{Grumbles reluctantly} Here's a chapter. I'm not too pleased with my life at the moment. Stupid grade seven. Stupid teacher. We have alternate teachers, and one is better than the other. Anyway, I just got another major idea to juice the story up a bit. Oh yeah, you'd never guess what happened! I got in trouble! I was caught reading Fanfiction on the school computers! And I'm starting chapter 15 today. Heh, heh, heh.



Chapter #9



"Where have you been?" Ron asked angrily. Harry stared at her.

"Please." Hermione said slowly. "I can explain." Harry sighed suddenly.

"Ron." He muttered. "Just leave it, alright?" Hermione stared at him in shock.

"But Harry! She wasn't here all night! We stayed up half the bloody night waiting for you to come back, and all you can say is."

"Ron!" Harry interrupted suddenly. "Sod off!" Ron glared at Harry. Harry raised his hand, stemming Rons' complaints. Ron sighed, irritated, and stomped off. Hermione turned to Harry.

"You didn't have to do that." She said quietly. To her surprise, Harry grinned mischievously. "What?" She asked.

"I got you all figured out." Harry said triumphantly.

"What?" Hermione demanded.

"Okay. First you get this letter, asking you to go somewhere. Then, you want to use my cloak for "something personal." Next thing you know, Hermione Granger doesn't show up all night!"

"Yeah?"

"I got you."

"What?" Hermione glared at him.

"You got a boyfriend!" Harry said triumphantly. Hermione opened her mouth, then sighed.

"Okay." She said, throwing her hands up in defeat. "You caught me in the act. I have a guy that I really like." She waited for him to ask who it was.

"Well, I'm not going to prod at you." He said, turning to his breakfast. Hermione blinked in surprise.

"You aren't?"

"It's something "personal," right?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded, feeling dazed. Harry was really sensitive when it came to "personal" things. "Anyway, I'll find out sooner or later." He added mischievously. Hermione swatted him playfully.

"Hey, I gotta go to the library. But I need you to cover up for me, okay?" She said suddenly.

"What do you want me to do, you highness?" Harry asked in defeat. Hermione grinned at him.

"Just distract Madam Pince, okay?"

"Got ya."

"I need your cloak too, okay?" Hermione waited for Harry to blow. To her surprise, he shrugged.

"I give up." Harry muttered, handing her his cloak from under the table. Hermione grinned broadly.

"Oh, Harry! You don't know how much this means to me! I'm so glad I have such a good friend like you!" She exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

"You use me." He replied. Hermione nearly fell off of her chair from laughing.

"Oh come on! I don't mean to!" She said cheerfully. Harry pretended to pout, his eyes going round and brimming with fake sadness. Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked him playfully.

"Ouch! Never thought I would say this, but lets go to the library." Harry jumped up and walked towards the marble staircase. Hermione shoved the cloak into her pocket and ran after him.

"Okay, I'll put the cloak on and you distract her. Got it?"

"Sure!" Harry watched as Hermione disappeared. The two slipped into the library. Harry cast his mind about, thinking about some kind of diversion he could cause. He walked uncertainly up to Madam Pince.

"What do you want, Mr. Potter?" She asked, irritated.

"Madam Pince, I would appreciate it if you could help me find a book based on Godric Gryffindor." Harry said, making up his story. Madam Pince sighed and got up. Harry followed her to a row of old-looking books. She pointed to a group of books. Harry flashed her a grateful look, and took down one of the books, wondering if Hermione had enough time. When she wasn't looking, he knocked down a shelf.

"What on earth?" She cried, spinning around.

"Owww!" Harry cried as a book fell on his head. The next thing he knew, the whole bookcase came tumbling down. And Harry was stuck in the middle of it all.



Hermione watched with an amused and slightly worried expression on her face. The book was tucked carefully in her bag, and she raced out of the library, took her, or rather, Harrys' invisibility cloak off, and walked slowly into the library.

"Oh no! The books!" Hermione cried, running forward in a mixed state of fake shock and amusement. Madam Pince stared at her, then turned to Harry.

"Fool!" She snapped. Harry shook the books off, and suddenly vomited on Madam Pince. She shrieked in outrage. "Get him out!" She screamed. Hermione hastily pointed her wand at Harry and performed a floating charm. Harry rose eerily up, and when she walked out, he drifted strangely behind her. When she finally got to the hospital wing, feeling guilty as hell, he had passed out.

"Good Lord, what did he get into this time?" Madam Pomfrey demanded, but she didn't wait for an answer. Hermione watched as she placed Harry on a bed and slid some covers over him. She busied herself about at the medicine cabinet. "Drat, I've run out of an energy boosting potion. Never mind, Snape has some. Why don't you keep poor Mr. Malfoy over there some company? He hasn't had one visitor." She stomped out of the room. Hermione looked over on the other bed beside Harry. A boy with silver- blonde hair was laying there, his chest rising up and down. Not sure if she wanted to deal with a cranky beat-up Malfoy, she backed away. Draco jolted awake.

"What are you doing here?" He asked bitterly. Hermione sighed. Same old Draco.

"I'm here because Harry is." She replied. "Now why are you here?"

"Non of your business. What happened to Potter?" He asked smirking.

"Non of your business." Hermione replied matter-of-factly. Draco shrugged and glared at her.

"Urgh." Harry stirred slightly.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked hurriedly.

"Yeah." He mumbled weakly. Madam Pomfrey came back in.

"Now take this, Mr. Potter. And in ten minutes you can leave." Madam Pomfrey replied, and walked away as Harry gulped down the potion she had given him. Draco smirked at him.

"What the hell are you looking at Malfoy?" Harry snapped bitterly. Draco shrugged and turned away.

"Mr. Malfoy, kindly explain to me what really happened, because you don't get puncture wounds from fist fights." {A/N: This part will make you grin, I'm sure of it.} Madam Pomfrey glared at Malfoy suspiciously.

"Fine, the truth is, I was walking along near the forbidden forest, with Crabbe and Goyle. Well, I made some wisecrack about Granger over there and this big deer came charging at me, and it got me right here." Draco lifted his shirt up and Hermione gasped. It really was a puncture wound.

"That is the whole truth?" Madam Pomfrey asked suspiciously. Draco nodded. "A big stag charged at you?"

"Yeah. And his eyes were blue!"

"What kind of deer was it?" Madam Pomfrey looked quite suspicious.

"Red deer." Draco said confidently. Hermione grinned. Prongs you nasty little boyr! She thought in amusement. Harry got up suddenly.

"Come on Hermione, let's go to the common room." He suggested, and the two walked out, Madam Pomfrey glaring at Harry in disapproval.

"You think Malfoy actually got attacked by a deer?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Well, deer are known to be territorial, and protective." Hermione said with a shrug.

"I think he really was hallucinating." Harry replied, and they clambered into the common room. It was 4:00 p.m. on September 7th.