14

They stepped out of the clock and looked around. The view was breathtaking!

"Of course the damn clock would let us off on the top of a fucking mountain!" Draco complained. He glanced around at the dark woods behind them. His heart jumped slightly as he thought he saw someone moving among the trees. He watched with narrowed, suspicious eyes, but saw nothing further. He switched the package from his older self into his other hand.

"It's not a mountain, stop exaggerating!" Hermione laughed. "Look! There's a path going down the hill that leads to the village, let's go." She took his hand and pulled.

"Not so fast, my impatient one! We have no idea where we are, and you just want us to go traipsing into town? I thought you were intelligent?" he scoffed. His back was to the woods, and he felt as though they were being watched.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Only that this place might be dangerous. I think we should go another way, sneak into the village and check things out first. We wait and watch for a bit, and then when it's all clear, we go in." He smirked, obviously proud of his plan.

"Case the joint?" Hermione said with a small laugh.

"What?" Draco asked. "Are you trying to confuse me with Muggle talk?"

"Not at all, Sundance Kid."

"Who?"

"Nothing!" Hermione said, chuckling at the lost expression on Draco's face. "Come on! We'll go another way!" They entered the thick forest, Hermione leading, and Draco constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Shh! Did you hear something?" Draco asked a little later. He grabbed Hermione's arm, and they both crouched low to the ground.

"I don't hea..."

"Listen!" Draco whispered. A twig snapped and then another. "We're being followed." The footsteps were getting closer, and they could hear someone muttering to themselves.

Hermione's faced paled, and her fearful eyes darted around, looking for an escape. "This way!" she said. They crawled through some brush, over a fallen tree and ran down the hill towards the village.

They were breathing very hard when they reached the bottom. "That was close!" Draco said. "I don't know who that was, but they weren't very nice."

"I know. It was like this weird feeling of evil was almost suffocating me or something."

Draco and Hermione looked back at the forest. "I'm not looking forward to going back in there," Hermione said.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you."

"I'm sure," Hermione said sarcastically. "You were just as scared as I was back there! You big baby! Whaaa! I want my mummy!" Hermione ran as Draco chased her down the path, vowing to catch her and make her pay for her remark.

Soon, they were standing in front of a huge wooden sign that read: Stadt von Hameln. On top sat the hugest cat they had ever seen, cleaning its whiskers, its tail swinging lazily in the sunshine.

"Hi, kitty!" Hermione said, stepping towards the feline. "What the hell..." She slipped on something, and Draco caught her before she fell to the ground.

"It's a half-eaten rat," Draco said, picking up a stick and prodding the bloody, headless body. "I hate rats!"

"Nasty cat!" Hermione said, wiping her shoe in the grass.

"Look! Someone's coming out of that house. Let's go ask them a few questions. Maybe we can figure out where we are and what the hell we're doing here." Draco and Hermione walked up to the man, who was getting water from a well, and stood there, waiting for him to speak first.

Draco cleared his throat when the man paid them no mind. "Um..."

The man spun around, his hand pulling out a dagger from his belt. He looked at them and then smiled, showing all of his two teeth. "Guten Tag!" he said, putting his dagger away.

Draco stepped forward and held out his hand. "Guten Tag! Mein Name ist Draco und sie ist Hermione."

Hermione pulled him down so that she could whisper to him. "You know German?"

"Selbstverstandlich Kann ich Deutsch!" he replied. "Of course I do!"

Hermione was impressed. "How lucky for us!"

Draco addressed the man once more to ask them if he knew of a place where they could rest. The man told Draco of a place down the road.

Draco thanked him, "Ich bedanke mich vielmals guter Mann!"

The toothless man thanked him back , "Dein willkommener, guter Mann!" He then said something that made Draco look a little frightened.

Hermione could tell that the man had upset Draco. "What did he say?"

"He said to watch out for the rats." He handed her the package containing the coat and the flute. "Can you carry this for a while?" He pulled out his wand and aimed it in front of them. "Stay close."

They traveled down the dirt road, around the bend and entered the main part of town. "Holy shit balls!" Draco screeched as two huge rats ran across his feet and into the bushes on the other side of the street. He clung to Hermione like a fearful child. His hands gripping her robes, almost ripping them from her body.

As they watched, a screaming woman ran past them, a rat attached to her dress, another in her hair, which was a tangled mess and hanging in her face. The woman ran blindly headfirst into a wooden post and collapsed on the ground.

Hermione looked on in shock as a few people came out of the tavern and dragged the poor woman inside. A few seconds later, the door opened, and someone threw the rats into the street where they lay dead. She suddenly became aware of Draco shaking beside her. His mouth was open in silent horror, and his eyes were the size of saucers.

"I hate fucking rats!" he said, voice barely a whisper.

"Then I think you're in the wrong place," Hermione said. "Let's just get to the inn, and then we can try to figure things out."

Hermione walked down the middle of the dusty road, dodging rats and listening to Draco moan in fright every time one came too near his shoes. There was absolutely no one out in the open, and the only sound for miles were the squeaking of the vermin and distant screams of disgust behind the closed doors.

"This must be the place," Draco said, reading the sign. "Go around and look into the window."

"Why?"

"So we can change the way we're dressed so that we won't look retarded!" He gave her a small push, and she shot him a filthy look. "Go on!" He watched her disappear around the side of the building and then sat down on the steps. "God damn rats! Why did it have to be rats?" He jumped out of his skin as one leapt from the water barrel next to him and landed on his shoulder. He screamed like a woman, picked it up and threw it as hard as he could into the flower garden.

"What the hell are you screaming about?" Hermione asked, running around the corner.

"There was a fucking rat on my shoulder! It was like a mutant freak rat; all fat and huge with red eyes and sharp teeth!" He rubbed his hands on Hermione's robes, his face a mask of pure disgust. He shivered and danced in place. "God, it was nasty!"

Hermione watched him in amusement. "Come on! Let's get changed! And while we're at it, I would like to know what is being said around here, so I'm going to do the language spell again."

Draco smirked at her. "But I was having so much fun being smarter than you!" He kissed her cheek playfully. She just rolled her eyes and smiled.

They changed into proper peasant attire, and after Hermione was sure the language spell had worked, they opened the door to the inn and stepped inside.

"Make sure the door is shut behind you!" A short portly man said, rushing towards them. "I don't need any more rats getting in here!" He checked the door, and when he was satisfied that no rat could get in, he gave them a smile and asked them if they needed a room.

"Yes. We are passing through and could use a room for the day," Hermione said, looking around at the empty inn.

"Well, you're in luck! All of our rooms are free! After all, who would come to this pest-infested town to visit right now?"

"How long have the rats been here?" Draco asked as they followed the man to their room.

"It feels like forever, but I suppose it's been about a month now." He walked them inside their sparsely furnished room. "My wife, Hilda, will serve you a meal in the dining room if you like."

"Oh yes! That would be wonderful... uh..." Draco lifted his eyebrow. "I'm sorry. I don't know your name.'

"Please forgive me. All these rats have gotten me flustered! I spend at least three hours a day smashing the little buggers with a broom and making sure to plug up every hole in this inn so they won't get inside!" He held out his hand. "My name is Hans."

"I'm Draco, and this is my... wife, Hermione."

"Pleased to meet you. How long will you be staying?" Hans went over to the window and looked out. "Filthy, disgusting creatures! Get away from there!" he shouted, his fist shaking in the air.

"Um... just for the day. We have to move on in a few hours," Draco said.

"Damn rats are trying to chew a hole through the wood!" Hans said. "My wife will have your meal prepared and ready in about an hour. The dining room is just down the hall, next to the kitchen." He bowed to them and then shut the door.

Draco and Hermione could hear him run down the hall muttering about stinking, no-good rats, and then they were shocked to see him out the window, chasing and beating the rodents with a broom.

"So, I'm your wife, huh?" Hermione asked with a smirk. "When did this happen?"

Draco tore his eyes away from the sight of Hans stomping a rat to a bloody pulp. "Well, I figured since we know for a fact that we end up married, why not just act like we are right now? Is there a problem, Hermione Malfoy?" He said her name slowly, pulling her towards him and seizing her lips passionately. "I like the sound of that, don't you?"

Hermione pretended to think for a moment. "Actually, I think I'd rather keep my maiden name. There is so much negativity attached to the name Malfoy..."

Draco took a step back. "You can't be serious!"

"Why should I take your name? Why don't you take mine?" Hermione beamed. "Draco Granger... sounds perfect!"

"I... you can't..." he sputtered angrily. "There is NO WAY I'm going to be Draco Granger!" He squared his shoulders and looked defiantly at her. "Never."

Hermione laughed hysterically. "I was only joking, you moron!"

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew you were joking all along, Granger. I mean, why would you even consider keeping your name?"

Her face suddenly became serious again. "Oh, I was serious about that part! I was joking about you taking my name, but I really intend on keeping the name Granger..."

"What!" he shouted. "I forbid you to keep your name! What would people say? 'Draco is pussy whipped! Draco lets his wife run all over him! What a pity! He used to be a man!' I can't let that happen. I WON'T let that happen!"

"Draco, I was joking again."

He stopped in mid-rant and looked at her, frowning. "From now on, you are not allowed to 'joke around'. You must be serious at all times."

"Malfoy, if you're going to be my husband, you will have to loosen up and have some fun." She grabbed the waist band of his pants and pulled him close. "You do like to have fun, don't you?" She slowly slid her hand inside and grasped his growing erection.

"Fun is my middle name, Mrs. Malfoy," he said, laying her down on the straw mattress.

Meanwhile, in the tavern, a man sat in the corner. He was dressed all in black, including the hooded cape he was wearing to hide his face. He sat, drinking beer and glaring at the patrons, who were discussing the reason why their town was plagued by rats. He knew exactly why the rodents had suddenly appeared; he was the one, who had brought them here.

Everyone in the town of Hameln was under the impression that he was a stranger amongst them. This was not so. He had been born here, many years ago. He had lived with his wife and two children in a house that had long been burnt to the ground with them inside.

He had been out in the fields behind their home, brewing a potion, when he heard them screaming. He was a wizard, and his wife a witch, and unknown to them, they had been seen teaching their son and daughter to fly on a broom. They thought the dark of night would be a safe cover, and that no one would see them.

Of course, the man who had seen them made haste to the town, where he quickly informed the Mayor of the bizarre things he had witnessed. The next day, while he was out in the fields, he saw smoke and heard screaming. He would never forget that sound as long as he lived... his children screaming for him...

He rushed towards the burning house as fast as he could, feeling like he was getting nowhere, but it was too late; the house was an inferno, and they were dead.

Later, after he had buried what remained of them, he disguised himself and went into town. To his horror, he heard the men laughing and congratulating each other for killing the witches. From that moment, he vowed to get his revenge on the town and its murdering inhabitants. He would take their children, just like they took his.

Everything was going according to his plan, until he saw the man and woman appear from nowhere with wands in their hands. He wasn't sure who they were, but he knew they were magical.

He was determined to find out who they were and make sure that they did not interfere with his plans. He would even kill them if he had to.