Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chp. 1-8): A sailing class/field trip is planned. Slytherin/Gryffindor is teamed up. Draco/Hermione are paired up. The class is taught by Professor Sinistra/Dr. Branefeld. D/Hr research the Vintmoor/Island of Malnese. Hr borrows H cloak/map to go to restricted section, runs into D. When she heads back to Gryffindor, she changes her mind and goes to see D (in an empty classroom), they have a fight, she leaves, shatters her jaw on a false step. D takes her to Madam Pomfrey, fights an inner battle over his attitude towards her. Hr awakens on Monday night, remembers she left H cloak, D shows up and brings it to her. They hold hands, Madam Pomfrey tells D to leave.
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Chapter 9: A Decision Is Made
Stalking down the dark hallway, Draco clenched and unclenched his jaw. If he didn't know better, he would swear he was deranged. Then again, maybe he was deranged. That was the nature of being deranged; not knowing that you were.
As he reached the dungeon steps, he paused. Turning on his heel, he headed back the direction he had come. Careful to blend in with the shadows, he maneuvered his way to the classroom. Entering, he let go a long sigh. The room was still bitterly cold. Pulling his robe tightly around him, he moved through the moonlit room to the window.
Looking out on the desolate nighttime grounds of Hogwarts, he let his mind wander. It felt so good to be alone; it felt so good to not have to pretend. He had been acting for so long, he didn't even know who he was. Crabbe and Goyle, his faithful bodyguards, were just that, bodyguards. They expected Draco to behave in a certain way, just as he expected them to behave in a certain way. It was a simplistic relationship; it was a tiring relationship.
What was even more tiring were the thoughts plaguing his mind, and, dare he believe, his heart? When she had unexpectedly shown up in this room last night, his heart had leaped into his throat. Out of habit, he had insulted her. It was their version of a simplistic relationship; a relationship that he was tiring of. It took energy to insult her; energy he needed to mask the conflict he was feeling.
The slap; that had done it. It propelled him from uncertainty to action; but then her eyes had filled with tears. His heart had pounded with a hitherto unknown ferocity. When she had begun to weep, he felt a tug of -- -guilt? He wasn't sure; he'd never felt guilty before. His attempt at comfort, brusquely refused, was understandable.
Watching her storm out of the room had brought him a strange mixture of relief and sorrow. Relief that she had left; sorrow that she had left. Abruptly he stood and began to pace the length of the room, the echo of Hermione's scream still reverberated in his mind. He shuddered when he recalled her deformed jaw. It made no sense to him why he should have reacted in such way. He'd seen worse; he'd done worse.
He thought he had come to his senses that night, when the thought of what his father would say entered his mind. He had been determined to replace his mask and move on. But then he had found that damn Invisibility Cloak. Instinct told him to keep it; it would come in handy. Then that voice, that new voice, strongly suggested he return it.
All day Monday he had been plagued over what to do with that Cloak. He hadn't intended to give it back, not even when he went to the hospital wing. He had told himself that he was just going to check on her. The Invisibility Cloak would allow him to get there, see her, and get back without anyone, especially Hermione, seeing him.
He hadn't been prepared to see her out of bed. When she ran into him and fell, he had wanted to grab her. But he froze. Not until she spoke did he decide to reveal himself. His heart lurched when he remembered the pain in her eyes after she had smacked her still healing chin. Then he went and held her hand? What was he thinking? He continued to pace, these thoughts flooding his mind.
As he passed by the window again, he paused. Once again he was struck with the absolute serenity that the moon cast onto the empty Hogwarts' ground. He wished that he could gather up that peace and instill into his own life. A derisive laugh escaped his throat. Peace, what was wrong with him? He had been bred by, and for, strife. Peace was to be the furthest thing from his mind. He leaned against the windowsill; an escaping tear brought him out of his thoughts.
With horror, he reached up and roughly wiped at the offensive tear. 'Look at what that Mudblood is doing to me!' he thought, angrily. He pushed himself from the wall, casting a long glance back out the window, and left; he had made his decision.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Hermione awoke early on Tuesday morning to sunlight streaming through the high windows in the hospital wing. Gingerly, she reached up and felt her jaw; she didn't feel any pain. She carefully worked her jaw. It was stiff, but felt fine.
"Good morning, Ms. Granger." Madam Pomfrey pushed back the curtains and handed Hermione a bowl of porridge. "Eat this, please, and then you are free to head back to your dormitory. Your jaw will feel a bit stiff for the rest of the day, but, other than that, you're perfectly fine. Please watch those false steps, I don't want to see you in here again." Madam Pomfrey smiled at Hermione, and then turned to move to another student's bed.
Hermione quickly downed the bowl of chunky, sticky porridge, wishing it were bacon and eggs. Putting down the empty bowl, she stood up, removed her hospital gown, put on her school robes, and turned to leave. As she stepped away from the bed, she remembered Harry's cloak. She reached down to pick it up, and felt a warmth rise in her cheeks. He had held her hand.
As quickly as the thought entered her mind, she shook her head. What did it matter if he had held her hand? He was Malfoy; just Malfoy. Gathering the Cloak carefully in her arms, she marched purposefully out of the hospital and headed to the Gryffindor common room.
"Hermione!" Harry's face lit up when he saw her walk through the entrance to the tower. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you." She gave him a warm smile, handing him his Cloak. "Regrowing bones; it's really not much fun, is it?"
He grinned back at her as he folded up his returned Cloak.
"Did you find what you were looking for in the library?" he questioned.
"Yes. I shoved the book I found into a secret corridor. Oh, here's your Map. Thanks for letting me borrow it, and the Cloak." She pulled the Marauder's Map out of the inner pocket of her robe, and handed it to Harry who shoved it into the folds of his Invisibility Cloak while muttering that it was not a problem.
"Hermione!" Ron screeched, flying down the stairs, and skidding to a halt next to Harry. "You're back.."
"It would appear so."
"Good, because I need some help on my Transfiguration homework."
Harry gave him a sharp poke in the ribs with his elbow.
"I mean, how are you doing?" he said, his ears turning pink.
"Much better, thank you."
"Good, I'm glad, really I am, but, I still need help with my homework," he pleaded.
"Well, I can't help you with it now. We have class in an hour and half, and I still have to get myself cleaned up and have time to eat a real breakfast."
"Madam Pomfrey gave you the porridge, huh?" Harry grimaced. Hermione nodded and returned his grimace.
"But what about my homework?" Ron whined.
"Ron, if you are going to insist on doing your homework at the last minute, you'll have to learn to suffer the consequences. I'll be back in a while." Hermione then turned and ascended the stairs to her dorm, leaving a gaping Ron behind her.
"Can you believe it? Doesn't she even care if I fail Transfiguration?"
Harry hid a grin, and headed up to his dorm to put away his Cloak and Map, leaving a frantic Ron at an empty table trying to figure out his homework.
Thirty minutes later a freshly dressed Hermione, a grinning Harry, and a fuming Ron exited the tower and briskly walked to the Great Hall.
"Pass me some more of that bacon," Hermione motioned to Ron. He handed her the plate and she pulled a handful off.
"Whoa, slow down with the eating there. You act like you haven't eaten in weeks." He placed the significantly lighter plate back on the table.
"Well," Hermione managed between bites, "it almost feels that way." She followed a bite of bacon with a swallow of cranberry juice. "I haven't had a decent meal since Sunday. And Harry can confirm that Madam Pomfrey's porridge is nothing to be proud of." Harry nodded his confirmation as he poured himself another glass of orange juice.
"So, you told me that you found a book and hid it. What was the book about?" Harry generously buttered a raisin bran muffin and took a large bite.
"Well, it's about the Island, I think." She put her fork down and reached for the platter of eggs, piling a generous helping of the yellow mass on her plate. "A wizard was saying how he was scared that he wouldn't be able to get off the Island and that he was afraid." She paused to take a bite of the eggs. "But that was a far as we got, before Filch showed up."
"We?" Harry's eyebrows knit together.
"Huh?"
"You said 'we'. Who are we?"
"I didn't say we," she protested, her face visibly flushing as she realized her error.
"Actually, you did," confirmed Ron, picking out a particularly sticky cinnamon roll from a large platter.
She looked across the table at Ron. "Did I? I didn't mean we. I---," her voice faltered as she caught Draco looking at her from across the room. He glared at her, mouthed 'mudblood', and turned back to a conversation with a fellow Slytherin.
"Hey, Hermione?" A hand waved in front of her eyes. "You okay?"
She shook her head, and turned to look into the emerald green eyes of Harry. "Yeah, I---I guess I'm still just a little tired."
"Okay, if you say so." Harry didn't sound convinced.
"It's time to head to class." Hermione abruptly stood, picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Ron and Harry to get up.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"I just don't get it! Why is it so important to be able to turn a book into a turtle?" Ron complained as the three students moved through the crowed halls after Transfiguration. He had managed to give his book a tail and four legs, much to his chagrin.
"It's not that the actual turning of a book into a turtle is important, Ron, it's the process that is important," Hermione patiently explained. Ron never had particularly enjoyed Transfiguration. "So, how did class go on Monday morning?"
"Oh, it went well," Harry said. "Dr. Branefeld is an interesting guy. He gave us a run down on the class. We're going to go sailing in two man boats in a few months."
"I know, isn't it exciting?" Hermione enthusiastically said.
"What do you mean, you know?" questioned Ron. "We just told you."
She realized her slip, and tried to cover it up. "I know that, Ron. I- --I just figured that we would have to get out in boats. And Professor Sinistra did say that we would be moving outside to the lake late in the semester."
Ron and Harry looked askance at each other, Ron shrugging his shoulders, as if to say, well, she is bloody smart.
"Well, look who it is, the Mudblood, Potter and Weasel," Draco, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, drawled as the trio turned a corner.
Ron glared at Draco as he stepped in front of Hermione. "What the hell do you want, Malfoy?" he spit.
"Once again, I must hunt down Granger to set up a time to complete our homework." He gave a nonchalant shrug. "I would swear she was trying to avoid me."
"You know that she was in the hospital wing all day yesterday, Malfoy," Harry stated, stepping up to stand by Ron, effectively blocking Hermione from view. "After all, according to Madam Pomfrey, it was you who brought her to the hospital wing." He narrowed his eyes at Draco. "Just how you happened to be around when Hermione hurt herself is interesting. Come to think of it, Hermione doesn't remember much about the whole accident. Maybe you had a hand in it," he growled.
"I don't have any idea what you are talking about, Potter. Why would I ever help a Mudblood?" He gave Potter his best Death Eater glare.
"Are you saying that Pomfrey was lying to us?" Ron questioned.
"No, but she was probably mistaken. If Mudblood Granger was injured, why would I lift a finger to help her?"
Ron, hands balling into fists, was ready to let fly, when Hermione stepped forward, grabbing Ron's arm.
"Let me talk to him," she muttered darkly. Without waiting for any protest from Harry or Ron, she pushed between them. "You know, Malfoy, you are truly despicable. You and I both know that you took me to the hospital wing. I am truly sorry for you that you can't admit doing a good thing." She glared at him for a moment before continuing. "As far as our homework assignment goes, I will meet you in the library tonight after dinner. The sooner we get it done, the better." Hermione gave him a last glare, grabbed Harry and Ron's hands and pushed past Malfoy and his goons.
_____________________________________________________________
-Sage of Darkness: Thank you for your vote. Those blocks can be hard. =)
-Slytherin hotchick(): Thank you much.
-Chikata: Advice read; advice considered; thank you.
-kai kai: I believe that that was the most popular choice. The e-mails are no problem. =)
-Edainme(): Oh, I'm sorry. I am glad you are feeling better. I'm glad you liked my chapter. Yeah, someone felt icky about my step scene. (I worked HARD on that.)
-Raven Summerset: Thank you. I hope that I can continue to keep it something worth reading.
-blueberry girl: I love to listen to music to overcome my writers block as well. Thank you for the encouragement. I hope this chapter showed that I overcame my block well enough.
-Firey-chan: I like that "air of mystery" phrase. I will do my best to write it in that way. Thank you for your offer of help.
-Logical Philosophy: Well, I like your idea, but I felt the need to give at least a touch of his thoughts. I hope to not do it often, but I felt that I needed this chapter. I just hope I didn't give too much away.
-janiko: Thank you. I liked your advice. I am hopefully going to do just that. =)
-Snow White: Thank you. I hope that this chapter worked out well.
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: What are you getting grounded for? I used to get grounded for bad grades. I never did my homework. Don't tell my students!! You find my job exquisite!?! Wow, that is such a cool compliment. **blushes furiously**
-CatalinaRose: Hey, who wants to grow up? Let's fly on out to Never-Never Land!! **races crazily around the room singing 'Following the Leader'** Whoa, what was that!! Thanks for your advice. Writers block sucks. Hope this chapter is a good break out of my block.
Summary (Chp. 1-8): A sailing class/field trip is planned. Slytherin/Gryffindor is teamed up. Draco/Hermione are paired up. The class is taught by Professor Sinistra/Dr. Branefeld. D/Hr research the Vintmoor/Island of Malnese. Hr borrows H cloak/map to go to restricted section, runs into D. When she heads back to Gryffindor, she changes her mind and goes to see D (in an empty classroom), they have a fight, she leaves, shatters her jaw on a false step. D takes her to Madam Pomfrey, fights an inner battle over his attitude towards her. Hr awakens on Monday night, remembers she left H cloak, D shows up and brings it to her. They hold hands, Madam Pomfrey tells D to leave.
_____________________________________________________________
Chapter 9: A Decision Is Made
Stalking down the dark hallway, Draco clenched and unclenched his jaw. If he didn't know better, he would swear he was deranged. Then again, maybe he was deranged. That was the nature of being deranged; not knowing that you were.
As he reached the dungeon steps, he paused. Turning on his heel, he headed back the direction he had come. Careful to blend in with the shadows, he maneuvered his way to the classroom. Entering, he let go a long sigh. The room was still bitterly cold. Pulling his robe tightly around him, he moved through the moonlit room to the window.
Looking out on the desolate nighttime grounds of Hogwarts, he let his mind wander. It felt so good to be alone; it felt so good to not have to pretend. He had been acting for so long, he didn't even know who he was. Crabbe and Goyle, his faithful bodyguards, were just that, bodyguards. They expected Draco to behave in a certain way, just as he expected them to behave in a certain way. It was a simplistic relationship; it was a tiring relationship.
What was even more tiring were the thoughts plaguing his mind, and, dare he believe, his heart? When she had unexpectedly shown up in this room last night, his heart had leaped into his throat. Out of habit, he had insulted her. It was their version of a simplistic relationship; a relationship that he was tiring of. It took energy to insult her; energy he needed to mask the conflict he was feeling.
The slap; that had done it. It propelled him from uncertainty to action; but then her eyes had filled with tears. His heart had pounded with a hitherto unknown ferocity. When she had begun to weep, he felt a tug of -- -guilt? He wasn't sure; he'd never felt guilty before. His attempt at comfort, brusquely refused, was understandable.
Watching her storm out of the room had brought him a strange mixture of relief and sorrow. Relief that she had left; sorrow that she had left. Abruptly he stood and began to pace the length of the room, the echo of Hermione's scream still reverberated in his mind. He shuddered when he recalled her deformed jaw. It made no sense to him why he should have reacted in such way. He'd seen worse; he'd done worse.
He thought he had come to his senses that night, when the thought of what his father would say entered his mind. He had been determined to replace his mask and move on. But then he had found that damn Invisibility Cloak. Instinct told him to keep it; it would come in handy. Then that voice, that new voice, strongly suggested he return it.
All day Monday he had been plagued over what to do with that Cloak. He hadn't intended to give it back, not even when he went to the hospital wing. He had told himself that he was just going to check on her. The Invisibility Cloak would allow him to get there, see her, and get back without anyone, especially Hermione, seeing him.
He hadn't been prepared to see her out of bed. When she ran into him and fell, he had wanted to grab her. But he froze. Not until she spoke did he decide to reveal himself. His heart lurched when he remembered the pain in her eyes after she had smacked her still healing chin. Then he went and held her hand? What was he thinking? He continued to pace, these thoughts flooding his mind.
As he passed by the window again, he paused. Once again he was struck with the absolute serenity that the moon cast onto the empty Hogwarts' ground. He wished that he could gather up that peace and instill into his own life. A derisive laugh escaped his throat. Peace, what was wrong with him? He had been bred by, and for, strife. Peace was to be the furthest thing from his mind. He leaned against the windowsill; an escaping tear brought him out of his thoughts.
With horror, he reached up and roughly wiped at the offensive tear. 'Look at what that Mudblood is doing to me!' he thought, angrily. He pushed himself from the wall, casting a long glance back out the window, and left; he had made his decision.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Hermione awoke early on Tuesday morning to sunlight streaming through the high windows in the hospital wing. Gingerly, she reached up and felt her jaw; she didn't feel any pain. She carefully worked her jaw. It was stiff, but felt fine.
"Good morning, Ms. Granger." Madam Pomfrey pushed back the curtains and handed Hermione a bowl of porridge. "Eat this, please, and then you are free to head back to your dormitory. Your jaw will feel a bit stiff for the rest of the day, but, other than that, you're perfectly fine. Please watch those false steps, I don't want to see you in here again." Madam Pomfrey smiled at Hermione, and then turned to move to another student's bed.
Hermione quickly downed the bowl of chunky, sticky porridge, wishing it were bacon and eggs. Putting down the empty bowl, she stood up, removed her hospital gown, put on her school robes, and turned to leave. As she stepped away from the bed, she remembered Harry's cloak. She reached down to pick it up, and felt a warmth rise in her cheeks. He had held her hand.
As quickly as the thought entered her mind, she shook her head. What did it matter if he had held her hand? He was Malfoy; just Malfoy. Gathering the Cloak carefully in her arms, she marched purposefully out of the hospital and headed to the Gryffindor common room.
"Hermione!" Harry's face lit up when he saw her walk through the entrance to the tower. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you." She gave him a warm smile, handing him his Cloak. "Regrowing bones; it's really not much fun, is it?"
He grinned back at her as he folded up his returned Cloak.
"Did you find what you were looking for in the library?" he questioned.
"Yes. I shoved the book I found into a secret corridor. Oh, here's your Map. Thanks for letting me borrow it, and the Cloak." She pulled the Marauder's Map out of the inner pocket of her robe, and handed it to Harry who shoved it into the folds of his Invisibility Cloak while muttering that it was not a problem.
"Hermione!" Ron screeched, flying down the stairs, and skidding to a halt next to Harry. "You're back.."
"It would appear so."
"Good, because I need some help on my Transfiguration homework."
Harry gave him a sharp poke in the ribs with his elbow.
"I mean, how are you doing?" he said, his ears turning pink.
"Much better, thank you."
"Good, I'm glad, really I am, but, I still need help with my homework," he pleaded.
"Well, I can't help you with it now. We have class in an hour and half, and I still have to get myself cleaned up and have time to eat a real breakfast."
"Madam Pomfrey gave you the porridge, huh?" Harry grimaced. Hermione nodded and returned his grimace.
"But what about my homework?" Ron whined.
"Ron, if you are going to insist on doing your homework at the last minute, you'll have to learn to suffer the consequences. I'll be back in a while." Hermione then turned and ascended the stairs to her dorm, leaving a gaping Ron behind her.
"Can you believe it? Doesn't she even care if I fail Transfiguration?"
Harry hid a grin, and headed up to his dorm to put away his Cloak and Map, leaving a frantic Ron at an empty table trying to figure out his homework.
Thirty minutes later a freshly dressed Hermione, a grinning Harry, and a fuming Ron exited the tower and briskly walked to the Great Hall.
"Pass me some more of that bacon," Hermione motioned to Ron. He handed her the plate and she pulled a handful off.
"Whoa, slow down with the eating there. You act like you haven't eaten in weeks." He placed the significantly lighter plate back on the table.
"Well," Hermione managed between bites, "it almost feels that way." She followed a bite of bacon with a swallow of cranberry juice. "I haven't had a decent meal since Sunday. And Harry can confirm that Madam Pomfrey's porridge is nothing to be proud of." Harry nodded his confirmation as he poured himself another glass of orange juice.
"So, you told me that you found a book and hid it. What was the book about?" Harry generously buttered a raisin bran muffin and took a large bite.
"Well, it's about the Island, I think." She put her fork down and reached for the platter of eggs, piling a generous helping of the yellow mass on her plate. "A wizard was saying how he was scared that he wouldn't be able to get off the Island and that he was afraid." She paused to take a bite of the eggs. "But that was a far as we got, before Filch showed up."
"We?" Harry's eyebrows knit together.
"Huh?"
"You said 'we'. Who are we?"
"I didn't say we," she protested, her face visibly flushing as she realized her error.
"Actually, you did," confirmed Ron, picking out a particularly sticky cinnamon roll from a large platter.
She looked across the table at Ron. "Did I? I didn't mean we. I---," her voice faltered as she caught Draco looking at her from across the room. He glared at her, mouthed 'mudblood', and turned back to a conversation with a fellow Slytherin.
"Hey, Hermione?" A hand waved in front of her eyes. "You okay?"
She shook her head, and turned to look into the emerald green eyes of Harry. "Yeah, I---I guess I'm still just a little tired."
"Okay, if you say so." Harry didn't sound convinced.
"It's time to head to class." Hermione abruptly stood, picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Ron and Harry to get up.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"I just don't get it! Why is it so important to be able to turn a book into a turtle?" Ron complained as the three students moved through the crowed halls after Transfiguration. He had managed to give his book a tail and four legs, much to his chagrin.
"It's not that the actual turning of a book into a turtle is important, Ron, it's the process that is important," Hermione patiently explained. Ron never had particularly enjoyed Transfiguration. "So, how did class go on Monday morning?"
"Oh, it went well," Harry said. "Dr. Branefeld is an interesting guy. He gave us a run down on the class. We're going to go sailing in two man boats in a few months."
"I know, isn't it exciting?" Hermione enthusiastically said.
"What do you mean, you know?" questioned Ron. "We just told you."
She realized her slip, and tried to cover it up. "I know that, Ron. I- --I just figured that we would have to get out in boats. And Professor Sinistra did say that we would be moving outside to the lake late in the semester."
Ron and Harry looked askance at each other, Ron shrugging his shoulders, as if to say, well, she is bloody smart.
"Well, look who it is, the Mudblood, Potter and Weasel," Draco, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, drawled as the trio turned a corner.
Ron glared at Draco as he stepped in front of Hermione. "What the hell do you want, Malfoy?" he spit.
"Once again, I must hunt down Granger to set up a time to complete our homework." He gave a nonchalant shrug. "I would swear she was trying to avoid me."
"You know that she was in the hospital wing all day yesterday, Malfoy," Harry stated, stepping up to stand by Ron, effectively blocking Hermione from view. "After all, according to Madam Pomfrey, it was you who brought her to the hospital wing." He narrowed his eyes at Draco. "Just how you happened to be around when Hermione hurt herself is interesting. Come to think of it, Hermione doesn't remember much about the whole accident. Maybe you had a hand in it," he growled.
"I don't have any idea what you are talking about, Potter. Why would I ever help a Mudblood?" He gave Potter his best Death Eater glare.
"Are you saying that Pomfrey was lying to us?" Ron questioned.
"No, but she was probably mistaken. If Mudblood Granger was injured, why would I lift a finger to help her?"
Ron, hands balling into fists, was ready to let fly, when Hermione stepped forward, grabbing Ron's arm.
"Let me talk to him," she muttered darkly. Without waiting for any protest from Harry or Ron, she pushed between them. "You know, Malfoy, you are truly despicable. You and I both know that you took me to the hospital wing. I am truly sorry for you that you can't admit doing a good thing." She glared at him for a moment before continuing. "As far as our homework assignment goes, I will meet you in the library tonight after dinner. The sooner we get it done, the better." Hermione gave him a last glare, grabbed Harry and Ron's hands and pushed past Malfoy and his goons.
_____________________________________________________________
-Sage of Darkness: Thank you for your vote. Those blocks can be hard. =)
-Slytherin hotchick(): Thank you much.
-Chikata: Advice read; advice considered; thank you.
-kai kai: I believe that that was the most popular choice. The e-mails are no problem. =)
-Edainme(): Oh, I'm sorry. I am glad you are feeling better. I'm glad you liked my chapter. Yeah, someone felt icky about my step scene. (I worked HARD on that.)
-Raven Summerset: Thank you. I hope that I can continue to keep it something worth reading.
-blueberry girl: I love to listen to music to overcome my writers block as well. Thank you for the encouragement. I hope this chapter showed that I overcame my block well enough.
-Firey-chan: I like that "air of mystery" phrase. I will do my best to write it in that way. Thank you for your offer of help.
-Logical Philosophy: Well, I like your idea, but I felt the need to give at least a touch of his thoughts. I hope to not do it often, but I felt that I needed this chapter. I just hope I didn't give too much away.
-janiko: Thank you. I liked your advice. I am hopefully going to do just that. =)
-Snow White: Thank you. I hope that this chapter worked out well.
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: What are you getting grounded for? I used to get grounded for bad grades. I never did my homework. Don't tell my students!! You find my job exquisite!?! Wow, that is such a cool compliment. **blushes furiously**
-CatalinaRose: Hey, who wants to grow up? Let's fly on out to Never-Never Land!! **races crazily around the room singing 'Following the Leader'** Whoa, what was that!! Thanks for your advice. Writers block sucks. Hope this chapter is a good break out of my block.