Disclaimer: I don't own HP.
Thanks to mysteriouscharms, dmhg, Mistress of the Red Kiwi, trapped-in-a-dream, reader, MiSs HoBo099, A Story of the Year, and Aquafairy for reviewing!
Yeah, I can see how some of you are a bit concerned about last chapter's ending. Well, remember: it's not over yet! lol!
From Chapter Nine:
I can still try, she fought. I can prevent this from going any further. Though her conscience protested, a tear trickled down Hermione's face, smearing her make-up. Sniffing slightly, she said quietly the word she dreaded, "No."
Chapter Ten: Sincerity, Hope? Lies.
"Let's get this party started!" The rap was being played on aboom boxin the back. Hermione fled away from the church, leaving the confused Draco Malfoy, the astonished priest, and the horrified Litanya Aeralia behind. She ran into her room and fell on her bed, crying.
Val came in. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. Hermione sniffled. She noted that things were changing to the time of '05, probably owed to the work of Dumbledore.
"Nothing," she said, stifling her tears.
Val sighed and shook her head. "It's only been five minutes and already I hear rumors. Did Sir Shimforth really decline the marriage, dragged you up, and you declined the marriage?" Hermione nodded. "Oh, dear," she sighed. "You were right to do that, you know. I'd be crying, too, it would be so humiliating…"
"Shut up!" Hermione snapped. "You don't know anything!" Val looked taken aback, but quieted down. Hermione sighed. Why had she overreacted like that? Val had said that it was humiliation, and humiliation wasn't what Hermione felt…
Why? And what did she feel? Why did she say no? Hermione stumbled over question after question. Sighing, she got up and smoothed the front of her dress. "Err, sorry, Val – "
"No, it's my fault," Val said quietly. "I talk too much, always did…"
"No, listen, Val, I'm – "
"It's got nothing to do with you, m'lady," Val said. "You should change now."
"Err… Val…" When Val did not react, Hermione sighed and nodded. "You're right, I should just…" She sent over to her wardrobe, which, miraculously, had changed completely. A few dresses remained, but most were now jeans and shirts. Hermione wondered. If everything was now modern, why was she still a lady? Shouldn't she just be some rich dude's daughter? Hermione shrugged. Some things just couldn't change.
Hermione changed into a pair of darkblue jeansand a white half-sleeved shirt that blended into a light pink at the bottom. She washed the make-up off her face and left, promising herself to avoid Draco at all costs. As she wandered around the garden, she caught sight of a particular person with platinum blond hair. Horrified, Hermione turned around and tried to avoid being seen.
But before Hermione could leave, Draco saw her and caught her by the wrist, pulling her close. "I knew I'd find you here," he told her in a voice barely above a whisper.
"And I don't want to see you here," Hermione shot back, her voice quivering with tears. Draco stared at her.
"You know you can't avoid me, so let's just cut down to the chase. What was that for?"
"What was what for?"
Draco let her go, but Hermione stood rooted to the spot. He sighed and turned away, running a hand through his hair. "You know. Don't play dumb," he said finally, turning back to her.
"Maybe I was telling the truth," Hermione said suggestively.
"Maybe you weren't," Draco said. "Don't lie, Granger, I could see it in your eyes."
He could see it through her eyes? If that was true, she couldn't hide anything… Hermione turned her head away from him, looking at an old oak tree instead.
"Well then," Hermione said in a determined voice, "why bother asking?"
Draco didn't respond, but stood smirking slightly at her. With his finger, he turned Hermione's head over so that she faced him directly. "You know," he said softly, "we could break it up at Hogwarts."
A tear trickled down Hermione's cheek. "But it would hurt twice as much."
"Let's just enjoy it while we can," he told her with a small smile. It was the first time Hermione ever saw him smile genuinely, and it made her fall for him even more. She smiled slightly back, and he brought her into another kiss.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
A smile played at Hermione's lips as she wandered into her room. She didn't get all dreamy – she was too down-to-earth for that. She scribbled down on a piece of parchment some random things that came into her mind. All of a sudden, a loud crack! was heard. It reminded Hermione strongly of someone apparating.
Voices were heard down the hall. "Where are we?" one of them asked.
"I don't know," another one replied in a voice sounding much the same. Curious, Hermione went over and opened her bedroom door to get a look at these people. What she saw surprised her greatly.
"Hermione?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Uh… what happened?" Ron said, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air. Dumbledore sighed and shook his head while Mcgonnagal stared at the place where Fred and George used to be.
Standing up, Dumbledore said, "They overlooked something – something critical. Because they did that, they've been sent back to Pentalis, too, if my assumptions are correct." No one spoke. No one had to – there was nothing to say, except…
"Bloody hell."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione blinked twice to make sure she wasn't imagining. "Fred? George? What are you doing here?"
"Fred and George? No, its George and Fred! See, I've been thinking a great deal about this. Why does Fred always get to go first? Is it because you're obsessed with alphabetical order or something? I mean, 'g' is only one letter after 'f.' Honestly – give me a break!" said one of the redheaded twins. "I call strike!"
Both Hermione and Fred stared at him. "A strike on what?" Fred finally said.
George thought about it. "Well, come to think of it, I've always had enough of Mum's spinach, it's not too good, y'know…"
"What about that so-called 'crème sundae' she used to give us for desert that tasted like a chunk of bird poop?" Fred suggested.
"Yeah, that too…"
Hermione watched the two talk about food. She rolled her eyes and interrupted. "God, you two sound like Ron now!"
They looked mortified. "Who's Ron? We can't possibly be related to that Ron Weasley…"
"Sure, he has red hair, too, but he eats oh so much…" Fred faked a faint. He blinked and got back up. "So, anyways, where are we?"
Hermione sighed. Trust the Weasley twins to get on your nerves then ask you a question. "You're over the rainbow. Sorry, you won't be seeing Kansas for a while…"
They gave her blank looks. "Huh?"
Hermione shook her head. "Nevermind, it's a Muggle movie. You're in Pentalis… that imaginary land we're stuck in. Think – you knew where I was. Don't fake."
"Think?" George repeated. "Never heard of it before."
"Oh wait – I think I have," Fred said, thinking hard. "Percy used to say that same word once-upon-a-time… I think it has something to do with geeks and bookworms…"
Hermione groaned in frustration. "Hello? I'm still here!" she protested angrily, crossing her arms. "Now go outside before someone catches you! You're not supposed to be here – oh!" She stopped short, seeing Val coming. She smiled nervously, "Hi, Val, err…"
"Who's that, your girlfriend?" Fred whispered to her, sniggering.
Hermione threw him a dirty look. Val didn't notice. "I'm sorry for bumping into you, my lady… I guess I'll just be going now…"
"No! Err, Val – "
"No, I won't cause any more trouble," Val said, turning away.
"Val? Val!" Hermione called, but Val didn't come back.
"Having a little… lady trouble?" George said, grinning mischievously. Hermione glared.
"No!" she snapped, turning on her heel and heading back into her room. She heard Fred and George murmur something to each other, but she ignored it, slamming the door behind her and thinking about what she could do to brighten up Val.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"We've conjured a potion," Dumbledore said, "to bring Fred and George Weasley back to Hogwarts."
Ron stared. "So if you can bring Fred and George back, why can't you bring back Hermione? You can just dump Draco there – " Harry kicked Ron and coughed, which sounded a lot like "Order!" " – or you can bring him back, either way," Ron finished sheepishly.
"I see how you can come to that conclusion," Dumbledore began, "but one must know the properties of the potion. You see, Fred and George Weasley are overage wizards that left school. This potion can be quite… risky if used on underage wizards or witches."
Harry was quiet for a moment. Finally, he asked. "What can happen?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Harry, it happened to your father and mother."
No one spoke. Harry stared. "What?" he asked.
"Your father and mother, Harry, were also banished into another time. There your father learned to… control himself and where Lily grew fond of him. Luckily, when we brought them back with this potion, only a mild reaction occurred. Your father sprouted antlers while your mother lost her sanity for a week. However, when Dippet used it to retrieve Tom Riddle, he – "
"What?" Harry said. "What what what what what? WHAT?"
"Voldemort got himself trapped, too. When he was back, he became more evil and cleverer than before. That's how he wounded up to be Lord Voldemort today. Now… all we can do is wait."
Poof!
Fred and George were back.
Everything was quiet, until Ron said, "Wow, that was a long wait."
George looked disgruntled. "Aw, man! And we were just about to try the fried pudding!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Poof! It wasn't a very loud noise, but it was very unusual in the marketplace. People looked around to see the cause of it and realized that two people had disappeared. A woman screamed. Draco, who just happened to be a passerby, asked for the problem.
"Sir – there's – there's – two people, redheads, both of them, and they – they – they disappeared!" the woman stuttered, her face white.
Apparating? It wasn't likely. He would've heard it; the cracking noise was rather loud. "What were they doing?"
"They were buying my – my pudding… which reminds me," the woman said, regaining herself. "Would you like to buy some pudding?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Later," he said. He pushed his way over to the Pentalis Castle. He unlocked Hermione's bedroom door and pushed it open, the front of her shirt unbuttoned. They both froze for a moment, but then Draco began to smirk. Hermione blushed and pulled her shirt close together.
Scowling, she said, "What are you doing here?"
"There's been a sighting of two redheaded twins that disappeared… magically," Draco said, still smirking.
"Two redheaded twins?" Hermione repeated, thinking. Draco nodded. Suddenly, realization dawned on her. "Oh! You mean Fred and George Weasley! Yes, they were here earlier…"
"Caused a riot down in the marketplace when they disappeared," Draco said. When Hermione didn't reply, he pressed on, "If they can go, why can't we?"
Hermione sighed and began to button her shirt back up. "Well, you see, I'm guessing it was the Paressial Potion. If it's used on underage wizards, like us, then there's a risk involved."
"What risk?" Draco said, curiosity taking over.
Hermione smiled slightly. "Will you kill me if I told you? Hurt me? Or do anything?"
Smirking, Draco replied, "I won't hurt you… kiss you, maybe… or perhaps I'll do that now…" Before Hermione could protest, he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against hers. He pulled back and said, "Now tell me."
Hermione struggled for a moment, wondering if she should tell him or not. Finally, she said, "Well, when the potion was made about sixty years ago, it wasn't often used. Its ingredients were rare and expensive, thus the properties of the potions wasn't certain. It was hardly used, due to its price, but some rich people afforded it." She paused, unsure if she should continue.
"And…?" Draco propped.
Hermione sighed. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes," Draco said firmly.
"Well it was used on your parents but it ruined their relationship, turned them more evil than before, made them unsatisfied with life, and cursed Narcissa's firstborn child and the firstborn's true love," Hermione said quickly.
Draco didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, he said, "What?"
"Well, it was used on your parents – " Hermione began, but he cut her off.
"No, after that."
"Turned them more evil than before?" Hermione guessed.
"After that, too."
"Cursed the firstborn's true love?"
"Before that."
"Made them unsatisfied with life?"
"After that."
Hermione sighed. "You already made me tell you the whole thing!"
"There was something else!"
"There was nothing!" Hermione said quickly yet nervously.
He stared at her. Suddenly smirking, he said, "You can't lie when you're nervous, you know?" Hermione blushed. "Now tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Don't play stupid, Granger."
Hermione took in a deep breath. "Your parents' relationship was ruined, they became unsatisfied with life and grew evil, cursed their firstborn child and his or her lover, and that's it!" she said quicker than before, making it impossible to understand.
Sighing in exasperation, Draco said, "There's something you didn't repeat!"
Hermione glared. "Then you go look for it! It's in Potions and their Properties and History by Gwen Gillamend!"
"This is Pentalis, not Hogwarts, Granger! I can't find this book lying around in the library! Now tell me!" Draco demanded.
Hermione sighed. "Err… the part about the firstborn being cursed?" she said quickly.
Draco ran a hand through his hair and looked out the window. "Yes," he murmured. Hermione waited for him to yell at her for knowing the entire time but keeping quiet, but he never did. Finally, sighing, he gave up and looked at Hermione straight in the eye. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" he whispered.
Hermione didn't respond immediately. "You never asked."
"How was I supposed to think up some random question? What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, Father, am I cursed?' Like that would work!" Draco said angrily.
Hermione gazed at him sadly for a moment, then said, "It could have."
Draco stared back suspiciously, feeling that she was keeping something from him. "What do you mean?" he asked slowly.
Hermione blinked, her eyes widening. "Nothing! Nothing! Never mind, err…" She glanced desperately outside. "It's great weather!" she said hopefully with a fruitless attempt at changing the subject. "Are you going to go outside anytime soon?"
"Granger," Draco sighed, "stop trying to change the subject. It won't work." The bright look on her face faded, and Draco's heart was torn, though he wasn't quite sure why. It was what he wanted to get out of her, right? But he couldn't bear to see her sad…
"You don't want to tell me, do you?" Draco asked. Hermione shook her head. "Is it that bad?" Hermione nodded. Sighing, Draco said, "All right, you don't have to."
Hermione thought for a moment, then smiled sadly up at him. "Thanks," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek, "but you should know…" She sat down on her bed and closed her eyes, her head in her hands. "Well, as long as you knew about this curse, your parents… your parents would have to do your biding. Since they're already powerful… we were afraid…"
"That I would become the next Voldemort?" Draco asked softly.
Hermione choked down tears and nodded. "Yes," she croaked.
Draco smiled at her. "Don't worry, I won't… for you," he said, whispering the last two words. Hermione smiled, her arms finding its way to lock around Draco's neck as his arms slid around her waist. Their faces were only centimeters apart now…
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I'm afraid, though," Dumbledore said to Harry and Ron. "You know your quest for the Order? To bring young Mr. Malfoy to the light side so that when he learns of his curse, he will use it for the good?" Harry and Ron nodded. Sighing, Dumbledore said, "He may become like his parents – greedy and power hungry."
Harry blinked. "So his parent's weren't always evil?"
A smile played on Dumbledore's lips. "I'm not saying that," he said. "I'm just saying that they grew extra power and money greedy."
"Once upon a time," Ron murmured to Harry, who immediately nodded and agreed.
"So was this a fruitless quest?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "By all means, no! We can only wait and hope."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
They broke apart. Draco leaned in again but Hermione but her hand on his mouth and shook her head slightly. He nodded and stood up, leaving without a sound. Hermione watched his retreating back, then averted her eyes.
Two minutes later, Val came in, silent. She had been avoiding Hermione lately, and Hermione didn't take it to herself to find her. Val needed her time alone, but Hermione wished that she would become her talkative self again. It wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"Val?" Hermione tried. "I'm – I'm really sorry about – "
"It wasn't your fault, my lady," Val said quietly. "I shouldn't have talked so much."
Hermione shook her head. "No – Val, I was just – "
"There's no need to fuss over spilt milk, my lady. And Lady Liakke? There's a man downstairs waiting for you. He says he's a hairdresser."
"Listen, Val – "
"You should go, my lady."
Hermione looked at Val attentively, then nodded and got up. She walked to the doorway and saw the last person she expected to see.
"Harry?" Hermione said diffidently.
The messy dark haired person turned around to face Hermione. He smiled. "Hermione!"
"Harry! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, smiling brightly.
"As your royal hairdresser, I've come to take you away," Harry said, bowing in a joking manner. Hermione laughed.
"But what about Malfoy?" she asked suddenly.
Harry's smile never faltered. "Someone else is taking care of him."
"Oh." Hermione thought about it. The wording Harry chose was a bit peculiar and it made her wonder, but she pushed the thoughts to the back her head. Then, with the smile returning on her face, she looked up and said, "So where are we going?"
"We're going back."
"To Hogwarts?"
"Where else?"
Hermione laughed again as she began wandering around aimlessly. "I'll miss this place," she said as she let the setting of Pentalis sink into her. However, with her back turned, she didn't see Harry's emerald green eyes flash red.
Or was it only a trick of the sunlight?
(A/N:) I'm sorry for not updating for like, what, four days? and my story's still really short.I was kind of stuck in the middle of the story. Well, now you know Harry and Ron's quest. I was going to put it much later in the story, but I guess it fit in well here, too. Lol. I'll try and update really soon… and about the ending? I don't think the story will be ending any time soon, let's just put it like that!