Curiosity killed the Cat
"Ok, are we all ready?" Ron's voice broke through Hermione's thoughts. She looked up from her position on the small table and nodded slowly, smiling.
"Yep!" Harry called, his voice muffled from where he was bending behind the couch. He emerged a minute later holding his wand up triumphantly. "Got it! I'm all set now!"
"Um…Harry?" Lavender ventured precariously. Harry looked around him.
"Uh huh?"
"You might need your glasses."
Harry desperately clutched at his eyes before a horrified look fell over his face.
"Aw shit! Where the bloody hell are my glasses?" He bolted up the stairs to his dormitory. Hermione chuckled inwardly – Trust Harry.
She looked round to see Ron looking at her sympathetically and she sent him a confused look in return.
"What?" she sighed, exasperated. She started to laugh cautiously. "Ron, tell me what's up? Is there something in my hair or-?"
"No, no. Your hair's fine." He smiled. She continued to fuss warily with her frizzy mane. "'Mione." He warned. She stopped immediately.
"Look, are you sure about this?" Ron asked quietly.
"About what?" Hermione looked momentarily confused before her hands rushed to her hair again. "Jesus, Ron! If there's something in my hair and you're not bloody well telling me-"
Ron signalled for her to stop. "Hermione! I'm not talking about your hair! I mean this. Are you sure about this?"
Hermione looked around curiously. Sure about what? Her eyes fell upon a stack of Transfiguration books in the far corner.
"Are you taking the piss out of me?" she accused. "Look, I know I stress about exams, but I have never studied non-stop, contrary to popular belief. Believe it or not, I'm not a complete swot and I certainly do not appreciate-"
"Can you shut up for one second?" Ron asked, though he grinned. Hermione stuck her tongue out back at him yet returned the grin. "I'm talking about Hogsmeade. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Ron…" Hermione started slowly. "I've been to Hogsmeade many times before you know. I think I'll survive."
"Hermione – I meant will you be able to see Mal-"
"We're not talking about him." She interjected sharply. "Today is not about him. It's about us. The three of us – doing things like we used to."
Ron didn't look convinced. "But-"
"Deal?" she held out her hand. He hesitated for a few moments before taking her slender hand in his own sturdy grip.
"Deal."
*~*~*~*~*
Dear God, how long does it take her? Draco sighed as he tapped his hand impatiently on the arm of the chair. He had told Millicent to meet him in the Common Room twenty minutes ago, but she had yet to appear. What the hell was taking her so bloody long?
"What the hell is taking you so bloody long?" he yelled through her door, voicing his thoughts exactly.
"I just don't know what to wear!" replied her muffled shriek.
"Clothes, please." He muttered. A sudden pictorial thought came to mind and he cringed. God help us all; please, clothes!
He relaxed back into his chair, his vision quickly ebbing away. But not quick enough. He shuddered. That thought would have a lasting effect.
He rested his head on the back of the chair. At this rate they'd be late and not get to go to Hogsmeade at all. He was almost regretting asking Millicent to accompany him today. Hermione wouldn't have taken this long he thought. He scowled for thinking that. Who gave a damn about that Mud…Granger, anyway?
'You do!' piped up his inner child-like and unbelievably annoying voice.
Oh great, you're back. He thought bitterly. And no I don't.
'Yes you do,' it replied. 'You can't even swear about her in you head.'
Yeah I can. He thought.
'Hello? Not much point lying to me. I'm you. So you're lying to yourself. I think. Or rather you think…' the voice pondered.
Are you done? Draco mentally asked it.
'No.' Draco groaned. 'As I was saying, Denial aint no river in Egypt, mister!'
Stop it with the embarrassing clichés! He retorted.
'You're changing the subject; you still like Hermione.'
I don't. He thought angrily. He thought back to yesterday. Why did she have some obsession with messing up his mind? Did she and the other two get some kind of sadistic kick out of it? What was it – a "Hey, lets break the Slytherin's heart and make him feel like shit" kind of game?
'You do.' The voice repeated. 'You can't even call her Mudblood.'
I can. He insisted.
'No you can't.' It taunted. ' Go on – I dare you!'
"Mudblood!" Draco screamed. "Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood!"
"Erm…Draco?" Draco spun around and saw a rather scared looking Millicent standing in the doorway. "What…who were you talking to?"
"Nothing." He spat. "No one. Are you ready? Lets go."
She stood looking at him for a few seconds and smiled softly. Draco took the hint.
"You look, uh…" he took in her typical teen witch apparel; violet robes that reached just below her knees tied with a belt round her waist and a golden clasp; very unimaginative. "…Good. You look good. Are we ready to go?"
Millicent looked crestfallen for a moment before fixing a smile on her face. "Yeah. I'm ready."
'Bout bloody time too. He thought. Instead he nodded and grasped her wrist, probably a bit too harshly, and led her out of the common room. He should've been acting nicer to her, but he wasn't in the mood.
Damn Mudblood. He glowered. Messing with my mind when she's not even here.
*~*~*~*~*
Hermione scanned the great hall cautiously. She had thought about her decision all night, and it still seemed the right thing to do. If only Harry and Ron knew what she'd been doing…how could she have been such a bitch? But all would be commended now…if he still wanted her.
Obviously not. She suppressed a gasp as she finally caught side of Draco…holding onto Millicent Bullstrode.
*~*~*~*~*
"Draco!" Millicent whined. "You're hurting me!" Draco rolled his eyes. She had been constantly whining about something since they left the common room. Now, apparently, he was holding her arm to tightly. He spun round to face her.
"Bloody hell, Millicent! If you don't shut up -" he stopped as he caught sight of Granger looking at them, completely dumbfounded. He put on his most charming smile and looked at Millicent.
"So sorry about that, sugar." He said, probably a little too loudly. He twisted himself behind her and draped his arms carefully around his waist. He allowed himself a little smirk as he saw Hermione look down and turn away. Hell, today would be fun.
*~*~*~*~*
"Hermione, are you ok?" Ron asked her as they walked through Hogsmeade. She nodded slowly.
"You sure?" Harry said. "You hardly said anything all the way here."
"I know." She replied. "Sorry. I've just been thinking."
Ron stopped walking and turned to her. "About Dra-"
"No." she snapped. She smiled softly. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm a bit pre-occupied. But no, I wasn't thinking about that, Ron. Just, exams and stuff."
Harry laughed. "Trust you, Hermione." She smiled along with him.
"Well, I told Ginny I'd help her look for a birthday present for Bill." Ron said. "You two want to come along for the ride?"
"Yeah, might as well." Harry replied. He grinned at them both "I need to buy some Honeydukes supplies anyway."
Ron laughed. "Yeah I know you do, I finished of your supplies last night." He turned to Hermione, still grinning, as Harry attempted to hit him. "What about you, Hermione? Up for some shopping?"
"No, I'm ok thanks. I just want to walk around, clear my head and stuff." Ron looked pensive for a few moments before nodding slowly.
"Alright then, if you want. Just yell if you need us." Hermione smiled.
"I will. See you both later!"
She turned and walked away to the sounds of Harry's exasperated complaints.
"How much did you bloody well take? If you've laid one finger on my Chocolate Frogs I'll kill you, I swear it you bloody thief, I'll frigging kill you! I'll -"
"Harry, shut up you twat!"
*~*~*~*~*
Draco rolled his eyes for the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. He was really regretting bringing Millicent along with him today – all she did was complain and whinge constantly; a drastic change to the fumbling girl in his dorm yesterday. God that sounded perverted.
"Draco you're not talking much!" she exclaimed.
"Well maybe I don't want to talk to a jabbering idiot." He drawled in response.
"Oh, charming!" came her shriek. "Just bloody charming! Lets ask Millicent out in a date and then ignore her!"
"Oh for crying out loud! Would you give it a break?" He let his head fall into his hands in frustration. It was going to be a long day.
*~*~*~*~*
Hermione was walking nowhere in particular. Honestly, she had no plan what so ever; she just knew she had to get away from her friends. It really wasn't anything personal; she just needed some time now.
Some time to think.
Long after her roommates had returned (rather sulkily) to their shared bedroom and fallen asleep, Hermione had laid in her bed silently, debating her decision. But darkness had came and gone and by morning, her decision had not changed.
She was going to keep Draco.
Providing he'd have her.
God, I sound pathetic. She thought glumly. Providing he'd have her? True, she'd been a bit bitchy. Ok, a complete and utter bitch rivalling…well, she didn't know, some big bitchy person, but the point was, she didn't have to have him. She just wanted to have him.
A lot.
"Oh shit." She murmured to herself, shaking her head out of her low esteem ways. It didn't help that much.
I'll just have to do whatever it takes to get Draco back. She thought.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The piercing voice rang through the cool air. "Are you saying I talk too much? Is that it?"
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. Whoever that was, she was pretty sure she didn't want to walk into their rather heated conversation. She'd just turn and quietly walk aw-
"Maybe that's exactly it!" Then again, maybe I'll stay around. Hermione found herself glued to the ground as she heard Draco's cold voice drift to her ears. Oh shit. She hadn't been planning on putting her plan into action this quickly. Who the hell was he talking to anyway?
It's none of your business. A voice in her head said. Damn those voices.
I know that. She reasoned. I'm just curious.
Curiosity killed the cat. It sang back to her.
"Just as well I'm not a bloody cat then, isn't it?" she snapped into the crisp air. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth as her eyes enlarged considerably.
"Did you just hear something?" Draco asked.
"Oh stop you trying to change the subject, Mr. Malfoy!" The girl screamed.
Hermione skulked back into the shadows.
Shadows?
Yes, shadows.
She looked up to see the notorious Shrieking Shack looming over her. Apparently she had been walking somewhere, then.
"Bloody hell – I am not changing the subject Millicent!"
Hermione froze, yet again. But that didn't matter because it was a metaphor, so she wasn't actually freezing…despite the weather.
Did he just say Millicent? Hermione cocked her head to one side to get a better view of the angry couple. Sure enough, there was Draco casually reclining on a bench but with his old scowl back on his face. When she managed to pry her eyes away from the boy she had hated for so long, Hermione noticed that sure enough there was a girl walking purposefully around him in circles.
Millicent. Hermione frowned. She'd forgotten about what she'd seen this morning in the hall. Cat Girl. She thought back to second year when the dark haired Slytherin had dared to challenge Hermione. Fair enough, it had been Duelling Club, but all the same – that girl was a menace to society. And then of course there had been the whole Chamber of Secrets lark, and Hermione had come up with the ingenious plan to use Polyjuice potion to trick Draco into confessing he was behind it all…the ingenious plan that had turned Hermione temporarily into a cat. Millicent's cat. Thinking back, Hermione, Slytherins and Polyjuice potion did not mix well together. She looked back to Draco; they don't mix well at all.
"Oh you so are! Draco – why did you ask me on this date? It's obvious you don't enjoy my company!"
"No, Millicent. I enjoy being in your presence; your wit, intelligence, charm and grace astound me."
There was silence for a few moments as Millicent considered her comeback to Draco's sharp words.
"I know you're taking the piss Malfoy."
"Oh good, your brain hasn't completely melted away under that mat of hair."
Hermione bit back laughter. Good comeback she commended him. She became so engrossed in their constant bickering that she didn't notice the wind picking up. So engrossed that she didn't notice a tree creaking ominously nearby. So engrossed, in fact, that she only noticed said tree split seconds before it fell right on top of her.
*~*~*~*~*
"Shit!"
"What the fuck?" Draco exclaimed as the all to familiar voice yelled out a mere few feet away from him. He and Millicent span round simultaneously and were made silent at the sight that greeted them.
---------*~*~*~*~*----------
A little note from me: first of all, I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I honestly tried to! But school and stuff have been getting in my way and there was a lot more to this chapter but it was something like 20 pages long so I split it in half so it doesn't get confusing. Actually, the only reason I'm getting to do this now is because I'm off school sick! But there you go J And look – no songs in this, I couldn't think of any appropriate ones. On to the thanks…
C: I know what you mean! Loads of fics are like that. I haven't entirely decided where to go with this one yet, but I'm trying to make it kind of unpredictable and not typical.
Lost Angel: thanks! There's more interesting Hogsmeade stuff in the next chapter I think. Sorry I've taken so long posting this chapter – I feel really guilty to the dedicated reviewers like you and a few others! Good luck with your posting – my computer played up a lot over the summer, it's so annoying!
Lynn: wow you really know how to flatter someone! Thanks for putting me on your favourites! Yeah, I like 'Skater Boy' too, as you probably figured lol. I'm sorry this was so slow coming out – hope you liked this chapter too!
Femme Fatale: Hope you liked this one then!
Margo: thank you!
Louise: hehe thanks hon! *Mwah!* emm…I'll see what I can do!
Rina: hehe – well, you got more then (eventually)! Well I hope this chapter made her decision clearer, at the end of the last chapter it was sort of subtly given in the song because I didn't want to give it all away lol.
Cyril: thank you! Yeah, you're now on the mailing list!
Lily2000: thank you! Yeah, course I can!
Spike-lover: hehe yeah, Draco seems to be getting his fair share of grief in this story! Thank you! Guess you'll have to wait and see…lol.
Wicked – Willow: thank you so much! I'll certainly e-mail you and thank you again for putting me on your favourites!!
Well, that's about it! Please R/R and get me up to at least 100 reviews! I'll update when I get 100! (Ooh that's evil isn't it?)
DISCLAIMER: ok in the last chapter I forgot to disclaim Skater Boy so anyone who thinks I own it, I don't, Avril Lavigne does! I don't own any Harry Potter either. *Sob sob*
I'M GOING TO SEE HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IN 8 HOURS!!! Sorry, just had to say that! You've gotta love previews! Wow, 8 hours until Sean Biggerstaff…hehe.
IF ANYONE ELE WANTS ME TO E-MAIL THEM WHEN I POST A CHAPTER, JUST SAY IN A REVIEW OR/AND E-MAIL ME!
mystical xx