Chapter 19

A/N: Hello readers! I know, I suck. Sorry about that. But here's a new chapter, so at least there's that.

As always, thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed. I'm sorry if some of them went unanswered. I've been majorly slacking with answering them as well.

I'll try and have another chapter for you guys next week.

~Frosty

Hermione tilted her head back and tried to appreciate the tropical breeze as it tugged at her hair, snarling her curls into a tangle of knots that she was determined to worry about later. The worry would have company among the abundance of others of its kind that she was avoiding; her incarcerated partner, a missing child, her unborn child, and the gods that wanted her and Draco dead were among them.

She didn't even know who she was going off to meet; Draco hadn't told her and she'd been so worried about Draco being locked up that she hadn't thought to ask a few things that she probably should have. The whole tropical mission just reeked of disaster.

But she trusted her partner and his judgement – when it came to her safety, at least. Clearly he didn't have much sense of self preservation if he was going to start cursing the authority figures in his life.

Too much stress wasn't good for the baby, so she was actively trying to avoid thinking about upsetting things. In her imagination, she was on a tropical cruise instead of in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle to attend a meeting with some mystery deity.

She took in a deep breath as she started to worry again. The tropical cruise thing wasn't going to work. It had been a nice fantasy while it lasted. She was just too practical for prolonged flights of fancy.

Instead, Hermione tried to logically assess the situation.

Draco had met with Dionysus, who gave him the location of this mystery contact who spent their time in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. She had a few guesses, but there was really no concrete information upon which she could base her assumptions. Essentially, she was going in blind. Hermione hated not having all of the facts.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Harry grumbled from where he was leaning against the railing beside her.

Their boat was a relatively small one, clearly only made to hold twenty people of so. It consisted of a deck surrounded by a railing and then a small roofed in area that contained the steering wheel and navigation gear. They were low enough to the water that the occasional drops of seawater landed on Hermione and Harry. Neither person minded, it was quite warm under the bright afternoon sun and the splashes were refreshing.

"You keep saying that," Hermione sighed, irritated that he continuously ruined her attempts to stop herself from worrying.

"Because I keep feeling it and you have yet to react. For all we know, Malfoy sent us to our deaths."

Hermione had to take a breath to stop herself from snapping at her friend. "I thought you understood that Draco doesn't mean me any harm. Why are we back to this distrust?"

"I'm fine trusting him with you most of the time, he's proven that he cares about you. What I don't trust him with is my safety. As long as you're safe I can see him putting me in danger for his own amusement."

While it wasn't completely unreasonable that Harry would think this, Hermione knew that it wasn't the truth.

"Draco might play harmless pranks on you, maybe even send you somewhere he knew that it was likely that some mild harm would come to you, but he would never deliberately send you to your death. It would upset me too much and I know that you've seen for yourself how much he hates it when I'm upset."

Harry nodded but didn't really look convinced. She knew that he only had his and her safety in mind, but Hermione wished that he didn't have to doubt Draco so much.

Looking back towards the water, Hermione saw that they were approaching a small island. She really hoped that it was their destination; the pressure of getting into a situation that she knew almost nothing about was really building. She just wanted to get whatever was going to happen over with.

"Your boyfriend arranged to have us left on an island in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle and there's no one here. Still think he has our best interests in mind?"

Hermione ignored Harry's comment and started walking. It wasn't as if they were stranded there, the driver of the boat said that he'd be back for them in a few hours. This didn't mean that she'd been happy to stand on the sandy beach of the small island and watch their only means of escape slowly shrink until it was just a speck on the horizon.

She was definitely going to have word with Draco about that later – provided the boat actually returned for her and Harry, of course.

The island was a relatively small one; whoever they were looking for couldn't be very far. It was mostly beach with a small stand of trees in the middle. Since the sun beating down on her dark hair was starting to get uncomfortable and there was clearly no one waiting for them on the trees where there would at least be shade while she searched for their contact.

There was no one on the island. This became apparent after only ten minutes of walking. The island really wasn't more than a small stretch of sand with some trees.

"Hermione, I think I found something," Harry called from the other side of the island.

Eager for the trip to have some purpose instead of being a huge waste of time, Hermione rushed over to see what her friend had found. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't the person they were supposed to meet.

"A bow and an empty quiver?" she asked when she reached him. This was indeed what Harry was holding.

There was clearly something special about this bow; it had the golden sheen of the divine. Still, it was just a bow. Hermione failed to see how it was going to be of use to them.

"There was a note with them," Harry said, frowning down at a piece of paper. "It says 'I'm sorry I couldn't meet you in person with this information, but there's this party in Vegas that I just had to attend. I did manage to steal these from Apollo. His arrows bring about disease and death from the spirit world; they're the source of your plague. He'll want these back so be prepared'." Harry looked at the divine objects in disbelief. "It's signed Dionysus."

Hermione was hesitant to touch the bow and quiver, but after a tentative brush of her fingers with no negative effects, she picked them up and stored them away in her beaded pouch. She looked up to find Harry giving her a concerned look.

"I'm new to this god thing, and I'm not as educated on the subject as you, but I'm pretty sure that having an angry god after you isn't a good thing."

"Aphrodite is already displeased with Draco and I, one more god out to get us isn't much additional worry."

Already, Hermione was going over ways to get the bow and quiver to the Unspeakables so that they could analyse them and hopefully come up with a cure for the plague they had caused. She quickly dismissed the idea though. Handing the divine objects to someone else would be risking that person at the hands of an angry god, and Hermione wasn't sure that she could risk someone else in such a way, even if it might be able to save magical creatures. The only one who would be able to properly cure the creatures would probably be Apollo anyway – what better being to cure a plague than the god of medicine?

She made her way over to the water and sat in the sand, dipping her feet in the water. The waves lapping at her toes were surprisingly cold compared to the extreme heat of the sun. She was starting to wonder if maybe the extreme heat of the sun was a reflection of Apollo's displeasure.

When Draco got out of Azkaban she would make him check her over for suspicious moles, just in case. If the sun was stronger than usual the radiation from its beams probably was as well.

Harry came up to sit beside her. "We're not even going to talk about the fact that there's now two gods out to get you?"

"More than two," she said glumly. "I'm almost certain that Auror Smith is Ares." At Harry's questioning look, she elaborated. "It was the Stymphalian birds that gave him away. They didn't attack him like they should have, they welcomed him like an old friend."

When Harry still looked confused, Hermione went into the story of how the man-eating birds were pets of Ares, who appreciated their ability to launch their razor-sharp feathers at their prey and their bloodthirsty appetite for human flesh. She ignored the look of horror on his face that only intensified as she continued with the story. It was best he knew what he was getting into with the gods before they were forced into some sort of confrontation with them.

Even at her most optimistic Hermione knew she wasn't going to escape the divine attention without a confrontation. She could only hope she and her friends survived it.

The tour guide driving their boat waited several hours before he returned to retrieve them. Hermione had actually started to worry that they really were stranded on the island when she saw the tiny dot on the horizon of their approaching ride.

Despite numerous sunscreen charms and much time in the shade, both Hermione and Harry sported pink, stinging cheeks. They would be blinking sunspots out of their eyes for a while.

By the time she and Harry returned to the Manor, Draco had been released and was pacing in front of the fireplace. He grabbed Hermione as soon as she was through the flames, looking over her for any signed of damage. Her sunburn earned a frown, but he was more focused on searching for more major injuries.

"What the hell took you so long?" Draco demanded. He still hadn't released Hermione, but he didn't seem to notice this, and he certainly hadn't noticed his audience.

Harry looked like he wanted to edge from the room but stood there, possibly making sure that Draco didn't hurt Hermione. It was a ridiculous notion, even Harry knew it. Still, he had to make sure.

"Your tour guide left us on the island for several hours." Hermione wiggled a little under his hands, wanting to be released. Normally, she had no problem with Draco holding her, but this time he was unintentionally squeezing her just a bit too tightly.

When she was free and looked up to meet Draco's eyes she found them darkened with anger. "He did what?"

"He left us on the island for our meeting and then came back to pick us up a little later than he originally intended," Harry said, shooting a concerned look at Hermione. He'd seen the way Draco had hugged her a little too tightly.

She rolled her eyes at his expression. Draco hadn't hurt her and he wouldn't, she'd just been a tad uncomfortable being squeezed.

"I'll have to have a word with the company," Draco said darkly. If Hermione had been feeling generous, she'd warn them that their business was in danger. Unfortunately for them, she had too much on her plate to find the time for something so unimportant considering everything else happening in her life. Besides, she wasn't exactly pleased about being left on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean without reassurance that rescue was coming.

Assured that Hermione was going to be fine, Draco turned his eyes to her friend. "She's uninjured, Potter. You've served your purpose. I'm sure you remember where the door- Ow! Granger, was that really necessary?" he demanded, rubbing at the spot on his shoulder where she had hit him.

"There's no need to be rude to my friends," she snapped, not apologetic in the least. "Harry said that he wants to stay here until we've solved this divine mess, and I couldn't talk him out of it, so he's staying."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry grumbled.

She turned to glare at him. "You know I appreciate that you're here, but being close to us is going to put you in danger as well. If the situation was reversed, you'd be doing the exact same thing."

"More danger than before?" Draco interrupted before Harry could respond. "What came of your meeting?"

Tired, Hermione made her way to the sofa, pulling Draco behind her by the hand. Harry excused himself, saying that he was going to see about something for them all to eat. Needing some time alone with Draco to explain, Hermione allowed him to go instead of just summoning a House Elf to bring them something.

"Dionysus didn't actually make the meeting, but he did leave us Apollo's bow and arrow." She went on to explain everything that had happened on the island, including what she'd revealed to Harry about Auror Smith.

"Where's Daisy?" Hermione asked once she was finished her story.

Draco shrugged. "She wasn't here when I was released."

Feeling a stab of worry about the woman, Hermione first addressed something that had been weighing on her mind. "Do you still have a job or am I going to have to find a new partner?"

He nodded towards a letter from the Ministry sitting on the end table at the edge of the sofa. "I'm on probation for the next six months. One toe out of line and I'll lose my job. The probation probably would have been longer, but their investigation into the incident revealed some things about Moss that probably would have continued to be overlooked had I not brought attention to the issue. Honestly, I think they let me keep my job so that I would keep quiet about all of Moss' bad habits."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "They're finally replacing the man who refuses to do any actual work and constantly neglects his job?"

"Mmhmm."

"What exactly was he doing that the Ministry is so eager to keep from the public?"

"He knew it was only a matter of time until he lost his job – a job he only had because his father has influence. He attempted to bribe me into supporting him when it came time for the Minister to review the heads of department. When I laughed at his pathetic attempts at bribery, he tried to threaten me, then you and Mother."

"Which is when you cursed him," Hermione said with a sigh. It hadn't been the best reaction to the horrible situation, but at the very least, it had opened the Minister's eyes to the nepotism and corruption that still contaminated parts of the Ministry.

He nodded his agreement, half braced for another lecture that never came.

Draco could see the sun coming up outside the window. He'd been awake just as long as his partner, unable to sleep because there was a chance that she was in danger. The both of them were exhausted, and he had a nasty feeling that Granger wasn't going to let him sleep yet.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what his replacement does with the department," she murmured.

After contemplating how much more productive they could be with someone competent running their department, Hermione heaved herself to her feet, once again pulling Draco with her.

"Let's go find Harry. We need to make sure that Daisy is okay and tell her what's happened. Maybe she's seen something that could help us."

They found Daisy in Ron's flat, curled around the redhead on his sofa. It seemed that they had been playing chess when the both of them dozed off.

Hermione cleared her throat. She hated to wake them, but there were things that needed to be discussed, and Daisy would be safer at the Manor with all of its ancient wards than in Ron's virtually unprotected flat.

At the sound of her voice, both Ron and Daisy snapped upright, jumping away from each other as if they'd been doing something wrong. Ron's face quickly morphed from dazed to hurt and angry.

"Why didn't you tell me about this gods nonsense?" he demanded.

Hermione raised her eyebrows and leaned around the angry redhead to look at a very guilty Daisy, who mumbled something that sounded like "he had a right to know." At least that's what Hermione thought she said, it was hard to tell over Ron's yelling.

Not wanting Hermione too close to someone who was clearly so volatile, Draco tugged Hermione back a few steps, putting himself between them. It was a nice thought, but one of the worst things he could have done in the situation.

"You're trying to replace me with Malfoy, is that it?" Ron demanded, still yelling toward Hermione and Harry where he stood at her side. "First he dates Hermione and then suddenly he knows all about what's going on while you let me stay in the dark?"

Draco rolled his eyes. He had less patience than usual because he'd had such a trying day on so little sleep. "I vote we talk to him once he calms down. In the meantime, we go to bed."

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as his partner practically swayed with exhaustion. She'd been more tired recently, probably because of the pregnancy, and she didn't need this on top of everything else.

He cast a body bind jinx on the Weasel and then headed towards the fireplace, towing his partner behind him. "Potter, do something about your ginger shadow. Bring him to the Manor if you must, just keep him out of the way long enough for Granger and I to get at least eight hours of sleep."

Hermione made some weak protests, but she was tired enough that Draco's orders to Harry seemed perfectly reasonable to her. She was going to have so much to answer for in the morning. At the moment though, all she wanted to think about was Draco's nice, warm bed.