AN: Still posting out of spite!

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter Fourteen

Hermione rushed out the portrait hole, desperate to find her doppelganger. She hoped that it was actually Harry who drank the polyjuice potion and not one of the Weasley twins; Harry was definitely hurting but he would understand her wanting to go to detention instead of watching her best friend with that prat.

Before she could even descend the moving staircases to the Great Hall, two pairs of hands snatched her from behind, pulling her into a shadowy corridor. She was about to scream until she heard familiar laughter from her kidnappers.

Hermione whirled around on her heel, facing two chuckling gingers. "Fred, George, you two scared me half to death!" To his credit, George looked apologetic while Fred continued to chuckle.

"You're not in glamour…" Fred started carefully, having already received a stink eye from Hermione for laughing at her reaction. He felt like he was walking on eggshells around the bushy-haired Gryffindor, but couldn't figure out why she was in a mood.

"People will notice there are two Hermione's walking around." George finished off simply, shrugging and pulling out his wand.

Fred followed suit. "We can cast them."

Without waiting for Hermione's response, the twins muttered a few quick charms and with swift wand movements, Hermione's appearance began changing. If Hermione hadn't seen them lift their wands and heard them whisper charms then she would've just thought she had a shiver. She was surprised that the changes didn't hurt but actually felt a little tingly.

Blinking up at the Weasley twins, once again she was surprised but this time by the way they were acting. Fred was scratching his neck and looking at the floor while George was whistling nonchalantly and looking everywhere but her.

"Please tell me I don't look hideous or I will hex you two into oblivion." Hermione threatened the two while she looked at her hands which didn't change color. Turning them over a few times, and looking down at her legs, she couldn't see any noticeable differences in her appearance.

"Go look…" They trailed off in unison and stepped aside, giving her just enough room to run to the lavatories and look in the mirror. They stood in silence while she ran past, not looking each other in the eye.

Her curly hair straightened just enough to become beautiful, natural beachy waves while the color changed to a deep burgundy that you would get from a bottle. Her eyes changed from her normal brown eyes to deep green and her round face thinned slightly.

"Woah…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she touched her face hesitantly, almost scared that it would evaporate if she touched it too much.

After staring at herself in the mirror for a few moments, Hermione left the bathroom in a daze, only to run face-first into Draco Malfoy. Backing up, Hermione braced herself for a barrage of insults from the Slytherin.

Draco straightened his robes and muttered a quick "Watch it" before stalking off. Hermione stood dumbly for a few moments, confused by why he didn't call her a mudblood. When Hermione brushed a strand of hair out of her face, she remembered that she had a glamour on. He thought she was a random Gryffindor girl.

Wandering back to where she'd left Fred and George, she couldn't find the pair. Feeling at a loss for what to do, Hermione wandered back to the common room to wait for her friends to come back.

Settling on the plush armchair Harry favored, Hermione felt out of place alone in the common room, especially with her glamour. She thought about going to the ball but didn't want to see her best friend hanging off Krum.

The longer she sat in the chair, the tighter her chest began to feel. She had to get out of the common room. Rushing to her dormitory, Hermione changed into warmer clothes. Hermione donned a grey knit sweater that was just barely a size too big and faded jeans. She slipped on a pair of trashed sneakers, going for comfort rather than style.

Hermione grabbed a book and left the common room, making quick work of the walk to Black Lake. There were a few students outside, but most of them were in the Great Hall enjoying the festivities.

Hermione found a flat enough rock at the water's edge, hidden from anyone more than a few feet away. Sitting on the rock, Hermione crossed her legs and sat the book next to her, looking out at the water. The sun was just beginning to set, the colors reflecting beautifully on the water. Closing her eyes, Hermione took a deep breath and savored the crisp October air.

Hermione relished being alone with her thoughts, having not had a lot of alone time lately. Picking up the book she'd brought with her, Hermione was surprised to see that in her haste she had grabbed The Catcher in the Rye. She cracked open the book to the first page and settled in to read.

Draco Malfoy burst out of Hogwarts in rage, desperate to get away from everyone. He had tried to talk to Pansy rationally, but then she told everyone Draco had told her he contracted an STD from a less than exciting romp with Selena Minks, a fifth-year Gryffindor who would shag anything that moved.

A handful of Slytherins knew Pansy was lying, but most of the students only knew about the reputation Draco had spent so long on, so her rumor wasn't that far of a stretch in their minds. Kicking a rock to the side, Draco trudged down to Black Lake.

Theo had gone to detention already in his stead, so Draco was wearing minimal glamour charms. He darkened his pale skin slightly to a more natural tan and changed his eyes to a deep hazel, almost golden brown. His trademark blonde hair had become an ashy brown. He looked every bit like a student who would fade into the background.

"Bloody Pansy… like I have an STD…" Draco muttered to himself as he trudged down to the lake. He came to a stop at the water's edge, oblivious to Hermione's presence mere feet from him.

The boy picked up a smooth rock and hurled it with all his might across the motionless water, only getting two satisfactory skips before it sank below the surface. Draco picked up a smaller stone and tossed it a few feet into the water, a small ripple spread out from where the pebble had hit the water.

"She's such a twat." Draco grumbled to himself, sinking into a crouch where he stood, his eyes watching the ripples until they faded.

With a groan, Draco ran his hands through his hair, wishing Pansy would stop trying to ruin his life. He couldn't understand why she had nothing better to do… he had been nice to her when he ended things and had always tried to be her friend. Finally sitting, Draco pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them, tired of the situation.

At this point, Hermione realized she wasn't alone and slowly put down her book, peeking through the bush that hid her. She didn't recognize who the guy was that sat down near her. She planned on going back to her reading, but she saw the pained look that had settled on the guy's face.

Hermione cleared her throat and stepped out from behind the bushes. The brown-haired boy was so startled he practically jumped out of his skin. She smiled at him apologetically and held up one hand in surrender, the other holding the book.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you…" Hermione's sentence trailed off, not wanting to come off as a creep.

Draco rightened himself and tried to figure out where he had seen her before, but couldn't place her. He stood up and dusted off his pants before turning fully to her. He was about to snap at her but he realized that he didn't really feel like being alone right now. Plus, he didn't look like his traditional Slytherin Prince glory, so being an arse might not end well.

"Don't worry about it… got lost in my thoughts…" Draco trailed off and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't recognize you. What house are you in?" He tilted his head slightly, now trying hard, and failing, to place her face.

"Um… Hufflepuff," Hermione fiddled with her hair, feeling like she was about to be found out. "What about you?" She was desperate to shift attention from herself, but as the boy shifted his green and silver scarf, she felt a little silly. "Right, sorry."

The pair stood in silence for a moment, both unsure of what to say next, if anything. Hermione kicked a small rock with her foot, sending it tumbling towards the water's edge where it landed with a small thud.

"I didn't mean to intrude; you just seemed upset." Hermione's voice was soft, almost as if she was scared to shatter the quiet that had built between the two. Draco barely heard her speak; her voice was carried away by the small breeze that had begun.

"It's okay. Just had a bad day." Draco sat back down, looking out at the water. When Hermione began walking back towards the castle, Draco stopped her. "You don't have to leave."

She walked back over to where he was sitting and fiddled with her hands, unsure what to do. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shrugged but didn't outright refuse, so Hermione sat next to him.

"It's this girl…" Draco started, surprised by his sudden openness. Maybe he got tired of the shallow Slytherins he knew. To be fair, Theo wasn't shallow but he wasn't good with emotions. Draco glanced at the girl next to him to see she was watching him intently, waiting for him to continue. So he did. "We were friends but we had a thing a few months ago and I stopped feeling it so I ended it with her and I thought we were friends again but she started a bunch of rumors about me. I just thought she was better than that."

Draco leaned back enough to prop himself up on his elbows while looking at the now black sky. He hadn't realized how long he'd been outside, detention shouldn't be much longer. If he had used a polyjuice potion instead of glamour charms he would have been worried about the effects wearing off by now.

"Well, that girl sounds rude. You were just being honest so you wouldn't lead her on and she lashes out at you for it." Draco looked over to see the girl practically bursting with rage at a girl she didn't even know. She looked back at him after a moment, turning her body to see him better. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

Draco was at a loss for words; her apology actually seemed sincere and he couldn't remember the last time someone was that empathetic towards him. He looked around, searching for something to say. Finally, his eyes settled on the book in her hands: The Catcher in the Rye.

Something tugged at him, a memory just out of reach. Furrowing his brows, he shifted his gaze from the book to her, this time searching her face for some memory of who she was because he could swear that voice sounded familiar. The girl swallowed and set the book down.

"Have you read that before?" He nodded his head towards the book. Normally, he wouldn't give any indication that he recognized the book, given the muggle author. However, Draco's glamour charms gave him a feeling of freedom from his life and responsibilities.

The girl looked down at the book that now rested on the rocks between him and spoke without looking up. "Yeah, but not in a while." She paused and looked up at him. "Have you read it before?"

Draco was tempted to refuse, but he didn't. "Yeah, it's one of my favorites. I love how real it is." The girl furrowed her eyebrows at him slightly, but he continued. "Holden seems like someone done with the world…" Draco trailed off, looking away from the girl uncomfortably. He wasn't used to deep conversations, even if they're about books.

"Like he's tired of baring his soul to people who won't do the same…" The girl finished his thought, causing Draco to snap his gaze back to her in confusion. How had she known what he was thinking? The wheels seemed to be turning in the girl's head, much like Draco. Her eyes widened in realization and she shot to her feet. "I have to go." She dusted off her pants and took off toward the castle, book in hand.

"Wait!" Draco called out to her, jumping to his feet and following her for a few paces. "I don't even know your name!" That caused her to pause a good forty feet in front of him and turn, her eyes wide.

"Yes, you do, Draco."