It Wasn't Enough
By: Acro
Chapter Six:
Cinderella
Malfoy Manor
8:39 PM
Hermione ran a brush quickly through her straight brown hair while looking into the full-length mirror in front of her. She had just got out of the bath and was about to change into her pajamas when there was a knock at her door and a house-elf entered, looking slightly nervous. Hermione hugged the soft, pink robe around her body and stared at the creature quizzically.
"Miss, Madam Pansy requires you in her chambers straight away," he explained.
Hermione sighed, nodded and then told the elf to wait outside while she dressed. She threw on a T-shirt and shorts before placing the simple, black robes over her shoulders. She turned off the lights with a flick of her wand, left her room, and followed the elf down the hallways to the other side of the house where there was another set of double doors that much resembles Draco's. The elf announced Hermione and the brunette entered the jasmine scented room where Pansy was sitting in a cushioned seat in front of her vanity.
"Come here, mudblood," she snapped, waving a bony hand for Hermione to come near her.
Hermione winced at the name slightly and then approached the former Slytherin. Pansy reached out, grabbed Hermione by the chin, and pulled her close to get a good look. Pansy searched Hermione's face for a few long moments and then released her.
"You have changed, I suppose," she stated, crossing her legs in her chair, "but not for the better. Sure you've managed to tame that mane you used to have growing out of your skull but you're still the same old filthy witch wanna-be you were in school. I don't know why Draco took you in. I suppose he had to, though. His boss might've fired him if he hadn't; otherwise you'd be out in the street like the rest of the scum!"
Hermione gritted her and balled her fists against the insults but kept her silence, as much as it was killing her. Then after a few moments of deafening quiet, Pansy shoved a pink brush into Hermione's hands. Hermione stared at the brush for a moment and then Pansy swept her slightly long black hair back.
"Now, brush my hair, mudblood," she demanded. Hermione clenched her fist around the handle of the brush, gritted her teeth and began brushing.
As much as it pained her to follow Pansy's orders, she had to do it to keep up her disguise and so slowly, Hermione ran the brush through Pansy's soft, straight locks until another house-elf appeared in the doorway. He cleared his throat and Hermione dropped the brush from Pansy's hair.
"Ahem," began the elf. "The Master wishes to see Miss Granger in study for a short chat. He has also instructed me to accompany Miss Granger to the study and request that Madam Pansy not follow."
Pansy pursed her lips and stared bitterly at the elf, snatching her pink brush back from Hermione and turning her back to the door. Hermione met the elf and they began down the corridor. The house-elf and she walked in complete silence and the elf was always at least three steps ahead of her, which made her wonder how he could be with such tiny legs. They started down the first staircase and as they came to foot of it, the elf turned sharply and Hermione was nearly running to keep up. They walked for a little while longer until they reached a door with the Malfoy crest on it. The elf pushed the door open and announced Hermione's presence, before backing out, bowing to Hermione, and heading off down the hallway again.
When Hermione entered the study, she had to pause to marvel at all of the books in the shelves, many of which looked very old and very rare. It was only after a few minutes of gawking at the shelves that Hermione tore her eyes away and looked around the room for any sign of Draco. She saw him sitting in a chair, behind a desk, staring at her over bridged fingers with an amused expression on his face. She cleared her throat and he stood up, still smirking slightly.
"What?" she asked him, putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh, nothing," he replied. "Just enjoying the look on your face. I must say that I, too, am impressed with the great deal of volumes compiled in this room but that's not what I need you for." He cleared his throat and handed a rolled piece of parchment to her. She stared at it suspiciously but took it.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, skeptically as she examined the paper before opening it.
"Just read it, will you?" Draco laughed. "It isn't a howler. If you must know, I just wanted your opinion on it before I sent all 346 copies of it out to my fans." Hermione suddenly jerked the parchment away from her face as if it were contaminated.
"This is your response to your fan mail?" she cried. "I don't want it!"
"Yes, it is my response to my fans…for this week," Draco smirked. "Please just read it and tell me what you think."
Hermione unrolled the parchment slowly and scanned it first. She rolled it up again and took a deep breath before opening it once more and reading it all the way through. Her eyes moved quickly from side to side as she red the text, and finally when she was finished, she rolled it up once more, handed it back to Draco, and rubbed her temples.
"Not good?" he asked, furrowing his brow and staring at the parchment.
"In several ways," Hermione replied, allowing her to sit across from Draco in a squashy armchair on the other side of the desk. "First off, it's going to be quite obvious to any two fans that meet and see that they have the same letter that you're no different than any other show-offy celebrity. Secondly, you should at least sign your own letters, not stamp them. Third, your fans are people, not numbers, so it would probably be best if you start you letters with 'Dear' and the person's name. Lastly, don't use such formal words. Most of your fans are in fact teenagers so try to use words that 14, 15, 16-year-olds would understand." She stopped to see that Malfoy, apart from listening very intently, was also jotting down everything she was saying on a piece of parchment. "Is that all you needed me for?"
"Relatively," he replied, tapping the roll of parchment with his wand and making it vanish.
"Well, gee," she snapped, standing up. "Don't I feel so useful?"
Draco's eyebrows rose as he watched Hermione head for the study doors, her hair flew out behind her like a sheet of brown silk and he stared at the back of her head for a little while. When she disappeared out of the room, he pulled himself from his dreamy state, smirked and then returned to his chamber to get to work on his new and improved reply.
Hermione walked back up the stairs to the third floor when a door to her right opened and Pansy poked her head out. Hermione was just about to start for her room when she heard Pansy call for her.
"Mudblood!" she shouted, waving her perfectly manicured hand at the bookworm. "I'm not finished with you yet! Get over her and help me finish getting ready for bed!"
Hermione let out frustrated sigh, turned in the opposite direction, and stalked back into Pansy's room. The pug-faced girl had finished brushing her hair and there was now a small stone basin sitting on the vanity filled with clear water and a blue wash hanging over the side with the letters 'PM' stitched in pink on it. Pansy sat back down in the chair, grabbed the cloth from the side of the basin and shoved it into Hermione's hands.
"Now, mudblood," she began, closing her eyes and pointing to her face. "Remove my make-up!" Hermione dabbed the cloth in the water and made to remove Pansy's lipstick. She rubbed the cloth across her bottom lip and Pansy smacked her hand. "Don't be so rough, you filthy girl! I'm delicate so you need to be gentle with me!"
Hermione bit her bottom lip in frustration and then, much more gently than before, began to wipe away the lipstick, than the blush and foundation, and then the eye shadow and mascara. Hermione ran a clean side of the cloth over Pansy's face once more, grimaced at the job she had to do and then said in a relieved voice, "Done." Pansy opened her eyes and looked in the mirror, moving her head to examine every angle of her perfect skin.
"Not bad," she commented, "for a mudblood." Pansy then stood up and removed her robes. Hermione had to repress the urge to burst out laughing when she saw that Pansy was wearing a tummy-tuck and a corset. "Now, help me unlace my corset and put my nightgown on!"
Hermione muffled an irritant sigh and then slowly reached forward and began to pull the laces from the corset, quickly but gently. Pansy kept snapping at her either to be more careful or quicker or just random comments about how 'Madam Pansy' was much prettier than 'Mudblood Granger' was. After the corset was removed, Hermione quickly laced it up again and set it in the top drawer of Pansy's dresser. Pansy then told Hermione to retrieve a yellow nightgown from her closet and help Pansy get into it.
Hermione gritted her teeth, went to the closet, opened it wide and began looking through the many outfits searching for a yellow nightgown. She pulled out a long, silky yellow gown with white flowers embroidered across the collar. Pansy put her hands above her head and Hermione did her best to shimmy the dress onto Pansy's body. When it was completely on Pansy yawned and stretched out on her bed.
"Leave me, mudblood," she demanded, giving a shooing gesture with her hand. "I tire of your presence."
Hermione sighed happily and exited the room, heading down the corridor toward her own room and stopped when she heard movement from inside. She pulled her wand out of her back pocket, aimed it for attack directly at the middle of the door, and then threw it open. She opened her mouth to cast a jinx but stopped short when she saw Draco was sitting on her bed, looking at a picture resting on her nightstand.
"Oh, hello, Granger," he said, looking up from the picture. He was slightly surprised the see her wand out and pointing at him. "Nice to see you too." Hermione sighed and dropped her wand to her side.
"What do you need, Malfoy?" she asked, sitting in a squashy armchair near the fireplace.
"You look like a wreck," he laughed, reclining on her bed.
"Thanks," snapped Hermione sarcastically. She rubbed her head gently and then went to her closet to withdraw her own nightclothes. "Now, can I do something for you?"
"Where were you?" he persisted.
"In Pansy's room," Hermione replied, through gritted teeth. She was growing irritated with Draco's game of 20 questions.
"Why?" asked Draco, looking taken aback with a weird look on his pointed face.
"…" Hermione paused. She so dearly wanted to rat out Pansy to Draco, but chose, instead, to do the opposite. "I was asking for directions. I can't get anywhere in this bloody mansion. It's a labyrinth. So, did you need something, Malfoy?" Draco didn't look completely convinced but decided to drop the subject with a shrug and handed Hermione another roll of parchment.
"Better?" he asked, watching as the brunette unrolled the parchment and read over the new version of his fan reply.
"It still needs some work," she murmured, after she was finished. She handed back to Draco and yawned, "But it's loads better than it was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
She shooed the unwanted Slytherin Prince out of her room and locked the door. Draco stood for a moment on the other side of the door, looking at the letter in his hand curiously. Then he smirked as if he could see Hermione through the solid oak and then strode into the door beside hers and went to get ready for bed himself.
A/N: Reader Replies:
SiriusJamesRemus'sgirl: Thanks a bunch. I'm glad you like my story. I hope you keep reviewing because that's what makes me update faster. -
jenny : Thank you. And I'll do my best, okay?
Rogue Vampyre : Well, gee…you flatter me. :blush:
c-dog : I don't like Pansy either. I hope you keep reading. Thanks for the review.
hotskittles : Wow! Thank you so much! I try my best to please my fans!
shadows31 : Wow! Your so enthusiastic! I'll update as soon as I can!
Monday Mornings : Thanks so much. I'm glad my story is original, maybe then I'll get more readers. Pansy does need to go jump off a cliff or something.
secretspells311 : Well, I hope you take a really long sleep and then tell me lots of awesome things in your next review.
Red and Gold : I'm not so sure about the holy part but thank you for your amazingly flattering review. Thank you for putting me on your favs!
irizie18 : Thanks lots.
maryo1 : Thank you for your compliments! Its nice to know that some many people like it and that its original. I hope you keep reading.
WannaBArtist : Thank you and I'll try.
kerryyyyyy : Wow! So many great reviews its making me dizzy. Thanks so much for adding me to your favorites. It makes me feel special.
XxStarfireXx : Wow thanks. I can't say if I'll be getting rid of Pansy. This story is practically still in the making. Something crucial could happen and I might need her around…shrugs Thanks for your review!
Gentileschi : Thanks so much, Gent. You've reviewed my story so much! Thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Keep reviewing!
I wanna thank especially Emma Barrows, who has been reviewing such great things since I wrote Rain. She's been so supportive and I would personally love to thank her! I hope you keep review Emma!
So that's all. I'll update soon. See you eventually.
Acro, the author