Chapter Twelve: The Mood Ring

"Wha…what was what?" Hermione stuttered. She was experience a loss of words to describe what had just happened.

"Really, Hermione? Really? You ignore me all night, you run off with Sidney Cartwright of all people, and you leave your own party for the entirety of two hours!"

"Two…two hours?" Hermione asked, sure she had heard him incorrectly.

"Yeah, you stormed out of the room and I followed you out but you disappeared. I looked for you for hours. I even looked out here for you and you weren't there. Then everyone left and I did a double check of the entire manor and when I came out here again you were sitting by the lake with him. What the hell is this all about?"

"Draco." Hermione said with a quiver in her voice.

"What?" Draco asked suddenly concerned. "What happened?"

"Draco, I was only out here with Sid for twenty minutes…tops."

Draco took both his hands and placed them on her shoulders, turning her so he could examine her face more fully. She was ghostly pale, and there was a glow on her brow that matched the heat of her skin.

"Where is your cloak?" Draco asked quickly.

"My-my cloak?" Hermione asked confusedly. She turned her head and looked on the ground around her. She had had her cloak with her all evening, but now it was nowhere to be found.

"Hermione, you're burning up. I need you to come inside."

"Okay." Hermione said, complying in her confused state.

She didn't even care anymore about Draco and Astoria. She was so consumed with confusion at being around Sidney that she no longer could bother with it. She didn't understand how she could have been alone with him for two hours.

Draco led Hermione up the grassy hill and into the Manor. When they got to the stairs Hermione's knees became weak and the temperature of her skin felt like it was on fire. Draco simply scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the three flights of stairs to the room she had been staying in. When they reached the top he wasn't even out of breath, and Hermione admired that he was in such great physical shape.

Draco kicked open the door and laid Hermione down on her bed.

"Splinky!" Draco said suddenly, and a house elf appeared by his feet.

"Yes master?"

"I need you to undress Hermione and put her in some pajamas, preferably something that will keep her cool. I'll be back in a moment."

Draco left the room to a slight protest from Hermione to explain, and walked down the hall into the bathroom. He grabbed a good sized porcelain bowl from below and filled it with icy cold water from the tap. He found a simple white wash cloth, threw it over his shoulder, and walked back to Hermione's room with the bowl. She was dressed in small pajama shorts and a tank top when he returned.

"Is there anything else Master?" The house elf asked, bowing deeply.

"No thank you Splinky, you may go now."

With a pop, the elf disapparated and Draco was left alone with a confused Hermione.

"Draco what's going on?" She asked with a hint of fear behind her eyes.

"I'm not sure to be honest." He answered, as he dipped the wash cloth in the cold water and wrung it out. He slowly pressed the cloth to her forehead while she lay on the bed. "Tell me what happened with Sid. Please, don't leave anything out."

Hermione told Draco about meeting Sid and how she felt when he touched her. The warm cloudy feeling he left over her, as if she was in a dream and everything felt like a good idea, no matter what it was. Then she relayed to him about leaving the party and leading Sid out of the manor toward the lake. She remembered not really knowing where she was going or having a destination in mind until she was already at the lake. As she talked, Draco placed the cloth on her exposed areas of skin, letting her body cool off. Hermione tried to ignore the fact that he was so close to her.

"I feel better now though. I mean, I felt great when he had his hands on me, not a care in the world." Draco gave her a dark look, but she continued. "I would have gone anywhere in the world with him, it's such a scary thought now. Then I felt sick and hot after he left, like he took that great feeling with him. But I feel uneasy around him, Draco. I don't like the way he has this effect on me, and it can't be hormones. I mean he's good looking, but he's not that good looking."

Draco smirked at this statement.

"You feel better now though, you say? When exactly did you start to feel better?"

"Um, when Splinky changed me. I felt better immediately."

Draco stood up quickly and searched through the dirty clothes bin grabbing her dress out of it and examining it closely. Hermione watched him from a distance as he ran his fingers along the fabric and again as he scanned his wand over the dress murmuring some spells under his breath. After awhile he threw the dress back in the bin and sat back down on the bed by Hermione. They sat in silence for a few moments while Draco's eyes wandered the room as if searching for something.

"Were you wearing any jewelry tonight Hermione?" Draco asked suddenly.

"What? No. I haven't worn any jewelry since we removed that anklet. I'm not very fond of the stuff anymore now that I've got that off. Why?" Hermione asked, but she followed his gaze and it gave her all the answers she needed.

A small ring was placed on the bed side table. It was a simple gold ring, no designs or engravings on the sides. Draco reached over and put it in his hands, examining it closely.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, sitting up in the bed to get a closer look at the ring.

"A mood ring."

Hermione actually laughed out loud at this.

"A mood ring? Those silly things muggles have that change color and supposedly tell you what mood you're in?"

"Not quite." Draco said handing the ring to Hermione who held it in her palm. "It's a small bit of dark magic actually. Almost like the imperius curse, but less severe. You place the ring on a person's finger and it becomes invisible to them immediately until it is taken off by another. The ring doesn't have any bearing on a person's emotions itself, but when a bewitcher puts their hands on the person wearing the ring, they then have the ability to alter a person's mood based on their own wishes."

Hermione could hardly believe what she was hearing. Sid had placed a ring on her when he met her to alter her emotions about him. It was too unreal to process.

"But Draco, why? Why would he do that? I'm sure I would have liked him alright by himself. Why would he need to alter my mood about him?"

"Maybe because he's not that great of a person to begin with. Hermione, he loves the Dark Arts. Infatuated with them, ever since he was a kid. I didn't like him immediately, there was something not right about him. I mean when you're a kid, you're just supposed to be a kid, you don't care about dark magic. But he loved it, thrived on it. I didn't like him from day one because of it."

Hermione was now hearing the second version of the same story, and she believed Draco more than Sid on this point. She wasn't sure when Sid put the ring on her, but she remembered the feeling of unease she got all on her own at his mention of pride at having the dark mark, and his passion for the dark arts.

"I can see that." Hermione said, suddenly ashamed at herself for having been pulled to him so quickly. She was sure now that everything she felt for Sid had been her own feelings until she'd left the ball room. After that, things seemed to be a blur until she reached the lake. She wondered where her cloak went, and what had happened during that period of time.

She looked at Draco, whose face read that he was thinking the same thing.

"I'll have the elves search the grounds for your cloak. If we can find where it's located we might have a better idea about what's going on." Draco said, and Hermione nodded at his words as she was at a loss as to what to say. "In the mean time I want you to stay away from Sid. I suggest you tell your father about it, but good luck getting him to listen, Sid is a bit of a favorite of his. You probably won't have to see him again until we go back to Hogwarts, but just be weary Hermione. Who introduced you to him in the first place?"

"Pansy Parkinson." Hermione said smirking at Draco. "Do you think she knew what he was going to do?"

"Pansy? Nah. She's amused by anyone who is handsome, and really deep down she's not into that kind of dark arts stuff anyway. I know for a fact she doesn't know the extent to which Sid is involved in things like that."

"Good, because I rather like her." Hermione said simply.

"This is the same Pansy Parkinson that made fun of you for six straight years of your life, right? We are talking about the same one?"

Hermione laughed at his comment.

"Yes Draco, the very same. And I'm sitting on my bed having a civilized conversation about my well being and safety to the very same Draco Malfoy who made fun of me for six straight years of my life as well. I wouldn't exactly say that people change, but I will say that circumstances do."

Draco smirked at her teasing.

"You may have a point."

"I always have a point."

The two sat in silence for awhile, letting the cool breeze from the open balcony doors sweep into the room and relax them.

"You said earlier that I ignored you all night." Hermione said as she looked down, picking at a loose thread on the bed spread.

"Because you did."

"Yes." Hermione said unable to meet the gaze that she knew Draco was sending her. "I saw you with Astoria Greengrass."

"Oh, that." Draco said, sounding a bit ashamed.

Hermione looked up at him and he stared back at her from the side of the bed.

"Yes, that." Hermione said simply. "I talked to Pansy about it. I know about the whole…marriage thing…the whole inevitability of it all. I guess I'm just upset you never told me. I mean I know I'm probably just some girl to mess around with until you have to get married to her and all, but I think I deserved to know."

"Hermione…you're not just someone to mess around with! You aren't!" Draco said standing up at the incredulity of her words.

Hermione still did not look convinced. Draco paced the room, desperate for her to understand how he felt.

"Do you know how long I've watched you from a distance? Since the first time you stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. I've always admired your wit, bravery, and beauty. Always. You have no idea how upset I was when I found out you were a muggle born. I knew I was never to associate with mudblood's, there always has been a set path in my life, and you were never to cross it. When I found out you were a pureblood, that you were the Dark Lord's daughter…well, it was the first time I ever allowed myself to hope that I could get to know you, to just be around you, and to talk to you. I never even thought I'd be able to kiss you. This whole…marriage thing…it's required by your father's law. I have to go through with it under his orders. But does that mean you are just some fling in the meantime? Of course not! Hermione I feel very, very strongly about you. I always have. It's important that you know that."

Hermione could not believe what she was hearing. Was it possible that Draco Malfoy felt the same way about her that she felt about him? The longing from a distance, the hatred at the inevitability that they could never be together, coming from different worlds. Now they were in the same world. They were in a new life together. A dark life. Hermione could not express how happy his words made her, she could only smile and hold out her hand toward him.

He took it and he sat on the bed across from her, their hands intertwined.

"I'm very happy with you Draco." She said finally, blushing slightly. "This entire new life is…confusing…but I'm happy I get to share it with you."

"I am too." Draco said smiling at her.

"Let's take it slow though, okay?" Hermione said taking a deep breath. "I have a lot of things to figure out, and until I do, you're still the enemy and so am I."

Draco nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.

"I don't love her. I don't even like her, you know." Draco said sincerely, referring to Astoria.

"I know. Pansy told me. I get it. But if we're going to do this…no more touching her until your twenty fifth birthday okay? Or until I make some sort of decision about all of this. I can't handle seeing you with her."

"Of course. I'll let Astoria know that our game is over. I promise."

"Good." Hermione smiled at him and turned his hand over in hers, examining his palm.

"You should get some sleep." Draco said finally. "You've been through a lot today."

"I supposed I have. Can we do something fun tomorrow?"

"Like what?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, maybe you could surprise me."

Draco laughed at this.

"Okay, that sounds good." He said, as he watched her pull back the sheets of her bed and throw herself inside. She turned her back to him as she lay down.

"Goodnight Draco." She mumbled from the bed.

"Goodnight Hermione." Draco said as he walked over to the bed and kissed the top of her head.

Hermione turned in bed to face him, but he was already out the door. She was left alone to bask in the happiness that Draco brought her.