A/N: Dudes. I have got the best fic idea, I'm bursting to write it, but I
thought I owed it to you all to finish up at least a couple of my stories
first before I started devoting maximum time to that one. which will
probably be called "It Happens"-if not "Shit Happens," that is. The main
character will be Draco, of course, with characters Hermione and Ron and
two minimal OC's that are actually essential. I might even use Guy Wimsdon
and Nar Litkins (two OC's that originated from my story "Even Heroes Have
the Right to Bleed," and have been mentioned in many of my stories since.)
And, there is a surprising lack of Harry in it. Okay, so, back to the story
on hand.
Almost done! Seriously. Last chapter I promised you that they'll meet up, the come of June 16th, and dance preparations. Well, I'm not backing out and I'm getting all that. There should only be two chapters after this one. I swear. Which is good and bad. happy, sad. y'know how ending a fic is, especially my most popular one-well, the one that has the most total reviews. ("Draco's 24 Hours of Life" has more per chapter. and is in need of a better title.)
Disclaimer: Anything clever, interesting, funny, weird, romantic, insightful, or just plain THERE belongs to JK Rowling. No, wait, it doesn't- only Harry Potter, his buddies, and the basic idea do. Does that mean that the clever, interesting, funny, weird, romantic, and just plain THERE-all that stuff-they belong to me?!?! Close enough. :o) Got my Disney hours and show times from http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneylandresort/ResortInfo/HoursAndShows/in dex?StartMonth=6&StartDay=15&StartYear=2002&Stay=1&DLP=DLP&submit.x=66&submi t.y=6.
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Hermione studied the brochure as she smiled and graciously let a young couple step down before her upon disembarking from the Omnibus. Though a double-decker, Hermione had preferred to stay on the bottom level and had sat behind the driver as he sang Disney tunes that quickly grated on her nerves. Or perhaps it was Draco Malfoy that was etching at her brain. Either way, the smile she had flashed the couple had been forced, and not the genuine grin of the generally bright-spirited Hermione Granger.
She had passed the castle upon getting off the bus without a second glance, and now found herself out of breath and hurrying through a busy street. Six men in powder blue vests and matching vaudeville hats crooned barbershop tunes from the sidewalks while playing their shiny golden tubas and flutes, and Hermione had to smile in spite of herself. It was such a funny, ridiculous sound, but uplifting all the same.
She wanted to stop and ask where she could get information on closing times and perhaps a better map, but the men seemed so joyful and engrossed that it would break her heart to make them cease to sing, even if momentarily. *I'll just ask someone else,* she thought, but her stomach fluttered with jitters that were too evil to be butterflies.
A short, stout man with a twirling mustache and muddied shoes was strolling pompously down the street in her direction, tugging at the end of his mustache and muttering about this and that. Hermione's "butterflies" bit her. "Shut up, butterflies," she hissed at her stomach, and then looked up to make sure no one had seen. They hadn't. "Hello, sir, can you tell me where. okay." Hermione stepped back as the man kept walking and mumbling, not even noticing her existence. "That didn't go so well," she said resignedly to herself.
She unfolded her crinkled brochure and, standing in the middle of the street, traced along it with her finger to find the road that she was on: Main Street, U.S.A. "Number. three." she said slowly aloud, and followed with her finger from the labeled building to its description at the bottom. "City Hall. Have questions about anything at the Disneyland® Resort? Need a map, a restaurant menu, information for guests with disabilities, or a foreign-language guidebook? What about Disney Dollars or foreign currency exchange? Whatever your need this is the place."
Hermione did her best to fold the brochure back to its correct form and stuck it in the pocket of her jeans. She raised her eyes, staring down the street ahead, and the corners of her mouth undeniably crinkled into a small, real smile as she identified City Hall.
As she approached the old-fashioned building, she had to admire the old- fashioned, western type of feel it had to it. Four white pillars held up the jutting upper floor, and the roof rose to a steeple-like finish, changing from red brick to brown and white patterning. Hermione stepped to the right of the third pillar and pushed open the double-doors to City Hall.
"How may I help you?" a tall, wiry, middle-aged man asked cheerfully from behind a marble desk. His hair color reminded Hermione of Ron's, only with strands of gray and a softer hue.
"What time does the park close?" Hermione said, not looking at him but past, at a bulletin board on the wall behind him.
"Midnight, ma'am, but Main Street, U.S.A. usually stays open till one a.m."
And he was right-according to the bulletin board. The man followed her gaze to the corkboard behind him and smiled. "If you look right here," he said, motioning towards the upper right section of the board. "The second Disneyland Parade of the Stars started at eight, it must be ending right now." He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly nine. "In Frontierland, Fantasmic! starts in just a few minutes and again at 10:30. And Club Buzz Stage Bands will be on again at ten. Oh, and the fireworks," he added, his eyes getting lost in a dreamy look. "At 9:30, right above Sleeping Beauty's Castle. That's a must-see, ma'am."
Hermione nodded, noting that the castle they had seen was simply a Disneyland attraction. "Thank you," she said unenthusiastically, and she knew it showed. Quietly, she shuffled out of City Hall, knowing the whole time the clerk was watching her go.
She came to a halt, her shoulder smacking into one of the grand white pillars outside of City Hall. Hermione opened her mouth to call to the small crowd of teenagers across the street, and paused as she noticed a most familiar man with them. Smiling brightly, she yelled, "Harry! You guys! Over here!" and ran to meet up with her friends. As she ran, a voice from behind her croaked with a volume that was almost a yell:
"Hermione.!"
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".government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Ron rudely snorted as the animatronic Lincoln finished his Gettysburg Address for the twelfth time since they had entered the theater-like building established in Main Street, U.S.A. And there it went again, starting over, and Ron mouthed the first lines of "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," until he grew sick of mimicking it and turned sharply on his heel and nearly smacked into Harry.
"Oi, Harry, watch it," he said disgruntedly. Harry made a face when Ron looked to the ground briefly. "We're not any closer to finding Hermione," Ron added loudly so that Ginny could hear. His younger sister made a face most similar to Harry's, and two began cracking up. "Or Malfoy," he said much quieter, rolling his eyes at his best friend and little sister. Where in the name of Helga Hufflepuff was Cho?
As if she could read his mind, which may or may not have been the case, a clear, feminine voice called from beyond the stretches of Ron's side vision. "Over here, Ronnie!" The redhead blushed something furious upon hearing his mother's favorite pet name, but eagerly skipped after the voice of Cho Chang. He nearly fell dead when he saw whom she was with.
"What's HE doing here?" Ron asked venomously, jerking his thumb at the man at Cho's side, who squirmed under Ron's furious and steadfast gaze.
"Ron," Cho laughed, although her eyes had a menace that appeared to attempt to drive right through Ron's heart with the message, "BEHAVE! BEHAVE!" "Stop being silly and say hello."
Ron replied to Cho's glare with a steely look, and muttered under his breath, "Hi." Apparently it was audible, for Jason Whitaker immediately nodded and smiled weakly in return. "I believe," said Cho, a smile playing on her pink lips, "that Jason's looking for-"and she meaningfully cleared her throat-"Virginia."
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"Revolting," thought Draco, screwing his eyes up in disgust and trying to shift as far away from the guard's armpit as humanly possible. If only he could get an arm free so that he could swipe his wand out of his jacket, then he could do something horribly illegal and messy that would enrage the Ministry and cause them to work many a night to get out of this situation- and the security guard's grasp. Draco shrugged (as much as his shoulders could move); he had never really cared for Weasley, anyway, and he didn't suppose it would kill the man to pull an all-nighter at the office. But the guard was seeming to enjoy this a bit too much and Draco didn't think he'd be getting his hand into his pocket any time quickly.
"Where are we going?" he finally asked bitterly as he was dragged over a rough patch of grass-more so weeds-and back onto the street, chafing his ankle on the curb and biting his lip to keep from cursing vulgarly.
"We have cops stationed in City Hall," the man said, monotone, but his grip on Draco's left arm relaxed to the point where Draco considered himself being fondled. *The 'Eaters back at the Manor would've gotten one hell of a kick out of this,* he mused grimly, not even bothering to attempt to shake the guard off. *Luckily I'll never have to go back there.*
Then again, prospects of jail didn't exactly excite Draco either. He kept remembering a conversation he had seen on TV between a new cellmate and one that been there quite a while that had given him quite a grim view of Muggle jail that made Azkaban sound half-way decent. It involved sex, usually one of Draco's favorable conversation topics to eavesdrop on, but not the kind that Draco liked to think about. He shuddered and wondered if he could get a private cell. It seemed doubtful.
City Hall turned out to be some crummy old building, in Draco Malfoy's opinion, and a cop stood out front waiting for them. The guard must have radioed him, Draco assumed, as the guard tightened his grip and kicked Draco in the shins.
"That's quite enough, Brutus," the officer said cheerfully to the Hulk; he, however, made no motion to stop him. "So this is the big, bad child molester, eh?"
"Yeah, and aren't you the guy from the village people?"
The policeman only chuckled, completely ignoring Draco's very existence. He averted his eyes to above Draco and chatted with the guard as if Draco wasn't in a severe amount of discomfort.
"You won't believe the day I had, Brutus."
"I stayed home and nearly choked on a honey bun when Jane Klinger lost Jeopardy." Draco thought it was his duty to supply translations to the cop's story. The officer glared at him, but continued.
"Well, I observed the suspect acting in a suspicious manner."
"The dirt-bag let go with an 'Oink' as I walked by."
"Knowing the suspect had a criminal history..."
"He puked on my uniform one night."
"I followed him onto the road, where he was driving in a reckless manner."
"He had a bumper sticker that said 'SLOW DOWN--DON'T FEED THE PIGS!'"
"I pulled him over, and the motorist's eyes were glassy, he had slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet, and smelled strongly of alcohol."
"He was howling at the moon and trying to drive the car from the back seat." At that one, good 'ol Brutus jabbed Draco in the ribs. He winced.
"While being arrested, this subject resisted being injured in the act..."
"He ripped my shirt and broke my new mirror sunglasses."
"So I pulled him out of the car, using only enough force to restrain the subject."
"My favorite song is 'Drop kick me Jesus Through the Goal Post of Life.'" Brutus nearly snarled at Draco, who nearly yelped, who nearly kicked the cop, who nearly spilled his coffee, which nearly landed on his shoe, and you get the whole "nearly" idea.
"Are you talkin' bad 'bout the Lord now?" Brutus growled, spit landing on the back of Draco's neck. The young man feared that the wrong answer could involve a "snap" on his neck as well as saliva.
"Er, no. Please, do go on."
The cop pointed beady little black eyes at Draco. "See, this is why I'm a cop. Delinquents such as this. Anyway, after that I only had to give a motorist a verbal warning for speeding before my shift ended."
Draco tried to resist a response. He really did. But there are some things that just happen, and even a strong-willed Slytherin couldn't keep his mouth shut even if his life depended on it-which, at that moment, it did. "She was a good-looking blonde who owned a liquor store and who was free after my shift was over."
He immediately regretted the words as they flew from his mouth; no, it wasn't Brutus's attempt to crush him, it more of the cop's steel-toed boot connecting with Draco's genitalia. "Don't you ever disrespect my holy marriage," he vaguely heard the cop hiss as he fell limp in Brutus's grasp, too winded to gasp or cry out in the slightest.
That is, until he did. And it took every fiber of his being that he passed out immediately after. Watching her through blurred eyes, he croaked, "Hermione.!" and prayed that she heard.
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"Her name's Ginny," Ron muttered, but no one listened to him as it was that moment that Ginny came bounding over, whining about Ron and attitude adjustments and how Harry snorts when he laughs.
"-it's not like it's a bad thing, Har, but have ANY of you ever noticed that-" And she stopped dead, staring into the expectant eyes of a certain Jason Whitaker. She didn't say anything, not after a moment, not after ten seconds, not after Cho edged her way over to her and stepped on her toes. Okay, then, she yelped.
"J-Jason!" she finally sputtered, blinking rapidly only to find that no matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, he was still standing there. "You're here!" And she threw her arms around him and could only laugh and laugh, on and on.
"I take it you're happy to see me," he grinned into her wet red ringlets. "Someone stuck her head in the toilet again."
She only sniggered and pulled her head back to kiss him on the nose. "There was a waterfall," she explained shortly; Jason nodded, smiling into her beaming face. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, and she really meant it. Genuinely. Truly. And, yes, sincerely.
"We finished up in Arkansas, and I thought that since I had a few more days before I was scheduled to return to my office in Los Angeles, I'd play up my vacation and come see you here." His eyes crinkled warmly as he added, "I was afraid it would be an unpleasant surprise." "I suppose my speechlessness didn't quite help your concerns."
"No, but the hug made up for it."
And she jumped back into his arms, only to hear Ron clear his throat annoying from behind her. "Oh, what is it now?" she snapped without thinking, and, pausing, she found that she didn't regret her sharp words. She felt Jason, however, tense as he waited for Ron's reply.
"We need to, uh, find Draco and, uh. uh."
"Hermione?" Cho helped as Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, that's the one! We need to find them," Ron said gruffly, though it was pretty futile of him to try to hide how uncomfortable he was to see his little sister in a close embrace a yard away from him.
Ginny sighed and reluctantly let go of Jason, and then grabbed for his hand. His fingers intertwined with hers, and she blushed a light shade of pink that was delicate on Ginny, and much more natural than the bright red she had been known to turn. "You're right," she agreed, following her friends as Ron led the way. It seemed like he couldn't get out of there fast enough, and Lincoln started up his speech again. *Come to think of it,* Ginny noted, *it is rather irritating,* and her foot "accidentally" pulled the plug loose as she squeezed Jason's hand and left The Walt Disney Story building with a mischievous grin and the perfect guy-and no, we're not talking about Ron or Harry.
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"Yeah, that's the one," Ron muttered, giving himself an internal smack on the forehead and wondering how on earth he forgot Hermione's name-it wasn't that common of a name, but after seven years of screaming it with a vengeance across the common room and then adding it to the end "I'm sorry," Ron thought that he should have it permanently glued in his memory by then. Apparently, he didn't.
Ginny obliged, and Ron made a beeline for the door before he could see Jason hold his sister again or hear that stupid animatronic Lincoln blab about liberty and dreams or something or other that really wasn't interesting to seventeen-year-old Ron Weasley. He instead chose to focus on pushing the doors open and greeting the cool night air, its darkness cancelled by the myriads of glowing streetlamps lining the sidewalks and buzzing with little flies that, although rather annoying, seemed majestic in the dusk-like glow that had been recreated at five to nine.
The rest caught up, and they paused in front of the building to gather themselves and their surroundings. Ginny nestled beside Jason, Harry bent to tie his shoe, and Ron smiled in spite of himself as he felt Cho fall at his side. She really was beautiful, he knew, as he inhaled the scent of her hair. It smelled like lilies, and Ron was quite partial to it. He placed a protective arm around her shoulder, loving the rough material of her rugby collar against the inside of his elbow, and let himself go off into a uninhibited daze about absolutely nothing in particular. But he was gone for the moment, not as an out of body experience, but the closest any of the five young adults standing there ever would be to one.
And then Harry was talking and Cho was whistling and Ron came back, plummeting back to reality and the conversation at hand. He blinked hard, taking it all in: Cho's lily hair, Harry's crinkled, laughing eyes, Jason's adoring gaze at Ginny, their interlocked fingers... and then Ginny's smile, bright and glowing like the lights that Ron had stopped to admire. He was certain he had never seen her smile like that. *This is what makes her happy,* his inner voice stated, and the six words echoed in the crevices of Ron's mind for a minute before he nodded, and grinned a grin that showed as much teeth as Ginny's. *This is okay.*
"Ron?"
Ron finally could make out Harry's words. He realized that he was grinning like a fool and nodding his head at nothing tangible, but it only made him laugh. "Yes, Harry?" he smiled. "Sorry, I was zoning out."
Harry tilted his head inquisitively, and Ron was happy when his best friend shrugged. "I was asking if you knew what time the park closed."
"No idea. Where's the map? I'd bet they have-"
"Harry! You guys! Over here!"
All five of their heads whipped around, only to see a rather disturbing sight. They had found Draco and Hermione. Hermione didn't seem too thrilled as she crouched over an unconscious Draco while a giant of a man let him slide from out of his grasp and onto the asphalt street.
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Cho gasped. She felt Ron's arm, which she had rather enjoyed resting on her shoulders, drop in as much surprise as she was harboring herself. Her first instinct was to rush forward, but it wasn't until Ron's hand found her own and tugged it that she felt her feet dash towards Draco, Hermione, Mr. Clean, and a round, frumpy cop who scraped his black boots against the pavement and looked willing to hock something up onto Draco's floored body.
Harry reached the scene before anyone else's toes lifted from the street, and he hunched over Draco, patting the blonde's face, but getting no response. He shot up to find that he was several inches taller than the policeman at the moment that Ron, Cho, Ginny, and Jason appeared behind him with a fury that one would not expect Harry Potter to hold. "What happened?" he asked menacingly, and if Draco was awake and had not fainted from immense pain, he would have had a big laugh over this. Harry Potter, everyone's favorite hero, trying to appear intimidating.
"Excuse me, young man, but is this any of your business?"
"Damn right it is," Harry said. "That's my. friend. I'm his friend."
"Why should I believe you? You sound quite unconvinced of that, young man," the cop chuckled as if it was the funniest thing ever and he should get free coffee for being the one to say that. No one laughed.
Harry shrugged. "I am 'quite unconvinced of that,' but all the same. His name is Draco Malfoy. He takes residence in Calais, France. He was born in Canterbury, England. He hates Mud-I mean, mud. He hates getting dirty."
"I get the point," the officer drawled. Harry was glad for that-he couldn't think of anything else he knew about Draco that pertained to the Muggle realm and didn't involve his thing for Hermione. "He's fine, just fainted 'cause of a little pain."
"What'd you do to him?" Hermione quivered.
Cho was startled. None of them had paid much attention to Hermione, when it was Draco who lay motionless on the ground, but there she was, tiny tears forming at the wells of her eyes and threatening to spill down her cheeks given any reason at all-any reason. At all. Cho knew that Hermione once "went out" with Draco, a night that ended in disaster, but she hadn't the faintest clue that the brunette sheltered any real feelings for him-even friendship. Cho turned away, but the sight of Draco's body and Hermione's grief were imprinted in her mind, and it was a sight that even Ron's red- clothed chest couldn't block out as she buried her head into it as deep as it could go without cracking a rib.
"I just gave him a kick. He was being insolent," the officer reasoned, wiping his nose with an unattractive sniffling sound.
"Where'd you kick him?" Hermione's voice cracked, and Harry was at her side, hugging her-for support, for restraint, and because she was his best friend and she was hurting. When the cop only smiled impishly, Harry closed his eyes as tightly as his grip and bridled Hermione's flailing arms and legs. As much as she protested, he would not let go.
"How dare you!" Hermione screamed as she prepared to yell just about everything you should NOT yell at a cop that Draco had minutes before left out. "I pay your salary! Shouldn't you be arresting real criminals? Do you know who you're talking to?" She fed on the policeman's laughter, kicking harder and faster with each snort he let out, and Harry felt the corners of his eyes moisten as he squeezed them even more so shut and held on as tightly as he could, ignoring the straining of his aching muscles, ignoring Hermione's cries to be let go, ignoring the cop's laughter, ignoring everything and just focusing on keeping Hermione controlled.
And when she did finally calm down, she was oblivious of everyone's stares and looked the officer straight in the eyes. Her voice didn't quaver. Her eyes didn't blink. And when she spoke, she held a rather ordinary stick in her hand. A few people knew what it was, and they all cringed and screamed, "NO!" as she lifted her arm as high as one of Harry's hands on her right elbow would allow her to and cried, "FREEZUS!"
Everything was suddenly very quiet, and even the wizards and witches that the spell had not affected stood still, cringing with eyes wide open. "Oh, honestly!" Hermione said snappishly, annoyed to find that Harry still hadn't let her go. "I was the smartest girl Hogwarts had seen in a century, and you think that I would have cursed him in front of all these people?" She beckoned with her wand hand, causing her friends to cower momentarily. But, in the end, they sighed with relief.
"No," she continued, looking unusually calm for someone who had been flailing uncontrollably only moments ago. "I froze it, and NOW I'm going to curse him!"
"Hermione, no!" they protested as she raised her wand.
She paused, frowning, and lowered it. Harry snatched it, letting go with one arm, and Hermione took the opportunity to break free. "Hermione, you can't do this," Harry pleaded, his knuckles turning white against the wooden wand. "You just can't curse a Muggle and then leave him here, there will be too many questions."
Hermione scowled. "Oh, I suppose so," she admitted, but her undaunted demeanor scared the rest a little. "But I'm not letting that foul man get away with this unharmed."
"Perfectly understandable," Harry said, still testing the extent of Hermione's passing insanity. "But, uh, maybe we should tend to Draco first."
Hermione gritted her teeth. "That git can wait," she barked forcefully, and no one dared disagree. They all did, however, wonder how she could cry over someone one minute and call them a "git" the next.
Cho blinked in astonishment. Hermione was unbuckling the officer's belt! "Hermione!" she gasped, struggling to find any other words. "I don't think that's appropriate!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and unzipped his trousers. "Oh, c'mon, Cho. Really, I wouldn't do anything like that."
Cho nodded warily. "Okay."
"I'm just going to pull his pants down, unlace his right boot, put it on, and give him a kick that makes the one I gave Draco look intimate."
"HERMIONE!" Ginny gaped, but please do take notice that she did not utter a word advising against Hermione's plan.
"Yes, Gin?" Hermione replied calmly, giving the officer's trousers a firm tug. Hmm. His briefs came down right with them.
"Oh gross!" Ron exclaimed, as he and every one else grimaced and jumped to look the other way. "Mione, you could've given us a moment's notice! And he's standing over Draco and everything!"
Hermione just laughed and kicked off her flip-flops as red and blue fireworks exploded into the air.
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"You. 'lied'?"
"You told me that you didn't mean it. When you said you cared about me, you said that that was just nothing."
"How do you think I felt? Do you ever think of anyone else but yourself?"
He could hear her words, as clear and painful as the shot to his Little Draco had been, and he knew that he wasn't in his right mind. That's not to say that he knew he had passed out, but when a man hears the ghosts of words once thrown at him and sees nothing but smothering darkness, he kind of gets the gist that he's not in Kansas anymore. Or Anaheim, for that matter.
Most would think that these words would be blurry, echoing remembrances, but they were a sharp and clear as day, and they burned. *I lied. I shrugged it off. I ^don't^ think of anyone but myself. How did I not feel bad about this earlier? Better yet, why the hell was I honest? Never was, why start now? Did I not master the art of deception growing up in the threshold of evil doing? Stupid, stupid Draco. And I actually wanted a Pepsi... I am such a dolt. No, a prat. A very good-looking prat at that, might I add.*
And then the darkness was flooded with light as Draco's eyelids separated and he stared into the face of a brown-haired, brown-eyed angel who abruptly slapped his across the face.
He groaned, and tried to sit up but found that he was much too tired to. The next thing he realized was that his groin was killing him. His mouth dropped and horrified adrenaline caused him to pop upright. *WHAT DID THEY DO TO ME IN THAT JAIL?*
Apparently he had lost his inner monologue, for Hermione retorted impatiently, "You didn't go to jail, Draco. Harry's getting you some more ice."
"Then why does my." Draco trailed off, remembering that he was talking to Hermione. "Why do I ache in certain places?" That got the point across just fine.
Hermione stared blankly at him and said, "You took some metal to your-"
"You bronzed me?!"
"NO!" Hermione cracked up, giggling as she fell back on the bed and she couldn't stop, not even after Draco scooted closer and stared down at her from his sitting position. "Oh, God," she giggled. "Steel-toed shoe. cop. kicked you in the."
"Okay," Draco cut in, screwing up his face as it sank in. "The cop kicked me? Is that allowed?"
Hermione only laughed harder. "He got what he deserved."
That satisfied Draco, and it hurt to sit up so he let himself flop back down onto a fluffy pillow that nearly swallowed his head as he sank into it. "Wait!" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing that there was a PILLOW. And a BED. "Hermione, where are we?"
She got a hold of herself, still not able to swipe the silly grin off her face. Flustered, she beckoned to the window where rays of light streamed in under the curtain flaps and bounced off the mirror on the opposite wall. "Anaheim, still. It's morning."
"But... how?"
"Do I have to explain everything?" Hermione snapped good-naturedly, shifting to sit on her knees. "Ginny gave you Sleeping Potion so that you could sleep off the greater deal of the pain." She paused, but Draco still looked at her like she was trying to explain how to cook a raft into a gourmet lobster in the Portuguese tongue. She sighed. "Jason got us two hotel rooms for the night. You slept in here with Ron, Harry, and Jason, and Cho, Gin, and myself took the other room. They're all in there playing Exploding Snap." At that moment, a small explosion could be heard from the next room. "We're going to head back to Hogwarts, when you're ready."
Draco still held a spiteful smirk. "Why didn't you just cure my aching 'friend' right off the bat?" *So there, Miss Know-It-All-Who-Looks-Really- Beautiful-When-She's-About-To-Contradict-Me.*
"Because," she said, "none of us have ever cured that, er, part of the body, and if anything should go wrong, well..."
"I get your point," Draco quickly muttered, using every ounce that he could to keep from looking inside his shorts to make sure that he was still intact, right then and there. He'd have to take Hermione's word for it. "Wise decision."
Hermione nodded.
"So... how are we going to get, O Wise One?"
"We're apparating."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was actually Harry's idea. He said that if all us girls needed time to get ready, since it's already ten o'clock, we couldn't waste time in the airplane getting to Hogwarts and the 'Vette is much too slow to get us to the next city in time, let alone to England, when we would just end up apparating over the Atlantic."
"How does Jason think we're getting back?"
"We'll just use magic. We can swipe his memory later."
"And how does Ginny feel about that?"
"I doubt she knows."
"Great."
"I know."
Another awkward silence would have followed, if not for Harry's impeccable timing. He, followed by the rest of the members of the trip, burst the door open. "I don't care how much Draco's genitals are hurting, LET'S GO." Harry waved an ice pack carelessly.
"Thanks for your concern," Draco said smoothly. "I think they're ready now."
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Harry pocketed the 'Vette and they trudged into the grassiest, most mosquito-infested field that isolation could find. Ginny lagged in the back, holding on tearfully to Jason. She knew that this was knew, but she also knew that she really cared for him. And there were half-bloods at school, so that meant that wizards/witches had told their spouses, perhaps before they were wed. So couldn't Jason know? Did she really have to leave him here? She didn't want to, not at all, not in the least, never. And what if he never remembered her? Wouldn't the Memory Charm block out ALL of his memories of the six teenagers he stumbled upon in Brooklyn, New York? She hiccuped as Harry stopped in the middle of the field and eyes her and Jason warily.
"Jason," she said, holding her breath. "You can go now."
His handsome face clouded into a confused frown. "I don't understand, there's no airport here. Ginny?"
"Jason, please," she pleaded. "You don't need to see me off."
He looked heartbroken, and it broke Ginny's heart as well. His arm dropped from her waist, and he looked at her, and she did her best to not look away.
Harry watched this, his own heart twanging, as he twiddled his wand in his right hand. "Jason," he said suddenly. "How would you like to go to a ball?"
Ginny didn't know if she should throw her arms around Harry or Jason; she chose the latter, and then moved to the former. As she hugged Harry, she whispered, "Thank you, thank you so much. But how can we do this?"
Harry smiled, and whispered back, "We'll tell him it's a magic show theme, and let nature take its course."
"Harry!" Ginny gasped.
Harry shrugged. "If he finds out, he finds out. It's not that big of a deal."
"You're a doll, Harry."
"I know."
And she jumped back to Jason and looked up to meet his rich brown eyes, and murmured into his ear, "You'll come, won't you?"
He still seemed speechless, running a hand through his crumpled blonde hair and staring down at her. "Do you want me to? I mean-"
"Of course!" she cried, and he smiled broadly and wrapped her up in his arms. For once, Ron didn't snort. He kissed the top of Cho's head and said, "Let's go."
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"What just happened?" Jason Whitaker asked for the umpteenth time as they lugged their bags onto the Hogwarts grounds.
And he went ignored, for the umpteenth time (yes, that's there on purpose), as he helped Ginny carry her luggage into Hogwarts grounds. She was chatting with Hermione about different silks and velvets that they could charm their old dress robes into, and possibilities of splurging on new robes, and Jason didn't have the foggiest clue of what they were talking about. Harry and Ron were having a heated discussion about something called "Quidditch," that Draco boy was holding a bag of water that had formerly been ice and staring at Hermione Granger mournfully, and Cho was at Ron's side, completely ignoring his and Harry's conversation and muttering about her wand. Jason blinked.
"Are you guys magical?" he asked.
Everyone stopped everything.
"Wha-what do you mean?" Ron stammered, his jaw dropped unnaturally low.
Ginny let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle.
Cho and Harry started whispering nervously.
Jason shifted uncomfortably where he stood, suddenly being stared at with hard looks by six teenagers. "Uh, I mean, are you guys wizards?"
"And witches?"
"GINNY!" Hermione elbowed the redhead, who bit her lip ruefully.
"I mean, it's okay if you are," Jason said hastily, taking a small step back. "Wally told me that that's what he thought."
Harry blinked, incredulous. "That's what Wally thinks?" he repeated, dumbstruck.
"Er, yeah," Jason said. "He said that Vernie was always letting weird things slip, and the Aunt Marge incident, when he visited her in the hospital. And then he got that weirdly-addressed letter. He said he thought you guys might be magical or something."
"Oh, really?" asked Hermione squeakily. Her voice had caught in her throat.
"Uh, really. It's-it's okay, I mean. You guys are nice and all, and, yeah, and uh..."
"Harry?" Ginny said testily, holding Harry's stare as they communicated through their eyes.
"Yes," he nodded. "It's okay." He turned to Jason and smiled. "We are, in fact, wizards and witches."
Jason looked dizzy for a moment, and then smiled. "That is," he said, "insanely cool."
And they laughed at that comment as they pushed open the front doors to Hogwarts and were met by at least a hundred of their former classmates, milling around, laughing, crying, screaming, and whispering. "Oi! Ron!" Seamus called, rushing over to shake his friend's hand and clap him on the back.
"Joe! Bob!*" Cho screamed, and she disappeared after her Ravenclaw friends.
A girl named Medrillia* came looking for Draco and Hermione watched jealously as she tugged him into the crowds. "Dean!" she called, and ran off in pursuit of her tall, dark Gryffindor friend. She was certain she caught a look from Draco on that one.
Nearly all the professors came to talk to Harry, the magical world's hero, and he was swept away into their lounge-which he had never been in before, as a student-to talk about new curses and the happenings of the Ministry.
Ginny looked beside her to Jason, who stared awestruck at the scene before him: students, ghosts, and talking portraits. Smiling, she linked his arm and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts."
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"Oh, please, Harry, just one more story!" one of the prettiest girls Harry had ever seen as she jumped up in front of him and twirled her long, blonde hair.
"Sorry, Rin*," Harry apologized insincerely as he sidestepped her and sought out his friends. He had managed to escape from the professors (the new DADA professor, Miss Spinn*, had talked his ear off about gremlins for ten minutes!), only to be greeted by a dozen girls that wanted to cozy up to the new-age hero. Finally, he caught sight of Draco, sipping a drink by the stairs.
"Malfoy, where's everyone?"
Draco shrugged. "Hermione's talking to Dean."
"Anyone else?"
"Not that I know of."
At that moment, Ginny and Jason approached them laughing to near hysterics. "Ron just fell flat on his face," Ginny gasped between fits of giggles. "And Cho accidentally stepped on him!"
"It wasn't funny!" Ron said, red-faced, as he and Cho appeared beside Ginny and Jason.
"I'm so sorry," Cho said, although her smile glowed through her pursed lips.
"I saw what happened! Ron, are you okay?" It was Hermione, squeezing between Ron and Ginny and looking extremely concerned.
"Just fine," he muttered, blushing heavily and staring at the floor. A few people were sniggering and laughing. "Let's go to our rooms and get ready and stuff."
Harry checked the clock on the wall. "It's only a quarter after ten."
"Well, we have a lot of shopping to do," Ginny said brightly, and Hermione and Cho nodded. "Jason, you'll come with us. We have to get you dress robes." Jason stared and nodded, obviously lost but obedient.
Harry paused as he and Ron began jogging in the direction of the corridor that led up to Gryffindor tower. He turned, watching Draco take a dull swig from his red glass. Tentatively, he called out, "Hey, Malfoy!"
The blonde looked up, vaguely interested.
"Want to get ready and, uh, hang out and stuff in the Gryffindor tower with us?"
Ron stopped, ten yards ahead from Harry, and turned stiffly. He didn't say any words of opposition, however. He only waited for Draco's reply.
Draco frowned curiously, and then set his drink down on the ground. He nodded slowly, face set, and said, "All right then." Harry and Ron waited while we walked to catch up, and rather than jog, they all slumped back to the Gryffindor tower in an awkward, but bright-spirited all the same, silence. No one had intended to make a friend out of Draco Malfoy, but it appeared that it had happened anyway.
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Madam Malkin's wasn't very crowded at all, Hermione noted, as they stepped inside and were greeted by the rich scent of expensive French perfume. It really was too much. Madam Malkin only appeared to be busy with one girl, a younger girl whom Hermione didn't recognize. She was having dark fuschia, garish cloth pinned to her and she winced every few minutes. Hermione remembered being eleven and getting her first robes. That had been an interesting experience.
Ginny rushed forward, holding fast to Jason's hand, into a rack of fluffy, pale-yellow robes that Hermione thought would suit Ginny well. Cho squirmed uncomfortably and headed towards a distant rack, feeling a beaded turquoise robe. Hermione sighed and settled a few racks over from Cho, where several periwinkle blue robes hung from wire hangers.
She fingered the velvet feel of the first robe, and immediately was dissatisfied. Why, she didn't know, for she usually delighted in light blue robes. But today, they just didn't seem to suit her. Hermione frowned, and shifted her gaze to a shelf full of green robes that she had never sorted through before. Eyes darting to Cho, and then Ginny, and then Madam Malkin and the little girl, she shuffled over and caressed the front of a silk robe to find that it gave her shivers, from her fingertips down her spine. Timidly, she raised it from the shelf and hung it in front of her.
Hermione was confused. She had never thought that green was becoming on her, and had often scowled at the skimpy ones Pansy Parkinson would dig up, and yet she found herself drawn to this one. It's vertical stitching on the bodice was a pale gold, standing out luminously but not tawdry from the rich green material. From the waist, it fell like a gown, simple and elegant. "Would you like to try that on?"
A high, sharp voice from behind her startled Hermione, and she nearly jumped, dress and all. Madam Malkin buzzed around her, staring at Hermione Granger and the green dress she held in front of her with a strange interest. "Very nice choice, Miss Granger, well-suited. So, can I get you a dressing room?"
"Uh, yes, please," Hermione said distantly as she watched Ginny, with yellow robes draped on her arm, disappear into one of the changing stalls. Jason eyed his male dress robes warily as he took the room next to Ginny. Cho still busied herself with the turquoise robes.
Hermione let herself be led into a stall three down from Ginny and closed the purple curtain behind her. She was still rather uncertain about why she felt the way she did about these robes, but here they were, and here she was.
She set the robe down on an ottoman and stared into the full-length mirror. She hadn't looked in one in quite a few days. Her cheeks were flushed with a color that she didn't usually get from the library, and her thick brown hair was braided loosely at the nape of her neck. A few freckles dotted her nose. Her Muggle clothes, a loose white tee-shirt and fraying jean shorts, seemed so different in contrast to the robes that she had worn every school year for the past seven years. It was like a double-life. She shook her head and shyly turned away from the mirror as she undressed into her undergarments and pulled the robes on.
They fit well, Hermione noticed before she turned to face the mirror. They weren't binding or too tight, but rather they followed the lines of her body exactly. A perfect fit, not like the trash that Pansy and Blaise would wear to flaunt themselves. *No, this is modest. I like this. I like this a lot.* And she turned to face the mirror.
"Honey, doll," the mirror said in a drawl. "My, you look fabulous."
Hermione blushed. "Thank you."
"So, who's the lucky gentleman who's going to be holding onto the waist of these robes?"
Hermione laughed internally, and simply said, "I haven't decided if I'm going to let him within a ten foot radius of me yet."
"Ah, so there is someone?" the mirror crooned slyly, humming a tune that Hermione rather liked.
"Sort of," Hermione said, and, with that, she unzipped the robes, threw her clothes back on, and informed Madam Malkin that no alterations were necessary. She paid for the robes with a mysterious smile, and waited quietly on a couch with Cho as Ginny modeled her robes for an uneasy Jason.
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"You're seeing Cho Chang?!" Seamus Finnigan exclaimed dubiously across the dormitory he shared with Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Dean Thomas. Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes, standing idly in the corner as Ron impressed Seamus and Dean with his "taken" status.
"That's right," Ron said proudly, digging through the trunk that he had just blown up to normal size. "And we're going to the banquet together."
"Who're you going with, Harry?" Dean asked.
Harry, however, didn't reply. He was staring at the window with a weird smile lining his jaw.
"You're smart," the little boy said, his shaggy brown hair falling in his face. He brushed his bangs aside, and Harry caught a glimpse of his scar- the boy's and his own. "I knew you could do it."
"Will I see you again?" Harry asked the ghost of a younger him, who dwindled at the window with a peaceful smile.
"Yes, once more. You know when," the young Harry said with a grin that the real Harry matched, and he vanished.
"HARRY? EARTH TO HARRY!" Dean was waving a hand in Harry's face, bringing him back to reality as the ghost disappeared.
"Oh-sorry, Dean. What was it?"
Dean rolled his eyes, pulling black robes out of his trunk. "I asked who you were going with, and you said, 'Will I see you again?'"
Harry blushed. "Oh, I don't have a date. Do you?"
Dean smirked. "That's awfully nice of you to ask, Har, but I'm going with Parvati."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Parvati Patil?"
The other boy shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "We hooked up over summer."
Seamus laughed at that. "That's the understatement of the century. I'm taking Lavender Brown."
Ron rolled his eyes. "That was a given. You guys have been dating for three years."
"What about him?" Seamus jerked his head toward Draco, who twiddled his thumbs in the corner and stared absently at the ceiling.
Harry chuckled. "Well, we all know who he'd love to take..."
"Shut it, Harry," Draco tried to threaten, but a half-hearted yawn isn't very intimidating.
Dean squinched his eyes together. "Since when are you all on a first-name basis?"
"Well, Thomas," Draco said acidly. "Since I saw Harry have a spasmodic fit on the hood of his Corvette. We're all buddy-buddy now."
Harry scowled, and Ron broke down laughing. Dean and Seamus were simply confused. "I have to go to the Owlery to check something, okay? Let me know if any of you need robe adjustments when I get back, I read a book on it last summer."
Draco jumped up. "Can I come with?"
Harry eyed Draco, then Ron, and nodded. "Sure. I just have to check for a package from my friend Snuffles."
Draco followed Harry down the Gryffindor stairs a few steps behind, thinking about his dress robes. They were green, with black stitching, and the same ones that he had worn the past three years-since his dad had cut him off. And they were nice enough, but somehow... Somehow he decided that he'd take Harry up on his offer when they got back. Scarlet robes might be nice for a change.
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*JoeBob1379, Medrillia, Miss Spinn, and Rin!! I mentioned you all because you read "Even Heroes Have the Right to Bleed" out of reference from this fic and reviewed! Thanks so much! If any one you want to do the same, hint hint. (Sorry I had to make you a bimbo-ish person Rin, but it was the only place I could!)
A/N: Thirteen frickin' full pages of Microsoft Word!!!!! That's, like, three chapters in one. I don't know how it happened, but I think it's because I promised you guys certain stuff for this chapter, and so I tried to include it all. I mean, my normal chapter would've stopped right after Draco got kicked (ouch!). Okay, so I'm NOT going to promise stuff for next time, simply because of this:
There are either one or two chapters left, and I don't know if I'm going to separate the banquet into two chapters or finish it all the next chapter. But next chapter, there'll be more preparations, the banquet will start, and LOL, Draco and Hermione in the opposite house's colors. That will be an amusing meeting for them, doncha think? Also, I can promise that next chapter Harry's problem with the boy and Snuffles and Lily Potter WILL be resolved. That's basically all that I can GUARANTEE, but there will be more.
Wow, in the middle of my fourteenth page of Word and I've yet to thank all of my reviewers. I'm going to make this brief so I can post before my dad forces me off.
TFG-Thank you, you're an awesome reviewer. You said the nicest things, and it was great of you to review so many chapters!! I can't thank you enough, and I've read some of your stuff-fabulous. I hope this chapter's up to par, and thanks again. Chocolate Frog-Thanks, I'll go email you, and I will be cautious around purple frogs. Belladonna Bloom-Don't worry, it happens. Lynn-Thanks, and I'm glad my humor could delight you! Stay off the floor though, that's where (according to Chocolate Frog) the purple frogs wait to pounce on you. BunnyHunnie-thanks! The remarks make the story, don't they? Aimee-lol, thanks. No nun jokes yet, they're to come, but plenty of cop jokes 'cause I'm evil. I love punk-ish rock. I'm a big fan of blink-182, Box Car Racer, Simple Plan, New Found Glory, and other rock groups like Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, and Incubus that aren't so punk. I also like the Dave Matthews Band. Rin-Hey! Yeah, we only took them in 7th, and I got 1200. (My brother got so mad. He took 'em in 11th grade several time and can't beat me... mwahahaha!) Lady Alanna Salmalin of Conte-The cookie part, and I swear to God, was based on a true story. I'm in a hurry, but if you'd like to know the story either e-mail me or post it on a review and I'll answer you next chapter. Lizzy-Yeah, I'll end up doing that, but for clues on my next story check my beginning A/N before the story. kaitou ama a chiaki-lol, thanks. The person who taught me Spanish is from Madrid. Sunshine-'Aint no sunshine when she's gone, and she's always gone so long, every time she goes away! Sorry, you mademe break into song. I talked to you through e-mal about the story title, of course you can. And send me a link to it once you post a chapter 'cause I'd love to read it. Miss Spinn-Yeah, I just listed a few of my favorite things. Uh oh, no more songs!!!! JoeBob1379-I'll update "You, Me, and DADA" soon, I just really want to finish up "Road trip." Snufalufagus-I grew up with Sesame Street (I was just getting out of that stuff when Barney premiered, so I was never really into Barney) and I love snufalufagus!!! Emeraldstar-There is no such thing as too many reviews! And I love all those nice things you had to say, you are AwEsOmE! Yes, the D/Hr finale IS coming. You're great, and SO flattering, thank you thank you thank you!!
Also thanks to reviewers who didn't need comments or questions answered: Elijahsbaby1981, DMRox, Rina, WeasleyGirl, LazyLion1990, Mirei nochi, Kaoru Himura=BIG THANKS ALL OF YOU!!!
And, the longest chapter I have ever written concludeed with my farewells on the 15th page. Hope you liked it, REVIEW, and you never know... next chapter just could be the LAST. Duh nuh nuh! (Now I have to go back and double-space everything, or else fanfiction.net will group it all together in one big paragraph. Gosh, it sucks!)
Adios~Escritora
Almost done! Seriously. Last chapter I promised you that they'll meet up, the come of June 16th, and dance preparations. Well, I'm not backing out and I'm getting all that. There should only be two chapters after this one. I swear. Which is good and bad. happy, sad. y'know how ending a fic is, especially my most popular one-well, the one that has the most total reviews. ("Draco's 24 Hours of Life" has more per chapter. and is in need of a better title.)
Disclaimer: Anything clever, interesting, funny, weird, romantic, insightful, or just plain THERE belongs to JK Rowling. No, wait, it doesn't- only Harry Potter, his buddies, and the basic idea do. Does that mean that the clever, interesting, funny, weird, romantic, and just plain THERE-all that stuff-they belong to me?!?! Close enough. :o) Got my Disney hours and show times from http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneylandresort/ResortInfo/HoursAndShows/in dex?StartMonth=6&StartDay=15&StartYear=2002&Stay=1&DLP=DLP&submit.x=66&submi t.y=6.
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Hermione studied the brochure as she smiled and graciously let a young couple step down before her upon disembarking from the Omnibus. Though a double-decker, Hermione had preferred to stay on the bottom level and had sat behind the driver as he sang Disney tunes that quickly grated on her nerves. Or perhaps it was Draco Malfoy that was etching at her brain. Either way, the smile she had flashed the couple had been forced, and not the genuine grin of the generally bright-spirited Hermione Granger.
She had passed the castle upon getting off the bus without a second glance, and now found herself out of breath and hurrying through a busy street. Six men in powder blue vests and matching vaudeville hats crooned barbershop tunes from the sidewalks while playing their shiny golden tubas and flutes, and Hermione had to smile in spite of herself. It was such a funny, ridiculous sound, but uplifting all the same.
She wanted to stop and ask where she could get information on closing times and perhaps a better map, but the men seemed so joyful and engrossed that it would break her heart to make them cease to sing, even if momentarily. *I'll just ask someone else,* she thought, but her stomach fluttered with jitters that were too evil to be butterflies.
A short, stout man with a twirling mustache and muddied shoes was strolling pompously down the street in her direction, tugging at the end of his mustache and muttering about this and that. Hermione's "butterflies" bit her. "Shut up, butterflies," she hissed at her stomach, and then looked up to make sure no one had seen. They hadn't. "Hello, sir, can you tell me where. okay." Hermione stepped back as the man kept walking and mumbling, not even noticing her existence. "That didn't go so well," she said resignedly to herself.
She unfolded her crinkled brochure and, standing in the middle of the street, traced along it with her finger to find the road that she was on: Main Street, U.S.A. "Number. three." she said slowly aloud, and followed with her finger from the labeled building to its description at the bottom. "City Hall. Have questions about anything at the Disneyland® Resort? Need a map, a restaurant menu, information for guests with disabilities, or a foreign-language guidebook? What about Disney Dollars or foreign currency exchange? Whatever your need this is the place."
Hermione did her best to fold the brochure back to its correct form and stuck it in the pocket of her jeans. She raised her eyes, staring down the street ahead, and the corners of her mouth undeniably crinkled into a small, real smile as she identified City Hall.
As she approached the old-fashioned building, she had to admire the old- fashioned, western type of feel it had to it. Four white pillars held up the jutting upper floor, and the roof rose to a steeple-like finish, changing from red brick to brown and white patterning. Hermione stepped to the right of the third pillar and pushed open the double-doors to City Hall.
"How may I help you?" a tall, wiry, middle-aged man asked cheerfully from behind a marble desk. His hair color reminded Hermione of Ron's, only with strands of gray and a softer hue.
"What time does the park close?" Hermione said, not looking at him but past, at a bulletin board on the wall behind him.
"Midnight, ma'am, but Main Street, U.S.A. usually stays open till one a.m."
And he was right-according to the bulletin board. The man followed her gaze to the corkboard behind him and smiled. "If you look right here," he said, motioning towards the upper right section of the board. "The second Disneyland Parade of the Stars started at eight, it must be ending right now." He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly nine. "In Frontierland, Fantasmic! starts in just a few minutes and again at 10:30. And Club Buzz Stage Bands will be on again at ten. Oh, and the fireworks," he added, his eyes getting lost in a dreamy look. "At 9:30, right above Sleeping Beauty's Castle. That's a must-see, ma'am."
Hermione nodded, noting that the castle they had seen was simply a Disneyland attraction. "Thank you," she said unenthusiastically, and she knew it showed. Quietly, she shuffled out of City Hall, knowing the whole time the clerk was watching her go.
She came to a halt, her shoulder smacking into one of the grand white pillars outside of City Hall. Hermione opened her mouth to call to the small crowd of teenagers across the street, and paused as she noticed a most familiar man with them. Smiling brightly, she yelled, "Harry! You guys! Over here!" and ran to meet up with her friends. As she ran, a voice from behind her croaked with a volume that was almost a yell:
"Hermione.!"
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".government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Ron rudely snorted as the animatronic Lincoln finished his Gettysburg Address for the twelfth time since they had entered the theater-like building established in Main Street, U.S.A. And there it went again, starting over, and Ron mouthed the first lines of "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," until he grew sick of mimicking it and turned sharply on his heel and nearly smacked into Harry.
"Oi, Harry, watch it," he said disgruntedly. Harry made a face when Ron looked to the ground briefly. "We're not any closer to finding Hermione," Ron added loudly so that Ginny could hear. His younger sister made a face most similar to Harry's, and two began cracking up. "Or Malfoy," he said much quieter, rolling his eyes at his best friend and little sister. Where in the name of Helga Hufflepuff was Cho?
As if she could read his mind, which may or may not have been the case, a clear, feminine voice called from beyond the stretches of Ron's side vision. "Over here, Ronnie!" The redhead blushed something furious upon hearing his mother's favorite pet name, but eagerly skipped after the voice of Cho Chang. He nearly fell dead when he saw whom she was with.
"What's HE doing here?" Ron asked venomously, jerking his thumb at the man at Cho's side, who squirmed under Ron's furious and steadfast gaze.
"Ron," Cho laughed, although her eyes had a menace that appeared to attempt to drive right through Ron's heart with the message, "BEHAVE! BEHAVE!" "Stop being silly and say hello."
Ron replied to Cho's glare with a steely look, and muttered under his breath, "Hi." Apparently it was audible, for Jason Whitaker immediately nodded and smiled weakly in return. "I believe," said Cho, a smile playing on her pink lips, "that Jason's looking for-"and she meaningfully cleared her throat-"Virginia."
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"Revolting," thought Draco, screwing his eyes up in disgust and trying to shift as far away from the guard's armpit as humanly possible. If only he could get an arm free so that he could swipe his wand out of his jacket, then he could do something horribly illegal and messy that would enrage the Ministry and cause them to work many a night to get out of this situation- and the security guard's grasp. Draco shrugged (as much as his shoulders could move); he had never really cared for Weasley, anyway, and he didn't suppose it would kill the man to pull an all-nighter at the office. But the guard was seeming to enjoy this a bit too much and Draco didn't think he'd be getting his hand into his pocket any time quickly.
"Where are we going?" he finally asked bitterly as he was dragged over a rough patch of grass-more so weeds-and back onto the street, chafing his ankle on the curb and biting his lip to keep from cursing vulgarly.
"We have cops stationed in City Hall," the man said, monotone, but his grip on Draco's left arm relaxed to the point where Draco considered himself being fondled. *The 'Eaters back at the Manor would've gotten one hell of a kick out of this,* he mused grimly, not even bothering to attempt to shake the guard off. *Luckily I'll never have to go back there.*
Then again, prospects of jail didn't exactly excite Draco either. He kept remembering a conversation he had seen on TV between a new cellmate and one that been there quite a while that had given him quite a grim view of Muggle jail that made Azkaban sound half-way decent. It involved sex, usually one of Draco's favorable conversation topics to eavesdrop on, but not the kind that Draco liked to think about. He shuddered and wondered if he could get a private cell. It seemed doubtful.
City Hall turned out to be some crummy old building, in Draco Malfoy's opinion, and a cop stood out front waiting for them. The guard must have radioed him, Draco assumed, as the guard tightened his grip and kicked Draco in the shins.
"That's quite enough, Brutus," the officer said cheerfully to the Hulk; he, however, made no motion to stop him. "So this is the big, bad child molester, eh?"
"Yeah, and aren't you the guy from the village people?"
The policeman only chuckled, completely ignoring Draco's very existence. He averted his eyes to above Draco and chatted with the guard as if Draco wasn't in a severe amount of discomfort.
"You won't believe the day I had, Brutus."
"I stayed home and nearly choked on a honey bun when Jane Klinger lost Jeopardy." Draco thought it was his duty to supply translations to the cop's story. The officer glared at him, but continued.
"Well, I observed the suspect acting in a suspicious manner."
"The dirt-bag let go with an 'Oink' as I walked by."
"Knowing the suspect had a criminal history..."
"He puked on my uniform one night."
"I followed him onto the road, where he was driving in a reckless manner."
"He had a bumper sticker that said 'SLOW DOWN--DON'T FEED THE PIGS!'"
"I pulled him over, and the motorist's eyes were glassy, he had slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet, and smelled strongly of alcohol."
"He was howling at the moon and trying to drive the car from the back seat." At that one, good 'ol Brutus jabbed Draco in the ribs. He winced.
"While being arrested, this subject resisted being injured in the act..."
"He ripped my shirt and broke my new mirror sunglasses."
"So I pulled him out of the car, using only enough force to restrain the subject."
"My favorite song is 'Drop kick me Jesus Through the Goal Post of Life.'" Brutus nearly snarled at Draco, who nearly yelped, who nearly kicked the cop, who nearly spilled his coffee, which nearly landed on his shoe, and you get the whole "nearly" idea.
"Are you talkin' bad 'bout the Lord now?" Brutus growled, spit landing on the back of Draco's neck. The young man feared that the wrong answer could involve a "snap" on his neck as well as saliva.
"Er, no. Please, do go on."
The cop pointed beady little black eyes at Draco. "See, this is why I'm a cop. Delinquents such as this. Anyway, after that I only had to give a motorist a verbal warning for speeding before my shift ended."
Draco tried to resist a response. He really did. But there are some things that just happen, and even a strong-willed Slytherin couldn't keep his mouth shut even if his life depended on it-which, at that moment, it did. "She was a good-looking blonde who owned a liquor store and who was free after my shift was over."
He immediately regretted the words as they flew from his mouth; no, it wasn't Brutus's attempt to crush him, it more of the cop's steel-toed boot connecting with Draco's genitalia. "Don't you ever disrespect my holy marriage," he vaguely heard the cop hiss as he fell limp in Brutus's grasp, too winded to gasp or cry out in the slightest.
That is, until he did. And it took every fiber of his being that he passed out immediately after. Watching her through blurred eyes, he croaked, "Hermione.!" and prayed that she heard.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Her name's Ginny," Ron muttered, but no one listened to him as it was that moment that Ginny came bounding over, whining about Ron and attitude adjustments and how Harry snorts when he laughs.
"-it's not like it's a bad thing, Har, but have ANY of you ever noticed that-" And she stopped dead, staring into the expectant eyes of a certain Jason Whitaker. She didn't say anything, not after a moment, not after ten seconds, not after Cho edged her way over to her and stepped on her toes. Okay, then, she yelped.
"J-Jason!" she finally sputtered, blinking rapidly only to find that no matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, he was still standing there. "You're here!" And she threw her arms around him and could only laugh and laugh, on and on.
"I take it you're happy to see me," he grinned into her wet red ringlets. "Someone stuck her head in the toilet again."
She only sniggered and pulled her head back to kiss him on the nose. "There was a waterfall," she explained shortly; Jason nodded, smiling into her beaming face. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, and she really meant it. Genuinely. Truly. And, yes, sincerely.
"We finished up in Arkansas, and I thought that since I had a few more days before I was scheduled to return to my office in Los Angeles, I'd play up my vacation and come see you here." His eyes crinkled warmly as he added, "I was afraid it would be an unpleasant surprise." "I suppose my speechlessness didn't quite help your concerns."
"No, but the hug made up for it."
And she jumped back into his arms, only to hear Ron clear his throat annoying from behind her. "Oh, what is it now?" she snapped without thinking, and, pausing, she found that she didn't regret her sharp words. She felt Jason, however, tense as he waited for Ron's reply.
"We need to, uh, find Draco and, uh. uh."
"Hermione?" Cho helped as Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, that's the one! We need to find them," Ron said gruffly, though it was pretty futile of him to try to hide how uncomfortable he was to see his little sister in a close embrace a yard away from him.
Ginny sighed and reluctantly let go of Jason, and then grabbed for his hand. His fingers intertwined with hers, and she blushed a light shade of pink that was delicate on Ginny, and much more natural than the bright red she had been known to turn. "You're right," she agreed, following her friends as Ron led the way. It seemed like he couldn't get out of there fast enough, and Lincoln started up his speech again. *Come to think of it,* Ginny noted, *it is rather irritating,* and her foot "accidentally" pulled the plug loose as she squeezed Jason's hand and left The Walt Disney Story building with a mischievous grin and the perfect guy-and no, we're not talking about Ron or Harry.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Yeah, that's the one," Ron muttered, giving himself an internal smack on the forehead and wondering how on earth he forgot Hermione's name-it wasn't that common of a name, but after seven years of screaming it with a vengeance across the common room and then adding it to the end "I'm sorry," Ron thought that he should have it permanently glued in his memory by then. Apparently, he didn't.
Ginny obliged, and Ron made a beeline for the door before he could see Jason hold his sister again or hear that stupid animatronic Lincoln blab about liberty and dreams or something or other that really wasn't interesting to seventeen-year-old Ron Weasley. He instead chose to focus on pushing the doors open and greeting the cool night air, its darkness cancelled by the myriads of glowing streetlamps lining the sidewalks and buzzing with little flies that, although rather annoying, seemed majestic in the dusk-like glow that had been recreated at five to nine.
The rest caught up, and they paused in front of the building to gather themselves and their surroundings. Ginny nestled beside Jason, Harry bent to tie his shoe, and Ron smiled in spite of himself as he felt Cho fall at his side. She really was beautiful, he knew, as he inhaled the scent of her hair. It smelled like lilies, and Ron was quite partial to it. He placed a protective arm around her shoulder, loving the rough material of her rugby collar against the inside of his elbow, and let himself go off into a uninhibited daze about absolutely nothing in particular. But he was gone for the moment, not as an out of body experience, but the closest any of the five young adults standing there ever would be to one.
And then Harry was talking and Cho was whistling and Ron came back, plummeting back to reality and the conversation at hand. He blinked hard, taking it all in: Cho's lily hair, Harry's crinkled, laughing eyes, Jason's adoring gaze at Ginny, their interlocked fingers... and then Ginny's smile, bright and glowing like the lights that Ron had stopped to admire. He was certain he had never seen her smile like that. *This is what makes her happy,* his inner voice stated, and the six words echoed in the crevices of Ron's mind for a minute before he nodded, and grinned a grin that showed as much teeth as Ginny's. *This is okay.*
"Ron?"
Ron finally could make out Harry's words. He realized that he was grinning like a fool and nodding his head at nothing tangible, but it only made him laugh. "Yes, Harry?" he smiled. "Sorry, I was zoning out."
Harry tilted his head inquisitively, and Ron was happy when his best friend shrugged. "I was asking if you knew what time the park closed."
"No idea. Where's the map? I'd bet they have-"
"Harry! You guys! Over here!"
All five of their heads whipped around, only to see a rather disturbing sight. They had found Draco and Hermione. Hermione didn't seem too thrilled as she crouched over an unconscious Draco while a giant of a man let him slide from out of his grasp and onto the asphalt street.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cho gasped. She felt Ron's arm, which she had rather enjoyed resting on her shoulders, drop in as much surprise as she was harboring herself. Her first instinct was to rush forward, but it wasn't until Ron's hand found her own and tugged it that she felt her feet dash towards Draco, Hermione, Mr. Clean, and a round, frumpy cop who scraped his black boots against the pavement and looked willing to hock something up onto Draco's floored body.
Harry reached the scene before anyone else's toes lifted from the street, and he hunched over Draco, patting the blonde's face, but getting no response. He shot up to find that he was several inches taller than the policeman at the moment that Ron, Cho, Ginny, and Jason appeared behind him with a fury that one would not expect Harry Potter to hold. "What happened?" he asked menacingly, and if Draco was awake and had not fainted from immense pain, he would have had a big laugh over this. Harry Potter, everyone's favorite hero, trying to appear intimidating.
"Excuse me, young man, but is this any of your business?"
"Damn right it is," Harry said. "That's my. friend. I'm his friend."
"Why should I believe you? You sound quite unconvinced of that, young man," the cop chuckled as if it was the funniest thing ever and he should get free coffee for being the one to say that. No one laughed.
Harry shrugged. "I am 'quite unconvinced of that,' but all the same. His name is Draco Malfoy. He takes residence in Calais, France. He was born in Canterbury, England. He hates Mud-I mean, mud. He hates getting dirty."
"I get the point," the officer drawled. Harry was glad for that-he couldn't think of anything else he knew about Draco that pertained to the Muggle realm and didn't involve his thing for Hermione. "He's fine, just fainted 'cause of a little pain."
"What'd you do to him?" Hermione quivered.
Cho was startled. None of them had paid much attention to Hermione, when it was Draco who lay motionless on the ground, but there she was, tiny tears forming at the wells of her eyes and threatening to spill down her cheeks given any reason at all-any reason. At all. Cho knew that Hermione once "went out" with Draco, a night that ended in disaster, but she hadn't the faintest clue that the brunette sheltered any real feelings for him-even friendship. Cho turned away, but the sight of Draco's body and Hermione's grief were imprinted in her mind, and it was a sight that even Ron's red- clothed chest couldn't block out as she buried her head into it as deep as it could go without cracking a rib.
"I just gave him a kick. He was being insolent," the officer reasoned, wiping his nose with an unattractive sniffling sound.
"Where'd you kick him?" Hermione's voice cracked, and Harry was at her side, hugging her-for support, for restraint, and because she was his best friend and she was hurting. When the cop only smiled impishly, Harry closed his eyes as tightly as his grip and bridled Hermione's flailing arms and legs. As much as she protested, he would not let go.
"How dare you!" Hermione screamed as she prepared to yell just about everything you should NOT yell at a cop that Draco had minutes before left out. "I pay your salary! Shouldn't you be arresting real criminals? Do you know who you're talking to?" She fed on the policeman's laughter, kicking harder and faster with each snort he let out, and Harry felt the corners of his eyes moisten as he squeezed them even more so shut and held on as tightly as he could, ignoring the straining of his aching muscles, ignoring Hermione's cries to be let go, ignoring the cop's laughter, ignoring everything and just focusing on keeping Hermione controlled.
And when she did finally calm down, she was oblivious of everyone's stares and looked the officer straight in the eyes. Her voice didn't quaver. Her eyes didn't blink. And when she spoke, she held a rather ordinary stick in her hand. A few people knew what it was, and they all cringed and screamed, "NO!" as she lifted her arm as high as one of Harry's hands on her right elbow would allow her to and cried, "FREEZUS!"
Everything was suddenly very quiet, and even the wizards and witches that the spell had not affected stood still, cringing with eyes wide open. "Oh, honestly!" Hermione said snappishly, annoyed to find that Harry still hadn't let her go. "I was the smartest girl Hogwarts had seen in a century, and you think that I would have cursed him in front of all these people?" She beckoned with her wand hand, causing her friends to cower momentarily. But, in the end, they sighed with relief.
"No," she continued, looking unusually calm for someone who had been flailing uncontrollably only moments ago. "I froze it, and NOW I'm going to curse him!"
"Hermione, no!" they protested as she raised her wand.
She paused, frowning, and lowered it. Harry snatched it, letting go with one arm, and Hermione took the opportunity to break free. "Hermione, you can't do this," Harry pleaded, his knuckles turning white against the wooden wand. "You just can't curse a Muggle and then leave him here, there will be too many questions."
Hermione scowled. "Oh, I suppose so," she admitted, but her undaunted demeanor scared the rest a little. "But I'm not letting that foul man get away with this unharmed."
"Perfectly understandable," Harry said, still testing the extent of Hermione's passing insanity. "But, uh, maybe we should tend to Draco first."
Hermione gritted her teeth. "That git can wait," she barked forcefully, and no one dared disagree. They all did, however, wonder how she could cry over someone one minute and call them a "git" the next.
Cho blinked in astonishment. Hermione was unbuckling the officer's belt! "Hermione!" she gasped, struggling to find any other words. "I don't think that's appropriate!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and unzipped his trousers. "Oh, c'mon, Cho. Really, I wouldn't do anything like that."
Cho nodded warily. "Okay."
"I'm just going to pull his pants down, unlace his right boot, put it on, and give him a kick that makes the one I gave Draco look intimate."
"HERMIONE!" Ginny gaped, but please do take notice that she did not utter a word advising against Hermione's plan.
"Yes, Gin?" Hermione replied calmly, giving the officer's trousers a firm tug. Hmm. His briefs came down right with them.
"Oh gross!" Ron exclaimed, as he and every one else grimaced and jumped to look the other way. "Mione, you could've given us a moment's notice! And he's standing over Draco and everything!"
Hermione just laughed and kicked off her flip-flops as red and blue fireworks exploded into the air.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You. 'lied'?"
"You told me that you didn't mean it. When you said you cared about me, you said that that was just nothing."
"How do you think I felt? Do you ever think of anyone else but yourself?"
He could hear her words, as clear and painful as the shot to his Little Draco had been, and he knew that he wasn't in his right mind. That's not to say that he knew he had passed out, but when a man hears the ghosts of words once thrown at him and sees nothing but smothering darkness, he kind of gets the gist that he's not in Kansas anymore. Or Anaheim, for that matter.
Most would think that these words would be blurry, echoing remembrances, but they were a sharp and clear as day, and they burned. *I lied. I shrugged it off. I ^don't^ think of anyone but myself. How did I not feel bad about this earlier? Better yet, why the hell was I honest? Never was, why start now? Did I not master the art of deception growing up in the threshold of evil doing? Stupid, stupid Draco. And I actually wanted a Pepsi... I am such a dolt. No, a prat. A very good-looking prat at that, might I add.*
And then the darkness was flooded with light as Draco's eyelids separated and he stared into the face of a brown-haired, brown-eyed angel who abruptly slapped his across the face.
He groaned, and tried to sit up but found that he was much too tired to. The next thing he realized was that his groin was killing him. His mouth dropped and horrified adrenaline caused him to pop upright. *WHAT DID THEY DO TO ME IN THAT JAIL?*
Apparently he had lost his inner monologue, for Hermione retorted impatiently, "You didn't go to jail, Draco. Harry's getting you some more ice."
"Then why does my." Draco trailed off, remembering that he was talking to Hermione. "Why do I ache in certain places?" That got the point across just fine.
Hermione stared blankly at him and said, "You took some metal to your-"
"You bronzed me?!"
"NO!" Hermione cracked up, giggling as she fell back on the bed and she couldn't stop, not even after Draco scooted closer and stared down at her from his sitting position. "Oh, God," she giggled. "Steel-toed shoe. cop. kicked you in the."
"Okay," Draco cut in, screwing up his face as it sank in. "The cop kicked me? Is that allowed?"
Hermione only laughed harder. "He got what he deserved."
That satisfied Draco, and it hurt to sit up so he let himself flop back down onto a fluffy pillow that nearly swallowed his head as he sank into it. "Wait!" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing that there was a PILLOW. And a BED. "Hermione, where are we?"
She got a hold of herself, still not able to swipe the silly grin off her face. Flustered, she beckoned to the window where rays of light streamed in under the curtain flaps and bounced off the mirror on the opposite wall. "Anaheim, still. It's morning."
"But... how?"
"Do I have to explain everything?" Hermione snapped good-naturedly, shifting to sit on her knees. "Ginny gave you Sleeping Potion so that you could sleep off the greater deal of the pain." She paused, but Draco still looked at her like she was trying to explain how to cook a raft into a gourmet lobster in the Portuguese tongue. She sighed. "Jason got us two hotel rooms for the night. You slept in here with Ron, Harry, and Jason, and Cho, Gin, and myself took the other room. They're all in there playing Exploding Snap." At that moment, a small explosion could be heard from the next room. "We're going to head back to Hogwarts, when you're ready."
Draco still held a spiteful smirk. "Why didn't you just cure my aching 'friend' right off the bat?" *So there, Miss Know-It-All-Who-Looks-Really- Beautiful-When-She's-About-To-Contradict-Me.*
"Because," she said, "none of us have ever cured that, er, part of the body, and if anything should go wrong, well..."
"I get your point," Draco quickly muttered, using every ounce that he could to keep from looking inside his shorts to make sure that he was still intact, right then and there. He'd have to take Hermione's word for it. "Wise decision."
Hermione nodded.
"So... how are we going to get, O Wise One?"
"We're apparating."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was actually Harry's idea. He said that if all us girls needed time to get ready, since it's already ten o'clock, we couldn't waste time in the airplane getting to Hogwarts and the 'Vette is much too slow to get us to the next city in time, let alone to England, when we would just end up apparating over the Atlantic."
"How does Jason think we're getting back?"
"We'll just use magic. We can swipe his memory later."
"And how does Ginny feel about that?"
"I doubt she knows."
"Great."
"I know."
Another awkward silence would have followed, if not for Harry's impeccable timing. He, followed by the rest of the members of the trip, burst the door open. "I don't care how much Draco's genitals are hurting, LET'S GO." Harry waved an ice pack carelessly.
"Thanks for your concern," Draco said smoothly. "I think they're ready now."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry pocketed the 'Vette and they trudged into the grassiest, most mosquito-infested field that isolation could find. Ginny lagged in the back, holding on tearfully to Jason. She knew that this was knew, but she also knew that she really cared for him. And there were half-bloods at school, so that meant that wizards/witches had told their spouses, perhaps before they were wed. So couldn't Jason know? Did she really have to leave him here? She didn't want to, not at all, not in the least, never. And what if he never remembered her? Wouldn't the Memory Charm block out ALL of his memories of the six teenagers he stumbled upon in Brooklyn, New York? She hiccuped as Harry stopped in the middle of the field and eyes her and Jason warily.
"Jason," she said, holding her breath. "You can go now."
His handsome face clouded into a confused frown. "I don't understand, there's no airport here. Ginny?"
"Jason, please," she pleaded. "You don't need to see me off."
He looked heartbroken, and it broke Ginny's heart as well. His arm dropped from her waist, and he looked at her, and she did her best to not look away.
Harry watched this, his own heart twanging, as he twiddled his wand in his right hand. "Jason," he said suddenly. "How would you like to go to a ball?"
Ginny didn't know if she should throw her arms around Harry or Jason; she chose the latter, and then moved to the former. As she hugged Harry, she whispered, "Thank you, thank you so much. But how can we do this?"
Harry smiled, and whispered back, "We'll tell him it's a magic show theme, and let nature take its course."
"Harry!" Ginny gasped.
Harry shrugged. "If he finds out, he finds out. It's not that big of a deal."
"You're a doll, Harry."
"I know."
And she jumped back to Jason and looked up to meet his rich brown eyes, and murmured into his ear, "You'll come, won't you?"
He still seemed speechless, running a hand through his crumpled blonde hair and staring down at her. "Do you want me to? I mean-"
"Of course!" she cried, and he smiled broadly and wrapped her up in his arms. For once, Ron didn't snort. He kissed the top of Cho's head and said, "Let's go."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What just happened?" Jason Whitaker asked for the umpteenth time as they lugged their bags onto the Hogwarts grounds.
And he went ignored, for the umpteenth time (yes, that's there on purpose), as he helped Ginny carry her luggage into Hogwarts grounds. She was chatting with Hermione about different silks and velvets that they could charm their old dress robes into, and possibilities of splurging on new robes, and Jason didn't have the foggiest clue of what they were talking about. Harry and Ron were having a heated discussion about something called "Quidditch," that Draco boy was holding a bag of water that had formerly been ice and staring at Hermione Granger mournfully, and Cho was at Ron's side, completely ignoring his and Harry's conversation and muttering about her wand. Jason blinked.
"Are you guys magical?" he asked.
Everyone stopped everything.
"Wha-what do you mean?" Ron stammered, his jaw dropped unnaturally low.
Ginny let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle.
Cho and Harry started whispering nervously.
Jason shifted uncomfortably where he stood, suddenly being stared at with hard looks by six teenagers. "Uh, I mean, are you guys wizards?"
"And witches?"
"GINNY!" Hermione elbowed the redhead, who bit her lip ruefully.
"I mean, it's okay if you are," Jason said hastily, taking a small step back. "Wally told me that that's what he thought."
Harry blinked, incredulous. "That's what Wally thinks?" he repeated, dumbstruck.
"Er, yeah," Jason said. "He said that Vernie was always letting weird things slip, and the Aunt Marge incident, when he visited her in the hospital. And then he got that weirdly-addressed letter. He said he thought you guys might be magical or something."
"Oh, really?" asked Hermione squeakily. Her voice had caught in her throat.
"Uh, really. It's-it's okay, I mean. You guys are nice and all, and, yeah, and uh..."
"Harry?" Ginny said testily, holding Harry's stare as they communicated through their eyes.
"Yes," he nodded. "It's okay." He turned to Jason and smiled. "We are, in fact, wizards and witches."
Jason looked dizzy for a moment, and then smiled. "That is," he said, "insanely cool."
And they laughed at that comment as they pushed open the front doors to Hogwarts and were met by at least a hundred of their former classmates, milling around, laughing, crying, screaming, and whispering. "Oi! Ron!" Seamus called, rushing over to shake his friend's hand and clap him on the back.
"Joe! Bob!*" Cho screamed, and she disappeared after her Ravenclaw friends.
A girl named Medrillia* came looking for Draco and Hermione watched jealously as she tugged him into the crowds. "Dean!" she called, and ran off in pursuit of her tall, dark Gryffindor friend. She was certain she caught a look from Draco on that one.
Nearly all the professors came to talk to Harry, the magical world's hero, and he was swept away into their lounge-which he had never been in before, as a student-to talk about new curses and the happenings of the Ministry.
Ginny looked beside her to Jason, who stared awestruck at the scene before him: students, ghosts, and talking portraits. Smiling, she linked his arm and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oh, please, Harry, just one more story!" one of the prettiest girls Harry had ever seen as she jumped up in front of him and twirled her long, blonde hair.
"Sorry, Rin*," Harry apologized insincerely as he sidestepped her and sought out his friends. He had managed to escape from the professors (the new DADA professor, Miss Spinn*, had talked his ear off about gremlins for ten minutes!), only to be greeted by a dozen girls that wanted to cozy up to the new-age hero. Finally, he caught sight of Draco, sipping a drink by the stairs.
"Malfoy, where's everyone?"
Draco shrugged. "Hermione's talking to Dean."
"Anyone else?"
"Not that I know of."
At that moment, Ginny and Jason approached them laughing to near hysterics. "Ron just fell flat on his face," Ginny gasped between fits of giggles. "And Cho accidentally stepped on him!"
"It wasn't funny!" Ron said, red-faced, as he and Cho appeared beside Ginny and Jason.
"I'm so sorry," Cho said, although her smile glowed through her pursed lips.
"I saw what happened! Ron, are you okay?" It was Hermione, squeezing between Ron and Ginny and looking extremely concerned.
"Just fine," he muttered, blushing heavily and staring at the floor. A few people were sniggering and laughing. "Let's go to our rooms and get ready and stuff."
Harry checked the clock on the wall. "It's only a quarter after ten."
"Well, we have a lot of shopping to do," Ginny said brightly, and Hermione and Cho nodded. "Jason, you'll come with us. We have to get you dress robes." Jason stared and nodded, obviously lost but obedient.
Harry paused as he and Ron began jogging in the direction of the corridor that led up to Gryffindor tower. He turned, watching Draco take a dull swig from his red glass. Tentatively, he called out, "Hey, Malfoy!"
The blonde looked up, vaguely interested.
"Want to get ready and, uh, hang out and stuff in the Gryffindor tower with us?"
Ron stopped, ten yards ahead from Harry, and turned stiffly. He didn't say any words of opposition, however. He only waited for Draco's reply.
Draco frowned curiously, and then set his drink down on the ground. He nodded slowly, face set, and said, "All right then." Harry and Ron waited while we walked to catch up, and rather than jog, they all slumped back to the Gryffindor tower in an awkward, but bright-spirited all the same, silence. No one had intended to make a friend out of Draco Malfoy, but it appeared that it had happened anyway.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Madam Malkin's wasn't very crowded at all, Hermione noted, as they stepped inside and were greeted by the rich scent of expensive French perfume. It really was too much. Madam Malkin only appeared to be busy with one girl, a younger girl whom Hermione didn't recognize. She was having dark fuschia, garish cloth pinned to her and she winced every few minutes. Hermione remembered being eleven and getting her first robes. That had been an interesting experience.
Ginny rushed forward, holding fast to Jason's hand, into a rack of fluffy, pale-yellow robes that Hermione thought would suit Ginny well. Cho squirmed uncomfortably and headed towards a distant rack, feeling a beaded turquoise robe. Hermione sighed and settled a few racks over from Cho, where several periwinkle blue robes hung from wire hangers.
She fingered the velvet feel of the first robe, and immediately was dissatisfied. Why, she didn't know, for she usually delighted in light blue robes. But today, they just didn't seem to suit her. Hermione frowned, and shifted her gaze to a shelf full of green robes that she had never sorted through before. Eyes darting to Cho, and then Ginny, and then Madam Malkin and the little girl, she shuffled over and caressed the front of a silk robe to find that it gave her shivers, from her fingertips down her spine. Timidly, she raised it from the shelf and hung it in front of her.
Hermione was confused. She had never thought that green was becoming on her, and had often scowled at the skimpy ones Pansy Parkinson would dig up, and yet she found herself drawn to this one. It's vertical stitching on the bodice was a pale gold, standing out luminously but not tawdry from the rich green material. From the waist, it fell like a gown, simple and elegant. "Would you like to try that on?"
A high, sharp voice from behind her startled Hermione, and she nearly jumped, dress and all. Madam Malkin buzzed around her, staring at Hermione Granger and the green dress she held in front of her with a strange interest. "Very nice choice, Miss Granger, well-suited. So, can I get you a dressing room?"
"Uh, yes, please," Hermione said distantly as she watched Ginny, with yellow robes draped on her arm, disappear into one of the changing stalls. Jason eyed his male dress robes warily as he took the room next to Ginny. Cho still busied herself with the turquoise robes.
Hermione let herself be led into a stall three down from Ginny and closed the purple curtain behind her. She was still rather uncertain about why she felt the way she did about these robes, but here they were, and here she was.
She set the robe down on an ottoman and stared into the full-length mirror. She hadn't looked in one in quite a few days. Her cheeks were flushed with a color that she didn't usually get from the library, and her thick brown hair was braided loosely at the nape of her neck. A few freckles dotted her nose. Her Muggle clothes, a loose white tee-shirt and fraying jean shorts, seemed so different in contrast to the robes that she had worn every school year for the past seven years. It was like a double-life. She shook her head and shyly turned away from the mirror as she undressed into her undergarments and pulled the robes on.
They fit well, Hermione noticed before she turned to face the mirror. They weren't binding or too tight, but rather they followed the lines of her body exactly. A perfect fit, not like the trash that Pansy and Blaise would wear to flaunt themselves. *No, this is modest. I like this. I like this a lot.* And she turned to face the mirror.
"Honey, doll," the mirror said in a drawl. "My, you look fabulous."
Hermione blushed. "Thank you."
"So, who's the lucky gentleman who's going to be holding onto the waist of these robes?"
Hermione laughed internally, and simply said, "I haven't decided if I'm going to let him within a ten foot radius of me yet."
"Ah, so there is someone?" the mirror crooned slyly, humming a tune that Hermione rather liked.
"Sort of," Hermione said, and, with that, she unzipped the robes, threw her clothes back on, and informed Madam Malkin that no alterations were necessary. She paid for the robes with a mysterious smile, and waited quietly on a couch with Cho as Ginny modeled her robes for an uneasy Jason.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You're seeing Cho Chang?!" Seamus Finnigan exclaimed dubiously across the dormitory he shared with Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Dean Thomas. Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes, standing idly in the corner as Ron impressed Seamus and Dean with his "taken" status.
"That's right," Ron said proudly, digging through the trunk that he had just blown up to normal size. "And we're going to the banquet together."
"Who're you going with, Harry?" Dean asked.
Harry, however, didn't reply. He was staring at the window with a weird smile lining his jaw.
"You're smart," the little boy said, his shaggy brown hair falling in his face. He brushed his bangs aside, and Harry caught a glimpse of his scar- the boy's and his own. "I knew you could do it."
"Will I see you again?" Harry asked the ghost of a younger him, who dwindled at the window with a peaceful smile.
"Yes, once more. You know when," the young Harry said with a grin that the real Harry matched, and he vanished.
"HARRY? EARTH TO HARRY!" Dean was waving a hand in Harry's face, bringing him back to reality as the ghost disappeared.
"Oh-sorry, Dean. What was it?"
Dean rolled his eyes, pulling black robes out of his trunk. "I asked who you were going with, and you said, 'Will I see you again?'"
Harry blushed. "Oh, I don't have a date. Do you?"
Dean smirked. "That's awfully nice of you to ask, Har, but I'm going with Parvati."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Parvati Patil?"
The other boy shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "We hooked up over summer."
Seamus laughed at that. "That's the understatement of the century. I'm taking Lavender Brown."
Ron rolled his eyes. "That was a given. You guys have been dating for three years."
"What about him?" Seamus jerked his head toward Draco, who twiddled his thumbs in the corner and stared absently at the ceiling.
Harry chuckled. "Well, we all know who he'd love to take..."
"Shut it, Harry," Draco tried to threaten, but a half-hearted yawn isn't very intimidating.
Dean squinched his eyes together. "Since when are you all on a first-name basis?"
"Well, Thomas," Draco said acidly. "Since I saw Harry have a spasmodic fit on the hood of his Corvette. We're all buddy-buddy now."
Harry scowled, and Ron broke down laughing. Dean and Seamus were simply confused. "I have to go to the Owlery to check something, okay? Let me know if any of you need robe adjustments when I get back, I read a book on it last summer."
Draco jumped up. "Can I come with?"
Harry eyed Draco, then Ron, and nodded. "Sure. I just have to check for a package from my friend Snuffles."
Draco followed Harry down the Gryffindor stairs a few steps behind, thinking about his dress robes. They were green, with black stitching, and the same ones that he had worn the past three years-since his dad had cut him off. And they were nice enough, but somehow... Somehow he decided that he'd take Harry up on his offer when they got back. Scarlet robes might be nice for a change.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*JoeBob1379, Medrillia, Miss Spinn, and Rin!! I mentioned you all because you read "Even Heroes Have the Right to Bleed" out of reference from this fic and reviewed! Thanks so much! If any one you want to do the same, hint hint. (Sorry I had to make you a bimbo-ish person Rin, but it was the only place I could!)
A/N: Thirteen frickin' full pages of Microsoft Word!!!!! That's, like, three chapters in one. I don't know how it happened, but I think it's because I promised you guys certain stuff for this chapter, and so I tried to include it all. I mean, my normal chapter would've stopped right after Draco got kicked (ouch!). Okay, so I'm NOT going to promise stuff for next time, simply because of this:
There are either one or two chapters left, and I don't know if I'm going to separate the banquet into two chapters or finish it all the next chapter. But next chapter, there'll be more preparations, the banquet will start, and LOL, Draco and Hermione in the opposite house's colors. That will be an amusing meeting for them, doncha think? Also, I can promise that next chapter Harry's problem with the boy and Snuffles and Lily Potter WILL be resolved. That's basically all that I can GUARANTEE, but there will be more.
Wow, in the middle of my fourteenth page of Word and I've yet to thank all of my reviewers. I'm going to make this brief so I can post before my dad forces me off.
TFG-Thank you, you're an awesome reviewer. You said the nicest things, and it was great of you to review so many chapters!! I can't thank you enough, and I've read some of your stuff-fabulous. I hope this chapter's up to par, and thanks again. Chocolate Frog-Thanks, I'll go email you, and I will be cautious around purple frogs. Belladonna Bloom-Don't worry, it happens. Lynn-Thanks, and I'm glad my humor could delight you! Stay off the floor though, that's where (according to Chocolate Frog) the purple frogs wait to pounce on you. BunnyHunnie-thanks! The remarks make the story, don't they? Aimee-lol, thanks. No nun jokes yet, they're to come, but plenty of cop jokes 'cause I'm evil. I love punk-ish rock. I'm a big fan of blink-182, Box Car Racer, Simple Plan, New Found Glory, and other rock groups like Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, and Incubus that aren't so punk. I also like the Dave Matthews Band. Rin-Hey! Yeah, we only took them in 7th, and I got 1200. (My brother got so mad. He took 'em in 11th grade several time and can't beat me... mwahahaha!) Lady Alanna Salmalin of Conte-The cookie part, and I swear to God, was based on a true story. I'm in a hurry, but if you'd like to know the story either e-mail me or post it on a review and I'll answer you next chapter. Lizzy-Yeah, I'll end up doing that, but for clues on my next story check my beginning A/N before the story. kaitou ama a chiaki-lol, thanks. The person who taught me Spanish is from Madrid. Sunshine-'Aint no sunshine when she's gone, and she's always gone so long, every time she goes away! Sorry, you mademe break into song. I talked to you through e-mal about the story title, of course you can. And send me a link to it once you post a chapter 'cause I'd love to read it. Miss Spinn-Yeah, I just listed a few of my favorite things. Uh oh, no more songs!!!! JoeBob1379-I'll update "You, Me, and DADA" soon, I just really want to finish up "Road trip." Snufalufagus-I grew up with Sesame Street (I was just getting out of that stuff when Barney premiered, so I was never really into Barney) and I love snufalufagus!!! Emeraldstar-There is no such thing as too many reviews! And I love all those nice things you had to say, you are AwEsOmE! Yes, the D/Hr finale IS coming. You're great, and SO flattering, thank you thank you thank you!!
Also thanks to reviewers who didn't need comments or questions answered: Elijahsbaby1981, DMRox, Rina, WeasleyGirl, LazyLion1990, Mirei nochi, Kaoru Himura=BIG THANKS ALL OF YOU!!!
And, the longest chapter I have ever written concludeed with my farewells on the 15th page. Hope you liked it, REVIEW, and you never know... next chapter just could be the LAST. Duh nuh nuh! (Now I have to go back and double-space everything, or else fanfiction.net will group it all together in one big paragraph. Gosh, it sucks!)
Adios~Escritora