Chapter Fourteen.
Theo poured the drinks slowly, wondering when Blaise was going to show up. Theo had talked to Daphne and managed to convince her that inviting Pansy over for dinner was her idea. Now he was stuck spending his Friday evening listening to Pansy and Daphne gossiping about various girly things. Throughout dinner he tuned out the conversation as he mentally ran over the plan one last time, but now he was starting to worry that Blaise wasn't going to show. If his friend didn't show up soon, Pansy would be leaving and they would have to try this tactic again.
Just as Theo was handing the girls a drink the front doorbell rang. Theo silently breathed a huge sigh of relief as he headed to answer the door. The second he answered the door, Blaise bounded into the house and headed straight for the front room.
"Theo I need to talk to you urgently." He declared, stopping when he spotted Daphne and Pansy sitting in the front room. "Daphne, Pansy, sorry to interrupt but I need to speak to Theo."
"Do you want a drink?" Theo asked, entering the room behind Blaise.
"Theo, I need to speak to you in private." Blaise hissed.
"Can't it wait until we've had a drink?" Theo questioned, watching Pansy out of the corner of her eye and noticing she was paying close attention to the conversation.
"No." Blaise shook his head as he tapped his foot impatiently. "We need to talk, now. It's urgent."
"Okay." Theo sighed, acting as though Blaise's presence was a hassle. "We'll talk in my office."
Assuring Daphne they would be back as quickly as possible, Theo led the way to his office. When they entered the office they were careful not to shut the door fully behind them, meaning Pansy would be able to listen if she wanted to.
"Do you think this will work?" Theo whispered.
"Yeah, she was itching to know what I wanted." Blaise replied with a smirk. "Have you set up the charm to let us know if anyone's approaching?"
Theo nodded and pointed to a glass paperweight on his desk. "That will start to glow if anyone approaches the door. It will stay lit up until they leave again and the coast is clear."
Less than five minutes later the paperweight began to glow. Exchanging smirks Blaise and Theo then launched into their pre-prepared conversation.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Theo hissed accusingly. "I wouldn't have told anyone."
"I know, but Draco made me promise." Blaise replied. "He didn't want to put you in the line of fire, you've got Daphne to think about."
Theo made a small humming noise that could be construed as acceptance. "Can you at least tell me if he's okay?"
"Both him and Hermione are as okay as they can be in the circumstances." Blaise said.
"What are they going to do? The Aurors have a warrant out for Hermione's arrest."
"They're running." Blaise answered. "I've been helping Draco get some money together. He reckons by the beginning of next week they'll be out of Italy."
"Where will they go?" Theo asked, checking the paperweight was still lit up.
"Hell if I know, Draco won't say." Blaise replied, sounding annoyed that he wasn't being confided in. "I've told them it's too risky to move. No-one knows they're in my summer villa on the coast, they're perfectly safe there."
"I guess he's just taking precautions." Theo said. "It's probably safer to keep moving."
"Risker more like." Blaise snorted, nodding to the paperweight that was fading. Within a few seconds the glow was gone and it was back to being clear.
"Do you think it worked?" Theo asked nervously.
"Someone heard that conversation, I just don't know if it was Pansy or Daphne." Blaise replied. "But if we head back to the front room we might be able to find out."
Theo nodded and the two wizards made their way back to the front room, where they found Daphne cutting into a lemon drizzle cake. Also sitting on the coffee table was a tray, holding four cups and a pot of tea. It was clear that Daphne had left the room to get the refreshments, giving Pansy ample opportunity to sneak down the hallway and listen in on their conversation.
"I made tea." Daphne said with a smile. "And I got some cake. Blaise are you staying for a slice?"
"Definitely." Blaise grinned, settling down in one of the chairs.
"Did you sort your problem, Blaise?" Pansy asked. "You seemed awfully keen to speak to Theo."
"Yeah, it's all sorted." Blaise replied. "It was just a personal matter I needed his advice on."
"Hmm, personal indeed." Pansy murmured quietly, a knowing smile playing around her lips.
When Daphne and Pansy resumed their conversation, Blaise and Theo shared a triumphant look. Pansy had definitely been the one to overhear their conversation, now they just had to hope she acted on her new knowledge and turned up in Italy.
Saturday afternoon found Hermione pacing the floor in the front room, wondering if anything would happen. Blaise had visited them the previous evening and informed them that everything with Pansy ran like clockwork. Blaise and Theo had set out the bait, now everyone was waiting to see if she took them up on it.
"Stop pacing." Draco told his girlfriend as he entered the room. "Blaise will let us know if she shows up."
"I know." Hermione sighed. "I'm just nervous."
"So am I." Draco admitted. "Let's go for a walk on the beach to keep out minds off everything."
"Okay, but make sure you have your rock with you."
Draco reassured Hermione he had the rock as the couple headed out onto the beach. Blaise had given Draco a white rock, which he had enchanted to light up when he wanted to get in touch. Blaise was going to use the rock to let the couple know if Pansy showed up at the villa. Blaise and Theo were currently hiding up at the villa, ready to immobilise Pansy if she turned up. When he had visited the previous night Blaise had taken Draco over to the mainland with him and let him return with the boat, which they would use if they needed to head over to the mainland.
"What do we do if she doesn't show?" Hermione asked as the couple strolled along the golden sands hand in hand. She knew Draco already had a back-up plan but for some reason he hadn't shared it with her.
"If she doesn't show then I'm going to go to her." Draco answered.
Hermione stopped in her tracks, bring Draco to a standstill as well. "You can't do that, it's too risky." She said, turning to face her boyfriend. "The Aurors are looking for you as well. Going back home just isn't safe."
"It's a risk I'll just have to take." Draco replied.
"What would happen if the Aurors caught you?" Hermione demanded.
"Nothing, I would claim I've just been away for a while and had only just found out what had happened." Draco answered. "I promise I would never reveal your location." He added softly.
"I couldn't care less about that." Hermione snorted. "What I care about is you ending up in Azkaban. The whole reason I married Ron was to stop that from happening and to keep us together, you returning home will risk all that. Besides, once the Aurors had you in custody they could use veritiserum on you to find out where I was."
Draco paused thoughtfully, never having considered the possibility that the Aurors would use veritiserum on him. If he did have to pay Pansy a visit he would have to sort something with Blaise, so he could get Hermione away from the island for a while. Hopefully though, none of this would even be an issue as Pansy would turn up at the villa sometime over the weekend.
"I want you to promise me, you won't go and see Pansy." Hermione said when Draco remained silent.
"I can't do that, Hermione." Draco shook his head. "If this doesn't work and she fails to show up, we still need to find out what she knows."
"Then let Blaise or Theo go and speak to her." Hermione argued.
"I need to do this, Hermione." Draco said stubbornly. "Please don't fight me on this."
"No." Hermione pulled her hand out of Draco's grasp as she glared at the blond. "I won't just sit back and let you return home. If you insist on going, then I'm bloody well going with you."
Without waiting for a reply Hermione turned around and stormed off down the beach. Draco gaped after her for a minute or two, until he came to his senses and chased after her. Before long Draco had caught up to Hermione and he whirled her around to face him.
"You are not risking yourself by going home." Draco stormed. "I will not allow you to go someplace where you'll likely be arrested."
"The solution to this is simple, don't go home yourself." Hermione retorted. "You are not leaving the island without me, where you go I go."
Draco growled quietly as he ran his hand through his hair. "You are the most stubborn, infuriating witch I've ever met." He snarled, knowing that Hermione wouldn't back down and there was no way he was risking letting her return to England without first clearing her name.
"Thank you." Hermione smirked, knowing she had her boyfriend exactly where she wanted him. At times Draco was very easy to manipulate, you just had to know the right buttons to push to get him to do exactly as you wanted.
"That wasn't a bloody compliment." He muttered under his breath.
"So do we have a deal?" Hermione asked, ignoring Draco's last mutterings. "Where you go, I go."
"Fine." Draco bit out, not happy at being backed into a corner. "If this fails, I'll think of an alternative solution."
"One that doesn't involve either of us leaving this island." Hermione asserted.
"One that doesn't involve us leaving the island." Draco agreed.
"Good." Hermione smiled, stepping closer to Draco and giving him a quick peck.
Draco tried to remain mad at Hermione, but his girlfriend kept kissing him until his resolve broke and he pulled her into his arms. Giving her a small smile he connected their lips properly as he gave her a heated kiss. Hands had just started wandering when Draco pulled back, feeling a warm sensation coming from his pocket. Reaching into his trouser pocket he pulled out the stone Blaise had given him. It was glowing bright green.
"Oh my god, she's there." Hermione gasped. She could hardly believe that Pansy had fallen into the trap.
"Let's go and see what she has to say for herself, shall we." Draco said, taking hold of Hermione hand and turning towards the dock.
Running over the beach Draco and Hermione soon arrived at the dock. Jumping into the boat, Draco took control and soon had them speeding towards the mainland. Despite only ever having a brief lesson the day before from Blaise, Draco managed the boat like an expert as he guided it into the dock beside his best friends' villa.
Blaise was waiting for the couple on the dock and he helped Hermione out of the boat before helping Draco tie it to the dock.
"Is she here?" Draco demanded as his feet hit the wooden dock.
"She's here." Blaise smirked. "And she's not alone."
"Who's with her?" Hermione questioned, wondering if whoever was with Pansy was involved in Ron's death.
"I don't want to spoil the surprise." Blaise responded. "They're both restrained in the front room, come and say hello."
Draco and Hermione shared a puzzled look before following Blaise up to the villa. Blaise led them into the villa and straight towards the front room, where Theo was standing in the doorway with his wand drawn. When Theo stepped aside to let them enter the room Hermione let out a loud gasp. Pansy was sitting tied up on a chair, but sitting next to her alive and well was Ron.
Looking up at Hermione as she entered the room, Ron smirked at the witch. "Hello, wife."