Forever Knight [Harmione]

Chapter 19: Journey

“Housetrained?” Solomon suggested somewhat teasingly.  “Yes.  Hermione taught us how to hide the bodies.”

Hermione shot him a look.

Ron reddened painfully.  “That’s not—never mind.”  He skulked down in his seat. “Nice to meet you by the way.  Just don’t—you know—suck my blood.”

Hermione saw Harry shoot Ron a scowl.

Ron gave a helpless shrug and fiercely whispered, “Well, I might as well put it out there!”

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. 

Lucien’s blue-black pupils expanded, almost eclipsing the whites of it completely, as he gave Remus a curious stare.  “You’re a werewolf.”

Remus cleared his throat.  “Yes.  I am that.”

“No pack?”

“Er, no.”

“Master?”

At this, Remus hesitated. 

Hermione thought she would die all over again.  “Remus doesn’t have a master.”

And that settled the issue for the meantime, though Hermione thought Remus and Tonks both looked troubled, likely for entirely different reasons.

“I came to tell you that we have to step out for a while,” Hermione said.  She tossed Harry a meaningful look. 

He didn’t catch on as quickly, or else he would rather not assume.  “Where are you going and how long will you be gone?”

“Unless you want us to order take-away…” Lucien began, muttering loud enough for everyone to hear.

Hermione daintily stepped on his foot.  Lucien winced.  She noticed that realization dawned on everyone’s faces and she decided she didn’t need to go into any more detail.  “We won’t be long, and I promise we’ll be careful.”

There was tense moment, as if everyone was anxiously awaiting Harry’s response. 

Finally, Harry nodded.  “Alright, but no longer than an hour and a half.  We’ll be leaving then, for the meeting I told you about last night.”

She remembered.  “We’ll be here.  Where will the meeting be?”

Harry’s gaze darted to Draco and Hermione could’ve sworn Harry’s eyes flashed. 

Draco’s nostrils flared in outrage in the next moment.  “How dare you, Potter?  I’m Malfoy!” Furious, he walked out of the dining room, bringing his plate of food with him so he could finish it in solace. 

“It’s hilarious when he walks out like that: as if we’d care, or something,” Ron told Harry.

Harry smirked turning his attention back to Hermione.  “We’re going to Hogwarts.  Remus and I thought it an auspicious venue.  Aside from Hogwarts being quite secure, many of the Order captains are already stationed nearby. Also, it would be best to get you reacquainted with those… closest to you before you come out to the rest of the Order.  Best thing about Hogwarts, we don’t have to make plans ahead of time for transit.  The train runs regularly and this time of year, it’s mostly empty, so we don’t have to reserve tickets and have someone find out we’re planning to make the trip.”

And amidst Hermione’s turmoil from that bit of information, she looked briefly at the door Draco exited to.  “What was he so angry about?”

“Muffliato.”

“Oh.”

Lucien jerked a thumb at the door.  “You know, there’s something incredibly annoying about that twat.”