Yay! I managed to make people happy. I hope this'll make you happier. Enjoy!
Oh, I forgot: Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not and will never be mine no matter what I do. Mistakes ARE, however, mine. Always will be. ('sucks…)
Chapter II
The Contract
Harry and Ron weren't back from their class yet, and there were very few people present in the common room when she entered. It was half past five…thirty minutes to go. And she would be down there in the very core of the Slytherin House—of all the places—very, very soon. It bothered her, and she considered not going at all—it looked so reckless, so irrational and insane. She thought still more; if she wouldn't show up, Draco would think her to be a coward—she simply won't bare the scene when Draco would smile and say, "So Granger hasn't showed up at all. She's a plain scaredy-cat!" And Crabbe and Goyle would snicker stupidly as he laughed his annoyingly mocking laugh.
Her pride or her welfare? She was caught in a dilemma. It was quarter to six now. Harry and Ron still aren't back. She glanced at the letter again.
Come alone.
If Draco is planning to do something stupid, he is going to regret it, she promised herself. As long as I have my wand, I'll be safe. That alone assured her. She was, after all, intelligent and immensely skilled—it would be easy to outsmart Draco and his dumb cronies if something went wrong. Hermione stood up, sighing, deciding she would go. She was far too distracted to notice that a couple of third years were chewing Nosebleed Nougats and were laughing at each others' bleeding nostrils.
The more she thought of where exactly she was going, she would feel her heart pound her chest, and the adrenaline rush in her veins; she reminded herself every so often, it was going to be okay, and her agitation would subside. She tripped a few times on her way down and once or twice, she almost had a precarious fall, because she forgot to jump over a particular step in the staircase. As she drew nearer, she became clumsier; she had stumbled again, and Peeves the Poltergeist had been there to cackle and point at her, before zooming away when she pointed her wand at him.
It didn't last long; she was on ground floor now. But she remembered she had to go underground. There were some students walking here and there, but as they weren't Slytherins, none dared to venture any further to the small perimeter where the door leading underground stood. All except for her. She saw to it that no one was watching her, then she slipped stealthily into the shadowy entrance, descending the stone steps until she reached solid ground. And she was alone once more, in the cold, empty hall.
A chill which had nothing to do with the cold ran down her spine. Now that she was here, all the doubts, the fears came crashing into her with much more intensity, so that she stood there like a statue, much more indecisive than ever. It's going to be okay, she told herself, feeling the cold seep into her palms. What is there to be afraid of? He's just Draco. "It's going to be okay," she repeated, saying it aloud this time. There was nothing scary. She was simply going to meet Draco…in the Slytherin common room.
I'm already here, she said firmly, fighting the worries away. There's no turning back. She drew in a steady breath, and walked down the corridor. It was silent, apart from the tack of her heels as they hit the hard floor. She observed her surroundings warily, eyes darting from one side to the other; the flames flickered rather eerily in their torches, and shadows danced—she gripped the wand in the inside pocket of her robe, ready to draw it if some danger were to come her way. But the hallway was completely empty. She continually strode down the labyrinthine passages, following a straight course, not exactly sure where she was going, but (quite) determined all the same.
A thought made her stop dead on her tracks: Where exactly was the entrance to the common room located? Of course, she'd known the common room was somewhere in the dungeons—she read it in Hogwarts, A History. But its exact location was never directly stated...or was it? Malfoy didn't even say anything in the letter ("The jerk," she muttered). She tried to recall, staring at the floor. She looked up at the wall. A memory flickered in her mind. No; there was nothing engraved on the door. It would be too obvious. What was there to do then? There was no sign, no symbol to indicate that the wall could be a door of some sort. An idea lit in her head. It was stupid, really, but she had to try.
Uncertainly, she said aloud without directing it to any particular object, "Parseltongue."
There was the sound of stone grating against stone; to her left, a door concealed inside the slab of rock slid open. She stared at the entrance for a few moments, debating what to do. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest, it hurt. She gripped her wand, bit her lip and…well, entered it.
It was a long room, and the lamps dangling from the low ceiling glowed a ghostly green. Ahead, tall-backed seats silhouetted against the bright fire burning brightly beneath an ornately-wrought mantelpiece. No one's here, thought Hermione in relief, thank goodness—
"Wonderful evening, isn't it, Granger?" said a voice. She froze. She saw someone stand up from the seat directly facing the fire—she could have sworn all the seats were empty. But he was already standing there, watching her.
"I'm here." She tried to sound collected, but her voice betrayed her; it shook. "I…I had a hard time finding my way."
"Well, that did occur to me," said Draco—she was sure he saw him smiling—"But I figured you weren't too dumb."
Insulted, she said stiffly, "I'm not."
"Of course you're not." He sounded so smug and cool, it annoyed her. "You're different."
"Yeah, I am," she snapped.
"Now, now, you didn't come here to fight," said Draco coolly. "You're in my territory, remember?" Of course, thought Hermione, anger overcoming her fear. You're safe. I'm not. "Come here."
"…What?" Her voice faltered.
"I said come here."
"Why?" asked Hermione insecurely.
"Because we're going to talk; we can't stay there—there aren't any comfortable seats, in case you've noticed." This time, he was sarcastic, and her temper, flaring abruptly again, drove her to move forward.
"Sit." He gestured to a chair similar to his. Hermione stared at him.
"I'd rather not."
"Alright then." He smirked, then leaned back into his seat. It annoyed her more, when he propped up his feet on a velvet pouf, and looked up at her with an air of superiority.
She frowned, waiting. "Well?"
"Well," Draco began, "you've been accusing me of hexing Potty and Weasel—"
"And you have, haven't you?" Hermione intervened.
"It's almost difficult not to," replied Draco sarcastically. He shrugged. "What with them acting so ridiculously—"
"How dare you!" cried Hermione, enraged.
"What a temper you have, Granger," said Draco, unperturbed, even when he saw her grip the inside of her robes. "Daring enough to try and actually attack Draco Malfoy in the Slytherin common room." He saw her falter almost instantly, but the anger never left her eyes.
"It's an awfully tiring game, really," he went on, enjoying her look intensify with hatred. "So I've decided to make an agreement."
"To compromise, you mean?" said Hermione, eyes turning wary. "What sort?"
"Oh, I've written it all down. Here." And he handed her a roll of parchment. Hermione took it, watching him carefully, before looking down to read the contents of the parchment. "I've decided not to harm Potter and Weasley," said Draco pleasantly. "Of course, there's always a requirement."
Hermione read everything written down, frowning. For a while, she was silent, but her eyes widened and suddenly she cried, almost startling Draco, "WHAT? I'll do thirty things for you?" She glowered at him, enraged.
"That's why it's called the 'What-to-Do Contract'," said Draco sarcastically, recovering from his surprise.
"But why was I chosen?"
"Well, someone would have to pay the price."
"And why me?" she demanded.
"Oh, so you want me to have Harry and Ron—"
"No," Hermione said quickly, eyes softening with anxiety at the thought. "I didn't mean it that way."
"So you will abide to the contract?" said Draco, leaning forward in sudden excitement. Hermione scowled at him. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then," he said, smiling smugly.
"I haven't decided yet," she stated dryly.
"Think about it, Granger," Draco goaded, his eyes bright with malice, "It's worth it, isn't it? Me not having to bother Potty and the Weasel anymore. Not even when we leave the school. And all I ask in return are thirty little…errands. That's all." He watched her in interest, observing her combined expression of worry, indecisiveness and irritation. Pleasantly, he added, "The others will soon be here, Granger. Best to make up your mind—you wouldn't want to be here when they arrive."
Hermione suddenly looked up toward the door, as if expecting that the rest of the Slytherins would burst in at that very moment. This seemed to play a rather intriguing effect on her. Her eyes hastily skimmed the whole parchment, before she looked back at him resentfully.
"Alright."
I'm sorry if this chapter was long. But I just couldn't remove anything to make it shorter. I'll try to limit the length on the following chapters, so please bear with me!
A lot of coincidental stuff happened, like Harry and Ron not being there, Hermione being in the exact spot where the stone door was located, and the Slytherins not inside the common room except for Draco. Well, just imagine that stuff had to happen on that same, exact hour so that Hermione and Malfoy could meet in peace. XD
I can't guarantee quick updates because…well, vacation's over and I am, once again, forced to school where I am mercilessly hampered by school work.
Please take note of the ff (This is the last one, I swear!):
-The dungeons in which the Slytherin common room is situated was never exactly stated in the second book, 'Chamber of Secrets' (p. 220 in paperback)…or perhaps I never completely understood where it was… I think there were also hints in the sixth book, 'Half-blood Prince', but I have only read it once, and I plan to read it again because this is where I based the setting of my fic.
-Draco's eyes are gray. I mentioned previously that they're blue, because I was thinking of Tom Felton. But the book says they're like the color of his father's eyes. My friend (a diehard Potterhead) corrected me when she read my fic, so there. She deserves credits, too, because she helped me with the Slytherin-common-room-dungeon-thing.
-And the sentence in Chapter 1: "She looked past the Hufflepuffs, at the Slytherins, scanning for his pale, arrogant countenance" is wrong; it should have been the Ravenclaws. The arrangement of the tables if you stood from the teachers' tables in front: at the farthest left are the Gryffindors, followed by the Ravenclaws, then the Slytherins, and lastly at the farthest right, the Hufflepuffs.
I am terribly sorry for the mistakes, and I shall strive to maintain the accuracy of the story. Hope you're not mad.
Oh, and your reviews, please! :D
