Chapter Ten
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Draco and Harry were together at the crime scene this time. Griphook was found in his home with no apparent signs of a break-in. He was spread out on the floor, missing a hand…and they determined that he was killed with the Avada Kadavera.
The only thing found at the crime scene was a key on a chain, but no one knew what is unlocked.
Meanwhile, Hermione had taken the liberty of asking Connor out on a date that night. But he had declined and made very suspicious and halfhearted excuses. She knew something was wrong. She told Harry and Draco that she wanted to follow him, but they both told her that she didn't need to go with them.
"I still don't understand why, I'm the one who has spent most time and effort on this bloody case," Hermione muttered in her room.
"That's why!" Harry answered patiently. Sometimes he had to remind himself that Hermione was, after all, a new Auror and she hadn't yet learned how things ran.
"But I have…"
"Just give it a rest Granger," Draco sighed.
"You need to be here in case Connor shows up!" Harry told her. The tone of his voice was very definite. She knew there was no talking him out of it.
"Will you come back here and tell me if you find something?" she asked. "I'll head down to the gym, blow some steam!" Harry cast her a fleeting look, thinking about how much he would like to see her all sweaty, and nodded.
Draco and Harry both cast a disguise-spell over themselves and waited outside the hotel for Cowell to exit. When he came out he seemed to be in a hurry, half running over the street to his limousine. Harry and Draco were prepared for this and had a car ready for them. They followed him as he sped through London and didn't stop until they were in a nice area in Camden. They stopped at the corner and watched him wait at his street corner. Connor lit a cigarette and hurried inside a nightclub. Harry and Draco ran after him.
They entered the club, which looked as if it had been inspired by Moulin Rouge. Red velvet and cushions were everywhere. On three different stages women were dancing, some in a bikini, and many completely naked.
"It looks like a Valentine card threw up in here!" Harry stated.
"No, this is a good strip-joint," Draco answered from experience. Harry eyed him disbelievingly.
"Seriously, did he blow off Granger for a strip joint?" Draco added. "Is she really that awful to snog?"
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry spat.
"Wanna defend her? Got experience, have we?" he mocked.
"No, look!" Harry nodded towards Connor. He had gone to the bar to order, and a man had approached him. They walked to a door and went in.
"We'll never get in there," Harry said. A large PRIVATE sign was on the door.
"We'll just wait out here, then," Draco said uninterested. He turned to the bartender and ordered a Rum and Coke.
Harry was irritated, they weren't getting anywhere. They were stuck in a muggle strip club, Connor out of sight. He was stuck with Malfoy, of all people, who had already begun to drink. Things were strange between him and Hermione and feelings he had tried to bury for so long were coming out to play again. But his thoughts were interrupted by a woman who had started dancing on the stage in front of him.
He didn't know her, but there was something eerily familiar about her. She was very fit, yet had round curves. She had large brown, rather curly - no, more bushy - hair. He turned and watched as she danced around in her bikini. She was very beautiful.
She turned her back to them, and Harry completely forgot where he was. In his mind Hermione was dancing before him, and he couldn't turn away. He almost sighed her name; it was just hanging off his lips. He swallowed the lump in his throat and licked his dry lips. She turned her hands behind her back and he saw her reach for her bra clasp. He swallowed again as the bra fell to the floor. She turned around and walked towards him on the stage.
As the song changed he snapped out of it for just a second and turned to look at Malfoy, afraid he had seen Harry gawking at this half-naked woman. To his horror Draco was staring just as fixedly at the woman. Harry turned back to her; she was grinding and lowering to the floor. She crept on all four towards an old man in the crowd who now put money in her underwear. Harry glanced over at Draco again; he had still not turned his head away from the woman. It bothered Harry more than anything, the way Draco was looking at her. And he was so furious at himself for feeling this way. It wasn't supposed to be this way, he wasn't supposed to think about another woman like this - damn it! He punched Draco hard on the shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Draco swore and massaged his arm.
"You shouldn't be drinking when you're working!"
"Yeah, that's what's bothering you," Draco sneered and drank some more. Harry turned his back to the stage and didn't turn back around once.
Connor never returned, and eventually they figured he had left the back way and left. The evening had given them nothing. The only thing it had left Harry with was the desperate need for a cold shower.
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Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a tailored white satin dress, paid for by the Auror office, of course. The dress went all the way down to her heels, with a slit on the side. It was a halter neck, with a rather plunging neckline. She wore her hair up in a fancy hairdo, leaving small ringlets and curls around her face. She was going undercover to a ball, to spy on someone who might have been involved in the burning of her parents' house. Her date: Draco Malfoy. Attending: her hearts true love, Harry Potter, with his fiancé…. She sighed loudly. Could things get better? Well Ron could always turn up again, she thought. She looked at herself again, actually admiring herself in the mirror.
There was a knock on the door and Hermione hurried over. When she opened the door to greet Draco, she inhaled a little. He sure cleaned up good, she had always known this, but her hatred had always filtered that away before. Now, she could see how good looking he was. He was carrying a bouquet of roses, and he had a small box for her.
"Are you proposing?" she joked and eyed the box.
"Yeah, you wish, Granger," he answered and looked very superior. She took the box from him and opened. A beautiful diamond necklace was inside.
"Oh, my God," she whispered and gently touched it with her finger.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, it's just a loan. I saw the dress at the office and thought…well, what the hell. They are my mother's, and, well, I can't be seen with someone who looks cheap, you know," he was mumbling and Hermione actually found it kind of cute. She hung the chain around her neck and they left.
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This time the ball was held in a magic ballroom. Hermione found this much more entertaining since it meant lots of treats for the eye. The theme for tonight was carnival, and clowns were serving drinks. There were two white lions on the stage with their keepers. A monkey was doing magic tricks in one corner. This naturally didn't mean the guests had to dress according to the theme.
"Look, Potter's brother is over there!" Draco said and pointed to the monkey.
"Yeah, and there is your girlfriend," Hermione answered and pointed at the bearded lady who was selling kisses in a booth.
"Funny!" he sneered.
Even though all these carnival actors were at the ball, it was a very elegant gala and most of the same people were there from before. Hermione saw Connor amongst a group of people. He had a red haired young girl on his arm. And even though she knew that her mission was the most important thing, she was thankful not to be the one bored with his company.
"Déjà vu, huh?" Draco snarled in her ear.
"What?" she snapped.
"Oh nothing, just thinking about the red head on his arm…."
Hermione turned her eyes and looked for Harry, while ignoring Draco's comment. She found him with Ginny on his arm ordering drinks at the bar. He smiled at her discreetly, but soon turned his attention back to Ginny.
Yes, déjà vu for sure, she thought.
"So this is your life, Draco?" Hermione asked and ate a hors d'oeuvre.
"What part are you referring to - the beautiful ladies, the good food, or the expensive alcohol?" Draco turned and looked her in the eye.
"The empty small talk, the overpriced drinks, and the stabbing in the back," Hermione retaliated.
"Yeah, because you're so honest with your friends," he mumbled.
"Do you have something to say to me?" Hermione spat angrily. Draco smiled, he really found Hermione charming when she spat fire. He grabbed her hand.
"Let's dance!"
She followed him to the dance floor and let him pull her into an embrace.
They were standing close, others were dancing around them but oddly enough she wasn't quite aware.
Draco was a very good dancer, but this didn't surprise Hermione - the upper-class probably took dancing lessons since birth, she guessed.
"So, do you go to these kinds of things a lot?" she asked while he swung her around.
"Sometimes."
"With your mommy?" she teased.
"I don't want to talk about my family." He said this so sharply that Hermione lost her words and became quiet.
She saw that Harry and Ginny were dancing now, as were Connor and his redhead. She looked back at Harry and their eyes met. She then looked back at Connor and saw that he was looking at her.
"So did you know Connor well before this?"
"No. I've seen him many times at occasions like this, but I've never really talked to him."
Draco looked at the necklace around her neck, and his eyesight dipped a bit lower than where the necklace ended - this did not go unnoticed by Hermione. Their eyes met again for a moment. They danced around in silence for a few more minutes before Draco suddenly stopped in the middle of the song.
"Oh…" he stammered, shocked and Hermione turned around. Pansy Parkinson was walking into the room. She was wearing a blood-red dress and her black hair wrapped perfectly on top of her head. Hermione had to marvel at how much someone could look like a sculptured statue. Pansy had seen them and waved at Draco. He started walking towards her and he seemed to forget he had Hermione with him. She followed him, but felt a bit uninvited.
"My God, Pansy!" he exclaimed as he saw her; he grabbed her hands and kissed both her cheeks.
"Missed me?" she smiled enticingly.
"Of course, where the hell have you been?" he asked and looked her up and down.
Hermione noticed that they were still holding hands.
"Went traveling with a cousin around Europe," she said, "and I see you've made new friends." She eyed Hermione from top to bottom. There was no way of getting around it - Pansy hated Hermione with every fiber of her body and Hermione knew it. But she couldn't get into this now, she had to be professional.
"Well, if I would have known you were back…" Draco insinuated and leaned forward flirtingly towards Pansy. Well a rude comment like that, she didn't have to take! Hermione turned around hastily and walked straight for the bar. She ordered a white wine and refused to turn and look at Draco. She was actually so angry that her cheeks felt like fire. She felt a hand on her bottom and her Auror reflexes kicked in, she grasped the hand behind her back quickly and turned it hard.
"Hermione!" Connor gasped. She turned and let go.
"Oh my God Connor, I'm so sorry!" She took both of his hands in his. "Are you OK? Here, let me get you a drink! I'm so sorry; I just thought you were someone else." He suddenly smiled.
"What?" she asked.
"You never hurt me like that. I like that you hurt me when you thought I was Mr. Malfoy," he smiled even wider. She took one step forward.
"Why didn't you invite me instead of that trollop?" she whispered. They locked eyes for a few moments and Hermione almost thought he would kiss her in front of all these people.
"Hermione!" Draco's voice came from behind Connor and Hermione quickly took a step back. "You're not forgetting whose arm you came on tonight, are you?" Draco joked. Connor bowed, but looked very disappointed as he kissed Hermione's hand, he soon disappeared.
"I swear, Granger, one could almost have thought you were jealous of Pansy."
"Don't be stupid, Malfoy -."
"Malfoy?" Draco raised his eyebrows. She hadn't called him that in quite some while now.
"But what you said was an open insult!" He laughed and waved at the bartender
"Elder wine, two glasses!" They sat down at a table.
"Look, Hermione, Pansy is an old…friend." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to insult her and say that I'm out with a…"
"A what?" Hermione's eyebrows rose so high that they could have disappeared into her head.
"Relax, you know I won't say it. But I'm just telling you…Pansy and I have, well, a very long history. You of all people should understand." He made a dramatic pause and then added, "You and Weasley, I mean."
Hermione drank some of her elder wine, she really didn't like it red, white was so much better. "So what
happened between you two anyway?" she finally asked.
"Well, as you might know - I've never been one for exclusive relationships," Hermione rolled her eyes again, but Draco ignored her. "But we were seeing each other, always have on and off since school, I believe you might be familiar with that situation. He paused and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Then she left to travel with her family, or cousin, apparently. Didn't hear from her in… well, must have been more than a year now. Maybe a year and a half, even."
Hermione actually felt kind of sorry for Draco, he looked kind of hurt when talking about it. She placed her hand on his, but when his eyes darted down, she quickly yanked it back.
"Were you serious? I mean, by your standards?"
"Well, my parents always said I should marry her. I kind of still think I will…" the look on his face said that he had revealed more than he had planned.
"Really?" Hermione asked surprised.
"Yeah, why not? We are a good match; our families have been friends forever. I enjoy her company. The sex is all right…."
"Too much!"
"She loves me, I'm sure about that." Hermione felt very sad for Draco all of a sudden.
"But Draco, why would you want to marry someone that you obviously don't love?" she asked. Her voice was so serious and sad that Draco stopped looking around the crowd and turned to her.
"Well, we all don't have the luxury of getting the one we love." Hermione nodded.
"No, we don't," she whispered. The conversation was over.
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As Hermione was going to the ladies room she met Ginny in the hall. "Oh, hi!" she shrieked. Hermione plastered on the biggest fake smile she could.
"You're such a little player, Mione!"
"Hermione!" she corrected her.
"Connor Cowell and now Draco Malfoy! They are both so cute. You and I really have similar taste in men," Ginny giggled.
Yeah, you have no idea! Hermione thought.
When Hermione returned, Draco pulled her to the dance floor again. A very slow love song, a favorite of Hermione's, was playing and she just closed her eyes and leaned her head against Draco's shoulder. She didn't care that she was dancing with Malfoy. For just a few minutes she needed to tone out the world around her. She felt his strong arms around her and, in her mind, she was dancing with Harry. Her mind raced back to that night, and that morning they had shared. It had been the best and worst twenty-four hours of her life.
She felt Draco tighten his grip on her, but she tried to pretend he wasn't even there. She didn't bother thinking about why he was holding her so close. Whatever, let him fantasize about Pansy, she was fantasizing about Harry! Harry was dancing with her, Harry was holding her tight. She was in the beautiful dress, and Harry was twirling her around on the dance floor.
Her tears were burning on the insides of her eyelids. He wasn't dancing with her, he was with someone else. He had made love to her and then ran back to Ginny. She knew it was the alcohol playing tricks on her, but this song, this atmosphere, this dress was pushing her over the edge. She pulled back and looked into Draco's eyes.
"Take me home," she whispered.
"Wh - I -"
"I'm tired, I need to sleep," she answered and Draco caught his composure. They started to walk towards the exit and, as luck would have it, they ran into Harry and Ginny.
"Oh, are you leaving?" Ginny asked. Hermione had yet to speak to Harry that whole evening.
"Yes, Hermione is a bit tired; I'm going to put her to bed," Draco answered and put his arm around Hermione, putting his hand on her hip. Harry's eyes immediately went to Draco's hand, a movement Draco had noticed without delay.
"I've been trying to get Harry to take me back to my place, but he's insisting on staying here." Harry's eyes met Hermione's again and he noticed that her face was turning a bit red.
"No, we can leave," he answered Ginny.
"Oh, you bad boy, you can't hold it anymore, can you!" Ginny laughed obviously intoxicated. Hermione looked up to Draco and he could see the tears welling up in her eyes, begging him to rescue her. He instinctively squeezed her shoulder and pulled her closer.
"Well, see you!" he said and steered Hermione towards the door. She couldn't help herself turning back and looking at Harry and Ginny. They were kissing.
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Draco and Hermione were standing outside her room. She hadn't spoken the whole the ride home.
"Are you okay?" he said.
"I'm fine!" her tone was very sharp.
"Do you want me to…."
"I want to sleep." Draco just nodded. He didn't know what was appropriate, but he didn't get another
chance to think about it. Hermione walked into the room and slammed the door in his face.
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She walked in and leaned against the door. What a wretched night! All she felt like now was washing all the bloody makeup of her face and sleeping for a week. She set off for the bathroom when she heard something. In that short fragment of a moment she had time to curse herself, she knew that the alcohol in her blood made her slow and that she didn't have a chance.
She was stunned in the back. She fell with a loud thud to the floor. She was vaguely aware of someone walking next to her, someone was looking through her things.
She heard feet move closer to her head and then felt whoever it was kick her in the side, and then again, and then a kick to the head.
She tried to fight it, but she knew she had no chance. She was being beaten to death.
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AN: So there you have it: a little bit of action. Who do you think attacked Hermione and why? Leave a review!
Thanks to Chelsea my beta!
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