Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter Five: Getting Lucky

After the exuberance of Christmas had passed and the kids were back off to school Harry and Hermione were quickly back to work. They didn't talk about what had transpired with Ron, but they had both received numerous apologies from him for his behavior. It had turned out that his girlfriend had broken up with him earlier that day and he was a bit emotionally unsettled.

"It doesn't excuse the way I acted" Ron told Harry when he finally agreed to meet him for a beer. "It wasn't even like I was in love with her... not the way I used to be in love with Hermione anyways. It was lust, pure and simple. And she just used me for my fame and ditched out as soon as things started getting complicated."

Harry didn't feel sorry for Ron per say, but he did try his best to be understanding. He had seen far too many people die in his life and he knew that time with those you loved was precious. And for all of Ron's faults and occasional bouts of idiocy Ron had also been like a brother to him and for that he did love Ron.

"I have another case for you" Roderick announced one day as Harry and Hermione were back to researching anything to do with finding the mystery killer. "There have been five muggle suicides at a the same casino in Atlantic City New Jersey within the past week."

"Hmm, maybe I missed something Roderick, but I thought that we were looking into homicides?" Harry responded, sneezing as he opened another dusty tome.

Roderick was unperturbed as usual. "I believe that a cursed object is what caused them to take their lives. None of the victims had any previous indications of suicidal tendencies. The first was a soon-to-be-wed young girl who was at her bachelorette party. Her friends said that once minute she was having the time of her life and the next she was inconsolable, taking all of her life savings out of the bank and throwing it away at the tables. Finally she just stood up, walked to the bathroom, broke a mirror and slit her wrists. Another victim was a man who had just had a child with his wife and worked as a teller at the casino. He just up and quit his job, emptied his bank account and gambled it away. He then rode the elevator to the top of the casino, smashed the window out of a hotel room and jumped to his death."

"I get it" Harry said. "They suddenly go crazy, spend all their money and kill themselves."

"They believe that money can buy them happiness" Hermione said, suddenly standing up, a light of knowing in her eyes. "I read about a curse like this a while back while we were on another assignment. It's called the Tanxin Curse, which means "greed" in Mandarin Chinese. Anyone who touches an object that has been cursed in this way will suddenly lose all hope in living. They'll think that only more money can solve this deep sadness, and when they inevitably lose their money on some foolish investment they are inconsolable and they kill themselves."

"Do you speak Mandarin?" Harry asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

"No, I wish! I used a translation spell" she looked a bit put out, but then her demeanor changed in a flash. "That's it... Chinese..."

"Are you hungry or something? I could go for some Chinese food myself."

"No! These curses, they originate from many ancient cultures but the majority of them come from the times of the first Chinese dynasties and were translated into Mandarin sometime in the early 13th century. In fact, every curse we've stopped so far was translated from an ancient Chinese dialect. Broderick, do you think it's possible that the original copies, the ones from before the translation, are still out there in the world?"

For the first time Broderick's black eyes revealed a glint of fear. "That should not be possible! When magic began to change and new magic was born, it was decided by magical communities throughout the world that Ancient Magic was becoming too erratic and dangerous, and that anything about it should be locked up here for safekeeping forever."

"Maybe somebody couldn't bare to part with their collection of curses?" Harry speculated. "Maybe they passed off the translated copies but held onto the originals. For Merlin's sake, why didn't they just burn all the books?"

Hermione gasped as though he had just suggested genocide. "And lose all that history! These spells may be dangerous but they are a part of the evolution of magic, they are a part of who we are..."

"Okay, okay I get it" Harry grumbled.

"Even more importantly though, we maintain and protect these ancient writings in case ancient magic ever did resurface, which is has" Broderick added. "Can you imagine how screwed we'd be if we didn't have any of these resources to counteract the curses?"

Harry was too busy surprised by the fact that Broderick had said "screwed" to say much else, and Hermione was already running off to find more research. He grudgingly followed her, glad to see they had a bit of a lead but not sure how useful it was.

"Even if whoever is doing this is using copies of the ancient Chinese curses we have no way to find them" Harry panted, following her as she half sprinted past row after row of books. "I mean, the books could still be China which would suggest someone of Chinese heritage is responsible, but that doesn't exactly limit the pool down much. Also, this happened what, 600 years ago? The books could have been moved to any part of the world since then."

"Yes, Harry that is all true" she said, stopping to load books into his arms. "But whoever it was would have to have a high level of mastery of both magic and a of ancient Chinese languages in order to translate and use the originals. That narrows down the scope a bit no?"

"You're brilliant" he grunted as she used her wand to add yet another heavy book onto the stack that was now above his head.

"Actually I'm highly logical, which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that of which others overlook" she said, quoting herself with a smirk.

"Don't make me laugh" he groaned, wobbling precariously back to the table where they had been sitting previously. "What are all these for?"

"We need to determine what dialect each of these were translated from. If we have a list of all the forms of ancient Chinese that this person would need to know in order to use the originals, then we'll have a clearer idea of who they might be."

"Wait, how do you know whoever is doing this isn't just using a translation spell?"

"Clever thought Harry, but that spell doesn't work on ancient languages. You would know that if you had taken-"

"I will determine which dialects these were translated from and send you an owl when I have it figured out" Roderick announced, interrupting her lecture. Hermione blinked as though she had forgotten he was there. "You two need to get to Atlantic City before anyone else dies."

*****

"Okay, the one thing they all had in common was that they touched casino chips at some point before they went mad. Well, that and they all presumably touched dollar bills, but let's really hope it isn't a dollar bill we're looking for because it could have easily left the Casino by now and then we'll never... Harry, are you even listening?" Hermione admonished as Harry sat on the edge of his hotel room bed, gaping at her.

"I uh... I mean, you look great!" he blurted out, staring at her. He had just finished tying his tie and straightening his collar when she had knocked on his door and entered the room, all-business. She was wearing a sexy black dress that seemed to hug her figure in all the right ways and he was taken aback by how good she looked. He had found her attractive since he was old enough to notice such things, but right now his breath was taken away. It's been too long since I've gotten laid he thought, forcing his eyes away from her.

"Thanks Harry" she said blushing. "So, what I was saying is that we should be careful touching the chips but we need to blend in around the tables. See if anything is giving off a magic aura."

"Got it" he nodded, offering her his arm. "Shall we?"

She laughed as he gallantly led her out of the hotel room and down the hallway to the elevators. "I always thought casinos were just a horrible waste of money but there is something a bit fun about this" she admitted. "Maybe it's just the getting dressed up bit."

"Hmm maybe we should get dressed up and go out more often. You know, when we're not preoccupied chasing down villains."

"Are you asking me on a date Mr. Potter?" she joked, but her own words made her blush. She felt like a flirty schoolgirl and it was absolutely preposterous. He just smiled and said "maybe".

On the ground floor the elevator opened to reveal the casino. The floors were smooth and gleamed under the neon lights of the slot machines as crowds of people flocked to and from different machines. She had taken care to study the floor plan and decided to try the blackjack tables first. They circled around trying to fit in and act casual.

"Can I get a drink for the lovely couple?" asked a serving waitress with a kind smile.

Hermione nearly blurted out that they weren't a couple out of habit, but Harry saved the day by speaking up and asking for two vodka sodas. "Since when do you drink vodka soda?" Hermione asked him once the server had gone.

"It just popped into my head" Harry shrugged. "I could hardly ask for a fire whiskey. And besides, we should blend in, if we're not playing and we're not drinking people are going to get annoyed by us loitering."

"I suppose" she said, hoping they made her drink weak. Once it arrived she realized quite the opposite and nearly gagged at the first sip. Eventually though it started going down more smoothly as they moved around the room. She was trying to casually look around for any odd behavior when Harry stopped walking quite suddenly and pulled her close to him, moving his mouth towards her ear to whisper something. She felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine.

"That man over by the high roller table has been watching us for a while now" he said, his hand resting delicately on her waist. "Laugh like I'm telling you something funny."

She did as he requested as she looked where he was referring to. The man was hard to miss. He wore a black suit, stood at a towering height and was built like an ox. She tried to make it seem like she had been looking at the casino table behind him before moving her gaze back to Harry's face. "What do you think he wants?"

"Nothing good by the looks of him. I've been worried that someone would eventually notice that we've been swooping in and stopping these curses."

"So what do we do?"

"We take this opportunity to get some information. We need to lure him to somewhere quiet where we can gain the upper hand. Follow me and don't look back at him. If he thinks we haven't noticed him yet he may be overconfident and slip up." He put his arm around her in a casual way and drained his drink before they started walking back towards the elevators. She noticed how casual he seemed, even starting a bit of small talk and she tried to relax and follow his lead and avoid the temptation to pull out her wand.

As they neared the elevator she could somehow sense that the thug was on their heels. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as they stepped inside the elevator. "He's going to wait and see what floor we go to and then he'll have the edge on us. Unless he thinks we're distracted and then maybe he'll try to jump the gun..."

The elevator chimed and the doors slowly began to slide closed. Without so much as a warning Harry pushed her up against the wall and pressed his mouth against hers. She barely had time to process the fact that her best friend was kissing her when she felt her lips part allowing him to deepen the kiss. It was fiery, it was electric... and then it was over.

The thug had taken the bait, jumping into the elevator last minute, his wand drawn and pointed at Harry's back. Harry was quicker though, swerving fast and grabbing the man's wrist and forcing it away from them. The door was closed now and the elevator was moving up. Before the thug could realize what was happening Harry decked him square in the face, instantly breaking his nose with a loud crack. He stumbled back and now Hermione had her wand drawn, allowing her to instantly stun him.

As the thug fell to the floor the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing a very shocked elderly couple on the other side. "Our friend just had a little too much to drink" Harry said with a shy smile. "We're bringing him to his room now, no need to worry."

"We'll wait for the next elevator" the old woman responded. "You are very good friends for taking care of him."

"Oh, yes, we're the best of friends!" Harry laughed as the doors slid closed once more.

*****

Hermione had used several binding spells to make sure the ox-sized man would not be able to escape the chair he was in when he regained consciousness. Luckily they hadn't encountered anyone else on their way to their hotel room and were able to use a leviosa spell to move him. It was very fortunate they were able to use magic for the task because Hermione was quite sure he was too heavy for the two of them to carry. She was rather impressed that Harry had managed to deliver as good of a blow as he had to the mammoth.

"Wake him up" Harry said, discarding his suit jacket and rolling up his sleeves. She did as he commanded and the man coughed and wheezed as he adjusted to his broken nose, which was still bleeding profusely. "Do you know who we are?"

The man just stared at him, not speaking. Harry simply stared back for what felt like an impossibly long time but Hermione did not interfere. Interrogating criminals in the field was Harry's specialty. Interrogating them on the stand was hers.

Finally the man tried to spit at Harry but he dodged it easily, and resumed his calm posture, staring intently at the man. "I know you are Harry Potter, though it impresses me little. I also know that she is Hermione Weasley and that impresses me even less."

"Granger" she absently corrected him for no apparent reason.

"Well then, if you know who we are you should be worried" Harry responded. "We are perfectly capable of booking you a cozy room in Azkaban to spend the rest of your days."

"Do it then. My master will have me set free within weeks."

"Is that so? Who is this incredible master you speak so fondly of."

"You will never know that until it is far too late."

"Why are you working for him? Why did he send you here?"

"My master sent me here to kill you of course. You've been interfering with our plans."

"Bang up job you're doing on the whole assassination thing" Harry smirked, gesturing to the man's restraints.

"I misjudged you both, and I will be punished. But you will inevitably die, and I can take great peace in that."

Harry frowned. "Hermione, grab the vertasium."

"No!" the man howled, his eyes growing wide. "Your Ministry now forbids the use of vertasium in a trial without ample evidence and a warrant. Your little girlfriend here worked on passing that law herself."

Harry just smirked once more. "Only aurors are confined by those rules. I don't know how up to date you are on current events, but I've resigned. As has my good friend Ms. Granger. We have special privileges when it comes to laws. Besides, I've always been a rule breaker, haven't I Hermione?"

"Yes, unfortunately this is all true" she said, her heart racing as she went to get the potion she had packed away (along with many other objects of potential use). She couldn't believe they were only moments away from the answers they'd been searching for for months.

"There will no place for your sort of weakness in the future" the man said in a surprisingly calm tone. "You will both be killed, I swear it on my dying breath."

Dying breath? Hermione thought slowly, confused. When it finally struck her it was too late, as she turned around to stop him she saw that Harry was doing the same, grabbing the man's face to prevent him from biting down. The thug just laughed as his jaws clamped shut and a flow of blood escaped his pursed lips. Harry let him go, an expression of panic in his eyes and he threw himself on top of Hermione, knocking her to the ground as a loud BANG filled the room.

When Harry removed himself from her, all that was left of the ox-like man was a pile of ashes. Breathing heavily Harry helped her to her feet and her ears were still ringing. He was saying something to her, but she couldn't make it out.

"Are you okay?" she finally heard, as though he was yelling to her from under water.

"Yes!" she yelled in reply and she wordlessly used her wand to fix both of their damaged eardrums. The room was a wreck of things being knocked over and an ugly painting on the wall had been ripped off entirely and hurled across the room. There was no fire damage however, which she found peculiar because his body had clearly been burned to ash. "Good thing I had cast a silencing charm on this room as soon as we arrived" she muttered as they both set about repairing the hotel room. "What was that?"

"I've seen it used by criminals before when they hire thugs to do their work. They seal a capsule in their cheek filled with a potion that makes them spontaneously combust. They chew down on it if it looks like they're going to be questioned with no way out. The chemical releases and they go ka-boom. Lucky that one wasn't brewed stronger or the aftershock of it would have ripped us and this room completely apart."

She shuddered to think how close they had been to death yet again, but she said nothing. As they finished cleaning up Harry disposed of the ashes and the room looked like nothing had ever happened. But something had... a man had just died and they had nearly joined him.

"I need a drink" Harry said suddenly, as though reading her mind.

"I guess I could go for one too" she sighed, trying to regain her composure. He put a comforting arm on her shoulder and she was suddenly reminded of their kiss earlier. It was just a clever guise to make the assassin think we were too distracted to notice him.

"I'm going to go down to the casino and get us a bottle of something. I'll be right back."

"Actually Harry... could we take that drink in your room? I feel a little weird being in here."

"Of course" he said, looking sheepish that he hadn't thought of that himself. He let her into his room and disappeared for fifteen minutes before returning with a bottle of Jack Daniels. "It isn't fire whiskey, but I think it'll do" he announced, filling up a cup for each of them. He sat beside her on the bed and they each drank in silence for a while until it was time for a refill.

Hermione drank the occasional glass of wine but she wasn't a big drinker and the alcohol hit her quickly. She felt herself growing warm and relaxing back against the pillows on his bed.

"He had a tattoo on the back of his neck" Harry said suddenly. "It looked like a hand grasping an orb... it might have meant something... maybe it was associated with his master, like the dark mark was on the Death Eaters. I could probably draw it..."

"Good Harry, do that tomorrow and we'll look it up once we get back to the cavern. We still need to find whatever has been leading to the suicides here, but I think that can wait until morning."

"Enough excitement for one night huh?" he said, and there was something in his tone that made her feel like he was alluding to their short snogging session in the elevator. Normally she would have blushed but her face was already warm from drinking. She shook her head when he offered her more Jack Daniels and he topped his own glass off before sealing the bottle closed.

"I'm not glad that we are dealing with another homicidal maniac, but I am glad that we are working together again" he said after some time had passed. "I've missed it, missed us... we make a good team."

She suddenly felt a overwhelming sense of happiness at his words. She had always had her doubts about how he felt about her, no matter how many times he praised her brilliance. Part of her would always feel like the pathetic tag-along who had to be saved from a mountain troll because she was crying in the bathroom. "I appreciate that Harry. I've missed it too. I know I can be difficult..."

"What do you mean difficult?"

"You know, nagging and bossiness and all that... oh, and I'm a know-it-all as Ron always reminded me" she meant for it to sound like a joke but somehow the pain it brought back escaped from behind her words.

They were both laying down on the bed now and he shifted himself so he could look into her eyes. "Hermione, I've never thought of you like that. Your `nagging' has saved my life countless times. Your `bossiness' has allowed you to transform and modernize the Magical Law Code and the Ministry itself. And as for being a know-it-all... I've long since come to love that about you."

Love. The word shifted around her mind in a strange and exhilarating way. And then, before she could rethink it, she moved across that gap between them and kissed him. Not a chaste kiss on the cheek like they had shared 1,000 times before, but a kiss with heat and intensity. A kiss that deepened as soon as their lips touched and felt so right that she moved herself on top of him, deepening it further.

His hands went to her hips as she straddled him and their kisses became desperate and frenzied. Somehow his shirt was off a moment later and she was caressing his biceps, his chest muscles, his shoulders. Her dress was gone a moment later and she couldn't even bother to be self conscious about it.

As she moved her fingers across his bare skin she felt when every little scar was raised from his years of waging battles. She kissed each of these softly, and he did the same. The scars on her forearm from Belletrix Lestrange had long healed, but there were still fine traces of the cruel words that crisscrossed her skin like spider webs. He kissed her gently there.

He flipped her onto her back with one fast move and his strength and aggression further aroused her as she fumbled at his belt. As they met there was only one thought in her mind; how is it possible that he is so good at everything he does?

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