Houses competition year 11. Round 6. Slytherin. Transfiguration. Drabble. "I can make you disappear." WC: 981
AU details: The Golden Trio know each other through attending police academy together. Muggle AU. Detective AU. Tom Riddle leads the Como Muerte gang. Hogwarts? What Hogwarts.
TW: Mentions of gang/mafia, suggested abuse/beating up.
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19th June
"You alright, Hermione?" Ron asks as I slam my tray onto the cafeteria table.
"Fantastic," I mutter, sliding onto the bench seat opposite him and Harry. "It's this Como Muerte case. I've exhausted all my leads."
Harry shoves a handful of croutons into his mouth. "You're a good detective. I gave your info to my contacts. Something will come through."
"I hope so. I –"
My ringtone blares out three short, sharp notes.
"Surely not," I mutter, hope sprouting in my chest.
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When I break out onto the street, there's a blonde man standing there, glancing up at the police station. I know he must be one of Harry's contacts from the way his feet shift uncomfortably and the way his lanky body moves.
"Hey," I say, alerting him to my presence.
The man glances at me, scoffing. "You're Detective Granger?"
"Surprised to see a woman with such a great record?" I ask, frowning. Of course he would be one of those sexist pigs; he's dressed like all the other Como Muerte guys with slicked-back hair, and a coat I couldn't ever afford.
"It's not that," he says, shaking his head. "Someone told me you're in charge of the Como Muerte case."
"We shouldn't talk here," I say, glancing around us.
"We shouldn't be talking at all," he parries with a grimace. "I'm Draco Malfoy."
0-0
"Who's that?" Ron asks, glancing at my monitor screen.
"New contact," I mutter, typing away. "Father is Lucius Malfoy. He's been tied to many of the Como Muerte killings but never by evidence. He's more of a benefactor to the cause."
"And the son is your snitch?" he asks.
"Apparently," I reply. "We're staging a date in a week to talk."
"Good luck." Ron chuckles and walks back to his desk.
26th June
I am due to meet Draco Malfoy in the Waterstones coffee shop. I pull on a pale blue dress and ballet flats, hoping to convince the world of a tentative first or second date. When I walk in, I spot him sitting in a plush green booth, wearing jeans and a haggard expression. One of his eyes is bruised and purpling. He smiles at me as I sit down, donning an expression like the world is splitting before him.
I grip his hand and steady myself.
"I can make you disappear."
"You don't have the means," he replies bitterly. "Not yet, anyway."
"Then tell me what you know."
2nd July
The next time I see Draco Malfoy, he is being hauled into the police station, hands cuffed behind his back, and a malicious grin spreading across his features. His eyes glint when he catches me looking at him from across the room. I ask the officers to take him into the main interrogation room.
"What happened?" I ask, voice thick. Up close, I can see the purple bloom that has spread across his face. "Your information was useful."
Malfoy laughs mirthlessly. "Too useful," he says. "Someone knows."
"I told you that I can protect you. All you need to do is -"
"I need time. I'll get you closer, okay?"
I sigh, tension coursing through me. "Okay."
He smiles and my heart flutters.
11th July
I'm watching the latest season of Love is Blind when it happens.
Can we meet now? Urgent.
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"Tell me quickly," I murmur, picking up a book from the crime fiction shelf. It shows a cover of a bespectacled man and his gorgeous sidekick. I put it back and Draco hisses in frustration. "Come on then."
"Don't go to the detectives' ball tomorrow night," he says.
I laugh. "Oh well, I was going to invite you but I suppose that you don't -"
"This isn't a joke, Hermione," Draco bites out, grabbing my arm, glaring at me. I stare right back, defiant. There's a heat in his gaze that I can't quite squirm away from; it's becoming easier to forget our arrangement. When he speaks next, his voice is cracked and broken. "Don't go. Call me tomorrow. Please."
I nod.
12th July
Harry texts me.
Como Muerte at the ball. 3 dead. 1 of ours. 2 of theirs.
I don't call Draco. My phone falls from my hand. I fall asleep shivering.
17th July
"Happy one month anniversary."
I turn in my seat and stare up at the man before me. For the first time, I can read his expression. I can see his agony.
"Draco…"
"Theo is dead." Tears start to carve their way down his cheeks "Why didn't you call? Everything is falling apart -"
I grip his hand, and he quietens, his features softening. "It will be okay."
"You don't know that."
"I can make you disappear," I say firmly, parroting my words from so long ago. "Just tell me where he is. Tell me where Tom Riddle is and this will be over."
"I like you," Draco says suddenly. "I don't know if I can do this."
1st August
Three sharp knocks sound on my door. It must be him; it must be Draco. I haven't heard from him in almost two weeks, and my heart has been thrumming a tattoo in my chest ever since. I like you . That's what he had said. And I felt something. More than something. I had felt a spark that I absolutely should not feel.
When I open the door and see him there, his tie loose around his neck, and his hair out of place, my entire being sighs.
"I'm done," Draco says. "I want to disappear. Make me disappear, please."
He swallows me with a kiss so fierce I lose my breath.
Later, when he murmurs his last piece of information and sacrifices his final tether to the Como Muerte, he asks me the unfathomable question.
"Will you come with me?"
I look up and fear threatens to overwhelm me. I don't think I can go with him.
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