Once Upon a Hogwarts – Chapter Twenty-Five

By Lily in a Pond

Disclaimer: I'll own HP when pigs fly...oh, look at that, pigs in one of my previous chapters have flown! I now own HP!

OoOoOoO

Trickles of rain were starting to pour down the polished glass windows of Malfoy Manor. Inside the main living room, three blurry figures, two with red hair, and one with black, could be seen.

Harry took his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you think Hermione and Malfoy are doing right now?"

Ron glanced at him. "Well, I could think of many things they could doing…including themselves…ouch!" He rubbed his arm and frowned at Ginny. "You know, not every perverted thought demands punishment. You probably think the same things about Harry!"

Ginny flushed. "I am not answering that."

Ron rolled his eyes, and slumped down on the couch. "Really...you can't even convince a blind and deaf person with that answer."

"I'm bored," Ginny said abruptly, changing the subject.

"We all are," Harry and Ron answered in unison. A moment later, Ron's eyes spotted a marble chessboard on an intricately decorated table, and he immediately jumped up from the prone position he was in.

"Let's play chess!"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not playing; I've lost to you so many times, I can't even remember what winning feels like."

Ginny smirked and started setting up the pieces. "Well, since I can remember what winning feels like, I guess I'm playing you, Ronniekins. You better watch out, because not only am I going to kick your arse, I'm good."

"Are you gooder than me?" Ron challenged, not even bothering to correct his grammar.

"Oh, you bet I'm gooder than you! I am so much gooder than you, I'm the goodest!"

"Hermione would die hearing this," Harry murmured.

Ginny blushed. "I am the best, Ronald, and you are the second best! I shall triumph over you and give you the trouncing of your life!" Ginny cackled. Harry stared at her, and she cleared her throat. "So, you're going to be trounced, and by a girl who's younger than you!" she teased.

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Big talk. But can you walk the walk?"

Ginny opened her mouth, but Harry interrupted her. "Will you two give it a rest? I'm getting bored of listening to you insulting each other and doing your little "showdown" thing," Harry mimicked in a childish voice. "Get on with the game; I want to see some marble arse get pummeled!"

"Right on!" Ron cheered. "Prepare to die, Ginny!" he screamed as he very, very, very slowly put his hand on a pawn.

Ginny stared at him. "I'm white."

Ron slowly removed his hand from his black pawn. "...I knew that."

OoOoOoO

As Pansy and Mandy surveyed the expanse of the Lake, Mandy involuntarily shivered.

"I'm going to go up to the castle. This place is just too cold at night."

Pansy stared at her. "There are probably a million Death Eaters in that castle right now. You're going to risk your life for a stupid coat!?"

"No," Mandy said defensively. "…I'm going risk it for a cloak."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You are not going up there, Mandy Brocklehurst. If anyone's going to die today, it better be Voldemort."

Mandy sighed. "I'll just conjure up a fire, then…"

Pansy sucked in her cheeks and took a deep breath. "WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE DONE THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?" she screamed.

"Because it's fun to play with your mind," Mandy smirked. Pansy scowled.

"Har-har, it's so funny," she replied sarcastically.

"Come on, lighten up, Pansy."

"That's my point! I CAN'T LIGHTEN UP NOW!"

Mandy stared at Pansy. "I think you need to lighten up a lot."

Pansy sighed in frustration. "Why can't you take things seriously? You always have to stick a joke, or a funny insult somewhere. I don't know if it's in your character or something, but can't you just for one minute stop the humor and be serious! No wonder you get along so well with Blaise; you two are so busy making each other laugh, you don't even notice the people around you whispering and talking."

Mandy stood up and glowered at Pansy. "Insulting me is fine, Parkinson," she spat out, "but insulting Blaise is going over the line. Maybe if you stopped being a bitch, you would notice that everyone around you is sick of your dramatics!"

"If I'm a bitch, then you wouldn't mind me saying this about you: Mandy Brocklehurst, you are such a – "

" – Well, well, what's going here, hmm? A catfight? I must say, I'm not surprised it has come down to you and Miss Brocklehurst, Miss Parkinson," Snape sneered, immediately casting a gloomy, dark shadow over the girls.

"Stay out of this, Snape. It doesn't concern you," Mandy growled. "So what were you saying, Parkinson?"

Snape shook his head and sat down on a rock. "The very second I leave this wretched school, the students lose all respect for me…"

"We never had any respect for you!" Mandy and Pansy bellowed at the same time.

Snape twitched. "Am I to believe that none of my students had the tiniest smidgen of respect for me?"

Pansy and Mandy looked at each other. "Well……yes."

Snape half-smiled. "Well, speak of the devil…looks like you two just agreed on something…might I suggest reconciliation and counseling?"

Mandy's left arm gave a violent shudder. "I AM NOT A PSYCHO!" she yelled. "MAYBE THE (words omitted) NEXT TO ME IS, BUT I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT!"

Pansy pushed Mandy aside. "The psycho is the one who's yelling her head off!"

Snape massaged his temples. "This is the last time I try being a mediator."

Pansy glared at Mandy. "This is not over," she spat out before stalking off into the woods.

Mandy turned her back and glared at Snape. "Well? Anything you want to comment on?"

Snape shrugged. "I'm not interesting in the childish affairs of two little girls who are acting extremely immature and PMS-y."

"Funny, you seemed rather interested in it a few moments ago."

Snape looked at her. "When you lose a good friend, it is a greater defeat than one thousand battles lost." And with that, he stood up and walked towards the woods where Pansy was.

Mandy sat down on the rock Snape had recently vacated. "Well, I'm not going to apologize first…"

OoOoOoO

Even though Draco cuoldn't see her, he could practically feel the smile radiating off Hermione's face. "I'm your true love!" she shrieked.

Draco backed away until he was flat against the wall. "I…I…I…" he stammered.

"You love me!" Hermione crowed. "You love me, Draco Malfoy!"

Draco looked desperately around the room for an escape passage; however, it was no use because Hermione could be anywhere in the room. "Well…not exactly…"

"The magical carrot does not lie!" Hermione shrieked. "You love me!"

"Er…well, perhaps…"

Hermione pushed Draco up against the wall. "Stop it," she said forcefully, but confidently. "Stop going into denial. You know you love me."

A light bulb suddenly appeared above Draco's head. "And why do you care? Do you love me…?" he asked slyly. Oh, yeah! cheered Inner Draco. That's the way to turn a battle around!

Hermione's hold on Draco softened. "Well…I suppose I love you…like……a ferret," she smirked. Draco scowled. "Draco, I do love you," Hermione said seriously, placing his hand in hers. "I love you like a brother, I love you like a friend, I love you like a teammate, I love you as a person. I'll never stop loving you, whenever and wherever we are."

Draco allowed the corners of his mouth to twitch slightly up. "Well, I suppose there's no point for me to deny it after that crappy cheesefest."

Hermione immediately drew back. "Cheesefest? That came from the absolute depths of my heart!" she screamed, lunging at him.

Meanwhile…

Ron, Harry, and Ginny looked up from the chessboard, hearing the bloodcurdling scream. Dust flew over them as loud thumps came from the ceiling.

Ron blinked. "They're either lost in the throes of euphoric sex or having a huge, blown-out fight."

Ginny turned her attention back to her chess pieces. "I say it's the former," she commented, and Harry nodded.

OoOoOoO

Jenna Marie Rose sprinted up the staircase, plowed through the Charms corridor, ducked behind three tapestries, and ended up in front of the Defense classroom. She was about to kick open the door (courtesy of Muggle action movies), when the door opened and Professor de Vellofides stepped out, looking quite a bit surprised a girl was panting heavily outside his room.

"What are you doing out here, Miss Rose?"

Jenna Marie looked up, and narrowed her eyes. "Enacting revenge," she growled. Then she did the most unexpected thing. In fact, it was so unexpected, it was actually expected.

She drew out her wand slowly…took an offensive dueling stance…and…

…jabbed it in his eye.

As de Vellofides screamed in the agony, Jenna Marie quickly shoved him out to the hallway, ran inside his office, and kicked the door shut. A simple locking charm would have to do; she was short on time.

Jenna Marie frantically searched for a small vial of clear liquid; finding none, she bit her lip and started opening the drawers and cabinets. "Where is it?" she muttered as she ravaged the office into bits and pieces.

Finally, she found it. A small, thin vial, completely empty, was buried deep in the rubbish bin. As the sounds of de Vellofides' moaning reached Jenna Marie's ears, she cursed and quickly slipped the vial in her pocket.

On her way out, she jabbed him again…in the other eye…

Curse words and spittle flew from de Vellofides' mouth.

OoOoOoO

Mandy stared daggers into Pansy's eyes as Snape intoned, "Now, as to further this godforsaken night, let your imbalances combine with each other and join in one union of friendship, hope, and love!"

"What the hell…?" Pansy muttered as she pulled her eyes away from Mandy's snake-like glare.

"I'm trying to patch up a relationship!" Snape bellowed. "My god, if I didn't have a conscience, I wouldn't even be here!"

Mandy smirked. "Then leave."

Snape frowned. "That's the thing...I CAN'T leave!"

Mandy and Pansy stared in disbelief. "What's wrong with you?" Pansy asked.

"I'm here against my will," Snape moaned. "And now I can't even leave this wretched place because you two insist on tailing me every single second!"

"That is our force," Pansy commented. "We must use the force!"

Mandy grinned. "Right on!"

Pansy almost smiled, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be mad at Mandy. "Go way, Brocklehurst, your little antics don't interest me."

Mandy's smile disappeared. "Why don't you go away? This is my part of the forest."

"Where does it say 'Property of Mandy Brocklehurst'?" Pansy countered

Mandy whipped out her wand and muttered something under her breath. "Here," she said, pointing to the patch of dirt in which the words, "Property of Mandy Brocklehurst," were elaborately etched.

Pansy "humphed" and sat down on a tree stump. "Well, if dirt's your spot, the tree's mine!"

"Fine with me."

Snape looked towards the sky. "Please, please, please return…"

OoOoOoO

While Snape was wishing for Harry, Ron, and Ginny to return, the aforementioned were currently lounged lazily on the many comfortable couches in the main living room of Malfoy Manor.

"This…is…crap…" Ron muttered, picking at a stray thread. Harry wordlessly agreed, choosing to twitch his finger once.

"Is this some way of punishment?" Ginny asked, sitting up. The other two sluggishly glanced at her. "Come now, don't tell me you haven't thought that perhaps this was a setup. Maybe this is a sort of spell."

Harry blinked. "What kind of spell?"

Ginny's eyes were now shining with excitement. "Maybe it's a kind of spell that makes you bored out of your mind so that when the Malfoys come back here, they can have a chance to attack and kill you when you're basically immobile!"

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Nice," he managed, rolling over on the couch. Harry followed suit afterwards.

Ginny sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might actually sing if Hermione and Malfoy get back…"

And as if on cue, Draco stumbled into the room, gasping for breath.

Ron snickered. "Looks like somebody got some…"

"I wish," Draco mumbled. "I think Hermione is either on the right of me, smirking, behind me with a double-edged sword aimed at my spine, or above me, holding an anvil that is just waiting to drop," he ducked, covering his head. An evil cackle emitted from his right and Draco raised his eyebrows. "One out of three; not bad…"

"Hold on, where's Hermione?" Ginny asked. "I don't see her anywhere, yet I heard her cackle…" she finished, looking nervously around the room.

"Don't worry, I'm not a ghost," Hermione said firmly. "Although at this point, I may as well be one…" she muttered.

"Do you know anything about Disillusioning and how to make a person reappear?" Draco asked.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny gasped simultaneously. "Hermione messed up a spell?!"

Hermione shot a glare in their direction. Although they couldn't see her, the anger vibes could be felt very easily in the air. "Alright, from now on, anything in this room is going to be forever encased at the very bottom of our souls. Or else," she threatened.

Draco rolled his eyes. "It wasn't going to be kept secret in the first place?"

Harry contemplated this. "Good point."

Hermione stomped her foot on the ground. "Listen! Now that we're all assembled here and calmed down a bit, we need to think of a plan to get out of here. Draco, where's Malfoy Manor, geographically?"

Draco scrunched up his face. "Somewhere in the thirties…"

"What?"

Draco looked surprised. "For the Floo…weren't we talking about that?"

"No," Hermione sighed. "I already know the Floo number…I mean…WHERE ON THE BLOODY EARTH IS MALFOY MANOR?"

Draco gulped. "Er…you see…I don't really know…" he mumbled.

"Ooh," Harry and Ron chorused. Ginny looked at them, confused.

"What?"

"He's in a lot of hot water…" Ron muttered. "If you ever encounter Hermione this pissed off, don't say "I don't know." She will bite your head off…"

Sure enough, the anger vibes were getting stronger and stronger.

Harry leaned back on the couch. "Ahhhh…a dream come true…the ferret killed in his own house. I can actually see the headline, 'Angered Hogwarts Student Throttles Draco Malfoy to Death'."

"Now that you mention it, the headline sounds rather nice," Hermione growled through gritted teeth.

Draco's eyes popped open in fear as he felt a pair of hands tighten on his neck. "I LOVE YOU, HERMIONE!" he cried desperately.

Hermione let go of him, and placed a hand on her chest. "Well, that's unexpected…"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like I planned on saying that."

"Ahem," Harry cut in. "Now that we know that you love her, let's get down to business. First of all, WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS YOUR BLOODY DOOR, MALFOY?"

Malfoy calmly wiped a spot of spittle from his pale cheek. "It's to the left of that green chair."

"Which green chair?" Ginny asked, gesturing to all the green chairs in the room, which was simply all chairs in general.

"The one next to the picture of my grandfather."

"Which picture is it? Your ancestors all look alike," Ron grumbled.

"It's the one near the serpent wall hanging."

Ginny let out a calm breath. Then she exploded. "WHICH BLOODY SERPENT WALL HANGING IS IT? AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T TELL ME IT'S THE ONE NEAR THE BOOKSHELF OR THE WROUGHT-IRON TABLE! REPLICAS OF EVERY SINGLE BLOODY PIECE OF FURNITURE ARE SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THIS BLOODY ROOM!" She took a deep breath. "BUY UNIQUE FURNITURE!" she bellowed.

Draco rubbed his ears. "This rubbish has been around for centuries, I can't just chuck it away."

Hermione sighed. "Just be a little more specific, Draco…and yes, do buy some new furniture that look absolutely nothing like your current furnishings." Her face lit up. "Maybe a swatch of red or gold will brighten this place up!"

When Draco actually contemplated this for a moment, Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I was joking. Keep your furniture."

Draco looked relieved. "Good, because…red doesn't really look good with green…yeah…"

"Hey, newlyweds, let's go. I found the door," Ron yelled from the silver serpent paper fan hanging above the bookshelf scattered with relics that were evidently very ancient.

Ginny turned around and swiftly grabbed a silver medallion. When Harry gave her a confused look, she shrugged. "A souvenir…plus it's real silver!" she giggled.

Harry stared at her for a second. "Alright…"

As Ron closed the door behind them, it vanished into the hard stone walls and within moments, all traces of the room even being there were gone.

Draco let out a long whistle.

"You've lived here all your life, and you haven't noticed that?" Ginny asked skeptically.

Draco shook his head. "I just wasn't looking for it."

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed Draco's arm. "Come on, let's move. We need to get back to Hogwarts before Pansy, Snape, and Mandy kill each other."

"How are we going to get back?" Ron asked. Draco sneered at him.

"You always ask the stupid questions, Weasley. We are going to get to Hogwarts by – wait. Hermione, how are we going to get back?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe we could create a Portkey or something, but it's illegal to use an unauthorized one."

"Who cares? Breaking and entering in Malfoy Manor is illegal as well, but you don't see us complaining!" Ginny cried, and Harry and Ron nodded their assent.

"You broke into the Manor?" Draco asked incredulously.

Ginny suddenly looked frightened. "Why? Are there charms on it?"

"No…" Draco slowly said. "Because everyone is afraid of the mere mention of Malfoy, no one is brave enough to break into the Manor, so we don't really have any charms on it. However, we do have a hex for non-Malfoys who come in with a concealed item or weapons. Since you all are too stupid to think about attacking the Manor, I'd suppose you're safe."

"And come out with a stolen silver medallion," Hermione chirped happily. "Don't think I didn't see that, Gin."

Ginny scowled and handed over the medallion.

"Anyways, let's just make a Portkey," Harry interrupted. "Since walking is out of the question, the Knight Bus shouldn't visit here of all places, and riding broomsticks in this weather is too dangerous," he said, gesturing to the pouring rain outside the window, "I say we Portkey."

CRASH.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Ginny gasped simultaneously and their heads immediately swiveled to the right.

"What was that?" Ginny gasped.

"I don't know," Draco answered truthfully. "But it sounded like it was coming from the kitchen!"

Ginny's eyes were now wide open. "T-t-t-the kitchen?" she stuttered.

"The kitchen," Draco confirmed, solidly.

"THE KITCHEN!" Ron screamed, taking off like a bullet.

The rest of them stared at Ron's retreating back in horror.

"Wait!" Hermione shrieked, sprinting after him, and the rest followed her.

OoOoOoO

"You know what? I don't even care about this anymore," Mandy suddenly said, jumping to her feet. "I'm going to the castle. And I'm going to kill," she finished, walking briskly out of sight.

Pansy's eyes widened. "Is she really going back to the castle by herself?"

Snape shook his head. "She wouldn't dare; the Death Eaters are moving around in hordes in the castle." A shadow flitted over his face. "Then again, if she is truly her father's daughter, she will enter the castle without a thought to her own life."

Pansy kicked a log. "I've been meaning to ask her this for a long time, but there was never a right time. What was her father like?"

Snape sighed. "Edward Brocklehurst was a poisonous man…brilliant…but dangerous. He was three years younger than me and was a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts." Seeing Pansy's surprised face, he sighed again and continued. "Being sorted into Hufflepuff was what changed his life. He was always trying to convince others that Hufflepuffs weren't a bunch of duffers. But no one listened to the tiny blond boy with a squeaky voice. It wasn't long before he realized that no one was interested in listening the moanings of an eleven-year-old child. Eventually, in the middle of his second year, he started changing, changing for the worse. He fully immersed himself in his studies and his friends eventually abandoned him. He started to eat less and was always seen with dark circles under his eyes. However, no one bothered to ask why, not even his Head of House. So Edward continued this and by the time he was thirteen, he was secretly sneaking Dark Arts books out of the Restricted Section of the library, and learning the spells. He was very talented, yes, but at that time, he had no control over his magic – the occasional burst of magic wasn't rare."

"But how do you know this? I really doubt you would be close to him," Pansy said.

"The following year, Edward Brocklehurst asked me to tutor him in the Dark Arts," Snape continued. "I laughed in his face. He was a scrawny Hufflepuff, with a large load of books almost toppling his body . However, he didn't back down. For the next three months, he badgered me incessantly. I was short of hexing him within an inch of his life when he attacked me in the hallway one night." Pansy smirked; she couldn't imagine a small Hufflepuff attacking teenage Snape in a dark hallway. "That was when I realized what a weapon he could be, if his powers were tapped to the limit. So, for the reminder of my seventh year, I took him as my protégé. By the end of the year, I could already see visible results. However, it was during the First War that I saw what I had turned him into. Instead of the nervous, clumsy Hufflepuff he used to be, Edward was now a killing machine with just the right combination of bloodlust and power. He now wanted nothing to do with his past as a Hufflepuff. In less than five years, he had morphed himself into the perfect Slytherin. I suppose that was the House he really wanted because it was known for power, and he wanted that."

Pansy bit her lip. She had no idea Mandy's father was like this…she would be hardly surprised if Mandy came back and told her she had massacred everyone in the castle.

"But there was still Hufflepuff in him. Hard work and loyalty are the most obvious traits of Hufflepuff House, and he retained them all," Snape finished, with a glint in his coal eyes. "Even though he displayed all the qualities the Dark Lord wanted in his Death Eaters, he remained forever loyal to Dumbledore, and to the school he attended as a boy, no matter how many grudges he had against his House. I even heard that he was buried with his Hufflepuff tie," he added. "He showed loyalty to the greatest extent when he refused the Dark Lord's many offers. I suppose the Sorting Hat was right," Snape said with a wry smile. "He really was a true Hufflepuff."

Pansy looked back up to the castle, a grim look on her face. "I'm going up there. I am not letting Mandy die facing a crowd of Death Eaters. I'm not going to let that happen."

Snape smirked and followed her after a moment. "I hope you're happy, Dumbledore," he whispered, looking towards the moon. "I finally did what you wanted."

OoOoOoO

A/N – I know that I suck at math, but you don't. I am really sorry that it took an extra two weeks to churn this chapter out, but now I have a week off of school, and can probably update faster.

Hmm…I wonder what's up with Snape? Hmm…hmm…hmm…

What was in the vial in de Vellofides' office? Hmm…hmm…hmm…

And who the heck screamed? Hmm…hmm…hmm…

Double KK - Wow, thanks for reviewing so many times! And no, Daphne is not dead, she's just temporarily paralyzed, but regained consciousness a few days later. Yes, I do tend to favor Ravenclaws more than the other houses, as showed quite blatantly in the expansion of Mandy Brocklehurst (compared to the two-word mention of her in the book). They're cool! And yes, I know that the story is moving quite a bit quickly during chapters 12-16, but I might go back and change some parts of it once I'm completely finished with the entire story. Also, eros is generally used as "love" or sometimes "passion". Eros was also a god in mythology. But in that chapter, eros meant "love." Llamas are nice, but I like alpacas better...

X.Draco'sX.GoddessX - de Vellofides is more sinister than you think...

Life is 42 - Wow, thanks! And the students were protesting because the more liberal ones were pissed off about not getting to participate in "kicking Moldy Voldy ass." I know that it sounds a bit strange, so that might be one of the parts I'll edit out later.

serpentine17ice - YES!!! Personally, I'm surprised more people haven't noticed this...or maybe they have and just didn't tell me...

cemicool - Jenna Marie Rose was just a fabricated character, and her basic purpose in the story to provide a puzzle piece to the plot, stick around for some comic relief, and then disappear forever. JUST KIDDING! Seriously, all characters are important, and her part in the story was to send a secret message to the others, knowing that she needed "reinforcements" because her magical abilities weren't enough. Jenna Marie knows something about Professor de Vellofides, and she sent that message to the others, inscribing it in a code with her last name, "Rose." Jenna Marie will have a large part in the next chapter, as she is very talented in Potions...hint hint...

Additional thanks to dreamingstar213, Hotkat144, superelle, White-Pink-Fluffy-Strawberriez, lyssa-kissa, Seventh Bell Astarael, sweetness123, dragoneyes5000, MistyDeath, Steelo, and jPoPlUVr789!

Toodles!

- Lily in a Pond