Inseparable Bonds
Chapter 1
He hit her. For the first time in their six year acquaintance, he hit her. It wasn't a mistake either. It was, in his book, a requirement as his intended target was hit immediately. The slap was harsh; it's pain was reflected in her face and his fierce desire to be respected was reflected upon his. This was no ordinary encounter.
The reaction was almost instant. Within seconds he was staring at the mirror image of his palm against her cheek. It glimmered red as her tears fell past but he just stared. His eyes shown with a passion so strong she shook. His lips upturned in disgust at her fright. Weakness was not to be tolerated. Never.
"Stand strong," he spat. She pursed her lips, her head nodded frivolously. She knew better than to disobey. His eyes scanned her composure. "Better," he growled.
He turned and faced the rest of the occupants in the room. They were clad in black. Their faces were hooded. Only the glimmer of their eyes seemed to appear in the shadows. The room was dimly lit. It was perfect for this situation.
"It's about time," he drawled. His eyes locked with every person inside. "That you learn strength. What I just did is nothing compared to what you might encounter. We are the Dark Lord's servants. We are required to be strong. Tears," he turned and pointed at the girl behind him. She quickly wiped the tears away. "Are not showing strength. Tears are a weakness. We do not tolerate weakness here, now do we?"
Twenty shadowed heads shook in disapproval.
"I don't enjoy abusing you. I don't enjoy hitting women but by the request of my father, I am to do so. And as your leader, you are to heed every word that I shall utter from this meeting and from there on out. This is no longer a joke. It never was. The Dark Lord will soon be in complete power. This world, as we know it, shall no longer exist. We will be heroes. There will no longer be anymore mudblood scum upon this earth." Everyone sniggered at this remark.
"Like that fowl Granger," one member shouted. This arose a few more fowl comments at the girl's expense.
"Silence," he shouted. "I haven't finished speaking. We will be victorious but we need to start training now. Potter had his little army last year. We won't allow them to become stronger but from what I've seen tonight, you need to toughen the fuck up. Curses are a hell of a lot more effective than the back of someone's hand. Do you understand?"
The twenty shadowed heads nodded.
"Good. Remember, we will return here for another meeting, next Tuesday at ten. Same classroom. Now, leave."
Everyone exited except for the injured girl and three other members.
"Draco," one purred. They slipped off their hood and revealed a head of black hair and piercing eyes. She wasn't pretty but she had a few attractive qualities. "Would you like me to escort you back to the common room?"
Draco turned from the head of the room. "No, Pansy. I think I can manage." He spoke quietly. His pleasant tone was forced though. It was apparent to the others surrounding the scene that he was quite annoyed with this girl. She just seemed blatantly ignorant to it.
"Are you sure," she asked once more. She sauntered next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. She smiled and ran a finger down his jaw bone. He closed his eyes and savored the brief moment of contact.
"Yes, I'm sure," he answered. His voice continued to hold a false appreciation for the offer.
Pansy held his features in her gaze for a few more moments until she left leaving three hooded figures.
Draco glanced up and looked at all three. His eyes were cold yet they were void of emotion. The fury he had possessed earlier had disappeared even though his hand print still remained on the girl's face. He stood and approached her. His stance was the same as it had been before he had hit her.
Her hood had been removed when the impact of his hand had reached her face. She wrung her hands in hope that all of her fear would be channeled into those movements. Draco raised his hand. She continued to stand strong. He nodded and then placed his hand gently on the mark he left upon her cheek. She shivered.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he looked almost upset. As if what he had just practiced had been completely against his beliefs but with the way he had gone through with it, no one would have ever guessed. But Draco closed his eyes once more and when he reopened them, they were solid once more.
He brushed his hand upon her stinging flesh once more, then raised his wand. The print disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Draco now faced the two remaining figures.
"Are you waiting for her?"
"Yes," one replied.
Draco nodded. "Go then," he pointed to the door. The girl bowed her head and walked to the other hooded members with all the dignity she had left to possess.
"Let's go," they whispered. They exited leaving Draco alone. Once he was sure no one had remained, Draco sat upon a nearby chair and buried his head in his hands.
What had he gotten himself into?
"Oh no," the girl whispered urgently. She was pulling the two boys with her down the dungeons and into a warmer area of the castle. "We don't have much time to return to the bathroom before the Polyjuice Potion wears off." Their hoods still covered their heads yet there was no need. They were also covered in an invisibility cloak.
"Oh, please slow down," one boy begged. His hair was brown but was beginning to turn a vibrant shade of red.
"At least tell us you're alright," the other boy asked. He was also changing in appearance. The girl didn't respond. She continued to pull them down the corridor to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. After second year, it had become their headquarters for brewing potions that would initially help them to uncover something they were curious about.
"Hermioneeee," the boy with red hair groaned.
"I'm perfectly fine," she growled. At that exact moment, her straight, raven hair was randomly twirling into bushy, brown curls. Hermione stomped into the bathroom.
"I can't believe that happened," the boy to her left exclaimed. A scar was beginning to form upon his forehead. Within a minute, he was Harry Potter once again. Hermione shrugged.
"Neither can I," the red head, Ron Weasley, shook his head in astonishment. "He just grabbed you out of the crowd. And then he, he, just, you know."
"Hit me," Hermione finished. "I know. I shouldn't have cried but it was unexpected. Oh, he's such an insufferable prat."
"Oh, I've always wanted to harm that bloody arse but now, oh, I want to do it even more so," shouted Ron. His mood shifted rapidly as the surprise wore off. "Malfoy should have never laid his hands on you, or any other woman! That bloody monster. I'm going to kill him, if it's the last thing I do."
"You can't!" Hermione cried. "He doesn't know we were there. He can't know that we were there, Ron. What the hell do you think he's going to do if you curse him into the wall and when he asks the reason for this attack, you tell him it's because he slapped me. He'll think you've gone utterly bonkers or he'll put two and two together and realize what we've done."
"Hermione's right," Harry sighed. "But we both know that I'd be right next to Ron fighting if this wasn't the case."
"But if this wasn't the case, it would have never happened," Hermione muttered. "I do believe Malfoy has enough sense not to hit me in school and hopefully not to hit women in general."
Ron scoffed. "Then what the hell do you call that hand print he left upon your cheek? A frostbite?"
"Ron, stop it," Hermione rolled her eyes and sat on the floor. "All that matters now is that I'm fine, okay? And that it's gone."
"Well, let's go Dumbledore then," Harry said calmly. "We need to let him know what we've found out."
"Yes," Ron agreed. "Come on, let's go." He pulled Hermione to her feet. The group took off their black cloaks and recovered themselves beneath the invisibility cloak. This should be interesting.
"But Professor Dumbledore," Harry shouted. He jumped from his seat enraged. "We need to stop them! You can't just let them continue this little society of their's right beneath your nose."
Dumbledore watched Harry jump about with twinkling eyes. He remained particularly calm through the whole explosion, both from Harry and Ron who believed Dumbledore was not acting as upset as he should.
Hermione sat in solitude. She knew that Dumbledore had at least a small clue of what he was going to do in response to this news.
After Harry and Ron had begun to repeat their case, Dumbledore raised his hand. They were silent immediately.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger," Dumbledore acknowledged. "I have had a high suspicion that Mr. Malfoy would ultimately organize a group such as this while at Hogwarts. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, but, we, the staff, have no way of breaking this organization apart without initiating, perhaps, a war with their side." Harry and Ron opened their mouths to protest. "But, there might be another way to halt this. I need some time to mull this over. Now, if you please, go get some rest. You know better than to be out this late as it is."
Hermione smiled solemnly. Had all their hard work been for nothing? Amidst their disappointment, the three thanked Dumbledore for their time and descended the stairs to the corridor.
"Do you think if we told him what Malfoy did to you in greater detail, he would have been more effected," Ron asked. He seemed to be frantically racking his brain for the reason why Dumbledore had seemed so unaffected by this discovery.
"I think Dumbledore has taken what we've said with a lot of understanding. He'll figure something out. He's Dumbledore," Hermione sighed. She had unmeasurable amount of hope in the man. She just hoped he'd pull through this time. With the threat of an in-school group of mini-death eaters with the intent of harming every mudblood hanging over her head, she had a lot working against her. And boy, could Draco hit hard. Never in a million years had she suspected that to happen and even after three other meetings they had attended to gather evidence, he had never physically struck someone. He'd just spoke and taught spells which they had to distastefully follow. They always left a fowl taste in Hermione's mouth. She loathed Malfoy more than ever now.
But, this evening, when he placed his hand upon her cheek and glanced at her, he seemed remorseful. Or, maybe that's not even the word for it, but, he had reflected an emotion of concern in those grey eyes of his. Never had they seemed so venerable. But, Malfoy was Malfoy and he would never change. A ruddy Slytherin with malicious intent was all he ever would be. Malfoy would never be capable of love; lust, maybe, but never love. He was too corrupted for that.
But, it was his heart that Hermione hoped would get the best of him and either take him down or open his eyes. When it would happen, who knew, but Hermione just never wanted to be so physically abused again. If it wasn't for the situation and her disguise, she would have retaliated. Her own hand would have been raised, maybe a knee or two before cursing him against a wall.
But, Hermione was above revenge. That situation just better not approach her again...
Snape was in an uncannily joyous mood the next morning during Potions. But, by 'joyous mood', it simply meant he hadn't deducted over fifteen points from Gryffindor in the first twenty minutes of class. This was a start.
Harry and Ron looked completely dead as they sat beside her. Hermione continuously scolded them for nodding off. "You don't want to get us in trouble! Stop it."
They tried but their valiant attempts failed.
"Potter. Weasley. Ten points from Gryffindor for using this class as your personal 'nap time'." The Slytherin's shouted in approval.
Well, there goes the 'uncannily joyous mood' for the morning.
"We're starting a project today, or something of that sort. The Headmaster requested we tested it upon this class. The rivalry should prove to be quite amusing," Snape smirked at this statement. Hermione suddenly felt quite uneasy.
Snape turned to his desk and produced a hat from a drawer. He flicked his wand above the hat. Twenty-two sheets of paper filled it, each had a student's name written upon it.
"Take a paper, only one. Do not look at it until everyone has one. If you have yourself, then we'll find a solution when the problem arises."
Snape walked around the room. Each student hesitantly picked a scrap of paper. A brave few attempted to see through the paper but Snape heatedly deducted points from their house.
"What are you waiting for," Snape shouted. Everyone had a paper in their hand. "Look at it! Do you not have eyes?"
Everyone took a breath and then read the name...
"Now, here are the rules. You may not, under any circumstances, harm your partner. If you do, you'll be severely punished once the month is over. You are allowed to switch your partners but you can not switch so that you have a partner in the same house as you. Slytherin and Gryffindor will stay together. The only pair that just happened to be the same house is Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Parkinson." Pansy positively beamed at this prospect. Draco didn't show much of an expression. Every Slytherin seemed to glare at the pair though.
"But, you can't simply switch. By picking this sheet of paper, you are now bound to that person for a month. You have a one hundred fifty meter distance before you hit an invisible barrier. This will allow for privacy in the bathrooms and separate classes inside the building. Sleeping arrangements will have to be made seeing as each common room is at the complete opposite ends of the castle. No, there will not be special dorms made. This is up to you to organize."
Everyone was in near hysterics, especially depending on their partners. Gryffindors and Slytherins? No go, no way.
"Each pair will receive two bottles of a potion, one for each person. To switch, you hand your partner's vile to another in the same house as you. When they drink it, and you drank their partner's, you'll switch. You are now bound to that other person. You may only switch once. If you choose to switch, you won't have an extra month added on to your project, you'll have to spend the remaining time of the month with your new partner. Understand?"
Everyone nodded.
"Now, go sit with your partner and I'll hand out the potion."
Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced at one another.
"Who do you have," Hermione asked quickly.
"Um, Milcent Bulstrode," Harry responded disappointed.
Ron shook his head. "I have Crabbe. Bloody hell. It's going to be like carrying a large rock everywhere."
Hermione smiled sympathetically.
"And who do you have," Harry asked. He tried to take a peek at Hermione's sheet.
"Zambini," Hermione growled. "Another muggle hater. This should be fun." The three glanced over at the boy. He didn't look quite pleased with the pairing either.
"Well, if he does any shit, let us know. Maybe, we can somehow figure out a way for all three of us to find a way to sleep near one another."
"I think Crabbe dorms with Zambini," Hermione pointed out.
"As well as Malfoy and Goyle," Harry moaned. "Oh, Merlin. We're going to be in the same room as those two. Disgusting."
They laughed. Snape looked up.
"Why aren't you with your partners, Granger, Potter and Weasley?"
They jumped from their seats.
"Ten more points from Gryffindor," Snape shouted.
Blaise glared as Hermione sat next to him.
"Do me a favor," he growled. "And don't touch me."
Oh, this was going to be one hell of a month...
AN. Okay, so, here's the deal. This will become a D/Hr soon. She's paired with Zambini for a reason. So, cut me some slack. Once the next few chapters are up, you'll see the purpose of this temporary pairing of Blaise and Hermione for this task. I didn't want to make it OMG!CLICHE! So, review, review. Flames are accepted. Encouragement is well, encouraged. Love is nice too.
This is also pre-HBP. I'm not using anything that happened during that book.
And believe me...this will get interesting.