Broomsticks and Alibis

Chapter 17

Draco’s head was filled with worry over having to return to Azkaban. He couldn’t go back to that cold, dread filled place. He didn’t want to spoil the night though, so he forced back the thoughts. Hermione had worked too hard on this and she didn’t seem to be as worried as he was, so he stifled the scowl and worry lines and put on a happy face. The Carnival was cool. There were magical games for the kids, where they had to battle Merlin against a fire breathing miniature dragon. If they won the game then they received a crystal ball with a message from Merlin inside the ball as a prize. There were games for the adults as well, a raffle where seats to the Quidditch World Cup were being raffled off. There were also catapults, that were extremely popular with the college students. A witch or wizard would climb up into the bucket on the catapult and then the students below would launch them onto a wall made of sticky flypaper. Once the wall was filled with stuck students then they would fight and try to knock each other down. Last one standing won. Charms were cast allover the tent. In one section, spinning balls that looked like planets were floating above their heads while in another part of the tent it was sprinkling with candy rain drops. The Houses had really come together and made something spectacular and everyone seemed to be having a blast of a time.

“Are you ready for your surprise then?” Hermione said coyly to Draco.

“Hermione, it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you have done here. It’s really quite brilliant. It’s just…Don’t you think we should be looking over our notes, and trying to figure these murders out? Maybe come up with some kind of a working theory?”

“First things first. I said I had a surprise for you. It’s time,” Hermione said kissing him lightly on the chin and pulling him forward.

“I’d almost forgotten, what with everything that’s happened tonight. I still can’t believe I’m running for Minister of Magic. Still not sure how that happened.”

“I think Harry’s right. It’s all going to work itself out. Now, for just a few minutes can you please forget about everything?” Hermione held his hand as they walked towards Draco’s surprise. His thoughts were still on the murder investigation. It had to be Blaise. It all fit. Well, not all of it. Blaise would never tie a girl up so sloppily. That did not fit.

Ginny and Harry suddenly burst out through the door of the funhouse, with smiles plastered to their faces just as Hermione and Draco had reached the door to the Slytherin Funhouse.

“That was so bloody awesome! Oh my gosh you guys are going to love it! After all that, I think Harry is going to propose to me,” Ginny whispered to Hermione. She was glowing, her smile wide. Harry looked positively smitten too. Hermione couldn’t ever remember seeing Harry exude such an amorous air about him. He was hugging Ginny tightly around the waist and nibbling on her ear. Sghe even thoijght she heard a muffled growl come from Harry.

“Just so ya know…” Flint said aloud. “Cho Chang just broke up with that putz she’s dating, after they explored the Funhouse. Some people don’t have such a positive experience. Just thought I’d warn you,” Flint said standing guard at the entrance to the Funhouse. A line had formed, as it seemed to be the main attraction, everyone waiting for a chance to explore the Funhouse.

“Nobody goes in until we come out. Alright?” Hermione said to Flint and Avery and they nodded and then smirked at Draco. Draco raised an eyebrow at them and then tossed his head.

“Uhh Hermione, just what is inside? I don’t particularly enjoy surprises. Did I mention that?”

“No, silly. You said you didn’t like waiting for them. Come on, take my hand.”

The outside of the funhouse was a giant skull with silver glowing eyes. There was the normal ghostly music and haunting chains and groans that you would expect from any Funhouse. It looked intimidating and many children cried as they passed by with their parents. Draco took Hermione’s hand and then stepped into the darkness. He couldn’t see anything through the enveloping blackness.

“Hermione?”

“Right here. You aren’t afraid of the dark, are you?”

“No. It’s not the darkness that is bothering me. It’s the ground. It doesn’t feel like ground.”

“Yeah, you have a point. Lumos!” Hermione lit her wand. “Oh disgusting! Draco what is this stuff?” Draco looked down to see thousands of snakes and bugs slithering and crawling at their feet. Beneath the thick layer of slithering snakes and bugs was what looked like human tissue and organs. There was a road map of veins that carried blood to and from a heart that beat in the center of the chamber they were in.

“Just turn the light off. I think it’s better not to see in this room.” Hermione clutched Draco’s hand tighter, as he led her though the maze of darkness. Their feet stuck to the floor and a slimy goop attached itself to their shoes. As they reached the end of the maze, they could see a faint light ahead. Hermione pulled ahead only to be doused with the pink,bloody slime from overhead. Draco too was slimed as he tried to free Hermione, who was now stuck to the pumping, beating wall of tissue.

“Yuckk! I’m stuck in here. I can’t move my hands. Can you give me a hand?” He pulled at the goop, his own hands sticking and gettinv caught in the putrid mess as well and then suddenly Hermione broke free and they fell on the ground. Draco lit his wand and Hermione screamed, as a snake curled itself around Draco’s neck, her eyeballs wide as she slowly backed off of Draco.

“Thanks for the surprise Hermione. This is exactly what I needed,” Draco laughed.

“I’m sorry. Maybe the next room is better. This is the handy work of your friends, your know.”

“In that case the next room is likely to be worse,” Draco said picking slime from his clothes as they moved into the light.

The next room was a small chamber only big enough for the two of them to stand in. Suddenly they were hit with a blinding light. It was so bright that they were forced to close their eyes.

“I feel really light, almost like I’m floating. Do you?” Hermione said, really more concerned about making sure Draco was with her still, because she didn’t want to traverse this funhouse by her lonesome.

“Yeah, it almost feels like we are climbing too.” Suddenly they stopped and Hermione and Draco looked at each other.

“Do you hear something?” Draco said.

“Yeah it sounds like…water…a lot of water!”

“Shit!” No sooner had Draco grasped Hermione’s hand in his, did the floor drop out from beneath them and then they were hurtling downwards with a wave of surging white water. It swept them down a narrow river of water that twisted and turned like a waterslide. Round and round and down they went, Hermione clutching onto Draco. Draco seemed to be enjoying himself as he screamed out with glee.

“I love this surprise and the goop is all gone now!” They plunged into a pool, finally, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen. She had been so disoriented, that when she went under she didn’t know which way was up. She felt a hand on her arm and then she was coughing and spitting water from her lungs.

“We’re soaked!”

“Come on babe, enjoy it! Let’s see what’s next. I’m kinda digging this funhouse.” Draco lifted her out of the pool. Her hair was plastered to her face and sopping wet. She looked at Draco and even in his water-drenched state, he looked divine. His blonde hair slick against his head, his skin almost glowing and his eyes piercing, as they always were. They stepped forward and found themselves in a vacuum. The wind at their backs was pushing them forward. It was like being in giant wind tunnel. Their hair and clothes were dry almost immediately, as Hermione closed her eyes to block out the hurricane force winds.

SPLAT

Hermione hit the exhaust fan. The metal blades swirled in front of her face, making a whooshing sound as she clung to the metal grate.

“What are you doing up there?” Draco was calling her from below.

“I don’t know! How come you didn’t get sucked up here too?”

“I don’t know! Well drop down.”

“I can’t, I’m stuck to it.” Hermione said.

“Alright, let go of your arms and ill grab your feet.” Draco pulled her down and Hermione dropped onto him, knocking him to the ground. When she stood up, she noticed a moving wall in front of them. It was a bright skyblue and beautiful with sparkling glow worms that seemed to be swimming within the wall, but it appeared to be made of more goopy stuff.

“More goop? I just got cleaned and dried.”

“Come on then. Let’s see what’s next,” Draco said shoving Hermione through the goop first. Suddenly they were hit with powerful strobe lights. A cool watery mist formed beads on their arms, causing goose bumps to spread like a disease across their bodies. They walked through flickering light, their bodies moving in slow motion as they clasped hands and navigated through a sea of moving mushrooms. There were tall green mushrooms and red and brown ones. Some were as tall as themselves while others were squat. One of the mushrooms had a hole on the top of it that opened up, shooting a puff of powder that shimmered and hung in the air above their heads. Hermione and Draco felt a sudden euphoria overtake them as they inhaled the sweet smelling powder from the mushroom. The mushrooms swayed gently, also caught in the slow motion effect of the strobe lights. They felt at ease and relaxed as they traversed the magical field of mushrooms. When they neared the end of the room they were once again in a tunnel of sorts but this one was moving. Suddenly they were flying through the air,whizzing at high speeds through a tunnel that looked like a rainbow with all the lights of the spectrum present. Draco was once again yelling in sheer delight.

“I don’t like this Draco! I don’t like this!” He flew to her side, with his arms extended like a bird and grabbed Hermione around the waist.

“Are you kidding? This is bloody awesome! Flying without a broom. Now this is the shit.” They landed at a door. The door was cracked open and they could see a white light emanating from the room that stood behind it. Hermione carefully opened the door and stepped through first. There were mirrors everywhere and a thick fog throughout. She could see her reflection everywhere and when she turned to find Draco, she saw not one but six of him. She reached out to clutch onto one of the Draco’s arms, but found only air.

“Draco,” Her voice echoed as if broadcast through a speaker system. Draco heard it but he couldn’t figure out where it originated from.

“Draco.” Again he heard it. He couldn’t see Hermione anymore, only images of himself as the voice of his wife echoed repeatedly in his ears.

“I’m here Draco. Come here.” He continued walking through the dense fog and mirrors and finally something touched him on the arm. They were in a circular room of mirrors now, and in the center of the room was a glowing black crystal. Hermione reached out to touch it and Draco drew her hand back.

“I don’t know if you should touch it.” Hermione looked at him and smiled and then pushed the crystal down anyways.

“You only live once, right? Besides, there is nothing in here that can harm us.” She clasped her hand in Draco’s and then the whole room filled with a dense red fog. When it cleared, the mirrors began broadcasting pictures. They watched in awe. Draco and Hermione jumped when they heard their own voices. It wasn’t their voices of now though. What they heard were the voices of children. Suddenly their history began to play across the mirrors before them as their eerie voices echoed in their ears.

“Nobody asked you, you filthy little mudblood,” rang out, and there was Draco in his quidditch robes back at Hogwarts insulting Hermione. The scene switched to Hermione in Hagrid’s hut, sobbing over his cutting words. He could hear her sobs loudly and Draco grabbed his head, trying to shut out the pain. He covered his ears. He didn’t want to hear all the horrible things that he had said to Hermione when they were kids.

“Make it stop!” Draco shouted and Hermione hugged him tightly.

“It’ll be alright. I think we are meant to see this. Don’t worry, please. I forgave you for that. We were just kids.” Just as Draco had decided he had had enough and was going to find a way out of this room of painful memories, another scene flashed across the screen. They were in Flourish and Blotts, and a smitten Draco Malfoy was peering on from the loft above at Hermione as she picked out her textbooks. He was gazing at her with boyhood lust in his eyes and then his father hit him in the back, hard, with a cane,and Draco turned away.

“We shouldn’t have to relive this Hermione,” Draco said dropping his head, almost afraid to look and with a feeling of shame.

“No, look Draco. It’s the time we worked together in potions and actually got along with each other for a change. What’s in your hand?” Draco reluctantly looked up to see he was holding a love note in his hand. He had remembered that day fondly. He and Hermione had been forced to work together for a full week on a series of healing potions in Professor Snape’s classroom. Draco had written her a letter, asking her if she wanted to go out with him. He never gave her the letter, but rather chickened out.

“It was a love letter asking you to go out with me. I was an idiot back then.” Hermione pulled him close and kissed his cheek lightly.

“You should have given it to me.” The moment was only fleeting though, because suddenly the mirrors were filled with Draco behind a Death Eater’s mask. The silver sjull and his silvery eyes behind them, so filled with sorrow and fear, made Hermione gasp. He was being chastised by Voldemort and receiving the Dark Lord’s brand on his arm. Again, he could hear Hermione calling his name as it echoed in his ears. This Funhouse was turning out to be nightmare and Draco wondered when it would end. More images, Hermione on the floor at The Manor being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange while Draco stood on, helpless to save her. Tears burst from Draco’s eyes, and he looked down to see Hermione sheltering her face from the painful images.

“I love you. I am so sorry. Can you ever forgive me? I don’t deserve you.” Draco kissed Hermione’s forehead and lifted her chin to face him. She smiled at him and mimicked that she loved him with all her heart too. The images were gone. Seeing Draco with the Death Eater mask really frightened Hermione. Now they were in the Room of Requirement making love. Hermione was smiling and Draco was kissing her lovingly on the neck while he made love to her for the first time.

“That was a special night for us,” Hermione said wiping her tears away. Draco kissed her passionately. He wanted to feel her body close to his. Seeing their troubled childhood had made him feel that much closer to his wife, now more then ever. The images in the mirrors were of them getting married now, and their first dance at the tavern. Picking out their rings and everything leading up to this point in time, where they stood together clutching each other in a tight embrace. Draco let his body fall to the ground, bringing Hermione with him. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and never let her go as the pictures flashed, their arguments, their laughing, their love filling their ears as they kissed deeply. Hermione heard something different now. Something she didn’t remember, and she looked up to see Draco being ushered in as the Minister of Magic. He was wearing a lavish robe and was holding his hand up taking a vow to serve. She gazed down at him and smiled widely. They were now seeing the future.

“No. I don’t want us to know what our future holds in store. Don’t look.” Hermione nodded and then found his lips again. Their tongues were deep in one another’s mouths as they kissed and caressed. Draco heard a baby cry and he popped an eye open for a brief second. He saw Hermione in a bed giving birth to a blonde haired baby and Draco knew he had to have her right then and there.

“I need you Hermione. I need you so much.” He kissed down her neck and pulled the tight sequined bodysuit off in lascivious fashion, while she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it down over his masculine arms. He moved between her legs and pushed himself deep into her waiting wetness. He was near tears, he needed her so badly. With each thrust of his manhood into her, he could feel his love growing for her. This was his partner, his best friend, his wife and his heart. He came in her deeply,his orgasm filling her with his seed, with himself, with his love. They embraced, neither breathing a word. Hermione stroked his head, his blond hair falling against her skin, that lay tenderly on her bare chest, and for the first time she knew they were both at peace with the past. No more would they have to feel guilty. She felt Draco’s love for her, just as their hearts were one. She loved this man with everything she had and she knew he loved her too. When the images ceased, they dressed in silence and then together, stepped through the last door and into the night once more.

Draco turned to her, his hands holding hers as they faced each other, under the stars by the lake.

“Did you see anything of our future in there?”

“No. Did you?” Hermione lied. She smiled and Draco knew she was not being truthful.

“Nope. Not a thing.”He lied. They kissed warmly and then Hermione spoke.

“Well,maybe I did see one thing that had to do with you.”

“Yeah, me too.But it was about you.” Draco smiled and then Hermione began to open her mouth. “Let’s not tell each other. Let’s let it be a surprise.”

“But I thought you didn’t like surprises?”
“I do now.”

Out of nowhere they saw a green light. Another green light and then a scream echoed through the night. It was coming from the Forbidden Forrest.

“Draco, did you see that!?”

“I saw it. Somebody just performed an Unforgivable curse! Stay here!”

Draco took off on foot towards the dark, foreboding forest. Hermione stood there for a moment, and then she too sprinted towards the place they had seen the wands wicked green light,through the darkness of the night.

Review!?

Well…this was supposed to be a combined chapter of Funhouse and Final battle…but…Funhouse ran long, but it was really a key scene for the romance part of the story, so I decided to split the chapter up. Hope you enjoyed! More on way. What did you think?