A/N: Bright and early this time! Please read and review!
Chapter four: Sloth
Hermione was really glad that it was Friday night and that she wouldn't mind sleeping in tomorrow. Fred and George must have planned it out so that she could perform Sloth on Saturday without worrying about classes. She was strangely touched about their thoughtfulness.
Then again, if they had organised it for her to sleep in on a school day, she would never ever do that. The twins probably knew Hermione placed school before anything else on her list, and that would mean that they would lose money.
Lavender and Parviti were getting into bed as well, watching Hermione as she crawled under the covers. Both of them wanted Hermione to sleep well; they had placed down bets for her to follow through.
"Hermione," Lavender said suddenly, "Have you drunk the sleeping potion yet? I heard that Madam Pomfrey uses it and it makes people sleep like a log or something."
Hermione opened her eyes, "No..." she said thoughtfully, "I was so concentrated on Anger I forgot to get a flask from Madam Pomfrey. Do you?" She asked hopefully.
"As a matter of fact," grinned Parviti, "We do. We went to the hospital Wing earlier."
Lavender poured the liquid in the flask she had been holding in her hand and into a goblet. She offered it to Hermione who took it appreciatively.
"Fanks," Hermione's voice was muffled as she drank the potion. As she licked her lips, she suddenly realised something weird with it.
"This... doesn't taste like the sleeping Draught Madam Pomfrey gives to student," Hermione said worriedly. "It's... far bitterer."
Lavender checked the label on the flask. "It says Sleeping Potion-one goblet full per troll- oh Merlin's Beard!" She shrieked. "We took the wrong Potion! This one's for Trolls!"
"Spit it out!" Parviti exclaimed, "Spit it out!"
Hermione shook her head, "I can't... it's already gone down, I'll just sleep anyway... Tell Madam Pomfrey tomorrow afternoon about this... I'm... really...tire-" Suddenly Hermione's head was flung back and she was snoring softly as the potion's effects kicked in and she slept.
Lavender and Parviti looked at each other, their faces struck with terror.
"Oh well," sighed Lavender, "We'll deal with the problem tomorrow."
"I guess..." Parviti said uncertainly. "But what if the dosage is so strong, it kills her?"
Lavender shrugged, "She's not dead yet, so I think she'll stay alive for a little while. Don't worry."
Midnight came, and Hermione's eyes were suddenly forced open.
Like a puppet, she jerkily flung away her covers and walked down to the common room, her eyes were glassy as she moved.
Harry and Ron were still in the Common Room, catching up on some homework that some professor had insisted they hand it in tomorrow. They relaxed at the sight of Hermione, thinking she would help them. But then they both realised that she should be in bed sleeping.
"Hermione!" Ron hissed, "Go back! You're supposed to be a Sloth, right?"
But Hermione didn't even answer him, she didn't even look at him. It was scary.
"Er, Hermione?" Harry asked, standing up and approaching her. "Are you okay?"
"I need to walk around." Hermione said. "It's something I have to do." She spoke with a strange un-Hermione-ish monotone voice.
"No you don't," Ron said forcefully, "You need to sleep. You're supposed to commit Sloth!"
"I need to walk around-" Without finishing her sentence, Hermione headed out the through the hole and pushed the Fat Lady away, who squawked in protest.
"Where are you going?" The Fat Lady demanded, "You should be asleep!"
"I need-"
"I heard you, young woman, so go walk around in the common room!"
But Hermione just slammed the portrait shut, right into Harry's and Ron's faces, ignoring the three protesting voices behind her.
Hermione slipped into a secret passage way behind a tapestry and walked outside to the shed where the broomsticks were kept.
Hermione Granger, scared of flying, was picking a broom to fly around the grounds with.
Malfoy smiled as he turned in his sleep. His dream was not unlike what actually happened several hours before.
Escaping from Pansy and her annoying interrogation, Malfoy had bumped into Lavender and Parviti who were on their way back to the Gryffindor tower.
At first he was going to make some nasty comment, but then thought that he could use them. He noticed they were giggling (as usual) and hiding something underneath their robes. From eavesdropping into their conversation, he learned that it was a Sleeping Draught stolen from the Hospital Wing.
He acted swiftly. He stupefied them, grabbed the flask (and smirked as he saw the label), and switched its contents with the potion Snape had secretly given him at the library. He then performed a simple Memory Charm that made them forget about this incident and went along his own way. Lavender and Parviti were lucky that Professor Flitwick was on his way to the kitchens for another goblet of Hot Chocolate, and found them stunned, else they probably would still be out cold on the stone floor.
The Granger Mudblood, Scar-head and Weasel all thought that he was stupid, like Goyle and Crabbe. He wasn't actually, though he didn't really study hard, he had a talent in performing spells and charms and brewing potions that was beneficial for him. Memory Charm? Pft, he mastered that in third year. Polyjuice potion? Another easy potion to brew, he successfully brewed that in fourth year.
Just by looking and sniffing at the contents of the potion Snape had smuggled to him, he identified what it was straight away. It was a potion that set the biological alarm inside the drinker at a specified time. The drinker would wake up at that time, and the potion, depending on the ingredients added and the doses, would influence the drinker to do things that the drinker would normally not do. Things such as quidditch for Hermione, for example. It was a potion that would ensure that from the time the alarm was set off to whenever the antidote was drank, the drinker would keep doing the same thing over and over again.
This meant Hermione would keep on flying on the broomstick until somebody force fed her the antidote.
Oh the joy in stopping Hermione from completing the dare.
Harry and Ron dashed after Hermione, not caring whether the teachers saw them breaking the rules. In fact, they wished that a teacher spotted them, maybe they can explain why Hermione was now flying on a broomstick and circling the castle at midnight.
They got what they wished for, but not in the way they wanted. They'd bumped into the worst teacher that they could possibly meet.
Severus Snape.
"Well, well, well." Snape said, "how unfortunate that I catch you two in your nightly prowling? Tell me Potter, is breaking the rules a habit of yours?"
"Sir," Harry said pleadingly, "It's Hermione, she needs help."
Snape turned to see Hermione wave at him outside the window, riding the broom as if she was a natural.
"She looks perfectly fine to me," Snape smirked. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, Potter and Weasley, for being out of bed after lights out."
He turned and gestured for them to re-enter the Gryffindor Common Room with a mocking smile, leaving Harry and Ron with no choice but to obey silently. It was fruitless to get Snape to help Hermione, he was probably in this too.
Snape waited until the Fat Lady's portrait swung shut before issuing strict orders to the Fat Lady to not let anyone in or out tonight.
Then, with an uncharacteristic grin, he stalked down the hallway.
Morning came, and people had ditched their breakfast in order to capture Hermione in one of her most glorious moments: riding the broom with apparent ease. Most of the students present were Slytherins, no doubt Malfoy had told them to come to breakfast early to see the show.
Cameras flashed eagerly; and Hermione gave a whoop as she passed the Great Hall the fifth time since breakfast started. Some of the teachers who had came to breakfast early, namely Hagrid and Dumbledore, all waved merrily back each time Hermione went past them.
Professor McGonagall bustled in, holding a cloak. It took her a few seconds to register that yes, it was Hermione Granger from Gryffindor, the student who cared about school more than anything else was flying at top speed around the castle, whooping and screaming like a maniac.
Pushing the students to one side, Professor dumped her cloak in somebody's arms and magnified her voice with her wand.
"HERMIONE GRANGER, COME DOWN HERE AT ONCE!" the professor's voice was a hundred times louder than normal, and everyone (except for Dumbledore and Hagrid) immediately grimaced and stuffed their fingers in their ears.
"But I can't professor." Hermione hollered back. "I don't know how to stop and land. I must keep going." She was still talking in a monotone, which made McGonagall frown.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?"
"I don't know. I must keep going."
"Er-professor?" Someone piped up from behind the steaming professor.
McGonagall whipped around, her nostrils flaring. "Yes Miss Brown?" She asked, her voice returning to normal.
"Er, Hermione drank a Sleeping Draught meant for trolls yesterday," Lavender confessed, "that's what the bottle label said, but Madam Pomfrey just told me that the colour of the Sleeping Drought is supposed to be brown, not-"
"-red, am I correct?" McGonagall gave a small sigh. "Miss Granger must have taken the potion I asked Severus to brew for me when I have trouble getting up in the morning. I should never have-never mind, I know why he did it."
McGonagall sighed again. "I have an antidote back in my classroom."
"I'll go get it professor," Parviti offered, feeling guilty of how things turned out with Hermione.
"No, don't worry," McGonagall informed her, "I'll summon it-it's easier." True enough, several seconds later, the small vial carrying the precious antidote came flying into her outstretched hand.
"The problem is," she murmured, "how can I get Granger to drink this while she's flying?"
She turned around thoughtfully, looking at the students. Or more specifically, she looked at the Slytherin table where most of the students were. Her eyes fell on Malfoy.
"Malfoy," she barked, "you are a seeker for your team, isn't that right?"
Malfoy nodded, and then shook his head.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded, "And don't lie to me."
"Yes, Professor," Malfoy sighed, "I'm the seeker."
"Good. No other suitable quidditch players have arrived for breakfast yet. I would have rather Potter to do it, but no doubt he's still asleep at seven in the weekend. Malfoy, get your broom immediately, NOW." The teacher shouted the last bit, staring at Malfoy.
Malfoy stood up really slowly, a plan already forming in his head. He'll fly up there, give Hermione the antidote, but he'll also slip her another one where she just won't be able to close her eyes in twenty-four hours.
"NOW!" McGonagall said, pointing at the door, "Don't think that I don't know what you did, Malfoy." She warned, walking to the teacher's table and sitting down, with the student who carried her cloak following her. "Ah, sorry Perkins," she apologised, "I forgot about that, give Malfoy the antidote, won't you? Thanks."
Malfoy shuffled his feet looking every bit the reluctant Slytherin he was supposed to be, but really, he was grinning inside. It was a perfect chance to give Hermione the next potion he had stolen from Snape's collection. He positively snatched the antidote from the boy's hands in his eagerness to execute his plan.
Outside the Great Hall, he summoned his broom and the potion and headed out the entrance doors, where he kicked off and waited in mid air, but who knew immediately came crashing into him?
Hermione found herself waking up at the Hospital Wing, groaning, she struggled to sit up. Every inch of her body was aching, and- Merlin's Beard! Wasn't that the potion for mending bones?
Another groan from beside her found Malfoy, who was sitting up in his bed too, rubbing his eyes.
Their eyes met each other and they both scowled.
"What in God's name happened?" Hermione demanded, pointing an accusingly finger at him.
"You came crashing into me!" Malfoy answered back, grumbling. "Filthy Mudblood," he added underneath his breath. "And Madam Pomfrey told you to drink up that potion." He nodded to the potion that Hermione had seen earlier.
"No," Hermione folded her arms, her eyes narrowing at him. "You spiked it with something, I can see that you're hiding an empty flask underneath your covers."
Malfoy flushed as he was found out, he tossed the flask at Hermione, who caught it easily. "Kaelope's Serum," she sniffed at the flask, nodding approvingly, "you brewed it? It's a really difficult potion to make."
"No," Malfoy answered shortly, "Snape made it. I stole it."
Hermione gave him the upmost disgusted look. "You stole it." She repeated. "How despicable."
"What a filthy hypocrite!" Malfoy exclaimed, "you stole boomslang skin and other stuff from Snape in second year! Or don't you remember your little 'confession' last night?"
Hermione blushed, and decided not to say anything. Instead, she got out of bed.
"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm going, I can't stand being alone with you," Hermione shot back.
"Well then, hurry up. You're using up my oxygen."
"Excuse me?" Hermione snapped, "YOUR oxygen?"
"Yes. I have the receipt for it, you want to see it?" Malfoy pretended to check the pockets of his hospital robes. "Must have left in at home, at Malfoy MANOR," he said, emphasising the word Manor.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "too bad," she retorted, "living at that dreadful stuck-up place must have been horrible. Oh wait, who am I kidding? You're stuck up and horrible, of course you love to live there."
She slammed the door behind her.
Malfoy looked at the door and got up too. "Filthy, poor, Granger," he muttered. "How can I-? What the hell was Goyle thinking?"
"It's not going to work if you go to sleep now," Harry said, watching Hermione pace around.
"I know that," Hermione said, "I'm just thinking of what the best thing to do now is."
"But you're ruined!" Ron moaned, "You didn't commit Sloth!"
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, amazed, "just because I didn't sleep in doesn't mean I fail!"
"Oh." Ron said, settling down, propping his feet up onto a stack of books. "Okay then."
Hermione's gaze fell upon the books. "I've got it." She grinned.
Malfoy was in the library again, with various spell books and potions books laid out in front of him as he took down notes on which hairstyle Ron would look worst in, and whether he should replace the Weasel's freckles with splattergroit.
Somebody sat down in front of him. He looked up and grumbled.
"You think you've won because I didn't sleep in, right?" Hermione said, a weird smile playing on her face.
Malfoy wisely chose not to answer. But nevertheless a smirk was forming as he thought about winning the money back.
"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall came bustling in. "I thought I told you to hand in that essay today, after lunch?"
"Oh I know that, professor," Hermione yawned, "I just couldn't be bothered doing it."
"Miss Granger!" the teacher exclaimed, "How lazy of you!"
"Well, I have my ups and downs, and TODAY," Hermione emphasised, "is one of my downs. I'll do that essay later, professor, I'm too lazy to do it now."
Malfoy watched this conversation with his mouth open. It never occurred to him that Sloth also meant 'laziness'. He had been focusing too much on the 'sleeping in and getting up too late and not doing anything else' part.
Damn know-it-all, he groaned. When could he ever win against her? Oh wait, back to imagining Ron Weasley as a foul smelling, plagued freak. That calmed him down.
"Miss Granger!" Professor Flitwick squeaked from behind the two arguing witches. "Please give these to Mr Potter and Weasley please!"
Hermione stopped and looked down at the professor, who was holding a box. "No. I'm too LAZY to." Hermione said, stretching out and propping her feet up so that it was a few inches from Malfoy's face.
"I'm going to take a nap," she said meaningfully, "I'm just too lazy to do anything else."
"You're such a Sloth," Professor McGonagall complained, sneaking a look at Professor Flitwick who was barely containing a straight face. "Hermione Granger's a sloth, isn't she?"
"Why, of course she is!" Professor Flitwick said, giving a weird squeaky laugh.
"Did you hear that Mr Potter and Weasley?" McGonagall barked.
Ron snapped a shot of Hermione with her feet on the table (he made sure to catch Malfoy's disgusted face in it) and the two professors shaking the essay and the box at her.
"I think I've got it, professor," Ron said. Harry couldn't help but make a big show of crossing out 'SLOTH' in bright red ink in front of Malfoy's steaming face.
"That's not fair!" he complained, "Professors, you helped her! That's cheating!"
"If we're cheating, Malfoy, then what was that episode about the potions that seem to appear out of nowhere these days, care to explain those?"
"Er-"
"I thought not."
The two professors turned away, but not before a beaming Flitwick gave them the box.
Malfoy immediately snatched it from Hermione, who was just about to open it. "It's mine now."
Hermione scowled. "What use do you have of S.P.E.W badges?" she asked furiously. "Give them back."
"SPEW?" Malfoy laughed, "spew? Why, are you going to be puking in envy tomorrow?"
"S.P.E.W!" Hermione said hotly. "Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare!"
"Whatever," Malfoy threw one at her, "Here, a Christmas present. I'm going to keep the rest. Thanks for giving me this, Granger, now I can carve the words 'Granger Sucks' on it."
Harry attempted to make a swipe at it, but was caught by Madam Pince saw him at it and chased him out of the library. "Despoiled, foul boy," she muttered, "How dare he attempt to fight in my library?"
Draco smirked. "What about you, Weasel? Aren't you going to join Pothead?"
Ron scowled, but got up. "If you do anything to Hermione..." he threatened as he retreated.
Hermione smiled at Malfoy. "Just so you know," she said, "those badges have been cursed. I got Professor Flitwick to try and see if there's a charm or something on it, but he says he can't get rid of it."
Malfoy, horror struck, threw the box of badges down. Hermione laughed at the sight. She glanced at the books he'd been reading. "Planning to curse me next?" she asked scathingly, "It'd never work, I know a few good ones up my sleeve."
Malfoy just looked at her. "I'd like to see you try," he sneered, "you wouldn't last five SECONDS if you duelled with me."
"Oh really?" Hermione asked sceptically. "How would you know?"
"I can prove it, right now." Malfoy reached for his wand but found it twirled in Hermione's fingers.
"What would you do without your wand, Malfoy?" She taunted, "poor widdle wizard without his wand? Aww..."
Malfoy flushed. Hermione was strange today, alright. She fleetingly reminded him of Bellatrix with her baby voice and taunting words.
"I'd punch you." He threatened, clenching his fist and showing it to her.
"But you won't." Hermione replied at once. "Because then you'd go under history as the cowardly Slytherin who punched a girl just because he couldn't get his wand back."
True.
Damn.
"Look at him!" Pansy hissed, furious.
She was with Blaise, Nott, Goyle and Crabbe, all of them were looking at Hermione and Draco from behind a shelf of books.
"He's totally flirting with her!"
"No, he's not." Blaise yawned. "He just treats her that way, remember?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't tease, bully or talk like that to anyone else!" Pansy complained. "He doesn't even talk to ME much, and look at him now, warming up to that filthy Mudblood."
"You call threatening her 'warming up'?" Nott said, raising his eyebrows, "you're one sadistic witch, Pansy."
"I think he fancies her." Goyle said, repeating what he said yesterday. Blaise laughed outwardly at the outrageous statement, Nott just stared disbelievingly at Goyle.
"Goyle, honestly? You get T's in all your subjects, that means you're a Troll, geddit?" Nott told him, "And Trolls are stupid. Which means that your 'Draco fancies Granger' statement is a completely stupid and idiotic thing to say."
But Pansy, who had saw the way Malfoy echo those words last night, agreed with Goyle. "Goyle may be slow in class, but I think he's got a point here."
"I agree with Goyle," Crabbe grunted. "Draco's never acted that way to us before."
"Exactly!" Pansy threw up her hands, "That mudblood Granger is stealing him away from me! Look at the way he treats her differently to me! Look at the way he acts so immature in front of her!"
Blaise and Nott looked at each other and shrugged. "We still think you're wrong," Blaise said. "But if you're so sure, then why don't you do something to win him back?"
Pansy smiled. "I'd do just that."