CHAPTER 17~ An Illegal trip to Hogsmeade
DRACO'S POV~
I just stared at her. I had no idea what to say, and she looked so upset about the whole situation.
"Draco, I'm sorry," she whispered.
"No, it's not your fault," I managed to say at last. "When did you find out?"
"Only a few days ago. I've been getting sick a lot lately and I finally took a trip down to Madame Pomfrey and she gave me some tests and we found out that I am," she sobbed into my shirt.
"I'm taking you back down to the dungeons. You can't go to class like this." I put my arm around her shoulders and walked her slowly back down to the Slytherin common room.
"That's not all. You are no longer Voldemort's heir. They all agreed that you weren't fit. This baby will be the new heir. I cannot let that happen. I don't even have a boyfriend that can help me take care of him."
"Hermione and I will help you. You just hafta stay strong. Can you do that for me?" She nodded slightly. "Good. I will talk to Hermione later. She should be more than willing to help you."
"Are you sure she will be?" Blaise questioned skeptically. "We're not exactly good friends or anything like that."
"She will. Trust me in this."
"Okay."
Blaise and I ended up skipping Transfigurations and we ascended to the Great Hall for lunch. I sat next to her and told off the Slytherins that asked why we missed class. I said that it was none of their business and they just left us alone.
I caught Hermione's eye about half way through and she got the hint that I needed to speak with her. I headed put of the Great Hall and she came out a few seconds later.
"What's up?" she asked.
I explained the entire situation to her and she looked extremely shocked. "So can you help her? I will be too, but I figured it would be nice for her to have another female to talk to."
"Yeah I'll do it.but I still don't know her that well. I know what you've told me about her, but I've never talked to her."
"We could meet in the Astronomy Tower tonight." She still looked a little uneasy. "If you don't wanna we don't hafta tonight, but eventually, maybe."
"No, no, it's alright. That sounds okay."
"You sure? You don't look so certain."
"I'm fine. I know that it means a lot to you and probably her, so I'll do the best I can I can to help out."
I flashed a small smile and said, "Let's get down to Potions. We wouldn't wanna make Snape mad."
She nodded and we walked down to the dungeons with the other Gryffindors and Slytherins, who were now flocking out of the Great Hall.
We took our normal seats in the back of the room on the Slytherin side. Pansy smacked me in the back of the head when she walked by and glared at Hermione. Hermione made as if to get up, but I pulled her back down. "Don't fight her now," I hissed. "She's not worth it."
"She's a goddamn bitch!"
"I know, but fight her later."
"How much later?" she asked through gritted teeth. It looked like she wanted to rip all the hair out of Pansy's head and shove it down her throat.
"When no one's around."
"Having the crowd there to cheer you on is part of the excitement though."
"Yeah, it is, but not when Snape's in the next room."
"Fine," she huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at the back of Pansy's head. If looks could kill, Pansy would have been dead.
I placed a hand on her back and rubbed it gently. She relaxed a bit and turned to look into my eyes. I scooted my chair closer to hers, and she rested her head on my shoulder. "I hate her," she muttered.
"Me too."
Snape came barreling through the door and Hermione sat straight up as my hands went directly to the desk in front of me. "Today we will be starting the Polyjuice Potion. The ingredients are on page 987 in your books. You know where to find everything. This, we will be brewing for the next month and then each of you will be testing it. Get to work!"
Hermione retrieved all the ingredients from the cabinet without turning a page of the book. I noticed that Potter and Weasley had also made their way over to the cabinets. They all smiled wickedly at each other and I knew there was something going on that they wouldn't tell anyone.
"Okay, so what was that about? How did you, Potter, and Weasley know exactly what to get without turning a page?" I asked as she sat down and placed the ingredients gently atop our desk.
"Nothing, nothing," she answered a bit airily.
I knew that was kind of strange because I had never heard her speak like that, but I decided not to push the topic since it probably wasn't important anyway.
We completed as much of the person as possible in the two periods and then stored our cauldrons safely in a cabinet.
Snape then dismissed us and we were able to head to the Great Hall for dinner. The dance would be taking place the next evening and the people who were leaving would leave Sunday morning for three weeks.
After dinner, Hermione, Blaise, and I all headed up to the Astronomy Tower. Surprisingly, the two girls had much in common and I was very pleased that they would be able to get along so well. When the moon and stars were visible out the window, we headed back down to our common room. I kissed Hermione goodnight, and Blaise and I headed back down to the dungeons.
~
HERMIONE'S POV~
I woke up early the next morning, although I didn't exactly know why. The other girls were still sleeping peacefully in their own four-poster beds. I decided that I would bathe in the Prefects bathroom that morning. I had been allowed to since fifth year, but I hardly exercised that privilege since it was much more convenient to just use the House bathrooms.
I grabbed everything I needed and proceeded out of the empty common room and to the statue of Boris the Bewildered. I whispered the new password, which was "Pine Fresh" and stepped into the freshly scented bathroom.
The large tub was still empty so I knew that no one had been there yet. I began to turn some of the taps until it was filled and then I slid slowly into the warm, relaxing water. My eyes shit automatically as I enjoyed the water that was cascading around my body.
I didn't know how long I had been sitting there, but my eyes popped opened as I heard the entrance open. A figure slowly stepped through, and I held my breath. Suddenly, I saw the silvery-blonde hair that I knew could only belong to one person and relaxed a great deal.
"Uh hey," he said obviously shocked. "Thought I was the first one up this morning."
"I thought I was the only one up," I retorted.
"Oh well, mind if I join you?"
"I don't see why not seeing as you already disrupted my peace."
He smirked a little as he stripped off his clothes and settled down next to me. "How long you been in here?" he asked as he put an arm around my shoulders.
"I don't know exactly. Maybe a half-hour, forty-five minutes. Why?"
"Just wondering."
As we were getting out, I said, "Hey, you wanna go to Hogsmeade?"
"We kinda can't. It's not a Hogsmeade weekend."
"I know that," I aforementioned while smirking. "Just because it's not a 'Hogsmeade weekend' doesn't mean we can't go."
"You think we're just gunna sneak through the gates without being noticed? Hermione, are you feeling okay? It sounds to me like you've gone mad since last night."
I chucked at this. "Of course I'm not mad! And no, I don't think we're just gunna sneak out the gates. I know how to get there without stepping a foot outside." He looked at me skeptically. "Just follow me." I seized his hand and dragged him out of the bathroom.
Draco walked with me silently. It seemed that whenever I took him somewhere, he looked deep in thought. Finally, we approached the statue of the one-eyed witch.
"So why are we stopping here?" Draco asked me quizzically.
I pulled my wand out of my pocket and tapped its hump. I then whispered, "Dissendium!"
The passageway opened and Draco's eyes dilated considerably. As he continued to stare at the opening, his eyes narrowed once again. "You expect me to fit down that?"
"Harry, Ron, and I can, so I'm sure you can too. Go ahead." I gave him a slight push toward it and he drew a sharp intake of breath as he put his feet in to slide down. Just as I had predicted, he fit easily. I slid down once he was out of sight. "See? I told you you'd fit," I said triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah. Where to now, Oh Fearless Leader?"
We broke into fits of laughter. I had never expected him to say something like that, and it sounded so funny coming from him. Once I had managed to catch my breath, I lit my wand and led Draco down the tunnel and up the many stairs that I had become familiar with.
"How much longer?" he whined as we continued to climb.
"Not much, but you gotta be quiet once we get up there." He obliged to my demand and I opened the trap door. We emerged and I replaced it carefully. I led Draco up the smaller fight of stairs, and we ducked out from behind the counter in Honeydukes.
I knew he wouldn't say anything while we were still in the small shop, but once we were outside he asked, "Where the fuck did you find out about that?"
"That's my little secret," I smirked at him.
"I thought we promised not to keep secrets from each other."
Draco was right. We had promised not to keep any secrets from one another, but I didn't know if I should let him in on this one. "We did, but I don't think Harry and Ron would be too happy with me if they know I told you. It's been a secret since third year."
"Alright. It doesn't make much of a difference to me anyway. Where do you wanna go?"
"Actually, the Weasley twins wrote to me saying that they were disappointed that I haven't come to visit them yet. They said that is I didn't come soon, they'd go to the school and hunt me down."
"I guess I'm in for a major ass-kicking."
"No your not. Harry and Ron told them about us. They want to have a 'chat' with you and told me to bring you when I came." I watched a worried expression cross his face and added quickly, "But they did promise not to beat you up."
"You're sure? I do not feel like going to the dance with a black eye."
"Yes, I wrote to them and told them that if they hurt you I'll hex them into next year, so I think you should be okay."
As I opened the door to the shop, Fred and George came barreling toward us. "HERMIONE!" Fred yelled.
"It's so good to see you again!" George chimed in.
They both hugged me tightly and greeted Draco with a, "Hello, Malfoy."
"Weasleys," he nodded in response.
"Is he this short with you?" Fred whispered to me.
"No!" I punched him in the arm.
"Hey! I'm just watching out for you. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I know, but I really can take care of myself."
He nodded and turned his attention to Draco. "Malfoy, come with me for a minute. I wanna have a little talk with you."
~
DRACO'S POV~
I looked to Hermione to see if she would help me out, but she just shrugged as if to say, "I told you so."
Whichever Weasley it was motioned for me to follow him, and I did although I was a bit nervous. On the outside, I remained as calm as always, but inside I had no idea what to expect.
We went into the back room and he motioned for me to sit down. I sat in the chair he pointed to and he sat down across from me. "So Malfoy, I haven't seen you in a while. How's it going?"
"Fine and yourself?"
"I've been great! We've been sending a portion of our money back to our parents and split the rest between us. This store is fantastic!"
"I'm sure it is," I responded a bit dryly.
"So how long have you been dating my little sister?"
"Excuse me?" I asked. The last time I checked I hadn't spoken a kind word to their sister.
"George and I consider Hermione our little sister. How long have you been dating her?"
"Since the day before school started. Why?" I hated when people pushed into my personal life, especially people I hardly even knew.
"Just wondering. You been treating her okay?"
"Yes."
"Do you ever try to make her feel all special and say nice things to her and tell her that you care?"
"Yes to all of that," I was starting to get really annoyed.
"Alright, alright. No need to get all pissy. Maybe George will have better luck." He stood and walked out of the room. Within seconds, the other Weasley was sitting in the now vacant seat in front of me.
"I hear you got a short temper, Malfoy. Are you like that with Hermione too?" he questioned.
"No. Hermione doesn't piss me off." I smirked at him sarcastically and he rolled his eyes.
"Well that's good. Would you ever cheat on her like with another good friend or even just some random girl or something?"
"NO WAY! I love her to much to hurt her like that!"
"Ah, so you love her. Well then, is this just puppy love, or is it that everlasting love like you wanna be with her forever?"
"I love her more than I've ever loved anyone-okay so I never have loved anyone else- but I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
"Wow! I think that's the most I've heard you say all day! I didn't think you could say more that five words at a time."
"Kiss my ass, Weasley."
"I would be honored, Malfoy." He stood up and moved toward me.
I jumped instantly to my feet. "Whoa chill out there! I was being sarcastic!" I yelled.
He fell back down in his chair in hysterics. "Oh you should've seen you face! That was priceless!"
"That wasn't funny," I muttered while sitting back down.
"Yeah, actually it was, but anyway. How far have you and Hermione gone?"
"Um-well we-uh." I didn't want to tell him. That was between Hermione and myself. "That's none of your damn business!" I said finally.
Weasley looked thoughtful, and if possible I felt even more nervous. "So you've gone pretty far, I presume."
"Why would you care how far we've gone?"
"I swear, Malfoy, if you hurt her I will kill you. I won't Avanda you; I won't use any magic at all. I'll rip you apart with my bare hands. Got that?"
"I could never hurt her! I would die so that she wouldn't have to feel an ounce of pain. Does it sound like I'd hurt her? I didn't think so." I got up and walked smoothly to the door. "Clearly money doesn't bring wisdom," I muttered before I walked out.
Outside the room, Hermione was laughing along with the other Weasley twin. "Draco, what's the matter?" she asked when she saw me.
"I'm going back to Hogwarts. You can either come with me or you can stay here." I opened the door roughly and slammed it shut and began to walk slowly down the street.
"DRACO!" Hermione called after me. I didn't bother turning around; I was too pissed off. She grabbed my arm harshly and spun me around to face her. "What the hell happened?" she demanded sharply.
"Your friends are assholes! They think I'm gunna hurt you because of my fucking name and who I used to be. And they're fucking prying into our goddamn private lives and I really don't feel like sharing that aspect of my life with anybody. Especially not them!"
"Calm down! They're just trying to make sure I'm okay. They like to look out for me. I'm sorry I even listened to them now."
I remained silent, but put my arms around her. I could feel her melt into my embrace. We began to walk back toward the castle. "Dance tonight," she reminded me as we headed down the stairs into the secret passage.
"Oh yay!" I said sarcastically. "I can't wait! It's what I've been waiting all year for!"
"Lighten up. It'll be fun."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Of course it will be."
"Stop being like that!"
"Fine. I'm looking forward to the dance tonight because I'll get to be with you and we'll have a good time, and afterwards we'll go up to our secret room and get drunk and stay up all night."
"What?! Where'd you get alcohol from?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.
"I have my connection." I smiled evilly at her.
"I should have known. You always find secret ways to break the rules. How come you never seem to get caught anyways?"
"'Cause I'm swift like that."
"Yeah, yeah."
We climbed back out of the statue of the one-eyed witch and headed down to the Great Hall. It was now lunchtime and we were both very hungry. Hermione sat down with her friends while I sat with Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. I hadn't the slightest clue where Pansy was, but I didn't care.
After lunch, I headed to the dungeons while Hermione headed to the Gryffindor Tower. We figured that it would be best to just relax before the dance.
DRACO'S POV~
I just stared at her. I had no idea what to say, and she looked so upset about the whole situation.
"Draco, I'm sorry," she whispered.
"No, it's not your fault," I managed to say at last. "When did you find out?"
"Only a few days ago. I've been getting sick a lot lately and I finally took a trip down to Madame Pomfrey and she gave me some tests and we found out that I am," she sobbed into my shirt.
"I'm taking you back down to the dungeons. You can't go to class like this." I put my arm around her shoulders and walked her slowly back down to the Slytherin common room.
"That's not all. You are no longer Voldemort's heir. They all agreed that you weren't fit. This baby will be the new heir. I cannot let that happen. I don't even have a boyfriend that can help me take care of him."
"Hermione and I will help you. You just hafta stay strong. Can you do that for me?" She nodded slightly. "Good. I will talk to Hermione later. She should be more than willing to help you."
"Are you sure she will be?" Blaise questioned skeptically. "We're not exactly good friends or anything like that."
"She will. Trust me in this."
"Okay."
Blaise and I ended up skipping Transfigurations and we ascended to the Great Hall for lunch. I sat next to her and told off the Slytherins that asked why we missed class. I said that it was none of their business and they just left us alone.
I caught Hermione's eye about half way through and she got the hint that I needed to speak with her. I headed put of the Great Hall and she came out a few seconds later.
"What's up?" she asked.
I explained the entire situation to her and she looked extremely shocked. "So can you help her? I will be too, but I figured it would be nice for her to have another female to talk to."
"Yeah I'll do it.but I still don't know her that well. I know what you've told me about her, but I've never talked to her."
"We could meet in the Astronomy Tower tonight." She still looked a little uneasy. "If you don't wanna we don't hafta tonight, but eventually, maybe."
"No, no, it's alright. That sounds okay."
"You sure? You don't look so certain."
"I'm fine. I know that it means a lot to you and probably her, so I'll do the best I can I can to help out."
I flashed a small smile and said, "Let's get down to Potions. We wouldn't wanna make Snape mad."
She nodded and we walked down to the dungeons with the other Gryffindors and Slytherins, who were now flocking out of the Great Hall.
We took our normal seats in the back of the room on the Slytherin side. Pansy smacked me in the back of the head when she walked by and glared at Hermione. Hermione made as if to get up, but I pulled her back down. "Don't fight her now," I hissed. "She's not worth it."
"She's a goddamn bitch!"
"I know, but fight her later."
"How much later?" she asked through gritted teeth. It looked like she wanted to rip all the hair out of Pansy's head and shove it down her throat.
"When no one's around."
"Having the crowd there to cheer you on is part of the excitement though."
"Yeah, it is, but not when Snape's in the next room."
"Fine," she huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at the back of Pansy's head. If looks could kill, Pansy would have been dead.
I placed a hand on her back and rubbed it gently. She relaxed a bit and turned to look into my eyes. I scooted my chair closer to hers, and she rested her head on my shoulder. "I hate her," she muttered.
"Me too."
Snape came barreling through the door and Hermione sat straight up as my hands went directly to the desk in front of me. "Today we will be starting the Polyjuice Potion. The ingredients are on page 987 in your books. You know where to find everything. This, we will be brewing for the next month and then each of you will be testing it. Get to work!"
Hermione retrieved all the ingredients from the cabinet without turning a page of the book. I noticed that Potter and Weasley had also made their way over to the cabinets. They all smiled wickedly at each other and I knew there was something going on that they wouldn't tell anyone.
"Okay, so what was that about? How did you, Potter, and Weasley know exactly what to get without turning a page?" I asked as she sat down and placed the ingredients gently atop our desk.
"Nothing, nothing," she answered a bit airily.
I knew that was kind of strange because I had never heard her speak like that, but I decided not to push the topic since it probably wasn't important anyway.
We completed as much of the person as possible in the two periods and then stored our cauldrons safely in a cabinet.
Snape then dismissed us and we were able to head to the Great Hall for dinner. The dance would be taking place the next evening and the people who were leaving would leave Sunday morning for three weeks.
After dinner, Hermione, Blaise, and I all headed up to the Astronomy Tower. Surprisingly, the two girls had much in common and I was very pleased that they would be able to get along so well. When the moon and stars were visible out the window, we headed back down to our common room. I kissed Hermione goodnight, and Blaise and I headed back down to the dungeons.
~
HERMIONE'S POV~
I woke up early the next morning, although I didn't exactly know why. The other girls were still sleeping peacefully in their own four-poster beds. I decided that I would bathe in the Prefects bathroom that morning. I had been allowed to since fifth year, but I hardly exercised that privilege since it was much more convenient to just use the House bathrooms.
I grabbed everything I needed and proceeded out of the empty common room and to the statue of Boris the Bewildered. I whispered the new password, which was "Pine Fresh" and stepped into the freshly scented bathroom.
The large tub was still empty so I knew that no one had been there yet. I began to turn some of the taps until it was filled and then I slid slowly into the warm, relaxing water. My eyes shit automatically as I enjoyed the water that was cascading around my body.
I didn't know how long I had been sitting there, but my eyes popped opened as I heard the entrance open. A figure slowly stepped through, and I held my breath. Suddenly, I saw the silvery-blonde hair that I knew could only belong to one person and relaxed a great deal.
"Uh hey," he said obviously shocked. "Thought I was the first one up this morning."
"I thought I was the only one up," I retorted.
"Oh well, mind if I join you?"
"I don't see why not seeing as you already disrupted my peace."
He smirked a little as he stripped off his clothes and settled down next to me. "How long you been in here?" he asked as he put an arm around my shoulders.
"I don't know exactly. Maybe a half-hour, forty-five minutes. Why?"
"Just wondering."
As we were getting out, I said, "Hey, you wanna go to Hogsmeade?"
"We kinda can't. It's not a Hogsmeade weekend."
"I know that," I aforementioned while smirking. "Just because it's not a 'Hogsmeade weekend' doesn't mean we can't go."
"You think we're just gunna sneak through the gates without being noticed? Hermione, are you feeling okay? It sounds to me like you've gone mad since last night."
I chucked at this. "Of course I'm not mad! And no, I don't think we're just gunna sneak out the gates. I know how to get there without stepping a foot outside." He looked at me skeptically. "Just follow me." I seized his hand and dragged him out of the bathroom.
Draco walked with me silently. It seemed that whenever I took him somewhere, he looked deep in thought. Finally, we approached the statue of the one-eyed witch.
"So why are we stopping here?" Draco asked me quizzically.
I pulled my wand out of my pocket and tapped its hump. I then whispered, "Dissendium!"
The passageway opened and Draco's eyes dilated considerably. As he continued to stare at the opening, his eyes narrowed once again. "You expect me to fit down that?"
"Harry, Ron, and I can, so I'm sure you can too. Go ahead." I gave him a slight push toward it and he drew a sharp intake of breath as he put his feet in to slide down. Just as I had predicted, he fit easily. I slid down once he was out of sight. "See? I told you you'd fit," I said triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah. Where to now, Oh Fearless Leader?"
We broke into fits of laughter. I had never expected him to say something like that, and it sounded so funny coming from him. Once I had managed to catch my breath, I lit my wand and led Draco down the tunnel and up the many stairs that I had become familiar with.
"How much longer?" he whined as we continued to climb.
"Not much, but you gotta be quiet once we get up there." He obliged to my demand and I opened the trap door. We emerged and I replaced it carefully. I led Draco up the smaller fight of stairs, and we ducked out from behind the counter in Honeydukes.
I knew he wouldn't say anything while we were still in the small shop, but once we were outside he asked, "Where the fuck did you find out about that?"
"That's my little secret," I smirked at him.
"I thought we promised not to keep secrets from each other."
Draco was right. We had promised not to keep any secrets from one another, but I didn't know if I should let him in on this one. "We did, but I don't think Harry and Ron would be too happy with me if they know I told you. It's been a secret since third year."
"Alright. It doesn't make much of a difference to me anyway. Where do you wanna go?"
"Actually, the Weasley twins wrote to me saying that they were disappointed that I haven't come to visit them yet. They said that is I didn't come soon, they'd go to the school and hunt me down."
"I guess I'm in for a major ass-kicking."
"No your not. Harry and Ron told them about us. They want to have a 'chat' with you and told me to bring you when I came." I watched a worried expression cross his face and added quickly, "But they did promise not to beat you up."
"You're sure? I do not feel like going to the dance with a black eye."
"Yes, I wrote to them and told them that if they hurt you I'll hex them into next year, so I think you should be okay."
As I opened the door to the shop, Fred and George came barreling toward us. "HERMIONE!" Fred yelled.
"It's so good to see you again!" George chimed in.
They both hugged me tightly and greeted Draco with a, "Hello, Malfoy."
"Weasleys," he nodded in response.
"Is he this short with you?" Fred whispered to me.
"No!" I punched him in the arm.
"Hey! I'm just watching out for you. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I know, but I really can take care of myself."
He nodded and turned his attention to Draco. "Malfoy, come with me for a minute. I wanna have a little talk with you."
~
DRACO'S POV~
I looked to Hermione to see if she would help me out, but she just shrugged as if to say, "I told you so."
Whichever Weasley it was motioned for me to follow him, and I did although I was a bit nervous. On the outside, I remained as calm as always, but inside I had no idea what to expect.
We went into the back room and he motioned for me to sit down. I sat in the chair he pointed to and he sat down across from me. "So Malfoy, I haven't seen you in a while. How's it going?"
"Fine and yourself?"
"I've been great! We've been sending a portion of our money back to our parents and split the rest between us. This store is fantastic!"
"I'm sure it is," I responded a bit dryly.
"So how long have you been dating my little sister?"
"Excuse me?" I asked. The last time I checked I hadn't spoken a kind word to their sister.
"George and I consider Hermione our little sister. How long have you been dating her?"
"Since the day before school started. Why?" I hated when people pushed into my personal life, especially people I hardly even knew.
"Just wondering. You been treating her okay?"
"Yes."
"Do you ever try to make her feel all special and say nice things to her and tell her that you care?"
"Yes to all of that," I was starting to get really annoyed.
"Alright, alright. No need to get all pissy. Maybe George will have better luck." He stood and walked out of the room. Within seconds, the other Weasley was sitting in the now vacant seat in front of me.
"I hear you got a short temper, Malfoy. Are you like that with Hermione too?" he questioned.
"No. Hermione doesn't piss me off." I smirked at him sarcastically and he rolled his eyes.
"Well that's good. Would you ever cheat on her like with another good friend or even just some random girl or something?"
"NO WAY! I love her to much to hurt her like that!"
"Ah, so you love her. Well then, is this just puppy love, or is it that everlasting love like you wanna be with her forever?"
"I love her more than I've ever loved anyone-okay so I never have loved anyone else- but I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
"Wow! I think that's the most I've heard you say all day! I didn't think you could say more that five words at a time."
"Kiss my ass, Weasley."
"I would be honored, Malfoy." He stood up and moved toward me.
I jumped instantly to my feet. "Whoa chill out there! I was being sarcastic!" I yelled.
He fell back down in his chair in hysterics. "Oh you should've seen you face! That was priceless!"
"That wasn't funny," I muttered while sitting back down.
"Yeah, actually it was, but anyway. How far have you and Hermione gone?"
"Um-well we-uh." I didn't want to tell him. That was between Hermione and myself. "That's none of your damn business!" I said finally.
Weasley looked thoughtful, and if possible I felt even more nervous. "So you've gone pretty far, I presume."
"Why would you care how far we've gone?"
"I swear, Malfoy, if you hurt her I will kill you. I won't Avanda you; I won't use any magic at all. I'll rip you apart with my bare hands. Got that?"
"I could never hurt her! I would die so that she wouldn't have to feel an ounce of pain. Does it sound like I'd hurt her? I didn't think so." I got up and walked smoothly to the door. "Clearly money doesn't bring wisdom," I muttered before I walked out.
Outside the room, Hermione was laughing along with the other Weasley twin. "Draco, what's the matter?" she asked when she saw me.
"I'm going back to Hogwarts. You can either come with me or you can stay here." I opened the door roughly and slammed it shut and began to walk slowly down the street.
"DRACO!" Hermione called after me. I didn't bother turning around; I was too pissed off. She grabbed my arm harshly and spun me around to face her. "What the hell happened?" she demanded sharply.
"Your friends are assholes! They think I'm gunna hurt you because of my fucking name and who I used to be. And they're fucking prying into our goddamn private lives and I really don't feel like sharing that aspect of my life with anybody. Especially not them!"
"Calm down! They're just trying to make sure I'm okay. They like to look out for me. I'm sorry I even listened to them now."
I remained silent, but put my arms around her. I could feel her melt into my embrace. We began to walk back toward the castle. "Dance tonight," she reminded me as we headed down the stairs into the secret passage.
"Oh yay!" I said sarcastically. "I can't wait! It's what I've been waiting all year for!"
"Lighten up. It'll be fun."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Of course it will be."
"Stop being like that!"
"Fine. I'm looking forward to the dance tonight because I'll get to be with you and we'll have a good time, and afterwards we'll go up to our secret room and get drunk and stay up all night."
"What?! Where'd you get alcohol from?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.
"I have my connection." I smiled evilly at her.
"I should have known. You always find secret ways to break the rules. How come you never seem to get caught anyways?"
"'Cause I'm swift like that."
"Yeah, yeah."
We climbed back out of the statue of the one-eyed witch and headed down to the Great Hall. It was now lunchtime and we were both very hungry. Hermione sat down with her friends while I sat with Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. I hadn't the slightest clue where Pansy was, but I didn't care.
After lunch, I headed to the dungeons while Hermione headed to the Gryffindor Tower. We figured that it would be best to just relax before the dance.