Author's note: Another big thanks to my friend that helped with the
riddles.
Hermione stared at the paper. "What on earth?" she asked herself. She studied it and after a while it hit her. "He's set up a sort of scavenger hunt." She wondered what on earth he could be up to and there was a war going on in her head. Hermione wandered out to the stairs and sat down. Could this be some kind of trick? Or was he trying to make things better? It was all to confusing. Why did she have to just make a snap decision? After about fifteen minutes she decided to follow the clues. The next step was to figure out where to go. She looked over the clue again. Where Gryffindors sleep obviously meant one of their dorms. But the part about truth weeping was what really caught her eye. "The place where we talked." She frowned slightly at the sad memory. Without hesitation she ran to the dorms as fast as her long dress and tall shoes would allow her.
When she got up to the dorms Hermione quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a large, maroon, turtle- neck, sweater. She tied her white Nikes and brushed out her hair until the tight ringlets from earlier became soft waves, tumbling down her back. Then she climbed the stairs to the girls' dorms. When she entered the room it seemed like a different place, even though she had slept there for years. Hermione slowly walked over to the bed that had started all of this. As if she couldn't resist, she sat down on the bed, picked up one of the pillows, and hugged it to her chest. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could've sworn that it still smelled like him. Like soap, hair gel, some kind of cologne, just like a guy. But it wasn't like any other guy; it seemed special, a completely unique scent, and one only he could possibly posses. She went to put the pillow down and found a folded piece of paper. She opened it up and it said: Clue 2: Now to a place that's dank and dim Memories there are often grim. To some it seems straight out of hell But it's truly the place where Slytherins dwell.
Now this one was obvious, she ran out of the room and down to the potions classroom.
When she reached the potions classroom, Hermione went searching. Finally she found the note taped under the desk she Ron and Harry worked at.
Clue 3: Now to a place that leads underground To a statue that the Marauder's map found. It leads to a land of tricks and treats Where you and your friends once did meet.
"Leads underground, treats, map, my friends?" she muttered to herself. "The statue at the opening to the Hogsmeade tunnel!" She took off running up the stairs. It was a good thing everyone was still downstairs. Tearing down the halls at top speed wasn't the sanest thing she could do. She reached the statue quickly and found the note taped to the back of it.
Clue 4: Off to the place where messengers rest Where our soft-feathered friends make their nest. There you will find another clue And the next step will be revealed to you. "The Owlery!"
Out of breathe, Hermione stopped at the door to the Owlery. It could be anywhere, but one thing stuck out. There was a falcon with a note tied to his leg. She quickly removed and read it.
Clue 5: Down the stairs and through the hall To a place where footsteps fall. On a table in a great room A note enclosed in an alcoholic tomb.
This one made no sense. Where footsteps fall, a great room. "Well there's the Great Hall." She decided to go down there and try to figure out what this meant.
At the Great Hall, nobody noticed as Hermione slipped in and looked around. Her eyes caught on a small table in the corner. There was a single wine glass sitting there, with a piece of paper floating in it. She sprinted over and pulled the paper out.
Clue 6: Now to a place of blacks and blues Of water deep and sailboats too. Here just think and you shall find A memory will come to mind.
"Deep water, well that's a no brainer," she snorted as she walked out the front doors and down to the lake. She shivered in the cold and looked over the clue again. There weren't really a whole lot of options. As she looked out over the water a small toy boat came floating to her. The main sail was a note. "Oh of course, sailboats." The note read, nothing. Then she remembered what the last one said. She had to think of a memory. The first thing that came to mind was her first year at Hogwarts. Walking up the stairs with Professor McGonagall.
Sure enough, at the top of the stairs was a note.
Clue 7: Take the paper you hold in your hand And go to a place you'll find on land. What you have to do is follow your heart And go to the place each day you start.
" Okay, now his rhyming is getting really bad. Oh well let's see. A place where I start. Since I've been to the dorms and Great Hall, it can only be my first class."
Hermione gasped as she entered the classroom. Starting at the door, dozens of blood red roses were suspended at eye level. They went almost entirely around the room in the shape of a heart. Attached to each rose was a piece of paper on which was written a single word. "Follow my heart," she whispered as she walked up to the first rose. She read until she made it around the heart and back to the door. All together, this is what the message read: Dearest Hermione, I want to tell you how very sorry I am for everything I've done. Not just this past little while but throughout all our years here. In particular, when I lashed out at you that morning it was because I was scared. I was afraid of getting close to you. Afraid that I might hurt you or I myself might get hurt. I was afraid there was some of my father in me. Now I know that I could never hurt you. I only hope that I may be forgiven for everything I have ever said or done to you that may have caused you pain. I need you to know that I care for you very much and that I love you, Draco.
Hermione's heart gave a leap of joy at the last four words. "He loves me." Carefully she reached up and grabbed the last four roses and cradled them gently in her arms. A little tap on the door made her turn around. There was Draco, his hair hanging lightly and slightly covering one crystal blue eye, making him look even better than normal. He too had changed out of his formal wear and was wearing a pair of khakis, a black ribbed sweater, and Sketchers. "Hi," he said quietly, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't know what to say," Hermione whispered. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." "I think I have to say something," she murmured. Draco nodded and walked into the room to hear her out.
"Okay, I'm so flattered to know how you feel. But at the same time I'm so scared. It's like there's two sides of you that are combating forces. There's this loving, open, sweet side. Then there's this closed up, angry, scared side that's always lashing out. I'm terrified that the angry side will win over and I'll end up in the path of that anger, and I'll get hurt again." Tears were streaming down her cheeks and Draco opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione held her hand up to stop him. "No, just let me get this out. I do want to be with you, but I'm just to scared of that angry side. So we just can't happen. I'm sorry Draco, but we just can't." She gave him one last look and ran out of the room. As she took off, Draco slid down against the wall and banged his head against it. "Damn it!"
Draco sat there for an hour wallowing in his own self-pity. When he finally got up, Professor McGonagall confronted him. "Mr. Malfoy, I believe we need to have a chat," she said sternly. "I have been finding little scraps of paper all over that school, with your writing on them, not to mention this mess. Now I am feeling generous so I will not be enforcing your detention until school starts back up. You will spend the first night of school cleaning up the kitchens, without magic. Now clean this up and then go to bed." She turned on her heal and strode out of the room.
Hermione stared at the paper. "What on earth?" she asked herself. She studied it and after a while it hit her. "He's set up a sort of scavenger hunt." She wondered what on earth he could be up to and there was a war going on in her head. Hermione wandered out to the stairs and sat down. Could this be some kind of trick? Or was he trying to make things better? It was all to confusing. Why did she have to just make a snap decision? After about fifteen minutes she decided to follow the clues. The next step was to figure out where to go. She looked over the clue again. Where Gryffindors sleep obviously meant one of their dorms. But the part about truth weeping was what really caught her eye. "The place where we talked." She frowned slightly at the sad memory. Without hesitation she ran to the dorms as fast as her long dress and tall shoes would allow her.
When she got up to the dorms Hermione quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a large, maroon, turtle- neck, sweater. She tied her white Nikes and brushed out her hair until the tight ringlets from earlier became soft waves, tumbling down her back. Then she climbed the stairs to the girls' dorms. When she entered the room it seemed like a different place, even though she had slept there for years. Hermione slowly walked over to the bed that had started all of this. As if she couldn't resist, she sat down on the bed, picked up one of the pillows, and hugged it to her chest. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could've sworn that it still smelled like him. Like soap, hair gel, some kind of cologne, just like a guy. But it wasn't like any other guy; it seemed special, a completely unique scent, and one only he could possibly posses. She went to put the pillow down and found a folded piece of paper. She opened it up and it said: Clue 2: Now to a place that's dank and dim Memories there are often grim. To some it seems straight out of hell But it's truly the place where Slytherins dwell.
Now this one was obvious, she ran out of the room and down to the potions classroom.
When she reached the potions classroom, Hermione went searching. Finally she found the note taped under the desk she Ron and Harry worked at.
Clue 3: Now to a place that leads underground To a statue that the Marauder's map found. It leads to a land of tricks and treats Where you and your friends once did meet.
"Leads underground, treats, map, my friends?" she muttered to herself. "The statue at the opening to the Hogsmeade tunnel!" She took off running up the stairs. It was a good thing everyone was still downstairs. Tearing down the halls at top speed wasn't the sanest thing she could do. She reached the statue quickly and found the note taped to the back of it.
Clue 4: Off to the place where messengers rest Where our soft-feathered friends make their nest. There you will find another clue And the next step will be revealed to you. "The Owlery!"
Out of breathe, Hermione stopped at the door to the Owlery. It could be anywhere, but one thing stuck out. There was a falcon with a note tied to his leg. She quickly removed and read it.
Clue 5: Down the stairs and through the hall To a place where footsteps fall. On a table in a great room A note enclosed in an alcoholic tomb.
This one made no sense. Where footsteps fall, a great room. "Well there's the Great Hall." She decided to go down there and try to figure out what this meant.
At the Great Hall, nobody noticed as Hermione slipped in and looked around. Her eyes caught on a small table in the corner. There was a single wine glass sitting there, with a piece of paper floating in it. She sprinted over and pulled the paper out.
Clue 6: Now to a place of blacks and blues Of water deep and sailboats too. Here just think and you shall find A memory will come to mind.
"Deep water, well that's a no brainer," she snorted as she walked out the front doors and down to the lake. She shivered in the cold and looked over the clue again. There weren't really a whole lot of options. As she looked out over the water a small toy boat came floating to her. The main sail was a note. "Oh of course, sailboats." The note read, nothing. Then she remembered what the last one said. She had to think of a memory. The first thing that came to mind was her first year at Hogwarts. Walking up the stairs with Professor McGonagall.
Sure enough, at the top of the stairs was a note.
Clue 7: Take the paper you hold in your hand And go to a place you'll find on land. What you have to do is follow your heart And go to the place each day you start.
" Okay, now his rhyming is getting really bad. Oh well let's see. A place where I start. Since I've been to the dorms and Great Hall, it can only be my first class."
Hermione gasped as she entered the classroom. Starting at the door, dozens of blood red roses were suspended at eye level. They went almost entirely around the room in the shape of a heart. Attached to each rose was a piece of paper on which was written a single word. "Follow my heart," she whispered as she walked up to the first rose. She read until she made it around the heart and back to the door. All together, this is what the message read: Dearest Hermione, I want to tell you how very sorry I am for everything I've done. Not just this past little while but throughout all our years here. In particular, when I lashed out at you that morning it was because I was scared. I was afraid of getting close to you. Afraid that I might hurt you or I myself might get hurt. I was afraid there was some of my father in me. Now I know that I could never hurt you. I only hope that I may be forgiven for everything I have ever said or done to you that may have caused you pain. I need you to know that I care for you very much and that I love you, Draco.
Hermione's heart gave a leap of joy at the last four words. "He loves me." Carefully she reached up and grabbed the last four roses and cradled them gently in her arms. A little tap on the door made her turn around. There was Draco, his hair hanging lightly and slightly covering one crystal blue eye, making him look even better than normal. He too had changed out of his formal wear and was wearing a pair of khakis, a black ribbed sweater, and Sketchers. "Hi," he said quietly, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't know what to say," Hermione whispered. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." "I think I have to say something," she murmured. Draco nodded and walked into the room to hear her out.
"Okay, I'm so flattered to know how you feel. But at the same time I'm so scared. It's like there's two sides of you that are combating forces. There's this loving, open, sweet side. Then there's this closed up, angry, scared side that's always lashing out. I'm terrified that the angry side will win over and I'll end up in the path of that anger, and I'll get hurt again." Tears were streaming down her cheeks and Draco opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione held her hand up to stop him. "No, just let me get this out. I do want to be with you, but I'm just to scared of that angry side. So we just can't happen. I'm sorry Draco, but we just can't." She gave him one last look and ran out of the room. As she took off, Draco slid down against the wall and banged his head against it. "Damn it!"
Draco sat there for an hour wallowing in his own self-pity. When he finally got up, Professor McGonagall confronted him. "Mr. Malfoy, I believe we need to have a chat," she said sternly. "I have been finding little scraps of paper all over that school, with your writing on them, not to mention this mess. Now I am feeling generous so I will not be enforcing your detention until school starts back up. You will spend the first night of school cleaning up the kitchens, without magic. Now clean this up and then go to bed." She turned on her heal and strode out of the room.