Chapter 2: Getting There
Draco Malfoy looked around the Manor where he was supposedly receiving an award for the capture of his father.
But honestly, who gives out an Order of Merlin in a far off manor? It was not a usual gesture, and when a wizard or witch received this prestigious award, there was no extravagant ceremony, there wasn't even a need to travel to get it.
For this, Draco had come prepared, ready for anything. He approached the mysterious manor slowly, gripping his wand inside his robes.
He was more than suspicious when the door swung open alone, which wasn't common, even in the wizarding world.
Right there, Draco should have turned and ran. But he was a Malfoy, and Malfoys showed little to no fear. As witnessed when Lucius was cornered.
"Ah, Draco. I was wondering when you would show. We were most worried that you wouldn't show," chuckled a voice from behind him.
Instantly recognizing the voice, Draco loosened his iron grip on his wand, and turned around, frowning.
"What tricks are you up to now, Dumbledore?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing the Headmaster of Hogwarts suspiciously.
Professor Dumbledore smiled, and shrugged. "No tricks, really. There is an Order of Merlin waiting for you, if that's what you're implying. You just won't get it for six months."
Draco's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Six months? Now why in the bloody hell would I have to wait six months, Albus?" he asked, using Dumbledore's first name. They were adults, after all.
"I'm afraid that will have to wait," replied the Headmaster quickly, smiling still.
~*~
Hermione looked up from the piece of parchment Percy had given her, and the picturesque Manor before her. Yes, this was the place.
She walked casually up the stone steps, wondering why it seemed so familiar, and why it was necessary to go all the way up here to do an article.
Once Hermione had reached the heavy wooden door, it swung open immediately, causing her to nervously laugh. Nothing like a creepy, self-opening door.
She blinked, stepping into the manor, letting her eyes adjust to the softer light.
This was most certainly a manor that spared no expenses, she noted silently, viewing the fragile glass chandelier and ancient artifacts from the wizarding world.
"Oh great. As if it isn't bad enough, Little Miss Know-It-All is here," drawled an irritated voice.
Hermione turned to the sound of the unforgettable voice, glaring. "Now what in the bloody hell are you doing here, Malfoy?" she demanded.
He shrugged. "I was...oh forget it. That's a waste of time, explaining myself to you," Draco finished, smirking.
She huffed, rolling her eyes.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Headmaster Dumbledore, and she felt perplexed. What were they doing here?
Seeing her look, Draco saved her the time, and said, "It's a big secret, don't bother."
~*~
Parvati and Lavender giggled, skipping up to the entrance of the huge house before them. They didn't ask questions, all they knew was it was a place for the two of them to catch up on the lost time.
The mahogany door flew open once again, letting them pass through.
This caused the two of them to burst into another fit of giggles; something they couldn't seem to stop doing.
Inside was a very irritated Hermione, glaring at Draco, who was glaring back, with twice as much hatred.
Parvati and Lavender exchanged knowing glances, and burst into another, obnoxious round of laughter.
Which, of course, caused Hermione and Draco to whip their heads to the sound, even more irate than before.
~*~
Not soon after, Harry, Ricky Jackson (Slytherin), and Kyle Johnson (Slytherin) had joined their group, looking generally annoyed and pissed off.
Especially the two new Slytherins, who didn't much enjoy being locked in a room with two giggling Gryffindor girls, the Boy-Who-Lived (obnoxious prat), and know-it-all bookworm Hermione.
Kyle sighed loudly, and elbowed Ricky, who had started to drift off.
"If I'm submitted to this torture, you're not going to get out of it easily," he hissed.
Ricky shrugged, brushing back a piece of blonde hair. "Piss off," he replied back softly.
Kyle let out a puff of breath, looking over quickly at Draco who was staring at the wall, seeming deep in thought.
Probably putting two and two together. Something Kyle wished he could do.
He drummed his fingers on the couch he was presently seated in impatiently, glaring at Professor Dumbledore.
They had graduated; therefore, he forfeited all rights to the nosing into their lives. What was he doing he anyway?
~*~
Blaise whistled nervously, approaching the manor Draco had got for her. It was huge, but he was a Malfoy.
Expect no less, get no less, she thought, shrugging.
The door creaked open when she stepped onto the worn red welcome mat, arousing her suspicions.
Blaise stepped back suddenly, highly suspicious. What would a hideout door be doing, swinging open?
But then, she reasoned, I never got a key. How was I expecting to get in without one?
Cautiously, however, she stepped into the Manor, glancing about quickly.
She walked into the living room, overly shocked at the number of people in it.
However, these nine posed no threat to her: Four of them were fellow Slytherins (ex-Slytherins, rather), and the other five were lousy Gryffindors. Weasley, Potter, Granger, and the two girls the Slytherins 'fondly' referred to as the Giggling Duo. Or otherwise more commonly known as the two unfortunate girls dating Weasley and Potter.
Personally, Blaise would rather slit her throat and die, than date one of those two goody-goodies.
She flicked her gaze back to the Slytherins, smiling nervously at Draco, and grinning warmly at Kyle, a boy she had gone out with in the past.
He smiled back.
Blaise took her seat next to Kyle, the only seat left.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Dumbledore stepped forward, clapping his hands as though they were back in the Great Hall, awaiting the sorting of the First Years.
"I'm sure you're all curious as to why you're here."
"Oh no, I was just curious as to where you got this lovely gizmo here," Draco answered sarcastically, holding a rare wizarding object. He smirked smugly at the appalled looks of the Gryffindors, who worshipped the old man.
Dumbledore sent him a silencing look, before continuing. "For the past few years, we've had something of an annual tradition-"
"What's this, the mating of Slytherins and Gryffindors to see what sort of twisted result you get?" asked Ricky innocently.
Again, more appalled looks, and a silencing glare.
"No, Mister Jackson. I don't think you could be further off. Although," Dumbledore added thoughtfully, "your idea's been known to happen."
All ten ex-students looked disgusted, and shared this openly with their old House rivals.
He chuckled, clearly amused. "Yes, well, enough on tradition. You're to be locked up magically in here for six months, to work out any last grudges you may have. Muggle items such as electricity and computers, and other whats-its are scattered within the Manor, for your use. Mainly so you who have not seen these things can experiment. The future will involve a great deal of Muggle objects."
Blaise watched as the three Slytherin males sent a glare over to the Gryffindors, with looks clearly saying 'Try-to-teach-me-this...and-die'.
However, it seemed this was the furthest thought from the Gryffindors' minds.
"That's the gist, anyway," Dumbledore concluded jovially. "Oh, wait. Each of you will have your own rooms and bathrooms-after all, we don't want a remake of last year's fiasco, do we?" he asked, looking pointedly at Saint Potter and his crew.
The Slytherins occupying the opposite couch snickered.
"Yes, I believe that's it...Any questions?"
Hermione raised her hand eagerly, reminding Blaise immediately of those long years at Hogwarts.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Er, well, I was wondering sir...what's this place called? I mean, I assume I will still be doing the article, and I want to tie in my personal experience with some facts," Hermione said quickly.
Draco snorted. "You're serious? We're going to be stuck here for months, and all you're worried about is a damn article? Typical."
She glared at him, flushing a little with embarrassment.
~*~
Ron glared at Malfoy, as well as Harry and Hermione.
He clenched his fists tightly, roughly pulling at the fabric of the ancient sofa in his hands.
"At least she's responsible! What about you, Malfoy? I'll reckon that you've left quite a few pregnant witches in your path," Ron spat.
Draco looked at him menacingly, causing Dumbledore to clear his throat.
"Yes, well, if that is all...Remember, don't kill each other. You're not too young for Azkaban," he said gravely, ignoring the shivers from some. "And, you'll find there's no need to fight over the rooms. We've taken the liberty of putting your names on your doors."
"Oh, great. Well, guys, I'm sure we can expect those lame nameplates with our names painted on, and some poorly constructed design trying to keep our male pride intact," Kyle said loudly. "Pansy, I'll be looking forward to seeing your name in pink cursive next to a pair of ballet slippers, or something else equally lame. After all, we'll be handling muggle stuff."
The Gryffindors stared at him, hatred flying between the two groups.
"I, for one, am looking forward to seeing my room," Hermione finally said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, erm, me too," Ron echoed.
"Yes, we're all sure you're anxious to see what your new, spacious bedroom looks like. You know-the one you'd never be able to afford?" Draco asked innocently.
Harry held Ron back, and hissed menacingly, "Sod off, Malfoy."
But none of the Slytherins budged.
So Harry and Ron escorted their girlfriends to the upstairs, in search of their rooms, Hermione not far behind.
~*~
Draco finally stood with the rest of his friends, looking around.
Ricky stalked up the stairs first, with no intention of viewing his room last.
Pansy grabbed onto Draco's arm, giggling obnoxiously. "Oh, this should be so fun! I wonder if our rooms will be next to each other..."
If there is a God, they're not, Draco thought, looking up to ceiling in hope.
"Yeah, I hope so, too," he lied.
Pansy was the type of girl who would find a way to blame you for something. If Draco didn't say something, and their rooms weren't near each other, she'd whine in her obnoxious voice, "Draco, I'll bet you're happy, aren't you?!"
To which he'd reply, "No, of course not," but think Thank the Gods.
Then, the next six months would literally be a living hell, and he'd be forced to seek a haven with the Gryffindors.
They peeked around the stairs, hoping that the rooms were farthest from the Gryffindors.
But no. There was a hall with ten doors, and sure enough, there were little silver painted wood nameplates.
On the one side was the Slytherins, with their names carved in cursive, with a deep green paint inside their name. Draco had to laugh when he saw the telltale serpent slithering around their names, pausing only to lift its head and hiss and passerbys.
He turned to the other side, and saw the same general thing, except the Gryffindors' names were carved, painted in a deep red. The background, of course, was gold, and had a little lion creeping around, letting out miniature roars at the offending Slytherins.
Draco felt as if it were Hogwarts all over again, with the distinct separation between the Houses.
"If this is supposed to be so uniting, why are we being discriminated against?" Ricky asked loudly, looking over at his friends. "I mean," he began in his most wounded voice, "I thought we were all friends," he finished, his voice cracking.
The Slytherins burst into laughter, leering at Potter and Co.
"Oh, shove it, Jackson," Potter retorted, glaring. "You were Slytherins, so are you really going to pretend to be surprised if your room is in silver and green?"
Kyle smirked, and answered, "I was supposed to be in Gryffindor, but my mum paid Dumbledore to put me in Slytherin."
Draco wasn't sure if they bought it, but Pansy, Ricky, Blaise, and he knew that aside from Draco, Kyle was as Slytherin as you could get.
"I think your mum paid to get you in Hogwarts!" Ron countered.
"Oh really? At least my mum could afford it!"
Ron began to fly forward, pissed off at the insult to his mum. "Money isn't everything!" he yelled frustrated, when he found Harry and Hermione holding him back.
Draco and Ricky held back Kyle, only because they knew that he would take advantage of the situation.
"As much as I'd like to see Weasley get the crap beat out of him, I'd much like to see my room even more," Draco drawled, letting go of Kyle, shoving him toward his room.
"So you can figure out which witches to bring here? No, Malfoy, this is our house too, no sluts," Hermione snapped, her eyes flashing.
"Draco, just go into your room, and leave them alone," Blaise sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's getting old, fast."
~*~
Hermione watched the Slytherins turn to their rooms, glaring back at her friends.
For once, she was glad Blaise was around. When she wasn't teasing everyone, Blaise could be really nice.
"Hey, Lav, do you want to see my room?" Ron asked, grinning.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That goes for you, too, Ron. Anyway, I doubt our rooms are that different."
Ron sent her an evil look. "I was only kidding, Herm-own-ninny."
"Ron!" she exclaimed warningly.
Harry laughed a little, grabbing Ron by the collar. "Let's go, you git. See you later, Parvati, Lavender."
Parvati waved to Harry, and Lavender waved to Ron. "Bye," they called, turning to Hermione.
"This should be fun, huh?" Lavender asked her, grinning.
"Not with Malfoy."
"Oh, well, just ignore him and his gang of cronies," Parvati answered, with a wave of her hand. "They're just mindless prats."
Hermione sighed, and turned. "I'll see you later, ok?"
The girls agreed, and went into their rooms.
Hermione walked in, and was a little stunned. The room was huge, and was not at all what she expected.
All she expected was a mediocre room, with Gryffindor colors, just to be unoriginal.
But apparently, Dumbledore went all out.
Her favorite color of all time had to be blue, and so was the room. It was all sorts of shades of blues all blended in perfectly. Above the canopy bed was a Gryffindor banner, which made Hermione grin. They couldn't resist that one, could they?
Connected to her room on the wall opposite the door she entered was another, pure white door, that had a little sign on it that flashed in rainbow colors "Bathroom". Curious, Hermione walked toward the bathroom, and saw a panel next to it, which had ridiculous words on them. She pressed the L button, and the word "Bathroom" changed into "The Loo".
Dumbledore must have gotten very bored, she thought, pressing another button making the sign flash "Little Girl's Room"
Bored, she walked out, turned off the lamp next to her bed, and poked her head into Ron's room.
Ron, as suspected, was pressing the buttons, laughing at the different phrases.
Leaning against the doorframe, Hermione smirked. "Honestly, Ron, it was entertaining for a bit...but you're taking it to the extreme," she said, watching the screen change from "The Loo" to "Ron's Powder Room".
"It's just as well. I don't think I'll be keeping it on that," he frowned, changing it again. "Besides, I have the brain of a three-year-old, remember?" Ron grinned.
"Yeah, I know. Let's see if Harry's just as immature."
They popped into Harry's room, not bothering to knock.
But of course, "I'm showering" to "Do NOT go in there!" The last one was a line from a Muggle movie starring Jim Carey. It even had his voice saying it.
Harry chuckled, "I'm sorry, Hermione, but I love that one!"
She rolled her eyes, grinning. "You two are such prats!"
~*~
Ricky stared, a little shocked at his bathroom sign. He backed away slowly, and examined the rest of his room, and found himself unable to complain.
All in all, it was just like Draco's old Head Boy room, but a bit smaller.
The ceiling had an enormous serpent sliding around, like on his nameplate. It never stopped, and Ricky figured after Week 1, he'd curse it to something else.
There was a desk, and a cage for his owl. Surprised, he saw his owl, Dimitri, in it, with all his luggage on his bed.
"But I never packed my luggage..." he murmured, opening the bags.
However, he didn't question it any further. After all, they were living in the wizarding world. Practically anything was possible.
There was a little bookshelf, and Ricky guessed that if Granger had one, she'd be squealing for joy, and already reading her second book.
Next to that, was a two-person emerald sofa, bordered in silver. It was typical to see Slytherin colors in this room, he noted, seeing the Slytherin Flag waving above his bed.
There was a container of medium-sized posters depicting him flying around in one of Slytherins' best matches.
Weary, he turned out of his room, and walked slowly around the Manor, determined to find out everything.
Outside, he heard Hermione, Ron, and Harry flying around joking and laughing.
Ricky figured there was a broom shed outside, holding their brooms. For the life of him, he couldn't picture Granger on a broom. But of course, he continued moving on, uninterested.
Moving past a random room with obnoxious portraits, and clanking armor that tried valiantly to insult him.
"You pile of crap! All you are is enchanted tin! Do you honestly think that scares me?!" Ricky called back to one that had yelled an insult.
He stopped abruptly, having bumped into something solid.
"Sorry, Rick," Pansy squeaked, moving into step with him. "So how do you like it?"
He sighed, knowing what the conversation would lead to. "No, Draco has not said anything about you recently, Pans," he told her dully.
She frowned. "But I didn't-"
"Don't bother, I know that's where it was going. Now please, I would like to be alone," he told her pointedly.
Pansy glared at him, and stalked off in the opposite direction.
Finally, Ricky thought, peace and quiet.
He stopped on the first floor, and weighted his options. Continue, or find Draco and Kyle?
The obvious choice was finding his friends. Besides, it was time Draco got the hint about Pansy.
Because only the Gods knew how much her squeaky voice annoyed the hell out of him.
~*~
A/N: Yes, thanks to all meh reviewers. It was so lovely getting all my reviews. Sorry it took so long, but I got stuck on Ch. 4, and it sort of disheartened me. I still am, truth be told. But nevertheless, I'll give you guys what I have, and hope the pressure will force me to write.
But honestly, I got caught up in my newest piece, a sequel to my favorite story. Now I'm caught up in the sequel. But I promise, I'll try hard and get the other chapters up and writing themselves.
I broke my promise, so bad me…no more promises now. If you get bored waiting, check out my other stuff…
Thanks for kickin mah butt in gear, lol. I really liked this story, so it's time to get it going again.
R/R!
[Submitted: June 24, 2003]