10

Draco definitely didn't want to show that he was an Animagus, but he had to put her somewhere safe. Crouching down, he shook white-blond hair out of his eyes and gazed at Mala, who looked petrified. Not that I blame her, he thought, remembering. The head of the Junior Death Eaters Club? I'd kill myself if I had his name. Slowly, he held out his hand, palm up. "Hey," he said softly. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." He saw her hesitate, and could practically see her thoughts written on her face. In the debate between common cat courtesy and common human sense, the cat side won. She slowly stepped forward and sniffed his hand delicately.

That's odd, thought Hermione. His scent says...that he's a little nervous, but friendly. Very unusual...and certainly unexpected. What do I do now? Hesitantly, she backed up a few steps and sat down, waiting for him to make the next move.

Draco was almost amused. "You don't have anything to fear from me...that's a promise," he whispered, trying to calm the fears he saw plainly written on her face. Carefully, he lifted his hand slowly enough to assure her that he wasn't going to attack her, and rubbed one finger along her jawline. The cat's eyes fluttered shut and a purr rose unwillingly from her throat.

"That's the way, girl." Draco smiled. "Now, I'm going to take you away from the Slytherin dungeons, okay? It isn't safe around here. You're lucky I found you. I'll...I'll take you to a quiet hall near the Gryffindor area." Gently, he slid his hand from her jaw to support her upper ribcage, lifting her front paws with two pale fingers. Scooping her tail end up with his other hand, he lifted her to his chest, placing her front paws on his left shoulder. She shifted uneasily, but he murmured, "Shh...it's okay." He couldn't resist briefly burying his face in her long, silky fur.

Hermione's world was tilting. This is so, so weird. My archenemy is helping me. And he's helping me by carrying me. And he just put his face into my hair. And he's acting all nice...maybe he likes cats? That must be it...although I rather envisioned him as a dog person, with one of those huge hunting dogs. Huh. This is so, so, weird. His cologne smells nice--sweeter and spicier than I would have imagined. It smells...familiar...though I'm sure I can't think where I've smelled it before. Anyway, it smells really good...mmm...

The cat was relaxing against his chest. She was warm and soft and smelled like sunshine... Draco suddenly realized that he had to hurry--breakfast would start in about two minutes, and he was taking the most remote corridors to avoid being seen by anyone. Finally, he reached a deserted hallway and regretfully set Mala down. "Now, you go to the far end of the hall, take a left, and you ought to be able to find your way from there." He turned to go, but on an impulse knelt back down and dropped a soft kiss behind her ears before leaving.

To say the least, Hermione was shocked. Oh Merlin. That didn't just happen. That did not just happen. She shifted back into human form, and leaned against the wall. Ginny's words from Friday evening drifted back to her..."You have to admit, he's really hot." And he was. This unexpected sweetness...

"Get a grip on yourself, Hermione," she snapped. "You were a cat. Pets make people do funny things." She couldn't stop her next thought. But I'd never have counted Draco Malfoy among those affected. Tossing her hair, she locked away thoughts of Draco and set her mind on getting to the dining hall in negative ten minutes.

.

"You're late," Ginny stated flatly. "And Malfoy came in just seconds before you did."

Fortunately, Harry and Ron were engaged in a rather loud conversation with Dean and Seamus; however, Hermione still felt insecure talking about what had just occurred.

"Look, Ginny, I'll talk to you later. And...Padma too--she's looking over here and I know she won't give up. Er, tell you what--let's have a girls' night in my dorm!"

"Yes! I haven't had one for ages!" Ginny clapped her hands excitedly. "We can have popcorn and play truth or dare and--and--"

"And watch a movie!" Hermione laughed.

Ginny looked at her curiously. "That's a Muggle thing, isn't it? I thought Muggle devices wouldn't work here..."

"Er, mine will." Hermione glanced sheepishly at the table. "I sort of tinkered with it. Now it's not a Muggle device anymore."

"Hermione Elizabeth Ann Granger! You are pure, pure evil."

Hermione grinned and turned her attention to the toast in front of her.

Once Padma had been notified, Hermione and Ginny found themselves overloaded with suggestions. Apparently, Padma had been throwing parties with quite a good rep in all houses since her second year. "Music. Since this is just the three of us, it ought to be a bit toned down, but not too much. Hmm...X Leviosa's a bit too much. I think SilverSnitch would be just right. It's got a little smooth jazz mixed in. Now, how much makeup do you two have? Oh well, I'm sure I have enough for everyone. And we have to do our hair--it's expected for small parties like this." The Gryffindor girls glanced at each other in mutual resignation as Padma raced on.

"Look, Padma--why don't we have it in your dorm?" Ginny cut in. "That way, you can prepare everything to your taste."

"Sure!" Padma squealed. "I just know I can get my roommates out of the way for tonight!"

The dark-haired Ravenclaw did indeed prepare everything to her taste. She charmed the bronze hangings in her room to appear pale gold, summoned a few tasteful plants, and set various tables with food, spa-type equipment, and makeover materials. When Hermione and Ginny arrived, levitating a box of DVDs, a DVD player, and a projector, they caught Padma just finishing the makeover arrangement.

"Padma!" laughed Hermione. "You're a genius!"

Padma took a sweeping bow. "The maestro is at your service. Hey, what DVDs did you bring?"

With SilverSnitch playing softly in the background, and the three comfortably situated on Padma's bed, Padma styled Ginny's hair while Ginny styled Hermione's and Hermione started telling them what happened that morning. As Hermione's story unfolded, Ginny and Padma were by turns indignant, sympathetic, and amazed. "Whoa, whoa--back up. Malfoy didn't hurt you?" Padma broke in at one point.

"No, he carried me out of the dungeons."

"Oh, that's so romantic..." Ginny sighed.

"Mm..." Padma agreed.

"Come off it, I was a cat then. And he'd just shoved me into a wall and sneered at me. That boy is messed up."

"Maybe he likes cats?" offered Padma. "And you are pretty when you're a cat."

"So what, he was hitting on a cat?" Hermione snorted.

"Noo, what Padma means is that if he likes cats he must have seen you were especially pretty, for a cat. Art appreciation or something." Ginny shrugged. "Even evil guys appreciate beauty."

"Thanks, I think. I dunno...anyway, after he dropped me off near the Gryffindor common room, he..." Her voice trailed off. For some reason, the kiss was personal. "He just left," she finished lamely. Fortunately, neither of the others noticed her falter. "

Weird." Ginny shook her head.

"So, how was the ride?" Padma asked eagerly.

"What do you mean?"

Hermione tilted her head, but Ginny yanked it back up none too gently. "I'm trying to get this into a proper curl, and you're going to burn yourself if you do that!"

Padma rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

A dreamy smile crept over Hermione's face. "Well, he was wearing some sort of cologne...spicy, sort of, but also sweet...warm...elegant, of course. It was familiar, for some reason."

"Hermione, you're grinning like an idiot," Ginny informed her.

"Am I?" she asked, her attention elsewhere.

Padma raised her eyebrows at Ginny, who shrugged. "She did this yesterday at breakfast. Don't ask me."

Padma grinned wickedly. "Ooh, our little Mione's got a crush on Draco Malfoy!"

Ginny giggled wildly along with her as Hermione snapped out of her trance. "What? I do not!"

"Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Hermione. Just think...how does Hermione Malfoy sound?" The trio collapsed in giggles.

"Mm...better than Ginny Potter."

Ginny put on a mock-affronted face. "Ginny Potter sounds perfect to me. But if you really think so, I'll make him change his name to Harry Weasley."

"So Padma, what name do you like?" Hermione asked once she had recovered enough to do so.

Padma leaned back. "Definitely Padma Thomas."

"Yes, we Gryffindors do turn out cute guys, don't we?" Ginny agreed, smiling. "But I'm sure Hermione prefers Slytherin."

Hermione turned and caught Ginny across the arm with a nearby cushion. "Take that back!"

"Oh, Draco will be so disappointed to know you don't love him anymore," snickered Padma, which earned her a swat from Hermione as well.

Ginny glanced out the window. "Hermione, it's nearly moonrise. Are you going to meet Ranger tonight?"

Sighing, Hermione stood. "Yeah. Thanks, both of you--I really needed a night like tonight."

Padma waved her hand dismissively. "Call it trauma therapy. You need it, after that fall."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, one hand on the doorframe. "The fall...that scent..." She whirled around. "Girls, Malfoy rescued me after that fall. I remember his cologne."