Fic: Semper Vigilans (9/20)
Semper Vigilans
- Chapter 9 -
Hogwarts Academy- Hermione's Third Year
Hermione was making her way to the school cafeteria, having just finished up a bout of studying in the library during her free hour. The twins and Lee hadn't been around, having had a class during that time, and much to her delight, she'd actually managed to finish her report that was due in two weeks. Her friends were now more than likely waiting for her at their usual table and so Hermione hastened her step whilst juggling her stack of texts and notebooks.
She was nearing a corner when the sound of something hitting the wall followed by a soft, feminine cry of pain reached her ears.
Shocked, Hermione stopped in her tracks, her arms tightening on her armload of books as the sound of a male voice, low and menacing drifted from around the corner.
"Who said you could be in this hallway, Loony?"
'Loony?' Hermione recognized the nickname. She had heard it before, being thrown around among other students and knew it referred to a second year student named Luna Lovegood, though she didn't know Luna personally. She knew of her by way of Ginny Weasley, the twins' little sister, and according to her, Luna was their next door neighbor and bit of a free spirit. From what Hermione had gleaned from bits of other students' conversations, the younger girl's behavior could have been qualified as somewhat bizarre and outlandish.
With caution, Hermione flattened herself to the wall and began to edge closer to the commotion. When she was close enough, she peered around the corner. What she beheld had Hermione growing outraged at the sight. A girl with waist length, blonde hair was being held against the wall by Blaise Zabini, a rather obnoxiously vain boy the same year as herself.
Hermione watched as the blonde girl's wide, pale blue eyes traveled up to her tormentor's face. There was no hatred or anger in her eyes, but rather a look of serenity. As if she was not alarmed by the fact she was being roughly pinned unwillingly to the wall.
"Sir Nicholas gave me express permission to be here. I don't see why it should trouble you so much since it's actually his hallway and not yours." Luna smiled sweetly up at Blaise, who's expression flitted from threatening to bewildered a moment.
"Who the bloody hell is- Never mind!" He shook off his confusion, instead settling on anger in a matter of seconds.
Hermione could almost read Blaise's thoughts they were so clearly displayed by the look on his face. 'How dare you speak to me.' It screamed. The expression was followed up by words as the larger, dark skinned boy grabbed Luna by her shoulders, jerking her forward slightly before slamming her back against the wall again.
"Don't speak to me like that again, you little freak." He hissed angrily.
When a pained cry once again reached Hermione's ears, the petite Third Year had heard and seen enough. Without thinking, she barged around the corner, throwing her books down in the process. This startled the taller boy, giving her time to shove him away with all her might as she inserted herself protectively between him and his victim.
"How dare she speak to you? How dare you speak to her that way, you pompous jerk!" She spat.
With her fists planted firmly on her hips, Hermione shot her most indignant look his way, while Blaise, who had stumbled away at the force of her push, righted himself before turning back toward them with an outraged look of his own.
Recognizing her, his scowl turned into a cruel smirk. "Well, well, well... If it isn't the little Miss Know-It-All, Mangy Grangy," Blaise said bitterly. "Don't you know better than to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong? I mean, you're so far beneath me that you're lucky I'm even acknowledge you right now."
Hermione's momentary bravery wavered as the taller boy took a step towards them. "Just... just leave her alone." Her voice wavered a bit with her plea.
"And I suppose you're going to make me?" Blaise scoffed, taking a cursory look around before pinning her with a look that had Hermione's veins run cold with fear. "So where are your pet twin Weasels? They're not around to defend you, I noticed. Did they finally get their heads out of their arses and abandon you this year?" As he spoke, he advanced toward the two girls. Hermione's whole body stiffened as she saw his hands tighten into fists. Though whether he was going to hit them would remain a mystery as at that moment a voice from behind Blaise interrupted him.
“So sorry we're late, love! But you know how we just love our leash-free walks." Fred exclaimed as he suddenly popped up behind Blaise, off to his left side. One hand clasped firmly upon the darker boy's left shoulder, while George appeared just as quickly on his other side to grip his right.
"What's this now? Aw, Blaise, surely you're not antagonizing our beloved Kit, now are you? I thought you learned your lesson last time..." He said, giving the boy's shoulder an intimidating squeeze while smiling icily at him.
"Wh-what? I wasn't- I mean, I didn't-" Blaise stammered under the twins' intimidating glares. His balled up fists were now opened, having come up in an 'I surrender' gesture that had the two girls sharing an amused look.
"I'm sure, I'm sure," Fred tutted as he patted Blaise's shoulder before slowly stepping forward, placing himself between the bully and the two girls. He turned to face Blaise, arms crossed as if he were a sentinel guarding a King's treasure.
George remained where he was beside Blaise, slipping an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders in a not-so-gentle sideways hug. "Yes, I'm sure that our dear Hermione and little Luna here will fill us in on just how gracious you were being to them."
Fred shifted to look back at the girls behind him, a red eyebrow raising in interest as he noticed the matching vindictive looks upon their faces.
“Oh, yes, Blaise was so courteous to inform Luna and myself of our positions on the Ladder of Social Status here at Hogwarts Academy.” Hermione said in a saccharine sweet voice, her eyes never leaving Blaise's fearful face as his gaze jerked warily from one twin to the other and then back to the girls.
“Also his brutish hands hurt me, that was generous of him, was it not?” Luna said, her pale blue eyes belying the light tone of her voice.
Fred turned back to look at Blaise and George's grip tightened all that much more on the boy's shoulder.
"I... I-I..."
Blaise gulped almost audibly as he weighed his options. He could try saying that they were lying, but who was he kidding? It was common knowledge that the Weasley Twins were quite friendly with Granger, and now apparently, Lovegood as well. He might as well face it, he was as good as pranked now that he'd been caught, though he'd rather it happen much later, than right this second.
With as much force as he could muster, Blaise wrenched his body away from George's grip. Luckily for him, he managed to wiggle free - or George had just simply let him go - and he took off running up the hall in the opposite direction.
The four students laughed as they watched him flee, the two girls having moved to stand in front of the twins. When they'd finally managed to stem their amused laughs, Hermione turned to her boys. "You guys didn't have to do that."
Fred and George both gasped in mock offence, both bringing a hand up to his chest as if wounded. "But of course we did, love." They began together.
"It's our solemn duty-" Fred chided.
-to protect the fair maiden, after all!" George concluded. Both nodded their heads in finality, as if they brooked no argument to their declaration.
Hermione simply scoffed, smiling as she rolled her eyes at their usual antics, and turned to Luna who was still standing beside her. "I'm sorry that Blaise hurt you. Are you alright? Do you need to go see nurse Pomfrey or anything?"
"I'm quite alright, but thank you for your concern." Luna replied softly, her eyes trailing to where Fred and George were busy retrieving all of Hermione's things which had scattered about the hall where she had unmindfully threw them. " I can sense that they are unlike any of the others here at this school."
Hermione glanced over at the twins thoughtfully. "Yes, they are," She agreed, nodding to herself, her voice holding a faint hint of adoration. "They're really nice once you get to know them."
Turning back to Luna, she offered a friendly smile. "Would you care to join us for lunch? I don't think the twins' would mind."
Luna turned her eyes away from the brothers, as if she had been studying them and Hermione's words had distracted her. The blonde tilted her head to the side as if listening to something for a moment before replying gently. "I think that would be nice."
Hermione smiled back. True, the girl's behavior was a bit odd, but Hermione had learned a while back to never judge a book by its cover. For some reason, she felt the urge to befriend Luna and befriend her she would. Fred and George had finished collecting her things by now and had returned to her side. George carried the lot in one arm and extended his other out to Luna. "May I escort the lovely Lady Luna?"
Fred mirrored his twin, offering his arm to Hermione. "My beautiful Kit, would you do me the honor?"
Both girls giggled, something unheard of coming from Hermione Granger, as they accepted the boys' arms, allowing them to lead them down the hall towards the cafeteria.
*************
The Lovegood Estate - Saturday
Hermione arrived at Luna's house around noon. She thanked Lee for the lift and promised to see him when she picked her car up at his garage on Tuesday. Grabbing her overnight bag, she hopped out of the cab of the truck and walked up the little walkway leading to the front door of Luna's house. The willowy blonde awaited her with a dreamy smile on her face and a faraway look in her eyes.
"Welcome, Hermione. I hope you didn't encounter any bad spirits on your way here."
Hermione laughed. "Not at all, Luna. I just had Lee scare them all away." The girls shared a hug, and for a second Hermione thought she felt Luna tense. Pulling back, Hermione noticed that Luna was staring rather intently up the street. "Is something wrong, Luna?" She asked, turning to look in the direction her friend was, but saw nothing suspicious.
Luna did not reply, instead she turned and gestured toward her house. "Please, make yourself at home, Mims. It's been a while since we've spoken and I'm sure there is much you have to tell me."
As Hermione followed her friend inside, two figures withdrew into the shadows a few houses over.
Luna led Hermione inside the house quickly. The tingling feeling she always got when bad things were around had started not long after Hermione had shown up and the blonde could tell it was not safe for her friend to be outside at that moment. After locking her front door for good measure, Luna took the overnight bag from her brown haired guest and made her way through the foyer toward the stairs leading upstairs where the bedrooms were.
"Let me show you your room so you can get settled. I've ordered some take out that should be arriving soon. You still like Thai, right?"
"You know it's my favorite." Hermione smiled, laughing as she climbed the stairs behind her friend.
Once they'd reached the second floor landing, Luna went to the second door on the right side of the hall. "This will be your room. The bathroom is right across from you, and my room is the last door on the left." Just as Hermione opened the door to her room, the sound of the doorbell ringing echoed from below. "That will be our food. You go ahead and put your things away and then join me in the dining room." Luna instructed as she handed Hermione her things, then began to head back towards the stairs.
Luna's carefree nature had a way of rubbing off on Hermione when she was around her and so Hermione did not find it strange at all when she mock saluted her friend and with a smirk said, "Aye, aye, Captain."
Luna grinned at Hermione's cheek and gave her a wink before descending the stairs to answer the door.
After paying for the food, Luna thanked the delivery boy before carrying the two plastic bags holding their meal into the dining room. She unpacked the cardboard containers and sorted everything into two plates before retrieving a bottle of wine and two glasses from a cupboard. Once she had everything ready, she sat down at the table to wait for Hermione to come downstairs.
Hermione joined her a few moments later and the two young women proceeded to catch up with one another while they ate. "So, how is everything with you, Luna?" Hermione asked, curious about the blonde job as a tarot card reader. It was a strange occupation, yet it fit her friend well.
"Very well, actually. I got four readings in the other day and another three scheduled for tomorrow." Luna replied, before taking a sip of her wine. "And how about yourself? Are you enjoying working at Flourish and Blotts?"
Hermione nodded, swallowing a bite of fried rice. "I am. It was really nice of Oliver to tell me about his grandfather's shop. He said he remembered how much I loved book and figured it would be something I would enjoy and he was right, I love working there. It's very satisfying helping people find the perfect book for them."
As the day wore on, the girls caught up on various happenings in their life, however Hermione steered away from the subject of the incident of Thursday night. She had rather just forget it had ever happened and thankfully, Luna did not bring it up.
They finished the night off by binge watching the first season of Glee, which resulted in the girls competing against one another in a dance off, which Luna won due much to Hermione's dismay.
"No fair! You're way more flexible than me." The brunette playfully protested as the pair collapsed into the couch together on exhaustion.
"I'm sure you're flexible enough," Luna shot her friend a look full of mischief. "Fred and George don't complain after all."
Luna laughed when Hermione let out a shocked gasp. "Luna! It's not like that!" She said, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue as she swatted her friend.
"Not yet," Luna said sagely, taking her punishment without retaliation. Instead she turned in the couch to face Hermione, who was now staring at her questioningly. "Just give them time. They still have a lot to learn before they can be with you completely."
Hermione was speechless. It was true that Luna sometimes said strange things, but this... Hermione hadn't even mentioned her budding attraction to the twins, so she was puzzled as to how Luna had come to that conclusion, no matter how true it was.
And, they had a lot to learn? What the hell did that mean anyway? Hermione was pretty certain both Fred and George had dated enough girls throughout school to know what they were doing when it came to such things as being intimate. She was no virgin herself, though admittedly her knowledge was limited to only a few sparse encounters. Victor Krum, had been a big deal in the sports world. He was the captain of his team at Durmstrang Institute and his talent on the field had scholarships lined up a mile long for him because of it. When he and his team had come to Hogwarts for an Away game, a few months before her graduation, the Rugby star had actually taken notice of her.
Of course she had been flattered, and he had charmed his way into her bed. They had dated for six months, though it had seemed shorter since the amount of matches he'd been called away for had left them little time to be together. Hermione had finally called it quits when she'd visited the stadium where Victor had been playing a Home game and had found him snogging one of his many groupies that seemed to follow him everywhere. She hadn't had a romantic interest in anyone since then, that is, until this thing with the twins had hit her smack in the face.
"Um.. that's... nice to know, Luna. Thanks." Hermione faltered in her reply, not knowing what else to say. They sat in silence for a moment before a yawn overtook her. "Goodness, I think I'd best get to bed. I'm not sure what time the twins will be by to get me tomorrow. I promised them I'd come back to their flat. Apparently they have to be the ones to take me to work on Monday." She rolled her eyes when Luna shot her another look. "Shut up!" She laughed, and threw a pillow at Luna's head. She rose from the couch and headed towards the stairs. Pausing at the foot of the steps, she glanced back over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Lu, thanks for having me over, it was nice. Weird, but nice."
"It was my pleasure, Mims. Goodnight."
**********
Malfoy Manor - Late Saturday Evening
The sound of shuffling footsteps echoed off the cold, stone walls of the old manor as a small, shriveled form made its way down the hallway. Mumbling to himself as he wrung his hands, a consequence of constant worry and fear of disappointing his master, the old man hesitated only a moment before entering the room.
Lucius Malfoy was just finishing up his afternoon tea when the old man appeared at the entrance to his study.
"Master, Misters Crabbe and Goyle have arrived, sir."
Lucius's grey eyes slid over to the form of Dobrogost Dryadalis, the elderly man of almost seventy whom had been a servant within his family's organization even before Lucius himself had been born.
Lucius' grandfather, Duxobum Malfoy, had acquired him when he had gone to collect a debt owed from Amando Dryadalis, Dobrogost's father, when the servant was a young teen himself. He'd been barley fourteen when he was taken as payment for his father's inability to pay the debt to the Malfoy don. He had served the Malfoy's unwillingly, but eventually, he had submitted, his pride broken. When Lucius had turned eleven, Dobrogost had been made to be the young heir's personal servant, although Lucius had been very young and unable to pronounce his name. Due to this, he had simply called him "Dobby" instead.
"It's about bloody time." He growled in irritation to himself, barely acknowledging his long-time servant as he stewed in displeasure for the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were so late reporting in. He had sent those numskulls out two days ago to fetch the Granger wench. 'I swear, those two would probably get lost in a padded cell.' He thought bitterly.
Placing his cup down upon the table, Lucius flicked a strand of long white-blonde hair back as he addressed his servant."Show them in." He said aloud, waving off the diminutive old man with ring-incrested hand.
Dobby bowed before hastily withdrawing through the door. A moment later, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle entered the room. Lucius narrowed his grey eyes at the pair, his lip curling back in a sneer of disapproval at their seemingly empty-handedness.
“What in the bloody hell took you two so long? Did you have to stop and ask for directions to the little bint's house or have you two been lost on the Manor grounds for two days?” He snarled at them.
Goyle took it upon himself to step forward and address his boss, knowing that he needed to appease him quickly or else he would lose favor with such a powerful man. "My apologies, Mr. Malfoy, that it took us so long to return. It's been a bit tricky following the Granger wench as she has been cavorting with those Weasley twins. The ones who own the pranking store on Diagon Alley. It's where she has been staying the last couple days."
Lucius arched a delicate eyebrow as he sat up in his chair, one hand bringing his silver dragon embossed cane in front of him and leaned onto it in interest. "Seems logical that she would spend time with such miscreants, same social level and all." He sneered, "But that does not excuse your lack of progress. Surely these two jokesters haven't hindered you so greatly that you were unable to snatch the brat? That you couldn't handle two overgrown man-children? Then again, I forget who it is I'm speaking to."
"Mr. Malfoy, sir," Vincent interjected, as he stepped forward, giving Draco's father a small bow of respect. Lucius nodded his permission for the young Crabbe to speak his piece. "We humbly ask your patience in this task you ask of us. We understand your need for your own special brand of justice on your son's behalf, however, wouldn't it be that much more satisfying if we acquired Miss Granger for you with the least amount of witnesses?"
Lucius was silent for a moment, rolling over Vincent's words in his mind and finding the point that the lackey was making. No witnesses meant less chance of authorities getting involved right away. Which meant more time for him to get to the bottom of what exactly had happened to his son while in the Granger bint's presence. Lucius turned his steel-grey eyes upon his henchman, a hint of surprise at the apparent lack of stupidity in this one.
'Yes, he has much promise in him.' The don thought with a smirk.
"Very well, Vincent. I shall grant you and Gregory ample time in which to procure Miss Granger. But do not take too much time. I wish to deal with her in a timely manner as soon as you bring her before me."
Vincent bowed deeply, as did Goyle, but not before he directed a nasty glare toward his partner. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for your generosity. We will not disappoint you." Vincent promised, straightening to his full height before turning and walking toward the exit, Goyle following behind with a scowl on his face.
**********
The Twins' Flat
Fred and George had been secluded away in their flat ever since Hermione had left to go to Luna's earlier that morning . The twins had been surfing the web for any and all sites they could find that dealt with the supernatural and shape shifting. They ruled out werewolves immediately, seeing as the form they took on were in fact foxes and not wolves. They couldn't find any proof aside from fiction and their own ability that there were such a thing as wereFOXES. Somehow, the term didn't sit well with them, so they ruled it out as well. They had yet to resort to actual books, as they had never had the need to before and old habits die hard, hence their preference to the WWW.
That actually had a nice ring to it...
Five hours in and Fred turned to his brother in frustration. "What was that name you told Hermione during her dream? Akio?" George nodded. "Let's check that. There's bound to be something if it came to you like that."
Typing 'Akio' into the search browser, George clicked the button to initiate the search page to load. There were, needless to say, a ton of links that came up. They learned that it was indeed a name, a popular Japanese one at that. Groaning in disappointment, George typed in the word 'Fox' to accompany the name and refreshed the browser.
All that managed to do was bring up various links to a flying fox that, though was amusing, was not helpful in the least.
More hours passed as the twins combed site after useless site and coming up empty handed every time. Soon, the clock read 2 a.m. and frustration mixed with exhaustion was setting in.
"Still nothing," Fred growled in annoyance, defeat settling into his eyes as he looked toward his twin.
"Calm down, Gred," George soothed, "It just takes time. If we keep looking-"
"Fuck that! We've been at this for years now!" Fred snarled, snatching up a paperweight from the small computer desk they shared and tossed it across the room. It made a nice sizable hole in the wall near the kitchen.
"Fred!" George cried out, alarmed. He had never seen his brother get this worked up over something.
"Don't 'Fred' me, George." Fred stalked over and slumped into the couch. "We have to find out what we are! I'm so sick of not knowing. What are we and why can we do those things we can do? What else are we capable of?" Dropping his head into his hands, he muttered softly, "Georgie, I'm... I'm scared."
In a heartbeat, George was beside his twin, wrapping him up in a consoling hug.
Fred leaned into his brother's embrace. This simple act had always been their go-to when one or the other needed comforting. Laying his head on George's shoulder, Fred let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, George, I just-"
"It's okay, Freddie," George hushed him, holding him close and wishing silently that Hermione was there with them. Her presence had always had a calming affect on them, and right now would have been an ideal time for that calm. But they were doing this for her, so they could be with her the way they longed to be. To love her the way they longed to love her.
They sat on the couch together in silence for a few moments until Fred's anxieties had finally subsided. "I hate to say it, brother-mine, but we may need to start cracking open the books." George pulled back to shoot Fred an apologetic look for suggesting such a thing.
Fred shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day the Weasley Twins needed books." George snorted in amusement. "Do you reckon the store Hermione works at will have what we need?"
George shrugged his shoulders before rising from the couch and proceeding toward the kitchen to grab them a snack since they hadn't really eaten anything all day. "Guess we'll find out when we take Kit to work on Monday."
"Speaking of Kit," Fred said when George reentered the living room with bag of potato chips and a couple sodas. He handed one of the sodas to Fred as he sat back down by his brother in order to share the bag of salty goodness. "Do you think it's safe for her? To be at Luna's, I mean." He added for clarification when George raised an eyebrow in question.
"What makes you think she's not safe at Luna’s? I mean, in all honesty, one doesn't voluntarily go to Luna’s for trouble." George replies before popping a chip into his mouth.
Fred chuckled at George's reply. His brother did have a point. "Maybe you're right." He replied as he took another sip of his drink and grabbed a handful of crisps.
Between the both of them they managed to finish off the entire bag before Fred was overcome by a particularly large yawn.
"It's extremely late," George said, giving into a yawn himself, "What say we get a bit of shut eye, Gred. We can do a bit more research before we go fetch our lovely from the Lovegood residence in the morning."
"Brilliant idea, Forge." Fred replied and with that, the twins rose to their feet and made their way to their respective bedrooms to sleep.
***********
- Chapter 9 -
Hogwarts Academy- Hermione's Third Year
Hermione was making her way to the school cafeteria, having just finished up a bout of studying in the library during her free hour. The twins and Lee hadn't been around, having had a class during that time, and much to her delight, she'd actually managed to finish her report that was due in two weeks. Her friends were now more than likely waiting for her at their usual table and so Hermione hastened her step whilst juggling her stack of texts and notebooks.
She was nearing a corner when the sound of something hitting the wall followed by a soft, feminine cry of pain reached her ears.
Shocked, Hermione stopped in her tracks, her arms tightening on her armload of books as the sound of a male voice, low and menacing drifted from around the corner.
"Who said you could be in this hallway, Loony?"
'Loony?' Hermione recognized the nickname. She had heard it before, being thrown around among other students and knew it referred to a second year student named Luna Lovegood, though she didn't know Luna personally. She knew of her by way of Ginny Weasley, the twins' little sister, and according to her, Luna was their next door neighbor and bit of a free spirit. From what Hermione had gleaned from bits of other students' conversations, the younger girl's behavior could have been qualified as somewhat bizarre and outlandish.
With caution, Hermione flattened herself to the wall and began to edge closer to the commotion. When she was close enough, she peered around the corner. What she beheld had Hermione growing outraged at the sight. A girl with waist length, blonde hair was being held against the wall by Blaise Zabini, a rather obnoxiously vain boy the same year as herself.
Hermione watched as the blonde girl's wide, pale blue eyes traveled up to her tormentor's face. There was no hatred or anger in her eyes, but rather a look of serenity. As if she was not alarmed by the fact she was being roughly pinned unwillingly to the wall.
"Sir Nicholas gave me express permission to be here. I don't see why it should trouble you so much since it's actually his hallway and not yours." Luna smiled sweetly up at Blaise, who's expression flitted from threatening to bewildered a moment.
"Who the bloody hell is- Never mind!" He shook off his confusion, instead settling on anger in a matter of seconds.
Hermione could almost read Blaise's thoughts they were so clearly displayed by the look on his face. 'How dare you speak to me.' It screamed. The expression was followed up by words as the larger, dark skinned boy grabbed Luna by her shoulders, jerking her forward slightly before slamming her back against the wall again.
"Don't speak to me like that again, you little freak." He hissed angrily.
When a pained cry once again reached Hermione's ears, the petite Third Year had heard and seen enough. Without thinking, she barged around the corner, throwing her books down in the process. This startled the taller boy, giving her time to shove him away with all her might as she inserted herself protectively between him and his victim.
"How dare she speak to you? How dare you speak to her that way, you pompous jerk!" She spat.
With her fists planted firmly on her hips, Hermione shot her most indignant look his way, while Blaise, who had stumbled away at the force of her push, righted himself before turning back toward them with an outraged look of his own.
Recognizing her, his scowl turned into a cruel smirk. "Well, well, well... If it isn't the little Miss Know-It-All, Mangy Grangy," Blaise said bitterly. "Don't you know better than to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong? I mean, you're so far beneath me that you're lucky I'm even acknowledge you right now."
Hermione's momentary bravery wavered as the taller boy took a step towards them. "Just... just leave her alone." Her voice wavered a bit with her plea.
"And I suppose you're going to make me?" Blaise scoffed, taking a cursory look around before pinning her with a look that had Hermione's veins run cold with fear. "So where are your pet twin Weasels? They're not around to defend you, I noticed. Did they finally get their heads out of their arses and abandon you this year?" As he spoke, he advanced toward the two girls. Hermione's whole body stiffened as she saw his hands tighten into fists. Though whether he was going to hit them would remain a mystery as at that moment a voice from behind Blaise interrupted him.
“So sorry we're late, love! But you know how we just love our leash-free walks." Fred exclaimed as he suddenly popped up behind Blaise, off to his left side. One hand clasped firmly upon the darker boy's left shoulder, while George appeared just as quickly on his other side to grip his right.
"What's this now? Aw, Blaise, surely you're not antagonizing our beloved Kit, now are you? I thought you learned your lesson last time..." He said, giving the boy's shoulder an intimidating squeeze while smiling icily at him.
"Wh-what? I wasn't- I mean, I didn't-" Blaise stammered under the twins' intimidating glares. His balled up fists were now opened, having come up in an 'I surrender' gesture that had the two girls sharing an amused look.
"I'm sure, I'm sure," Fred tutted as he patted Blaise's shoulder before slowly stepping forward, placing himself between the bully and the two girls. He turned to face Blaise, arms crossed as if he were a sentinel guarding a King's treasure.
George remained where he was beside Blaise, slipping an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders in a not-so-gentle sideways hug. "Yes, I'm sure that our dear Hermione and little Luna here will fill us in on just how gracious you were being to them."
Fred shifted to look back at the girls behind him, a red eyebrow raising in interest as he noticed the matching vindictive looks upon their faces.
“Oh, yes, Blaise was so courteous to inform Luna and myself of our positions on the Ladder of Social Status here at Hogwarts Academy.” Hermione said in a saccharine sweet voice, her eyes never leaving Blaise's fearful face as his gaze jerked warily from one twin to the other and then back to the girls.
“Also his brutish hands hurt me, that was generous of him, was it not?” Luna said, her pale blue eyes belying the light tone of her voice.
Fred turned back to look at Blaise and George's grip tightened all that much more on the boy's shoulder.
"I... I-I..."
Blaise gulped almost audibly as he weighed his options. He could try saying that they were lying, but who was he kidding? It was common knowledge that the Weasley Twins were quite friendly with Granger, and now apparently, Lovegood as well. He might as well face it, he was as good as pranked now that he'd been caught, though he'd rather it happen much later, than right this second.
With as much force as he could muster, Blaise wrenched his body away from George's grip. Luckily for him, he managed to wiggle free - or George had just simply let him go - and he took off running up the hall in the opposite direction.
The four students laughed as they watched him flee, the two girls having moved to stand in front of the twins. When they'd finally managed to stem their amused laughs, Hermione turned to her boys. "You guys didn't have to do that."
Fred and George both gasped in mock offence, both bringing a hand up to his chest as if wounded. "But of course we did, love." They began together.
"It's our solemn duty-" Fred chided.
-to protect the fair maiden, after all!" George concluded. Both nodded their heads in finality, as if they brooked no argument to their declaration.
Hermione simply scoffed, smiling as she rolled her eyes at their usual antics, and turned to Luna who was still standing beside her. "I'm sorry that Blaise hurt you. Are you alright? Do you need to go see nurse Pomfrey or anything?"
"I'm quite alright, but thank you for your concern." Luna replied softly, her eyes trailing to where Fred and George were busy retrieving all of Hermione's things which had scattered about the hall where she had unmindfully threw them. " I can sense that they are unlike any of the others here at this school."
Hermione glanced over at the twins thoughtfully. "Yes, they are," She agreed, nodding to herself, her voice holding a faint hint of adoration. "They're really nice once you get to know them."
Turning back to Luna, she offered a friendly smile. "Would you care to join us for lunch? I don't think the twins' would mind."
Luna turned her eyes away from the brothers, as if she had been studying them and Hermione's words had distracted her. The blonde tilted her head to the side as if listening to something for a moment before replying gently. "I think that would be nice."
Hermione smiled back. True, the girl's behavior was a bit odd, but Hermione had learned a while back to never judge a book by its cover. For some reason, she felt the urge to befriend Luna and befriend her she would. Fred and George had finished collecting her things by now and had returned to her side. George carried the lot in one arm and extended his other out to Luna. "May I escort the lovely Lady Luna?"
Fred mirrored his twin, offering his arm to Hermione. "My beautiful Kit, would you do me the honor?"
Both girls giggled, something unheard of coming from Hermione Granger, as they accepted the boys' arms, allowing them to lead them down the hall towards the cafeteria.
*************
The Lovegood Estate - Saturday
Hermione arrived at Luna's house around noon. She thanked Lee for the lift and promised to see him when she picked her car up at his garage on Tuesday. Grabbing her overnight bag, she hopped out of the cab of the truck and walked up the little walkway leading to the front door of Luna's house. The willowy blonde awaited her with a dreamy smile on her face and a faraway look in her eyes.
"Welcome, Hermione. I hope you didn't encounter any bad spirits on your way here."
Hermione laughed. "Not at all, Luna. I just had Lee scare them all away." The girls shared a hug, and for a second Hermione thought she felt Luna tense. Pulling back, Hermione noticed that Luna was staring rather intently up the street. "Is something wrong, Luna?" She asked, turning to look in the direction her friend was, but saw nothing suspicious.
Luna did not reply, instead she turned and gestured toward her house. "Please, make yourself at home, Mims. It's been a while since we've spoken and I'm sure there is much you have to tell me."
As Hermione followed her friend inside, two figures withdrew into the shadows a few houses over.
Luna led Hermione inside the house quickly. The tingling feeling she always got when bad things were around had started not long after Hermione had shown up and the blonde could tell it was not safe for her friend to be outside at that moment. After locking her front door for good measure, Luna took the overnight bag from her brown haired guest and made her way through the foyer toward the stairs leading upstairs where the bedrooms were.
"Let me show you your room so you can get settled. I've ordered some take out that should be arriving soon. You still like Thai, right?"
"You know it's my favorite." Hermione smiled, laughing as she climbed the stairs behind her friend.
Once they'd reached the second floor landing, Luna went to the second door on the right side of the hall. "This will be your room. The bathroom is right across from you, and my room is the last door on the left." Just as Hermione opened the door to her room, the sound of the doorbell ringing echoed from below. "That will be our food. You go ahead and put your things away and then join me in the dining room." Luna instructed as she handed Hermione her things, then began to head back towards the stairs.
Luna's carefree nature had a way of rubbing off on Hermione when she was around her and so Hermione did not find it strange at all when she mock saluted her friend and with a smirk said, "Aye, aye, Captain."
Luna grinned at Hermione's cheek and gave her a wink before descending the stairs to answer the door.
After paying for the food, Luna thanked the delivery boy before carrying the two plastic bags holding their meal into the dining room. She unpacked the cardboard containers and sorted everything into two plates before retrieving a bottle of wine and two glasses from a cupboard. Once she had everything ready, she sat down at the table to wait for Hermione to come downstairs.
Hermione joined her a few moments later and the two young women proceeded to catch up with one another while they ate. "So, how is everything with you, Luna?" Hermione asked, curious about the blonde job as a tarot card reader. It was a strange occupation, yet it fit her friend well.
"Very well, actually. I got four readings in the other day and another three scheduled for tomorrow." Luna replied, before taking a sip of her wine. "And how about yourself? Are you enjoying working at Flourish and Blotts?"
Hermione nodded, swallowing a bite of fried rice. "I am. It was really nice of Oliver to tell me about his grandfather's shop. He said he remembered how much I loved book and figured it would be something I would enjoy and he was right, I love working there. It's very satisfying helping people find the perfect book for them."
As the day wore on, the girls caught up on various happenings in their life, however Hermione steered away from the subject of the incident of Thursday night. She had rather just forget it had ever happened and thankfully, Luna did not bring it up.
They finished the night off by binge watching the first season of Glee, which resulted in the girls competing against one another in a dance off, which Luna won due much to Hermione's dismay.
"No fair! You're way more flexible than me." The brunette playfully protested as the pair collapsed into the couch together on exhaustion.
"I'm sure you're flexible enough," Luna shot her friend a look full of mischief. "Fred and George don't complain after all."
Luna laughed when Hermione let out a shocked gasp. "Luna! It's not like that!" She said, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue as she swatted her friend.
"Not yet," Luna said sagely, taking her punishment without retaliation. Instead she turned in the couch to face Hermione, who was now staring at her questioningly. "Just give them time. They still have a lot to learn before they can be with you completely."
Hermione was speechless. It was true that Luna sometimes said strange things, but this... Hermione hadn't even mentioned her budding attraction to the twins, so she was puzzled as to how Luna had come to that conclusion, no matter how true it was.
And, they had a lot to learn? What the hell did that mean anyway? Hermione was pretty certain both Fred and George had dated enough girls throughout school to know what they were doing when it came to such things as being intimate. She was no virgin herself, though admittedly her knowledge was limited to only a few sparse encounters. Victor Krum, had been a big deal in the sports world. He was the captain of his team at Durmstrang Institute and his talent on the field had scholarships lined up a mile long for him because of it. When he and his team had come to Hogwarts for an Away game, a few months before her graduation, the Rugby star had actually taken notice of her.
Of course she had been flattered, and he had charmed his way into her bed. They had dated for six months, though it had seemed shorter since the amount of matches he'd been called away for had left them little time to be together. Hermione had finally called it quits when she'd visited the stadium where Victor had been playing a Home game and had found him snogging one of his many groupies that seemed to follow him everywhere. She hadn't had a romantic interest in anyone since then, that is, until this thing with the twins had hit her smack in the face.
"Um.. that's... nice to know, Luna. Thanks." Hermione faltered in her reply, not knowing what else to say. They sat in silence for a moment before a yawn overtook her. "Goodness, I think I'd best get to bed. I'm not sure what time the twins will be by to get me tomorrow. I promised them I'd come back to their flat. Apparently they have to be the ones to take me to work on Monday." She rolled her eyes when Luna shot her another look. "Shut up!" She laughed, and threw a pillow at Luna's head. She rose from the couch and headed towards the stairs. Pausing at the foot of the steps, she glanced back over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Lu, thanks for having me over, it was nice. Weird, but nice."
"It was my pleasure, Mims. Goodnight."
**********
Malfoy Manor - Late Saturday Evening
The sound of shuffling footsteps echoed off the cold, stone walls of the old manor as a small, shriveled form made its way down the hallway. Mumbling to himself as he wrung his hands, a consequence of constant worry and fear of disappointing his master, the old man hesitated only a moment before entering the room.
Lucius Malfoy was just finishing up his afternoon tea when the old man appeared at the entrance to his study.
"Master, Misters Crabbe and Goyle have arrived, sir."
Lucius's grey eyes slid over to the form of Dobrogost Dryadalis, the elderly man of almost seventy whom had been a servant within his family's organization even before Lucius himself had been born.
Lucius' grandfather, Duxobum Malfoy, had acquired him when he had gone to collect a debt owed from Amando Dryadalis, Dobrogost's father, when the servant was a young teen himself. He'd been barley fourteen when he was taken as payment for his father's inability to pay the debt to the Malfoy don. He had served the Malfoy's unwillingly, but eventually, he had submitted, his pride broken. When Lucius had turned eleven, Dobrogost had been made to be the young heir's personal servant, although Lucius had been very young and unable to pronounce his name. Due to this, he had simply called him "Dobby" instead.
"It's about bloody time." He growled in irritation to himself, barely acknowledging his long-time servant as he stewed in displeasure for the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were so late reporting in. He had sent those numskulls out two days ago to fetch the Granger wench. 'I swear, those two would probably get lost in a padded cell.' He thought bitterly.
Placing his cup down upon the table, Lucius flicked a strand of long white-blonde hair back as he addressed his servant."Show them in." He said aloud, waving off the diminutive old man with ring-incrested hand.
Dobby bowed before hastily withdrawing through the door. A moment later, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle entered the room. Lucius narrowed his grey eyes at the pair, his lip curling back in a sneer of disapproval at their seemingly empty-handedness.
“What in the bloody hell took you two so long? Did you have to stop and ask for directions to the little bint's house or have you two been lost on the Manor grounds for two days?” He snarled at them.
Goyle took it upon himself to step forward and address his boss, knowing that he needed to appease him quickly or else he would lose favor with such a powerful man. "My apologies, Mr. Malfoy, that it took us so long to return. It's been a bit tricky following the Granger wench as she has been cavorting with those Weasley twins. The ones who own the pranking store on Diagon Alley. It's where she has been staying the last couple days."
Lucius arched a delicate eyebrow as he sat up in his chair, one hand bringing his silver dragon embossed cane in front of him and leaned onto it in interest. "Seems logical that she would spend time with such miscreants, same social level and all." He sneered, "But that does not excuse your lack of progress. Surely these two jokesters haven't hindered you so greatly that you were unable to snatch the brat? That you couldn't handle two overgrown man-children? Then again, I forget who it is I'm speaking to."
"Mr. Malfoy, sir," Vincent interjected, as he stepped forward, giving Draco's father a small bow of respect. Lucius nodded his permission for the young Crabbe to speak his piece. "We humbly ask your patience in this task you ask of us. We understand your need for your own special brand of justice on your son's behalf, however, wouldn't it be that much more satisfying if we acquired Miss Granger for you with the least amount of witnesses?"
Lucius was silent for a moment, rolling over Vincent's words in his mind and finding the point that the lackey was making. No witnesses meant less chance of authorities getting involved right away. Which meant more time for him to get to the bottom of what exactly had happened to his son while in the Granger bint's presence. Lucius turned his steel-grey eyes upon his henchman, a hint of surprise at the apparent lack of stupidity in this one.
'Yes, he has much promise in him.' The don thought with a smirk.
"Very well, Vincent. I shall grant you and Gregory ample time in which to procure Miss Granger. But do not take too much time. I wish to deal with her in a timely manner as soon as you bring her before me."
Vincent bowed deeply, as did Goyle, but not before he directed a nasty glare toward his partner. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for your generosity. We will not disappoint you." Vincent promised, straightening to his full height before turning and walking toward the exit, Goyle following behind with a scowl on his face.
**********
The Twins' Flat
Fred and George had been secluded away in their flat ever since Hermione had left to go to Luna's earlier that morning . The twins had been surfing the web for any and all sites they could find that dealt with the supernatural and shape shifting. They ruled out werewolves immediately, seeing as the form they took on were in fact foxes and not wolves. They couldn't find any proof aside from fiction and their own ability that there were such a thing as wereFOXES. Somehow, the term didn't sit well with them, so they ruled it out as well. They had yet to resort to actual books, as they had never had the need to before and old habits die hard, hence their preference to the WWW.
That actually had a nice ring to it...
Five hours in and Fred turned to his brother in frustration. "What was that name you told Hermione during her dream? Akio?" George nodded. "Let's check that. There's bound to be something if it came to you like that."
Typing 'Akio' into the search browser, George clicked the button to initiate the search page to load. There were, needless to say, a ton of links that came up. They learned that it was indeed a name, a popular Japanese one at that. Groaning in disappointment, George typed in the word 'Fox' to accompany the name and refreshed the browser.
All that managed to do was bring up various links to a flying fox that, though was amusing, was not helpful in the least.
More hours passed as the twins combed site after useless site and coming up empty handed every time. Soon, the clock read 2 a.m. and frustration mixed with exhaustion was setting in.
"Still nothing," Fred growled in annoyance, defeat settling into his eyes as he looked toward his twin.
"Calm down, Gred," George soothed, "It just takes time. If we keep looking-"
"Fuck that! We've been at this for years now!" Fred snarled, snatching up a paperweight from the small computer desk they shared and tossed it across the room. It made a nice sizable hole in the wall near the kitchen.
"Fred!" George cried out, alarmed. He had never seen his brother get this worked up over something.
"Don't 'Fred' me, George." Fred stalked over and slumped into the couch. "We have to find out what we are! I'm so sick of not knowing. What are we and why can we do those things we can do? What else are we capable of?" Dropping his head into his hands, he muttered softly, "Georgie, I'm... I'm scared."
In a heartbeat, George was beside his twin, wrapping him up in a consoling hug.
Fred leaned into his brother's embrace. This simple act had always been their go-to when one or the other needed comforting. Laying his head on George's shoulder, Fred let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, George, I just-"
"It's okay, Freddie," George hushed him, holding him close and wishing silently that Hermione was there with them. Her presence had always had a calming affect on them, and right now would have been an ideal time for that calm. But they were doing this for her, so they could be with her the way they longed to be. To love her the way they longed to love her.
They sat on the couch together in silence for a few moments until Fred's anxieties had finally subsided. "I hate to say it, brother-mine, but we may need to start cracking open the books." George pulled back to shoot Fred an apologetic look for suggesting such a thing.
Fred shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day the Weasley Twins needed books." George snorted in amusement. "Do you reckon the store Hermione works at will have what we need?"
George shrugged his shoulders before rising from the couch and proceeding toward the kitchen to grab them a snack since they hadn't really eaten anything all day. "Guess we'll find out when we take Kit to work on Monday."
"Speaking of Kit," Fred said when George reentered the living room with bag of potato chips and a couple sodas. He handed one of the sodas to Fred as he sat back down by his brother in order to share the bag of salty goodness. "Do you think it's safe for her? To be at Luna's, I mean." He added for clarification when George raised an eyebrow in question.
"What makes you think she's not safe at Luna’s? I mean, in all honesty, one doesn't voluntarily go to Luna’s for trouble." George replies before popping a chip into his mouth.
Fred chuckled at George's reply. His brother did have a point. "Maybe you're right." He replied as he took another sip of his drink and grabbed a handful of crisps.
Between the both of them they managed to finish off the entire bag before Fred was overcome by a particularly large yawn.
"It's extremely late," George said, giving into a yawn himself, "What say we get a bit of shut eye, Gred. We can do a bit more research before we go fetch our lovely from the Lovegood residence in the morning."
"Brilliant idea, Forge." Fred replied and with that, the twins rose to their feet and made their way to their respective bedrooms to sleep.
***********