An Outlandish Affair

Chapter 14

A loud crash and a sudden outburst of yelling woke Hermione and Draco. Jumping out of their beds at the same time, they nearly collided and Hermione would have fallen to the ground if not for Draco grabbing her upper arms and steadying them both. Their eyes connected and he held her for a moment longer than was necessary before Peeper, who must've shown up at some point during the night, made his presence known to them with a small cough.

"Master Malfoy is on his way, there is trouble in the camp," the elf said quickly as Hermione and Draco sprang apart. They began scrambling for their outer clothes, looking guiltier than they should for the situation at hand. Within seconds they both heard Lucius screaming, getting rapidly closer.

"Draco! Draco! DRACO!" By the time the third Draco came ripping from Lucius' throat he was tearing his way into the tent. Draco was finishing haphazardly folding his kilt around his waist and fastening his belt as his father stormed up to him and grabbed the front of his shirt.

Hermione, who had finally figured out her own charm to tie up her ridiculous outfits by herself, was fully dressed within seconds and pulling on her shoes as she watched the tense scene unfold in front of her.

"Wha's happening, sir?" Draco asked, his voice still husky from sleep.

"We're under attack, that's what, ye eejit!" Lucius screamed into his son's face. "Get yer arse out there and kill the bawbags! Now!" He released Draco and turned sharply to command his elf, "Take the witch somewhere out of the way. Lose her and I'll come up wi' a punishment ye havna imagined in yer worst nightmare."

The next few seconds happened very quickly but also seemingly in slow motion. Hermione started to say that no, maybe she could help instead. Draco turned his head with a worried look in his eye and opened his mouth to say something to her. Peeper began to walk towards Hermione, holding his hand out to apparate her away. Lucius looked between his son and the witch, and Hermione watched his eyes dilate and a look of rage spread across his features.

"NO! I said now, Draco!" Lucius was practically spitting with rage. "Imperio!" His wand seemed to appear from thin air, pointed inches away from Draco's forehead. The soft, molten grey eyes that were looking at Hermione instantly glazed over, all emotion lost. He picked up his sword in its sheath from the floor, straightened up, and headed out of the tent. Hermione only had another second to hear Lucius say something about bandits by the supply wagons before Peeper reached his destination, grabbing her hand and whisking them away to elsewhere.

Hermione and the elf reappeared in the woods, far enough away that she could no longer see signs of tents or men but not far enough that she couldn't still hear the cacophony coming from camp.

"Peeper, take me back," she said indignantly. "I can help from the sidelines, I have my wand, I can cast protection spells, I can disarm the bandits, you know there will be men who need healing," Hermione listed off every reason she could think of except for the one that seemed to have taken precedence in the front of her mind.

I need to get back to Draco.

She tried to push that thought aside but when it continued to work its way back into her consciousness, she told herself it was her sense of duty and not anything having to do with emotions.

"I canna do that miss, Master gave Peeper instructions and they must be followed," the elf said with a strong voice, although Hermione thought she could detect a hint of nervousness behind his words.

"You won't be disobeying him though, he just said to get me out of the way," she pleaded. "I just want to see what's going on, I just want to be sure Dr-" Hermione faltered there. She had been about to say she wanted to be sure Draco was alright but divulging any sort of vulnerability to Lucius' elf was a dangerous gamble.