IMPRESSIONS chapter six
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, except for stuff you don't recognize.
Summary: An emotionally, physically, and mentally wounded Draco needs someone to help him, whether he wants to admit it or not, after his father lands in Azkaban, his mother is committed to St. Mungo's, and his entire world crumbles. Romance/Angst.
Author's Note: Please review!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Malfoy took the bag and handed it to Hermione, who was staring at him in unabashed shock. "Tonight, Granger. 12:00."
Hermione had nothing to say; she continued gaping at him as he sauntered out of the shop.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"The library? Again?" asked Harry in disbelief.
Hermione reddened. "Just some extra research," she mumbled, trying to sound as truthful as she could.
"Fine… Hermione, you realize that we've hardly seen you since term started, remember?" said Harry. "You could have come and watched our practice or something today."
"How would that be spending time with you?" asked Hermione sharply. "Could we have a conversation while you were fifty feet in the air and me down on the ground?"
Harry's eyebrows rose. "I hope it's just stress," he said under his breath.
Hermione ignored his comment and asked. "Well, can I borrow it?" she said, looking at the silvery Invisibility cloak pointedly.
Harry sighed. "Yes, of course," he said finally, handing her the liquid-like material.
"Thanks," said Hermione, throwing it on and marching out of the common room.
"I don't know, mate. She's been acting strange, hasn't she?" said Ron, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Yes. She won't even tell us why. It can't be school, she's not overloading this year," said Harry wearily.
"I'll tell Ginny to ask her," offered Ron hopefully.
"No!" said Harry sharply. "No," he repeated, more gently. "If she wants us to know, she'll tell us."
Ron looked put off. "If you say so, mate."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Malfoy was waiting for her in the library when Hermione arrived. "You're late," he said coolly.
Hermione glared at him. "I don't have to do this, you know," she spat angrily. "I don't even know why I came."
"Now, is that the thanks I get for buying you, incidentally, the most expensive set of scales in the store?" asked Malfoy smoothly, strolling over to her and surveying her bright-red features calmly.
"I-I…"
"I thought not," Malfoy whispered, now just a foot from her.
Hermione's eyes went wide. "I don't know what you're pulling, Malfoy, but I don't appreciate it," she said tightly, pushing him out of her way. "Now I came to help you."
She violently jerked a stack of books off the shelves and began coughing at the dust riled up by her jerky movements.
"Don't cough up a lung there, Granger," said Malfoy coldly.
She glowered at him. "I don't"- she paused to cough –"intend to."
"Purifus," said Malfoy quietly, flicking his wand in the general area of the dusty bookshelf. The dust vanished, and Hermione stopped coughing abruptly.
"What'd you do that for?" she asked shortly.
"No reason," said Malfoy. He waved an arm dismissively. "Now, Granger"- he froze and turned to the library door sharply.
"What is it?" asked Hermione in a hushed voice.
Malfoy's eyes hardened. "Potter. Weasley. Come to check up on Granger?" he smirked.
Hermione paled. "Harry?"
Harry and Ron walked into the room, wands out and looking furious. "What are you playing at?" Ron spat.
"Why is Malfoy here? Is he bothering you?" asked Harry coolly, keeping one eye on the Slytherin and one on Hermione. He looked disappointed.
"Actually, Potter, though it is no concern of yours, she came to meet me," said Malfoy smoothly, drawing his own wand deftly. "Put away your wands," he ordered.
"She what?" asked Ron, horrified.
Hermione turned very red. "Look, Harry, Ron"-
"You came to meet him?" Ron reiterated, staring from Hermione to Malfoy in stunned disbelief.
"Ron"- Hermione began again desperately.
"Granger!" said Malfoy in a tone of mild surprise. "Are you embarrassed of me?"
"What is going on?" asked Ron frantically.
Hermione, glaring at Malfoy, said, "Ron, don't listen"-
"Granger, I thought what we had was special? And now you're ashamed of me?" asked Malfoy in an injured voice, his eyes were shining with irrepressible mirth.
"Hermione, what is he saying? What has he done to you? Are you and him – what is he talking about? Why is he acting like that"- Ron began to ask very quickly, his words tumbling out in a rush.
"Ron, calm down," said Hermione anxiously. "He's just being a prat"-
"You think I'm a prat?" asked Malfoy, pretending to be quite hurt. "How can you say that, when you said that you love"-
"CRIPILOS TORSUM!" Ron bellowed, his eyes shining wide with fury and his head glinting with sweat.
Malfoy's face went very, very pale and he immediately crumpled to the floor, facedown.
Hermione turned on Ron furiously. "Ron, you can't do that!" she shouted. "Especially because of his…" she clapped a hand over her mouth as she realized that she had been about to tell Malfoy's secret.
"WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING HIM? SINCE WHEN HAS HE BEEN ANYTHING BUT A GIT TO YOU?" Ron roared.
Hermione found nothing to say. She glared at Ron. "I'm not with him, okay? We just met here accidentally," she muttered, the lie stumbling past her lips.
"That doesn't explain why you are acting all cozy with him, Hermione!" said Ron.
"Ron, calm down," said Harry calmly, speaking for the second time.
"How can I calm down? We saw them on the Marauder's Map, they were here for ages"-
"You've been spying on me?" asked Hermione in utter shock. Her gaze narrowed. "RONALD WEASLEY, HOW CAN YOU STOOP SO LOW?" she shrieked, losing her temper completely.
"It's good I did, then, I stopped Malfoy from cursing you – or even"- Ron paused, his eyes round. "Maybe he was going to come on to you!"
"RON, THIS IS MALFOY"-
"So what? He was acting like he wanted to before I"-
"He was just acting like that to piss you two off!" shouted Hermione. "Look, we met here accidentally, okay?"
"And you just decided to stay and chat?" Ron sneered.
Hermione frowned. "This is ridiculous," she pronounced. "You should not have"-
"What is going on here?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned slowly, their hearts beating furiously as they realized that they had been caught.
"Ah…" breathed Snape, his eyes glinting madly. "Potter, Weasley, and Granger. Of course. I should not have expected that you three would not bother to abide by the rules, even this early in the term."
Each with a leaden heart, Harry, Ron, and Hermione said nothing.
"Who is…" Snape trailed off as he saw Malfoy's instantly recognizable, silver-blond hair. His black eyes became, if possibly, even angrier. "So you thought it amusing to gang up on another student?" he hissed.
"No, please, sir"- began Hermione hastily.
"Miss Granger, quiet. Perform the countercurse immediately," instructed Snape maliciously.
"But I don't"-
"You don't know it?" asked Snape, sounding delightedly. "I must say, I am shocked and I do not quite believe you."
"Sir, it was me," said Ron, very red. He slouched forward. "Hermione didn't curse him."
"Indeed? Well, then"- Snape paused to look at Malfoy's form, which had begun to shift.
Malfoy lifted his head. "Snape?" he asked, his eyes wide with fear.
"Mr. Malfoy, I will escort you to the hospital wing," said Snape wearily. "Your – assaulters – will be punished accordingly, of course."
"What?" asked Malfoy, flicking his wand at his torso and muttering the appropriate countercurse.
"The hospital wing. I will take you to see if there is any lasting damage"-
"No!" said Malfoy, a little too enthusiastically.
"Excuse me?" asked Snape, raising his eyebrows. "Mr. Malfoy, come with me, now."
"No, sir, I'm fine," said Malfoy, a shade of desperation in his voice now.
"Nonsense. Follow me," said Snape dismissively. He looked to the three Gryffindors. "I will, of course, mention your behavior to the Headmaster and your Head of House. I daresay that you will all three be punished."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Author's Note: Many thanks to Lucidity, for great ideas! This chapter would not have come nearly as quickly if it were not for her. Expect another chapter in two to three days, possibly sooner. I received an immense (and rather speedy) response after the last chapter (over thirty reviews! Woo hoo!) and I have vast gratitude to all of my reviewers.
falling ice star: Thank you so much for your (both long and short!) reviews. I really appreciated your suggestions and your compliments.
pyroprincess4rmeverwood: Uh, thanks. I will try to update often.
fierysoulgirl: Thank you very much. I also noticed that you read (and reviewed, incidentally) my other stories and I would like to thank you for that as well.
lucidity: No words. Thank you so much for your excellent, constructive reviews and that wonderful response to my inquiry. Your ideas were incredible.
shi-sha: That is a relief. That it isn't a sappy romance, I mean. It is sometimes awfully tempting, but I swear to make it as real as possible.
Ellie: Thank you so much for all your reviews (and emails!). I feel so appreciated!
Remorseful Passion: Your multiple reviews were all exceedingly helpful to me. Thank you so much for following Impressions.
sever13 : "Faster, faster" was the main point of your review. I'm trying, I'm trying! It really is only the matter of the idea… If I can get past that, the story writes itself. Please be patient; I'm going as fast as I can without making the story complete crap. ::smile::
Catmint: thank you for your clarification on Professor Vector. The uncertainty has been plaguing me for something, and I was quite relieved to see that. However, I felt stupid when I reread Prisoner of Azkaban yesterday and noticed that Ron said, "that Arithmancy witch." I mean, how could I have missed it? Haha. Thanks for your review and your attention (ha) to my notes.
eos elloeous: I'm trying to get chapters out faster. I didn't expect such a response!
Z.H2: Well, I'm glad it's mildly interesting, haha.
NoAccount: Thank you for your assurance on the "poor Draco" thing. I think it's a syndrome or something. Tell me if it gets too… cliché, I suppose. You know, when I first started writing here, Draco/Hermione stories were unique! And then to have Draco be abused was even better! But now… every third story is one or both of the above.
Katrina Starr: Merci beaucoup! J'ai tres content que le t'aime!
Bambu: I am SO happy that you think Hermione and Draco are in character. With romances, that is exceedingly difficult to do, and I'm happy to see that my efforts have paid off.
Casavenna: "Aay!" Thank you for your support! I'm so glad to hear that you like it!
Ravenclaw2: I'm working on the chapters whenever I can, honest! It's school's fault if I don't get them out soon enough!
I'm sorry if I missed anyone! I'll go through my reviews again and post more next chapter!
Ar-Zimraphel