Ok next chapter, be happy with the updating now because I'm moving to start work at a stud farm soon so the chapters won't be as quick to make it out of me when I'm working a 6 to 8 job. Or even longer hours.
Chapter 11: Bed, Bath and Beyond
Draco rushed from the hall, making no sound in his soft shoes. He had brought them specifically for sneaking around and it was time to put them to use. He leaped from shadow to shadow as he tailed Nott, waiting for the opportune moment to arise. Nott it seemed had the same idea in mind, he tailed Hermione closely but made no advances. Draco scowled at the boy, what was his game with Granger? Was he looking to hurt her or befriend her? Maybe even romance her. Draco paused and shook his head, holding back an un-amused laugh, no, this was Theodore we were talking about. Son of a death eater and Slytherin heartthrob, Theo would never want a Gryffindor muggle-born.
Draco glanced up to see Theo round a corner and glided after him. He peeked after his quarry and watched him look around in confusion. Granger was no-where in site. Draco smirked and shot forward, sending a silent Petrificus Totalus in to his back. He watched in satisfaction as the boy fell, landing with a thud, face-up on the cold stone floor.
"You lose." Draco whispered as he slinked past the fallen Slytherin, ducking through a tapestry into a passage he knew Granger would of taken.
She was close, closer than before and now it was just him and her. He held back a laugh of delight. The thrill of the chase was singing in his blood.
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Blaise raced up the passage on silent feet. A spell indicated to him the direction Hermione had taken. He knew it was an invasion of privacy, to have a tracking spell on her, but with Draco and Theo after her, he had to be able to find her at any given time. It was for her safety after all. He frowned as he ran, knowing the other two had precious minutes lead on him. He took the fact that Hermione was still moving as an indication that he still had time before one or both struck and he picked up the pace.
He only just managed to avoid tripping over Theo, seeing the outline of his house-mate just in time to dodge out of the way. He paused, debating whether to release him, but decided he would deal with it later, Draco was still up and moving. He pushed past the tapestry mumbling a soft 'sorry' to Theo as he left. He could hear Hermione now, her soft humming as she obliviously made her way back to the common room. He rounded a corner at a flying pace, feet slipping out from under him. There he saw Hermione, half way along the corridor, and Draco, only a few paces behind, wand drawn and ready to pounce. He lunged forward, hoping he would reach her in time.
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Hermione was tired, she was sore and she was not in the mood for the long, cold walk back to her dorm. To top it all off, she had that watched feeling, the one that told you that someone was watching you, following you, but regular glances over her shoulder showed her only the empty corridor. She kept her wand in hand, hoping that she didn't have to use it tonight. The war had made her jumpy, and she hopped it was just nerves that made her uncomfortable now. Still she couldn't help but jump and spin around when she heard a small thump as she walked though a passage behind a tapestry. But the light of her wand revealed an empty passage and she hurried on, out into a wider, well lit corridor. She sighed as she moved on, determined to ignore the prickling on the back of her neck.
A sudden flash of light blinded her and a yell of "GOT YA" was heard over the sudden loud explosions.
Hermione ducked low, setting up a shield around her immediately, dashing sideways as she blinked the spots from her eyes. She watched as two bodies wrestled, spells flying in all directions as they tussled. She fired a quick stun into their mix and watched in horror as it collided with the haze of spells surrounding the two figures. The backlash exploded outwards, throwing Hermione back and sending her crashing into the wall. She struggled to get to her feet, only to be floored by another spell, this one took the breath from her lungs and she watched darkness creep into her vision. The two fighters struggled on and as she slipped into blackness she hoped that her defender was the one to come out on top.
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Hermione groaned as she came to, pain splitting her head as she blinked in the to-bright light. She slapped a hand over her eyes and rolled, trying to snuggle back into the warmth of her bed. Her body collided with something warm and hard. She made a sound of surprise and snuggled into the comfortable body next to her. Her confused brain told her this must be either Ron or Harry even as her mind started calculating that the physique, smell and overall feel of the body didn't connect with those of her two best friends. She breathed in the strange smell of this unknown person and hummed in confusion. Leather, wood polish and a strange citrus smell made little sense to her confused brain and she couldn't think who would smell that way. She heard a snort of amusement from somewhere above her and tensed.
"Smell something you like, Granger?"
Hermione sat bolt upright. She was satisfied to hear Malfoy cry out as he fell of the bed. She blinked around in confusion. She was fully dressed, still in her robes, the only thing missing were her shoes. Her wand lay in reach and she grabbed it immediately as Malfoy pulled himself to his feet shooting her a glare. She raised a hand to her throbbing head and frowned.
"What happened?"
Draco raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"
Hermione scowled at him. "I remember walking down the corridor. I remember an explosion happening behind me, I remember being slammed into a wall and passing out. But I don't know what happened or why."
A smile stole over Draco's features and he opened his mouth, no doubt to spin a wonderful web of silken lies. He was interrupted by Hermione's door being pushed open and Blaise stepped through, supporting a stiff Theodore.
"Don't listen to a word he says." Theo snarled grumpily.
Hermione's eye brows shot up as Theo started mumbling under his breath, complaining about "Backstabbers and Death Eater wannabe's." Blaise smiled slightly as he helped Theo to sit at the end of Hermione's bed, he them handed Hermione a small vile, filled with a red liquid. Hermione pulled herself up to lean against the head board, wondering how she had found herself, once again, in the company of these three, very different Slytherin's. She hoped it wasn't going to become a regular occurrence, she didn't think her frayed nerves could handle it.
"Drink that." Blaise said, pointing at the potion in her hand. "It will stop your head from hurting. I checked that you have no concussion."
"Thanks." Hermione murmured, she shrugged and drank the liquid, trying not to show the immediate relief from the pounding in her head. Instead she eyed the three boys closely wondering who was going to explain first.
Draco again tried to talk but was cut off a second time by Theo.
"Don't listen to him Hermione, he's a lying prick, he attacked me from behind and then went after you!"
"What!" Hermione's eyes widened in shock, this seemed a bit much, since when did Slytherin's attack their own, and Draco had been very well behaved since the war.
Draco to his credit looked appalled. "I did not go after her! I just wanted to ask her a question!"
"Then why did you jinx me!" Theo was a placid person, so it shocked Hermione to see him getting riled up.
"I just wanted to talk to her alone!" A twinge of suspicion wound its way into her gut, the last time he had wanted to 'ask her a question', things hadn't gone so well.
Theo cocked an eyebrow. "So you couldn't just ask me if I could leave you alone so you could talk."
"Would you have left me alone to talk to her?"
"NO!" A red flush lit Theo's checks. "I'm never leaving her alone with you ever again! Not after this!"
Draco opened his mouth to retort.
"That's enough!" Hermione snapped, and both boys fell silent, turning to eye her in surprise. "Blaise, I think it would be best of you explained. An un bias point of view is always the best."
Theo scowled but shimmied up the bed to sit next to Hermione, Draco threw himself into a seat, folding his arms and looking hostile. Hermione bit back a sigh, same old Malfoy. Blaise leaned against the bed post and flicked his long hair from his eyes. He seemed largely unconcerned with this whole thing, but Hermione knew he would tell the truth, his upbringing demanded so.
"I saw you get up from the table at dinner." He stated abruptly, eyes on Hermione. "I noticed only because it caused something of a stir among you're house mates, though I'm sure most just assumed you were going to the library, as per normal." Hermione's lips twitched in a semi-smile. "When Theodore stood up directly after you and followed you out of the hall, I thought nothing of it. You are the head girl and it is highly possible he just had a question up classes or homework. I was not alarmed at all. That is until Draco saw Theodore go after you and left to, in something of a hurry, with his wand out. This, I knew, was not his normal behaviour and could be classified as dangerous looking. I took it upon myself to follow you, just to make sure you where not in any danger."
He paused here and Hermione glanced to see Theo looking resigned and Draco pouting sulkily in his chair, he knew it looked bad for him so far, and was only going to get worse.
"It was only when I came across Theo, flat on his back in the middle of the corridor, that I knew something was truly amiss. I moved as quickly as I could, and rounded the corner to see Draco right behind you, wand drawn. I reacted instantly. I blinded him, and thus you as well, and then tackled him to the ground, hopping to get him away from you. In the resulting fight, you were knocked out. After we saw we stopped fighting, picked you up and took you to here. We picked Theo up along the way."
Hermione took it all in, slipping off the bed to pace the floor. Her mind told her to take one thing at a time, though right now all she wanted to do was drag Draco to the heads office and get him kicked out of school, or better yet, send him to Kingsley. But that, she knew, was unfair, he hadn't technically done anything wrong.
She turned instead to Theo. "Why were you following me?"
Theo blinked in surprise, not having realised his motives would be questioned. "I wanted to talk to you about the homework we were set in Ancient Runes. It's bloody hard, I thought you could help me get my head around it, or at least offer a few suggestions."
Hermione stopped pacing long enough to smile at him. "You could have just come here when you had finished your dinner, I'm always happy to help, and don't worry about talking to me around my friends, you can come over to the Gryffindor table whenever you feel the need."
Theo nodded, feeling slightly silly and not wanting to admit that he had wanted the chance to talk with her again, alone.
Hermione's eyes hardened as she turned to Draco, she tried to keep an open mind about his intentions, but she could see no other reasons for his actions, she was sure he had meant her harm.
"I just wanted to ask you a question!" Draco blurted it out before she had a chance to ask. "Come on Granger! You know me! Why would a hurt you, in the middle of school, surrounded by war hero's all of who care about you!" His eyes locked on hers. "I'm not stupid, Granger, you know that. You know I would have no chance of getting away with it, plus I've already told you that I don't want to hurt you! I just knew Theo would never let me have a second to talk to you alone."
There was a bang from downstairs and all four spun to eye Hermione's door, ears pricked for more noise.
"Hermione?"
She relaxed as Harry's voice wafted up the stairs accompanied by foot falls. Draco and Blaise exchanged a look and shot off into the bathroom, continuing through to Blaise's room. Theo stayed where he was, figuring he didn't seem to out of place. He pulled Hermione's Ancient Runes book from her bag, just in case. Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed, making sure the bruise on her head didn't show too much. A knock sounded on the door.
"Hermione? Can I come in?"
"Sure Harry." Hermione summoned a smile as the door was pushed in ward, revealing a smiling Harry. His smile dimmed slightly when he saw Theo.
"Nott." He acknowledged cautiously.
The tall boy grinned and stretched out his long legs, "Hey Harry." He grinned, hazel eyes twinkling. "How's it going man?"
Harry shrugged, giving the brunet a small smile of his own. "Not bad, bit shocked about all the homework we're getting but-" He shrugged again and Theo laughed.
"I hear you." He held up the Ancient Runes book. "That's why I'm here, hoping Miss Knowledge has some sort of insight." He smiled at Hermione, who laughed.
"I'll tell you what Theo, why don't I meat you in the Library at lunch tomorrow. We can do this then if you like." Hermione held back a blush as Theo winked at her. He wasn't silly, he knew she wanted to talk to Harry alone.
"Sure thing, love." The endearment rolled easily off his tongue as he stood and stretched. "I'll see you Tomorrow." He ruffled her hair as he strode past. "Later Harry!"
"Bye." Harry said, slightly baffled, but not wanting to be too rude. He waited until he heard the door downstairs close before he turned to Hermione. "He's strange."
Hermione laughed, "Yes, but he means well."
Harry shrugged but smiled, he couldn't deny that the boy was extremely un-Slytherin like.
"So what's up Harry?" Hermione flopped down on her bed and surveyed her best friend.
He dropped next to her. "Wanted to know if you had heard back from Kingsley yet? Or the twins for that matter."
"OH!" Hermione dived off the bed and grabbed her bag. "I forgot." She pulled out the two letters, tearing open the one from the twins first. A hunk of parchment fell into her lap. And she thought for a moment that the two boys really had sent her a book.
A second glance showed her the words 'Classified' in red, across the top of the page.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "What have those two done now?"
"They got me files..." Hermione's eyes travelled over the two folders in front of her, "They got me Blaise's and Theo's files. It's got their class, their part in the war, their alliances, their plans for the feature, it's got their whole life story in here."
Harry shimmied closer and watched as she skimmed the parchment. "What are you going to do with it?"
Hermione shrugged, "I'll read it over later, not all of it, just the important stuff. I need to know if I can trust them, or if they are simply rogue Death Eaters."
Harry nodded and turned his attention to Kinglsey's letter. He handed it to the girl and watched as she read it, her eyes narrowed and a frown appeared. She passed it to Harry once she was done. Harry scowled as he read. Most of it was legal bullshit and polite wording. In the end it came down to Savage, either Hermione could suck it up, or leave the school. Savage was were Kingsley wanted him and he seemed to think Hermione was well enough equipped to deal with the man, and learn from him at the same time.
Harry threw the letter down and cussed loudly, calling the Minister a few choice words, hopping he could somehow hear him.
Hermione smiled and patted his hand, "It's ok, he's right, the Ministry is still trying to get order, and he needs Savage here. I'll just have to live with it."
Harry wasn't happy, but she turned his mind to other matters, reading Fred and Georges Letter with him and laughing over all the things they had already done to Charlie. They spent the rest of their time doing homework, well still managing to talk about anything that came to mind. Hermione missed being in the tower, where Harry was always just a few steps away. He left after a while, promising to be around more often over the next few days.
She sighed as he left and pecked into Blaise's room. The head boy was alone, doing homework.
"Yes?" he questioned as she entered, "Can I help you?"
"I was just going to take a bath. I wondered if you wanted the bathroom first."
He waved her off, "No, thank you. Enjoy your bath."
Hermione ducked out quickly and, after locking both doors, she ran a deep, perfumed bath, slipping in and sighing as her sore head relaxed.
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Blaise stretched and placed his book by his side, glancing at his watch he blinked in surprise. He had been reading for longer than he though, he really should be going to sleep. But he hadn't brushed his teeth yet and as far as he knew Hermione was still in the bathroom.
'Hermione' His eyes snapped back to his watch in alarm. Three hours was far too long to be in the bath. He got up and knocked carefully on the door.
"Hermione?"
No answer.
He knocked harder "Hermione!"
Still no answer. He shrugged and unlocked the door swiftly, bursting into the room and rushing over to the tub. Hermione lay, completely asleep, under a sea of bubbles, the water rolling around her chin. Blaise paused as he gazed at the peaceful girl, he let a grin wash across his face, 'silly kid' he thought to himself. Leaning over slightly he grasped her shoulder, intending to shake her until she woke up.
Somewhere in between the time his fingers made contact with her soft shoulder and the next series of events he realised it was a bad idea to wake a war hero. But by then it was too late. Hermione came up hissing, hands grasping his arms and flipping him straight into the bath. Blaise was a war hero too, but he knew his attacker was only Hermione, Hermione didn't have that insight. She seized her wand from the rim of the bath, using one arm to pin Blaise against the side. It was only when she saw his face, completely relaxed and un threatening well she towered over him, dripping suds and water from her bare skin, that she registered who he was. She paused for a second in surprise, wondering what was going on. A split second later she seemed to realise she was standing in a bath, with nothing on, well a fully clothed Blaise stared at her, to close for comfort.
She yelped suddenly, leaping from the bath and grabbing a huge towel to wrap around herself. Lucky for her, the sudden release of her grip made Blaise slip under water, meaning he didn't see her naked body as she exited the bath. He came up spitting, whipping bubbles from his face.
"Blaise! What the hell are you doing?" Her face turned a lovely shade of pink, embarrassment flooding her veins. "You knew I was in here! I told you so!"
Blaise stepped calmly from the bath waving his wand to dry himself immediately "It's been three hours."
His calm tone made her nearly explode. "I DON'T CARE IF IT'S BEEN THREE HOURS I JUST-" her voice hitched suddenly, "Three hours?" It came out as a squeak.
Blaise eyed her coolly. "Yes, you have been in here for three hours. You recently hit your head, I was concerned for your safety."
Hermione took a few deep, calming breaths, well checking to make sure she was fully covered. Finally composing herself she looked up. "Thank you." It came out slightly gritty, and Hermione was shocked at how hard it was to say.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome."
She nodded and murmured softly "The bathrooms all yours." She turned to quickly leave the room but not before she caught his parting remark.
"Nice curves, Granger."
Her face flamed and she slammed the door on Blaise's velvet laughter.
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Dry and tucked up in bed a few minutes later, Hermione tried to put the awkward incident from her mind. She needed sleep and she wouldn't get it if she obsessed about the fact that Blaise had now seen her naked. In retrospect, they were even now. Yes that's how she was going to see this, they had now both seen each other naked and now they could forget it and go to sleep, never to talk or think about it. Hermione sighed as she flicked her wand and the light went off, she tucked the strip of wood under her pillow and focused on clearing her mind. She really did need sleep.
Next door Blaise lay down in his bed, pulling the blankets over himself and casting a quick heat charm on them, it was a cold night and he slept nude. There was no need to freeze just because he found sleeping with clothes on uncomfortable. He sighed as he tried to relax. His mind seemed incapable of switching off and it overflowed with thoughts. One by one he analysed and passed off the thoughts, slowly emptying his mind. Finally a thought got stuck, one he really wished would just leave. But try as he might he couldn't get the feel of Hermione's delicate shoulder or the sight of her naked body from his mind. He growled grumpily trying not to visualise her wet hair, twined around her neck and shoulders in intricate swirls. Or her delicate neck, giving way to soft rounded breasts, not large but full and plump, that would fit nicely in your palm. He tried not to see the bubbles slipping down her soft skin, between her breasts, down her body to her navel- 'Shit'
'That's it, I have to stop. Stop thinking Blaise just think about um... Slytherin! Yes green and silver, Malfoy, um Nott and Goyle. And Pansy! Ugly pansy, with her pug face and horrid bob cut and tight clothes, that show absolutely no curves, so unlike Hermione who's all soft and rounded, with a trim waist and-"
Blaise sighed and gave up. It was going to be a long and uncomfortable night all thanks to that pesky bookworm.
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And that's all for now folks, more coming soon so stay tuned.
Wildcat
