Something to Write Home About
Chapter 20

Matches9524

A/N: Yes. It's me. I'm back. I've figured out that I go through intermitted spats of uber-nerdiness when I come back to this site and read and write these fics. This is one of those phases. It's April 27, 2007, by the way. I've been reediting some of the earlier chapters, but I figured I could add another one while working on it. Oh, listening to The Tossers is very inspirational, since I'm American, and they're, well, not. Brit pickers welcome!

Hermione waltzed up to the Gryffindor common room that night, after spending several helpful hours in the library. She opened the portrait hole, and was immediately mauled by something mauled by ginger hair. She looked up, and saw Ron, his arms pinning her arms to her side, while Harry had his wand concentrated at her heart. Ginny relieved her of the wand sticking out her the pocket of her robes. The rest of the common room was watching them with unmasked fear. Everyone had known throughout their years at this school that a falling out in this group could be disastrous.

Ron shepherded Hermione into a stiff armchair, then cast magical bounds about her, so he wouldn't have to hold her arms. He stood in front of her, next to Harry and his sister, all pointing their wands at her. She stared at them, and they stared back. She waited for them to begin.

"Everyone, go to the library or up to your dorms. Go study or something. I want this room cleared within twenty seconds. Is that clear? Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…" Feet shuffled, bags were picked up, candles were blown out, and drinks were chugged quickly. Before Harry had gotten to five, there wasn't a soul but their four there. "That's better. Hermione," he finally addressed her, "we need to talk. Again." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Act as immature as you like, Herms; you've gotten out of control, since you've been friends with Malfoy. You've hurt Susan Bones and Dennis Creevey, and you've scared the living hell out of the rest of the school. You were gone for two days, and the day you return, we find out you're engaged to Malfoy by reading it in The Daily Prophet. We're your best friends, and you couldn't tell us that you're going to marry our enemy."

"Maybe this is why I didn't tell you. Did you think of that, Golden Boy? I'm sick of your antics, all three of you. To talk to me, you have to bind me to a chair? What happened, when you lost the faith that I wouldn't talk to you? Yeah, I lost my temper in the Room of Requirement, that's understandable. And I already apologized for that, didn't I? Wait, strike that. I didn't. But whatever. But Harry, don't call me the immature one, when we're having a discussion when I'm being held in this way. I'm frankly. I'm through. If you don't let me up within ten seconds, I will call Draco, and he will come up and fix it, with more people, if necessary." Hermione was growling. How dare they, tie her up in this manner! She was Hermione Granger! The Devil's Daughter!

"How are you going to get him up here, Herms?" Ron asked quietly. "There's a silencing charm on the common room, you know that. Even if you yelled until you ripped your throat out, he would hear you even if he had his ear pressed up against the Fat Lady." Ginny nodded, her scowl only deepening as she though of Malfoy being outside of their common room.

"Ron, love, there is more than one way of communicating with someone; surely you'd know that, of all people." She cocked an eyebrow. Surely he hadn't forgotten Dumbledore's Army already?

"Search her," was the only response she got. The jewelry was taken off her, and her pockets were emptied. Her platinum hair pin, she had it received one year from a wealthy aunt, was removed, and they were all placed on a small table. Now, they thought, there was no way she could press a charmed object and call him to her. If only, if only, she mused. She looked at them, one at a time. Ginny, she noticed, caught her eye, and then looked down quickly. The weakling. She could definitely use this to her advantage.

"Ginevra. Look at me. Why are we fighting? We're still friends, right?" Hermione's voice took on a soft, overly-feminine quality. She looked up at her female captive with big brown Bambi eyes, blinking gently. "I'll admit. I was having a tough bout with my PMS that day. Come on. You've gone through it; you know what I'm talking about."

"Don't go there Hermione. I knew you would pick me. I knew it. Don't count on me to be the one that frees you, because if it's anyone, it'll end up being Malfoy, not one of us. You are not going anywhere. I'm not going to forgive you, especially after what you did to Susan and Dennis. And don't forget Christian. I know what you did to him too."

"Enough. We're finished here." Hermione stood up, silently and wandlessly casting the countercharm for the Binding Charm. The bonds fell away from her, and her captives gasped, stepping back. She repeated, "We're finished here." She pointed at them, heading towards the portrait hole, and said "If you follow me, I will hex you. Do not speak to me, unless I speak to you first. Do not initiate conversation with Draco either. Harry, to you especially, you stay away from me, or you, too, will find yourself on the wrong end of a prophecy, and the Wizarding World won't like that, now will they?" With a flourish of her robes, she opened the portrait hole, and went to the room of requirement, where she knew she could find peace.

Meanwhile, back in the Gryffindor common room, the new Golden Trio stared at each other. What had their former friend mentioned about a prophecy? To their knowledge, there were no prophecies associated with Hermione, besides the one involving Harry and Lord Voldemort. Where had this come from?

In the Room of Requirement, Hermione laid down on a bad, wearing a set of flannel pajamas, comforts from home. Lately she'd been feeling uncomfortable in her own skin, and these pajamas had seen her through so many ups and downs that she knew they couldn't fail her now. As she listened to the fire crackle in the hearth and the rain pattering on her open window sill, and the thunder rolling in the forest, she thought of how life would have been like in the future for her, before she had found out her association with a certain Draco Malfoy. She had imagined working in Muggle relations, or perhaps becoming an Auror. In either one, she would have been proud of what she would have been doing, but now, with her prospects looming in the near future, she wasn't so sure. She had never before considering laying death and destruction across the country like a mantle. She definitely had not thought anything about her fiancée. So why had she fallen so easily into the role she was playing? Well, to be honest, she wasn't. Although she hadn't portrayed it to the world, she felt so guilty about Susan and Dennis that it literally made her nauseous. She hadn't eaten since the incident in the Great Hall, and she couldn't foresee a meal anytime soon. She ruminated on these thoughts as she tossed and turned in the big bed, both relishing and casting off the intense feeling of power. The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake, and she looked into Lavender Brown's light eyes.

"What do you want?" she mumbled, her head still fogged with sleep. She couldn't remember why Lavender was here.

"Well, I did what you asked." She shuddered. "Please don't make me do it again, it was horrendous." Hermione smiled, suddenly recalling that she had sent Lavender on a mission to investigate Neville. Lavender shuddered once again at the memory. "He didn't have it. I looked everywhere. Between his toes, on his scalp, in his- never mind. He didn't have it." Hermione looked thoughtful, not saying anything, staring at the fire. "What do we do now?"

"Thanks Lavender. You got me what I needed. Now I'll just have to owl an old friend of mine. Could you be an absolute doll and find Draco for me? I need to speak with him." Hermione got out of the bed as she spoke, and took off her pajamas, oblivious to Lavender's jealous eyes that raked her completely naked body. Rummaging through a chest of drawers that surely had not been there when Lavender walked in, Hermione found a cute pair of bright blue sweatpants that stopped mid calf and a white lacey cami. "Just tell him that I'm in here, and he needs to bring the list with him. He'll know what you're talking about."

"Alright. I can do that? Will he be in the Slytherin common room?" Hermione nodded, and wiped down her tired face with a damp wash rag, effectively waking herself up. The cold water trickled down her neck, making her shiver, and for goose pimples to pop up all over her body.

Hermione noticed, as she turned towards Lavender, that jealousy wasn't the only thing in the girl's eyes. This surprised Hermione, but it didn't stop her. She sauntered up to Lavender slowly, her breasts jiggling slightly without the support of a bra, and she whispered into the girl's ear, nibbling lightly as she did so, "Go now, and I can make it worth your while." Lavender nodded, but didn't move an inch. Hermione grazed her soft lips against the girl's, and then stepped away. "Alright. Go now," she commanded, and the girl practically tripped over herself trying to get out of the room, so she could come back and get more of what she wanted. Hermione contemplated for a second. She had never had an encounter with a female before, but it really wasn't that bad. If she could use her body to her advantage this way, then she could have great power over both the men and the women.

She sat on the cushion in the bay window, staring out into the rainstorm, waiting for her two companions to return. She saw a few owls struggle through the heavy wind, their letters no doubt getting soaked. Smoke was coming out of the chimney of Hagrid's cottage, but the lights were out, so the man must have been asleep. She looked at the mountains, the low clouds covering their peaks, the humid air coming over the lake and towards the school. Hermione turned around when she heard the door latch click; Lavender had just arrived, with a frazzled looking Malfoy in tow.

Hermione stood up, and went to Lavender. "Thanks," she whispered flirtatiously. She saw the girl melt, just as she had predicted, and she kissed her on the mouth. Not just a peck this time. Hermione's tongue darted into the girl's mouth, licking all around, teasing, and then she pulled back. "You're a great help. Thanks. You can go off to the common room and go to bed now. Good night." Lavender looked disappointed, but did as she was told, taking one glance back, as she pulled the door closed behind her. Hermione looked at Malfoy, who was smirking.

"Well, well, well. What exactly has transpired since I left?"

"Eh, she wanted it. It's no big deal. It wasn't too bad actually, but, I don't think I'll make it a habit."

"If you want to make it a habit, you go right on ahead, love. It doesn't bother me." He looked at her with the same look that Lavender had given her only moments before. He stepped forward, and put a hand on her hip.

"I'm sure it doesn't." She smirked at him. "Um, Lavender just told me some disturbing news." Draco looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "She went to Neville-" she stopped, as Draco nodded. "You know? How do you already know?"

"Lavender told me on the way here." Hermione looked relieved. "I need to ask you something. Would you mind terribly if I sent a letter to Viktor, asking him if he'd like to share a hotel room with me for a night? I need to know if it is him. If it bothers you too much, I won't do it."

"Only if I can watch." He smirked at her, his gray eyes twinkling.

It's a bit different from my usual style, so it may not flow with the rest of the fic, but I'm going to work on that and fix the rest of it. I'm quite satisfied with this chapter though. Let me know what you think. 3