Chapter 1. A Frog with a Message.
.oOo.
Hermione Granger
.oOo.
"Urg! One of these days, I am personally going to hex Malfoy another butt, on his perfect little face!" Hermione complained to her best friend's little sister, Ginny Weasley. Ginny just laughed at her.
"Why don't you do it now? You'd be doing us all a favor. Even his own house is sick of him!" Ginny laughed again before turning serious and stopping her friend and roommate outside the Great Hall. "What happened to you being the Princess of Gryffindor?" Hermione sighed before replying.
"Nothing, I just do not want to risk my kingdom by going to war." After a moment of silence, in which Ginny gazed into Hermione's eyes, as if she could stare down into her soul and read her deepest secrets by watching her eyes, they entered the Great Hall together to join the famous Harry Potter and his best friend and sidekick, Ron Weasley.
Not much exciting things happened during lunch, except Gryffindor lost 15 points from Snape because Seamus was trying to turn his turkey leg into a lollipop and it blew up in his face. So after lunch, they all went to their normal classes, trying to avoid Malfoy when they needed to.
As soon as class ended, they met up outside by the lake, like they do an any average day (and we all know how infrequent those are at Hogwart's). Unfortunately, they ran right into the person they were trying to avoid.
"Hey, Granger!" he yelled with Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson flanking him.
Hermione just sighed, not turning her back on her friends to face him. "What do you want this time, Malfoy?" she asked with a little snotty attitude in her voice.
Draco smirked his trademarked-Malfoy-smirk and put something in her hair. "Just thought you might like a little something to go with that outfit." He said before walking away, obviously mocking her.
Ginny shrieked at the thing that Draco had put in her hair and ran about a mile away.
"Oh, come now, Ginny! It cannot be that bad!" Hermione said before pulling it out of her hair, screaming, dropping it and joining Ginny across the yard. Harry and Ron, being the brave young men that they are, walked up to the dead frog and inspected it. Malfoy had tied a note from Professor Dumbledore to its leg.
"Guys, come back, there's a note for us!" Harry called out as the girls slowly and fearfully approached them.
"Look, the frog is dead. It is not going to hurt you. It looks like it's been dead for a while now, actually." Ron said. Hermione sighed and walked right up, closely followed by Ginny.
"It just gave me a scare. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it certainly was not a dead frog in my hair." She said.
"Sorry, 'Mione, but it won't hurt you." Harry said. "Here, it has a note from Dumbledore." He handed the note to her, and she opened it and read aloud to her friends this:
Dear Fifth Year Students of All Houses:
There will be an inter-house "lock-in" per say in the Great Hall tomorrow to improve our relations as a class! You will, after all, still have two years at school with your peers, and then work off in the world together! This evening will be filled with activities to improve our trust in one another. You will need to trust each other when the time for war comes. The Heads of Houses and I would like you to wear your pajamas to dinner, and bring your blanket or possibly a sleeping bag, and just stay after dinner.
Professor Dumbledore
Headmaster at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardary
"Sounds like he liked my suggestion!" Hermione smiled. Ron and Ginny looked extremely puzzled.
"Lock-in? Bloody hell, what is a lock-in?" Ron asked, extremely confused. "And why are we having one with the other houses?"
"Well," Hermione started to explain but got cut off by Harry.
"A lock-in is like an overnight party where a bunch of people get locked in a room and, well, party. I've never been to one, but Dudley's been to a couple at his school. Or at least that's where he tells Aunt Petunia where he's going." He explained.
"Well, sounds ok if it was just Gryffindor. Guess I'll just leave if I can sneak out if it sucks."
.oOo.
"Lucious!" Voldomort screamed. "Where is that man?" Mr. Zabini, Blaise's father, bowed to the Dark Lord.
"Sir, he is in Azkaban as of right now. You sent Bellatrix and Narcissa to retrieve him."
"Well they better get him here soon! We need to discuss what is to happen with that boy!" Voldomort screamed at him. "CRUCIO!" He yelled, pointing his wand at a random Death Eater, who crumpled to the floor, yelling and thrashing in unbearable pain.
About five minutes later, the man was still under the Cruciodis curse and dying from the pain it caused him when the door opened and Lucious Malfoy walked through. Voldomort lifted the curse.
"About time. We need to discuss the boy. I understand you have people watching him?"
"Of course, my Lord. The youngest Death Eaters are watching his every move." Malfoy replied, bowing to the Dark One.
"Good, that boy knows too much and is too close to that idiot, Dumbledore, for my liking. If he hasn't joined our ranks within the month, he shall need to be disposed of, Lucious."
"I understand my Lord," he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I shall contact Severus about getting him here."
"Good. You have a week to contact him, and a day after you contact him to get him to agree." Voldomort walked over and placed the tip of his wand to Lucious' neck. "And you know what happens if you don't."
"Of course my Lord," he said, shaking for fear of his life. That poor boy will never have time to register what has happened to him, and he WILL join the Dark Lord's ranks.
.oOo.
*a/n* Hello, fans, friends, followers. This story really will be finished, I promise you that. I already have an outline going, up to chapter 10!
REVIEWERS GET A REVIEW AND THEIR NAME IN THE STORY! Well, the author's notes…*
