Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters etc belong to JKR!!!
AN: It's been a while since I have updated, but this is because I have all these assignments and tests etc. So yea, sorry about that! Well please review…
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Chapter 14 – Resolutions
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The door suddenly burst open and Myrtle's lifeless "body" floated in followed by Professor Dumbledore.
"Mister Malfoy, Miss Granger…" Dumbledore began, "Please show me your arm…This may hurt a bit though…" He stated very matter-of-factly.
Together, Draco and Hermione pulled their sleeves up and showed Dumbledore their Dark Marks. Draco's was burning an angry red, whereas Hermione's had stopped glowing and the pain had completely vanished.
Draco had his eyes shut, and was still sitting on the floor. Despite how much he tried to prepare himself, he wasn't actually ready for what was to come. He wanted to hold back screams, but no matter how hard he tried they managed to escape his lips. Hermione couldn't take his screams any longer. Squeezing her eyes shut she attempted to mentally block out as much noise as possible.
Dumbledore pulled the sleeves of his robes up, past his elbows as Hermione stood there waiting for what was to come. She dropped her hand as she realized that Dumbledore was going to cast the spell on them individually.
"Mister Malfoy, I suggest that you brace yourself," He said warningly as he raised his wand and pointed it towards Draco's arm. The wooden tip hovered only a centimeter over the pitch black Dark Mark. As he was told, Draco braced himself. What for exactly, he wasn't sure.
"Repainious," Dumbledore whispered. A bright red bolt of light flashed out from the tip of his wand and hit Draco's arm with such force that he was nearly shoved against the wall of the bathroom. It took all of his strength to remain sitting, and the pain left him barely conscious. Draco felt like he was being stabbed over and over again. And with each second that ticked by the pain only increased, as his voice became hoarser. He didn't know if he could put up with this anymore. It felt as though his entire body was being sliced to pieces with a dull knife that could only ripped at his skin.
Hermione watched frightfully as the thundering screams escaped Draco's lips. His screams echoed through the now empty halls of Hogwarts. The rest of the student body was in the Great Hall patiently waiting for their meal. Hermione placed her hands over her mouth to block out her own screams. Tears were lining her eyes, clouding her vision. She tried to blink them away but it was to no avail. One tear gently rolled down her cheek, only to be quickly brushed away with the back of her hand before anyone could see.
Hermione turned away, unable to cope with any more pain for the day. Dumbledore took note of Hermione's shaking body and that she had begun to hyperventilate. The fear she felt was obvious, and he couldn't help but sympathize with the poor girl.
"Just a little longer Mister Malfoy," he informed the two of them. Hermione forced herself to turn around and face both the Headmaster and Draco once again. Draco was now on his knees, still trying to hold back the screams. Distantly he knew Hermione was afraid and he couldn't bear to upset her anymore.
As promised by Dumbledore, the pain subsided within seconds after the wand was removed. As the pain in his arm diminished allowing him to regain self-control, and think…It's all my fault, what have I done?
In a few moments the throbbing in his arm vanished completely leaving Draco with an uneasy feeling inside. He looked up to see the Headmaster smiling down at him obviously pleased to see that the spell had worked. After giving Draco a reassuring nod, Dumbledore then turned to look at Hermione who was staring wide-eyed at Draco's arm. Draco followed her gaze and saw that his Dark Mark was now glowing a pale yellow.
Draco looked back up to Hermione only to see shock and fear in her brown, chocolate eyes.
I can't possibly go through this…Hermione thought miserably to herself, but then again, it can't be that bad…can it? She continued to ask this question although almost convinced that she already knew the answer. Which was precisely what was causing her fear.
Draco continued to feel that it was all his fault. He wanted to reassure Hermione, to say something that would console her, but before he had time to say anything – Dumbledore began speaking again.
"If you would kindly pull up your sleeve Miss Granger," Dumbledore requested kindly. He too saw the fear in her eyes, and he speculated that Draco wanted to reassure her that everything would work out okay. Turning to Draco and gently nodding his head, Dumbledore attempted to fulfill his wishes.
Draco walked steadily to Hermione's side, and held her free hand. The other lay in her lap, exposed for Dumbledore. Draco gripped her hand tightly, hoping his strength could somehow reassured her. The Headmaster cleared his throat while he pointed the tip of his own wand to the incomplete Dark Mark.
As soon as Dumbledore alleged the spell, the same red bolt of light struck Hermione's arm. A nervous shiver ran down her spine…then the pain came. She felt as though she was slowly being pulled apart in infinite directions. Hermione's knees weakened and she fell into Draco's hold. She was glad that he was there with her. There was no way she would have been able to survive this without him. She allowed herself to fall more securely into Draco's grasp as she shut her eyes tightly as the pain coursed through her. She bit her bottom lip firmly, trying to keep the urge to scream inside. A small drop of blood let both Draco and Dumbledore know how hard she was trying to fight against the pain.
"It'll be alright Hermione…"
Her eyes fluttered open as she heard Draco whisper to her encouragingly.
"I'm here…" He assured. However, at that moment Hermione felt as though he was a million miles away. But just as she was able to register his voice, she shut her eyes once more as the pain overtook her yet again.
A small scream managed to escape her throat as an especially strong wave of pain washed over her. Draco's grip around her waist only tightened.
She screamed again as the pain from the spell hit her. However, it wasn't long until the pain from spell disappeared entirely. And then only moments until Hermione was able to open her eyes, the Headmaster came into view. A cautious glance at her arm let her see the same pale yellow glow emitting from her arm as she had from Draco's only minutes earlier. However, the yellow glow wasn't the only difference she could feel. For some reason there was a rather awkward feeling of emptiness inside. But before she could contemplate this strange feeling Draco's arms were wrapped firmly around her waist from behind, and his cheek was rested softly on top of her curly locks from behind.
"Thank you…"She whispered, to both Prof. Dumbledore and Draco. She was slightly out of breath, and still feeling weak. The headmaster walked out of the bathroom swiftly with a nod of his head. He had dinner to attend to in the Great Hall.
Hermione turned around in Draco's hold and planted a small kiss on his lips. Draco was mildly stunned but before he was able to say another word or to respond, Hermione escaped his embrace and walked out towards the Great hall herself. Draco had no other choice but to follow, but with a feeling of satisfaction.
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Meanwhile in the Great Hall, students were happily chattering as they waited for the Headmaster to enter the Hall so they could begin dinner. Harry and Ron were eagerly waiting for Hermione. She hadn't turned up for either breakfast or lunch. They tried looking for her everywhere they could think of, yet they came up with nothing. The most obvious of all places was the library but when she wasn't there they also checked the infirmary and most of the classrooms. They tried to convince Ginny to help them check the girl's bathrooms but she insisted that Hermione probably had homework to do so she wouldn't want to be bothered.
Finally the door to the Great Hall creaked opened and the Headmaster slowly walked in. He went up to the teachers table and stayed on his feet as he addressed the student body.
"Students, I apologize for the slight delay. Unfortunately I had urgent business to attend to. However, now that I am here, I won't hold this up any longer!" He shouted and clicked his fingers. Instantly food appeared on the golden plates in front of the hungry children.
Minutes passed and Harry and Ron were beginning to feel even more anxious about their friend.
"Where do you think she is?" Ron asked Harry whilst stuffing a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth, "Maybe she apparated all the way to Hogsmeade, you know how smart she is!"
"Honestly! I've told you a million times!" Hermione interrupted as she appeared right behind them with hands on her hips. A startled Ron was only able to choke on his mashed potatoes.
"You can't apparate or disapparate from Hogwarts!" She continued while settling herself down between her two closest friends and pouring a goblet full of pumpkin juice for herself. As she began to stuff food into her mouth almost as quickly as Ron, her two friends realized just how hungry she was, and tried not to interrupt her.
Despite his resolution to let Hermione eat in peace, Harry was dying to ask the one question that was weighing on his mind since it happened. He decided to ask her during dinner before she would have the time to run of again without a word.
"Hermione," he began, turning to see her face and feeling unnaturally nervous, "I need to talk to you," he told her quite firmly whilst ignoring the questioning look he got from Ron who could be seen from behind Hermione's shoulder.
"Please, not now Harry," Hermione told him, avoiding his gaze and busying herself with a meat pie, "I'm kind of hungry. After dinner, alright?" She turned and looked at him fixedly, knowing what this must've been about. Harry simply nodded and went back to his dinner without another word to either of his friends.
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The great hall seemed brighter that night. Or at least it did to Draco. The ceiling was filled with silvery stars that zoomed this way and that giving the impression that it was alive. Furthest on the left was the Gryffindor table, which had a stunning red tablecloth draped over it. Next came the Hufflepuff table, which was covered in a pale yellow table cloth, and the Ravenclaw table was covered with a royal blue cloth. The Slytherin table, furthest on the right had a forest green cloth over it.
Draco had entered the hall a minute or so after Hermione in an attempt not to raise any suspicions. He walked towards the Slytherin table, trying to ignore the look Pansy gave him that said What on earth were you doing?!
Draco sat himself between Blaise and Crabbe. Unfortunately Pansy sat directly across from him, Flint by her side. As soon as he was finished putting provisions onto his plate, her legs curled around one of his. Draco leaned in towards the table, as Pansy did the same. He cocked one of his eyebrows in question. Their noses were merely millimeters apart and he could feel the heat radiating from her attractive face.
According to all the Slytherins, (Draco included) Pansy was hot. But if you compare her to Blaise, she was nothing. The Slytherin boys want o see more of Blaise and less of Pansy.
As one of Pansy's legs continued stroking up and down Draco's lower half, he was feeling immensely uncomfortable. Abruptly he moved back in his chair and began eating his dinner, while trying very hard to ignore Pansy's wandering feet. She continued to stroke up and down his leg arousing him against his will. One of her feet made it's way to his left thigh and began caressing it with small circles that continued to reach further up his thigh.
Draco couldn't handle it any longer. Despite his best efforts to ignore her, he was failing miserably. As he stood up hastily, Pansy's leg slid of his slowly but fortunately, rather willingly.
They held each other's gaze for a mere second before Draco stormed out of the hall. A few people looked in their direction, wondering what the fuss was about as Draco's utensils fell with a loud clatter on the sandstone floor. Pansy crossed her legs and gave herself a satisfied grin. She ignored the quizzical looks she received from her fellow Slytherins and the rest of the student body. Instead she stared fixedly at Blaise, who, in response stared intensely at Flint.
For what seemed like a million years to both Blaise and Pansy, Flint finally got the idea. But being the daft idiot that he was, he drank the Polyjuice Potion right then, in the middle of the Great Hall. Of course no one except the three of them knew what it was, but as soon as the effects began, even the dumbest students would clue in.
Hoping to prevent a complete disaster, Pansy got up from her seat, only to stand next to Marcus and smack him across the head from behind. A small patch of hair in the back was already beginning to turn blond.
"Bitch!" he cried under his breath as he and Blaise stood up and hurriedly walked out of the Great Hall. Flint was still holding his aching skull, and thus luckily covering the blonde patch that was beginning to form. Pansy returned to her seat as she shouted, "I heard that Flint!" in her sturdy high-pitched voice.
Every head in the hall was now looking from the doors, to Pansy. There and back again, wondering what on earth they were on about.
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AN: Well once again I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter! So please review, tell me what u think! YAY! Well thanks to my Beta: Mistress De Draco! WOHOOOOO!
Everyone, of course you know OoTP is coming out, so I don't think I can update any time soon…not that I do anyways! I'm sorry!!! It's just the book is around 800 pages, and I'm a slow reader…besides I bet the rest of you lot will be reading it too!
Thanks to those who have read this far! *smiles sweetly*
-Feli-