Sirius's ship reached the island first. Hermione greeted the man with a smile and a hug.
"Sirius!" she said happily when she pulled away. "I'm glad you made it."
"Thanks to your maps," Sirius said, scratching his head awkwardly. "If it weren't for them, I probably never would have known I was going backwards."
Hermione laughed a light, almost too deep laugh. She was stressed and everything about her was forced. "Don't mention it."
"So, what's the big news?" He asked as he turned to watch the progress of repairs to Hermione's ship, squinting in the light of the setting sun. It had taken nearly all day to reach the Isla de Esmeralda. From where Harry's ship was now, it would take him until at least midnight to reach them. "Is your ship reparable?"
Hermione nodded. "Because it's so big it's taking a lot of magic, and the majority of these men only know simple repair spells, it's probably going to take the rest of the next day, even with Draco and Neville's educated skill."
"Yeah, that makes sense – wait." His eyes grew wide and his neck nearly snapped as he turned to Hermione. "Did you just say Draco?"
Hermione smiled wryly. "Recall taking on a quiet boy covered in mud who signed with the letter 'M?'"
Sirius's eyes, if possible, widened further. "That was Malfoy? The boy aiming to 'make his own path?'"
Hermione nodded solemnly. "The very one."
"This is terrible!" Sirius exclaimed. "Should we leave him on the island?"
Hermione's face was sardonic as her lips turned at the corners and her eyes moved in a half eye-roll. "Under normal circumstances I wouldn't even hesitate to leave the boy on this island with nothing but a pistol and the clothes on his back, but these aren't normal circumstances. Not at all."
"What do you mean by that?" Sirius asked.
Hermione sighed and finally turned from the ship, facing Sirius. "He knows something he's not telling us. Something about the Death Eaters. And I can't help but feel that it's very important to our cause."
"But if he's trying to help end the Death Eaters, then why would he keep information from us?"
Hermione shook her head. "I've absolutely no idea. I can't figure it out. I've only known since last night but, in all of my thinking time, I've been completely unable to decipher what exactly is going on inside that boys head."
Sirius looked back out across the ocean. "When Harry gets here and we explain, we'll have to think of a way to crack him."
Hermione nodded. "I agree. But for now, let's head over to the mess tent."
Sirius grinned. "I am always read y to eat."
Hermione laughed. "I know."
…
"He's here?"
It was a little past midnight, and Sirius, Hermione, Neville, and the newly arrived Harry were seated in Hermione's cabin aboard her ship while everyone else slept for the night.
Neville nodded gravely. "Yes. And he knows something about the Death Eaters. Something he's not letting on. We need to think of a way to get the information out of him, but I have no idea what to do. He seems adamant in keeping his secret. I've no idea what to do about him."
"We'll get it out of him," Harry replied firmly. "All we have to do is threaten him. We're on an island infested with cannibals. It shouldn't be too difficult to get him to fess up. Especially if we slip a little veritaserum into his drink." He winked and pulled the vial from the bag he kept over his shoulder.
Hermione's eyebrows narrowed. "Why do you have that?"
He shrugged. "I've got all sorts of things in here. Anything I thought might have been necessary."
Sirius laughed. "Harry, I thought Hermione was supposed to be the overly-prepared one here."
He shrugged and ruffled his hair. "I guess I learned from the best."
Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Well, I guess that's that. We invite him in here tomorrow, offer him a spiked drink and get him talking. Since he won't know his drink has been spiked, he won't know to use forms of resistance, unless he happens to drink the antidote with breakfast, which is unlikely. Anybody have any other news?"
There were a few moments of silence before Harry raised his hands awkwardly. "There's this girl on my ship…"
"Girl?" Sirius said, thinking of his own cross-dresser, the one he planned on revealing tonight. "How many girls did we accidentally hire on?"
Hermione glared at him.
"Wait, you mean there's a girl on your ship, too?" Harry asked.
Sirius nodded, suddenly grumpy. "I'm 99.9% positive that it's a girl. She's been a thorn in my side since we left. I plan on telling her I know her secret tonight."
Hermione looked at him warily. "What do you plan on doing?"
He smiled deviously. "I plan on flipping her hammock over. All of her girly hair will spill out of her ridiculous hat and she'll be so stunned that she'll forget to talk like a man. It's perfect."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sirius, you can't do that. You should let her know in private. I'll come with you if you'd like."
"Aw, that's no fun!" Sirius whined.
Harry shook his head. "Anyways, back to the girl on my ship. Sirius…she's your second cousin."
Sirius squinted at him. "Roxanne?"
"Huh?" Harry shook his head. "No. It's one you don't know of. Her name is Lily Jane."
"Well, who's the cousin who forgot to tell me I had another relative?" Sirius asked, getting a bit impatient.
"She's the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange…and Severus Snape."
Sirius was so stunned that he couldn't speak for an entire thirty seconds.
"Bella got with Snape?" He said finally. "Huh. Who would have guessed?"
"No one; that was the point," Harry replied. "Snape has been trying to keep her hidden. I have no idea how she got away, but now she's after the fortune and the spell books and the rest of the Back family's heirlooms. She doesn't want Bellatrix to get to it."
"I don't blame her," Sirius replied. "If Bellatrix got a hold of any of that stuff, we'd all be in huge trouble."
Harry nodded. "I told her we'd get it before Bellatrix and we'd use it to get rid of the Death Eaters," he said. "She's really anxious. She wants to get off of this island and get to the fortune before her mum."
"How did you get her to tell you she was a girl?" Sirius asked suddenly.
Harry blushed. "I sort of tripped and knocked her over…when her hair fell out of her hat she was kind of easy to figure out."
"Huh," Sirius replied, suddenly lost in thought.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure that I gave her a concussion. She ended up having to sleep in my quarters." He paused. "Now that I think of it, I'm glad I didn't send her downstairs. It probably isn't safe for a girl to be with all of those pirates."
"Where is she now?" Hermione asked.
"She's with her friend," Harry replied. "I'm assuming she's the girl from Sirius's ship. And since everyone thinks the girl on Sirius's ship is a man, she's safe. At least, I hope she is."
There was a silence following his last sentence.
"Final thoughts?" Neville said.
"Right," Hermione replied. "I was informed today that it is bad luck to have a ship with no name. Therefore, I believe it only best for all of us to name our ships."
"I call Black Dog!" Sirius exclaimed. He punched his hand into the air and cheered as if he had just won the name through an argument.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Okay…Harry? Do you have any ideas?"
He shrugged. "How about…The Ginny?" He figured this was a good way to try and squelch his rising crush on Lily Jane. He was Ginny's boyfriend and he had to stay faithful.
Hermione smiled. "That's sweet. Alright. We've got the Black Dog and the Ginny." She turned to her first mate. "What do you say?"
Neville held up his hands. "You're the Captain."
"Alright, then," she replied. "Then I choose the Constellation."
"Ooh, that's clever," Harry said. "What made you think of that?"
Hermione was shocked by the explanation that came into her mind. "Erm…well you can see the Big and Little Dipper through that window there."
Harry nodded as if to say "That makes sense."
In Hermione's mind, though, she was saying, "And between them is Draco the Dragon."
…
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