Chapter 6
Draco was dreaming again.
Everything was covered in ice; ice that sparkled blue and white and darker ice that seemed to suck not only warmth, but also feelings. The dark ice spread quickly, and it was stifling, suffocating. It was taking his magic, his ice-heart, and leaving only a shadow of a man behind. The man (he, himself?) screamed the scream of tortured souls who have lost everything. And there was no more light ice left, only dark.
Draco woke up with an awful headache, feeling almost as bad as he had the night before. He took a few minutes to sit up, letting the remains of the dream wash over him and dissipate. No need to get worked up, it was only a dream, he told himself. He opened the drapes around his bed, but remained sitting on the edge.
"You've been acting strangely lately, Draco Malfoy," said a shadow on the other side of the room.
Blaise Zabini had the most remarkable gift of being unremarkable. He had dark hair that swept over his dark eyes in an almost camouflaging nature. His features were not gruesome, but nothing that particularly sparkled either. He had a level tempter and an observant and calculating nature, good traits in a Slytherin.
The Pureblooded witches and wizards of Great Britain were all interrelated, but the Zabinis were related very closely to the Lestranges. Blaise is a cousin of the Lestrange girl, Draco remembered from the genealogy charts and family trees he was expected to memorize. Did Blaise know anything about her? Draco didn't think the Lestranges nor his parents had told anyone else about this yet, but.Wait. What was Blaise Zabini doing in his private bedroom?
"What are you doing here, Zabini?" Draco asked, ignoring the throbs of pain in his head.
"Just checking up on you, Draco. Nothing to be concerned about."
"Now that you mention me acting strangely, I do have a bit of a headache. I expect I'll pay Madame Pomfrey a visit and then be as right as rain," Draco said, even managing to draw a weak smirk from his lips.
"I will have some questions to ask you when I come back, Zabini," Draco warned. Namely, how the hell Blaise had managed to get into his room.
"And I have a few questions for you as well, Malfoy." And then he was gone and Draco didn't know if he seemed to disappear so quickly because of the rate his brain was processing information, or Blaise was simple able to disappear so quickly.
Taking his time, Draco Malfoy walked quietly down the corridors towards the Hospital Wing. He was wondering if his headache might let him miss a class or two, and was just opening the door to the hospital Wing, when he ran strait into a black-haired beauty.
****
Hermione awoke the next morning really much better than she had when she had passed out. In fact, she felt surprisingly good. Although it was very early in the morning, she decided that she might as well visit Madame Pomfrey and make sure that everything was fine with her. The whole feeling- faint thing the night before had not been a pleasant experience and she did not want to experience it again.
Hermione still had on her robes from yesterday. They were a bit wrinkled, but she didn't bother to change them, the sooner she visited Madame Pomfrey, the sooner she could ask Professor Dumbledore about the necklace.
When she arrived at the Hospital Wing, however, Madame looked as if she didn't recognize Hermione. Hermione had spent quite a lot of time in the Hospital Wing, from the Polyjuice mishap and Basilisk petrifaction in second year to a particularly bad internal bleeding curse in her fifth year. She had even come to think of a particular bed (second down on the right side) as her own, for she had spent so much time there.
"Anything I can help you with, dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked, bustling over to her.
"You see, I had a sort of fainting spell last night, right before falling asleep. I feel fine now, but I don't know why that happened," Hermione said.
"Hmm.could be any number of things. Mine if I check your vitals?" And without waiting for an answer, Madame Pomfrey took out her wand and did a quick check-up, all the while still talking. "You haven't been overextending yourself, have you, staying up all night, or anything? Young people need eight hours of sleep every night!"
Hermione shook her head.
"Fainting.you have been using a contraceptive potion, right Miss?"
"Excuse me, Madam Pomfrey! I thought you would know me better than that!" Hermione was appalled.
"I'm sorry, Miss-?"
"Are you alright, Madame Pomfrey? I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said, more than a little worried.
"Miss Granger? Is that you?" Madame Pomfrey asked, looking at her as if for the first time.
"Should I get a Professor, Madame? You don't seem to be yourself."
"Oh, dear." Madame Pomfrey was muttering. She ushered Hermione over to a mirror in the large bathroom connected to the Hospital Wing.
And there in the mirror, right where she herself should be, was a black- haired girl her age.
But it was her, Hermione, though she couldn't see it at first. Her hair had turned from a bushy brown mass to sleek midnight-black hair that framed a much prettier face. All of her features seemed to have changed in slight ways that made a hugely different effect. Her nose was smaller, and slightly more pointed, her neck was longer and almost graceful, and her skin had paled a few shades. And her eyes, once cinnamon brown, were now a dark liquid color.
"What spell is this?" Hermione asked, and her voice seemed so far away. At least that was the same, she was still Hermione.Madame Pomfrey could probably fix this in no time.
"I think, Miss Granger, that we had better get the Headmaster," Madame Pomfrey said slowly, after a few minutes more wand-waving and quiet mutterings.
"The Headmaster?" asked Hermione, alarmed. "This isn't.fatal, or anything, is it?"
"Oh, no. In fact, I'll just floo him right now." Madame Pomfrey said as she bustled over to the fireplace.
"Madame Pomfrey? May I.go get something? I wanted to ask Professor Dumbledore about it and it may have to do with.whatever this spell is." Hermione had a suspicion that the necklace may have something to do with the change, though she didn't know how.
"Well, alright, I suppose. But quickly, Miss Granger!"
Hermione rushed out of the Hospital Wing, thoughts about what kind of spell she could be under flying through her head. So preoccupied was she, that she ran strait into a blonde-haired student directly outside the Hospital Wing door. And it was the same blonde-haired student she had crashed into naught two days before.
Draco was dreaming again.
Everything was covered in ice; ice that sparkled blue and white and darker ice that seemed to suck not only warmth, but also feelings. The dark ice spread quickly, and it was stifling, suffocating. It was taking his magic, his ice-heart, and leaving only a shadow of a man behind. The man (he, himself?) screamed the scream of tortured souls who have lost everything. And there was no more light ice left, only dark.
Draco woke up with an awful headache, feeling almost as bad as he had the night before. He took a few minutes to sit up, letting the remains of the dream wash over him and dissipate. No need to get worked up, it was only a dream, he told himself. He opened the drapes around his bed, but remained sitting on the edge.
"You've been acting strangely lately, Draco Malfoy," said a shadow on the other side of the room.
Blaise Zabini had the most remarkable gift of being unremarkable. He had dark hair that swept over his dark eyes in an almost camouflaging nature. His features were not gruesome, but nothing that particularly sparkled either. He had a level tempter and an observant and calculating nature, good traits in a Slytherin.
The Pureblooded witches and wizards of Great Britain were all interrelated, but the Zabinis were related very closely to the Lestranges. Blaise is a cousin of the Lestrange girl, Draco remembered from the genealogy charts and family trees he was expected to memorize. Did Blaise know anything about her? Draco didn't think the Lestranges nor his parents had told anyone else about this yet, but.Wait. What was Blaise Zabini doing in his private bedroom?
"What are you doing here, Zabini?" Draco asked, ignoring the throbs of pain in his head.
"Just checking up on you, Draco. Nothing to be concerned about."
"Now that you mention me acting strangely, I do have a bit of a headache. I expect I'll pay Madame Pomfrey a visit and then be as right as rain," Draco said, even managing to draw a weak smirk from his lips.
"I will have some questions to ask you when I come back, Zabini," Draco warned. Namely, how the hell Blaise had managed to get into his room.
"And I have a few questions for you as well, Malfoy." And then he was gone and Draco didn't know if he seemed to disappear so quickly because of the rate his brain was processing information, or Blaise was simple able to disappear so quickly.
Taking his time, Draco Malfoy walked quietly down the corridors towards the Hospital Wing. He was wondering if his headache might let him miss a class or two, and was just opening the door to the hospital Wing, when he ran strait into a black-haired beauty.
****
Hermione awoke the next morning really much better than she had when she had passed out. In fact, she felt surprisingly good. Although it was very early in the morning, she decided that she might as well visit Madame Pomfrey and make sure that everything was fine with her. The whole feeling- faint thing the night before had not been a pleasant experience and she did not want to experience it again.
Hermione still had on her robes from yesterday. They were a bit wrinkled, but she didn't bother to change them, the sooner she visited Madame Pomfrey, the sooner she could ask Professor Dumbledore about the necklace.
When she arrived at the Hospital Wing, however, Madame looked as if she didn't recognize Hermione. Hermione had spent quite a lot of time in the Hospital Wing, from the Polyjuice mishap and Basilisk petrifaction in second year to a particularly bad internal bleeding curse in her fifth year. She had even come to think of a particular bed (second down on the right side) as her own, for she had spent so much time there.
"Anything I can help you with, dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked, bustling over to her.
"You see, I had a sort of fainting spell last night, right before falling asleep. I feel fine now, but I don't know why that happened," Hermione said.
"Hmm.could be any number of things. Mine if I check your vitals?" And without waiting for an answer, Madame Pomfrey took out her wand and did a quick check-up, all the while still talking. "You haven't been overextending yourself, have you, staying up all night, or anything? Young people need eight hours of sleep every night!"
Hermione shook her head.
"Fainting.you have been using a contraceptive potion, right Miss?"
"Excuse me, Madam Pomfrey! I thought you would know me better than that!" Hermione was appalled.
"I'm sorry, Miss-?"
"Are you alright, Madame Pomfrey? I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said, more than a little worried.
"Miss Granger? Is that you?" Madame Pomfrey asked, looking at her as if for the first time.
"Should I get a Professor, Madame? You don't seem to be yourself."
"Oh, dear." Madame Pomfrey was muttering. She ushered Hermione over to a mirror in the large bathroom connected to the Hospital Wing.
And there in the mirror, right where she herself should be, was a black- haired girl her age.
But it was her, Hermione, though she couldn't see it at first. Her hair had turned from a bushy brown mass to sleek midnight-black hair that framed a much prettier face. All of her features seemed to have changed in slight ways that made a hugely different effect. Her nose was smaller, and slightly more pointed, her neck was longer and almost graceful, and her skin had paled a few shades. And her eyes, once cinnamon brown, were now a dark liquid color.
"What spell is this?" Hermione asked, and her voice seemed so far away. At least that was the same, she was still Hermione.Madame Pomfrey could probably fix this in no time.
"I think, Miss Granger, that we had better get the Headmaster," Madame Pomfrey said slowly, after a few minutes more wand-waving and quiet mutterings.
"The Headmaster?" asked Hermione, alarmed. "This isn't.fatal, or anything, is it?"
"Oh, no. In fact, I'll just floo him right now." Madame Pomfrey said as she bustled over to the fireplace.
"Madame Pomfrey? May I.go get something? I wanted to ask Professor Dumbledore about it and it may have to do with.whatever this spell is." Hermione had a suspicion that the necklace may have something to do with the change, though she didn't know how.
"Well, alright, I suppose. But quickly, Miss Granger!"
Hermione rushed out of the Hospital Wing, thoughts about what kind of spell she could be under flying through her head. So preoccupied was she, that she ran strait into a blonde-haired student directly outside the Hospital Wing door. And it was the same blonde-haired student she had crashed into naught two days before.
