Chapter 18

A/N: Hello readers! I know, I suck for taking so long with this chapter. Sorry.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to coolgems1630 for betaing!

~Frosty

"You know better," Hermione said, more angry and disappointed in Draco than she'd ever been in the past. She was pregnant with his child and desperately in need of his assistance, yet his reaction was to prove to her just how unreliable he was by getting himself arrested!

She was halfway to storming right out of Azkaban and going back to her neglected apartment to stay when she whipped back around to face him, having decided that she'd rather yell at him. Letting him sit there in his cell and thinking about what he'd done really wasn't going to teach him anything. Draco's learning style in matters such as this seemed to call for more drastic measures.

"How could you be so irresponsible? We're working on so many important things and you have these secret plans that you've yet to tell me about – plans that you're now going to leave unfinished since you've been thrown in Azkaban. What am I supposed to do now?"

Despite his mockery of the situation, Draco was on the edge and in no mood to sit there and let her yell at him. He stood from the rickety bed and was across the cell and right in her face faster than Hermione would have expected. Unless he was beheading things, his movements were usually so languid, making it all the more surprising when he suddenly exploded into violent movement.

"I get it," he hissed. "I made a mistake and ruined everything by letting my temper get the better of me. I don't need a lecture."

Harry, standing off to the side and watching what was clearly approaching an all out lovers' spat, was decidedly uncomfortable. He wasn't used to seeing his friend and her... Malfoy so vehement in an argument. In fact, he was pretty sure he hadn't seen them so at each other's throats since Hogwarts. It was bringing back some unpleasant memories for him, and he was willing to bet that it was doing the same for the couple.

Instead of being intimidated as Malfoy obviously intended, Hermione stood taller and put her hands on her hips. It took a lot more than her partner's posturing to actually intimidate her; she was made of stronger stuff than the average beverage slave. "Apparently you do need a lecture. Maybe if I tell you frequently enough, you'll remember that cursing one's boss gets you sent to Azkaban. You're probably going to lose your job – if that hasn't already happened- and I'm going to be left partnerless. They'll probably pair me with Basset. That man who was chased out of the-"

"I remember," Draco interrupted. "Basset was the one who found himself in the loo with a ravenous herd of pygmy puffs. Those things can be downright vicious when they're properly provoked."

Hermione's eyes narrowed suspiciously, her anger pushed aside in favour of her desire for answers. Curiosity really could be a curse sometimes. "Please tell me it wasn't you who put the pygmy puffs in the bathroom."

"Granger, you know it takes a level of dedication that I just don't possess to carefully train normally harmless pygmy puffs to attack human genitals."

She wasn't fooled for a second. "You have that level of dedication when it comes to making other people miserable-" and occasionally making her happy, but she didn't say that "- and more importantly, you have more than enough money to pay someone to train them for you."

Harry was confused. Their argument had gone from outright hostility to something closer to flirting. It was disgusting and he would have edged away long ago had he not been legally required to accompany Hermione at all times while she was in the prison.

The fight going out of him, Draco leaned against the bars, reaching a hand through them to rest it against the side of Hermione's neck. He was getting better at the tenderness and affection thing, and he could certainly tell that his partner enjoyed it. Of course, Draco would have preferred that bloody Potter wasn't there to witness it, but he was willing to accept that his current situation was of his own making and managed to refrain from lashing out at Potter – barely.

"I'll be out on bail by morning, love. We'll worry about my career later. In the meantime, there's something I need you to do in my stead."

When he remembered that they had an audience, what little of his usual facade that he had allowed to fall snapped back into place, and his hand retreated back to his side of the bars. While she was a little disappointed to see the softness he reserved just for her disappear, Hermione knew that had business that needed attending.

Draco pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You need to be here at midnight our time to meet the boat."

She scanned the paper quickly and then frowned at her partner.

"Bermuda?" Her hand went to her stomach protectively. There was a reason that the Bermuda Triangle was known by Muggles to make both ships and planes disappear. Muggles had a number of explanations, but Hermione knew for a fact that it was actually a magical monster – not exactly the environment to traverse while pregnant.

Draco nodded, the slightest light of apology in his eyes. She knew without him having to say that he would go instead of her if he could. "I've arranged for TerrorTours to take me – you, now – out into the middle of the Triangle. Dionysus assured me there's something there that will help us with our mission."

"Is it safe?"

Catching her drift, Draco's eyes went down to the hand against her abdomen. "I wouldn't send you if I thought for a moment that something would happen to you." His gaze wandered over to where Potter was watching them curiously. "Take Potter with you, he's good at martyring himself when things get difficult."

Hermione frowned at him, not appreciating the joke at all. She didn't bother with a reprimand since Draco was immune to them and she wasn't in the mood to waste time. The opportunity passed when Harry got tired of looking between them suspiciously.

"There's something you two aren't telling me," Harry said. He knew Hermione well enough to see when she was hiding something, and as disturbing as it was, he had come to know Malfoy well enough to tell that something was up with him as well. Maybe he and Malfoy were both maturing.

"That's none of your business, Potter. Just know that if anything happens to Granger, I will personally destroy you in the most painful way possible. If she gets so much as a paper cut while she's in your care, I'll make you pay. You know how I'm always looking for excuses." Maybe Harry had jumped the gun a little thinking that Malfoy might be maturing.

Hermione shot her partner a warning look, but knew that he was only projecting his worry for her into hostility at Harry, and that if something ever happened to her, he'd never forgive himself. Still, Harry didn't need the reminder to keep her safe, just as she didn't need one to do the opposite. They'd always have each other's backs. There would certainly be no martyring.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Malfoy. I'll do everything I can to keep Hermione safe," Harry said, not in the least concerned with Malfoy's threats. Hermione was grateful that at least one of them was capable of being the bigger person. Otherwise, she would have been forced to waste too much time refereeing a shouting match.

When Malfoy only nodded, Harry glanced at his watch and then turned to Hermione, apologetic. "I'm supposed to meet Ron for Butterbeer in an hour. You should come along, Hermione. We can take a little break from all of this stress before we go to Bermuda, pretend like ancient deities don't want to destroy you and Malfoy."

Hermione knew that Ron was probably wondering where Harry was and he wouldn't like being excluded. They were a team, but she wasn't sure that she could handle being responsible for another one of the people she cared about getting tangled with the gods. It was just too dangerous.

Azkaban wasn't the soul destroying place it had been years ago. The Dementors were gone, the cells were a little more modern, and the inmates were treated like humans instead of animals. Still, she hated leaving Draco there, even if he was only going to be there until morning. She looked at her partner to see that he had been watching her face and was rolling his eyes at what he saw there.

"Relax, Granger. I'm not going to go insane in the few hours I'm stuck here, and I don't have my wand to hex anyone else. You don't need to hold my hand all night."

"Apparently you need your hand held. When I'm not there to do it, you do stupid things like hex our boss."

Just like she knew he would, Malfoy only sighed and rolled his eyes at her. "Granger, you're stressed and it's not good for you. Go out with your friends, relax a little. I'll be fine."

Lips pursed, Hermione glared at him for a moment. It was his own bloody fault that he was behind bars, and yet she was the only one who seemed to be upset by this fact.

"You better be."

It took several reminders to herself that Draco's presence in Azkaban was entirely his own fault before she was able to leave. Pressing her face against the bars, Hermione gave him a quick kiss, forcing herself to follow after Harry without looking back.

It was only once they had left that Hermione realized she hadn't asked Draco what Mr. Moss had done to provoke him.

"So you're saying that this friend of yours knows nothing about the existence of the gods?" Daisy asked doubtfully. For some reason, she was struggling to understand how Hermione had been so tangled with the gods in the past, yet her two best friends didn't know about their existence at all.

"No," Hermione said firmly. "And I want to keep it that way. Ron would manage to say the wrong thing and get himself killed if he spent any time with gods." She hated to speak badly of her friends, but Ron did struggle with keeping his mouth shut. In all honesty, even Draco thought more before he spoke, and his comments had nearly gotten them killed in the past. Hermione didn't want to take any more risks than necessary, so Ron was going to remain firmly in the dark.

Hermione and Harry had returned to Malfoy Manor from Azkaban, only remembering that Daisy would also need to eat once they actually saw the woman. It would be impolite to just leave her alone with the House Elves, so an invitation was extended to her to join them at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Try not to gawk at anything," Harry whispered as they entered the Leaky Cauldron. "It gives you away as a Muggle and people will start asking questions we really don't want to answer."

Daisy nodded, but couldn't mask the uncomfortable expression on her face as she got a good look at some of the patrons. There was a hag cackling with the bartender over at the bar, and one table way in the back had someone so large that he had to be at least a quarter giant. He kept his eyes on his bowl of stew, but his stare was menacing. The stew was probably trembling in fear – considering the type of food the Leaky sometimes served, it was possible that the stew would get scared enough to try and escape. It might even manage to do so; something similar had happened in the past.

"There he is," Harry said, mostly for Daisy's benefit.

Ron, already sitting at a table sipping a Butterbeer, glanced up at the sound of his friend's voice. As soon as Ron's eyes shifted to Harry's side and noticed Daisy, Hermione knew that they were in trouble. Ron immediately developed some interesting pink spots on his cheeks as his ears turned red. It was the same look he'd once worn while looking at Fleur back in fourth year.

"Ron," Hermione said, seating herself across from him while Harry sat beside him, and Daisy took the remaining seat beside Hermione, "This is my friend Daisy."

Daisy gave him a tight smile and a little finger waggle of a wave. She was clearly still uncomfortable with her surroundings, and, as she'd said earlier to Hermione, not happy about putting off looking for Cassy, even when she knew there was nothing productive she could do in the meantime.

Despite the low alcohol content in Butterbeer, Hermione politely refused Harry and Ron's offers to get her a drink. She claimed that she was still technically working and it wouldn't be proper to consume alcohol on the job. It was just the sort of prim, uptight thing they expected from her, so they didn't question it. Daisy, who knew better, shared a secretive smile with Hermione.

Their meal was uneventful until Daisy excused herself to the bathroom.

"Is she single?" Ron asked.

Hermione glanced in the direction of the bathrooms. Come to think of it, she had no idea if Cassy's father was still in the picture or not, or whether there might be someone else. There hadn't been a way to tactfully bring up the subject, and honestly, Hermione hadn't really been concerned about Daisy's relationship status in all the time she'd spent with her.

"I'm not sure," she said with a shrug that seemed to frustrate Ron for a fraction of a second.

He bounced back quickly though. While he still had his moments, he wasn't the awkward kid he'd been in school. Occasionally, he managed a few coherent sentences around pretty women.

Butterbeer helped.

While Daisy was in the bathroom, Ron managed to finish his Butterbeer along with Harry's, much to Harry's displeasure. He made his way to the bar and returned with two much stronger drinks, neither of which he offered Harry.

As Daisy walked back to their table, Hermione wished there was some way she could warn the woman that she was unknowingly returning to, but it was pointless. Besides, Hermione figured if Daisy could handle the gods and come out unscathed, she'd probably survive an encounter with Ron.

"So Daisy," Ron asked once she sat down again, "Are you single?"

Daisy blinked in surprise and then looked over at Hermione as if she was checking that Ron was seriously asking her that. Hermione knew how inappropriate it was to be hitting on her while she was hunting for her missing child, but Ron didn't. They'd kept their dinner conversation to happy topics so he knew nothing about Cassy. The story was kind of difficult to explain without mentions of the gods.

Hermione shrugged back at the other woman with an apologetic expression.

"I've been single since my husband died four years ago," she said flatly. Daisy seemed to be trying to put Ron off with the sad news. It probably worked on most people, but Ron was deeper than that. He wasn't scared off by a complicated past. Besides that, he was well on his way to drunk.

An idea struck Hermione then. She didn't want to put Daisy in unnecessary danger by bringing her along with her and Harry on their meeting, and staying with Ron would be the perfect distraction.

With the way the two were looking at each other, Hermione didn't think it would be very difficult to convince them that keeping each other company while she and Harry went to run an errand would be very difficult. Daisy was trying to hide it, but she seemed to be at least a little bit interested in Ron. At the very least, she was amused by his inebriated enthusiasm.

Hermione looked at Harry meaningfully to see if he was on the same track as her and then pointedly ignored the disapproving little headshake he gave her. While adept at navigating the world of the gods, Daisy still hadn't been trained to handle magical creatures like Hermione or criminals like Harry. She didn't even have magic. Hermione thought it best to leave her out of the thick of the danger whenever possible.