Chapter 19: Too Dedicated

Hermione waited in her hotel room for the knock on her door. She had been waiting on this from the time they arrived in Bulgaria. She wanted to get this over with. She wanted to catch the thief and have him in for questioning but even she knew that it would never be that easy. Some unknowable force was trying to keep her in the same vicinity with Draco Malfoy and she just wasn't enjoying it.

She smoothed her navy blue dress down and gazed at herself in the mirror. When had she become such a hollowed shell? Her eyes were covered with quite a bit of makeup but she still looked quite exhausted. Her brown eyes didn't have near the amount of sparkle it used to since the war. Even though it had been a few years, something had seemed off about her ever since.

Her best friends noticed but even her coworkers were starting to realize that something about Hermione wasn't right.

A harsh rap on the door brought Hermione out of her thoughts and back to the task at hand; catching the thief. She pulled the door open and saw that it was only Will standing at her door with a crooked bow-tie that she didn't bother fixing. If he was going to look stupid then she was going to let him.

"Where's Malfoy?" Hermione questioned, looking up and down the hallway.

"He said that he would meet us there," Will started, "you look amazing, Hermione," he marveled.

She smiled lightly and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. She was still going to ignore the bow-tie in all of its crooked glory. She pushed past him lightly and he struggled to catch up as she strode down the hallway.

"Where exactly are we meeting him?" Hermione asked.

She wasn't going to play games anymore. She was completely dedicated to getting her job done and the quicker it was done the better she would feel.

"He told me that we were to meet him at Lieu de Diamants," Will answered, reading the answer off a piece of paper.

"Plaza of Diamonds?" Hermione wondered.

"How did you know that?" Will asked.

"I speak French fluently. I'm just curious as to why a French museum is located in Bulgaria…"

Hermione waiting impatiently on the side of the street with Will and glanced around anxiously for the car that was supposed to be picking them up.

"Why are we taking a car and not apparating there?" Hermione huffed in anger.

"Mr. Malfoy said that this isn't a wizard meeting place. This place is run by muggles and if we apparated then we would sure be executed," Will explained but Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"If it's run by muggles, I'm surprised he even wants to attend," Hermione replied sarcastically.

She should have probably toned down the sarcasm when she talked about Draco but she just couldn't help it. She couldn't stand the prick. However, she could still remember a time when she couldn't help but think about him.

"If it's not too bold, why are you and Mr. Malfoy so hostile towards each other?" Will asked curiously.

Hermione didn't know how to answer. She knew of everything that she hated him for but she didn't know how to explain it to someone who didn't already know their situation. That's the price to pay to work with new coworkers, she assumed.

"We have a history…we'll just leave it at that," Hermione said simply, watching the black car pull up to pick them up.

Will didn't ask any more questions for the entire ride and Hermione was thankful for the quiet. She didn't want to have to make small talk with him over a topic that she didn't really want to discuss.

-XOX-

They pulled up to busy museum and stepped out only to be greeted by Bulgarian reporters who were anxious to get the details on "celebrities" who showed up to the opening. Hermione managed to shoo them away from her by telling them she wasn't a celebrity.

In fact, she wasn't quite sure how Draco Malfoy could swing getting all three of them in this museum and she wanted to know how he thought the thief was going to come out tonight. Then again, she didn't really want to ask questions.

"There you are! I've been waiting a solid hour!" Draco scolded.

"Talk to your other agent. I wanted to get here sooner," Hermione answered, looking over her shoulder at Will who seemed to be chatting it up with the reporters.

"Useless," Draco whispered.

Hermione had actually heard him but she had to keep herself from openly agreeing with the swine and proceeded to push past him into the opening of the museum. She swiped a glass of champagne off a tray that a server happened to be holding and took a long sip.

"This is not a social event," Draco whispered harshly.

"You think I don't know that? I'm trying to blend, genius. If we look like we're on the hunt then we will be seen faster than you can say Quidditch," She answered just as harshly, careful not to let anyone hear her.

Draco hadn't thought of that and he decided to grab a glass as well and blend. He had every intention to mingle but he couldn't help to follow Hermione. Draco never had much to say to the muggle folk because he didn't particularly like them but Hermione was half of one. She knew what to say and what to talk about with them. It was one of the reasons he pushed to have her on this trip but it wasn't the only reason. He watched as she moved around the room with such grace and confidence while she talked to many people. Draco knew that she was trying to get some information out of them and it seemed like she was having a bit of luck. However, he couldn't help but recognize what he found attractive in her and always had.

When she had enough information, she swayed her hips behind her for the guy she had just finished grilling. Draco noticed how every guy in the room watched her with interest and it made him a little irritable.

"Okay, so, every person that I talked to know the value of the gems and they are heavily guarded but we already knew that. However," She started.

"I don't like the sound of that," Draco said, sipping the champagne.

"They aren't up for viewing during this particular opening," Hermione answered.

"That doesn't mean that whoever is stealing them won't show their face tonight," Draco explained.

"Exactly, which means that-"

Hermione had been interrupted by a large hand sitting in the small of her back. She turned to let the gentleman down easy but she stopped when she realized exactly who she was looking at. He was familiar but he was all grown up.

Viktor Krum was smiling at her and she couldn't help but hug him. It was so nice to see a familiar face in this crowd of strangers and it was wonderful to be in another wizard's company that wasn't Draco Malfoy.

"How are you?" She questioned, pulling away and looking into his chiseled features.

His brown eyes just smiled at her and he took her hand to kiss it. Draco was getting even more irritable as the conversations continued between the two.

"While this is a nice reunion for the both of you, we have work to finish," Draco interrupted.

"Ah, that brings me to why I'm here…this man outside said that you and this Deatheater needed to come outside. He thinks that he found some kind of clue?" Viktor questioned, his accent thick.

Hermione looked at Draco with wide eyes and they excused themselves from Viktor's company. When they arrived outside, Will had several things in his hand that looked to be dirty and quite torn apart. It was a torn piece of a coral dress that was coated in mud, a broken wand, and a tube of lipstick.

"What is all this?" Draco questioned.

"I found this at the back of the museum. It may have something to do with the case because I tried to get in the back of the museum but the door wasn't able to be unlocked," Will explained, trying his best to catch his breath.

"So, the big question is…how do we have a broken wand?" Draco questioned.

"There is a possibility that they now have a hostage," Hermione answered.

"Yes, but who?" Will wondered.

"Who owns this museum?" Hermione looked at Draco for the answer.

"Hilary Farfeather," Draco marked.

"Witch?"

"She attended Beauxbaton's Academy," Draco answered.

"Hence the French name you were talking about, Hermione," Will told her.

"Have we seen her tonight?" Hermione questioned.

At that moment, the alarm to the museum sounded and the group fled inside to see what was going on. Viktor met Hermione at the entrance and stopped them from going inside.

"What's going on?" Hermione questioned.

"The gems have been stolen,"