A/N: Hi. Sorry it took so long but WOW! Sooo many reviews! I was kinda
embarassed how in my other stories the list of my replies to reviews took
up so much space, like half of the arrow thing, so I'm trying to condense
it. Thanks all.
This isn't as well-written as the last chapter, since this has more dialogue. Also, it makes a few sexual references. I had to, I just kept writing and writing and it wasn't getting any longer!! Grr that is annoying, and I'm in a really piss-ass mood. Sorry, but I just am. I hate guys right now, did I mention that? Honestly, I hate this chapter, it's crap, but I thought I owed you guys a chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.
I stepped down on the floor of the female prefects' dorm, muttered, "Lumos," and immediately admired the lush pure white carpet. A dirty footprint of mine was left and I watched in amazement as the untouched floor sucked in the dirt and became as a good as new. A self-replenishing floor? I was impressed. I had to wonder if it was actually like that in the Slytherins' common room. It could be; I never took the time to notice.
I glanced around and immediately recognized Sheena Mesmont, a Gryffindor. That meant that I was in the right location at least. I tiptoed around the rows of beds, scanning the faces for hers. There was Lavender Brown... oh, and Parvati Patil... She couldn't be too far.
Ah, there was Hermione Granger. Somehow I had always envisioned her sleeping neatly on her back, as if she was an angel who subconsciously did not want to crush her wings. Instead, she was lying on her side, curled up into her pillow. She still looked angelic and beautiful, and human, and I found myself standing there, breathless, watching her sleep.
She murmured gently and I froze; for thirty seconds I did not breathe nor blink. Wait! Why was I trying not to wake her? I'd be doing it in a minute anyway? I gave myself a mental swat on the head and took a long breath for clarity.
I quickly maneuvered around her bed, to the side where she was facing. Her face was so serene and peaceful; I hated to wake her. I hated to. I couldn't do it. I had to. I... I took out my wand, and flicked it. "Totalus crimilence!" It was a spell I had stumbled upon in my father's library that combined a silencer and a body bind.
Her eyes flicked open, met mine, and I could hear with every bone in my body her piercing silent scream. It was in her eyes, those eyes opened wide in terror. I gulped and backed away, even though I knew that she couldn't attack me.
Explanations would come, but Lavender Brown was stirring in her bed so I deemed it best to explain to Hermione why she was being kidnapped later. "Er, Leviosa." The already lightweight Hermione was picked up and heaved over my shoulder as I crept quickly towards the exit of the girl's dorm.
"I know you can't apparate into a dorm, but maybe out..." I thought, with the prospect of getting through the room of keys unscathed in mind. I closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the prefects' common room.
"It's not working," I thought sourly, and opened his eyes. I was in the common room! It was the easiest apparition I had ever had. I wasn't trained, and I knew that I could easily mess up, so I vowed to keep apparition to a minimal. I'd die at midnight, sure, but I was hoping to die in one piece. I chuckled at the thought of half of me falling dead in the library and the other half in Hogsmeade. How grim I had become!
I set Hermione on the couch; she was glaring at me, and I knew that if she could hex with her eyes I would be rolling over like a dog while wearing a fluffy purple jumpsuit, singing the "Animal Crackers in my soup" song and eating newts' eyes topped with rotten chunks of whole milk. Needless to say, I grimaced and decided not to give Hermione her motion back just yet.
"Hi, Granger," I said casually, and realized how dumb that must have sounded. "I'm sorry I had to curse you. I want to talk to you." I'd say "with you" but I thought since she wouldn't be having an active part in the upcoming conversation it would only further provoke her wrath.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I insisted, but she rolled her eyes and wouldn't keep them on me. "I'm not going to be a Death Eater."
She eyed me cautiously, as if I was putting her on, and her expression prodded me on. "Um, well. I took my first vows of becoming one in fourth year. I should have taken my final oath to become one by eighteenth birthday, which is today, May 19th. Happy birthday to me.
"But, I didn't. I don't want to be one; I changed my mind. Evil, killing. It's just not me. Blood would not look good with this shirt... okay, I see that you're not in the joking mood," I said, wincing slightly. "So... I'm going to die at midnight."
I just stared at her, and she stared at me. It went on like this for a minute or two, and then I realized that I was waiting for her to say something, which was ridiculous of me. "Hermione, I'm going to give you back your voice. But, I'm going to make it so that you can only speak very quietly, okay? Okay." I hesitated before saying, "Dissipatus minimus."
"Dracomalfoyiswearwhenigetoutofhereimgoingtokillyouhowdareyougivemethat storyafterkdnappingmeicantbelievethis..." I began to get bored by her soft hisses that rambled together.
"Are you done?" I asked, a little more harshly than I would have liked. She pouted in my direction. "Say it," I urged mentally. "Tell her that you love her. Tell her that she's the reason why you won't be a Death Eater. Tell her that she's changed you." But I sat quietly, not ready. Not ready just yet.
"Why do you need me?" she finally asked, softening only the slightest bit.
"Because," I said, thinking of a reason as the words came. "Uh, for one thing..." That's good; if I start it out like that I can think of a better reason as I go on. "For one thing, I want to have a good last day, and I think it would be, er, enjoyable if I hung out with some of you people rather than the Slytherins. And, uh, two... Two, I'm dying. Would you refuse me?" I put on my most pathetic face.
"Yes, I would," she replied plainly.
"Three: COME ON! I'm sorry!"
"You WHAT?"
"I'm SORRY. S-O-R-R-Y. Sorry," I said quickly, not used to apologizing. "I was always mean to you. Sorry, Granger."
"Alright," Hermione said.
"Really?" I was skeptical; was I that good at begging?
"Yeah. If you really mean it… fine."
Funny... I didn't realize all I had to do was apologize. That was so easy! Women are easily appeased. Then again, they're also easily ruffled, so it evened out I suppose.
"Well?" said, expectantly.
"Well what?"
"What's next? What are we going to do now?"
"Get Potter and Weasley, I guess." I knew what I wanted to do, but my reasoning was still a little fuzzy. Her look demanded an explanation. "We need to make amends and, uh, yeah." Hermione still seemed infuriated and was not satisfied by this answer but she accepted it anyway.
"What time is it?" she asked, yawning softly. I cringed, as once more I was reminded of the time. It was 1:15 a.m.
I gave Hermione her movement back and she stretched. "Do you know the guys' password?" I asked her.
"Bleeding pit," Hermione replied grimly. I just nodded.
We swung the door open to the boys' dorm and I froze; fire was dancing up all of the walls! If I had that thought that flying knife-life keys were bad... Wait! Was this supposed to be on fire? I opened my mouth to yell, "FIRE!! FIRE!!!!!!!!!!" but a soft hand clamped down on my mouth.
For a moment, everything stopped. The flames stopped dancing, I stopped breathing, the world came to a screeching halt. All I knew was that I could smell her hands, right under my nose. It was lavender soap. I could almost taste it too, those lacy fingers lay right over my lips. I blinked, and the moment ended.
"Don't scream, it's supposed to be like that," she whispered. I was surprised that she didn't let me wake everyone up so that she didn't have to spend the day with me, but I was too busy being relieved. For a minute there, I genuinely believed that Hogwarts was on fire.
There was a portrait across the small room that appeared to be repelling the flames. It was of a short, squeamish looking clean-shaven man with scraggly red hair. "BLEEDING PIT!" Hermione called, but as I had cursed her it only came above a whisper.
"BLEEDING PIT!" I yelled. The portrait glanced at me, having not noticed Hermione and my entrance, and then automatically slid aside and the flames stopped. It was like the parting of the red sea; as soon as we crossed the room they started up again, and we quickly scrambled into the tunnel.
It was odd; in the regular house rooms, there was no tunnel, but here it was cramped. I realized that my ass was probably sticking right into Hermione's face and suddenly felt very bashful and self-conscious. I tried to lower it and was about to apologize or something when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Funny, why was there a light on.
My father had said that there was always a light at the end of a tunnel, only that sometimes it was a train. This didn't exactly help the situation, and I crawled much more slowly, not wanting to know why the light was on. "Freezus." I muttered, right before Hermione and I stumbled out into the male prefects' dorm.
We dusted ourselves off and looked at the frozen sight in front of us. It was 1:20 a.m. I must say that I laughed hysterically, Hermione along with me. I dropped to the floor, tears coming. I had never laughed that hard, not even when Father slipped and fell into the apparition of Voldemort (of course, I was punished severely for cracking up at that, but it was still side-splitting).
There in front of me was Neville Longbottom and Pansy Parkinson sharing a bed! Pansy had the comforter pulled up over her chest, but her shoulders were bare and they both were blushing furiously. Ron was frozen in time, grabbing his ribs from the laughter and his mouth was wide open, one of his hands against it. Dean Thomas was pointing and gaping, and several were rolling on the floor. Harry could be found next to Ron, looking more disgusted than amused.
"Oh... my... god..." I heard Hermione choke out. "I always knew Pansy was a slut... but desperate...?" I had to smile... wait, I was already smiling. Hermione was such a sweet, chaste girl. I had to admire her for that, seeing that most Hogwarts guys would drops their pants for her in a heartbeat. Myself included. Speaking of pants…
"Granger… I have an idea." A mischievous smile twitched onto my face. "What colour do you think Finnigan's boxers are?"
"I guess there's only one way to find out," Hermione grinned. "Would you like to have the honors?"
"I insist that you have them," I smiled sweetly. If only she knew at that moment how much that agreeing look of hers meant to me. Hermione winked and strode across to where Seamus Finnigan was standing. He was gasping at the site, bemused, and his hand had flown to his mouth. He wore an undershirt and navy sweatpants.
She gave me a last look, and then grabbed the sweats and yanked on them. "Plaid, eh?" I laughed, and she giggled furiously.
"I feel so awful!" she divulged, but the adrenaline lined look on her face was worth everything to me. Now's your chance, Draco, I told myself. Tell her. Open your mouth, let words come out. Tell her.
"Should I revive Potter and Weasley?" I asked instead, finally catching my breath. I was still hot and flushed from laughing—how hysterical it was! Harry looked pretty funny, scowling at the scene, and there was Finnigan in his plaid boxer shorts.
"Not just yet," said Hermione, a wicked smile creeping up on her face. "Malfoy, do you remember 5th year when Ron and Harry read my diary?"
"Of course I remember!" I wanted to scream. "I've paid attention to everything you've done or had done to you! I love you! I know you better than you'll ever know!" Instead, I simply shrugged, "Vaguely."
"Well, I do believe Ron keeps one himself," she continued, smiling insinuatingly.
"Ooooh, I get you," I grinned. "Shall we?"
"Let's." I followed her to the sixth bed where Ron's possessions were strewn ("You know the location of Ron's bed well," I teased.) and she began rummaging through his small dresser, throwing random things out of it. A jockey strap landed on my left shoulder and I eyed it strangely before I shrugged it off.
"I always like to have Ron's unusually coloured underwear land on me at 1:30 in the morning," I grimaced, and Hermione shot me an apologetic smile.
"Here it is!" she announced, looking oh-so-pleased. She held up a plain orange notebook with a slightly torn cover and what looked to be water damage. I took it from her and we sat on the edge of Ron's bed. Hermione didn't seem dazed in the slightest bit that Ron was standing right there, only frozen, so I tried not to either. It was a bit odd however.
Dear Journal,
I was almost hesitant to take this after what happened with Ginny in 2nd year. That asshole Malfoy. I bet his son was in on it too, leave it to Malfoy to do that to Gin. Anyway, Percy thought it was a good idea for me to have a journal but Fred and George ridiculed the hell out of me.
Harry is so blind. Just now Hermione came in and was asking him all about the Opening Ceremonies Dance and all he could so was stare at Cho. How does he not see that she likes him? Harry, he's a daft bloke, let me tell you. I feel bad for Hermione, she deserves better. I have to go, Harry wants me to come with him down to the Quidditch pitch.
~Ron
I looked up sharply at Hermione; she was blushing like a Weasley. "I KNEW you liked Harry!" I smirked but inside I was going cold. This was not something I wanted confirmed the day I was going to die.
"Key word being 'liked'!" she insisted. "Past tense! That was in 5th year! This entry must be old!" Her finger found the date, which was indeed from 5th year. I sighed inwardly, relieved. Not like you had a chance with her anyway, a voice inside my head whispered. I shuddered.
Hermione kept reading aloud, but I began to tune her out and entered my own train of thought. Draco, the voice said, sending shivers up my spine, she can barely stand you. She's only here right now because of pity. No one could ever love you! You're Draco Malfoy, an almost Death Eater! You're practically evil, you're practically—
"SHUTUP!" Draco screamed, and then stopped breathing, realizing it had been aloud. Hermione slowly looked up and stared at him.
"I'm… sorry?" she said questioningly.
Smooth one, Malfoy. Why don't you just call her a Mudblood again? And then, you can die like they expect you to. Cold-hearted and careless. Why change now? You can't. It's too late. Give it up.
"NO!"
"Draco!?" Hermione was now looking at me like I was crazy.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I'm just thinking crazily… it's nothing… What?" She was looking at me strangely, a small smile lining on her lips.
"You called me Hermione."
"Did I?" I replied dully. I had always called her Hermione in my mind and dreams and thoughts, it just never came out that way aloud. "Well, Hermione, anything interesting in Ron's diary? I was zoning out."
"Just that he has an immense crush on Fred's ex-girlfriend Angelina Johnson and found some, er, strange things in Percy's bottom drawer last summer," giggled Hermione, and she winked playfully. "I know I should feel guilty, but I feel very alive suddenly. It's strange, but it feels great."
"Good," was all I could stammer out. I sat quietly as she continued reading for several minutes about how he wrote Angelina a letter and then burnt it, and how Percy and his girlfriend had a humongous fight about how she dressed in public.
"Here's a good one," she said, and I made an attempt to listen. Ron's life was seemingly dull so far.
Dear Journal,
My god. I feel awful. You know Ginny's boyfriend, Justin? He broke up with her last night and I think it's my fault. Okay, so I know that it's my fault. Ginny never had a boyfriend before, since she was always hung up over Harry, and it was striking me as weird. I went up to Justin and I had a, er, talk with him about how he should treat her right and his intentions. I kept the threats to a minimal, honest! But I think I scared him, because he broke up with Ginny without an explanation!
I didn't tell her it was me! That would be suicide! Oh well, she'll meet someone new. As long as it's not Malfoy! Yech, she was looking at him all googly at him today and when I asked her she said it was his lab partner, Hunter Jinkes that she was looking at! I said, "That toad!?" and she kicked me in the shins! I guess I deserved it. Adieu.
~Ron
"Ginny was so mad about that! And it was Ron! How could he!" Hermione seemed as if Ron had just committed a federal crime. I guess it was a girl thing. "I just have to tell her!"
"Then Ron will know we were reading his diary," I said. She slouched, sulking at this thought as if to say, "Point taken."
"It's a quarter to two," she sighed sadly, looking at the clock on the bed stand. "How… how are you doing?"
"Surprisingly good," I admitted, folding my arms protectively across my chest. "I'm not scared, but I don't think the reality has fully hit me yet. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to—"
"Stop saying that!" Hermione said shrilly.
"Like you care?" I scoffed, and realized that I was being honest. Why should she care? I was never anything but awful to her.
"Malfoy… I don't like you but I don't want you to die," Hermione said. "I'm not horrible, you know."
"I do know," I said, and I looked into those brown eyes. They wouldn't look at mine, but they opened widely. "I said I was sorry."
"I know," she nodded. "I heard you."
An awkward moment of silence passed. I cleared my throat to break it. "Uh, let's get Ron and Harry before we waste any more time, alright?"
"Right."
I raised my wand, ready to flick it and spark life to Harry and Ron. "WAIT!" I paused at Hermione's outburst. "I think we should get back at Ron for what he did to Ginny."
"What do you have in mind?" I arched an eyebrow. She was so beautiful when she mixed mischief with revenge. And she was sharing it with me. Me, Draco Malfoy.
"Sit tight," she commanded, heading toward the door. "I'll be back in a second." I watched her disappear down the tunnel and realized that she might not come back. But Hermione wouldn't do that. She just wouldn't. Would she? Could she?
I sat, pondering this on the edge of a bed, then jumped up, disgusted, as I realized that it was the one inhabited by Neville and Pansy. "Pansy, Pansy," I chuckled. "Now this is a Kodak moment."
"Alright, Hermione," I said, frustrated. It had been ten frickin' minutes out of my life, nearing two o'clock, and she was nowhere to be seen. "You really did leave, didn't you?"
"You doubted me?" I spun around incredulously and locked eyes with my angel. There was Hermione, smiling sweetly, and she winked for the second time that night. Hermione Granger was winking at ME. I felt so special, as if every time she smiled at me I was given a gift. I was lucky to be seeing that smile.
In her hand was a small, plastic see-through bag that was holding what a closer look revealed to be cosmetics. "You're NOT going to!" I exclaimed, laughing once more.
"Oh, I am," she said, and began advancing towards him. His mouth was wide open still, and she grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her face. "Does he look like a crimson or a blushing pink?"
"Definitely a blushing pink," I drawled. "After all, the Weasleys are known for their embarrassed blush."
A few minutes passed and we stood back to admire our work (Hermione had let me do the eyebrows… er, lack thereof now.). I chuckled, "Well, all I can say is—"
"Pansy oughtta scoot out and make room for Miss Ron in that bed with Neville?"
"Exactly."
My watch beeped for 2 a.m. Suddenly the situation wasn't as fun as it had been a moment ago.
A/N: Hi. I don't want to take up all this space listing the reviews so I'll put it in paragraph form or something, kay? Sorry that this chapter sucks. What it lacks in quality it makes up for in quantity.
Thanks to:
***Jaboc*** (Yes, sorta cuz each chapter is an hour. Please do check Road trip out!), ***Roguesiren*** (sorry, hope here's some more), ***Charmedhpfanatic*** (sorry it's been so long please 4give), ***Quicksilver***, ***S.Maldiva***, ***Miel Abong*** (Okay, your review was sooo flattering! THANKS!!! Just register and click upload after saving your word with Microsoft Word or notepad), ***DMRox***, ***Ailura Starscribe***, ***mirei nochi*** (so wud I, lol, j/k), ***Flame and Ice*** (I see u guys are blink fans too like me!! I'm glad Flame likes the idea), ***Anna***, ***Magic Bunny***, ***melanie***, ***Peaceful Storm***, ***Dragon Eyes***, ***Trippinwithcats*** (neither do I! I'll see what I can do!), ***StarShine*** (wow, thanks!), ***Macbeth Hamlet***, ***MordsithGoddess*** (yeah, neither can I!), ***Laureate*** (I don't want to, I need to find a way out of it), ***jessiCA*** (just an obstacle to get into the room), ***smileygirlo3*** (I will email u now), ***MiyaQui*** (Oh, so u have? *pouts*), ***joyce*** (I'm glad, and thanks so much!), ***The Evil Anonoymous J*** (I will try to! I'm sure they're great), ***lydia*** (sorry bout ur space bar but ty!), ***Dazma*** (update penpal!!! Now!!! I demand of u!!!), ***joyce*** (again? Sry, here's ur update!)
Phew. Thanks for so many reviews… I got 30!!! 30 for one chapter! WOW-ness. You gotta top that? Any way you can get me 31 this time? You're gonna have to top yourself and give me 31 for this chapter!!! It's real late, but hopefully some of u are on and will review. No chapter til I get my reviews. Cruel, but that's what we like to call authors abusing their privilege. Love u all. Adios.
And I'm out…
This isn't as well-written as the last chapter, since this has more dialogue. Also, it makes a few sexual references. I had to, I just kept writing and writing and it wasn't getting any longer!! Grr that is annoying, and I'm in a really piss-ass mood. Sorry, but I just am. I hate guys right now, did I mention that? Honestly, I hate this chapter, it's crap, but I thought I owed you guys a chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.
I stepped down on the floor of the female prefects' dorm, muttered, "Lumos," and immediately admired the lush pure white carpet. A dirty footprint of mine was left and I watched in amazement as the untouched floor sucked in the dirt and became as a good as new. A self-replenishing floor? I was impressed. I had to wonder if it was actually like that in the Slytherins' common room. It could be; I never took the time to notice.
I glanced around and immediately recognized Sheena Mesmont, a Gryffindor. That meant that I was in the right location at least. I tiptoed around the rows of beds, scanning the faces for hers. There was Lavender Brown... oh, and Parvati Patil... She couldn't be too far.
Ah, there was Hermione Granger. Somehow I had always envisioned her sleeping neatly on her back, as if she was an angel who subconsciously did not want to crush her wings. Instead, she was lying on her side, curled up into her pillow. She still looked angelic and beautiful, and human, and I found myself standing there, breathless, watching her sleep.
She murmured gently and I froze; for thirty seconds I did not breathe nor blink. Wait! Why was I trying not to wake her? I'd be doing it in a minute anyway? I gave myself a mental swat on the head and took a long breath for clarity.
I quickly maneuvered around her bed, to the side where she was facing. Her face was so serene and peaceful; I hated to wake her. I hated to. I couldn't do it. I had to. I... I took out my wand, and flicked it. "Totalus crimilence!" It was a spell I had stumbled upon in my father's library that combined a silencer and a body bind.
Her eyes flicked open, met mine, and I could hear with every bone in my body her piercing silent scream. It was in her eyes, those eyes opened wide in terror. I gulped and backed away, even though I knew that she couldn't attack me.
Explanations would come, but Lavender Brown was stirring in her bed so I deemed it best to explain to Hermione why she was being kidnapped later. "Er, Leviosa." The already lightweight Hermione was picked up and heaved over my shoulder as I crept quickly towards the exit of the girl's dorm.
"I know you can't apparate into a dorm, but maybe out..." I thought, with the prospect of getting through the room of keys unscathed in mind. I closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the prefects' common room.
"It's not working," I thought sourly, and opened his eyes. I was in the common room! It was the easiest apparition I had ever had. I wasn't trained, and I knew that I could easily mess up, so I vowed to keep apparition to a minimal. I'd die at midnight, sure, but I was hoping to die in one piece. I chuckled at the thought of half of me falling dead in the library and the other half in Hogsmeade. How grim I had become!
I set Hermione on the couch; she was glaring at me, and I knew that if she could hex with her eyes I would be rolling over like a dog while wearing a fluffy purple jumpsuit, singing the "Animal Crackers in my soup" song and eating newts' eyes topped with rotten chunks of whole milk. Needless to say, I grimaced and decided not to give Hermione her motion back just yet.
"Hi, Granger," I said casually, and realized how dumb that must have sounded. "I'm sorry I had to curse you. I want to talk to you." I'd say "with you" but I thought since she wouldn't be having an active part in the upcoming conversation it would only further provoke her wrath.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I insisted, but she rolled her eyes and wouldn't keep them on me. "I'm not going to be a Death Eater."
She eyed me cautiously, as if I was putting her on, and her expression prodded me on. "Um, well. I took my first vows of becoming one in fourth year. I should have taken my final oath to become one by eighteenth birthday, which is today, May 19th. Happy birthday to me.
"But, I didn't. I don't want to be one; I changed my mind. Evil, killing. It's just not me. Blood would not look good with this shirt... okay, I see that you're not in the joking mood," I said, wincing slightly. "So... I'm going to die at midnight."
I just stared at her, and she stared at me. It went on like this for a minute or two, and then I realized that I was waiting for her to say something, which was ridiculous of me. "Hermione, I'm going to give you back your voice. But, I'm going to make it so that you can only speak very quietly, okay? Okay." I hesitated before saying, "Dissipatus minimus."
"Dracomalfoyiswearwhenigetoutofhereimgoingtokillyouhowdareyougivemethat storyafterkdnappingmeicantbelievethis..." I began to get bored by her soft hisses that rambled together.
"Are you done?" I asked, a little more harshly than I would have liked. She pouted in my direction. "Say it," I urged mentally. "Tell her that you love her. Tell her that she's the reason why you won't be a Death Eater. Tell her that she's changed you." But I sat quietly, not ready. Not ready just yet.
"Why do you need me?" she finally asked, softening only the slightest bit.
"Because," I said, thinking of a reason as the words came. "Uh, for one thing..." That's good; if I start it out like that I can think of a better reason as I go on. "For one thing, I want to have a good last day, and I think it would be, er, enjoyable if I hung out with some of you people rather than the Slytherins. And, uh, two... Two, I'm dying. Would you refuse me?" I put on my most pathetic face.
"Yes, I would," she replied plainly.
"Three: COME ON! I'm sorry!"
"You WHAT?"
"I'm SORRY. S-O-R-R-Y. Sorry," I said quickly, not used to apologizing. "I was always mean to you. Sorry, Granger."
"Alright," Hermione said.
"Really?" I was skeptical; was I that good at begging?
"Yeah. If you really mean it… fine."
Funny... I didn't realize all I had to do was apologize. That was so easy! Women are easily appeased. Then again, they're also easily ruffled, so it evened out I suppose.
"Well?" said, expectantly.
"Well what?"
"What's next? What are we going to do now?"
"Get Potter and Weasley, I guess." I knew what I wanted to do, but my reasoning was still a little fuzzy. Her look demanded an explanation. "We need to make amends and, uh, yeah." Hermione still seemed infuriated and was not satisfied by this answer but she accepted it anyway.
"What time is it?" she asked, yawning softly. I cringed, as once more I was reminded of the time. It was 1:15 a.m.
I gave Hermione her movement back and she stretched. "Do you know the guys' password?" I asked her.
"Bleeding pit," Hermione replied grimly. I just nodded.
We swung the door open to the boys' dorm and I froze; fire was dancing up all of the walls! If I had that thought that flying knife-life keys were bad... Wait! Was this supposed to be on fire? I opened my mouth to yell, "FIRE!! FIRE!!!!!!!!!!" but a soft hand clamped down on my mouth.
For a moment, everything stopped. The flames stopped dancing, I stopped breathing, the world came to a screeching halt. All I knew was that I could smell her hands, right under my nose. It was lavender soap. I could almost taste it too, those lacy fingers lay right over my lips. I blinked, and the moment ended.
"Don't scream, it's supposed to be like that," she whispered. I was surprised that she didn't let me wake everyone up so that she didn't have to spend the day with me, but I was too busy being relieved. For a minute there, I genuinely believed that Hogwarts was on fire.
There was a portrait across the small room that appeared to be repelling the flames. It was of a short, squeamish looking clean-shaven man with scraggly red hair. "BLEEDING PIT!" Hermione called, but as I had cursed her it only came above a whisper.
"BLEEDING PIT!" I yelled. The portrait glanced at me, having not noticed Hermione and my entrance, and then automatically slid aside and the flames stopped. It was like the parting of the red sea; as soon as we crossed the room they started up again, and we quickly scrambled into the tunnel.
It was odd; in the regular house rooms, there was no tunnel, but here it was cramped. I realized that my ass was probably sticking right into Hermione's face and suddenly felt very bashful and self-conscious. I tried to lower it and was about to apologize or something when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Funny, why was there a light on.
My father had said that there was always a light at the end of a tunnel, only that sometimes it was a train. This didn't exactly help the situation, and I crawled much more slowly, not wanting to know why the light was on. "Freezus." I muttered, right before Hermione and I stumbled out into the male prefects' dorm.
We dusted ourselves off and looked at the frozen sight in front of us. It was 1:20 a.m. I must say that I laughed hysterically, Hermione along with me. I dropped to the floor, tears coming. I had never laughed that hard, not even when Father slipped and fell into the apparition of Voldemort (of course, I was punished severely for cracking up at that, but it was still side-splitting).
There in front of me was Neville Longbottom and Pansy Parkinson sharing a bed! Pansy had the comforter pulled up over her chest, but her shoulders were bare and they both were blushing furiously. Ron was frozen in time, grabbing his ribs from the laughter and his mouth was wide open, one of his hands against it. Dean Thomas was pointing and gaping, and several were rolling on the floor. Harry could be found next to Ron, looking more disgusted than amused.
"Oh... my... god..." I heard Hermione choke out. "I always knew Pansy was a slut... but desperate...?" I had to smile... wait, I was already smiling. Hermione was such a sweet, chaste girl. I had to admire her for that, seeing that most Hogwarts guys would drops their pants for her in a heartbeat. Myself included. Speaking of pants…
"Granger… I have an idea." A mischievous smile twitched onto my face. "What colour do you think Finnigan's boxers are?"
"I guess there's only one way to find out," Hermione grinned. "Would you like to have the honors?"
"I insist that you have them," I smiled sweetly. If only she knew at that moment how much that agreeing look of hers meant to me. Hermione winked and strode across to where Seamus Finnigan was standing. He was gasping at the site, bemused, and his hand had flown to his mouth. He wore an undershirt and navy sweatpants.
She gave me a last look, and then grabbed the sweats and yanked on them. "Plaid, eh?" I laughed, and she giggled furiously.
"I feel so awful!" she divulged, but the adrenaline lined look on her face was worth everything to me. Now's your chance, Draco, I told myself. Tell her. Open your mouth, let words come out. Tell her.
"Should I revive Potter and Weasley?" I asked instead, finally catching my breath. I was still hot and flushed from laughing—how hysterical it was! Harry looked pretty funny, scowling at the scene, and there was Finnigan in his plaid boxer shorts.
"Not just yet," said Hermione, a wicked smile creeping up on her face. "Malfoy, do you remember 5th year when Ron and Harry read my diary?"
"Of course I remember!" I wanted to scream. "I've paid attention to everything you've done or had done to you! I love you! I know you better than you'll ever know!" Instead, I simply shrugged, "Vaguely."
"Well, I do believe Ron keeps one himself," she continued, smiling insinuatingly.
"Ooooh, I get you," I grinned. "Shall we?"
"Let's." I followed her to the sixth bed where Ron's possessions were strewn ("You know the location of Ron's bed well," I teased.) and she began rummaging through his small dresser, throwing random things out of it. A jockey strap landed on my left shoulder and I eyed it strangely before I shrugged it off.
"I always like to have Ron's unusually coloured underwear land on me at 1:30 in the morning," I grimaced, and Hermione shot me an apologetic smile.
"Here it is!" she announced, looking oh-so-pleased. She held up a plain orange notebook with a slightly torn cover and what looked to be water damage. I took it from her and we sat on the edge of Ron's bed. Hermione didn't seem dazed in the slightest bit that Ron was standing right there, only frozen, so I tried not to either. It was a bit odd however.
Dear Journal,
I was almost hesitant to take this after what happened with Ginny in 2nd year. That asshole Malfoy. I bet his son was in on it too, leave it to Malfoy to do that to Gin. Anyway, Percy thought it was a good idea for me to have a journal but Fred and George ridiculed the hell out of me.
Harry is so blind. Just now Hermione came in and was asking him all about the Opening Ceremonies Dance and all he could so was stare at Cho. How does he not see that she likes him? Harry, he's a daft bloke, let me tell you. I feel bad for Hermione, she deserves better. I have to go, Harry wants me to come with him down to the Quidditch pitch.
~Ron
I looked up sharply at Hermione; she was blushing like a Weasley. "I KNEW you liked Harry!" I smirked but inside I was going cold. This was not something I wanted confirmed the day I was going to die.
"Key word being 'liked'!" she insisted. "Past tense! That was in 5th year! This entry must be old!" Her finger found the date, which was indeed from 5th year. I sighed inwardly, relieved. Not like you had a chance with her anyway, a voice inside my head whispered. I shuddered.
Hermione kept reading aloud, but I began to tune her out and entered my own train of thought. Draco, the voice said, sending shivers up my spine, she can barely stand you. She's only here right now because of pity. No one could ever love you! You're Draco Malfoy, an almost Death Eater! You're practically evil, you're practically—
"SHUTUP!" Draco screamed, and then stopped breathing, realizing it had been aloud. Hermione slowly looked up and stared at him.
"I'm… sorry?" she said questioningly.
Smooth one, Malfoy. Why don't you just call her a Mudblood again? And then, you can die like they expect you to. Cold-hearted and careless. Why change now? You can't. It's too late. Give it up.
"NO!"
"Draco!?" Hermione was now looking at me like I was crazy.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I'm just thinking crazily… it's nothing… What?" She was looking at me strangely, a small smile lining on her lips.
"You called me Hermione."
"Did I?" I replied dully. I had always called her Hermione in my mind and dreams and thoughts, it just never came out that way aloud. "Well, Hermione, anything interesting in Ron's diary? I was zoning out."
"Just that he has an immense crush on Fred's ex-girlfriend Angelina Johnson and found some, er, strange things in Percy's bottom drawer last summer," giggled Hermione, and she winked playfully. "I know I should feel guilty, but I feel very alive suddenly. It's strange, but it feels great."
"Good," was all I could stammer out. I sat quietly as she continued reading for several minutes about how he wrote Angelina a letter and then burnt it, and how Percy and his girlfriend had a humongous fight about how she dressed in public.
"Here's a good one," she said, and I made an attempt to listen. Ron's life was seemingly dull so far.
Dear Journal,
My god. I feel awful. You know Ginny's boyfriend, Justin? He broke up with her last night and I think it's my fault. Okay, so I know that it's my fault. Ginny never had a boyfriend before, since she was always hung up over Harry, and it was striking me as weird. I went up to Justin and I had a, er, talk with him about how he should treat her right and his intentions. I kept the threats to a minimal, honest! But I think I scared him, because he broke up with Ginny without an explanation!
I didn't tell her it was me! That would be suicide! Oh well, she'll meet someone new. As long as it's not Malfoy! Yech, she was looking at him all googly at him today and when I asked her she said it was his lab partner, Hunter Jinkes that she was looking at! I said, "That toad!?" and she kicked me in the shins! I guess I deserved it. Adieu.
~Ron
"Ginny was so mad about that! And it was Ron! How could he!" Hermione seemed as if Ron had just committed a federal crime. I guess it was a girl thing. "I just have to tell her!"
"Then Ron will know we were reading his diary," I said. She slouched, sulking at this thought as if to say, "Point taken."
"It's a quarter to two," she sighed sadly, looking at the clock on the bed stand. "How… how are you doing?"
"Surprisingly good," I admitted, folding my arms protectively across my chest. "I'm not scared, but I don't think the reality has fully hit me yet. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to—"
"Stop saying that!" Hermione said shrilly.
"Like you care?" I scoffed, and realized that I was being honest. Why should she care? I was never anything but awful to her.
"Malfoy… I don't like you but I don't want you to die," Hermione said. "I'm not horrible, you know."
"I do know," I said, and I looked into those brown eyes. They wouldn't look at mine, but they opened widely. "I said I was sorry."
"I know," she nodded. "I heard you."
An awkward moment of silence passed. I cleared my throat to break it. "Uh, let's get Ron and Harry before we waste any more time, alright?"
"Right."
I raised my wand, ready to flick it and spark life to Harry and Ron. "WAIT!" I paused at Hermione's outburst. "I think we should get back at Ron for what he did to Ginny."
"What do you have in mind?" I arched an eyebrow. She was so beautiful when she mixed mischief with revenge. And she was sharing it with me. Me, Draco Malfoy.
"Sit tight," she commanded, heading toward the door. "I'll be back in a second." I watched her disappear down the tunnel and realized that she might not come back. But Hermione wouldn't do that. She just wouldn't. Would she? Could she?
I sat, pondering this on the edge of a bed, then jumped up, disgusted, as I realized that it was the one inhabited by Neville and Pansy. "Pansy, Pansy," I chuckled. "Now this is a Kodak moment."
"Alright, Hermione," I said, frustrated. It had been ten frickin' minutes out of my life, nearing two o'clock, and she was nowhere to be seen. "You really did leave, didn't you?"
"You doubted me?" I spun around incredulously and locked eyes with my angel. There was Hermione, smiling sweetly, and she winked for the second time that night. Hermione Granger was winking at ME. I felt so special, as if every time she smiled at me I was given a gift. I was lucky to be seeing that smile.
In her hand was a small, plastic see-through bag that was holding what a closer look revealed to be cosmetics. "You're NOT going to!" I exclaimed, laughing once more.
"Oh, I am," she said, and began advancing towards him. His mouth was wide open still, and she grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her face. "Does he look like a crimson or a blushing pink?"
"Definitely a blushing pink," I drawled. "After all, the Weasleys are known for their embarrassed blush."
A few minutes passed and we stood back to admire our work (Hermione had let me do the eyebrows… er, lack thereof now.). I chuckled, "Well, all I can say is—"
"Pansy oughtta scoot out and make room for Miss Ron in that bed with Neville?"
"Exactly."
My watch beeped for 2 a.m. Suddenly the situation wasn't as fun as it had been a moment ago.
A/N: Hi. I don't want to take up all this space listing the reviews so I'll put it in paragraph form or something, kay? Sorry that this chapter sucks. What it lacks in quality it makes up for in quantity.
Thanks to:
***Jaboc*** (Yes, sorta cuz each chapter is an hour. Please do check Road trip out!), ***Roguesiren*** (sorry, hope here's some more), ***Charmedhpfanatic*** (sorry it's been so long please 4give), ***Quicksilver***, ***S.Maldiva***, ***Miel Abong*** (Okay, your review was sooo flattering! THANKS!!! Just register and click upload after saving your word with Microsoft Word or notepad), ***DMRox***, ***Ailura Starscribe***, ***mirei nochi*** (so wud I, lol, j/k), ***Flame and Ice*** (I see u guys are blink fans too like me!! I'm glad Flame likes the idea), ***Anna***, ***Magic Bunny***, ***melanie***, ***Peaceful Storm***, ***Dragon Eyes***, ***Trippinwithcats*** (neither do I! I'll see what I can do!), ***StarShine*** (wow, thanks!), ***Macbeth Hamlet***, ***MordsithGoddess*** (yeah, neither can I!), ***Laureate*** (I don't want to, I need to find a way out of it), ***jessiCA*** (just an obstacle to get into the room), ***smileygirlo3*** (I will email u now), ***MiyaQui*** (Oh, so u have? *pouts*), ***joyce*** (I'm glad, and thanks so much!), ***The Evil Anonoymous J*** (I will try to! I'm sure they're great), ***lydia*** (sorry bout ur space bar but ty!), ***Dazma*** (update penpal!!! Now!!! I demand of u!!!), ***joyce*** (again? Sry, here's ur update!)
Phew. Thanks for so many reviews… I got 30!!! 30 for one chapter! WOW-ness. You gotta top that? Any way you can get me 31 this time? You're gonna have to top yourself and give me 31 for this chapter!!! It's real late, but hopefully some of u are on and will review. No chapter til I get my reviews. Cruel, but that's what we like to call authors abusing their privilege. Love u all. Adios.
And I'm out…