Finders Keepers

Hermione awoke with a start and took a few moments to figure out exactly where she was. Her lap was empty; Draco nowhere to be seen. Sitting up rather groggily, Hermione felt like she had finally slept for more than half an hour - her body was grateful for the respite. She tried to stave off the memory of Draco snuggling into her, and her letting him – so she looked around instead of remembering his warmth.

Luggage was strewn everywhere from when she was searching for the things she needed to sew up Malfoy, which made her think back to the previous day and how they managed to get onto the train in the first place. Draco was extremely confident in the plan he’d come up with, never in a million years would Hermione thought to have jumped in front of a train, then catch it, so why did Draco?

Before she could let her woozy thoughts explore more down that path, the door opened and Hermione flinched from the light which penetrated the space. It didn’t even occur to her it might be somebody other than Draco, but it was him. He was dressed differently.

“Did you steal somebody’s clothes? That’s terrible.”

Draco gave her a grin, which she ignored, well tried to. “When in Rome, Granger. I set some stuff out for you.”

She looked beside her, seeing a complete traditional German wench outfit, lederhosen included. Scowling, she looked up at the idiot. “Very funny.”

Underneath the silly costume was a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a thick woollen jumper. Perfect. Though she did wonder how he knew her size exactly – it was kind of creepy in a bizarre yet flattering way – he’d noticed her more than she’d thought. Then all thoughts crashed to a halt as she smelt it.
It was the most wondrous smell in the entire continent. Looking up she saw Draco leaning towards her with a small Styrofoam cup of coffee. It took two seconds in Hermione’s mind to stop thinking of him as the devil and for a moment she actually believed he was an angel. The sun from the open door actually did halo his blonde hair and Hermione found herself catching her breath, damn it – he looked good, which was not good for her.

Taking a sip, Hermione shut her eyes - it was black, bitter and ‘oh’ so perfect. He must have gotten changed and visited the dining car – she tried to keep her gratitude to herself. A buttered croissant followed and she didn’t care if she looked like a pig; slurping coffee between large bites – she heard Draco chuckle.

“You eat like a sloth – and you sew like a four year old boy.”

“Next time I’ll leave the bullet in.” Hermione retorted hoping he understood her; she had another mouthful of pastry. “So, we have the relic, we are still being hunted – what now? I have a man in the Ministry, if we can get to a phone or an owl I can alert him to what’s going on.”

Draco frowned as he leant up against the wall of the carriage, the clacking noise was almost comforting now, she didn’t want to leave this safe haven – people were trying to kill her outside of these four walls.

“I think its best we don’t trust anyone, Granger.”

Strangely enough she didn’t leap in and point out she didn’t trust him either – or did she? This entire fiasco was changing everything she thought she knew. “But he’s from the Ministry,” she replied instead, wiping flakes of croissant off her face.

“Especially anyone from the Ministry,” he replied
enigmatically. “I looked on the EMS, we are near a small city, I know a place we can go – we can jump off at the next stop.”

Hermione reluctantly agreed, still thinking it was best they contact Herbert, he was the one after all who told her to find
the relic in the first place – and to make sure no one else got it before her. “Where are we going then?”

“To an acquaintance of mine,” Draco vaguely answered.

“You said trust nobody.”

“Well I’m not bloody going to tell him what’s happening, am I? But he can help us with equipment and other things we may need which we can’t conventionally buy.”

“Like?” Hermione demanded, not enjoying where this was going.

“You know; weapons and spells.”

“Oh, you mean a backyard swindler,” Hermione said sweetly,
with a huge hint of sarcasm.

“No, a contact I have through my business dealings.”

“Sorry, I mean an untrustworthy backyard swindler…”

“Oh, for Merlins sake, Granger – just go with something for once in your life without the thousands of annoying questions you seem to dream up out of nowhere. The trains slowing – lets go.”

Hermione said nothing more and followed Draco out; they jumped off just as the train came to a stop, then they disappeared in the crowd of waiting families and travellers. Draco stopped at a small booth and haggled with a man over the price of a map and some water, he looked so natural doing it, Hermione once again realised how much about this man she didn’t know and was slowly learning; then they were off.

The house when they arrived looked like it should have been demolished years earlier – due to safety regulations, but it still stood defiant in the small street. Hermione looked warily at the drooping arch she passed under, but it stayed in place. The small stooped man who opened the door fitted the house perfectly – he looked just as dilapidated.

The white haired man said nothing as he looked Draco over then nodded when satisfied with who knows what; then he saw Hermione standing behind Draco. “She’s with me.”

The old man looked at Draco in surprise. “I know who it is; I thought you said she was…”

“Never mind that now, just let us in – I’ll vouch for her.” Malfoy interrupted before the man could finish his sentence.
Hermione had no idea who this man was – how in hell did he know her? And where the hell were they? A strange prickling sensation started up the back of Hermione’s neck – there was magic, a lot of magic here. What business dealings did Malfoy have with this man? Not good ones she thought, feeling a pang of mistrust, she had almost forgotten Malfoy’s shady dealings in the relic world. It wouldn’t do to keep forgetting it either, but his actions the last two days was so different from the business man she’d dealt with in London. She was confused and sick of the changes around her that she couldn’t explain away with a good theory or research. Hermione reluctantly shrugged off her worries and followed the two men inside; still a little wary of the structure they stood in.

“Wait here,” Draco gestured to a chair which Hermione patted once and seeing the dust fly off of it, perched herself on the arm instead. He disappeared to a back room with the old man and Hermione looked around then stood up, she could never help snooping.

Clippings from newspapers around the world littered each space, some Muggle, most magical. Wars, floods, famines and political intrigue were what most pieces of paper were about.
She also saw a large book full of schematics for some technical looking items – it was all jargon to Hermione; she couldn’t see anything special about them, the next room over looked the same – although he had quite a few interesting pieces she would like for her own art collection.

“Hermione – answer me, don’t make me visit a country I’ve never seen and would probably catch a fever and die from it the minute I stepped over the border.”

“Christopher?” Relief fled through her at her best friend’s deep voice – she was now glad she never took the damn earpiece off. “We are in deep shit here.”

“I know – the Ministry bandwidth is going nuts. Herbert’s been here about ten times, demanding to know where you are and if you had the key, I didn’t know what to tell him, so I said I lost contact just before you got to the cave. He’s really concerned, Hermione. We all are.”

Hermione thought a moment about what Draco said, then decided she had to do what was best for her. “Tell Herbert we have it – and we’ll meet him here – in town.” She rattled off where they were, luckily she’d read the town’s name at the rail station; and they had passed a large square with an ornate fountain on the way to this house so told Christopher that’s where they’d meet Herbert. Relieved she had sorted out a plan for them, she didn’t worry about what Draco would think – he’d be pleased he could stop running and go back to his life of high flying parties and women. Hermione ignored the strange pang she felt when thinking of Draco sleeping around. It was none of her business, never was and never would be, then why did she suddenly feel like she had a say in it? One and a half kisses did not mean anything of the sort.

Suddenly she heard raised voices. Trying not to look too obvious, Hermione made her way as close to the door leading towards the back of the house. She could only pick up a few words here and there, but it was obvious the old man wasn’t happy. She could hear Malfoy’s voice raising every few words, something about ‘he’d be careful’ and ‘he’d only use it if it was an emergency’ then something about ‘trust’. Frowning, Hermione quickly sat back on the chair’s arm when she heard footsteps coming her way. What was that about?

He emerged soon enough, a small backpack over his shoulder – and they left – the old man eyeing her curiously. She noticed neither said goodbye to the other. Who was this man? She frowned and followed Draco back to the street.

“Who is he?” she found herself asking, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Lloyd,” is all Malfoy replied. She huffed out an annoyed breath, which Malfoy ignored – arse. She wasn’t going to get any more out of him about it.

They came close to the square where she told Christopher to get Herbert to meet them and for some reason she started picking nervously with the hem of her jumper. Hermione knew she had to tell Malfoy what she’d done while he was acquiring unlicensed spells.

“Malfoy, I uh…” she didn’t really know where to start, but she wasn’t afraid of him – his anger and scorn she could deal with. “Christopher managed to get through again and I told him where we were – he’s letting my contact at the Ministry know – they should be here in a second.”

Draco whirled on her so fast she thought he’d snap a vertebrae, “you fucking what?” Grabbing her shoulders tightly he looked wildly around, what was his issue?

“I took care of it, we aren’t equipped to keep running – the Ministry has people who do this all the time – let them deal with the relic – we did well to keep it from Raul as far as this.”

Suddenly he pulled her towards a small shop front and pushed her into the doorway, leaning in menacingly. “You have no idea what you’ve just done, do you? I thought you were smart, no actually I thought you were exceptionally smart…” Hermione blinked; stomach alive with fluttering at his words – he thought she was smart. “But now I know you are the stupidest witch on the planet. Merlin, I want so bad to throttle some sense into your head – you know what your problem is,
Granger – you are too bloody trusting of the wrong people.”

Anger flooded her, but before she could retort, a wave of sickness hit her. Nausea and pain in her stomach almost made her double over, she saw Draco wince, but managed to keep upright. Then she spied William next to the fountain. How the hell had he found them? He was surrounded by men, men who were making her feel violently ill, some held wands – some had guns strapped to their thighs – none of the passer-by’s seemed to notice. They must have a cloaking spell on their weapons.

“Shit, we stick out like nobody’s business – we need to get away.” Draco was looking around; then when Hermione bit back a sharp cry of shock he glanced down at her. She only had eyes for the wizard who had popped into existence. It was Herbert, and he was talking to William who was shaking his head at something. She had been a fool – the biggest fool ever. She had led these men straight to them – she was the one who told the bad guys where they were. Hermione Granger was a trusting freaking idiot.

“I can’t believe Herbert is working with Raul, it doesn’t make sense…”

Draco pushed her a little more into the doorway, then she saw somebody else next to the fountain who had previously been hidden behind the men, and her stomach dropped right out of her body in fear. He was beaten, bruised and one eye had swollen shut, but he was still conscious - looking around with his good eye. This one good green eye, locked onto her, they’d always had an uncanny connection. “Christopher…”

Draco snapped his head around at her small anguished cry. “For fuck’s sake, could this get any more complicated?”

“We have to save him,” she cried when Draco tried pushing her in the opposite direction. He huffed as she resisted him.

“You’re the one who put him in this position in the first place. We can’t help him now – he’s surrounded. Do you get that? He is surrounded and we have no wands or anywhere near enough weapons to help him.”

Hermione blanched at his harsh words, but they were true. It was her fault. But that only made her angrier – it was her freaking fault and she had to save him – no questions. She let Draco lead her down another two shops so they were hidden again. She looked back – Christopher was no longer eyeing her, Hermione hoped he didn’t think she’d leave him there. Swiftly the armed men started to fan out, while Herbert spoke rapidly on the phone gesturing wildly into the cold sunny day. She couldn’t hear a thing from where they stood.

“Seriously, Draco – we aren’t….”

“Shut it, listen to me – it’s a fool’s errand, it’s suicide – especially as we hold the one key they are looking for.” He held up a finger as she started to protest, “But, if it’s one thing I’ve learnt in the last two days – you are the most stubborn infuriating witch to walk this earth and I know you’ll just run off and get yourself killed trying to do the right thing. So…we formulate a plan, steal The Grindle Chest and save your boyfriend, who I might add is a little shorter than I thought he’d be.”

“He’s six three….” Hermione trailed off, once again going to protest about her relationship status with Christopher. Draco was pointedly not looking at her though, he was pushed against her, making it difficult to look up without her nose hitting his throat; his attention was back at the square. She could see he was searching for an escape route; she was still stuck on his speech. Get The Grindle Chest - Holy Shit, he was serious. A niggling feeling that Draco wasn’t all he seemed started to form in her mind; then he cut her thoughts off with a harsh whisper.

“Get ready to sprint, Granger – they’re almost on us.” His hand tightened on her shoulder, it was strangely comforting for some reason.

Her heartbeat started to tap out a steady rhythm as she watched three men getting closer. Then Draco grabbed her hand and they tore out of their hiding place. She heard a yell behind them as they flew past tourists, locals shopping and children playing in the streets. Ducking and weaving around an elderly couple they came barrelling around a corner and Draco jumped effortlessly over a bin which was directly in his way. Hermione skidded past it, narrowly avoiding the tripping hazard which would have ensured she’d landed on her face. Adrenaline pumped her legs faster and she chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw they were being pursued. Of course they were, they held the supposed key to The Grindle Chest – the bad guys weren’t just going to say, ‘bad luck boys, we’ll get them next time’, then shake their fists in the air.
Draco led her down many paths and too many streets with cobbled little alleys until she was completely and utterly confused. Did he know where they were going or was he just running blind? It didn’t really matter she figured, as long as they got away from Herbert, William and their cronies so they could formulate a plan to save Christopher…and steal one of the world’s greatest artefacts. What the hell had she gotten involved in? Coming around another corner Hermione stifled a squeal as they ran headlong into two of the armed men - two men who were just as surprised to see them.

Without thought she lowered her shoulder and ran straight at one of them, while Draco ran at the other full tilt. She could see the minute they clashed that Draco went directly on the offensive and started to hit into the armed man. Hermione ducked her body at the last moment and felt her shoulder go right into her man’s gut – winding him. He fell back sprawled on the ground and she jumped on him and punched his jaw. He grunted in pain, but wasn’t knocked out; Hermione scrambled for a weapon and saw nothing. She looked down at his belt instead and saw a stun gun – excellent. It took her one second to unclip the device then jumped off him and used it. Hermione thought it was a bit unfair to use somebody else’s own weapon against them, but he had it coming.

She pocketed the stun gun in her bag and saw Draco had also downed his man; then they were off running again. The whole episode took all of two minutes; she was starting to think she might be in the wrong industry. Kicking arse seemed to be coming naturally to her. They saw a small footbridge in the distance and made a run for it, Draco handed her something – it was a black cap one of the men was wearing. She frowned.

“Put it on – your hair is as bloody obvious as you are.”

She tucked her curls up on her head and slammed the hat down just as they reached the bridge, full of tourists and people selling their wares. As Hermione went to run across it, Draco dragged her to the base of the bridge instead - almost hidden from view.

“They’ll bloody see us here,” Hermione protested as Draco pulled on a black knitted beanie. Where had he gotten that from and why the hell was it oddly appealing? He ripped his jacket off, throwing it around her shoulders inside-out showing the bright blue lining; then roughly pulled her towards him using the lapels as an anchor.

“No they won’t,” he replied. “It’s almost too clichéd of a plan, but trust me, it’ll work.”

“What will…?” Hermione didn’t get any further as her words were suddenly cut off due to the fact Draco was kissing her for the second time – and he wasn’t holding back.

~~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*~~~~~

Stupid plan – really stupid, Draco told himself as soft surprised lips opened beneath his. He was supposed to be ignoring the fact he was finding Granger more and more appealing as the hours ticked by, not bloody throwing himself into it with a complete lack of abandon.

His grip tightened on the lapels of the jacket as he held Granger in place and completely devoured her in a kiss. His tongue danced across her lips and she opened further allowing him access. The heat of her mouth and the small whimper he heard her involuntary make, hardened his already rising cock. Merlin, this witch was unexpected. Her hands came up to grasp the front of his jumper and hold on as their breathing started to come out ragged.

He heard shouts and footsteps, but found himself lost in the warmth and sensation of their kiss, and barely noticed as men ran directly past them and over the bridge. Granger’s fingers started to trail down the front of his jumper until they found the edge of it and small cold hands found his bare skin. It was a shock at first, the coolness, but they ran over his stomach muscles, questing, searching and he felt himself clenching in arousal. She wrapped her hands around his back and pulled herself against him, pushing on his hardness. Bloody hell, he was a wreck – and it was one bloody kiss. Draco knew right that very second if he didn’t sleep with her once, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He only needed to screw her senseless one time to get it out of his system – then he’d never speak to the witch again once this ordeal was over. He just had to figure a way to do it.

How long they stood there kissing, he couldn’t say, a minute, ten – but all too soon, he was releasing her – a little harder than intended. Hermione’s cheeks were pink and her lips red and bruised from the punishing kiss he’d given her – she looked, breathtaking – no, she looked like Granger, nothing more nothing less. Merlin, he was in trouble.

Grabbing Hermione’s arm – he hauled her away from the bridge and they tucked their heads down and walked quickly in the opposite direction the men had gone. They said nothing to the other for a long time – Draco wasn’t exactly sure on what to say anyway – so the silence was good. If he knew that it would have shut Granger up for a while he would have kissed her ages ago.

As they walked, Draco tried to formulate a plan on finding Raul and The Grindle Chest, the stuff he’d gotten from Lloyd’s would help, but he really needed a wand – or an arsenal. Lloyd didn’t have either of those things – except the one weapon Draco took which was more powerful than an entire army – if it worked.

“Holy shit, Malfoy – I think I know a way to find out where Raul is holed up, I’ve actually known the whole time”

Draco managed to fight off the urge to grab Hermione and shake her for not telling him sooner, instead he stopped and when she also stopped in surprise, he turned her bodily towards him - grasping her shoulders.

“How?” he said the word slowly and probably not in the nicest tone as he watched her frown. Damn, her lips looked inviting, all pouty and annoyed – oh man, finding Granger’s surliness attractive was a can of worms he didn’t want to open, he’d be constantly hard.

Instead of answering, she tugged him into a shop – a small cafe. She ordered two large mugs of coffee and bought two sandwiches, paying with a card she’d pulled out of her top – what the hell? “Never leave home without it.” She quoted to him; he resisted the urge to ask what else she kept in her bra. He did not need to be thinking about that right now.

Once they had sat down near the back, just in case William and his men came past the shop, she grabbed his wrist in excitement. “Christopher had it chipped, ages ago – I thought he was mad – but bloody hell, it could just save his damn life now.”

Draco frowned at her, ignoring the sharp dig in his chest when she mentioned Christopher again, this boyfriend was a pain in his arse. Malfoy knew he didn’t like him – on principle, he just didn’t like dark haired wizards – it was a rule he had, albeit a relatively new rule once again since Harry and he were now friends of a sort.

“What is chipped, Granger?” He forced this out through clenched teeth – she was annoying him now.

He watched her brow furrow as she looked at him like he was the biggest dolt in the world. “My wand of course,” she drawled. “We can pick up its frequency on the EMS, hell this whole time we have been running I didn’t even think we could trace my wand back to them.”

Draco sipped his coffee slowly, glad Granger’s need to organise and control everything had finally come in handy. So they had the means now to find the Chest… and the damn boyfriend – but they needed a plan of offense. Granger’s next question startled him completely that he lost his usual veneer of indifference.

“Are you a spy?”

“Excuse me?” he stalled, not exactly sure on how to answer her.

“Straight forward question, Malfoy. Are. You. A. Spy?”

Running his hand through his hair, which he suddenly realised was a tell of his, he dropped his hand back to the mug in front of him and took another large gulp. Annoyingly he didn’t have any more food to stall her with by chewing slowly. Hermione’s large brown eyes didn’t leave his, and he resisted the urge to look away. How in hell was he supposed to answer this? The trick was to keep close to the truth – hell, why didn’t he tell her the whole truth? No, that would be ridiculous he decided.

“How is this relevant?” he hedged, just as the door opened and one of the men from the fountain came in searching tables. How ironic, saved by the enemy, Draco thought.

Hermione leaned down and grabbed her backpack and slowly slid close to the ground. They chose these seats because there was an exit out the back courtyard to the toilets which were outside. Draco kept low and they slid out down the small hallway, he was pretty sure they’d been spotted though.

They burst out the back and Hermione climbed on the dumpster to jump over the fence, Draco hot on her heels, and unfortunately so was the other guy – who was on his radio as they fled. Great, he was telling the others where they were – could this day get any more complicated.

“I want an answer, Malfoy – I won’t forget.” Hermione called to him from the ground on the other side of the fence.

Draco knew she wouldn’t let it go – it wasn’t like Granger. It made him question what the hell had been happening for him to know exactly how Granger worked – it didn’t scare him as much as it should have.

~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~

Hermione was off running like a sprinter, Draco a few feet behind her. They had been sitting there drinking coffee and chatting about a plan to save Christopher when it hit
Hermione – Draco was more than just a relic hunter. She actually felt slightly idiotic for it to take so long to realise. If his scars, demeanour and the quick thinking on his feet were anything to go by – he was a spy, a secret Auror or something else. She fervently hoped he wasn’t one of the bad guys also trying to get the Chest – she’d had enough betrayal to last her a lifetime. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder - was she silly to trust in him? It was almost too late for this question as she realised she did – implicitly.

Skidding around another corner Hermione came to an abrupt halt and grabbed Draco while pulling them up against a wall. She’d seen Herbert. After a few seconds of tense silence, Draco leant down whispering in her ear, her stomach flipped as his breath tickled her lobe. The kiss they shared at the bridge flowing to the forefront of her mind, making her knees weak. Bad timing, Granger.

“What is it?”

“Herbert, just ahead….” She trailed off when another Herbert came into view – shouting at the original Herbert. It was as she squinted at the two men she started to notice subtle differences. Although they wore completely different clothes, one had slightly longer hair at the back and his frame was smaller – almost a little sickly. As she watched, the familiar feeling of wrongness started to encompass her again. “Holy shit – I’m confused.” She finally said.

Draco just started to pull her in the opposite direction when they almost walked into five men – five men who had an array of wands or guns trained at them.

“Oh fuck.” Draco managed to say before a gun was pushed right into his chest. Hermione inhaled sharply and tried to get a reign on her racing heart.

“Turn around and move it,” the man demanded as Draco slowly spun towards where she’d seen the two Herbert’s. Hermione could almost hear his mind ticking over from where she stood, a wand now pushed into her lower back. What in hell were they going to do?

They were marched straight ahead and before Hermione could even ask what was going on, Herbert was directly in front of her – well one of them was.

“Ah, Ms Granger – Mr Malfoy, you have been a pain to track down – very resourceful together aren’t you?” His tone was clipped but held a small accent of some sort – Hermione couldn’t tell. She knew immediately this wasn’t her Herbert from the Ministry, where he had gone she could only guess. It was just her and Draco surrounded by men with weapons and the wizard in front of her which made her swallow back bile. He noticed her discomfort and sneered.

“What is wrong with you?” Hermione couldn’t help but spit out as she swallowed hard again. “You feel like the sludge on the bottom of a polluted river, it’s disgusting…” her head snapped back as the man struck her.

“Do that again and I will kill you.” Draco’s harsh words flew through Hermione as she worked her jaw loose and stared at Malfoy in incomprehension – had he just defended her?

“I would like to see you try, Mr Malfoy. Now I have you, I want my key.” He gestured for the man behind her, suddenly her small bag was ripped off her shoulder, she winced as it caught but the man didn’t stop – her shoulder flared in pain, idiot. She cast a worried look in Draco’s direction, but his head was held high as he stared down the man before him.

“Raul, I assume – I will only give you one warning – if you keep searching for the key I will hunt you down and I will stop you. If it means your death, so be it – but I promise you – you will be stopped.”

Hermione’s brain started to join the dots – Raul and Herbert were obviously related – twins. But why on earth would they need The Grindle Chest? What past were they trying to change, what wrong did they want to right? No matter – it would change the course of history – it couldn’t be allowed to happen. Raul strode towards Draco getting in his face, she noticed Draco swallow, the overwhelming feeling of illness was hitting them both hard the closer he got.

“Your threats are petty, but I believe you are the only one who is going to die. The Ministry even deny the knowledge of your mission and who you are; they won’t be able to stop me.”

Hermione’s head snapped towards Draco – she knew it, he was a spy of some sort working for the Ministry. She tried not to let this knowledge overshadow their position, but it was hard not to. He hadn’t outwardly lied to her but it felt like it – she hated to be in the dark, no matter the situation.

Draco just gave him a small smile, like he knew something Raul didn’t – it caught Raul off guard and a small flicker of worry shadowed his features for a split second.

“There’s nothing in either of their bags, Sir.” Hermione frowned – what the hell had Draco gotten at Lloyds then?

Sighing heavily, Raul squeezed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. “Kill her then.”

Hermione gasped as she felt the wand move from her back to the base of her neck - Holy shit, she was about to be obliterated. She felt the prickle of magic hit the air and before she could even shut her eyes and wait for the pain she was flying sideways into a wall – hard.

The blast of magic which was meant for her, landed on a pot plant – which immediately turned black and began to smoke. She looked over and saw Draco – he was poetry in motion. Somehow he’d managed to kick in the man’s knee that held him, while at the same time ducking and pushing Hermione aside with all his might, sending her guard’s spell into the shrubbery. It had happened in a blink of an eye. Her stomach clenched hard when she realised how close to dying she’d actually been. Hot and cold sweats broke over her skin and she felt clammy and sick. This sickness had nothing to do with the wizards surrounding them – it was because she’d faced her mortality and it scared her stupid. It was a sensation she didn’t want to ever feel again.

She got up shakily as Draco fought off another attacker – a gun shot went off and she ducked involuntary, a bullet ricocheted off the wall near her head. Then she saw Draco throw something on the ground while yelling out a word in Latin she’d never heard. The entire space was suddenly crowded with a thick almost tangible smoke – it blacked out the entire area. Hermione couldn’t even see the hand in front of her face, then she was being tugged – she fought at first until she heard a familiar arrogant hiss. Draco had her and he was running them blind through thick smoke while bullets and spells bounced around them. How they didn’t cop a stray spell, Hermione could never tell. She heard Raul’s cry of anger and felt a small sliver off fear crawl up her spine – he wanted her dead.

The feeling of utter panic and the heady sensation of surviving again overtook her emotions and she choked back a small cry of relief as they hit the cool light of day again. She’d almost died – really and truly died, and she had Malfoy to thank for saving her life – again. The fear was slowly sliding away under the adrenaline pumping through her at escaping their pursuers once again. When would their luck run out? It had to soon. She pushed down the thoughts of capture and ran with Draco.

He looked non-plussed while dragging her along a road, before coming to a small car-park full of bikes and cars. She leant up against a car and concentrated on steadying her breathing, Merlin’s balls – she’d almost been killed, turned to dust never to be seen or heard of again. It hit her right between the eyes a second later - her life was almost snuffed out and she’d never really lived. She’d never danced in the rain on a summer’s night, she’d never climbed Everest, she’d never cage-dived with a great white shark, she’d never taken a class on hieroglyphic reading and she’d never slept with a completely inappropriate man just because it was reckless and felt good. She snapped a glance at Draco as her last thought slid through her, oh no, what the hell was she thinking?

Before she could continue her inner monologue of all the things she’d wanted to do but hadn’t found the time, Draco was pushing her into a small car. She allowed it as her mind kept reeling. They sped out of the small city with no regards on which way they were headed, they were free for the moment.

Draco kept checking the rear-view and when he was satisfied they weren’t being followed he slowed down and looked at her, his face unreadable – he was either pissed or worried.

“Are you ok, Granger? You look a little spooked.”

A bubble of almost crazy laughter erupted from her throat. She swallowed it down before she let it all out. His brow furrowed further.

“I almost died.” She let out; then looked sharply at Malfoy when he laughed.

“Granger – we have jumped off a mountain with one parachute, almost got shot in the forest, survived rapids, fell down a waterfall, chased a train then jumped onto it – every one of those things could have killed you ten times over – and you’re only now just freaking out because some guy held a wand to your neck?” Draco patted her knee as he said this and she watched as it stayed there for a moment too long, his face slightly reddened when he pulled away quickly.

“Well, when you put it like that…” she trailed off, realising that she had survived all of that and more. Was now the time to change her fate? She looked at Malfoy, really looked at him. His blonde hair was mussed from the beanie he’d pulled off and he looked younger and untroubled, a pang at how ridiculously handsome he was hit her stomach. How had she never realised before, how had it never registered that on a scale of one to one hundred he was clearly a three hundred? For all his horrible arrogance and conceited personality there was something here which called to Hermione. Whether it was the life and death situation she’d just survived or if it was something completely different – her perception had shifted towards him. Then a crazy amazing feeling took over her – a confidence Hermione didn’t even realise she had. The knowledge she needed to start living – really living coursed through her adrenaline fuelled body – what better time to start than now.

Without thought to the future and existing completely in the moment, Hermione reached over and started to unbuckle the belt of Draco’s trousers. He stilled and looked at her, eyebrow cocked in question. Hermione could die trying to get The Grindle Chest or saving Christopher and she didn’t want to die not experiencing something so sinfully naughty without having to think about negative repercussions. It was Malfoy – what was the worst that could happen? She’d never fall in love with the arse. The car surged slightly as his foot slipped off the accelerator when she didn’t stop immediately at his look.

“Err, Granger – the EMS is on the back seat not on my belt this time.”

Gulping, Hermione looked up into astonished grey eyes as she continued to slip the buckle open and lowered his zip. Sliding her warm hand inside, she grasped his prick in her fist and tightened her grip making Draco groan unexpectedly, he wasn’t wearing briefs. Oh lord.

“I know,” she whispered not losing eye contact with the clearly shocked Slytherin as she lowered her lips towards his now exposed cock.

Draco’s slightly dazed and uninhibited growl made her grin. This was the first thing she could cross off her list. No regrets.

~~~*~~~~*~~~~*
A/N: Thanks so much for reading!! :)