I tried to make this chapter longer than usual. Hope this works out! Oh, S-
star... Yup, just look at him! LoL! And thanks to my recent reviewers, as
well as all the others! Thanks!
Chapter 20
When the portrait swung open, and Hermione entered, and saw the prefects staring at her, the first thing she said was, "I'm okay! Nothing's wrong!"
"Really?" Said Ryan, raising an eyebrow. "Not from what Draco told us."
Fear, anger, and annoyance gripped Hermione's heart, but nevertheless, she rolled her eyes as though she didn't care. "What did Malfoy tell you? Did he read a mantra to you, control you, and brainwashed you, so you'd believe his story? Huh? What did he say?"
Ryan looked uncomfortably at the group of seven people, Hannah, Justin, Lavender, Parvati, Rochelle, a Ravenclaw, Calvin, and Jamie, both Hufflepuffs.
"Well..." said Jamie, looking a little nervous. "He said you told him you had feelings for him, and that you wanted him, and ..."
"And?" Said Hermione, wanting to storm up to Draco's room, and give him a well-placed kick.
"And that you kissed him," said Justin. "He said he pushed you away, and you got angry, and left."
"And you believe that?" Said Hermione, incredulously. "What a stupid tale!"
"Well, we don't know what to believe!" Said Lavender, shrugging. "Why don't you tell us?"
'Ha!' Thought Hermione. "No, maybe some other day. I've got to get some work done!"
Lavender shrugged, and the eight of them turned back to each other, and began to take down some notes.
As Hermione was about to start ascending the steps, Parvati turned and called out to Hermione. "Cho told to let you know that me that your prefect shift has changed."
Hermione stopped, and felt as though her heart had stopped too. "What? Changed?"
"Yes," answered Parvati. "You're patrolling duty is tonight, after dinner. Not tomorrow."
"Who will I be patrolling the school with?" Asked Hermione, dreading the answer.
"Draco," said Lavender, without missing a beat. "Er... Is that okay?"
"Yeah," said Hermione weakly. "Just fine." She turned and walked up to her room.
Hermione felt numb as she sat at her desk. How could Cho and Roger do this to her? They knew, didn't they? How could they not? Hermione sighed, wishing she could hit a fast-forward button, and go to the next day.
That evening, at dinner, Hermione ate quietly, and did not say a word, unless someone said anything to her. Ron, not noticing something was amiss, talked on and on, occasionally putting his arm around her shoulders when he asked for her opinion. However, though Hermione's body was at the Gryffindor table, her eyes and mind was at the Slytherin one.
Whenever she made sure no one was watching her, her eyes would look up and flicker briefly in the direction of Draco, who was eating, and poking fun at Goyle and Crabbe, like nothing had happened. Hermione, who felt as though her world was hanging upside down, wondered how he managed to do that. Was it an act, or did he really not care how he had made Hermione feel - angry, hurt, happy, and most of all, confused? Did he really have no feelings for her? Why was he so sweet for one minute, and cold the next? It seemed to her that he changed his personalities the way he changed his clothes. He was so unpredictable!
Hermione couldn't swallow her food anymore. She couldn't even taste it, and she had no clue what she was eating. She knew she'd be sick if she tried. So, she excused herself, and left the Great Hall, wanting to start her duty immediately, so she could end early, and get some much-needed rest. Her hands playing with her wand, she took the usual route, starting from the dungeons. As she passed by the dark potions dungeons, she heard swift footsteps behind her. A quick glance to her right told her it was Draco. She couldn't miss that blond hair of his anywhere.
Without saying a word, he caught up with her, and slowed down so he could keep pace with her. Hermione's heart raced at the speed of light, and she wondered if Draco could hear it, as it seemed to pound in her ears. Just having him close made her feel dizzy and light-headed.
'Oh the things love does to you,' she thought, feeling a little nervous. She told herself she shouldn't lose it this time, but just play it cool, and keep her mind clear.
As she was about to step into a classroom, Draco grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her back.
"What?" She cried out, her voice was scared and shrill.
Draco said nothing, but pointed to the floor. Someone had spilt, or deliberately poured, as Hermione thought, a small puddle of a sticky looking something, which she thought could've been a potion, on the floor. Had Draco not pulled her back, she would've walked on it, and perhaps have a bad fall, apart from the fact that she might have been worst off if the potion was dangerous.
"Thanks," Hermione whispered, bending down to take a closer look at the sticky blob on the floor.
She took out a small piece of parchment from her pocket, tapped it twice and transfigured it into a small glass vial, in which Hermione scooped up some of the unknown substance into it. Placing the cover firmly on the top, she lifted it up to the torch flame, and saw that it was greenish-black, and had small bubbles in it. She slipped it back into her pocket, and with a wave of her wand, the floor was clean.
Chiding herself for not being careful, Hermione told herself to keep her eyes on the floor too. Without meaning to, her mind wandered to how Draco had reached out with his warm, firm hand, and caught hold of her. She remembered the brief look of worry that had flashed in his eyes, when he stopped her, but it had disappeared almost immediately. Hermione sighed, without meaning to, out loud.
Draco turned to her. "Is anything wrong?" He asked, though there was a hint of coldness in his voice.
Hermione forced herself not to look at him. "No. Just... thinking." Hermione hoped he didn't want to know.
"About what?" He asked, glancing to his right, and looking at her. He could see mixed expressions on her face. Something stirred in him, making him want to stop her, and kiss her senseless, right there. He saw her hesitate.
"Oh, just some... Schoolwork," she answered vaguely.
"I see," said Draco, wondering what she was thinking of.
Hermione said nothing, but picked up her pace.
"Why are you running?" He asked, sounding annoyed, as he tried to catch up with her.
"I'm NOT!" She said, stopping and turning to face him. "How slow do you want me to walk? Like this?" She began to inch her way along the floor. "Or should I crawl?"
Draco found himself amused. "Maybe I should carry you," he said, smiling mischievously. Then he lunged forward, and grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up.
Hermione's shrieks echoed loudly. "STOP, DRACO! STOP! NO, I DON'T WANNA - NO, STOP!"
Draco put her down, smirked, and looked her in the eye. "When did you start calling me Draco?"
Hermione looked away, and began to start walking, her mouth set in a grim line.
"I'm talking to you!" Said Draco, hurrying along beside her.
"I know. I'm not deaf!" Hermione snapped, as she trained her eyes on the floor.
Draco did not say anything as he fell behind, and let Hermione take the lead. He wanted to do some thinking.
'What's wrong with you?' He asked himself. 'Why are you always treating Hermione this way?' Draco stopped momentarily. 'Hermione? I'm calling her Hermione?' He resumed walking. 'Tell yourself the truth: Do you like her or not? Why are you playing cat-and-mouse with her?' They went up a staircase. 'What if Weasel comes along, and snatches her right away from you? Wait - Why should I care?' It's not as if I like her, do I? Do I?'
Draco stopped suddenly. Hermione had stopped too, and was peering into a broom cupboard. Muttering to her self, she shut the door, shook her head, and continued walking. Draco sped up to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Hermione looked puzzled. "I thought I heard faint voices in there."
Draco felt her forehead. "Are you okay? Do you want to go to Madam Pomfrey?"
Hermione smacked his hand away. "If you don't believe me, then go eat slugs, Dra- Malfoy!" She snarled, reminding her self of Ron, when he had tried to get back at Draco for calling her 'mudblood', when they were in their second year.
"Come on, Granger! It's a broom cupboard, for crying out loud!"
Hermione looked coldly at him. "Then maybe Harry would have an explanation for it. I'm sure there's no one using an invisibility cloak. And - oh, never mind," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll just see what Harry thinks."
"Yeah," said Draco, spite in his voice. "Go ask Potter. Good, great, wonderful potter. Get him and Weasel to protect you, is that right?"
Hermione glared at him. "If you don't like my friends, shut up. You an at least try to keep a civil tongue the way they usually do."
Draco narrowed his eyes, as he tried to carry on walking without bumping into the statues. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Hermione shrugged. "Whatever I meant it to be," she said.
Draco, who did not want to end his duty with another fight with Hermione, decided to let it go. However, it seemed Hermione did not mind, fight or not.
"And what did you tell the other sixth-year prefects?" Said Hermione, frowning angrily.
"The truth," said Draco, smirking.
"You liar!" Snarled Hermione. "You twisted the whole story!"
"Oh, really?" Said Draco, coolly. "Not from what I remembered."
"Well, then you must have an awfully short memory if that's what you remembered!" Said Hermione, feeling angry, though it seemed she wasn't as annoyed as she usually was. Maybe it was the way Draco was looking at her.
"Whatever you say, Hermione..." He smirked, as they reached the last tower.
"Hermione?" Said Hermione. It was her turn to smirk. "Since when did you call me Hermione?"
Draco rolled his eyes at her. "Just drop it, Granger."
"Drop it?" Hermione repeated. "Just drop it?"
"Girls," was all Draco said, as they made their way back to the prefects' tower.
"Hey!" Hermione cried out. "Watch it!" She grabbed Draco's arm.
Draco looked down, and saw some more of the potion, or that sticky substance on the floor. "This is weird," he said, bending down, and looking closely at it.
Hermione bent down, next to him. "What is it?"
Draco reached down to touch it, but Hermione caught his arm. "No! Are you crazy! You don't even know what it is!"
"Not know what is what, Miss Granger?"
Hermione and Draco turned their heads, and saw Professor Snape standing over them, almost blocking out the light from the torch behind him.
They stood up at once. "Good evening, professor," said Draco formally. "Gran- Hermione and I were patrolling the castle, and this is the second puddle we've found. We aren't certain what this is."
Snape took a closer look at the substance. He was silent. Hermione spoke up.
"I have a glass vial of it, professor," said Hermione, drawing out the vial from her pocket.
Snape took it from her, and held it up to the fire. He looked grim. With a wave of his wand, he cleared the potion. "Where did you find the other puddle?" he asked, looking down at them.
"Near the broom cupboard on the third floor, sir," said Draco.
"But we've cleared it," said Hermione. "Er - sir, could you please tell us what that is?'
Snape diverted his gaze from the bottle onto Hermione, who suddenly felt like a jobberknoll trying to outstare a lethifold. "I'm not absolutely sure, Miss Granger," he said, making Hermione suspect he was not telling the truth. "But should either of you find another puddle with this, you are to let me know AT ONCE. Is that clear, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger?"
The two of them nodded, and they left Snape to stare weirdly at the vial.
Hermione wondered what it was, and decided to tell Harry and Ron the next day. But in the meanwhile, she was going back to her room to try to find out for herself. Ordinarily, she would have put it off to the next day, but she felt it must have been dangerous or important, or Snape would not have stared at the substance like that. Then an awful though struck Hermione: had someone deliberately put it there to harm her or Draco, or the both of them, or was the potion connected to Voldemort? Changing her mind, Hermione decided to tell Ron and Harry before trying to research it on her own. From the look on Draco's face, she could tell he too, wanted to find out what that potion was.
Chapter 20
When the portrait swung open, and Hermione entered, and saw the prefects staring at her, the first thing she said was, "I'm okay! Nothing's wrong!"
"Really?" Said Ryan, raising an eyebrow. "Not from what Draco told us."
Fear, anger, and annoyance gripped Hermione's heart, but nevertheless, she rolled her eyes as though she didn't care. "What did Malfoy tell you? Did he read a mantra to you, control you, and brainwashed you, so you'd believe his story? Huh? What did he say?"
Ryan looked uncomfortably at the group of seven people, Hannah, Justin, Lavender, Parvati, Rochelle, a Ravenclaw, Calvin, and Jamie, both Hufflepuffs.
"Well..." said Jamie, looking a little nervous. "He said you told him you had feelings for him, and that you wanted him, and ..."
"And?" Said Hermione, wanting to storm up to Draco's room, and give him a well-placed kick.
"And that you kissed him," said Justin. "He said he pushed you away, and you got angry, and left."
"And you believe that?" Said Hermione, incredulously. "What a stupid tale!"
"Well, we don't know what to believe!" Said Lavender, shrugging. "Why don't you tell us?"
'Ha!' Thought Hermione. "No, maybe some other day. I've got to get some work done!"
Lavender shrugged, and the eight of them turned back to each other, and began to take down some notes.
As Hermione was about to start ascending the steps, Parvati turned and called out to Hermione. "Cho told to let you know that me that your prefect shift has changed."
Hermione stopped, and felt as though her heart had stopped too. "What? Changed?"
"Yes," answered Parvati. "You're patrolling duty is tonight, after dinner. Not tomorrow."
"Who will I be patrolling the school with?" Asked Hermione, dreading the answer.
"Draco," said Lavender, without missing a beat. "Er... Is that okay?"
"Yeah," said Hermione weakly. "Just fine." She turned and walked up to her room.
Hermione felt numb as she sat at her desk. How could Cho and Roger do this to her? They knew, didn't they? How could they not? Hermione sighed, wishing she could hit a fast-forward button, and go to the next day.
That evening, at dinner, Hermione ate quietly, and did not say a word, unless someone said anything to her. Ron, not noticing something was amiss, talked on and on, occasionally putting his arm around her shoulders when he asked for her opinion. However, though Hermione's body was at the Gryffindor table, her eyes and mind was at the Slytherin one.
Whenever she made sure no one was watching her, her eyes would look up and flicker briefly in the direction of Draco, who was eating, and poking fun at Goyle and Crabbe, like nothing had happened. Hermione, who felt as though her world was hanging upside down, wondered how he managed to do that. Was it an act, or did he really not care how he had made Hermione feel - angry, hurt, happy, and most of all, confused? Did he really have no feelings for her? Why was he so sweet for one minute, and cold the next? It seemed to her that he changed his personalities the way he changed his clothes. He was so unpredictable!
Hermione couldn't swallow her food anymore. She couldn't even taste it, and she had no clue what she was eating. She knew she'd be sick if she tried. So, she excused herself, and left the Great Hall, wanting to start her duty immediately, so she could end early, and get some much-needed rest. Her hands playing with her wand, she took the usual route, starting from the dungeons. As she passed by the dark potions dungeons, she heard swift footsteps behind her. A quick glance to her right told her it was Draco. She couldn't miss that blond hair of his anywhere.
Without saying a word, he caught up with her, and slowed down so he could keep pace with her. Hermione's heart raced at the speed of light, and she wondered if Draco could hear it, as it seemed to pound in her ears. Just having him close made her feel dizzy and light-headed.
'Oh the things love does to you,' she thought, feeling a little nervous. She told herself she shouldn't lose it this time, but just play it cool, and keep her mind clear.
As she was about to step into a classroom, Draco grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her back.
"What?" She cried out, her voice was scared and shrill.
Draco said nothing, but pointed to the floor. Someone had spilt, or deliberately poured, as Hermione thought, a small puddle of a sticky looking something, which she thought could've been a potion, on the floor. Had Draco not pulled her back, she would've walked on it, and perhaps have a bad fall, apart from the fact that she might have been worst off if the potion was dangerous.
"Thanks," Hermione whispered, bending down to take a closer look at the sticky blob on the floor.
She took out a small piece of parchment from her pocket, tapped it twice and transfigured it into a small glass vial, in which Hermione scooped up some of the unknown substance into it. Placing the cover firmly on the top, she lifted it up to the torch flame, and saw that it was greenish-black, and had small bubbles in it. She slipped it back into her pocket, and with a wave of her wand, the floor was clean.
Chiding herself for not being careful, Hermione told herself to keep her eyes on the floor too. Without meaning to, her mind wandered to how Draco had reached out with his warm, firm hand, and caught hold of her. She remembered the brief look of worry that had flashed in his eyes, when he stopped her, but it had disappeared almost immediately. Hermione sighed, without meaning to, out loud.
Draco turned to her. "Is anything wrong?" He asked, though there was a hint of coldness in his voice.
Hermione forced herself not to look at him. "No. Just... thinking." Hermione hoped he didn't want to know.
"About what?" He asked, glancing to his right, and looking at her. He could see mixed expressions on her face. Something stirred in him, making him want to stop her, and kiss her senseless, right there. He saw her hesitate.
"Oh, just some... Schoolwork," she answered vaguely.
"I see," said Draco, wondering what she was thinking of.
Hermione said nothing, but picked up her pace.
"Why are you running?" He asked, sounding annoyed, as he tried to catch up with her.
"I'm NOT!" She said, stopping and turning to face him. "How slow do you want me to walk? Like this?" She began to inch her way along the floor. "Or should I crawl?"
Draco found himself amused. "Maybe I should carry you," he said, smiling mischievously. Then he lunged forward, and grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up.
Hermione's shrieks echoed loudly. "STOP, DRACO! STOP! NO, I DON'T WANNA - NO, STOP!"
Draco put her down, smirked, and looked her in the eye. "When did you start calling me Draco?"
Hermione looked away, and began to start walking, her mouth set in a grim line.
"I'm talking to you!" Said Draco, hurrying along beside her.
"I know. I'm not deaf!" Hermione snapped, as she trained her eyes on the floor.
Draco did not say anything as he fell behind, and let Hermione take the lead. He wanted to do some thinking.
'What's wrong with you?' He asked himself. 'Why are you always treating Hermione this way?' Draco stopped momentarily. 'Hermione? I'm calling her Hermione?' He resumed walking. 'Tell yourself the truth: Do you like her or not? Why are you playing cat-and-mouse with her?' They went up a staircase. 'What if Weasel comes along, and snatches her right away from you? Wait - Why should I care?' It's not as if I like her, do I? Do I?'
Draco stopped suddenly. Hermione had stopped too, and was peering into a broom cupboard. Muttering to her self, she shut the door, shook her head, and continued walking. Draco sped up to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Hermione looked puzzled. "I thought I heard faint voices in there."
Draco felt her forehead. "Are you okay? Do you want to go to Madam Pomfrey?"
Hermione smacked his hand away. "If you don't believe me, then go eat slugs, Dra- Malfoy!" She snarled, reminding her self of Ron, when he had tried to get back at Draco for calling her 'mudblood', when they were in their second year.
"Come on, Granger! It's a broom cupboard, for crying out loud!"
Hermione looked coldly at him. "Then maybe Harry would have an explanation for it. I'm sure there's no one using an invisibility cloak. And - oh, never mind," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll just see what Harry thinks."
"Yeah," said Draco, spite in his voice. "Go ask Potter. Good, great, wonderful potter. Get him and Weasel to protect you, is that right?"
Hermione glared at him. "If you don't like my friends, shut up. You an at least try to keep a civil tongue the way they usually do."
Draco narrowed his eyes, as he tried to carry on walking without bumping into the statues. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Hermione shrugged. "Whatever I meant it to be," she said.
Draco, who did not want to end his duty with another fight with Hermione, decided to let it go. However, it seemed Hermione did not mind, fight or not.
"And what did you tell the other sixth-year prefects?" Said Hermione, frowning angrily.
"The truth," said Draco, smirking.
"You liar!" Snarled Hermione. "You twisted the whole story!"
"Oh, really?" Said Draco, coolly. "Not from what I remembered."
"Well, then you must have an awfully short memory if that's what you remembered!" Said Hermione, feeling angry, though it seemed she wasn't as annoyed as she usually was. Maybe it was the way Draco was looking at her.
"Whatever you say, Hermione..." He smirked, as they reached the last tower.
"Hermione?" Said Hermione. It was her turn to smirk. "Since when did you call me Hermione?"
Draco rolled his eyes at her. "Just drop it, Granger."
"Drop it?" Hermione repeated. "Just drop it?"
"Girls," was all Draco said, as they made their way back to the prefects' tower.
"Hey!" Hermione cried out. "Watch it!" She grabbed Draco's arm.
Draco looked down, and saw some more of the potion, or that sticky substance on the floor. "This is weird," he said, bending down, and looking closely at it.
Hermione bent down, next to him. "What is it?"
Draco reached down to touch it, but Hermione caught his arm. "No! Are you crazy! You don't even know what it is!"
"Not know what is what, Miss Granger?"
Hermione and Draco turned their heads, and saw Professor Snape standing over them, almost blocking out the light from the torch behind him.
They stood up at once. "Good evening, professor," said Draco formally. "Gran- Hermione and I were patrolling the castle, and this is the second puddle we've found. We aren't certain what this is."
Snape took a closer look at the substance. He was silent. Hermione spoke up.
"I have a glass vial of it, professor," said Hermione, drawing out the vial from her pocket.
Snape took it from her, and held it up to the fire. He looked grim. With a wave of his wand, he cleared the potion. "Where did you find the other puddle?" he asked, looking down at them.
"Near the broom cupboard on the third floor, sir," said Draco.
"But we've cleared it," said Hermione. "Er - sir, could you please tell us what that is?'
Snape diverted his gaze from the bottle onto Hermione, who suddenly felt like a jobberknoll trying to outstare a lethifold. "I'm not absolutely sure, Miss Granger," he said, making Hermione suspect he was not telling the truth. "But should either of you find another puddle with this, you are to let me know AT ONCE. Is that clear, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger?"
The two of them nodded, and they left Snape to stare weirdly at the vial.
Hermione wondered what it was, and decided to tell Harry and Ron the next day. But in the meanwhile, she was going back to her room to try to find out for herself. Ordinarily, she would have put it off to the next day, but she felt it must have been dangerous or important, or Snape would not have stared at the substance like that. Then an awful though struck Hermione: had someone deliberately put it there to harm her or Draco, or the both of them, or was the potion connected to Voldemort? Changing her mind, Hermione decided to tell Ron and Harry before trying to research it on her own. From the look on Draco's face, she could tell he too, wanted to find out what that potion was.