Chapter Eleven – The Great Lake
Sunday passed in a haze of homework, and before Hermione knew it, it was Monday lunchtime. She sat down next to Ron and dished up a large bowl of vegetable soup. He glanced at her with a smile and continued eating his sandwich.
"Did Harry sleep last night?" she asked him quietly, stirring her soup to cool it.
Ron looked at her unhappily. "I'm not sure. He looked like he was snoozing for a while, but when I woke up at sunrise to go do a bit of training, he was gone. He wasn't on the pitch either. So I don't know when he got up, but I have a suspicion it was still dark out when he did."
"I'm worried about him." Hermione stated. "Look after him over Christmas, won't you? Tell Molly that he needs to rest. Make her put a sleep inducing herb in her cooking, or something."
"That's a good idea." Ron smiled. "Are you sure you don't want to come to the Burrow as well? There's plenty of room for you."
"I appreciate the offer Ron, but I think mum and dad have missed having me home over the past couple of Christmas breaks. I think I'll make them happy and go home." She sipped her hot soup and wished she could go to the Burrow too. It was always so much fun with the Weasley's. Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table as she thought about whom she would be spending her holiday with.
She noticed Draco looking tired, and as she scanned the table uninterestedly, Devon caught her eye and winked. Hermione smiled back when Ron turned around to grab some more pumpkin juice. In a manner that made her feel as if she must have been embarrassed, Hermione quickly looked away. And straight into a pair of familiar gray eyes. She must have jumped in surprise because not only did Draco smile slightly, but Ron turned around curiously.
"What happened?" he asked inquisitively.
Hermione floundered for only a moment, then she realised Harry had arrived. "I didn't notice Harry until just then." Ron looked up and started when he saw Harry sitting down opposite them.
"Oh. Neither did I." Ron stated. "How are you feeling to day Harry?" Harry shrugged glumly and bit into a piece of plain wholegrain bread. Frowning, Ron asked, "Aren't you even going to butter that?" When Harry shook his head and continued staring at the tabletop, Hermione stood up and walked around to his side of the table.
"Harry, you have to eat. We know you're not sleeping, and you're hardly studying, but you have to eat." Hermione sat next to him and dished up a small bowl of soup. "Now you can dip your bread in there, and once you've finished it, eat the soup too. Ron, can you pour Harry a cup of tea from the pot next to you?"
Ron nodded and quickly poured his best friend a hot cup of white tea. Although Harry didn't take sugar with his tea, Ron put some in anyway, deciding he would need the energy boost. Hermione and Ron exchanged a worried glance when Harry didn't protest to being fussed over. Watching Harry closely for the next fifteen minutes while he ate, Hermione forgot about her silent exchange with the two Slytherins until she glanced up quickly to find them both watching her.
She almost became flustered at the knowledge that she was being watched, then Ron said, "Hermione, we're late for class," and she promptly forgot all about them once again.
That night, Hermione entered dungeon 37 to realise that she was the last one to arrive. "Sorry, I must be late." She apologized, quickly sitting down next to Corey and Devon.
"Not at all." Draco said dismissively, "We're here a bit early." Not noticing the surprised looks from the other Scales at their civility, Draco quickly got down to business. "Ok, firstly, Hermione's Animagus potion is coming along well, so we hope that will be ready in time."
"In time for what?" Taylor asked with a furrowed brow.
Draco paused and glanced at Hermione. Clearing his throat, he decided to start the beginning. "Hermione was attacked on Friday night. By Voldemort. He entered - "
"What?" Devon exclaimed. "Why haven't I been told about his earlier? Friday night? You should have called an emergency meeting!" He quickly turned to Hermione and grabbed her hand. "Are you alright? What did he do to you? I can't believe this!" Devon turned back to Draco accusingly. "She was attacked and you didn't do anything to help. I would have killed him." It seemed that Devon was too outraged to realise the lunacy of stating that he could kill Voldemort.
Draco's gaze turned cold and he waited a few moments before replying. But Hermione beat him to it. "He did help, Devon. He stopped Voldemort from killing me…or from doing whatever it was he wanted."
"Oh." Devon said, looking disappointed. "So, how did Voldemort get into the castle? I don't understand why Dumbledore hasn't closed the school down and sent an army after him."
"He entered Hermione's mind." Draco explained, his voice still cold. "He didn't physically enter the castle. Fortunately I was with Hermione at the time, and able to recognize what was going on, and use my Occlumency skills to fight him off."
Mark folded his arms in amusement, and without Draco noticing, exchanged a glance with Taylor and Corey. All three guys noticed Draco's boasting, although he didn't seem to recognize it himself. Devon, it seemed, was preoccupied with other issues to notice. "What were you doing with Hermione?" he turned to Hermione. "He wasn't harassing you, or hurting you again, was he?"
Hermione shook her head and held up her hand with the ring on it. "He was just giving me this."
"Oh." Devon said again, though this time he sounded relieved.
"So," Draco continued,"it seems Voldemort's attempt to take over the wizarding world isn't far off. And I'm hoping Hermione's Animagus potion will be ready in time for that." he gave Devon a direct stare as if to tell him to remain quiet. "Moving on, our transport to the seminar has been arranged, so we don't need to worry about that anymore."
"How are we getting there, then?" Mark asked curiously.
"Hermione is going to dive us in a muggle car." Draco answered. "They rent them in Hogsmeade. So we'll meet here in the morning, walk to Hogsmeade, hire one and drive there. Then we can take the Floo network back here, because their connection should be fixed by the end of the seminar. Easy as that."
"Sounds good." Mark agreed.
"Ok." Draco said. "We have no meeting next week, unless someone feels the need for one. If you do, perform a Heat charm on your ring at six that night, and we'll all know to meet here at normal time. If there is no meeting, remember to meet here at 9am Wednesday week. Is there anything anyone wants to bring up?"
"Yeah. Hermione, look after yourself, ok?" Corey said, looking at her in concern. "It seems obvious that you'd be a target, but it's a shame that that general assumption is true." Mark and Taylor nodded in agreement, then stood up and walked out of the room.
Devon still held Hermione's hand in his, and when she made to withdraw it, he squeezed it gently. She smiled and stood up. "I'll see you around."
"You look tired." Devon said worriedly. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm always tired, Devon." Hermione responded as Draco walked over to them. "And I'm fine. Really. All I have to do is get through this week, and then it is holidays. I think I need a bit of time to rest."
"What are you doing for Christmas before the seminar?" Draco asked her.
"I'll go home to visit my parents, and then I'll come back on a train to Hogsmeade that night." Hermione replied. Draco nodded, and walked towards the door with Hermione and Devon. He stopped to extinguish the candles, then met them in the corridor. The three made their way down the corridor, and when they reached the staircase that Hermione had to ascend, they stopped.
"So I'll see you two in classes then." She said, unsure why, but definitely feeling uncomfortable being alone with these two. Draco smiled at her slightly and started to walk off, but then turned in time to see Devon move forward and give Hermione a hug. Hermione, although taken aback, returned the hug.
Devon stepped back, said "Goodnight Hermione," then walked to catch up with Draco, who was watching him closely. Meeting Draco's eyes, Devon smirked and raised his eyebrows in challenge. Draco lifted his chin in response, but when he glanced at Hermione and saw her watching him apprehensively, he decided against hugging her.
"'Night." He said to her quietly, and stalked ahead of Devon to the Slytherin common room.
When Hermione stood wearily to go to bed on Wednesday night, Ron glanced at her in concern. "You and Harry are both worrying me. Harry – well, it's obvious why he's worrying me, but you're starting to look very drawn, Hermione. Is there something wrong?"
Hermione's headache and lightheadedness had returned, but she didn't want to admit to herself what it might mean. "I feel terrible, Ron. I think I'll try getting some sleep. If I'm not up in the morning, it's because I feel awful and just want to sleep in. There's no doubt I'll be up by lunch."
Ron frowned. "If you're not up in the morning, I'll send Ginny in to see if you're alright. Sleep well Hermione, although it seems I'm the only one around here who seems to be doing that."
"Thanks Ron." She replied, kissing him goodnight on the cheek and walking up to her dorm. After undressing, and slipping into her purple nightgown, Hermione opened the dorm room window to allow a cool breeze to sooth her headache. Hermione then climbed into bed and within moments, fell into a troubled sleep.
It was late, but Draco didn't feel like going inside to his dorm yet. Quidditch training had finished almost an hour ago, but Draco was still flying around the grounds. He was completely dissatisfied with how his team was training, and yet taking recent events into account, Quidditch mattered little to him. Especially if Voldemort struck before the season even began.
Draco knew there was more of a chance of Quidditch being cancelled, than Slytherins ever winning the Quidditch final with Harry playing in good health. Voldemort's return– or at least the time when he would try return was close. If he was strong enough to get into Hogwarts, even with his mind, then an attack on the school was to be expected. Draco hoped Dumbledore had something planned in defense.
Draco sighed in frustration as he remembered Monday's Scales and a Tail's meeting. Every time he thought about it, he would then think about Hermione, and then an image of her wearing a purple satin nightgown would involuntarily pop into his head. Draco shook his head, and turned his broom in the direction of the Great Lake.
The water had very few ripples on the surface, and if Draco looked down, he could see the blurry shape that was his reflection. Flying around the entire outside of the lake as fast as he could, Draco returned to hover near the castle. His eyes had filled with tears due to the icy air whipping across his face, and as he blinked to clear his vision, he saw something that made him freeze.
A figure was floating out of the castle and heading quickly towards the Great Lake. Draco wiped his sleeve over his eyes to clear them, hoping what he saw was just a tree distorted because of his blurred vision. But sure enough, a human body was now hovering horizontal above the centre of the lake. Draco frowned in incomprehension and flew quickly towards it to figure out what was going on. As he drew nearer, his mouth dropped in shock. It was Hermione.
"What the hell is going on?" he demanded of the world. Picking up speed and flying closer, Draco saw that Hermione was unconscious. Then, as he drew closer still, he could hear a very faint snoring sound, and realised that she was not unconscious, but asleep. "That explains the nightgown." Draco muttered, his frown deepening.
As he was about to call out, something happened that caused his stomach to flip in alarm. Hermione dropped. It was the only way to describe it. It was as if someone had been holding her in a large, invisible hand, but they suddenly let her go. Falling quicker than Draco would have expected, Hermione's hair flew about her as she plummeted towards the dark water.
"Hermione!" Draco shouted, steering his broom sharply down and zooming after her as fast as he could. She didn't seem to hear him. "She must be some heavy sleeper." Draco mumbled to himself in amazement.
"Hermione!" She seemed to hear him the second time. Lifting her head suddenly and looking around in fear, Hermione started to scream. However, her scream didn't last very long. She hit the hard surface of the lake back first, and as the water engulfed her with a splash, Hermione's scream was stifled.
"Holy shit!" Draco exclaimed, flying after her in disbelief. He reached the lakes surface and pulled to a halt where Hermione had hit, and waited for her to surface. After a few frantic moments, Hermione's limp body broke the surface a few meters away. Draco flew over to her and hurriedly turned her over so she was lying tummy-up.
"Hermione!" he whispered urgently. When she didn't respond, a terrible thought occurred to Draco. She had hit the surface very hard and fast, so her being winded or even rendered unconscious was understandable, but also easily dealt with. If she'd swallowed water however, he had no idea how to get the water out. Desperately, Draco tried to remember any spells that involved the lungs. Giggle-Hex…no, Lung-Expansions…no, that's for singers, Lung-Removal…definitely not…Lung-Compressor…no, that's used for torture. Wait, Draco thought, that might work.
"Compressus Lungen!" Draco said quickly, after pulling his wand out of his robe pocket and aiming it at Hermione's chest. Draco watched in repulsion as a large amount of water spurted out of Hermione's mouth and her body jolted. Her eyes flew open and she gasped haggardly, reaching out and grasping on to Draco's shoulder. He grabbed her and pulled her on to his broom, but as he tried to fly off, Hermione started slipping.
"Hold on." He instructed harshly. He hadn't intended to be mean, but he was so shocked over what had just occurred that he couldn't control his voice. Hermione simply shook her head and continued to slide off. "Hermione, don't make this difficult." Draco instructed, but she didn't seem to hear him. Growling under his breath, he wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, pulled her against him and held her there until they were safely by the shore of the lake.
Draco slid on to the ground quickly and caught Hermione as she flopped off the broom. "Hermione, sit down." This time, she obeyed him. Flaccidly, Hermione flopped down onto the shore. Draco stood still for a moment, unsure about what he should do. He stared at Hermione as she sat shocked, drenched and near-naked on the ground in front of him. Draco suddenly snapped to his senses and decided that he couldn't deal with her alone. He raised his wand to his ring and performed a Heat charm. Within five minutes, the Scales would be waiting for them in dungeon 37.
"Come on." He said gruffly, kneeling down next to Hermione. "We have to get you inside."
Hermione blinked a few times, and looked around as if only just realising where he had taken her. "Is this your spot?" she asked quietly. "Where you like to come and think? The same place I found you a few weeks ago, where you- "
"Yes, this is the place." Draco cut in quickly, not wanting her to mention how he'd hurt and nearly drowned her. "I come here for a reason, you know."
"Yes, I know. You come here to think and to get away from everyone." Hermione said, resisting Draco's attempts to pull her to her feet. Draco sighed loudly and decided to try again in a moment.
"Those are the reasons I come outside, yes, but not the reasons I come to this exact place." He said to her, moving over to the line of trees that were a part of the Forbidden Forest. They stood very close to the lake, with the shore almost in the trees. Draco disappeared into the forest for a few moments, and Hermione could hear a loud rustling noise followed by a strange creaking. Draco reappeared, and as expected was greeted by a look of interest from Hermione.
"What were you doing?" she asked, her brow furrowing as her mind tried to think up every possible answer to this question so Draco wouldn't surprise her.
Draco smiled and held out his hand to help her up. "Curiosity killed the cat, Hermione."
"But satisfaction brought it back." Hermione shot back weakly,but managed to raise aneyebrow. Although Hermione was trying to act normally, Draco could tell she was extremely shaken. He pulled her gently to her feet and escorted her into the forest. Hermione rested her hand tentatively on his shoulder as she felt her knees weaken, and to reassure her, Draco slipped his arm about her waist to support her. A few meters in they came across a large tree with thick trunk. Hermione started in surprise to see that the trunk had a large hole in its side.
"Lumos." Draco lit his wand, and guided Hermione over to the hole. "This is a pathway that leads to the secret chamber below dungeon 37. As do most secret pathways leading to the castle."
"But, that can't be true." Hermione countered. "What about the passage that leads to Honeydukes, or the Shrieking Shack? I've followed those personally, and they've never lead me to that storeroom."
Draco was unable to disguise his surprise at Hermione's knowledge of such secretive matters. Shaking his head, Draco reluctantly realised that Hermione was one of the best people the Scales could have possibly recruited. Distractedly placing a hand on the top of Hermione's head to prevent her bumping it on the top of the opening, he asked "How do you know about those?"
"You forget who my friends are." She replied, ducking her head and stepping through the threshold. "But you haven't answered my question."
"The room underneath dungeon 37 is far bigger than what I showed you. It has many vast rooms adjoining it, that cause it to spread over quite a large distance. To my knowledge, all passageways excluding the one that leads to the Shrieking Shack, connect to it. The thing is, not many people know that part. The tunnel that leads to Honeydukes for example, appears to lead straight there. However, at the point where the tunnel passes under the Hogwarts boundary, there is a door on the right hand wall of the tunnel. It blends right in with the wall unless you know it's there. All you have to do is press your hand against it for five seconds, and it swings open, revealing an adjoining tunnel that leads directly here. It's the same with any of the other passageways."
"Why five seconds?" Hermione inquired as Draco climbed in after her.
"It prevents the door opening if it's just touched by someone stumbling in the dark."
Once inside the dark tunnel, Draco replaced the wood panel blocking the entrance and turned to lead Hermione down the passage. "Wont people notice a tree with a hole cut in it and a makeshift door resting against it?" Hermione asked, frowning at the lack of camouflage.
"There's a Concealment Charm on it from the outside. So long as that piece of wood is there, the charm warps it into part of the trunk." He replied, slowing down as Hermione stumbled on the cold, dirty ground. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Never been better." She replied sarcastically, although she sounded more depressed in her current state of tiredness. "I've been hovered out of my bedroom window to the lake, where I can only imagine I was dropped and left to plummet to my death. If you hadn't been there, I would certainly have drowned. Now I'm tired, sore, confused, and freezing, not to mention very inappropriately dressed considering the present company. So, thank you for asking. I'm feeling just wonderful."
Draco couldn't help but smile at her response. "That's what I thought."
It only took them five minutes of walking before they entered a large chamber. Draco led her across it to an opening on the right hand side. Walking through it into another chamber, Hermione noticed a few shelves against the far wall. "What's over there?"
"I think that's food supplies." He replied, glancing over. "Incase anyone ever gets stuck down here."
Hermione frowned, wondering how pessimistic the wizards who made this underground maze must have been. "Stuck down here?"
"It could happen. Call it a possible sanctuary in an emergency." They moved quickly through the room, into another, then another, and finally came out into the original storeroom Draco had shown her four nights ago. By the time Draco led Hermione to the ladder that led up into the dungeon, her face was ashen and she was leaning on him heavily for support. "Shit." He mumbled. Quickly thinking of how to get Hermione up the ladder, Draco gently lowered to the ground. "I'll be back in a moment."
Scaling the ladder swiftly, Draco pushed open the trapdoor and climbed into the dungeon. He was greeted by four very surprised Slytherins staring at him. Mark moved over to him, "What the hell is going on?"
"I'll explain in a minute. But for now, I need your help." Draco motioned down into the storeroom. "Stand here, and help pull her up."
Mark frowned, but knelt by the opening as Draco quickly descended. "Hermione, stand up." He practically lifted her to her feet, and then let her get her balance. "Here, Mark's going to help you."
Hermione slowly looked up and saw Mark staring down at her in bewilderment. Mark turned and called over his shoulder, "It's our Tail. And she doesn't look good." After Draco had helped Hermione climb the first half of the ladder, Mark reached down and took her hand firmly and assisted her the rest of the way up. Draco climbed the ladder after her, using almost all of his self-control not to look up.
Once he emerged and closed the trapdoor after him, Draco turned to see that Mark had taken a step back and the four Scales were staring at Hermione with very bizarre expressions. Draco frowned when he realised they looked nervous. "What's wrong with you guys?" he demanded, wondering why he was the only one who was willing to take Hermione's hand and lead her to the nearest chair.
Mark, Taylor and Corey exchanged glances, and then looked back to Hermione. Aside from the fact that she was wet and tired, she was also clearly in just a nightgown. A very skimpy nightgown at that. Mark couldn't help smiling, although he knew something bad must have happened. "Can't wait to hear the story behind this one." Mark said, then glanced over at Devon and almost laughed out loud.
Devon was standing frozen on the spot, looking from Hermione to Draco. His mouth was agape and his expression was one of someone who didn't understand what he was seeing. "What…?" was all he could manage. Hermione heard, and looked up at him. It was as if this look snapped him out of a trance. Suddenly he was at her side, "Hermione, what happened to you? Are you alright? Here, take my cloak, you look freezing."
Quickly unfastening his cloak, Devon removed it and gently placed it over Hermione shoulders. He rested his hands on her shoulders once she was covered, and left them there. Hermione smiled slightly, and then looked up at Draco, waiting for him to explain to the others what had happened. Draco sat down on one of the desks and recounted the events of the last half hour or so.
"I think it was Voldemort's doing." He said, finishing off the story. "He's entered her mind before, so he wouldn't have any trouble locating Hermione again. For a wizard as powerful as Voldemort, I don't think performing a simple Hovering charm would be very difficult either."
The other guys were silent for a few minutes while they thought about what they'd just been told. "So you think he was actually trying to kill her?" Taylor asked quietly.
Draco nodded. "I'd say so. I mean, removing her from the castle late at night while she's sleeping, and then dropping her from a huge height into the middle of the Great Lake does seem to scream murder."
Hermione shuddered, and Devon rubbed her shoulders reassuringly. Draco looked at them unhappily for a moment before continuing. "So what we have to discuss now is what to do. Do we tell Dumbledore? Do you think he already knows? What risks do we take leaving Hermione on her own?"
"Dumbledore should be notified." Mark stated firmly. "Something like this can't happen without him being told, even if he already knows."
"I'll go to his office tomorrow." Hermione said softly. "I think I would feel better telling him myself."
"Of course." Draco agreed. "Did you want one of us to come with you?"
"No." Hermione declined with a half-hearted smile. "I'm sure I'll manage."
"I think Hermione should stay within the sight of one of us at all times." Devon said seriously. "We can't risk anything happening to her again. Two attacks in one week is too much. We know now that Hermione is a target, so he'll keep trying until he succeeds."
"You know, at the moment Voldemort probably thinks she'd dead." Corey said. "Draco, you mentioned that Hermione looked like she was dropped from the sky. Do you think that could have been the moment Voldemort released his hold on her, and so has no idea you saved her? We might have a bit of time before he realizes and tries to attack again."
Everyone was silent for a moment. "That's a bloody good point there, Cor." Mark said approvingly. "I think Hermione has enough time to get a good sleep in and at least another day of normal living before he realizes."
"Wait." Hermione said, her brow suddenly creased in thought. "What if we were to make him think that I was dead?"
"How?" Draco asked dryly, not knowing what she could possibly mean. "By killing you?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "By getting a bit of media coverage."
The five males looked at her incredulously. "Huh?" Mark asked abruptly.
"I know a reporter. I could get her to write a story on a mysterious death at a wizarding school. No names, or specifics of any kind, but enough for Voldemort to believe I'd died and Dumbledore was just trying to hush it up."
Draco nodded in appreciation. "Alright. Let's see if that works. Hermione, are you able to get in contact with this reporter of yours as soon as possible?" She nodded wearily. "Good. So you can do that tomorrow morning or something, and also have a talk with Dumbledore." He paused. "Do you want any of us to do anything?"
"Nothing that I can think of." Hermione replied, yawning. "But I think I need to go to bed if you don't mind." Hermione began to stand up, and Devon quickly moved in to help her.
Draco watched the two of them solemnly as Mark, Taylor and Corey stood and began to walk towards the door. Then as he watched Hermione sway slightly on the spot, he was struck by an idea. "You're unsteady on your feet." He said to Hermione. "Here, I'll take you up to the Gryffindor tower."
Devon looked up, startled. "It's alright, Draco. I can take her." He offered, not letting go of Hermione's hand and fixing him with a meaningful stare. The other three guys slowed down and looked over curiously.
"Nah, don't trouble yourself." Draco replied easily, moving forward and smiling slightly at Hermione.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all."
Draco's eyes hardened. "I would feel much better after what I've witnessed tonight to know that Hermione is safe in her dorm."
"So you're calling me untrustworthy?" Devon asked, his voice raising slightly. "Are you really saying I wouldn't get her there safely? Do you think you're the only capable one here, Draco?"
"How about I take her?" Corey said firmly, quickly moving to stand in between the two arguing Slytherins. They both looked at him in surprise. "It seems to me that I'm the only one who remembered to grab my Invisibility Cloak before rushing down here. Therefore I'm the only one who could make it back to the Slytherin common room this late at night without being seen."
Devon and Draco exchanged an unhappy glance, and both nodded tersely. Devon squeezed Hermione's hand in his and said, "Take care, Hermione. Don't hesitate to owl me if you need anything."
Hermione smiled, and then glanced at Draco to see if he would part with any words of support. But he just moved away, and wordlessly walked in front of Mark and Taylor to the door. Hermione silently watched his retreating back and wondered why the image made her feel forlorn. As if understanding her unfamiliar sensation of wanting to see him again, Draco turned to look at her over his shoulder as he was opening the door. The slight frown that disturbed his handsome features as he locked eyes with her, caused Hermione to wonder if he was experiencing the same thing. Then he was gone and Mark and Taylor followed in his wake.
Before leaving they offered words of advice. "You've had a big night. Get some rest." Mark suggested.
"Yeah. And don't go to classes in the morning." Taylor added. "Sleep in, visit Dumbledore and then write the letter to that reporter."
Hermione nodded with a smile and they both left. Once her attention turned back to those remaining in the dungeon, she realised Devon was still holding her hand, and Corey was looking slightly amused. "We'd better go." Corey said lightly, gesturing needlessly towards the door. Devon let go of her hand slower than necessary, and then they all walked towards the door.
"Oh." Devon said suddenly, stopping. "You still have my cloak."
Hermione rolled her eyes before turning around to face him. She couldn't believe her bad luck. She had originally bought the silk nightgown because she'd known that no one would ever see it. She thought it looked comfortable and not as if it would hinder her when she turned and rolled over to get comfortable in bed. But now things were just getting ridiculous. Without preamble, Hermione slipped the cloak off and handed it to Devon.
With a smile and a wink, he took it from her. As much as she tried not to be affected by his charm, Hermione felt herself smile back with a faint flush. "Thanks." he said. "Goodnight." He looked as if he were about to hug her, but then must have realised that their relationship didn't allow for it with Hermione dressed as she was. Instead, he smiled again and left.
When Hermione turned to Corey, she found him standing with is back half turned and his eyes averted. Smiling at his gentleman-like behaviour, Hermione asked, "Should we go underneath it together?"
"I suppose we should," Corey replied uncertainly, after pausing to think. "It's too late for either of us to be allowed out of bed." He seemed uncomfortable about doing so, but Corey lifted the cloak about himself, then covered Hermione with it also.
They moved quickly and quietly through the castle, and eventually reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hermione stood staring at the painting for a few moments, unsure of what she should do.
"No Slytherin has ever been inside there before." Corey whispered to her.
"I should hope not." Hermione replied with a smile. "I'm pretty sure I can get myself up to my dorm from here. Thanks so much, Corey." She briefly laid a hand on his shoulder, feeling pleased that she was finally making friends with the Scales.
"No problem." He replied, smiling at her genuinely. "See you later."
Hermione stepped out from beneath the cloak and cleared her throat to wake the snoring Fat Lady. When she didn't rouse, Hermione spoke. "Excuse me! I'd like to get in please."
"Hmm?" The Fat Lady opened her eyes wearily and gave a theatrical sigh when she spotted Hermione. "When will you students go to bed and remain in bed?"
"I don't think I can answer that for you." Hermione said apologetically. She glanced over her shoulder, unsure whether Corey had gone or not. She shrugged to herself, deciding that she could trust him not to abuse the knowledge of the Gryffindor password. "Skiving Snackboxes."
A/N – Well, I certainly broke my promise about getting this chapter up by the 18th! Thanks for your patience; I hope this chapter satisfies you all. Please review! And perhaps in your reviews you could let me know what you thought of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. It hasn't seemed to have made as big an impact on the world of HP fans as the Order did. Possibly because a few things happened that none of us wanted to have happen! Anyway, let me know!
Until next time, Halfling.