Chapter 9
Hermione felt a wave of dizziness as she, Harry, and Draco apparated behind a dank-smelling building that looked ready to collapse. When her vision straightened, she recognized they were behind the building of Azkaban. The dark forms of dementors surrounded them all.
"My goodness," she huffed, frowning with disgust. "Did Azkaban always look this awful?"
Harry looked at the map. "Ron and Luna somehow apparated inside. Ron was able to bypass the prison surveillance here, since he's an Auror…." he turned to Hermione and Draco. "I'll try and get 'em out. As an Auror, only I can perform the spells that can get me inside and back out without getting the entire place on lockdown. You guys wait here."
Harry then disapparated.
Hermione felt herself tense up as she was left alone with Malfoy at her side. She faced forward where Harry had been, trying not to look in Draco's direction. From the corner of her eye, however, she was able to see Draco awkwardly looking around with a constrained expression on his face. Perhaps he's getting flashbacks about the time his father was arrested here….Hermione thought silently to herself.
Suddenly, Harry apparated again with Luna at his side.
"Lovely, Potter," muttered Draco, sounding irritated and disturbed at the same time. "You got half our snack."
Harry gave him a playful grimace. "I can't perform the bypassing spells when I'm apparating with more than one wizard. I need to fetch them one at a time." He let go of Luna's forearm and then held up his want. "I'll be right back." He disappeared again.
Hermione was slightly relieved that she wasn't left alone with Draco again. However, she felt herself tense up again as Luna gave an airy laugh and shifted her eyes from her to Draco.
"The nargyles are dancing quite wildly between the two of you…." she murmured.
Draco gave her a derisive frown and turned to walk away. "If Potter isn't back in the next five minutes, I'm bailing."
Hermione looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were dying to drag Ron back for justice."
Draco stopped to kick at the corner of the building. "This is no place to prepare myself for the Weasel-slaughtering." He began restlessly pacing back and forth.
Luna slowly walked passed Hermione, nearing Draco. "Now the nargyles are looking rather ghostly. You must be dwelling on the past too much at this moment."
"My father was arrested here!" Draco snapped, glaring at Luna with a cracked look in his eyes. "My mother was physically assaulted by some bollock here, when she paid my father a visit! Voldemort tortured me here after I failed to kill Dumbledore!" He then kicked at the corner of the building and whirled around to keep his back turned against them.
Hermione stared at himg, feeling goosebumps on her skin. She suddenly felt a strange sensation of pain in her heart-- was it pity? It couldn't be pity….there was no way she would ever feel bad for that blonde arse who called her mudblood…
Suddenly, Harry apparated behind them again, holding a bedgraggled-looking Ron by the scruff. The redhead was blabbering in nonsensical terms now.
"Alright, let's go," said Harry. "Time to bring the Weasley to justice."