Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I have taken an insane amount of time to update, that does not mean that I am JK Rowling. Therefore, I do not own Harry Potter, I am merely a devoted fan writing fan fiction.
A/N: Please don't hate me! I know this update took waaaaayyyyy too long, but in addition to writer's block I've had a lot of work to do in real life, so I simply haven't had time to work on the fic. I have however finally finished chapter 3, and I hope you all aren't too mad at me to stop reading. A great big thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 2! (Sorry I didn't write more individual responces, but it was either this, or delay the update even longer, I figured everyone would be happier with this.)
TSKers – Ahhh! It's you! I know, I know I'll try to update fast next time I promise. But I'm glad you like it anyway :D
elektra30, undercovervampire, xoKaSsIeox, Chantal J and sam, dancerfreak1991, sunflower18, mysteriouscharm, anIme-prYncess, FallenThrough, I wish your heart was mine, zuvalupa – thank you for the reviews, I hope you all like this chapter too!
Clear Black Glass – lol yup, Voldemort is indeed still alive. I never thought about how the people in Auror training would react to Harry, they probably are a bit awed, but they get over it once they get to know him. And yes, I'm American, why do you ask? (if you don't mind my asking lol) Anyway, thanks for the review!
Hogwartsboyzrhot – thanks so much! I'm sorry the update took so long, but I'm happy you like it and I hope you like this chapter too!
Piper – lol yup, Michael might be trouble, but I won't tell you what I have planned. Hope school's going well for you! Thanks for the review!
Steelo – No worries, Draco will be back soon ;o) I'm sorry this update took so long, but I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one too. Thanks for the review!
Now, finally, it's time for chapter 3!
Chapter 3: The Order and Australia
Hermione, Ron and Harry returned to Grimmauld Place once their auror class was finished. Hermione had spent the remainder of the class unusually focused on whatever it was Kingsley was saying so that she wouldn't have to look at the other trainees, Michael in particular who had shot her a couple of curious looks in the meeting room.
Once back home, they were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Lupin, Tonks, and much to their surprise, Dumbledore. Everyone, except Dumbledore, immediately began bombarding them with questions about their first day of training. All the while, Dumbledore stood surveying them with a proud smile. After about 15 minutes, he politely interrupted the conversation. Everyone went silent and focused their attention on him.
"I want to congratulate you three for a successful first day, I am sure you will all succeed marvelously. However now, I must bring your attention to another matter. You are now all of legal age to join the Order of the Phoenix if you so wish. You three have already proven yourselves more than capable of dealing with the sort of tasks required of Order members. So, as they say, 'there is no time like the present!' Have you all decided to become full fledged members of the Order of the Phoenix?"
Harry nodded immediately; he had been eagerly waiting for this day ever since he'd first learned of the Order of the Phoenix, Ron, following Harry's lead nodded as well. Hermione however suddenly felt as though she had been hit in the chest by a ton of bricks. Her windpipe seemed to have closed, and for a moment she could not breathe.
This was so sudden and unexpected. Sure, she had planned on joining the Order, but she had never thought the time would come so quickly, she hadn't had time to mentally prepare herself. However, the room was now filled with a heavy silence, and Dumbledore's light blue eyes were twinkling at her reassuringly and expectantly, so she nodded.
Dumbledore clapped his hands together, "excellent! Now all we need to do is have you take the pledge, and add your name to the member list, and we'll be set! So, if you would all please raise your right hand."
Hermione Ron and Harry each raised the proper hand.
"Now, repeat after me, I hereby pledge my service to the Order of the Phoenix."
They repeated Dumbledore's words.
"As a member, I am dedicating myself to work against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters . . ."
An image of the Death Eater gathering Hermione had been forced to attend last year formed in her head. She could see Voldemort's blood red eyes and then the Mark on Draco's forearm passed, and her resolve to join the Order strengthened.
"in hopes to one day bring peace to the world. . ."
If she helped destroy Voldemort and the Death Eaters then she and Draco could finally be together in peace.
"I vow to never betray the Order's secrets . . ."
A knot in her chest instantly tightened as she repeated those words, she would never be able to tell Draco anything related to the Order, but wouldn't that in turn be betraying his trust?
"to anyone who is not already a member . . ."
Hermione stood tight-lipped, and with a great deal of effort, finished the pledge, suddenly her heart was pounding and she felt emotionally exhausted.
"Now, I need you all to sign your names here, and then it will be official." Dumbledore procured a scroll of parchment out of thin air and unrolled it to reveal the list of Order Members. There were quite a few more than any of them had ever realized. After Harry and Ron signed, Hermione stepped forward and got a closer look at the scroll, she felt a lump rise into her throat when she read some of the names up close. Because several of them were crossed off, and next to the names was their reason for death, nearly all of which involved duties to the Order. Hermione tried her best to fight the rising sensation of unease in her throat, and she was visibly hesitant to sign the scroll. However, since she had already taken the pledge, there was no turning back now. With a deep breath, she touched the quill to the paper and signed her name. As she placed the quill down on the table and watched Dumbledore make the scroll disappear, she had the frightening sensation that she had just signed her soul away, and there was no getting it back now.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Hermione, though thankfully no one seemed to notice that she was feeling a bit off. But as she lay in her room that night, she found herself unable to sleep. Somehow, her always active mind had begun comparing the oath she had taken that night to the one Draco had been forced to take last year with the Death Eaters. When it came right down to it, were they really all that different? After all, both groups required their members to possibly give their lives in order to reach a goal. Of course, the Order wasn't looking to kill people, and they did not brand you, and the Order really was only trying to maintain peace . . .
Ok, so they were very different, and she wanted to be an Order member. She was just nervous because she hadn't had time to prepare herself. Yes, that had to be it. She turned to her side and pulled the sheets closer to her, she desperately wished that Draco were there to hold her and kiss away all her fears. But then her brain kicked in yet again and she realized that it was probably better that he wasn't with her right now. He would not be able to comfort her because she was not allowed to tell him anything regarding the choice she had made that night. Those thoughts brought a single salty tear to her eye; it rolled down her cheek and landed on the pillow. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to keep what she'd just done from him, but he was not an Order member, nor was he ever going to be one, so she would never be able to tell him.
As she finally drifted off to sleep, the week she'd spent at Draco's which in fact was only a couple days in the past, now felt ages away. And the worst part was that she knew that things were only going to get harder. She only hoped that she'd be able to figure out a way to deal with them before she saw Draco again. A part of her even hoped that that time would not come quickly; because first she needed time to think.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Draco spent about two weeks in Italy before he grew too restless to stay any longer. He had visited the sites in Rome, and was vaguely interested about the gory gladiator fights that took place in the ancient Roman Colosseum. But one could only be interested in the sights and history for too long (unless that one was Hermione of course, who could have probably spent a lifetime learning about everything Rome had to offer). Draco decided that perhaps this was too familiar, he'd been here before, and even though he had visited individual sights that he'd never been to before, he still felt like he'd seen it all before, and he was growing restless.
"Mimi!" he called to his house-elf one early morning in the middle of his third week in Italy.
"Yes sir Master Draco sir," Mimi rushed in an bowed.
"We're leaving today."
"Is we going going home sir?" Mimi asked in a hopeful tone.
"No," Draco answered curtly.
Mimi looked upon her master, with a concerned frown, "is you sure Master Draco? You is seeming very unhappy away from home sir. Isn't you wanting to see Miss Herminey again sir?"
Draco's jaw tightened at the mention of Hermione, "We're not going home Mimi," he repeated coldly.
The house-elf knew not to argue with her Master when he spoke like that. She had already been daring enough by trying to convince him to go home, she was not going to push it. In fact she considered herself lucky that he hadn't yelled at her for questioning him. "Where is we going sir? Spain, Germany? Master Draco always loved going to France."
Draco interrupted, "no Mimi, we're not going to any of those places, we're going somewhere we've never been."
"Really Master Draco? Where is we going?" Mimi attempted to sound excited, although she was really just frightened.
"Well, I said that I wanted to travel the world to get away, and you can't get much further away than Australia, so we're going there." Traveling to Australia had been something that Draco had been considering for about a week, and the more he thought about it, the more appealing the thought seemed.
The house-elf's tennis ball shaped eyes grew even wider with fear, "but Master Draco, that place sir, that is very far away sir. Is Master sure he isn't wanting to go somewhere else?"
A mischievous smile crossed Draco's face, the fact that his house-elf was scared only made him more eager to go. He didn't even know where the idea had come from originally, but he was definitely glad he'd thought of it. It was certainly not anything he'd thought about before, not consciously at least. "We're going to Australia, and we're leaving in half an hour, I'm going to get ready, and you will pack my things."
"Yes sir," Mimi did her best to hide her whimper as she bowed and left to carry out her orders. In truth, Mimi was terrified of traveling so far away over so much water, she did not know how to swim, and she much preferred the comforts and usual duties at the Manor than to traveling. But she lived to serve, and her young Master seemed to need her more than ever, so she was ready to follow him to the end of the world (which is basically what she would be doing when they left for the land Down Under). It was not that Draco had confided anything to her about what he was feeling, he never did, but she had cared for him all his life, and she could read him more than he knew. Her master was not happy, Mimi knew that her master wanted his Herminey, but Master Draco did not seem to want to acknowledge that.
Within 25 minutes, Mimi had all of Draco's things packed, and Draco had showered and eaten breakfast. Before gathering Mimi, Draco tapped on Aries cage to wake the eagle owl up. Aries squawked with a bit of annoyance, but looked at Draco attentively anyhow. "Mimi and I are going to Australia, so I think it's best for you to go back home and wait for us there, alright?"
Aries clicked his beak and climbed onto Draco's arm. Draco carried the owl outside, and allowed him to fly off. After that he stepped back inside the house and found Mimi in the entryway. "Is everything ready Mimi?"
"Yes Mater Draco," Mimi squeaked as she shoved Draco's trunk in front of her towards the door.
Draco shrunk the trunk and stuck it in his pocket.
"How is we getting there Master Draco?" the fear was clear in her voice, though she did not argue Draco's choice.
"We have to go to the Italian Minisrty office in Rome, and from there we'll apparate," answered Draco as he strode out the door.
"But Master Draco, why is we needing to go to the Ministry if we is apparating?"
"Because," Draco said as he strode purposely down the street, Mimi jogging at his side to keep up, "I don't know where the best apparation point is in Australia, so I need to go to the Wizarding Transportation office."
At the Italian Ministry, Draco made arrangements for a place to stay in Sydney. Then once he'd gotten everything settled at the Italian Ministry, he and Mimi apparated to the Australian Ministry. He barely had time to overcome the dizzying feeling of apparating so far when an Australian Ministry official came rushing up to him.
"G'day!" she greeted with a cheerful smile, "and you must be Mr. Malfoy, coming in from Rome."
"Yes that's me," answered Draco, opening his eyes and forcing them to focus and not to concentrate on the room spinning.
The Ministry witch seemed to have noticed Draco's discomfort, for she let out a cheery laugh, "no worries mate, the dizziness will wear off in a couple minutes. In the meantime, I am supposed to direct you to where you'll be staying." The witch led Draco over to a nearby counter, poor Mimi had to grab hold of Draco's robes to prevent herself from falling flat on the floor she was so dizzy.
Draco steadied himself on the counter while the Ministry witch went around to the back. By the time she spoke again, the wooziness in his head had cleared, and he was able to see appropriately. "Now," said the witch, "Here's a map of Sydney, the magical sections are clearly marked." The witch pointed to one of the magical areas, which was outlined in a shimmering blue line. "And here's how you get to your hotel," the witch tapped the map, and a shimmering gold line appeared, highlighting the route to the hotel. "And I think you'll find some lovely restaurants along the way in case you're hungry. Is there anything else I can help you with before you leave?"
Draco nodded at the witches instructions, and glanced at his watch when she mentioned food, but he was still on Italy time, "no nothing else thanks, except could you tell me the time?"
The Ministry witch laughed, "of course," she checked her own watch, "It's 5:07 pm. Is that all?"
Draco adjusted his own watch, then looked back up at the witch and shook his head. "Yes, that's all, thank you."
"Of course, have a wonderful stay in Sydney! And if you have any questions, feel free to come back here, and ask for Chelsea."
"I'll be sure to remember that, thank you for your help Chelsea."
Chelsea nodded, and watched the hot young British man with an approving smile as he strode all the way out of the room.
Once outside, Draco opened up the map and memorized the directions to get to the hotel. He then folded up the map and slipped it into his pocket. He glanced down at Mimi, who looked both frightened and awed at the same time, and then he started on his way with her trotting at his heels. Draco immediately noticed how beautiful the city was. Unlike any other city he'd been to, Sydney had parks and gardens that flowed perfectly along with the usual buildings and streets which usually belonged in a city.
It took no time at all for Draco to locate his hotel, it was a thin, but tall building hidden amongst the muggle buildings much in the same way that the Leaky Cauldron was hidden from the muggle buildings back home in London. Draco had rented the penthouse room at the very top simply because it was the most expensive, and therefore must be the best.
And the best it was indeed. His room was more like a large flat. It had three full sized bedrooms, each with their own bath, a huge living room area, a dining area, and a complete kitchen. The walls were decorated with wizarding paintings, mostly of native Australian animals, all of which were moving around in their frames, and curiously viewing the suites new occupant. But by far, the best attribute of this suite was the spectacular view. Draco could see the whole harbor from his room, including the bridge and the opera house. The sun was beginning to set, and it was truly the most spectacular site he'd ever witnessed in his life. He felt like he could be at peace here, like everything here was beautiful and perfect (not to mention far away from all his troubles back home). For the first time since he'd last seen Hermione, he truly smiled.
After magically enlarging and unpacking his trunk in the master bedroom, Draco headed out to the magical section of Sydney for dinner. He was a bit thrown off by the time difference, since it was eight hours later here than it had been in Rome, but he'd get over that quick enough. The restaurant he chose was small but classy. He was not oblivious to the curious looks he got while eating alone, nor did he miss the group of girls sitting a few tables away who seemed to be trying to catch his eye. It reminded him of the girls at Hogwarts, which in turn once again brought Hermione to the forefront of his mind. They wouldn't be watching him if she was here with him. He scowled at that thought. How the hell was he supposed to find anything while he was away if his stubborn mind was always back there with her?
Draco finished his dinner in a bit of a rush, and then decided to take a walk outside in the fresh air to calm his nerves. Thankfully enough, the city of Sydney did serve to calm him, he walked along the Harbor surrounding the Opera House, everything here was so calm, peaceful, and perfect.
In the magical wing of the Opera House, which was invisible and impenetrable to muggles, Draco read an announcement saying that there was a performance scheduled for the next night, so with a shrug of his shoulders he decided he'd come back then and see what it was all about. By the time Draco had left the Opera House, the sun had finished setting, so he skipped the sight seeing in favor of returning to his hotel. He thought about writing a letter to Hermione, but upon consideration figured that it would be best to wait a while until he had things to tell her about Australia. Since it was so far away from home, he probably wouldn't be able to write more than one letter to her while he was here anyway. With thoughts of Hermione again consuming his conscience, he took a long relaxing bath, complete with bubbles and magical jets.
He nearly fell asleep in the soothing warmth of the water and the delicious smell of the bubbles, but he managed to keep himself awake and then he made his way to bed. He wasn't particularly tired since his body clock was still on Italian time, but he knew if he had any hope of enjoying himself here, he'd have to readjust as soon as possible. He turned on his side, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.
Draco was unsurprised when he awoke at the crack of dawn the next morning, but he was not at all disappointed that he did. The sunrise over the harbor that greeted him outside his window was purely dazzling. Draco dressed, and decided to go for a walk in the brisk chilly air; he was a bit cold since he'd forgotten that it was winter in Australia and he'd left his cloak back in the room. For the most part, he didn't mind the cold, except that his pale cheeks were a little pink from the air.
While in Sydney, Draco went to a performance at the Opera House, he visited a zoo, and a museum, he took a walk along the harbor every morning just to see the sunrise. He loved it all, but still felt empty somehow. It wasn't until he had been there for about a week that it hit him. He was taking one of his early morning walks, the sun was still below the bridge, and colors filled the early morning sky, when all of a sudden a thought popped into his head, 'Hermione would love it here.' He was a bit surprised by it, not because it was a thought about Hermione, he thought about her all the time. But what surprised him was the door that thought seemed to open in his mind that led to other thoughts.
That was it, no matter how perfect everything should have been, it was no match to how he felt when he was with Hermione. He missed her, and he needed her. Cutting his walk short, he abruptly spun on his heel and charged back to his hotel room. Once there, he settled at a desk and wrote a letter to her. He kept his letter light-hearted, what he was feeling now were things he'd rather express to her in person and in private.
After finishing the letter, he gathered his things and Mimi and set off for the post to send his letter. As eager as he was to go home and see Hermione, he also wanted to visit a couple other places in northern Australia before he left. Ever since he'd arrived he'd been thinking that he might like to buy a house here, and he wanted to choose the best area before he made a decision. Sydney was lovely, but he'd also heard that Cairns was equally amazing, so he wanted to check it out for himself. Having sent the letter, and knowing that he would be going home in a couple weeks and would be seeing Hermione again put Draco in a definite good mood.
- - - - - - - - - -
Over the next few weeks after Hermione, Harry and Ron were initiated into the Order the auror training proceeded pretty much as any other class begins, with a lot of reading. The ministry seemed to think along the same lines as Hermione in that if the trainees knew all the theory and history behind everything it takes to be an auror, then the practical work would come easier. While this course of action was no problem for Hermione, it annoyed Harry and Ron to no end. They were both very eager to begin practical training, particularly so they could use it on any Order missions they would have to go on in the future.
In order to make studying more bearable and fun for everyone, the trainees had taken to getting together at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor every Friday after training. They used the time to go over the week's work and enjoy heaping ice cream sundaes at the same time. As time went by, Hermione found herself able to relax more around all the trainees, not just Harry and Ron. But every once in a while she would get the feeling that Michael was flirting with her, and at those times she felt very uncomfortable.
That was how she was feeling now as all the trainees sat around a table outside the ice cream parlor. They were halfway through with their sundaes and the boys had abandoned their conversation about work in favor of discussing some of the hot female Ministry trainees from other departments. Hermione was normally fine with these conversations, even though they did get annoying after a while, the only thing that ever really bothered her were some of the comments that Michael would occasionally make. The other three guys would be talking about how hot the other girls were and then Michael would say something like, 'yeah but none of them compare to Hermione,' and then he would put his hand on her back or on her arm. Hermione tried her best not to be rude, but he made her very uncomfortable, and in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but picture how furious Draco would be if he saw Michael's behavior around her.
Michael now had his hand on Hermione's arm, and Hermione felt her hear begin to race, not in a good way like it did when she was excited, and not in the way that id did when she was around Draco, but in a way that made her very incredibly nervous and edgy. She shifted, and purposely moved her arm away, successfully removing Michael's hand. She could feel him look at her out of the corner of her eye, but she refused to meet his eyes, and was determined not to look as uncomfortable as she felt.
But that was not all that was bothering her, she was a bit worried because it had been over three seeks since Draco's last letter. She'd gotten two letters a week from him while he was in Italy. She supposed that he'd packed up and gone somewhere else, because he hadn't seemed very enthusiastic in his last letter, but he hadn't mentioned that he was leaving either. But still even if he had, why hadn't he sent her another letter? She hadn't realized how much she looked forward to his letters until they stopped coming, she sighed, and felt Michael rest his hand on her back in what she supposed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. She glanced up at him with a blank expression, but instead of focusing on him, her gaze automatically focused on a very brightly colored bird flying straight towards them.
Michael saw the curiosity in her face and he turned around to see what had caught her eye. He managed to duck just in time to avoid being clipped by the letter the bird was carrying before the bird landed in the center of their table. The bird was a mid-sized parrot; it was mostly green with an orange chest, a blue head, and bright orange beak. The parrot seemed to take a look around at everyone before hopping towards Hermione.
Hermione squealed in excitement, a noise that caused Michael and Toby to stare at her in shock, and Harry and Ron to roll their eyes. "What's that?" Michael asked.
"It must be a letter from Draco," Hermione said fumbling while trying to remove Draco's letter because her hands were shaking so much with excitement. "He must be somewhere really far away now to use a bird like this instead of his owl." The parrot squawked as if it knew Hermione was talking about it. It was patient with Hermione's shaky hands, and seemed as curious in its surroundings as the five people at the table were in it. Finally, Hermione managed to remove the letter, but the parrot did not leave right away, instead it seemed rather content to sit down and stick around for a while.
Hermione pushed her glass of water towards the parrot, and the bird eagerly plunged it's beak inside and began gulping down the water; clearly it was exhausted after such a long journey. Hermione meanwhile unfolded the letter and speedily read it through;
Hermione,
G'day from the Land Down Under! Alright, now that I've made a fool of myself… I apologize ahead of time for this letter taking so long to get to you, but as you may have already guessed, I'm in Australia and it's quite a long flight back home from here, so I hope you'll understand.
Hermione gasped after the first line.
"What is it?" Harry asked. He and Ron had agreed that it was no use fighting Hermione's relationship with Malfoy any longer, so they tried to be mildly interested in these letters for Hermione's sake.
"He's in Australia," Hermione said without taking her eyes off the letter.
It's beautiful here Hermione, everything's so peaceful and perfect. I've seen loads of stuff too, the Opera House is amazing, and I even saw a performance there. The view from my hotel room is breathtaking. I'm thinking about buying a place somewhere down here, although I want to visit Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef before I decide where I like best. That's where I'm going right after I send this letter off to you.
I'm sure you would love it down here. There's so much to learn, and a ton of really weird magical creatures that only live here. And you'd probably love to hear about the wizarding history that's here. The magical myths that the people believed down here are really fascinating. For example, did you know that the Aboriginal people believed that a rainbow serpent created them? I found that to be a particularly interesting tidbit.
Hermione laughed again, of course the former 'Prince of Slytherin' would find any myths about a serpent to be interesting.
I'm not sure how long this parrot will take to find you, but if the international post estimate is correct, it should take about two weeks, which means I'll probably be gone before a letter will reach me here. I think I'll be returning home after this, traveling the world alone just isn't as enlightening or fun as I thought it would be. I miss you terribly, and I'll send a post as soon as I get back. I hope auror training is going well, as I'm certain it is. I can't wait to see you again.
Love,
Draco
Hermione squealed again when she read that Draco would be coming back, she couldn't wait to see him again. Upon reading his letter, the hole in her heart that his absence had brought seemed to increase by ten times, she felt tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes. Though whether these were tears of sadness for missing him, or tears of happiness for knowing he was alright and coming back, she could not say for sure. She guessed they were probably a mixture of both.
The boys, who had retuned to their conversation, stopped again when Hermione squealed for a second time that afternoon. "What now?" asked Ron with a touch of impatience.
"He's coming back, and this letter was written a while ago, so he could be on his way back now!" cried Hermione. She was overflowing with excitement, though she subdued herself when she looked around and was reminded that none of the guys would share her excitement over this wonderful news. She rolled her eyes at the whole lot of them, "never mind, just go back to whatever you were talking about."
The guys did as she suggested, and Hermione reread Draco's letter a couple times. She had a the eager desire to write a response, but Draco had said it wouldn't reach him until after he'd left, and if that was the case, he was likely to have already returned and sent another letter to her before her response got to him, so she resisted the urge.
- - - - - - - - - -
Draco spent two more weeks in Australia before finally heading home. He had completely fallen in love with the whole east coast of Australia, and he knew he was going to return, but next time he would be sure to bring Hermione. He had been thinking about her non stop since he'd left Sydney, and once he arrived in Cairns, he bought her a bunch of presents.
First he bought her a large book about Australian magical history. He knew she'd enjoy that, but it wasn't enough for him. He also bought her two miniature animals, a koala and a kangaroo, both of which had long lasting spells on them which would make them behave like their real-life counterparts. The kangaroo amused Draco because it bounced all around nonstop. He personally found the koala rather boring, all it did was hang onto stuff, but he noticed that every girl he'd seen who saw one all shared the same reaction thinking it was the sweetest animal in the world. And he had to admit that it was really soft, so he figured Hermione would like to pet it.
He had also gotten her one more gift, which was much more expensive than the others, although that one he was not going to give to her right away. He wanted to wait for the right time to give it to her. Originally he had packed it away in his trunk; however it didn't feel right leaving it there so instead he carried it in a box inside his pocket so he'd always have it with him, a constant reminder of Hermione.
He fingered the box inside his pocket as he and Mimi stood waiting to be given clearance to apparate back home. "Master Draco," squeaked Mimi, who was sounding rather ill, "Mimi is thinking that apparating all the way back home is too tiring for Master today. Isn't you wanting to apparate a shorter distance Master Draco?"
Draco took his attention away from thoughts of Hermione long enough to answer Mimi. He knew that she was only trying to get him to apparate short distances because she hated the queasy feeling that long journeys gave her, but he was eager to get home, and nothing, especially not a house-elf was going to slow him down now. "No Mimi, we're only apparating once, and if you really feel that ill when we get back, then you can just spend the rest of the day in bed at the Manor."
"Yes sir Master Draco," Mimi managed to squeak through a frightened sob.
"Mr. Malfoy?" an Australian Magical Transportation official said as he read Draco's name off a list. "Step right this way please." The man directed Draco to an area which was roped off for apparation purposes. "You will be apparating to England is that correct sir?"
Draco nodded as he stepped forward, pulling a reluctant Mimi along with him.
"Alright, well, you're all set, have a safe trip and I hope you've enjoyed your stay in Australia," said the man with a polite smile.
"I did thank you," replied Draco. Without another word, Draco closed his eyes, focused on the front steps of the Manor, and with a pop, apparated out of Australia.
Several moments later, at the Malfoy Manor back in England, Draco and Mimi appeared with another loud pop. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Draco instinctively reached out for the door to steady himself. Mimi however fell flat on her face with a loud groan. Draco unlocked his door and with shaky steps entered his home. Once inside, he stopped walking and closed his eyes until his head seemed to have stopped spinning. While his eyes were closed, his ears detected the sound of pattering elf feet drawing closer, he opened his eyes and saw two house elves standing in front of him bowing to the floor.
"Master Draco!" cried the taller elf, "we is all so glad you is home sir! We is missing you and Mimi very much sir."
"That's great, you can bring my things to be cleaned and put away," Draco removed his trunk from his pocket and restored it to its original size.
The elf who had spoken bowed again and immediately got to work, he seemed truly thankful to have something to do.
"And you," Draco said to the other elf, "take Mimi down to the elves quarters and give her something for her stomach, then she is allowed to sleep until she recovers."
"Yes sir Master Draco sir, is you needing anything else sir?" the elf squeaked in an even higher pitched voice than is usual for a house elf.
"Not right now," Draco muttered.
The elf bowed, and then began tending to Mimi. Draco left the two elves in the entry hall while he made his way to the study. He had left Cairns shortly after 9am, but that meant that it was now passed midnight here. He wasn't sure if Aries would have enough time to find Hermione and deliver a note in time for the morning post, but he figured it was worth a shot. He sat down in the study, and penned a short note to her letting her know that he was back home and telling her that he wanted to see her as soon as possible.
Once he was finished, he journeyed outside to the grounds on the Manor in search of Aries. The owl happened to be just outside the Owl house, he was munching on what appeared to have at one point been a large rat. "Enjoying your meal?" Draco asked as he stepped towards the owl.
Aries looked up at him with and interested gaze, and then hooted as if to answer his question.
"Would you mind leaving that to deliver a letter to Hermione for me?"
Aries looked down at his half-eaten meal, and then back up at Draco.
"I promise you'll get a whole pile of treats when you get back if you do," Draco offered.
That seemed to be enough motivation for Aries, for he spread his wings and glided up to Draco's shoulder. Draco smirked and tied the letter to Aries' leg. "Thanks mate, let her know I miss her alright? And wait for her to respond before you leave."
Aries clicked his beak in confirmation, and then took off into the night.
As Draco watched his owl fly off, he shouted at him, "and feel free to bite Potter or Weasley if you want! Especially Weasley!" Draco smirked as he returned to the interior of the Manor. He was inexplicably restless. He could not wait for Hermione's response but he knew that it would not come until later in the day, or maybe not even until tomorrow depending on when she had time to write a response.
Draco sighed and took to wandering the Manor aimlessly. He knew that he should try to get to sleep to get his body functioning in the correct time zone again, but he simply wasn't in the mood to try to go to sleep, there was far too much on his mind, not to mention an odd prickling sensation on his left arm.
Well, there you have it. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear what everyone thinks. By the way, for those of you who are not familiar with cities in Australia, the way I described Sydney is based on my own reactions to the city. And Cairns is pronounced 'cans', I know, I thought it was weird when I first learned that too, but oh well.
For those of you who commented about Michael at the end of last chapter, there will be more from him coming up, as well as some more of our heros Draco & Hermione of course. Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks!