Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chps. 1-14) A two-week sailing trip has been planned in April. To prepare, the students are taking a sailing class taught by Dr. Branefeld and a regular Hogwarts teacher. Fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors are paired, with Professor Sinistra as their instructor. Draco and Hermione are to be partners and navigators for their class. They each begin to experience feelings for each other, but fight it.
Chapter 15: The Curse
Harry and Ron had finished playing Exploding Snap with Fred and George. They were in the midst of playing a game of Wizard's Blitz Chess* before they had to leave for Astronomy class.
"Queen to B7," Ron shouted. The piece slid across the board, decimating Harry's pawn.
"Knight to E3," Harry yelled, grinning at Ron as his Bishop was pulverized.
"Castle, C3," bellowed Ron.
"Castle, C3."
Ron glared as he watched Harry's Castle pound his own.
Still glaring, Ron yelled, "Knight to C3." He watched in glee as his Knight bore down on Harry's Castle.
Harry glanced at the **chess clock; he had five seconds left to finish the game. With a smirk, he announced, "Queen to C2! Checkmate!"
Ron glared; Harry continued to smirk.
Slowly, Ron extended a hand; even slower, Harry extended his. Their eyes narrowed. Suddenly, both boys broke into huge grins.
"Good game, Harry!" Ron congratulated, giving Harry's outstretched hand a firm shake.
"Couldn't have done it without all those lessons," he replied, returning Ron's grip.
"So, shall we play another? It's only 11:07. We could easily play 3 more games before class." Ron started to set up the regenerated pieces.
"Sure." Harry reached over to reset the clocks.
"Hey, guys." The boys turned their heads to see Lavender standing at the foot of the stairs.
"Yeah, what?" Harry queried, reaching for a few pawns.
"Where'd Hermione go?"
"She had to complete her navigation homework with Ferret Boy," Ron informed her.
Lavender rolled her eyes at Ron's juvenile name calling. It was common knowledge that she found Draco stunningly handsome.
"Why do you need to know?" Harry asked.
"Well, I noticed that her bag was gone, but she left her cloak behind. She'll probably need it, don't you think?"
"Yeah, she will. Ron, let's take it up to her. She might appreciate an excuse to not have to be alone with Fer-Malfoy," he corrected, with a glance at Lavender. "Do you have her cloak?"
Lavender produced it from behind her back, walked to the table, and handed it to Harry. She thanked him, and headed back up to her dorm.
"Well, let's go." They raced up to their room, grabbed their bags, and cloaks and left for the Astronomy Tower.
"So," Ron began, fingering his wand, "what hex shall we put on Ferret Boy when we reach the tower?"
"None."
"Oh, come on! It's the perfect spot. Filch never comes up there, and Hermione won't care. She'd probably be grateful."
"Ron, Hermione will let us know if she needs assistance. She's a smart witch."
"Well, it would still be fun to hex him," Ron pouted.
The two boys continued down the hallway for a few minutes before reaching the foot of the stairwell. They wound their way up to the top of the tower. When they reached the door, Ron turned the handle and pushed it open. He stepped through and froze. A moment later, Harry stepped beside Ron, and followed suit.
Across the expanse of the stone floor, they saw Hermione, arms wrapped around Draco. He had one arm around her, and was cupping her cheek with the other hand. They watched in stunned silence as Draco's hand slipped off her cheek and picked up her necklace. He muttered something to her, and she answered. Frozen, they watched as Draco opened his mouth to speak again, putting a finger across Hermione's lips.
By this point, they both had their wands out. Ron, who was still holding the door, released it behind him, letting it slam against the stonewall. The reverberation echoed around the nearly empty platform. Hermione and Draco whipped their heads towards the sound.
"Let go of her, Malfoy," Harry hissed, his face white with anger. He stepped forward, Ron, red-faced, keeping pace with him. "I don't know what spell you cast over her, but let her go, now." His low-pitched voice took on a dangerous note, and sparks began to sputter from the end of his wand.
Hermione, still in Draco's arms, went white. Forcefully, she pushed herself away from Draco, who tried in vain to keep a hold of her. In confusion, she looked from Harry's vivid emerald eyes to Draco's silver ones. Slowly, she backed away, until she was pressed against the low parapet behind her. Draco's eyes never left her. He almost seemed to have forgotten that Harry and Ron were standing there.
"Ron, go get Hermione," Harry instructed in a low voice. Ron strode over to her. "Malfoy, stopping staring at her, and answer me. What the hell did you do to her?"
Suddenly aware of his surroundings, he snapped his attention to Harry, who was dangerously close. Reacting with the instinct of one raised in a Death Eater's home, Draco stepped back, flicking his wand up simultaneously.
"So, are we to duel then, Potter?" he sneered.
Without pausing to answer Harry muttered, "Inligo restis." Ropes shot from the end of his wand flying across the short distance between Draco and him. The ropes quickly snaked their way around Draco, who managed to free his wand arm before being completely bound.
He tapped the rope and muttered, "Cassium." The ropes changed into a spider web-like material, which he quickly broke through. He flicked his wand at Harry, and incanted, "Abundonis!"
Fur sprouted on Harry's face, quickly spreading down his neck and arms.
"Parsinus abunda!" Ron shouted, from behind Draco. Leeks began to sprout from Draco's ears.
He spun, pointed his wand at Ron, and screamed, "Crucio!"
Ron, screaming, fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
In stunned disbelief, Draco dropped his wand.
Hermione ran to Ron's side, eyes wide with shock.
Harry stared at his downed friend before joining him at Hermione's side.
The sound of silence was punctuated by the whimpers coming from a shaking, recovering Ron.
"I-I didn't-I didn't mean-" Draco backed away from the fallen Ron, eyes filled with terror at what he'd just done.
Hermione, eyes blazing, imperiously stood. She stepped around Ron, who was being lifted into a sitting position by Harry, and advanced on Draco.
"Malfoy, that was uncalled for." She reached up and ripped the necklace from her throat. "You were trying to tell me that this was from you, correct?" She waited for a mute Draco to give a miserable nod of his head. "Well, I don't want it. I want nothing to do with you. We will meet here every night to complete our navigation homework; we will meet Monday nights after dinner to complete our homework for our sailing class. Other than that, I don't want to see you or speak to you outside of class. Is that understood?" Without waiting for a reply, she shoved the necklace into Draco's hand, removed his cloak, unceremoniously dropping it to the ground, lifted her head, and turned.
Harry had one of Ron's arms around his shoulders; Hermione lifted Ron's other arm. The three left a miserably mute Draco standing alone on the platform.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked, worry filling her brown eyes.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he mumbled.
Hermione shared a worried glance with Harry over Ron's hanging head. They picked up their pace a bit.
"Madam Pomfrey," Hermione called, as the three stumbled through the double doors of the Infirmary.
"Oh my, what happened?" Madam Pomfrey questioned, taking in the sight of a furry Harry and a pale Ron.
"Malfoy cu-" Harry was interrupted by Hermione.
"We had some wand problems," she shot a glance at Harry, who gave her a questioning look.
"Well, no matter, let's get you two boys in bed and fixed up."
Madam Pomfrey bustled about tucking Ron and Harry into a couple of clean cots. She rushed away to her storage area and retrieved some bottles. After having both Harry and Ron down some particularly nasty potions, she gave Hermione permission to stay for a few moments.
"Hermione, why did you stop me from telling Madam Pomfrey about what Draco did?" Harry, decidedly less furry after taking a potion, sat up in his bed.
"He didn't mean to do it," she glanced across Harry's bed to the adjacent one, where the sleeping form of Ron was. "Didn't you see his reaction when he realized what he'd done?"
"That's entirely besides the point. You have no idea the pain involved in that curse, Hermione." His voice lowered to a whisper. "I do. I know how it feels." His voice came back strong. "We have to tell on him. If he knows how to do that curse, it's likely he knows the other two. I mean, his father's a Death Eater, who's to say-"
"Can we deal with all of this tomorrow?" she interrupted. "Look, get some rest. I'm going to go back up to the Tower and grab our bags. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Hermione helped Harry get tucked back into the bed, gave him a peck on the forehead, glanced at Ron, and left to head back to the Tower.
Now that the shock of what had occurred to Ron was diminishing, she was able to allow other thoughts entrance. Draco had given her the necklace. Her hand reached for her neck to finger her necklace. She fumbled for it a moment before recalling that she'd given it back to him. Why had he given her the necklace? There had to be a reason. And, being Draco, she refused to believe it was a good reason.
He'd been about to tell her something, something about the note. She wished Harry and Ron hadn't interrupted. Yet, she was glad they had. The emotions she had been experiencing before they burst onto the platform had been confusing. After all, this was Malfoy for whom these emotions were being felt. She had held hate for him for so long, that to feel anything else was uncomfortable.
Had she really enjoyed being held by him? If the speed of her heart was any indication, she did. But how could she? This was the jerk who'd tormented her and her friends relentlessly for four years; the son of the Death Eater; the Mudblood hater. And now he had cursed one of her best friends. As she thought about it, her anger built.
She finally reached the top of the flight of stairs to the Tower. Her classmates would be arriving for class in fifteen minutes. She certainly wasn't in the mood for class tonight. Maybe she'd go to the library. She reached the door of the Tower and put her hand on the handle.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Draco watched as the three Gryffindors left for the Infirmary. The door shut, and he was alone. He slumped to the ground in a heap. He wanted to cry, but the Malfoy in him refused to let him. The Malfoy in him was proud of what he'd done. But the look in her eyes -- it would haunt him forever.
He'd been so close to giving completely into that voice. It had felt good. Never had he felt emotions so clearly as he did that night. Vehemently, he choked back another sob. He was not going to cry. He couldn't allow it. Tears were for weaklings. Yet, he'd already allowed tears to escape his control just last week. He could easily give in tonight.
Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground grabbing his cloak and pulling it on in a fluid motion. He moved across the paving stones and picked up his wand. Pointing the wand at himself, he muttered a counter- curse, and the leeks vanished from his ears.
He moved to the parapet and gazed across the night sky lost in thought. Should he just give in completely to his inner voice? He knew what the voice wanted. It wanted him to fall in love with the Mudblood, with Hermione. He knew that. But the Malfoy in him fought with every bit of evil strength it could muster.
He could list a variety of reasons why falling in love with Hermione would be bad. His father would kill him; his 'friends' would abandon him; he would lose his social status at school; he'd have to make nice to Potter; the list could go on. On the other hand, he couldn't come up with a list of reasons to let himself fall in love with her. The choice was so plainly obvious, yet this ridiculous voice wouldn't let him make it. The stupid voice kept causing him to do things.
It was the voice that made him take Hermione to the Infirmary last Sunday. It was the voice that made him return the cloak. Holding her hand had also been the voice's idea. The necklace? He didn't even want to think about it. He opened his hand, and looked at the brilliantly twinkling globe. The voice had insisted that this was a good thing to give to her. The voice had also insisted that he take her into his arms tonight; it had insisted that he confess his thoughts and feelings.
But the voice had eventually abandoned him when Harry and Ron had shown up. The Malfoy, the Malfoy who was being primed to become a Death Eater, had come back in full force. He couldn't explain why he'd uttered the Cruciatus Curse in any other way. That summer his father had made Draco practice that curse, and many others, on many muggles until it had become second nature.
With a heavy sigh, he closed his fist over the necklace and shoved it deep into his cloak pocket. As he walked over to get his cloak, he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw Hermione's nocturnal. A flood of emotions washed over him as he reached down to pick it up. He remembered the way her small frame fit so well next to his larger one. Warmth filled him when he remembered touching her face; and how good it felt when she finally wrapped her arms around him.
He stayed lost in those emotions until he remembered the curse. His mood plummeted. Uttering that simple word had changed everything. He knew that she'd never speak to him again, except for the forced contact that they would be required to make during this year.
He took her nocturnal over to her bag, and placed it back into its case. For a moment he debated on taking Hermione's bag to her, but realized he would be unable to do so. He turned and went back to his bag, anger now boiling inside him. He grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder. Enjoying the feeling of anger, he stalked across the empty platform. In fifteen minutes, students would begin arriving. He was in no mood for class. He'd find someplace else to go, maybe the empty classroom. He reached for the door, putting his hand on the handle. _____________________________________________________________
* Blitz Chess - a chess game where each player has five minutes in which to make all his moves.
** chess clock - consists of two clocks linked together so that when one stops, the other starts; players hit their button at the end of their turn, and then the other player's time begins.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MY 100th REVIEWER - CatalinaRose! Big huggles!!!
-CatalinaRose: I'm glad it wasn't corny. I worked hard to keep it from being so. Inarticulate? Wow! I'm humbled.
-Sage of Darkness: Yeah, I did a good job on the tension. It's part of what I was aiming for. Thank you.
-candycanekid: Hope this was soon enough for you.
-Sila-chan: You'll get your answers about the orb eventually. Oh, and I'll be getting Appendix C back up in the next few weeks, and it will explain all that technical stuff. Now, stop bouncing, and review.
-Misty: Hee hee, I'm mean!
-Fiery-chan: The meaning of the orb will hopefully become clear to me, soon. The actual addition of the orb came out of nowhere. All I know is that Hermione walked into the room, and Fred and George pleaded with me to let her come over, so I did. I didn't even know they were going to give her anything. So, now both Hermione and I are stuck. But I KNOW the answer is somewhere, I just have to hunt for it. (btw, I'm not REALLY psycho, just a little bit.)
-Rebecca: Hello my fellow Vaillant! Yes, I got your e-mail. I e-mailed you back, did you get it? Anyway, I am happy that you compared my scene to one of my favorite movies. I stressed about that whole chapter. It's good to know that I have left someone speechless! See you around Beauxbatons!
-SophieBabe: Hey, look! It's Madam Author. Hope all is well with our little plans at Beauxbatons. I also hope your questions were answered in this chapter. =)
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: **furrows brow and looks towards (hopefully) invisible friend** Uh, do we need to take her to see Madam Pomfrey? Or is she going to be okay? **looks around, worriedly** Okay, hope you liked the chapter.
-QiNq: I'm guilty of the same thing. (Writing the same reviews over and over) I'm am very humbled that you like my story so much. I just hope that the pace doesn't become too slow, because I feel like it is going way slow. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, I'm only on the 19th of September, and on chapter 15? Oh well, as long as people enjoy it, that's all that matters.
Summary (Chps. 1-14) A two-week sailing trip has been planned in April. To prepare, the students are taking a sailing class taught by Dr. Branefeld and a regular Hogwarts teacher. Fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors are paired, with Professor Sinistra as their instructor. Draco and Hermione are to be partners and navigators for their class. They each begin to experience feelings for each other, but fight it.
Chapter 15: The Curse
Harry and Ron had finished playing Exploding Snap with Fred and George. They were in the midst of playing a game of Wizard's Blitz Chess* before they had to leave for Astronomy class.
"Queen to B7," Ron shouted. The piece slid across the board, decimating Harry's pawn.
"Knight to E3," Harry yelled, grinning at Ron as his Bishop was pulverized.
"Castle, C3," bellowed Ron.
"Castle, C3."
Ron glared as he watched Harry's Castle pound his own.
Still glaring, Ron yelled, "Knight to C3." He watched in glee as his Knight bore down on Harry's Castle.
Harry glanced at the **chess clock; he had five seconds left to finish the game. With a smirk, he announced, "Queen to C2! Checkmate!"
Ron glared; Harry continued to smirk.
Slowly, Ron extended a hand; even slower, Harry extended his. Their eyes narrowed. Suddenly, both boys broke into huge grins.
"Good game, Harry!" Ron congratulated, giving Harry's outstretched hand a firm shake.
"Couldn't have done it without all those lessons," he replied, returning Ron's grip.
"So, shall we play another? It's only 11:07. We could easily play 3 more games before class." Ron started to set up the regenerated pieces.
"Sure." Harry reached over to reset the clocks.
"Hey, guys." The boys turned their heads to see Lavender standing at the foot of the stairs.
"Yeah, what?" Harry queried, reaching for a few pawns.
"Where'd Hermione go?"
"She had to complete her navigation homework with Ferret Boy," Ron informed her.
Lavender rolled her eyes at Ron's juvenile name calling. It was common knowledge that she found Draco stunningly handsome.
"Why do you need to know?" Harry asked.
"Well, I noticed that her bag was gone, but she left her cloak behind. She'll probably need it, don't you think?"
"Yeah, she will. Ron, let's take it up to her. She might appreciate an excuse to not have to be alone with Fer-Malfoy," he corrected, with a glance at Lavender. "Do you have her cloak?"
Lavender produced it from behind her back, walked to the table, and handed it to Harry. She thanked him, and headed back up to her dorm.
"Well, let's go." They raced up to their room, grabbed their bags, and cloaks and left for the Astronomy Tower.
"So," Ron began, fingering his wand, "what hex shall we put on Ferret Boy when we reach the tower?"
"None."
"Oh, come on! It's the perfect spot. Filch never comes up there, and Hermione won't care. She'd probably be grateful."
"Ron, Hermione will let us know if she needs assistance. She's a smart witch."
"Well, it would still be fun to hex him," Ron pouted.
The two boys continued down the hallway for a few minutes before reaching the foot of the stairwell. They wound their way up to the top of the tower. When they reached the door, Ron turned the handle and pushed it open. He stepped through and froze. A moment later, Harry stepped beside Ron, and followed suit.
Across the expanse of the stone floor, they saw Hermione, arms wrapped around Draco. He had one arm around her, and was cupping her cheek with the other hand. They watched in stunned silence as Draco's hand slipped off her cheek and picked up her necklace. He muttered something to her, and she answered. Frozen, they watched as Draco opened his mouth to speak again, putting a finger across Hermione's lips.
By this point, they both had their wands out. Ron, who was still holding the door, released it behind him, letting it slam against the stonewall. The reverberation echoed around the nearly empty platform. Hermione and Draco whipped their heads towards the sound.
"Let go of her, Malfoy," Harry hissed, his face white with anger. He stepped forward, Ron, red-faced, keeping pace with him. "I don't know what spell you cast over her, but let her go, now." His low-pitched voice took on a dangerous note, and sparks began to sputter from the end of his wand.
Hermione, still in Draco's arms, went white. Forcefully, she pushed herself away from Draco, who tried in vain to keep a hold of her. In confusion, she looked from Harry's vivid emerald eyes to Draco's silver ones. Slowly, she backed away, until she was pressed against the low parapet behind her. Draco's eyes never left her. He almost seemed to have forgotten that Harry and Ron were standing there.
"Ron, go get Hermione," Harry instructed in a low voice. Ron strode over to her. "Malfoy, stopping staring at her, and answer me. What the hell did you do to her?"
Suddenly aware of his surroundings, he snapped his attention to Harry, who was dangerously close. Reacting with the instinct of one raised in a Death Eater's home, Draco stepped back, flicking his wand up simultaneously.
"So, are we to duel then, Potter?" he sneered.
Without pausing to answer Harry muttered, "Inligo restis." Ropes shot from the end of his wand flying across the short distance between Draco and him. The ropes quickly snaked their way around Draco, who managed to free his wand arm before being completely bound.
He tapped the rope and muttered, "Cassium." The ropes changed into a spider web-like material, which he quickly broke through. He flicked his wand at Harry, and incanted, "Abundonis!"
Fur sprouted on Harry's face, quickly spreading down his neck and arms.
"Parsinus abunda!" Ron shouted, from behind Draco. Leeks began to sprout from Draco's ears.
He spun, pointed his wand at Ron, and screamed, "Crucio!"
Ron, screaming, fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
In stunned disbelief, Draco dropped his wand.
Hermione ran to Ron's side, eyes wide with shock.
Harry stared at his downed friend before joining him at Hermione's side.
The sound of silence was punctuated by the whimpers coming from a shaking, recovering Ron.
"I-I didn't-I didn't mean-" Draco backed away from the fallen Ron, eyes filled with terror at what he'd just done.
Hermione, eyes blazing, imperiously stood. She stepped around Ron, who was being lifted into a sitting position by Harry, and advanced on Draco.
"Malfoy, that was uncalled for." She reached up and ripped the necklace from her throat. "You were trying to tell me that this was from you, correct?" She waited for a mute Draco to give a miserable nod of his head. "Well, I don't want it. I want nothing to do with you. We will meet here every night to complete our navigation homework; we will meet Monday nights after dinner to complete our homework for our sailing class. Other than that, I don't want to see you or speak to you outside of class. Is that understood?" Without waiting for a reply, she shoved the necklace into Draco's hand, removed his cloak, unceremoniously dropping it to the ground, lifted her head, and turned.
Harry had one of Ron's arms around his shoulders; Hermione lifted Ron's other arm. The three left a miserably mute Draco standing alone on the platform.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked, worry filling her brown eyes.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he mumbled.
Hermione shared a worried glance with Harry over Ron's hanging head. They picked up their pace a bit.
"Madam Pomfrey," Hermione called, as the three stumbled through the double doors of the Infirmary.
"Oh my, what happened?" Madam Pomfrey questioned, taking in the sight of a furry Harry and a pale Ron.
"Malfoy cu-" Harry was interrupted by Hermione.
"We had some wand problems," she shot a glance at Harry, who gave her a questioning look.
"Well, no matter, let's get you two boys in bed and fixed up."
Madam Pomfrey bustled about tucking Ron and Harry into a couple of clean cots. She rushed away to her storage area and retrieved some bottles. After having both Harry and Ron down some particularly nasty potions, she gave Hermione permission to stay for a few moments.
"Hermione, why did you stop me from telling Madam Pomfrey about what Draco did?" Harry, decidedly less furry after taking a potion, sat up in his bed.
"He didn't mean to do it," she glanced across Harry's bed to the adjacent one, where the sleeping form of Ron was. "Didn't you see his reaction when he realized what he'd done?"
"That's entirely besides the point. You have no idea the pain involved in that curse, Hermione." His voice lowered to a whisper. "I do. I know how it feels." His voice came back strong. "We have to tell on him. If he knows how to do that curse, it's likely he knows the other two. I mean, his father's a Death Eater, who's to say-"
"Can we deal with all of this tomorrow?" she interrupted. "Look, get some rest. I'm going to go back up to the Tower and grab our bags. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Hermione helped Harry get tucked back into the bed, gave him a peck on the forehead, glanced at Ron, and left to head back to the Tower.
Now that the shock of what had occurred to Ron was diminishing, she was able to allow other thoughts entrance. Draco had given her the necklace. Her hand reached for her neck to finger her necklace. She fumbled for it a moment before recalling that she'd given it back to him. Why had he given her the necklace? There had to be a reason. And, being Draco, she refused to believe it was a good reason.
He'd been about to tell her something, something about the note. She wished Harry and Ron hadn't interrupted. Yet, she was glad they had. The emotions she had been experiencing before they burst onto the platform had been confusing. After all, this was Malfoy for whom these emotions were being felt. She had held hate for him for so long, that to feel anything else was uncomfortable.
Had she really enjoyed being held by him? If the speed of her heart was any indication, she did. But how could she? This was the jerk who'd tormented her and her friends relentlessly for four years; the son of the Death Eater; the Mudblood hater. And now he had cursed one of her best friends. As she thought about it, her anger built.
She finally reached the top of the flight of stairs to the Tower. Her classmates would be arriving for class in fifteen minutes. She certainly wasn't in the mood for class tonight. Maybe she'd go to the library. She reached the door of the Tower and put her hand on the handle.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Draco watched as the three Gryffindors left for the Infirmary. The door shut, and he was alone. He slumped to the ground in a heap. He wanted to cry, but the Malfoy in him refused to let him. The Malfoy in him was proud of what he'd done. But the look in her eyes -- it would haunt him forever.
He'd been so close to giving completely into that voice. It had felt good. Never had he felt emotions so clearly as he did that night. Vehemently, he choked back another sob. He was not going to cry. He couldn't allow it. Tears were for weaklings. Yet, he'd already allowed tears to escape his control just last week. He could easily give in tonight.
Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground grabbing his cloak and pulling it on in a fluid motion. He moved across the paving stones and picked up his wand. Pointing the wand at himself, he muttered a counter- curse, and the leeks vanished from his ears.
He moved to the parapet and gazed across the night sky lost in thought. Should he just give in completely to his inner voice? He knew what the voice wanted. It wanted him to fall in love with the Mudblood, with Hermione. He knew that. But the Malfoy in him fought with every bit of evil strength it could muster.
He could list a variety of reasons why falling in love with Hermione would be bad. His father would kill him; his 'friends' would abandon him; he would lose his social status at school; he'd have to make nice to Potter; the list could go on. On the other hand, he couldn't come up with a list of reasons to let himself fall in love with her. The choice was so plainly obvious, yet this ridiculous voice wouldn't let him make it. The stupid voice kept causing him to do things.
It was the voice that made him take Hermione to the Infirmary last Sunday. It was the voice that made him return the cloak. Holding her hand had also been the voice's idea. The necklace? He didn't even want to think about it. He opened his hand, and looked at the brilliantly twinkling globe. The voice had insisted that this was a good thing to give to her. The voice had also insisted that he take her into his arms tonight; it had insisted that he confess his thoughts and feelings.
But the voice had eventually abandoned him when Harry and Ron had shown up. The Malfoy, the Malfoy who was being primed to become a Death Eater, had come back in full force. He couldn't explain why he'd uttered the Cruciatus Curse in any other way. That summer his father had made Draco practice that curse, and many others, on many muggles until it had become second nature.
With a heavy sigh, he closed his fist over the necklace and shoved it deep into his cloak pocket. As he walked over to get his cloak, he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw Hermione's nocturnal. A flood of emotions washed over him as he reached down to pick it up. He remembered the way her small frame fit so well next to his larger one. Warmth filled him when he remembered touching her face; and how good it felt when she finally wrapped her arms around him.
He stayed lost in those emotions until he remembered the curse. His mood plummeted. Uttering that simple word had changed everything. He knew that she'd never speak to him again, except for the forced contact that they would be required to make during this year.
He took her nocturnal over to her bag, and placed it back into its case. For a moment he debated on taking Hermione's bag to her, but realized he would be unable to do so. He turned and went back to his bag, anger now boiling inside him. He grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder. Enjoying the feeling of anger, he stalked across the empty platform. In fifteen minutes, students would begin arriving. He was in no mood for class. He'd find someplace else to go, maybe the empty classroom. He reached for the door, putting his hand on the handle. _____________________________________________________________
* Blitz Chess - a chess game where each player has five minutes in which to make all his moves.
** chess clock - consists of two clocks linked together so that when one stops, the other starts; players hit their button at the end of their turn, and then the other player's time begins.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MY 100th REVIEWER - CatalinaRose! Big huggles!!!
-CatalinaRose: I'm glad it wasn't corny. I worked hard to keep it from being so. Inarticulate? Wow! I'm humbled.
-Sage of Darkness: Yeah, I did a good job on the tension. It's part of what I was aiming for. Thank you.
-candycanekid: Hope this was soon enough for you.
-Sila-chan: You'll get your answers about the orb eventually. Oh, and I'll be getting Appendix C back up in the next few weeks, and it will explain all that technical stuff. Now, stop bouncing, and review.
-Misty: Hee hee, I'm mean!
-Fiery-chan: The meaning of the orb will hopefully become clear to me, soon. The actual addition of the orb came out of nowhere. All I know is that Hermione walked into the room, and Fred and George pleaded with me to let her come over, so I did. I didn't even know they were going to give her anything. So, now both Hermione and I are stuck. But I KNOW the answer is somewhere, I just have to hunt for it. (btw, I'm not REALLY psycho, just a little bit.)
-Rebecca: Hello my fellow Vaillant! Yes, I got your e-mail. I e-mailed you back, did you get it? Anyway, I am happy that you compared my scene to one of my favorite movies. I stressed about that whole chapter. It's good to know that I have left someone speechless! See you around Beauxbatons!
-SophieBabe: Hey, look! It's Madam Author. Hope all is well with our little plans at Beauxbatons. I also hope your questions were answered in this chapter. =)
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: **furrows brow and looks towards (hopefully) invisible friend** Uh, do we need to take her to see Madam Pomfrey? Or is she going to be okay? **looks around, worriedly** Okay, hope you liked the chapter.
-QiNq: I'm guilty of the same thing. (Writing the same reviews over and over) I'm am very humbled that you like my story so much. I just hope that the pace doesn't become too slow, because I feel like it is going way slow. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, I'm only on the 19th of September, and on chapter 15? Oh well, as long as people enjoy it, that's all that matters.