1 A/N: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of these characters. J.K. Rowling does, though.

2

3 Chapter 18

Mission: Impossible



Draco waited in the warm comfort of his bed, his mind running the Gryffindor portrait password over and over, trying to make sure he can remember it. " Frog Mucus. Frog Mucus." He whispered to himself, tugging the covers up around his neck. He couldn't let any of the other Slytherins see he was in bed in his clothes. They'd figure he would be sneaking out, and then naturally they'd want to be in on whatever he was up to.

He watched as the other Slytherins filled in their beds. Some stirred through their sleep still, others fell asleep like logs. Being a Malfoy, he was suspicious. He couldn't just assume they were asleep, he had to be completely sure. He was prepared for this. His fingers grasped at a bag of jellybeans under his bed, which he bought in Hogsmeade. It wasn't for him to eat, he thought it would be funny to pelt his roommates with them while they were asleep. He could see it now:

The room fills with light, his roommates awake, rub their fingers through their hair, and end up finding jellybeans tucked in odd places. "What in blazes? Why is there a jellybean in my hair?" Draco chuckled to himself and then readied his first jellybean.

He wanted to simply test his fellow Slytherins on how deeply asleep they were. Readying an interesting bogey-flavored one, he aimed at Goyle's nose. Goyle had been returned to the Slytherin room that afternoon after Madame Pomfrey decided he was well enough.

The jellybean sailed through the air and missed Goyle by a mile. It clattered off the wall and rolled away somewhere into the dust that dominated the floor beneath their beds.

Draco sighed and then dug out another bean. This one was a bit different - yellow in color. Lemon, the one flavor that he actually liked. He wasn't much for candy; he figured that if he wanted to maintain a cavity- free, white smile then he should lay off of the sweets.

He let the lemon-flavored jellybean fly across the room. It bounced off Crabbe's forehead and then fell into the open snoring mouth of the first year in the bed beside Crabbe's.

Draco grimaced. "Gross." He thought, and then figured that at least Crabbe and Goyle were asleep. He searched the jellybean bag for another one, but found it empty. " What the. . ." He turned it upside down. Half of a red jellybean tumbled out. Someone had left it behind after taking one bite. Judging from the appearance, it must have been chili pepper.

Draco was furious. He was sure that Crabbe and Goyle had been eating out of the bag, they were the only ones brave (and stupid) enough to mess with a Malfoy's things. Draco, of course, never really did anything to them as punishment for it, since he knew they probably didn't even see the wrong in what they did. Instead, he decided to take a chance and sneak out right then and there.

He stood up, the springs of his bed creaking. His body froze, tensed. Nothing else in the room stirred. A soft wheezing snore escaped Goyle's mouth. Goyle still complained his throat was a bit sore, but after having your entire esophagus swell up, Draco figured it should hurt a bit.

Draco continued his way across the room, moving like a cat, every muscle measured, every step calculated. He froze again when he heard a murmur: "Wait. . ."

He looked around his shoulder at the oddity that had given out that whisper. It was the other Slytherin first year. His name was Gregory and he often talked through his sleep. Draco shrugged and kept going.

The Slytherin portrait swung open before him and he then stepped out into the hallway. It was freezing cold, and a spider was creeping across a lamp in the corner of the hallway, casting a giant and hairy image onto the wall.

Draco rubbed his hands together and then made his way down the hallway. It was a winding path. Then, up the stairs, to the left. . . he knew the way, though rather it was strange how he did, since he never really walked by the Gryffindor portrait much, except on the way to his Transfiguration class, or by accident.

" Crud." He murmured, as he stubbed his toe on something. He looked down and saw it was a book, old and dusty. He picked it up, and then opened it. It had a warning that it belonged in the Forbidden Section of the library.

He looked at the title: Guide to Death Spells. Draco shrugged and dropped the book back down. It fell down into a massive puddle and then slowly grew wet. He didn't care, it wasn't his book, and besides, if someone caught him with it they'd think he took it. He didn't need that.

His hands traced the wet mossy stones of the walls as he now headed up another flight of steps. The steps were so old they crumbled in some places. Just as he reached the top, the staircase began to switch. It moved away from the wall and took position in the place of another one. The one that was there before took position by the wall.

" Oh, great." Draco murmured, his eyes taking in the new surroundings now.

He tried to find his way back to where he was going before, then put his hands in his jeans pockets. He was completely lost. He leaned on the wall behind him and thought to himself: " If I was a Gryffindor, where the heck would I go?"

The only answer was his angry breath escaping his nose.

" Damn." He kicked at the bookshelf beside him. It suddenly swung inwards and revealed a secret passage. Draco smiled and thought: 'I ought to kick things more.' He walked into the passage he had opened for himself, then looked around.

It was one of the many secret passages Hogwarts had, and he wasn't surprised. Filch had many of these made for himself so he could always pop up into student's faces and scare them senseless.

He walked down to the end of it and found a solid wall, thought he really found it with his fingers since it was pitch black. He figured it could just be another trick bookshelf, so he took out his wand and whispered: "Lumos!" A light filled the area around him and now he pressed on the wall. It swung open and he then found himself standing in front of a large painting of the Gryffindor coat-of-arms. He was close, he knew it.

Draco kept going down this new hallway and then turned to find the bookshelf he had pushed open to get out here slowly closing.

Soon he was standing in front of the portrait of the fat lady. He thought vaguely to himself: "What was it again? Frog Blood?"

The fat lady stirred and then took sight of Draco standing before the portrait, staring into space, lost in thought. The fat lady hadn't seen this handsome boy before, and she finally said: "Who are you?"

Draco was startled out of his thoughts, and replied harshly: "None of your business."

" Well, I never!" She was angry. Her eyes were still curiously examining Draco, though. He had a little Slytherin emblem stitched to the front of his sweatshirt, which hung loosely on him since he was quite lean.

" Stop staring, woman. I'm trying to remember the password." Draco told the painting. She immediately looked away.

" You're not a Gryffindor." She finally said.

" Really? What tipped you off?" Draco murmured sarcastically. " What was that password. . . something with frogs, I know that much. . ." He thought hard, then said: " I know! Frog Mucus."

The fat lady swung open, but reluctantly. " You don't belong in here, Slytherin boy!" She said.

" You're right. I'm doing a favor for Potter." He replied, and then found himself standing in the Gryffindor common room. He realized it was much nicer then Slytherin's common room. It was cleaner, above all.

Now he knew he had to creep by at utmost quietness. He made his way past Ron Weasley, who mumbled about something in his sleep. The Weasley twin's beds lay empty, for they were coming back from their suspension tomorrow. His eyes stopped on Harry's empty bed. Beside it was a bureau.

" Ah, finally." Draco slowly opened the bureau drawer and then saw the white khakis on top. Beside them, indeed, was an odd-looking cloak. He picked it up and then put his hand under it. His hand was gone.

Draco's eyes widened. He took the cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders and then looked down. The only thing left of him was his head, floating over the ground. Draco thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread, since it could have been material for endless pranks. Wouldn't it be funny if McGonagall saw a hand floating towards her? Or if Neville Longbottom found himself in an encounter with Draco's floating head?

Draco chuckled to himself as he then pulled the hood of the cloak over himself. Now he was completely invisible. He walked across the room, ready to leave, when he realized something: where was Longbottom, anyway?

He turned around but didn't see him anywhere in the room.

Draco then glanced around the room again. There was a chess set waiting beside Weasley's bed, on which there was a half-eaten bag of jellybeans. He took a whole bunch of them and pushed them into his pockets, feeling that this would be perfect pelting material.

Then, he looked around the room again.

He hadn't really gone through anything, but. . . he battled with himself whether he should check anything out. He found his eyes moving to a box on Harry's bureau. He had labeled it: Gifts. Draco wondered what kind of gifts he'd get. Draco himself didn't get much from his friends on his birthday - he didn't tell them when it was. Only Crabbe and Goyle knew, so they'd steal something for him. Last year it had been two candy bars and a book that looked really difficult - they figured Draco would like it.

He had liked it. He never admitted it to anyone, but he read it over and over to himself, usually when he couldn't fall asleep. Draco now couldn't resist lifting the lid of Harry's box and taking a peek inside.

The felt-lined inside of the box felt soft and warm to his fingers. Draco tilted the box to the light and then examined what was inside. There was an envelope, worn and dirty, filled with pictures. He flipped through them, with a bit of a disinterest. All of them were of Hermione. ' He needs a hobby.' He murmured. Who in their right mind wanted a million pictures of Hermione?

Draco then saw a little wooden sculpture of Harry on a broom, looking like the hero everyone saw him as, his hand outstretched to catch some invisible Snitch. Draco felt a twinge of jealousy that he resented. He pushed the little sculpture back inside the box, then found something else. It was a letter, a bit shredded up; and he found it to be simply a little birthday card, nothing more. Then, there was a book on Quidditch, which just barely fit inside the box.

Draco pulled that out completely and opened it. It was one of the kinds of books he'd love to read - it was long, tiny type, and filled with interesting things. His secret - he loved to read.

Draco then pushed the book back in after reading to himself the first page. He was reluctant.

There was nothing else in the box except for some candy and a few golden Galleons on the bottom of it. Draco thought it would be funny to steal the Galleons, but he didn't really feel up to it.

He put the box, covered with its lid like it originally was, back onto the bureau. Draco's eyes scanned Harry's bed to see if there was something amusing lying among the folds of the sheets - a teddy bear or something? There wasn't anything there though that would qualify as something funny. He sighed and decided it was time to head to the hospital room. He turned when he heard a sound.

Ron was mumbling through his sleep: " I'm sorry, Herm . . . sorry . . . forgive me. . ."

Draco shrugged and then left the Gryffindor sleeping quarters and then emerged through the portrait door, the cloak trailing on the floor behind him, invisible to the naked eye. Only Draco could see it from the inside out.

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The way to the hospital room was a bit less confusing. Draco managed not to trip over an oddly placed statuette of a griffin, then had to avoid falling since he was about to take a step towards a staircase when it began to move. It would have been a long fall down. . .

He felt his body stiffen, his eyes stopping on the very bottom of the fall - nearly two hundred feet down. He took a slow step backwards, the wall behind him a comforting feeling pressed to his back.

Tugging the cloak closer around him, he made his way around the shifting staircases to one on the far left which had remained in place. His feet pattered as he slowly ran up the stairs, then stopped, waiting, listening.

The hallway was dead silent.

He continued, making his way to the hospital wing. His cloak snagged onto something and he turned, his eyes angry at whatever dared to catch onto it. Some sort of a statue was standing there, bronze and gleaming in the moonlight.

He turned to free the cloak from the statue's hold, only to feel it move aside, showing yet another passageway.

Curiosity was his weakness.

Draco slowly slipped into the cavernous passageway, his eyes checking its surroundings. He made his way to the back of it and then stared at what he saw: a secret room. Inside, odd things lay about. A few magical spell books, and odds and ends. Scissors and cutting-room supplies, with thread and yarn. And in the corner of the tiny little room was a magazine clipping of a girl, which resembled Rebecca Crick.

Draco's eyes widened.

' What is this place?' He thought, peeking around. It looked like someone had tried to set up a sewing room inside. He shrugged after a while. Perhaps one of the students (a girl, most likely), had set up a secret room in which they made dresses for . . . dolls, or something.

Draco backed away from the room, and then emerged from the passageway through the doorway the bronze statue was hiding. It had slid aside quite easily, but he noticed he had pushed it directly at the same time as the big hand of the clock across the hall moved to the twelve, and the little one was on one. It was a common witch and wizard secret, sealing doorways with objects that only opened up on hours, not minutes (i.e. 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, etc.). Draco continued his way to the hospital wing.

There wasn't a need to alarm Potter - he'd probably ramble out wild stories of what it could mean. Draco simply decided to keep this newfound room in the stitches of their mystery until it comes into light of being something useful to the mystery.

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Harry didn't suspect to find Draco back for a while. The hospital wing was so silent, that if a pin were to be dropped, the windows would implode from the noise. Harry shifted, his bed springs creaking unnaturally loud. The room echoed the sound, multiplying it, making it sound as if an elephant had just rolled off one of the beds instead of Harry.

He was now sitting on the corner of his bed, his fingers finding his glasses in the darkness, the cold black rims of them making their way into his hands quickly. Harry slowly put them on, then looked around the room again.

The kitten in the poster across the room was struggling to climb up its branch again. Madame Pomfrey sat, dozing, in a chair by the doorway.

Harry suddenly heard footsteps.

His eyes widened, but though he tried, he couldn't see anyone in the darkness of the room. The footsteps neared his bed and then Draco's head appeared, floating over the ground. Harry whispered: "You found the cloak!"

" Yeah. Pretty neat, Potter." He slid the cloak off his shoulders and it fell in a bunch at his ankles, and he then picked it up, handing it over to Harry. " Here, you put it on."

Harry nodded and then put the cloak on, letting his head remain floating above the ground. Then, Harry asked Draco: "Where are we going to go first?"

" The library. I think we have a book with names of students from Beauxbaxton, and if anything, we should look up Rebecca and her records." Draco replied.

" Good idea." Harry then pulled the hood of his robe on, and Draco looked a bit bewildered, but then he heard Harry's voice: "I thought we'd share the cloak."

Draco seemed a bit detesting of it. " I don't. . ."

" It's big enough. Ron, Hermione, and I fit under it." Harry said.

" It's alright. I'd rather be caught walking alone through Hogwarts then with you under a cloak." Draco replied, and then headed out of the room. The silent creak of Harry's footsteps behind him was reassuring, to say the least.

The winding staircases soon brought them down before the library doors. Draco turned and whispered: " You still there, Potter?"

" Yeah."

" Okay." He pushed the door open, then wondered if he should hold it open for Potter. He didn't.

The library smelled of paper and ink, which wasn't surprising. Draco suddenly pulled his hand back, and whispered urgently: "Harry! There's someone here."

" Who?"

Draco saw Harry's face as Harry moved the cloak away from himself. There was an air of puzzlement around both boys as they stared at a moonlit figure hunched over a book at a nearby library table. It was a girl, with long hair that puffed out and then stretched in frizzy strands across her arms.

" It's Hermione!" Harry exclaimed from inside of his robe.

Hermione stirred, turning to look towards where she heard a whisper. Draco pulled backwards behind a bookshelf, while Harry immediately yanked the cloak over his face.

" Potter, you nitwit. Why don't you shout next time?" Draco hissed into where he figured Harry's ear would be.

Harry glared underneath the cloak and then slowly moved over towards Hermione. Draco moved after him on the other side of the bookshelf, where he was out of Hermione's view. Draco's eyes searched the shelves for the student records of Beauxbaxton.

The door of the library rattled.

Hermione jumped up, slamming her book shut, and then headed to hide behind the bookshelf as well. It was most likely Filch doing his nightly round of checking out every Hogwarts corner, nook, and cranny.

Hermione smacked right into Draco's chest as she hid behind the bookshelf. She murmured: "Odd place for a wall. . ." Then she looked up in horror at Draco's face.

She took a step backwards, ready to scream.

Draco put his fingers to his lips and then told her to shush up, but in a bit of a nastier way. Harry saw this all with a sudden amusement.

Filch stepped into the room, the lantern in his hand casting long frightening shadows on the walls. Mrs. Norris rubbed around his legs, letting out a pitiful mewling sound. "What is it, Mrs. Norris?" Filch asked the cat, gently rubbing her ears. " Any students out of bed?"

The cat raised its tail into the air, twitching it slightly, ears erect and listening up for every sound. Hermione held her breath and then she looked back at Draco, who seemed to be quite amused.

Harry edged his way towards Draco and Hermione, hugging the cloak tightly to him. Draco was probably wondering where Harry was, and Hermione was frightened enough with the fact that Draco was there.

" Any kids out here?" Filch cackled, moving himself closer towards the bookshelf that the trio were standing behind.

Draco slowly edged farther away from the light Filch was casting with the lantern. He bumped into the bookshelf on the other side, then watched as Hermione followed him. Harry wanted to laugh at the look Draco gave Hermione.

Filch was nearing the bookshelf, his lantern pushed around the corner of the bookshelf. Draco quickly rounded the area of the bookshelf and behind the next one. Hermione raced after him. Draco moved away from her.

Filch walked up the pathway between the bookshelves, his lantern dancing off a rope wrapped around his wrist. " What is it, Mrs. Norris? Someone is in here?"

The cat yowled and then raced up the path between the bookshelves, then sniffed the area in which Draco, Hermione, and the invisible Harry were standing.

The room hung with an air of suspense. " Hmm." Filch moved towards where Mrs. Norris stood. The light of the lantern danced between the spines of the books and illuminated Hermione on the other side. She gasped and then moved out of the light's reach. Filch heard the gasp and straightened up. "I heard something, Mrs. Norris!"

The cat meowed in reply.

Harry stuck his hand out of the cloak and tugged on Draco's sweatshirt. He turned, then saw Harry's hand motion at a bookshelf across the walkway. The bookshelf was tilting inwards, showing a hidden passage. Harry's hand beckoned towards the inside of the bookshelf.

Draco shook his head silently, his blue eyes speaking for him: Filch will see us!

Harry stuck out his other hand, pointing at Hermione. Harry was thinking to himself: 'Take Hermione! Get into the passage! I'll get the book on Beauxbaxton records.' Harry moved both hands towards the passage way, then pointed at Hermione again.

' No!' Draco mouthed.

Harry rolled his eyes. Draco was stubborn. He didn't want to take Hermione with him.

Hermione turned and Harry hid both his hands under the cloak again, his stomach wringing with worry. He didn't want Hermione to find out that he was there - it was best if she only knew Draco was in the library.

Draco finally budged. He turned to Hermione and whispered, just audibly: "Follow me."

She was doubtful. Harry hoped with all his mind that she'd follow Draco, and trust him. Otherwise, Filch would find her and Draco and they'd both be in extreme trouble.

Hermione finally nodded and followed Draco as they both made their way across the walkway. They'd have to sneak past the row of books that Filch was standing at.

Harry busied himself in distracting Filch. Using his cloak to all its capability, Harry sneaked around the bookshelf to the third one from Filch and then dropped a book to the floor. Filch spun around to face the sound.

In the meantime, Draco and Hermione raced past the row Filch was in and then made their way into the passageway behind the bookshelf. Harry slowly moved towards the passage, too, but Filch was already onto something.

" Who is it! Show yourselves and I'll reduce the punishment. . . a bit." Filch shouted.

Harry knew that even a reduced punishment would be severe, so he made sure not to make a sound as he neared the area where the library held the books filled with various records.

Harry's eyes flew across the spines of the books, reading the titles: Top Fifteen Quidditch Record-breakers; Amazing Witch Records - 1995 Version; Hogwarts Students - A Complete Record. Then, there it was - a new and updated book on Beauxbaxton students.

Harry drew his hand out from beneath his robe and then pulled the book towards him. He opened it, just to see if it was the right book. The dates inside were accurate, it would have to show Rebecca's records in it as well, if she went to Beauxbaxton.

Harry then moved towards the secret passageway and opened it slightly. Filch was now exploring the area where Harry had dropped a book.

Mrs. Norris darted across the floor, sniffling the area where Harry had taken the book on Beauxbaxton. Suddenly, the passageway fell open and Harry went inside. Then, he found himself in pitch black.

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" Someone just entered." Hermione's voice echoed through the passageway. Then, Draco's voice said:

" Lumos!" His wand let out a light. Harry could see Draco and Hermione halfway down the passageway. Draco was saying now: "Nobody entered. Don't panic."

" I'm not panicking." Hermione replied, stiffly. "What were you doing in the library, anyway?"

Harry held his breath in anticipation. Draco and Harry hadn't thought of any alibis of what they were up to if they'd be caught. Draco replied quickly though, without any hesitation: "Taking a midnight stroll. What were YOU doing?"

Hermione fell silent.

Harry moved up closer to them, the cloak still wrapped around him, his eyes looking over Hermione. She was just as he remembered her. He wanted to reach out and just hug her, to tell her how sorry he was.

" Well?" Draco prompted.

" I was researching something." Hermione replied.

" What were you researching, may I ask?" Draco asked.

" No you may not." She snapped.

Draco's face darkened with anger. The word 'Mudblood' was already traced on his lips, ready to come out. Harry bent over and picked up a pebble, and then struck Draco in the back of the head with it to remind him that Harry was still there, and that calling Hermione a Mudblood wasn't allowed.

Draco sighed and then said stiffly: " Odd time of the day to do research, don't you think?"

" It suits me." Hermione replied, just as coldly. They spoke purely to pass time as they walked down the long dark corridor.

Draco didn't reply. Suddenly, he laughed. " You thought I was a wall?"

She laughed too. " Yes, well, I bumped nose first into something, and you don't think the first thing that came to your mind is your chest?"

He shook his head. " That's pretty funny though." Suddenly, Draco had an idea. " Say, how come you aren't visiting Potter in the hospital wing?"

Hermione seemed angry. " Is that your business?" She demanded.

" I'm making it my business." He replied sharply.

" I'm angry with him."

" You're angry that he kept his word to Ron?" Draco said, slyly.

Her eyebrows raised. "How do you know about any of this?"

" I have my ways." He was pushing open the bookshelf at the end of the passageway. Moonlight streamed across the hallway that they stepped out into, and Draco removed the Lumos spell from his wand. " You know, Potter can't stop moaning about how sorry he is. I've seen him in the hospital wing not so long ago. What a wimp."

Harry winced at the insult, but knew it was for a good cause. He was surprised Draco was trying to reconcile Hermione and Harry. Harry figured it would be Ron pestering Hermione about ending the fight.

" He's really, honestly sorry?" Hermione stopped walking and faced Draco.

" Would I lie?" Draco replied.

" Yes." She said, then laughed.

He shook his head. " Well, I'm not lying now, then." He turned away from her and said: " Get some sleep, your eyes are red. It looks awful."

" Um . . . thanks." She said, sarcastically, then walked away down towards Gryffindor tower.

Draco walked the opposite way. Harry followed him. Once Hermione's footsteps weren't audible, Harry removed the hood of his cloak and stared at Draco in surprise. " Why did you tell her that?"

" Tell her what? That her eyes were red?" Draco replied.

" No! About how I'm sorry and all." Harry said.

" I wanted to." Draco answered. "Why, you don't want to get back together with her or something?" He looked a bit defensive now.

" No. I do. But. . . it's not like you to . . ." Harry began.

" Well, you might laugh, but I'm beginning to consider you as a friend-in-training." Draco replied. " Not a friend yet. I'm mainly helping you for my own reasons, after all."

" Oh. Okay, a friend-in-training." Harry smiled.

This time, Draco smiled back.



A/N: Readers I need your help! Does J.K. Rowling ever say what the names of Hermione's parents are? If so what are they? It's crucial that I find out. Well the next chapter might not be up for 2 or 3 days since I'm going away to my aunt's house for New Years and I won't have time to write a chapter up.

P.S. Remember, Harry and Hermione had already made plans to go to her parent's house over Christmas break. I'm planning to have them make-up in the next chapter though it is still under construction. ^_^