New chapter!!!
Fred's POV
I stepped out of the dinghy cab (Hermione would have called it dinghy, I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen.)
Staring up at the apartment building, it was dinghy (I called it that, apparently Hermione thought it was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen).
a brown brick building, broken bottles in the ally way adjacent. Kind of sketchy, with heavy traffic blaring all around.
I looked back down at the paper, then turned to ask the cab drive if this was really the right place. Only to find he'd sped off already, leaving me alone.
I walked forward, coming to sit on the front steps and wait for malfoy. Looking around, I could help but be confused.
The Hermione I knew would have hated it here. It was to noisy to read, the building looked dirty and unkempt. I'd guessed that muggle waitresses didn't make much, but surely 'mione couldn't live here.
A yellow cab for grimier then the one I came in screeched up, depositing the disgruntled ferret onto the pavement like a sack of rocks.
Malfoy looked frazzled, acutely shaking a fist and yelling as the cab as it sped away.
brushing himself off, Draco stomped up to me.
"This fucking-! Muggle idiot-, drove in circles for god knows how long! I swear-" he grumbled, dragging me inside the building.
the inside wasn't any better, white tile stained slightly yellow in the corners. A somehow noticeably grease elevator on the opposite wall. Walls chipped in places with a single wood staircase going up.
"Homey." Malfoy sneered, nose wrinkled as he took in the room.
"Maybe she's fallen on hard times?" I replied hopefully, looking down at the napkin again.
She hadn't given me a room number, or even a floor. Thinking back, I mentally kicked myself.
What kind of friend sees her friend run away from two mysterious guy and gives them her address? This probably wasn't even her building!
"Hey Malfoy, she didn't really give me her floor number, I think this whole thing is a-"
DING!
Before I could finish my sentence, the elevator opened. a gruff muggle man of about forty walked out, holding a styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and his keys on the other.
he didn't look all that nice, but Malfoy went up to him anyway.
"Hello sir, can you help us really quick? Could you perhaps tell us which floor Herm-uh, Cordelia lives on?"
the guy just kind of paused, staring at Draco with a permanently angry look in his eye.
the ferret didn't seem bothered, but I slowly began to drag him away when the guy spoke.
"Lives on the second floor, first door. Watch for tacks." He didn't elaborate, instead shuffling towards the door and out of site.
"Well that was unsettling." I muttered.
"Yes-" Malfoy hummed before turning back sharply. "Wait does this mean stairs?! I hate stairs, there's always stairs, everywhere!"
"Yes it means stairs, unless you know how to use an elevator?"
"What's a-?"
"That's what I thought. Come on, let's go."
Draco's POV
"Well, this is it."
the door to Hermione-, sorry Cordelia's apartment wasn't anything special. It was old, chipped, and stained, just like everything else.
a little metal plaque had a cursive 1 hung on the top, no doorbell.
"What are you waiting for, knock!" I prompted.
"wha- why me?" Weasley spluttered.
"because she's your girlfriend?" I raised an eyebrow.
Fredric sighed dramatically and knocked, shooting me a glare.
A bang sounded from inside the house, like something metal had fallen. Then a women cursing and the potter patter of feet to the door.
As it opened, the women (Hermione if he wasn't mistaken) yelled "don't you open that door Luke!"
But there was no one there. Then, a small 'ahem' pulled our attention downwards.
A little boy stood there, clutching at a small blue blanket and a stuffed dragon. He had warm brown hair that fell into his eyes slightly, a button nose, and small acute eyes.
the boy (Luke I suppose), wore yellow footie pajamas with different dog faces printed all over it. He couldn't have been older then two, and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that he was granger's.
Speaking of which, the know-it-all came peeling forward. Quickly pulling her son behind her, she stumbled over her words.
"Luke go play in your room, what has mummy told you about answering the door. So sorry, let me just-"
until of course she actually got a good look at us. At that, her smile disintegrated.
"How did you find me?" She spat.
"Is that your son?" Weasley asked, ignoring her question.
he looked shell shocked, dazed. As if he'd just learned the sky was green and the ocean matched Luke's pajamas.
Hermione stiffed, wedging herself further into the door way. Blocking our entry with her body, like we'd need to get through her to get to her so.
I applaud it, actually. Knowing that I didn't know if my parents would do the same.
"I'll call the police! I will! This is harassment ya know!"
"Please, just let us come inside-"
"Why would I let two complete strangers into my home, two strangers that have been stocking me no less?"
"we're not strangers..." Fredric plead, eyes on the ground.
Despite myself, I felt a pang of guilt wash over me. It was Weasley who had first believed me, helped me get situated in the order, even covered for Harry and I on more then one occasion.
He'd even talked me into seeing a mind healer (something I had fought tooth and nail against), who had helped me tremendously.
'empathy is seeing yourself in the feelings of others. Imagine that their pains are your pains, their joys you joys. Only then can you really get people.'
She said it over and over again, and looking at Fredric, I couldn't help but agree.
"He is correct, we are not strangers. And we want to help you Cory."
"Don't call me that! Don't take another step forward! I'll-I'll scream!" Hermione sounded desperate now, quickly starting to shove the door closed.
I stopped her, wrenching it back open with a bang that made her jump.
"Please, we don't want to hurt you-"
"But you will if you have to, right? Isn't that what all robbers say?"
"We are not robbers, we're your friends!"
"Bullshit!" She snapped, slowly backing into her apartment as we advanced.
"You just don't remember us." Fred explained, reaching out with a heart sick expression on his face.
Hermione pulled away, stumbling as the back of her knees hit the coffee table. We were well into the apartment now, the dimly lit space made me squint to see around.
to the left stood a small kitchen, next to it was the living room we were in and a hall connected us to what had to be the bedrooms. Hermione was angling herself away from said hall and away from the little boy.
"Please, I don't know who you are. You have the wrong person, please leave me alone!" She begged, eyes huge.
"Hermione-" Weasley's voice shook.
suddenly, she dove to the side. Grabbing a basket that had been sitting on the table and leaping to her feet.
in her hands was an 'L' shaped metal thing, clearly a weapon by the way she was pointing it at us.
Fred jumped back, dragging me with him. Raising his hands in surrender, he nudged me to do the same.
"Hey now, easy. No need for a gun, we can talk about this." Fred cooed.
A Gun?
I'd heard about those, a muggle device that shot metal pellets. Personally, that didn't sound so scary. But judging by Weasley face and the confidence Hermione had to step forward, I began to worry.
"Here's what we're going to do. Your going to leave, I'm going to call the police, and then their going to take your ass to jail. Got it?"
Weasley nodded quickly, which irked me to no end. We were wizards! Pro duelists! A muggle doohickey should scare us.
"Oh we don't have time for this! Granger!" I stepped forward.
"Don't come any closer! O-or I'll shoot!" Hermione yelled.
I scowled. "And if you don't stop waving that thing in my face, I'll shoot." I pulled my wand out for emphasis.
Granger looked confused. "A stick? You think you can intimidate me with a stick?"
"It's not a-! Damnit this is would be so much easier if you just let us restore your memories."
"Malfoy, don't."
"Watch me Weasley." I snapped back, taking another step towards her.
"Not another step." The description was gone, determination set firm in it's place.
"Or what?" I asked, taking one more...
the effect was simultaneously.
BANG!
"Stupify!"
Hermi-, Cory's POV
Son of a bitch!
my head throbbed as I came to, my whole body tingling.
what happened? Had I gotten knocked out by something? Had Jason finally shown up and killed me?
I opened my eyes. No, I definitely wasn't dead. Heaven didn't have the popcorn ceiling that my apartment did, and probably didn't have Pepa Pig on.
I sat up, which was a mistake, because the pounding in my head went from a solid beating to a dizzying smack down.
I groaned, clutching my head as my vision went bleary. Quickly, I plopped back onto the throw pillow I'd been laying on.
I was on my couch, an ugly brown leather thing I'd gotten for dirt cheap at a yard sale. Beside me was Luke (thank god!), playing with his blocks and laughing as George refused to eat his cereal.
Footsteps sounded above and then next to me. Someone reached there arm out, handing my son a sippy cup of juice.
I followed the arm up to meet the eyes of the man they belonged to. A man with shaggy red hair and blue eyes.
My eyes bugged out, and about to scream I was interrupted only by the posh voice coming from my other side.
"Don't scream, you'll hurt you head further and I don't want to have to stun you again."
The other one, the blond, sat on my recliner. Eyes cutting dully from the screen to me, he turned the recliner to face us.
"Don't do that, she can't take that many stunners." The red head scolded, straightening up and disappearing somewhere I couldn't see.
"Yes, but she didn't need to know that you buffoon." The blonde replied.
the red head returned with a glass of water and I mild glare. He offered me the glass, which I took and drank from greedily as he spoke.
"Do you remember us?" He sounded so worried.
"Remembered that you showed up unannounced and forced yourselves into my home. Then knocked me out? Yea, vividly."
the the freckled man winced, the blonde didn't.
"It was a necessary step to insure we weren't discovered. Which by the way wasn't easy after you fired that blasted pun thing!"
"It's a GUN, malfoy. G-U-N." His companion corrected.
"Had to obliviate the whole floor! Luck for us, you seem to live in the kind of neighborhood where guns go off a lot. Because no one's come asking questions."
"Who are you?" I interrupted.
"My name is Draco Malfoy, this is my... this is my friend Fredric Weasley. To those names mean anything to you?"
I shook my head. Malfoy sighed, seemingly unsurprised but disappointed. His friend, Fredric, deflated a bit.
"It's to be expected, I don't do half ass work.-" he stood, pulling out the wooden stick and coming over to me.
"You do know us, I'm afraid you just don't remember. But don't worry, I can rectify that. Do you still have it?"
"Have what?" I asked.
"The key?" Malfoy asked, almost annoyed.
"What key? What she need a key for?" Fredric interrupted, coming to sit on the flood in front of us.
"When I blocked her memories, I basically shoved them into the smallest corner of her mind and locked them away. Think, the tiny door in Alice and wonderland!"
"How do you know about Alice in wonderland?" The red head quipped.
"My boyfriend insisted we watch them. Muggle movies are ridiculous by the way."
"Muggle-, what?" I babbled, which Malfoy ignored.
"well, to be extra safe, I wanted to not only lock them in her mind, but have a physical key out here. Therefore, I have the lock-"
Malfoy produced a simple gold lock with a small key hole at the bottom.
"And I gave Granger here the key. Do you have it on you or..."
"Wait, the little gold key I woke up with?" I asked, recalling the nondescript chain that had been umongst the pile of my stuff they'd given me.
"Yes! Merlin keep up."
"Oh I pawned that ages ago."
you would have thought I'd set off a nuclear bomb.
"You did what?!" Malfoy exploded, all bug eyed.
"Oh fuck, this is bad right?"
"YES THIS IS BAD FREDRIC! Without that key, we can't fix your girlfriend's memories!"
"Wait girlfriend? The fuck are you talking about? Also, what do you mean you 'locked away my memories'? Whatcha do, reach in my brain and jiggle some shit around?"
"Obviously!" Malfoy ranted, pacing around.
"How did you not prepare for this? You said the plan was fool proof!" Fredric asked, ping ponging from me to the blonde.
"I did! I specifically left instructions! 'Don't loose this, it's very valuable!' In her subconscious! Why didn't you listen!"
"I didn't want to pawn it! It was trade the pretty necklace or don't pay rent!" I shot back.
"Well isn't that-"
BANG BANG BANG!
someone pounded at the door, making the three of us jump.
"Granger, open up. The boss wants a word!" Came a gruff voice I knew all to well.
"Shit!" I whispered, springing up despite my head and picking up Luke.
"Mum? What-"
"Not right now hun, mom needs you to listen, okay?"
He nodded, and for a moment my eyes softened. Here he was, my personal little angel. How someone so good happened to someone like me, I will never know. But right now I need to keep him safe.
"Mummy needs you to hide. Remember, where mummy told you too incase of emergencies?"
"When the bad guys come?" Luke chirped.
I smiled grimly. "That's right baby, when the bad guys come. Their-"
BANG BANG!
"Granger open this door of I'm breaking it down!" This voice was deeper, Nathan's I think.
"Go! You two!" I whisper-snapped at the strangers.
"Go with him, don't come out until I say so!"
"But-" the red head began, but the blonde simply nodded, dragged his friend up by the arm, and followed Luke.
They were slipping out of sight as I opened the door. Revealing three burly men in button ups and slacks. I just barely dodged the punch that came after.
Done!
No beta reader! Also forgot to do this before but.
I DONT OWN ANYTHING AND I DONT MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THIS FANFIC!
Bye!!
