DEVOTED | dramione ✓

| Sixteen

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16

R A I N Y

D A Y S

I N

P A R A D I S E

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THEY APPEAR ON A STREET, just down the block from where Dean says the Weasley's are.

"I agreed to take you to the Twins, so I will do that, but nothing more. If you are attacked, I will not help you. Are we clear?" Tired bags hang under his eyes as if he spent all night wide awake.

Hermione drops the tough act, and nods.

"Not like I'd need your help anyway, Thomas," she says smirking. "Now where are we going to find these brothers?"

Dean points over his shoulder.

"Just follow me," he says, then leads them down the street.

The sidewalks are empty, and they're free to speak.

"Why did you not want to help me?"

Dean looks down at her, but continues his pace.

"Why do you want to deliver yourself to the Weasley's?" He raises a brow for a moment before chuckling to himself when she refuses to answer. "Let's just agree to ignore each other until we reach their house. We're not friends. We're business partners."

She turns her glare to the sidewalk in front of them. She attempts to read his mind as well, but she senses his resistance.

"I don't see why it's fair that you can read my mind, but I'm not allowed to read yours," Hermione says, more annoyed than frustrated.

He laughs again.

"I'll give you a pointer," Dean says. "Know your opponent."

She scoffs.

"You don't know me! You don't know me at all," Hermione says angrily.

"But I do. I know your reputation, and now I know how you go about probing minds. You're brash and aggressive." He looks forward at the ground and houses.

"And you're annoyingly subtle. How do I combat that?"

He laughs again, and then Hermione realizes he might be vulnerable when he's laughing. So, she tries to enter his mind, and for a few seconds, she witnesses his very heated argument with Seamus, and from the look of their clothes, it was last night.

So that's why he looks so tired -

She sucks in a breath before exhaling loudly.

"You don't have to take me," she says, looking around the housing that's suddenly turned a bit more run down, dirt is under their feet instead of concrete. "Just tell me where they are."

Dean tsks.

"Nah, I've been given strict orders to escort you all the way to the Weasley twins property. Besides, we're almost there."

Minutes later, they stop in front of a ran-down and inconspicuous house fenced in its dry, grassy yard by a wrought-iron gate. The windows are covered, and there isn't a car in the drive, but Dean tells her they're definitely inside.

"Thank you for bringing me," Hermione says before realizing just exactly who she's talking to. "I guess this is good bye."

She opens the gate.

"If I see you again, it'll be too soon," Dean says before Disapparating.

Same to you -

She stares at the spot he just occupied, before walking up to the door. She knocks several times, and for a moment there's silence, then a deep rumbling shakes her feet. The floor disappears and she falls straight down a shoot. She falls on her back, hitting the ground harshly with her head.

Coughing and attempting to breathe through the dust and dirt, she feels herself being restrained, but she allows it, because she needs to speak with them.

I need to prove that I'm not a threat -

When the air clears, she realizes she's not alone. Two identical red heads tower over her; their eyes are darkened by shadows, revealing only their wicked grins.

"Hello, Hermione," one chimes.

"Good bye, Hermione," the other says.

They raise their wands in unison.

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