Disclaimer- all Harry Potter type things belong to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 26- Introductions
"Shouldn't we go and get her? It's getting on for eleven." Hermione said, looking at her watch to emphasise the point. She, Ron, Harry and Daphne were standing outside Gryffindor tower, waiting for Lori to come back up. There were lots of people in the common room- they wanted to be somewhere quiet, where they could speak to Lori before she could avoid them.
Daphne shook her head stubbornly in answer to Hermione's question. "No. They need time to set things straight. Besides, Draco's her brother- he's not going to hurt her." Ron snorted. "You weren't saying that at Christmas." He said. Daphne shrugged. "I am now." She told him.
"And since when did you start calling him 'Draco'? What's going on?" Harry demanded. Daphne sighed impatiently. She had been asked these questions by all three of them at least a hundred times in the past hour. "Since today and you'll see." She answered. Again.
"Has this got something to do with you speaking to him earlier?" Hermione asked. Again. "Yes, it has. But I'll let Lori tell you the rest- I don't know for sure what's going on." Daphne told her cousin, trying to be patient with her and her friends. She knew it must be hard for them to understand- they had ALWAYS disliked Draco Malfoy. "Yes, but-" Hermione began again, but thankfully, footsteps cut her off.
A second later, Lori appeared round the corner, a huge grin on her face and looking happier than any of them had ever seen her since, well, ever. She spotted them and grinned, if possible, even wider. "Hi! Isn't it a great night? I know that you're all probably really confused, but I'll explain. First, though, my brother wants to say something. Right Dr-?"
Lori's voice trailed off when she looked over her shoulder and realised that her brother was nowhere to be seen. She rolled her eyes and disappeared round the corner again. Before any of them could say anything, they heard her running, and then her voice, sounding annoyed. "Come *on* Draco!" She said. Then they heard Draco Malfoy's voice as well.
"No. No way."
"You said you would."
"I know I did. But I *can't*."
"Yes you *can*."
"No- Leonora, you don't understand- I just can't. It's not like they'll forgive me anyway."
"Oh don't be ridiculous. Of course they will." (Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged very confused glances.)
"They won't!"
"Yes they WILL! Now come on!"
"No- you can't make me!"
Lori's voice changed from annoyed to quiet and understanding. "You're right, Draco and I'm not going to try. Fine, don't say anything. That's fine. I only hope that's fine with you."
"It is."
"Good. So next time you pass Hermione in the hall and you remembered all those horrible things you said about her and all those times you called her the 'M' word, I'm glad you'll be fine with it."
"Leonora."
"And when you sit behind Ron in Potions and you think of all the times you were mean to his family, I'm glad you'll be fine with that too."
"Stop it Leonor-"
"And I'm *so* glad that when you next see Harry and all those things you ever said to him about his parents and all the things he has to put up with come flooding back, I'm glad that you'll."
"ALRIGHT! ENOUGH ALREADY! Bloody hell."
"Are you ready now?"
"*Yes*."
"Good, come on then."
A moment later Lori reappeared round the corner, looking very pleased with herself, with Draco following her, staring pointedly at the wall as he walked along. They stopped just in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were watching then draw nearer with incredibly confused expressions on their faces. Daphne stood slightly to one side and watched with interest. Draco was still staring at the wall, so Lori nudged him in the ribs. He looked at her, then at the floor, and finally looked up, straight at Hermione.
"Hermione, I'm sorry about all the times I ever called you a Mudblood or made fun of you, or, well, anything. And I'm *really* sorry about that time when I tried to strangle you- I wouldn't have, you know, killed you but, well, my Father, if I hadn't done anything he. oh, Leonora can explain it. Anyway, you probably don't believe this, but I really don't care whether people or Muggle-born or not, and you prove everyone who does wrong- your grades speak for themselves." Hermione stared flabbergasted at Draco as he turned to Harry.
"Harry, I'm sorry about everything I ever said about you, or your parents, or anything I said, or did, to you that annoyed you. I didn't mean any of it and I hated having to say it. I've been brought up by my parents to hate lots of people in this school, especially you, but I really don't. And, well, I actually respect you quite a bit." He said calmly. Harry stared, his face a perfect mirror image of Hermione's as Draco turned to Ron. Ron was staring at Draco very apprehensively, and looked like he was about to back away.
"I didn't mean anything I ever said about you or your family Ron. *I* don't have anything against you but my father, he, well, Leonora will explain it. I also don't hold it against you for breaking my jaw in three places- I probably would have done the same, and I hope your Dad wins the election. I really do." Draco, having finished his speech and left three people lost for words, turned to his sister.
"I'd better go now." He said, avoiding looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were still staring at him. Lori grinned. "OK, I'll see you at breakfast." She said. "Well done Draco, that was good." Draco gave her a small smile, nodded at Daphne, who gave him a big double thumbs-up, and walked off down the corridor as fast as he could without actually running.
There was silence for a couple of seconds, finally broken by Harry. "I'm dreaming." He said, in a quiet voice. "That did not just happen. This is a very, *very* weird dream." Harry was still staring down the corridor with wide eyes, as was Ron, who spoke next. "That's it, I've finally cracked. Now I'm hallucinating." He said. There was another silence, during which Lori tried to think of something to say to wake them up. Luckily, Hermione did it for her.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?!?" She suddenly shouted, pulling Harry and Ron out of their trances at once, their heads snapping round to look at her. "Hermione, did you just *curse*?" Harry asked disbelievingly. Hermione, suddenly having realised what she'd said, turned slightly pink. "No." She said quickly. Ron was laughing loudly by now, his satisfaction very evident.
"This is priceless!" He managed to choke out, before Hermione turned on her heel, gave the password to the Fat Lady (Flibbertigibbet), who had been watching what had happened very closely, and entered the common room. Harry and Ron followed her, Ron still laughing, and Daphne just had time to hug Lori and say; "I'm really proud of you!" before they climbed through as well.
By now the common room was empty- everyone had been so shaken by the events at dinner that they just wanted to sit in their comfortable, familiar dormitories and try to forget that anything was wrong with the world. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Daphne and Lori sat down by the fire, dragging two sofas and an armchair closer together so they could talk properly.
The first thing Lori did was tell them everything she had told Daphne that morning about Draco, and then all about what he had told her in the past hour, and how he was back again. Harry, Ron and Hermione listened in silence, trying to take it all in and looking very shocked, while Daphne sat on the sofa next to Lori, her face a picture of smugness. She waited for Lori to finish telling her unusual story and then finally, it seemed, couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I told you so!" She burst out happily. "I told you that there had to be some reason he changed like that- and I also told you that he was still in there! Did you believe me? No! But I was right!"
Ron sniggered. "You sound like Hermione." He said, earning a very annoyed look from her and Daphne. Harry found it funny though. Lori smiled sheepishly at Daphne. "I know." She said. "You were right. Well done to you." She said generously. Daphne beamed and sat back in her seat.
"I still don't believe it though." Harry said. Hermione nodded. "I know what you mean." She said. "All those times he's said anything, ANYTHING, he was pretending. It must have been so hard to keep that up for so long." Harry shook his head. "No, I mean I don't believe that he actually came up to us and apologised. Now THAT shows guts." He said. Hermione and Daphne grinned and nodded. Lori smiled and shrugged. "Well, I thought that he should." She said sheepishly.
"So," Ron said, folding his arms and sitting back. "I saw that little Moyen trick you pulled in there. It was impressive." He said. Lori's eyes widened in shock and she turned to Daphne, hurt all over her face. "How could you?" She hissed. Daphne held up her hands quickly. "I didn't say anything, honestly!"
"She didn't, I figured it out by myself." Ron said. Lori turned back to him, looking at him pleadingly. "Ron, please don't."
Ron cut her off. "It's safe to tell us you know. We're not going to spread it around or anything." He said. Lori swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I know." She said quietly. Hermione, who had staring at Lori since Ron had first spoken. "You're a *Moyen*? She now asked in disbelief.
Lori nodded glumly and Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Wow." She said faintly. Harry was looking very confused. "What are you all *talking* about? What's a Moyen?" He demanded. Ron opened his mouth to answer but Hermione cut across him and began to explain, in great depth, what a Moyen was.
Ten minutes later, when Hermione was explaining the role of the council in finer detail, Harry suddenly spoke. "So, you used your telekinetic powers to push over Lucius Malfoy?" He asked Lori. Lori nodded and Harry raised his eyebrows. "Cool." He said simply. "But how did you manage to do it under the Cruciatus?" He asked curiously.
Lori frowned. "I didn't." She said in some confusion. Hermione frowned as well. "You must have. He was pushed over again, and that's why your curse didn't last too long." She said. Lori frowned even more. "I didn't. I would have known." She said.
"There must be another Moyen." Daphne said. Everyone stared at her and she shifted a bit. "Well, if it wasn't Lori, than it must have been someone else." She said reasonably. Hermione nodded. "I agree with Daphne. But it must be a teacher." She said.
"What makes you say that?" Harry asked. Hermione thought for a moment and then began to speak. "Well, think about it. That second push was very strong- he flew halfway across the room. For a Moyen to have that kind of power they must have had a fair bit of training, and so is most likely an adult. And the only adults at Hogwarts are the teachers." She explained reasonably.
"True." Ron said, shrugging. Harry leaned forward, the spark of mystery in his eyes. "Who d'you think it is?" He asked. "Filch" Ron said, making Harry and Hermione burst out laughing. Daphne and Lori frowned. "What?" They asked at the same time.
The five of them sat there discussing everything until at least one in the morning, when Professor McGonagall came to check on the tower and demanded they all go to bed.
Oooh- mystery. Mwah-ha-ha!!!! Please review!
Chapter 26- Introductions
"Shouldn't we go and get her? It's getting on for eleven." Hermione said, looking at her watch to emphasise the point. She, Ron, Harry and Daphne were standing outside Gryffindor tower, waiting for Lori to come back up. There were lots of people in the common room- they wanted to be somewhere quiet, where they could speak to Lori before she could avoid them.
Daphne shook her head stubbornly in answer to Hermione's question. "No. They need time to set things straight. Besides, Draco's her brother- he's not going to hurt her." Ron snorted. "You weren't saying that at Christmas." He said. Daphne shrugged. "I am now." She told him.
"And since when did you start calling him 'Draco'? What's going on?" Harry demanded. Daphne sighed impatiently. She had been asked these questions by all three of them at least a hundred times in the past hour. "Since today and you'll see." She answered. Again.
"Has this got something to do with you speaking to him earlier?" Hermione asked. Again. "Yes, it has. But I'll let Lori tell you the rest- I don't know for sure what's going on." Daphne told her cousin, trying to be patient with her and her friends. She knew it must be hard for them to understand- they had ALWAYS disliked Draco Malfoy. "Yes, but-" Hermione began again, but thankfully, footsteps cut her off.
A second later, Lori appeared round the corner, a huge grin on her face and looking happier than any of them had ever seen her since, well, ever. She spotted them and grinned, if possible, even wider. "Hi! Isn't it a great night? I know that you're all probably really confused, but I'll explain. First, though, my brother wants to say something. Right Dr-?"
Lori's voice trailed off when she looked over her shoulder and realised that her brother was nowhere to be seen. She rolled her eyes and disappeared round the corner again. Before any of them could say anything, they heard her running, and then her voice, sounding annoyed. "Come *on* Draco!" She said. Then they heard Draco Malfoy's voice as well.
"No. No way."
"You said you would."
"I know I did. But I *can't*."
"Yes you *can*."
"No- Leonora, you don't understand- I just can't. It's not like they'll forgive me anyway."
"Oh don't be ridiculous. Of course they will." (Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged very confused glances.)
"They won't!"
"Yes they WILL! Now come on!"
"No- you can't make me!"
Lori's voice changed from annoyed to quiet and understanding. "You're right, Draco and I'm not going to try. Fine, don't say anything. That's fine. I only hope that's fine with you."
"It is."
"Good. So next time you pass Hermione in the hall and you remembered all those horrible things you said about her and all those times you called her the 'M' word, I'm glad you'll be fine with it."
"Leonora."
"And when you sit behind Ron in Potions and you think of all the times you were mean to his family, I'm glad you'll be fine with that too."
"Stop it Leonor-"
"And I'm *so* glad that when you next see Harry and all those things you ever said to him about his parents and all the things he has to put up with come flooding back, I'm glad that you'll."
"ALRIGHT! ENOUGH ALREADY! Bloody hell."
"Are you ready now?"
"*Yes*."
"Good, come on then."
A moment later Lori reappeared round the corner, looking very pleased with herself, with Draco following her, staring pointedly at the wall as he walked along. They stopped just in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were watching then draw nearer with incredibly confused expressions on their faces. Daphne stood slightly to one side and watched with interest. Draco was still staring at the wall, so Lori nudged him in the ribs. He looked at her, then at the floor, and finally looked up, straight at Hermione.
"Hermione, I'm sorry about all the times I ever called you a Mudblood or made fun of you, or, well, anything. And I'm *really* sorry about that time when I tried to strangle you- I wouldn't have, you know, killed you but, well, my Father, if I hadn't done anything he. oh, Leonora can explain it. Anyway, you probably don't believe this, but I really don't care whether people or Muggle-born or not, and you prove everyone who does wrong- your grades speak for themselves." Hermione stared flabbergasted at Draco as he turned to Harry.
"Harry, I'm sorry about everything I ever said about you, or your parents, or anything I said, or did, to you that annoyed you. I didn't mean any of it and I hated having to say it. I've been brought up by my parents to hate lots of people in this school, especially you, but I really don't. And, well, I actually respect you quite a bit." He said calmly. Harry stared, his face a perfect mirror image of Hermione's as Draco turned to Ron. Ron was staring at Draco very apprehensively, and looked like he was about to back away.
"I didn't mean anything I ever said about you or your family Ron. *I* don't have anything against you but my father, he, well, Leonora will explain it. I also don't hold it against you for breaking my jaw in three places- I probably would have done the same, and I hope your Dad wins the election. I really do." Draco, having finished his speech and left three people lost for words, turned to his sister.
"I'd better go now." He said, avoiding looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were still staring at him. Lori grinned. "OK, I'll see you at breakfast." She said. "Well done Draco, that was good." Draco gave her a small smile, nodded at Daphne, who gave him a big double thumbs-up, and walked off down the corridor as fast as he could without actually running.
There was silence for a couple of seconds, finally broken by Harry. "I'm dreaming." He said, in a quiet voice. "That did not just happen. This is a very, *very* weird dream." Harry was still staring down the corridor with wide eyes, as was Ron, who spoke next. "That's it, I've finally cracked. Now I'm hallucinating." He said. There was another silence, during which Lori tried to think of something to say to wake them up. Luckily, Hermione did it for her.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?!?" She suddenly shouted, pulling Harry and Ron out of their trances at once, their heads snapping round to look at her. "Hermione, did you just *curse*?" Harry asked disbelievingly. Hermione, suddenly having realised what she'd said, turned slightly pink. "No." She said quickly. Ron was laughing loudly by now, his satisfaction very evident.
"This is priceless!" He managed to choke out, before Hermione turned on her heel, gave the password to the Fat Lady (Flibbertigibbet), who had been watching what had happened very closely, and entered the common room. Harry and Ron followed her, Ron still laughing, and Daphne just had time to hug Lori and say; "I'm really proud of you!" before they climbed through as well.
By now the common room was empty- everyone had been so shaken by the events at dinner that they just wanted to sit in their comfortable, familiar dormitories and try to forget that anything was wrong with the world. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Daphne and Lori sat down by the fire, dragging two sofas and an armchair closer together so they could talk properly.
The first thing Lori did was tell them everything she had told Daphne that morning about Draco, and then all about what he had told her in the past hour, and how he was back again. Harry, Ron and Hermione listened in silence, trying to take it all in and looking very shocked, while Daphne sat on the sofa next to Lori, her face a picture of smugness. She waited for Lori to finish telling her unusual story and then finally, it seemed, couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I told you so!" She burst out happily. "I told you that there had to be some reason he changed like that- and I also told you that he was still in there! Did you believe me? No! But I was right!"
Ron sniggered. "You sound like Hermione." He said, earning a very annoyed look from her and Daphne. Harry found it funny though. Lori smiled sheepishly at Daphne. "I know." She said. "You were right. Well done to you." She said generously. Daphne beamed and sat back in her seat.
"I still don't believe it though." Harry said. Hermione nodded. "I know what you mean." She said. "All those times he's said anything, ANYTHING, he was pretending. It must have been so hard to keep that up for so long." Harry shook his head. "No, I mean I don't believe that he actually came up to us and apologised. Now THAT shows guts." He said. Hermione and Daphne grinned and nodded. Lori smiled and shrugged. "Well, I thought that he should." She said sheepishly.
"So," Ron said, folding his arms and sitting back. "I saw that little Moyen trick you pulled in there. It was impressive." He said. Lori's eyes widened in shock and she turned to Daphne, hurt all over her face. "How could you?" She hissed. Daphne held up her hands quickly. "I didn't say anything, honestly!"
"She didn't, I figured it out by myself." Ron said. Lori turned back to him, looking at him pleadingly. "Ron, please don't."
Ron cut her off. "It's safe to tell us you know. We're not going to spread it around or anything." He said. Lori swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I know." She said quietly. Hermione, who had staring at Lori since Ron had first spoken. "You're a *Moyen*? She now asked in disbelief.
Lori nodded glumly and Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Wow." She said faintly. Harry was looking very confused. "What are you all *talking* about? What's a Moyen?" He demanded. Ron opened his mouth to answer but Hermione cut across him and began to explain, in great depth, what a Moyen was.
Ten minutes later, when Hermione was explaining the role of the council in finer detail, Harry suddenly spoke. "So, you used your telekinetic powers to push over Lucius Malfoy?" He asked Lori. Lori nodded and Harry raised his eyebrows. "Cool." He said simply. "But how did you manage to do it under the Cruciatus?" He asked curiously.
Lori frowned. "I didn't." She said in some confusion. Hermione frowned as well. "You must have. He was pushed over again, and that's why your curse didn't last too long." She said. Lori frowned even more. "I didn't. I would have known." She said.
"There must be another Moyen." Daphne said. Everyone stared at her and she shifted a bit. "Well, if it wasn't Lori, than it must have been someone else." She said reasonably. Hermione nodded. "I agree with Daphne. But it must be a teacher." She said.
"What makes you say that?" Harry asked. Hermione thought for a moment and then began to speak. "Well, think about it. That second push was very strong- he flew halfway across the room. For a Moyen to have that kind of power they must have had a fair bit of training, and so is most likely an adult. And the only adults at Hogwarts are the teachers." She explained reasonably.
"True." Ron said, shrugging. Harry leaned forward, the spark of mystery in his eyes. "Who d'you think it is?" He asked. "Filch" Ron said, making Harry and Hermione burst out laughing. Daphne and Lori frowned. "What?" They asked at the same time.
The five of them sat there discussing everything until at least one in the morning, when Professor McGonagall came to check on the tower and demanded they all go to bed.
Oooh- mystery. Mwah-ha-ha!!!! Please review!