was time for the Prince to go on stage. Phelps took out the cushion with the crown from the glass box and slowly carrying it to the Prince. The moment when he stepped onto the stage, light suddenly turned off.

Gasps echoed through the room and Hermione reached for her pocket.

No wand.

Tali's voice immediately said,

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. The backup power will come on shortly."

Just as she finished the sentence, lights turned on again and screams flew across the room.

The crown was gone.


The mystery starts here now. What do you think?