Chapter Five- Memories, Ginger Spice, and Orange Elephants
Hermione brought her hand back down to her side and leaned up against the wall. Oh god… I can not do this… I cannot face him… After what I did last time… Oh god… Hermione thought back to the last time she had seen Draco Malfoy.
* * * * *
At graduation, all the house tables had been cleared from the Great Hall. Instead, there were tons of round tables, each sitting six. The Hall looked gorgeous. There were banners hanging from the ceiling, one for each house. A yellow and black banner hung with a picture of a badger, standing for Hufflepuff House. A large eagle covered a blue and bronze banner for Ravenclaw. A green and silver banner representing Slytherin featured a serpent. The last banner was red and gold. It featured a lion, the symbol of Gyffindor House. Everyone sat with their families under the section for their own house.
Everyone except the head boy and girl, who shared a table with each other. Unfortunately, the head boy and girl of that year were none other than Hermione and Draco. They were forced to sit at the same table, along with their families. Hermione's parents were obviously uncomfortable enough without the stress of being sneered at by the Malfoys.
Hermione looked absolutely stunning that night, in robes of the brightest turquoise imaginable. They were made of the same floating fabric that her robes from the fourth-year Yule Ball had been made from. They fit her body like a glove, without being too loose or too tight. They showed off her slim figure and complemented her hair. She had spent hours on her hair, with the help of Ginny Weasley. The two girls had decided that Hermione needed to go out with a bang, which translated to amazing hair. They had somehow managed to sleek Hermione's hair into an elegant, but natural looking, French-twist. They left a few pieces out and straightened them to make them fall down the side of her face. When Hermione had seen the final product, she knew that she looked great. Her mother had given her a small diamond necklace, which completed the outfit.
When Hermione had realized that she would be sharing a table with Draco and his parents, she gasped. She knew it would not be a pleasant event and vowed to ignore the Malfoys the entire night.
But actually putting the plan into motion was a lot harder than thinking about the plan. As soon as Hermione had sat down with her parents, the Malfoys walked over and sat down also. By the look of disgust on Lucius's face, she could tell that he was even more displeased with the seating arrangement than Hermione.
He had turned to Draco and whispered something in his son's ear. Draco nodded and smirked. Mr. Malfoy turned to Hermione and finally spoke, "So, Miss Granger, what are you going to be doing after graduation? What kind of place would take you in?" he asked this with a tone of arrogance. At the words "take you in," Hermione gave up on trying to ignore him.
"Actually, Mr. Malfoy, I think we might see each other more than you would think. I'm going straight to work with the Ministry. We'll probably see each other at work," with this thought Hermione gagged on the inside. If she had to see any member of the Malfoy family on a regular basis she would have to do something drastic. Like quit her job.
Mr. Malfoy sneered at her. "How lovely."
The rest of the dinner went by silently. Occasionally Hermione said something to her parents, but overall it was a dreadfully uncomfortable night. By the end of the meal, Hermione's nerves were standing on edge.
She was walking down the corridor when she heard a voice shout, "Granger, stop for a moment."
She turned around, already knowing the owner of that voice. She would never mistake Draco Malfoy's bored drawl for anyone else's. "What do you want, Malfoy?"
"I wanted to-"
"What, insult my family more? Tell me that I am some worthless mudblood? Make my life miserable? Well congratulations, you have already done that," she screamed at him.
He smirked, that annoying smile that infuriated her so much. "No, Granger, I wanted to-"
Hermione never found out what Malfoy wanted. She let her anger get the better of her and she punched him. Hard. Right in the nose. A trickle of blood marred his face and he stared at her with amazement. He didn't look for long though, because Hermione obviously had other plans.
She hit him again, this time in the jaw.
"You make me so mad! God! You little prick! I hate you!" Hermione screamed, letting out every ounce of frustration as she proceeded to hit, kick, and bite any part of him that she could reach. "You are such a jerk! I can't believe you even can manage to get out of bed every morning you are so hateful! I detest you! You are so vile! And evil! You don't even deserve to-"
She felt hands try to pull her off the blonde-haired boy, but she was determined. "Let me go! This sorry excuse for a human deserves everything he is getting! Let me go!" Finally the hands succeeded and she was dragged away from Malfoy. She saw him lying on the ground, blood coming down from his face and the beginnings of black bruises forming all over. "Let me go! Who the hell do you think you are to pull me away from this?"
She turned around, furious, and got a look at the person who had saved Draco. It was none other than Lucius. "Get your filthy, mudblood hands off my son and make sure that you never touch him again," he said coldly.
"Oh believe me, I have no intention on ever getting so close as to see you or anyone from the precious Malfoy family," Hermione turned her back to Lucius and walked over, passing the boy on the ground. "You know you got what you deserved," she said to him. "You know it as well as I do. Have a nice life."
With that, Hermione made her way through the crowd that was forming, passing Lavender, Ginny, and Neville, who had his hands up to his mouth in horror. Ron and Harry tried to catch up with her, but she held up her hand to stop them. "I really do not want to talk about it," she stated angrily.
"Alright," Harry agreed to pacify her.
"But Hermione, you just-" Ron started, but stopped due to an elbow in his stomach. "Yeah, that's cool. We don't have to talk about it."
"Thanks," Hermione said, continuing down the hallway.
"Actually," Ron paused in the hallway, making Harry and Hermione turn around to look at him, "let me just say this. That was bloody brilliant."
"Thanks," Hermione said again.
* * * * *
Oh god… Hermione leaned her head up against the wall. I can't go through with this… I made such a fool out of myself last time… Letting my anger get the better of me… I should have checked a mirror for red hair it's such a Weasley trait… Oh no… I have to leave right now…
Hermione turned her back on the door and started to walk away. She heard the door open and knew she was caught. There was absolutely no way that she could leave now that someone had seen her. That would embarrass her name even more.
She slowly turned around to see who had opened the door. She raised her eyebrows in surprise at the unmistakable blonde-haired man standing in the door.
He was leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed. His gray eyes started on her high-heeled feet, traveled up her bare legs, onto her black miniskirt, up her waist, over her tight violet shirt, onto the diamond necklace and finished on face. He smirked.
"Do I know you? Because if I don't, I should," he broke the silence with a very oh my god… is that a- predatory look on his face. "Why don't you just come in and I'll get you a drink."
"Shove it, Malfoy."
The man's face fell. He dropped his arms and peered at her closely. "Dear God, is that you, Granger?"
"No, Malfoy, I'm Ginger Spice."
"Hell, it is you."
"Dear God, is something half-way intelligent coming out of Draco Malfoy's mouth? Of course it's me. Now, get out of my way," Hermione demanded.
Draco's face once again made a smirk. He leaned back up against the door frame, blocking the entrance, and refolded his arms. He blinked slowly as though he had enjoyed the last comment. "Why don't you make me, Granger?" He said her last name very slowly, letting it roll of his tongue.
God, what a scumbag… Some things never change and obviously Draco Malfoy is one of them…Hermione smiled leisurely. That must mean that he can't refuse one thing…
"Oh, Malfoy," she said, letting the name slip off her tongue as he had said her own, "I really, really, wish things had ended differently between us. You know, things got a little," she paused for a moment as though she was considering the idea, "out of control."
She walked up to him, slowly swaying her hips from side to side. The movement was highlighted by her short skirt. He gave her that predatory smile again.
"I just wish that we had… Gotten a chance to… Get to know each other a little better," Hermione said breathily. She was standing right in front of him, close enough that she could practically feel his heat. She reached out and put her hands on his shoulders. She furrowed her brow, tilted her head to the side, pouted her lips, and asked, "Do you know what I mean?"
Draco smirked and leaned in to kiss her. Perfect… I just wait for his eyes to close and then I can…
"Your little game won't work on me, Granger. Good try though," he whispered in her ear. He leaned back, turned around, and walked into the room.
What? I was supposed to… Wait… That did NOT work at all… Hermione followed Draco's back with a look of surprise on her face. I just practically seduced him to get him to move and then he doesn't even take the bait… Well that is slightly insulting… Draco Malfoy that would kiss anyone who showed interest but not me… I wonder if he knew it was me from the beginning… Just trying to humiliate "Mudblood" Granger… I bet he did… He did seem to enjoy scanning my body though… Ew…Oh god… Why do I always embarrass myself in front of him…
Hermione was so busy with her thoughts that she didn't even notice the room she had entered. It was absolutely beautiful, even more beautiful than she had first seen. The furniture was all made of dark, almost black, wood. The paneling was made of the same wood. A roaring fireplace stood in the middle. Obviously it was for looks; Hermione couldn't feel any heat coming from it. It must have a heatproof charm on it… It is quite pretty… The fireplace was also the dark wood, carved elaborately. It was circular, allowing it to be visible from every angle. There was fabric everywhere in the room. Tapestries hung on the wall. The one closest to Hermione featured a giant dragon that kept beating its wings and breathing fire. The windows were covered by gorgeous hangings, alternating colors from forest green to burgundy. The chairs and sofas in the room were the same green and red. They looked a lot more comfortable than the ones in the previous room, more squishy.
On each sofa and chair was a pillow, all make of silver fabric. From just looking at them, Hermione could tell that they were pure silk. Hermione walked over to a chair and picked up a pillow. It was apparent that someone had charmed the pillows too. The minute she picked up the pillow it gave off a vanilla smell, her favorite scent. It also turned red and gold, her school colors. She laughed and set the pillow back down on the chair. Immediately it turned back to silver and stopped smelling so deliciously. Maybe I should carry it with me… It's better than ever perfume… I wonder if everyone would smell vanilla or their own favorite scent?
Hermione continued to look around. In one corner of the room stood a globe. It showed all the different countries, each made with a different gemstone. From where she stood, Hermione could make out an opal Brazil and an amethyst Mexico. It seemed to glow from within, making a little show of colors on the walls near it.
There were three doors in the room, the one that she had just come from and two others, one of which undoubtedly let the house elves from the room to the kitchen. The doors were made of the same dark wood that constituted for the other wood of the room. Carved on each door was the Malfoy crest, a large dragon with its fangs barred. The dragon on one door caught Hermione looking and squinted threateningly at her. Quickly, she turned away and what met her eyes was a very welcoming sight.
Ron, Harry, Ginny, Fred, and Percy were all standing by the door that she too had come through, looking around with amazement etched over their faces. Just as she hurried over to meet them, a squeal so high it Hermione's ears erupted.
"HermionEEEEEE!"
Hermione turned around and saw what appeared to be two charging orange and white elephants aimed at her. She looked around quickly, trying to find somewhere to hide, but before she could even evaluate a place, two shrieking women threw themselves on Hermione.
"Hermione!"
"Hermione!"
"Lavender? Pavarti? Is that you?"
"Well of course it is, who else would it be?" said Pavarti as she stepped away from Hermione. "What's up girl? You look amazing!"
Lavender joined in, "Yeah, I love your outfit! Very American!"
"Um, thanks," Hermione said, slightly confused. "No offense, but what are you two supposed to be?"
"Hermione!" Lavender chided. She stepped another couple of feet back from Hermione and struck a very model-like pose. "Can't you tell?"
"Um… Well… No, I'm sorry. You know me, I have never been one to be into fashion…" Hermione trailed off, still looking in amazement at her two old roommates.
"Well," Pavarti butted in, "We are waitresses. We heard some people talking about this American restaurant and we just knew that we had to dress up like the people there. I've heard that anyone who is anyone started out by working there. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Right, we just had to dress up! It's fun! Hey, Hermione," Lavender lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in, "I saw Draco talking to you when you came in, what were you guys talking about?"
"Yeah, spill it! He looks SO good. He must be working out! Did you get a look at his arms? They are so muscular," Pavarti gushed.
"His arms? I was too busy looking at his face! I am so glad that he abandoned that hair gel that he used to wear! Now his hair just looks perfect…" Lavender gazed in his direction dreamily. "And those clothes! Whoever he's dating, she should take him to New York and make him always dress like that!"
"I know! The black shirt fits him perfectly. It totally shows off his arms! I'm telling you, the arms are key for that shirt!" Pavarti said, wiggling her eyebrows.
"You are totally right about the shirt. It looks amazing. But you're wrong about the arms. The shirt showcases his hair, not his arms. Look at his hair. It just hits his eyes and it's all messed up. So sexy," Lavender shot back to her best friend.
"No, it's totally for his arms!"
"No, it's totally for his hair!"
"Arms!"
"Hair!"
"Arms!"
"Hai-"
"Girls! Shut up!" Hermione yelled to be heard over the arguing ex-Gryffindors. "If you keep talking so loudly all your schoolmates will know exactly what you think about Malfoy. Furthermore, to answer your original question, which seems like it was asked such a long time ago, Malfoy and I weren't talking about anything. He was just being his usual punk ass self."
PING!
Hermione looked around. Over on one wall, she saw a large scoreboard. On the scoreboard, the words, "Hermione Granger- Punk Ass- 1 point to Gryffindor" flashed by. Below, under the section marked by "Gryffindor" a slash was made.
"Ohh! Hermione! You got Gryffindor a point! Good job!" said Pavarti.
"Yeah, way to go!" Lavender added.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"When anyone uses an American phase, like your punk ass, a point goes to their house," Lavender explained.
"But it has to be in context. You can't just go around saying 'football', 'punk ass', or 'john' to get points. Only in context," Pavarti put in.
"Right," Hermione said. "So, just a question for you two, what restaurant are you guys supposed to be working for?"
"It says on our shirts, Hermione. A place called Hooters," Pavarti said with a touch of arrogance. "It's supposed to have a great reputation in America."
"Oh, well, I must be going. It was great to see you though!" Hermione exclaimed as she hugged the two girls. They all said goodbye and Hermione went off to join the Weasleys and Harry. Right… A good reputation… If they don't understand the picture that's on those shirts they are really stupid… Good reputation my butt… Quite appropriate costumes though…
* * * * *
"Hey, Ginny! Tell everyone about your two-year anniversary with Harry!" Hermione shouted across the room.
Everyone was sitting in a large circle and talking together. It seemed as though the division between houses had diminished after they all left school. Hermione could see Ravenclaws sitting with Hufflepuffs, Hufflepuffs with Gryffindors, and even some brave Slytherins talking with Ravenclaws.
Harry blushed a very deep pink and quickly put his hand over his girlfriend's mouth. "No way are you guys hearing THAT story!"
"Oh come on!"
"Really, Harry!"
"Did you two have fun that night?"
"Woohoo! Spill it, Ginny!"
"We need some entertainment!"
Hermione clutched at her stomach she was laughing so hard. Harry looked as though he wanted to melt into the floor, but he finally gave up and let Ginny start the story.
"Well, you guys know that Harry has always been…"
Hermione tuned Ginny out, having already heard the story once before. She looked around at the people and saw many of her old friends that she had lost touch with.
Neville Longbottom was sitting next to a Hufflepuff girl a year older than him. He whispered something to her and she laughed. Hermione watched Neville reach out and put his hand on the girl's stomach in a very protective way. Oh wow! That must be Neville's wife! I heard about the wedding! I saw the picture in the Daily Prophet… They both looked radiant… That was nothing compared to now though… After seeing that move Neville just pulled, she must be pregnant… I can't imagine Neville being a father… Good luck to him! Hell, good luck to the child!
Colin Creevy sat on the floor listening to Ginny with a good-looking Ravenclaw's head on his shoulder. Oh, I remember her! Colin was so excited when he found out that they were going to be in Advanced Potions together… He had a crush on her for ages… I remember when he heard that she was an amazing ice-skater and he tried to learn how to skate… It took Madam Pomfry two days to wake him up… I remember now, her name is Erica Chamberlain… She was a year younger than me…
Hermione continued down the line. Seated next to Colin was none other than Draco Malfoy. Hermione looked at him and saw to her astonishment that he was looking at her too. She looked away immediately and stared at the thick, gray carpet. Cautiously, she glanced back up. Dammit, he's still looking at me… What's going on with him?
Draco stood up from the circle and looked directly at Hermione. He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. Without one word he turned around and went out the door on his left.
Oh god… Am I supposed to follow him? Hermione looked around desperately. Everyone was listening to Ginny's story. They were at the part where Harry had fallen out of the floo powder early and Ginny had to search all over for him. Apparently he had landed in an old witch's house because Ron was practically beating the ground in laughter saying, "And the old bag in her pajamas hit you with her umbrella? What I would have paid to see that!"
Go Hermione! You know you are curious about what he wants with you… He does want to talk to you… There is no way you could have mistaken that look… Aren't you the slightest bit curious?
Hermione got up and walked around the circle. She reached the door Draco had disappeared into, ignoring the Malfoy crest dragon's snarls, and slipped out of the room, unnoticed.
* * * * *
Hermione walked down the hallway, slightly spooked. It was much darker than in the other room. She grabbed her wand from her bag, muttered "lumos" and set off in search of Malfoy.
After walking down the extremely long corridor, Hermione reached the end. She frowned. There was no indication from any of the rooms she had passed that Malfoy had been in any of them. This is so like Malfoy… Lead me on a wild goose chase and expect me follow him as if I am some crazy and hormonal preteen… I shouldn't have come…
Hermione turned around to walk back to the reunion, but noticed a small sliver of light shining through the dark. She looked towards the light source and noticed a door that was slightly open. Hesitantly, she tiptoed over to the door and peered in.
"Come in, Granger," came Malfoy's usual drawling voice.
Hermione jumped back. She hadn't realized Malfoy could see her.
She opened the door fully and stepped over the threshold. What she saw blew her away.
She and Malfoy were in a den, filled with more ancient books and scrolls than Hermione could have ever imagined. Forgetting that Malfoy was even in the room, Hermione strode over to a bookshelf and picked up a very old book.
"Like them, Granger?"
Hermione jumped very high in the air. She dropped the book and it fell to the floor.
"Um, yes. It looks, um, every interesting. What do you want Malfoy?"
"Well, if everything goes according to plan, you will be able to look at these books all you want," he commented, sitting on a deep-brown wooden desk. Hermione could see the clawed feet holding the piece of furniture up.
"What do you mean, Malfoy?" Her fingers were practically itching to reach up and grab another book.
"Grange, I have a business proposition for you."
"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
Malfoy frowned. "I'm serious, Granger. I have heard all about your money problems; don't think that I don't know."
All thoughts about the books around her vanished as Hermione tried to process what Malfoy had just told her. "You-"
"Yes, I know. Just because my father died doesn't mean that I lost all his connections to the Ministry."
"You-" Hermione said again.
"Yes, me," Draco interrupted her, impatient. "Now, for my proposition. I know that you need money. Don't say anything, just listen. And as much as it displeases me to say so, I need your help."
Draco paused for a moment, probably trying to gather his last bits of dignity.
"Let's not play around. You know as well as I do that my father was a Death Eater. When he died, he left all his things to me. Ever since he died, I have been enjoying the good things, the money, the house, the yacht. But, now the time has come that I cannot ignore the other, well, less pleasant, things. Bottom line, Granger, I need your help to get rid of the Dark Objects."
Hermione was silent for a moment. She stared at him with small eyes. "Why do you want my help? Why don't you just hire someone to do it?"
"Well, Granger, think for a moment. Why do I want your help? Reason number one, as much as I hate to admit it, you were the smartest person in our class. Book-smart, that is. I took the title of the most street smart. You know things. Reason number two, seeing as you helped write many laws of the Ministry, you probably know more about the rules than the rulebooks themselves. Reason number three, you were a Gryffindor."
"What does my being a Gryffindor have to do about anything?"
"Gyffindors are loyal. If I have your promise that you won't tell anyone, I have the strangest notion that I can trust you to keep that promise. That goes for why I don't just hire someone. Yes, you will get paid just like they will, but you can offer me security that other people can't," Malfoy explained, looking pained. All the complementing Hermione he had done was causing him real physical pain.
"Malfoy, I think that-"
"Let me finish. You have three weeks off from work. Don't look at me like that, I have connections, I already told you. Anyway, for the rest of the three weeks you may stay at the Manor, eat here, and work here. You will be allowed access to anything in this house. That includes the books that I see you are just itching to open. I have finished you may speak now."
She glared at him, "I am not a child. Don't treat me like one."
"Don't act like one," he shot right back, looking her straight in the eyes.
Hermione watched his eyes for a moment. They were gray, no doubt about it. She had heard other people talking about hints of blue or green back at Hogwarts, but those people were obviously wrong. Gray, no other way to explain them.
"Will you do it?" he asked, still staring into her eyes. Hermione saw a brief uncertainty flash through the gray pools, but it was gone in an instant. She opened her mouth, unsure of what was going to come out.
"Actually, you have until tomorrow night to tell me your answer. I'm giving you twenty-four hours to decide," he said. With those words, he swept out of the den, leaving Hermione alone with all the books.
She collapsed onto the desk Malfoy had just occupied.
I have to agree with Lavender, that shirt is all about the hair…
* * * * *
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Author's Notes:
Yay! Another chapter finished! I do realize that this chapter is like twice as long as the other ones, but I promised that I would at least have Draco ask for Hermione's help by the end of chapter 5, which would NOT have happened if it weren't this long. So if you like short chapter, I'm sorry, but if you like long chapters, you are in luck!
In this chapter I tried to be a lot more descriptive, did you like it? Or were you thinking, "Come on Molly, get back to the plot"? Tell me what you think, I write for what you guys like. So a vote is officially in session: Everyone please review with the following answers "Yes, I loved your descriptions, Molly!" or "Please keep the descriptions to a minimum and get back to the story, Molly!" It would be great if you wrote other stuff too (smiling sweetly)
So, to come in chapter 6, will Hermione say yes to Draco's plea for help? Haa haa, ok if you think she's going to say no, read the summary again. She will answer him and the rest of the reunion will occur.
Umm, I have totally forgotten to put this in for the beginning chapters, but I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. JK Rowling has that lovely (and profitable) title. I do own a car though *woohoo*
BTW- I am still looking for a beta-reader… Anyone interested, just say so in a review or e-mail me at ch127@aol.com You guys rock me world!
Love,
MOLLY
Ps- No, I have never worked at a Hooters. Don't ask. If you have worked there, I am sorry if I insulted you, I didn't mean to.
