Snow had begun to fall no longer than an hour ago. A thin layer of ice had already made the cobbled streets slippery, much to Hermione's dismay. She sighed as she stepped out of the car; this wasn't a day to be wearing high heels. She walked slowly and carefully towards the entrance, more terrified of slipping and falling in these damn shoes rather than of what she was about to do.
An enormous, muscular man blocked her way, crossing his arms across his chest.
"We're closed." he grunted.
Hermione tossed her hair back and sighed. "I can read. I'm here to see a Mr. Malfoy." she said arrogantly.
"And what makes you think that Mr. Malfoy is available?" the man asked.
"Isn't he here?" Hermione raised her brow.
"Oh, he's here." The answer came from someone else behind her, Hermione realised. She spun around to see who it was only to find a young man with sandy blonde hair and cold grey eyes and a piercing, curious gaze.
"Crabbe" he addressed the doorman, "it's not polite to leave the lady out in the cold." As Crabbe opened the door he gestured to Hermione to step inside.
The "Dragon's Cave" seemed like a cosy little bar now that it was empty, not that Hermione didn't know any better. The stone walls and wooden beams, along with the fireplace in the corner gave off the feeling of stepping into another time. The lingering scent of spirit and tobacco burnt Hermione's nose as she let the man guide her to a table in a corner. She sat across from him, assuming the same arrogant flair she'd exhibited before.
"Draco Malfoy" the young man extended his arm across the table. "What can I do for you, miss...?"
"Hermione Granger." Hermione said shaking his hand. "I'm looking for a job."
Malfoy lit a cigarette and offered her one too, which she declined. "And exactly what is it you can do, miss Granger? You know the Cave has a reputation to uphold and you don't seem like the typical... hm... waitress type I would hire."
"I'm not a hooker" Hermione said a little too fast. "I heard you were looking for a singer."
"You did? Where?" he looked confused.
"Word on the street is you've recently lost your old one." Hermione explained.
"And what exactly have you heard about miss Weasley?" he asked in a low voice.
"Who?" Hermione asked innocently.
"The previous singer." Malfoy explained.
"Oh. That she doesn't work here any more and you haven't found a replacement yet."
"Indeed." Malfoy nodded. "Come on." he ordered, leading her to the piano on the small stage. He placed a music sheet in front of her, of an old jazz song. "Show me what you can do."
A sudden wave of anxiety hit Hermione as he started playing the familiar tune. She sang the song as best she could, suddenly feeling stupid for going there in the first place.
"You do have a beautiful voice." Malfoy said when the song was finished. "You can start tomorrow. Come in at five for rehearsal. Oh, and we need to make you presentable."
"What do you mean?"
"Sweetheart, this is a bar, not a church." he gestured at her dress.
Hermione frowned. She was wearing the shortest dress she owned, along with high heeled over the knee boots.
"No worries. You're a pretty girl, and clothes we can fix. You'll be presentable tomorrow." Malfoy said.
Hermione thanked him quickly and left, feeling anger slowly boil inside her. Malfoy's comment had hit a nerve, apparently. She drove off to the police station, where her actual work was awaiting her.
Her partner was still in his desk, unsuccessfully trying to catch up with paperwork. "So? How did it go?" he asked as soon as she threw herself in her desk chair.
"I'm the Dragon Cave's newest singer." she said, exhausted.
"Please, can I come and watch, please?" his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Not until I've established some sort of relationship with them. This is not a game, Harry." Hermione said solemnly.
"Hey, this isn't a game to me either. I'm simply starved for did I not know you sing? I am so, so curious. "
"Yes, well, you've heard of a cat with a similar condition and what happened to her, right?"
"Did you just threaten an officer, detective Granger?"
"Go ahead, arrest me. You're gonna have to sing in my place, and to use Malfoy's words, 'look presentable' while doing it." Hermione laughed.
"He actually said that? Why am I surprised, though, the guy's a pimp."
"We don't know that." Hermione said cautiously.
"Tell that to the Weasley brothers, then." Harry muttered.
"Any news from their sister?"
"Still unconscious, but apparently stable. Her youngest brother, Ronald, was here about an hour ago. He swears Malfoy attacked her."
"Of course. He needs someone to blame. We need actual proof."
The next day flew by in a heartbeat. Hermione was at the bar three hours before opening, rehearsed with the band before being rushed off to the dressing rooms by a very impatient, aggressive looking woman. "This is Ginny's old dressing room. She left her work clothes behind, so knock yourself out." she said before leaving her alone with the victim's belongings. Hermione was counting her blessings at the chance to look around the room in peace even though the police had searched the place already, when a younger, shy woman named Luna came in to help her pick out clothes for the show.
That first night Hermione noticed she was barely left alone all evening and even during her breaks one of the girls, usually Luna, would shadow her. It was almost dawn when the last clients decided to leave and Hermione was ready to do the same.
"Granger." Malfoy said from the same corner they were sitting two days ago, as she was about to leave the bar. "Stay."
"Is there a problem?" Hermione asked as she approached his table.
"You tell me" he gestured her to sit beside him. "Did you have any issues tonight?"
"Not really, no. Did it look like I did?"
"It looked like you were looking for something. Or someone."
"I was looking for the bathroom at some point, but other than that..."
"You felt at home."
"Sure."
"That's what I'd like to hear" he said in a low voice, grasping her leg with one hand and her wrist with the other. Hermione froze, fighting the urge to hit him. "Keep up the good work. See you tonight."
He released her as suddenly as he had grabbed her. She walked to her car in a daze, exhaustion kicking in.
It took Hermione days to gain enough of her new coworkers' trust to be left alone. Or that night, a Saturday, was simply too busy for everyone to be keeping tabs on her. She tore through Ginny's dressing room without success, not that she'd expected to find anything useful. Harry insisted that she should be focusing on Malfoy.
Malfoy was extra busy that evening, as a big group of men had taken over half the bar and he was going out of his way to keep them pleased. Most of the women were focused on them, leaving the rest of the clients with very little to do other than watching her. Just when she was about to go into her second break, she noticed two people waving at her. Wary at first, she walked towards them, not able to hold a sigh of exasperation back when she saw who it was.
"Harry? Neville? Are you two trying to blow my cover?" she hissed at the two men.
"What? Why? He doesn't know who we are." Harry said innocently.
"We wanted to make sure you're safe." Neville said solemnly. "We also wanted to let you know that Ginny Weasley died earlier this evening."
"No!" Hermione said almost too loud.
"Sadly, yes. This is now a murder investigation. Chief Dumbledore is not happy." Harry said.
"I suppose not." Hermione shook her head.
"Granger!" Malfoy said loudly, approaching their table. "Who are your friends?"
"Oh, we just wanted to congratulate the lady on her talent." Neville said politely.
"Yes, she's very talented, indeed. I don't think I've seen you two around here before." Malfoy eyes the two men suspiciously.
"We're passing through your lovely town, just staying for tonight." Harry said.
"I see. Enjoy the rest of your night gentlemen. I'm afraid I have to remove miss Granger from your company if you're done congratulating her. There's a lot of customers who are just as eager to do the same." Malfoy said coldly.
"Of course." Neville and Harry said in synchrony.
Malfoy grabbed Hermione's arm and lead her backstage, into his own office this time. It was the first time Hermione had seen this room and noticed it had been locked.
"What did they want with you?" he asked in a threatening tone.
"I guess they really liked the program." Hermione shrugged. "They kept saying what a great singer I am."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, of course. What else would it be?"
"Nothing... listen" he closed in on her, "If anyone comes asking questions about Ginny Weasley, you'll come to me first thing. No matter where I am or what I'm doing."
There we go, Hermione though. "Alright, but... why?"
"Ginny was involved... with some strange people. She left town to avoid them."
Hermione noted the ease with which he delivered the lie. Even if he hadn't known about Ginny's death, which she doubted, he couldn't not have known that she was in the hospital. The police had already searched the place and questioned him.
"What kind of people?" Hermione asked.
"Don't ask questions." he walked threateningly towards her. Hermione backed into a wall. He stopped inches away from her face, his gaze holding hers locked in place. "It's safer for you if you don't." he whispered. He squeezed her shoulders and proceeded to open the door for her.
Hermione ignored Neville and Harry for the rest of the night, writing a very angry text at the latter and informing him about Malfoy's strange behaviour.
She was about to leave in the morning when she heard two men arguing. It was Malfoy and his doorman, Crabbe.
"It might be better to lay low for a few days." Crabbe was saying.
"Are you that stupid? Disappearing would only raise suspicion at this point."
"Don't talk to me like I'm am idiot." Crabbe grunted
"I got involved in this because of you. You might as well do what I tell you if you don't want to end up in prison. If you drag me down with you, it will make me very, very unhappy." Malfoy stormed out of the bar and Crabbe disappeared in the kitchen. Hermione took the chance to leave unnoticed.
Malfoy had not gone far. He was leaning against his car right outside the bar, busy with his phone. He looked up when he heard her footsteps.
"Miss Granger. I thought you'd already left."
"Oh, no. I think I dosed off in the dressing room for a few minutes." Hermione said innocently.
"Maybe you shouldn't be driving then." he replied, his eyes on the car keys in her hands. "I can take you home."
"Oh, no, sir, I'll be fine. I can't leave my car here."
"A cup of coffee then?" he gestured to the coffee shop across the street from the bar. "It'll give your boss some peace of mind."
"Um... sure" Hermione accepted reluctantly.
"So, what's your story?" Malfoy asked when they sat down in the little coffee shop.
"Nothing interesting, really. I'm just figuring things out." Hermione answered.
"The singing?"
"I took music lessons as a child. I thought I'd put them to good use."
"And my bar came to mind?" Malfoy raised his brow.
"You were hiring."
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't have a singer. But I hadn't exactly announced that I was looking for one."
"So, I heard a rumour and took a chance."
"No other chances available then?"
"Not really, no." Hermione paused for a second. "What's with all the questions?"
"Just trying to figure you out. You're hiding something."
"What if I am? Are all of your cards open, Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione smiled.
"Fair enough." Malfoy coughed.
"So, I assume everyone who works for you has had the pleasure of interrogation? Like Luna? Pansy? Crabbe?"
"Pretty much, yes. Though I don't recall buying any of them coffee for it. Crabbe I've known my entire life, so he might the exception."
"Oh, do you?"
"Yes, our fathers were friends, we grew up together."
"And now he works for you."
"Well, yes. He needed a job. I was hiring. Sound familiar?"
"Very familiar, indeed." Hermione nodded.
Look into the doorman, Vincent Crabbe. He's somehow involved. Hermione texted Harry before going to sleep.
Sundays were slow in the bar, apparently. They were playing for a few customers that left right after midnight. Hermione stuck around with the excuse that she wanted to clean the dressing room and found a chance to explore the bar a bit more. To her surprise Malfoy's office door was ajar and the room empty. She took the chance to look around but without much success. Nothing seemed out of place. Just as she was about to leave a hand grabbed her shoulder and shoved her against the wall, while the other hand closed tightly around her neck.
"What are you doing here?" Malfoy asked furiously. "What are you looking for?"
"The door was open" Hermione explained, trying to remain calm. "I was just checking..."
"The door was open?" he relaxed his grip. He rushed to his desk and pulled out his drawers. "That fucking bastard..."
"What happened?"
"Crabbe..." Malfoy muttered. "He must have stolen from me and left."
"What did he steal?"
"Money and... never mind."
"A weapon?" Hermione guessed.
Malfoy stared at her, sizing her up."Yes" he sighed. "I had a gun in here."
"Alright." Hermione said, instinctively grasping her own weapon, concealed in her dress. "Mr. Malfoy, you need to report this."
"I am not getting involved with the police!" Malfoy yelled.
After a moment of consideration, Hermione pointed her gun at him. "I'm afraid the police is already involved, sir. Now, you can either follow me to the police station or I can call for back up and make a scene."
Malfoy's jaw dropped. "You're a..."
"Detective. Now, do we do this the easy way, or the hard way?"
"Fine" Malfoy grunted. "I'll only follow you because I don't want to make a scene in my business. But you've got nothing on me. You're wasting your time."
He turned around and let Hermione put the handcuffs around his wrists. "This is a first." he muttered as they walked out of his office.
"What? You being arrested? Because I've read otherwise."
"I've never been convicted of anything. And that's not what I meant."
"What did you mean, then?"
"Well, when women put me in cuffs, it's usually in a different context."
"So, you've never been arrested by a female officer before?"
"No. Not a real one anyway. This is kinda hot."
"Cool it, pretty boy." Hermione said she pushed him into the back seat of her car. "You're not charming your way out of this."
Harry was still at work when Hermione walked in, dragging a handcuffed Malfoy by her side. She motioned to a younger officer to escort Malfoy into an interrogation room.
"We were about to come and get you." Harry said. "We have Crabbe into custody."
"How? When? Did he attack Ginny Weasley?" Hermione asked.
"We believe so. We found red long hairs in his car along with some blood in the back seat. The lab is working on it, but the blood type matched Ginny's. If anything, I think it's safe to asume they used his car to move her."
"What did he say?"
"Unfortunately nothing yet. The idiot tried to outrun us, lost control of his car and is in surgery right now. What's with Malfoy?" Harry nodded towards the interrogation rooms.
Hermione explained what happened at the bar and prepared herself for the interrogation.
"So, Mr. Malfoy." Hermione began as she entered the room.
"Sweetheart, you sang at my bar, you snooped around my office and I let you cuff me. You can call me Draco."
"Alright, then." Hermione chuckled. "Draco. Your friend is telling us interesting things."
"Is he?" Malfoy asked, trying to look uninterested.
"Yes, something about you attacking that poor girl and making him dispose of her body. Some childhood friend, if you ask me."
"That idiot!" Malfoy spat. "He's trying to pin this on me."
"Isn't that the case, then?"
"No, that is most certainly not the case. Very clever, Granger, but I wasn't born yesterday. Now, be a good girl and call my lawyer, will you? You're not getting another word out of me without him."
"Fine." Hermione sighed. "Who's your lawyer?"
"Tom Riddle."
"Should have known..." Hermione muttered, stepping out of the room. Harry, who was watching the interrogation, met her in the corridor. "If Riddle's his lawyer, at least we know he's guilty." he commented. "That snake will represent every piece of shit this town has to offer."
"Who else could afford him?" Hermione shrugged.
It took Riddle sometime to show up. In the meantime Neville showed up looking furious.
"Crabbe is awake. He confessed to attacking Ginny Weasley." he explained.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"He was into her, she didn't reciprocate. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Things got out of control, she fell unconscious and he thought he'd killed her."
"Where does Malfoy fit into all this?" Harry asked.
"Crabbe says Malfoy saw what happened in the end and helped him get rid of the body." Neville explained.
"We can arrest him as an accessory." Hermione mused.
"Yes, well, let's see how far this takes you." a low voice said behind her. "It's Crabbe's word against my client's. Go ahead, officer, make the arrest." Malfoy's lawyer had arrived.
As expected, Malfoy's arrest had lead nowhere, as there wasn't enough evidence to make a case against him. Crabbe on the other hand had made their lives very easy and was looking at a very long in prison.
The Dragon's Cave continued to be the first entertainment choice for many gentlemen in town, although Malfoy now chose to spend most of his time in his office. He had replaced Crabbe with another gorilla-like body guard and never spoke of his old friend again. The singer spot in the bar would remain open in the foreseeable future. The Weasley family left town, never to return.
Hermione got a card in the mail, a few days after Malfoy's release that simply stated: you're the only one that got so close. D.M.