A/N: Hello faithful readers! Yeah, I'm updating really soon because my
brother is sleeping right now! I didn't get to write earlier today because
I slept in! I woke up at noon! My parents were uber pissed! Ah well, here
we go with chapter 7!
Disclaimer: No, just, no! I do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT own Harry Potter or anything related to it. All things you recognize belong to the lovely and talented Miss J.K Rowling.
Chapter 7
~*~*~*~
The ball was approaching, and the excitement was evident in the fourth year's faces. However, the disappointment was more noticeable in all the younger years.
Hermione was one of the students who stayed calm and collected in the week before the Autumn Ball. She did notice with amusement that Lavender and Parvati were running around Hogsmeade trying to find dresses that showed their cleavage and makeup. Trying to keep calm was part of her job, but deep inside she was panicking just a tad. Having to dance with your archenemy of five years in front of most of the student body was not part of Hermione's original to do list. But she had to live up to her reputation, and she secretly practiced dancing with a coat rack.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After dinner, Hermione made her way to the prefect dorms by herself, oblivious to the fact that someone was watching her. She had just exited the Great Hall and was making her way up the stairs when a girl who seemed to be a mix of a human and a pug blocked her. Hermione sighed and tried to pass her.
"Out of the way, Parkinson."
Pansy spoke, which could be compared to nails being dragged down a blackboard, "No! I heard that poor Drakey-poo has to dance with you," As she said this, she poked Hermione in the chest. "a mudblood. I really pity him, having to actually touch you!"
Hermione stared at Pansy through narrowed eyes, "Listen, Parkinson, this is none of your business. Dumbledore required that prefects go together and I had to go with Malfoy."
"Well, you had better stay away from him. He's mine!" With every word Pansy said, she shoved Hermione backwards until she was against the wall. Pansy put both her hands on Hermione's shoulders, clenching them tightly, and whispered threateningly, "Got it mudblood?"
Hermione glared at the ugly blonde and spat, "Get your hands off me, Parkinson. Get them off, right now." As Hermione spoke, Pansy's hands clenched tighter and tighter. Pansy suddenly let go, and with a smirk slapped Hermione. She then made a face at her that clearly said, 'What are you going to do about it?'
Hermione, with her mouth open, was about to retaliate, when a familiar voice rang out in the empty hallway.
"Miss Parkinson! Step away from Miss Granger!" Snape barked, "As much as I hate to do this, I will have to take 10 points from Slytherin. Attacking another student is not acceptable." He then turned to Hermione, who was rubbing her cheek, and said in a voice that was much different from when he spoke to her normally, "Miss Granger, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I think I'll be ok."
"Good. Miss Parkinson, please follow me to my office. We will have to write up a detention for you."
Pansy scowled and followed Snape. She turned around one more time and gave Hermione the finger, mouthing the words, 'Fuck you.'
Hermione rubbed her shoulders gingerly and proceeded up the stairs. Once again, she was oblivious to another blonde watching her from the Great Hall.
~*~*~*~*~
Once back in the common room, Hermione grabbed her diary and thought back to the day that she received it. The late Sirius Black had given it to her on her fifteenth birthday, and it had a special story behind it.
FLASHBACK
A smiling Sirius Black approached a young Hermione on a beautiful September day, hiding something behind his back. Grinning madly, Sirius handed Hermione a lumpy package wrapped in newspaper. Sirius was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
"Go on, Hermione! Open it, open it!" Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Sirius added, "Sorry about the wrapping, it was the only thing I could find around the headquarters."
Hermione smiled warmly at Sirius and replied, "It's fine, Sirius. It's the thought that counts. And judging by the way you're acting, it must be something extremely good!"
Sirius nodded so enthusiastically it seemed as if his head were about to fall off. Hermione ripped off the crude wrappings and gasped. Sirius had given her a black diary with the letters 'HG' on the cover. She smiled again and asked what the story was.
"Well, this diary only appears when you are extremely sad or distraught. When you are really happy, the diary goes away, but appears again if you become sad. That way, you can vent out your sadness in here. The only reason it's still visible is because you haven't written in it yet. Once you write in it, it'll be visible until you become happy. When you are truly happy, this diary will disappear forever." Sirius explained, tapping the diary.
"See, I used to have one, and, unfortunately, it's still upstairs in my old bedroom. Hopefully, you won't have a lot of entries in here, Hermione."
Hermione looked at the diary and hugged Sirius. "Thanks, Snuffles, I really love it. I can't wait till the day comes when this disappears forever."
END FLASHBACK
Thinking back on her deceased friend, Hermione shed a tiny tear. She missed her Siri terribly, and she regretted never getting to say goodbye to him.
Opening her diary, Hermione started a new entry.
Wow, Diary, I haven't written to you in a while. Well, today was pretty good, until Pug-Faced Parkinass attacked me after dinner. Oh, you know, she was shrieking about the same things over and over again about how Draco is hers and he always will be blah, blah, blah. You know, whenever she speaks it sounds like a cat being run over by a car. Honestly, she should get a new voice. Oh well, I guess she can't help being freakishly freaky. Ugh, she actually attacked me! And the weird part was when Snape took points from his OWN house! That happens, like, never! Well, I guess I will have to get going. I'm not as mad as before.
33 HG
Satisfied with her entry, Hermione brought it back to her room and placed it carefully under the loose floorboard. Hearing the others come in, Hermione made her way down to the common room and greeted her friends.
"Hey Moine! Katie and Roger are coming up to remind us that we have to decorate the Great Hall the day before the ball. As if they haven't reminded us enough times!" Padma said, giggling. Her hand was linked with Justin, who was talking to Draco about Quidditch. Hermione nodded and sat on her respective couch just as Katie and Roger entered through the portrait hole.
"Hey guys! Another reminder, the ball is coming in a week. Have all of you done your jobs?" Roger said, looking at each person. They all nodded and he continued, "Brilliant. Just to make sure, Hermione, Draco, did you pick out food and music?" Hermione and Draco nodded lazily and Roger turned to Padma and Justin, "And you two, have you picked out decorations? Excellent. I already noticed that you put up the posters, which had all the requirements. Well done, team." With that final note, Roger and Katie departed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This was it. The Autumn Ball was coming in one day. The excitement was evident everywhere, from giggling girls sharing their styles to the smug boys bragging about who got the hottest girl.
Hermione, however, felt extremely stressed. She felt as if she were piled with homework. From homework to cat fights breaking out in the hall to the decorations everything just added to her stress level.
Hermione was required to wake up at 6:00 AM to put up the decorations, which would reside in the hall for a day until the ball came. She would have to keep everyone in check when they had to eat their meals outside.
Decorating with Padma, Justin, and Draco wasn't as bad as expected. In fact, it seemed to calm her down just a tad when she laughed along with the other three prefects. Padma and Justin had picked out were brown, orange, and yellow streamers which they draped around the walls. They had charmed fake leaves to fall around the whole hall that disappeared as soon as they hit the ground. Overall, the Great Hall looked pretty good.
They had set up a small area where you could take pictures with your date and a DJ table. The team had convinced Professor Flitwick to be their DJ for the night. Surprisingly, he had accepted. All the tables were surrounding the dance floor, which took most of the hall. The four house tables had been moved out and were replaced with hundreds of four seat tables.
As they finally finished, the four teenagers stood back and admired their handiwork. Draco finally spoke up.
"You know, I've got to hand it to us, we decorated pretty well, don't you think? Oh yeah, we're the best!" Draco declared, giving no one in particular a triumphant look. The other three were looking at Draco as if he sprouted and extra head and it was talking to them. Noticing their strange looks, Draco stopped his triumphant glare and said, "Lets get out of this room. I'm pretty sick of it, considering the fact that we were in here for seven hours!"
Padma nodded and said, "To think, Roger and Katie didn't even help us! They just stole our wands, shoved us in here and locked us in with the decorations! I can't believe they were made the Heads."
Hermione agreed silently and said, "Do you think the doors are unlocked now? I mean, after seven hours of working our asses off they should be open!"
Justin made his way to the door and tugged on the handle repeatedly. Her turned to the others with a defeated look. Padma rolled her eyes and marched over to the door, turning the knob and pushing it.
Justin blushed and said, "Um, I always thought you pulled it."
Everyone laughed and left the Great Hall, carefully locking the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Yeah, this chapter was kind of short. Oh well. I keep on updating at night, don't I? It's just because my brother is asleep right now. Ok, can y'all give me opinions on which story I should start? I would really appreciate it! And if you want to see my ideas, they are in the previous chapter or in my bio. Anyway, time for shout outs again!
RianSapphire9- Yay, thank you! I love your compliments!
Selita-Malfoy- Wow, I love you!
Meg- Yeah, thanks! I wanted it to be kind of like that dress Emma Watson wore to the CoS Premier, you know, the white one? It's supposed to look like that but not with so many ruffle things.
Severus' Purple Goddess- Whee!! Thank you! Um, I haven't tasted those before, but I thank you for giving them to me!
Leander- Ohhh!! I didn't know that. Oh well, I always pictured the Patil twins as blondes. Oh well, just whenever I say blonde girls pretend I'm saying raven-haired! Thanks for telling me!
A/N: Well, thanks for reviewing! Next chapter will probably be long, so it might take a while for me to update. I'll try to do it soon, but I'm going somewhere for the Fourth of July with my cousins. Ok, once again, please give me your opinions on which story I should start on first. Yep.
Disclaimer: No, just, no! I do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT own Harry Potter or anything related to it. All things you recognize belong to the lovely and talented Miss J.K Rowling.
Chapter 7
~*~*~*~
The ball was approaching, and the excitement was evident in the fourth year's faces. However, the disappointment was more noticeable in all the younger years.
Hermione was one of the students who stayed calm and collected in the week before the Autumn Ball. She did notice with amusement that Lavender and Parvati were running around Hogsmeade trying to find dresses that showed their cleavage and makeup. Trying to keep calm was part of her job, but deep inside she was panicking just a tad. Having to dance with your archenemy of five years in front of most of the student body was not part of Hermione's original to do list. But she had to live up to her reputation, and she secretly practiced dancing with a coat rack.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After dinner, Hermione made her way to the prefect dorms by herself, oblivious to the fact that someone was watching her. She had just exited the Great Hall and was making her way up the stairs when a girl who seemed to be a mix of a human and a pug blocked her. Hermione sighed and tried to pass her.
"Out of the way, Parkinson."
Pansy spoke, which could be compared to nails being dragged down a blackboard, "No! I heard that poor Drakey-poo has to dance with you," As she said this, she poked Hermione in the chest. "a mudblood. I really pity him, having to actually touch you!"
Hermione stared at Pansy through narrowed eyes, "Listen, Parkinson, this is none of your business. Dumbledore required that prefects go together and I had to go with Malfoy."
"Well, you had better stay away from him. He's mine!" With every word Pansy said, she shoved Hermione backwards until she was against the wall. Pansy put both her hands on Hermione's shoulders, clenching them tightly, and whispered threateningly, "Got it mudblood?"
Hermione glared at the ugly blonde and spat, "Get your hands off me, Parkinson. Get them off, right now." As Hermione spoke, Pansy's hands clenched tighter and tighter. Pansy suddenly let go, and with a smirk slapped Hermione. She then made a face at her that clearly said, 'What are you going to do about it?'
Hermione, with her mouth open, was about to retaliate, when a familiar voice rang out in the empty hallway.
"Miss Parkinson! Step away from Miss Granger!" Snape barked, "As much as I hate to do this, I will have to take 10 points from Slytherin. Attacking another student is not acceptable." He then turned to Hermione, who was rubbing her cheek, and said in a voice that was much different from when he spoke to her normally, "Miss Granger, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I think I'll be ok."
"Good. Miss Parkinson, please follow me to my office. We will have to write up a detention for you."
Pansy scowled and followed Snape. She turned around one more time and gave Hermione the finger, mouthing the words, 'Fuck you.'
Hermione rubbed her shoulders gingerly and proceeded up the stairs. Once again, she was oblivious to another blonde watching her from the Great Hall.
~*~*~*~*~
Once back in the common room, Hermione grabbed her diary and thought back to the day that she received it. The late Sirius Black had given it to her on her fifteenth birthday, and it had a special story behind it.
FLASHBACK
A smiling Sirius Black approached a young Hermione on a beautiful September day, hiding something behind his back. Grinning madly, Sirius handed Hermione a lumpy package wrapped in newspaper. Sirius was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
"Go on, Hermione! Open it, open it!" Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Sirius added, "Sorry about the wrapping, it was the only thing I could find around the headquarters."
Hermione smiled warmly at Sirius and replied, "It's fine, Sirius. It's the thought that counts. And judging by the way you're acting, it must be something extremely good!"
Sirius nodded so enthusiastically it seemed as if his head were about to fall off. Hermione ripped off the crude wrappings and gasped. Sirius had given her a black diary with the letters 'HG' on the cover. She smiled again and asked what the story was.
"Well, this diary only appears when you are extremely sad or distraught. When you are really happy, the diary goes away, but appears again if you become sad. That way, you can vent out your sadness in here. The only reason it's still visible is because you haven't written in it yet. Once you write in it, it'll be visible until you become happy. When you are truly happy, this diary will disappear forever." Sirius explained, tapping the diary.
"See, I used to have one, and, unfortunately, it's still upstairs in my old bedroom. Hopefully, you won't have a lot of entries in here, Hermione."
Hermione looked at the diary and hugged Sirius. "Thanks, Snuffles, I really love it. I can't wait till the day comes when this disappears forever."
END FLASHBACK
Thinking back on her deceased friend, Hermione shed a tiny tear. She missed her Siri terribly, and she regretted never getting to say goodbye to him.
Opening her diary, Hermione started a new entry.
Wow, Diary, I haven't written to you in a while. Well, today was pretty good, until Pug-Faced Parkinass attacked me after dinner. Oh, you know, she was shrieking about the same things over and over again about how Draco is hers and he always will be blah, blah, blah. You know, whenever she speaks it sounds like a cat being run over by a car. Honestly, she should get a new voice. Oh well, I guess she can't help being freakishly freaky. Ugh, she actually attacked me! And the weird part was when Snape took points from his OWN house! That happens, like, never! Well, I guess I will have to get going. I'm not as mad as before.
33 HG
Satisfied with her entry, Hermione brought it back to her room and placed it carefully under the loose floorboard. Hearing the others come in, Hermione made her way down to the common room and greeted her friends.
"Hey Moine! Katie and Roger are coming up to remind us that we have to decorate the Great Hall the day before the ball. As if they haven't reminded us enough times!" Padma said, giggling. Her hand was linked with Justin, who was talking to Draco about Quidditch. Hermione nodded and sat on her respective couch just as Katie and Roger entered through the portrait hole.
"Hey guys! Another reminder, the ball is coming in a week. Have all of you done your jobs?" Roger said, looking at each person. They all nodded and he continued, "Brilliant. Just to make sure, Hermione, Draco, did you pick out food and music?" Hermione and Draco nodded lazily and Roger turned to Padma and Justin, "And you two, have you picked out decorations? Excellent. I already noticed that you put up the posters, which had all the requirements. Well done, team." With that final note, Roger and Katie departed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This was it. The Autumn Ball was coming in one day. The excitement was evident everywhere, from giggling girls sharing their styles to the smug boys bragging about who got the hottest girl.
Hermione, however, felt extremely stressed. She felt as if she were piled with homework. From homework to cat fights breaking out in the hall to the decorations everything just added to her stress level.
Hermione was required to wake up at 6:00 AM to put up the decorations, which would reside in the hall for a day until the ball came. She would have to keep everyone in check when they had to eat their meals outside.
Decorating with Padma, Justin, and Draco wasn't as bad as expected. In fact, it seemed to calm her down just a tad when she laughed along with the other three prefects. Padma and Justin had picked out were brown, orange, and yellow streamers which they draped around the walls. They had charmed fake leaves to fall around the whole hall that disappeared as soon as they hit the ground. Overall, the Great Hall looked pretty good.
They had set up a small area where you could take pictures with your date and a DJ table. The team had convinced Professor Flitwick to be their DJ for the night. Surprisingly, he had accepted. All the tables were surrounding the dance floor, which took most of the hall. The four house tables had been moved out and were replaced with hundreds of four seat tables.
As they finally finished, the four teenagers stood back and admired their handiwork. Draco finally spoke up.
"You know, I've got to hand it to us, we decorated pretty well, don't you think? Oh yeah, we're the best!" Draco declared, giving no one in particular a triumphant look. The other three were looking at Draco as if he sprouted and extra head and it was talking to them. Noticing their strange looks, Draco stopped his triumphant glare and said, "Lets get out of this room. I'm pretty sick of it, considering the fact that we were in here for seven hours!"
Padma nodded and said, "To think, Roger and Katie didn't even help us! They just stole our wands, shoved us in here and locked us in with the decorations! I can't believe they were made the Heads."
Hermione agreed silently and said, "Do you think the doors are unlocked now? I mean, after seven hours of working our asses off they should be open!"
Justin made his way to the door and tugged on the handle repeatedly. Her turned to the others with a defeated look. Padma rolled her eyes and marched over to the door, turning the knob and pushing it.
Justin blushed and said, "Um, I always thought you pulled it."
Everyone laughed and left the Great Hall, carefully locking the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Yeah, this chapter was kind of short. Oh well. I keep on updating at night, don't I? It's just because my brother is asleep right now. Ok, can y'all give me opinions on which story I should start? I would really appreciate it! And if you want to see my ideas, they are in the previous chapter or in my bio. Anyway, time for shout outs again!
RianSapphire9- Yay, thank you! I love your compliments!
Selita-Malfoy- Wow, I love you!
Meg- Yeah, thanks! I wanted it to be kind of like that dress Emma Watson wore to the CoS Premier, you know, the white one? It's supposed to look like that but not with so many ruffle things.
Severus' Purple Goddess- Whee!! Thank you! Um, I haven't tasted those before, but I thank you for giving them to me!
Leander- Ohhh!! I didn't know that. Oh well, I always pictured the Patil twins as blondes. Oh well, just whenever I say blonde girls pretend I'm saying raven-haired! Thanks for telling me!
A/N: Well, thanks for reviewing! Next chapter will probably be long, so it might take a while for me to update. I'll try to do it soon, but I'm going somewhere for the Fourth of July with my cousins. Ok, once again, please give me your opinions on which story I should start on first. Yep.