Chapter Ten
Hermione woke up the next morning with the sun shining in her eyes. She winced and rolled over to look at the clock. She'd missed breakfast, arithmancy, and was about to be late to Potions. She hurriedly tossed on a uniform and raced out of Gryffindor Tower.
As she was running for the dungeon, the staircase she was on decided to switch. Unfortunately, she was now heading in the opposite direction.
She finally arrived in Potions, ten minutes late. Snape looked up as she came in and held up five fingers, to show she'd lost five points for Gryffindor. Hermione sighed and sat down next to Draco, who had started the day's potion. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Tired, Granger?" He teased. Hermione just glared and started the write-up. As soon as class was over, Hermione raced to the library. She wasn't in the mood to sit at lunch while Ron drooled all over Sorcha. She busied herself in a good book.
* * *
Draco went into the library and scanned it for Hermione. He snuck up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. She jumped and struggled to see who it was.
"Let me go," she protested. Draco let go.
"My, my aren't we in a mood today?" He asked. "You miss your beauty rest?" he teased. Hermione glared at him and kept reading.
"What do you want, Draco?" She asked. He shrugged and she put the book down. He took her hand and led her out of the library. "Draco, let go," she commanded. He ignored her, and didn't let go until they were in a room Hermione had never seen before. It was set up like a house common room with a fireplace and sofas, but there was no portrait to guard the entrance, the room was just around a corner and down three stairs. "Where are we?" she asked.
"Somewhere no one ever goes, and you've never been," he informed her. She rolled her eyes. "Sit down," he instructed. Hermione did so, grudgingly. "Hermione, we're good friends, right?"
"Well, I wouldn't-"
"Good, so then you'll help me with something, right?" Draco asked. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, so Draco quickly went on. "We've got that paper due in Transfiguration, and I know you've been finished for weeks, so I was just thinking you could do me a huge favor and just, you know, maybe-" "I am NOT writing your paper for you, Draco," Hermione broke in.
"I was going to ask you to edit mine, thank you. Don't flatter yourself so much, Hermione, you're not the only one around here who works hard at making good grades," Draco reminded her, not so gently. Hermione was clearly surprised by his request.
"I guess I have time to help you," she agreed.
"Oh, if you don't have room in your busy schedule," Draco mocked. He handed her two rolls of parchment. Hermione tucked them into a pocket. "Have it back to me at the end of Easter Hols," He instructed, walking off. "Meet me here to deliver it."
"Draco!" Hermione yelled at his retreating backside. He didn't respond. "What's in it for me?" she asked herself, as he was out of earshot.
* * *
"Hermione?" Pansy asked, coming over to Hermione in the hallway. Hermione smiled at Pansy. "I was wondering if you wanted to come and visit my family for the Easter Holiday?"
"Oh, Pansy, that's so sweet, I'd love to!" Hermione agreed. She gave Pansy a quick hug and the two headed off to their classes. Maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad after all.
* * *
"And that's where Draco lives," Pansy gestured out the carriage window as she and Hermione were on the way to Pansy's house. Hermione couldn't help but marvel at the size of Malfoy Manor. Granted it was overbearing and terribly foreboding, but impressive nonetheless. Hermione had barely managed to tear her eyes away from the Malfoy Mansion when she found herself looking up at Pansy's own home, which wasn't as large as Draco's, but was a close second.
As the gates opened, the front gardens seemed to overflow into the driveway. There was a large fountain in the center of the circular driveway, surrounded by lavendar and pink flowers. The carriage pulled up to the front door and Pansy hopped out, leaving all her belongings behind. Hermione did the same, taking her cues from Pansy.
The butler opened the door and bowed stiffly to the two girls. In the center of the marble-floored, high-ceilinged foyer was another smaller fountain, this one holding a bowl of the same pink and lavendar flowers in the middle. Two round staircases framed the room, which was encased in dark wood paneling and navy blue wallpaper. The ceiling had a picture painted on it, but Hermione only managed to catch a glimpse of it. Pansy sped through the foyer into the sunroom, where a woman in white velvet and satin robes was seated on a matching white chaise reading a magazine Hermione didn't recognize. The woman looked up as the girls came into the room.
"Pansy!" the woman exclaimed, smiling. "You're back!" She embraced Pansy, then turned to look at Hermione. "You must be Hermione, I'm Pansy's Mother, Patsy. Pansy told me you were coming. We're so glad to have you," Pansy's mother said to Hermione. She turned back to Pansy. "Are you alright? I got a call from Madam Pomfrey..." Pansy's mother trailed off, unsure if Hermione was aware of the circumstances.
"It's alright, Mother," Pansy said. "Hermione was the one who made me go see Pomfrey."
"I still cannot believe my daughter would suffer something so terrible," Patsy Parkinson's eyes became distant as she talked. Then they shot back to Pansy. "You're sure you have no idea who it was?"
"No," Pansy said quietly. Pansy's mother hugged her again.
"It's alright, dear, run up and the two of you freshen up, dinner is in an hour," Mrs. Parkinson informed them. Pansy nodded and led Hermione back to the foyer and up the stairs to Pansy's room.
The room itself had white wood paneling half of the way up the wall, and the other half was painted lavendar. The floors were a lighter wood than was in the hallways, but still looked very expensive. All the furniture in the room was made of whitewashed wood, including the king-sized canopy bed that sat in the center of the back wall of the room on a raised semi- circular platform. The canopy was draped with thick purple velvet drapes. Hermione noticed that all their belongings had been brought up and sorted out for them.
Pansy went to one of the two doors in the room and opened it. She disappeared for a second and then returned.
"My mother gets a little excited when I have friends over," Pansy informed Hermione. "Come and see what she's done."
Hermione followed Pansy into what she discovered was Pansy's closet, almost the size of her dorm at school. Pansy's mother had bought Hermione an entirely new wardrobe and had it put in a special section of Pansy's closet. Hermione was shocked; this sort of thing had never happened to her before.
"I'm sorry," Pansy was embarrassed. "This is why I don't usually have people over, she gets so out of control."
"Well, tell your mother I said thank you," Hermione was still in shock. Pansy rolled her eyes.
"We should go take a bath. Here," Pansy said, handing Hermione her thick purple terrycloth robe, which had Hermione embroidered in white thread on the pocket. Hermione draped her new robe over her arm and followed Pansy back into her bedroom and through the other door into a bathroom about the size of the common room in Gryffindor Tower.
There was a pool-sized bathtub sunken into the floor in the back corner of the room, hidden by large tropical-looking plants. There were two stalls in the bathroom, one Hermione assumed was hiding the toilet, and the other she wasn't sure about, but might be a changing room. Pansy headed for the bathtub.
"I thought we'd go at the same time," Pansy said, "In the interest of time."
"That's fine," Hermione agreed. The bathtub was certainly big enough. The girls slipped off their clothes and got into the bathtub. Pansy turned on three of the four spigots on the side of the tub. Instantly, water and a milky-white soap liquid came pouring out, along with a lavender-scented bath oil. The tub filled almost instantly. As soon as it was half full, Pansy turned on the fourth spigot and the tub began to fill with foam.
Hermione wasn't sure exactly how to wash without shampoo or anything, but she looked to Pansy who was using the white liquid soap to wash her hair. Hermione did the same, and soon the girls were sitting back, enjoying the warm bath.
"Pansy, all of this is incredible," Hermione gushed. Pansy shrugged.
"It used to be better," Pansy said. "I should explain before we go down to dinner." Her eyes grew distant. "I grew up with the two parents you'll meet at dinner. Everything was wonderful. When I was little, my father used to tell me that one day I would marry Draco, and everything would be wonderful. But then this summer, My father was away on business and a muggle man I had never seen before came to the house. My mother was terribly upset, she told him to go away and to leave us alone. But he insisted on having dinner with us, and so he stayed. After dinner my mother made him leave, and I asked her who he was, but she didn't want to tell me. I persisted, and finally she told me. He was my real father. I still can't picture him as my father at all, it's so different from what I know, but she told me that my father didn't know. I told her she had to tell him.
"So she did, and he was angry, but he knew that it was something they had to keep to themselves. He couldn't divorce her without arousing suspicion from everyone. He told me I could never hope to marry Draco now, and that if anyone ever found out, I would be ruined. But you try keeping a secret like that to yourself," Pansy finished. She shrugged as though it didn't really matter though, and reached for a towel. "We should get dressed now, dinner's going to be ready soon."
Hermione woke up the next morning with the sun shining in her eyes. She winced and rolled over to look at the clock. She'd missed breakfast, arithmancy, and was about to be late to Potions. She hurriedly tossed on a uniform and raced out of Gryffindor Tower.
As she was running for the dungeon, the staircase she was on decided to switch. Unfortunately, she was now heading in the opposite direction.
She finally arrived in Potions, ten minutes late. Snape looked up as she came in and held up five fingers, to show she'd lost five points for Gryffindor. Hermione sighed and sat down next to Draco, who had started the day's potion. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Tired, Granger?" He teased. Hermione just glared and started the write-up. As soon as class was over, Hermione raced to the library. She wasn't in the mood to sit at lunch while Ron drooled all over Sorcha. She busied herself in a good book.
* * *
Draco went into the library and scanned it for Hermione. He snuck up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. She jumped and struggled to see who it was.
"Let me go," she protested. Draco let go.
"My, my aren't we in a mood today?" He asked. "You miss your beauty rest?" he teased. Hermione glared at him and kept reading.
"What do you want, Draco?" She asked. He shrugged and she put the book down. He took her hand and led her out of the library. "Draco, let go," she commanded. He ignored her, and didn't let go until they were in a room Hermione had never seen before. It was set up like a house common room with a fireplace and sofas, but there was no portrait to guard the entrance, the room was just around a corner and down three stairs. "Where are we?" she asked.
"Somewhere no one ever goes, and you've never been," he informed her. She rolled her eyes. "Sit down," he instructed. Hermione did so, grudgingly. "Hermione, we're good friends, right?"
"Well, I wouldn't-"
"Good, so then you'll help me with something, right?" Draco asked. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, so Draco quickly went on. "We've got that paper due in Transfiguration, and I know you've been finished for weeks, so I was just thinking you could do me a huge favor and just, you know, maybe-" "I am NOT writing your paper for you, Draco," Hermione broke in.
"I was going to ask you to edit mine, thank you. Don't flatter yourself so much, Hermione, you're not the only one around here who works hard at making good grades," Draco reminded her, not so gently. Hermione was clearly surprised by his request.
"I guess I have time to help you," she agreed.
"Oh, if you don't have room in your busy schedule," Draco mocked. He handed her two rolls of parchment. Hermione tucked them into a pocket. "Have it back to me at the end of Easter Hols," He instructed, walking off. "Meet me here to deliver it."
"Draco!" Hermione yelled at his retreating backside. He didn't respond. "What's in it for me?" she asked herself, as he was out of earshot.
* * *
"Hermione?" Pansy asked, coming over to Hermione in the hallway. Hermione smiled at Pansy. "I was wondering if you wanted to come and visit my family for the Easter Holiday?"
"Oh, Pansy, that's so sweet, I'd love to!" Hermione agreed. She gave Pansy a quick hug and the two headed off to their classes. Maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad after all.
* * *
"And that's where Draco lives," Pansy gestured out the carriage window as she and Hermione were on the way to Pansy's house. Hermione couldn't help but marvel at the size of Malfoy Manor. Granted it was overbearing and terribly foreboding, but impressive nonetheless. Hermione had barely managed to tear her eyes away from the Malfoy Mansion when she found herself looking up at Pansy's own home, which wasn't as large as Draco's, but was a close second.
As the gates opened, the front gardens seemed to overflow into the driveway. There was a large fountain in the center of the circular driveway, surrounded by lavendar and pink flowers. The carriage pulled up to the front door and Pansy hopped out, leaving all her belongings behind. Hermione did the same, taking her cues from Pansy.
The butler opened the door and bowed stiffly to the two girls. In the center of the marble-floored, high-ceilinged foyer was another smaller fountain, this one holding a bowl of the same pink and lavendar flowers in the middle. Two round staircases framed the room, which was encased in dark wood paneling and navy blue wallpaper. The ceiling had a picture painted on it, but Hermione only managed to catch a glimpse of it. Pansy sped through the foyer into the sunroom, where a woman in white velvet and satin robes was seated on a matching white chaise reading a magazine Hermione didn't recognize. The woman looked up as the girls came into the room.
"Pansy!" the woman exclaimed, smiling. "You're back!" She embraced Pansy, then turned to look at Hermione. "You must be Hermione, I'm Pansy's Mother, Patsy. Pansy told me you were coming. We're so glad to have you," Pansy's mother said to Hermione. She turned back to Pansy. "Are you alright? I got a call from Madam Pomfrey..." Pansy's mother trailed off, unsure if Hermione was aware of the circumstances.
"It's alright, Mother," Pansy said. "Hermione was the one who made me go see Pomfrey."
"I still cannot believe my daughter would suffer something so terrible," Patsy Parkinson's eyes became distant as she talked. Then they shot back to Pansy. "You're sure you have no idea who it was?"
"No," Pansy said quietly. Pansy's mother hugged her again.
"It's alright, dear, run up and the two of you freshen up, dinner is in an hour," Mrs. Parkinson informed them. Pansy nodded and led Hermione back to the foyer and up the stairs to Pansy's room.
The room itself had white wood paneling half of the way up the wall, and the other half was painted lavendar. The floors were a lighter wood than was in the hallways, but still looked very expensive. All the furniture in the room was made of whitewashed wood, including the king-sized canopy bed that sat in the center of the back wall of the room on a raised semi- circular platform. The canopy was draped with thick purple velvet drapes. Hermione noticed that all their belongings had been brought up and sorted out for them.
Pansy went to one of the two doors in the room and opened it. She disappeared for a second and then returned.
"My mother gets a little excited when I have friends over," Pansy informed Hermione. "Come and see what she's done."
Hermione followed Pansy into what she discovered was Pansy's closet, almost the size of her dorm at school. Pansy's mother had bought Hermione an entirely new wardrobe and had it put in a special section of Pansy's closet. Hermione was shocked; this sort of thing had never happened to her before.
"I'm sorry," Pansy was embarrassed. "This is why I don't usually have people over, she gets so out of control."
"Well, tell your mother I said thank you," Hermione was still in shock. Pansy rolled her eyes.
"We should go take a bath. Here," Pansy said, handing Hermione her thick purple terrycloth robe, which had Hermione embroidered in white thread on the pocket. Hermione draped her new robe over her arm and followed Pansy back into her bedroom and through the other door into a bathroom about the size of the common room in Gryffindor Tower.
There was a pool-sized bathtub sunken into the floor in the back corner of the room, hidden by large tropical-looking plants. There were two stalls in the bathroom, one Hermione assumed was hiding the toilet, and the other she wasn't sure about, but might be a changing room. Pansy headed for the bathtub.
"I thought we'd go at the same time," Pansy said, "In the interest of time."
"That's fine," Hermione agreed. The bathtub was certainly big enough. The girls slipped off their clothes and got into the bathtub. Pansy turned on three of the four spigots on the side of the tub. Instantly, water and a milky-white soap liquid came pouring out, along with a lavender-scented bath oil. The tub filled almost instantly. As soon as it was half full, Pansy turned on the fourth spigot and the tub began to fill with foam.
Hermione wasn't sure exactly how to wash without shampoo or anything, but she looked to Pansy who was using the white liquid soap to wash her hair. Hermione did the same, and soon the girls were sitting back, enjoying the warm bath.
"Pansy, all of this is incredible," Hermione gushed. Pansy shrugged.
"It used to be better," Pansy said. "I should explain before we go down to dinner." Her eyes grew distant. "I grew up with the two parents you'll meet at dinner. Everything was wonderful. When I was little, my father used to tell me that one day I would marry Draco, and everything would be wonderful. But then this summer, My father was away on business and a muggle man I had never seen before came to the house. My mother was terribly upset, she told him to go away and to leave us alone. But he insisted on having dinner with us, and so he stayed. After dinner my mother made him leave, and I asked her who he was, but she didn't want to tell me. I persisted, and finally she told me. He was my real father. I still can't picture him as my father at all, it's so different from what I know, but she told me that my father didn't know. I told her she had to tell him.
"So she did, and he was angry, but he knew that it was something they had to keep to themselves. He couldn't divorce her without arousing suspicion from everyone. He told me I could never hope to marry Draco now, and that if anyone ever found out, I would be ruined. But you try keeping a secret like that to yourself," Pansy finished. She shrugged as though it didn't really matter though, and reached for a towel. "We should get dressed now, dinner's going to be ready soon."