20. …Harry teeters dangerously on the Edge of Sanity
"Oh, I found this morning's paper," Harry said suddenly remembering and pulling out a
copy of the Daily Prophet. He unfolded it carefully and presented it to Hermione. Harry
wasn't sure what the paper could possibly say, but he avoided looking at it anyway.
Harry didn't know if he could take any more Bad News.
Hermione looked at the front page and Gasped. A real, honest-to-god gasp. It sounded
like her heart had leapt up into her throat and had begun constructing its dream home.
Harry didn't even bother asking why, he just grabbed the paper and peered at it.
The biggest photo on the front page was the predictable shot of the Malfoy council room
in a state of chaos. Lucius Malfoy kept running in and out of the picture yelling at
random people, and a woman in a green feathered dress kept fainting dead away, getting
up, and then fainting again. The wreckage was awesome.
However, it was a very small photo towards the bottom of the page that really caught
Harry's attention. The headline read "Malfoy Heir involved with Down-and-out Zabini:
Gold Digging?" Shockingly enough, the photo showed Blaise and Draco in a passionate
embrace, her dress pushed down to her waist. Harry was extremely glad that wizard
photos didn't come with sound.
At that moment, Ron scooted in. He seemed in remarkably good spirits. "I've given
Blaise her fake memories and put her back in her room. She should wake up in…." he
trailed off, seeing Harry and Hermione staring at him with identical expressions of
disgust. "Oh no, you saw the paper, didn't you?"
Draco, sprawled haphazardly on a black leather couch in the imposing family room,
regarded the paper with interest. His father was still running around and threatening
random people by owl. Draco wasn't sure if Lucius was angrier about the explosion or
the fact that a Daily Prophet reporter had been sneaking around their party. Draco wasn't
particularly bothered by the photo of himself, although it was certainly in questionable
taste. He knew that Blaise wasn't dating him for his money. Both of them were aware
that their relationship was based mainly on physical attraction and would surely dissolve
when one of them felt the need to move on. Hell, they hardly even talked, and here the
newspaper was saying that they intended to marry. Shows the quality of the Daily
Prophet, he thought cynically, and tossed it across the room.
There was one small thing that was bothering him, and it currently rested in his shirt
pocket. Last night during the explosion something had nailed him in the forehead. He had
retrieved the object from the floor and stuck it in his pocket to examine later. It wasn't
until a few minutes ago that he remembered and pulled it out – a silver earring, melted
into an almost unrecognizable shape. It seemed utterly harmless, he thought, peering
closely at it. Suddenly it seemed to…grow warm? That was strange. He held it up to his
face and was startled to hear a faint sound emitting from the silver. It sounded almost like
he was underwater…wait, was that Harry Potter?
Draco would have sworn that the answering voice belonged to that Mudblood Granger:
"…side effect … burst out laughing … gone a bit nuts…Malfoys didn't suspect
anything."
Draco felt very strange. He was angry, but also…oddly excited. He felt justified in
having suspicions. What on Earth had Harry Potter and his friends done to Blaise?
The next comment from the earring was agonizingly clear: "I've given Blaise her fake
memories and put her back in her room. She should wake up in…Oh no, you saw the
paper, didn't you?"
Weasley, Draco thought, his hands clenching into fists. I should have known. He could
feel cold, deadly anger running though all parts of his body, but instead of obeying his
impulses and kicking something, here merely raised a hand and summoned a house elf.
"Get me a carriage," he said imperiously to the diminutive servant. "I forgot something at
school."
"OH MY GOD," Hermione screeched at the top of her lungs, her hands wadded up in
Ron's sweater. If Ron weighed a big less, she probably would have lifted him off his feet.
Harry was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, and his eyes looked glassy.
"Hermione…let go of me! Let me explain!" Ron said helplessly, flailing his arms in a
wild manner. Hermione glared at him and shoved him backwards. He fell into an open
stall and hit his head on the closed toilet, yelping from the pain. He heard a faint giggling
from inside the toilet that sounded suspiciously like Moaning Myrtle. Ron scrambled to
his feet and emerged, walking to the opposite side of the bathroom away from the stalls.
"Harry…Hermione…" he said pleadingly. "You don't understand. I had to. I didn't have
a choice!" Harry seemed to have gotten over his shock and was shaking with silent, guilty
laughter. Ron scowled at him. "It was just that one time! Honest! We didn't…um….go
all the way."
Inwardly, Ron added lying to his best friends to his list of sins that included lust and
gluttony and extreme competitiveness at Wizard's Monopoly.
"Well, that's good, at least," Hermione admitted, looking the tiniest bit relieved. She still
had a dangerous glint in her eyes that Ron didn't much care for. Suddenly, Ron
remembered something.
"And while we're on the subject, why did you guys tell Professor Snape that I'm a slut?"
he demanded.
At this, Harry lost all composure. He collapsed to the tiled floor, wheezing and clutching
his stomach like he was in excruciating pain. Tears began to trickle down his face and he
let out several cackles. Hermione kicked him.
"Why…" Harry managed to choke out, "did I spend a whole day with Snape in the
Swamp? Why am I covered with hives from kappa venom and why is part of my hair
missing? WHY?"
Ron threw up his hands in defeat. "Why don't we just forget that the whole thing ever
happened?! Let's destroy Hermione's table and maybe that will kill the spell."
"Fine," Hermione pronounced. "Now let's go to dinner. I'm hungry." She shot another
glare at Harry, who seemed to be teetering dangerously on the edge of sanity.
"Oh, I found this morning's paper," Harry said suddenly remembering and pulling out a
copy of the Daily Prophet. He unfolded it carefully and presented it to Hermione. Harry
wasn't sure what the paper could possibly say, but he avoided looking at it anyway.
Harry didn't know if he could take any more Bad News.
Hermione looked at the front page and Gasped. A real, honest-to-god gasp. It sounded
like her heart had leapt up into her throat and had begun constructing its dream home.
Harry didn't even bother asking why, he just grabbed the paper and peered at it.
The biggest photo on the front page was the predictable shot of the Malfoy council room
in a state of chaos. Lucius Malfoy kept running in and out of the picture yelling at
random people, and a woman in a green feathered dress kept fainting dead away, getting
up, and then fainting again. The wreckage was awesome.
However, it was a very small photo towards the bottom of the page that really caught
Harry's attention. The headline read "Malfoy Heir involved with Down-and-out Zabini:
Gold Digging?" Shockingly enough, the photo showed Blaise and Draco in a passionate
embrace, her dress pushed down to her waist. Harry was extremely glad that wizard
photos didn't come with sound.
At that moment, Ron scooted in. He seemed in remarkably good spirits. "I've given
Blaise her fake memories and put her back in her room. She should wake up in…." he
trailed off, seeing Harry and Hermione staring at him with identical expressions of
disgust. "Oh no, you saw the paper, didn't you?"
Draco, sprawled haphazardly on a black leather couch in the imposing family room,
regarded the paper with interest. His father was still running around and threatening
random people by owl. Draco wasn't sure if Lucius was angrier about the explosion or
the fact that a Daily Prophet reporter had been sneaking around their party. Draco wasn't
particularly bothered by the photo of himself, although it was certainly in questionable
taste. He knew that Blaise wasn't dating him for his money. Both of them were aware
that their relationship was based mainly on physical attraction and would surely dissolve
when one of them felt the need to move on. Hell, they hardly even talked, and here the
newspaper was saying that they intended to marry. Shows the quality of the Daily
Prophet, he thought cynically, and tossed it across the room.
There was one small thing that was bothering him, and it currently rested in his shirt
pocket. Last night during the explosion something had nailed him in the forehead. He had
retrieved the object from the floor and stuck it in his pocket to examine later. It wasn't
until a few minutes ago that he remembered and pulled it out – a silver earring, melted
into an almost unrecognizable shape. It seemed utterly harmless, he thought, peering
closely at it. Suddenly it seemed to…grow warm? That was strange. He held it up to his
face and was startled to hear a faint sound emitting from the silver. It sounded almost like
he was underwater…wait, was that Harry Potter?
Draco would have sworn that the answering voice belonged to that Mudblood Granger:
"…side effect … burst out laughing … gone a bit nuts…Malfoys didn't suspect
anything."
Draco felt very strange. He was angry, but also…oddly excited. He felt justified in
having suspicions. What on Earth had Harry Potter and his friends done to Blaise?
The next comment from the earring was agonizingly clear: "I've given Blaise her fake
memories and put her back in her room. She should wake up in…Oh no, you saw the
paper, didn't you?"
Weasley, Draco thought, his hands clenching into fists. I should have known. He could
feel cold, deadly anger running though all parts of his body, but instead of obeying his
impulses and kicking something, here merely raised a hand and summoned a house elf.
"Get me a carriage," he said imperiously to the diminutive servant. "I forgot something at
school."
"OH MY GOD," Hermione screeched at the top of her lungs, her hands wadded up in
Ron's sweater. If Ron weighed a big less, she probably would have lifted him off his feet.
Harry was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, and his eyes looked glassy.
"Hermione…let go of me! Let me explain!" Ron said helplessly, flailing his arms in a
wild manner. Hermione glared at him and shoved him backwards. He fell into an open
stall and hit his head on the closed toilet, yelping from the pain. He heard a faint giggling
from inside the toilet that sounded suspiciously like Moaning Myrtle. Ron scrambled to
his feet and emerged, walking to the opposite side of the bathroom away from the stalls.
"Harry…Hermione…" he said pleadingly. "You don't understand. I had to. I didn't have
a choice!" Harry seemed to have gotten over his shock and was shaking with silent, guilty
laughter. Ron scowled at him. "It was just that one time! Honest! We didn't…um….go
all the way."
Inwardly, Ron added lying to his best friends to his list of sins that included lust and
gluttony and extreme competitiveness at Wizard's Monopoly.
"Well, that's good, at least," Hermione admitted, looking the tiniest bit relieved. She still
had a dangerous glint in her eyes that Ron didn't much care for. Suddenly, Ron
remembered something.
"And while we're on the subject, why did you guys tell Professor Snape that I'm a slut?"
he demanded.
At this, Harry lost all composure. He collapsed to the tiled floor, wheezing and clutching
his stomach like he was in excruciating pain. Tears began to trickle down his face and he
let out several cackles. Hermione kicked him.
"Why…" Harry managed to choke out, "did I spend a whole day with Snape in the
Swamp? Why am I covered with hives from kappa venom and why is part of my hair
missing? WHY?"
Ron threw up his hands in defeat. "Why don't we just forget that the whole thing ever
happened?! Let's destroy Hermione's table and maybe that will kill the spell."
"Fine," Hermione pronounced. "Now let's go to dinner. I'm hungry." She shot another
glare at Harry, who seemed to be teetering dangerously on the edge of sanity.