"Gr…ann…ger? Granger?" A low feminine voice, followed by a soft caress along the bridge of her nose, woke up Hermione. Through sleepy eyed confusion, she was able to register a set of violet eyes staring straight back into hers. She didn't know anyone with that eye color did she? Hermione closed her eye again, counted to thirty, then opened them to focus . The oval face, pale skin and high cheek bones seemed vaguely familiar.
Did she know this girl?
"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" Hermione asked the stranger who had woken her.
The girl laughed. It was high, whimsical, and grated on every one of Hermione's nerves. "Come on Granger, up! You and I need to have a little chat while Draco is away." The girl explained, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder and getting up from the bed.
Hermione sat up and watched the girl as she moved away, hips swaying seductively, though there was a distinct bounce in this stranger's step. The dark haired girl opened the wardrobe, her elegant fingers tracing each piece of fabric before she turned once more to look at Hermione.
"Narcissa always did have good taste. No wonder you're so sour;Hermione Granger loathes wizards' robes. She prefers muggle attire. It's a good thing I brought a peace offering." The girl giggled. Hermione clenched her teeth, letting the sound wash over her. Everything the face, the way the girl moved and her laugh pieced themselves together in Hermione's mind, conjuring up horrid memories of this very person from Hogwarts.
"Parkinson, get out!" Hermione ordered.
Pansy couldn't help but laugh again. "Don't think I will, Granger. You and I need to have a heart to heart." she explained, the teasing undertone not lost on Hermione.
"Who, even let you in? I know Draco wouldn't want you here." Hermione asked, truly pissed off.
Pansy shrugged daintily, picking a shopping bag up off the floor and tossing it onto the bed. "Narcissa. Oh how I love that woman. No, Drakie doesn't know I'm here, but he did write to me and tell me you were here." Pansy told Hermione, climbing back on to the bed and pulling the shopping bag to her.
"That doesn't explain what you're doing in my room, on my bed." Hermione replied clearly annoyed.
Pansy sighed heavily, " He didn't tell me I couldn't come. Besides, Narcissa Malfoy is a regular correspondent of mine, and according to her, you two 'love birds' need my help."
"Oh, by 'love birds', you mean one of us is being kept in a cage, unable to correspond with her friends, while the other is allow to do whatever the hell he pleases?" Hermione asked bitterly.
Pansy's eyes darkened, the smile on her face replaced with a cold sneer. "Let me make one thing clear to you, Hermione, you don't know what the hell you're talking about. I understand you hate me, I understand you hate him. But you need to know all the facts before you decide to get all pissy with me. I'm here to help you get past some of this pent up anger. Just remember, nothing is as it seems. He loves you. That is the true bitter taste in this whole situation."
"So you're jealous." Hermione stated.
"I was jealous. I got past it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you ruin him. Draco is my best friend, and I won't let you kill him. Now, I came here with good intentions. I even brought you a little present." Pansy pulled out a pair of dark washed denim jeans. Hermione's jaw dropped.
"Where did you get those?" They were just like the pair Narcissa had throw out.
"From Bergdorf, but if you want to continue being snotty with me, when all I want is to talk, then…" Pansy folded the muggle garment, placing it back in the bag.
Hermione knew for sure she had lost her mind when, for a fleeting moment, she almost decided to let Pansy have her say just for a pair of jeans.
Pansy was watching Hermione's face; she saw the emotions play out, knowing that ultimately, the girl's Gryffindor integrity would not allow her to fall for the bribe. Still Pansy was undeterred, she would simply have to play from a different angle.
"No, that wouldn't do now, would it? These, after all, are far too small for me, and I loath muggle clothes just as much as you despise wizards'. I really don't intend backing down. You need to know a few facts about the man you're trying to murder, so I say we make a compromise. You take these vulgar pants off my hands, let me have my chat, and I will get you visitation with your little Weasley girlfriend." The deal was far too good to pass up. Pansy watched as Hermione thought out the bargain. Really, the curly haired brunette was getting the better end of the deal, at least from Hermione's own view point.
"How can you promise something like that, Draco said…" Pansy couldn't help but interrupt, knowing the deal was almost sealed. "Don't you worry about him. I will handle the particulars, but I don't make promises that I can't keep. I realize I'm a Slytherin and have been awful to you, but I will make it possible for you to see and talk to Ginny Weasley within the next, lets say, two months. Provided you take these horrid garments off my hands and listen to all I have to say."
Hermione knew she was being played and manipulated, but to have Ginny, even for a few minutes…. It was more than enough. Not that Hermione trusted Pansy, but she had no reason not to at least listen to the Slytherin girl. Besides, what if Pansy could persuade Draco let her see Ginny, that was enough glimmer of hope for Hermione to take the bait.
"Fine." Hermione bit out.
Pansy's bright smile returned to her lips,. "Good, now get dressed, we have a lot to discuss before Draco gets back, and we really do need to be on our way. I don't know when to expect him." Pansy jumped off the bed and went to stand by the door.
"Couldn't you just tell me here?" Hermione asked.
Pansy shook her head., "No silly, we have to do some breaking and entering before we can have our little chat. Don't worry, with your and your boys' adventures, a little breaking and entering should be right up your ally." Pansy replied brightly.
Hermione looked horrified. "But I…"
"Ginny Weasley!" Pansy interrupted, causing Hermione to kick it in to full gear. Getting up and getting dressed, to find out exactly what could be so important that Pansy Parkinson was making one sided deals with Hermione Granger.
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Harry could smell bacon. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had actually used his kitchen to cook, and was immediately suspicious.
Wrapping a fresh towel, that certainly wasn't there when he entered the shower, around his waist Harry walked out of the was when two immediate thoughts came to him. One, someone had cleaned his house, and two, whoever it was would die a painful and drawn out death.
How many times did he have to tell Kreacher and Ron to leave things alone. He didn't want anyone messing with things. He had a system and after the Ginny fiasco, spilling coffee on important transcripts, and papers ending up in the wash, Harry was not willing to take any more chances. He had ordered all the house work to be done at his discretion, just for safe measure.
Clenching his fists in anger, Harry walked down the hall and into the master bedroom that he currently resided in. A quick survey of a made bed and empty hamper was followed by a stream of profanity, Harry pulled on a fresh pair of cotton pants and a cleanly pressed tee quickly, getting dressed before he stalked out of the room to find the culprit behind these unwelcome changes.
The slapping of bare feet on wooden floors from an angry man echoed through the house as Harry burst into his kitchen, "Who the hell cleaned?" Harry bellowed, looking around the room.
Ron and Neville sat at the table, eating, while Luna stood at the stove frying a fresh batch of bacon.
"That would be me, Harry." Luna answered in her dreamy voice. Harry looked like he was about to blow. Neville stood up, pulling his napkin from the collar of his shirt, "Harry, she didn't mean any harm, really…" but he was cut off with one look of pure fury from Harry.
"This is my house, you will not touch my things. Where are the folders I had set out on this table? They had important papers regarding Hermione. Where are they?!" Harry was now in a full fit, causing Ron's eyes to widen and his jaw to slack in amazement over the outburst. Neville paled two shades and let out an abrupt and nonsensical stream of muttering.
Luna, however, seemed unfazed and unimpressed by Harry's tantrum. "I put them away. You need to eat. And stop scaring your friends, Harry." The calming tone and no-nonsense attitude of the small blonde made Harry stutter in surprise; who the hell did she think she was to order him around in his home?
Luna sat a plate on the table, motioning for Harry to take a seat. He refused continuing to stand defiantly at the door, arms crossed in front of his body, as his eyes locked with those of the blonde Ravenclaw. After a few minutes of an intense stare down, Harry walked over to Luna, towering over the petite girl in an attempt to intimidate her.
Luna simply looked at him with serene patience, like he were the crazy one.
"Listen Lovegood. I have a system. I've already kicked out one snotty little bitch for messing with my stuff, don't think for a minute I won't do the same to you." Harry threatened.
Luna smiled. "I have something I wanted to show you." She told him, calmly taking his hand and leading him out toward the dinning room.
Harry thought for sure the girl had finally lost it.
That was until she opened the sliding wooden doors, revealing a well organized and extremely detailed wall, posted and dedicated to their task of finding his best friend. The wall, however, was only the cherry on top. Several filling cabinets and desks lined the walls. Everything had been conformed to house the perfect facility for their search for Hermione.
Harry was speechless, now feeling very foolish.
"See. You really did needed some help. I wish you would have let me in sooner. I found two leads and a possible warrant for another search of Malfoy Manor. You really went about all this quite well, but your organization and cross references where left wanting. So I fixed it. If you want, I can put it all back the way you had it, but efficiency seems so much more important right now then your pride. I cleaned the house to make it more inhabitable for the rest of us since we'll be spending most our time here doing research. I had thought that perhaps a nice breakfast would be a good start to the day, but if you prefer to start now, that's fine." Luna looked expectantly at Harry for a moment before turning to leave him to his thoughts.
Harry spent the rest of the morning going through the leads Luna had found. He was impressed with her detailed analysis and aptitude for difficult problem-solving. There were, like Luna had pointed out, several possibilities to finding the evidence they needed to find Hermione.
Draco and his father had returned to work, finally, after three months. Both having claimed they thought it best if they kept a low profile after such nasty dealings. Harry and Ron however, had the intent of visiting Draco at work, just as soon as the possibility presented itself.
It took a good full week for Harry to apologized not only to Luna, but to Ron and Neville as well. They all forgave him quickly enough. But while Ron and Neville continued to watch what they said and did around him, Harry observed that Luna had never tried to handle him with kid gloves. She walked around, treating his house the way she would her own.
Kreatcher never intentionally ignored or went against Harry's wishes, but Luna now had the house elf's unwavering loyalty.
What bothered Harry the most was that he, himself really didn't seem to mind.
Luna never got mad, she never took things to heart, dismissing Harry and his fits just as easily as she was able to calm him down when he did snap. Her cool and aloof attitude only evaporated when she threw herself into the task of research for ways to find Hermione. Harry found no matter what the odd woman did to his house, he would never be able to hold it against her, not when it was so apparent that she loved Hermione just as fiercely as he did, and that like himself and Ron, she believed with every fiber of her being that Draco Malfoy had her.
"It's been a long time coming you know." Luna had spoke out of nowhere, during of one of the team's late night sessions.
"What are you talking about, Luna?" Ron asked, rubbing his eyes, clearly tired and ready to go home.
"Malfoy and Hermione. Looking back, it seems almost fated." She pointed out, looking to Harry.
Harry's eyes darkened at the innocent blonde. "Hermione is not fated by that ferret."
Luna just smiled dreamily. "No, not like that. It's the way he has always looked at her. You know, like when they would fight in the hall. When she would take either of you in her arms, or kiss your cheeks. It was the only time he would slip."
"Slip? You can't be serious." Ron demanded.
Luna simply shrugged. "You've never noticed it. The way he watched her. The way he would go out of his way just to hit her with his bag, or argue with her in the halls. It all seemed rather odd at the time. But now it makes sense. I only wish I could have understood sooner." Luna stated, her big blue eyes yet to break contact with emerald green.
Harry took a deep breath, swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.
"I noticed. I knew. I've known since fourth year. He threw a hex at me and it hit Hermione instead. The look of pure horror on his face was enough for me to know. I, however, refused to believe it. To acknowledge such a thing to be possible. Who in their right mind would believe a Malfoy's infatuation with a muggle- born? I had deluded myself into thinking he was only messing with my head. That it would all go away after the war. If I had warned her, none of this would have happened. He would be dead, just like he deserves." Harry told them, shocking Ron and Neville. Luna simply smiled sweetly.
"No, he would have found a way. Malfoys are known for their insidious way of getting what they want. What I'm concerned about, however, is what happens when we do find her only to discover she doesn't want to be saved?" Luna asked seeming only mildly distracted over the possibility. "Well it is late. I'm off." Luna announced, standing and walking out into the hall, leaving the three Gryffindor men cringing in fear of such a preposterous possibility.
*Thanks Platey for the help...I think, my dear this will be the start of a beautiful friendship...