A/N - Finally I've got something new to publish in the form of this light-hearted one shot. I also have a second one-shot to come in the future, but even better than that, next week I'm going to start publishing a multi-chapter story. It's only a short reunion story, but at least it's something new. But for now I hope everyone enjoys this story.
Washing his hands in the small bathroom compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter deliberately took his time as he was in no great rush to return to his friends. Or rather he was in no rush to return to his girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. The young couple had started dating the previous school year, and everything seemed to be going fine until the summer holidays, when Ginny suddenly seemed to become very clingy. Harry felt as though he'd barely been able to turn around over the last few months without finding Ginny right behind him.
Harry had confessed his feelings of claustrophobia to his godfather, Sirius Black, before returning to Hogwarts, and Sirius's advice had been to dump Ginny if she was being too clingy. However, Ginny wasn't just his girlfriend, she was the sister of his best friend, Ron Weasley, and the last thing he wanted to do was to create problems with Ron, or the rest of the Weasleys, who were like family to Harry. So instead, Harry was putting a brave face on things and hoping that once they got back to school and Ginny had her own friends around her again, she wouldn't be quite as clingy with him.
Knowing that he couldn't really stay in the bathroom much longer, not unless he wanted Ron to come looking for him to check nothing was wrong, Harry knew he would have to return to his friends and endure Ginny pawing over him for the rest of the trip up to Scotland. Taking a deep breath, Harry stepped out of the bathroom compartment, only to shoot straight back in when he'd seen who was heading in his direction.
The cause of Harry's about-turn was none other than his Slytherin rival, Draco Malfoy, and Malfoy's two best friends, Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini. Harry had clashed with Draco right from their first year at Hogwarts and while it was usual for them to butt heads, he just wasn't in the mood for the annoying Slytherin. So instead, his plan was to wait until the Slytherins had passed before leaving the bathroom. However, luck didn't seem to be on Harry's side as it sounded as though the Slytherins has stopped virtually outside of the bathroom. Quietly, he slid the lock shut, only seconds before one of the Slytherins tried the door.
"It's locked," he heard the voice of Theo Nott declare.
"Either wait or use the bathroom down the other end of the train," Draco returned, not sounding too concerned with his friends inability to access the bathroom.
"This is one thing you should fix as Head Boy, more toilets on the trains," Blaise suggested.
Harry's eyes widened at the idea of Draco Malfoy being Head Boy, and he wondered what on earth Dumbledore had been thinking when he'd made the appointment. Surely anyone else would have been a better choice than the blond Slytherin. Harry felt sorry for his best friend, Hermione Granger, who had been made Head Girl. Now she would have to spend the whole year dealing with the bigoted git that was Draco Malfoy.
Shaking his head at the very thought of Malfoy having so much power, Harry turned back into the conversation to hear Malfoy dismissing his friends suggestion. According to the blond there were more important things to use his newfound power on than the amount of toilets on The Hogwarts Express.
"Like seducing the witches of Hogwarts," Blaise suggested with a chuckle. "They do say power and influence is an aphrodisiac."
"I don't need power and influence to get a girlfriend," Draco snorted. "I have no trouble in that department."
"Is there something you're not telling us?" Theo asked teasingly. "Did someone have a holiday romance over the summer?"
"That would be telling," Draco replied, and Harry could almost see the knowing smirk plastered all over his face.
"You had to have done something over the summer," Blaise said. "Especially since for several weeks, we weren't even allowed to visit."
"Yeah, what was that about? You said you would explain everything," Theo added.
"And I will," Draco answered. "You couldn't come and visit as we had someone staying with us. Someone special."
By this time, Harry was only listening to the Slytherins so he would know when it was safe for him to emerge from the bathroom, but something about the tone of Draco's voice had him straining to hear more. The blond sounded pretty smug about the visitor his family had played host to over the summer.
"Who was this visitor?" Blaise asked. "Someone important?"
"Very," Draco answered, still sounding very smug to Harry's ears. "But I can't talk now, I've got the head's meeting to get to."
"Time to find out who the Head Girl is," Theo remarked with a chuckle.
"Don't be so thick, Theo," Blaise tutted, and Harry could almost hear him rolling his eyes at his friend. "The Head Girl's position has been a sure thing since the day we started Hogwarts."
"Oh yeah, Granger," Theo muttered as if he was just remembering who they went to school with. "Good luck with her, Draco."
"I can handle Granger," Draco predicted confidently, and once again Harry could picture his smug smirk, only this time he wished he wasn't hiding so he could wipe it from his face. As if he had the cheek to say he could handle Hermione, if anything it would be Hermione handling him. Harry had total faith in his best friend, and he knew she would be able to handle anything Malfoy had to throw at her.
"When you get back from your meeting, we want to know everything about the summer," Blaise said. "It all sound rather intriguing."
Harry had to agree with Blaise that it did sound rather intriguing, and the longer he was standing there, the more an idea was forming in his head. In fact by the time he heard the Slytherins leave, with Theo announcing they would try the other bathroom, Harry was fairly sure he knew who had been at the manor over the summer and why no-one had been allowed to visit while they were there. Eager to get back to Ron to discuss what he's heard, Harry peered out of the bathroom and once he was totally sure the coast was clear and there were no Slytherins in sight, he hurried from the bathroom and back to the compartment he was sharing with his friends.
As luck would have it, when Harry returned, he found that Ginny had gone off with Luna Lovegood, leaving Ron alone in the compartment. Of course, Harry knew Hermione would have left, as she'd been nearly ready to leave when he'd headed for the bathroom, but he'd expected Ginny to still be around. But this was even better as it meant he could talk to his best friend in peace.
"What's up with you?" Ron asked as Harry practically bounced down into the seat opposite him.
"I've just heard Malfoy and his friends talking," Harry answered, quickly explaining about the conversation he'd overheard. "You know what this means, don't you?"
"Yeah, poor Hermione's been landed with the biggest git in the school as he co-head," Ron grouched. "What on earth was Dumbledore thinking? Malfoy may be smart, but he only ever thinks about the Slytherins. He's going to be hell to deal with if you're in another house."
"Ron, this is more important than Malfoy somehow being Head Boy," Harry snapped at his friend, frustrated that Ron hadn't picked up on the same thing he had.
"I wonder if Lucius bought him the position," Ron mused, clearly not listening to Harry. "Do you think Dumbledore could have been bribed?"
"No, I do not," Harry replied in indignation. "And will you stop harping on about Malfoy being Head Boy and listen to me. The Malfoys had someone staying with them over the summer, someone they wouldn't allow anyone else to see. It sounded as though Malfoy's friends were practically banned from his place."
"And?" Ron frowned, failing to see the significance.
"And what if it was him," Harry hissed in a low voice. "What if he was staying with the Malfoys?"
"You-Know-Who?" Ron questioned with a gasp. "How could it have been him, Harry. He's not around."
"We only have Snape's word on that, and I wouldn't trust him if my life depended on it," Harry snorted. "We know he came back at the end of fourth year, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Yeah, but Snape said the ritual had failed somehow and within weeks he was powerless again," Ron argued. "Even Dumbledore seemed to believe that was what happened since he's never shown his face again."
"I'm not saying nothing happened, as clearly it did. Otherwise, he would have tried to take over by now," Harry conceded. "But I'm saying, we don't know if things are as bad as Snape wants us to believe. We know he can't be killed, and I know Dumbledore said that if the ritual he'd used to come back had gone wrong, he wouldn't be able to use it again, or at least not using me, but whose to say he hasn't found another way to come back. Whose to say he wasn't holed up at the manor over the holidays, plotting his return."
"I don't know Harry, even the likes of the Malfoys seem pleased that he's gone," Ron said sceptically.
"I wouldn't trust them either," Harry snorted. "You didn't hear Malfoy, but I did. I could hear him gloating. Whoever was staying at the manor over the holidays is important, or at least important to Malfoy."
"Even if you're right, how are we ever going to find out?" Ron asked, still not convinced that Harry was on the right track. "It's not like he's going to come out and tell us who was visiting over the summer."
"He might not tell us, but he would tell his best friends," Harry replied with a grin.
"What good does that do us?" Ron queried. "Nott and Zabini aren't going to tell us anything either."
"Malfoy is going to tell us everything we need to know, only he won't know it's us. He's going to think he's talking to Nott and Zabini."
"How?" Ron asked at exactly the same time as he realised how Harry was aiming to achieve his goal. "Polyjuice Potion," he declared with a shake of his head. "Come on Harry, you know Potions is not our forte. The only reason we brewed it before is because Hermione did all the work, and somehow I don't see the Head Girl approving of this plan."
"You're right, Hermione wouldn't approve, so we're not going to tell her," Harry said. "And we're not going to brew Polyjuice Potion either. I've got some in my trunk."
"Why do you have Polyjuice Potion in your trunk?" Ron asked.
"Sirius gave it to me after his return," Harry explained. "In fact, he gave me a whole host of potions he thought I might need. I've never actually used any of them as things never went as we thought they would, but the case of potions is still tucked at the bottom of my trunk. So we have all we need to get Malfoy to spill the beans about the summer. Well, we have everything but a plan, but we should be able to come up with that together. What do you say, Ron, are you in?"
Ron studied Harry for several moments before nodding his head and agreeing to be part of the plan. He could see that Harry was determined and would take action regardless, so Ron figured he might as well be involved. Even if it was just to watch Harry's back and to ensure his best friend didn't get himself into too much trouble.
Less than a week into the new school term, Harry watched Draco Malfoy receive an owl at breakfast, and as he watched the blond read the letter from home and slide it into his school bag, he began to form a new plan. For days he and Ron had been discussing the best way to approach Malfoy to find out the truth, but it was proving tricky to work out how to ensure they weren't going to be disturbed by the real Nott and Zabini. Not to mention, working out how best to get Malfoy on his own. But Harry's new plan didn't involve actually dealing with the Slytherins at all.
"I've got a new idea," he whispered to Ron as they left The Great Hall and headed off towards to the first lessons of the day. Luckily the first lesson was Herbology, and Hermione was walking further ahead, discussing the upcoming year with Herbology enthusiast, Neville Longbottom.
"What?" Ron asked as they dropped back even further as to not be overheard.
"Rather than trying to get Malfoy to spill the beans, how about we just have a poke around in his room. I saw him get a letter from home today, and I bet he and Lucius will discuss their visitor."
"That does sound easier than trying to trick him," Ron conceded. "But how are we going to be able to search his things. I hardly think Hermione will let us into the Head Dorms to rifle through Malfoy's room."
"That's where we have to be sneaky," Harry replied. "First we need some hairs from Malfoy for the Polyjuice Potion. Then we need the password to the Head Dorms. And finally, we need a time when we know Malfoy will be occupied elsewhere. Then we simply pose as Malfoy, enter the Head Dorms and have free reign to do whatever we want."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Ron admitted with a thoughtful nod. It certainly sounded easier than posing as Nott and Zabini and hoping they could get Malfoy to talk.
With a plan sorted, the boys put it into action. Gaining hairs from Malfoy proved easy enough as they shared plenty of lessons together, and it was a simple matter of plucking a few stray hairs from his robes or jumper, and because of his distinctive hair colour, they knew they were getting the correct hairs. Learning the password to the Head Dorms was also easy enough as all they had to do was visit with Hermione and listen to what she'd said to get past the picture of a bored looking girl, sitting among a field of poppies. Finally, they just had to find a time when they knew Malfoy would be away from the head dorms, and that occurred a few weeks later when they heard the Slytherins planning quidditch try-outs, and as Malfoy was now captain, they knew that he would be present down on the quidditch pitch.
On the afternoon they knew Malfoy would be away from the Head Dorms, Harry and Ron were lurking nearby to watch as the Slytherin departed. Part of the reason they were waiting was to be sure that Malfoy had really left the Head Dorms, and the other part was so they could take note of how he was dressed so they could change their clothes when impersonated him. Not that they expected to run into anyone while posing as Malfoy, but just in case they wanted to be prepared.
Aware that they couldn't both impersonate Malfoy, and might have to undertake their charade more than once, Harry and Ron flipped for who would be the first to take the Polyjuice Potion. Harry was the lucky winner, and once they were sure Malfoy had gone, he downed the hideous potion which transformed him into his arch enemy. With a grimace at how he looked, Harry transformed his clothes into the casual attire he'd seen Malfoy wearing.
"Well?" he asked Ron once he was done. "How do I look?"
"Bloody horrible," Ron answered with a grimace. "Now get going before your times runs out."
Checking the time, so he knew how long he had, Harry strolled towards the Head Dorms, trying to look as though he had every right to be entering the rooms shared by the Head Boy and Girl. Thankfully the password worked as the little girl allowed Harry entry without batting an eyelid. Entering the common room, which was the only part of the Head Dorms, Harry had seen, he breathed a sigh of relief when there was no sign of Hermione. Heading towards the stairs in the corner of the room, Harry quickly ran up them and paused at the top when he reached a small hallway with three closed doors.
Judging that the middle door opposite the stairs was likely the bathroom, Harry just had to decide which of the other two doors led to the head boys room. Was Malfoy's room on the right or the left of the corridor? Knowing that there was only one way to find out, Harry instinctively moved to the left and carefully opened the door far enough for him to see inside. When he spotted the bedding was emerald green, he grinned widely and rushed into the room, wondering where Malfoy kept his letters from his father.
Forgetting all about the open bedroom door, Harry made a beeline for Malfoy's school trunk and threw it open. What greeted him was the most organised trunk Harry had ever seen, and he knew that he would have to be careful or else Malfoy would realise someone had been poking around his things, and considering the only person he shared living space with was Hermione, he didn't want his best friend to become the prime suspect. Being careful not to disturb things too much, he began to flick through the contents of Malfoy's trunk. However, it quickly became clear that all that was stored in the trunk were items needed for school work. Abandoning the trunk, Harry made his way towards Malfoy's desk, which was just as tidy and organised as his trunk.
"You're back," a voice behind Harry called, causing him to jump.
Whirling around, Harry found himself face to face with his best friend. Hermione was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a dark green vest top, and her wild hair was hanging loose around her shoulders. Standing framed in Malfoy's door, a smile on her face, it hit Harry how attractive his best friend was.
"Draco," Hermione called with a chuckle, jerking Harry from his trance. "I thought you'd gone to quidditch training. Don't you have new players to find?"
"Mmm, I left my gloves," Harry stuttered, stumbling for an excuse. "But I can't seem to find them," he added, suspecting that Malfoy had his seekers gloves with him, and therefore they wouldn't be lying around for him to find.
"You can't find something?" Hermione asked with a laugh. "That's a first for Mr Organised."
Harry could certainly see what Hermione meant as in the brief time he'd been in Malfoy's room it was clear that everything had a place, so the chances of him losing anything was remote. However, he was more taken aback by Hermione's friendly attitude towards Malfoy. He wasn't surprised that Hermione was trying to make the best of things with her fellow head, but given they'd only been room-mates for a few weeks, she certainly seemed to be at ease with her fellow head.
"I thought you might have come back to take me up on my offer," Hermione said, entering the bedroom and sauntering over to where Harry was standing beside Malfoy's desk.
"Offer?" he squeaked, backing up and hitting the desk with his behind as Hermione moved even closer to him.
"The offer of me giving you a more entertaining work-out," Hermione purred, moving even closer and running her fingers down Harry's chest.
Harry gulped as Hermione looked seductively up at him through her eye-lashes. He could feel the heat coming from his best friend, and as she gazed up at him he wondered when she'd become so sexy. And more importantly, why was she aiming that sexiness at Malfoy?
"So?" Hermione continued, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. "What do you say? Can you spare me some of your precious time? I'm sure Blaise has everything in hand down at the quidditch pitch. And if you're very good, I'll soon have things in hand here."
Harry had no idea how to respond to Hermione's words, and he was stunned even further when his best friend's hand slid lower and began to rub at his crotch. Eyes agog, he tried desperately to get himself out of the mess he'd found himself in, but he barely had time to think before Hermione reached up and attached her lips to his. Automatically his body began to respond to the kiss, and when he opened his mouth to protest, Hermione took full advantage and swept her tongue inside of his mouth.
Even though there was a voice in his head, screaming that he had to get out of there, Harry found himself returning the unexpected kiss from Hermione. His best friend was a damn good kisser, and he was almost reluctant to end what was turning out to be a very pleasurable experience. However, as good as the kiss was, common sense prevailed, and Harry managed to tear his lips away from Hermione's. Not that it really helped clear his head as he was then faced with the sight of Hermione still staring at him lustfully. Or rather staring at Malfoy lustfully. He had to keep reminding himself that it was Malfoy, Hermione thought she was with. It was Malfoy she thought she'd been kissing. It was Malfoy she was trying to lure into bed.
"I have to go," he announced, knowing that if he didn't leave soon, he would do something he would end up regretting.
"You're no fun," Hermione declared with a pout as she turned and flung herself onto the bed. "I guess I'll just have to entertain myself until you return."
When Hermione slowly began to run her hand teasingly down her body, and flicked open the button on her trousers, Harry turned and fled from the room. With his mind a whirl, and his hormones racing, Harry bolted from the Head Dorms. Not bothering to wait and fill Ron in what had happened, Harry headed for the nearest classroom and bolted inside as he tried to calm his muddled mind. Hermione had just tried to seduce him, or rather she'd just tried to seduce Malfoy.
"What on earth happened?" Ron demanded as he crashed into the room. "Were you caught out?"
"Hermione was there," Harry muttered, knowing he needed to tell Ron something, but not sure if he should break the news of what exactly their best friend had done when she'd thought he was the Head Boy.
"She rumbled you?" Ron questioned with a wince.
"No, but she was asking questions, so I thought it was better to get out of there," Harry said, deciding that before he told Ron anything, he would need time to get his own head around what had happened.
"But did you find anything before she turned up?" Ron asked.
"No."
"So we'll have to do it again," Ron said with a shrug. "Maybe next time, I should take the Polyjuice Potion."
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again as he realised he couldn't argue without revealing what had happened. Maybe if they planned it better when Ron took the Polyjuice Potion, they could make sure that Hermione was also away from the Head Dorms. That way they could then hopefully avoid Hermione trying to seduce Ron when she thought he was the Head Boy. Now all Harry had to do was work out why Hermione was trying to seduce the Head Boy.
While Harry was struggling to deal with events in the head dorms, back in Draco's room, Hermione herself was trying to make sense of what had just happened. One thing she did know, was that whoever had just fled the head dorms was not the Head Boy. Although why anyone would be impersonating him was a mystery to her.
Remaining where she was on Draco's bed, Hermione ran back through the last half hour or so to try and make sense of what had happened. Before Draco had departed for the quidditch pitch, she had indeed tried to convince him to spend the afternoon with her instead. And while she could tell he'd been tempted by her offer, ultimately he'd done the right thing and had headed off to attend his pre-arranged try-out session.
Left on her own, Hermione had been fully planning on spending the time trying to work out how to tell her best friends that she was dating the boy they both loathed with a passion. Her romance with Draco had started the year before when they'd been paired together for a project in Ancient Runes, a subject neither Harry nor Ron took. Initially they'd kept things quiet as neither she nor Draco had truly known if any relationship between them would last, or if it would fizzle out almost as quickly as it had sprung to life. However, when they were still very much together at the end of the year, they'd known that they would have to take the plunge and tell people about them.
It was Draco's suggestion to deal with the people who would be their toughest critics first, namely his parents. So after Draco had laid the groundwork with Lucius and Narcissa, Hermione had spent a few weeks of the summer holidays at Malfoy Manor. The visit hadn't all been plain sailing and more than once Hermione had seriously considered leaving, but she cared enough for Draco to stick it out and in the end she was glad she had. Approval would be too strong a word to describe Draco's parents attitude towards their relationship, but Hermione didn't think it would be pushing it to say they'd accepted it.
With Draco's parents dealt with, Harry and Ron were the next hurdle. Draco was confident his friends would accept the situation pretty easily, and even if they didn't, friendships were different among the Slytherins and Hermione knew that her boyfriend was pretty much the leader of the gang, and would simply cut off anyone who caused trouble. But that wasn't an option with her friends, Hermione wanted them to accept her choices. But more importantly, she didn't want to lose their friendship. So coming up with the plan of how best to approach her friends, had seemed like the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Or it would have been, until she emerged from the bathroom and found Draco had returned.
From the second Hermione had started to talk to Draco, she'd sensed something was off with him. She didn't miss the surprise in his eyes when she greeted him, and his excuse about misplacing his gloves was just ludicrous. Given how much of a neat freak her boyfriend was, she doubted he'd ever misplaced anything in his life. His startled reaction when she'd flirted with him was further evidence that something was amiss, but the clincher came when she'd kissed him. It was then that she knew that whoever she was kissing may have looked like Draco, but it wasn't him. She was kissing a stranger, or at the very least someone she had never kissed before.
After the kiss it had been pretty simple to scare off the imposter, leaving her to consider the possibilities of who could have been posing as her boyfriend. When she could think of no-one who might want to pretend to be Draco, Hermione considered what they'd wanted to achieve. Replaying events again, she recalled how the imposter was hovering beside Draco's desk when she'd made her presence felt. Was someone simply looking for something?
"But what?" she muttered, getting up and wandering over to Draco's desk. However aside from a couple of school projects he was working on and several quills the desk was empty. Even the drawers only contained more parchment, ink and quills. There was certainly nothing to find in Draco's desk.
Returning to Draco's bed, Hermione wondered if whatever the imposter was looking for could be found elsewhere. But as her eyes drifted around the room, she couldn't see anything that would have warranted someone impersonating Draco to gain access to his room. Nor could she think of anything that might not be in plain sight. The whole thing was totally baffling, and even after a couple of hours racking her brains, Hermione was as confused by the incident as she had been moments after it had happened.
Hermione was so caught up in her mystery that she'd failed to notice the passing of time, and it was only when she heard footsteps on the stairs that she realised the whole afternoon had passed and she hadn't done anything. When Draco appeared in the doorway, Hermione was fairly sure it was her boyfriend as he looked hot and sweaty after his afternoon down at the quidditch pitch.
"Are you okay?" he asked in concern when Hermione simply looked at him.
"Fine," Hermione answered with a smile.
"Why don't I believe you?" Draco asked, his frown deepening. "What's happened?"
"Nothing really," Hermione replied. "Go and have a shower and we'll talk afterwards."
"You could always come and scrub my back, and we can talk in the shower," Draco suggested with a wicked smirk.
"We both know if I come with you, the last thing we will be doing is talking," Hermione returned with a smile, knowing for sure that she was talking to her boyfriend.
After a bit of grumbling, Draco headed off for a shower, and less than fifteen minutes later he was back, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He was holding a second towel, which he was using to dry his hair, and once he was finished, he threw it onto a chair in the corner of the room. Then totally unbothered by Hermione's presence, he dropped the towel around his waist and sauntered over to his wardrobe, stark naked. If Hermione had any doubt over who she was dealing with, the brazen display would have answered everything. Only Draco would be so totally blasé about wandering around without his clothes on.
"So what's wrong?" Draco asked, once he had slipped into a pair of dark blue jogging bottoms and a deep blue t-shirt and had returned the wet towels to the bathroom to dry.
"Something strange happened after you'd left," Hermione answered, explaining events of the afternoon to her boyfriend as he joined her on his bed.
Draco listened to Hermione's story with a puzzled frown on his face, and when he did speak it was to confirm what Hermione already knew – that he hadn't returned to the head dorms only moments after leaving. He'd been down at the quidditch pitch until his recent return.
"Who do you think it could have been?" Hermione asked her boyfriend. "And why do you think they were poking around in your room? You don't have any hidden secrets, do you?"
"My only secret is you, and even that isn't much of a secret anymore now Blaise and Theo know about us," Draco replied. "As for what they could want, I have no idea. I can't think of anything I've got in my possession now that I wouldn't have had in all the years I've been here at Hogwarts. So if we think someone was trying to steal something from me, they could have tried anytime over the last six years. And I would think it would be easier to gain access to my belongings when I was down in the dungeons."
"Do you think that's what it was, someone trying to steal from you?" Hermione asked.
"I really have no idea," Draco replied with a shrug. "And I have no clue, who would be impersonating me. Did you not get any clues from them?"
"No," Hermione answered with a shake of her head. "It's a mystery."
"I guess all we can do is be alert for it happening again," Draco suggested.
"Maybe it won't happen again, maybe they got what they came for," Hermione said.
"Maybe," Draco agreed with a nod. "Either way, I don't think there's much we can do about it now. Unless we're going to go to Dumbledore and cause a fuss. But even if he brings the subject up in front of the whole school, who on earth is going to admit to impersonating the Head Boy? I think all we can do is keep our guard up and be bloody grateful you know me well enough to spot an intruder."
Hermione agreed with Draco, and vowing to put the incident to one side, they set about enjoying the rest of their day together. Hermione knew she would have to decide on how best to deal with Harry and Ron sooner or later, but putting off for a few more hours wasn't going to hurt anyone. She would find the answer soon enough, and before long she would be able to share her news with her friends. She just didn't know that one of her friends was already aware that something was going on between her and the Head Boy, and her other friend would soon discover the same thing.
Despite Harry's best efforts, it proved virtually impossible for them to try and find a time when both Malfoy and Hermione were absent from the Head Dorms. Ron had correctly decided the best time to gain access to Malfoy's rooms without risking the blond disturbing them, would be when he was at quidditch practice. And Harry couldn't really raise his concerns about making sure Hermione was out of the way without telling Ron everything that had occurred during his time posing as Malfoy. And he certainly couldn't admit that he didn't like the idea of Ron being the one to infiltrate the head dorms simply because Hermione might be there and might try and kiss him.
So like it or not, Harry found himself lurking outside of the head dorms the morning Slytherin were due to hold their first proper practice of the season. Ron already had the Polyjuice potion in his possession, and despite Harry trying to persuade him otherwise, he was determined to take his turn in impersonating the Head Boy.
"Are you sure you don't want me to do this?" Harry asked, trying yet again to change Ron's mind. "It was my plan, so it's only right that I should take the risks."
"Nonsense, we're in this together," Ron replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"But what if you run into problems with Hermione?" Harry asked.
"I can deal with Hermione just as effectively as you can," Ron reminded his best friend. "Although with any luck, she'll either be elsewhere or so caught up with whatever she's doing that she doesn't pay any attention to what Malfoy could be up to."
"I wouldn't count on that," Harry muttered under his breath. In the few weeks since his foray into the Head Dorms, he'd thought about what had happened a lot, and he'd reached the unnerving conclusion that there was something going on between their best friend and her fellow head.
Before Harry could mount more arguments against Ron using the Polyjuice Potion, the door to the Head Dorms swung open and Malfoy emerged, dressed in his quidditch uniform. Once he was out of sight, Ron downed the potion in his possession and transfigured his clothes into a replica of what they'd seen Malfoy wearing moment earlier.
"Wish me luck," Ron remarked with a cheery grin as he slipped out of the alcove they were hiding in and made his way over to the Head Dorms.
Harry half hoped the password would have been changed since their last visit, but the door swung open for Ron and his friend vanished inside, leaving Harry to wonder just what Ron would encounter during his time in the Head Dorms.
While Harry was wondering what was going on in the Head Dorms, Ron was already making his way across to the stairs. So far there was no sign of Hermione, and Ron was hoping that he didn't encounter his best friend. Quietly jogging up the stairs, he used the information Harry had provided him with to slip into Malfoy's room, closing the door behind him. Thanks to Harry he also knew that Malfoy was the tidy sort, so he knew he would have to be careful with his searching.
Making his way to the bedside table, Ron pulled open the drawer attached to the table in the hopes of finding the letters from Malfoy's father. However, all that was in the drawer was a mystery novel that the Head Boy was clearly reading. Moving to the other side of the room, he began to carefully sort through the drawers, but all he encountered was Malfoy's socks, underwear and a couple of pairs of pyjama bottoms.
Engrossed in his search, Ron failed to hear the door open and when he stepped back from the drawers and spun around to decide where to search next, he jumped in fright when he found his best friend leaving against the doorframe.
"I thought you said you were going," Hermione remarked casually.
"I am," Ron replied, frowning at how friendly Hermione sounded when she addressed him, or rather when she addressed who she thought was Malfoy.
"You don't want to keep the others waiting," Hermione remarked.
Silently cursing that he really had no choice but to leave, Ron slowly made his way towards the bedroom door. Instead of leaving the room, Hermione merely stepped to one side, and Ron was forced to moved past her. However, as he did so he felt something pinch his backside and he whirled around to face Hermione, who was grinning wickedly.
"Don't look so scandalised, you know how I like you in your quidditch uniform," Hermione laughed. "It's so very sexy."
"Sexy?" Ron squeaked, convinced he was hallucinating as there was no way the Hermione he knew would be talking to Malfoy in such a way.
"Very sexy," Hermione purred, stepping closer to him and winding her arms around her neck. "When you get back from practice, I'll help you take it off and show you just how sexy I find you."
Hermione's words totally stunned Ron, but before he could even begin to consider what it all meant, his best friend was moving even closer to him, and her lips landed on his. Despite the shock of the kiss, Ron couldn't help but respond and a few seconds later he was eagerly returning the kiss. Not allowing himself time to think, he simply acted and slid his arms around Hermione, pulling her even closer. After a few seconds, Hermione pulled away and gazed up at him with lust filled eyes.
"You're going to be late," she muttered.
"So I am," Ron agreed, not removing his arms from around Hermione's waist as he waited to see what was going to happen next.
"As tempting as it is to keep you all for myself, you need to go," she said with a sigh as she extracted herself from his grasp. "But hurry back, I'll be waiting."
Blowing him a kiss, Hermione then turned and headed into her own bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her. For a long moment all Ron could do was stand and gape at the closed door, hardly able to believe what had just occurred. Slowly he came to his senses and remembered that he needed to be leaving. Even though he still had plenty of time left in his Polyjuiced state, he didn't dare risk hanging around in case Hermione came back out of her bedroom. Not only would he then have a hard time explaining why he hadn't gone to quidditch practice, but he wasn't sure he would be able to control himself in she kissed him again.
Still in a daze, he headed back down the stairs and back out of the Head Dorms. Passing the alcove Harry was hiding in, he made for the nearest classroom and went inside. As he expected, Harry followed him a few seconds later, closing the door before he asked how it had gone.
"I didn't find anything," Ron replied. "Or at least not about You-Know-Who. I did discover one thing though."
"Oh, what was that?" Harry asked, even though he could take a pretty good guess judging from the glazed expression on his best friend's face.
"I think you know what it is," Ron said, turning his attention to Harry and losing his dazed expression. "Because it all makes sense now. Why you ran out of the Head Dorms the other week as though you were on fire. Hermione happened."
"What did she do?" Harry asked, neither confirming nor denying what Ron was saying.
"Kissed me," Ron answered. "What did she do to you?"
"Kissed me," Harry admitted. "I was rather taken aback, and I was just so flustered that I didn't know how to tell you that something is going on between her and Malfoy."
"I got that message for myself," Ron snorted.
"What do we do now?" Harry asked. "Do we tell her we know about her and Malfoy?"
"And how do we explain how we know?" Ron countered. "I don't know about you, but I don't fancy admitting to Hermione what we've been doing."
"I guess not," Harry agreed with a nod. "But I don't think I can pretend not to know, not for much longer."
"It's not something you can forget in a hurry," Ron admitted, touching his lips as he replayed the memory of Hermione kissing him.
"No, it's not," Harry agreed in a wistful voice. "She's a hell of a kisser."
"Amazing," Ron whispered in awe, before remembering himself and shaking his head to clear his lustful thoughts. "But we have to remember, she wasn't kissing us, she was kissing Malfoy. Which makes finding out the truth about him all the more important. If you're right Harry, and his family was playing host to You-Know-Who over the summer, we need to find out and warn Hermione. If he and his family are still enamoured with the dark arts, she needs to know."
"Then we keep carrying on our plan until we find something," Harry insisted. "Surely sooner or later we're going to hit lucky and get the Head Dorms completely to ourselves. Hermione can't always be in there."
When Draco returned from quidditch practice, he found a pensive looking Hermione sitting on the sofa, staring into space. It wasn't exactly the homecoming he was expecting as before he'd left for training, his girlfriend had been very vocal in how they would be spending their afternoon. Draco had even ensured the practice was a short one as he hadn't wanted Hermione to get so impatient waiting for his return that she changed her mind about an afternoon of fun.
"I'm back," he announced, moving to stand in front of Hermione, just in case she hadn't noticed his return.
"Again," Hermione muttered.
"Again, what do you mean again?" Draco asked, the meaning of Hermione's words hitting him as he spoke. "Don't tell me it happened again."
"Kind of," Hermione answered. "Yet again, someone looking like you was here in the Head Dorms after you'd left, and yet again it wasn't you. Only it wasn't the same person as last time."
"How do you know that?" Draco asked, perching on the coffee table as he hadn't showered since the end of practice and didn't want to mess up the sofa.
"Firstly, they were shocked by how I spoke to you, and if it had been the same person as last time, then they would have known what to expect," Hermione answered. "And secondly, I kissed them to be sure it wasn't you, and I knew it was someone different to last time."
"How did you know that?" Draco asked with a frown, not liking the idea of his girlfriend kissing other wizards, even if they did look like him at the time.
"This second one was more eager in the kissing, and he didn't have as much finesse as the first one," Hermione explained. "But does that really matter now, surely the point is that twice now someone has been in here pretending to be you."
"They clearly want something, but I still don't know what," Draco muttered.
"Whatever it is, they think they can find it in your bedroom, as that's where I found them both," Hermione said.
"And they're smart enough to pick a time when they know I won't be back," Draco mused.
"Quidditch practices are the best time to be in her without running into you," Hermione agreed. "Any other time, they wouldn't know where you were going, or how long you would be gone. But when you leave to go to quidditch practice, you're gone for a few hours at least."
"So what do you think, will they be back again?"
"Unless they found what they were looking for, and it didn't seem like it to me," Hermione answered. "What do we do, tell a professor and wait for them to do it again."
"We wait for them to do it again, but we don't need to involve the professors. We can handle this ourselves. And I think we should set a trap for them."
"What sort of a trap?" Hermione asked warily.
"The sort of trap where they are caught red-handed," Draco answered with a smirk. "Now, there's at least two people involved, so chances are while someone is in here, someone else is standing watch outside. I know if I was poking around somewhere I shouldn't be, disguised as someone else, I would want someone watching my back. So, once I've left the Head Dorms, it's not going to be easy to get back in without our intruder being alerted to my return. Although if we're dealing with someone smart, whoever is on watch would find a way to stop me coming back into the Head Dorms."
"So what, I do the catching?" Hermione asked.
"I think it would work better if the intruder came face to face with me. After all, he can't deny the truth when there's two of us," Draco said, a thoughtful look on his face as he mentally worked out his plan of action.
"So what do you suggest?" Hermione questioned, knowing full well that a plan of some sort was brewing in her boyfriend's mind.
"A decoy," Draco answered with a grin. "I'm sure Severus will have some Polyjuice Potion he would lend me, and I know Blaise will be up for helping."
"You're going to have Blaise pose as you leaving the Head Dorms," Hermione predicted, trying not to dwell on how easily she'd been able to latch onto a scheme devised by a Slytherin.
"Exactly," Draco smirked. "It will look to whoever is watching that I've left, when in reality I will be waiting in here, ready to pounce. So what do you say, are you in?"
"I want to know what is going on, so yes, I'm in," Hermione answered with a firm nod.
"Excellent," Draco breamed as he rose to his feet. "Now that's sorted, I do believe you have a promise to keep. Before I left, you promised to scrub my back when I returned."
"I suppose if you really can't manage yourself, I can lend you a hand," Hermione replied with a chuckle as she joined Draco in standing.
"I want more than your hand," Draco growled, grabbing hold of his girlfriend and crushing her against his solid form.
"Hey, you're messing me up," Hermione protested.
"It's a good job you're coming in the shower with me," Draco said with a wicked grin.
Laughing the couple, headed off upstairs, leaving aside their plan to catch the intruders. However, they would activate their plan soon enough, and soon the truth about who had been sneaking around the Head Dorms pretending to be Draco would come out.
Harry and Ron decided that luck was most certainly on their side when Harry discovered that the Slytherin quidditch team had booked a series of extra training sessions. According to Madam Hooch, who oversaw anything to do with quidditch, including ensuring that all four teams got an equal opportunity to use the quidditch pitch for practices, Malfoy had booked the extra sessions as his new players had yet to gel with the rest of the team. Not that Harry was bothered why Slytherin were doing extra training, he was just grateful it gave him and Ron more chances to discover the truth about the Malfoys and their connections to the dark arts.
One the day of the first of these extra sessions, Harry and Ron secreted themselves into the deep alcove they'd been using to spy on the Head Dorms. As such they saw Malfoy heading off to training, and were able to take note of what he was wearing. This time the pair had flipped a coin as to who would be entering the Head Dorms, and Harry was the one who had drew the short straw. Or, given what had happened on previous exertions, maybe he'd hit the jackpot in being the one entering the Head Dorms.
"Try not to get caught up with Hermione," Ron muttered as Harry transformed into the Head Boy and altered his clothes to match the ones they'd seen Malfoy wearing not ten minutes earlier.
"I got out of there as fast as I could last time," Harry argued. "I was taken by surprise. I didn't expect her to hit on me and kiss me."
"Well this time you are prepared, so it won't catch you out," Ron retorted.
"Just you remember that if we have to do this again, and you're the one using the Polyjuice Potion," Harry said, well aware that his friend had enjoyed the unexpected encounter with Hermione just as much, if not more so, than he had.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Harry headed across the hallway to the Head Dorms, and into the private sanctuary of his best friend and her fellow head. Once again there was no sign of Hermione, and as he made his way up stairs, Harry strained to catch any noises that would indicate he wasn't alone. He even stopped outside of the bathroom and Hermione's bedroom, but he heard nothing. Crossing his fingers that things would go his way this time, he entered Malfoy's room and carefully began to search for the evidence he was so sure he was going to find.
Malfoy's room was as neat as it had been the first time he'd been there, and Harry was careful not to disturb things too much. After a while, he came across a letter stuck in a book and Harry thought he had struck gold. However, it was just a letter from Malfoy's mother, gushing over how proud she was that her son was Head Boy. There was also a mention of the family dog expecting puppies, and a reminder for Malfoy to think about how he wanted to celebrate his graduation in the summer. There wasn't even a hint of anything suspicious, let alone mention of them having The Dark Lord to visit over the summer.
Checking the other books on the shelf, Harry hoped to find more letters, with any luck from Lucius, who would likely be more forthcoming about Voldemort. However, Harry couldn't find any more letters from Malfoy's parents. In fact, he couldn't find any more correspondence at all in any of the books. Nor could he find any letters in Malfoy's desk, drawers, or trunk.
"That is suspicious," he muttered to himself, as he looked around for somewhere else to search. "He gets letters all the time, so where does he keep them?"
Getting down on his hands and knees, he peered under Malfoy's bed, but found the space was completely empty. Stumped as to where else to look, Harry got back to his feet and checked the time. Unlike his other visit he hadn't been disturbed by Hermione, meaning his hour was nearly up.
"Maybe Ron will have better luck," he mused with a shrug as he took one final look around the bedroom, before departing.
Heading down the stairs, Harry made his way towards the door, only to be stopped in his tracks by Hermione's voice calling Malfoy's name. Slowly he turned around, worrying that he would have to fend Hermione off. However, his eyes boggled as standing beside Hermione was the real Malfoy.
"How nice of my secret twin to come and see me," Malfoy drawled, pulling out his wand and pointing it in Harry's direction. "If you even take one step towards the door, I will stun you where you stand."
"I…I…" Harry stammered, his brain working overtime to try and find a way out of the situation he'd stumbled into.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked, moving towards the imposter.
"I wouldn't worry about getting answers from him, by my reckoning he's been here for almost an hour. His Polyjuice Potion will be wearing off any minute now," Draco drawled, not moving from his position leaning on the wall at the far side of the room.
"I can explain," Harry began, well aware that within minutes he would be exposed.
"That is the general idea," Draco remarked with a roll of his eyes.
As he felt the effects of the Polyjuice Potion beginning to wear off, Harry eyed the door, wondering if he dared risk trying to make a break for it. However, a glance back towards Malfoy showed that the blond was still holding his wands, and the smirk he offered him almost seemed like a taunt for Harry to try and escape. Scowling back at the blond, he turned to Hermione, who was watching him curiously.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to his best friend, feeling the effects of the potion disappearing rapidly.
Hermione's confused look vanished as her boyfriend transformed into an equally familiar figure. "Harry!"
"That explains it," Draco tutted. "And I'm guessing Weasley is your partner in crime. In fact, I bet he's waiting for you outside. Am I right, Potter?"
"Yes," Harry whispered, knowing there was no point in lying.
"Then be a good boy and poke your head out and tell him to get in here," Draco ordered. "But do now warn him what's happened, or do not try and run. We deserve answers, and I will not hesitate to hex you if we don't get them."
Harry considered shouting a warning at Ron, or even running off himself, but one look at Hermione changed his mind. She still looked rather confused, but more than that, she looked hurt. Even though he and Ron hadn't intended to do anything to hurt Hermione, clearly they had, and Harry knew they would have to make it right.
Promising that he wouldn't try anything, Harry took the final few steps to the door and poking his head out into the corridor, he spotted Ron's red head sticking out from the alcove, glancing worriedly around. Gaining Ron's attention, he beckoned his friend to join him in the Head Dorms.
"What's going on, Harry?" Ron cried as he rushed blindly into the room. "Have you found it?"
"And what exactly have you been looking for Weasley?" Draco asked, causing a shocked Ron to jump in surprise.
"Malfoy," he sputtered, turning around and finding not only the Head Boy, but the Head Girl. "Hermione!"
"Ronald," Hermione returned frostily.
"How is this possible?" Ron asked, turning back to the blond Slytherin. "We saw you leave, and you never came back."
"You're not the only ones who can play with Polyjuice Potion," Draco chuckled. "You saw someone who looks like me leave. The real me was here the whole time."
"You're saying that at one point this morning, there were three Draco Malfoy's running around the castle?" Ron checked with a shudder. "Now that's a scary thought."
"It is actually," Hermione agreed with a small chuckle.
"There wouldn't have been any extra versions of me running around if it wasn't for these two," Draco pointed out. "Not that we've found out what these two have been doing yet," he reminded his girlfriend, trying to get things back on track.
"You're right," Hermione agreed with a nod as she turned her stern glare on her two friends. "An explanation is definitely in order. So come on, spill the beans. What are you up to?"
"We were looking for proof," Harry answered with a sigh, knowing that there was no point lying now they'd been caught red-handed.
"Proof of what?" Draco asked.
"Proof of You-Know-Who staying at your house over summer," Ron said, not sounding too sure of what he was saying.
"What?" Draco and Hermione exploded at the same time, both of them looking thoroughly confused.
"We need to know more," Hermione demanded sharply.
"I heard him on the train, Hermione," Harry admitted. "He was telling Zabini and Nott about the special visitor they'd had at the manor over the summer."
"And you decided it was The Dark Lord?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"Who else was it going to be?" Harry demanded. "Who else would warrant your friends being banned from visiting you?"
"Me," Hermione answered.
"You?" Ron queried, sharing a baffled look with Harry.
"Meet our mysterious house guest," Draco chuckled, gesturing to Hermione. "Hermione was the one who visited over the summer."
"Why?" Ron blurted.
"As I'm sure you've both worked out, Draco and I are a couple," Hermione explained. "We got together last year, but kept it quiet as we weren't sure how serious we were. Once we'd decided it was serious, we knew we would have to win Malfoy's parents over. So I went to stay at the manor for a few weeks over the summer to get to know them and win their approval."
"Did it work?" Ron asked.
"I think so," Hermione replied with a slight shrug.
"It did," Draco assured his girlfriend, giving her a reassuring smile. "They've accepted you, and in time they will come to love you as I do."
"Hopefully not quite the same way you do," Hermione retorted with a grin.
"Love?" Ron interrupted. "You two love each other?"
"We do," Hermione confirmed. "Is that a problem?"
"No," Ron answered with a shake of his head. "Malfoy is a lucky wizard. You're a hell of a kisser, Hermione."
"Thanks," Hermione remarked in bemusement, rather shocked by how easily Ron was accepting everything. However, Harry had been rather quiet, and she turned to him to try and gauge his reaction. "Harry?" she questioned, not able to read his expression.
"Are we just going to ignore what sort of family he comes from?" Harry asked. "His father supports Voldemort."
"Supported, past tense," Draco corrected. "You can't support a wizard who isn't around anymore."
"Isn't he?" Harry countered. "I can personally vouch that he retuned at the end of fourth year."
"No-one is doubting that, Potter," Draco interjected. "But he was back all of five minutes before going again. Whatever spell he used didn't work properly, it didn't fix things the way it was supposed to. According to father, it took him years to find that solution, and he only managed it thanks to two deranged Death Eaters who couldn't move on with their lives. For him to come back a second time, he would need to find another solution, and more mugs to help him. I think, and father thinks, the chances of that happening are slim. So we move on with our lives, and my moving on is embracing the fact that not everything I once believed is right. My moving on is Hermione."
"He's got a point, Harry," Ron said. "We never did find any proof his family were still mixed up in the dark arts."
"Only because we never found any of his letters from home," Harry argued.
"So that's what you were looking for," Draco remarked with a nod. "You thought father would have written to me, informing me of all his dark plans. Sorry to burst your bubble, but father doesn't have any dark plans. That's our past, not our future. We've moved on, and I think it's time you did too, Potter. Yes, one day he might find a way to come back, but equally he might not. Why live your life in fear of something that might never happen."
"I agree," Hermione said to Harry. "I can see why you're worried, Harry, but if you can't trust Draco, trust me. Do you really think I would be with him, if I thought for one minute his family hadn't changed their ways?"
"No," Harry admitted with a sigh.
"We were wrong, Harry," Ron said.
"I guess," Harry muttered. "But I was so sure I was right."
"I don't know why, when all you did was jump to wild conclusions," Draco snorted.
"I think we should let the matter drop," Hermione suggested. "Although I do have one stipulation if the pair of you want me to forgive you and not hold this against you."
"Anything," Ron promised.
"Next time you hear something and decide to investigate using Polyjuice Potion or some other underhand means of discovering the truth, talk to me first," Hermione said. "Do not try this again, and never pose as my boyfriend again."
"To be fair, we didn't know he was your boyfriend," Harry argued. "That caught us by surprise."
"And what a surprise," Ron added with a whistle.
"Let's never talk of that again," Draco growled. "I need no reminders that the pair of you have both kissed my girlfriend."
"Does it make you uncomfortable, Malfoy?" Ron asked with a wicked grin.
"Yeah, are you jealous?" Harry added with a chuckle.
"How can I be jealous of myself?" Draco scoffed. "Hermione only kissed you because she thought you were me. And after kissing you, she knew she was wrong. It seems neither of you stack up to me in that department."
"Is that true?" Ron asked with a pout. "Is he really a better kisser than us?"
"I am not going to answer that," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "In fact, I will not talk about this again. Let's just say that lessons have been learned, and the pair of you are getting off very lightly."
Accepting that Hermione was right, and they could have landed themselves in serious trouble, Harry and Ron promised to never do anything so reckless again. After all, who knew what else they would discover if they made it a habit of using Polyjuice Potion to pose as other people.
The End.
