Chapter Eight
Hermione stared at the woman in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, thoroughly confused.
Her captor leered nastily; it made her face singularly unattractive. "Figure it out, Mudblood. You were always top of the class."
Hermione didn't even raise an eyebrow at the insult. She narrowed her eyes instead and tried to puzzle out what was going on.
"You sent the letters," she decided. "Since it certainly wasn't one of them."
Goyle grinned stupidly; Scabior just gave her a snide look. The woman in front of them drew closer. "Naturally." She stopped and looked at Kyle, frowning. "Tell me again why you brought him here." She was obviously speaking to the men behind her.
"He was in the way," Goyle grunted. "And Scabior wouldn't let me kill him."
She turned slowly. "He wouldn't let you kill him? Why ever not?" Her voice sounded sweet…yet steely.
"We Apparated on top of him with the Mudblood," said Scabior, glaring at Hermione and Kyle as if it were their fault. "Goyle killed his friend before I could stop him making a bigger mess of things."
The woman nodded slowly as she turned back to Kyle. She crouched down and stared into his eyes. Kyle gazed back, defiant.
"And how is having a famous Muggle prisoner not a bigger mess?" she finally asked. Hermione saw Goyle grin, as Scabior swallowed and tried to pull himself out of the hole he had dug.
"Better than two bodies on the beach," he muttered.
She whirled on them. "You're a wizard, you imbecile! You can dispose of bodies! Living prisoners are a bit more difficult."
"Obliviate him," shrugged Scabior. "Or go ahead kill him now. He's just some Muggle."
"I'll kill him," said Goyle, sounding far too enthusiastic.
Hermione scooted over toward Kyle as best as she could. "No! You can't do that--he didn't do anything."
"Wrong place, wrong time and all that," murmured their captor. "Not my problem."
"I don't even know where I am," said Kyle. "Just like I don't know who you are or what's going on." Hermione sensed he was digging for information; unfortunately, their captor did as well.
"You're at my family's estate, of course," she said. She waved her arms around the dark cave. "Sorry I couldn't show you to the spare rooms, but my grandfather doesn't appreciate me bringing dirty guests upstairs."
"Your grandfather?" asked Hermione. "Here, in Australia?"
"Do you actually know her?" Kyle murmured in surprise. Hermione nodded, her attention focused in front of her. The woman laughed scornfully.
"Yes, my father's father. Surely you have those where you're from?" She shook her head, clearly growing impatient with the situation. "My, my, Hermione, you really don't know everything, do you?"
"We hardly talked at school. How would I know your family was from Australia?" asked Hermione. Deep down, she was rather annoyed at being caught by surprise.
"I know about you!" the woman hissed. "I know all about you. Hermione Granger, Gryffindor. Prefect. War Hero. Head Girl. Rising star at the Ministry." She laughed bitterly. "You make the lot of us look bad, Granger."
Hermione stared up at her defiantly. "Daphne Greengrass. Slytherin. Bully. Coward. Left Hogwarts before the final battle. Not heard from since." She paused to let it sink in. "You make yourself look bad."
"Shut up, Granger," Daphne hissed, her eyes flashing in the dim light of the cave. "I'm not about to let you ruin everything--again."
"Ruin what?" Hermione demanded. "Oh, you mean the pure-blood laws? What, are you scared you'll be run out of town by Muggle-borns?"
"Scared, no," she replied. "I'm not scared of Mudbloods. Concerned, yes. And I won't let it happen."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "So how do you intend to stop it?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Daphne murmured.
"Is that why I'm here?" Hermione demanded. "Is that why you lured me to Australia? To keep me from working on those laws? Because they don't need me to pass, you know."
"Okay, fine, we'll play the game." Daphne sighed melodramatically. She stood and paced the cave, her fine robes clashing with the dank dirtiness of the surroundings. Her hair was perfectly set, her nails finely manicured, yet Hermione thought Daphne Greengrass looked thin and pale, as if whatever was going on was slowly eating away at her.
"Yes, that's exactly why you're here. I need you out of the way."
"Why?"
"The vote is next week. Without you strong-arming the Wizengamot into accepting your pretty little plan for the rest of us, I'm fairly sure they'll leave the laws in place." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at Hermione. "They wouldn't dare say no to the great Harry Potter's best friend, the witch who defeated the Dark Lord. But if she's not around…well, I'm sure more than a few of them will simply let it go. Which is a start."
"That's all?" Hermione almost laughed. "You threatened my parents, brought me all the way down here, just to leave a few dusty old laws in the books? Laws that aren't even followed anymore?"
"Oh, they will be now," Daphne sneered. "My father will make sure of that."
"Your father?" Hermione asked. "What's he got to do with--oh." Daphne's father was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Hermione had talked to him on several occasions, and each time she had sensed his tacit disapproval of her work. She had no idea it had gone so far, though. Had he put his own daughter up to stopping Hermione's work? All to save the family's status?
"Of course not," Daphne said, as if reading her mind. "I'm just doing what he couldn't."
"Why?"
"You know, for a smart girl, you really are dumb." Daphne laughed, but kept talking, as if she needed to share her plan with someone, anyone--even her prisoner. "The laws stay in place so my father can be Minister of Magic, not some sodding Muggle-lover like Kingsley Shacklebolt. And once my father is Minister, we can start to rebuild the weak wreck of wizarding society you created with your little war."
"The wizarding world is better off now than it was five years ago," Hermione said, shaking her head at the insanity of it. She was certain she was missing something. "Besides, everyone knows Charleston Greengrass doesn't have the financial means to run for Minister." She paused. "Is that what this is really about? Or is there more?"
Daphne silenced her with a wave of her wand. "Shut up, Granger. You don't know what you're talking about--and you never will now that they've mucked things up." She turned to Scabior and Goyle. "Get rid of them--both of them. We've got a shipment coming in, and I don't want to deal with any more complications."
"What do you want--" Goyle started, but Daphne cut him off.
"I don't care how you do it, just kill them. Immediately."
Scabior shrugged as Goyle grinned maniacally. Hermione was pulled roughly to her feet, her hands still bound. Kyle stood on his own; he smiled and nodded at her, as if trying to give her courage. But she was a Gryffindor, and she'd been in far worse situations than this. She'd fought Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, at the Battle of Hogwarts. And now one psychotic Slytherin was about to end it all? It still didn't make sense.
"Get over it, Granger," called Daphne Greengrass as she made her way toward the cave entrance. "You've finally lost this time."
"I don't think so," said a voice from the shadows. Daphne stopped in her tracks to find a wand in her face. She reached for her own, but a hand grabbed it roughly away. "You're not going anywhere." Hermione felt her heart skip a beat as a familiar face stepped into the light, smiling grimly.
Ron.
Scabior and Goyle turned and raised their wands, but before they could get off a single spell, a second person stepped into the cave, a tall woman with long blond hair. Hermione frowned, wondering who the attractive woman was and why Ron had shown up with her of all people. Why not Harry or Ginny?
"Drop them," the stranger said, her voice firm. She obviously had some experience with dueling. Goyle dropped his wand immediately, but Scabior hesitated. The woman motioned at him, but instead of letting his wand fall to the ground, he leaned over as if to set it down gently, then cast a spell at her and leapt behind a large rock. She deflected it easily and sent a jet of red light back, blasting bits of the rock all over the cave. Goyle grabbed his wand back and scrambled behind a set of wooden crates. Kyle stepped in front of Hermione to try and protect her as Goyle and Scabior began firing at the woman.
Ron grabbed Daphne around the chest before she could run away. She tried to twist her way out of his grip; apparently her thin frame belied a strong agility. Ron struggled as if trying to hold a slippery eel, swearing as they wrestled.
"Ron! Bind her!" Hermione called. She ducked as Scabior deflected a spell that flew their way. It caught Kyle in the calf, and he fell to the ground. She dragged him as far away as she could, propping him up behind a large stack of crates and boxes.
"Hermione!" Ron yelled.
"I'm fine!" she yelled back. "Don't get distracted."
Even as she said that, four more wizards appeared at the mouth of the cave, wands raised. Daphne shouted orders at them, and Ron glanced up, swearing again. He pointed his wand at Daphne and muttered a spell; she dropped like a rock. He let her fall and turned toward the new guards, taking one out before the rest had entered the cave. The other three ran for cover; it was now five against three, but Hermione wasn't armed, and she couldn't leave an injured friend.
"So that's your boyfriend then?" asked Kyle, gasping in pain. "The new guy with the magic stick?"
Hermione couldn't help but smile as she helped him sit up against the crates. "Yes, that's him. I told you he'd figure it out."
"Hopefully he won't get us all killed," Kyle grumbled. Spells flew around the cave as Ron and the blond woman fought against the others. Hermione pulled back Kyle's burned trousers to reveal the ugly wound beneath. If she had her wand, she could at least cast a spell to relieve the pain. She glanced around to see if there was something she could wrap it with to stop the bleeding, but couldn't find anything.
"I've had worse," he said, gritting his teeth.
Next to them, a sudden shower of dirt covered them as a spell hit too close for comfort. "I need my wand," Hermione muttered.
"You've got one too?" he asked.
"Of course I do, I'm a witch," she replied, throwing caution to the wind. He'd already seen so much there was no point holding back. "And I should be helping them, not hiding."
"You're protecting me," he murmured, giving her a weak smile. Another spell hit the wall of the cave just over their head, sending more rock down all over them.
"You'll be fine," Hermione said, glancing around area where they'd taken cover to see if there was anything she could contribute to the fight.
"Especially if you stop chatting up my girlfriend, tosspot," said a gruff voice behind her. She whirled to see Ron creeping toward them from behind a pile of rocks and couldn't help but throw her arms around him when he finally arrived. He grinned in that foolish way he had, a look of surprise on his face. Kyle raised his eyebrows at their reunion.
"I don't think I could if I wanted to, mate," he replied, shaking his head. He coughed as a spasm of pain wracked his body. Hermione turned to Ron, holding out her hand.
"Ron, can I have your wand? Just for a minute?"
He handed it over immediately, no questions asked. She cast a quick pain relief spell on Kyle's leg and was glad to see him visibly relax. Then she called for her wand, certain it was somewhere in the cave, given that neither Goyle or Scabior seemed bright enough to dispose of it and she'd already managed the bluebell flames. It came flying to her within seconds, and she managed to find Kyle's dagger as well.
"Thanks," he said as she handed it to him. "For whatever you did to my leg especially. Now maybe I can fight back a bit."
"That's good because we're probably going to have company soon," whispered another voice. Hermione saw the strange blond woman Ron had arrived with and gave him a questioning look. He coughed in embarrassment before introducing her.
"This is Katherine Kelly. She works in Magical Intelligence. She helped me find you."
Katherine nodded at Hermione, but was staring at Kyle. "You look familiar," she said. "Do I know you?"
"I doubt it," he replied. "Since I don't carry a magical stick. I'm Kyle Walker, ordinary bloke and ready to get the hell out of here."
Katherine frowned as if trying to place the name, then her eyes went wide. "Kangaroo Kyle! I love that show!"
Hermione almost burst out laughing at the inanity of it as another spell crashed into the wall above them. There was the sound of several more bodies rushing into the cave. Ron swore.
"How many goons does she have around here?" he muttered. Kyle glanced over the rock.
"Not too many that we can't take them out with three magic sticks and a big knife." He held up his dagger and grinned. Ron nodded approvingly and clapped him on the back.
"I think I like you after all."
Katherine was nodding appreciatively as well. "What you thinking?"
Hermione gave her a look of surprise. "Do you always defer to Muggle bush hunters on assignment?"
"No, but he's the only one of us without a wand, so he's at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to strategy, plus he likely knows the terrain." She paused and gave Hermione a pointed look. "And you're welcome."
Hermione muttered a reply as Kyle and Katherine started to plan their attack and escape. She turned to Ron, desperately wanting to talk to him, to touch him, but he had poked his head around the crates to peer into the cave. He fell back awkwardly with a grunt, swearing profusely.
"Ron!" she cried. He'd been hit in the shoulder, but shook his head as she knelt over him.
"I'm fine. Let's just get on with this botched rescue already."
But there was silence from the other side of the crates. This time Hermione, wand raised and ready, peered cautiously out into the cave. Their attackers appeared to have either stopped for the moment or left altogether. She frowned, wondering if they were waiting for them to relax and let down their guard.
"You can come out now," called a new voice. "I think we've got them all."
Ron's eyes went wide. "What's he doing here?" he asked.
"You didn't come together?" asked Hermione. When Ron shook her head, she frowned, wondering if it could be a trick, but of course he would have thought of that.
"It's all right, Hermione," called the voice. "It's really me. You can come out." And a silver stag bounded across the dark cave, illuminating the boxes and crates stacked everywhere.
"What the hell, Harry?" asked Ron, standing with his right arm held to his chest. "You're riding in on my rescue."
Harry stood in the mouth of the cave and merely raised his eyebrows. "Sorry. Thought you'd appreciate a bit of help on this one."
"Had it covered, thanks," Ron muttered. "How the hell did you figure it out anyway?"
"He didn't," replied a new voice. "I did."
Ron swore again, and Hermione was tempted to join him. Draco Malfoy strode up next to Harry, smirking grandly. Ron rushed forward, looking ready to physically attack the former Slytherin. But Draco was holding Daphne roughly by the arms; he was obviously enjoying whatever role he had played in whatever had just happened.
Katherine Kelly looked slightly confused, but strode up to Harry and held out her hand. "Katherine Kelly. You must be Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Harry returned her handshake with a wry smile. "Are you sure about that?"
"Absolutely," she replied. "You have some idea of what's going on then?"
"I think so. I got your letter from George, Ron," Harry replied, nodding at Ron. "And then Draco appeared with some interesting information, and we managed to work it all out." He grimaced. "Together."
"I didn't enjoy it either, Potter," said Malfoy. "But my in-laws will appreciate it."
"Your in-laws?" asked Ron. Then he seemed to understand. "Right. Your in-laws. Lovely lot, those Greengrasses."
"Watch what you're saying about my wife, Weasel," snapped Draco. It was so much like being back in school that Hermione almost lost it. She coughed to cover her slightly hysterical laughter. Kyle gave her a curious look, and she just shook her head.
"We're glad you're here," she said, stepping in to end whatever confrontation might be starting. "Both of you."
"Yes, well I'm not," snapped Daphne Greengrass. She lifted up her head and glared at them. Her hair was now mussed and there was dirt on her face, but the look in her eyes was furious. "You've ruined everything."
Draco yanked on her shoulders and turned her around. "Lucky for you we did. Charles is not going to be happy with you, Daphne. Let's go."
Harry raised his eyebrows as he watched Draco walk Daphne toward the entrance of the cave. "If he weren't such a bloody prat, he might make a decent Auror."
Ron snorted as they followed. He still held his arm to his chest where he'd been hit by some sort of Cutting spell. Hermione leaned her head on his other shoulder and sighed. It seemed so long ago and yet it had only been a day or two since she'd said good bye to him at the airport. So much had happened she could hardly think straight.
Beside them, Kyle was leaning on Katherine for support and pointing out the landscape he had come to scout out below on the beaches. Harry started telling Ron how they had arrived at Cliffhaven and found the cave just as more of Daphne's guards had arrived. In front of them all, Draco was leading Daphne up a path back toward the imposing house. It skirted the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Hermione frowned, her instincts suddenly screaming at her that something was wrong.
Draco's head snapped back. He grunted and doubled over, blood gushing from his nose. Just as quick, Daphne stepped on his foot, kneed him in the groin, threw an elbow at his throat, and turned straight toward them. Before anyone could stop her, she ran down the path, bowled into Hermione, and dragged them both over the side of the cliff toward the rocks below.
* * *
The Journey Back by Gmariam
Chapter Endnotes: Well, I do apologize for the long, long wait. I sort of got wrapped up in another chaptered story and stuck in the Marauder Era. I've had this bit done up to the reveal for quite a while, but wasn't quite sure how to finish it. I knew Ron would show up, and I even knew Harry and Draco would show up as well. It was just a question of getting them there. Now I must deal with this literal cliffhanger. Is that where the term comes from, I wonder? It won't be nearly as long a wait to the wrap-up, but give me a while to find my canon card…
Oh! And THANK YOU to Julia/theopaleye for looking this over and periodically poking me about it. Almost done...