*How sad is it that I almost forgot to upload this thing today? :| Of course, I had my birthday party, and I was playing around with my gift. (I got manga pens! :D) This chapter's short, I think my inspiration was low that day, but I hope you'll enjoy it just the same. :D Have fun!*
Chapter 7
I'm alone in a room with Draco Malfoy for the second time in a day. I never thought I'd get to use that sentence, thought Hermione wryly, unconsciously staring at the blond boy. Never thought it'd actually be reasonably pleasant either...
Draco was bent over the sheet of parchment, drawing a somewhat detailed sketch of the placement of the Lestrange vault in the deeper levels of Gringotts, marking different obstacles, like the dragon, and making notes on what kind of enchantments were at work. As a Malfoy and not a Lestrange, there were certain things even he couldn't bypass, but he was reasonably certain that with his planning and a couple of well-placed Confundus charms, everything would go smoothly.
He remembered how when he was little, his mom had once taken him to the Lestrange vault on an errand, and he'd stared around unimpressed by the pitiful (by Malfoy standards of course) piles of gold and treasure surrounding him. Out of boredom, he'd picked up a couple of coins and started tossing them through the air, and his mother had been quick to reprimand him, fear in her eyes. That had quickly vanished, but that memory confirmed what he'd been thinking.
He had been able to touch that gold, and if he could touch it, he could probably open the vault as well. It was a good private self-assurance that he wouldn't kill himself trying.
He looked over his shoulder to see Hermione peering over it, taking a good look at his miniature blueprint of Gringotts. Her chin was mere inches away from his shoulder, and curiosity straying, he wondered what it would feel like for her to rest her head against him, that mane of soft, bushy hair like a cushion, her warmth, her- Draco blinked, trying to comprehend his thoughts. That was strange to say the least, he said privately to himself. Hmm… I guess it's just teenage hormones…
"See anything interesting?" he asked nonchalantly, looking right into her toffee-colored eyes. "Anything worth noting?"
"Not much..." she murmured, her mouth so close to his right ear that he could hear her whisper. "Malfoy, I was wondering something."
"Yes, what?"
"Well, since I'm going to disguise as Bellatrix to get in, can you give me the gist of her behavior? I want to try and be as convincing as possible." Hermione gave him a hopeful smile, one that suddenly caused his heart to flutter like a bird's flapping wings, fast and furious.
Really weird... Nobody's ever made that happen to me before…"Well, my aunt is first of all, rude, threatening, evil, and basically your opposite. She is very, very intimidating, even when in a good mood. Your best bet is to simply glare at everyone who passes you, occasionally make dirty comments about them, and if anyone approaches you, you treat them like dirt. I'm guessing you have no experience in that area." He smirked- this was one lesson he could definitely teach her. Oh the joy of being a bully, and Slytherin Prince on top of that. You learned a thing or two about being a total dirtbag.
"Not really," she admitted, sounding somewhat shy. "How would I go around being rude? I mean, I believe in equality! And I'm not that great of an actor."
"But I can be a great actor. If I'm not frightened to death of course," he conceded. "An example would be that wound from the hippogriff. I did get hurt, but I made it seem so much worse for dramatic effect. I'll teach you."
"Okay," she replied dubiously, wondering how he'd go about it. "So what are we going to do?"
"My aunt has a couple of choice phrases she absolutely adores using. 'Filthy plebeians', 'filthy commoners', and 'filthy lowlifes' are some of her favorites."
"Not much variety in the way of adjectives, eh?" joked Hermione, having a laugh at the expense of Bellatrix's not-so-creative vocabulary.
"Not really. What I want you to do is practice saying them to me. Be insulting, and at least sound like you mean it. I can be annoying if that helps." He gave a wide grin, and Hermione had to stifle giggles.
"I didn't notice you stopped being annoying," she commented cheekily, giving him a friendly shove. "Let's see... Filthy plebeian!"
"You sound too happy," critized Draco, looking thoughtful. "Less cheerfulness, more 'I-hate-the-world' vibe."
"You filthy plebeian!" she yelled, glad she had charmed the doors earlier. She felt extremely embarrassed, and it was surprisingly difficult to resist the urge to laugh. One person having to listen to her act was quite enough.
Draco laughed, not the nasty chuckling Hermione had been subjected to for six years, but a happy, warm kind of laugh, one that made her bubble up with joy and laugh right along with him. "This is so ridiculous, Malfoy!" she giggled, cheeks flushed with color. "I'm not going to have to walk down the street screaming stuff like that!"
"Well, it would be entertaining," he snickered. Noticing her annoyed glare, he continued, "But it would help if you used them with right timing. And you have to act socially dysfunctional."
"You definitely have so much respect for your aunt," said Hermione sarcastically, trying to match 'socially dysfunctional' and 'Bellatrix Lestrange' in her head. Somehow, it didn't seem strong enough.
"What can I say? She creeps the hell out of me. After all, she loves using the Cru-" Draco stopped himself. He'd just been about to mention curses. Specifically the curse.
Observing Draco cringe, Hermione froze, suddenly realizing that in the playful banter of practicing insults and ingenious planning, she'd forgotten about the events of just two nights ago. The horror, the pain, that struggle for air while it felt like you were being ripped apart inch by inch from the inside out.
Draco waited for until she had stopped shuddering, understanding that it'd be unwise to show pity, to talk again, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder instead.
"I'm sorry," he murmured moments later. "That was careless of me."
"It's okay, you didn't mean to," she replied, clearing her mind of the memory. "But I think I know enough about Bellatrix."
"Yeah, you'll do fine. How are the rest of us going to get in? Is Potter's invisibility cloak big enough?"
"You know he has an invisibility cloak?" Hermione repeated, sounding surprised. "But- how?"
"After I saw his head floating in Hogsmeade, I knew something was up, because I'm not mad." Hermione rolled her eyes. "So I came up with different theories to explain it, and then I thought he might have an invisibility cloak. I didn't prove that theory until sixth year on the train though. But the point is, I figured it out."
"That's reasonably impressive," commented Hermione. "Most people wouldn't think of invisibility cloaks- they're extremely rare. And they're so expensive, 99.9% of the Wizarding population could never afford it. Though being in that top .1% probably means your family owns one, right?"
"It's my father's. He doesn't use it much though, too hard to fire spells under it." Draco gave a shrug, stretching on the bed. "So how are Potter, Weasel, and I going to hide?"
Hermione decided it would be pointless to reprimand Draco- it would only waste her breath. "I'll disguise one of you, and two of you'll go under the cloak. I think you and Harry should be under it, for safety purposes."
"Good- who knows if a spell will go wrong and leave my face disfigured for the rest of eternity?" joked Draco, sighing dramatically. "It would be absolutely tragic!"
"Yup, because your face is obviously more important than saving the world," said Hermione sarcastically, grateful that Draco was so good at changing the subject. "How would we ever survive if your dashing good looks were ruined for eternity?"
"Finally someone who understands!" he laughed, gray eyes glowing with amusement. "All the girls at Hogwarts would die of depression," he paused, getting straight back to business, "I think this leaves just one thing in left for our planning."
"What?" asked Hermione, leaning even harder over his shoulder, expressive caramel eyes filled with curiosity. "Didn't we go through security measures, curses, hexes, how to disarm everything, pass through the dragon safely, how to escape if it all goes wrong, what to do if-"
"You're rambling," he sighed, sounding quite bemused, peering at her with the intent and curious gaze of a cat. "You forgot to say when we're planning to break in."
"Right." Hermione pondered the question for a while. "Malfoy, does your aunt have specific days for going to Diagon Alley? We wouldn't want to bump into her."
"She does things on whims, Granger. But judging from what happened the last time You-Know-Who's Death Eaters failed to capture you, she'll be stuck in Malfoy Manor for the next week at the very least."
"Won't it look suspicious if I'm out when she's supposed to be at Malfoy Manor?" asked Hermione dubiously, already seeing the possibility of all their planning becoming useless to grow higher.
"The Dark Lord's not going to televise that he's just failed to capture Potter and cronies, how embarrassing would that be? Wizarding World! I have once again failed to capture three teenagers, and now I've grounded my Death Eaters for a week," mimed Draco, talking in a mocking, high-pitched voice. "He'll keep it nice and secret, and you can always invent some sort of reason. You could say you seduced him," suggested Draco, an evil smirk on his face.
"Ew, Malfoy, that's disgusting!" cried Hermione, laughing. "And I could never say that with a straight face!"
"No? Shame," he said, gray eyes warm with his good humor. "It would actually be quite a reasonable explanation. She's quite obsessed with You-Know-Who." So obsessed that she pines over him day after day... thought Draco privately. Extremely creepy really... The puppy dog look so doesn't work for deranged females… or males for that matter.
"Maybe we should go tomorrow," decided Hermione, invisible light bulb over her head. "I already have everything prepared, and the earlier we go the better, right?"
"Correct," confirmed Draco, stretching. "As long as I get a decent stretch tonight I'll be fine. But I was wondering, do I get my wand back for the mission?"
"I guess you'll have to," replied Hermione reluctantly. The time Draco had hexes her teeth to grow bigger with his magic was suddenly fresh in her mind. If he tried a single thing… "You sure the spells you listed are correct?"
"Positive." He leaned back onto her, soft silvery hair on her shoulder, feeling delicate as a kitten's fur, his head was warm, and for a second, the both felt totally at ease. That was until they realized how awkward it was of course.
Hermione and Draco seemed to scoot away at the same time, faces flushed with the identical shade of rouge, and both avoiding the stare of the other. And both wondered the same question. Why does this feel so right?
*Above lies the cheesiest ending I've ever written. *smacks head* I just remembered I need a beta-reader. If anyone wants to volunteer or suggest someone to me, please do so.
IRuleUK: I'm turning fourteen tomorrow! And then you shall be right about ninth grade. ;) ROFL to impatience being a virtue. I know what you mean about Ron. He makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes...
Just Your Above Average Malfoy: Yup! Ron, we blame you! (but good job to getting Draco and Hermione together.) Thanks for the review!
mandy1744: Thanks! I'm turning fourteen tomorrow. :3 So I won't be thirteen much longer. XD I like being thirteen...
wolvesdrinktea: Now THAT's just plain old crazy. o.O WTH? Don't we all miss summer? XD Ron is pigheaded. It brings some comic relief from time to time. (but it mainly irritates me. XD) Everything's great with me!
Birthday tomorrow! Yay! *is pumped* I had my party today, and me and my friends all got makeovers. One of my friends started a photo shoot, and got really into it... XD So much fun... See you next week! (and I'll be one year older. ;) )
