Hidden In Plain Sight Chapter 5, a harry potter fanfic

We stayed sitting in the quiet for the entire night. Heavy topics were avoided after my breakdown. They told me instead how they had spent the last few weeks without me around.

"At first, we had searched everywhere," Draco boasted, proud of their efforts.

I didn't tell him I knew that because I saw them while trying to avoid them. Eventually, after a while, I got good at avoiding them and everyone else, and I stopped seeing them…

The thought made me sad.

Blaise and Theo had focused on finding the Hufflepuff in the hall. He had been convinced that he had been a part of why I had 'gone missing' from the hospital wing. Blaise had gone searching with Pansy, who, to my surprise, was just as angry about my disappearance as they were.

"Pansy used her feminine wiles," Lorenzo told me, concerned, "she said it that way. I don't know what it means. I'm still not even sure what she did to that Hufflepuff."

Mattheo laughed and had me blushing with a suggestive look, "she gave him a good reason to invite her to their party. A really, really good reason, I'm sure."

Lorenzo's eyes went wide, and he looked away from us all.

Then, Blaise took his chance and 'infiltrated' their 'lair.' The Hufflepuffs had been scared shitless when Blaise threatened to hex their dicks off if the offending member didn't step up.

"Of course, the guy didn't willingly do anything. It had been his buddy who pushed him up and ratted him out," Blaise looked pleased with himself for scaring the poor kid, "He deserved it, but he was harmless."

Lorenzo and Matthew had taken to terrorizing our Professors and our Headmaster. They wouldn't tell me how, but they had gotten the passwords to Dumbledore's office and had begun setting up 'meetings' a few times a day to discuss how things were going.

Dumbledore had gotten so used to seeing them that the portraits had just started keeping them company instead of reporting an intruder when they showed up out of the blue.

The rest of the professors had gotten annoyed. Giving them detentions left and right so often until there was no more time in the day for detention, how could you give a group of worried friends detentions for trying to find their friend?

Umbridge did. She gave them all detention and made them write lines until nearly midnight.

"Eventually, when we realized nothing was working," Draco said, "I sent a letter to your family."

"More like forty."

"Dumbledore wasn't doing shit, and no one else was either."

I was in awe, "You did all of that?"

"Yeah," Lorenzo nodded, "It was quite boring without you, and Pansy wouldn't stop complaining, either. She was right pissed that her new 'girlfriend' was gone."

Mattheo laughed, "Yeah, apparently, she had grand plans for sleepovers and something about mud?"

God, I must have looked horrified and confused because they all burst out laughing, "Where the hell would she put mud? And why?" I asked. I tried to think back to my mother every using mud at home and came back blank.

"Don't ask us."

"My mum wears it on her face," Blaise told them all, "She does it all the time. Says it makes her younger."

Draco laughed, "Isn't there a spell for that?"

Theo nodded, "There's a spell for everything, dumbass."

"Don't call me a dumb ass, you shithead."

They traded insults back and forth until they became more and more absurd. I couldn't help but laugh as Lorenzo threw one in, calling Theo an Italian croissant.

"Lorenzo, croissants are French…" I told him kindly

"... Idiot," Mattheo muttered under his breath, kicking him until he fell out of his chair.

Lorenzo pouted, "That's the point; he's off-brand. Not as good as an original."

I giggled again as he tried to throw out another insult that fell flat but yawned, "I should head to bed. We still have classes in the morning."

Their eyes narrowed at me in suspicion, and they all stood with Draco leading the way, "We'll walk you to your room."

I waved them away, folding the blanket in my lap, "You don't have to do that. I don't want to be a bother."

"It's not a bother."

"And we want to know where to go looking if we can't find you," Mattheo added, almost seeming like a threat.

I nodded. I hadn't given them any reason to trust me. I had done the opposite; I had lied to them when they met me, yet they still cared for some god-forsaken reason.

I let them lead me to the girls' dorms before showing them to my room. I paused outside. I wouldn't let them in.

That would be way too much.

My personal space was a mess. Over the last few weeks, I hadn't bothered to clean or straighten up much of anything, only the bare minimum.

"One of us will be here in the morning; don't leave before we get here," Theo told me before leaving.

The others said good night until it was just Mattheo and I standing awkwardly, staring at each other.

"We will find you," he said

"What?"

He grinned in promise, "If you leave again. We will find you."

My mouth dropped open in shock.

"That is a promise and a threat."

My eyes followed his every step as he walked away.

I've never liked being threatened so much.

…..

When Twinky came in shaking and screaming the following day, I woke hoping it was a dream and thankful it wasn't. I had never before felt so seen or heard before in my life. It was baffling how I could feel both terrified and calm simultaneously.

I had fully expected to live my life pretending to be someone I'm not because I couldn't stand to be who I am, but last night, being in my own skin felt normal because I wasn't even thinking about it. They had thoroughly distracted me from my thoughts.

I ran through my morning ritual and checked for my leaf. It was still there, tucked away safely. It was down to the wire now. I needed to gather the supplies for the next steps tonight, and I might need help now that my abilities were gone.

Mulling over possibilities and every possible outcome, negative and positive, I decided that I would have to ask them and hope like hell they wouldn't turn me into the Professors or, worse, the Ministry.

Rolling out of bed, I dressed quickly and tried not to focus too hard on the new sizes. I brushed my hair out and freshened up before snatching my wand and bag for class and stepping into the hall.

There was an hour before breakfast began, so I wasn't expecting to find anyone waiting just yet, but coming down to meet me were Theo and Draco dressed and ready for the day.

"I wasn't expecting you just yet."

"You said you got up early, so here we are at the arse crack of dawn," Draco yawned. His hair was flopping to the side, looking devilish and as if he just rolled out of bed.

"Maybe that's good. I wanted to ask a favor," I blurted out before I could chicken out and decided to do it myself.

Theo raised a brow, and Draco smirked.

"Needing us already?"

"I need help getting something. Tonight."

They looked at me oddly but nodded.

"Is it something we can can buy?"

I shook my head, "No, something I need help stealing…"

That caught their attention, but I walked past them toward the common room before they could ask more questions. I didn't want to have anyone walk out of their rooms and hear us, and I would instead ask them all at once rather than have to explain it multiple times.

Lounging on the green suede couch was a very tired pair. Mattheo and Lorenzo were nodding off as I approached, and Blaise was simply waiting. He looked positively awake, almost as if he hadn't gone to sleep.

"She needs help stealing," Draco told them, settling between Lorenzo and Mattheo, who he elbowed in the ribs, startling them both awake.

"Stealing, little fox?" Mattheo yawned, "What the fuck did you get up to while you were away?"

Lorenzo looked at me like I was insane.

"I would buy what I need if I could, " I explained, "but the ingredient is rare, and as far as I know, only four people in the country currently have a stock. I attempted to order one from the other three under a false name, but their prices are outrageous."

"What the fuck do you need?"

"Is it drugs?" Mattheo asked, almost hopefully

"Gods no, but with what I need it for, it is just as illegal…"

They let my words settle, observing me.

Lorenzo laughed, "This is a joke, right?"

"No," I sighed, "You don't have to help me. I didn't want to ask you for help in the first place, but Dumbledore took my metamorphous abilities, and now I can't sneak into Professor Snape's potion stores-"

"You want to steal from Professor Snape?" Theo hissed

"I need a Death's Head Hawk Moth chrysalis. Extremely rare and expensive, he happens to have several."

"What do you need it for, Fey?

"I am making a potion," I told them, attempting to leave it vege

"No shit, what potion?"

"If I tell you, you could all end up in trouble. Azkaban even."

"I think we need to know if we're going to help you," Draco said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

I met each of their eyes in turn. They were determined, "Fine. I am making the potion to turn myself into an anamagus."

Blaise slumped back in his chair, "Fucking hell."

"You were kidding," Lorenzo moaned, "This is highly illegal."

I nodded, "Now you know why, so if they find out you helped me, and we get caught, you could go to Azkaban with me."

Mattheo leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, grinning like a madman, "Then we won't get caught, little fox. When do you need it?"

"The full moon is tomorrow. I need it by then… and tonight I must hunt for the other ingredient."

"What else do you need?" Lorenzo huffed, "The moth is hard enough. What else could there be? The blood of a damn dragon?"

I laughed a little, "No, nothing like that, but it will be hard to find. I have to go on a bit of a hike through the Forbidden Forrest."

Lorenzo looked at me as if I had lost every bit of my mind before turning to his friends, "She's supposed to be the sane one," he said, pointing at me, "If she's willing to do all this," he said throwing his hands in the air, "What in the bloody fucking hell are the rest of us going to end up doing?"

Mattheo lost his cool and started giggling.

Blaise smirked, and Draco patted Lorenzo on the shoulder, "She's brave. We wouldn't want just any witch hanging around," he told them.

Brave? No, this was all very foolish, but I wanted to be like my gran, and if this were what it took, then I would do it.

Blaise's and Mattheo's eyes connected, "We're on a tight schedule, boys."

"We split up then. Half of us will go with you tonight to the forest, and the other half will go to the potion stores for the chrysalis."

….

Pov Draco

Fucking shit, hell, god damn.

The first half of my plan worked flawlessly. Of course, it did. Only an idiot would doubt me. The goal was to get detention with Snape and, once we were in his class, get him out of the room long enough to get into his stores to snatch the moth and pretend nothing happened.

I didn't know that Snape also detained four other Slytherins, six Hufflepuffs, and a Ravenclaw.

God damn it all.

This was only going to work if I was able to get Snape out of the classroom and then myself into his fucking potion stores without anyone seeing. With a room full of fucking witnesses, the chances were slim to none.

I let my mind race as I wrote my lines.

I will not be an idiot.

What if I used my wand to leviosa something off his shelf…. Fuck, that wouldn't work. It would only piss him off.

I will not be an idiot.

I could throw something… No, that stupid…

I will not be an idiot.

I was on my next line when a small pop sounded on the other side of the room. I looked up and saw a small cloud of smoke erupting from the floor and quickly filling the room. Students were coughing, and Snape was cursing.

My eyes snapped to Lorenzo, three seats down from mine, and he flashed a slight grin before covering his face, feigning his coughs, and dropping to the floor.

That fucking bugger, he did this.

I snatched my bag and did the only thing I could think of as I followed Snape out of the classroom. I took a deep lung full of smoke and grabbed onto the back of his robes, tugging them hard as we entered the hall.

I coughed hard. I mimicked my first cigarette hit and tried to act like I was hacking up a lung or dying.

"Malfoy, what is wrong with you?"

"I breathed it in!" I coughed, "I think I'm dying. I'm going to pass out."

Snape rolled his eyes and pulled me up from kneeling on the floor. He threw an arm under mine and lifted me.

"Detention is postponed. Go back to your common rooms, and believe me when I find out who did this…" his eyes stared daggers through everyone in a warning.

He dragged me away as the students dispersed. Lorenzo exited the classroom, which was still wafting thick grey smoke into the hall. He made his way back to the common room with a little smile.

….

Pov Mattheo

It was close to midnight. The nearly full moon lighting our way across the grounds. Blaise followed beside Fey and me in silence. We dressed in our muggle clothes, knowing our trousers and her skirt would be too hard to hike in. Fey told us to dress warmly. She instructed us that jumpers and jackets would be best before telling us what we were searching for.

We were searching for dew.

More specifically, dew in a place untouched by sunlight and humans for at least a week. So Fey was clutching her map of the forest and leading us into the most forbidden area on the grounds in the middle of the night, a day from the full moon, to get a few drops of water.

"Why can't it just be regular water?" I asked, lighting my cigarette

She sighed, "Because it needs to be free of human contaminants, Mattheo," Fuck, I loved how she said my name, "It needs to be pure so nothing messes with the transformation."

I took a deep drag and nodded, "I guess. It would be much easier if it could be regular water…"

Fey raised her wand as we entered the cover of the tall trees, "Lumos," she whispered. The rays of her wand made her pale skin and hair glow. She was unearthly, something you'd read about or a painter would paint.

We followed her as she led us through the trees. We had our wands raised, ready for a fight. Nothing popped up, but we were prepared if it did.

She told us we were headed to a cave on the far end of the forest. Not known for anything particular and so far away from the castle and town, there was no reason for anyone to go there.

The dew should be safe for her potion.

The trees towered over us, blocking out all traces of the moonlight. Only her wand lighted our path. We didn't speak. We only listened in case anything or anyone tried to sneak up on us.

After an hour, the trees started thinning, and we could see light again. Fey let out a squeak and ran.

"Fey, wait!" Blaise shouted after her, trying to grab onto her jumper.

We ran after her, breaking through the trees, only to find her kneeling inside the small cave with a silver spoon and a vial.

"Don't come closer," she called out, "If you come closer, it'll be ruined," she told us, leaning forward on her knees as far as she could to collect the dew from the grass.

I stood back with my heart hammering in my chest and watched her. Her denim jeans were stretched around her ass, hugging her every curve as she reached and stretched forward without touching the ground.

My eyes darted to Blaise, who stood stock still with his eyes glued to her.

"Seeing something you like, Blaise?" I asked under my breath

His jaw clenched before he glared at me with his fists clenched. I raised my hands in surrender, and my wand pointed down.

"I know I do. Her beautiful freckles, a smile that takes my fucking breath away, and an ass I want to grab for days…" My words were light, but I was taunting him.

I wanted Fey.

"Fuck you."

I laughed, "Very clever, Zabini."

He growled lowly, "She's too good for you…"

"You're right, but I want her anyways," I licked my lips and stepped closer, "What makes you think you're any better for her?"

His mouth opened and closed.

"That's what I thought. Neither of us is good enough for her."

"Then we should stay away."

I let out a laugh, "Not a fucking chance."

Blaise raised his wand, but before he could curse me, Fey's shaky voice called out, "Guys…"

Our heads snapped toward her, and we found her feet from a sizeable rusty-coloured hound. It was snarling and aggressively approaching where she kneeled in the grassy area of the cave.

Blaise and I ran at her shouting, but before I could raise my want to kill it, he flung out his arm and shouted, "Stupify!"

A pained howl broke free from its throat before it fell to the ground. Fey shot to her feet, throwing her arms around our necks while she buried her face between us.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, both of you!"

Blaise shot me a smirk, "No problem, darling. We should head back to the castle before anything else shows up."

She nodded, and we left in a hurry.