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Chapter Four

In which the group hits Paris, Snape visits a graveyard to put the past to rest, Harry and Ron are finally in the story, Draco is mistook for someone else and we first see some snogging, but not by who you would think.

*

The clouds, thick and gray, promised rain. As Severus walked past row upon row of grayed stone tablets, his fingers brushed the tops. Each held the body of a person who had been loved by someone, somewhere, very much. And now they were gone.

Cecile was in the back of the graveyard, under one of the tall Cyprus trees that dotted the landscape. They were gloomy trees, but at least she had something to keep watch over her when he was not around. He needed to come out and visit more, actually.

The flowers that he clutched in one hand were mums, her favorite. They were almost the same shade as the type he used to buy her, though these were a little darker. He was amazed that he could remember such a detail after so many years.

"Hello Cecile. I haven't been out here in awhile. I'm sorry." He looked down at her gravestone sighing. This was the closest he would ever get her again. This chiseled slab of cheap marble with her name etched into it in a hurried hand.

But this was enough. He set the flowers gently on top of the stone and bent down on the soft, wet soil she was buried under. She would have laughed if she could have seen him now, kneeling in the mud for her. She had always had a beautiful laugh. "How have you been?"

He stayed there for awhile, listening to the silence around him. It was almost as if he could hear her again, whispering in her tiny, melodic voice. That she missed him, and that he had better be missing her. That she loved him still.

"Forgive me, Cecile. I didn't mean to let them do that to you, because I wasn't able to stop them." He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he quickly brushed them away "And now, though I love you, my heart, It's time to move on. I can't stay with you always, though I wish I could."

The only answer was silence. It would be the only answer he would ever get again.

"Thank you. I knew you would understand, pretty one." He stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants, and laid a hand on her gravestone again. Then he turned and walked away. Now to do what he had been dreading the whole day....

Tracking down Hermione Granger.

*

As he walked along the crowded street, Ron couldn't help but smile. Paris was a beautiful city. During the night, it was alive with smells, sounds, and people, most of them friendly, though there were a few that had screamed something bitterly at him. After consulting his translation book, he thought they had only said something about his hat, though Ginny, who spoke French, laughed at him harder. What he really loved was the smells....

But during the day, it was even more wonderful. So much to do in the big city, though only a limited time, as they were leaving again in two days. They had decided to make a side trip after their tour of North America, and now that their whole adventure was coming to a close, everyone was slightly subdued. Except for Harry and Ginny.

The two of them had been waiting to come here more than any other place on their trip. The rest of the Weasleys had been to their favorite places, ranging from Ron's favorite, Mexico, to Fred and George's favorite, a tiny town in South Dakota. While it was still unknown as to why they loved it so much, Ron had his suspicions that it might have something to do with the large bag of Muggle fireworks they had managed to pick up. They, of course, denied the existence of such things in their bags.

"Where to now? Mum wants us back within the hour for lunch." Ginny had her nose buried in a large map and only just avoided hitting a street light because Harry pushed her out of the way. While it seemed she was concentrating on the map, Ron was starting to think that she might need glasses.

They turned a corner and Harry took the map from her when she almost ran into an oncoming person. She acted very mature about it by sticking her tongue out at him. Harry scratched his head and sighed. "Are you sure we can't just go to the Eiffel Tower now?"

Ron laughed and grabbed the map. He didn't trust Harry planning their day if he was going to suggest that again. Molly Weasley, while not being the brightest candle in the chandelier by letting all of her children loose around the city by themselves (Ron was quite sure they would have to bail the twins out of jail by the end of the day, at the very least), had been very clear on one thing. Everyone was going to see that tower together... or else. "No. There is no way I'm going to suffer her wrath for you to see the stupid thing early."

Ginny punched Ron's arm lightly, and he ruffled her hair. She proceeded to hit Ron again, and then moved over to walk on the other side of Harry. "It's not stupid, you twit. It's a great monument." Harry nodded. "It was built by a group of very intelligent wizards dedicated to... why are you staring at me like that?"

"It was built by wizards? How do you know that?" Harry looked puzzled, and even Ron couldn't help but wonder. Then again, Ginny quite a bit compared to the rest of the party, so it wouldn't surprise him if she were right.

"All of the greatest structures were built by wizards. Well, most of them.... Things are still a little hazy on the Great Lighthouse. But, everything else was built by our kind. Don't you pay attention in History of Magic?"

The two boys exchanged quick glances over her head and laughed. "Of course we don't! Hermione does it for us." Ron nodded at Harry's words and looked up at the blue, cloudless sky. It was the first nice day they had had since arriving.

"I miss Hermione. Do you think she got our owl? It's been quite awhile since we sent it and her house isn't that far from here...." Harry and Ginny shrugged, and Ron kicked a pebble. It rolled away into a gutter on the side of the street. The mood had become suddenly subdued and they walked in silence.

There was quite a variety of people out on the streets at that time, but Ron wasn't paying attention to any of them. He was far more interested in the great smells wafting up to his nose from all the shops around him. Warm and delicate pastries just lying out in the open, as if screaming 'Eat me Ron! Eat me!' were tempting him, but he knew that he shouldn't ruin lunch, no matter how good they smelled.

Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening. In fact, it was one of the most peaceful days that they had had on their entire trip. Fred and George weren't here to pull any pranks, Percy wasn't here to give them a lecture on the nation's economy. Even Bill and Charlie weren't here to make oddly perverse comments about all of the girls that walked past. Those two hadn't even come to Paris. They had instead gone back to their jobs, very well rested and ready to tackle dragons and work along side goblins.

It was then that they heard a voice that could have just belonged to any other person in the world, except for the fact that they recognized it. Harry and Ron looked at each other before taking off, no words said. They both knew who it was.

When they came out the end of the short alleyway they had run down, the three of them smiled at once. There was Hermione, her trunks scattered about her in the middle of the street. A group of people had gathered around her, looking at her as if she had just fallen from the sky. She was dusting herself off and hadn't noticed them yet.

"Hermione Granger is that you?" Her head snapped up at Ginny's words, her mouth open into a perfect circle. Clearly, she was surprised to see them. Ron took a step toward her, then froze, his eyes narrowing.

Right behind her stood Draco Malfoy. He was dressed in plain Muggle clothing and his hair was ruffled and almost pure white but it was very distinctly him. Ron did the first thing that came to him, and following his instincts, he ran out to her, pushed her away and glared Malfoy down. "Keep away from her, you bastard! What were you doing?"

"Oh look, if it isn't the Potty and Weasley. Smashing to see you too." Malfoy proceeded to gather his trunks together as if there wasn't anything wrong with this scene. Ron looked around and saw that an even larger crowed had now gathered, as had a few Muggle police officers. They were looking puzzled, as if wondering what to do about the situation. "If you aren't doing anything weasel, why don't you do something about your girlfriend's bags?" Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Malfoy, would you stop it with your comments at Ron and worry about your own girlfriend? It seems that Pansy has chosen to lie down in the street. How lady like!" Hermione's words were sharp, yet she was smiling. "Ron, good to see you! Hullo Harry, Ginny!"

"Explain. Why are you here in the middle of the street with ferret boy and... Pansy? Pansy Parkinson? What the hell have you been doing all summer Hermione?" Ron was sounding shocked. Pansy had a sour look on her face now, as if she had eaten a bad piece of fruit and was glaring over at Draco. He was blatantly ignoring her.

"You're going out with that?" Pansy asked pointedly, looking at Ron while brushing herself off. Ron quickly flushed. Hermione only rolled her eyes and shook her head. "And besides, I'm still more lady like than you'll ever be, beaver."

"I'll explain when we aren't all out in the middle of the street. Malfoy, help Pansy up and get her things before she has another fit, like in the room. You seem to have grown a few more inches Ron." Hermione smiled out at the crowd that had formed around them. "It's all right, nothing to see here! Go home!"

"Ron." Harry had appeared at his side. "Are you as confused as I am?"

"Yes."

It took a few moments, with more screaming at Draco from Hermione, but the three additions to the group were all up with their trunks and following Harry, Ron and Ginny down the street.

"Well then." said Ron as soon as they had settled into a small café the three of them had found one early afternoon last week. "Tell me what's been going on!"

Both Draco and Hermione started speaking at once, each about something else. Hermione was talking about her grandmother, while Draco kept saying that Egypt wasn't agreeing with him. Pansy just managed to look bored as she fixed her hair by looking in the back of a spoon. When Ron turned to look at Ginny and Harry, both looked as dumbfounded as he felt.

"All right, all right. One at a time now. Hermione, since you aren't a complete tart who calls my family names, you can go first." Ron smiled at her and she stood up.

"Thank you, Ron. It started when I was sent to my grandmother's apartment in Venice. Everything was fine until she left on a trip with her crazy friends, and then I was evicted as my grandmother hadn't paid her bill in awhile. I swear, that woman hates me. So that's when I got a hotel and ran into Severus and...."

"What?" The five people around her were all looking at her with their eyebrows raised. Harry had his mouth open wide. "Snape?"

"Yes, Snape. He said that he would send me home unless I met with him every day, so I did. Then Malfoy came to my room, did my hair, and then made me late for dancing with Severus. Don't say anything, Ronald Weasley. After that, he watched me change, I threw my shoe, and Pansy comes in."

"You calle him... Severus?"

Hermione cleared her throat and started talking louder, making Harry's face fall. "So I slept in the bathroom, then Malfoy bought Pansy chocolates, and we went out to the villa. That's where I got your owl, and we hurried here."

"Their owl? Their owl? Granger, you were acting as if it had been Voldemort himself sending you notes." Draco was glaring at her. "And what was that about Pansy being killed if I didn't hurry?"

"You were going to kill me, Granger?"

"Snape? You went dancing with Snape?"

"No Pansy, I was just saying that I wasn't to be held accountable for your unfortunate downfall if he didn't speed things up. And anyway, it got the Slytherin slime ball here moving. Yes Harry, Snape. So after we got back, I told the hotel that we were leaving, and convinced Pansy that things were going to be all right and Draco would buy her more candy, then we used Draco's Portkey to get here. It was supposed to drop us off in the outskirts and not the middle of a crowded street."

"Can I help it if it's a screwy Portkey? Oh, I'm sorry. It WAS a screwy Portkey. Now it's just a book since we used all of its power up." Draco was nearly shouting.

Ron was looking around, completely confused, when he saw the clock hanging over the counter. They were supposed to be back at the hotel in twenty minutes. They would have to leave soon if they were going to make it back in time....

"Then it was luck that we were on the next street and that Hermione has a loud voice then, right?" Harry was smiling over at Hermione, who was in turn glaring at Malfoy. He had a very coy look on his face. There was the sound of someone kicking someone's shin and then she moved her chair away from Draco.

"You're as annoying as hell, Malfoy."

"And you're as attractive, Granger."

"Stop saying things like that!" Hermione looked as if she wanted to cry. Ginny patted her shoulder and shook her head at a waiter who came over asking if they wanted anything. Ron felt like he wanted to hit his sister, because they had good smelling foods here too.

Harry frowned at Draco and probably would have done something more physical, but Ron jumped out of his seat, knocking the chair loudly to the floor. Everyone in the café turned to look at him, while Pansy, with a small smile on her face, pulled her hand back from the direction of his chair.

"I... uh... think it's time we leave now. Let's go." Ron was stumbling over his words now. "Now!"

As they all got up, the three new arrivals grabbing their trunks, Harry couldn't help but to pat Ron on the shoulder and wink at him. Ginny wrinkled her nose in Pansy's direction, whispering something that would have made her mother cry out in shock. Draco sarcastically offered to take Hermione's bags, and only got another glare. Pansy fixed her hair one last time.

Ron knew his face was as bright as his hair, but he didn't care. "Let's go. If you all want to tag along as well, uh... I suppose my mum wouldn't mind too much."

*

"Now pet, there's nothing to sream about. I'm sure that Severus was telling the truth and he has absolutely no clue where Draco is."

Narcissa didn't answer him verbally. She only threw another vase at the wall. This had been going on for several hours now and Lucius was about ready to throw himself from the roof into the bottomless pit at the back of the house. "Draco probably just went to visit your great aunt... you know, the one with the abnormally large mole? Phyllis?"

"He hates her. We all hate her! Lucius, stop defending your friend. Go do something to get your son back. Don't you love him?"

Lucius was very tempted not to answer that, but the look of genuine anger that his wife was giving him made him spit out a quick 'yes, dear' before leaving the room. He couldn't handle her anymore. Severus is NOT my friend. A lone house elf had strayed from the kitchen and was standing in the hall in front of him, its mouth open wide.

"You, elf. Go get my best robes from my room. The ones I wore to the Minister's Ball last summer. I'm going out. And get something to clean up the mess my wife is making in the Drawing Room. Also, have someone make her a good, strong drink and send her bed. Crone music to her, if you must...."

The elf was looking confused as it left, but Lucius knew it would follow the orders out. It had to. Sometimes, old boy, you make being evil look so good! But, of course, we aren't evil. We're just different and always correct. He laughed despite himself.

"Lucius!" Narcissa's voice rang down the hall, and he turned around. She was leaning against the edge of the wall, holding another vase in her hand. "I know you love him, despite what you say. However, I also know you love me. Right?" She smashed the pretty, very expensive object into the wall, the shards falling to the ground limply. He looked at them, avoiding her eyes.

"Are you drunk? Did you have a few too many of those cocktails on the cruise dear? Maybe you should go lay down in bed for awhile and...." He never got the chance to finish as Narcissa flung herself down the hall and into his arms, draping herself over him in a tight embrace. Then she started crying into his shoulder, something her sober self would never have done. She found crying in public to be weak and crude. Best have it be left private. When she had done it in front of Severus, he had thought something was strange, but now that he was gone and they didn't have to pretend to love one another anymore....

"Bring him home, Lucius. Bring my baby home." She pulled her head from his robes and looked searchingly into his eyes. Her eyes were so big and gray. Beautiful. "I love you."

"Great, you are drunk." Lucius awkwardly patted her head and let her cry for a little bit longer. It was what he thought any normal husband with an angry, drunk wife who thought 'they' were conspiring against them would do. "I'll get the boy back, Narcissa. I'll get your son."

*

Severus looked hard at the building in front of him. Though he wasn't sure, he could swear that this was the hotel. But, then again, he had thought the exact same thing about the last seven hotels he had checked for her. He had only seen the hotel once, and that had been in the dead of night with his mind still fuzzy from dancing. But he had a good feeling about this one.

He walked toward the doors as confidentially as he could, pushed them open and strode over to the front clerk. The boy at the counter looked extremely bored, almost painfully so, as he was flipping through a magazine about cars. Ruddy Muggles and their inferior modes of transportation. Give me Floo Powder any day.... "Excuse me."

"Yea, you're excused. Whadda ya want?" The boy didn't even look up. Severus could tell that he was Italian, though he knew how to speak English slang well enough.

"I'm looking for Miss Hermione Granger."

"You and half the continent, pal." The boy flipped the page in his magazine lazily and looked Severus right in the eye. Who else has been looking for her? "But anyway, she's not here. So go away."

"What do you mean? Where did she go?"

"Don't know." Severus sighed again as the boy pointed to a jar on the counter that read 'tips' in a very scratchy handwriting. He pulled out a wad of Lira, stuffed it in and leaned against the counter. "She and that blond boy left this morning. Where they went, I don't know. Now get out, I'm busy."

Severus felt his eyes open wide. Blond boy? "What did he look like, besides being blond?"

"I dunno... he had blond hair and slept in her room. I didn't really pay that close attention to him." The boy popped a bubble of gum and went back to his magazine. Severus spluttered. Slept in her room? Blond boy...

The only blond person that he could ever imagine Hermione talking to, let alone... sleeping with was Neville Longbottom. But then again, sleeping with Longbottom? I was quite sure Hermione had better taste than that! He shuddered, and walked out of the hotel. He was going to have to Apparate again. This time, to the Longbottom Farm.

*

Draco pressed an ear to the door in front of him softly, not wanting to make even the slightest sound. If he were to get caught doing this, his head would be on a platter. Of course, that platter would have to be gold, but it didn't matter. When nothing behind the door made a sound either, he smiled and pushed a little. It swung open easily.

He had somehow managed to sneak away from the room he had been shoved into with Harry, Ron and Percy and was now standing in front of the room the girls were sharing. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, while not exactly overjoyed to see Pansy and Draco, had allowed them to share rooms with their children. And then left for the night. I always knew they were cracked.... If I were them, I wouldn't let me within five feet of any of their offspring.... It gave him goose bumps all over, and not just from the cold.

While he had to admit that he was a sex god and that every girl at school and her sister had thrown themselves at his feet, he had never actually been kissed. But it was going to change right here, right now. Hermione Granger was his target.

Ever since the café, he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was the best thing in the world to him at that moment, which was surprising because she was a Mudblood. And one that hated him, too! But his mother had always told him he was persistent, and he would have her.

He poked his head around the door into the darkness and looked around. Nothing was moving, except for the very faint movements of someoe sprawled out on the bed. He stared at the person, and finally decided that it was Hermione. Light was shining through from under the bathroom door, and Pansy's raspy voice could be heard from behind it, as if she was singing. He wasn't sure where the tiny, red-haired Weasley girl was.

Tiptoeing, he somehow managed to make it over to the bed without waking Hermione up, even with how hard he was his heart was beating. As he stared down at her figure, a smile came over his face, but faded slightly. Isn't this considered rape in some parts of the world? I mean, she isn't consenting... But then again, this is Paris, the city of love, and I am Draco Malfoy.

He kneeled on the bed and brushed his hand against her cheek softly. Even in the dark, he could see her eyes open wide and he panicked. All of his plans and love poems that he had been going to recite forgotten, he bent down and pressed his lips tightly to her's. Surprisingly, she went along with it.

After a moment, his knees got tired and he pushed himself onto the bed and straddled over her, his lips still pressed to hers. This was bliss and he was... uh... the king of bliss. The door behind him was opened, the light from the bathroom spilling into the room. A high pitched scream. Yes, that was Pansy. Damn, I'm caught....

The door from the hall flew open and the overhead light flicked on abruptly. Draco closed his eyes, as they had adjusted to the dark. Ron was shouting something about his sister. Then Draco heard what could only be Hermione's giggle from behind Ron. Wait... Hermione can't be over by the door if she's....

Draco slowly opened his eyes. They met the brown ones of Virginia Weasley.

*