FANTASY. WRITTEN BY GIRL-WHO-CAN-MAKE-ANYTHING-SOUND-COMPLICATED.
Disclaimer: Nothing that appears in the original Harry Potter books (written by J.K.Rowling) belongs to little old me. Now please read and enjoy (and maybe review)! Or leave me alone.
Chapter Ten: More about Madeleine.
"Oh please! You've seen me go in before!" Hermione whispered urgently.
"I'm sorry," replied the Fat Lady, "But I still need the password."
Feeling slightly grumpy, Hermione growled something (most likely rude) under her breath as she leaned closer to the Fat Lady and whispered the password. She didn't exactly want any Slytherins barging in on any of the Gryffindors until the next time they changed the password.
"Stay here. They might not be too pleased to see Draco Malfoy in their common room." Hermione said as she crawled through the portrait hole. Normally, the common room would be full of people talking and studying – and today was no different. Hermione saw only two beanbags by the fireplace that weren't occupied.
"Excuse me!" She shouted above the noise. Everyone stopped what he or she were doing and looked towards her. Hermione could feel her ears turning red. "I was wondering . . . if any of you would mind if some people came into the common room. They aren't exactly Gryffindors, so I just thought I'd ask."
There were murmurs before everyone nodded (however reluctantly) and most of them returned to what they had been doing before. Hermione beckoned them in. Lisa came through the portrait hole first and received many squeals of delight. Next came Billy, who received some more squeals and exclamations. Hermione went outside and saw that Draco was refusing to move.
She gave him a disappointing look. He sighed. "Look, they'll probably end up punching me until I'm half dead anyway. I'd rather die looking pretty, thank you very much."
"Don't be stupid. Come on!" Hermione took his sweaty hand and dragged him inside. There were gasps around the room and a loud crash as Ron stood up, his face almost as red as his hair, his wizard chess set scattered on the floor.
"What is he doing here?" He exclaimed, looking from Hermione to Draco and then back again.
"Ron!" Harry pushed him back down onto his seat and leaned closer towards him. "Don't blow it now! Remember Dumbledore's plan? Voldemort is already wrecking it! We can't help ruin it too!"
Ron glared at Draco before using his wand to recover the scattered chess pieces and returning to his game. The rest of the Gryffindors, however, were still staring. Hermione guided Draco to the two beanbags by the fireplace and collapsed onto one of them. Billy and Lisa followed them and sat on the floor. She looked around as the other Gryffindors continued to stare. Draco stood, looking uncomfortable despite his best efforts.
"Well don't just stand there!" She hissed. "Sit down! And what exactly are the rest of you staring at?" Hermione glared at the rest of the Gryffindors. Immediately, they looked away, as though embarrassed to have been caught staring. She was glad to see that Draco had obeyed her as well; he was now sitting on the beanbag beside her.
Hermione gave another smile to the two children. "So, what are you doing at Hogwarts?"
"Mummy got sick and daddy's on a work trip so there's no one to look after us, so Uncle Dumbly said that Auntie Poppy could look after our mummy and someone here could look after us." Lisa said as Billy brought out a huge bag labelled 'Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Bean: All In One Lollipops.'
"Would you like one, Sis? Draco?" asked Billy politely. Hermione nodded as she took a lollipop and unwrapped it carefully. The flavour was foul, but she smiled all the same.
"Can we hand these out please?" Lisa asked, using her big brown eyes to plead secretly.
"Of course."
Lisa and Billy gave a shout of joy before beginning to hand out the lollipops. Hermione, meanwhile, turned to Draco, who happened to be staring at her.
"What?" She asked, wriggling under his gaze.
"Just timing how long it takes you to spit that thing out." Draco smirked. Hermione gave him a rather sarcastic smile, before savouring her lollipop. Draco was right. It didn't taste all that nice. They sat in silence as they watched the two small children scurry around the common room.
"Aren't they just adorable?" Draco heard Ginny Weasley exclaim. He grunted at the thought. To him, children should be taught to be ruthless with people, to gain their trust only so that they could take advantage of it, to get what they want no matter what the costs, just like his father had taught him when he was small. His father hated small children (they reminded him of house-elves) and the only reason he had been patient with Draco was because he needed an heir to the Malfoy name. Draco looked at the children once again. They would probably grow up to be beautiful, nice, and intelligent, a typical Mary-Sue. He shuddered at the thought.
By the time Lisa and Billy had returned, they were exhausted. They soon fell asleep beside the fire.
"They look even cuter when they're asleep." Hermione whispered, peering at them quietly.
"Mmm." Draco mumbled in reply. He, too, was watching them sleep.
"I can't see how you don't like children." Hermione said.
Draco shrugged. "I never said I didn't like them. I just think that they're weak and too stupid to know their own good."
"Yes, well, they are," said Hermione, "And that's precisely why you need to protect them, tell them how much you care. Don't forget, we were all children once."
"Mmm." Draco mumbled again.
"Ah, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger! I thought you'd be here. No need for you to do the night patrols tonight. I have done them for you." Professor McGonagall exclaimed as she strode through the portrait hole. Lisa opened her eyes sleepily.
"Hello." She yawned, slowly getting up and shaking her brother awake.
McGonagall looked down at them both. "Lisa, Billy, it is time for me to lead you to your rooms. But, before we go . . ."
Lisa and Billy nodded. They smiled up at Hermione and Draco, before happily calling out, "Thank you for having us!"
With a wave, the two followed Professor McGonagall out of the Gryffindor common room. All was quiet. The Gryffindors had already retreated to their dormitories and the only two left in the common room were Draco and Hermione. They stood awkwardly for a moment.
"Well, goodnight then." Hermione muttered, pushing Draco towards the portrait hole. "It's nice to know that you can be . . . bearable, sometimes, Malfoy."
With one last shove, Draco fell out of the Gryffindor common room, the portrait swung shut, and the entrance to the Gryffindor's territory was closed. Hermione sighed goodnight to herself before heading to the girl's dormitory, preparing herself for another hard day's work in the morning.
That following morning, Hermione received many stares and whispers from her fellow Gryffindors. She knew what they were thinking - all of them. They were wondering why someone as 'Slytherin' as Draco Malfoy had entered a room full of Gryffindors.
'At least the don't know about the detentions.' Hermione thought, making her way to the end of the Gryffindor table, where there was an empty space. She had had a lovely time yesterday and she wasn't going to let anyone make her forget that. Glancing at her watch, she noticed that it was time for the first quidditch match of the school year – Slytherin versus Gryffindor. She didn't feel like going to watch it - she had never been one of those girls who particularly enjoyed watching quidditch. She would normally go just to watch Harry. But that was different now.
She headed for the library but bumped into someone on the way.
"Miss Granger," said Professor Hoover, nodding happily at Hermione, who returned her friendly gesture, "I see you're not at the quidditch match."
Hermione smiled slightly. "Yes, I wanted to finish one of my potions' essays, so I decided against it. I'm sure I'll find the score out later on in the common room."
"Oh. I see."
Hermione gave her another half-hearted smile before making her way around the Professor and towards the library once again. "But Miss Granger!" Hermione stopped and turned around to find Hoover staring at her with the utmost interest. "You seem troubled. Is there anything I could help you with?"
Hermione looked blankly at the Professor. There was something that had been troubling her, but it had been doing so for a while. She knew there was no real answer and so she had not thought about it.
Hoover took a step forward. "Is there anything you happen to know about the disappearance, and return, of Madeleine Chang?"
Hermione's eyes widened instantly. It had been the whole Chang epidemic that had been getting her into a spot of bother. She thinned her lips. "I don't know anything about it, Professor. But there are some things about her that I find highly suspicious." Hermione paused, making sure she used her words carefully. "I think that if you'd like to know something more then you should speak to her friends, Ginny Weasley or Luna Lovegood, or maybe even Moaning Myrtle."
Professor Hoover looked thoughtful for a moment, before giving Hermione a big smile. "Thank you Miss Granger, you have been most helpful. I shall see you in my next Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson." The Professor turned and continued along the corridor, as she would have done if she had not stopped.
Hermione frowned. Had the Professor been questioning her? No, surely not. She was a trustworthy student and had been for many years. They wouldn't. She gave a heavy sigh before continuing on her journey to the library, thinking nothing more of the incident. Little did she know, that Professor Hoover was heading towards Dumbledore's office, for soon it would be time to capture and question Lord Voldemort's spy.
"We lost. And worst of all, I lost my two best friends as well!"
Hermione's eyes widened with surprise. "How? What happened, Ginny?"
Ginny gave a long and frustrated sigh. "Well, when it was announced that Malfoy caught the snitch, Madeleine obviously congratulated him and she didn't even say anything to me! No consolation, no 'better luck next time', not anything! And Luna stuck by her so now I'm all by myself! Ginny the loner! That's me!" Ginny huffed. "She used to be so different, so . . . innocent, but now she's just . . . just . . ."
Ginny gave a cry and laid her head in her hands.
"Well Ginny, you always have me." Hermione said, resting a hand on Ginny's shoulder.
"I suppose that's true." Ginny smiled meekly and began to make her way towards the girls' dormitory. Suddenly, she stopped and turned back to Hermione.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you Hermione, that Flewington guy, he told me to tell you that you're meeting that mystery boy under the oak tree at eight o'clock in the morning, when everyone's still eating breakfast. Lord knows why I'm actually being his messenger . . ."
Hermione frowned.
"I don't know what he was talking about. But he said that you would know when I told you." Ginny paused. "And he said that if you didn't, I should mention something about Saturday and a 'deal'. I think that's what he said. Anyway, I won't be nosey and delve into your personal life. Goodnight!"
Hermione watched as Ginny left the room. The deal – Callum must have meant the blind date. She had forgotten all about it and if she had not agreed to it already, she probably wouldn't have bothered to go at all.
Edited Version: 14th August 2005