This chapter is dedicated to CatalinaRose-hope you got some sleep-Oh, and,
"I'll do Draco!"-I'm still not over it!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chps. 1-16) 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. During a moment of unguarded passion at the Astronomy Tower, Ron and Harry burst in. Harry and Ron hex Draco. Draco performs the Cruciatus Curse on Ron. Hermione and Harry tell Dumbledore what happened. Dumbledore talks with Draco. Draco tells about the horrible stuff he dealt with over the summer.
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Chapter 17:Dententions and Tension
Harry trudged into the Gryffindor common room late in the evening on Saturday. He had spent the whole day cleaning out the Quidditch locker rooms, without magic, as his detention for dueling. He made it across the room and collapsed on the couch. Moments later Ron followed him in, fingers looking like red prunes from finishing his day of washing meal dishes in the kitchen as his detention. With a sigh of exhaustion, he collapsed next to Harry.
"Man, I'm glad that's over!"
Harry nodded his agreement.
"I can't believe that Dumbledore didn't expel Malfoy. How he got out of that is beyond me."
Again, Harry nodded.
"Hi guys," Hermione chimed, walking down the stairs from her dorm. "Glad it's all over?"
Harry managed to find his voice. "Very. I had no idea that a locker room could be so dirty. I thought for sure I'd be done by lunch."
"Well, at least you had that hope. I knew I'd be stuck in the kitchen all day no matter how fast or slow I worked."
Hermione took a seat between the boys. "Well, you guys did deserve detention."
"Hermione! We were trying to help you! Who knows what Malfoy would have done if we hadn't shown up." Ron's face began to take on a pink tinge. "I mean, he had his arms around you, for crying out loud. What kind of spell did he put on you? Did you eat or drink anything that he gave you? I mean-"
Hermione tuned him out as he continued, unabated, for another few minutes. She knew that this conversation would have to eventually occur; now that it seemed about to, she wished it wasn't time. She didn't know how to answer Ron's questions. She still wasn't sure how she'd found herself in Draco's embrace. She couldn't understand why her heart beat faster whenever she thought about it. A part of her almost believed that Draco must have placed a spell of some sort on her, there just wasn't any good explanation as to why she was having these thoughts and feelings.
"So?" Ron practically screamed in Hermione's ear, shaking her out of her thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Ron. What?" She watched Harry stifle a laugh.
"I asked you, why were you in Malfoy's arms?" He watched her carefully.
Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Ron, I don't really know."
Silence, punctuated by snaps and pops from the fire, lasted for a brief moment.
"What the hell do you mean you don't know!" his face completely red now.
"I mean, I don't know. Maybe you're right. Maybe he did perform a spell or something. All I know is that he was helping me with my nocturnal, and then-well, you guys walked out." She looked down, hoping that they couldn't see her blush in the low firelight.
Harry reached out a hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. "Hermione, we're not accusing you of anything," he shot a glare at Ron, "we just want to make sure that everything's okay. I mean, you have been spending a lot of time with Malfoy lately, not that you've had a choice," he added quickly when Hermione looked up at him with a flash of anger in her eyes.
As quickly as the anger flashed across her eyes, it disappeared. "I know you guys have been worried about all the time I've had to spend with Malfoy. I appreciate it, but he's been pretty much okay. Except for Tuesday night." She gave a heavy sigh.
"So, when do you have to start working with him again?" Ron asked, decidedly calmer.
"On Monday night. Dumbledore spoke with Professor Sinistra and asked her to forgive us our homework for this week. I don't think he told her why." She turned her head to gaze into the fire.
"Do you know what type of punishment Malfoy got?" Ron questioned.
She looked up at him. "Why would I know that? I know he wasn't expelled, but you obviously know that too."
"Okay, that was a stupid question. I think I'm just overly tired. I'm gonna head up to bed. You coming Harry?"
"I'll be up in a bit."
"Okay." Ron stood, stretched and headed up to his dorm.
The two remaining friends sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Harry finally broke the silence.
"Herm, I want you to be honest with me." He turned to look at her taking one of her hands into his and tilting her face up, to look into her eyes, with his other hand. "What was going on up there that night? Because it didn't look like you were struggling to get away from him. It looked like you wanted to be there."
Staring into Harry's caring emerald eyes, Hermione had the urge to tell him everything. Everything from when she first felt her heart beat fast when Draco looked at her; how he'd so tenderly held her hand in the infirmary; how she had looked forward to seeing him every evening; how she had wanted nothing more on Tuesday then to feel his lips against hers. She opened her mouth to say so, but nothing came out.
"Herm, whatever it is, I promise, I won't get upset with you." He watched her carefully for a few more minutes.
"Harry," she said, gently removing his hand from her face and looking down, "I really can't answer that question. Not right now. I'm just-well, a lot has happened this week, and I'm still trying to figure it all out. I promise, though, that if I ever need to talk to someone, you'll be the first one I come to." She gave him a quick hug and darted up the stairs before he could stop her.
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Draco entered the Slytherin dungeon and swept across the room ready to go to bed. It had been a long day spent scrubbing cauldrons for Snape. Saturdays would most definitely not be something to be looked forward to from now on; though scrubbing cauldrons every Saturday until Christmas was highly preferable to being expelled. He reached the stairway preparing to move straight on up, when an unwelcome voice stopped him.
"Where have you been all day?"
Without turning, he answered. "It's none of your business, Pansy." He continued to proceed up the stairs, but Pansy moved in front of him, one step higher, placed a hand on his chest and glared into his eyes. Draco cocked an eyebrow, and spat, "What?"
"I just think I have a right to know what kept you busy all day long. It wasn't that Mudblood, was it?"
Draco almost backhanded her when she said mudblood. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remain calm, and kept his hands by his side. "Again, Pansy-it is none of your business." He removed her hand, none too gently, and pushed past her skipping every other step to reach his dorm.
The snores of Goyle and Crabbe echoed around the dark room. Draco quickly discarded his robe and clothing and slipped on a pair of dark green silk pajamas. Climbing into bed, he pulled the curtain closed around him, and lay, staring up at the green velvet canopy. A sense of injustice swept over him.
He was astounded that his detention only required him to clean cauldrons every Saturday. True, it was tough work, but it was really nowhere close to what type of punishment he should have received. He couldn't put a finger on why that exactly bothered him, though. Most people, himself included, would be thrilled with receiving less of a punishment than they deserve, but this time, at least, Draco was not satisfied. A loud sigh escaped him as he rolled over to get some sleep.
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Snape finished grading the last stack of essays just as Draco finished cleaning his last cauldron.
"Professor, I'll be going now," Draco had announced. With a nod, Snape dismissed the young man, his mind returning to his conversation with Dumbledore earlier that week.
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"Albus, are you sure I'm the best one to talk with young Malfoy? Certainly there must be better qualified people." He shook his head at the Headmaster's request.
"Qualified or not, Severus, you are the best person to reach him. You, better than anyone, know what he's facing." Dumbledore watched the face of the young potions's instructor carefully.
A heavy sigh escaped him. "Albus, I know you're right. I just don't know if I'm going to be able to do any good."
Dumbledore sat in silence for a few moments. "What I am about to share with you is strictly confidential. I suppose that if I am to expect you to fully understand why I need you, of all people, to mentor Mr. Malfoy, I should let you know the darker information he shared with me."
Severus looked up, uncertain if he really wanted to hear this.
Dumbledore launched into a lengthy description of what Draco had shared with him in the office only the night before. He watched as the potion master's eyes alternated between anger, compassion, and empathy. He noticed that Severus gripped the arms of the chair so hard at times that his knuckles grew whiter than normal. By the time Dumbledore had shared everything with Severus, his mouth was set in determination; Dumbledore knew he'd succeeded.
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Severus shook his head and looked around the empty classroom. "Now, if I just knew what to say," he muttered, standing and leaving for his quarters.
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September ended and the chill of October had fully set in. Draco and Hermione completed their nightly calculations in tense silence. Draco wanted to apologize to Hermione; he wanted to break the tension. Her stony appearance stopped him every time; Hermione's façade was more Slytherin- like than most Slytherin's. Her demeanor told him all he needed to know. She had no interest in discussing what had happened.
Hermione kept watching Draco out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to ask him why he'd performed the Cruciatus Curse, but every time she looked over at him, the hard look on his face stopped her. She wanted to believe that there was a reason why he'd done it; that it had been a mistake. But that Slytherin look on his face told her all she needed to know; it hadn't been a mistake. So why hadn't he been dismissed from Hogwarts in disgrace? Sure, Dumbledore was known for giving second chances, but this was an awfully risky second chance.
Each evening, the two students followed the same plan. Hermione used the nocturnal and the astrolabe; Draco, the sextant and cross-staff. They performed an eerie dance with one another: completing measurements; filling in the log book; glancing unobtrusively at one another. All the while never once touching each other, talking to each other, or actually catching the other's eye. Sailing homework created an even more difficult atmosphere. Tense words were flung across a large table in the library; parchment pushed brusquely between separate quills; large tomes shoved quickly from one side to the other.
Both dreaded Monday morning. They sat as far from one another as possible during the lectures and spoke as little as possible during discussions. Their weekly navigation reports caused the most tension; Professor Sinistra expected them to present jointly. Somehow, they managed to present their updates and appear to be working together. But the strain was getting to them.
Wednesday night, Hermione gathered up her bag and headed out of the common room, Harry's Cloak and the book from the Restricted Section safely stowed in the bottom of her bag. She had decided to go to the library again to hunt for more information on the hydrophanous orb. She had read the unknown wizard's journal over more times than she could count, and she still hadn't found any other mention of the orb. Sighing, she reached the foot of the spiral staircase and climbed slowly to the top.
She pushed the door open, stepping into the bitterly cold air. Draco stood across the way already taking measurements with the sextant. For a long moment she stood and watched him. With a seemingly natural grace he moved his hand to adjust the instrument, brushed back a stray lock of hair, and glanced down to record his findings. He looked up again to finish his final measurement and bent down to replace the sextant in its case. Before he picked up the cross-staff, he placed both hands on the low wall before him, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hermione watched him, transfixed.
Quite suddenly, he turned.
"Herm-Granger! Finally decided to show up?" He managed a half-hearted sneer.
"I-shut up, Malfoy." Embarrassed to have been caught staring, she briskly moved to her spot and began to pull out her instruments. Without further discussion, the two finished up their calculations. Hermione quickly packed her bag and spun on her heel ready to head to the library.
Draco watched in silence as she swept regally across the cold platform and through the door. Sighing, he reached for his bag, and followed behind her.
She reached into her bag once she had stepped into the hallway. Pulling out the Cloak, she flung it around her shoulders, and stepped lightly down the corridor. She reached the library, slid through the doors, and moved again to the Restricted Section. Placing her bag, and the Cloak, on a chair, she lit her wand and began another search. She had looked through three books before running across one that contained information, limited though it was.
The book ::Rare and Dangerous Magical Items:: had a small paragraph about the hydrophanous orb.
"There is only one known example of a hydrophanous orb known to exist. It is inky black in color and becomes transparent when wet. All other information on this orb is completely unknown."
With a heavy sigh, Hermione closed the book, and pushed it back into its spot on the shelf. Apparently, she was not going to be able to discover what the orb was for easily.
"So, you're at it again, Granger?" She spun and saw Malfoy casually leaning against a bookcase holding Harry's Cloak in his hands. She stared, slack-jawed, at him. "You know, you should know better than to leave something so valuable lying around." He smirked at her, and threw the Cloak around his shoulders.
Hermione flew into action.
In two large steps, she closed the gap between her and where Draco had just been. Grasping with outstretched hands, she unsuccessfully tried to grab a hold of Draco. She heard a low chuckle just behind her, and spun.
"Missed me, Granger."
She moved quickly towards where his voice emanated from, tried to find him, and shrieked when she felt him tug at her hair.
"Damn you, Malfoy, give me back the Cloak!" she hissed.
He laughed, "If you can find me, I'll be glad to give it back."
She listened carefully at the directions in which his footsteps faded and pursued him. His laughter at her failed attempts spurred her ever onward in the midnight chase. A book landing with a thud ahead of her moved her even quicker down the aisle. When she reached the end, she paused. He could have taken any of the four forks ahead.
With a frustrated moan, she chose the farthest left aisle and slowly started down it.
"Wrong aisle, Granger," Draco said, from behind her. She turned and started towards the sound of his voice. For another fifteen minutes, she stumbled about the Restricted Section hunting for any sign of Draco. Exhausted from an overuse of her senses, she leaned against the cold stone of a nearby wall. Her eyes slid closed, and she muttered some expletives about Draco under her breath.
"Those are some pretty harsh words coming from you, Granger," Draco murmured into Hermione's ear.
Her eyes popped open. Draco was standing in front of her, the front of the Cloak open. He stepped forward, grabbed her, and pulled her in. She struggled against him, trying to grab the Cloak at the same time. He only pulled her closer, slapped his hand over her mouth, and moved her close to the wall.
"Quiet!" he whispered. "Listen!"
Hermione obediently stopped her struggle and strained her ears. She heard a shrieking laughter followed by a loud crash.
"Peeves," Draco hissed in her ear. He then removed his hand from Hermione and the two pressed themselves tighter against the unyielding wall. A few seconds later, they watched books flying across the end of the aisle, and then Peeves popped around the end of the aisle. A look of glee was plastered across his face as he pulled and threw more books to the ground.
"Peeves!" a voice yelled. The two students watched in amazement as the Bloody Baron moved through a stack of books. He came to a stop in front of the now cowering Peeves. "I told you to stay out of here," he snapped, with a threatening gesture from his unsheathed sword.
"Y---your Bloodiness, I was just looking around the Fat Friar. You haven't seen him, have you?" Peeves gave a nervous laugh. The Bloody Baron glared at Peeves, until he finally turned and fled from the library. Glancing around, the Bloody Baron sheathed his sword, smoothed his bloodstained clothing, and floated slowly down the aisle toward Hermione and Draco.
Hermione cowered closer to Draco as the Bloody Baron approached them. She wasn't entirely certain that he couldn't see them. She jerked slightly when she felt Draco's arm move around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as he simultaneously pulled the cloak tighter. Just when they thought the Bloody Baron was going to pass through them, he swooped upwards, and passed through the high-vaulted ceiling above.
They both sighed with relief. Hermione attempted to move away from Draco, but he held her firmly. She glared up at him, ready to tell him off, but a strange look in his eyes caused her to freeze.
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I know-I know. I'm horribly mean. But this is where the characters decided to stop. They wanted to go take a break-stars! Anyway, I'm planning on getting the next chapter out sooner. Please, REVIEW!!! It always makes me smile. Oh, and if you want to further you're Harry Potter experience, come join my school. (Okay, I share it with a lot of others).
www.avidgamers.com/Hphogwar
It's a ton of fun. There are still plenty of characters left.
~CatalinaRose: Thank you. Sorry that the update took so long, but you know how preoccupied I've been. =) See ya.
~Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: You have made my day! Wow! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
~SophieBabe: I'm glad you like it. I've struggled to make this story well- written. And, the whole truth will come out-soon, I hope.
~Rebecca: I LOVE your reviews. They are always so uplifting. I hope that this chapter was well-written enough as well.
~CrystallineLily: I'm guilty of missing chapters, too. No problem.
~Glenda the owl: Thank you, and I won't. (at least, not much)
~Misty: I don't try to be mean-it's really all the fault of my characters. They make decisions and I just write what happens. (heehee) But, stay with me. The kiss IS coming.
~Sage of Darkness: Thanks. I really struggle with writing Draco. And Hermione is really not that easy, either. I actually find Harry and Ron to be easy to write, but Draco and Hermione? What have I gotten myself into?
~merzy34: Thanks. Hope you continue to enjoy.
~Sanaria: Thank you. I will.
~draconas: Well, you now know you were added. As for the sea trip, I think that Dumbledore is the kind of person who'd do something like that-just because. I don't know when Draco will lose the mask, though I'm sure he'll be taking it off a few times in the next few chapters.
~Fiery-chan: Thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chps. 1-16) 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. During a moment of unguarded passion at the Astronomy Tower, Ron and Harry burst in. Harry and Ron hex Draco. Draco performs the Cruciatus Curse on Ron. Hermione and Harry tell Dumbledore what happened. Dumbledore talks with Draco. Draco tells about the horrible stuff he dealt with over the summer.
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Chapter 17:Dententions and Tension
Harry trudged into the Gryffindor common room late in the evening on Saturday. He had spent the whole day cleaning out the Quidditch locker rooms, without magic, as his detention for dueling. He made it across the room and collapsed on the couch. Moments later Ron followed him in, fingers looking like red prunes from finishing his day of washing meal dishes in the kitchen as his detention. With a sigh of exhaustion, he collapsed next to Harry.
"Man, I'm glad that's over!"
Harry nodded his agreement.
"I can't believe that Dumbledore didn't expel Malfoy. How he got out of that is beyond me."
Again, Harry nodded.
"Hi guys," Hermione chimed, walking down the stairs from her dorm. "Glad it's all over?"
Harry managed to find his voice. "Very. I had no idea that a locker room could be so dirty. I thought for sure I'd be done by lunch."
"Well, at least you had that hope. I knew I'd be stuck in the kitchen all day no matter how fast or slow I worked."
Hermione took a seat between the boys. "Well, you guys did deserve detention."
"Hermione! We were trying to help you! Who knows what Malfoy would have done if we hadn't shown up." Ron's face began to take on a pink tinge. "I mean, he had his arms around you, for crying out loud. What kind of spell did he put on you? Did you eat or drink anything that he gave you? I mean-"
Hermione tuned him out as he continued, unabated, for another few minutes. She knew that this conversation would have to eventually occur; now that it seemed about to, she wished it wasn't time. She didn't know how to answer Ron's questions. She still wasn't sure how she'd found herself in Draco's embrace. She couldn't understand why her heart beat faster whenever she thought about it. A part of her almost believed that Draco must have placed a spell of some sort on her, there just wasn't any good explanation as to why she was having these thoughts and feelings.
"So?" Ron practically screamed in Hermione's ear, shaking her out of her thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Ron. What?" She watched Harry stifle a laugh.
"I asked you, why were you in Malfoy's arms?" He watched her carefully.
Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Ron, I don't really know."
Silence, punctuated by snaps and pops from the fire, lasted for a brief moment.
"What the hell do you mean you don't know!" his face completely red now.
"I mean, I don't know. Maybe you're right. Maybe he did perform a spell or something. All I know is that he was helping me with my nocturnal, and then-well, you guys walked out." She looked down, hoping that they couldn't see her blush in the low firelight.
Harry reached out a hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. "Hermione, we're not accusing you of anything," he shot a glare at Ron, "we just want to make sure that everything's okay. I mean, you have been spending a lot of time with Malfoy lately, not that you've had a choice," he added quickly when Hermione looked up at him with a flash of anger in her eyes.
As quickly as the anger flashed across her eyes, it disappeared. "I know you guys have been worried about all the time I've had to spend with Malfoy. I appreciate it, but he's been pretty much okay. Except for Tuesday night." She gave a heavy sigh.
"So, when do you have to start working with him again?" Ron asked, decidedly calmer.
"On Monday night. Dumbledore spoke with Professor Sinistra and asked her to forgive us our homework for this week. I don't think he told her why." She turned her head to gaze into the fire.
"Do you know what type of punishment Malfoy got?" Ron questioned.
She looked up at him. "Why would I know that? I know he wasn't expelled, but you obviously know that too."
"Okay, that was a stupid question. I think I'm just overly tired. I'm gonna head up to bed. You coming Harry?"
"I'll be up in a bit."
"Okay." Ron stood, stretched and headed up to his dorm.
The two remaining friends sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Harry finally broke the silence.
"Herm, I want you to be honest with me." He turned to look at her taking one of her hands into his and tilting her face up, to look into her eyes, with his other hand. "What was going on up there that night? Because it didn't look like you were struggling to get away from him. It looked like you wanted to be there."
Staring into Harry's caring emerald eyes, Hermione had the urge to tell him everything. Everything from when she first felt her heart beat fast when Draco looked at her; how he'd so tenderly held her hand in the infirmary; how she had looked forward to seeing him every evening; how she had wanted nothing more on Tuesday then to feel his lips against hers. She opened her mouth to say so, but nothing came out.
"Herm, whatever it is, I promise, I won't get upset with you." He watched her carefully for a few more minutes.
"Harry," she said, gently removing his hand from her face and looking down, "I really can't answer that question. Not right now. I'm just-well, a lot has happened this week, and I'm still trying to figure it all out. I promise, though, that if I ever need to talk to someone, you'll be the first one I come to." She gave him a quick hug and darted up the stairs before he could stop her.
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Draco entered the Slytherin dungeon and swept across the room ready to go to bed. It had been a long day spent scrubbing cauldrons for Snape. Saturdays would most definitely not be something to be looked forward to from now on; though scrubbing cauldrons every Saturday until Christmas was highly preferable to being expelled. He reached the stairway preparing to move straight on up, when an unwelcome voice stopped him.
"Where have you been all day?"
Without turning, he answered. "It's none of your business, Pansy." He continued to proceed up the stairs, but Pansy moved in front of him, one step higher, placed a hand on his chest and glared into his eyes. Draco cocked an eyebrow, and spat, "What?"
"I just think I have a right to know what kept you busy all day long. It wasn't that Mudblood, was it?"
Draco almost backhanded her when she said mudblood. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remain calm, and kept his hands by his side. "Again, Pansy-it is none of your business." He removed her hand, none too gently, and pushed past her skipping every other step to reach his dorm.
The snores of Goyle and Crabbe echoed around the dark room. Draco quickly discarded his robe and clothing and slipped on a pair of dark green silk pajamas. Climbing into bed, he pulled the curtain closed around him, and lay, staring up at the green velvet canopy. A sense of injustice swept over him.
He was astounded that his detention only required him to clean cauldrons every Saturday. True, it was tough work, but it was really nowhere close to what type of punishment he should have received. He couldn't put a finger on why that exactly bothered him, though. Most people, himself included, would be thrilled with receiving less of a punishment than they deserve, but this time, at least, Draco was not satisfied. A loud sigh escaped him as he rolled over to get some sleep.
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Snape finished grading the last stack of essays just as Draco finished cleaning his last cauldron.
"Professor, I'll be going now," Draco had announced. With a nod, Snape dismissed the young man, his mind returning to his conversation with Dumbledore earlier that week.
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"Albus, are you sure I'm the best one to talk with young Malfoy? Certainly there must be better qualified people." He shook his head at the Headmaster's request.
"Qualified or not, Severus, you are the best person to reach him. You, better than anyone, know what he's facing." Dumbledore watched the face of the young potions's instructor carefully.
A heavy sigh escaped him. "Albus, I know you're right. I just don't know if I'm going to be able to do any good."
Dumbledore sat in silence for a few moments. "What I am about to share with you is strictly confidential. I suppose that if I am to expect you to fully understand why I need you, of all people, to mentor Mr. Malfoy, I should let you know the darker information he shared with me."
Severus looked up, uncertain if he really wanted to hear this.
Dumbledore launched into a lengthy description of what Draco had shared with him in the office only the night before. He watched as the potion master's eyes alternated between anger, compassion, and empathy. He noticed that Severus gripped the arms of the chair so hard at times that his knuckles grew whiter than normal. By the time Dumbledore had shared everything with Severus, his mouth was set in determination; Dumbledore knew he'd succeeded.
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Severus shook his head and looked around the empty classroom. "Now, if I just knew what to say," he muttered, standing and leaving for his quarters.
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September ended and the chill of October had fully set in. Draco and Hermione completed their nightly calculations in tense silence. Draco wanted to apologize to Hermione; he wanted to break the tension. Her stony appearance stopped him every time; Hermione's façade was more Slytherin- like than most Slytherin's. Her demeanor told him all he needed to know. She had no interest in discussing what had happened.
Hermione kept watching Draco out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to ask him why he'd performed the Cruciatus Curse, but every time she looked over at him, the hard look on his face stopped her. She wanted to believe that there was a reason why he'd done it; that it had been a mistake. But that Slytherin look on his face told her all she needed to know; it hadn't been a mistake. So why hadn't he been dismissed from Hogwarts in disgrace? Sure, Dumbledore was known for giving second chances, but this was an awfully risky second chance.
Each evening, the two students followed the same plan. Hermione used the nocturnal and the astrolabe; Draco, the sextant and cross-staff. They performed an eerie dance with one another: completing measurements; filling in the log book; glancing unobtrusively at one another. All the while never once touching each other, talking to each other, or actually catching the other's eye. Sailing homework created an even more difficult atmosphere. Tense words were flung across a large table in the library; parchment pushed brusquely between separate quills; large tomes shoved quickly from one side to the other.
Both dreaded Monday morning. They sat as far from one another as possible during the lectures and spoke as little as possible during discussions. Their weekly navigation reports caused the most tension; Professor Sinistra expected them to present jointly. Somehow, they managed to present their updates and appear to be working together. But the strain was getting to them.
Wednesday night, Hermione gathered up her bag and headed out of the common room, Harry's Cloak and the book from the Restricted Section safely stowed in the bottom of her bag. She had decided to go to the library again to hunt for more information on the hydrophanous orb. She had read the unknown wizard's journal over more times than she could count, and she still hadn't found any other mention of the orb. Sighing, she reached the foot of the spiral staircase and climbed slowly to the top.
She pushed the door open, stepping into the bitterly cold air. Draco stood across the way already taking measurements with the sextant. For a long moment she stood and watched him. With a seemingly natural grace he moved his hand to adjust the instrument, brushed back a stray lock of hair, and glanced down to record his findings. He looked up again to finish his final measurement and bent down to replace the sextant in its case. Before he picked up the cross-staff, he placed both hands on the low wall before him, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hermione watched him, transfixed.
Quite suddenly, he turned.
"Herm-Granger! Finally decided to show up?" He managed a half-hearted sneer.
"I-shut up, Malfoy." Embarrassed to have been caught staring, she briskly moved to her spot and began to pull out her instruments. Without further discussion, the two finished up their calculations. Hermione quickly packed her bag and spun on her heel ready to head to the library.
Draco watched in silence as she swept regally across the cold platform and through the door. Sighing, he reached for his bag, and followed behind her.
She reached into her bag once she had stepped into the hallway. Pulling out the Cloak, she flung it around her shoulders, and stepped lightly down the corridor. She reached the library, slid through the doors, and moved again to the Restricted Section. Placing her bag, and the Cloak, on a chair, she lit her wand and began another search. She had looked through three books before running across one that contained information, limited though it was.
The book ::Rare and Dangerous Magical Items:: had a small paragraph about the hydrophanous orb.
"There is only one known example of a hydrophanous orb known to exist. It is inky black in color and becomes transparent when wet. All other information on this orb is completely unknown."
With a heavy sigh, Hermione closed the book, and pushed it back into its spot on the shelf. Apparently, she was not going to be able to discover what the orb was for easily.
"So, you're at it again, Granger?" She spun and saw Malfoy casually leaning against a bookcase holding Harry's Cloak in his hands. She stared, slack-jawed, at him. "You know, you should know better than to leave something so valuable lying around." He smirked at her, and threw the Cloak around his shoulders.
Hermione flew into action.
In two large steps, she closed the gap between her and where Draco had just been. Grasping with outstretched hands, she unsuccessfully tried to grab a hold of Draco. She heard a low chuckle just behind her, and spun.
"Missed me, Granger."
She moved quickly towards where his voice emanated from, tried to find him, and shrieked when she felt him tug at her hair.
"Damn you, Malfoy, give me back the Cloak!" she hissed.
He laughed, "If you can find me, I'll be glad to give it back."
She listened carefully at the directions in which his footsteps faded and pursued him. His laughter at her failed attempts spurred her ever onward in the midnight chase. A book landing with a thud ahead of her moved her even quicker down the aisle. When she reached the end, she paused. He could have taken any of the four forks ahead.
With a frustrated moan, she chose the farthest left aisle and slowly started down it.
"Wrong aisle, Granger," Draco said, from behind her. She turned and started towards the sound of his voice. For another fifteen minutes, she stumbled about the Restricted Section hunting for any sign of Draco. Exhausted from an overuse of her senses, she leaned against the cold stone of a nearby wall. Her eyes slid closed, and she muttered some expletives about Draco under her breath.
"Those are some pretty harsh words coming from you, Granger," Draco murmured into Hermione's ear.
Her eyes popped open. Draco was standing in front of her, the front of the Cloak open. He stepped forward, grabbed her, and pulled her in. She struggled against him, trying to grab the Cloak at the same time. He only pulled her closer, slapped his hand over her mouth, and moved her close to the wall.
"Quiet!" he whispered. "Listen!"
Hermione obediently stopped her struggle and strained her ears. She heard a shrieking laughter followed by a loud crash.
"Peeves," Draco hissed in her ear. He then removed his hand from Hermione and the two pressed themselves tighter against the unyielding wall. A few seconds later, they watched books flying across the end of the aisle, and then Peeves popped around the end of the aisle. A look of glee was plastered across his face as he pulled and threw more books to the ground.
"Peeves!" a voice yelled. The two students watched in amazement as the Bloody Baron moved through a stack of books. He came to a stop in front of the now cowering Peeves. "I told you to stay out of here," he snapped, with a threatening gesture from his unsheathed sword.
"Y---your Bloodiness, I was just looking around the Fat Friar. You haven't seen him, have you?" Peeves gave a nervous laugh. The Bloody Baron glared at Peeves, until he finally turned and fled from the library. Glancing around, the Bloody Baron sheathed his sword, smoothed his bloodstained clothing, and floated slowly down the aisle toward Hermione and Draco.
Hermione cowered closer to Draco as the Bloody Baron approached them. She wasn't entirely certain that he couldn't see them. She jerked slightly when she felt Draco's arm move around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as he simultaneously pulled the cloak tighter. Just when they thought the Bloody Baron was going to pass through them, he swooped upwards, and passed through the high-vaulted ceiling above.
They both sighed with relief. Hermione attempted to move away from Draco, but he held her firmly. She glared up at him, ready to tell him off, but a strange look in his eyes caused her to freeze.
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I know-I know. I'm horribly mean. But this is where the characters decided to stop. They wanted to go take a break-stars! Anyway, I'm planning on getting the next chapter out sooner. Please, REVIEW!!! It always makes me smile. Oh, and if you want to further you're Harry Potter experience, come join my school. (Okay, I share it with a lot of others).
www.avidgamers.com/Hphogwar
It's a ton of fun. There are still plenty of characters left.
~CatalinaRose: Thank you. Sorry that the update took so long, but you know how preoccupied I've been. =) See ya.
~Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: You have made my day! Wow! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
~SophieBabe: I'm glad you like it. I've struggled to make this story well- written. And, the whole truth will come out-soon, I hope.
~Rebecca: I LOVE your reviews. They are always so uplifting. I hope that this chapter was well-written enough as well.
~CrystallineLily: I'm guilty of missing chapters, too. No problem.
~Glenda the owl: Thank you, and I won't. (at least, not much)
~Misty: I don't try to be mean-it's really all the fault of my characters. They make decisions and I just write what happens. (heehee) But, stay with me. The kiss IS coming.
~Sage of Darkness: Thanks. I really struggle with writing Draco. And Hermione is really not that easy, either. I actually find Harry and Ron to be easy to write, but Draco and Hermione? What have I gotten myself into?
~merzy34: Thanks. Hope you continue to enjoy.
~Sanaria: Thank you. I will.
~draconas: Well, you now know you were added. As for the sea trip, I think that Dumbledore is the kind of person who'd do something like that-just because. I don't know when Draco will lose the mask, though I'm sure he'll be taking it off a few times in the next few chapters.
~Fiery-chan: Thanks.