FANTASY. WRITTEN BY GIRL-WHO-IS-OFFICIALLY-OBSESSED-WITH-FANFICTION.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that appears in the (soon to be) seven Harry Potter books. I hope that is clear.
Chapter Nine: Confusion.
"Get into pairs now! We need the strength of at least two people to lift these Calderoone plants! Now carry one to your table and draw a carefully labelled diagram of it. When you're finished, put it on my desk here and I shall mark it for the next lesson." Professor Sprout shouted as she watched the students pair themselves up. Hermione looked around: she had no one is pair up with – as usual. She sighed and was about to tell Professor Sprout, when she heard a small cough from behind her. She turned around.
"Hermione!" Daniel Pennyfeather – one of the boys she had met while in Dumbledore's office – nodded in her direction. "If you don't mind, could you be my partner? I need to talk."
Hermione smiled and nodded, before following Daniel towards the back of the line for the Calderoone plants. It wasn't until after they had carried their plant to an empty table that Daniel began to speak.
"So, you know Ben came back yesterday morning?" He said as he began to sketch the Calderoone plant.
"Yes . . ." Hermione replied while trying to concentrate on her work.
"Well, since he came back he's been acting different. He's usually quite relaxed, loud and adventurous – much like Alex, but he's been much too quiet and uptight since he came back. I'm rather worried but Alex is just angry with him. He's been trying to ignore him today and I'm rather surprised that Ben isn't doing anything to try and stop him." Daniel sighed and adjusted his glasses. "They're brothers, after all, they can't possibly stay mad at each other for long."
"That's like Ginny, Luna and Madeleine. Ginny and Luna say that she seems like a completely different person since she came back. And yesterday, we saw her and –
Hermione abruptly stopped. She didn't want to remember what happened yesterday. She had heard rumours that morning about Draco and Madeleine. People were saying that they were now officially 'going out', and she had assumed that this was true as all the Slytherin boys were nudging Draco before looking over to the Ravenclaw table. She hoped that Daniel didn't notice her awkwardness.
"Yes, I heard the rumours this morning and I know that Draco Malfoy is, supposedly, good looking, but he has a simply awful attitude. I didn't know that she had such bad taste."
All Hermione could do was nod. She didn't want Daniel to know her growing feelings for Draco. She had woken up early that morning and realised that she couldn't stop thinking about him. It was as though he was haunting her, never leaving her alone. She couldn't work without him being in her thoughts. It was an awful feeling, but she couldn't control it. Why did she have to feel this way anyway? She still didn't understand why seeing Draco with someone else hurt her so much, but she knew that deep inside, she didn't really want to know.
Herbology soon ended and everyone handed his or her sketch in to Professor Sprout. Hermione put away her belongings before heading straight for her Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.
Draco was in his History of Magic class, daydreaming, as Professor Binns droned on about the history of an enchanted potato. He remembered his conversation yesterday with Callum Flewington.
Draco stormed into the Slytherin common room, looking flustered. That Chang girl, she'd kissed him, but why? He'd done nothing to stop her – he was usually the one in control, but this time, he had let a little woman take control over him. That was unusual, to say the least.
"What's the matter Draco?" Draco swiftly turned to find Callum standing behind, looking concerned. Draco wasn't fooled.
"None of your business, Flewington."
"Girly trouble I presume?"
Draco gave him a suspicious stare. "How did you know?"
"Guess it's true then." Callum laughed, sitting down as he did so. "Sorry I can't help you. Got a lot to organise you see."
"Oh, yeah? When did you get so busy then?"
Callum smiled slyly and beckoned Draco to sit down beside him. Draco cautiously did so. Callum leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Well, you won't believe this, but someone fell for Saint Potter's friend, that Hermione Granger, my Transfiguration partner, you know?"
Draco frowned. Could this someone be him? But, he hadn't fallen for her; of course he hadn't. That was impossible – almost.
"Yeah, I know, quite unbelievable," Callum nodded, knowing that Draco was speechless, "But, this guy - I can't tell you who he is - he asked me to do him a favour. To set him up on a blind date with Hermione and I can tell you, she was more than happy to agree to it. Must be getting desperate!" He laughed.
Draco suddenly felt something surge through him, something that he would have thought to be anger. Hermione was going on a blind date? She simply could not. Going on blind dates was not something that Hermione Granger should do. It just, wasn't. Draco grunted.
"But anyway, why would you care about her? I saw how badly that Madeleine Chang flirted with you. If she asked you out, would you say yes?"
Draco shrugged. "Mind your own business, Flewington."
With that, he had gone to bed. Little did he know that the next morning he would be answering 'yes' to a date with Madeleine Chang.
Draco groaned quietly to himself as Professor Binns continued his speech about certain other enchanted vegetables. He didn't even know why he said yes. All he knew was that there was no good reason why he should say no. After all, he was attracted to her – she was cute after all – and shewasn't like one of those Gryffindors.
'No, nothing like Granger.' Draco thought before closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. Lately, he had been thinking about her a lot and he didn't quite know why.
'Draco, she's a mudblood, that's all.' He reminded himself. 'But don't act horrible towards her. You still have to live through those detentions . . .'
He slammed his head on his desk and decided that taking a nap would definitely do him some good.
The next day was Thursday, which meant another detention with Draco Malfoy. Hermione groaned at the thought. She just couldn't deny the fact that him having a girlfriend hurt her and made her mad. It would feel awkward for her to talk to him and she had successfully avoided any conversations with him so far. But being alone with him tonight would be unavoidable.
It was a sunny afternoon and everyone was heading towardstheir next lesson. Hermione suddenly realised that she would have to see Draco again before their detention that evening, for it was time for Care of Magical Creatures. She wondered what dangerous and life threatening creatures Hagrid had in stall for them this time. She arrived early, as usual, and waited patiently for the rest of the class. Her stomach tensed as she saw Draco arrive with Crabbe and Goyle at his side.
Hagrid appeared behind his hut and beckoned for the class to follow him. He led them into a small clearing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"Now, this 'ere beauty is known as a winged unicorn," said Hagrid as he gently stroked the male (the one that Hermione knew was Saviour), "They're rare, they are. We're lucky enough ter find two o' these in our very own forest, but we still've no idea how they got there. They say that if yer guess their names righ' yer'll be blessed."
Hagrid beamed at Hermione as Hope joined Saviour beside Hagrid. The girls were fascinated and mesmerised by the beauty of the beasts, whilst the boys merely mumbled about how Hagrid had gotten 'soft'.
"Did you guess their names correctly then?" Pansy Parkinson asked as she stared at Hope, her eyes wide with amazement.
"I didn' but Hermione here an' Draco over there did." There were a few gasps around the crowd of students as all heads turned to stare at them.
"You mean my Dwakie-poo is blessed?" Pansy screamed as her and some other Slytherin girls giggled animatedly. Hermione sighed. The Slytherin girls were an embarrassment to the female population. They cared more about a Slytherin being blessed, than they did about the unicorns.
"Hey Parkinson!" sneered Crabbe, "Don't let Chang hear you! She can be lethal when she wants to be!"
The Slytherin girls immediately stopped giggling – giving Crabbe a hateful glare. The Slytherin boys burst out laughing, all except Draco. He clenched his fists and would have liked nothing more than to punch Crabbe's face in (to put it simply). Hermione suddenly felt very sick.
"So what are their names?" Lavender Brown asked eagerly.
"The male one's called Saviour, and the female one is called Hope." Hermione stated. The girls around her squealed in delight as though they were the most wonderful names in the world.
"Righ' now, calm down all o' yer. We still got the res' o' the lesson!" Hagrid called, bringing a halt to the noise all around him. Hermione sighed once again as Hagrid continued. For once, she didn't feel like listening.
Before long, it was almost four thirty. Hermione ambled along the corridors, not quite sure what to do. She had detention soon and there was really nowhere she could go. It wasn't long before she found herself entering the girls' bathroom and sitting on Moaning Myrtle's toilet. It was quiet and she felt at ease being alone. It gave her time to think properly.
"What are you doing here?" Moaning Myrtle cried dramatically as she glided into the cubicle.
"I won't be here for long, Myrtle. I just wanted to go somewhere different so I'd like to stay here for a minute or two – if that's quite all right with you." Hermione added. She had been heading for the library, but her feet had somehow led her here instead. She wondered if that was such a wise choice after all.
Myrtle snorted but glided away, only to return a few seconds later. "Have you seen a girl around lately?" She screamed into Hermione's ear.
Hermione rubbed her ear as Myrtle hovered around her. "There have been lots of girls around, yes . . . me being one of them."
Myrtle glared at her. "That's not what I meant." She paused. "She's got black hair and she normally comes in here. Pitying me, I suspect, but speaking to me all the same."
"Well," Hermione began, frowning, "There are lots of girls with black hair too . . . you're simply going to have to be more precise Myrtle."
"Her name's Madeleine," Myrtle sighed angrily, looking disappointed in Hermione, "There's not much I can say to describe her."
Madeleine Chang. It seemed to Hermione that everyone was talking about her, whether they liked her or not. It was beginning to bug her.
"You could say I know her," Hermione sniffed, "Why do you ask?"
"I told you," Myrtle screeched, gliding around the empty bathroom, "She comes in here every so often. Tells me things." Myrtle paused and saw Hermione looking at her questioningly.
"Although, it's not like I care." She added.
"Well, she's fine, still around," said Hermione, "I don't know her too well, but I suppose she's hanging around her boyfriend so she doesn't have time to come."
"A boyfriend?" Myrtle shrieked. "It was only the other day that she told me she had a crush!"
"Yes, well, there you are." Hermione sighed. She didn't know whether she was jealous of Madeleine, or merely depressed. It was hard to tell the difference.
"Personally, I never did like the name Benjamin." Myrtle cried, before gliding through another cubicle door.
Hermione frowned. "Benjamin?"
"Yes," said Myrtle, "That's the name of her boyfriend, don't you know. Or at least, that was the name of her crush. She told me so herself."
Hermione's frown deepened. Benjamin was the name of Madeleine's crush? But if that was so then why was she going out with Draco? She glanced down at her watch to check on the time, only to realise that it was four forty-five. She said a hurried goodbye to Myrtle before leaving the bathroom and sprinting towards the library.
Hermione rushed into the library, almost falling as she did so. Running had never been her strong point. Trying her hardest to catch her breath, Hermione looked around the – what seemed to be – empty library. Draco wasn't there.
'Maybe it's been cancelled . . .' Hermione thought.
"Didn't know that you would break the rules just to get out of seeing me, Granger."
Draco appeared from behind a bookcase, his hair neatly gelled back as it always was. She shot a glare at him.
"I got a little caught up and lost track of time, that's all. Don't think you're so important, Malfoy," She spat at him, finally breathing more slowly.
He smirked and let out a little laugh. "Look Granger, do you want to know what task is or not?" She nodded, folding her arms across her chest stubbornly.
"You'll like this one, Granger." He laughed. "Madam Pomfrey needed someone to baby-sit her niece and nephew and guess which two students they chose for the job?"
Hermione frowned. Babysitting?
"Right," She said slowly, "We should go to the Hospital Wing then - to pick them up, shouldn't we?"
Draco sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Honestly Granger, if I'd have waited for you, then I'd be waiting until dawn. They're right behind you." Hermione swiftly turned and saw two tiny children staring up at her. They were holding hands and the little girl was giggling while the little boy was sucking a lollipop.
"Hi Granger!" The little girl cried, smiling and waving as she did so. Hermione tried not to laugh. She knelt down so that she was the same size as them and found that Draco had joined them. He towered above them all.
"My name's Hermione, not Granger." She said, laughing slightly. The little girl looked at her, confused.
"But he was calling you Granger . . ." She mumbled. The little boy nodded. Their big Bambi-like eyes made Hermione melt at their gaze. She ruffled the boy's chocolate brown hair.
"Yes, well, he calls me that, but everyone else calls me Hermione. So, can you call me that instead?" They nodded obediently.
"But Hermy-own-knee, it's so hard to say your name! Can we call you something else?" The little girl asked. Hermione gave them a big smile.
"You can call me . . . Sis!" She said happily. The pair nodded again before turning their large brown eyes onto Draco.
"So is your name Malfoy or is that just what Sis calls you?" The girl asked innocently. Draco stared at her blankly. He didn't particularly like little kids. They were small and weak, unimportant in his eyes. He grunted in response.
"His name's Draco. He doesn't like to talk too much." Hermione said, glaring at him.
"Auntie Poppy said that we need to go to one of your common rooms . . ." The little boy said quietly. He had finished his lollipop and the stick had automatically vanished.
"Well, in a minute, I'm going to go over there and have a little talk with Draco." Hermione smiled sweetly at them. "But first, what are your names?"
"My name's Lisa and this is my brother Billy!" Hermione nodded and swiftly turned, her smile fading rapidly as she set her eyes on Draco. Before another word could be spoken, Hermione took hold of Draco's ear, and began dragging him behind a nearby shelf.
"Let go, Granger! My ear isn't made of plastic you know!" Draco moaned, rubbing his sore ear.
"Look Malfoy, I don't know which common room we should be going to, but I suggest Gryffindor. It's much more comfortable than a dungeon and the people in Slytherin would probably scare the life out of those children. I know you probably hate children but please, at least try to talk to one of them. How do you ever expect to raise a family if you hate children so much?" Hermione questioned. Draco grunted.
"Whatever."
When they got back to Lisa and Billy, Hermione and Draco found them rolling on the floor, laughing wildly.
"What's so funny?" said Draco, sounding annoyed.
"It's just that . . ." The little girl giggled as her brother continued to laugh, "Hehe - my mummy - haha - always pulls – hehe - daddy's ear!" Lisa spluttered before continuing to laugh.
Hermione and Draco stared at them blankly until they finally calmed down. Lisa took Hermione's hand and smiled up at her. "So where are we going, Sis?"
The seventeen-year-old tapped her nose. "You just wait and see."
She squeezed Lisa's hand and held her other hand out to Billy, who shook his head.
"I don't want to interrupt your girly chats. I want to go with Draco!" He gave Hermione a big smile and clutched Draco's pale hand before he could say anything. "Okay Sis! Lead the way!"
Hermione nodded and tried her hardest not to laugh. The look on Draco's face was enough to make her snigger for a week.
Edited Version: 11th August 2005