A/N Hey all! I know it's been AGES since I've updated, and I know this. My teacher piled the homework on us b4 March break. And now that it is March break I can write. I typed all this up on my home computer, but I hafta RETYPE this whole chapter on my laptop, cuz being the forgetful person that I am, I 4got to copy it only my diskette. I'm on a family road trip or the mid-western USA, and im typing rite now on the way to Ohio, from Michigan.
Well, enuf of my rambling, ENJOY! And by the way, I wouldn't normally write this much fluff in a short amount of time, but I'm making up for all the missed romance stuff when our beloved heroes were fighting.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, and THERE IS A PLOT!
Chapter 19: Let the Games Begin
The next day was spent at Hogsmeade, and as Hermione and Draco weren't supposed to be together, they went with their own friends. Sometime in the afternoon they 'met' in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to buy their 'supplies'. Fred and George didn't mind being in the same vicinity of Malfoy, well...not since the Yule Ball.
They bought a box of Chocolate Frog covered Canary Creams, and a few packs of Colour Curse Powder. Back at Hogwarts, they mixed the powder with Hermiones' pre-made Fire Potion and sprinkled the remaining powder on the Chocolate Frogs. Everything was all set for Valentines Day, and when they would get their revenge!
The big day finally arrived and as everything was all set, they just needed to put it into action. At breakfast, they held a stage fight in the Entrance Hall before storming into the Great Hall. Draco winked at Hermione when Pansy and Blaise strode in. Draco poured the potion into Blaise's goblet quickly. "Hello Pansy! Hi Blaise!" he greeted.
"Hello Draco." Pansy said and sat in front of him.
"Let me pour you some pumpkin juice Blaise." He offered and mixed the juice with the potion.
"Er...thanks." Blaise said, a bit suspiciously.
"I have a gift for you Pansy. Happy Valentine's Day." Draco handed Pansy the wrapped chocolate frogs.
"Oh thank you Draco! You're so sweet!" she leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.
Inwardly, he was gagging, but pulled a smirk. He watched as the two girls talked, and Crabbe and Goyle sat on either side of him, shoveling scrambled eggs into their mouths by the second. His disgust turned to a coy smile as Blaise took a sip from her goblet, while chewing on a sausage. Suddenly her face and hair went bright red and she was fanning her mouth, sucking air in.
"What's wrong Blaise? Eat a hot sausage?" Draco grinned.
Pansy was laughing and pointing at her friend's misfortune. Blaise drained the rest of her goblet, in hopes to reduce the heat. To no avail, Pansy offered her own, which she accepted gratefully. The red from her face resided, but the colour in her hair didn't. Pansy laughed again, and the rest of Slytherin house joined in.
"What happened?" Pansy asked, while un-wrapping the chocolate, to Draco's pleasure.
"Ate something really hot. It was burning!" Blaise explained.
Pansy shrugged and popped a frog into her mouth. She leapt into the air and shrieked. Bright yellow feathers were sprouting from her...rear end, and were closely followed by more all over her body. She half screamed, and half squawked, which gathered the attention from the rest of the hall.
The whole hall erupted in laughter, Gryffindor table being the loudest. Harry and Ron were pounding the table, roaring with laughter. They all remembered the Canary Creams from 4th year. Ginny was holding her ribs, and eventually fell off the bench. Neville did the same; after all, he was subjected to the Canary Creams before. Hermione caught Draco's eye and smiled at him before joining in with the rest of her house.
Pansy dashed from the Slytherin table, moulting feathers on the way. She wrenched the hall doors open and ran, crying, screaming and squawking. The roaring laughter didn't cease until Dumbledore quieted them down.
The only thing on everyone's mind was what happened with Pansy. And nobody could not notice Blaise's red hair. They were mocking her and a rumoured relationship with Ron. And, of course, for any Slytherin, a supposed relationship with a Weasley is nothing short of an insult.
Care of Magical Creatures was very interesting. Hagrid had acquired several different breeds of winged horses. He told them all to partner up and take turns riding. Harry and Ron went to a powerful Abraxan, saying sorry to Hermione. Neville was coming up to her when she was tapped from behind. She was greeted by Draco, who was holding the bridal of a beautiful Thestral. "Partner?" he asked.
"Partner." She confirmed, "Aren't Thestrals unlucky?"
"Not to me they aren't." He assured her, helping her up behind the jet-black wing joint, before climbing on himself.
The Thestral was muscular, sleek and the black coat was gleaming. It pawed the ground impatiently. Hagrid came over and eyes the two suspiciously. "Nobody was left Hagrid." Hermione assured.
"Okay then Hermione. I see yeh've picked out Nocturnis. He's mighty fast an' powerful, so don't get him mad." He explained to the class how to control the horses and such.
When it was Draco and Hermione's turn, Draco took control and quickly urged Nocturnis up. Hermione shrieked at the sudden fast pace but Draco laughed, assuring her safety. It was delightful flying, "No wonder they love Quidditch so much." She thought of Draco and Harry flying on the pitch.
The air was rushing past as they flew over the lake. It was just her, Draco, and the horse. It was somewhat romantic. She leaned back on his chest and rested her head between his head and shoulder. "I wish we could stay like this forever." She whispered to him.
"So do I," he said back.
As they brought Nocturnis back down, Hagrid held out his hand for the reigns. "We'll bring him back. Longbottom's up next, he will need help." Draco said as Neville tried to her his horse in the air.
He and Hermione rode Nocturnis back to the paddock. As she was going to get down, he held her back. "Where are you going?" he said playfully.
"Why? What do you have in mind?" she said.
He brought them behind Hagrid's hut. "You can go invisible Nocturnis. Do it now." Draco commanded.
The Thestral snorted and tossed his head up defiantly. "Please?" Hermione said. The Thestral faded a bit and went completely invisible, taking Hermione and Draco along. She swung her legs over the sides and turned so she was looking at him. He embraced her and she said, "You know, sometimes you can act like Nocturnis."
He stuck his nose in the air and huffed, "I don't know what you're talking about."
She laughed and he kissed her. She deepened it by hugging his neck and shoulders. It was absolute bliss for them both and they stayed there in each other's arms for who knows how long.
~*~
Harry and Ron just touched back down to the ground, and went to Hagrid. "Hey Hagrid, have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. She went to put her horse away with Malfoy." Hagrid said.
Ron and Harry looked at each other. "OK, we'll put our horse in then. Thanks Hagrid." Ron said.
The two boys and the horse swiftly walked to the paddock. When they didn't see Hermione or Malfoy there, they panicked. "Where is she?" Ron asked.
"If he touches her..." Harry growled.
"Let's look around." Ron suggested.
They went around the paddock with no luck. Then they stopped dead in their tracks when they went behind Hagrid's hut. Hermione and Draco were still on the horse, but they were kissing passionately in each other's arms. The quietly walked over to the swiftly appearing horse and Ron yanked Draco off of it to the ground. "Don't. You. Dare. Touch. Her!" Ron yelled as he punched Draco in the jaw and nose.
Harry was helping a frantic Hermione off of the snorting horse as she scrambled away from Harry. "Ron! No! Leave him alone!" she ran to him and pulled his robes. When he ignored her, and continued punching Malfoy, she yanked his hair and he yelped and jumped up. She stood in front of him to prevent any more fist throwing.
"Hermione! What happened!" Ron and Harry yelled simultaneously. She ignored him and kneeled over Draco, who's nose was bleeding and broken.
He was lying on the ground, clutching his face. His hands were bloody and Hermione had to carefully pull them away to see how bad it was. "Oh no! Draco! Are you OK?" she said as she conjured a rag for his nose.
"Yeah. Other than my blood-gushing nose, I'm fine. Thanks." He took the rag and gingerly held it to his nose. He got up and glared at Ron who was equally angry.
"Hermione! What were you doing with...him! After what he did to you!" Harry yelled.
Hermione went scarlet and looked at Harry, then Ron, then Draco, who was probably trying not to punch Ron in the face. "I...er...we...Draco and I...we've gotten back together..." she said.
"What?! How could you Hermione! He's a dirty, great prat!" Ron yelled.
"Everything that happened was a mistake! Pansy and Blaise used Polyjuice to break us up. But we found out, and everything's OK now." She explained.
"How do you know for sure? He probably set them up to do that!" Ron continued to argue.
"No! I know he didn't! He wouldn't ever!" she said shrilly.
"Yeah. I wouldn't Weasley. Get it through your thick skull before I open it up for you." Draco threatened, balling his fists.
"Shut it Malfoy." Harry snapped, "Now Hermione, why are you doing this?"
"Why Harry? What have I done? The only thing I've done so far was love someone, and since when is that a crime?" she challenged.
"Since it's Malfoy!" Ron roared, "How long has this gone on for?"
"A few weeks so far. I swear he wouldn't do anything like that Ron. Please believe me!" There were tears making their way to her eyes.
"I can take Veritaserum on that. Gosh Weasley, you should learn to trust your best friends." Malfoy drawled.
Harry and Ron looked at each other then to Hermione and Draco, then at each other again. They reached a silent agreement. "Fine Hermione, we believe you. But doesn't mean we like him."
"You better not Potter." Draco said back.
"OK thanks guys!" Hermione flung her arms around her friends.
Draco rolled his eyes. "If you don't mind, I'd rather watch Crabbe and Goyle make fools of themselves than watch this Love Fest. Anyone care to join?" he said sarcastically.
The trio separated and went back to class laughing. Everything was fine and dandy, but will it last?
~ End of Chapter 19 ~
A/N: Phew, finally done this chapter! And that's the most fluff I've ever written, and the longest I've ever waiting in updating. Don't worry, it'll probably be my last too. My dedications:
Mediterranean Queen: He was too surprised to get pissed. Wouldn't you if you were walked in when wearing nothing but a towel or something? Well, I know I would. Luved writing that part, hysterical.
Gail Williams: Wow, glad I made your...Percy fantasy come true, but with Draco instead, hehe. Thanks for the complement! And you HAVE to tell me what you did to Colin. Bye Balestrom!
AngelzGaze: Revenge was funny, was it not? I couldn't bear to postpone forgiveness any longer. I was predicting readers with rotten fruit if I did, hehe. Thanks for reviewing.
Porkypop: Thanks for reviewing...again! LOL, I was missing your reviews, I thought you didn't like me anymore...sniff...j/k. BLOODY BRILLIANT! I luv that line! Really sorry I didn't update faster, damn homework....
BuffySummers168: Revenge wasn't exactly evil, but it was funny, right? I couldn't relaly think of anything truly evil, funny was on my mind @ the time. But there's more, sorta.
RebeccaSL8: Was that one fluffy? I know it wasn't like tearjerker fluffy, but fluffier than how I usually write. Yeah I couldn't write for a while, shows, doesn't it?
Lukestwin: I think those kinds are OK, but you get tired of them once in a while. Thanks for saying this is good!
Chrissy: OMG! Nobody got that right?! Kudos to you! And your class argued about that fact...tsk, no offense or anything. If you can somehow transfer yourself into your computer to revenge shop with Draco and Hermione, go ahead, and tell me how you did it, I want to see Draco in only his boxers....::drool::.
Elizabeth Choi: Thanks for saying that, I was starting to think my plot line was getting a bit mussed up. I'm thinking of how to make it more...twisted.
Michee: Yeah if only he was real...::sigh:: we can dream can't we? LOL! Yes Pansy's getting her feathery booty kicked soon!
StarShine: Homework sucks. Who gives out homework during March Break? Madness I say, madness! Thanks for reviewing!
some one: wow, the way you say it seems that this is some kind of drug...cool, in a twisted sort of way, lol. Thanks for your review!
blue&green08: Wow! Recommendations! That's cool! Thanks!
Hazelline: yes I read it, i forget if I reviewed the new one though. Thanks for revewing though!
Jenie: I totally agree, I was peeved when I couldn't update this one, driving me mad. That's ok, I'm sure the reviewers read that one too, hehe. Thank you! Someone who agreed that that was mushy? True, romance generally is mushy, I try and stray away from overly mushy chapters. That chapter was...about late January, seeing as this one flies through February. Now I'm trying to speed up the timeline, so I can get more into chapters.
Snowdiamond: Least I can do is to read fics that people talk about, after all, they take the time to r&r mine, right?
Calypso In Love: haha, I loved your review! I sent a copy of it to my betas when I sent the chapter to them and it's so cool! You're idea of them going to Newfoundland is awesome! Are you from there? Just wondering. It's so original!
Allycat739:I checked it out and it was ok. I guess that happens once in a while. Thanks though!