Chapter 9: The Part before the Weird Guy at the Gate of the Ruby City
Draco changed his black, designer suit, back into a more comfortable, faux tin suit this time, sat on the ground beside Hermione, pulled her partially into his lap, and said, "We're ready."
Harry smiled, and then made it snow. The snow was falling softly, and had not yet woken the other three. Harry hastened to say, "I don't think we should tell Hermione about Luna and me yet."
"I didn't know there was a Luna and you yet," Draco goaded.
"I meant that we're real," Harry revised.
"Oh ho," Draco said, brushing the wet flakes off Hermione's face, "It's alright for Granger to hate me for lying, but not her precious Potter."
Harry scowled and immediately the snow stopped. The only one that had time to wake up was Crookshanks. Harry walked up to Draco and said, "Seriously, Malfoy, that's not it."
"Yes it is," Draco argued. "That's fine. I won't tell her that not only has her boyfriend been cheating on her, and her little best friend knew about it, but her little best friend also concocted some elaborate movie-theme spell to tell her about it, and the real reason he did it was because he wanted to impress Looney Lovegood, whom he has a crush on, never mind the feelings and the undue heartache he's imposed on his best friend, Granger."
Harry merely glared at Draco.
Draco raised a brow and challenged, "Well, it's true. Tell me it isn't true. You did all of this to impress Luna, excuse me for calling her Looney before, not to help Hermione see the light. You could have simply sat Hermione down, told her Ron was a wanker, and she would have pushed his arse to the curb. Eventually, she would have gotten together with me anyway, if she really liked me. You're selfish, Harry Potter. You should ask the wizard to give you whatever it is that makes people not selfish."
"Selflessness?" Harry asked with disdain.
"Whatever," Draco spat back. "Now, commence with the snow, strawboy."
"Ron's not really cheating on her," Harry said out of the blue.
"Luna said he was," Draco argued.
"Not anymore than Hermione is cheating on him with you," Harry returned. "You see, he's fallen in love with someone else, but he's not taken it to another level. He's not pursued this other witch, because he would never hurt Hermione. When I realized that all he ever did was talk about Susan Bones this and Susan Bones that, and did I see how pretty Susan looked today, and Susan told him the funniest story today, I knew."
"I knew because it was the same thing Hermione was beginning to say about you to Luna. Luna told me that all Hermione ever did was talk about you. Of course, she wouldn't talk about you to me, but to Luna, she would tell her how funny she thought you were, or smart, or handsome. She even told her that she had a crush on you for years, and that she thought of you as the tin man in the Wizard of Oz. Luna said that gave her the idea to make Crookshanks bite you."
"After that," Harry continued to explain, "I decided to go along with the rest of her plan. Yes, she got a few of the details wrong, but she's only seen the movie once."
"I've only seen it once, and I wouldn't have gotten it wrong," Draco retorted.
"Bloody hurray for you," Harry rejoined.
"So, you and Luna, huh?" Draco said, smiling. "You sly fox, you."
"There isn't a 'Luna and me'," Harry denied.
"Not yet," Draco said, "though I wager when Granger gets out of this nightmare, she and I together can think of a way to get you two together. What's your favourite movie?"
Harry laughed for a moment and said, "Star Wars. We would all go perfect with that movie, too. I could be Luke. Hermione could be Leia. Ron could be Hans Solo. You could be C3PO." Harry laughed some more.
Draco made a funny face and said, "I've never seen it. What's your next favorite movie?"
"Lord of the Rings?" Harry said uncertain.
"Splendid. We'll make you Frodo, because you're so noble and twitchy, and Luna can be that Samwise character, because he's Frodo's love interest. I'll be the dashing Aragorn, Hermione can be that hot fairy, Arwen, I think is her name. Weasley can be Gollum."
Hermione was still in Draco's lap, being held by him, his hand still stroking her face, but she had woken a while ago, and she found herself silently listening. At the last part she had to laugh. Draco looked down and said, "Hey, you sneak, you're awake. How much did you hear?"
"Ron as Gollum?" She laughed some more. "And Sam was not Frodo's love interest." She sat up and began to brush snow off her checkered dress. She looked at Harry and said, "You like Luna?"
Harry shrugged.
"And this is all a spell?" She stood.
He nodded.
"And Ron loves Susan Bones?" She walked over to the sleeping lion and nudged him awake.
Another nod. The lion stood.
"Thank goodness That means this is over, so you can get us out of here, Harry." She bent down and picked up the basket and located Crookshanks.
Harry shook his head no this time.
Now Draco stood up and said, "What do you mean by shaking your head no, Potter?"
"We really have to go through with the rest of the movie plot, I'm afraid to say. This is Luna's spell. She made it a safeguard. Sorry." He took the basket from Hermione and said, "On the bright side, the Ruby City is in view. Turn around, Hermione."
"You turn around, Harry James Potter, so I can give you a quick kick in the pants. Draco is right. Did it ever dawn on you to simply sit down and talk to me and Ron?"
"It dawned on me," he said sharply. "But just like my character, I guess I don't always have a brain."
"That's right!" she shouted. "Because this is the stupidest thing you've ever done!"
"Hey!" he shouted back. "I went through a lot to help you, and I even suffered a second degree burn for you! I'm not really made of straw you know, and when that wicked witch Umbridge threw the fireball it hurt a little bit!"
"Oh, Harry," she said, softening toward him. "I'm sorry." She approached and went up to hold his arm. "Is it alright?"
"Luna healed it," he said sheepishly.
Hermione smiled. "So you really like Luna?"
Harry shrugged.
"I've had enough of all this hand holding, coddling. Let's get to the gates of the city. I can't wait to see who the crazy man at the gate will be! My money is on Dumbledore, but with Luna at the helm of this nightmare, you never know," Draco spouted. Without delay, permission, or prelude, he grabbed Hermione's hand and marched her across the frozen poppy field toward the gates of the Ruby City.
Hermione liked the way her hand felt in his. It felt warm. It felt nice. It felt right. She didn't want to ruin the moment, or the natural way he held her hand, but she said, "I was always a bit confused at the movie, because for years I didn't know that the man at the gate was the Wizard of Oz until my older cousin told me so."
"It's not the same man," Draco replied.
Harry walked beside them on the green brick road and he said, "Yes, it is. He looks a bit different, but it's the same man who meet Dorothy when she's running away during the black and white part, and who later plays the wizard. I'm not sure why, but it's the same man."
Draco stopped walking, and since he still had Hermione's hand, she did as well. "No, you're both bonkers. It's a different fellow."
"How many times have you seen the movie, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "I used to watch it every year when I was young, and I've watched it on the telly a few times since I've grown up. It's the same man."
"I'm with Draco on this," the lion interjected. "I think it's a different man."
Hermione smiled at the lion and said, "Dear lion, you don't know what we are even talking about, because this is all real to you, but you see, this is like a movie, and we're talking about that movie."
"Yeah, right," the lion said, nodding. "The Wizard of Oz is a movie, you've made me watch it with you before, Hermione, and I don't think the bloke at the gate is the wizard."
Hermione stood with her mouth open, shocked. Harry stood beside her, also shocked. The lion blushed red, though it was hard to tell. Draco laughed, clapped his hands, and said, "Oh, this is so priceless! The cowardly lion is really the cowardly weasel after all!"
"Ron?" Hermione and Harry asked at the same time.
Now it was Ron's turn to nod. "I could hardly tell you, could I? Especially after you told that story about how you didn't think you would ever forgive me when I left you during the Horcrux search. I didn't know you still felt that way. And, like Malfoy, I didn't know I was going to be stuck in this nightmare with you. When the bookshelf fell we all got sucked into the vortex. Blame Harry if you blame anyone."
Harry sighed.
"I figured," Ron continued, "you weren't that angry at him, and you don't seem angry at Malfoy any longer, though you were madder than a wet hen earlier, so I thought you might forgive me, and I don't want to lie to you anymore. I have fallen in love with Susan Bones, and I should have told you, but to my credit, I haven't acted on anything yet. I haven't kissed her, gone out with her, especially not slept with her, and you know, you should have told me you had feelings for that twat over there, too." He pointed his thumb at Malfoy.
"I'm not in love with him yet!" she squeaked. "Just because I have a crush, or whatever you want to call it, on him, doesn't mean I love him. Oh, Ron, yes, you should have told me, and yes, I guess I should be angrier, the phrase is angrier, not madder, but I can't think beyond getting us out of here." She hung her head, feeling defeated.
Ron walked up to her and stroked her arm with his furry paw. Harry stood behind her and patted her back. Draco stood in front of her and nudged her face up with his finger.
"Tell you what, let's get home, and then we'll sort everything, out, 'right?" she finally commented to them all.
She held out her hand to Ron. He smiled and held out his. They shook hands, but then he pulled her to him, hugged her, and kissed her cheek.
Harry smiled. Draco grimaced.
Hermione asked, "How did you get that nifty suit if you can't do magic here?"
"I can do magic," Ron countered. "I came up with this costume, and it's hotter than hell. Harry can do magic, too, because I saw him use magic when he thought I wasn't looking. Apparently, Malfoy can do magic. Why can't you?"
Hermione looked over toward Harry. "Why can't I, Harry? I could in the beginning, but now I can't."
"That was Luna's idea, not mine, and if we see her again, I'll ask her to change it, okay?" Harry said to appease her.
Draco lifted both eyebrows and said, "Yes, she did a nifty little spell to deactivate your wand, which I didn't know was possible, after you tried to kill the Umbridge look-a-like. I offered her a job with my company. We could use people like her, and a spell like that."
"You're not stealing Luna from the Ministry. A spell like that should be used for the Ministry only, by Aurors and such," Harry retorted.
"I only want her for her mind, Potmouth. You can have the rest of her." Draco rolled his eyes. "Let's get to this gate so I can prove to Granger that the gatekeeper and the Wizard are two different people."
Harry and Ron walked slightly ahead of the other two, Crookshanks running beyond them. Hermione looked toward her left. Draco was walking to her left. Her left hand was still firmly in his right. She didn't know if she should comment on it. She knew she didn't want to pull away.
"I hear you like me, Malfoy," she teased. She looked at him and smiled.
He winked at her, brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the top of it. He pulled her to a stop. Placing the hand that was in his behind his back, he grabbed her other hand, placing it there, too. Then he placed both his arms around hers, so that they were embracing. "I might like you somewhat, Granger."
"I heard you like me a lot," she said, still smiling.
"Your source might be faulty. I will only admit to liking you a little bit, at least, until I hear something concrete from you." He smirked after he said it.
"You want to hear something 'concrete' from me you say?" she asked.
He nodded in confirmation. It was a day for people to nod their responses.
"Could I perhaps show you instead?" she inquired.
He smiled. "Whatever your heart desires, since you do have a heart, Dorothy." Her skin was so pale, like ivory. There was a soft blush to her cheeks. A gentle wind rustled her hair slightly. He brought a hand up to smooth it down, then kept it there, moving it to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer, as if he needed to pull her closer. She would have moved on her own accord.
She studied him with a gaze that reflected years of knowledge and a lingering questioning.
Then soft lips were upon his. So soft they felt like wind, or rain, or dew, or a dream. They were tentative, hesitant, curious, and seeking. His were pliant, warm and wanting. Her breath became mingled with his, her arms moved from the trap of his, to twine around his neck, and he felt lost in his desire and love for her.
Fine, he loved her. He wasn't really a tin man. He was Draco Malfoy, and though most thought he was incapable of feeling, he had a heart. It could love. It could break. It could feel, and it felt her. He felt her. Her mouth on his, her breasts against his chest, her legs against his legs. He pressed on her back, pressing her ever closer. His mouth moved to rain kisses down her face, around her jaw, to her neck. She gasped in pleasure. He ached in pain.
They stood a few minutes more, wrapped in each others arms, mouths seeking each others pleasure, when something odd happened. The sky turned dark, and a loud cackling sound was heard overhead.
In his Hermione induced haze, Draco finally pushed her away, and then pushed her behind his back, as a phantom of his Aunt Bellatrix appeared before them, laughing and howling in all her former glory. Hermione sucked in air, grabbed Draco's arm, and wished that she could use magic.
She also wished Harry and Ron hadn't walked so far ahead.
"Who are you?" Draco asked. The wicked witch of the east was dead, the wicked witch of the west was Umbridge, and so who could this evil woman represent, besides Hermione and Draco's worst nightmare?
"Why, I'm your worst nightmare come true, my dear nephew," she said as a response, as if reading his mind.
Draco reached behind him for Hermione's hand and said quietly to her, "I don't think we're in Luna's little movie world anymore, Hermione."
"Neither do I, Draco," Hermione whispered back.
