CHAPTER 23: DRACO MALFOY; STALKER EXTRAORDINAIRE 

Ginny Potter stared at her husband and wondered why most of the men in her life were so strikingly stupid. Her heart still ached painfully from the loss of Ron, and there wasn't a day that went by without the pain she felt when the man who'd constantly barged into her house for food, didn't anymore.

But the man in her life that she was worried about now was the boy who lived himself. He'd been sitting in that stupid chair staring at the map of the world that he'd been using to track Hermione's whereabouts, for about three hours now. His eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought and his lips pulled down in a twisted frown of irritation.

Ginny gritted her teeth and placed her son, James in his cot, tucking a strand of his brown hair behind the ears and tracing the soft curve of his nose that he'd gotten from Harry. He was yet to be presented to the community, not just because now hadn't been the time to show off her baby to the world, but because Ginny was adamant that they figure out the mess with Hermione before naming anyone as his Godmother.

She'd promised that title to Hermione when they'd still been in school, and it was a promise she intended to keep, no matter if the brunette was to be named guilty of mass murder.

She made her way over to her husband and sat down beside him, watching him cross off sections of England and America and placing stars and circles in Argentina and Russia.

"Harry," she began, but was cut off by his hand, waving in her face.

"Don't start this again Ginny; I'm not stopping until I find her and figure out what she's doing! Don't try and stop me." He glared harder at the map, as if trying to communicate to it with his will power.

Ginny bit back a sharp reply and sighed, "Harry..."

"No! Ron's funeral is in a few days, one of my best friends are dead and the other one is the one going around killing people! If I can't even get justice for Ron, how is he going to rest in peace? He would be disappointed in me, in all of us, for not getting Hermione by now!" He stopped speaking suddenly, and slouched, dropping his head into his hands.

"I was so close...so close to catching her, and then she went and joined forces with Malfoy of all people? What the hell is he thinking, aiding a criminal? I thought at least after the war, he would keep his bloody head down, but now, he's helping her out? Didn't he learn anything?"

Ginny looked at her husband and nearly screamed in frustration, fighting the temptation to slap him across the face, she punched his arm as hard as she could.

"OW! What the hell, Ginny?"

"Harry James Potter, you listen to me and listen to me good, because I'm not going to repeat this ever again! Shut the hell up and listen to me for once in your stupid life! For once, just once, why can't you look at this from the other side? I swear to Merlin's beard that you Aurors are all the bloody same!"

The saviour of the Wizarding world decided to stay quiet. When Ginny's face was flushed red like that, the safest thing to do was be quiet and listen. He'd learned that the hard way.

"Hermione Granger is your friend, your best friend. She saved your life, and the lives of so many others and asked nothing in return. No matter what happened, she was there to help you out, and the moment something goes wrong, you place all the blame on her and that's it!? I can't believe you wouldn't give Hermione a chance! She told you first time she was accused; she told you it wasn't her. She came here, crying because of what was happening, and who was it that turned her away because of what others were saying?"

Ginny shoved the map off her coffee table and faced Harry, her arms crossed in irritation and anger. "Why do you never believe the people who care and love you? After everything she did for you at school, and after the war, why can't you think from her perspective for once? The girl who tried to save house elves from work, killing people? Really? Of all the theories and things to believe, you chose that one? Imagine this Harry, what if she really is being framed and you're going after the wrong person? Imagine being on the run for all this time, from your best friends, being treated like a murderer, even though, your entire life, all you've ever done is help others? And even those who know you best think that you're this monster that you're not!

"Ginny!"

"No, don't look at me like I'm the one who is being crazy right now! I've tried to point this out to you so many times, but you never listen, Harry. And now you're condemning Malfoy? You remember the kind of person he was when he was in school, don't you? And yet, he is the only one who is giving your best friend another chance. Call him what you will, but he's doing a far better job of being human than you are at this moment." She took a deep breath and huffed.

Harry stood up and ran a hand through his already messed up black hair, his eyes glassy. "You're talking like I actually enjoy chasing after her! You think I'm enjoying the fact my best friend is dead and the other one is the suspect? Ron is dead, Ginny. Dead! And the fact of the matter is, Hermione's magic was all over the place. It's impossible to replicate someone else's magic aura, and the only evidence around, all pointed to Hermione! What else am I supposed to think other than the obvious?"

Ginny sighed, "Ron was your best friend, and I know that loss is great, but he was my brother too, Harry. As much as you miss him, I miss him too. But just because I feel the pain of loss, doesn't mean I'm going to accept what I know isn't true as the truth. Hermione isn't capable of killing innocent people."

Harry sat down again and stared at the map in distraught, his mind and heart waging war against each other. "Ginny, no one is going to believe me if I attempt to prove her innocent because she's my best friend. All the evidence points to her, and the only way to even understand anything is to talk to her, but she runs away every time I get close enough! And in my line of work, if they run away, they have something to feel guilty for."

It was like talking to a brick wall. Nothing was getting in his head and Ginny felt the temptation to slap him again, but restricted herself. He was an idiot, but he was her idiot, and he would only be more confused if she got angry at him. James started crying in his cot, his father's harsh words having woken him up and Ginny sighed, pulling Harry close to her and wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Maybe if you stopped throwing spells at her every time you spot her, she wouldn't run away. Can you blame her for running? It's been two years and she's been alone all this time. When you think about it, sweetheart, how different is what's happening now to what happened with Sirius? I know you don't like to talk about it, but isn't this what happened with him too? Wasn't a misunderstanding what caused all the confusion and pain that occurred?" She placed a kiss on his forehead and gave him a gentle smile, smoothing down his wild hair as best she could.

"I'm not saying take my word for it, all I'm saying is to give her a chance. She's not a killer, you know that." She gave him a nod before heading toward her baby to sooth him, whispering that everything was going to be alright and smiling at the mixture of emotions on her husband's face.

At least he was thinking about her words.

Harry sat on the couch again and stared at the map of the world, most of which he'd crossed out. The similarities between Sirius and Hermione's case were somewhat eye opening, now that he was thinking about it, but there was more to this situation than what had happened all those years ago.

And he was going to get to the bottom of it. He owned at least that much to Ron.

Elsewhere

"Why didn't you kill Hermione Granger whilst you had the chance? She was so close! And she was sleeping too! You could've ended her life, then and there and brought Draco here!" Crystallex Valerie whined, her lips trembling in exasperation like she was about to cry.

"Don't presume to know anything, mutt! You think that I'm doing this for something as stupid and pointless as her death? Without knowing what I have planned, you dare to make presumptions on what I want? Don't anger me anymore than you already have by running off to question Malfoy without my permission, do you understand, brat?"

Crystallex immediately bowed her head, her face flushing red in embarrassment for angering him, not understanding though. If he didn't want Hermione Granger dead, why was he doing everything in his power to ensure that at the very least, if she was caught, she would receive and audience with the Dementors?

It took immense magic power to be able to do what he was doing, and if he didn't know Hermione Granger as well as he did, even replicating her magic aura at the murder scenes would have taken even longer. If he was willing to go to all this trouble to isolate her from the world, why didn't he kill her?

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again, and perhaps if you were to actually tell me what you're planning, I could be of more use to you?"

The man in front of her snorted at her words, leaning back on his throne like chair and rolling his shoulders like he was readying for a fight. "As if someone like you would understand even a word of what I'm going to do! You lack the ambition and courage to take the next steps alone. Make no mistake, Valerie, I'm only keeping you around because I need your magic, and not because I care for your company. Do something stupid again, and I'll find another Pureblood to take your place. Now, leave. I have things to consider, and your presence is giving me a headache."

Crystallex, looking quite wounded, bowed her head and hurried out of the cold, dark room, her fingers clenched into fists at her side.

He waited until she was out of the room and the door was locked to peel off the mask off his face, wincing as the needles were pulled from his skin. The pain was unimaginable, but he suffered through it. There were no shortcuts when it came to achieving his dream, and to gain the power required to achieve the spell, he needed magical and non-magical blood alike to be injected into his system non-stop.

Besides, he had more pressing matters to worry about. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were a dangerous pair; he'd known the consequences of having them join forces, but there hadn't been any other way to get them both easily accessible in the outside world.

With them on the run together, catching them was easier, and far more thrilling too. The thought of the looks on their faces when they realised what was going to happen, made the blood rush around his body excitedly. He could almost feel the magic power rising in his body at the thought of the events that were going to happen in the next few days. All the pieces were in the right places and things were going as he needed them to.

Soon, not only would the two most hindering pieces be caught, but that bastard Potter would be dead too. With all of them out of the way, there would be nothing stopping him from serving his purpose easily.

After so long, so many years of planning and researching and suffering, it was almost time. Nothing would stand in his way and ambitions, and soon enough, the world would be his to control and use as he pleased.

And the first person that had to go was almost in his grasps.

.*.

She'd been staring at the night sky for hours now, her knees gathered to her chest and secured with her arms, her head resting on her knees. The grassy hill they'd landed on after their hurried appration was unfamiliar and new.

Draco had no idea where they were, and at the moment, neither did he really care. His mind was more preoccupied by the fact that Hermione Granger looked broken.

He wasn't familiar with how to comfort people in this kind of situation. To face something so horrid so soon after she'd gotten over Weasel's death, what was he supposed to do or say?

One second, he'd been sleeping in a perfectly comfy bed; glad that finally they could both relax, and then, just like that, that little safe-haven was gone too. He was almost afraid to close his eyes, since the only thing he could see was the dreaded sight of the headless-body of the man who'd tried to help them.

Her face was passive of any emotion and her form still, like she was frozen in time. "Tell me you're doing the sane thing and reconsidering bring with me?" she finally said, her eyes still faraway.

Draco jerked back in surprise and glanced at her in confusion, her words taking time to make sense in his muddled brain. "I'm a danger to those around me, and anyone who gets close enough to want to help, dies in front of me and I can't do anything about it. Tell me that you want to leave, that you want to live, that you can't stand to me near me anymore." Her tone was almost bitter; like she was preparing herself for the worst already, and it stung him that she thought so little of him.

But there was a part of him that understood her line of thought too. To be faced with so many deaths, and no know who was doing this or why...it was harder than losing someone to someone like Voldemort. At least with that psycho, there'd been someone to blame, but here and now, who was she supposed to blame but herself for those that she lost?

But she was so much stronger than this! He knew that all too well, yet she seemed to be forgetting it all.

"I'm not leaving, Granger." He muttered, seating himself beside her and staring at the starry sky. It was a beautiful night, but the view was lost on both of them.

He felt her stare at him in surprise, her eyes widening in shock before she looked away. "Maybe I didn't phrase it correctly, I'm not asking you if you want to leave, I'm telling you to. Bugger off. Leave. Go to the ministry and tell them that I forced you along. Go and live a happy life, one that doesn't end suddenly because of a mass murderer."

Draco stared silently at the ring on his left hand. He'd never really wanted to get married to anyone before. The whole thought of committing to a relationship, completely, had been horrifying and ghastly to even imagine, but the fact that he felt like the ring he wore now, was a part of his life, made him all too aware of why he'd never thought about marriage so seriously before.

He didn't believe in soul mates, but right now, Granger was the closest thing he had to one.

"Don't be stupid Granger, this isn't about you. I'm staying because I want to stay, not because you need or want me to. It's my decision to make." He muttered, twirling the ring on his finger until he could see her name which was carved into it.

"I never said that I needed or wanted you to come with me, Malfoy. It wasn't your choice to make." She replied tersely.

Draco sighed. She was so stubborn. Why was she so stubborn? Was she like this with everyone, or was he just special? "I don't care. I'm staying by your side. Don't even try and shake me off, because, I'll have you know that I'm very good at finding people. If you leave me here, I'm going to track you down so fast, that your head is going to spin and you're going to be amazed at my skill."

For a second, there was a silence between them. Neither of them saying a word as they both thought over his words. Hermione coughed suddenly, and when he glanced, he found her smiling slightly. "You know, you basically described yourself as a stalker, right?" she asked slowly, stretching out her legs.

Draco felt his face flush and snorted to cover it up, looking away. "I'm not a stalker, Granger."

She finally smiled properly, her face lighting up slightly as she gazed at him with her deep, brown eyes.

"A person who pursues someone stealthily, often in an aggressive or threatening manner. That's a stalker, and that's what you said you would do if I left you here. Now that I think about it, you do seem to show up at a lot of places that I do too. Plus, on two or three accounts, I'm pretty sure that you kidnapped me as well. Are you sure that you haven't already been following me around, Draco Malfoy?"

His face flushed deeper red, "stop it. I didn't kidnap you, I was borrowing you. Stop making me sound like some kind of a stalker extraordinaire. I'm not a stalker." He tsked at her laughter, confused as to how the conversation had ended up on this of all topics, but he was glad that she was smiling at least. When she was smiling to laughing, it was going to be alright.

"Draco Malfoy, the stalker extraordinaire, huh?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulders lightly, her eyes back on the night sky.

"It's not called stalking if the person being...followed doesn't mind, Granger, and I know you don't mind. But if that's what you want to call me, then fine. I'm a stalker. But you know what that means thought, don't you?" He shuffled around so that he was face to face with her, lifting her head so that he was staring straight into her eyes.

"What does that mean?" She breathed, her face inching closer to his. Draco felt his heart beat faster in his chest, the rhythm almost wild. The ring on his finger warmed, and his breath got caught in his throat. She was so beautiful, how was it even possible for someone this like this to be here, with him?

He leaned in closer, their noses grazing, their eyes wide open, staring at each other. "It means, Granger, that not even Potter and the Ministry can take me away from you now, no matter what happens, I'll always be right next to you."

Hermione gasped slightly, the pupil of her eyes dilating at his words. And then she leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth, "promise?" she whispered, her breath fanning cross his lips.

Draco smirked, "promise."

And then he kissed her, properly.

.*.

"So...tell me again, why we're back here, rather than on that hill, where I was getting comfortable?" Draco muttered, doing everything in his power to not look at the bloody floor.

Hermione sighed. It wasn't like she wanted to come back to stare at her powerlessness, but the deep feeling in her stomach that told her there was more to this scene than any of the others had ever given fruit. Something was different about this one, and she couldn't let her sadness get in the way of her chance to figure out what was going on and who was behind this all.

"There are always clues left behind at a crime scene, Draco. I always check the ones I can to find anything, but more often than not, I have to leave before I can get into it. at least with this one, I have some time to figure things out."

Draco sighed, not really understanding. "You want to look for clues?"

"Yes, all murderers leave behind clues, no matter how professional he or she is. Even magic leaves behind residue that I can track with enough time and the right products." She swiftly pulled her wand from her sleeve and squared her shoulders, her face serious and void of any emotion other than concentration.

Her lips were moving, but her words were too quiet for him to hear. Almost thirty seconds of silence later, Draco felt the air around him get suddenly colder and then, like the atmosphere itself broke, he was pulled back against the far wall of the apartment building, near the door to the room they'd been in.

The room was now grey and lifeless, the body and blood on the floor around them looking like a cartoon drawing of a murder scene. He glanced at Hermione in confusion, his eyes not believing what it was seeing.

"Granger, what's this spell?" he whispered, feeling like this was a situation that required whispering.

Hermione smiled at him gently, "one of first creations in the Ministry. It's draws out magic aura so you can track the people who used magic here in the last twelve hours." She whispered back.

Draco looked her over, making sure that she was really alright. Even though he'd managed to avoid the topic of him leaving her for his safety, he knew she was still waiting for him to leave her too. There was a part of her that was still deeply sad, and not matter how brightly she smiled, it wouldn't hide the wounds from him.

"See that gold-dust like line around the bedroom door?" She pointed to the trail of golden substance that was concentrated around the door closest to him, "that's my magic. And the silver one, that's you."

Draco watched the trails of magic, his mind bewildered at the kind of spell that could muster up imaged like this. How had she even come up with something like this on her own? "So that white one near the belly-pinion must belong to..."

Hermione gritted her teeth and nodded, "yeah, that's the one that I was looking for."

A white trail of magic swirled slowly around the room. It was everywhere, but particularly near the dead body in the living room and at the doorway to their room, where Kurt's head had been placed.

"Can you tell who it is by their magic?" Draco asked, watching the white trail of magic creeping around the room. The fact that someone else, someone dangerous had been under the same roof as the both of them whilst they had their defences down was making him reconsider ever sleeping again, but the look on Hermione face drew his attention more.

She was biting her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought as the room began to blur around them. Draco closed his eyes, not liking the way the space seemed to swirl around him, and when he opened them again, the apartment was back to normal, the blood on the floor, now almost a deeper shade of red than before.

"It's hard to tell someone by their magic aura only. Unless you know it already, it's hard to track someone by it. It's like a patronus, unique to every individual. Mine is gold, and yours is silver. Harry's is red and Ron's is...was hazel. I've never seen a trail so starkly white before." She explained.

"Is there anything else we have to do here then? Is that what you came to find?" he asked her, watching her emotions shift from confused to irritated. She shook her head and frowned deeply.

"Usually, yes, that would it all, but this murder is different to the others. All the others were found with a spell that I invented that was on a list of spells I had yet to try. It was stolen a few years back. All the victims were killed in the same manner, which is why everyone presumed that one person was doing it and that that person was me, but look at Kurt," she pointed to his body and crossed her arms.

Draco glanced at the dead body, wondering what she was seeing that he wasn't. As far as murder scenes went, it was gruesome and shocking, what more was there to see?

She made a face at him, "he's been decapitated. Why go to all the trouble of killing someone and then chopping off his head and leaving such a stark message to me? Isn't it making it obvious that it wasn't me who killed him? Unless I would write a message to myself on someone's head, doesn't this note mean that something's changed?"

It made slight sense to him, but Draco didn't understand why that meant something had changed. Maybe the guy had just messed up?

Sighing at the unconvinced look on his face, Hermione put away her wand and slipped her arm inside her tiny purse bag, searching for something. Few seconds of searching alter, she pulled out a small tin box, filled halfway with a rainbow-like dust.

"Is that Traze Glace?" Draco asked. She nodded, and taking a pinch of the stuff, sprinkled it into the air around Kurt's head. For a moment, the dust hung in the air, swaying like it was on the sea before falling to the ground lifelessly.

Draco's face contorted in confusion. "No trace? But whoever was here, did use magic, right?"

Traze Glaze was supposed to pick up any magic residue left over and pin point the location of the user with as much clarity as glass, but the dust was not moving at all.

"I wasn't expecting normal Traze Glaze to work anyway. It's never worked before at any of the crime scenes either, but it's okay, I have a backup." She smiled at him brightly and throwing the tin can back into her bag, where it bounced off metallic things, she reached in and pulled out a smaller box, this one was black and the dust inside matched its exterior.

"What the hell is that?" Draco asked, not liking the look of the stuff. It looked like the powdered version of the cola stuff she'd made him drink at the hotel.

"It's Traze Glaze, but stronger. This one is made from onyx, so it cancels out any spells meant to disarm any tracking. Watch," she sprinkled a pinch of it into the air and they both watched as the Trace Glaze began to buzz around Kurt's head, whirling back and forth before slowly and surely, beginning to form a locational picture.

Draco squinted the form the dust was taking, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he recognised it. His mouth hung open and he stared at Hermione in bewilderment. "That's where the murderer is hiding out? But that's...it's..." He stammered, imitating a fish out of water perfectly. Hermione snapped his mouth shut for him.

But she nodded nevertheless, understanding his disbelief, "yeah," she said grimly, her lips pulling down in a disappointed frown, "that's Hogwarts." She looked at him, and sighed heavily, her shoulder slouching in irritation and anger at the situation she was in.

"Looks like we're going back to school."