A/N: Hi my lovelies! I wanted to reply to a guest reviewer, so if you were the person with a question about wandless and non-verbal magic, please read the note at the bottom. All hotels and modes of travel are real and were used without permission. Hopefully, their lawyers will see it as free advertisement. :)
My daughter made the cover art, so hooray for Kirin Fire!
As always, I love to hear from you, my lovelies! Reviews from you are what keep me going. Even now, when I am running a terrible fever and have some kind of cursed creeping crud, I am sitting at my desk working like a house elf in the hopes that you'll drop me a line. :)
-Elvee
Snatch
Chapter Eighteen
"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."
-Judy Garland
Hermione awoke to housekeeping banging on the door. Malfoy was sitting on the couch with wet hair, his pillow and blanket neatly folded. After their exchange last night, he'd gone wordlessly to bed and refused any of further attempts to talk.
Without looking at her, he crossed to the door and exchanged a few soft words with the maid, pushing her back out into the hall. Hermione ducked into the bathroom and took the world's shortest shower. She was dressed and ready to leave, albeit a little wet and little disheveled, in fifteen minutes flat.
"Com'on," she said without looking at him. "We have a schedule to keep." She hitched her beaded bag over her shoulder and waited, her hand extended for him to grasp. He stopped and stared at it, his mouth falling into a grim line. "We're still the happy couple, Mr. Matthews."
He glared at her and took her hand petulantly. She led him down through the elevator, through the check out process and out into the street where she hailed a cab. All the while he smiled brilliantly, opened the doors for her and casually slung his arm around her shoulders, giving her the occasional very convincing affectionate squeeze. He was some actor, right down to the peck on her cheek at the front desk.
As soon as they slid into the cab, he dropped her hand and turned away, staring out the window as the buildings slid by. Twenty minutes later they were at the docks where Hermione paid the cab driver before dragging Malfoy by the elbow behind a dumpster. She dug in her bag and pulled out Viktor's wand.
"Here," She said, shoving it at him without ceremony. "Until I can pick you up another in Copenhagen, use this." He wrapped his fingers slowly around the unfamiliar wood and tried to meet her eyes.
He spoke directly to her for the first time this morning, "What's to stop me from jinxing you?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "You're not that big of an idiot, Draco. I'm the only one who knows where your mother is."
He shrugged, "I could put the imperius curse on you and make you tell me."
"So do it," she challenged. "I'd bet every galleon in your Gringotts account the Death Eaters have a trace on Krum's wand. I gave it to you so you could defend yourself." He looked away, a muscle in his jaw jumping. "We're both being hunted, Draco. If I can't trust you, I'd rather know now." Purposefully, she turned her back to him, providing a perfect target and walked away.
He pocketed the wand and trotted to catch up to Hermione at the ticket booth. She purchased two tickets for the ferry to Copenhagen. "The planes and trains are probably being watched and I'm not strong enough to side along with you."
He sighed and ran a hand through is hair, something she was noticing he did when he was frustrated. "Give me your wand, then. I can take us both."
"Think, Draco," she hissed. "They probably have a trace on mine, too. They'd be on us in a matter of hours." She pulled a waist length black wool coat from her beaded bag and pushed it at him. "Put this on."
He slipped the jacket on as she pulled on a stylish hounds-tooth Mac and wrapped a red scarf around her neck. They boarded the ferry and Malfoy was surprised to see it was actually a boat of some size. It even had a muggle restaurant and bar.
They stood along the rail, watching as the harbor slid away, the wind playing through their hair. When the boats and docks started to thin, they went below to find breakfast. Hermione ordered them two coffees, toast and eggs, frowning in her purse. "Even if we didn't need wands, we'd have to risk a stop in Copenhagen to change out some more Galleons into Euros."
Malfoy sipped his coffee, "What's the plan from there?"
She pulled a travel guide out of her beaded bag and thumbed through it thoughtfully. "We need to take the train from Copenhagen to Berlin." Hermione buttered her toast and took a bite.
He frowned, "I thought you said the trains were being watched."
"They are, but I don't have a credit card to rent a car. We'll have to use a disguise." An uncomfortable silence settled between them as their silverware scraped their plates. Hermione finally took a deep breath and said, "Draco, about last night..."
He stiffened, his knife and fork freezing over his plate, saying. "I don't want to talk about it." He resumed eating, not looking at her.
She thumped her coffee cup back on the table a little harder than necessary. "Well I do." The waitress came by and refilled their cups.
When she left, Draco leaned across the table and hissed, "Just drop it." He wiped his mouth with a napkin, dropped it onto his plate and walked out.
Hermione through a few Euro coins on the table and ran after him. "No!" She caught up to him on the steps leading up to the deck and spun him around by his elbow. "Listen to me! Draco, I..." He jerked his elbow out of her grasp.
"Leave it, Granger." A few passengers pressed passed them, pushing Hermione into him and pinning them to the handrail.
"Dammit, Malfoy!" She yelled, then seeing the other passengers giving them funny looks she hissed, "Just listen to me!" She grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and towed him up the steps out onto the deck and shoved him up against a wall. He wouldn't look at her. She did the only thing she could think of. She reached up and kissed him. He didn't respond.
He groaned, but it wasn't a groan of passion or want, it was a sound of impatience. He pushed her away. "Don't." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You think I don't want this? You think I share," she stopped and looked around, and seeing muggles nearby, lowered her voice, "You think I share my magic with just anyone?" He finally met her eyes. "You were my first and it was..." She broke off and gave a sardonic chuckle, "It was amazing, okay?"
He tipped his forehead to hers with a little smirk, saying jauntily, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"
She smacked him on the chest. "Draco, when all this started I never expected to... like you. I never expected you to like me. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. We hated each other!"
"Things change, Granger. People change," he shrugged.
She leaned in whispering desperately. "But...what if your father doesn't kill Bellatrix? What if we have to get married?"
"What if we do?" He tucked a curl behind her ear and cupped her cheek with his palm. "We'll deal with that when the time comes."
Tears welled in her eyes, as she said softly, "But your family... your bloodline..."
He frowned, saying, "Now you sound like my father."
"I'm going to ruin your life!" She sniffled.
He tipped her chin up with a finger. "Says who, Granger?" They were a breath apart now.
"But, we're not in love." She whispered.
"And we won't ever get a chance to be if you don't shut up and let me kiss you." He smothered her protests by covering her lips with his. Fingers twined in her hair. A hand pulled her waist into him. She moaned and wound her arms around him, pulling them closer still. Her eyes fluttered shut and for once in her life, Hermione Granger stopped thinking and surrendered to the sensation of being thoroughly kissed.
There was a tingling in her stomach, electricity chased along her skin everywhere he touched her. She tangled her fingers in his hair, grabbing a fistful and pressing them closer still. A hunger built between them and they gave in to it. Their tongues tangled and danced. The stubble from his chin scraped deliciously along her face. She clung to him with a desperate need she'd never allowed herself to show anyone before.
When it finally ended, they were both breathless and emotionally raw. He wound his arms around her and pulled her fiercely into him with a possessive growl. They stood there, clinging to one another as the wind whipped their hair. He planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head. A little old woman gave Hermione a knowing smile as she tottered past with a cane.
They stood there, lost in their own thoughts for a long time before she broke the silence. "Now what?" She asked.
He put his shin on the top of her head, tucking her under his chin. "You're the one with the plans, Granger. You tell me."
"I'm serious!" She squawked.
He chuckled. "Your really want to know?" She nodded into his chest. "We have sex. Lots and lots of hot sex." She laughed and hit him lightly in the chest.
Hours later the sky had turned gray and rainy. They retreated into the cabin and took seats watching the rain chase rivulets along the windows. Hermione leaned her head on Draco's shoulder and he put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him.
He broke the silence between them, saying quietly, "What about your friends?"
She twisted to look up into his eyes, "What about them?"
He gave a derisive laugh, "I hardly think Potter and Weasley will approve." He made a motion between them.
"The heart wants what it wants, or else it does not care." She shrugged as she quoted Emily Dickinson. "They won't make me choose, and even if they do, the heart wants what it wants." Draco raised an eyebrow in reply, but said nothing. "What about your mother?"She asked, biting her lip.
"She'll love you." He gave her a squeeze and a reassuring smile.
They had dinner aboard the ferry and disembarked in the late evening in Copenhagen harbor. The rain had blown itself out, but it was still damp and windy. Hermione hailed a cab and asked the driver to take them to the Copenhagen Admiral Hotel. They got out under the awning and went inside. Holding Draco's hand firmly, she went inside just long enough to see the cab slide smoothly off into the night before stepping back out into the street.
They walked four blocks away and checked into the Phoenix Copenhagen hotel using their Matthews passports. The room had two double beds. Hermione showered first and fell exhausted into the bed furthest from the bathroom. When she woke in the morning, Draco was wrapped around her, breathing softly into the back of her neck. The other bed was untouched.
She felt his arm around her waist and her fingers must have twined with his in her sleep. She stiffened.
"Don't," he said, his voice fuzzy with sleep.
"Draco, we shouldn't..." She tried to turn around to face him, but he pulled her into him more firmly, and snuggled into the back of her neck.
"Just relax. The world is not gonna end because we slept in the same bed." He grazed her neck with a kiss. He was right. She settled back into the pillows and let him pull the covers back over them. It felt nice to be so warm and wanted. She would have given anything to stay there in that anonymous hotel room in Copenhagen, snuggled into him and let the world and the war and anything else that would take him from her go on without them.
But she knew better. Despite his protests, by putting her heart on the line, she knew it would crush her when he finally walked away. How in the hell was she going to hang onto him through everything this damned war was going to throw at them? The real question was how she was going to keep him from despising her when it was all over. She had no idea, but she knew she had to try. She twisted in his arms and dropped a kiss on his forehead, sliding out of bed and heading for the shower.
Showered and dressed, they downed two doses of polyjuice potion, making them look like normal muggles. Leaving the keys in the room for expedited check out, they had take out breakfast of coffee and a roll at a small cafe down the road from the hotel and hailed another cab to the Round Tower. At a wizarding souvenir shop, they stepped through a long hallway and out the back door into Rund Gyde, Round Alley, the Danish equivalent of Diagon Alley.
The buildings were crowded and crooked in a way that only magical architecture could make possible. Wizards and witches bustled between shops, bags in hand. Vendors hawked all kinds of local rarities and delicacies. At first glance, it was a normal day. But Hermione noticed mothers were holding their childrens' hands tightly, smiles were forced and conversations between friends were hurried and whispered. The war, or at least the front edges of it, had reached Copenhagen.
Hastily they made their way to the wand shop and bought two new wands, saying they'd decided back up wands were a good idea if they were traveling. They weren't nearly as good as Olivander's wands, but at least they could be sure they weren't being tracked yet. The shop owner, a pruned willowy wizard squinted at them suspiciously, but took their money.
They stepped into the Copenhagen branch of Gringotts intending to change out currency. Draco, currently a portly middle aged man, leaned into his equally portly 'wife' and forced a smile as he whispered, "I think we're being followed."
Hermione had the presence of mind not to turn around immediately, instead she hustled the goblin through the transaction – something goblins were loathe to do – and let Draco put his arm around her and escort her into the street. She saw two wizards loitering by the door. "Just the two?" She asked quietly, once they were outside. She felt a tingling in her hand and looked down to find the skin bubbling. The polyjuice potion was wearing off. They'd taken too long.
"Fight or run, Granger?" He leaned over and whispered in her ear as he was steering them to a side alley. His brown hair was now streaked with white blonde.
"Run. We can't be seen." They ducked around the corner, hearing shouts behind them. "Can you get us to Berlin?"
They dove behind a dumpster just in time to hear a curse smash into it. Red and green jets of light were peppering the alley. Small explosions surrounded them, brick dust thickened the air. Draco pulled Hermione into him and twisted.
They landed hard on a cobblestone walk in a courtyard full of spring flowers. In the distance a fountain splashed merrily. "Where are we?" Hermione asked, steadying herself against him.
"One of our summer homes on the outskirts of Berlin. We can't stay. My father will be alerted to the break in the wards." He took her hands and towed her through the hedges.
She gaped, "Jesus, Malfoy!"
"What? You said get us to Berlin. We're in Berlin!" He quickened his steps and she had to trot to keep up with him.
"If there weren't Death Eaters on our tail before, there will be now," She said. Gods! Of all the places for him to bring her, a Malfoy summer home?
He took seemingly random lefts and rights through the tall yew hedges. "What? You think those other guys weren't?" He stopped and turned to look at her.
"You really think Snape was happy about me spilling all his secrets and refusing to hand you over to the Order?" She glared at him. "Com'on." She gave him a shove. "We've got to keep moving."
Draco pulled her deeper into the gardens. "This way." He turned another corner and stopped abruptly.
"Draco, why are we..." Bumping into him, she looked up. Lucius Malfoy stood between them and the only way out.
A/N: On Wandless magic, non-verbal magic, magical potential and canon:
Wandless magic: In canon wandless magic was extremely rare. Only the most learned and powerful wizards could do any voluntary wandless magic. The most common form of wandless magic in canon was wild magic, where a child wizard was growing in to his magic or where a full grown wizard would lose his temper. I have chosen to make it extremely rare in my story, too.
Non-Verbal Magic: In canon, this too was considered a very advanced and rare form of spell casting. It wasn't even taught until sixth year, and even then in the books, everyone struggled with it. Snape was an extremely studied and powerful wizard and he taught the class. Even so, JKR didn't have him performing non-verbal magic with any frequency.
Magical Potential: A wizard can have a great reserve of power (like Draco in my story), which would enable him to have the potential to cast very powerful spells, but without the magical learning to refine and use his magic, it remains just potential. Think about it this way: Right now Draco has a Ferrari parked in his driveway but he can't drive a stick. Meanwhile, Dumbledore is cruising the superhighways of life in his Bugatti Super Sport (the fastest production car in the world). When sharing magic, Hermione can feel the vastness of his power, and thus his future potential as a mature wizard.
In Conclusion: Each of these concepts are completely independent of each other, but as a school-themed series, JKR made sure that our heroes were still learning and growing into their potential, making the use of wandless or non-verbal magic rare and the only people she spoke of in a powerful sense were the fully learned and developed wizards, like Dumbledore and Grindelwald. While the use of these concepts are very common in many Fan Fiction stories, in keeping with canon, they are not common in mine. I hope that clears a few things up.