Disclaimer: All characters and places in the Harry Potter series are owned
by J.K. Rowling. I have created a few characters and places of my own in
relation to this story. But everything else is owned by Rowling.
Chapter 8: "Air and Fire"
"How can you say that?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all seated inside their Charms classroom. Professor Flitwick hasn't arrived yet so everyone was free to converse. Hermione was trying to remember the conversation he had with that guy. And now that she has, she realized it wasn't at all hard to remember.
"Because when I saw his eyes, it was as if I suddenly recognized him from somewhere," Hermione said.
"Maybe you've just seen him around," Ron said.
"I'm sure that was the first time I saw him. He said it too. But it's like I knew him from somewhere, maybe a past life, or a very distant past that was too distant for me to recall."
"But why can you remember him that easily?" Harry asked.
"Maybe we have a connection."
"What kind of connection are you talking about?"
"Blood."
***
"Haven't you realized you're the only person left inside the common room?" Dylan asked.
"Now there's the two of us," Draco replied. He just sat by the table where he was playing wizard's chess all by himself, and continued to command the pieces to annihilate each other. "I didn't want to go to my classes."
"Don't you want to see Hermione Granger?" Dylan said, moving towards the table and taking the seat in front of Draco.
"I told you, I stand no chance."
"How will you know if you don't ask her?"
"Like she'd wanna talk to me."
"Can I?" Dylan gestured for the white pieces.
"Sure."
Dylan started moving what is left of his army. "Knight to Pawn. You have to start believing in yourself. This is not the Draco Malfoy I know."
"Don't speak like you know me by heart. We've just met, have you forgotten? Queen to Knight!"
"Fine. But I may also know more about you than you do. Rook to Bishop."
"Queen to E5! Don't be so sure of yourself. Nothing that you've told me to do is working."
"Pawn to D6. That's because you don't trust me and you don't trust yourself. You're too afraid to gamble on some things."
"Like what? Bishop to D6!"
"Like your friendship with that Potter boy. You very well know that he's the only one standing in the way of yours and Hermione's friendship. And now that they're officially together."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's the hottest news all over the school. Potter and Granger together forever."
Draco turned red with fury. "It can't be. I confess my love for her and then she hooks up with Potter?"
"And you know what the saddest thing is? They're both happy, and the whole school is celebrating with them. While you, are left here alone, having no one, but me."
"This can't be true."
"Oh, it's the truth. Maybe you just have to accept it."
"No I can't."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
Draco buried his face on his hands. "I don't know."
"I know!"
"What?" Draco asked, looking up. "Tell me! I'll do anything!"
"Anything?"
"You heard me!"
"Okay, okay. You don't have to shout at me. All you have to do is play a little game of hide and seek with Mr. Potter."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll buy you some time with Ms. Granger while I lure him away from her. Until the time comes that she realizes that you've always been there for her and that she spends less and less time with the Potter boy."
"But we're not even friends to begin with!"
"Patience. You'll have to be stronger than that. Most of all, you have to believe in yourself. Believe that you can do this."
"What if it doesn't work."
"Oh, it will work, I promise you."
"What are you going to do? How am I going to get any closer to her?"
"Don't worry. I've heard the word that Ms. Granger is ready to give you a second chance. All you need is a ticket and a good strategy.
"Ticket?" Draco asked. Dylan withdrew something from his other pocket. Draco saw that it was a wand. "Is that."
"I think Ms. Granger would be wanting this returned to her. I picked it from her pocket when I grabbed her. And who should return it, but you?"
Draco reached for the wand and surveyed it carefully on his palm. "And you're confident that everything would work properly from then on?"
"My strategy always works," Dylan said, smirking.
"And what exactly is your strategy?"
"They let you in and you play along. You bring them into your own game and lure them one by one into the trap. You close on the enemy without them even noticing it. Until their defenses become weak and you get to take over. Checkmate!"
Draco looked down on the chess board. Dylan has defeated him.
"What? How. how did you do that?" Draco asked, evidently surprised.
"I moved when you weren't looking. I used your emotions against you, to distract you so I can make my move. But now it's your turn. Are you ready to play the game, Mr. Malfoy?"
***
"What do you mean, blood?"
"I don't know. It's the only explanation that I've come up with," Hermione answered.
"Hermione, maybe you're just overreacting. No offense but, how can you be related to a Slytherin, when he's bound to be a pureblood, and a very dangerous person to boot?" Ron said.
"Well, we don't know yet that he's really dangerous. Maybe he just likes me. Kinda like a stalker," Hermione responded.
"Stalkers are dangerous, Hermione," Harry replied.
"You've got a point," she answered.
The whole class moved into silence. Professor Flitwick arrived, balancing in the air with his wand, a medium-sized box full of what appeared to be square-shaped wooden planks.
"Uh, Professor Flitwick, what is that for? Are we going to charm those planks to show faces?" Ron asked.
The whole class laughed.
"Funny you should ask that, Mr. Weasley. Yes, we are going to charm these planks to show marks, not faces, but scorch marks," Flitwick answered.
Hermione remembered what Draco said about the statue of Merlin. Raising her hand, she asked, "Professor Flitwick, may I be excused from class?"
Everyone, including Harry and Ron, turned around to look at her. Hermione had never asked to be excused from class.
"What seems to be the emergency Ms. Granger?" Flitwick asked.
"Nothing, sir. I just wished to do some investigating on my own, something I can assure you is very related to our new lesson."
"But you haven't even practiced the charm, Ms. Granger. It is very dangerous to perform it wouldn't adult supervision."
Hermione stood up and rummaged inside her pockets. Then she remembered that she didn't have her wand. "Professor, it appears that I have lost my wand. Before I go looking for it, would you allow me to borrow Harry's wand for this lesson?"
Flitwick's face was lined with bewilderment. "I have no problem regarding that, Ms. Granger but what is Mr. Potter going to use after you've taken his wand?"
"Don't worry, sir, this won't take long." Hermione turned to face Harry and gestured for him to give her his wand. "Just give it to me," she whispered.
Harry, who no more understands what is going on than Professor Flitwick, Ron, or anyone in the class for that matter, had no choice but to hand his wand to Hermione.
"Thank you." Hermione raised the wand chest high, pointed it to the box, and did the swish and flick movement while uttering "Wingardium Leviosa." Just as she had spoken, the twenty wooden planks that were in the box suddenly flew out and hovered up into the air, positioned in a horizontal line, high above Professor Flitwick's head. "Signeus Ignitus!" Hermione shouted. The whole class, including Professor Flitwick, gasped, as twenty signatures in Hermione's own handwriting, reading 'Hermione Granger,' appeared in flaming red fire right in the center of each plank. "Now can I be excused?"
Professor Flitwick was speechless for a moment. "Oh. that is amazing. amazing that really is. oh, yes, Ms. Granger, you can be excused. oh, would you mind clearing up the planks for your classmates to use, but leave one for me to show the other teachers," Flitwick muttered. "Really splendid!"
"Sure, Professor," Hermione pointed Harry's wand to the planks and uttered "Mobiliarbus." The planks gracefully flew towards the students, one to Professor Flitwick, and dropped carefully on their tables. Professor Flitwick's however, just flew right in front of him, hovering a few feet from his desk. And with another swift wave of Harry's wand, Hermione uttered "Finite Incantatum!" Just as they have appeared, the scorch marks on the other planks vanished, except on the one that Professor Flitwick had.
Hermione moved across the room towards the door and turned one last time to amuse herself by their unchanged expressions of astonishment, leaving the room feeling proud of herself. Just as she had turned the corner, she came face to face with the one person she'd been hoping to talk to, carrying the one thing she'd been looking for - her wand.
Chapter 8: "Air and Fire"
"How can you say that?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all seated inside their Charms classroom. Professor Flitwick hasn't arrived yet so everyone was free to converse. Hermione was trying to remember the conversation he had with that guy. And now that she has, she realized it wasn't at all hard to remember.
"Because when I saw his eyes, it was as if I suddenly recognized him from somewhere," Hermione said.
"Maybe you've just seen him around," Ron said.
"I'm sure that was the first time I saw him. He said it too. But it's like I knew him from somewhere, maybe a past life, or a very distant past that was too distant for me to recall."
"But why can you remember him that easily?" Harry asked.
"Maybe we have a connection."
"What kind of connection are you talking about?"
"Blood."
***
"Haven't you realized you're the only person left inside the common room?" Dylan asked.
"Now there's the two of us," Draco replied. He just sat by the table where he was playing wizard's chess all by himself, and continued to command the pieces to annihilate each other. "I didn't want to go to my classes."
"Don't you want to see Hermione Granger?" Dylan said, moving towards the table and taking the seat in front of Draco.
"I told you, I stand no chance."
"How will you know if you don't ask her?"
"Like she'd wanna talk to me."
"Can I?" Dylan gestured for the white pieces.
"Sure."
Dylan started moving what is left of his army. "Knight to Pawn. You have to start believing in yourself. This is not the Draco Malfoy I know."
"Don't speak like you know me by heart. We've just met, have you forgotten? Queen to Knight!"
"Fine. But I may also know more about you than you do. Rook to Bishop."
"Queen to E5! Don't be so sure of yourself. Nothing that you've told me to do is working."
"Pawn to D6. That's because you don't trust me and you don't trust yourself. You're too afraid to gamble on some things."
"Like what? Bishop to D6!"
"Like your friendship with that Potter boy. You very well know that he's the only one standing in the way of yours and Hermione's friendship. And now that they're officially together."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's the hottest news all over the school. Potter and Granger together forever."
Draco turned red with fury. "It can't be. I confess my love for her and then she hooks up with Potter?"
"And you know what the saddest thing is? They're both happy, and the whole school is celebrating with them. While you, are left here alone, having no one, but me."
"This can't be true."
"Oh, it's the truth. Maybe you just have to accept it."
"No I can't."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
Draco buried his face on his hands. "I don't know."
"I know!"
"What?" Draco asked, looking up. "Tell me! I'll do anything!"
"Anything?"
"You heard me!"
"Okay, okay. You don't have to shout at me. All you have to do is play a little game of hide and seek with Mr. Potter."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll buy you some time with Ms. Granger while I lure him away from her. Until the time comes that she realizes that you've always been there for her and that she spends less and less time with the Potter boy."
"But we're not even friends to begin with!"
"Patience. You'll have to be stronger than that. Most of all, you have to believe in yourself. Believe that you can do this."
"What if it doesn't work."
"Oh, it will work, I promise you."
"What are you going to do? How am I going to get any closer to her?"
"Don't worry. I've heard the word that Ms. Granger is ready to give you a second chance. All you need is a ticket and a good strategy.
"Ticket?" Draco asked. Dylan withdrew something from his other pocket. Draco saw that it was a wand. "Is that."
"I think Ms. Granger would be wanting this returned to her. I picked it from her pocket when I grabbed her. And who should return it, but you?"
Draco reached for the wand and surveyed it carefully on his palm. "And you're confident that everything would work properly from then on?"
"My strategy always works," Dylan said, smirking.
"And what exactly is your strategy?"
"They let you in and you play along. You bring them into your own game and lure them one by one into the trap. You close on the enemy without them even noticing it. Until their defenses become weak and you get to take over. Checkmate!"
Draco looked down on the chess board. Dylan has defeated him.
"What? How. how did you do that?" Draco asked, evidently surprised.
"I moved when you weren't looking. I used your emotions against you, to distract you so I can make my move. But now it's your turn. Are you ready to play the game, Mr. Malfoy?"
***
"What do you mean, blood?"
"I don't know. It's the only explanation that I've come up with," Hermione answered.
"Hermione, maybe you're just overreacting. No offense but, how can you be related to a Slytherin, when he's bound to be a pureblood, and a very dangerous person to boot?" Ron said.
"Well, we don't know yet that he's really dangerous. Maybe he just likes me. Kinda like a stalker," Hermione responded.
"Stalkers are dangerous, Hermione," Harry replied.
"You've got a point," she answered.
The whole class moved into silence. Professor Flitwick arrived, balancing in the air with his wand, a medium-sized box full of what appeared to be square-shaped wooden planks.
"Uh, Professor Flitwick, what is that for? Are we going to charm those planks to show faces?" Ron asked.
The whole class laughed.
"Funny you should ask that, Mr. Weasley. Yes, we are going to charm these planks to show marks, not faces, but scorch marks," Flitwick answered.
Hermione remembered what Draco said about the statue of Merlin. Raising her hand, she asked, "Professor Flitwick, may I be excused from class?"
Everyone, including Harry and Ron, turned around to look at her. Hermione had never asked to be excused from class.
"What seems to be the emergency Ms. Granger?" Flitwick asked.
"Nothing, sir. I just wished to do some investigating on my own, something I can assure you is very related to our new lesson."
"But you haven't even practiced the charm, Ms. Granger. It is very dangerous to perform it wouldn't adult supervision."
Hermione stood up and rummaged inside her pockets. Then she remembered that she didn't have her wand. "Professor, it appears that I have lost my wand. Before I go looking for it, would you allow me to borrow Harry's wand for this lesson?"
Flitwick's face was lined with bewilderment. "I have no problem regarding that, Ms. Granger but what is Mr. Potter going to use after you've taken his wand?"
"Don't worry, sir, this won't take long." Hermione turned to face Harry and gestured for him to give her his wand. "Just give it to me," she whispered.
Harry, who no more understands what is going on than Professor Flitwick, Ron, or anyone in the class for that matter, had no choice but to hand his wand to Hermione.
"Thank you." Hermione raised the wand chest high, pointed it to the box, and did the swish and flick movement while uttering "Wingardium Leviosa." Just as she had spoken, the twenty wooden planks that were in the box suddenly flew out and hovered up into the air, positioned in a horizontal line, high above Professor Flitwick's head. "Signeus Ignitus!" Hermione shouted. The whole class, including Professor Flitwick, gasped, as twenty signatures in Hermione's own handwriting, reading 'Hermione Granger,' appeared in flaming red fire right in the center of each plank. "Now can I be excused?"
Professor Flitwick was speechless for a moment. "Oh. that is amazing. amazing that really is. oh, yes, Ms. Granger, you can be excused. oh, would you mind clearing up the planks for your classmates to use, but leave one for me to show the other teachers," Flitwick muttered. "Really splendid!"
"Sure, Professor," Hermione pointed Harry's wand to the planks and uttered "Mobiliarbus." The planks gracefully flew towards the students, one to Professor Flitwick, and dropped carefully on their tables. Professor Flitwick's however, just flew right in front of him, hovering a few feet from his desk. And with another swift wave of Harry's wand, Hermione uttered "Finite Incantatum!" Just as they have appeared, the scorch marks on the other planks vanished, except on the one that Professor Flitwick had.
Hermione moved across the room towards the door and turned one last time to amuse herself by their unchanged expressions of astonishment, leaving the room feeling proud of herself. Just as she had turned the corner, she came face to face with the one person she'd been hoping to talk to, carrying the one thing she'd been looking for - her wand.