A/N: I'm sorry it's been over a month! I promise I won't make you guys wait anymore! Thanks to my reviewers: *karly*: Thanks for liking my story so much! It really makes me feel like I'm writing something that's at least worth reading! And, I guess I just made a lucky guess ^_^. Roswell4ever: This chapter is better than the last, in my opinion! Only 24 days till OotP! Malfoyschic: I'm really sorry it took so long! I've just been procrastinating! Jessica: Thanks so much! Keep reviewing!! Celeste: You haven't updated! And I'm sorry I made Draco stupid by not knowing what a phoenix is…someone had to ask the question, hehe. Thanks for the review!
I wrote the beginning of this chapter on a paper napkin at a wedding reception…JKR got her start writing on paper napkins…who knows, I may be the next JKR! ^_^
Keep reviewing!
Chapter 15
Hermione awoke on the next cold, December Saturday at around 9:00 A.M. As her brown eyes fluttered open, the thoughts of the night before came back to her. She was used to Crookshanks happily pouncing on her in the morning to wake her up, but today, there was no Crookshanks to wake her. Her eyes brimmed with tears, as it was just dawning on her how much her life was really in danger. And all because she was Muggle born and in love with the son of a pureblood family that prides itself in being in allegiance with the Dark Lord. Was it even worth it?
Yes, Hermione answered herself, it was worth it. I love Draco, she thought to herself. And nothing is going to scare me out of love. She wiped her tears away on the blanket, and decided it was time to get up and seize the day, Carpe Diem. With that thought, Hermione went on with her normal, morning routine.
Thirty minutes later, Hermione was showered, dressed and ready to go to the common room to find Harry, Ron and Ginny. She was about to head out the door when her eyes crossed her window for the first time that morning. Hogwarts' grounds were blanketed in a thick layer of snow.
"The first snow of the season!" Hermione whispered in excitement to herself. She knew exactly where she would find Harry and Ron.
~*~*~*~
SPLAT.
"Gotcha again!" a green eyed boy shouted in triumph.
"Oh, no you don't!" a freckled face red head shouted back in retaliation, sending a round snowball in the direction of his friend. Harry ducked in time, but, to Ron's dismay, the snowball hit the oncoming Hermione square in the face. Ron turned as white as the snow and ran, ducking behind a small wall of snow that he and Harry had built earlier. Hermione picked up a handful of snow and began rolling it into a ball, laughing as she did so. Harry walked towards her and grinned.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, swaying his head to move a loose strand of hair as he pushed his glasses back up the brim of his nose.
"I'm a lot better. Everything's going to be okay," Hermione grinned as she hurled a ball at Ron. The wall of snow saved him, and Ron wasn't hit. Grinning up at them, he moved from his hiding place and walked over to his two best friends, his hands in his air.
"I come in peace!" he said jokingly, not wanting to get hit by another one of Harry's snowballs. "How are you feeling, Herm?"
"I'm feeling good," Hermione said in response. "Where's Ginny?"
"Dun know," Ron said and shrugged. "I'm sure Harry knows where she is," he added, teasingly. Harry turned as red as Ron's hair.
"Shut up, Ron," Harry said in response, his blushing continuing. Ron and Hermione both laughed at his embarrassment until they were each hit by snowballs simultaneously. All three of them let out a small yelp and turned around. Draco was walking towards them; his usually pale cheeks tinted red from the cold.
"Leaving me out of a snowball fight, eh?" Draco asked, smirking.
"Well, if you really want to take us on--" Hermione started, but Draco was already hit in the stomach with a snowball.
"Hey!" he shouted and saw that Ron had thrown it.
"When you have a snowball fight with us, you need to have…" he paused dramatically, "Constant vigilance!" To this, Harry, Hermione and Draco burst into laughter. They spent the rest of the morning having a snowball fight and laughing.
Around noon, they foursome grew tired of running around and found that they were hungry.
"Lunch time!" Harry shouted as they walked to the Great Hall, all four of their cheeks red from the cold. The Great Hall was filled with the forty or fifty students that had stayed over Christmas. Their heads all turned to look at Hermione as she entered. The rumors about her being the next "victim" of the Dark Lord had spread, and they were all eager to see how she was handling it. To their utmost astonishment, Hermione walked in laughing and holding hands with Draco. Ron and Harry followed right behind them, already involved in a conversation about Quidditch. The four sat down at the far end of the Gryffindor table, out of hearing distance of the rest of the Gryffindors. As their food appeared on the plates, Draco voiced what they were all thinking about in the back of their minds.
" What do you guys think of the Order of the Phoenix?" he asked in a whisper, sitting across from Harry and Ron, with Hermione sitting next to him. Ron spoke first.
"It's a good idea…there's going to be a real fight against You-Know-Who. And while we fight this, Fudge is sitting in his political position doing nothing about it, so it's all up to Dumbledore to lead us." Ron said, sounding as serious as any of them had heard him. Harry nodded in agreement.
"Like Hagrid said, what will come, will come, and we'll just have to meet it when it does." Harry said. The other three didn't want to say anything, but Harry was just in much danger as Hermione was. As Hermione nodded to what Harry had said, she lifted up her sleeve, and looked at the Dark Mark on her shoulder. Draco winced slightly.
"Does it hurt?" he asked gently.
"No, it stopped burning last night. I tried to scrub it off this morning, but it only made my skin red. I've been ignoring it since then, I think it's best just to forget about it," Hermione said in response. After that, they sat in silence as they ate.
Draco felt unusually calm and comforted as he sat eating lunch with, which he now considered his friends. Ron gave him no dirty looks anymore, but acted as though Draco was just another Gryffindor. Harry acted as though Draco had been their friend since their first day on the Hogwarts Express. Hermione was the most comforting of all. She seemed to forget all the names he had called her. He shivered at how horrible he had been to her. Now she honestly cared about him. He smiled in content.
The four of them soon finished their lunch and sat at the table, as their uneaten food disappeared.
"Poor house elves…" Hermione whispered as the plates disappeared and reappeared, spotless. Ron snorted and shook his head.
"They're happy Hermione…" he started. Harry shook his head as well.
"Both of you, don't start," he said. Hermione made a face at Ron. Ron made one back, and Harry rolled his eyes.
"What are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Draco asked, wanting to end this "making faces at each other" war as soon as possible.
"We can go to the--" Hermione started.
"No." Ron, Harry and Draco all said in unison.
"You didn't even let me finish!" Hermione said in retaliation.
"We don't want to spend this beautiful, Saturday afternoon in the library. It smells like books in there," Ron said.
"Yes, well, books are commonly found in a library," Hermione said. Ron rolled his eyes. "I do have to go to the library though. Remember what Professor Dumbledore said? I have to start training with Madam Pomfrey, and I can begin by researching old healing spells."
"But it's Saturday…" Ron said.
"I'll go with you, Herm," Draco said, standing up as she did.
"Thanks Draco. We'll see you two later then," Hermione said and her and the blonde boy headed out the Great Hall, followed by the stares of their fellow classmates. Ron and Harry watched their retreating backs, and soon got up from the table.
"Up for a game of chess?" Ron asked with a grin.
"You're on…maybe I'll win this time," Harry said in response.
~*~*~*~
Hermione and Draco entered the student-less library, and as usual went to the back table. Draco parted from Hermione to look up some Quidditch books, and Hermione began to look for old spell books. She paused as she looked at the sides of the books, trying to read the worn out titles. As she glanced down at her arm, she decided that maybe she should look information up on the Dark Mark.
Five minutes passed before Hermione found a book on the Dark Arts. It was faded and worn out, and surprisingly not in the Restricted Section like it should have been. As she flipped through the semi torn pages, she found the section on the Dark Mark. Making sure she was hidden by the rows of books, she began reading. Soon, there was a passage on the Dark Mark used as branding victims.
When the Dark Lord and his supporters choose a victim, the Dark Mark with a dagger or sword through the skull appears on the victim's shoulder. The mark burns on the victim when the Dark Lord is going to strike, either the actual victim or a close friend or relative of the victim.
The passage ended there, and Hermione found no more information. Rubbing her arm slightly, she returned the book to its spot and went back to searching for more spells.
Ron and Harry spent the rest of the afternoon playing several games of chess, and Draco and Hermione spent a cozy afternoon in the library. The snow clouds invaded the sky, and darkness fell sooner than normal, at around 5:30 P.M. It was dinnertime, and the students flocked to the Great Hall to have a warm meal. Hermione and Draco walked hand in hand from the library, taking their time. Hermione carried a couple of large books in her free hand, and was looking content as Draco kissed her gently on the cheek.
Ron and Harry were nearing the bottom of a flight of stairs, on their way to the Great Hall.
"I think the Chudley Cannons actually have a chance at the Cup this year…" Ron was saying as Harry suddenly faltered and stopped in his tracks, holding onto the railing of the stairs with one hand, and clutching his scar with the other.
~*~*~*~
Hermione and Draco were less than a corridor away from the Great Hall when Hermione suddenly let go of Draco's hand. Her books fell out of her hand, and she fell to her knees, clutching her shoulder in pain.
A/N: What is happening to Harry and Hermione? Review and you will find out soon!