You could never truly understand the wonders of the Fidelius Charm through books alone.
And compared to most people, Hermione was fortunate enough to experience it firsthand…
Beneath her feet were stone steps already on the verge of crumbling, and the wooden door that had appeared was just as dilapidated.
On closer inspection, the black paint on the door had long since peeled away. The exposed surface was crisscrossed with marks that looked like blade slashes, traces that suggested it had seen battle at some point.
What was more, the door had no handle, not even a keyhole. It wasn't clear how it was supposed to be opened at all.
Calling it a door felt a bit generous. It was more like a crude barrier meant to block the wind…
And yet, strangely enough, despite the darkness around them being so deep that they couldn't even see their own hands, under the influence of the Fidelius Charm they could clearly make out the building in front of them. Even the patterns carved into the door were sharply visible.
That pattern seemed to be the Malfoy family crest, the dragon shield…
...
While Hermione was still lost in thought, Draco, who was holding her hand, unhurriedly drew his wand and lightly tapped the door with its tip.
There was no spoken incantation, but in that instant, Hermione seemed to hear the sound of metal colliding, along with a rattling noise like machinery grinding into motion.
The sounds appeared to be coming from behind the door.
The very next second, the door that had seemed so inert creaked open on its own.
If she hadn't just seen Draco's action, she might have thought the place was haunted…
"Ready? We're going in."
"Ah… okay…"
"Just a reminder. Hold onto my hand, and don't touch anything."
Without giving Hermione a chance to ask questions, Draco led her through the door that seemed to exist only for them.
The moment they stepped inside, they found themselves in a nearly pitch-black entrance hall. The air was damp, carrying a faintly sweet, rotten smell, a clear sign that no one had entered this place in a long time.
'Didn't Pansy and the others arrive earlier? Something feels off…'
Just as doubt crept into Hermione's mind, candles began to light one by one, illuminating the hall.
Then, on the spiral staircases to either side, several familiar figures appeared…
"You finally made it. We just picked our rooms. Don't get lost. Mine's the one on your right, Draco."
"Mm… mine's on the left."
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Hermione looked up toward the voices. Standing there were Pansy Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass, who had arrived ahead of them.
But why was the first thing they said something like that?
'Wait… you both chose rooms closest to Draco. Then what about me?'
The thought instantly snapped Hermione out of her earlier curiosity about this castle-like place. Bristling, she was just about ready to march up and have a proper argument with the two of them…
...
This place in Romania, hidden under the protection of the Fidelius Charm.
From the outside, it looked like a house on the verge of collapse. But once inside, it was hard to believe the two were connected at all…
From the deep burgundy carpet stretching from the entrance hall to the staircases on either side, to the fur-lined sofas large enough to seat several people, the elegant floating candles, and the comfortable, fully equipped rooms meant for proper rest.
In some ways, this place was no worse than any five-star wizarding inn outside.
With a rush of hurried footsteps, Draco hadn't even managed to take a sip of water before Pansy threw herself at him, nearly knocking him over. The sight made Hermione's eyelids twitch in irritation.
Was she invisible, or was she being deliberately ignored?
Before Hermione could angrily step in to separate them, Astoria, who had just come downstairs as well, spoke up first.
"Parkinson, weren't you cleaning rooms just now? Do you really want Draco to smell you after all that?"
"…I—I don't sweat! No, wait, even if I do, it smells nice!"
Setting aside the question of whether witches even sweat, or whether it could possibly smell pleasant, Astoria's words were enough to make Pansy jump aside in alarm.
In the end, Hermione didn't have to lift a finger. Pansy moved away from Draco all on her own.
Watching this unfold, Hermione sensed something wasn't quite right. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Astoria, who was smiling serenely.
Had something about her changed in the past few days…?
Noticing the atmosphere turning strange, Draco quickly stepped in to break it up.
"Go find a room and put your luggage down first."
He gave Hermione's head a light pat, since she was still staring at Astoria, then turned to look at Pansy, who was standing off to the side checking herself for any smell.
"I mean, when you were tidying your room, did you actually do it by hand? Couldn't you just use a spell?"
Even though Draco had spent the day experiencing muggle life, he hadn't forgotten he was still a wizard, nor the convenience of magic.
But from the sound of it, Pansy really had done everything herself.
Draco's question made Pansy suddenly realize what she'd been doing all this time…
Seeing the odd look on Pansy's face, Hermione's lips curved upward slightly.
"You didn't forget we're in Romania, did you?"
"..."
Seeing Pansy fall silent, Hermione excitedly repeated everything Draco had said earlier, including the fact that there was absolutely no need to worry about the Ministry detecting the use of magic here.
Draco, clearly enjoying himself, added one more stab.
"Actually… with the Fidelius Charm in place, even using magic wouldn't cause any problems, so…"
"..."
A strange silence followed.
Draco watched as Pansy's expression stiffened, her small face turning fierce as she shot a glare at Astoria, whose eyes began to wander.
After all, the first person to notice this had been Astoria, when she'd gone to Pansy's room earlier. But she hadn't said anything at the time. Instead, she'd been the one to bring it up in front of Draco…
"Greengrass!!"
"Ahaha… I'll go help prepare dinner. Make yourselves comfortable."
"Don't think you can run away, Greengrass!!"
Faced with Hermione's confused look, Draco, just as baffled, shrugged.
"Looks like something happened that we don't know about…"
...
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