Whatever It Takes - Part 5 of A Woman Scorned (H/D, PG-13)

[sesheta66]

Title:   Whatever It Takes - part 5 of A Woman Scorned
Author:   sesheta_66 
Rating:   PG-13
Word Count:   2420
Pairing/Characters:   Harry/Draco, Hermione
Challenge:   100quills prompt 039 - "comfort"
Warnings:   No beta. Please point out any errors you find.
Summary:   Draco and Hermione try to find a way to help Harry, while the rest of the wizarding world looks for the missing pair.
Disclaimer:   The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.

Part 1 - A Valentine Surprise
Part 2 - The Plan
Part 3 - Without a Trace
Part 4 - A Beautiful Lie

 

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Draco asked in frustration. "Why can't they find them? They can't have fallen off the face of the earth!"

"They're trying, Draco. They really are," Hermione tried to reassure him. "But neither one of their magical signatures has been detected since that night. You know that. They've just vanished."

"How can they have disappeared? They Apparated, for Merlin's sake! I can't believe they came up with nothing, after putting traces on all those portkeys."

"I know. Every lead was a dead end. Every one of them. And we've gone to every place that Ginny has been, so far as we know."

"And places she led us to, on a wild niffler chase."

"We didn't know that those travel brochures and her notes were a diversion," she said defensively.

"No, we didn't, and we really did need to follow every lead, just in case. I'm not suggesting any of this is your fault. I'm just going out of my mind here, Granger. What do you think she's doing to him?" Draco asked, trying not to imagine Harry alone with a love-sick, wand-yielding Ginny. "I don't understand why he hasn't escaped yet."

"They found his wand, remember?"

"Yes, but he's strong, and so much bigger than her. He could overpower her easily, so long as she doesn't have a wand pointed at his throat constantly. She must be doing something to keep him there," he reasoned. "Oh, God, you don't think she has him locked up, do you?"

The look on her face spoke volumes, even as she tried to reassure him. "We can't know anything for sure, but yes, I suspect she has him locked away somewhere."

He started pacing, waving his arms as he spoke, his agitation obvious. "So the Aurors traced everything to the point of one dead end after another, which leaves us no further ahead than we were ten days ago, right?"

"Well, they are still following the leads they have from the blokes who sold her the portkeys - at least the two that they've caught up with. We know they testified under Veritaserum that they each only sold her two. With all the extra portkeys out there, that hunt is keeping the Aurors busy, but they have names. You know from our last update that they definitely didn't Apparate out of the country."

"If the International Portkey Authority can be trusted, that is."

"I don't see why they can't be. They are monitoring travel closely now, and they traced nothing out of Britain since then, except legal transport, plus three others who have all been apprehended."

"So they say," he grumbled cynically.

"And," Hermione continued, choosing to ignore his remark. "The Aurors have both of their magical signatures flagged, so as soon as either of them casts a strong enough spell, they can be traced."

"But the she-weasel knows that, too, I imagine."

"She seems to, yes. She went to a lot of trouble and expense to obtain those portkeys to throw us off the trail. Then nothing. She has obviously not used magic, at least not to do anthing that can be traced, since that night."

"Well, that's just perfect! She can't just be crazy, she has to be smart, too!" Draco continued pacing the room, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"Yes, well -- "

"She's acting like a Muggle then?"

"Well, I suppose, as much as she's capable."

"So let's get the Muggle authorities involved too. What if she used the portkeys to throw us off, while travelling by Muggle means this whole time? They could be anywhere by now."

Hermione thought about that. "True, they could be travelling by Muggle transport, but I still don't think they could have gone far."

"Why is that?"

"Well, there has been added security placed on all international travel in the past few years, and even more recently, since a group of terrorists was found to have been planning attacks on planes in Britain."

"Whatever for?"

"Suffice it to say that the wizarding world is not the only place in which you find radical thinking, and actions to match. But never mind that, now. Just believe me when I say that it is much more difficult to travel out of the country than it used to be. A man being dragged around unwillingly by a woman would draw attention."

"But the she-weasel could cast any number of spells to control Harry, confuse the Muggles, or conceal the fact that she and Harry were even there."

"Not without alerting the Aurors."

"Right. Sorry. Momentary lapse. So you figure they're still in Britain?"

"Definitely."

"Well then, it's only a matter of scouring thousands of miles of land and sea, and we're sure to find them in no time!" His frustration was palpable. "Let's sum this up, then. They continue to live like Muggles, hidden away from the wizarding world, performing no magic, so we can't find them. Of course, Harry has no wand, so he couldn't perform magic even if he wanted to." Draco threw himself onto the sofa, dragging his hands through his normally impeccable hair, wanting nothing more than to wrap those same hands around Ginny's throat. "Fuck!"

"Actually ... " Hermione started, and broke off, looking pensive. "Listen, Draco, I need to go somewhere. I'll be back later tonight."

As she moved towards the floo, Draco got up and grabbed her by the arm. "Oh no you don't! Don't think you can get away with that business when you're dealing with me!"

"Get away with what?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You do know that you drive Harry mad when you do that, don't you?"

"Do what, exactly?"

"Get an idea, utter a few incoherent words, then fly off somewhere," he explained. "It's quite unbecoming, if you must know."

Hermione had to chuckle at that. "Oh, really?" she said, raising an eyebrow, the sarcasm positively dripping off the last word. Once again, Draco found himself reluctantly impressed with Harry's friend. "And, what, oh great and powerful wizard, should I do instead?" Draco was quite sure, by her bemused expression, that he was missing something in what she just said, but he was too worried about Harry to pursue it.

"Graciously accept the fact that I do occasionally crack open a book, unlike the weasel -- "

"And Harry."

Reluctantly, he had to agree. "Well, alright, Harry too. But he is getting better, you know," Draco hastened to add. "Anyway, I suspect that the 'somewhere' you were planning on going was a library of some sort?"

"So what if it was?" she replied defensively.

"Granger ... Hermione, I have had occasion to step foot in one myself. In fact, we have a spectacular one at the Manor, which has a more ... how shall I put this? ... colourful collection than you might find elsewhere." He paused to see the effect this news had on her. As expected, her eyes twinkled in response, and he continued. "So now that we've established that I take pleasure in reading, what may I ask were you so hastily going to investigate?"

"Well ... I was thinking -- "

"Really, Granger, I hadn't noticed," he drawled.

"Funny," she said as she playfully nudged him on the shoulder. "I was thinking that back when we were in school, Harry got into trouble for performing underage magic in the summer."

"Yes, well, he never did follow rules well, did he?"

Rolling her eyes, she let out an amused, and decidedly unladylike snort. "As if you ever followed rules!"

"Yes, well, there are subtle ways of breaking the rules."

"Like having your father cover for you?"

"Whatever works," he shrugged. "You have to admit that Harry has never been one for subtlety."

"Point taken. May I get back to answering your question now, or shall I just take my leave?"

"By all means, carry on."

"Well, here's the thing. He never had his wand when he was at home in the summer."

"What do you mean, he didn't have his wand? What did he do, leave it at Hogwarts?"

"No, his uncle locked it away, along with all his spell books, cauldrons, cloaks, and anything else from the magical world. Well, except Hedwig of course."

"What?" Draco asked, scandalized. "Who the hell did that Muggle think he was?"

"Harry's legal guardian."

"But he's a Muggle. And Harry's a wizard!"

"Surely you knew they hated anything magic?"

"Well, yes -- "

"And surely you knew Harry was mistreated there?"

"Well, yes, but -- "

"And you knew that Harry wasn't even allowed to say the word magic, never mind actually perform any?"

"Yes, Granger, I knew that. It's just that ... well ... Harry doesn't like talking about his past, so I never really pushed him to do so. I have to admit, I don't like talking about mine much either, so neither of us pushes the other for information in that regard."

"You know what, Draco? He may not like to talk about it, but Harry's past is a big part of the man he is today. You might want to push a bit more."

"I might just do that ... if I ever get another chance."

"Right, then," Hermione said as she was jolted back to the matter at hand by Draco's comment. "Back to our original topic of conversation. Harry's magic."

"What about it?" Draco asked, the defeated tone in his voice having returned.

"You see, he got into trouble for performing underage magic."

"Yes, yes, we've established that I don't know much about his past. Could we get on with it?"

"No, Draco, you're not listening." He looked at her curiously. "He didn't have a wand, but he performed underage magic." She waited for a reaction. Suddenly something clicked.

"He can perform wandless magic? What the hell? Why wouldn't he tell me something like that?" He made a mental note to have a long talk with Harry when he returned. Well, okay, maybe talking wouldn't be first on the agenda, but it most certainly was on the list.

"It's not that simple, actually," Hermione explained. “I don’t think he’s ever really given it much thought. The magic he performed wasn't focussed. It was only ever uncontrolled magic, brought about by extreme stress."

"But that's child's play. What wizards do accidentally before they learn to control their magic."

"Control, or suppress?"

"You know, you may have a point there, Granger."

She nodded triumphantly at that. "So you see, what I want to look up is any instance of intentional wandless magic. I want to see if, once a witch or wizard learns how to channel their magic, it is possible to do so without the use of a wand. After all, Harry is a powerful wizard. I figure if anyone can do it, he can."

Draco grabbed her around the waist, picked her up, spun her around, and plunked her back down on the ground. "Harry's right! You are brilliant!"

Once she regained her composure, clearly shocked by his actions, Hermione beamed. "Why thank you, kind sir," she said in a mocking tone, bowing and fluttering her eyelashes to emphasize it.

"Tell anyone that just happened, and I will hex you."

"Right you are," she agreed, brushing off her shirt, and putting on a mock stern face.

"So tell me, oh wise one, what good will come of this research?" he asked. "How is Harry supposed to know what to do? We have no way of getting word to him."

"I realize that. But there's nothing else we can do right now, is there? I mean if there's an off chance that Ginny makes contact, maybe we can get a note to Harry. We could write it in such a way that she wouldn't know what was in it, but he might catch on."

"That's a long shot, Granger. Next to impossible, I would think. I mean, she's gone to this much trouble to cover her tracks. You don't really think she'd just pop in to say hello, even if she does miss her family." It was a statement, more than a question.

"I know," she said, starting to crumble. "I just don't know what else to do, Draco! We've looked everywhere we can think of. The Aurors are following up on all the leads they get. There are Ministry officials, Ron and his family included, scouring the countryside for any glimpse of them. There have been notices in every wizarding news media, and there's even a post network set up to receive any word on sightings of them. I can't think of anything else we can do. He's my best friend, and I feel lost without him!" She finally broke down, and started to sob. Draco found himself going to her, and taking her in his arms.

"Hermione, listen to me. We'll find him. You know we will. We have to." She looked up at him through teary eyes and nodded. "Or Harry will get away first. He'll find a way. He's managed to get out of worse situations than this, you know. He'll come up with something. There has to be some sort of flaw in her plan, some weakness for him to take advantage of. It just might take him a while.” As he spoke, he wondered if he was trying to convince Hermione or himself more. “And in the meantime, the Aurors keep scouring Britain for them, and we work on any other angle we can. Whatever it takes, right?"

"This is ridiculous," she announced as she stepped back, wiping the tears from her face. "I'm supposed to be helping you, and here you are comforting me."

He smiled at that. "This is helping me, more than you know. I am not used to feeling weak, defeated, at a loss. I am very much used to being in charge - of my emotions, of situations, of people. I cannot abide losing control, and your leaning on me for support every now and again - you realize we can't make a habit of this, of course - helps me focus. Really."

Looking at the witch before him, Draco wondered suddenly why he had always loathed her, and everything her kind stood for. She was, after all, Harry's best friend. And she was a good friend, too. "Now let's get back to work," he said, as he made his way over to the floo.

"Back to work," she agreed. 

Part 6 - The Best Laid Plans 

 

Comments

[irresistableplx.livejournal.com]

"Back to work," she agreed.

that goes for you too, u evul author! (nah not really, im glad you updated so soon)
But really now! whats happening to harry? is he already using his mighty green eyes of doom on ginny?

aight, im off to sleep..thanks for the bedtime update

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

*hands first comment cookies*

So what took you so long? It was, what ... a whole half hour after I posted?!? *giggles*

OK ... here's the deal ... I flip back and forth between Harry and Draco. This week was Draco's turn. However, I took quite a while to post this one (longer than a week) as I was struggling a bit with it. Since the next one's storyline is in my head, the next installment should come before the end of the week. OK?

Sweet dreams.

[jean-c-pepper.livejournal.com]

Eagerly awaiting another chapter, of course.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thanks ♥

You'll probably get it before the end of the week (weekend at the latest). This one was longer than a week in coming, as it wasn't flowing. But the next one is already "there" in my mind, so hopefully it'll only be a few more days before I get it on cyber paper.

Eep! Must get my hpslashnotsmut entry finished. There's another one I'm stumped on! I had great ideas, but they didn't flow either ... I've now changed it twice, and re-written a bunch of stuff for each version. I want it to be really good! *sighs*

[jean-c-pepper.livejournal.com]

Kind of like my medieval fic. I haven't written anything in like a week besides a couple of drabbles. I can't get the medieval fic to flow at all. I have an idea for a harry/draco roleplay that I might write up. and I need to work on my hd beltane.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about the medieval fic, if you can't get it to flow. Just walk away for a while, and maybe it'll flow better when you go back to it.

Speaking of medieval fics, I finished my book!!!!!! YYYYAAAAAYYYY!!! Monday at lunch I finished round 1 editing of the last chapter, so now I just have to type up the changes, and give to my kids to read, and start "editing round 2". Whew!

I have slashnotsmut (March), beltane (April) and hd_holidays (May) to do. Then there are three short stories I'm writing for a competition, and they're due May 15th. I've also got a few other requests still floating out there, and a birthday fic for the end of this month.

Then I'll fit in the other challenges if and as I can. Good luck to both of us!

[ruinithil.livejournal.com]

Yay! I was so happy when I saw you updated :) I love that Hermione is trying to figure everything out and Draco is just...well, not, really. Which is undertandable since he's worried...but I love this chapter! :)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

Draco wants to figure everything out, and help Hermione. That's why he stopped her from going off and doing it herself. He's just trying to be practical and figure out what good it will do them, if they can't tell Harry anyway (perhaps they could do something more productive instead). And Hermione just HAS to have her nose in a book, or she'll go crazy! ♥

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was SO GLAD to see this new chapter. Can't wait for the next one, either. It was really good getting to see Draco developing a new respect and (dare I say) affection for Hermione. I've always liked her. And I think that in another world, (other than that of JK Rowling), Hermione and Draco might have been friends.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Yay - thanks. Next update soon.

Glad you liked the developing respect/affection. I think removing Ron from the picture is the only way to have it go anywhere, since Hermione would forever be in the middle. Now they can work productively together. And hopefully get Harry back!

Hermione and Draco might have been friends. Without house divisions and DE vs. The Order, most definitely. *nods*

[brockssnow.livejournal.com]

I love, love, love this story. Can't wait to find out what happens next. Thanks! ♥

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. ♥

Glad you like it.

[alaana-fair.livejournal.com]

Fantastic chapter!

If this is what happens when you get stuck and struggle, you should do it more. *g* I'm glad you kept Draco strong and I loved his frustration. And I really love how Draco and Hermione are getting along. Maybe some good will come out of Ginny's nasty little game after all.

"Tell anyone that just happened, and I will hex you."

I loved that - it's just so... Dracoish!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Fantastic chapter! Thanks. ♥

If this is what happens when you get stuck and struggle, you should do it more. :o)

Whew! I'm so relieved that it finally came together. I pitched almost the entire pile of drivel that I started with. *shakes head* I have no idea what happened to me there for a while. But all is well now. Yay! Thanks for listening to my whining, BTW!

[alaana-fair.livejournal.com]

Anytime! Happy to help. *g*

[lackofmendacity.livejournal.com]

*cheers for Hermione*

The tone of this chapter does seem more uplifting, and whilst there might still be awhile before Harry gets rescued, I'm feeling much happier now :)

Heheh, Hermione and Draco's bantering was cute! :D

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Yes, Draco really is learning to appreciate Hermione. Good thing too, especially if they have to work together for a while. Glad you enjoyed their bantering.

might still be awhile before Harry gets rescued Hmmm ... you seem pretty confident that I'll arrange a rescue. Curious. ;o)

[lackofmendacity.livejournal.com]

Oh dear! *worried* Call it wishful thinking, I guess :)

Well, I'm pretty certain you won't have Harry ending up with Ginny (ewww, het!) mmm... perhaps you're playing word games with me, and whilst you don't rescue Harry per se, he escapes anyway *ponders*

Heheh, shall be patient and wait to see what you do next with the boys *hugs*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I shall give away nothing! Nothing, I tell you! You'll just have to wait & see. *smooches*

[charmed310.livejournal.com]

One of my theories is that he'll be murdering Voldy-thing wandlessly by chanelling the love!magic in the Dept. of Mysteries into Voldy's black heart.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Hmmm ... interesting ... very interesting.

[bluejeanbaby01.livejournal.com]

I've just finished reading all five chapters and I enjoyed each one more and more as I went. I am anxiously awaiting the next one.

I have a terrible feeling however that when Draco and Hermione do find Harry, it will at the time when Harry will have been able to convince Ginny enough that he does love her, and it will be so convincing that Draco and Hermione will believe it as well, and Draco's world is just going to cave in. *frets*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

So glad you enjoyed them. Now, if I can wrap up my slashnotsmut entry, I will get down to the next installment of this (oops ... had sorta promised it for this weekend).

My my my ... ye of little faith. *shifty eyes* I shall say nothing of my future plot twists.

[andrea--88.livejournal.com]

Yay! So glad they are getting along and working together
They'll find him :o)

Excellent

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

*fingers crossed*