The Price of Obsession
This summer might have been the hottest in years, making many families prefer to stay inside their homes with the windows wide open, wearing light clothes and constantly fanning themselves.
To make matters worse, thanks to the season's drought, which had forced the sprinklers to be turned off, the ground had begun to dry out and dust now covered everything.
And anyone who went outside was only risking a heatstroke.
Though that was only a problem for Muggles, who didn't have enchanted clothing against the weather or cooling charms.
"Thanks for coming with me to the bookstore. You really didn't have to," Hermione said as she walked down the Muggle street, now almost deserted, hugging her magical bag with a wide, happy smile, since it was now packed with books she couldn't wait to start reading.
"It's fine. I didn't really have anything else to do today. Though I'm pretty sure the Potter Manor library should have most of those books already, even the Muggle ones. So why buy them?" Draco asked, somewhat confused, as he walked beside her.
"It's fine to borrow them, but having your own books just feels much better. Besides, I'd like to have my own library too. At least starting with these sounds fun, don't you think?" Hermione told him, her smile never fading as she looked at him.
Draco looked at her silently for a moment as they continued walking.
Their shadows, cast beneath the bright sun above them, moved forward side by side.
"Well, then I wouldn't mind helping you with that," Draco said with a gentle smile.
Making the two of them look into each other's eyes as they kept walking, not even noticing how much distance they had covered.
But Hermione quickly came back to her senses, slightly embarrassed.
She cleared her throat as she looked back toward the road.
"Then thank you for helping me," she said, unable to stop herself from quickening her pace just a little.
Making Draco simply do the same so he could keep walking right beside her as though nothing had happened.
A brief silence drifted between them, with only the sound of their footsteps filling the air.
Then, for a moment, Draco's brow furrowed slightly as he turned his head to look behind them, his eyes sweeping over the nearby houses, bushes, and fences as though searching for something.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, stopping alongside him.
Draco didn't answer immediately. Instead, he kept looking around for a few more moments.
And his frown only deepened.
"No... maybe it was just my imagination," he said out loud, dismissing whatever it was.
Even so, Hermione noticed Draco subtly move his wrist, and his wand, now covered in a thin layer of gold, slipped just enough out of his sleeve to be seen.
Seeing that, Hermione also slowly slipped her hand inside her magical bag, quietly wrapping her fingers around her wand.
Then they started walking again as though nothing had happened.
Though both of them were already holding their wands.
"What is it?" Hermione asked in a lower voice while pretending they were simply walking casually.
"Someone's following us. Act normal," Draco murmured back, not sounding nervous in the slightest.
The two continued toward Hermione's house, every one of their senses fully alert to their surroundings.
"Who do you think it is?" Hermione asked, having to step a little closer to Draco so she could speak quietly without their pursuer overhearing.
"No idea. We'll have to figure out a way to find out," Draco replied in the same low voice.
Now that they had moved so close together, they looked just like a young couple walking side by side while whispering to each other.
Maybe because of that...
For a moment, the footsteps following them became a little clearer.
And just as Draco had said, they were coming from behind them, keeping a careful distance, though whoever it was still hadn't made another move.
They walked a few more meters until they spotted a nearby alley.
Draco immediately grabbed Hermione by the wrist and pulled her toward it.
The person following them, hidden beneath an invisibility cloak woven from Demiguise fur, saw them turn into the alley and instantly quickened their pace, rushing after them as their footsteps echoed across the pavement.
Not only that.
A sound filled with anger could be heard from beneath the cloak that concealed their body from sight.
And for a brief instant, the tip of a wand glowing with a pearly light slipped into view.
The moment the person stepped into the alley, they raised their wand, ready to attack.
But they were met with a huge surprise.
Hermione and Draco were both standing there, looking directly at the spot where they had just arrived.
Hermione flicked her wand without saying a single incantation.
And instantly, the invisibility cloak was ripped away from the person, whose eyes widened in shock at having been discovered so quickly.
But it lasted only an instant.
Their gaze locked onto Hermione.
And, with their wand raised, they pointed it directly at her.
"Avada..."
Hermione's eyes widened.
The moment she recognized the person beneath the cloak, she froze completely in shock.
But seeing her about to cast a Killing Curse startled her even more.
Draco reacted in time.
With a simple flick of his wand, the ground beneath the person shattered as a solid golden pillar shot upward, striking her hand directly before she could finish casting the deadly spell.
At the same time, a golden chain sprang from the pillar and wrapped around her wrist.
Then the pillar split into dozens of golden bars that surrounded the person, forming a cage, while dozens more chains shot out, binding each of her limbs before fastening themselves tightly to several of the bars.
Sharp golden spikes also emerged from them, all pointed directly at her.
At this point, it was completely impossible for her to move.
She had been captured in only a few seconds, before she had even realized she was trapped inside a cage.
Only then did Draco get a clear look at the attacker's face, now twisted beyond recognition by rage and hatred directed entirely at Hermione.
"So it was you... Pansy Parkinson," Draco said as he recognized the Slytherin girl... and his former fiancée.
The moment Pansy heard her name come from Draco's lips, she immediately broke into a smile that looked as though she had lost her sanity long ago.
"Draco, my beloved. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon. That slut's spell won't work anymore. I just have to... I just have to get rid of her. Yes... then everything will go back to normal," Pansy said.
The high-class young lady she once was had disappeared a long time ago.
Now all that remained was tangled hair, deep dark circles beneath her eyes, eyes darting around with madness in them, and dirty, torn clothes.
Draco let out a sigh, his eyes carrying a flat expression as he looked at his former fiancée, though their engagement had never officially happened, since it had been Pansy herself who had broken it off.
For quite some time now, she had been showing an almost sick obsession with him.
Though he hadn't expected it to go this far.
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, his voice completely devoid of emotion toward that familiar face from the past.
"It's Amortentia. Yes, Amortentia. That's the only thing that could explain why you're so attached to this Mud—"
Before Pansy could finish the sentence, Draco slightly moved a finger.
The golden chains binding her hands, arms, and legs tightened, making her cry out in pain.
At the same time, Draco's expression turned genuinely angry as he looked at her.
Ignoring the pain caused by the chains, Pansy visibly lit up the moment Draco finally looked at her with an expression other than complete indifference.
"See? You can still feel something for me. It failed. Your father failed to bring back the Draco you used to be. But I know he's still in there. You're a pure-blood, Draco. I wouldn't even mind letting her be your mistress, but a pure-blood can only marry another pure-blood. Your mother is a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Do you really think she'd let you marry her? You can only be mine, Draco," Pansy rambled deliriously as she stared at him.
But then Pansy's gaze shifted toward Hermione before once again filling with absolute madness.
"No... no. It's her fault. That disgusting woman is still manipulating you. Once she's gone, everything will go back to the way it was. Yes... yes. If you can't be mine... then you won't belong to anyone!" Pansy screamed as she began struggling violently against her restraints, even though every movement only caused her more pain.
It was as though two different people were fighting inside her mind.
Hermione couldn't help looking at her with a trace of pity.
She had never expected Pansy to end up like this.
But her obsession with Draco seemed to have completely shattered her mind.
Hermione glanced toward Draco, who still wore a deeply irritated expression after hearing Pansy's words.
Draco was about to clench his hand and crush the cage before letting the Aurors deal with her.
But Pansy's next words stopped him.
"You have to believe me, Draco. I can only be your wife. Only yours. That's why... that's why there couldn't be anyone else in my life. If I was afraid of my past... I already erased it. Yes. He's dead now. There won't be anyone left who can stain our union," Pansy said quickly, her voice filled with sick devotion.
Draco's face became one of complete confusion.
"Who did you kill?" Draco asked, staring directly at her.
"He was a stain. Yes. That's why you don't love me, isn't it? You felt betrayed. But you don't have to feel that way anymore now that he's dead. My only fiancé has always been you... and always will be you. The only one," Pansy said with a smile that twisted her face even further with madness.
When Pansy said the word "fiancé," both Draco and Hermione couldn't help looking at each other for a moment.
Because there was only one other person besides Pansy who could share that title with Draco.