A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. I know many of you have asked about the Lost King. I will be working on that sequel as soon as I finish this story. I'm too lazy to work on two stories at once. Hope you guys like this chapter, especially those waiting for an H/Hr scene. *wink, wink*
Chapter Fourteen: Temptation
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith
And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
(Sympathy for the Devil-Rolling Stones)
Professor Severus Snape burst through the door of Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster had been sitting behind his desk, his sad eyes pouring over the parchments in front of him. The morale of the wizarding world was at its lowest. With their hero dead, what could they do against Lord Voldemort? The Order was still strong but it was getting harder and harder to recruit to their cause. It seemed as if people were ready and willing to roll over like dogs when Voldemort came calling.
"He's alive," Snape announced.
Dumbledore peered at him curiously. "What are you talking about?"
"The boy," Snape said plainly. "He's alive."
"Are you sure? How can you tell?" he asked. He didn't want to get his hopes up.
"For weeks the Dark Lord has been complaining about his head, his sleep troubled. Then suddenly, in the middle of a meeting, he exclaims `He's Alive!' It's his new obsession. "He sits for long periods of time in deep concentration, hoping for something to come to him. He has surrounded himself with maps and has asked me to find the route the ship was taking this summer."
When Severus Snape finished, Dumbledore rested his elbows on his desk, his chin rested on his fingers. He said nothing for a while.
"Give him what he wants, Severus," Dumbledore spoke. "Give him what he needs. I, myself, have some maps I can use. You will report to me his progress and notify me immediately if he leaves. I want to know where he will be going. With any luck, we can find Harry first."
"As you wish, Headmaster," Snape said as gave a small bow and left the Headmaster's office.
When he was alone, Dumbledore let the news Severus had brought him sink in. Small tears of joy leaked from the corners of his eyes. He wiped them and immediately got up to gather all the maps he could find.
~*~
Harry sat up gasping for air and clutching at his scar. It was throbbing nastily now. Voldemort was in his dream, probing his mind for any clue as to where he might be. Harry didn't think he gave anything away but he couldn't be sure, who knew what lay in the recesses of his mind. It was too close a call, he had to stop doing magic or else Voldemort would be free to trounce around his head. This thought gave him a shudder and Harry quietly left the cave.
Blake, Hermione's tiger, blinked at him, looking bothered that Harry had disturbed him from his slumber. Seeing that Harry wasn't doing anything interesting he went back to sleep. The tiger still made Harry nervous. It had been a few days since they had brought the tiger to the camp and it seemed like it had no intention of leaving. Harry had been afraid to approach Hermione for fear that the tiger might take his head off. He could swear the tiger glared at him whenever he came near her.
He walked through the jungle until he came to the waterfall. He knelt on the sandy beach of the pool and splashed some water on his face. It was cool and soothing.
"I think it happens when you use magic," came a soft voice from behind him.
Harry turned to see Hermione come out of the jungle. She smiled kindly and sat down next to him.
"I figured that one out," Harry grumbled. Hermione smiled sympathetically.
"You are going to stop, aren't you?" she asked. It was so typical of her.
"I have no choice," Harry sighed.
They fell into a comfortable silence. Hermione dipped a cautious toe into the pool.
"So…Draco and Ginny?" Harry asked.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, not looking at him.
"Don't play dumb," Harry replied.
"I'm not. I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged. Harry gave her a wry smile.
"I'm going to tell Ron," he said.
"You'll do no such thing," she said defiantly.
"I'm not going to hide from him something like this."
"Something like what? I have neither confirmed nor denied anything you have said."
They fell silent again. Something had been bothering Harry for awhile and he needed to get it off his chest.
"Hermione…The other night, I saw you and Draco…I wasn't spying or anything," he blundered.
Hermione smiled and laughed. "It wasn't what you thought, Harry. He knew you were watching and was trying to rile you up. Draco knew I was setting off the trap and he caught me."
"Oh," Harry said quietly. "You two didn't…"
"No Harry."
"And you don't…like him…or whatever."
"No Harry."
She was amused at him for this, he could be so transparent sometimes. As the leader of the camp, he had a right to know. She stood up and dusted off her jeans.
"Follow me," she said and walked into the jungle.
Harry was mesmerized as he followed her. It felt like he was walking in slow motion. Hermione walked ahead of him, the starlight above glowing down upon them, highlighting her curls. She would glance back from time to time, making sure he was still behind her and giving him a smile. At one point, she reached for his hand and didn't let go. Harry would always remember how she looked just then.
"And here we are," she said reverently and stepped to the side as they emerged from the jungle, letting Harry take a full view.
"Wow," he whispered when he saw the lagoon.
"I know," Hermione breathed. It was a beautiful night.
Hermione undid her shirt and pants, stripping down to her tank and panties. Harry couldn't breathe.
"Follow me," she said and waded into the lagoon.
Harry stripped and followed suit. The water was warm and welcoming as they dove underwater. He followed her as she led him to the cliffs on the far side. She surfaced and took a deep breath then went back under. Harry did the same and followed her into a dark tunnel. She seemed unafraid so Harry bit back his own fear. After awhile he saw Hermione disappear for the surface on the other side of the tunnel.
Gold. Piles of gold is what greeted him when he surfaced.
"Hermione, what is this place?" he asked in awe.
"We don't know. We think it used to be a dumping point for pirates long ago," Hermione explained as Harry helped her out of the water.
"We?" he asked.
"Draco and Ginny," she answered honestly.
Harry took in all the treasure. It was unbelievable. He grinned and smiled at Hermione but she had a frown on her face.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Something's wrong here," she shook her head. She stumbled over the gold, carelessly digging through it.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
"Weapons," she answered. "There used to be a bunch of daggers and swords here."
Harry helped Hermione by rummaging through it. He had a hard time concentrating, he was distracted by a jewel here, a crown there. He still couldn't believe all this.
"Maybe Draco and Ginny did something with them?" he asked.
Hermione fingered her lip in thought. "Maybe. It has to be. Nobody else knows about this place."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Pretty sure."
"We'll ask them when we head back. We should get going anyway."
They dressed in silence, Hermione's thoughts were still worried. As they began to walk away, Harry stopped her.
"Thank you for trusting me with this," he said sincerely.
Hermione smiled up at him. "You had to know."
They stood facing each other, sharing the moment.
"I broke up with Terry," she said quietly. "For sure, this time." She felt it important for Harry to know this. He didn't say anything. Hermione summoned up the courage to lay it all on the line.
"I had the biggest crush on you, you know. But you only looked at me as a friend. It hurt. It hurt that you could look at other girls the way I wished you could look at me. It hurt that you would do things with other girls that I wished you would do with me." Harry looked sadly at Hermione but didn't interrupt her.
"Terry looked at me different, he saw me the way I wanted you to see me. I used him to try and forget about you Harry but it didn't work. Then, that night when I caught you with Parvati…" Her voice broke and tears of shame filled her eyes and she looked up tearfully at him. His heart knew the sorrow she knew. "I wanted to be her. I wanted to be the one you…you made love to." Harry closed his eyes and exhaled. "I'm so sorry about what I did to you on the ship. I wanted you so badly in that way that I didn't think-"
"I was jealous," Harry cut her off.
Hermione looked up at him, startled. "What?" she asked.
Harry looked down at her. "Crazy jealous of Terry. He was the one who got to hold you and kiss you. Oh, we were so stupid. We shouldn't have fought it, Hermione."
He reached for her and gathered her in his arms, holding her close to him. Hermione breathed him in, clinging to him as if he were life itself.
"I never should've left the room," she whispered.
"I never should've let you leave." He broke away from her but still held her in his arms. "I went after you."
The faintest trace of a smile showed on her face. "You did?" Her hand reached up to caress his cheek.
"Yeah…but then the ship exploded," Harry let out a small laugh. Hermione joined him. It couldn't be helped it was such a folly of fate.
Her fingers lightly traced his jaw, trembling slightly. Harry's eyes darkened as he bent his head towards hers.
"I'm not going to fight it anymore, Hermione," he whispered. His lips were a breadth away from hers and as she spoke her lips raked lightly over his.
"It's always been you, Harry. Always," she whispered back.
Her hand left Harry's jaw to bury itself in his unruly raven hair as his lips pressed lightly against hers. Her lips parted granting Harry access to the place he'd wanted to be for so long. He crushed her to him, afraid that she would break away and change her mind but her arms wrapped around him, her mouth taking him in.
Desire coursed through her with his kiss. His hands left behind a trail of fire as they slid up her sides, his thumbs brushing the outline of her breasts before coming to rest between her shoulder blades. She breathed him in, welcoming his taste as his mouth explored hers. She fiercely explored his, putting as much passion and want as she could into it.
The need for oxygen broke them apart long enough for Harry to move his hands to either side of her neck, cradling her head before kissing her sweet lips again. Hermione ran her hands up his arms, clinging to his shoulders for dear life as his kisses robbed her of coherent thought.
Well kissed with bruised lips, Hermione took Harry's hand as he led her back to camp. Blake was gone to find an early morning meal and no one else was up. Harry sat in front of the fire and leaned back against a flat rock. Hermione settled herself between his legs, her back against his front as he gathered her in his arms. Together they watched the stars slowly fade as the sky turned purple with the coming dawn.
~*~
"They're gone."
"What?" Draco and Ginny said in unison as they took in Harry's words.
"The swords, the daggers. All the weapons…gone," Hermione reiterated.
The four of them swam back to the treasure cave later that day. Draco tore open the trunks and rummaged through them violently.
"They can't all be gone," Ginny said anxiously.
"Fuck!" Draco angrily tossed the lid of a trunk into the water. Hermione watched it slowly sink.
"Look, we know they didn't just get up and leave by themselves," Harry said calmly. "We aren't the only people on this island. They've got to have them. That's the only explanation."
"But they had no idea this was here," Ginny protested.
"We aren't one hundred percent sure, are we?" Hermione replied. Harry put a supportive hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.
"Look, we'll just go over there and ask them," Harry said.
It was a task easier said than done.
"Who goes there?" Crabbe leaped out at them, spear shoved in their faces. Neville let out an exclamation of surprise and jumped back.
"Are you kidding me?" Harry said impatiently as he brushed the spear aside. Draco eyed the fence surrounding the beach camp with caution.
Harry and the others stepped forward but three others joined Crabbe.
"You're not allowed in," one of the Ravenclaws said snottily.
"What do you mean we're not allowed in?" Ron protested. "Anyone can come and go about this island as we please."
"Longbottom and Finnegan are allowed," Crabbe sneered, "but not you three." He gestured at Harry, Ron and Draco.
"Fine," Harry said, "we'll send Neville in." Neville looked sharply at Harry as he said this. He didn't want to go in there alone.
"Come on in, Longbottom," Crabbe said icily.
Neville swallowed audibly and stepped forward with Seamus.
"It's okay Neville," Harry reassured. "We'll wait right here."
"Just to let you know, whoever goes in can never come back out," the Ravenclaw called after him.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry eyed the fence with suspicion. Hermione was right, something was not right about this.
Hermione paced anxiously, something was wrong. They were taking too long. She fought the urge to follow the guys to the camp and take Blake with her. Sensing her worry, Blake nudged her with his head. She obliged him with a scratch behind his ears. He suddenly jerked his head to the side, his tail flicking with annoyance.
"Oh my God!" Luna cried out.
"What happened?" Ginny cried out as she and Hermione ran toward the guys as they returned.
Harry and Ron had Neville between them and Seamus was leaning on Draco for support. Both boys looked as if they had been beaten.
"Did they do this?" Hermione demanded.
Blood ran down Seamus' leg from a deep gash. Neville looked like he got the brunt of it. His face was bloodied and bruised. Ron and Harry set him down gently. Blake sniffed the air and licked his lips.
"No Blake," Hermione said firmly and the tiger sulked.
"Well…they've got them," Harry sighed angrily. "And they're using them," he nodded over to Seamus. Lavender was wrapping a cloth tightly around the wound.
Hermione looked to the direction of the beach camp. "What is going on here?" she whispered softly. Harry stood up and walked over to her.
"I don't want you going over there," he said quietly. "Promise me you won't."
"Someone has got to talk to him, Harry," she replied.
"It's not going to be you," he said.
Hermione nodded. "I promise."
"Thank you," Harry said, relieved.
Hermione didn't sleep well that night. She tossed and turned restlessly before giving up and getting up. She walked carefully over to Harry. He slept apart from the others, or maybe they kept their distance from Harry. His nightmares had been a little too intense for some. He, too, was awake. He made room for her and she settled down next to him. Harry spooned her, wrapping an arm around her and burying his face in her hair.
"Couldn't sleep?" he whispered.
"We're trapped on this island with a madman," she whispered back.
"I'll take our chances back out at sea." His voice was tired and weary.
Hermione was soothed by the circling motion his hand was making on her stomach. It felt so good to be in his arms at last. His back was to the others so Hermione was hidden from view. This emboldened Harry to make his next move. Hermione heard the change in his breathing before she felt his hand slowly snake its way up her shirt to lightly caress her breasts. Harry heard her gasp softly as his fingers brushed over her budding nipples. He cupped one breast in his hand, gently kneading it while he kissed her ear, her cheek and her shoulder. Hermione pressed herself against him, feeling the evidence of his want for her against her back. He needed her desperately, he wanted to ravage her right then and there. But, unfortunately, they were not alone in the cave. He wanted to suggest that they leave it and head out in the jungle but he would seriously embarrass himself and anyone else who happened to be awake. Hermione was melting under his touch. She wouldn't be able to deny Harry the time he decided to claim her again. She was his already and very willing.
~*~
Hermione watched as Harry left with Dean to go and get food. The sun was well above the horizon. Ginny and Luna were tending to the wounded Neville and Seamus. Anger boiled through Hermione when she looked at him and it took every fiber in her being to keep her promise to Harry and not go over to the beach.
She caught Ron's eye and he nodded toward the jungle. Hermione nodded and took one last look around and saw that everyone's attentions were elsewhere. She followed Ron as they headed in.
"Alright, what is it that you wanted to talk to us about?" Ron asked Draco when they caught up with him.
"Staying on this island is getting more dangerous day by day and I may have found our way off of it to get home," he said as he looked between the two of them.
Home.
It was such a foreign place now. The place that they remembered in dreams. Did the place still exist? Hermione and Ron looked wistful.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Ron asked.
Draco licked his lips. "I need you guys to be honest and up front with me." He paused a moment before continuing. "Potter is a two-way radio to the Dark Lord, isn't he?"
Ron stepped forward menacingly but Hermione held him back. "That's none of your business he snarled."
"I'll take that as a yes," Draco nodded.
"It happens when he uses wandless magic," Hermione said. There was no need to hide it now. Draco saw what happened when he tried to catch the tiger.
It was a bitter pill for Draco to swallow to admit that Potter was a more powerful wizard than everyone else on this island. But he was his ticket home so he would do it.
"What does this have to do with getting us home?" Ron asked.
"I say we encourage him to do it. He would be like a homing beacon to attract the Dark Lord. And if I'm correct, wherever the Dark Lord goes Dumbledore will follow," Draco explained.
"And that will lead us home," Ron said wistfully. He was silent deep in thought for awhile. "Right, so what do we need to do?"
"Hold on a minute here," Hermione interjected. "No, this is a bad idea."
"But Hermione," Ron protested. "It makes sense."
"Harry is NOT a homing beacon, he is a human being. When Voldemort is in his head, it isn't a harmless dream. It hurts Harry, Voldemort practically mind rapes him. How would you like that?" Hermione said angrily.
"Granger, there's no other way to do this," Draco persisted.
"You of all people Ron are forgetting one major thing. Harry's mind is like a door for Voldemort. When he's in there, Harry has to fight for control of his own mind," Hermione explained. Draco fell silent and thought back to when he heard Lord Voldemort's voice come from Harry's mouth. "If we encourage Harry to do this, he might not be able to fight him off. Then we'll be trapped on this island with two madmen, one of them being a powerful wizard. And we all know we would stand no chance against Harry with Voldemort behind the wheel."
Draco cursed under his breath and Ron sighed dejectedly. They both knew she was right, it was just too big a risk to take.
Hermione stepped toward Draco. "It was a good idea in theory," she said quietly, soothing his bruised ego. "We'll come up with something else. We'll find a way home."
They took their leave of Draco and he continued on his way with his chores. When they were well out of sight, he heard a rustling behind him.
"Well, well," Terry said with a smile on his face.
Draco spun around to face him. "How long have you been standing there?" he demanded.
"Long enough," Terry answered.
Draco picked up his knife and held it up threateningly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slice this across your throat."
"What do you think I am? There's nothing I can do with that information," Terry sighed lazily.
"Why did you beat up Longbottom and Finnegan?" Draco asked angrily.
Terry shrugged. "Rules of the camp. A little sympathetic to your Gryffindors, I guess fucking a Weasley would do that to you."
Draco tackled him to the ground in a heartbeat but Terry fended him off nicely, shoving him off of himself.
"Don't take your aggression out on me," Terry snarled. "Pansy saw you."
Draco hung his head and sighed. He honestly didn't want Pansy getting hurt, he wasn't really thinking about what he was doing but he couldn't help it. Every fiber in his being told him he wanted to be with Ginny.
"What do you want?" Draco asked.
"You're going to help me win Hermione back," Terry replied.
Draco scoffed. "Is that what all this is about? Merlin, Terry, you have got to let her go."
"Just like you let Pansy go so easily? Sorry Draco, I can't just toss aside a girl I care about. Not like you."
"I didn't toss Pansy aside!" Draco defended himself.
"Sure you didn't," Terry smirked.
"I'm not going to help you do this. There are bigger issues on this island. For example, the psychopath you've become."
"I'm not a psychopath. As with every civilization there must be rules or else there would be chaos. We are all trying to survive here. And you are going to help me."
Draco laughed and turned away. "I don't think so."
Terry stopped him and stood in front of him. "Oh, I think you will. You will cooperate nicely." Draco shook his head at him and glared as he brushed past him. "How do you think Ginny would feel if word got out about New Orleans?" Draco stopped in his tracks and whirled around.
"You asshole," Draco muttered.
"I'm not the asshole. I'm not the one who masterminded the whole thing," Terry replied. "Remember Draco, Pansy is also under my thumb right now, I can send her to the rocks. I'm sure she'd love to get her hands around your neck. Or, an accident can happen and she could slip underwater in the ocean. People drown all the time."
"You're insane," Draco snarled.
"Most genius' are," Terry sighed. "But I'm not insane. You made your little bed Draco. Your comeuppance is a long time coming."
An insane thought passed through Draco's mind. He could kill him. There was no one around, no one to witness this. As if reading his thoughts, Terry spoke up again.
"I told Pansy everything. If anything were to happen to me, you'd have to take care of her too."
"She won't turn against Potter," Draco said of Hermione.
"Then turn Potter against her," Terry said impatiently. "However it turns out, I want Hermione back in my camp. Then your little secret is safe, Ginny would never know and Pansy would be safe. Everyone wins. The only one who would be miserable would be Potter and you don't really care for his happiness anyway."
With that, Terry left Draco to his thoughts.
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