Once upon a Hogwarts-Chapter Twelve
By Lily in a Pond
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this chapter, except for the plot, which is mine. MINE! MINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
A/N-Thanks to my 100th reviewer, amythestpony! I sent you an email about this….also, Iedited this chapter a bit on 12/29/06. Just corrected a few errors, and added in the Draco/Daphne breakup and carrot scene.
0o0
Flashback of last chapter…
"It seems like everybody from our year and some below us are plotting to get people together."
"Who could it be?" Malfoy looked at Hermione, and she looked at him. "Who?"
Hermione and Malfoy gasped simultaneously, each face mirroring the other in sheer horror.
End Flashback…
"OHMIGOD!"
"I can't believe they're doing this to us!" Hermione shrieked.
"I know, why does it have to happen to me?" Malfoy wailed. "Good people don't deserve this!"
"WHY, WHY, WHY!" they cried together in unison.
"Those no-good, scumbags who – "
"They actually had the nerve to – " Malfoy interrupted Hermione.
" – Want to get us together!" shouted Hermione at the same time as Malfoy bellowed, " – Pour ice cream down my trousers!" (A/N-Thanks, apruhl GEE!)
Then they looked at each other. "WHAT?"
Hermione was infuriated and very, very impatient. Screw all that patience is a virtue crap talk, she wanted Malfoy to realize that their friends are getting them together, not that ice cream was down his trousers!
"Malfoy, I'm going to give you two more minutes to figure this out," snarled Hermione dangerously.
Malfoy snorted. "I'm not afraid of you." Then he suddenly shrieked rather girlishly as a wand jabbed his cheek. "Okay, now I am."
"Good. Be afraid, Malfoy. Be very afraid."
Malfoy gulped and furiously tried to work out what she was getting at in his head. This is all so confusing! he thought. I want lunch!
Then a thought from the romance section of his brain came to mind.
"OH!"
Hermione eyed him warily. "Please don't tell me ice cream just went down your trousers again."
"No, I figured out what the others are trying to do to us. They're trying to make us fall in love!"
"Exactly," said Hermione. "There might still be hope for you."
"Anyways," Malfoy pointedly cut in. "What are we going to do? We can't just stand around and pretend like nothing's happening."
Hermione suddenly grinned sinisterly. "Actually, we can. I've got an idea."
0o0
Harry and Ron were shoving as much food as they could down their throats when Ginny turned up.
"Sorry guys, Flitwick let us out late," she said, plopping down next to Harry. Harry and Ron acknowledged her presence with a nod. "Why are you covered with food? And where's Hermione?"
"Part of Zabini and Mandy's party thing and I think she's still stuck in the Transfiguration with Malfoy," said Ron, after swallowing hugely. Ginny looked impressed and gave them two thumbs up.
"She should be out by now. Lunch has already been going on for – " Harry checked his watch (he had finally replaced the old one he had in his fourth year) – "seven minutes, forty-three seconds."
"Thanks Harry, I really needed to know the exact time," said Ginny sarcastically. "So, where is she?"
As if on cue, Hermione walked through the doors, with Malfoy by her side.
"Hi," she said, dropping down into a seat across from Harry. "What are you all staring at? I cleaned off my robes."
"Why did you walk through the doors with Malfoy?" Ron asked, eyes narrowing.
"Well," Hermione leaned in confidentially. "We've been going out for a few weeks now, and I was about to make the announcement."
The three drew back immediately. "WHAT?"
Everyone in the Great Hall turned to them.
"Why are you going out with Malfoy?" Ron practically shouted, jumping up.
"Why would you make that decision?" Ginny shrieked, leaping to her feet also.
"You're even going public about this?" Harry yelled.
The students and some of the staff dropped their jaws.
Professor Jocular said it the best. "What the hell?"
Hermione looked surprised. "Since all you guys don't know, MALFOY AND I ARE GOING OUT!" she yelled.
Malfoy stood up. "That's right! She's the one that I love! The one that I wanna snog with! The one I shagged in the library after – "
"Draco!" Daphne Greengrass shrieked. "We need to talk!"
Pansy Parkinson snickered. "He doesn't need to talk to you to know that he'll like a Crumpled-horned Snorkak more than you, you little slut-faced ho-bag."
"Ooh!" The Great Hall chorused. Blaise Zabini could be heard saying, "Get that little bitch, Pansy!"
"Miss Parkinson, that is some incredibly profane language! Twenty points from Slytherin!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed.
As Daphne practically yanked Malfoy out of the Great Hall, the rest of the students broke out into whispers.
Over at the Ravenclaw table, Mandy Brocklehurst was looking extremely irate.
"Blaise!" she whispered over her shoulder to the Slytherin, who was laughing his head off at something Pansy had said.
Blaise turned around. "What?"
"The attention is off us now! Nobody seems to care that we've just a signed peace treaty or the fact that we were going to have a fireworks show at lunch."
"Bloody hell, you're right! What are we going to do?"
"I don't know." Mandy bit her lip.
"Oh! I've got it!" Blaise exclaimed. He jumped on top of the Slytherin table. "Just follow along to what I'm doing," he whispered to Mandy.
"Incendio!" he shouted, pointing his wand at Mandy's hair, which promptly burst into flames.
Mandy screamed and started digging furiously in her bag for her wand. Padma Patil, who was next to her, rolled her eyes and instead dumped her glass of orange juice on Mandy's head.
"Thanks a lot, Padma," Mandy hissed darkly, orange juice now dripping from her robes.
"Oppugno!" she hissed, causing several goblets to pummel Blaise.
"Incarcerous!"
Mandy quickly cast a Shield Charm nonverbally to block the spell and flicked her wand. "Tarantallegra!"
"Aguamenti!" A jet of water shot from Blaise's wand and headed straight for Mandy as he barely dodged her hex. Mandy ducked again and gritted her teeth. So you want to play difficult, eh? she thought. I guess it's time to let out the advanced curses.
"Imitari!" The shape of Mandy Brocklehurst immediately split in two halves, each perfectly identical to the other. It was, as the spell dictated, a mirror image of the caster.
You want to play dirty, then? Blaise thought. "I'll show you what playing dirty truly is.
"Specialis Revelio!" The real Mandy was immediately found. "Petrifi – " He was rudely interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"I let you two go this morning, but I will not let this time around!" shouted Professor McGonnaBlowAFuse. "Twenty points from Slytherin and Ravenclaw. You two, come with me!"
Mandy made a face behind her back, but Blaise made a rather rude hand gesture at McGonagall.
"I saw that, Mr. Zabini," said McGonagall, turning around. "Five points from Slytherin."
0o0
Theo was huddled in a corner of the library with Morag, talking in whispers.
"What are we going to do?" he hissed frantically. "I think they found out about our plan!"
"I don't know," Morag whispered. "It's not fair. The most cool-headed and cunning people in the school are with McGonagall right now."
"How 'bout we just pretend nothing's happened?"
"Elaborate please."
"Well, I think that Draco and Hermione don't know that we know that they know about our plan."
Morag rolled his eyes. "If you want someone to figure out your stupid twisters, go ask Parvati Patil. She can figure them out faster than me racing out of the library at top speed." He bolted out of Theo's sight.
Theo sighed. "Coward," he muttered. The he spotted Parvati reading a magazine in one of the chairs. "Oh Parvati!"
Parvati looked up. "Yeah?"
"I need to talk to you," said Theo seriously. "It's about Draco and Hermione."
"Ooh, I love talking about them, they are, like, the most cutest couple ever!" she squealed as she sat up in her chair and smoothed her hair. "I mean, they are just so meant to be together. It's like, totally fate!"
Theo pulled away. "On second thought, I have to go. There's a very interesting book in my dormitory that is just calling for me."
"Bye, Theo!" Parvati called out gaily.
"Quiet!" Madam Pince shrieked in Parvati's ear. It seemed that anyone associating with Theodore Nott these days was immediately on her bad list.
Parvati stood up to her full height, which was a very impressive move since she was quite tall, and looked down at the librarian. "Well, since you just shouted at me, I'm going to have to ask you to be quiet, Madam Pince."
Then she strode out of the library to tumultuous applause from the students around her.
0o0
"Draco..." Daphne started dangerously. "What's all this I hear about you going out with Granger?"
Malfoy shrugged and plastered an innocent expression on his face. "It's true. I really love, I really do."
Daphne stared at him for a very long time. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Malfoy said firmly, trying to keep the bile down. Strangely enough, there wasn't any this time.
Daphne shook her head. "Wrong answer," she muttered, pulling out her wand.
Malfoy jumped up. "Oh! Before you hex me or anything, could you taste this carrot?" He held out the carrot. Daphne raised her eyebrows.
"Sure...why not?" Daphne closed her eyes and chewed thoughtfully. "Apple. Yes, definitely crabapple."
Malfoy let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Thanks, Daph. You've made my day a great one."
As he left the room, Daphne's eyes narrowed. "Look out, Granger. You're going to be in a quite a pickle this time next month!" she cackled manically.
OoO
Hermione and Malfoy were back in the Transfiguration classroom, except this time, they were in of their own free will.
"So………thanks for helping me with that……thing, Malfoy," Hermione said quietly after a bit of awkward silence.
"You're welcome, Granger. Besides, it was a win/win situation. You got a better dating reputation, I got an excuse to dump Daphne, and we both got some really good laughs."
Hermione smiled, the dim light of the waning moon illuminating her face. "Why'd you want to break up with her, Malfoy?"
Malfoy looked out of the window and smiled sadly. "I guess…….well, it just wasn't working out the way I thought it was supposed to." He shook his head, smirking slightly. "I don't even know why I'm telling this to you. Just look at the two of us. We've hated each other for years, and now, I'm telling you this. I have no idea what's come over me."
"Maybe you've just started changing for the better," Hermione suggested.
Malfoy shook his head again. "I lost that chance years ago."
Hermione swallowed hard. "Well, maybe someone's giving you a second chance."
Malfoy turned his head in her direction. "That would be a miracle. I think I've made too many mistakes in the past, and chosen the wrong paths, and now, I guess I'm paying for them."
Hermione looked into his eyes. "Malfoy, you have to learn that sometimes miracles can happen. People can change. And – " Hermione bit her tongue, choosing her words carefully – "And you can always look inside of you and make the right decision."
Hermione took a deep breath before continuing. "I know that in the past, you've made mistakes, done the easy thing instead of the right thing. But you can't live in the past forever. What's done is done."
Malfoy looked up. "...You're right, Granger. Some things should just stay in the past. Things that I don't ever want to relive again." He looked up and smiled, a tiny, but true smile. "Thanks, Granger. I think you've just helped me accomplish something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Fight myself."
Hermione smiled back at him. "Well, I'm glad you won the fight. And I'm glad that you've been willing to listen to a Gryffindor Muggleborn for ten minutes, especially when that Gryffindor Muggleborn is called Hermione Granger."
"Where else could I go? All my friends are out snogging or studying."
Hermione stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go. Ginny and I were supposed to chuck rocks at the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team from the Astronomy Tower at eight." She checked her watch. "And now, it's eight-fifteen."
"Hey, you know what? I'm going to go with you," Malfoy said suddenly, surprising both himself and Hermione. "I've got nothing better to do, anyways."
"Uh, it'll be a pleasure to throw rocks down with you, then," Hermione said slowly.
"This is going to be such an fun night!" Malfoy exclaimed. "I get to hurt people and annoy the hell out of you and the Weaslette!"
"I wouldn't push Ginny too far across the line," commented Hermione, smiling slightly, as they climbed up a flight of stairs. "Have you ever seen her mother get angry?"
"Yeah, she made my father actually cower a bit in Diagon Alley once," Malfoy admitted, cracking a smile. "That was probably the funniest day of my life."
"I cannot imagine Lucius Malfoy cowering at all," said Hermione, hopping up the last flight of the stairs to the Astronomy Tower.
"Yeah? Put a disgruntled Molly Weasley there, and he will."
"Okay, here we are, Malfoy," announced Hermione with her hand on the doorknob. "A few ground rules though."
"One, you must always try to aim for Michael Corner. Two, if by any chance you see Luna Lovegood, you should yell, 'Wrampurt sighting!'. And three, do NOT attempt to hit me or Ginny with the flying objects. Or we will kill you."
"What if I kill you guys with the flying objects first?" said Malfoy cheekily, grinning. He and Hermione had now assumed the 'teenage flirting' position, which consisted of the boy leaning against the wall, arms folded or with one hand on the wall and the other on his hip, and the girl, placing her weight onto one leg and twirling her hair, thus flirting in the teenage fashion.
Of course, since they were teenagers, those positions were perfectly acceptable. But if you ever saw an adult, well, let's just say that what happened on August 14, 1997 was sure going to Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks' graves.
"Well, then, Ginny and I will tell Lavender or Parvati that you're gay on the way to death. Then you'll be completely ruined," giggled Hermione.
BOOM. The door to the Astronomy Tower flew open and revealed a very angry Ginny Weasley.
"Were you just wasting all this time by standing here and flirting with Malfoy, Hermione?" she screeched. "Michael Corner has already flown by five times, and without you covering his left, the rocks I threw missed him!"
"Well, I – uh – " Hermione stammered as Ginny grabbed her and Malfoy's arms and started dragging them inside. "
"No time for excuses! Hermione, you cover Corner's left. Malfoy, you cover his forward."
Hermione smiled in the dim light at Ginny's raving, slightly maniacal speech and she noticed that Malfoy was smiling back…………….smiling at her………..
"Oh for heaven's sakes, if you two want to kiss, then kiss already!" Ginny grabbed their heads and pushed them together. "Kiss kiss kiss!"
0o0
A/N-The romance is getting hotter! Kissy kiss, Hermione and Draco!
The answers to your reviews……..
Christina A. Malfoy – I do love Blaise/Mandy………..they are such great characters to work with, I feel like writing a fanfiction about them!
Dom-Basher CHAMPION – That was definitely one of the major twists in my plot. By the way, I forgot to tell you this last time, but I like your username. It's got a nice ring to it.
StarArrow – At least one of them is…………hmm…this makes me wonder. If Draco Malfoy would get so worked up about the thought of dying, how would he react if he was truly dying?
HPFanatic-Andie – I'm glad I'm your source of life, ahead of food and oxygen………..
apruhl GEE – I hope you didn't mind when I used your idea in this chapter. It was too funny to resist!
White-Pink-Fluffy-Strawberriez – I have the poem skill of a second grader. No denying that.
pinkicing101 – Yes, well, Draco is a bit slow in the mind when it comes to logic. He's a sad, sad, little boy.
Love Hope Joy – When are you updating your story? I don't believe for a moment that you have writer's block, writing Humor in fanfiction is so funny and easy!
Additional thanks to Anticlownperson, Setsuna-chan09, dragoneyes5000, amythestpony, DA4life, Krayola Krayon (luv your name!), syuusuke-kunimitsu117229, me, and iMnOtReAlLYcRaZy!
Love ya,
-Lily in a Pond