Chapter 8 - More Bad News on Parkinson

Hermione and Draco sat eating their breakfast a few weeks later, no news of the whereabouts of Pansy had been found, but Hermione and Draco has a silent agreement to not talk about it, to just pretend things were normal. They did so everyday, doing the same thing day in and day out, wake up, go get breakfast together, kiss goodbye, go to teach the morning classes, eat lunch, kiss goodbye again, go to afternoon classes, eat dinner, and go to their room and do what they had done most every night since their marriage had become official, only to do the same the next day. Yet, the whole time thoughts of Pansy lurked in the back of their minds like Harry when he followed Hermione around all day for her protection.

Then came the day that the woman they were trying to forget was shoved to the for front of their minds when Harry ran up to them while they were eating. "Pansy. Seen. By. Portraits. Near. Our. Rooms.", he said, panting, "Went. To. Look. Can't. Find. Her. And. Room. Won't. Let. Me. In. Got. Arours. On. It. All. Over. School. Talked. To. McGonngal. Classes. Canceled. You. Two. Hide. With. Me. At. Gryffindor. Tower.", he finished, Hermione and Draco going steadily paler with every word.

Draco stood and grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged his shocked wife up to Gryffindor tower, following Harry as he used every shortcut and secret passage he could remember seeing on the map... Hermione snapped out of shock as they entered the portrait hole and shouted, "Harry, look of the map!"

Harry's eyes widened and he pulled the map out of his robe pocket, even as an arour he carried the map everywhere, a reminder of his father and two of the most important men in his life, Sirius and Remus. He ignored Draco's questions on what it was and Hermione's quiet and quick answers as he tapped his wand to the map muttering the familiar words, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good.", and scanning it for the name "Pansy Parkinson". He saw the names of students crowded up in their common rooms, the teachers and arours scattered around the school and grounds and looked for the only name that mattered at the moment.

It wasn't on it anywhere and he told as to Hermione and she muttered under her breath for a minute, before blinking in realization and looking back at Harry, "The Room of Requirments! You said it wouldn't let you in, right?", at Harry's nod she continued, "Well, it doesn't show up on the map! She's probably there."

Both boys looked at Hermione with shock, Draco because he didn't know about the map till today and was amazed that she knew so much about something that was such a rule breaking tool and Harry because he'd forgotten that. Finally Harry grinned, "Hermione, you've certainly won the title of the Brightest Witch of our age." and cast his protronus, sending it with a message to watch the Room to the arour closest to it with the stag, hoping the man knew where the Room was.

They sat for the Gryffindor Common Room for a few minutes, Hermione keeping her mind off things by telling Draco all the stories surrounding the Golden Trio and the Map, from Harry's dad and his friends making it to the last adventure they'd had with it, during their sixth year, Draco listened carefully, asking questions every once in a while, and Harry stared at the map. Hermione was careful yo avoid mentioning all the times in sixth year when Harry was watching the map with the same intensity, watching for Draco. No one wanted to mention the horrible memories surrounding the end of sixth year, Dumbledore's death, Draco becoming ta Death Eater, the start of the horcrux hunt, all the horors of that year, and there was a lot of them. Hermione and Draco never talked about sixth year to each other, neither one wanting to set the other off.

Finally, after nearly an hour, Harry quickly stood, "She's exiting the Room! No one's near her name, bloody hell.", with that he took off to find and catch Pansy and Hermione's shoulders relaxed, leaning her head on Draco's own head.

Draco's thoughts were evidently the same as Hermione's when she asked, "You think he'll catch her?"

Draco wasn't sure, but he nodded, "With that map, I'm sure he will. It's not like she can Apparate.", the last sentence was stated with a smirk, he being told that quote many times from his wife due to said woman's love for "Hogwarts: A History". She just stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

They sat for seemingly forever on a couch in the Gryffindor Common Room, waiting for Harry with a mixture of head-lightening happiness and stomach-sinking dread. In reality only a half hour passed, but to the married couple, it felt much longer. When Harry finally did return Hermione launched herself at him, asking a million questions, "Did you find her? Is she caught? Is she going back to Azkaban? Why were you gone so long? Tell me!", she demanded, her brown eyes glimmering.

Harry let out a short chuckle as he slowly, teasingly began to answer Hermione's questions, "I did find her. She's with the Aurors now, they're taking her back. I wasn't gone that long, the Room is pretty far from here, plus I had to chase after Parkinson."

Draco and Hermione let out a sigh of relief at the same time, neither not liking how worried they had been. They exchanged a glance and Draco started to laugh shakily, unable to believe it was over, Hermione joining in and Harry joining also a minute later. Soon they were all laughing like mad men before Hermione suddenly thought of Bellatrix, laughing craizly as she tourted her and stoped, looking sick, causing Draco to look at her worriedly and the laughter to die off his lips, Harry stopping a a spilt second later.

Draco carefully took Hermione in his arms and questioned quietly, "Hermione? Are you ok?"

Hermione gave a quick nod, not wanting to scare her husband, ""Yeah, I'm fine love."

Draco and Harry looked at her disbelievingly, but let it go, Draco with a slight shrug, Harry with a minor tilt of the head.

All of them were relived though, believing this year's nightmare was over. None knew though, that Pansy's plan was to get caught, to get taken back. Ron had told her of Hermione's fears. Fears of Lucius and of Bellatrix, mainly. She was going to get help, and Akaban was the only way to do so, to get help in her evil plan. Her plan to get back what should belong to her and no one and nothing was going to stop her.