Title: Fire and Powder
Chapter: 7
Disclaimer: See the first chapter. Basically, these aren't my characters. Excuse me while I weep.
Note: Thanks everyone for getting this story to over 1200 hits in just over a week, wow! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed and to tonks-666 for betaing! I made an 8tracks playlist for this story (it was a good way to procrastinate instead of actually writing, hahah) which I'll link on my profile if you wanted to check it out. I'm also going to wait until my chapters are longer between postings, so don't be alarmed if updates don't come as frequently, that'll hopefully be made up for in the length of individual chapters. Happy reading!
"Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all."
- William Goldman (The Princess Bride)
This apothecary was much different than any Draco had been in before. Potion ingredients from all over the world lined the walls, divided by an assortment of bizarre artifacts. A human skull, sharks teeth, salamander spleen, dragon scales…Draco imagined Professor Snape would have an aneurysm in this place.
The lighting was so dim that Draco didn't even notice the man leaning against the back counter until Father greeted him. "Mr. Narang, how nice it is to see you again."
The man stepped from the shadows, a slight grin lifting his features. He had tan skin, dark, slicked back hair, and inky eyes. Draco figured he was around his father's age, perhaps a little older.
The man reached out his hand for Lucius to shake. "Ah, Lucius. Call me Sunik, of course."
Lucius almost smiled at him, much to Draco's surprise. "If you insist. You know my wife, and this is my son, Draco." Draco shook the man's hand. "I know Sunik from my brief travels in India, he is the main reason we have come to Cadiz," Lucius explained.
Father traveled to India? Draco wondered to himself. He was sure to not let his confusion show on his face, it was always best to act like he was completely in control of the situation.
Hermione hovered to the side, eyes scanning along the vials and oddities. Draco hoped to God she didn't disturb anything. The last thing he needed was his dead menace to ruin this meeting for his family. Even if he didn't fully understand why they were here, he knew it was important.
Lucius and Sunik exchanged pleasantries and Draco took that moment to check on Hermione, who appeared to be engrossed in the potions.
"This is truly amazing!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing out a variety of potions and launching into an explanation on how wolf fur and tarantula eyes are harvested. Draco tuned her out, turning back to the interactions between his father and the Indian man.
"So, Lucius, enough small talk. What brings you to Cadiz? I've heard the situation in England is growing…desperate," Sunik said, leaning on the counter casually. Desperate was certainly an understatement.
Draco watched his father's face for clues, but he betrayed nothing. "Desperate, indeed. War has been declared."
"Really?" Sunik gasped. "So soon?"
"Soon? This war has been brewing for years. Decades. The Dark Lord is no longer the strong leader we used to know." Draco did not miss his use of the word "we". Sunik must have been a Death Eater, or at least been intimate with the Dark Lord's inner circle. His father would have never mentioned something so casually. "We escaped while we could, but even on the other side of the continent we are not free from his clutches."
"You're speaking of dark magic, are you not?"
His father nodded, thrusting his arm forward and pushing his sleeve up to reveal the Mark.
Sunik's eyes grew wide as he took in the image of the skull and snake. Draco subconsciously gripped his own forearm.
"Ah, dark magic, indeed. Very dark," Sunik murmured, reaching out to trace the image with a finger. "Is there pain?"
"Not yet," Lucius replied. "There will be shortly, it is how the Dark Lord summons his followers." He paused, as if reliving something. "And how he punishes them."
Draco shuttered unintentionally at his father's casual mention of the Dark Lords punishments. He had personally experienced the Dark Lord's wrath one too many times. It was hell. He would never forget being gripped by so much pain that death seemed like a kind friend in comparison.
"I will need to run a number of spells before we experiment in any way," Sunik explained, already moving to remove his wand from his robe pocket. "Is it just you effected?" the man's eyes darted between Narcissa and Draco. Draco instinctively moved his Marked arm away from the curious gaze.
"My son," Lucius responded, "has also taken the Mark."
Sunik's eyes appraised Draco, trying to understand what would have led both a father and son to put themselves in such a vulnerable situation. "Very grave times, indeed."
Lucius nodded his agreement.
Smash!
Draco's turned just in time to see the look of horror on Hermione's face as, while reaching for something, she knocked a potion vial off balance, sending it shattering to the shop floor.
"What in the name of Merlin—?!" Sunik exclaimed, gaping at the smoking liquid on the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" Hermione gasped out, seeing Draco's furious expression. She usually wasn't this clumsy, but in her haste to get a closer look at the basilisk venom, she accidentally bumped dragon saliva. It appeared to be acidic from the way it was melting the tile.
Seeing the shocked expressions on his parents and Sunik's faces, he quickly remembered to appear surprised as well. To them the potion appeared to have fallen on its own accord. How was he going to cover this up?
"Did you do this, Draco?" Lucius demanded while Sunik waved his wand over the spill.
Draco was distracted suddenly by the Indian man standing directly on top of Hermione, who was too distraught to realize what was happening.
"Draco, answer me when I am speaking to you," Lucius repeated, anger building in his eyes, though his expression remained calm.
"I'm sorry, father, I must not have been paying attention." Draco hated taking responsibility for something a clumsy Gryffindor did. A clumsy, dead Gryffindor, no less.
But he hated being called crazy even more.
"Draco, I raised you to behave better than this. My sincerest apologies, Sunik. I will pay for that potion, of course, and any damages." Lucius reached his hand into his pocket to retrieve his coin purse, but was stopped by a raised hand from his old friend.
"Do not concern yourself, Lucius, it's not the first time an accident occurred in my store, and I daresay it will not be the last. However, I don't believe it was Draco here that broke the potion." Sunik was staring at Draco with an almost predatory look in his eyes. Draco took a step back.
"I am no Seer," Sunik continued as Hermione moved closer to Draco. "But I do feel a presence around your son, Lucius."
Fuck.
Hermione gasped, and then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, as if this man could suddenly see her. And for all she knew, he could.
"What are you talking about? What kind of presence?" Narcissa asked, stepping closer to her son.
Draco forced his face to remain unconcerned. He wouldn't falter by showing fear or confusion, he would remain confident and collected.
"Like I said, I am no Seer, but I do often sense presences amongst my customers. Presences such as demons, ghosts, souls, even angels, that is if you believe in such things," Sunik explained, looking around the apothecary as if he saw faces in the shadows. "Something..." he pondered, looking pointedly at the space around Draco, "…very strong…has attached itself to your son."
Lucius looked between his old friend and his son, unsure which side to take on this matter. "Draco," he turned to his son. "What do you think?"
Draco wasn't sure which way to play his cards. He subtly made eye contact with Granger, hoping she could come up with some kind of plan to get them out of this mess. It was her fault, after all. She had to go break the stupid potion vial.
"Deny," Hermione said, noting the panic in Draco's eyes. "Don't tell them."
Hermione didn't trust this man. Any friend of Lucius was an enemy of hers by default.
Draco didn't have time to ponder the suggestion. Granger was intelligent enough, it would have to do. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sunik narrowed his eyes further. "You would not necessarily be aware of such an occurrence, young man."
"What do you suggest we do?" Narcissa asked, concern growing for her son.
Sunik continued to look at Draco as though the blonde boy had become an evil spirit himself. "He should see an expert immediately. If it's a lurking demon it could be incredibly harmful to him and those around him. There's a nearby spirit consultation service, I highly suggest Draco seek their assistance as soon as possible. Until then, I'm going to have to ask him to remove himself from my store, I cannot afford any more damage."
Draco almost laughed out loud when he referred to Granger as a demon! She was annoying, that was for certain, but a demon?! Not bloody likely! She had more good in her than was healthy.
"Draco, why don't you do just that while I treat Sunik to a round of drinks for his generosity," Lucius instructed, always the negotiator. "You can certainly make it back home alone without incident."
Draco knew there was no disagreeing. He nodded his consent and with one last glance at Sunik, who was still looking at him as though he was about to spontaneously combust, he left the apothecary.
"Way to go, Granger," Draco began as soon as the door banged shut behind them.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. And she was. That Sunik man seriously overreacted, and she most definitely wasn't a demon, how dare he!
Draco noticed the legitimate sympathy in her words and decided to drop the subject. Sunik had attacked her enough as it was, and he didn't have it in him to argue right then.
"Yeah, well, it looks like you'll get your way after all," he said as they approached Moruuan's Spiritual and Deceased Readings. "Hopefully this will be a more constructive visit."
"I'll try to keep my destruction to a minimum," Hermione assured him sarcastically.
"Don't bother," he deadpanned. "Demons from hell can't control themselves, I understand."
Hermione punched his shoulder, and Draco fought a grin while he rubbed it, though it didn't really hurt. "There's no need for violence, you bloody evil creature!"
Hermione couldn't help herself and she burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Draco fought for a solid ten seconds before giving in and joining her. He realized what he was doing—laughing with Granger!—and abruptly stopped as he reached for the shop door.
A bell rang above them as they proceeded into the dimly lit room. The store was small, barely large enough to fit a medium sized wooden table with a few chairs scattered around it. There was a large crystal ball in the center of the table, but other than that the room was scarce. A door on the back wall appeared to lead to a back room.
"Is anyone here?" Hermione asked, looking around the empty space, confused.
"Er, hello?" Draco called out, feeling awkward and completely ridiculous.
There was a crashing sound from the back room, followed by silence, before the door to the back room abruptly opened. A short and plump Spanish woman appeared, wearing dark purple robes that cascaded around her feet and her dark hair was piled in a messy bun atop her head. As smile lit up her features as she took in the sight in front of her.
"Um, hello, do you speak English?" Draco greeted awkwardly.
The woman's eyes twinkled at him. "Si, yes," she answered with a thick Spanish accent.
"Great," he said, deciding to just get on with it. "I was referred to you because I apparently have a…presence?"
The woman's smile grew even larger. "Si, I can see that."
She looked directly at Hermione. "Hello, dear."
End note: I'd apologize for the mild cliff hanger, but I'm not sorry, haha! The next update will come in the next few days, please review/follow/favorite in the mean time! Thanks for reading, be well.