Chapter 35

Hermione woke up early the other day. Draco had stayed by the pool for a little while after she'd gone to bed, so he was still sleeping. He grunted his acknowledgement when she told him that she was going for a walk along the beach. She wasn't bothered as she could use some time to herself, to get her thoughts in order.

There was a slight chill in the air when she got outside. Not so she had to dress more, but there was an absence of heat. She walked along the beach and let the water lap at her feet. She walked past another resort, which looked distinctly magical, then past another which was definitely muggle.

The sun was starting to heat up now and she transformed a shell into a hat. It had a natural leopard print to it that was unintentional, but she decided she quite liked it.

When she got back to the resort, Marcus was lying in one of the deck chairs. Hermione hesitated, but she would definitely be rude if she ignored him or snuck around him. She decided she would just have to deal with it. She was clued onto his ways and she was not going to get stuck again.

She greeted him and sat down in the chair next to him.

"You're up early," he said.

"I like the mornings. It's a good time to think."

"You kind of have the world to yourself this time of the morning," he said. "We're going to a souk today. One of the magical ones. Its been there for a thousand years and it hasn't really changed much. You should come, you would enjoy it. Its like stepping back in time."

The offer certainly was tempting. A real ancient magical souk. Who knew the things that would be on sale.

"Who is going?"

"Well, technically its shopping so the girls will be there. Adrian is coming, Nott and Miles, I think."

No Blaise which was good. She wondered if Draco wanted to go. It wasn't like she had anything else to do.

"Sure," she said. It would mean spending the day with the Slytherins. Draco might even be impressed with the effort she was making. "I'll ask Draco if he wants to go."

"I think they are planning on doing some flying today. They were talking about it last night."

"Then I am definitely in," Hermione said. She'd take a souk over flying any day.

Draco came down to the pool a short while later. He was wearing a linen shirt and shorts. His clothes were new, but his hair was a bit messy. It only made him look more attractive. Hermione couldn't help smiling when she saw him and he smiled back.

"And what is Marcus plotting in your ear?" he asked after he kissed her.

"They are going to a souk."

"Oh, gold and silk and such."

"Do you want to come?"

"No, not today. We are flying out to an island if you prefer to do that."

"Not completely in love with the flying. It is just that step too far for my comfort."

"I could organise a portkey and you could meet us there."

"No, I'll go to the souk and meet you afterwards. It will do me good to miss you for a bit."

He gave her a heated look like he had some distinct plans for afterwards. It made her stomach jump, she couldn't help it. He melted her insides when he looked at her that way.

The rest of the group trickled in and the table slowly filled with Slytherins eating breakfast. They left for the souk shortly after breakfast. They floo'ed through this network of open fires, and Hermione arrived with Daphne Greengrass.

"They have these divine glass wares here. The place is full of sand, so they are quite gifted with their glass. I am buying some today for the wedding. I saw these wonderful glasses the last time I was here and always thought I would come back someday to buy for a large party, and it seems like the day has arrived. I am so excited."

"I hope you find the perfect ones."

"I'm sure I will."

The souk was alive with noise and people. There were tiny shops everywhere. It was dark as the only light came from the very top of the domes covering the souk. It sent a column of light down the dusty interior. Hermione figures that more light might be good for purchasing, but more light would mean more heat and maybe the Egyptians preferred clemency over brighter light.

The people were dressed in all sorts of manners. There were people in full length garbs with colourful stripes and gold sown in, she was sure it had a name, she just didn't know it. Some were dressed more modern, but most weren't. With the exception of the odd modern looking person there was little in terms of mod cons. It could have been pretty much any time in history. I had a funny impact on her. She felt a little like an adventuress, exploring exotic lands. There was even a camel walking along the main path, she had to get out of the way and let it pass.

The girls went off in one direction, but Hermione was more interested in a store that sold scrolls. Scrolls that looked very old. She perused the old wooden shelves, some so dusty it looked like they hadn't been touched in years.

"They're spells," a voice said behind her. She turned to see Adrian. He looked smart in a light shirt and dark brown pants. "Ancient spells. Some classic Egyptians, some Judean, from times when magic was much more integrated. You should be careful, you wouldn't be the first to do yourself some serious damage messing with ancient spells."

"And they just sell them here. These are antiquities."

"This is Egypt, they are very practical with their past," he said. "Also be aware that these vendors will take you for everything you have if you let them."

Hermione opened a spell and saw lines of colourful hieroglyphics.

"This is amazing."

"They are typically worthless spell wise," he said, "but sometimes they are still very powerful and they don't always do what they are supposed to. You should leave them alone. Only the most foolhardy mess with this stuff."

Hermione put the scroll back. She knew there were people who specialised in the study of these types of scrolls, she had just never seen one or hundreds of them.

"Come," Adrian said with a wave. "Have some tea." She followed him into this little store where pillows on the floor surrounded a small wooden table. It looked so exotic, she felt tickled pink. Miles was sitting there waiting. A girl came and served small cups of milky tea on brass plates.

"They like their tea really sweet," Adrian said. "Different from the English way, but you can't come to Egypt and not try it. She tried the tea and it was nice, super sweet with honey, but nice. There were also little squares that looked like small jellies.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Those are little bundles of mind altering substances."

"Oh," she said and pulled her fingers back from them. She was going to pop one in her mouth. She watches as both Adrian and Miles did.

"Bottoms up," Miles said with a smile. Hermione could see an instantaneous effect on them. Their eyes became glassy and their eye movements slowed down a bit. "It makes for a very different shopping experience."

Hermione didn't need different, especially with a bunch of untrustworthy Slytherins around. Well, she probably trusted Adrian more than most, she just wasn't sure she was right to. Her natural instinct was to trust until someone wronged her, but she wasn't entirely sure that was the right strategy around these guys.

Adrian and Miles were now in their own world and Hermione felt she had better things to do than to watch, so she left. She walked through the market, perused the stores with all sorts of weird and wonderful things. There were even strange looking animals that she assumed people kept as pets. They were these little moving balls of fur inside wooden cages. She hoped they weren't delicacies.

There was a store that sold brass goods and Hermione thought she might buy something for her flat. A nice serving tray or something. The vendor wanted close to twenty galleons for it, which she would have happily paid in London, but she bargained and she got it for half the price. The vendor still looked happy so she suspected he still got a good price for it. She saw this other cone looking thing and wondered if it was a hanging light that shone images onto the wall. Her father would love something like that. She walked down the side alley to inspect it, but was distracted by some muffling noises.

She looked over and saw Theo Nott up against the wall between the thighs of a girl. He had his pants down and they was obvious they were in the act.

Seriously, get a room, Hermione thought trying to blink away the image of his pasty backside. She was about to turn when he moved when she saw that it wasn't his fiancé he was pounding into, it was her sister Astoria. Hermione felt a wave of disgust and shock. She turned and ran back to the main walkway. She had just seen Theo Nott having sex with his fiancés' sister. She didn't know what to do. She kept walking to get away from the offending place and the offending thought, until she got lost.

She finally stumbled onto Adrian and Miles who were sitting on their pillows talking about Quidditch. They were animated and they were having a good time. Hermione almost considered taking one of the small little squares to get away from what she had just witnessed. What kind of person did that to their own sister? Should she tell someone? Should she tell Daphne, the girl out shopping for her wedding glassware?

The knowledge just burned in her brain, it twisted uncomfortably. She tried to think of some other explanation of what she just saw, but she really couldn't think of any. Then she tried to convince herself that she'd been wrong in what she saw, but that didn't work either.

She considered telling Daphne, but she didn't know Daphne that well and Daphne could very well choose to not believe her and then maybe even accuse her of stirring. She could tell Pansy, but Pansy would find some way of using it against her. Draco would know what to do, she decided. And Draco she could trust, which was something she could say about any of the others.

Hermione was incredibly grateful when Adrian suggested that they return to the resort. This trip had been completely ruined for her, all the exciting things had been tainted by this despicable act.

Hermione returned to her room, but Draco wasn't there. She dropped off the platter she'd bought and went downstairs again. Lunch was being served and most of the people were back. Draco, Blaise and some of the others weren't back. Hermione picked at her lunch, but she didn't really have much appetite.

Daphne walked down with a smile on her face. She sat down at the table across from Hermione and a lunch plate was served to her.

"I found the most beautiful glasses. They are quite thick and a bit uneven, but it gives it a certain authentic feel. There is bubbles trapped in the glass, I just love them. I ordered three hundred."

"Three hundred?!" Hermione replied with shock.

"For the wedding."

"Three hundred?" Hermione repeated.

"A society wedding. Three hundred is typical, maybe even on the small side. I have put you on the invite list," she said with another smile. "Since you are Draco's girlfriend, it seemed appropriate. You might be the only Gryffindor there. No actually, I think my father's boss at Gringott's may be a Gryffindor too. I will have to introduce you."

Hermione smiled grimly, "Thank you, that is most kind."

"Who's kind?" Pansy said sitting down. Hermione hadn't seen Pansy all day. On second thought, she wasn't entirely sure she was at the souk.

"I am," Daphne said. "I found the glassware I was looking for."

"Good girl," Pansy said. "One thing to cross off your list."

Daphne went on to describe more things she had to do, while Hermione watched Astoria come down and take a place at the edge of the table. The girl looked her usual sullen way, and she started chatting with Miles. She was a pretty girl, and Hermione would never believe she would do that unless she had seen it for herself.

Draco would know what to do. It was just awful. Daphne was sitting in front of her planning her wedding to a man who was completely duping her behind her back with the one person she should be able to trust. Hermione wanted to go home and get away from this … sordidness.