ZenonReborn: Enthusiastic, no? Yay! That's the best kind of review I can
get! Make him leave. . .ain't sayin' yes, ain't sayin' no. . .
MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE: Er. . .which one? There are two, you know. . .hmm. . .there should be about five more chapters (not including this one and including the epilogue) so you should find out what I'm gonna do later. . .
Hermione Freak: Thanks! I was a little worried that everyone would think that it was a little stupid, but I'm all better now!
Amy: Ah, laughter. . .I LOVE making people laugh! Were you at school when you read the last chapter? If so, look on the bright side, you probably made some else smile, if only on the inside. You really think it was one of the best chapters so far? Yay! I guess I had nothing to worry about after all!
Katy999: Funny. . .yay! I love humor, myself! Thanks for reviewing!
Laterose: Well, you didn't expect me to put it somewhere in the middle? Lol, Snape funny! And don't worry, I have no intention of stopping!
Leaf: Oh, gosh. . .no, oops! Sorry if you misinterpreted it. Dumbledore is canceling the classes ON the 14th . . .not for fourteen days. . .wish my principle would do that, though. . .Anywho, sorry if you think I'm being too mean. . .if you haven't guessed, I don't like him. . .but if you're looking for a good Malfoy. . .you should read Home for the Holidays. . .if I ever get around to updating it. . .oops, I hope I didn't give away too much. . .hehehe. . .
UhOhGirl: Thanks! As per your question, you listened to it? If not, it's originally by Carl Douglas. . .but it has been reinterpreted many times. Isn't it great? I thought so, lol, ninjas. . .
SummerSun: Evil? Me? No, never! Lol, I'm glad you like my pathetic attempts at humor. . .maybe I'm not as weird as I thought if so many other people like it too. . .hmm. . .oops, that's beyond the point! And thanks! I'm still taking votes until the second to last chapter. . .not including the epilogue. . .let's see. . .that makes the count 7 to 4 - A's still winning!
Wanted: Love
Ch29: And it Begins. . .
"Come on out, Ron! Let me see you!" Lavender called into the dressing room.
It was the day before the dance and the whole of the school was busy shopping for their costumes at Hogsmeade. Everyone except for Ron had already purchased their outfits. In fact, the rest of the school had already returned to Hogwarts. Remus and Tali had to accompany them, so the only people left were the new Marauders and Sirius.
"No way!" Ron's voice echoed back out from behind the curtains.
Harry, who had been fighting with Sirius with some swords they had found, stopped and turned to the changing rooms, "It's been an hour already, Ron. It can't be that bad."
"That's what you think!"
Harry shook his head and went back to dueling Sirius.
"I don't see what could possibly be so bad about the outfit, Ron. You and Lavender will make the cutest couple," Hermione said, looking up from her book.
"After us, that is," Harry said with a quick glance to her.
He smiled as she blushed, but as he was distracted, Sirius leapt forward and stabbed Harry under the armpit.
"Oh! He's got me!" Harry exclaimed with fake horrified pain as he fell to his knees, "Sorry, Herm, looks like you'll have to go by yourself!"
With that he fell completely to the floor while Sirius danced around in circles victoriously. Hermione laughed and put her book aside before running over to Sirius and jumping on his back, "How could you, Sirius!? He was your godson!"
Sirius laughed and swung around, trying to get her off his back, "I got him, and your next, my little pretty!"
Hermione pretended to shriek in horror and tightened her grip on him. First making sure that no one else was around, Sirius transformed into his dog form. Hermione had not expected this and found herself flying forward and landing on her stomach, right across Harry's chest.
"Hi, Harry," she said brightly.
He peeked an eye open, "Shh! We're supposed to be dead, remember?"
Hermione started laughing again, quickly followed by Harry.
"That's it! Cover up, Ron, I'm coming in!" Lavender exclaimed before stomping into the dressing room.
"You can't come here! You're a girl! Hey! Let go of me!"
The rest of the group's attention was now focused on the dressing room door, waiting for the two come out. Lavender slowly came into view. She was pulling with all her strength on Ron's arm which was just barely visible.
"Ronald Weasley! Get your butt out here this instant!" Lavender shouted at him before giving a mighty tug and finally wrenching him out.
Harry, Hermione, and Sirius all laughed in spite of themselves.
He was wearing a sort of brown shirt with a white undershirt that covered his entire arm with a brown belt around his waist from which his sword hung. His hat was green and had a long brown feather in it. His feet were sporting a pair of knee high brown boots. And on his legs were a pair of rich green tights.
(AN: Okay, I know I'm not very good at descriptions, so at the end of this chapter I'll give you websites with the pictures I got the ideas for their clothes from. How's that sound? Yeah, maybe that'll make it a little better. . .)
Ron crossed his arms and glared at them before glaring at Lavender.
"Happy?" he asked as he tapped his foot.
"Oh, you're so cute!" Lavender exclaimed, jumping up and down and hugging him.
"Yeah well, soak it up now 'cause there's no way I'm wearing this in public."
"But you promised!" Lavender said with a pout.
"When you said Robin Hood you made no mention of tights!"
"But you have to wear them! They're part of the outfit!"
"I'm not wearing these things in front of the entire school!" Ron spelled it out.
"Come on, Ron. It's not like you have all the time in the world. The dance is tomorrow," Harry reminded him.
Ron groaned, "Gang up on me, why don't you?"
"Isn't that what we are doing?" Hermione whispered at Harry, still laying on him.
"Look, Ron, if I have to wear a toga, then you can wear some tights," Sirius said as he transformed back into a human.
"A toga?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, out of all the things, too." Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Who are you going to be?" Lavender asked.
"Anthony and Cleopatra. . .whoever they are. . ."
"See, Ron. Sirius loves Tali enough to wear a toga. . .maybe you don't really love me at all. . ." Lavender pouted and pretended to sniff.
Ron rolled his eyes and threw his hand into the air, "Fine, I'll wear the stupid tights! You owe me, though!"
Lavender jumped up and down again and hugged him, "Oh! I'm so happy!"
"Where are all of your guys' costumes?" Ron asked as they separated.
Harry, Hermione, and Lavender all pointed at the bags next to the door.
"We already tried them on and paid for them," Hermione said smugly.
"Well, can I see them?" Ron asked.
"No!" Hermione said quickly.
Harry sat up, consequentially rolling Hermione down to his legs, "Don't worry, Ron. She won't show me her dress either."
"Can you at least tell me who you are?" he asked.
"King Arthur and Lady Guenevere," Hermione said dreamily as she, too, sat up.
"Ha! So you're wearing tights too then, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry laughed and shook his head, "No, but I do get a sword."
"Well so do I. . ." Ron led off, disappointed, and then added sarcastically, "This ball is going to be loads of fun."
"I should think so," Lavender said happily.
**************
Harry stopped suddenly and stared out the window. Slowly, he gulped and made his way over to it. The sun had begun to set, leaving a glare on the glass, so Harry pushed it open and leaned out. The cool winter breezed chilled his cheeks, but he was too concentrated on the horizon to notice.
'That's odd. . .' he thought to himself, 'I could have sworn. . .Hey!'
There it was again. Something large and black was playing its shadow off the clouds. He didn't have a clue what it was, but it gave him an uneasy feeling all the same. Drumming his fingers on the edge of the stones, Harry squinted as to get a better look. However, as suddenly as he had noticed it, it had disappeared.
Something was off and he knew it. He pursed his lips to the side and thought for a minute, relaxing his grip on the edge of the window sill. Perhaps he was imagining things again, he had been doing that a lot lately. Then again, it was February. He supposed it was to be expected.
Harry shook the thought out of his head. The dance would begin in a few hours; he shouldn't worry himself with the future, for the time being at least. He really did worry too much. He needed to relax.
'Take things as they come, Potter,' he told himself, 'Don't be so antsy.'
He shook his head again and was about to continue on his way back to the common room when someone jumped on his back from behind.
"Hiya, Harry!" Hermione chirped in his ear.
Harry turned his head to the side and saw her smiling at him, "Hey, why aren't you getting ready?"
"I will be soon. . .I just came to find you."
"Well I was just heading back to the common room."
Hermione smiled wider and hopped off his back, "I wouldn't if I were you."
Harry eyed her and smiled curiously, "Why?"
"Ron seems to be having second thoughts about wearing those tights and Lavender's chasing him around the tower trying to get him to put them on. . .actually, it would be pretty funny if they weren't destroying everything in their path."
Harry laughed; he could picture the two of them doing something like that. Though, he couldn't really blame him. If Hermione wanted him to wear tights, he wouldn't be too pleased about it, either. He took her hand and they started on their way to the Gryffindor tower.
**************
"Oi, Harry! Come in here for a minute, would you?" Ron called into the bathroom.
"Hold on a second, Ron. I'm still getting changed," Harry replied.
Ron sat impatiently on his bed and tapped his foot.
Five minutes later, Harry came out with a smile, "You know, this is actually a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be."
He was wearing a full suit of chain armor, which covered his entire body except for his hands, neck and head (which, instead, wore a crown). Over the armor was a red "shirt" that stretched all the way to his mid thigh with a golden lion stitched on the front and back over the chest. Tied around his arm was the handkerchief Hermione had given him way back when she first found out about his relatives. Around his waist was a sort of belt that held his sword. Finally, the bottoms of his feet were padded so that when he walked there wasn't any sound.
"Took your bloody time," Ron said as he stood up and walked over, "Listen, do you think Lavender would notice if I just temporarily turned my legs green instead of wearing these things? They're giving me a major wedgie."
Harry laughed, despite the glare Ron gave him, "I wouldn't suggest it, Ron. They might stay stuck like that."
Ron groaned and picked the material out of his hindquarters. Harry stopped his laughing and gave him a disapproving look, "Lovely, Fang. Just what I always wanted to see."
(AN: Wow, I just realized that Ron's Marauder name is the same as Hagrid's dog. . .hmm. . .sorry everyone! It was an accident!)
"Oh shut up, Harry," Ron said cantankerously.
Harry bit back another laugh and walked over to his bedside table where he picked up his wand and put it in his belt.
"What's that for?" Ron asked.
Looking up at him, Harry shook his head, "It's nothing. . .maybe I'm just getting paranoid, but I thought I saw something earlier."
Ron's anger diminished as he walked over to his friend and looked seriously in his eyes, "It wasn't You-Know-Who?"
Harry shrugged his shoulder, "I don't know. . .like I said, I might have been imagining things. . .I guess it's just better to be safe."
Ron heaved a sigh before getting his wand too, "I reckon we ought to not tell the girls. . .they might freak and not enjoy themselves tonight, but I'll take mine too."
"Don't you think they might suspect something if you're carrying around your wand?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well what about you?"
Harry smiled smugly, "I always carry it around. . .'Mione goes ballistic if she catches me without it."
"Yeah, well, I'll just hide it in my sword thingy-"
"Sheath," Harry corrected him.
"Right, I'll just hide it in there. They'll never have to know. If anyone tries anything they're going to regret it!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"Great," Harry said sarcastically, "Just make sure to have some fun tonight, okay?"
Ron scrunched his face and pulled at his tights again, "I'm not sure these things will allow that."
Harry laughed and shoved Ron towards the door, "And I'm so sure that pulling at that all evening is really going to turn Lavender on."
"Hey, don't talk until you've worn them," Ron said with a glance back at him.
"Hey Harry! Ron! Down here!"
The two hurried down the staircase and over to Hermione. Harry's mouth fell open as he saw her. His eyes slowly worked their way up her body. Starting with her elegant gold colored shoes that had design work stitched right into them.
The hem of her pure white dress was also decorated, this time in golden stitch work. The woman's belt that she was wearing was made of thin golden squares with rubies in the center of each square; the belt extended downward until about a foot above the ground. The sleeves of the dress ended in a diagonal cut at the elbow and flowed elegantly to meet the floor.
The front of the dress was low cut, but showed nothing due to a white shirt. For jewelry she wore nothing but a ring and her crown which was made of gold with pearls lining the top and different gems along the center of it. Her hair was left to run freely down back and it framed her face nicely. For makeup she wore little, only a hint of white eye shadow with glitter in it, and lip gloss.
"Wow, Herms. You look bloody beautiful!" Ron exclaimed.
She smiled somewhat cautiously, "You sound surprised. . .is something wrong, Harry?"
Harry, who had yet to recover, snapped out of his trance, "Merlin, Hermione. You look great!"
Hermione blushed and looked down, "You don't look so bad yourself."
The two glanced at each other and smiled slyly. Ron smiled mischievously and shoved Harry at her, "Just go on and kiss her already, Harry. You *know* you want to!"
Hermione sent him a death glare but found herself loosing it as Harry bent down and kissed her. Ron made a loud catcall which gained the attention of the rest of the people in the room. Seamus and Dean smiled also and started cat calling as well. Hermione blushed and gently pushed Harry away.
Harry sighed and looked pointedly at the offending three, "You know how to ruin everything, don't you?"
Ron clapped him on the shoulder but didn't respond to the question. Instead, he turned to Hermione, "Hey, Hermione. Where's Lavender?"
Hermione looked at him before rolling her eyes and pointing over to the stairs, "I swear to Merlin, if she takes any longer. . ."
"Cool it, Hermione. I'm ready."
The three turned to the stairs to see Lavender standing on the bottom step with her hands on her hips. Hermione crossed her arms and smiled, "You've only been up there for four hours."
"These things take time. . .and judging by the look on those two's faces, I'd say it was worth it," Lavender smiled, nodding to Harry and Ron.
Her outfit consisted of a simple, yet elegant, forest green dress that stretched to the floor. Stitched into the fabric, all over, were very subtle, patterns. The front was cut in a square shape with a slight v-neck shape to it that cut off just at the crack of the bust line. A gold and silver cross on a silver chain shimmered in the light and drew attention to her wonderful skin tone around her neck.
Like Hermione's, the sleeves ended in a diagonal cut, starting at the elbow and reaching down to about an inch below the knee. A lighter green lady's shirt with no pattern covered the rest of her arm to her wrist and over part of her hand. The fabric on the hand went between her index and middle finger.
Her long brown hair was, for the most part, left alone, but a cluster of hair on each side of her head was pulled back into a relaxed half-ponytail, held together by a single pink flower. Her lips had a light shade of pink lip gloss on them, and her eyes stood out nicely with their very light, barely there, green eye shadow. And on her cheeks was a soft coat of blush, completing the ensemble.
Ron smirked and walked over to her before bowing deeply and kissing her hand, "Milady, might I say you look ravishing tonight?"
"Why, what a kind thing to say," Lavender said with a slight blush and a curtsy.
"We better be going before it gets too crowded down there," Harry suggested.
"Yeah, yeah, in a minute, Harry," Ron said, pulling Lavender over to a dark corner of the common room.
Harry and Hermione both rolled their eyes, "Couldn't they just do that at the dance?"
"Masque, my dear queen, masque," Harry said with a smile as he offered her his arm, "Shall we be going?"
Hermione smiled coyly and laid her arm over his, "Yes, of course."
The two made their way to the Great Hall slowly, taking their time to admire all the decorations that had been set up all over the castle. Hermione walked with her head leaning against Harry's shoulder and her eyes closed, trusting Harry completely to lead the way.
"You smell nice tonight, Harry," Hermione commented.
Harry let out a small laugh, "Thanks. . .I think."
Hermione laughed, "You know what I meant. . .Arthur."
"Well, you did give it to me, my dear Guenevere."
The two laughed again and Hermione lifted herself from Harry's shoulder, "Harry, why on earth are you wearing that filthy handkerchief?"
Harry fingered it, "Why I think you should know that. It is milady's favor. . .it's brought me good luck."
"Like what?" Hermione asked with a smirk.
Harry pulled her into a long kiss and when they broke apart he moved to her ear and whispered, "You."
(AN: Fluff. . . it is Valentine's day, you know.)
Hermione blushed, "Still, I could get you a nicer one. That one has blood all over it. . .haven't you ever washed it?"
Harry moved his eyes around shiftily, "Um. . .of course. . ."
"Harry! You mean it hasn't been cleaned in four months?" Hermione asked in astonishment.
". . .Guilty."
Hermione laughed and slapped him lightly on the shoulder before they continued on their way, "I'll get you a new one tomorrow."
"Whatever you say, dearest," Harry said merrily.
"Wow," Hermione said as they came to a stop at the entrance to the Great Hall, "This is beautiful."
Red and white seemed to be the colors for the evening, as practically everything was decorated in the colors. Balloons, streamers, and a wide variety of heart-shaped objects could be seen everywhere. Bubbles blew along with the slight breeze in the room and seemed to give the room even more of a magical feeling.
"Not bad," Harry agreed.
"There you are! Where do you two get off leaving us behind?" Ron asked angrily as he and Lavender came up from behind.
"Well it didn't seem to either of us that you would be ready to go anytime soon," Hermione stated pointedly.
"Still. . .you could have waited," Ron said.
"Knock it off, Ron. It's Valentine's Day. Harry and Hermione don't want us hanging around, and I'm *certain* that you don't want them following us either," Lavender said, punching the word 'certain.'
Ron's face dawned realization and he grabbed Lavender's hand before taking off to yet another corner of the room.
"Ron! Calm down! We have all night!" Lavender exclaimed as the two disappeared behind a crowd of people.
". . .Should we worry about them?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head, "I wouldn't. Lavender knows how to handle Ron."
"I'm not sure that's exactly what I meant. . ." Hermione led off.
"Hi Harry, Hermione," Ginny said as she and Colin came up to them.
"Hello Ginny, Colin. . .you look nice tonight," Hermione said with a smile.
Harry felt a smile tugging on his lips, but it disappeared as Hermione noticed and elbowed him in the side, "Don't they, Harry?"
He nodded, "Yeah. . .who are you anyway?"
"Peter Pan and Tinkerbell," Colin said proudly.
"Oh, I love that story!" Hermione exclaimed.
"So does Colin. . .that's why we came as them," Ginny said with a smile, ". . .Listen, have you seen Ron? Lavender said she was having a hard time getting Ron to wear his tights. . .Colin and I thought it might help if he saw that he wasn't the only one."
"Yeah, same color and everything," Harry stated, referring to Colin's green tights, "They went off that way."
"Thanks! We'll see you two later," Ginny said, pulling Colin over in the way Harry had pointed.
"That wasn't very nice, Harry," Hermione said disapprovingly.
Harry glanced back to her, "Sorry. . .but did you see him? He wasn't even wearing pants. . .I'm surprised Dumbledore let him come like that."
Hermione gave him "the look" and Harry coughed, "Right. I'm sorry, honest. I'll even apologize tomorrow, if you want."
She looked at him a moment longer than smiled and hugged him, "Great! Now come on! Let's dance some."
Harry groaned, he had yet to approve his dancing skills very much, "You sure, Herms? I'd hate to turn your feet black and blue."
Hermione laughed and continued to pull him onto the dance floor, "I'm positive. It'll be fun!"
He was about to protest some more when he found his hands guided to Hermione's waist.
"Now just follow my lead," she said, delight shimmering in her eyes.
Surprisingly, Harry wasn't as bad as he remembered, but he was far from being good. After a few dances, he managed to persuade Hermione to take a break. The two left the Great Hall and opted to take a walk outside. Walking through the halls, they saw Sirius and Tali in a classroom, talking and kissing and than talking again.
Sirius' toga wasn't quite as bad as he made it out to be. It reached to the floor and had an orange cloth draped over his shoulder and a garland brought color to his black hair. Tali was also dressed in a white toga. It was fitted to her waist and outlined by a shimmering gray material. From the way she was positioned, her face was impossible to see, but her hair was decorated with a golden tiara/hair piece.
Harry whistled as they started kissing again, but Hermione pulled him away from the door before they could be seen. Just in case either of the two in the classroom decided to see who had interrupted them, Hermione didn't stop running until they were outside.
Once there, she laughed in spite of herself and shoved Harry, "We could've gotten in a lot of trouble for that, you know."
Harry laughed as well and shrugged, "What would they do that's so bad to their dear godson and his beloved girlfriend?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You're hopeless."
"You're too kind," Harry smiled.
"No fair!" Hermione cried out, "You can't smile; I'm trying to be mad at you."
Harry pouted, "Mad? At me?"
Hermione covered her eyes, "Oh no, not the pout!"
She peeked an eye open and laughed in defeat, "You're too cute for your own good, you know that, don't you?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harry laughed as he took her hand, "How about that walk?"
Hermione didn't say anything; instead she took his hand, and the two moved down the stair over to the flower garden that had been created especially for that night. It wasn't just any garden, though, it was a maze. After about twenty minutes of walking, they managed to find their way to the center where the lake was located.
Still fairly early, they were the only ones there and they relished the privacy. They sat on the cool grass, hands intertwined, and stared out over the placid water of the lake. Seemingly out of no where, Harry handed her a single thorn-less rose. Hermione smelled it before looking up at him. They kissed again and slowly eased back until they were lying on the ground. Harry held her in the crook of his arm as they watched the stars. Suddenly, a shooting star sped across the sky.
"Make a wish," he whispered into her hair.
Hermione closed her eyes for only a moment before opening them with a smile.
"What'd you wish for?"
"I can't tell you. It won't come true."
Harry laughed, "Fine then, keep your secrets. I'll find out eventually."
"You just keep telling yourself that," Hermione said as she turned on her side and nuzzled in closer to him, "I could stay like this forever."
"Is that what you wished for?"
Hermione laughed, "No. . .good guess, though."
Harry turned and kissed the top of her head, "It's what I wished for."
"Really?"
"Mm hm."
A comfortable silence surrounded the two, both just enjoying each other's presence. Eventually Harry spoke again.
"'Mione?" he asked quietly.
"Hm?"
"I love you."
Hermione turned to him, "I love you too, Harry."
Harry sat up, followed by Hermione, "What is it, Harry?"
"Did you see that?" he asked, staring forward.
Hermione followed his eyes but shook her head, "No, what?"
Harry sighed, "Nothing. Maybe I'm just imagining things again."
Hermione put a hand on his shoulder, "Harry. . ."
"Isn't this special?"
The two lovers shot up as the icy voice reached them.
"Malfoy! I thought you were dead!" Harry shouted.
Lucius Malfoy floated down to the ground only a few feet from them, "You would, wouldn't you? No. You might have injured me, but it'll take far more than that to kill me."
Harry pushed Hermione behind him, "'Mione, go. Make a run for the castle. I'll be there as soon as I finish this guy."
"Are you crazy!? I'm not going to leave you!" Hermione cried out.
"Hermione! This is no time to argue! Just go!"
"Tisk, tisk, tisk. I should have hoped that you two would make the most of your last moments together," Malfoy smirked, pulling out his wand.
"Harry. . ." Hermione whispered.
"Go. I'll be fine, I promise."
Something sang out in the distance, gaining the attention of all three people. Flying towards them was the white form of Hedwig. She took a diving swipe at Malfoy's head which he just barely managed to avoid. Another phoenix's voice reached their ears as Lakowa joined the group and started fighting with Hedwig.
'So it wasn't my imagination,' Harry thought.
He could have kicked himself. He should have told someone, at least Dumbledore. But no, he had to write it off as nerves, and now it was too late to do anything but try to make the best out of the situation. Harry was so distracted in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Malfoy raise his wand and send burning fire to the flower bushes that surrounded them.
'Great,' he thought to himself, 'Now Hermione's stuck.'
Harry pulled out his wand, "Let's get this over with, Malfoy! Serinsodia!"
"Herdinonius!" Malfoy shouted back.
Both managed to avoid each other's attacks, but a deafening explosion took place as the two spells hit each other. While the light from the explosion shielded the two opposing sides from each other's view, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her over to a large bench and ducked behind it.
"Hermione, listen. You have to go! I have to handle this!" he said earnestly, gazing deeply into her eyes.
"But. . .but. . ."
"Shh," he said with a reassuring smile, "I'll be fine, I promise. Now go on. You're a raven; you can fly out of here."
Her eyes were filled with tears and, as she threw herself at him, they began to flow freely down her face, "Oh, Harry!"
"It'll be alright. Honest. I'll be right behind you," Harry said, kissing her cheek.
"Potter! You can't hide forever!"
"Go. Now, Hermione," Harry said, urging her on.
Nodding, she was about to transform when Malfoy found them, "Think you can get her to safety, huh? Well I've got news for you, Potter-"
He reached out to grab Hermione, but Harry was quicker. Lucius Malfoy's hand fell to the ground as blood began to pour from the stump of his wrist. All three stared in shock. Even Harry couldn't believe what he had just done, but with the blood covered sword in his grasp, there was no denying it. Harry had cut off Malfoy's left hand.
As the realization hit them, all acted differently. Hermione's eyes bulged out of her head as she brought her hands to her mouth and averted her eyes. Lucius let out a shriek of pain and a long chain of profanity. He waved his stump around, spraying blood everywhere. Harry was the only one who seemed to notice the opportunity. Dropping the sword, he grabbed Hermione, spun her around and pulled her towards one of the burning bushes.
"Fleberumgia!" Harry shouted, causing a large chunk of the burning bush to disappear.
They both made it out of the burning flower maze rather quickly and started towards the school. They didn't get to far however, before they were knocked to the ground by a powerful wind.
"How dare you! I was just going to kill you before, but now I'm not going to be so lenient!" Malfoy bellowed as he stalked towards them, "Crucio!"
Harry pushed Hermione out of the way just in time, but he wasn't so fortunate. As he hit the ground, he was caught off guard and cried out for a minute before forcing himself to keep in the screams. Hermione made up for him anyway. She was screaming bloody murder, and if there was one person in the school who hadn't heard her, he would be quite surprised.
Through the pain, he managed to lift his head to her, "'Mione. . .go. . ."
She was too distraught to make any words, but she managed to shake her head, no.
Harry winced as another wave of pain hit him, "Get. . .help. . ."
He let out another cry of pain, and if Hermione had any intention of going to get help, it disappeared with that. Quite suddenly, the spell let up and Harry went slack. A pounding of feet could be heard, and when Harry turned his head towards the school he saw a large group of people running to them.
Malfoy cursed and kicked Harry, "You get to live for now, boy, but I'm not leaving without a little keep sake."
Before Harry could ask what that was supposed to mean, Hermione screamed again. Harry forced himself to get on his feet and when he did, he saw Malfoy fighting to hold onto a struggling Hermione.
He managed to point his wand at her and utter, "Stupefy."
Her body went limp in his arms as the oh-so-familiar black portal appeared to his left.
Malfoy sneered at Harry, "If you ever want to see her alive again you'll come to Voldemort's. . .and you better be quick about it."
Harry ran forward as Malfoy walked into the portal. Harry made it to the portal just as it started to close and, as he hit it, he was thrown back at least twenty feet. He hit the ground with such force that the grass was upturned as he slid along it. When he finally came to a stop, he was aching all over and couldn't manage to sit up again. Before he knew it, the people he had seen earlier were at his side.
"Harry! What the hell happened!?" Sirius asked as he slid down to the ground next to his godson.
"He took her, Sirius. . .he took Hermione."
**************
"Okay, so we'll start a search party! I'll go north!" Tali said, still dressed as Cleopatra.
Harry had been taken to the hospital wing, and after he was looked over by Madame Pomfrey, he had told the whole story of what had happened. After hearing that Hermione had been taken captive, the rest of the Masque had been cancelled and the students were sent to their towers. . .with the exception of Ron and Lavender.
"Right! I'll east!" Sirius said.
Remus nodded, "I can go south. We'll find it. No problem."
"No!" Harry shouted, speaking for the first time since his recollection of the evening's events. Everyone silenced themselves and looked him.
"No," he continued, a bit more quietly, "It was my fault she was taken. I have to find her. . .it's time."
They all knew what he meant by this, of course, but none seemed willing to believe it.
"Harry, don't be thick! We can work together! It'll be quicker and safer that way!" Ron said stubbornly.
"No, it has to be me."
Hedwig cawed from the corner of the room as she flew over and landed on his shoulder, "Hedwig'll come with me. We'll be fine."
"But---"
It was no use, Hedwig had already grabbed hold of Harry's robes (AN: He had to change so Pomfrey could look him over) and the two were flying out one of the large windows. For several minutes after they disappeared from sight no one made a sound. Then, almost simultaneously, everyone exploded in their own way.
Some cried, some shouted angrily, some fell to the floor, speechless. For they all knew the same thing. They might never see him again. It had begun. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay folks, there it is. Getting exciting, no? Personally, I think it's kinda gross that Harry cut off Malfoy's hand. . .and to tell the truth, I have NO clue where it came from. . .oh well. Wow, the story's finally beginning to wind down! A bit depressing. . .but once this is over, I can start the sequel! Yay! Goodness. . .how many of you knew Hermione was going to be taken? Yeah, that's what I thought. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I'm not very good with writing descriptions of outfits, I know. And the stupid website isn't working with me, so if you want to see the pics that inspired the outfits, tell me so in your review along with whose you want and your e-mail. Then I can send it to you!
MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE: Er. . .which one? There are two, you know. . .hmm. . .there should be about five more chapters (not including this one and including the epilogue) so you should find out what I'm gonna do later. . .
Hermione Freak: Thanks! I was a little worried that everyone would think that it was a little stupid, but I'm all better now!
Amy: Ah, laughter. . .I LOVE making people laugh! Were you at school when you read the last chapter? If so, look on the bright side, you probably made some else smile, if only on the inside. You really think it was one of the best chapters so far? Yay! I guess I had nothing to worry about after all!
Katy999: Funny. . .yay! I love humor, myself! Thanks for reviewing!
Laterose: Well, you didn't expect me to put it somewhere in the middle? Lol, Snape funny! And don't worry, I have no intention of stopping!
Leaf: Oh, gosh. . .no, oops! Sorry if you misinterpreted it. Dumbledore is canceling the classes ON the 14th . . .not for fourteen days. . .wish my principle would do that, though. . .Anywho, sorry if you think I'm being too mean. . .if you haven't guessed, I don't like him. . .but if you're looking for a good Malfoy. . .you should read Home for the Holidays. . .if I ever get around to updating it. . .oops, I hope I didn't give away too much. . .hehehe. . .
UhOhGirl: Thanks! As per your question, you listened to it? If not, it's originally by Carl Douglas. . .but it has been reinterpreted many times. Isn't it great? I thought so, lol, ninjas. . .
SummerSun: Evil? Me? No, never! Lol, I'm glad you like my pathetic attempts at humor. . .maybe I'm not as weird as I thought if so many other people like it too. . .hmm. . .oops, that's beyond the point! And thanks! I'm still taking votes until the second to last chapter. . .not including the epilogue. . .let's see. . .that makes the count 7 to 4 - A's still winning!
Wanted: Love
Ch29: And it Begins. . .
"Come on out, Ron! Let me see you!" Lavender called into the dressing room.
It was the day before the dance and the whole of the school was busy shopping for their costumes at Hogsmeade. Everyone except for Ron had already purchased their outfits. In fact, the rest of the school had already returned to Hogwarts. Remus and Tali had to accompany them, so the only people left were the new Marauders and Sirius.
"No way!" Ron's voice echoed back out from behind the curtains.
Harry, who had been fighting with Sirius with some swords they had found, stopped and turned to the changing rooms, "It's been an hour already, Ron. It can't be that bad."
"That's what you think!"
Harry shook his head and went back to dueling Sirius.
"I don't see what could possibly be so bad about the outfit, Ron. You and Lavender will make the cutest couple," Hermione said, looking up from her book.
"After us, that is," Harry said with a quick glance to her.
He smiled as she blushed, but as he was distracted, Sirius leapt forward and stabbed Harry under the armpit.
"Oh! He's got me!" Harry exclaimed with fake horrified pain as he fell to his knees, "Sorry, Herm, looks like you'll have to go by yourself!"
With that he fell completely to the floor while Sirius danced around in circles victoriously. Hermione laughed and put her book aside before running over to Sirius and jumping on his back, "How could you, Sirius!? He was your godson!"
Sirius laughed and swung around, trying to get her off his back, "I got him, and your next, my little pretty!"
Hermione pretended to shriek in horror and tightened her grip on him. First making sure that no one else was around, Sirius transformed into his dog form. Hermione had not expected this and found herself flying forward and landing on her stomach, right across Harry's chest.
"Hi, Harry," she said brightly.
He peeked an eye open, "Shh! We're supposed to be dead, remember?"
Hermione started laughing again, quickly followed by Harry.
"That's it! Cover up, Ron, I'm coming in!" Lavender exclaimed before stomping into the dressing room.
"You can't come here! You're a girl! Hey! Let go of me!"
The rest of the group's attention was now focused on the dressing room door, waiting for the two come out. Lavender slowly came into view. She was pulling with all her strength on Ron's arm which was just barely visible.
"Ronald Weasley! Get your butt out here this instant!" Lavender shouted at him before giving a mighty tug and finally wrenching him out.
Harry, Hermione, and Sirius all laughed in spite of themselves.
He was wearing a sort of brown shirt with a white undershirt that covered his entire arm with a brown belt around his waist from which his sword hung. His hat was green and had a long brown feather in it. His feet were sporting a pair of knee high brown boots. And on his legs were a pair of rich green tights.
(AN: Okay, I know I'm not very good at descriptions, so at the end of this chapter I'll give you websites with the pictures I got the ideas for their clothes from. How's that sound? Yeah, maybe that'll make it a little better. . .)
Ron crossed his arms and glared at them before glaring at Lavender.
"Happy?" he asked as he tapped his foot.
"Oh, you're so cute!" Lavender exclaimed, jumping up and down and hugging him.
"Yeah well, soak it up now 'cause there's no way I'm wearing this in public."
"But you promised!" Lavender said with a pout.
"When you said Robin Hood you made no mention of tights!"
"But you have to wear them! They're part of the outfit!"
"I'm not wearing these things in front of the entire school!" Ron spelled it out.
"Come on, Ron. It's not like you have all the time in the world. The dance is tomorrow," Harry reminded him.
Ron groaned, "Gang up on me, why don't you?"
"Isn't that what we are doing?" Hermione whispered at Harry, still laying on him.
"Look, Ron, if I have to wear a toga, then you can wear some tights," Sirius said as he transformed back into a human.
"A toga?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, out of all the things, too." Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Who are you going to be?" Lavender asked.
"Anthony and Cleopatra. . .whoever they are. . ."
"See, Ron. Sirius loves Tali enough to wear a toga. . .maybe you don't really love me at all. . ." Lavender pouted and pretended to sniff.
Ron rolled his eyes and threw his hand into the air, "Fine, I'll wear the stupid tights! You owe me, though!"
Lavender jumped up and down again and hugged him, "Oh! I'm so happy!"
"Where are all of your guys' costumes?" Ron asked as they separated.
Harry, Hermione, and Lavender all pointed at the bags next to the door.
"We already tried them on and paid for them," Hermione said smugly.
"Well, can I see them?" Ron asked.
"No!" Hermione said quickly.
Harry sat up, consequentially rolling Hermione down to his legs, "Don't worry, Ron. She won't show me her dress either."
"Can you at least tell me who you are?" he asked.
"King Arthur and Lady Guenevere," Hermione said dreamily as she, too, sat up.
"Ha! So you're wearing tights too then, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry laughed and shook his head, "No, but I do get a sword."
"Well so do I. . ." Ron led off, disappointed, and then added sarcastically, "This ball is going to be loads of fun."
"I should think so," Lavender said happily.
**************
Harry stopped suddenly and stared out the window. Slowly, he gulped and made his way over to it. The sun had begun to set, leaving a glare on the glass, so Harry pushed it open and leaned out. The cool winter breezed chilled his cheeks, but he was too concentrated on the horizon to notice.
'That's odd. . .' he thought to himself, 'I could have sworn. . .Hey!'
There it was again. Something large and black was playing its shadow off the clouds. He didn't have a clue what it was, but it gave him an uneasy feeling all the same. Drumming his fingers on the edge of the stones, Harry squinted as to get a better look. However, as suddenly as he had noticed it, it had disappeared.
Something was off and he knew it. He pursed his lips to the side and thought for a minute, relaxing his grip on the edge of the window sill. Perhaps he was imagining things again, he had been doing that a lot lately. Then again, it was February. He supposed it was to be expected.
Harry shook the thought out of his head. The dance would begin in a few hours; he shouldn't worry himself with the future, for the time being at least. He really did worry too much. He needed to relax.
'Take things as they come, Potter,' he told himself, 'Don't be so antsy.'
He shook his head again and was about to continue on his way back to the common room when someone jumped on his back from behind.
"Hiya, Harry!" Hermione chirped in his ear.
Harry turned his head to the side and saw her smiling at him, "Hey, why aren't you getting ready?"
"I will be soon. . .I just came to find you."
"Well I was just heading back to the common room."
Hermione smiled wider and hopped off his back, "I wouldn't if I were you."
Harry eyed her and smiled curiously, "Why?"
"Ron seems to be having second thoughts about wearing those tights and Lavender's chasing him around the tower trying to get him to put them on. . .actually, it would be pretty funny if they weren't destroying everything in their path."
Harry laughed; he could picture the two of them doing something like that. Though, he couldn't really blame him. If Hermione wanted him to wear tights, he wouldn't be too pleased about it, either. He took her hand and they started on their way to the Gryffindor tower.
**************
"Oi, Harry! Come in here for a minute, would you?" Ron called into the bathroom.
"Hold on a second, Ron. I'm still getting changed," Harry replied.
Ron sat impatiently on his bed and tapped his foot.
Five minutes later, Harry came out with a smile, "You know, this is actually a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be."
He was wearing a full suit of chain armor, which covered his entire body except for his hands, neck and head (which, instead, wore a crown). Over the armor was a red "shirt" that stretched all the way to his mid thigh with a golden lion stitched on the front and back over the chest. Tied around his arm was the handkerchief Hermione had given him way back when she first found out about his relatives. Around his waist was a sort of belt that held his sword. Finally, the bottoms of his feet were padded so that when he walked there wasn't any sound.
"Took your bloody time," Ron said as he stood up and walked over, "Listen, do you think Lavender would notice if I just temporarily turned my legs green instead of wearing these things? They're giving me a major wedgie."
Harry laughed, despite the glare Ron gave him, "I wouldn't suggest it, Ron. They might stay stuck like that."
Ron groaned and picked the material out of his hindquarters. Harry stopped his laughing and gave him a disapproving look, "Lovely, Fang. Just what I always wanted to see."
(AN: Wow, I just realized that Ron's Marauder name is the same as Hagrid's dog. . .hmm. . .sorry everyone! It was an accident!)
"Oh shut up, Harry," Ron said cantankerously.
Harry bit back another laugh and walked over to his bedside table where he picked up his wand and put it in his belt.
"What's that for?" Ron asked.
Looking up at him, Harry shook his head, "It's nothing. . .maybe I'm just getting paranoid, but I thought I saw something earlier."
Ron's anger diminished as he walked over to his friend and looked seriously in his eyes, "It wasn't You-Know-Who?"
Harry shrugged his shoulder, "I don't know. . .like I said, I might have been imagining things. . .I guess it's just better to be safe."
Ron heaved a sigh before getting his wand too, "I reckon we ought to not tell the girls. . .they might freak and not enjoy themselves tonight, but I'll take mine too."
"Don't you think they might suspect something if you're carrying around your wand?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well what about you?"
Harry smiled smugly, "I always carry it around. . .'Mione goes ballistic if she catches me without it."
"Yeah, well, I'll just hide it in my sword thingy-"
"Sheath," Harry corrected him.
"Right, I'll just hide it in there. They'll never have to know. If anyone tries anything they're going to regret it!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"Great," Harry said sarcastically, "Just make sure to have some fun tonight, okay?"
Ron scrunched his face and pulled at his tights again, "I'm not sure these things will allow that."
Harry laughed and shoved Ron towards the door, "And I'm so sure that pulling at that all evening is really going to turn Lavender on."
"Hey, don't talk until you've worn them," Ron said with a glance back at him.
"Hey Harry! Ron! Down here!"
The two hurried down the staircase and over to Hermione. Harry's mouth fell open as he saw her. His eyes slowly worked their way up her body. Starting with her elegant gold colored shoes that had design work stitched right into them.
The hem of her pure white dress was also decorated, this time in golden stitch work. The woman's belt that she was wearing was made of thin golden squares with rubies in the center of each square; the belt extended downward until about a foot above the ground. The sleeves of the dress ended in a diagonal cut at the elbow and flowed elegantly to meet the floor.
The front of the dress was low cut, but showed nothing due to a white shirt. For jewelry she wore nothing but a ring and her crown which was made of gold with pearls lining the top and different gems along the center of it. Her hair was left to run freely down back and it framed her face nicely. For makeup she wore little, only a hint of white eye shadow with glitter in it, and lip gloss.
"Wow, Herms. You look bloody beautiful!" Ron exclaimed.
She smiled somewhat cautiously, "You sound surprised. . .is something wrong, Harry?"
Harry, who had yet to recover, snapped out of his trance, "Merlin, Hermione. You look great!"
Hermione blushed and looked down, "You don't look so bad yourself."
The two glanced at each other and smiled slyly. Ron smiled mischievously and shoved Harry at her, "Just go on and kiss her already, Harry. You *know* you want to!"
Hermione sent him a death glare but found herself loosing it as Harry bent down and kissed her. Ron made a loud catcall which gained the attention of the rest of the people in the room. Seamus and Dean smiled also and started cat calling as well. Hermione blushed and gently pushed Harry away.
Harry sighed and looked pointedly at the offending three, "You know how to ruin everything, don't you?"
Ron clapped him on the shoulder but didn't respond to the question. Instead, he turned to Hermione, "Hey, Hermione. Where's Lavender?"
Hermione looked at him before rolling her eyes and pointing over to the stairs, "I swear to Merlin, if she takes any longer. . ."
"Cool it, Hermione. I'm ready."
The three turned to the stairs to see Lavender standing on the bottom step with her hands on her hips. Hermione crossed her arms and smiled, "You've only been up there for four hours."
"These things take time. . .and judging by the look on those two's faces, I'd say it was worth it," Lavender smiled, nodding to Harry and Ron.
Her outfit consisted of a simple, yet elegant, forest green dress that stretched to the floor. Stitched into the fabric, all over, were very subtle, patterns. The front was cut in a square shape with a slight v-neck shape to it that cut off just at the crack of the bust line. A gold and silver cross on a silver chain shimmered in the light and drew attention to her wonderful skin tone around her neck.
Like Hermione's, the sleeves ended in a diagonal cut, starting at the elbow and reaching down to about an inch below the knee. A lighter green lady's shirt with no pattern covered the rest of her arm to her wrist and over part of her hand. The fabric on the hand went between her index and middle finger.
Her long brown hair was, for the most part, left alone, but a cluster of hair on each side of her head was pulled back into a relaxed half-ponytail, held together by a single pink flower. Her lips had a light shade of pink lip gloss on them, and her eyes stood out nicely with their very light, barely there, green eye shadow. And on her cheeks was a soft coat of blush, completing the ensemble.
Ron smirked and walked over to her before bowing deeply and kissing her hand, "Milady, might I say you look ravishing tonight?"
"Why, what a kind thing to say," Lavender said with a slight blush and a curtsy.
"We better be going before it gets too crowded down there," Harry suggested.
"Yeah, yeah, in a minute, Harry," Ron said, pulling Lavender over to a dark corner of the common room.
Harry and Hermione both rolled their eyes, "Couldn't they just do that at the dance?"
"Masque, my dear queen, masque," Harry said with a smile as he offered her his arm, "Shall we be going?"
Hermione smiled coyly and laid her arm over his, "Yes, of course."
The two made their way to the Great Hall slowly, taking their time to admire all the decorations that had been set up all over the castle. Hermione walked with her head leaning against Harry's shoulder and her eyes closed, trusting Harry completely to lead the way.
"You smell nice tonight, Harry," Hermione commented.
Harry let out a small laugh, "Thanks. . .I think."
Hermione laughed, "You know what I meant. . .Arthur."
"Well, you did give it to me, my dear Guenevere."
The two laughed again and Hermione lifted herself from Harry's shoulder, "Harry, why on earth are you wearing that filthy handkerchief?"
Harry fingered it, "Why I think you should know that. It is milady's favor. . .it's brought me good luck."
"Like what?" Hermione asked with a smirk.
Harry pulled her into a long kiss and when they broke apart he moved to her ear and whispered, "You."
(AN: Fluff. . . it is Valentine's day, you know.)
Hermione blushed, "Still, I could get you a nicer one. That one has blood all over it. . .haven't you ever washed it?"
Harry moved his eyes around shiftily, "Um. . .of course. . ."
"Harry! You mean it hasn't been cleaned in four months?" Hermione asked in astonishment.
". . .Guilty."
Hermione laughed and slapped him lightly on the shoulder before they continued on their way, "I'll get you a new one tomorrow."
"Whatever you say, dearest," Harry said merrily.
"Wow," Hermione said as they came to a stop at the entrance to the Great Hall, "This is beautiful."
Red and white seemed to be the colors for the evening, as practically everything was decorated in the colors. Balloons, streamers, and a wide variety of heart-shaped objects could be seen everywhere. Bubbles blew along with the slight breeze in the room and seemed to give the room even more of a magical feeling.
"Not bad," Harry agreed.
"There you are! Where do you two get off leaving us behind?" Ron asked angrily as he and Lavender came up from behind.
"Well it didn't seem to either of us that you would be ready to go anytime soon," Hermione stated pointedly.
"Still. . .you could have waited," Ron said.
"Knock it off, Ron. It's Valentine's Day. Harry and Hermione don't want us hanging around, and I'm *certain* that you don't want them following us either," Lavender said, punching the word 'certain.'
Ron's face dawned realization and he grabbed Lavender's hand before taking off to yet another corner of the room.
"Ron! Calm down! We have all night!" Lavender exclaimed as the two disappeared behind a crowd of people.
". . .Should we worry about them?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head, "I wouldn't. Lavender knows how to handle Ron."
"I'm not sure that's exactly what I meant. . ." Hermione led off.
"Hi Harry, Hermione," Ginny said as she and Colin came up to them.
"Hello Ginny, Colin. . .you look nice tonight," Hermione said with a smile.
Harry felt a smile tugging on his lips, but it disappeared as Hermione noticed and elbowed him in the side, "Don't they, Harry?"
He nodded, "Yeah. . .who are you anyway?"
"Peter Pan and Tinkerbell," Colin said proudly.
"Oh, I love that story!" Hermione exclaimed.
"So does Colin. . .that's why we came as them," Ginny said with a smile, ". . .Listen, have you seen Ron? Lavender said she was having a hard time getting Ron to wear his tights. . .Colin and I thought it might help if he saw that he wasn't the only one."
"Yeah, same color and everything," Harry stated, referring to Colin's green tights, "They went off that way."
"Thanks! We'll see you two later," Ginny said, pulling Colin over in the way Harry had pointed.
"That wasn't very nice, Harry," Hermione said disapprovingly.
Harry glanced back to her, "Sorry. . .but did you see him? He wasn't even wearing pants. . .I'm surprised Dumbledore let him come like that."
Hermione gave him "the look" and Harry coughed, "Right. I'm sorry, honest. I'll even apologize tomorrow, if you want."
She looked at him a moment longer than smiled and hugged him, "Great! Now come on! Let's dance some."
Harry groaned, he had yet to approve his dancing skills very much, "You sure, Herms? I'd hate to turn your feet black and blue."
Hermione laughed and continued to pull him onto the dance floor, "I'm positive. It'll be fun!"
He was about to protest some more when he found his hands guided to Hermione's waist.
"Now just follow my lead," she said, delight shimmering in her eyes.
Surprisingly, Harry wasn't as bad as he remembered, but he was far from being good. After a few dances, he managed to persuade Hermione to take a break. The two left the Great Hall and opted to take a walk outside. Walking through the halls, they saw Sirius and Tali in a classroom, talking and kissing and than talking again.
Sirius' toga wasn't quite as bad as he made it out to be. It reached to the floor and had an orange cloth draped over his shoulder and a garland brought color to his black hair. Tali was also dressed in a white toga. It was fitted to her waist and outlined by a shimmering gray material. From the way she was positioned, her face was impossible to see, but her hair was decorated with a golden tiara/hair piece.
Harry whistled as they started kissing again, but Hermione pulled him away from the door before they could be seen. Just in case either of the two in the classroom decided to see who had interrupted them, Hermione didn't stop running until they were outside.
Once there, she laughed in spite of herself and shoved Harry, "We could've gotten in a lot of trouble for that, you know."
Harry laughed as well and shrugged, "What would they do that's so bad to their dear godson and his beloved girlfriend?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You're hopeless."
"You're too kind," Harry smiled.
"No fair!" Hermione cried out, "You can't smile; I'm trying to be mad at you."
Harry pouted, "Mad? At me?"
Hermione covered her eyes, "Oh no, not the pout!"
She peeked an eye open and laughed in defeat, "You're too cute for your own good, you know that, don't you?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harry laughed as he took her hand, "How about that walk?"
Hermione didn't say anything; instead she took his hand, and the two moved down the stair over to the flower garden that had been created especially for that night. It wasn't just any garden, though, it was a maze. After about twenty minutes of walking, they managed to find their way to the center where the lake was located.
Still fairly early, they were the only ones there and they relished the privacy. They sat on the cool grass, hands intertwined, and stared out over the placid water of the lake. Seemingly out of no where, Harry handed her a single thorn-less rose. Hermione smelled it before looking up at him. They kissed again and slowly eased back until they were lying on the ground. Harry held her in the crook of his arm as they watched the stars. Suddenly, a shooting star sped across the sky.
"Make a wish," he whispered into her hair.
Hermione closed her eyes for only a moment before opening them with a smile.
"What'd you wish for?"
"I can't tell you. It won't come true."
Harry laughed, "Fine then, keep your secrets. I'll find out eventually."
"You just keep telling yourself that," Hermione said as she turned on her side and nuzzled in closer to him, "I could stay like this forever."
"Is that what you wished for?"
Hermione laughed, "No. . .good guess, though."
Harry turned and kissed the top of her head, "It's what I wished for."
"Really?"
"Mm hm."
A comfortable silence surrounded the two, both just enjoying each other's presence. Eventually Harry spoke again.
"'Mione?" he asked quietly.
"Hm?"
"I love you."
Hermione turned to him, "I love you too, Harry."
Harry sat up, followed by Hermione, "What is it, Harry?"
"Did you see that?" he asked, staring forward.
Hermione followed his eyes but shook her head, "No, what?"
Harry sighed, "Nothing. Maybe I'm just imagining things again."
Hermione put a hand on his shoulder, "Harry. . ."
"Isn't this special?"
The two lovers shot up as the icy voice reached them.
"Malfoy! I thought you were dead!" Harry shouted.
Lucius Malfoy floated down to the ground only a few feet from them, "You would, wouldn't you? No. You might have injured me, but it'll take far more than that to kill me."
Harry pushed Hermione behind him, "'Mione, go. Make a run for the castle. I'll be there as soon as I finish this guy."
"Are you crazy!? I'm not going to leave you!" Hermione cried out.
"Hermione! This is no time to argue! Just go!"
"Tisk, tisk, tisk. I should have hoped that you two would make the most of your last moments together," Malfoy smirked, pulling out his wand.
"Harry. . ." Hermione whispered.
"Go. I'll be fine, I promise."
Something sang out in the distance, gaining the attention of all three people. Flying towards them was the white form of Hedwig. She took a diving swipe at Malfoy's head which he just barely managed to avoid. Another phoenix's voice reached their ears as Lakowa joined the group and started fighting with Hedwig.
'So it wasn't my imagination,' Harry thought.
He could have kicked himself. He should have told someone, at least Dumbledore. But no, he had to write it off as nerves, and now it was too late to do anything but try to make the best out of the situation. Harry was so distracted in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Malfoy raise his wand and send burning fire to the flower bushes that surrounded them.
'Great,' he thought to himself, 'Now Hermione's stuck.'
Harry pulled out his wand, "Let's get this over with, Malfoy! Serinsodia!"
"Herdinonius!" Malfoy shouted back.
Both managed to avoid each other's attacks, but a deafening explosion took place as the two spells hit each other. While the light from the explosion shielded the two opposing sides from each other's view, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her over to a large bench and ducked behind it.
"Hermione, listen. You have to go! I have to handle this!" he said earnestly, gazing deeply into her eyes.
"But. . .but. . ."
"Shh," he said with a reassuring smile, "I'll be fine, I promise. Now go on. You're a raven; you can fly out of here."
Her eyes were filled with tears and, as she threw herself at him, they began to flow freely down her face, "Oh, Harry!"
"It'll be alright. Honest. I'll be right behind you," Harry said, kissing her cheek.
"Potter! You can't hide forever!"
"Go. Now, Hermione," Harry said, urging her on.
Nodding, she was about to transform when Malfoy found them, "Think you can get her to safety, huh? Well I've got news for you, Potter-"
He reached out to grab Hermione, but Harry was quicker. Lucius Malfoy's hand fell to the ground as blood began to pour from the stump of his wrist. All three stared in shock. Even Harry couldn't believe what he had just done, but with the blood covered sword in his grasp, there was no denying it. Harry had cut off Malfoy's left hand.
As the realization hit them, all acted differently. Hermione's eyes bulged out of her head as she brought her hands to her mouth and averted her eyes. Lucius let out a shriek of pain and a long chain of profanity. He waved his stump around, spraying blood everywhere. Harry was the only one who seemed to notice the opportunity. Dropping the sword, he grabbed Hermione, spun her around and pulled her towards one of the burning bushes.
"Fleberumgia!" Harry shouted, causing a large chunk of the burning bush to disappear.
They both made it out of the burning flower maze rather quickly and started towards the school. They didn't get to far however, before they were knocked to the ground by a powerful wind.
"How dare you! I was just going to kill you before, but now I'm not going to be so lenient!" Malfoy bellowed as he stalked towards them, "Crucio!"
Harry pushed Hermione out of the way just in time, but he wasn't so fortunate. As he hit the ground, he was caught off guard and cried out for a minute before forcing himself to keep in the screams. Hermione made up for him anyway. She was screaming bloody murder, and if there was one person in the school who hadn't heard her, he would be quite surprised.
Through the pain, he managed to lift his head to her, "'Mione. . .go. . ."
She was too distraught to make any words, but she managed to shake her head, no.
Harry winced as another wave of pain hit him, "Get. . .help. . ."
He let out another cry of pain, and if Hermione had any intention of going to get help, it disappeared with that. Quite suddenly, the spell let up and Harry went slack. A pounding of feet could be heard, and when Harry turned his head towards the school he saw a large group of people running to them.
Malfoy cursed and kicked Harry, "You get to live for now, boy, but I'm not leaving without a little keep sake."
Before Harry could ask what that was supposed to mean, Hermione screamed again. Harry forced himself to get on his feet and when he did, he saw Malfoy fighting to hold onto a struggling Hermione.
He managed to point his wand at her and utter, "Stupefy."
Her body went limp in his arms as the oh-so-familiar black portal appeared to his left.
Malfoy sneered at Harry, "If you ever want to see her alive again you'll come to Voldemort's. . .and you better be quick about it."
Harry ran forward as Malfoy walked into the portal. Harry made it to the portal just as it started to close and, as he hit it, he was thrown back at least twenty feet. He hit the ground with such force that the grass was upturned as he slid along it. When he finally came to a stop, he was aching all over and couldn't manage to sit up again. Before he knew it, the people he had seen earlier were at his side.
"Harry! What the hell happened!?" Sirius asked as he slid down to the ground next to his godson.
"He took her, Sirius. . .he took Hermione."
**************
"Okay, so we'll start a search party! I'll go north!" Tali said, still dressed as Cleopatra.
Harry had been taken to the hospital wing, and after he was looked over by Madame Pomfrey, he had told the whole story of what had happened. After hearing that Hermione had been taken captive, the rest of the Masque had been cancelled and the students were sent to their towers. . .with the exception of Ron and Lavender.
"Right! I'll east!" Sirius said.
Remus nodded, "I can go south. We'll find it. No problem."
"No!" Harry shouted, speaking for the first time since his recollection of the evening's events. Everyone silenced themselves and looked him.
"No," he continued, a bit more quietly, "It was my fault she was taken. I have to find her. . .it's time."
They all knew what he meant by this, of course, but none seemed willing to believe it.
"Harry, don't be thick! We can work together! It'll be quicker and safer that way!" Ron said stubbornly.
"No, it has to be me."
Hedwig cawed from the corner of the room as she flew over and landed on his shoulder, "Hedwig'll come with me. We'll be fine."
"But---"
It was no use, Hedwig had already grabbed hold of Harry's robes (AN: He had to change so Pomfrey could look him over) and the two were flying out one of the large windows. For several minutes after they disappeared from sight no one made a sound. Then, almost simultaneously, everyone exploded in their own way.
Some cried, some shouted angrily, some fell to the floor, speechless. For they all knew the same thing. They might never see him again. It had begun. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay folks, there it is. Getting exciting, no? Personally, I think it's kinda gross that Harry cut off Malfoy's hand. . .and to tell the truth, I have NO clue where it came from. . .oh well. Wow, the story's finally beginning to wind down! A bit depressing. . .but once this is over, I can start the sequel! Yay! Goodness. . .how many of you knew Hermione was going to be taken? Yeah, that's what I thought. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I'm not very good with writing descriptions of outfits, I know. And the stupid website isn't working with me, so if you want to see the pics that inspired the outfits, tell me so in your review along with whose you want and your e-mail. Then I can send it to you!