Hey!! Man, I'm updating probably too fast for my own good! I've been writing instead of reading Mice and Men for English!
Well, no matter, here is the next chapter! Thanks again soooo much to the people who review! Getting reviews really makes me want to write instead of being lazy and putting it off. Hehe thanks for helping me get my act together!
Well here it is! I hope you like it, cause it's not one of my best either.
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~*Chapter 4*~
Ron ran for a long time, without stop. His side ached horribly and he needed a break, but he refused to cease. Hermione needed him, and that was all his mind was focused on. He knew quite well where the Malfoy Manor was, considering that it was constantly under ministry raids.
Once Draco's father had disappeared with the Death Eaters and Voldemort, the Malfoy namesake was not as prominent as it was before. All of the doubts that were there before of Lucius and his loyalty to the ministry were quickly confirmed, leaving Draco alone.
Nobody really knew what Draco Malfoy did for a living, but somehow he still had plenty of money to support himself for quite a long time. His mother had disappeared the following day that his dad had, leaving no clue as to what had happened to her.
Ron would have felt sorry for Draco if he weren't such an idiot all the time. And at that moment, Ron hated him more than he ever had before. Sure, Malfoy had *always* been Ron's least favorite person, but capturing Hermione was going too far.
His lungs were screaming at him, pounding painfully at his chest. Ron decided to halt for just a second, resolving that it would be better for him to get there still alive than useless from being out of breath. He put his hand against a building to support himself and thought about a plan on how to rescue Hermione from Malfoy.
"I wonder if I can apparate into his house… probably not," Ron thought aloud. "Wait a minute, apparate! Why didn't I apparate to somewhere near his house to being with! Arhh!" He cursed himself for his stupidity. He had done mission after mission for the ministry, as well as years of training, and he had still made a mistake such as dim-witted as this.
"C'mon Ron," he encouraged himself. "Think straight. That's the only way you can beat this situation."
He immediately apparated to the gates of the Malfoy Manor, wondering how he was going to do this. He had no plan. As far as of a plan his mind had reached so far was busting into the place, cursing everyone who crossed his path, and carrying Hermione away from the place as fast as he could. He knew that wasn't logical though; he would be greatly out-numbered and would most likely be defeated within minutes.
Ron sat down in front of the gate to think of a plan. This was the part he hated most in these types of situations. Harry was normally better at this role. By all means, Ron had his wits too, but he liked busting in and hitting everybody with hexes better. His technique was aggressive force, and he needed Harry's style to complete the other side of their dynamic duo; together they were unstoppable.
'But Hermione needs help *now*,' Ron argued in his thoughts.
'True, but she would get help that is actually effective if you get Harry,' a small voice in his head opposed.
Ron finally came to a decision and stood up. He was going against his first impulse of tearing the place apart to get Hermione, but he decided that it was best. Along the hard years of training to be an auror, Ron had learned to control his temper and to find the best solution to tough spots. He took another look at the Manor before apparating from the very spot he was standing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Malfoy entered his chambers and laughed to himself. His plan was working so perfectly; much better than he could ever have imagined. Hermione was weak from living the muggle life, therefore much more vulnerable and easy to manipulate and persuade. She wholeheartedly believed in him and all his words, convinced that her past life was of the one he had told her about.
Malfoy walked over to the window in his room and looked out of the front grounds. It was too dark to see much, but Malfoy cared nonetheless as he continued to look out. Something caught his eye by the entrance gate, and there was no mistaking what it was. The flaming red hair was impossible to miss, belonging to none other than Ron Weasley.
Malfoy cursed under his breath as he saw the red head sit down on the ground in front of the gate, clearly trying to think of a plan to get Hermione back. Ron looked like he was torn between two decisions, arguing back and forth with himself. Malfoy watched him thinking, wondering what Ron was contemplating.
"What does he think he's doing?" Malfoy sneered. "Is he really thinking of trying to take on this place by himself? Just for that filthy mud-blood? How thick can you get?"
Ron suddenly stood up and apparated, interrupting Malfoy from his thoughts.
"Very interesting," he whispered. "Looks like I have some extra time to train up Hermione after all. Too bad Weasley didn't come and attack the manor tonight; I would have enjoyed killing him."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Grangers came home that night from a business banquet to find their house completely empty. No note was posted on the fridge as to where Hermione or her sister had gone, so they decided to call the family's good friend, the Chamberlains. Hermione's mom picked up the telephone and dialed the number she normally called at least every other day.
The usual voice picked up, "Hello?"
"Hello Leone, dear!" Margaret Granger chimed. "I was just wondering if you had seen Hermione or Marianne today."
"Oh yes! Marianne is here with Brianna, playing with the new puppy we got. As for Hermione, the last time I saw her was when she had dropped Marianne off at the house. Isn't she at home?"
"No, I can't find her anywhere," Margaret stated, starting to worry for her oldest daughter's sake.
"Maybe she's at the library. You know Hermione, always studying her hardest."
Margaret sighed with relief, thinking of how stupid she was for not thinking of that before. *Of course* Hermione is at the library. "Thank you Leone! You are probably right. I'm sure she will be home soon. Do you want me to come get Marianne?"
"Oh, no it's okay. I'll drop her off in about half an hour when I run to the store."
"Alright, I'll talk to you then."
Hermione's mom hung up the telephone and hummed to herself as she walked to the laundry room to start on the next day's laundry load.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione didn't go to sleep for quite a long time after Malfoy had left her alone from their chat. She had too much to think about! Her life was completely different now, and she knew that. But eventually, she did fall asleep. She drifted off into a deep sleep, dreams over-taking her.
Hermione dreamed she was in a large bedroom with four-poster beds spread around throughout the place. She looked around and saw two girls sleeping soundly, wondering who in the world they were. She exited the room and went down a few flights of stairs. She then found herself in a much bigger room with a fireplace and comfortable looking chairs.
'What is this place??' she wondered. 'It all seems strangely familiar, but then again it doesn't.'
She wandered back up the stairs, but instead turned the opposite direction of where she had originally started. She came to an old, wooden door and placed her hand upon the door knob. Hermione braced herself before opening it, and stepped cautiously into the room. It looked like the bedroom she had been in before, except clothes were thrown everywhere and it smelled like boys. She then saw one of the four poster beds had it's curtains opened and indeed saw a boy sleeping in it. Hermione laughed to herself, staring at the boy as his mouth was hanging open and drool was soaking his pillow. She knew that she shouldn't be in here, but a curiosity crept into her and she couldn't leave.
She wandered over to the bed where the boy she had seen was sleeping. She looked down on him and saw that he had flaming red hair, sleeping in pajamas that were much to short for his tall stature. She gazed at the face of the boy and her cheeks suddenly became flushed.
'Why am I acting like this?' Hermione thought. 'I feel embarrassed to see this boy sleeping. Why? I don't know him, do I?'
The red-headed kid's face from the coffee shop suddenly flashed into her head. 'This is the same person!' she realized. 'No wonder he had been staring at me like he knew me; that's because he *did* know me from my school years at Hogwarts!'
Hermione blushed again as the kid rolled over onto his side and let out a loud snore. Her stomach fluttered while she continued to look at him, wondering what her past was with this kid. She felt something that she never had before; a feeling that was peaceful, warm, and affectionate. Hermione couldn't explain why she felt this way, only that she knew she had felt this way when she was at the school those few years ago.
Hermione felt like she needed a confirmation that this dream was real feelings of her past. She remembered Malfoy telling her that they had been in the same house and year, so she went around looking for him in the four-poster beds, peaking through all the closed curtains. She came to the last un-checked bed, guessing that this one *had* to have Malfoy in it; but to her surprise she saw a kid with jet black hair lying asleep.
Hermione looked at the kid, puzzled. This bed should have had Malfoy sleeping in it. It was the only one left! She knew these boys were in her year too, because the feeling of that was so strong. She looked at the guy in the bed again, and then to the bed-side table. There was a pair of glasses lying on the table, along with some socks and miscellaneous items.
Something sparked Hermione's memory as she saw the glasses. She remembered Malfoy talking about a boy with glasses and black hair, and this boy was Harry Potter; the very person who she had despised in school.
'But that doesn't make sense,' Hermione thought angrily. 'Harry Potter is in a different house than me.' She looked back at the red-head and another thing came to her. That must be Ron Weasley; Harry Potter's red-headed sidekick. But how could I have felt those feelings a few minutes ago about him if that's Weasley? I thought we were mortal enemies at this school. Could Malfoy have been wrong? Or am I just remembering things incorrectly? It's got to be me, because Malfoy seems like such a good friend to me; not the lying type.'
Hermione ran from the room and sprinted back to the bedroom she had started from. She yanked the door open and stopped, short of breath. She walked over to the one bed that she had not looked in before and withdrew the curtains. She saw herself lying asleep in the bed; her seventeen year old self.
Hermione suddenly woke up, more confused than ever. But she was too tired to think about what she had just seen in her dream. She decided to figure it out in the morning and went back to a dreamless sleep.
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Done! Woot! So was it up to standard? I kinda wrote it while half in a million other conversations.. so ya know. Review if you want a fast update! ^_^ Or you can just wait 3 years.. haha j/k
Well, no matter, here is the next chapter! Thanks again soooo much to the people who review! Getting reviews really makes me want to write instead of being lazy and putting it off. Hehe thanks for helping me get my act together!
Well here it is! I hope you like it, cause it's not one of my best either.
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
~*Chapter 4*~
Ron ran for a long time, without stop. His side ached horribly and he needed a break, but he refused to cease. Hermione needed him, and that was all his mind was focused on. He knew quite well where the Malfoy Manor was, considering that it was constantly under ministry raids.
Once Draco's father had disappeared with the Death Eaters and Voldemort, the Malfoy namesake was not as prominent as it was before. All of the doubts that were there before of Lucius and his loyalty to the ministry were quickly confirmed, leaving Draco alone.
Nobody really knew what Draco Malfoy did for a living, but somehow he still had plenty of money to support himself for quite a long time. His mother had disappeared the following day that his dad had, leaving no clue as to what had happened to her.
Ron would have felt sorry for Draco if he weren't such an idiot all the time. And at that moment, Ron hated him more than he ever had before. Sure, Malfoy had *always* been Ron's least favorite person, but capturing Hermione was going too far.
His lungs were screaming at him, pounding painfully at his chest. Ron decided to halt for just a second, resolving that it would be better for him to get there still alive than useless from being out of breath. He put his hand against a building to support himself and thought about a plan on how to rescue Hermione from Malfoy.
"I wonder if I can apparate into his house… probably not," Ron thought aloud. "Wait a minute, apparate! Why didn't I apparate to somewhere near his house to being with! Arhh!" He cursed himself for his stupidity. He had done mission after mission for the ministry, as well as years of training, and he had still made a mistake such as dim-witted as this.
"C'mon Ron," he encouraged himself. "Think straight. That's the only way you can beat this situation."
He immediately apparated to the gates of the Malfoy Manor, wondering how he was going to do this. He had no plan. As far as of a plan his mind had reached so far was busting into the place, cursing everyone who crossed his path, and carrying Hermione away from the place as fast as he could. He knew that wasn't logical though; he would be greatly out-numbered and would most likely be defeated within minutes.
Ron sat down in front of the gate to think of a plan. This was the part he hated most in these types of situations. Harry was normally better at this role. By all means, Ron had his wits too, but he liked busting in and hitting everybody with hexes better. His technique was aggressive force, and he needed Harry's style to complete the other side of their dynamic duo; together they were unstoppable.
'But Hermione needs help *now*,' Ron argued in his thoughts.
'True, but she would get help that is actually effective if you get Harry,' a small voice in his head opposed.
Ron finally came to a decision and stood up. He was going against his first impulse of tearing the place apart to get Hermione, but he decided that it was best. Along the hard years of training to be an auror, Ron had learned to control his temper and to find the best solution to tough spots. He took another look at the Manor before apparating from the very spot he was standing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Malfoy entered his chambers and laughed to himself. His plan was working so perfectly; much better than he could ever have imagined. Hermione was weak from living the muggle life, therefore much more vulnerable and easy to manipulate and persuade. She wholeheartedly believed in him and all his words, convinced that her past life was of the one he had told her about.
Malfoy walked over to the window in his room and looked out of the front grounds. It was too dark to see much, but Malfoy cared nonetheless as he continued to look out. Something caught his eye by the entrance gate, and there was no mistaking what it was. The flaming red hair was impossible to miss, belonging to none other than Ron Weasley.
Malfoy cursed under his breath as he saw the red head sit down on the ground in front of the gate, clearly trying to think of a plan to get Hermione back. Ron looked like he was torn between two decisions, arguing back and forth with himself. Malfoy watched him thinking, wondering what Ron was contemplating.
"What does he think he's doing?" Malfoy sneered. "Is he really thinking of trying to take on this place by himself? Just for that filthy mud-blood? How thick can you get?"
Ron suddenly stood up and apparated, interrupting Malfoy from his thoughts.
"Very interesting," he whispered. "Looks like I have some extra time to train up Hermione after all. Too bad Weasley didn't come and attack the manor tonight; I would have enjoyed killing him."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Grangers came home that night from a business banquet to find their house completely empty. No note was posted on the fridge as to where Hermione or her sister had gone, so they decided to call the family's good friend, the Chamberlains. Hermione's mom picked up the telephone and dialed the number she normally called at least every other day.
The usual voice picked up, "Hello?"
"Hello Leone, dear!" Margaret Granger chimed. "I was just wondering if you had seen Hermione or Marianne today."
"Oh yes! Marianne is here with Brianna, playing with the new puppy we got. As for Hermione, the last time I saw her was when she had dropped Marianne off at the house. Isn't she at home?"
"No, I can't find her anywhere," Margaret stated, starting to worry for her oldest daughter's sake.
"Maybe she's at the library. You know Hermione, always studying her hardest."
Margaret sighed with relief, thinking of how stupid she was for not thinking of that before. *Of course* Hermione is at the library. "Thank you Leone! You are probably right. I'm sure she will be home soon. Do you want me to come get Marianne?"
"Oh, no it's okay. I'll drop her off in about half an hour when I run to the store."
"Alright, I'll talk to you then."
Hermione's mom hung up the telephone and hummed to herself as she walked to the laundry room to start on the next day's laundry load.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione didn't go to sleep for quite a long time after Malfoy had left her alone from their chat. She had too much to think about! Her life was completely different now, and she knew that. But eventually, she did fall asleep. She drifted off into a deep sleep, dreams over-taking her.
Hermione dreamed she was in a large bedroom with four-poster beds spread around throughout the place. She looked around and saw two girls sleeping soundly, wondering who in the world they were. She exited the room and went down a few flights of stairs. She then found herself in a much bigger room with a fireplace and comfortable looking chairs.
'What is this place??' she wondered. 'It all seems strangely familiar, but then again it doesn't.'
She wandered back up the stairs, but instead turned the opposite direction of where she had originally started. She came to an old, wooden door and placed her hand upon the door knob. Hermione braced herself before opening it, and stepped cautiously into the room. It looked like the bedroom she had been in before, except clothes were thrown everywhere and it smelled like boys. She then saw one of the four poster beds had it's curtains opened and indeed saw a boy sleeping in it. Hermione laughed to herself, staring at the boy as his mouth was hanging open and drool was soaking his pillow. She knew that she shouldn't be in here, but a curiosity crept into her and she couldn't leave.
She wandered over to the bed where the boy she had seen was sleeping. She looked down on him and saw that he had flaming red hair, sleeping in pajamas that were much to short for his tall stature. She gazed at the face of the boy and her cheeks suddenly became flushed.
'Why am I acting like this?' Hermione thought. 'I feel embarrassed to see this boy sleeping. Why? I don't know him, do I?'
The red-headed kid's face from the coffee shop suddenly flashed into her head. 'This is the same person!' she realized. 'No wonder he had been staring at me like he knew me; that's because he *did* know me from my school years at Hogwarts!'
Hermione blushed again as the kid rolled over onto his side and let out a loud snore. Her stomach fluttered while she continued to look at him, wondering what her past was with this kid. She felt something that she never had before; a feeling that was peaceful, warm, and affectionate. Hermione couldn't explain why she felt this way, only that she knew she had felt this way when she was at the school those few years ago.
Hermione felt like she needed a confirmation that this dream was real feelings of her past. She remembered Malfoy telling her that they had been in the same house and year, so she went around looking for him in the four-poster beds, peaking through all the closed curtains. She came to the last un-checked bed, guessing that this one *had* to have Malfoy in it; but to her surprise she saw a kid with jet black hair lying asleep.
Hermione looked at the kid, puzzled. This bed should have had Malfoy sleeping in it. It was the only one left! She knew these boys were in her year too, because the feeling of that was so strong. She looked at the guy in the bed again, and then to the bed-side table. There was a pair of glasses lying on the table, along with some socks and miscellaneous items.
Something sparked Hermione's memory as she saw the glasses. She remembered Malfoy talking about a boy with glasses and black hair, and this boy was Harry Potter; the very person who she had despised in school.
'But that doesn't make sense,' Hermione thought angrily. 'Harry Potter is in a different house than me.' She looked back at the red-head and another thing came to her. That must be Ron Weasley; Harry Potter's red-headed sidekick. But how could I have felt those feelings a few minutes ago about him if that's Weasley? I thought we were mortal enemies at this school. Could Malfoy have been wrong? Or am I just remembering things incorrectly? It's got to be me, because Malfoy seems like such a good friend to me; not the lying type.'
Hermione ran from the room and sprinted back to the bedroom she had started from. She yanked the door open and stopped, short of breath. She walked over to the one bed that she had not looked in before and withdrew the curtains. She saw herself lying asleep in the bed; her seventeen year old self.
Hermione suddenly woke up, more confused than ever. But she was too tired to think about what she had just seen in her dream. She decided to figure it out in the morning and went back to a dreamless sleep.
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Done! Woot! So was it up to standard? I kinda wrote it while half in a million other conversations.. so ya know. Review if you want a fast update! ^_^ Or you can just wait 3 years.. haha j/k