Chapter 4. - The story behind the string
So how does this sound for a bad day at school? You play a prank on a girl you don't like too much and you give her bunny ears, it all backfires and you find you find yourself attached to her with magic string. The magic string interferes with your wand and you can't do magic. To make matters worse you end up being zapped yourself and wind up with a pink fluffy bunny tail. Then you get dragged to the toilet with her, end up in a fight over handkerchiefs and when you finally start to get along with her you knock her senseless against a coal shuttle.
Bad day?
You bet! Draco rolled Hermione over and checked for breathing. Luckily he hadn't killed her. He slipped his hands under her arms and gently dragged her up onto the sofa they had been running around. Kneeling besides her he ran his finger gently over her cheek, she looked just like she was sleeping. Breathing so softly he was afraid she might stop. What she need was a glass of water.
"Yeah, water!" Draco snapped his fingers. Just one problem, he was attached to an unconscious dead weight. Wasn't really practical to drag her to the kitchen area.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Crabbe appeared next to the entrance and gawped at Hermione. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. Crabbe was mostly useless but even he could fetch a glass of water. He sprinted off and was soon back clutching a tall glass. "Cheers." Draco muttered as he took it. Crabbe glared as Hermione, but didn't want to get in trouble with Draco for asking too many questions. Draco took Hermione's head lightly in his arms and lifted the glass gently towards her lips.
*splosh*
He threw the entire glass of water in her face and she awoke with a start, coughing and spluttering. Water dripped over her head, flattening her curly hair smooth.
"What? Waaagh!" She clapped eyes on Draco and clutched a cushion to her breast. She looked very confused. "Huh? What's going on? Ohh, right. The string." As she collected her thoughts the days events came flooding back to her. She thought it was all a horrible dream, but here she was, still attached to Draco. "Bugger."
"Draco, why is that mudblood tied to you?" Crabbe leaned over the back of the couch and leered at Hermione. "Hah, she has stupid rabbit ears."
"Do us a favour Crabbe, Piss off." Draco drawled, sitting on his bum and hiding his fuzzy tail from view. Crabbe shrugged his broad shoulders and lumbered out the room, still laughing at Hermione. Draco really wanted to get rid of this stupid tail. His wand was useless though.
"Owe, my head." Hermione rubbed the bump that was swelling on top of her head and sat up a little. "Look, Draco. This is silly. Let's get ourselves to Dumbledore. I'm sure he can fix this, and if not then at least he can get rid of these ridicules bunny bits."
"Alright, alright." Draco relented. He hated that old fart Dumbledore. But Hermione was right. He helped her off the sofa and they walked to the exit, slipping quietly out, hoping not to bump into anybody. They quickly dashed through the corridors, if anybody walked past Draco would press his back to the wall and whistle casually, Hermione on the other hand wasn't too good as hiding her ears and people would point and laugh at her.
"It's okay." She said to Draco when he looked ready to punch a group of Ravenclaw boys who shouted abuse at Hermione. "I'm used to it. People always shout something or other at me."
"Oh." Draco looked guiltily at her. He always seemed to be shouting abuse at her in the corridors too. As the corridor emptied they hurried on, ducking in and out of classrooms, shadows and behind corners. How they expected to keep this up for a week nobody knows.
"Oh no!" Hermione hissed as she grabbed Draco's hand and hid behind a statue. The only route to reach Dumbledore's office was blocked by a crowd of Ravenclaw's. Risky stuff. So far they have managed to stay relatively hidden, but now....
"Oh well!" Draco shrugged. He pulled off his overshirt and tied it about his waste, hiding his bunny tail. "Well, let's go!" He tugged at the string and set off. Hermione was mortified.
"No, wait, I haven't covered my.. Nooooooo." Hermione was dragged right through the crowd. The Ravenclaw's all pointed and laughed and yanked at her ears. Draco was surprised that he felt bad for pulling Hermione out through the crowd, but it was her fault this stupid string was on them anyway. Pretty soon they arrived at the large statue that was the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"So uh, how do we get .." Hermione was stopped mid sentence as the statue slid slowly (and loudly) to one side, revealing a windy staircase beyond.
"Hmm, he must be expecting us." Draco raised his eyebrows at Hermione and gently pushed her up the stairs.
**
Half an hour passed, and the statue slid to one side again. Behind it there where muffled voices arguing.
"I knew that old git was useless!" Draco fumed, storming out from behind the statue. His fluffy tail was gone (aww), as where Hermione's floppy bunny ears, but the string still remained.
Dumbledore was indeed expecting them. It seemed Snape had gone and informed him of the magical accident in potions. Their worst fears had been confirmed. He told them this was a particularly strong curse that bound them together. He told them a story about a soulless Chinese witch who was cruel and hateful, who delighted in making others feel miserable. One day this witch was passing through a village and was met by the Elders daughter, who was half blood. In a rage the witch tried to cast a terrible curse upon the young girl. Her father's natural protective magic had saved his daughter, but had cast a powerful spell on the two. They where joined by a single unicorns tail hair. The old witch was infuriated and she would beat the young girl, but she couldn't kill her or cut the hair. Time went by and soon the old witch grew fond of the girl, and as she became part of the family one day the string just fell off. The witch was asked if she wanted to continue to live with the family and she accepted and married the girls father. They lived in happiness for the rest of their days. Dumbledore had said that although the string was a curse upon the two, it had cured the old witch of her hatred.
Draco didn't seem satisfied with the story, he thought Dumbledore's old wives tales where useless, and wanted to know why he wouldn't blast the string off of them. Dumbledore simply smiled and said "There is no magic I can cast that can remove the string." And had shooed them from his office. Dumbledore suggested they reside in the room reserved for head boy and head girl. This would be less stressful for them both and wouldn't inconvenience others, and he had called for the Hogwarts house elves to take their belongings through to their new lodgings.
He hadn't however excused them from lessons, this only served to infuriate Draco further.
"Bloody stupid has been old bastard!" Draco continued to shout, Hermione hung close to his side looking disapprovingly at his language. Dumbledore was a great Wizard she thought, but he can't do everything. Draco should learn to calm down once in a while.
The Ravenclaw's who had teased them where still there, and where disappointed to see their bunny ears and tail had been removed. Draco scowled moodily at them and stuck his fingers up as he stalked by. Hermione smiled apologetically at them, she didn't want to make more enemies than she already had here at Hogwarts. Being a top student didn't exactly make you popular with everybody.
"If my father where here" Draco ranted on "He would zap this bloody spell of with a lil dark arts no problem!"
"Draco! You can't use that sort of magic lightly!" Hermione said in shock. Draco grumbled darkly.
**
Night came, and their first day tied together hadn't been too bad Hermione thought (trying to forget her bruised head and the horrible, horrible toilet experience.) Draco had also managed to visit the toilet that evening in their new rooms. Hermione had firmly plugged her ears and faced the other way, although Draco wasn't too fussed if she saw him pee or not.
Now it was getting late and the moment they had been dreading was approaching. Bed time! Both too shy to consider taking a showing now (preferring maybe to save it for the morning) they busied about getting ready for bed. It wasn't easy when your tied to somebody else. Draco thought it probably best to let Hermione get ready first. Blushing like the setting sun Hermione pulled a little white nightie from her over night bag. Scolding Draco and instructing him to shut his eyes she slipped out of her robes, Draco wasn't too sure why, but he just had to open his eyes the merest fraction. He say hazily Hermione slipping the cotton nightie over her head, it fell loosely over her curved body, and she brushed the wrinkles out of it lightly with her hands. Draco reddened slightly and closed his eyes again. He had never noticed before how. grown up she was! After she had dragged him to the bathroom where she seemed to take forever washing her face, cleaning her teeth and brushing her hair she finally was ready. Draco pulled off his clothes and clambered sleepily into bed in nothing but his boxers. Hermione froze and stood like a statue next to the bed.
"A.Aren't you going to.. Wear anything?" She stuttered.
"Huh? But I never sleep in clothes, I get too hot." Draco muttered. Hermione looked desperately uncomfortable. Then without another word she clambered into bed and pulled the sheets right up to her neck. Draco yawned lazily and blew out the candle on his bedside table. The room was plunged into darkness. Hermione still lay with her eyes wide open. If her mother knew she was sharing a bed with Draco! She would flip!
"Night." Draco said. He felt very unusual saying that, it sounded almost affectionate the way he said it too. He frowned to himself in the darkness and rolled over, tucking his hands under his chin. Hermione squeaked as her arm was pulled over Draco, and she lay with her arm draped around him. Draco suddenly realised and leapt up, apologising profusely. Hermione gripped the blanket even tighter.
"It's nothing." She said quietly. They both lay back again, stomachs churning and feeling far too on edge to sleep. They lay awake all night, unable to slumber, and aware only of each other and how suddenly close this string made them.
**~** Aww, sweet ^_^ To be continued in Chapter 5, I shall tempt you all by saying chapter 5 is the dreaded shower scene!! Heh. Thanks again for the reviews. I fixed the mistake about the Slytherin common room entrance in chapter 3 also. Felt a but silly about that since I only re-re- read Chamber of Secrets a few weeks ago! Doh! Btw, word has it that Rowling has submitted a draft of her next book to her publisher! Is everybody here just as madly excited as I am? I hope it's out for Christmas! Yaaay! ^.^ **~**
So how does this sound for a bad day at school? You play a prank on a girl you don't like too much and you give her bunny ears, it all backfires and you find you find yourself attached to her with magic string. The magic string interferes with your wand and you can't do magic. To make matters worse you end up being zapped yourself and wind up with a pink fluffy bunny tail. Then you get dragged to the toilet with her, end up in a fight over handkerchiefs and when you finally start to get along with her you knock her senseless against a coal shuttle.
Bad day?
You bet! Draco rolled Hermione over and checked for breathing. Luckily he hadn't killed her. He slipped his hands under her arms and gently dragged her up onto the sofa they had been running around. Kneeling besides her he ran his finger gently over her cheek, she looked just like she was sleeping. Breathing so softly he was afraid she might stop. What she need was a glass of water.
"Yeah, water!" Draco snapped his fingers. Just one problem, he was attached to an unconscious dead weight. Wasn't really practical to drag her to the kitchen area.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Crabbe appeared next to the entrance and gawped at Hermione. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. Crabbe was mostly useless but even he could fetch a glass of water. He sprinted off and was soon back clutching a tall glass. "Cheers." Draco muttered as he took it. Crabbe glared as Hermione, but didn't want to get in trouble with Draco for asking too many questions. Draco took Hermione's head lightly in his arms and lifted the glass gently towards her lips.
*splosh*
He threw the entire glass of water in her face and she awoke with a start, coughing and spluttering. Water dripped over her head, flattening her curly hair smooth.
"What? Waaagh!" She clapped eyes on Draco and clutched a cushion to her breast. She looked very confused. "Huh? What's going on? Ohh, right. The string." As she collected her thoughts the days events came flooding back to her. She thought it was all a horrible dream, but here she was, still attached to Draco. "Bugger."
"Draco, why is that mudblood tied to you?" Crabbe leaned over the back of the couch and leered at Hermione. "Hah, she has stupid rabbit ears."
"Do us a favour Crabbe, Piss off." Draco drawled, sitting on his bum and hiding his fuzzy tail from view. Crabbe shrugged his broad shoulders and lumbered out the room, still laughing at Hermione. Draco really wanted to get rid of this stupid tail. His wand was useless though.
"Owe, my head." Hermione rubbed the bump that was swelling on top of her head and sat up a little. "Look, Draco. This is silly. Let's get ourselves to Dumbledore. I'm sure he can fix this, and if not then at least he can get rid of these ridicules bunny bits."
"Alright, alright." Draco relented. He hated that old fart Dumbledore. But Hermione was right. He helped her off the sofa and they walked to the exit, slipping quietly out, hoping not to bump into anybody. They quickly dashed through the corridors, if anybody walked past Draco would press his back to the wall and whistle casually, Hermione on the other hand wasn't too good as hiding her ears and people would point and laugh at her.
"It's okay." She said to Draco when he looked ready to punch a group of Ravenclaw boys who shouted abuse at Hermione. "I'm used to it. People always shout something or other at me."
"Oh." Draco looked guiltily at her. He always seemed to be shouting abuse at her in the corridors too. As the corridor emptied they hurried on, ducking in and out of classrooms, shadows and behind corners. How they expected to keep this up for a week nobody knows.
"Oh no!" Hermione hissed as she grabbed Draco's hand and hid behind a statue. The only route to reach Dumbledore's office was blocked by a crowd of Ravenclaw's. Risky stuff. So far they have managed to stay relatively hidden, but now....
"Oh well!" Draco shrugged. He pulled off his overshirt and tied it about his waste, hiding his bunny tail. "Well, let's go!" He tugged at the string and set off. Hermione was mortified.
"No, wait, I haven't covered my.. Nooooooo." Hermione was dragged right through the crowd. The Ravenclaw's all pointed and laughed and yanked at her ears. Draco was surprised that he felt bad for pulling Hermione out through the crowd, but it was her fault this stupid string was on them anyway. Pretty soon they arrived at the large statue that was the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"So uh, how do we get .." Hermione was stopped mid sentence as the statue slid slowly (and loudly) to one side, revealing a windy staircase beyond.
"Hmm, he must be expecting us." Draco raised his eyebrows at Hermione and gently pushed her up the stairs.
**
Half an hour passed, and the statue slid to one side again. Behind it there where muffled voices arguing.
"I knew that old git was useless!" Draco fumed, storming out from behind the statue. His fluffy tail was gone (aww), as where Hermione's floppy bunny ears, but the string still remained.
Dumbledore was indeed expecting them. It seemed Snape had gone and informed him of the magical accident in potions. Their worst fears had been confirmed. He told them this was a particularly strong curse that bound them together. He told them a story about a soulless Chinese witch who was cruel and hateful, who delighted in making others feel miserable. One day this witch was passing through a village and was met by the Elders daughter, who was half blood. In a rage the witch tried to cast a terrible curse upon the young girl. Her father's natural protective magic had saved his daughter, but had cast a powerful spell on the two. They where joined by a single unicorns tail hair. The old witch was infuriated and she would beat the young girl, but she couldn't kill her or cut the hair. Time went by and soon the old witch grew fond of the girl, and as she became part of the family one day the string just fell off. The witch was asked if she wanted to continue to live with the family and she accepted and married the girls father. They lived in happiness for the rest of their days. Dumbledore had said that although the string was a curse upon the two, it had cured the old witch of her hatred.
Draco didn't seem satisfied with the story, he thought Dumbledore's old wives tales where useless, and wanted to know why he wouldn't blast the string off of them. Dumbledore simply smiled and said "There is no magic I can cast that can remove the string." And had shooed them from his office. Dumbledore suggested they reside in the room reserved for head boy and head girl. This would be less stressful for them both and wouldn't inconvenience others, and he had called for the Hogwarts house elves to take their belongings through to their new lodgings.
He hadn't however excused them from lessons, this only served to infuriate Draco further.
"Bloody stupid has been old bastard!" Draco continued to shout, Hermione hung close to his side looking disapprovingly at his language. Dumbledore was a great Wizard she thought, but he can't do everything. Draco should learn to calm down once in a while.
The Ravenclaw's who had teased them where still there, and where disappointed to see their bunny ears and tail had been removed. Draco scowled moodily at them and stuck his fingers up as he stalked by. Hermione smiled apologetically at them, she didn't want to make more enemies than she already had here at Hogwarts. Being a top student didn't exactly make you popular with everybody.
"If my father where here" Draco ranted on "He would zap this bloody spell of with a lil dark arts no problem!"
"Draco! You can't use that sort of magic lightly!" Hermione said in shock. Draco grumbled darkly.
**
Night came, and their first day tied together hadn't been too bad Hermione thought (trying to forget her bruised head and the horrible, horrible toilet experience.) Draco had also managed to visit the toilet that evening in their new rooms. Hermione had firmly plugged her ears and faced the other way, although Draco wasn't too fussed if she saw him pee or not.
Now it was getting late and the moment they had been dreading was approaching. Bed time! Both too shy to consider taking a showing now (preferring maybe to save it for the morning) they busied about getting ready for bed. It wasn't easy when your tied to somebody else. Draco thought it probably best to let Hermione get ready first. Blushing like the setting sun Hermione pulled a little white nightie from her over night bag. Scolding Draco and instructing him to shut his eyes she slipped out of her robes, Draco wasn't too sure why, but he just had to open his eyes the merest fraction. He say hazily Hermione slipping the cotton nightie over her head, it fell loosely over her curved body, and she brushed the wrinkles out of it lightly with her hands. Draco reddened slightly and closed his eyes again. He had never noticed before how. grown up she was! After she had dragged him to the bathroom where she seemed to take forever washing her face, cleaning her teeth and brushing her hair she finally was ready. Draco pulled off his clothes and clambered sleepily into bed in nothing but his boxers. Hermione froze and stood like a statue next to the bed.
"A.Aren't you going to.. Wear anything?" She stuttered.
"Huh? But I never sleep in clothes, I get too hot." Draco muttered. Hermione looked desperately uncomfortable. Then without another word she clambered into bed and pulled the sheets right up to her neck. Draco yawned lazily and blew out the candle on his bedside table. The room was plunged into darkness. Hermione still lay with her eyes wide open. If her mother knew she was sharing a bed with Draco! She would flip!
"Night." Draco said. He felt very unusual saying that, it sounded almost affectionate the way he said it too. He frowned to himself in the darkness and rolled over, tucking his hands under his chin. Hermione squeaked as her arm was pulled over Draco, and she lay with her arm draped around him. Draco suddenly realised and leapt up, apologising profusely. Hermione gripped the blanket even tighter.
"It's nothing." She said quietly. They both lay back again, stomachs churning and feeling far too on edge to sleep. They lay awake all night, unable to slumber, and aware only of each other and how suddenly close this string made them.
**~** Aww, sweet ^_^ To be continued in Chapter 5, I shall tempt you all by saying chapter 5 is the dreaded shower scene!! Heh. Thanks again for the reviews. I fixed the mistake about the Slytherin common room entrance in chapter 3 also. Felt a but silly about that since I only re-re- read Chamber of Secrets a few weeks ago! Doh! Btw, word has it that Rowling has submitted a draft of her next book to her publisher! Is everybody here just as madly excited as I am? I hope it's out for Christmas! Yaaay! ^.^ **~**