Chapter Text
Draco
No one had prepared him for the bugs.
Apparently, the insects in the Amazon were all the size of your face. And they were everywhere. Particularly at night.
Draco was certain he would never be able to shake the feeling of being crawled on. He couldn’t spell them away or create any kind of charmed barrier around the campsite either. That was the whole point of a magical void, it nulled any and all magic. Well, not precisely. The void actually fed off of magic, but it sure as hell felt like he was missing a limb.
He’d been in this place for almost two weeks now. He’d given up on taming his hair with the constant humidity, stopped shaving, and really, was one insect crawling across his face away from going insane.
But it would all be worth it very soon. Draco and his excavation team were close to finishing their task.
Almost ten years since the last Wizarding War, and all Ministry-reclaimed Dark Artifacts were finally being disposed of. The ones that no Cursebreaker or Unspeakable had been able to destroy. But the void? It would devour the miscellaneous artifacts—a book, a silver bell, a paperclip, a porcelain vase, and a cursed Remembrall—into harmless things.
It simply took time.
He and his team had to take turns going up there and testing the artifacts they’d placed inside. Being that close to the void was dangerous for anyone with magic flowing inside of them. They could be drained too.
They only had two items left, based on their last readings using some Muggle metal antennae.
Draco didn’t fully understand the science behind testing for magic residue in a magicless area, and the spindly antennae only reminded him that at this very moment, swarms of insects were plotting to devour him.
Draco sat on his bedroll beside the large bonfire, staring off at the mouth of the cave that the void existed in. The rest of his team and the Peruvian wizards ambled about the campsite, chatting as they passed out dinner rations.
The rainforest would be a beautiful place if it weren’t so claustrophobic. And dark. And hot. And again—bugs. It was a calm evening, possibly the coolest it had been since arriving, and Draco could almost ignore how his sweat-soaked shirt stuck to his skin.
Salazar, he missed his bed, his home, and his family. He hated doing work that required travel, as he hated being away from Hermione most of all. But he had considered disposing of the remaining war artifacts his responsibility—considering two of the five items were from Malfoy vaults.
He closed his eyes with a sigh, picturing his wife’s riotous curls, the slope of her mouth, the sound of her voice—
“DRACO MALFOY? IS DRACO MALFOY HERE? DID I GET THE RIGHT FIRE THIS TIME?”
Draco slammed his hands over his ears at the thunderous voice, squinting in pain as the words echoed in his head.
The whole campsite fell into a panic. Everyone had covered their own ears, gaping in shock at the fire.
The flames had grown, at least ten feet high now, swirling like a hurricane, and at their center, a figure emerged. Feminine … very feminine. Naked for sure. With black horns curling back on the top of her head. Her skin glowed as if the fire was caught within her, lighting up her skeleton from the inside. She turned, her lean body graceful as she took in the surrounding camp.
Her eyes landed on Draco, solid white like the hottest of flames.
“DRACO! THERE YOU ARE!”
He winced, and thought he could feel blood dripping from his ears. But her voice sounded familiar.
“Her-Hermione?” he gasped.
The demon smiled and laughed, the sound like waves crashing against his skull. He was going to pass out—as a few people around the camp already had.
She clapped her hands, fingers tipped with black claws, in joy. “I FOUND YOU!”
He grabbed his pillow and squeezed it around his head to better muffle her voice. “What the fuck is going on?” He stumbled to his feet.
This was a magical void! How was she—what was she—
“I CAN’T EXPLAIN RIGHT NOW. THIS DEMON ONLY AGREED TO LEND ME HER BODY FOR TWO MINUTES—”
“What the fuck!” Draco screeched.
“—YOU HAVE TO COME HOME! NOW! PANSY NEEDS YOU!”
“Pansy?” Worry warred with utter confusion as to what he was seeing. He knew Pansy was having a hard time since her divorce. She had been distant and adamant nothing was wrong … He knew she had been lying.
“COME HOME!” the Demon thundered again in his wife’s voice.
Draco gritted his teeth. “Fine! But Hermione?”
“YES, DEAR?”
“We’re gonna have a long chat about demon summoning when I get back.”