Chapter 24- Out of Your Jurisdiction
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Oh yeah it's only been a few months but I'm finally back! Yippee! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New year. This chapter is a little bit longer then usual to make up for my looooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg absence! Well anyway I hope you all enjoy… a little warning this chapter is WEIRD, even by my standards!
Disclaimer: No, no, no. No already. I have no rights what-so-ever apart from my bizarre little plot line which no one would a) want, b) understand, so I think I'm safe!
'-'= thoughts
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***
"You know what we have to do, don't you." Draco said with a hint of mischief in his voice. Hermione glanced down at him from her precarious position on one of the library ladders. She was reaching for a book right back on the highest shelf but at his words she dropped her arms.
"What?" She said shortly, not liking his tone at all.
"Well…" he looked up at her and she shrieked and threw a nearby book at him.
"I told you not to look!" she shouted furiously, holding her skirt tight against herself.
Draco caught the book she had lobbed at him and turned back around, all the while chuckling appreciatively. "Pink." He murmured, "Who would've thought?"
"Well I hope no one would think about the colour of my underwear!" Hermione was flushing a deep pink and watching the Slytherin carefully to make sure he didn't turn around again.
"You under-rate yourself, Granger," Draco laughed, "Countless Hogwarts males have devoted many hours to thinking about the colour of-"
"There are quite a lot of thick volumes up here Malfoy that could quite easily put a sizeable dent in your head if you continue that sentence." Hermione said warningly.
"I've no doubt." The Slytherin was still laughing and Hermione stuck her tongue out at his back and went back to trying to retrieve the book she was after. She was sure that somewhere in the library they would be able to find out more about the curse that had afflicted them but so far they had had no success. "But seriously," Draco continued, "what we have to do is go away for a while. We need some time for just the two of us to…well you know sort things out." He coughed nervously and ignored the voice inside his head which was wailing that the real Malfoy would never say anything as sappy as that.
She turned around and regarded the back of his head seriously, "Go away? Where?"
"Well I have a …tent …,yeah that's right a tent, which is not too bad. It is only a 16 bedroom manor house replica but if we didn't stay in it for too long it might not kill us."
Hermione snorted with laughter which she stifled when she realised that he wasn't joking. "Sort what out?" she asked after considering his idea for a moment.
"Okay." Draco took a deep breath, "the curse says we are supposed to be madly in love, are you?"
Hermione gasped, whatever she had been expecting it definitely wasn't that. "I…well…oh Draco I just don't know!" she said apologetically
"Well there you are. We haven't had any time to think clearly with just the two of us about it all. And I think if we put our minds to it we might be able to find a way out of the sticky situation we're in. So what do you think?"
Hermione finally got hold of the book she wanted and, to give herself time it seemed, flicked open the cover page. It's Time, she read, The Right Decisions at a Flick of Your Wand. She smiled "Alright then, let's go camping!"
***
Ron paced up and down the length of the common room thoughts spinning around in his head making him feel disorientated and dizzy. 'What had gone wrong?' he thought bitterly. Hermione and Harry had abandoned him. It seemed that everybody was going somewhere. Everyone but him. He'd been left behind. And it hurt. It cut deep inside him and all his insecurities to do with his wealth (or lack thereof) and sense of worth welled up inside of him until his heart raced and a lump appeared in his throat. He felt wretched and useless, he had to get out. He stopped on the outskirts of the forbidden forest and just stood still, ankle deep in snow although he didn't feel the cold. He'd had enough. He would rather have been facing Voldemort again rather then be shut out of his friend's lives like this. It wasn't fair.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" He suddenly shouted out loud lifting his head up to the grey sky and clenching his hands into fists.
"Of course it isn't. Life rarely is." A cold voice drawled beside him. He turned his head and looked, astonished, at the last person he had expected would ever talk to him again.
"Pansy?" he enquired softly, "what are you doing out here?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? Torturing muggles?" Ron shot her a disgusted look and she laughed bitterly. "Tasteless? Yes I suppose so. Well Weasley it really is none of your business but I am actually researching the use of Avada Kedavra on one's self." She spoke so terribly calmly that Ron thought he had misheard.
"Sorry…What?!" he stammered after his brain had processed what he thought she had said and came up with a matching answer.
"Oh surely you can't possibly be as thick as you look!" Pansy scoffed twirling her wand around in her hand "You heard me perfectly clearly."
"But you wouldn't? I mean you can't…can you?" Ron stared at her incredulously
"Well I don't know Weasley that's what I just said. And if I can't do it then I'll have to get someone else to do it for me." Her eyes fell on Ron who looked back blankly then, with comprehension dawning, shook his head violently
"Don't be stupid Pansy. Everyone knows you have to be a powerful dark wizard and I'm anything but powerful and dark."
She swept her eyes up and down his body making him feel rather self conscious then she sighed impatiently and nodded, "Yes I believe for the first time in your measly little life you're right. Don't get used to it."
"Don't worry I won't." Ron was finally beginning to feel the cold and he noticed that Pansy was shivering slightly beside him. Ron groaned at his misplaced nobility and took off his cloak. He draped it quickly over her shoulders before she had time to react.
"And just what do you think you are doing?!" she snapped plucking at the cloak disdainfully yet too cold to want to take it off.
"Oh I don't know, being a gentleman like my mother taught me." Ron said, his tone full of distaste.
"You didn't seem to mind about being a gentleman when you dumped me in the mud that time." She mocked
"Yes you actually had just spat at me!" Ron cried in amazement
"Whatever, drop it, will you." She said hastily, looking away. Ron was amazed to see that she was actually blushing.
"You weren't really going to kill yourself, were you?" he asked after several long minutes of silence had passed.
"I was looking into it." she replied shortly
"Because you know you can't." Ron said, surprised by his level of sincerity, "You can't just give up. Because no matter how bad things seem now, they will get better. Things change with time, they improve but if you're gone then you're gone and that's it!"
"Oh cut out of the bollocks!" she yelled angrily, tears shining in her eyes, "You know nothing about it! My brother is dead! My only brother, my only friend. And I loved him so much and now he's gone. So yes Weasley I do know that gone is forever, I don't need reminding of that fact!"
"Okay, I'll cut out the bollocks. You have no right to end your life because you'll just end up hurting other people and being remembered as a bloody coward, alright?!" Ron snatched back his cloak off her heaving shoulders and marched back towards Hogwarts castle, he couldn't deal with anything on his own, he needed someone else to lend a hand.
***
Ron raced up the stairs to Hermione's dormitory and burst in.
"Hermione I need your help…" but he trailed off as his eyes took stock of his surroundings. Hermione's large trunk was open and clothes and school books spilled out over the edges; the rest of the room was in disarray with clothes and other belongings strewn all over the place. "What are you doing?!" Ron shouted at Hermione who was busy pushing still more things into her trunk.
"Packing." She answered shortly.
"Stop!" Ron implored, "You said you wouldn't leave until the end of the holidays." She ignored him so he added "What are you doing to do?"
Hermione continued packing and didn't turn to face him but she answered calmly and with finality laced through every word.
"I've talked to Draco about it and we are simply going to have some time away to sort things out and see if the curse really has been stopped. I don't know about after that."
"Excuse me?! You're going to what?! Hermione no, you can't go anywhere with that slimy little creep! I…I…I forbid it!"
There was a terrible silence in the girls' dormitory and Ron regretted saying the 'F' word immediately. Hermione turned around slowly her face a cold mask of fury.
"You what?" she said quietly, "You forbid me?!" she suddenly slammed down the lid of her trunk with a loud bang which made Ron jump. "How dare you," she shouted imperiously, "even begin to think that you have any right to forbid me anything! You are not my keeper Ron you have no hold over my actions!"
"No hold?! Don't talk above me Hermione, I have a perfect right to be worried about your safety!"
"Worry away for all the good it will do!" Hermione snapped back at him "But Draco and I are out of your jurisdiction. I was not aware you had a right to nose your way into your friend's business. If I had known that I would never have bothered getting to know you in our first year!"
Ron stepped back like he had been slapped, he stared unbelievingly at his best friend before turning abruptly and walking out of the room. Hermione exhaled a deep sigh and sank down onto her trunk, shoulders hunched.
"What have I done?" she moaned.
***
Ron seethed with anger which, if possible, intensified when he saw Harry talking to Cho at the edge of the forbidden forest.
"Harry!" Ron yelled across at him. The two distant figures turned, "Come here!" Harry broke away from Cho and started up the lawns towards Ron.
"What?" he asked rather sulkily once he drew near enough for Ron to hear him
"We're going to have a little chat." Ron snarled grabbing the front of Harry's robes and dragging him back up to the castle. He almost threw the dark haired boy into the Gryffindor common room and slammed the door behind them. "Now sometime very soon you are going to tell me what is going on between you and Cho but at the moment we have more important things to attend to."
"Such as?" asked Harry glaring at Ron beneath his dark bangs.
"Oh I don't know, the issue between our best friend and worst enemy perhaps?! Hermione told me that they are going to go away. Just the two of them!" Ron shouted, enraged at the image.
"What?!" Harry also yelled and the two of them stared at each other in alarm. "We can't let her go!"
Ron smiled slightly, "Good to have you back, Harry."
"Good to be back, Ron."
***
"Hermione!"
"Ron! Harry?!" the attractive Gryffindor looked between them, "Are you back on speaking terms then?"
"Yes." Answered Ron without giving an explanation, "And we want to talk to you, now."
"I know, come on Draco is waiting in the Arithmancy classroom down the hall a bit.
"I don't think we want him there." Harry balked.
"Oh come on, you know he has to be there, just grow up a little." sniped Hermione impatiently.
Reluctantly the two boys trooped after her into the empty classroom and settled themselves on some desks at the front. Hermione went and stood next to Draco who looked straight into Ron's eyes and intertwined the fingers of his right hand with those on her left. The red head made a start towards him but Hermione shook her hand free of the Slytherin's clasp and gave him a reprimanding look.
"To start with," she said softly, "I just want to say that I am so sorry Ron, I didn't mean what I said before, I was upset and I lashed out at you."
"It's fine." Ron said grimly his eyes fixed on Malfoy unblinkingly as if daring him to try anything.
"Well, good." The situation couldn't get much more awkward then it was do Hermione decided to steam on ahead, "So Draco and I are going away for three days to figure everything out but after that I promise we'll be back and we'll discuss our decision with you fully."
"But where'll you stay?" Harry gripped Hermione by the shoulders and gave her a little shake as if trying to force reason into her, "The weather's awful and I don't think it likely you have enough muggle money on you to stay in a hotel."
"I have a wizard tent that we are going to stay in." Draco answered for Hermione
"I wasn't asking you." Harry spat then he looked quizzically at the Slytherin, "A tent Malfoy? Why do you have a tent at Hogwarts?"
Draco picked a bit of lint off his cloak and flicked it away unconcernedly, "I have everything else, why not a tent?"
Harry looked at Ron who shrugged then turned back to Hermione "For three days? You'd hate it, I know you!"
"Oh I don't know," Draco annoyed at their attitude decided to fight back, screw trying to keep the peace, they started it, "three days ALONE with me and perhaps you won't recognise Hermione. After all you it seems Potter can't tell one corpse from another."
Harry made a furious move towards him but both Hermione and Ron grabbed him.
"If you think," Ron began, "that you can destroy what the three of us have you're very much mistaken."
"I'm not trying to ruin your friendship Weasley!"
"Why are you insisting on taking Hermione away from us then?" Harry asked
"Because she isn't safe here!" Draco hissed in annoyance
"And she's definitely not safe anywhere with you!" Ron exploded
"What makes you think you can look after her better then us? We've been protecting her for over 5 years and doing a better job than you ever could!" Harry added
"Oh yes well done!" Draco drawled sarcastically, "Such a good job you two have done I mean she's only had her life endangered regularly every year, I mean that's nothing!"
"That's nobody's fault but your precious dark lord's!" Ron spat
"My dark lord? Come now you can't be that thick." Draco sneered
"Thick is he? I swear Malfoy you are going the right way for a punch in the face." Harry said advancing menacingly towards the Slytherin.
"Just try it Potter, see what you get in return."
"Stop it! Stop it all of you I can't take it!" Hermione suddenly screamed leaping to her feet. "Ron, Harry, we're going and you can't stop us. We just need to work some things out for ourselves but I'll be back, I promise. I would never leave you two I need you more then anything. This is just one thing that you can't be a part of but you guys star as the leads in my life and that's the way it will stay forever. Just trust me on this one."
Draco thought the moment appropriate to make gagging noises and saunter out of the room. 'Honestly she does go on!' he thought peevishly, 'You guys star as the leads in my life…yuck, yuck, yuck!' he turned and slid down the stone wall just outside the door he had just exited. He listened to the murmur of voices rise and fall and then everything went quiet. He sat still for several minutes then he stood and opened the door a crack. Hermione, Harry and Ron were enveloped in a tight three way hug and Draco could distinctly see tears' glittering under Hermione's closed lashes. They all seemed to be holding on with all their might as if one or the other might suddenly disappear. Draco hated it. This blind and open affection was ridiculous and only ensured that one day they would be split apart and suffer tremendous heart ache. 'Well that's their problem' he thought disgustedly closing the door softly and once again beginning to wait for Hermione to emerge. 'But she's mine for the next three days…all mine. Now where am I going to get hold of a blasted tent?'
***
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Well they're going camping, fair enough. Don't ask where that strange bit of a plot twist came from! I can't believe I am on 32 favourites lists! Unbelievable, truly it is. Thankyou to everyone who reads this story and an especial thankyou to those who do me the honour of putting me on their favourites list! Well I hope you all enjoyed and yes children it is that time again…thankyous to:
Gohansfollower: I know, I don't know where I'm going with this whole Pansy thing but it's fun to write something a bit different! Thankyou so much for saying that chapter 23 was great and I will do my best to keep writing at the same level. Here's hoping! Thanks : )
Akira Gown: Geez, you are incredible! To save my fingers I'm only going to reply to the review on chapter 23, otherwise we could get caught up in an evil loop of thankyou's! But I do thankyou for replying to my reply of your reply, he he, that sounds cool! But I digress, I'm happy that some of your confusion was cleared up but I like to keep everyone on their toes. For example, I thought I was going to explain the Cho and Harry thing this chapter but I didn't get round to it, oh well something to hopefully keep you all reading! I hope you enjoyed the Draco/Hermione moment at the beginning of this chapter too, I have to say it is actually one of my favourites! Oh, one more thing, I'm really short too and I think Ravenclaw would be the house I would be put in too! Vertically challenged people of the world unite! I use exclamation marks wayyyyy too much, and the weird thing is I don't like them much. I think people who use them the most are kind of like dipsy empty headed girls, whoops off I go again, rambling about nothing. Thankyou so much for your very long review and I hope you like this chapter as well.
WitchyBitchy4life_1908: Hmm depending on how you imagine them I suppose. I think that Ron and Harry would be stronger physically but that Draco would whop them in a magic match! Anyway everyone is entitled to their own opinion, thankyou for expressing yours : )
Vixen: Yeah, spoon feeding is bad…also things are probably confusing because I am trying to sort everything out in my own head and I'm writing it! You said my characters are developing, I love you forever, thankyou so much! I'm proud of me too and this chapter is also pretty long audience claps politely thankyou, thankyou. Also I had a fantastic time on my trip thankyou, I love holidays to bits! I hope you like this chapter too and thanks for being such a faithful reviewer big sticky pieces of Turkish delight for you! (Just ate a big piece of Turkish delight, yummy, yummy)
Aki: I'm so flattered and very sorry that you wasted your time so many times a day! I'm so happy you loved my chapter 23, I worked hard on it I must confess. Yeah, I'm slightly…erm…erratic with my chapter lengths so perhaps in the end they all cancel each other out, you know short ones followed by long ones equal medium sized ones. Of course I read your story, one review doesn't really mean much compared to all the reviews you guys have written to me but I do think your story is really very good. When are you going to update? Hurry up! (Okay I know I'm not exactly one to talk!) You shouldn't tease your best friend about them not having a licence or car to drive rubs bruise on arm and winces found that out the hard way! Thankyou, as always for providing such a friendly review for me to read and enjoy the somewhat bizarre experience of my head expanding!
Kuri: I must say I have never tasted Apple Cider Vinegar…I've tasted apple cider but I quite like that. Anyway thankyou for agreeing that you liked my chapter, it was actually quite hard to write…well you know not as bad as essays on really boring and pointless things! Well this is when I'm going to update again, hopefully I will get the next one out soon, although I'm rather busy at the moment, I hope this will hold you all off! Yeah, I got a car and it is so cute! I've spent the last few days beginning to learn how to drive and I'm not impressed. Stupid manual cars I just want to ignore the clutch and drive fast! Don't worry I'm not that insane …in the car anyway. Thankyou for always being such a faithful reviewer, much appreciated.
Rayne: Thankyou for saying my story is great. Twins, huh? I didn't realise that magic didn't work against your twin but I guess that makes sense. Two of my best friends are twins and if they could use magic against one another they would both be in intensive care by now! Anyway, thankyou for reviewing.
Tragedy: I like how by just clearing your throat you get your sister in line, not bad! Thankyou for your input in the review too! I like the Japanese language full stop although I don't really know it, in fact my only experience is manga and anime!
Gnat10886: Wow I'm so honoured you read my story. Where's your next chapter?! I have read your submissions and you really are a very talented author. I'm on your favourite list?! Well thankyou and thankyou for your wonderful review, really made me want to cry!
Alina: long and beautiful?! Awgh thankyou so much. No need to thank me for writing, I love it, wouldn't do it otherwise! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, yep and I think that just about covers it : )
Felicity: Yes, just a little bit of history repeating itself…ever heard that song? Never mind! Sorry you are so confused, hopefully things will become clearer, if not email me and I'll try and explain. Thankyou for reviewing.
Bamboo Anime: WHAT?! A TORNADO HIT YOUR SCHOOL?! Okay that is a claim to fame. Do you have to go to a different school now or are they rebuilding it? I'm fascinated by this, really, the most my school has ever had is a bomb scare but it was just a practical joke. Talk about a cool compensation prize though, first in line, it pays to have natural disasters hit your school. Did you like the movie? Such a cute R/Hr moment at the end! Anyway thankyou for saying I wrote a great chapter gives a nice big boost to my ego! Thanks.
Draco'sAmericanGurl: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday for the 6th of December, happy birthday to you! I hope you had a fantastic day. Thankyou for putting me on your favourites list and for saying that my story is awesome, that is really rather sweet of you!
Stephanie: Yep and this is kind of long too, not very but I'm getting there! Umm make up your own mind if you think Pansy is good, I'm just kind of playing around with her character at the moment. Thankyou for saying I'm doing great, makes me feel all warm inside! Thanks.
Harriet Vane: No need to apologise, that it as long as you were hard at work on your own story puts on whiny voice I wanna 'nother chapter!...please?! Anyway, yeah I had fun with the potential conversations, in fact I always have fun when doing the voices in Draco's head! Yay for angst, glad you like, thankyou.
Lorraine: Really cool and great? Well shucks, thankyou! I didn't really update soon but well I have no excuse, I am a slacker. Thankyou for reviewing so nicely.
yopgi-chunsa: you love it…well yippee thankyou so much! Well I'm sorry but you did have to wait and rather a long time, sorry again! Thankyou for your lovely review it was so nice to read!
Candy: The Princess Bride is fantastic. I got the actual video for Christmas as I only had a copy taped off the TV before. It is so clever and well done. I love the scene where Buttercup and Westley are on the rocks and she says:
"You mock my pain!"
Then he answers "Life is pain princess, anyone who says otherwise is selling something."
I've only had two quotes so far. The first was in chapter 6 when Pansy said
"My mirror is filthy, I want to see my face shining in it by morning." And the house elves replied
"As you wish."
Which is like when Buttercup told Westley to shine her saddle.
The second was in chapter 8 when Ron and Draco are having a confrontation and Draco says a Vizzini line
"You'd like to think that wouldn't you?" I can't actually remember where exactly in the PB that comes up. Yeah I'm trying to keep it interesting by making them not kiss and suddenly be together! I'm definitely not leaving it at chapter 23, there is actually quite a bit to go groan joke, joke! Thankyou so much for reviewing, go and watch the PB!
Well thankyou to anyone who read this, please review. I'll leave you with one bit of advice to consider… Never make sudden movements in a hammock, yep I learnt the hard way earlier today!
Jess/star123
