Disclaimer: Oh look! A flying pig! No, sorry that was just a Hippogriff, I still don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 3 (Walks, Weirdness, and some other W words)
Raindrops still clinging to the library's windows glittered as the sun appeared from behind the clouds, catching Hermione's eye. The rain had stopped, finally.
Smiling, she stood up from her chair, stretching her back and legs before walking over to push open the window.
A breeze drifted in through the window, bringing the smell of salt and seaweed with it.
Her smile faltered. It's still there.
The phantom smell of the sea had been haunting her since she'd woken up, and it was starting to worry her.
"Granger."
She nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning to find Draco watching her.
"Malfoy," she returned, feeling somewhat dubious. For a fleeting second, she wondered if he was going to start insulting her, as he'd done with such regularity in the past. It had been easy to forget their differences in the… unique environment of the daydream, but now….
"At least you're dry now," she commented offhandedly.
Ignoring her implied question, he strolled to her work table and glanced curiously at the various papers she had strewn over the table.
Frowning and feeling defensive, she hurried across the intervening space and began to hastily collect her things.
She felt him slide up beside her, his shoulder brushing against hers as he plucked a paper from her hand. "Planning a sequel?" he asked wryly.
"Of course not," she snapped, attempting to snatch the paper back. "It's just homework, honestly."
He grinned, keeping the paper out of her reach. "Oh, of course. If it's just homework, then, here…" he started to hand it to her.
"Thank you," she said suspiciously, reaching out to take it back.
At the last minute he pulled it back, and she bit back a groan. "Only, I wasn't aware that we had an essay due in Charms about–" he frowned thoughtfully at the parchment– "imagination enhancement spells. I should probably get started on my own, if that's the case."
She huffed impatiently, but felt embarrassed heat rising in her cheeks at being caught in a lie. "Fine, you're right, it isn't homework. I was just looking over some notes on the changes I'd made to the charm because I wanted to know why the charm took both of us to the same dream, since the original charm is made for a single person. Plus, I wanted to see if any of the charms I used had side-effects," she muttered the last bit to herself. "Just give it back already," she requested sternly, cutting her rambling short.
His gaze sharpened with sudden interest, though she wasn't sure what it was directed towards. He held out the paper for her to take, and she reached out for it, wary of tricks. She grabbed it, but looked at him quizzically when he didn't let go. "Take a walk with me," he asked.
She paused, frowning at his odd behavior. "A walk," she repeated incredulously as he released the parchment. She put it with the other documents in her bag before turning her disbelieving gaze back onto him. "After that fuss you made about keeping this… civility… thing… between us, you want to take a walk. Where people could see us?"
He waved a dismissive hand, frowning slightly. "It's not far and everyone's outside anyway. C'mon."
Her protests died in her throat when his hand made contact with hers, a small, pleasant jolt running through her body and making her stomach flutter. He tugged on it gently, and she quickly grabbed her book bag before letting him pull her out.
She found her voice again once they were out of the library. "So, where exactly are you taking me?" she questioned, one part annoyance, three parts curiosity.
"You'll see when we get there," he said, adding a muttered, "hopefully," under his breath.
She looked at him sideways, wondering what he was talking about. "Knut for your thoughts?"
He shrugged casually. "Have you noticed anything… strange, lately?" he asked, sounding oddly hesitant.
"Well... you mean besides that near-monsoon we just had?" she snorted.
"You found that odd too? No one else seemed to," he commented with a shrug, using a tone of voice Hermione didn't recognize. But, she thought she detected a hint of relief in it.
"That no one else found it strange is strange in itself," she mused. "I mean, we should be getting snow at this time of year, not rain."
He nodded agreement. "Yeah, but anything besides that?"
"Well, yes, maybe. It's – I keep getting whiffs of salt, like from the ocean, you know?" She shook her head. "It sounds silly."
"It does sound silly," he agreed.
She pulled her hand out of his and halted them both, feeling annoyed. "I shouldn't've told you. I'm sure it's nothing, my senses just aren't used to not having the smell around now that I'm back in reality. Really, it's absolutely nothing to get worked up about," she stated firmly, not sure who she was trying to convince. "And I am going back to the library, thank you for the walk."
He put his hands behind his back and raised an eyebrow. "One thing before you go, Hermione?"
She paused at the use of her given name and looked at him expectantly.
He nodded towards the nearest portraits on the wall, rocking back onto the balls of his feet. "Look."
Confused, she did as he asked. Her mouth fell open.
She knew this hallway well, considering it was on her customary route to the Library. She'd memorized each of the portraits – what they depicted, how many there were, what order they were in. Most were of famous wizards, each having invented or done something extraordinary. The rest were scenes from the Goblin Wars, usually something chaotic and bloody.
Not anymore. The nearest painting was of a ship being tossed on monster waves, constantly moving up and down, somewhat nauseating just to watch. Others seemed to be of sea captains, nearly all with beards, large hats, eye patches, or different combinations of the aforementioned articles. There were a few of sea battles, ships blowing each other apart and crews fighting with swords.
Draco reached over and gently closed her mouth with a single finger on her chin.
She smacked him on the arm with a grimace. "You could've mentioned that a bit sooner, you prat!"
"It's not nice to hit people, Granger," he complained, feigning injury.
"That's why I don't hit nice people," she retorted, not caring if it didn't really make sense.
"Are you saying that I'm not nice?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She blinked at him innocently. "What gave you that impression?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you. C'mon, there's something else you should see," he said, abruptly continuing his walk down the corridor.
She frowned, looking after him and wondering what was on his mind. True, the recent events were a bit worrisome, but to her it was just another mystery to solve. Draco, on the other hand, seemed troubled. Not to mention the fact that she still didn't know why he'd been soaked earlier – assuming, of course, that there was a reason that wasn't innocent… he had avoided the question, after all...
Shaking her head to try and clear it, she quickly jogged a few steps to catch up with him.
They stopped in front of a large window with a picturesque view of the lake.
She glanced at Draco questioningly before following his gaze out the window. The derailment of her previous train of thought about Draco went unnoticed in the face of what she saw there.
She gaped at the view. "I'm guessing that that's not Durmstrang," she said after a moment.
"No," he confirmed.
They stood at the window together, staring out at the ghostly ship docked in the lake. It was the Phoenix, blood-red sails and all. Or it would be, if the Phoenix were see-through. There was no sign of anyone moving onboard.
Students on the lawn nearby talked and laughed as if nothing was wrong, either not noticing the ghost vessel or thinking it nothing special. Some students were even playing with (as in torturing, Hermione thought with a frown) a flock of seagulls that seemed to have taken up residence on the lawn.
"What the hell is going on?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Draco grimaced.
Hermione's mind whirled with the possibilities as she sank into one of the leather armchairs strewn throughout the library.
"It has to have something to do with the daydream charm," she said, thinking out loud as Draco settled into a similar armchair next to hers. "We seem to be the only ones who're affected, so it must be some kind of side-effect…"
"I don't think we're hallucinating, if that's what you're trying to suggest. People don't usually share hallucinations, and besides, it'd be pretty hard for those kids to chase seagulls that are solely in our minds," Draco said, frowning thoughtfully.
"Well, this is hardly a usual case," Hermione protested. "And, for all you know, we were imagining the kids as much as the seagulls. But you're right, it does seem far-fetched." Her eyes widened and she felt like smacking herself on the forehead. "We haven't really woken up yet, that must be it!"
"I'm reasonably certain that we've woken up, Granger," Draco snorted, shaking his head.
"How do you know?" she asked quickly.
He frowned in mock thoughtfulness, "Hmm, let's see…. I'm still wearing the clothes I put on this morning, my feet touch the ground, I don't have any amazing physical powers –" he smirked slightly– "beyond the norm, at least. Surely you noticed that wasn't always the case when we were in La-la Land? But as I was about to say," he continued before she could say anything else, "I have another theory. When that brilliant–" just the slightest sarcastic edge to the word– "little globe of yours broke, it formed some kind of magic gas that has driven everyone else loony. We weren't affected because we got hit directly and went through it properly."
"That doesn't explain where the boat came from, or why the portraits have changed," Hermione said, biting her lip in thought. "But if it is somehow affecting other people, we should go see Dumbledore. Maybe he can help us figure out what's going on."
"We?"
She looked at him sharply. "You are intending to help me figure this out, aren't you?"
He glanced at the window to their left as a seagull shrieked out on the grounds, then turned back to her with a noncommittal sound. "Would my assistance be necessary?"
She paused for a few seconds, thinking about his question rather than her answer to it. Draco Malfoy was unlike anyone she'd ever known before. If Harry or Ron had asked that question – not that they would have phrased it that way – it would have amounted to 'Do I have to?' But then again, in this situation the boys wouldn't ask something like that at all. They would already be caught up in the mystery, and, most likely, disregarding most of her input.
From Draco, however, it was more like a subtle way of saying 'I respect your ability to figure it out on your own, but I'll help if you want me to.'
Or she could just be reading too much into it.
"Your assistance would be appreciated, yes."
"Good, since I was going to help anyway," he grinned.
She snorted, but found herself grinning back. "You are a strange person, Draco Malfoy," she told him with a shake of her head.
He blinked at her innocently. "Let me tell you a secret…" he began, leaning forward in his chair. She found herself leaning forward as well, caught by his conspiratorial air. His breath tickled against her ear, causing a shiver to run down her back, as he whispered, "It's the normal ones you have to watch out for."
She laughed and he pulled back in mock indignation. "I was being serious, you know!"
She let her laughter die down to a grin. "No, I know, you're right. I was just thinking about Harry's aunt and uncle… they're about as normal as you can get. They're actually quite scary."
As the silence stretched between them, she abruptly realized what she'd said and to whom. She opened her mouth to apologize, but paused, realizing she didn't know what she'd be apologizing for. She'd said nothing wrong. And yet, their relationship was still new and tenuous. The last thing she wanted to do was alienate him.
"Look…" she started, but was cut off as the bell signaling the end of a class rang.
Draco cleared his throat. "Free period's over, then. I've got to get to Defense. I'll meet you afterwards so we can go see Dumbledore, right?" He didn't sound enthusiastic.
"Right, okay," she said, nodding half-heartedly. She'd had no idea what to say to him anyway.
She watched him go regretfully.
Being friends with Draco Malfoy was going to be harder than she had thought.
A/N: This one took forever, I'm sorry. I wrote this, edited it, re-edited, rewrote, edited, re-edited, rewrote, and then re-edited a final time, and I still don't like parts of it! gah. I hope that it reads alright.
Another reason it took so long? Other projects calling my name (and by that, I actually mean 'bashing me over the head with clubs and dragging me off to become their typing-slave.')
Anyway and as always, thank you for all your reviews. I'd love to personally reply to all (well, most...) of you, but I always get side-tracked with other things (such as actually writing the next chapter, you know..) and forget. But I do appreciate anything and everything you have to say, even if it's not positive (flames will be used to make s'mores for my more constructive reviews, not that I've gotten any yet)
That said, free virtual s'mores to all who review!
