Chapter 4
Hermione and Ginny shook their head at the folly and turned to Harry and Neville for some, relatively, civilized conversation. And when the conversation turned to quidditch, as it often would, Hermione pleaded exhaustion and made her way back to the Head Tower.
*~*~*~*~*
As she walked through the stone hallways she thought about what had just taken place. It wasn't quite how she had imagined it, or how she had planned it. But Ronald had been completely and utterly humiliated. She had what she wanted. If Draco still wanted to go through with their plan, it was fine by her.
Satisfied with her thinking, she scratched the cat's left ear and the portrait swung open to reveal the common she shared with Malfoy. Moving into her room, she changed into a pair of comfy grey sweats and a small baby tee, a small smirk on her lips.
She was reclining on the white chaise lounge closest to the fire, staring into the leaping flames, when Malfoy walked in. He had seen her walk out and wanted to talk to her; they needed to figure out what was going to happen now.
He was struck by the image that she made, leaning against the raised portion of the lounge, one hand propped upon her head, the other holding a white mug of steaming hot chocolate. The golden glow from the fire danced across her face, lending a golden peach tone to her skin; her normal dull brown hair softened to a liquid milk chocolate, gentle waves falling over her shoulders.
Her eyes were half closed in relaxation, but when he looked closely, their usual colour of honey gold had darkened to a molten brown, swirling with small flecks of gold popping in and out.
It wasn't until her eyes moved up to glance at him that he realized he had moved to stand next to her. A bit startled by his own actions but not wanting to kill the relaxed feeling surrounding them, he moved to sit beside her curled up legs.
"So… Weasley is no longer here. You must be happy."
She stared into the fire for a few moments before looking at him. "I am. Though probably not for the reasons you think. I believe that whatever Mrs. Weasley is planning to teach him will do him a world of good." She turned back to the fire. Both were quiet for several minutes before she spoke again, in soft, dulcet tones.
"I don't hate him, at least not much, despite what it may have seemed like. He's been Harry's best friend since our First Year and since I was Harry's other best friend, the three of us hung out a lot. He has no tact or elegant mannerisms like you, but he has a good heart and is usually loyal to his friends. He sometimes just gets distracted by jealousy." She sighed.
"He used to call me names behind Harry's back. Said he was only letting me hang around because he felt sorry for me. I don't even think we could be called friends. But for some reason he began to turn my head.
"I knew we would fight all the time if we ever became a couple, but by then I'd had a crush on him for so long and he finally confessed the same. Harry probably laughed at us for taking so long to get together." Here she chuckled quietly; Malfoy smirked.
"I've grown up hearing Mrs. Weasley complaining about Ron's manners every summer. I also got to witness him manners practically every day for almost six years. The other boys had some mildly bad habits, but they could curtail them when company was around. Ron never could. I knew that nothing Mrs. Weasley could do during the summer would stick throughout the year. Ron is extremely thick-headed. And sometimes the best teacher is humiliation."
He looked sharply at her, wondering if she had learned that lesson through practical application or a book.
"I knew Ron liked Lavender. He'd always carried a thing for her, but he felt she was out of his league. I have no idea why he thought that but…" She scoffed. "Anyway, at some point during the summer I knew they began to send letters to each other. Part of it was because of family ties or something. I'm assuming that you know what I'm talking about, being pureblooded and all." He nodded.
"It hurt at first, I really did like him, heaven knows why. But after a while, logic pulled through again, and I realized he'd never really liked me. Not the way I liked him. For him, it was kind of expected that he and I date.
"During our first week back I spelled some of Lavender's personal items; things she always had around her. The silver charm bracelet her favorite uncle gave her before he died, her mother's old necklace, her pack of quills that are always in her book bag. I even spelled her pillow.
"They were all subtle enchantments, completely undetectable. I'd gone to Diagon Alley before I went with the Weasleys for school supplies just to check to see which books they had. I made a list of what I needed and how much it would cost to cover any extras that weren't school requirements. My parents pay for that, anything else I want comes out of my pocket.
"When I met up with everyone we went to get our books first and as usual I stayed there longer than anyone else. It was practically tradition, they'd get their books as soon as they could and then race over to the quidditch store, while I browsed the shelves. So I found what I needed without much trouble and paid for them."
She stopped speaking and took a delicate sip of her still steaming drink. Putting the cup back down, she looked off into the fire, seeing something entirely different.
"I had started giving Ronald potions with his food. So long as I masked in something like a pie or cake, some pastry or whatever Ron didn't think too much about the funny taste. Though he swore when we got married he'd never let me cook." She chuckled again, so did Malfoy.
"And eventually it all came together. Lavender developed a crush on Ron and he saw her in a new light as well. It all seemed very natural, hormones raging, seeing a very beautiful girl and then comparing her to your plain-Jane girlfriend. It was natural that they'd sneak around and I played the part of the jealous girlfriend.
"It wasn't hard really. I dredged up all my memories and emotions of when I first found out. I had confronted Ronald about it and he brushed me off, as usual. Said it was something I, as a muggleborn, wouldn't understand. I found that particularly amusing alter on, when I thought about it. He asks me for help with everything. And as a pureblood, he should know those things. Anyway, everyone knew that I was in love with Ron and they all expected revenge." Raising a sardonic eyebrow she continued, "It just came a lot sooner than anyone imagined. And in a very different situation I'm sure."
He smirked at her, she smirked back; the two of them indulging in their private joke.
"So when it was made public that Ron had cheated on me with Lavender, I'm assuming someone overheard my conversation with Ginny, I raged for a few days and then calmed before coming to you. You know what happens after that."
Malfoy stilled and thought about everything she had just shared with him. She had orchestrated the entire bloody thing!!
"You used me!" He was in shock she could tell. "Hell Hermione, you used everyone!" She looked at him and raised an eyebrow at his outburst.
"To be fair Draco, you knew I was using you. We agreed that we'd use each other the moment I proposed my plan. I don't know why you're so shocked now."
"But-!" He looked at her in crazed amazement. This little slip of a witch, a muggle-born, the lowest form of a magical human, had created this entire situation and moved the people as masterfully as a professional chess player. He was in awe of the petite Gryffindor before him.
A sudden thought occurred to him. "Did Mrs. Weasley know what you were doing?"
She smirked at him and his eyes widened at the deviousness hidden in that mouth.
"You'll always be surprised if you take the time to dig through records. Molly Weasley née Wardenhardt, was actually a '62 Graduate of Slytherin. Her family moved from a recently reunited magical Germany to England's magical community to escape from tensional pressures rising from the Cold War. She was placed in Slytherin and met Arthur Weasley in her Fifth Year when they were partnered together for Prefect duty and patrols.
"The rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor were still pronounced then, as it is today, but Molly was a well like Slytherin, and the same for Arthur in Gryffindor. So there was very little opposition to their eventual relationship and marriage. Molly was a sweet girl and helped anyone who asked. She was one of the most popular girls in school and eventually became Head Girl.
"Two years after they graduated, Arthur Weasley and Molly Wardenhardt were married and it was a very large celebration for Hogwarts Alumni. But then Voldemort rose in power and the Weasleys sided with Dumbledore and the Light. To say the least, many of their old crowd, from pureblooded families, disliked their choice and they were stricken from any and all acquaintances and meetings." Draco nodded every so often, mentally recording all that Hermione was telling him and checking it against his own knowledge of events.
"Mrs. Weasley nodded to me in the Great Hall after she finished her formal removal of Ron with Dumbledore. So I'm sure at some point things didn't add up to her and she worked it out. She may not know the exact extent to which I conducted things, but she knows that I played a part in Ron's behavior." She tilted her head to the side.
"It also probably helped that I put another charm on Ron. He tends to have a loose mouth which is never good, but he also has a wild temper and speaks without thinking the majority of the time. I just took advantage of that."
Draco gaped at her. "You mean everything he said was the product of a spell you put on him!?"
Hermione gave a sad smile; in a pained voice she continued. "No. No, that was all Ron. I merely released his inhibitions to do so. There wasn't really much to work with anyway, but I didn't want to leave any holes open. And that's my story. I did it to help Ron and I know he won't find out I was behind it, but I think it's best for him. Some humility and manners would do him a world of good. About Pansy, if you still want to work together on that front I don't mind. Alternatively, if you have no further use for me that's fine too."
Draco blinked at the sudden topic change. Pansy. In the past two weeks he'd completely forgotten about her. Odd. He didn't usually forget personal slights, though really he hadn't forgotten. It had just been pushed to the side by the hilarity of the Weasel's idiocy and Hermione's part in the whole thing. Which turned out to be much more involved than he had thought.
He looked at the young woman before him. "I suppose everyone thinks we're dating, we don't have to do anything really. We're spending plenty of time together with out Head duties and our potions project. Speaking of, tonight is the full moon, you'll have to get the liquid moonbeams at midnight exactly. You have just over two hours before we need to be down there. I suggest you get some sleep."
As he stood up and walked into his room, Hermione's eyes following his every move. She had always admired the grace with which he moved. Like a cat, a large cat, but lithe and graceful. More of a panther than a lion. She giggled. 'Not that he'd want to be compared to lion anyway!'
Setting her mug on the floor, Hermione stretched out on the lounge and drifted into a light sleep. Draco would wake her when it was time.
*~*~*~*~*
The two shadows made their way out the front doors of the great castle and over to a little hill that overlooked the lake. Drawing a runic circle about her, Hermione took out two vials and a small purple and white flower. Gently placing the flower into one of the vials she drew one last rune and held her hands towards the moon, vials clutched between pianist fingers.
Draco had stood back from the circle so he would not affect the purity of the ritual. He noticed that Granger had two vials and supposed it was preparation in case they needed more or some went missing. He also noticed, too late, that Granger had put something in one of the vials.
"Grang-!" His yell was lost on Hermione at a delicate wind swept up around her, lifting her wavy hair and tossing it around. A soft, almost translucent beam of moonlight filtered down from the sky and poured itself into the vials.
The light seemed to go on and on forever, never stopping. Hermione was mentally glad she had added a never-full charm to the vials. It would have been improper for her to let the rare moonlight liquid to fall onto the ground and it would have been even more rude for her to suddenly halt the flow, saying she had enough.
And so she stood, safe in a runic circle, arms reaching upwards to the sky, her skin enjoying the cool, silky feeling of the moonlight whispering around her. A lilting music gently filling the area, always moving toward a delicate crescendo yet never actually cresting.
Finally after she had been frozen in that position for what felt like hours, the light stopped and the wind and music slowly died down. Her arms suddenly felt like lead and Hermione knew that she was going to collapse soon. With the last of conscious strength she stoppered the vials and fell forward.
Right before she hit the ground two strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her upright. Through hazy vision she barely made out the blotch of silver-blonde hair and dark mercury eyes.
"Granger! Are you alright? What wrong? Granger! Hermione!?"
His calls were lost on her as her vision faded into black; her last conscious thought being glad she'd put the vials in her pocket.
*~*~*~*~*
Draco had stood there watching her standing in the circle, moonlight swirling around her. He could hear the vague strains of music filtering through the wind barrier.
He didn't keep time with his watch, but when the moonlight began to die down he was amazed that they'd been standing there for over two hours. He saw her put a stopper on each vial and then, almost in slow motion, she tilted forwards.
Draco raced up the small incline and caught her before she hit the ground. Blurred eyes looked up at him.
"Granger! Are you alright? What's wrong? Granger! Hermione!?"
He was panicking. He hadn't panicked in a very long time. Stupid witch causing him worry and making him panic. Her eyes drifted shut and what little effort she had been using to hold herself up was gone.
He sagged to the ground, his body wrapped protectively around hers. Quickly checking her pockets for the vials, he popped them into his own pocket so they wouldn't fall out as he carried the unconscious witch to the castle.
He was suddenly grateful that he had relatively strong arms from quidditch. Granger wasn't exactly heavy, but it was a long way from their hill to the castle, and then he had to carry her even further to get to their tower. He sighed. At least they had gotten their most important ingredient.
*~*~*~*~*
After he had placed Hermione on her bed and pulled the sheets over her, he checked her schedule for the next morning. She had Arithmancy. One of the classes they didn't share; his morning was empty of classes, a purposeful thing so he could sleep in. He smirked, no way would the Gryffindor witch ever have the guts to pull that.
He moved into his own room and set his alarm. It had been a long night and he was tired.
*~*~*~*
"Emmitt Tillsey"
"Here."
"Sandra Bellandy."
"Here."
"Hermione Granger."
…
"Hermione Granger?" There was no answer. Students began to look around the classroom, wondering where the ever-present girl was.
"I'll be taking her place for today's class."
Everyone turned to stare at the owner of the voice. There, in all his Slytherin glory, stood Draco Malfoy.
Students gaped at him. He smirked. Professor Sinistra gaped too, but recovered quickly and nodded. Though curious as to why Malfoy would be taking Granger's place the professor ignored that in favor of regaining control of the class.
"Alright class! Turn to page 294 in your texts, we will be continuing from where we left off yesterday. Mr. Malfoy I expect you take notes on what we are covering today and any spells, wand movements and diagrams should be copied. I do not expect you to participate."
The young man nodded in understanding and pulled out a sheaf of parchment.
*~*~*~*
Two hours of Arithmancy was enough to drive some people mad. Draco was thankful he wasn't one of those people, though it wasn't something he'd willingly indulge in twice a week for ten months.
On his way back to the Head tower he made a pit-stop at the kitchens. Tickling the pear, he strode in and asked the nearest elf for a small meal that was good for magical exhaustion.
Idly watching the comings and goings of the house elves, Draco easily passed the five minutes it took to make such a meal. He figured that it would take longer to make a specific meal for a magical malady than it would a regular meal.
Once he had the tray of food in hand, he quickly made his way to his room.
After setting down his notes and Hermione's textbook, he made his way into her room. Placing the tray on her desk he moved to her bed and gently shook her shoulder until she woke up.
"Granger, wake up. The house elves left some food for you."
The bushy haired female groaned a little and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.
Draco smirked. "You missed your first class."
THAT woke her up. Draco stumbled backwards as the covers went flying and Hermione jumped up.
"What!? Why the hell didn't you wake me Malfoy?" He gaped at her before moving his face into a scowl.
"What the hell is your problem Granger? And what exactly do you mean by, 'Why didn't I wake you'? It's not my bloody job to wake you up every morning. That's what alarm spells are for! And why the hell should I care if you missed your morning class?"
She snarled at him. "My problem Malfoy, is that I missed one of the most important lectures for my Arithmancy class! We were going over something incredibly important today that will be on the NEWTs exam and I was up ridiculously late, getting liquid moonlight because you're too busy being a man-whore to be able to get it yourself!"
She dashed around the room getting her things ready. "Now get out of my room Malfoy! I have to get changed!"
Malfoy sneered at her. "As if I'd want to watch." And stalked out of the room.
'Stupid, pitiful, disgusting, little mudblood!' He glanced at the desk he'd dropped her notes on and smirked. Everything was going according to his plan, despite the little witch being completely unreasonable and a bitch to boot. He let out a dark chuckle. Granger was going to owe him, and he would enjoy every minute of it.
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