Parade of the Sun - Dramione

PART FIVE.

March 26; 3:49pm

Oh, the start had been convincing, she would give him that. The owl from the Ministry had arrived with the latest rumor about the plant being sold in Germany, and she had left for the city in less than fifteen minutes. It hadn't been easy to find the right people, but it hadn't been that hard either. The gruff man who had refused a Translation charm and led her through the shadows of the warehouse had been a great choice. Her heart had been thumping like an angry march, her wand had been held in a tight fist, and she had become so paranoid, she almost hadn't trusted her own self.

The man who had greeted her -- with his shifty eyes, sweating profusely --, had almost given it away. But the man behind him, with the gun tucked into his waistband, had covered up any questions she might have had. They had interrogated her for almost twenty minutes, and she had sat through a fight outside the door that had mentioned three cities she had quickly memorized. She had been incredibly nervous, afraid, and trying desperately to act calm, dangerous, and like she could afford the obscene amount of money they were asking for. It had been a perfect setup, and she had fallen for it with hardly a question.

Mr. Sweat had blown the whole thing to pieces. Malfoy really should have picked him for the one standing silently with a gun. He had clicked open the suitcase and threw it open toward her gaze for three hungry seconds before Mr. Gun promptly slammed it shut. She didn't know German, but she figured by his hand motions that he was referring to money. Of course, the best way for them not to have to show her would be if she had to show them the money first.

The plant was a fake. She knew it by second two, when she recognized it. She had only seen it once in an obscure Herbology book about equally obscure plants, but it had only been a few weeks ago, so she remembered. There had been a slight difference in the stem, the coloring, the number of petals, and the appearance of stamen - but she knew it all the same. He had transfigured the flower, but he wasn't that good.

Mr. Sweat had broken in under three minutes of her questioning. If she hadn't found out, and he hadn't made the mistake, she could have wasted days or a week on the false clues.

Malfoy would pay.

March 28; 7:28am

The noise startled her so much that she bit her finger in pursuit of devouring her bagel. She looked up towards the window and narrowed her eyes at the owl, carefully placing her book on the coffee table. If this had anything to do with Malfoy again, she would stalk right into Malfoy Manor and rip his toenails off. Or at least hex him with something ugly and permanent.

She fed the owl the last bite of her bagel, which apparently was safer than putting it near her own mouth and fingers, and unrolled the parchment. She didn't recognize the name, but she remembered the name of the antique shop. The vase that she had told him to put on hold had been stolen last night, or so the man claimed. She didn't know if Malfoy would go so far as to steal the vase, and if it were that important, she figured he would have stolen it much sooner.

Hermione sighed, reading the note again. Just yesterday she had tracked down a name and found a note pinned to his front door. It had listed the name of a pub in Germany that she was supposed to go to tonight, and had said that he didn't know anything else. The fact that he felt the need to put this on his front door, and that he didn't answer when she knocked, meant that she had probably been far from the first to find him. There had been the scholar as well, and the violent people that the sweet man in the bowler hat had told her about. If it hadn't been Malfoy who stole the vase, then it could have been a hundred different people. Malfoy wasn't the only competition - she just hadn't encountered the rest as often.

She quickly changed her clothes and pulled on her shoes, doubtful that she would find a clue to who did it, but ho-- Hermione looked up at the wall for a moment, blinking slowly, and the grin that spread across her face was nothing short of devious.