Chapter 23
Draco didn't know whether to be amazed or repulsed that she still remembered that statement he made to her their final time in class. He decided to ignore the little quip. Though it was clear she didn't expect an answer as she moved onto discussion other topics, as her attention went to the box he had under his arm.
"Yes. I have what you ordered." He assured as he set the box on a chair and opened it to reveal the contents of various vials. "If this ruin really was cursed by the alchemist, Dev Hoenheim, the actual creator of the universal solvent potion, you are in for a tricky task." He told her, picking up a large vial that had a black substance within it that was suspended in the middle, not touching the sides or any part of the glass.
"It took me three years to perfect Hoenheim's universal solvent potion. The vial is enchanted so the potion remains suspended while inside. Otherwise it would just disintegrate the vial." He shared putting the vial away. "It was unknown who originally created the universal solvent until the Tanis ruins were discovered and the runes inside translated to reveal Dev Hoenheim. He is considered one of the greatest Alchemists, third only to Nicholas Flamel. I have a feeling any curses needing to be broken my need an Alchemists expertise and a Curse-Breakers tenacity of meddling." He stated, easing the backpack of his shoulders and setting it next to the chair that held the box of potions. He was glad he made weekly batches of universal solvent, so he would have at least six days to work with if necessary for this endeavor before he was very much needed back at the Centre.
An Alchemists' greatest prestige came, not from their trademark mystic and metaphysical speculation, but from their more mundane contributions to various chemical industries. Such as ore testing and refining, metalworking, production of inks, dyes and cosmetics, ceramics and glass manufacture, preparation of extracts and liquors and the invention of gunpowder.
Draco mostly produced the universal solvent, but managed the production of other much needed potions for Curse-Breakers. Such as Anti-poison remedy, burn salve, bite venom counter remedy, aqua vitae, and more. Ruins and tombs were protected with a variety of way. He could only guess what Dev had in store for them.
Hermione's eyes widened when Draco produced the bottle of universal solvent. The inky black substance seemed to swirl as it was suspended in the container. She'd never seen anything like it before. Such a nasty chemical, yet it looked so harmless, almost beautiful. "And that's why I requested an alchemist for an overnight consultation. I've done the research, but what I don't have is the alchemic expertise. Also I thought an alchemist would like to help uncover something that Hoenheim may or may not have been known for…It's just an old rumor I came across in my research, possibly nothing." She said, beginning to ramble.
Draco closed the box, hiding the contents away and placed it in his pack. It was apparent that Alchemists had rights by the Ministry to have an undetectable extension charm on their 'overnight' bags. Or maybe that was just Malfoy bending the rules to fit his needs. "Blimey. Did you hear that? Hermione Granger needs help." He replied with a faux look of shock and glanced around mockingly, as if looking for someone else. "Pity. No witnesses. Let's get to it then. Merlin knows chasing after the unknown and dangerous is something that you enjoy doing." He remarked with a playful smirk as he replaced his backpack onto his shoulders and exited the tent.
He looked at the rubble of sparsely visible ruins wondering exactly how they were going to get in. Then he realized that perhaps the ruins were undiscovered for so long was because the only way to them was to apparate underground. That was dangerous. If you don't know where you are going, you could end up splinched, stuck in a wall, or buried alive. Trusting in her skills and expertise, when she exited standing beside him, he took a hold of her hand. He waited for that vacuum affect to take over as her apparation passenger.
Warmth that had nothing to do with physical body heat crept over his hand. He swallowed quietly, ignoring the fact her hand conformed well in his grasp. He chastised himself mentally. Surely the reaction was just because he hadn't had much of a 'dating' life since fifth year of Hogwarts. Even then with Parkinson was not entirely a real dating situation. It was more of a convenience that had benefitted him.
Hermione returned his playful smirk. "I'm not afraid to ask for assistance. I know my limits, though I do like to best them from time to time. One never knows what they are capable of unless they try." She shrugged. She winced when the sun hit her eyes as she exited the tent. Though she was outside most of the time (in fact, she had acquired a nice tan over the years) she much preferred a candle lit library. Oh how she missed the Hogwarts library. She hadn't gotten to half of the books she originally wanted to read.
Hermione blushed a bit when Draco took her hand, but was overcome with the comedy of the situation, "Oh my Draco, if you wanted to hold my hand, you simply had to ask. The entrance is just over that dune. You can manage that far I'm sure, but just in case..." She chuckled as she began to walk, squeezing his hand in hers rather than letting go.
She led him to a wooden dome that had been excavated. A large hole had been broken through the top. "Careful going in there, the inside is rotting out from the sand spiders." She cautioned. Hermione brandished her wand and levitated herself down gently into the entrance.
Draco's eyebrows furrowed together in momentary confusion. She had addressed him as Draco. It sounded odd, but good, in a weird way. "I don't have to ask. It's apparent that you don't mind holding your hand." He responded back, moments after she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and didn't let go. They started to walk, consequently hand in hand. The jest of the hand holding and explanation of the entrance to the ruins was mildly amusing. Even he couldn't keep a stern look on his face at her exaggerated remark.
The small hole in the ground appeared to be reinforced with wood, though that didn't make it any more reassuring. Her mention of spiders sent an unpleasant chill down his spine. "Now you tell me. I guess that is only mildly better than scarabs." He decided and followed her in, keeping his wand at the ready as he levitated down slowly. It was no wonder that Hermione's superiors had assigned her this task. The entire entrance of the ruin was covered in runes. Every possible place was written up, presuming to tell details about the great Dev Hoenheim.
But it was obvious that they hadn't gotten through the door that was illuminated by torch flame light at the opposite side of the room. He stood beside her, eyeballing his surroundings. The floor had an intricate design that he realized was deceivingly plain, compared to the many runes on the wall. He recognized it as a transmutation circle that led to the door. It was solid and free of any sort of blemish, except for at the bottom. It had symbols that resembled water and a goblet.
He pulled off his pack from his back and removed a two liter bottle of water. Carefully making his way to the middle of the floor he poured the precious clear liquid onto the floor. The water filled over the design in the purposely made indentation. Placing a hand on the edge he spoke an incantation, with the other hand holding his wand he dipped the tip into the water. The liquid changed from clear to crimson red. Just as the red wine reached the bottom of the door the liquid disappeared from their view. Moments later, a line appeared down the middle and it slowly opened upon its own accord. "Turning water into wine is one basic technique in Alchemy. It also represents the once practice tradition of blood sacrifice." He explained, feeling rather proud of himself.
"I've been mostly alone out here for the last two weeks, so I suppose I'm just starved for human interaction." Hermione said as they climbed up the dune. She really did enjoy holding someone's hand. It'd been wretchedly quiet with no one else around. Of course there was a delivery boy, bringing her food and water while she translated, but he never stayed long. "Spiders were the least of my worries here for the last two weeks." She remarked when Draco joined her in the ruin. "The first day by myself, I had to deal with a lethifold that must have come across this nice place, out of the sun. Took me by surprise, nasty things lethifolds."
She watched curiously as Draco poured water onto the floor and transmuted it into wine. "Ah, so that's what that was. I was worried I'd have to actually make a blood sacrifice."
The next room was rather small, and the walls were bare, no trace of writing. It was very dark, so Hermione took out what looked like a cigarette lighter. But when she clicked the trigger, a small but bright ball of light flew out and up to the center of the ceiling.
In the middle of the room stood a platform with a scale. Very ornate, the scale stood absolutely still. One plate with silver and hand a design of a crescent moon on it. The other was gold and had a sun design. Nothing was on the scale or the platform around it. Opposite the door they came in was another stone door that looked as solid as the material it was made from. "Well, mister alchemist, what do you make of it?" Hermione asked after studying the scale for a moment.
Draco gave a curious look as Granger pulled out some sort of magical device that produced a ball of light indefinitely. It was more efficient than using a wand and lumos. "What is that Granger? I've never seen anything like it before." He asked her, eyeing the object curiously.
He inspected the scale slowly. Clearly this was indicating equivalent exchange. The scale was perfectly balanced and the stone door ahead of them remained shut. The silver embellished with a crescent moon. The other gold with embellishment of the sun. "It's hard to say for sure. It appears to be a device that will desire equivalent exchange of something that is completely opposite. It has to match in physical aspects and yet be of the same value and opposites." He speculated and casually placed a finger on the moon silver scale.
A curse came flying across the room from a compartment that was trigger released from somewhere nearby. Draco flicked his wand hand and the curse bounced off his shield charm and dissipated. The scale went back to balanced and no other surprises happened. "And it needs to remain balanced when presenting it apparently." He pondered on what could possibly be something that fit the requirements.
Life and death were opposites. But finding two rats or other critters of physical same mass would be impossible. Then a better idea came to mind, "Granger, have you ever watched someone die?" He asked her. He had watched his Aunt Bellatrix Lestrange give birth to the daughter of Voldemort. He was sworn under an unbreakable vow to never speak of her true parentage. He used the tip of his wand to withdraw the memory from his mind. The wispy white strand clung to his wand as he hovered over the gold plate, waiting for her to be ready with a memory of her own. The memory strands would be of the same mass and yet opposites. Life and Death. Sun and Moon. Light and Dark. Him and Her.