The Seventh Moon
Author: IcyFire
Rating: PG-13
A/N: School just started back up again (Spring Break was way too short!). So I'll probably have to write this in between all my homework, which means it will probably take longer for chapters to come out.
Also, I would like to answer some questions that you may have about this story. Everything I have mentioned so far is very important in the plot - all the little details and such. I'm afraid that when I get to the real plot and mention stuff that I talked about in the early chapters and you'll all be like "huh?" And yes, the title does have something to do with the plot - it's actually what the whole story is based on (I doubt you understood that), but the significance of the title won't be revealed until towards the middle of the story.
Thanks to my reviewers: Special One (who really isn't special, but more like spedcial), Starlit Raven, 'div, Elfmoon87, Julie, Ginnyrules890, mdemanatee, tainted black, sqt pepper, Slim-Shady's-Modeling-Baby, Miforever, December1o04, hermioneG89, RoBi darkO cOrEnLio RoSa, aku-neko, Nikki, Riona, Shads, lixa, Li-chan, La Lucida Luna, BlueBird, Fashiondiva (imagine something like an "0" sitting at the top of a "T" right where the three points meet - I don't know any other way to describe it without giving something away...and it sits on her wrist the way that if she put her wrist in front of her without twisting it in any way, the "T" would be right-side up), Dragonfires, Immortal Sky, and anyone I missed (although I hope I didn't...).
Disclaimer: As much as I would like to believe that all of this is mine, unfortunately, it's not except the plot.
Hermione supported her chin in her hand as she stared blankly at the board in front of her on which Professor Allegra had just drawn a few bars of music notes. She blinked her eyes tiredly a few times and felt the sudden urge to yawn. Shifting her hand over to cover her mouth, she concealed the yawn.
Her eyes began to drift around the room again and the writing on the chalkboard became extremely fuzzy in her sight. She fought hard to keep her eyes open, but her eyelids were just so damn heavy. She couldn't keep them open.
It wasn't until her head hit the wooden desk five minutes later that she was awakened from her slumber. She couldn't believe that she had dozed off - it was so unlike her normal self. But then again, she thought sadly to herself, she wasn't herself anymore. The funny thing was, she didn't even know why. She still hadn't been able to figure it out yet and she didn't know if she ever would.
The fact that Draco Malfoy, her sworn enemy since the beginning of time, was also the only person in the world who could see the change in her didn't serve to help things at all. She was sure it was a coincidence - that was all she would let herself believe. To her, there was no - there could be no - other reason behind it.
She sighed inwardly and shut her eyes again, inhaling and exhaling deeply. She rested her chin on her hand again, and it wasn't long before the felt the signs of sleep attacking her again.
Why exactly she had decided to take Music Skills as a course was completely beyond her. It was such a boring and pointless class - a complete waste of time that she could have used as extra studying time or taking some other useful and meaning course. As far as she knew, this class wouldn't help her in her future career. After all, her goal was to become the Minister of Magic, and that job would not require any knowledge of music. However, she had already taken all of the courses Hogwarts had to offer and this was the only class that she had never touched. In the end, she signed up for it just so she'd have something to kill time with. If she had known that it would be so dull, she would have never done it.
Sure, Professor Allegra was a nice lady, but Hermione had ever felt any great passion for music in her life. She didn't play any instrument or even sing. She'd seen musical before and loved them, but she didn't think she could sing. She didn't even want to try, ever.
Hermione rubbed her eyes and resolved not to fall asleep again. Slowly, her senses tuned in to the conversation that was going on behind her somewhere to the left, on the Slytherin side of the room.
"Have you ever heard her sing? Trust me, you don't want to. She has such an awful voice!" came Blaise's hurried whisper.
A chuckle burst forth from somewhere behind her. "She has more than just some intonation problems. Professor Allegra sure has her work cut out for her!"
"I can't believe she hasn't dropped this course already, with that god-awful voice of hers!" This shriek of a voice sounded remotely like Pansy, and a few snickers erupted toward the back of the room.
Lavender her body sideways toward Hermione so that she could whisper into her friend's ear. "They're talking about me again, aren't they?"
Of course they were talking about her, and Hermione knew it.
"Maybe it's someone else," Hermione lied through her teeth, making a sympathetic face.
"It's me - I know it is!" There was a drop of sorrow in Lavender's voice.
Hermione nudged her friend in the side. "Ignore it. Pretend you don't care."
"I can't - I do care!"
Lavender's whimper was cut short by Professor Allegra, who turned away from the board and began to speak to the class.
"Can I have two volunteers to sing the two lines of music I have drawn on the board?" she asked, smiling delightfully.
More than just a few hands shot up into the air, including Lavender's, to Hermione's quiet dismay. She secretly hoped that Lavender would not be picked - she would only embarrass herself in front of the whole class. She didn't have the heart to tell her friend and fellow Gryffindor that she wasn't exactly gifted in the musical area.
"Ah, Miss Parkinson, you take the first line," the professor said, pointing at the blonde girl. "And Miss Brown, you can take the second line."
Damn, Hermione thought. Now how could she save Lavender from humiliation? Out of all the students she could have picked, did Allegra just have to pick Lavender? It was bad karma, Hermione decided in the end.
Hermione lifted her eyes to see Pansy smile smugly and stand up from her seat. She was surprised to see that Pansy did not seem nervous at all - she was very calm, bordering snotty, and seemed to look like she thought she could do anything. When the professor gave her the signal to start, Hermione prepared to have her eardrums bust. With such an awful shrieking speaking voice, she thought Pansy's singing voice couldn't be much better. Besides, if Pansy was really bad, then that would make Lavender sound better.
However, much to Hermione's surprise, Pansy sang the line of music with perfect clarity and pitch. She hated to admit it, but Pansy did have quite a good voice. It was light and very well supported. On top of that, her pitch and intonation were both excellent.
"Beautiful!" the professor exclaimed, clapping her hands. "That's was absolutely beautiful, Miss Parkinson! Have you had any vocal instruction?"
"Thank you, Professor," Pansy said in her all too fake high-pitched squeal. Hermione wondered how, with such an annoying speaking voice, Pansy could possibly possess such an amazing singing voice. "I've been taking voice lessons since I was six."
That must have been why, Hermione thought. The girl had been taking voice lessons for more than a decade! Of course she'd be good at singing.
Professor Allegra nodded happily at Pansy and then turned expectantly toward Lavender. "Your turn, Miss Brown."
Hermione could tell that Lavender was nervous as she stood up to sing the next bar. She felt terrible for Lavender especially since the girl was obviously going to make a fool of herself trying to outdo Pansy Parkinson. Yes, Lavender was her friend, but Hermione couldn't deny that Lavender's voice was anything but pretty. And there was no way she could sound even remotely good after such a spectacular performance by Pansy Parkinson.
The professor beckoned the trembling Lavender to start. Hermione watched with her fingers crossed as Lavender began to sing softly. Her first note cracked unpleasantly and the rest of her notes didn't sound quite so good either. Her voice was too breathy - no where near the pure clarity of Pansy's voice. A little tremor could be heard in her voice due to how nervous she was, and most definitely didn't make her sound any better. If anything, it made her voice sound only worse.
And then there was the intonation. Although Hermione had never sung in her life or taken any musical instruction at all, she was surprised at how much she knew more than others about music. Maybe she was born with some musical sense.
Hermione cringed more than just a couple of times during those five short measures, although she did try to mask it. The poor, shaking girl had sung more wrong notes than right. Four measures in, Hermione was sure that Lavender had changed keys at least three times already. By the time the girl finished, she was about four whole steps from where she should have been.
As soon as she finished, Lavender sat down and glanced toward Hermione for comfort.
"How was it?" Lavender asked in a quiet and worried whisper.
Hermione didn't know what to say. She couldn't just tell Lavender that she was terrible and should never try for a career as a singer. "It was pretty good."
Professor Allegra was at a complete loss for words. Hermione hoped that Lavender took that as a good sign. After a few awkward seconds, the professor could only mutter a small: "Thank you, Miss Brown.
As the professor took her place at her desk in the front of the classroom again, giggles burst out from the Slytherin corner.
"Honesty, she's terrible."
"If I was such a terrible singer, I wouldn't volunteer to sing for anyone!"
"How embarrassing!"
"I sure was much better than her." This voice, Hermione recognized as Pansy.
There was another giggle. "You have no competition, Pansy. You and Brown? That's like comparing a nightingale to a crow!"
Hermione glanced over to the girl next to her to see if she had heard anything. Judging by the way Lavender's eyes were too overbright, she knew she had heard everything. She laid a hand on her friend's arm in a comforting gesture, and hoped that the whispers would die down.
"Did you hear her? She sounded like a goat!" Giggles, giggles, giggles. Hermione was sure she heard someone mimicking the way Lavender sang, with a large vibrato.
How could they be so insensitive? How could they treat her friend this way? The way they spoke of poor Lavender as if she wasn't even there. Hermione sure wasn't going to take it any longer.
"Perhaps she'd be better suited living in Switzerland - I heard there were many goats there. I'm sure she'd fit in perfectly with the family. She's - "
"Shut up!" Hermione snapped fiercely, spinning around in her seat, catching the attention of the whole class.
Pansy, who had been cut off, glared at the Gryffindor coldly. "Yes, Granger? Have you anything to add?"
"You have no right judge Lavender," Hermione said icily, returning the glare.
"Honesty, Granger, you must be deaf," Blaise said, turning her nose up and twirling her hair. "But then again, you are a mudblood."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Hermione returned, ignoring Blaise's insult. She had heard enough of it during her seven years at Hogwarts that it didn't bother her so much anymore.
"And I suppose you do?" Pansy said haughtily, raising an eyebrow. When there was no answer from Hermione, Pansy continued her assault. "Really, you shouldn't mess with things you haven't an inking about."
"I demand that you apologize to Lavender," Hermione said, still with the almost frightening cold look in her eyes.
Pansy rolled her eyes and flipped her long shiny blonde hair back. "What I said was true. Horrible tone, horrible pitch, horrible intonation."
If Pansy had been Hermione's friend or anything but a Slytherin, Hermione would have agreed with her whole-heartedly. But Pansy was a Slytherin and Lavender was her friend, who was too weak to defend herself. She couldn't just sit back and let a Slytherin get the better of a Gryffindor.
"Just because your voice is mediocre doesn't mean you can make fun of other people," Hermione said with a sneer, glaring at the blonde girl.
Pansy gaped at her. "Mediocre? How dare you!"
It was Hermione's turn to stick her nose in the air. "You heard me right. What's great about your singing? Anybody can sing like that."
"Alright," Pansy said, fuming, sending Hermione a nasty look. "You sing then. Let's see who's the better singer, shall we?"
Hermione instantly regretted anything that she had said to Pansy in her anger. She couldn't sing. She wouldn't sing. She had never sung a note in her live. She had never even tried to sing in her life, and she didn't know if she ever wanted to. She'd always assumed that she'd be bad at it, that she'd ruin some composer's masterpiece or something.
"I...I can't," she said, feeling as if she'd already lost the argument.
Pansy crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and smiled smugly. "I knew you didn't have it in you, mudblood."
With that, Hermione flew into rage. Normally, she wouldn't have cared if someone called her that, since she was so used to it. But Pansy had made it sound so absolutely degrading that she couldn't but feel enraged.
"Fine," she said curtly. She didn't want to give Pansy the pleasure of saying that she was too scared of the challenge. "I'll do it."
"I'm listening," Pansy said, giving Hermione the cue to start.
There was no sound.
"I don't know anything to sing," Hermione said, almost happily now that she had an excuse not to sing - to not make a complete fool of herself. "Honestly, I don't."
Pansy dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Make something up."
Hermione swallowed hard, realizing there was no way she could back out now. She didn't know what to sing - she couldn't think of anything at the moment. Everything had left her and her mind was a blank slate. Just a completely blank sheet of paper. Nothing.
She hadn't ever sung in her life, therefore she really and truly didn't know what she could possibly sing. In a desperate attempt, she searched through her brain for all those musicals she had watched before. Damn, she couldn't think of any of them.
Pansy, who was sitting in her chair, wore a look of absolute impatience on her face. Hermione licked her lips and prepared to make a fool out of herself. She still didn't know what to sing, but that didn't bother her anymore. She would just sing anything that came to her at the moment. Hoping that she could just belt out the first pretty thing that came to her mind, she opened her mouth.
And then music found her. She was feeling so nervous that she didn't realize she was singing until a while after the notes began to flow from her mouth. It was so easy. It felt so...free. Why she had never tried this before stumped her. It was wonderful to just let go and let the music flow.
From far away, she could hear someone singing a beautiful melody. The music entranced her, and she became completely oblivious to her surroundings. She was in a place of dreams, a place where there were rolling hills and green forests, green meadows and blue skies. Where the world was perfect and all thoughts were happy thoughts. It was a place where all troubles were forgotten and all dreams soared.
The music encompassed her. The melody possessed her - she could feel it rippling through the very essence of herself. Her only thought was to keep listening to the music, and to never stop.
The voice was clear as crystal and powerful as the sea, yet gentle as the soft breeze. It was like the waves of the ocean, the roaring of a waterfall, the chirping of a brook, the ripple of a stream. The rumble of thunder, the flashes of lightening, the brightness of the sun, the elegance of the stars. It was all the beauty of nature, intertwined into one.
When finally she closed her mouth and the magic vanished, all she was left with was a room full of gaping students. All twenty eyes stared back at her. Her throat tightened - did she really sound so bad that nobody could say anything? The professor was the first to recover.
"Mozart," she said, her voice a bit breathy, "right?"
Hermione was bewildered, and shook her head absently. "I don't know."
"Why'd you settle on Mozart?" The professor said, smiling, hoping to calm's Hermione's fears.
Was it Mozart? She couldn't remember anything; she had no idea what had come out of her mouth. She didn't even know any of Mozart's pieces, how could she have sung them? The professor must have been mistaken, she decided. Hermione only kept shaking her head in a daze. "I-it just sort of came to me. I don't really know how."
She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. When nobody made any comment, Hermione spoke again. "I'm sorry if it was that bad." She truly meant it.
Just then, the bell rang, startling everyone in the classroom, breaking the trance. Without another word, Hermione gathered all her supplies and hurried out of the room, happy to finally be able to leave the uneasy atmosphere.
Great, now she had just made a complete fool out of herself! Next class, Lavender wouldn't be the center of gossip and harsh whispers anymore - it would be her. Her stomach tightened just thinking about it.
"Wow, Hermione! You really showed her!" Lavender said, running to catch up with her.
"Did I sound okay?" Hermione asked anxiously. Maybe she didn't do as bad as she thought.
Lavender looked puzzled. "Didn't you hear it?"
"Hear what?" Hermione asked, turning her head to the side to face her friend.
"Hear yourself sing!" Lavender chirped happily.
Hermione stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose. "I completely zoned out. I think my mind went off to Neverland."
"Oh," Lavender said excitedly. "You sounded so...I can't find a word to describe it! It was more than wonderful. It was so powerful and I was so full of awe." At this, Lavender clasped her hands to her heart. "I can't describe it. I think you captivated the whole class!"
"Good," Hermione said, although she herself didn't quite believe it. But then again, she didn't exactly hear herself sing. "That'll keep Pansy's mouth shut for a while."
"You should have told me you had such a great voice!"
Hermione scratched her head. "That was the first time I ever sang in my life."
Lavender stopped in her step and stared at her friend with her mouth open and eyes as big saucers. "Really? Wait, no, you're lying."
"I swear it's the truth."
"Nobody can sing that well on their first try!" Lavender argued. "Can they?"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know."
Lavender, whose mind had already wondered off that subject, clasped her hands together happily. "You should have seen the look on Pansy's face! She was nothing compared to you. Nothing!"
Before Hermione could reply, Harry and Ron darted out of a nearby classroom and they came rushing to her.
"Hey, Hermione! We're eating lunch at Hagrid's, do you want to come?" Ron asked.
Hermione shook her head. "No, not today."
"Why not?" Harry frowned. The three of them always stayed together and always visited Hagrid together.
"I've set up a meeting during lunch to talk to Professor McGonagall." She glanced at her watch. "And if I don't hurry, I'll be late."
"McGonagall? Is this about your test?"
Hermione sighed. "It's my essay. I figured McGonagall would be bound to know something about Aurora - she was teaching here back then, wasn't she?"
Harry nodded. "I think so."
"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Hermione said, waving good-bye to her friends. "I've got to get to the Transfiguration classroom in less than five minutes!"
Hermione knocked cautiously on the door and waited patiently for a response. Fortunately, it came soon.
"Come in."
Slowly, she pushed the creaking door open. Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk, which was topped with a pile of papers at the moment. Quietly, Hermione carried a chair over to the front of the desk so that she was facing the professor.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" said the professor, looking up from all the paperwork.
"Professor, we're doing research essays in Professor Binn's class and - "
McGonagall put her hand up to silence Hermione. "Say no more. Alumni essay, is it? Every year I have students come and ask me."
Hermione licked her lips. "C-could you help me?"
"Who might this person be?"
"Her name's Aurora. Aurora Belle Riviera."
The professor removed her glasses and set them down on the table. "Ah. I see."
"I've looked everywhere, but have found close to nothing about her. C-could you maybe give me a little information about her?"
Professor McGonagall frowned. "Dark hair, blue eyes, rather tall - you're talking about her, right?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, nodding. "The one that looks like a Greek goddess out of one of those mythology books."
Professor McGonagall responded with a quiet chuckle. "Aurora Riviera - she was quite the scheming devil. I never did like her much, although I always respected her."
"Oh?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"
"She was Lily Evans' competition for Head Girl. It was a Slytherin against a Gryffindor. Of course I didn't like her much."
Hermione laughed. "She couldn't have been that much of a threat to Lily. After all, Lily did become Head Girl and she's known as one of the smartest witches to ever come to Hogwarts."
The professor shook her head slowly and sighed, massaging her temples. "I don't know if I should be telling you this."
"Telling me what?" Hermione asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Professor McGonagall averted her eyes. "If Aurora hadn't dropped out of the running for Head Girl, Lily would have never gotten that position."
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"
"Near the end of her sixth year, Aurora asked Dumbledore to take her off the list of possible candidates for Head Girl," Professor McGonagall said, sighing heavily.
"Why would she do that?"
"One can only wonder."
"I see," Hermione said softly, not comprehending how someone would willingly give up their place as Head Girl.
"Her marks were consistently higher than Lily's - even when she didn't try." The professor sighed. "She had quite a passion for learning. She had the brains, and the beauty."
When Hermione didn't respond, the professor continued. "She was possibly the most beautiful girl to ever enter Hogwarts."
Hermione's lips twisted into a small smile. "I can tell. She's got such a powerful - "
" - aura around her?" the professor finished.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Exactly."
Professor McGonagall smiled gently at Hermione and sighed. Hermione took this as a chance to take out the piece of parchment from her bookbag, which she had written a few questions she could ask the professor about.
"Who were her friends?"
"She was the leader of the Slytherin clique of rather snobbish girls. Lily didn't like them much - I was her sole confidante at school," she said. "They were not the nicest people in the world - all of them were from rich, influential, pureblood families while Lily was a muggle-born. They gave her quite a bit of trouble. Actually, they gave everyone a bit of trouble."
"So she had many Slytherin friends?"
"No, no, not just Slytherins. The whole male population at Hogwarts fell for her, and they fell hard. You can imagine the scandals she caused," she said with a wry smile.
"What about her parents? I heard that they died when she was young. Do you happen to know anything about it?" Hermione asked, looking up from the list.
"Poor girl," the professor said, a voice even bordered sadness. "She couldn't have been more than four years old when they died, I believe. She was raised by the servants of the house who spoiled and dotted on her, from what I heard."
"That's awful," Hermione said. She tried imagine how she would feel if her parents died when she was that young. She couldn't picture it. She couldn't imagine a world without her mother and father - they had always been there to encourage her, to comfort her. A world without them would have not been a world at all.
"She almost lost her life at school, too."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, interested.
"The first-years were in a boating course, which isn't offered here anymore. The boats were halfway across the lake, everyone in their own. She was standing in her boat with an umbrella, looking like a porcelain doll when one of the lake's creatures flipped over her boat and she fell overboard."
"She couldn't swim?" Hermione asked, scribbling the notes down.
"She was an excellent swimmer, but she had hit her head on the side of the boat as she went down and knocked herself out, or so I heard. Everyone was so afraid of the creature that they started paddling away," the professor said, shaking her head. "If it hadn't been for him, she would have probably drowned before we could get to her."
"If it hadn't been for who?"
"Why, James Potter, of course!"
Hermione looked up from the parchment. "James Potter saved her life?"
"If he hadn't seen her fall over and immediately dive into the water to rescue her, she would have died."
"So James Potter saved her life." Hermione let it all sink in. "Oh poor girl, so much misfortune in life."
"Her parents left her a large fortune, I believe. She was the only living descendant of the Riviera family left."
Hermione nodded in sympathy and then glanced down at the parchment again. "After Hogwarts, do you know who she married and if she had any children?" Hermione asked, reading off the list.
"She didn't have any children."
"Oh?" Hermione could hardly imagine any married woman in the wizarding world not having children.
"She didn't marry."
That seemed even more odd to Hermione. If she was so popular and was chased after by all the male students in Hogwarts, then it was quite unbelievable that she never married.
The professor glanced at a large grandfather clock on the opposite side of the room. "I'm sorry, but I have a meeting to attend with Professor Dumbledore. Please excuse me."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said quickly, rising from her seat. She didn't want to hinder the wise witch.
"Anytime, Miss Granger."
"Hermione, want to come and watch our Quidditch practice tonight?" asked Harry. "It begins in twenty minutes."
Hermione shook her head. "Sorry, Harry, I'd love to, but I've got work to do."
"It's that essay again, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"You need to take a break," said Ron, concerned. "You'll wear yourself out."
"I'm fine," Hermione said, shaking off their words. "And I hate to procrastinate. I just want to get it done and over with."
Harry shrugged. "Alright, then. Ron and I have to go now."
After they hurried off to quidditch practice, Hermione left the Great Hall and made her way to the library with slow, heavy footsteps. She hadn't had much sleep in a while and it was beginning to affect her negatively.
The library was surprisingly empty, she noticed when she arrived. Usually there were always around twenty people there at any given time, but today there was less than ten. Perhaps other people had gone to watch the quidditch practice. Or perhaps they had a life, she thought miserably.
She threw her bookbag onto a free table and slowly made her way to the shelves. She knew exactly what she was looking for and was able to quickly pull it off the shelf and bring it to her table. It was the same velvet book that she had looked at last time she was here with Ron and Harry. It was the book of Hogwarts alumnus.
She set the heavy book down on the tabletop and flipped it open. To her luck, she had flipped it right to the page she was looking for. Staring back at her from the page was the photograph of Aurora Riviera posing serenely by the stairs.
Hermione sat down and just simply stared at the picture for almost an eternity. It completely captivated her. The girl in the photograph stood so absolutely still that Hermione wondered for a while whether it was actually a wizard photograph or not. Then Hermione noticed that every once in a while, her shining deep blue eyes would blink.
Was this the girl who had willingly given up the title of Head Girl to a girl who was in her rival house? Hermione wondered what kind of a person would do such a thing. She could never imagine herself doing anything of the sort. She had wanted to be Head Girl so much, she wouldn't have given it up for anything. She had spent years fighting for the place. Under what circumstance would a person be willing to give up all those years of work? Whoever worked that hard for six years only to give up everything, in Hermione's opinion, was a fool.
Hermione stared at the picture, mesmerized by the intensity of it, the raging emotion that was captured.
"I've seen her."
The voice startled her and she spun her body around to face the speaker. Leaning over her shoulder and looking over onto the photograph was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Liar," she spat, slamming the book shut. "What are you doing here?"
He ignored her. "That girl - "
"I'm not interested," came Hermione's fierce reply. "What do you want?"
"I want to know," he said, looking stern and taking a seat next to her, much to her dismay. "I want answers."
"I don't know!" she said, cutting him off. "All right? I don't know what happened to my eyes and I know why you can see it and I don't know why everyone else can't. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! Now will you leave me alone?"
"I can help you find out."
She stared at him blankly for a second but then returned to her irritated state. "It's my business."
"But I want to know." His fist came down hard on the sturdy wood.
"Why?" she asked, exhaling deeply. "What the hell do you care?"
"Because it has something to do with me," he said, with a noticeable tremor in his voice. It almost sounded like Draco Malfoy was...frightened. "I can feel that it does."
She shook her head sadly. "Don't get involved."
"I already am."
Hermione set her head on the book and closed her eyes for a second, not knowing how she could reply.
"Aurora, right?" Draco said, looking away from her.
Her head shot up. "What? What did you say?"
"The girl in the picture," he said, gesturing at the book, "that's Aurora, right?"
She didn't think she was hearing him correctly. How could he know her? And he seemed to know a lot more than she did even after all her hours of research. Then she remembered - they were both Slytherins - their families were probably long time friends or something, she decided. But then again, she wasn't sure. She peered at him under lowered eyebrows. "How do you know her?"
"I thought you weren't interested," he said, his lips curling into a smile.
"I am now," she said, crossing her arms.
"Well," he said, a sly smile playing on his lips, "I don't know if I should tell you."
"My mark in Binn's class depends on this!" she said fiercely, sending him a glare.
"Alright, let's make a deal, how about it?"
She observed him with her eyebrow raised. "I'm not sleeping with you."
He emitted a loud sigh followed by what Hermione interpreted as a look of disgust. "How many times do I have to remind you that I have no interest in you that way?"
When she didn't respond, he continued. "I'll tell you everything I know about Aurora if you - "
"If I what?"
"If you let me investigate that eye mystery with you."
"I told you it's none of your business."
"I want to know," he said again. His redundancy irritated her.
"Look, Malfoy. This is my life."
"But I'm involved. I'm tied to it somehow. And I want to know why." His tone was so powerful that it scared her. She determined she wouldn't let it bother her.
"You better hide," Hermione commented sarcastically as a large group of students wandered into the library. "You don't want to be seen talking to me, do you? Tsk, tsk, what would that do to your reputation?"
He reached out and placed a firm, almost commanding, hand on her arm. "Believe, if I didn't have to be here, I wouldn't be. But somehow, this whole thing has something to do with me, and I want to know what it is and why. Right now I just need one answer from you. Yes or no?"
She pondered this for a second. If she said no to him, then she'd probably fail her essay for Binn's. On the other hand, if she agreed to this with him, that would mean she could probably find some valuable information on Aurora Riviera. That was all she cared about at this point.
And about all that eye business, who cares? She'd let him research - she had already done enough of her own and nothing had turned up. He would just fail miserably like her and give up. It would be a great way to keep him busy while she could dig some Aurora information out of him.
She smiled wickedly. "Alright."
"Perfect." His smile displayed his two neat rows of gleaming white teeth. "Meet me at the willow tree off the bend in the road at the next Hogsmeade weekend."
Before she could ask any questions, he promptly rose from his seat and strode out of the library, his robes whipping behind him.
TBC
A/N: Okay, end of another chapter! Starting from the next chapter (which I am going to start writing right now even though I should be studying for my tests and doing my home work that is already late), the story should move pretty fast. Till next time, ciao!
