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Beauty and the Beast	By : Nocturne Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 14407 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling. I do not own the Harry Potter fandom, nor do I make any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
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“Granger,” greeted Nott, bowing his head. “Good to see you.”
She offered a smile, unlocking the keys to her Toyota Prius. It was a gift from her parents, in an attempt to make sure she’s not completely estranged from the Muggle world. Hermione quite liked it, too. Brooms weren’t her forte. Port Keys made her sick. And the tube was too reliant on a schedule that wasn’t hers. Cars, on the other hand…they were nice, fast, and gave her a high the most hardcore drugs in the world couldn’t achieve.
Nott took a seat in the front passenger compartment, whilst Hermione took the wheel. She thought to remind him about seatbelts, but he was buckled up and ready to go before her lips had time to part. Then again, Nott had always surprised her – even in their Hogwarts days. He’d been the only Slytherin to take Muggle Studies, though her teenaged self had pegged it as a keep your enemies closer situation.
“Have you ever been to the West Country?” asked Hermione, reversing out of her parking space.
Nott had his eyes on the road, focused. He sometimes reminded her of the late Remus Lupin. They had both been mild-mannered, intelligent young men in a circle of misbehaving hooligans. “Here and there,” he answered politely. “Yourself?”
She’d been to West Country a few times as a child, and one very memorable time as a teenager. Hermione tried her best to block out the memory, knowing it would haunt her in her sleep, like clockwork. “Same as you.”
They drove in silence for quite some time. Nott had pulled out some sort of notebook and wrote perfectly, page after page. Hermione wanted to peer over, but she had to stay focused. There was a mission at hand. There was no time for snooping around Nott’s journal. That would have to wait until they found the Mutant at Malfoy Manor and put it to justice.
“May I ask you something?” interjected Nott, bookmarking his journal with a black ribbon and tucking it back into his book bag.
“Sure,” shrugged the young woman, trying to downplay her curiosity.
“How did you learn to operate a vehicle?”
Hermione wanted to laugh, but didn’t. “My father taught me one summer. It was just after graduation.” She had fond memories of that summer, driving in her car with her friends, carefree and with the wind in her hair. “Do you know how to drive?”
Nott smiled, for the first time in forty minutes. “I’m afraid my father would suffer heart failure if he knew I was currently in a vehicle…let alone driving one.”
“Ah.” She’d figured as much. “Being Pureblood must feel so suffocating.”
The words left her mouth before she could stop them, but Nott didn’t seem to mind. “It can do,” he answered honestly. “Everything has its downsides.”
She couldn’t help but agree. It would be a dream come true for her parents to have seen Hogwarts. No Muggles allowed.
“Oh, no. Where are my manners?” asked Nott. “Congratulations on joining the Auror Office.”
Hermione smiled. “Thank you.”
“Quite an intense first assignment, I’d say.”
“Completely. I was in shock when Harry dropped by my office with the paperwork. Actually, I think I still might be.”
Nott laughed. Strange. She hadn’t heard him laugh until then – ever. It was a nice, uniform, polite laugh. “The entire wizarding world is aware of your history. You’re more than qualified for the case.”
Hermione faced her partner, rolling her eyes as if to dismiss his statement. “I don’t know about that last bit, but I suppose we’ll see.”
More driving. More silence. Hermione nearly nodded off a few times, but Nott managed to keep her awake with his short coughs. They pulled into a country road and off to the side. There were no houses in sight, and not one person aside from the two of them.
“Looks like its walking from here,” deduced Nott, smoothly exiting the vehicle.
Hermione stumbled her way out, nearly tripping over her own feet. She hoped to Merlin her new partner didn’t see, and plastered a smile on her face as they continued on foot. The land was unplottable, but Nott seemed to have an excellent idea where to go. It was then that Hermione realized the obvious. He was obviously well acquainted with Draco Malfoy during their days at Hogwarts. There was no doubt in her mind that Nott had visited more than a few times.
Harry’s choice to partner them was beginning to make sense.
They continued on a gravel path, until reaching a pair of rusted, wrought iron gates with nothing behind them. Hermione narrowed her eyes, doubtful of the location.
“Stand back,” advised Nott, withdrawing his wand.
Before she could object, he held her behind him with one arm and traced the tip of his wand along a stretch of iron. Several moments flew by, in which nothing happened, until Nott swiftly passed them through the gates, as if they were made of smoke.
He pocketed his wand, but kept firm hold of Hermione as they proceeded down the driveway.
She stayed silent, knowing it was not her expertise they required at that moment. Her time would come, and when it did…Hermione would give it everything she had. There was something to prove in ones first case.
The young woman glanced up, noticing a formation in the sky. She held her breath as the formation grew and grew and grew, until the empty space ahead transformed into a full-sized Manor home. There was a large lump in her throat. She wondered if Harry had made the right choice, hiring her for this specific case. There were many terrible memories in Malfoy Manor, memories she would rather forget.
“Are you all right?” asked Nott, sensing her nervousness.
Hermione nodded. “I’m fine. Where do we start?”
“Those tracks would be a good start,” he suggested, gesturing to a set of monstrous footprints. They bore a vague resemblance to both human and bear prints, only gargantuan in size, and carried on from the gravel driveway to the left side of the Manor. “Stay close.”
Had it been Harry, she would have smacked him upside the head for being so protective, but Nott wasn’t being protective. He was being smart. She could appreciate that. Hermione followed his lead and ducked behind various plants and stone structures as they continued onward. She held her wand close, knowing there was probably a dent in her right palm from the strength of her grip.
“Do you hear that?” asked the young woman, feeling a chill crawl the length of her spine.
Nott confirmed with nothing more than a glance. He pulled her low and they took cover behind a stone statue of a snake in the shape of an S. They had made their way to the back of the Manor, in what was left of the garden, and through Hermione’s peripheral vision, she noticed something moving behind the plants.
It was close to the back woods, and whatever it was emitted a low growl that made every bone in her body hold completely and utterly still. She’d never heard anything so menacing in her life, and that’s saying something.
Her partner motioned for her to stay back, whilst he continue ahead to investigate. She shook her head and held him in place. There was no way he’d go alone. They were on the mission together, and he’d already had a taste of leadership. It was time to buckle down and get dirty.
Hermione extended her wand and mouthed ‘on five’.
One…
Nott gave her shoulder a light squeeze, as if to transfer his strength to her. It was something Harry had done during their hunt for the Horcruxes. It was familiar. It was comforting.
Two...
Hermione tried to steady her breathing, feeling her heart beat out of her chest like a rabid animal.
Three…
Without thinking much about it, she buried her head into Nott’s surprisingly hard chest and found solace in the fact that his heart was beating just as wild.
Four…
Hermione closed her eyes and visualized the high points in her life. Firstly, there was her family. Second, there was Hogwarts. Third, there was her group of loyal friends. Fourth, there was her career, and lastly –
The young woman fell to the ground as Nott rushed off without her. She could hear a commotion. It was a mixture of growls, explosions and shouts. She used her last iota of courage and shot a spell straight into the distance, watching the surge of energy from her wand hit nothing but trees. Hermione glanced around, and felt her heart sink at the sight of Nott’s motionless body, sprawled on the damp Earth.
She raced to his side and felt a spark of hope as he blinked.
“R – Run,” he warned her. “L – Leave this place.”
Hermione shook her head. “I’m getting you out of here. Hold on to me.” She wrapped his arm around her neck and made motion to stand, but the wound at the back of Nott’s head created a pool of blood beneath them. They were both covered in crimson.
She had barely known him, but the sight of her partner in such a state broke her heart to a million pieces. Hermione felt tears well up around her eyes. There was no hope for Nott.
“Run,” he breathed.
Hermione held his hand. She squeezed it and felt her entire body give out as he failed to squeeze back.
“No.” She shook her head. “No. No. No.”
Nott’s eyelids lowered with each passing second. He opened his mouth, ever so slightly, murmuring something so low she could barely hear it. “Behind you.”
The young woman felt a wave of panic settle in her chest, wrap around her broken heart and grasp her core with the fury of a wildfire. In a split second, she gripped her wand, turned around and aimed, feeling her body slam against Nott’s as a mighty force held her down.
She heard her wand break in two, like a twig. That’s when shit got real. Hermione opened her eyes, feeling warm gusts of breath envelope her petite form. She saw a pair of familiar eyes; familiar to the photograph Harry had shown her the previous night, with the likeness of a harsh, demonic being.
Then came darkness.
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Beauty and the Beast