Chapter Three

I am making no money from this story; all belongs to JKR. Thank you to my beta, AmyLouise!

Chapter Three

It had been hours, but Hermione still could not stomach heading home. She just meandered through Hogsmeade aimlessly, walking in and out of shops and

trying not to think. As the sky began to turn purple with twilight, she found herself standing in front of the library. She really didn't have any

research to do, but she always felt safe here. There were endless ways to distract oneself from grim reality. She pulled the door open, sighed, and

walked in.

The library in Hogsmeade was fairly new, but it still had that old and delicious book smell. The carpets were a multicolored shag, and rich wood

paneling lined the walls. The librarian, Emma, had taken great care to procure antique oil paintings and as many old books as possible so she could

add to the well-used and romantic feel. The mahogany bookshelves which lined either side of the middle aisle were carved with intricate designs

depicting magical history, and Hermione always grinned when she walked by the "H" shelf and saw Harry brandishing a wand against a basilisk.

The tables were made from a variety of woods, all bulky, with large cushioned chairs. She walked straight to the back of the room, looking for

her favorite red armchair next to her favorite genre...anything that had been in the Restricted section at Hogwarts.

Tonight she planned to delve into a volume about faeries which she had seen last week. Just the shimmer of the cover was enough to draw her to the

shelf, but the pictures inside were indescribable. She wasn't sure if she believed in nature faeries yet, but the first section of the book was filled

with compelling evidence that she certainly hadn't seen in her Magical History class with Professor Binns.

As she reached the glimmering shelf, something caught her eye, deflating her anticipation and turning her right back around. A certain

white-blonde arsehole was sitting right in her chair, and she wasn't about to have two conversations with him in the same day!

Draco looked up from the volume he was reading just in time to see Hermione scurrying away. "Hey, Granger! What are you running from? Your face is far more terrifying than mine."

Hermione slowly swiveled back around, planning to flip him off and continue on her way out. Once she faced him, though, she was surprised to see that

he had gotten up and was walking toward her. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Nothing. I just... I'm doing some research."

"On a Saturday night? I would think you and your dragon queen would be having a nice, romantic holiday slithering all over each other. What, is she

too icy even for you?"

Draco did his best to ignore the comment and not reveal how right she truly was. The last thing he needed was for one of Potter's Pups to have proof

that his marriage was complete bullshit. They had enough to throw at him as it was. "Listen, Granger, I need to talk to you."

"What, you just expected me to be here?" He gave her a clear affirmative with his knowing smirk. "Never mind. What do you want?" "Can we go sit

back there? I don't want anyone else to hear us."

Hermione was suffering from Malfoy shock for the second time today. What secret on earth would he want to talk to her about? After all she'd

seen during sixth year and the following war, she really did believe that Malfoy hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, and even if he was prejudiced, it was

only enough to make him an insufferable prat. However, having a civilized conversation with him? It was hard to believe at best.

Then again, her curiosity might kill her if she didn't hear him out. "Er... okay. But if you even come close to insulting or annoying me, I'm out of

here."

He turned and walked back to her chair, of course, and sat, leaning back, putting his hands behind his head. She gave him a nasty look which he

mistook for her usual gnarled expressions around him, and sat in the green armchair, which was much less poofy. "All right, what do you want?"

she spat out.

He shifted nervously, leaning forward and folding his fingers together. Hermione hadn't seen him fidget this way since he had been secretly working on

that blasted Vanishing Cabinet, and she had absolutely no idea what would have him so unnerved that he would show it in front of her.

"Listen, Granger... well, we both know we always held the top two averages in school." Oh, he hated this conversation already. She looked at him

skeptically, obviously wondering why he finally wanted to acknowledge this. He decided to skip the intro.

"Okay, I have a situation of serious gravity, and I cannot trust anyone around me. Anyone I know could be responsible. Normally, I wouldn't care

about being or working alone...it's not like I haven't done it before...but I literally have never seen, done, or heard anything which can give me a lead

on this. As much as I enjoy torturing you at every opportunity (he gave her a small smirk), I am at least man enough to admit that your research

skills are unmatched. I... I, uh... I need your help. I can pay you well for your work." He looked down at his knees, clearly believing she would

refuse.

Hermione just sat in stunned silence. She had no idea what to say. He could never resist being hateful to her whenever he saw her, he had certainly

never called her anything close to clever, and she had absolutely never seen him come out and ask for help. She couldn't decide whether she was angry

at him or sorry for him. In the end, her desperation to pay the bills she had been racking up with one income prevailed.

"Of course I'll help you, but I am not subjecting myself to being called a Mudblood or enduring your cruelty. This is strictly business."

"Strictly. Don't think I care what some Mud...er, Muggleborn thinks, but I'll control myself." He couldn't help but add, "It won't be easy."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. If it weren't for the money, she'd throw the nearest book at his face and leave. "Okay, what do you want? I want to

get this over with before my hand acts on its own and stabs you with my quill."

As if I wouldn't break your arm first. "To begin, you must swear to secrecy. You and my private investigation team will be the only people who know what is happening, and it is

imperative that we keep it that way."

"All right, I swear, Mr. Dramatic."

"I assure you, this is no exaggeration, Granger. My mother has been abducted, and I have no idea why or by whom. The only clue I have is the picture

which was delivered to my home last night." He took it out of his pocket, carefully scanning the room before turning it over.

Hermione looked down and gasped. "What is that stuff?!"

"Quiet, Granger!" Draco whispered angrily.

"I'm sorry. I just...I've never seen anything like that, not even in the Department of Mysteries. I feel cold all over." She shivered slightly,

wondering why the white sheen around Mrs. Malfoy would make her feel any different than chains or a cell. It certainly did, though. It was as if the

substance were alive and evil.

"So, you have no idea what it could be?"

"Not a clue, so we'd better get started on our research. Something tells me we need to hurry."

"I agree. I have pulled a few books on potions, magical captivity, and curses." He gestured to the table in the corner, and Hermione had to let a

little grin slip at the huge stack of books. Emma was always getting irked with her for pulling so many books and then leaving at the last second.

Hermione told her several times that she would stay after and help her reshelve, but Emma did not trust anyone, even a bibliophile like Hermione, to

reshelve books. Typical librarian.

"Well, I think we should start with curses. Should we each take a book and then let each other know if we find something?"

"That's why I put the curse books on top. I figured that would be the most likely match." He got up, walked to the table, plucked two volumes from

the top, and returned to his chair. He handed one to her. She was almost surprised he was capable of even a slight gentlemanly gesture.

She took the book and saw that it was entitled Magical Enslavement Curses. Creepy. As Draco settled further into his chair and started

flipping pages, she did the same. She was sure it would be a long night, and she sighed, knowing there could be many more before they unlocked this

mystery.