Draco was surer than ever about what he had to do.
The night was filled with sobs and whispers. He faintly felt the ache in his mate's heart, and knew that he was the root of it. Or at least thought he knew. He wasn't going to ask her the reason for her tears-- for fear of bringing more. He let her sleep in the next day, making sure to take good notes.
But yes, Draco Malfoy had a plan that he was certain he must follow through. THe following Friday was a trip to Hogsmeade. Draco planned on scheduling a visit to his mother instead. He had to speak with her in person, but he also had a mission. Now Draco wasn't stupid, so he told one person part of his plan.
"Lake Parime, why the bloody hell are you going there?" Blaise asked as they walked toward the doors that led out of Hogwarts.
Draco shook his head, "I can't tell you." Blaise crossed his arms and held a deadpan expression. Draco looked at him and rolled his eyes. "You won't like it."
"Try me."
Draco licked his lips and scratched the back of his neck. "I need a cup from the lake for a potion. I need the potion for a... important spell."
"And why is the spell so important Drake?"
"It's uhh... It's ...itstogetridofmyveelahalf" he mumbled.
"A little louder Draco, I'm getting old" he quipped.
"I found the spell in a rare book on Veela, the spell and potion will let be able to rip my Veela half from my human half."
Blaise's eyebrows shot up and he yanked Draco to the side of the door. "Draco you have five seconds to tell me why the bloody hell you think tearing your veela half out is a good idea."
Draco shook his head and looked down at the floor. "I can't, I just.... can't. Its better this way-- especially in the long run" he finished as he started pulling his bag to the apparition point outside of Hogwarts.
"Draco!" Blaise called after the retreating figure. "Did you even think about what this would do to her?"
Draco dropped his head, after all she was the reason he wanted to do this.
___________________________
Hermione toyed with the handle of the glass that held her unfinished butterbeer. She sat to the side of the leaky cauldron in a booth by herself on the chilly autumn afternoon. For once, Hermione didn't feel like thinking, she practically didn't feel anything. It was the strangest thing for her, her senses had diminished these last days. The night before she ran a fever that felt like it was boiling her insides-- that's what brought her out. The nurse said she should spend more time outside and enjoy the cool air.
So she sat. A group of fourth years shuffled in and took a table close by. She looked over at the table and saw a girl with curly blonde hair take a swig of butterbeer.
"Blimey Penelope, you'd pass as an alcoholic" the brunette across from her said astonished.
"Shut it Daniel. Now what was important," she finished with another swig.
The boy with flat brown hair-- whom she presumed to be Daniel-- rolled his eyes and looked at the dark haired girl next to him. "Update her, she hasn't been here" she explained in a soft voice.
"Five more in the last two days."
Penelope stopped mid sip in her drink. "How is no one talking about this? Why did the missing reports stop?" She lowered her voice so much Hermione had to nudge a little closer to the edge of her booth.
Daniel matched her volume. "Rumor is that they can't find a lead. Someone has been very good at covering their tracks."
Hermione's curiosity was peaked. She was about to approach the group until Ginny and Luna came and sat down next to her. "Mione why didn't you tell us you'd be here first, we were at the bookshop looking for you for an hour."
She shrugged and took a sip of her butterbeer. Ginny gave her a suspicious look but said nothing more on the topic-- choosing to engage in an avid conversation about her strategy for the upcoming game.
It was two hours later when Hermione finally snuck away from the pair-- saying how she needed new quills. She sighed the minute she walked into Scrivenshaft's, it was blissfully quiet. She roamed around the shop looking at different quills and scrunched her nose as she picked up a weird blue one. She heard the bell to the store go off and turned to look at the door. She was surprised at her luck.
The boy with the flat brown hair came in alone. He walked toward s shelves with ink. She slowly walked around shelves of stationary till she was right next to the boy. She saw him contemplating over the best choice of ink and tapped his shoulder.
"The one on the left is best for your classes, the one on the right is better for doodling or letters to friends."
The boy smiled and picked up the one on the right. "Thank you, my name is Daniel," he greeted as he turned to face her. "You're Hermione Granger!" She smiled meekly in return. "What are you doing here?"
"Shopping for quills and ink," she shrugged and slowly walked back toward the quills hoping he would follow. That was one thing she could always count on with her fame.
She looked at the sets of quills and tapped her chin unconsciously. Daniel was soon by her side and lifted up a case. "Classic with a Twist', they're elegant but still look like old quills. Plus they write really well" he added as he shyly handed them to her.
She picked them up and examined the two quills. "They are lovely." She liked the white feathered with a silver tip, the swirls almost extending into the feather. A beautiful chestnut feather had dark wood with gold swirls. She closed the case and held a small smile.
"Thank you." She looked at him and pretended to gain a realization. "Hey you were talking with two other girls earlier today right? You guys were talking about the disappearances?"
He looked astonished for a moment but didn't question the witch. "Yeah, crazy stuff right? Have you been hearing about them too? Almost twenty people have gone missing without any trace in the past months. Very hush hush- but of course you probably know that" he dismissed.
She nodded her head slowly, "yeah I've um heard about them. Just not sure what the public knows..."
The boy gazed at her with admiration and nodded his head in belief. "Not much apparently, I heard everything from my father's friend. There's really no connection between the disappearances and no one knows why they're going missing. No spells, no witnesses, no leads. I think that the people-- because there has to be more than one for it to work-- are going after loners, strangers. A lot of those after the war..."
She nodded her head as the bell to the store rang again. "Daniel hurry, we have to get to the quidditch shop before it closes!" Penelope shouted in a hush tone-- trying to not disrupt the environment.
He nodded his head and ran to pay for his ink. He threw a quick "thanks again" over his shoulder as he left with the two girls. Hermione tried to process everything that had been said as a lady rang up her quills.
________________________________
Draco popped into his old room quickly and started unpacking supplies. He told his mother that he would be arriving later that day and had to be gone before she noticed his arrival. He slung his satchel around his arm and headed toward the Malfoy library. In back of the long room were several maps stacked, rolled and hung about. He shuffled through the papers and found three small old scrolls. The third was useless so he left it on the floor. The first one had an apparation point that Draco knew would get him there legally, so faster than a snap he apparated.
Normally you need a portkey allowed by the ministry to travel across continents, unless you're a Malfoy with estate on said continent. He arrived at a beautiful Spanish home that he hadn't seen in over a decade. With no time to reminisce Draco looked at the map and started heading west.
The home had overlooked a refreshing green jungle that dove deep into the ground. Draco had never been an outdoors person but Merlin he hoped that it wouldn't be difficult.
As he carefully treaded the dense greenery he tried to ignore the random noises a jungle brings. Insects would crawl on the floor and snakes would slither on branches. He had his wand ready just in case. He was almost in the center, just about a 100ft drop down. He blew a nervous breathe and looked for his options. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. He whipped around to face the creature.
A fairy that resembled a bright pink flower flew in front of him. He kept his wand up suspiciously. The fairy eyed him up and down and circled around him. "What do you need Fairy" he asked sternly.
The fairy raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest as her small wings flapped like a hummingbird. A small smirk graced their face as they spoke in a soft child-like voice. "Only creatures are allowed in the Jungle of Parime. How did you get here Wizard?"
Draco squinted at the small fairy and took in a deep breath. He had neglected to take a potion and the affects were starting to kick in. The veela had not been happy lately with the decisions his human made. So he dug deep to find those locked emotions and breathed out. He snapped his eyes wide open at the small creature.
The fairy was met with pitch black eyes and a small growl. They fluttered back a bit but grinned like a Cheshire cat. "OH!" The fairy squealed. "You're no wizard, you're a veela! Well in that case," the fairy extended a small hand, "proper introductions are required. You're name Veela?"
Draco wasn't stupid; before he quelled his veela he bared his teeth to the fairy and grumbled. "If you enjoy having wings, I suggest you not play games fairy." The fairy pulled back their arm and nodded. "Good, now guide me to the Lake."
"The lake-- why do you want to go there? Why not the golden city?" They bright fairy asked as they flutter through the trees.
"No questions just guide."
They huffed and groaned as they flew him to a secret passage behind a stone slab. Through a bit of fairy magic, the passage led them to an underground cave. It was as wide as a quidditch field, but longer than what Draco could see. The water glowed a bright blue, and chunks of gold could be seen floating through the current. He stood on a floor of rocks. The rocks were wet and slippery near the lake, so he stepped cautiously. He kneeled toward the water and pulled out a vial to scoop it up.
"Anything else Veela?"
"Well I'll need you to help me get back, and-
Draco stopped as he heard water splash. He shoved the vial into his satchel and drew his wand. "Who's here?" He called out to the cave. He heard the still water of the lake lap at the rocks, but no steps. "Are there other creatures down here?" He asked the fairy, they shook their head.
Draco stepped closer toward the source of noise. He casted a disillusion charm and saw a foot behind a wall. He stepped lightly to the side till he saw more of the being "Expelliarmus!" He shouted toward the figure.
The spell whizzed past the being, which hid behind the wall further and extended their wand out toward him. Draco recognized that wand, but it was too late. He was struck with a purple light to the head and fell to the ground. The last think he saw was a blurry image of a girl he thought was his friend.
A/N: Thank you so much for everyone who continues to read the story- I really appreciate it. As I try to write chapters i notice some loose threads and buffering needs to be done. Soooo once all the chapters are published i will be editing the whole thing-- I'll be sure to tell you some way or another. Anyways thanks for the reading!
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