Disclaimer- I don't own anything in this story except the plot.
A/N- Well I don't really have anything to say (and that's saying something!) so enjoy the chapter and please R&R!!!!
Speedstergal : )
Caught and LonelyChapter 5
Hermione slowly descended the stairs leading to the Gryffindor common room.
"Hey Hermione!" Someone said with a cheerful tone.
"Oh hey Ginny." Hermione replied looking at the younger girls beaming face.
"Did you by any chance find any roses by your bed this morning?" Ginny asked with a mischievous look on her face.
"As I matter of fact I did. How did you know?"
"Well Ron came to me last night, he was freaking out because he knew he had made you upset. So, he asked me what he could do to get you to forgive him so I told him to give you something. He conjured up a bouquet of roses, gave them to me and I put them on your bedside table when you were asleep!" She announced, "Did you like them?"
"Yes I absolutely loved them!" She replied giving Ginny a grin.
"Hmm he was freaking out? Well it must mean that he really is sorry. I should go find him."
"Do you know where Ron is Ginny?"
"Uhh yeah I think he already went to the Great Hall for breakfast. You did seem to take an awful long time getting ready this morning."
"Yeah, I just started thinking about something and I just kind of lost track of the time." Hermione replied looking around the room and realizing most of the Gryffindors had already left.
"Well come on, we don't want to miss Ron, now there do we?" Ginny said teasingly.
Draco Malfoy walked as fast as he could to the Great Hall. He wanted to get there early so that he could eat and leave by the time all of the rest of the Slytherins came up to eat their breakfasts. He couldn't stand the fact that everyone ignored him. He was a Malfoy, Malfoys weren't supposed to be ignored.
He walked into the Great Hall and looked around. There were probably six other people eating breakfast. Thankfully none of which were Slytherins.
Malfoy quickly ate some toast and drank some orange juice and was about to leave the Great Hall until, "Mr. Malfoy, may I please have a word with you?"
It was Professor Dumbledore. "Uh yes sir." Draco replied trying to hide the frustration in his voice.
"Gees all I am trying to do is get out of here early. None of the teachers have ever approached me when I wasn't in a hurry. It's just always my luck."
"Mr. Malfoy I have just been informed your father will be visiting us a little later in the year." Dumbledore said kindly.
"Oh crap. My luck is running high today.""Uh, do you know when Professor?"
"I was told that he would pop in around your third quidditch match." Dumbledore replied with the usual twinkle in his soft blue eyes.
"Oh crap, oh crap. That's the match we play Gryffindor. Oh crap.""Oh, uh thank you Professor for informing me. I can't wait." Draco forced a smile.
"Your welcome Mr. Malfoy. Well, I have got to be going now, Fawkes must be fed." Dumbledore began to walk away, "Oh and have a great first day back." He smiled and left the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was now filled to the brim with students.
"Well so much for leaving before the whole school gets here. Oh well, but now I have a really big problem. My dear old dad is coming to watch a quidditch match. Now that normally wouldn't be bad, because I am a really good seeker. But to my fantastic luck, he somehow found out when all my matches are. So being the wonderful father he is, he chose to come to the only one that I didn't want him t. And I am pretty sure it wasn't on accident. Great, I have to play Potter. If I lose this I am going to have the worst beating of my life. I don't know this time he might even.."
"Ow!"
Draco was jolted out of his thoughts by a yelp of pain.
"Wha?" He said startled.
"Malfoy, good God, watch where you're going." A very angry Ginny spouted off at him. He had just crushed her toes with nearly all one hundred eighty pounds.
"Uh, um sorry." He replied and hurried out of the Entrance Hall to the dungeons.
"Ok is it just me or was that weird?" Hermione asked.
"That was most defiantly weird." Ginny answered.
"He seemed preoccupied, he looked like he was somewhere else. He didn't even shoot back one rude comment after you said that to him. He just seems different this year. I wonder what happened."
"Yeah…," Ginny shrugged, "Well come on Hermione or we're going to miss breakfast entirely!"
Inside the Great Hall Hermione spotted Ron easily with his glowing red hair. She crept up behind him and wound her arms around his neck, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I am sorry." She whispered in his ear making the hair on his neck stand on end.
"Nah," He replied keeping his voice down, "You shouldn't be the one apologizing, I should. I need to learn to keep my feelings under control. I need to learn to.."
"Shhh," Hermione interrupted softly, putting her finger lightly up to Ron's mouth. "It's ok, I forgive you, there is no need to talk about this subject any longer ok?"
"Ok." Ron answered. He turned around and continued stuffing his face with cereal and various fruits.
"Well that went ok, I guess." She took a seat between Ron and a blonde haired fourth year that she didn't know.
Hermione reached for a piece of toast and began buttering it. Her breakfast was fairly enjoyable. Though she talked to Ginny the whole time. Ron seemed to be ignoring her.
As the time went on, she found herself becoming increasingly more annoyed. Ten minutes.. not a single word from him. Fifteen minutes.. still nothing. Twenty minutes.. nothing was coming out of his mouth but food. This was sheer torture to her. She didn't like to be ignored. She was defiantly one of those girls that adored being heard, by everyone, even her boyfriend. But she kept quiet. He was playing a game with her. And she wasn't going to lose by showing her growing irritation.
Ginny leaned in towards Hermione from across the table. "I want to know how you can live with that pig Hermione." Ginny whispered eyeing her older sibling with a look of disgust. He was currently shoving spoonfuls of food into his mouth whilst attempting to talk to Harry at the same time. It wasn't working out, he was spitting food everywhere.
"Oh gosh, I think I just lost my appetite." Hermione replied turning a delicate shade of green. "Come on Ginny let's go before I bring up everything I just ate." Ginny vigorously nodded and the two girls stood up. "Hey, listen Ron, Harry." Hermione tried to get their attention, but to no avail since Ron, being the clumsy guy he was, knocked over a pitcher of pumpkin juice.
"Oh never mind." Hermione breathed. She let out an agitated "hmph" then turned on her heel and marched out of the Great Hall with Ginny. "Oh my gosh!" Hermione said abruptly. Her face had a look of horror on it.
"What? What?" Ginny replied wondering what was wrong.
And with that the brunette bolted up the stairs.
"What is her problem?" Ginny thought as she too began sprinting up the stairs trying to keep up with her schoolmate. Hermione slowed down to a stop when she reached the Fat Lady's portrait, she recited the password and the portrait swung open. She jumped into the common room and sped up the stairs towards her dormitory. She ran into her room and began looking frantically.
"Now where is it?" She asked herself out loud letting out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, I remember where it is!"
She kneeled on the ground and took a peek under her bed. She then pulled out a small box.
The delicate container was about the size of a shoebox. It was made of oak and had a small rectangular piece of golden metal, which read "Hermione Elizabeth Granger" in the center. Around the golden piece was an intricately carved heart with thorny vines winding around it. In the gentle curve of the heart right at the point was a rose. The rose's stem hung down below it, falling into the heart. And curving gently around the stem was a serpent.
"What in the name of the world are you in such a rush to get?" Complained Ginny as she stepped into the brunette's dorm.
"I almost forgot the most important thing in the whole entire world!" Hermione replied carefully lifting the box up to her mouth and whispering some sort of password to it.
She then lay it gingerly back onto the foundation. The small chest glided slowly open. Inside red velvet covered every inch of it, giving it a divinely sophisticated look. Inside the base of the chest to the right and the left were two small compartments, which held various pieces of jewelry. In the center sandwiched between the two other containers were four about one inch- thick, silk, cylinder shaped rolls snuggled together tightly fitting the small compartment perfectly. It held five or six jewel-encrusted rings.
But perhaps the most interesting thing was the inside of the lid, which read these words:
"Do not go searching for loveFor you shall find none
Do not go searching for happiness
For you shall find none
Do not go searching for contentment
For you shall find none
Fate shall bring you together
Fate shall try to pry you apart
Fight fate
It shall fight back
Give into fate
It shall win
Love conquers all
All that believes in it"
Hermione pulled out a small heart shaped locket. "Hermione" was engraved on the front.
"That's what you rushed up here faster than the speed of light for?" Ginny asked a look of disbelief on her face.
"Sorry Gin, this locket was given to me by my grandfather as was this chest. The locket is my good luck charm. I wear it everyday in class.. for extra help."
"Ok, whatever Hermione, I just never thought you would be one to believe in good luck charms!" Hermione just shrugged. "Well anyway I will meet you downstairs ok?"
"Alright Gin, see you downstairs."
Hermione walked over to the mirrored armoire and carefully hooked the locket onto her neck. She sat on her bed and began fingering it. She had never really looked at it before. Her Grandfather had left her the chest and locket in his will. She had never known him, though he seemed to have known her. Otherwise he wouldn't have known her exact name. She had always wondered about the poem on the chest. But she never really sat down and logically thought it out.
Hermione casually flipped the small locket over and noticed something that she hadn't remembered seeing before. It stated, "Fight it"
"What in the name of the world?" That was truly strange. It wasn't there last summer when she looked at it. "Maybe I just overlooked it."
"Hermione!" Came a voice "We're going to be late for class!"
Hermione quickly brushed her suspicious thoughts away and dashed out of the room to go to her very first class of the semester.