Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter... I know, shocking. I too am saddened by this news.
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Without further ado, chapter two!
Chapter Two - Gauze and A Smile
Little Whinging Forest, England.
Earth, 12.6 Billion Kilometers from Morsmordre
The walk back to base camp was a long and tedious journey. After running into the girl with the ruined book, it took Draco nearly two hours to get both he and Theo back.
"Hey, so what do you think Parkinson and Zabini will think of this place?" Theo asked, flicking his cigarette butt to the ground, making a beeline for the trees that would lead them to the others.
Draco looked towards him. "I think they'll have the same reaction as you." A chuckle played at his lips as he ruffled his hair. "I mean, kissing the ground while simultaneously clutching dirt to your chest all while crying seems like the most rational thought."
Stopping at the treeline, Theo turned and shot him a glare."There is nothing wrong with the way I express myself." Huffing in annoyance, Theo kicked at the ground, sending loose rocks flying in every direction.
"No, no. Of course not, mate. It's completely normal." Walking beside him, Draco patted him on the back reassuringly.
"You got the hots for me or somethin', Malfoy?" Theo shrugged away from his touch, pulling another cigarette from his pack. The black, egg shaped vessel came into view as both of them passed beyond the line of trees. Their trajectory had been completely off; their landing site was forty miles north of where they ended up. They were meant to be somewhere, anywhere near the heart of London, instead they were stuck halfway between London and Sheffield.
As they approached, the smell of a fire filled their noses, burning their lungs as they inhaled the bittersweet scent. Pansy sat beside the fire tending to it, a look of rigid concentration on her face. The sound of metal scraping against metal caused Draco to turn, his body rigid, eyes and ears alert. Before he could ask Pansy what that was, the sound of something sliding replaced the cringe inducing scrap noise. The door to their vessel opened, revealing a soot covered Blaise carrying pieces of metal shrapnel in his arms.
Theo flicked the cigarette he just lit to the ground, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up and promptly cracking his neck; he made his way over to Blaise.
"So, we gonna discuss what the fuck happened back there?" Theo screeched. Reaching his hand out he tossed the metal bits to the ground before pinning Blaise against the side of their ship by his shoulders.
"First of all, late reaction much? Second of all, why did you knock those out of my hand? And third of all, must you always YELL?" pushing back against Theo's arms Blaise tried to wriggle himself out - he didn't budge.
Shaking his head at him in disappointment Theo barked out a laugh, "Oh, right, my apologies. I have no reason to be upset, especially not when you practically dejected Malfoy and I from our seats!"
"It's ejected you fuckwit," Draco remarked with a roll of his eyes.
"Oi, Whose side are you on anyway?" Theo snapped.
"Neither, you're both dickheads," Draco smirked before dusting off the seat on the log beside Pansy, "I don't know why you two don't get along. Especially when you two are a part of the same club," turning towards the fire he held the backs of his hands out to it, warming them.
"Club? Since when am I in a club?" Theo asked.
"Yeah, what club?" Blaise spoke up, Theo's arm now dropped to his side as both the boys turned to Draco.
It was Pansy's turn to roll her eyes, leaning towards the fire she watched as water began to drip off of Draco's fingers, causing the fire to hiss. Swatting his hand away Pansy let the stream of red and orange flames flow from her fingers, rejuvenating the fire.
"Oh brother, not this again," whirling her head around to glare at Draco she let out an exasperated sigh, "It wasn't funny the first few hundred times you told it," an annoyed huff escaped her lips.
Feigning hurt over the hand swatting he had just received he shook the excess water from his fingers before pivoting to the other two with a grin on his face.
"The 40-watt club," Draco beamed, he thought that joke was golden when he heard it over the transmission from Diagon a few years back.
Looks of confusion ghosted over the both of their faces, turning towards each other they look to the other for the answer.
Seconds turned to minutes as they tried to understand what Draco had just said. Pansy, still sitting beside Draco near the fire, grew tired of the silence. Angling her neck to the side she watched as Theo scrunched his face up in thought, the crinkle of his nose and slight snarl of his lip caused a slight laugh from her. What a sight he was.
"You are just proving this supposed "joke" to be true," pulling her hand back from the fire, she sighed in resignation.
"What do you mean?" both questioned concurrently.
"You two truly are hopeless," Pansy drawled, swinging her leg over the log she and Draco sat on, she turned her body towards the two boys. "He is saying you two are imbeciles. Stupid. Idiots. Knobheads. Dunces. Simpletons. Cretons. Ignora-"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. We aren't the brightest," Theo huffed, glaring at both Draco and Pansy before muttering something unintelligible.
Draco looked towards the three of them before turning towards the fire, contemplating whether or not he should share the warning his father had shared with him before their parting. It was only meant for him. He knew that, but the nagging feeling that something was going to happen, something that would affect all of them refused to disappear. Thinking back to the conversation, he watched the flicker of the flames as he let himself be consumed by the memory.
"How much do you know about Earth? And more importantly how much do you know about humans?" Tom spoke, his voice calm, with the slightest hint of an edge that was undoubtedly aimed at Theo.
No one spoke, the look of shock evident on each of the lieutenant's faces. All of the commanders in the room waited, watching as the gravity of Tom's words settled within each of them.
Out of the corner of his eye, Draco met his father's gaze. Lucius' eyes were locked on him, a look that Draco was more than familiar flickered across his face - Don't do anything stupid. He understood and with a slight nod Draco redirected his sight back onto Tom; Now sitting across from where Pansy and Theo stood.
"So I will take that as nothing? Is that it?" the slow enunciation of every word was meant to be mocking, quirking his eyebrow up, he smiled slightly when he noticed Pansy quietly clear her throat.
"Just what we have heard and seen through the old transmissions we have in the archives, and the few new ones we get from Diagon," she responded.
Tom's smirk caused Draco's stomach to knot, watching his General eye his partner with unbridled lust, he internally scoffed. Running his tongue across his lower lip Tom broke his gaze from the raven haired warrioress, nodding slightly in acknowledgment of her answer.
"You will find that humans are the most peculiar things. Though what I concern myself with is how strong they are. They have the numbers, there is no doubt about that. However, they lack the -" Tom paused, looking between the four of them, making sure they were paying attention. "Discipline, the leadership, that could make them truly great. That will be their downfall."
It was Blaise who spoke this time, "Forgive me General… I don't understand. What is it you are asking of us? Our knowledge of Earth and those who live there are extremely limited. Everything we have seen is what everyone else has seen. That is why we speak their native tongue instead of ours isn't it?"
"Earth doesn't have a determined language, it has hundreds, thousands even. We know English because their messages and programs had the strongest satellite connection, at least when it came to distance." Draco felt the words leave his mouth before he could comprehend what he had done. Lucius looked towards him, rage flushed his pale cheeks as he felt his clenched fist shake at his side slightly.
"Now that, is absolutely fascinating Lieutenant Malfoy, how did you come by that piece of information?" Silence filled the parlour room once again, keeping his face void of emotion he opened his mouth to speak, "I know that beca-"
"The boy must have overheard me, sir. I was careless in making sure he couldn't hear our-" Lucius paused, struggling to find the right word. "Business." He waited for Tom's response. When none came, he continued. "This is my error, not his. Forgive me, General. I will make sure this does not happen again," turning to Draco he said, "Right?" Draco nodded, swallowing the nerves that collected in his throat painfully. "I intend to take full responsibility for this error and whatever punishment you deem fit," Lucius bowed slightly to Tom, waiting for the inevitable blow that was sure to come.
"Stand up Lucius," Tom's neutral tone spoke. Standing up straight, hands clasped behind his back Lucius stiffly nodded. "You are not in trouble Lucius. It was an honest mistake, yes?"
"Yes My Lo-" closing his mouth, Lucius squeezed his eyes shut. Now that had been a mistake.
"You seem to be full of honest mistakes today, aren't you Commander Malfoy?" Opening his eyes Draco saw for the first time in his father's eyes genuine terror for the man that stood before them.
"That's enough Tom," A soft, yet strong voice ordered. Stepping out from the concealed archway the mistress of the house, Narcissa Black, stood beside the General. Her long, a white blonde hair cascading down her back, almost to her hips, shon brilliantly in the dimly lit room. The dress she wore was sinful, a black little number that was equally classy as it was sexy. Her tone and stance were unwavering, she was a goddess, a queen demanding to be heard, Theo couldn't keep his eyes off her.
An amused smirk creased at the side of his mouth, the smile not quite reaching his eyes, "Now what is wrong with what I said, Cissa?"
"You know exactly what was wrong with it," she spat. She met Draco's eyes, a small smile directed his way was his gift. Draco never failed to be amazed by the woman. She was the only one who dared cross Tom, she was also the only one that would ever be able to get away with it.
Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her down onto his lap. The tulle of her dress obscured much of Draco's view of Tom, he, however could still see the look of disgust on Narcissa's face.
"You have always had a soft spot for Lucius… Why is that?" the smirk was still there, but the whites of his eyes were consumed in black, jealous rage burning in them.
Rolling her eyes Narcissa spoke,"I don't have a 'soft spot' for anyone, Tom. I just happen to have a conscience and a heart. Something you seem to la-" her sarcastic quip was cut off as Tom fisted the back of her hair, pulling her mouth down to his.
The sounds emitted from the unwanted kiss were revolting, Pansy and Blaise shuddered, Theo was having a stare down with his father across the room, and Draco watched as his father's face fell. He looked broken. Draco seemed to be the only one to notice this, though. Within a blink of an eye, his hardened expression returned, his mask had been put back on.
Narcissa was finally able to break free a moment later. Struggling to get out of his lap, she quickly stood, straightening her dress, before walking back to the archway she had come through.
"If anyone should need me, I will be in the library. It was lovely to see you all," Scanning the Commanders her eyes fell upon Lucius, a pained look showcased on her face, "Commanders," she nodded once to them. "Lieutenants," she nodded again. Looking to Draco one more time she gave him another sad smile.
She looked broken too, Draco thought.
"I have a very important task for you four specifically," sliding his finger across his bottom lip Tom's eyes flicked over each of them.
"What is it, General?" Blaise's voice echoed in the now silent room. Commander's Avery and Rowle snickered, waiting for Tom to respond.
"I want you four to go to Earth. When there, you will await instructions on what to do. All you need to know for now is that I am not asking you to do this. I am telling you," Blaise visibly paled, he had a fear of space travel, ever since they went to the Diagon Docking Station when he was a fourth year cadet.
"You must be joking," Theo remarked.
Tom turned, narrowing his eyes at him, "I can assure you, I most certainly am not, Theodore,"
Growling at the use of his name Theo moved closer to Draco hissing under his breath "Eees aa haas say pthey tallow theetch kee a! Lassto seea pyeast sha way peast sha ee yes shipaas eeyes shay!" Fuck him and his stupid fucking plan! Are you really listening to him?
The sound of their mother tongue leaving Theo's lips caused a chill to run down Draco's spine. Sneaking a look towards Theo Draco gripped his forearm, squeezing it in warning. "Don't cause any more of a scene than you already have, control yourself," Draco growled under his breath.
"Lieutenant Malfoy."
Releasing Theo's arm, Draco looked up to see his father now standing beside Tom, an intricate chest laying in his arms, "Yes, General?"
"You and Lieutenant Parkinson will be leading this little expedition of ours - though I have a very special job for you," placing the chest on the smooth stone surface of his desk he pushed it forward, towards Draco.
Nodding slightly Draco pulled it towards him, gliding his fingers across the intricately designed box he gently flipped the latch up. Carefully opening the lid of the chest he peered down into it. Sitting there on a blue cushioned surface were a dozen pocket sized crown shaped crystals. Looking up, meeting Tom's gaze Draco quirked his eyebrow questioningly.
As if knowing what he was going to ask, "They are crystallized diadems," Tom breathed an annoyed sigh.
"Diadem? Like, a crown?"
Placing his hands on either side of the chair he sat in, he pushed himself up out of the chair. The sound of heavy boots scuffing the marble floor rang in his ears; coming up behind him Tom bent down to whisper in his ear, "I want you, to take these miniscule crystals and place them where they belong…" his voice dropped an octave as he gripped the back of Draco's shoulders. "Whether that be planted in the ground, tossed into the oceans, thrown into a fiery inferno, or shot into an air funnel. These will be placed and ready to be activated when I say it is time. Do you understand?"
Without sparing him a glance Draco nodded stiffly, just as his father had done moments prior. Closing the lid once more he placed the chest in the crook of his arm before pulling Theo with him over to Pansy and Blaise.
Standing next to Pansy and Theo did little to bring Draco ease, he could tell whatever this mission was, it wasn't going to end well. The sound of Theo whispering in his native tongue again made Draco's skin crawl, Commander Nott would beat it out of him had he heard it. Before Draco could say anything, Tom came into view once more. The feel of sharp nails digging into his forearm nearly caused Draco to jump as he looked down to see Pansy's hand wound tightly around him, her nails practically drawing blood. The silver liquid pooled slightly at the wound site, if she noticed the blood she did not let it on, her grip was unwavering.
"Now," popping the collar of his jacket up Tom motioned for Lucius and Commander Avery to step forward, one on either side of him, "This is what I want you to do."
The sound of arguing brought Draco out of his memory, Theo and Blaise were back at each other's throats. Pansy glared at him, waiting for him to do something, anything, to break up the fight. Sighing in defeat, Draco grumbled under his breath, "Why must I always be the one to break up a fight between those stupid fuckers?"
Pansy snickered, "Because you're always Captain, thanks to daddy of course," her voice was light as she spoke, yet her eyes betrayed the bitterness behind them.
"Please, this has nothing to do with my father. As far as being made Captain everytime? Are you truly that blind that you don't see why he does that? He does that so if there is any fuck up I'll have to take the blame! No matter whose fault it is," gritting his teeth he stood up, staring down into her dark eyes.
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" squinting her eyes at him, the thick black line that ran over her cheeks and nose crinkled.
"What I am saying, Parkinson, is that I'm Captain because he would rather see me sooner exiled or even killed before I become of age to join our fathers as Commanders. I'm sorry I don't have the ability to fuck my way to the top as you do!" the moment the words left his mouth he instantly regretted them.
Pansy looked to be on the verge of tears as she stood up to stomp out the fire before making eye contact once more.
"Fuck you, Draco."
He knew he should have apologized, asked if she was okay, say he didn't mean it, say anything except what he did say. However, unable to control his anger he opened his mouth and said the words that would nail his coffin shut, "Last time I checked, that was the reason we didn't work out! You were an easy lay that everyone besides those two ponces over there," Draco jerked his chin in Theo and Blaise's direction; both still too preoccupied with their own argument to witness the shitstorm that was brewing, "had taken to bed! What did you expect? That Tom wouldn't take notice? You put out for anyone with a ha-" a stinging pain came from his cheek. Shaking away the shock at the hit he watched as a single tear trailed down Pansy's right cheek.
She didn't say a word, her whole body shook with rage, the fire within her building up. Draco watched her retreating form move towards the tree line that he and Theo had come from not long before. He could see the tense muscles in her back and arms as she tried unsuccessfully to control it. As her body disappeared behind the trees Draco released the breath he had been holding in, "Great job, you fucking arsehole."
"Why can't you just admit you nearly killed us, you gobby cunt!" Theo barked.
"Why can't you pick up a damn dictionary and learn actual words instead of half-arsed slang that miraculously makes you look even more vacuous than normal! I didn't even think your normal level of ignorant rhetoric and dull-witted comebacks could be beat, but here you are! Always beating your previous record!" Blaise goaded.
The sounds of Blaise and Theo's unending dispute was beginning to give Draco a headache. Kicking away the still sizzling ashes from the fire Pansy had stomped out. He ran a hand through his platinum hair before snarling into his arm, Enough of this.
Stomping over to the two quarreling boys he got the last part of their conversation before stepping in.
"How about next time you fly that hunk of junk through 478 jumps to a planet that is 12.6 billion kilometers away all while dealing with a useless crew mate who insists on doing nothing but complain about how long the trip is and sing old songs that no one knows!"
Theo's cheeks flamed, his hand clenching into a fist as he struggled with the decision of punching Blaise in the face or stomach.
"First of all, Fuck you. Second of all, it isn't my fault you lot are uncultured swine! Third, that trip was bloody long! All of you have about as much personality as a rock, so I have to make up for that loss. And you know what? I will fly it next time so as not to kill us all before we get home!"
"Make up for it? You bloody well suffocate us with it!" Blaise snorted. "Again, what was so wrong with my flying? I got us here didn't I? Did anyone die? No. They didn't!"
He had made up his mind, winding his wrist up he slugged Blaise in the stomach. As Blaise clutched his stomach, doubled over in pain, Theo crouched down to speak to him, "What was wrong? Besides practically ejecting Malfoy and I from our seats? You landed us more than 40 miles away from our target, you can't park for shit, and you most certainly can't reverse!" gripping Blaise by the back of his hooded cowl he yanked him back up, "You shouldn't even be allowed to reverse a decision, let alone a giant hunk of space metal that is probably as old as we are," Theo hissed.
The movements between the two seemed almost rehearsed, if Blaise landed a blow Theo had one to follow up, when Theo managed to pin Blaise to the ground Blaise flipped him almost effortlessly. There was no end to this. The yelling and punches continued on as Draco waited for an opening between the two. A sickening crunch followed by a slew of curses came from Theo, a continuous stream of silver liquid spilled from his nose.
"NOT MY FACE, YOU FUCKER!" Theo cried out, his previously unblemished, glamoured, skin now glowed in dark harsh lines and swirls across his face and arms.
"Theo! Mate I am so sor-" a painful cough cut Blaise's apology short. A fierce wind ripped through Theo's hands as it propelled Blaise's body back a few feet before slamming into the side of their ship.
Before he could think about it, Draco took off in a sprint towards the now bloodied and crumpled body that leaned against the cold metal door. Gnarled roots were uprooted from the ground in a desperate attempt to cushion the blow. Theo watched as Draco dropped to his knees checking Blaise's wrist and neck for a steady pulse. The rapid thrum of Blaise's heartbeat caused a sigh of relief to leave Draco's lips.
Slumping against the wall, hand still firmly grasping Blaise's pulse point, Draco narrowed his eyes at Theo.
Theo's hands shook, regret apparent on his face, "Draco, I-I didn't mean for that to happen. I couldn't contr-" Draco raised his hands, effectively silencing him.
"Enough," his voice boomed. Theo stopped, looking down in resignation as he waited for him to speak again.
"The diadems are in the compartment below deck, go get one and find some place out here to plant it," Draco spoke. "Plant it somewhere farther away from camp, do you understand me?"
"But of course, Tom. I understand completely," the markings around Theo's eyes flickered briefly before returning back to their stark black colour. Trudging past the two that leaned against the wall, tilting his wrist to the side he let it glide over the door's scanner. A low beep noise followed by a click signalled the unlocking of the door. Ducking beneath the low ceiling beams, he made quick work of retrieving the diadem chest. After slipping out the door once more he cradled the diadems in his arms as he made his way towards the opposite end of the woods.
"I think one will do," Theo came to a halt, flinching from the venom in Draco's voice. Turning around, he opened the chest and grabbed a single crystal, setting the rest on the ground by Draco's feet.
"Yes sir, General, sir" Theo sneered, saluting him mockingly.
Spinning around on his heels, Theo made sure to get as far away from Draco as possible. The woods in which they had set up camp in wasn't awful. No, Theo rather quite liked it. The sun was still shining despite how late it was in the day, birds were still singing, the slight rustle of small woodland creatures could be heard all around him.
He continued to walk for what seemed like hours before he stumbled upon a fast flowing stream. Making his way over to the water he looked down into its crystal clear depths; his image was reflected back at him.
"Bloody hell, even out here I can't escape him," dropping his hand into the frigid water he scrubbed at the markings on his face. Grimacing at the now angry red streaks across his face he kicked at his reflection in the water.
"Time to fix your ugly mug, you chav" Theo grunted as he placed his pointer and middle finger to the side of his neck. Inhaling slowly through his nose he grounded himself; he focused on what he wanted to look like. Smooth skin, free of his ugly markings, unblemished skin free of the scars from being hit one too many times, his eyes to be filled with warmth rather than their normal dark, vacant look.
A subtle buzzing ran beneath his fingers, looking back down into the water he allowed himself to smile. He was back. The one who was walking the streets of London with Draco only a few hours before. Tracing his finger down the bridge of his nose and across his cheekbones he gave a sigh of relief. Dropping his hands to his pants pocket he slid the diadem from it.
Looking around he caught sight of a fairy ring comprised of red cap mushrooms a few feet from the stream. Stepping into the middle of the ring he got down onto his hands and knees and began to dig. The dirt was still warm from the afternoon sun. Sifting through the loose Earth Theo caught sight of something shiny. Leaning down till his face was eye level with the ground he eyed the object; gripping the edge of the object with the tops of his fingers he withdrew it from the soil.
Turning the green shard of glass over in his hand, he watched as the prism of light shifted the colours from within. A small smile curved at his lips - beautiful he thought.
Though just as quickly the spell was broken.
"Pree essss truh sthey! Eeees grey ah teep they! Laast te nuus crow!" He hissed, the curses flowing fluidly from his tongue. Shit! What the fucking fuck! Fuckin' cockwomble! Throwing the sharp piece of glass he looked down at his palm. A long thin line was sliced through the middle, the same familiar liquid silver dripping off it.
Theo turned back towards the dirt he had already loosened and began to dig again, this time with only his uninjured hand. Unbeknownst to him, the small blue crystallized crown began to glow. An almost silent beeping coming from its core.
"This better be worth it, fucker," Theo muttered under his breath, shaking away the image of Tom's smug grin that would no doubt grace his face at the sight of the young lieutenants injury.
He continued to dig, still muttering under his breath; Not even realizing what he had just set into motion..
394 Godric's Hollow Terr.
Hogsmeade Village
South Richmond, London
2.3 Miles from Little Whinging Forest, England
The ride back to Richmond was rather uneventful, the tube was packed to the brim with men and women just getting off work; the blue and yellow standing poles each had two people wrapped tightly around it leaving barely any standing room. When Hermione and Luna had boarded there was only a single seat left. Looking between the seat and Luna, Hermione exhaled in silent frustration.
Pulling her bag closer to her body she gently pushed Luna into the seat near the door, "Luna, I want you to sit here and put your shoes on. The streets are dirty enough as it is but the floors of public transport are," Hermione paused, letting a full body shudder take over, "infinitely worse."
The look of surprise on Luna's face was brief, swinging her legs back and forth on the chair she silently nodded, smiling as she slid her shoes back on. Hermione gave a curt nod back before squeezing in between a woman dressed head to toe in pink, her hair a mixture of dark and light brown swirls that sat cropped closely to her head. The pink lady gave Hermione a tight lipped grin as she clutched her pink handbag in her left hand.
The metro car came to a hard halt, throwing her against the glass. A moment later, the doors opened and the woman and an older gentleman left the car. Once the discombobulation of the hit died down, Hermione turned towards the seat Luna occupied. Standing beside her she gripped the small, silver, square shaped bar that hung above. As the metro car lurched forward to the next stop she used the bar to steady herself, after that the rest of the ride was relatively quiet. Everyone tired from the day they had to endure.
"Why did you give me the seat, Hermione? I wouldn't have minded sitting on the floor," Luna murmured.
Looking up from her now 'ruined' book Hermione gave one of her rare soft smiles, "That's exactly why. I don't want you to sit on the floor, you know why," Luna just looked at her, waiting for her to say something more on the matter.
"Plus, look at your feet Loon, they've got cuts on them from early. Not to mention you were on your feet all day. Even when we were in the library," Hermione lectured playfully.
"I suppose," Luna shrugged, looking down at her still swinging feet, laughing at the look of them. "Okay, you're right."
The next stop was theirs, the ding from the car alerting that the doors were opening caused Luna to jump from her seat, grabbing Hermione's hand as she pulled her through the doors as soon as they opened. Once out of the tube onto the station's platform they began their walk home.
Their flat in Hogsmeade village was a quaint little thing, the kitchen immediately transferred into the living room and they had to share a bathroom, but Luna and Hermione respected each other and their boundaries. The flat itself was less than a mile from the station which came in handy when it came time to commute back and forth from University. The town of Richmond in which their little home resided had everything they needed: a general store, a market, Little Whinging a nature reserve within walking distance, a library, and of course Richmond's "King's Cross" metro.
Hermione thought of these places, and how lucky she was to have found somewhere to live with this much accessibility, and to not have to worry about selling her soul to pay for it all, on the way back from the station. By the time she had ran through the list of places near their home Luna was already fishing out her house keys to unlock the door.
Click. The door swung open, hanging her purse up on the rack by the door Hermione made her way to the kitchen.
"I'm thinking of phoning dad tonight, see if maybe he would like to come 'round for the fun fair. I think he would like that the more I think about it. He met mum at the maypole, that was the first time he had ever seen her. She was dancing around it with her family when he saw her. He said that as soon as they locked eyes, "he knew she was the one" she sighed wistfully.
Holding a water bottle in one hand and her book in the other Hermione could only muster a sad smile, "She sounds beautiful Luna," she spoke in a low whisper. The topic of Luna's mother was always touchy, Hermione didn't want to make the memory anymore painful by asking meaningless questions.
"I think I am going to go down to the garden, would you like anything?"
Shaking her head Hermione spoke, "I'm fine, thank you. I'm thinking I'm just going to have another quiet night of reading. If you need me, call me, okay?" Luna nodded before slipping out the door again.
Walking back towards her room, Hermione threw her book and water bottle on the bed. Staring down at the crumpled pages she felt her anger return, the image of those grey eyes of the boy burned behind her eyelids as she tried to shake away his face. The frustration at being unable to rid him of her system was almost unbearable, and because of that, because of this boy, she did something she hadn't done for years.
For the first time in forever she made her way over towards her closet, opening the door she ruffled through a few drawers before she came upon the familiar chest she had long forgotten. Slipping the clawed hook towards the right she slid the old leather sketchbook from its dust coated tomb. The old charcoal pencils she used still lay in its spot. Picking the old sketchbook and pencils up she brought them over to her bed, joining the crumpled book and water.
Stretching across her bed, folding a pillow beneath her she began to draw, the lines and curves transferring almost effortlessly from her hand to the pencil. She spent the next hour sketching out his face, paying special attention to his eyes and mouth. Curling the pencil inward she unconsciously smiled, the smirk was perfect.
Another hour passed, this time sketching his neck and chest, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the page she began to smudge the pencil markings, causing the form of his shirt to take shape. She thought about stopping, maybe she could read, or cook, or go find Luna. But she was content to stay in her room, sketching away for hours, recreating the meeting with the stranger on the street. No, not stranger, Draco.
Groaning, Hermione closed the sketchbook, placing it beside her as she flipped onto her back, staring at her ceiling.
"Hermione Granger, you. are. an. idiot,"
Little Whinging Forest, England
2.3 miles from Hogsmeade Village
The hole took significantly longer to dig with only one good hand, especially with how solid the ground began to become the deeper he dug. Going over the instructions in his head Theo wondered how long he had been out there.
"Earth isn't even my bloody element," Theo scoffed. The hole was dug, he had the diadem, now the only thing left was his essence.
Standing up, he arched his back, feeling his muscles strain to realign. Rubbing his hands together he focused his energy into the hollowed out hole. A stream of white light emanated from his hands, a white dusting now filled the empty space. Scooping the diadem up, Theo carefully lowered it into the ground, leaving only the top visible. After making sure it was anchored properly and wouldn't be going anywhere he start to fill in the dirt.
Wiping the dirt from his hands onto his pants he stepped out of the fairy ring. Looking down at his wound he couldn't help but feel a sickening twist in his gut, the silver liquid was now a rusty brown, blood was slow to glamour, he was learning that the hard way. Leaning down towards the water's edge he slowly began to scrub at the wound, the pain causing him to flinch every now and then. Once most of the blood had been washed away, he stood up. Still looking down at his hand he heard a ripping sound. Calmly raising his eyes from his hand he looked towards the middle of the stream. Standing on one of the stepping stones across from him was a girl in a ripped gauze dress.
The girl looked at him curiously, a strip of her dress clutched in her hands.
"Do you need some help?" the girl's voice was soft, melodic even, Theo thought begrudgingly. He said nothing.
Hopping across the remainder of the stones she stood in front of him, he was almost a foot taller than her. Without asking she reached for his hand, taken aback Theo swiftly pulled it out of her reach.
Frowning, the girl grabbed for his hand again. Her grip was iron clad and refused to let go. Wrapping the fabric around his hand with the utmost care she secured it in a knot, searching his face for any response.
"I am Luna, by the way. What's your name?" her eyes were big, filled with a type of carefree spirit he longed to have.
Inhaling a deep breath he was thinking of what he could say. And then she smiled at him.
Shit.
Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading! I am so sorry that this was a longer update wait time than usual! :( Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait for you to see what is to come ;) I would like to say a huge thank you to my betas Ruin-Me-Dramione, MrBenzedrine, and Sinful824! Without you ladies I would be lost and still staring at my computer trying to fix it by myself.
Thank you to the guest reviewer who mentioned the Lorian Legacies! That is such an amazing compliment to be paid! I freaking love you as well and hope you stick around!
As for update schedule... I am currently in Dramione Duets Exchange and The Strictly Dramione's Movie Fest. So what does this mean? It means that I will be throwing myself into those two works for the time being. The duets piece will be completed in about a week, I believe, and the movie fest one (which is Lord of The Rings!) is due August 26th so I will be writing it all throughout this month. Once those are done we will be back on with bi weekly updates. Thanks again for your guy's support!
If you don't mind, leave me a review and tell me what you thought? Maybe what you think will happen next? ;) Till next time, love you all!