Chapter 9

Topsy Turvy

The walls seemed to roll in waves when he opened his eyes and there were a couple of aches blossoming on his back from being thrown a few feet away. Draco turned his head to the right and saw the unmoving figure of Hermione lying beside him. Her hand was still clutching his, but her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. He gasped a few deep breaths and pushed up on his elbows to take a closer look at Hermione. She was now starting to stir, her eyes flickering open, a soft moan coming from her lips.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Draco asked, squeezing her fingers.

"Draco? What just happened?" Hermione started to rise, twisting slightly to face him.

"I don't know. I've never experienced anything like it before."

"Me neither. Was it an explosion, don't you think?"

"I can't say. The door is still intact, so it probably wasn't. Plus, there was no sound. Even if something went off outside, we would've heard it."

Draco rose to his feet as he extended his hands to help Hermione up. She took both of his hands and hauled herself from the floor. As soon as she was on her feet she stretched her legs and arms. Then, she arched her back as her hand went to the back of her neck.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, searching her face.

"Yes, don't worry about it. Just a few aches here and there. I've been through worse," she answered, smirking at him.

Draco pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

"That's my brave girl," he murmured.

Hermione smiled against his chest. She liked the sound of that – him referring to her as his girl.

They would've preferred to stay that way for all eternity, but their curiosity about what happened got the better of them. Pulling apart as if in silent agreement, they turned back to the door and slowly walked toward it. Nothing spectacular happened so they continued on, both of them stopping just in front of the door. Hermione glanced at Draco and she had the feeling that he was thinking what she was thinking. A slight pull on her hand confirmed it.

"Hermione," he said, apprehension seeping into his voice.

"Yes, Draco?" she replied, tilting her head up to his.

"Uhm…are we going to tell the others about us?"

She could tell that he was quite unsure about declaring themselves in public and it pinched at her heart somehow. But she also understood his uneasiness, he was, after all, just beginning to get to know her friends, to be welcomed to the 'other side'. And although things were progressing quite swimmingly, he still wasn't sure how they would take it if they learned about this new development. He's probably still worried about the 'Death Eater' tag that some people have attached to him and how it would reflect on her, too.

"We don't have to make a public announcement, you know. I'm sure people will figure it out sooner or later. Let's just take this one step at a time and see where that leads us, okay?" Hermione said, looking intently into Draco's stormy gray eyes, looking for any sign that there was more to his reticence than what she thought.

Draco blinked at her straightforward answer. He was actually hoping she'd say that they can do whatever they want because everything's fine and everything would be peachy. But then, he should've known that Hermione does not mince words nor does she indulge in false hopes. She knew that there would be difficulties ahead, people may or may not accept them; it could really go either way. What she's saying to him now is that they should not worry about anything until there's reason enough to worry. And, he had to agree, that's truly the best that they could do for now. He smiled and tugged her closer to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Okay. I'm sure we can do this…together, we can face anything," he said, leaning down to plant a chaste kiss on her soft lips. Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Together," she whispered before taking a deep breath.

"Ready?" Draco asked, his hand going for the brass doorknob of 'his room'.

"Ready as I can ever be," Hermione agreed.

Draco turned the knob and pulled the door to reveal the hallway beyond. Everything seemed quiet so he stepped out, turned his head both ways and seeing as there was no one outside, gently pulled Hermione behind him. The door disappeared the moment they had both stepped out into the hallway.

"Come on, let's hurry. Harry should be waiting for us at the gargoyle corridor by now," Hermione said, tugging on Draco's hand.

It was only after they had walked through a couple of corridors, and went down the stairs that they noticed something peculiar.

"Hermione, have you noticed anything strange?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Well, doesn't it seem peculiar that we haven't met a single soul since we left the Room of Requirement?"

"I know. It could only mean one thing, then. Everyone's at the Great Hall," Hermione said as they turned into the gargoyle corridor.

"Which probably also explains why Potter is not here," said Draco as soon as they reached the gargoyle statue that led to the Head Mistress' office. No Harry in sight.

"There must've been some announcement made while we were in the Room of Requirement."

"Should we go straight to the Great Hall, then? Or should we give Potter a few more minutes to get here?" Draco asked, turning to Hermione.

"Let's give him five more minutes. If he's not here by then, let's head out to the Great Hall."

They both leaned back against the wall beside the statue. Draco moved closer to Hermione, touching his shoulder against hers. Not satisfied with that, he took her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. Hermione smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"So much for taking it one step at a time. What do you think will Harry say if he found us like this, huh?" Draco chuckled. Hermione pinched his arm and giggled.

"He'll probably faint on the spot," she said.

Draco leaned closer and whispered in Hermione's ear. "Do you think I can steal a quick kiss before he gets here?"

He did not get to hear Hermione's response. They were both startled by a strangled cry from a visibly distraught Theodore Nott. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Nott! What are you doing here? And where's everybody?" Draco snapped, disentangling himself from Hermione's grip.

Nott swallowed hard when he was reminded of Draco's infamous temper. He snatched a look at Hermione then turned his back on them. "I-I'm sorry, Draco. I-I-I didn't mean to intrude. I wasn't spying on you, I swear," Nott stammered.

Draco threw a quizzical look at Hermione. She raised her brows and shook her head. What in Merlin's name is wrong with Nott, she seemed to say.

"Nott, what's got your panties in a knot? It's just Hermione. Where is everybody?"

"Uhhh….they're all at the Great Hall. The Minister of Magic is supposed to make an announcement," Nott answered, taking another nervous glance at Hermione.

"Shacklebolt is here?" Hermione queried.

Nott's head spun towards her, so fast, he could've had whiplash. His eyes were as big as saucers as he stared at Hermione like she'd grown an extra arm. "Who? Shacklebolt? Who's that?"

Draco has had enough. Nott was acting like a fool again. He pushed off from the wall and walked towards his friend.

"What's this all about, Nott? Who put you up to this prank? And if everyone's supposed to be in the Great Hall, then why are you here?"

Nott threw another glance at Hermione then quietly pulled Draco away from her.

"Perhaps, I'm the one who should be asking you that question, mate. What are you doing here getting cozy with the Princess of Mudbloods?" he whispered furiously at Draco.

Had Theo not been his mate for six years, Draco would've beaten him to a pulp right then and there. Draco took a few calming breaths before he lifted his eyes to him. Is this how his friends would react when they find out about his relationship with Hermione? If that's the case, then he'd be losing quite a few of them this year most definitely.

"Watch your tongue, Nott. I wouldn't be too understanding the next time that you make that slip," Draco said, his eyes boring into Nott's. His friend seemed to be taken aback by his statement. He saw a flash of hurt in Nott's hazel eyes, but it was quickly replaced by incredulity and then irritation.

"Look, Draco. I'm just looking out for you. If this is your new deviation, then fine! I won't get in the way. Whatever gets you off, as I always say. But, be mindful of your new position, mate! Your father would not be happy about this," Nott said, his eyes darting back to Hermione as his brows furrowed.

"I couldn't care less what my father would say, or think," Draco hissed. What else could that coward do to him, anyway? He'd already destroyed his and his mother's life! Besides, he's probably more preoccupied with finding a very big rock that he could crawl under to evade his pursuers nowadays.

"Ssshh…Please, don't say that, Draco," Nott said, his eyes darting from left to right nervously.

"Why shouldn't I when that's how I feel about him?" Draco scoffed. Theo's shoulders slumped.

"Look, I know you and your father do not always see things eye to eye, but he's still your father. And you should be proud of him now," Nott said, thumping Draco's back.

Draco froze at that. What is going on with Nott? How could he tell his best friend to be proud of a father who abandoned his family just to save his skin? Something's definitely not right here.

When he looked back at Nott he saw that he was eyeing Hermione with a mixture of fascination and revulsion. Draco had to take a few deep, calming breaths to keep himself from pummeling his friend. Still, in spite of his growing irritation at his fellow Slytherin, something kept nagging at the back of his head, something that he needed to discuss with Hermione before they went traipsing to the Great Hall. He first needed to get rid of his irritating friend, though, so he decided to humor him.

"Tell you what, Nott. Why don't you go on ahead to the Great Hall and I'll follow in a sec. I'll just finish my business with the…uhm…Princess Mudblood, eh?" he whispered conspiratorially.

Nott gave him a nasty grin before casting a salacious eye at Hermione. It almost made Draco forget that he was playing along just so he could get rid of him.

"Fine, mate. But you better not walk in there with her in tow. And you have to tell me all the nasty details later, hear? I've always wondered what she's hiding under those robes," Nott chortled.

Draco had reached his limit, so he thumped Nott's back harder than he should and shoved him away rather viciously. "Don't worry, mate. I'll tell you all about it. Now sod off!"

Nott almost stumbled from the force of Draco's shoving, but he regained his balance and threw a mischievous smirk before sauntering away from them. Draco heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Nott disappear around the corner.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked as she walked towards Draco. "Nott was giving me some nasty looks and I couldn't tell if he was just jesting or not!"

"I don't know, Hermione. Something's a bit off about him. He seemed surprised to find us together when we'd spent most of the past two months with him tagging along and eating with us," Draco replied, shaking his head.

"I know! If I didn't know better, I'd think that he reverted to his old self. He was actually giving me the same 'look' that he used to give me before."

"What look?"

"Well, you know, that look that was a mixture of disgust and… something else, something creepy. It's more like a leer than a look, actually," Hermione said, scrunching her nose.

"Hmmm…I know what you mean," Draco nodded. A thought hit him and he leaned closer to Hermione, capturing her hands. "Did I ever give you that look?"

Hermione blew him a raspberry and laughed. "Nah! The look you always gave me was more like that of a lovesick puppy begging for my attention."

"No way! I never looked at you like a lovesick puppy!" he snorted as he pulled Hermione into his arms. "I'd say, I probably looked more like a starving, wounded puppy…starving for your attention… and kisses."

Hermione slapped Draco's arms playfully before shoving him away.

"Behave, Mr. Malfoy! Who knows who'd come along and discover us in another compromising pose. We're lucky it was just Nott."

A frown formed on Draco's brow as he was reminded of his friend again.

"Something's not right, Hermione. Nott said a lot of strange things to me."

"Strange? In what way? What did he say to you?"

"Didn't you notice that he didn't even know who Shacklebolt was? How could he not when Shacklebolt's been the Minister of Magic for several months now?"

"Yes, I noticed that, actually. But I thought he was just playing a prank on us."

"That's also what I thought, at first. But then he said some other things that seemed a little off. He even defended my father! Theo hated my father the same way that I did, basically because he was a lot like his own father. He even told me that I should be proud of him, would you believe that?"

"Hmmm…that does sound strange, considering the current situation."

"I think we better find the others fast. I have a feeling that Potter won't be making an appearance here anytime soon," Draco said, taking Hermione's hand in his again.

"Are we heading down to the Great Hall then?"

"Yes, I think we'll find our answers there," Draco replied, walking briskly towards the Great Hall with Hermione falling a step behind.

They reluctantly let go of each other's hands when they reached the door to the Great Hall. If they were to gauge their friends' reaction to seeing them holding hands by Nott's earlier one, then it seemed logical to not give the others anything to react to yet. Giving one last nod to Hermione, Draco pushed open the door as quietly as he could. Thankfully, all eyes were glued to the front of the hall so no one took notice of the two tardy figures slipping in through the door.

Professor McGonagall was speaking. "Head Master, will you please do the honors of introducing our new Minister of Magic."

Hermione's scream would've turned all those eyes to them had it not been for Draco's quick reflexes. He hurriedly pulled Hermione behind one of the large columns, his hand covering her mouth.

He chanced another peek at the podium and almost fainted himself because standing up front was the Hogwarts' Head Master, the 'resurrected' Potions' Professor – Severus Snape.

And beside him, standing tall and arrogant as always, was apparently the new Minister of Magic.

The man Draco hated with all his heart.

None other than his father, Lucius Malfoy.