Rating:
15
House:
Schnoogle
Ships:
Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger
Characters:
Draco Malfoy Harry Potter Hermione Granger
Genres:
Drama Angst
Era:
Harry and Classmates During Book Seven
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince
Stats:
Published: 11/28/2006
Updated: 03/15/2007
Words: 148,035
Chapters: 51
Hits: 126,771

Draco: Phoenix Rising

Cheryl Dyson

Story Summary:
Dumbledore is dead, Snape is a traitor and Draco is a Death Eater, but is he really cut out for a position on Voldemort's team?

Chapter 14 - Creeping Parcleps

Chapter Summary:
Muggle travel can be fun.
Posted:
12/13/2006
Hits:
2,504


Chapter Fourteen - Creeping Parcleps

On the way into town, Hermione decided she should send a message to Sturgis Podmore, but realized it was a bit risky to do it in the usual way. In fact, it was impossible. She would just have to wait until they returned. She shot a sideways look at her new charges.

"You know, Luna dear," she said sweetly, "It would be really nice if we could just Apparate back to your house. Just this once. It's really quite safe. I've already Apparated several times today--twice with passengers. And look, I'm fine."

Luna gave her a measuring look through her oversized eyes.

"My father would be furious. Especially if I ended up splinched into a tree or something."

"You will not be splinched into a tree. I know what I'm doing."

"You may risk yourself all you like. Can't we just find a fireplace and Floo back home?"

"How many wizarding families do you know in Dover?" Hermione asked in a voice that bordered on shouting. "Shall we just randomly knock on doors and ask if they are hooked up to the Floo Network?"

Luna pondered the question as though Hermione were serious.

"That would probably take a long time, but eventually it would work."

Malfoy coughed behind Hermione, but it sounded suspiciously like a disguised laugh. She shot a glare over her shoulder.

"We could probably fetch some brooms with a simple Accio," he suggested. She suppressed a shudder.

"No, thank you." She'd rather walk back to Ottery St. Catchpole than take a broom. She threw her hands up.

"Fine. Muggle cab it is."

They walked down Castle Hill Road and Hermione scouted for a phone booth. She located one near The White Horse pub and stepped inside to dial for a local cab. Malfoy was hovering on the sidewalk, avoiding all pedestrians and looking like he would leap out into the street rather than allow one to touch him.

"Will you stop it?" she hissed upon leaving the phone booth. Malfoy's eyes flashed.

"No, I will not."

"How many times have you been to a Muggle city? If you've managed to avoid actual human contact, it cannot have been that many."

Malfoy replied, "Besides London? No, not many. And never like this." He moved quickly aside to avoid a brush with a rushing delivery boy. "Malfoys never mingle with Mud--Muggles."

"No wonder you're so insufferably bigoted, then," she snapped. "Perhaps if you 'mingled' once in awhile, you would discover they are actual people and not garbage in human skin."

He raised a brow at her choice of words and chuckled.

"Garbage in human skin. I rather like that. I'll have to remember to use it on Potter next time I--" He trailed off when she gasped.

"Oh my God, Harry," she breathed. "He's going to--"

The cab pulled up at that moment, sparing Hermione the rest of that thought. She put Draco and Luna in the back and took the passenger seat to direct the driver. And to avoid all contact with Malfoy, she admitted to herself.

They were largely silent on the fifty mile drive, except for Luna, who had decided to tell her captive audience all about Creeping Parcleps, tiny creatures that crept into your dreams at night and implanted suggestions, usually mischievous, but sometimes pure evil, which caused people to do things they normally wouldn't. She strongly hinted that Draco was under the influence of Creeping Parcleps when he had tried to kill Dumbledore earlier that year.

Unfortunately, the only one giving any credence to Luna's conversation was the Muggle driver, whose eyes grew wider and wider as he drove until Hermione managed to catch his eye. She waggled a finger next to her ear and jerked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate that Luna was a few tokens short of a board game. The driver looked relieved and thereafter just smiled indulgently at Luna in the rear-view.

While the countryside sped by, Hermione wondered what she was going to do with Malfoy. She couldn't take him to the Order. She didn't dare take him to Hogwarts. Harry would rip him limb from limb. So would the other teachers, most likely. She could turn him over to the Ministry, but they would just lock him up in the basement that currently served as the new wizard prison. There was only one place she could think of, though it had already been proven unsafe.

They made it to Ottery St. Catchpole without incident and exited the cab in front of Luna's partially burned house.

Sturgis and Mr. Lovegood rushed out to greet them. Hermione was relieved to see Mr. Lovegood alive and well. Draco loitered by the cab; luckily, because Sturgis raised his wand with a shout the instant he caught sight of him.

"Sturgis, no!" Hermione yelled. "I'll explain in a minute!"

The Muggle driver was still in the car and Hermione leaned in to pay him with a handful of Muggle bills she had conjured in Dover.

"You are in'erestin' people," he commented.

"You have no idea," Hermione muttered.

"I 'ope the crazy girl'll be all right."

"We'll take care of her." She gave him a substantial tip and sent him on his way. As soon as the cab disappeared over the rise, she turned to find Malfoy and Sturgis Podmore watching each other like two rival wolves about to tear each others' throats out.

"Might I have my wand back?" Draco asked.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," she said. She did pull the wands out of her shirt, where she had put them for safekeeping. Muggle clothing did not offer many options for wand storage.

"What's he doing here?" Sturgis burst out. "Did you capture him?"

"No. He's helping us."

"Helping us what? Get more of our members killed? He's the bloody reason--!"

"I know!" She put up a hand to stop him. "Let's go inside and I'll explain."

She sent off a quick Patronus message to Harry explaining that something had come up and she would join them when she could. She neglected to explain the "something" was Draco Malfoy. She planned to put that conversation off as long as possible.

Inside, it was decided that Luna and her father would stay at the office of The Quibbler for awhile. It was unlikely the Death Eaters would strike there and the staff would allow some protection, should the need arise. Mr. Lovegood gathered a number of Portkeys into a basket to take along. He and Luna bid them good day, stepped into the fire, and disappeared in a red whirlwind.

Hermione had a quiet, furious argument with Sturgis that involved a lot of dark looks shot in Malfoy's direction and several angry hand gestures. At the end of it, Sturgis had been unable to sway her, mainly due to lack of alternative suggestions.

"It's decided. I'm taking him with me until we can figure out what to do with him. You can explain it to Lupin. Perhaps he'll have a better idea."

Sturgis, muttering angrily, Disapparated with one final glare at Malfoy. Hermione sighed and joined Draco at the window, where he'd been standing while pretending to ignore their conversation. She felt somewhat apprehensive, now that she was completely alone with him.

"Will you come with me?" she asked politely, realizing that no one had bothered to ask his opinion.

"Do I have a choice?"

"You could go back to your Death Eater friends."

His grey eyes flashed.

"There are other places I could go."

She nodded, wondering where he could go that was safe. Running like Karkaroff, but they'd found him, hadn't they? For a moment, she considered letting him go, and wondered how long it would take them to hunt him down. He'd be on the run from both sides. She smiled ruefully. Surprisingly, she didn't want him to die. He had saved her parents. He had brought Luna back. And he hadn't been able to kill Dumbledore. And as Devlin Whitehorn, he'd talked to her like a real person.

"I'd like you to come with me," she requested. He raised a pale brow at her and she gritted, "Please."

"Ouch. I'll bet that was physically painful," he said and grinned. "I'll come with you, since you begged so nicely."

She resisted the urge to punch him. Instead, she smiled wickedly and stepped closer to him.

"I'm afraid you'll have to suffer the horrifying touch of a Mudblood. I'll try not to hurt you."

She reached up and pressed her hand against the curve of his jaw. Her thumb rested on his cheek and the tips of her fingers touched his silken blonde hair. She felt his pulse beneath her palm for a moment and watched him carefully, daring him to flinch. His silver eyes bored into hers, but he didn't move.

She triggered the spell and they Disapparated.