Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chp. 1-9): 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. D goes through things in his head; makes a decision. Hr leaves hospital.
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Chapter 10: The Hydrophanous Orb
Hermione stormed down the hallway dragging her confused friends along with her. She pushed her way through the crowd of students in the doorway, and continued across the grounds of Hogwarts towards Hagrid's and their Care of Magical Creatures class. She desperately worked to keep the tears from her eyes. That was the last thing that she needed right now.
'How dare he!' she thought, violently wrenching Harry and Ron along with her. 'Why can't he admit that he helped me? It's that stupid Malfoy pride! Why am I even upset about this? It's not like I even care about him.' The churning her stomach argued with her head; obviously, on some level, she did care.
"Her---Hermione! Slow down," Harry finally managed to spit out. He pulled his hand out of hers, and ran to step in front of her. "Hermione, stop!" With the help of Ron, the two stopped Hermione.
"Let go of me!" She knew what they wanted, but she wasn't ready.
"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry had let go of her, though Ron kept a firm grip on her.
"Ron, let go!" She struggled, finally throwing Ron off, and ran the rest of the way to Hagrid's. Harry and Ron stared after her.
"What was that all about?" Ron turned to look at Harry. Harry merely shrugged his shoulders, and started to head in the direction Hermione had run.
"I don't really want to try and guess."
"Well, that git, Malfoy, better just stay away from Hermione. I haven't seen her act so strange since the Yule Ball last year." Ron finished his sentence as they reached Hagrid's hut. Outside were wooden stands on which were placed large glass jars. Sapphire blue streaks zipped around the inside of each jar. "I wonder what Hagrid's got in store for us," Ron muttered, as he and Harry moved past the tables, and a gang of Slytherin's, to the group of talking Gryffindors. Hermione looked the other way as Harry and Ron approached.
"Hermione, look, we're sorry. Can you tell us what's going on?" Harry's forehead creased in concern.
"Not now. Just leave me alone!" Hermione snapped.
Harry stepped away from her when he noticed that she visibly paled. Whether she paled from anger or some other reason, he wasn't sure, though he took note of her clenched jaw and balled fists. The, he followed her gaze and saw Malfoy and his shadows strutting across the expanse of lawn. Malfoy glared at Hermione, and she narrowed her eyes back at him. Harry nodded to himself, and turned when he heard the door to Hagrid's hut open.
"G'day class," Hagrid boomed, lumbering down the steps of his large hut. "Step right up ter the tables. No use in bein' shy." He grinned a toothy grin at Harry. "T'day we're goin' begin ter learn 'bout Billywigs. Professor Snape's runnin' low on his supply of their stingers, an' we're goin' ter be helpin' 'im out by breedin' a whole mess of 'em Billywigs." Reluctantly, the students gathered around the wooden tables.
"So, that's what they are," Harry heard Hermione mutter to herself. "I thought the color was familiar."
Harry looked sideways at Hermione, gently nudged her, and gave her a smile. "Hey, sorry. We're just worried about you."
For a moment, she met his smile with a stony glare, but, as usual, Harry's sincerity won out. "I know. Let's talk about it later, okay?" Her glared turned to a smile. She then caught Ron's eye, with a grin in his direction. Relief flooded through the three as their tension melted. They looked over at Hagrid as he continued.
"Okay, class. T'day yer goin' learn 'bout how to feed Billywigs. Get out yer textbook and find the chapter on 'em." Hagrid moved about, checking to see that the students were finding the right sections in their books. For the next hour, they worked on finding the correct plants to feed to their Billywigs, and tried to not get stung. Even Neville managed to make it through the class without a problem.
"Good job t'day, class." Hagrid boomed at the end of the very successful Care of Magical Creatures class. "Yeh need ter write me a two- foot report on the uses o' the Billywig's parts b'fore our next meetin'." He then dismissed the class.
"Great, let's go get some lunch," Ron said, grabbing his textbooks.
The three students moved off in a phalanx towards the distant Hogwarts castle. They passed by Malfoy, who again glared at Hermione. She halted, and glared right back at him.
"What is your problem, Malfoy?" She took a step closer to him.
"Nothing, Mudblood. Just wondering how many Billywig stings it would take to get you to float away forever." With a derisive laugh, he turned on his heels, Crabbe and Goyle following his departing form.
"I swear, I don't know how I'm going to make it through this year without hexing that prat." Hermione turned to look at Harry and Ron. "Shall we go, then?"
"Sure, you know, we'd love to help you in the hexing of Malfoy," Ron said, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.
"Yeah, I know." Hermione gave Ron a smile, and the three continued their way to the Great Hall.
The rest of the afternoon passed well enough, with the exception of History of Magic. Hermione choose to ask Professor Binns about the Island of Malnese. Never had Hermione seen him get so worked up about anything, and the results were quiet embarrassing. He stared at her for a few long moments, told her the Island was a myth, and then berated her, such a smart student, for believing in such nonsense. He ranted at her for a full fifteen minutes, before getting on with the lesson: Giants, Their Rise and Fall.
After Charms, during which the students spent time learning how to make objects spin at particular altitudes, the three headed to the Great Hall to eat.
"Did you get a chance to look over the first two chapters in ::The Anatomy of a Ship::, Hermione?" Ron questioned, reaching for a plate of filet mignon.
"Yeah. That's why I ate lunch so quickly and disappeared. I'm not about to let Malfoy know more than me when we start on our homework tonight." She finished her statement with a swig of grape juice. She quickly downed a plate of corn, mashed potatoes, and chicken, while Harry and Ron got caught up in a discussion of the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
"Well, I'm out of here. I want to get to the library before Malfoy." She glanced across the room to check on his progress. Malfoy was deeply involved in a conversation with Malcolm Haddock, a rather brilliant third year, from what Hermione had heard. "He beat me to the library last time, and this time I want to be there first." She took a final gulp of grape juice, gathered up her bag, gave Harry and Ron a toothy grin, and flounced out of the Great Hall.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Surprisingly, the homework assignment went well. Draco threw one 'mudblood' at her, to which she replied with a 'ferret boy'. Otherwise, they quickly finished the diagram of the outer hull of a ship in less than an hour, only speaking when absolutely necessary. Hermione rolled up the parchment, put it in her bag, and left the library without a glance back at Draco.
"Duffer doofer," she said, moving past the Fat Lady and into the warmth of the Gryffindor common room. She maneuvered her way past groups of students who were engaged in various activities.
"Hey, Hermione!" A shout from the far side of the room turned Hermione's head. Fred Weasley, who had recovered from his beak after two days, was gesturing for her to come over. "Come here, I need your advice on something." Hermione warily moved to the Weasley's corner.
"What do you need help with?" She looked over Fred's shoulder, her eyes growing large with curiousity. "What is that?" She pointed at an object in Fred's hand. It was round, about the size of a golden snitch, and black; not a regular black, however. As she moved around Fred to sit on an empty stool, she noticed that the black seemed to shimmer and change, but it remained black. She couldn't describe it in any other way.
Fred and George exchanged pleased glances, and looked at Hermione. "You don't know what this is?" Fred innocently questioned.
"No, I don't." She reached out a hand to touch the object, which Fred generously placed in her hand. The object was much heavier than she would have suspected. She ran her fingers over the even, lustrous surface. The object was surprisingly cool. "What is it?" she again questioned.
"It's called a hydrophanous orb. When you place it in water, or get it wet, it becomes transparent." George gave a smug look at Fred; apparently Hermione didn't know everything.
"What is it used for?" Hermione couldn't take her eyes off the ball.
"We don't really know," Fred admitted. "Maybe you could find out for us?" She looked up from the ball, giving Fred a friendly glare.
"I suppose I could. Here," she handed the ball back to Fred.
"Oh, no, that's okay. Hold onto it until you figure it out, then you can give it back to us."
Hermione paused, suspiciously looking at the mirror faces of the twins. "How do I know that you're not simply trying to get me in trouble?"
George ceremoniously placed his hand across his heart. "I swear, Hermione, we aren't."
"We're just curious, and you are so much more adept at searching for unknown information." George saw a look of uncertainty cross Hermione's features. "Look, we all know that it was you who figured out the whole Nicolas Flamel thing. We just want you to use your amazing abilities to find out the secret behind this, okay?"
"Fine, but if I get in trouble for having something illegal, you will both live to regret using me." She glared carefully into each face, and turned. But George halted her progress with his hand.
"Oh, and don't tell anyone about this, okay? I mean, you can tell Harry and Ron, we know that they are trusty fellows, but don't let anyone else know."
She gave them each one more suspicious look and headed across the common room to where Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard's Chess.
"What did my brothers want, Hermione," Ron asked, after having moved his knight into a formidable defense.
"They wanted me to look up some information for them."
"Hmm." Ron replied, focusing on the unexpected move Harry had just made.
"I'll let you two finish your game. I'm going to head up to my dorm and get some studying done. See you guys at 11:30." Grasping the still cold ball in her hand, she moved up the stairway and entered her room.
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-Snow White: I am glad you think it is so much more real. Again, this is what I am going for. I think I may have passed my writers block. I have created a time line, of sorts, and I think that it will help.
-f0xyness39: Patience is a virtue. There will be more about the island. I don't like the term 'snogging' though you are free to use it, and like it. But, there will be kissing, at some point. I just don't know when. I am working on keeping this realistic.
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: Wow---you have a lot going on. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. By the way, Draco sends his regards. =)
-Sage of Darkness: Yea!! The decision is vague. Just what I was hoping for. I'm glad you liked my chapter.
-kai kai: I'm impressed that you are reading my story. I, sadly, do not know how to read another language. =(
-Slytherin hot chick(): Watch for more romance to come, but not for a while.
-Chikata: I hope your shopping trip went well. Hope you liked this new chapter.
-CystallineLily: Thank you soooooo much.
-Rebecca: I am happy that you like my story so much. Your review is one of the best ones I've ever had. **blushes with pride and embarrassment**. You are also the second person to specifically mention the hand holding scene. You have NO idea how much I debated putting that part into my story. Yes, I am writing a romance, but I'm desperately trying to keep the characters true to themselves. Okay, now I'm going to go. =)
-janiko(): I'm glad that you like my story. I will be working hard to keep my chapters coming out quickly and well written.
Summary (Chp. 1-9): 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. D goes through things in his head; makes a decision. Hr leaves hospital.
_____________________________________________________________
Chapter 10: The Hydrophanous Orb
Hermione stormed down the hallway dragging her confused friends along with her. She pushed her way through the crowd of students in the doorway, and continued across the grounds of Hogwarts towards Hagrid's and their Care of Magical Creatures class. She desperately worked to keep the tears from her eyes. That was the last thing that she needed right now.
'How dare he!' she thought, violently wrenching Harry and Ron along with her. 'Why can't he admit that he helped me? It's that stupid Malfoy pride! Why am I even upset about this? It's not like I even care about him.' The churning her stomach argued with her head; obviously, on some level, she did care.
"Her---Hermione! Slow down," Harry finally managed to spit out. He pulled his hand out of hers, and ran to step in front of her. "Hermione, stop!" With the help of Ron, the two stopped Hermione.
"Let go of me!" She knew what they wanted, but she wasn't ready.
"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry had let go of her, though Ron kept a firm grip on her.
"Ron, let go!" She struggled, finally throwing Ron off, and ran the rest of the way to Hagrid's. Harry and Ron stared after her.
"What was that all about?" Ron turned to look at Harry. Harry merely shrugged his shoulders, and started to head in the direction Hermione had run.
"I don't really want to try and guess."
"Well, that git, Malfoy, better just stay away from Hermione. I haven't seen her act so strange since the Yule Ball last year." Ron finished his sentence as they reached Hagrid's hut. Outside were wooden stands on which were placed large glass jars. Sapphire blue streaks zipped around the inside of each jar. "I wonder what Hagrid's got in store for us," Ron muttered, as he and Harry moved past the tables, and a gang of Slytherin's, to the group of talking Gryffindors. Hermione looked the other way as Harry and Ron approached.
"Hermione, look, we're sorry. Can you tell us what's going on?" Harry's forehead creased in concern.
"Not now. Just leave me alone!" Hermione snapped.
Harry stepped away from her when he noticed that she visibly paled. Whether she paled from anger or some other reason, he wasn't sure, though he took note of her clenched jaw and balled fists. The, he followed her gaze and saw Malfoy and his shadows strutting across the expanse of lawn. Malfoy glared at Hermione, and she narrowed her eyes back at him. Harry nodded to himself, and turned when he heard the door to Hagrid's hut open.
"G'day class," Hagrid boomed, lumbering down the steps of his large hut. "Step right up ter the tables. No use in bein' shy." He grinned a toothy grin at Harry. "T'day we're goin' begin ter learn 'bout Billywigs. Professor Snape's runnin' low on his supply of their stingers, an' we're goin' ter be helpin' 'im out by breedin' a whole mess of 'em Billywigs." Reluctantly, the students gathered around the wooden tables.
"So, that's what they are," Harry heard Hermione mutter to herself. "I thought the color was familiar."
Harry looked sideways at Hermione, gently nudged her, and gave her a smile. "Hey, sorry. We're just worried about you."
For a moment, she met his smile with a stony glare, but, as usual, Harry's sincerity won out. "I know. Let's talk about it later, okay?" Her glared turned to a smile. She then caught Ron's eye, with a grin in his direction. Relief flooded through the three as their tension melted. They looked over at Hagrid as he continued.
"Okay, class. T'day yer goin' learn 'bout how to feed Billywigs. Get out yer textbook and find the chapter on 'em." Hagrid moved about, checking to see that the students were finding the right sections in their books. For the next hour, they worked on finding the correct plants to feed to their Billywigs, and tried to not get stung. Even Neville managed to make it through the class without a problem.
"Good job t'day, class." Hagrid boomed at the end of the very successful Care of Magical Creatures class. "Yeh need ter write me a two- foot report on the uses o' the Billywig's parts b'fore our next meetin'." He then dismissed the class.
"Great, let's go get some lunch," Ron said, grabbing his textbooks.
The three students moved off in a phalanx towards the distant Hogwarts castle. They passed by Malfoy, who again glared at Hermione. She halted, and glared right back at him.
"What is your problem, Malfoy?" She took a step closer to him.
"Nothing, Mudblood. Just wondering how many Billywig stings it would take to get you to float away forever." With a derisive laugh, he turned on his heels, Crabbe and Goyle following his departing form.
"I swear, I don't know how I'm going to make it through this year without hexing that prat." Hermione turned to look at Harry and Ron. "Shall we go, then?"
"Sure, you know, we'd love to help you in the hexing of Malfoy," Ron said, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.
"Yeah, I know." Hermione gave Ron a smile, and the three continued their way to the Great Hall.
The rest of the afternoon passed well enough, with the exception of History of Magic. Hermione choose to ask Professor Binns about the Island of Malnese. Never had Hermione seen him get so worked up about anything, and the results were quiet embarrassing. He stared at her for a few long moments, told her the Island was a myth, and then berated her, such a smart student, for believing in such nonsense. He ranted at her for a full fifteen minutes, before getting on with the lesson: Giants, Their Rise and Fall.
After Charms, during which the students spent time learning how to make objects spin at particular altitudes, the three headed to the Great Hall to eat.
"Did you get a chance to look over the first two chapters in ::The Anatomy of a Ship::, Hermione?" Ron questioned, reaching for a plate of filet mignon.
"Yeah. That's why I ate lunch so quickly and disappeared. I'm not about to let Malfoy know more than me when we start on our homework tonight." She finished her statement with a swig of grape juice. She quickly downed a plate of corn, mashed potatoes, and chicken, while Harry and Ron got caught up in a discussion of the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
"Well, I'm out of here. I want to get to the library before Malfoy." She glanced across the room to check on his progress. Malfoy was deeply involved in a conversation with Malcolm Haddock, a rather brilliant third year, from what Hermione had heard. "He beat me to the library last time, and this time I want to be there first." She took a final gulp of grape juice, gathered up her bag, gave Harry and Ron a toothy grin, and flounced out of the Great Hall.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Surprisingly, the homework assignment went well. Draco threw one 'mudblood' at her, to which she replied with a 'ferret boy'. Otherwise, they quickly finished the diagram of the outer hull of a ship in less than an hour, only speaking when absolutely necessary. Hermione rolled up the parchment, put it in her bag, and left the library without a glance back at Draco.
"Duffer doofer," she said, moving past the Fat Lady and into the warmth of the Gryffindor common room. She maneuvered her way past groups of students who were engaged in various activities.
"Hey, Hermione!" A shout from the far side of the room turned Hermione's head. Fred Weasley, who had recovered from his beak after two days, was gesturing for her to come over. "Come here, I need your advice on something." Hermione warily moved to the Weasley's corner.
"What do you need help with?" She looked over Fred's shoulder, her eyes growing large with curiousity. "What is that?" She pointed at an object in Fred's hand. It was round, about the size of a golden snitch, and black; not a regular black, however. As she moved around Fred to sit on an empty stool, she noticed that the black seemed to shimmer and change, but it remained black. She couldn't describe it in any other way.
Fred and George exchanged pleased glances, and looked at Hermione. "You don't know what this is?" Fred innocently questioned.
"No, I don't." She reached out a hand to touch the object, which Fred generously placed in her hand. The object was much heavier than she would have suspected. She ran her fingers over the even, lustrous surface. The object was surprisingly cool. "What is it?" she again questioned.
"It's called a hydrophanous orb. When you place it in water, or get it wet, it becomes transparent." George gave a smug look at Fred; apparently Hermione didn't know everything.
"What is it used for?" Hermione couldn't take her eyes off the ball.
"We don't really know," Fred admitted. "Maybe you could find out for us?" She looked up from the ball, giving Fred a friendly glare.
"I suppose I could. Here," she handed the ball back to Fred.
"Oh, no, that's okay. Hold onto it until you figure it out, then you can give it back to us."
Hermione paused, suspiciously looking at the mirror faces of the twins. "How do I know that you're not simply trying to get me in trouble?"
George ceremoniously placed his hand across his heart. "I swear, Hermione, we aren't."
"We're just curious, and you are so much more adept at searching for unknown information." George saw a look of uncertainty cross Hermione's features. "Look, we all know that it was you who figured out the whole Nicolas Flamel thing. We just want you to use your amazing abilities to find out the secret behind this, okay?"
"Fine, but if I get in trouble for having something illegal, you will both live to regret using me." She glared carefully into each face, and turned. But George halted her progress with his hand.
"Oh, and don't tell anyone about this, okay? I mean, you can tell Harry and Ron, we know that they are trusty fellows, but don't let anyone else know."
She gave them each one more suspicious look and headed across the common room to where Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard's Chess.
"What did my brothers want, Hermione," Ron asked, after having moved his knight into a formidable defense.
"They wanted me to look up some information for them."
"Hmm." Ron replied, focusing on the unexpected move Harry had just made.
"I'll let you two finish your game. I'm going to head up to my dorm and get some studying done. See you guys at 11:30." Grasping the still cold ball in her hand, she moved up the stairway and entered her room.
_____________________________________________________________
-Snow White: I am glad you think it is so much more real. Again, this is what I am going for. I think I may have passed my writers block. I have created a time line, of sorts, and I think that it will help.
-f0xyness39: Patience is a virtue. There will be more about the island. I don't like the term 'snogging' though you are free to use it, and like it. But, there will be kissing, at some point. I just don't know when. I am working on keeping this realistic.
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: Wow---you have a lot going on. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. By the way, Draco sends his regards. =)
-Sage of Darkness: Yea!! The decision is vague. Just what I was hoping for. I'm glad you liked my chapter.
-kai kai: I'm impressed that you are reading my story. I, sadly, do not know how to read another language. =(
-Slytherin hot chick(): Watch for more romance to come, but not for a while.
-Chikata: I hope your shopping trip went well. Hope you liked this new chapter.
-CystallineLily: Thank you soooooo much.
-Rebecca: I am happy that you like my story so much. Your review is one of the best ones I've ever had. **blushes with pride and embarrassment**. You are also the second person to specifically mention the hand holding scene. You have NO idea how much I debated putting that part into my story. Yes, I am writing a romance, but I'm desperately trying to keep the characters true to themselves. Okay, now I'm going to go. =)
-janiko(): I'm glad that you like my story. I will be working hard to keep my chapters coming out quickly and well written.