Chapter 21
Hermione awoke the next morning in a daze. The day before had been one surprise after another. It seemed everything was happening so fast, like a blur. She was scheduled to go to Hogsmeade that afternoon with Sorcha and Ginny, so she hopped out of bed to get dressed.
Doing so, she noticed a large package by her bed. She sighed, recognizing the familiar black wrapping paper. She didn't wonder anymore how the Dark Lord kept his followers loyal; he just bought their devotion. As the thought crossed her mind a pain in the back of her neck appeared, like something had burst. She sat down to steady herself.
"Sorry," she retorted. He had apparently been offended by that last thought. I only give presents to my favorites he informed her. You'll need all these things later on he added. Hermione didn't bother to wonder how jewelry would come in hand later. She opened the box to find, not only an elaborate diamond bracelet, but also a matching necklace, earrings, and a tiara. Hermione could hardly believe her eyes. Try them on he urged. Hermione closed the box and buried it in the bottom of her trunk and locked it. "Someone might see," she explained. Very well he agreed. Hermione grabbed an outfit for the day and hurried down to the prefect's bathroom to take a bath.
As she soaked in the bubbles, she wondered what the day had in store for her. She hoped it was quieter and calmer than the previous day. She dried off and, looking in the mirror, made a mental note to ask Pansy to fix her hair. The highlights and straightener were starting to come out. Hermione pulled on the casual green velvet robes she'd picked out. Thanks to Pansy, Hermione now had enough outfits, both by muggle and magic designers, that she never had to wear the same thing twice. Hermione decided to pull her hair up messily, and try a new makeup spell she'd seen.
After she was happy with her look, Hermione hurried to breakfast. She was worried about Harry and hoped someone would have some news. Thankfully, Harry himself was at breakfast.
"Madam Pomfrey had Snape make me a special potion so I couldn't feel it anymore. Dumbledore said there was no reason it should hurt so bad, since Vold- you- know- who was nowhere near me," Harry was explaining. Everyone at the table was listening intently with concerned looks on their faces.
"What if You-Know-Who is around? What then?" Ron asked.
"I won't feel it anymore," Harry replied. "Which is okay, all it does is mix me up and make it harder to concentrate."
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Sorcha said. The others nodded in agreement.
* * *
Draco was awake early. He sat in bed thinking about the announcement Dumbledore had made the night before. The school was closing after Christmas. As much as he hated to turn to his father for anything, he was currently drafting a letter to him asking if he knew what was going on.
While he sat there writing, a rustling noise outside the thick green velvet curtains of his bed interrupted his thoughts. He peered out to see a large box on his nightstand. Draco grabbed the box and opened it eagerly to find two new dress robes. Both were made of black velvet and lined with green satin. They were nicer than any of the robes he owned, which made him wonder where the Dark Lord had found them. Draco crawled out of bed to try them on.
As he stood admiring himself in the mirror, his image went blurry and then he was back in the dream he'd had before. On all his sides were people with frightened expressions on their faces. He was walking past them to make an announcement. Ahead of him another figure came into his realm of vision. He couldn't make out who it was, they were too far away.
A door in the common room slammed and Draco was looking at himself in the mirror again. He shook his head and took the robe off, folding it neatly to place in safely in his trunk.
* * *
Hermione, Sorcha, and Ginny hurried into Three Broomsticks to warm up. It was unseasonably cold outside, and they were freezing. They slid into a booth with their packages and chatted about the rest of the afternoon.
"So, Hermione, I need some advice," Ginny changed the topic out of nowhere. Hermione raised an eyebrow, a skill she'd recently discovered. "It's about Harry. You know, we've been together for a while and all, and-"
"What?" Hermione was shocked. "When did this happen?"
"Before school started. He was at my house all summer, and when he came back from the twins' house we decided to give it a shot," Ginny explained, blushing a deep crimson. Hermione couldn't believe she'd missed something so crucial. "Anyway," Ginny pressed on," What I was wondering was if it hurt when you lost your virginity?" Ginny bit her lip, waiting anxiously for Hermione's reply. Hermione was more shocked than before, if it was at all possible. What gave Ginny the impression that Hermione had ever done, well, that?
"Oh, well, Ginny, I haven't exactly, I mean, I'm still, er-" Hermione spluttered. She blushed furiously, rivaling Ginny's earlier coloring.
"What?" Ginny and Sorcha burst at the same time.
"How can Draco be interested in you if you two aren't - well, I mean, He's not exactly. What I'm trying to say is-" Sorcha tried to find words.
"We just sort of assumed," Ginny clarified. Hermione shook her head.
"No, I haven't. And not with Draco. He's a very nice boy, but I'm just not interested in that right now," Hermione clarified. She felt like she was lying. It wasn't that she wasn't interested, she was just scared. She'd barely even kissed a boy before Draco, and she'd certainly never done anything more than just kiss. Yet somehow her thoughts drifted back to Potions when Draco's hand had been so close to her most intimate place. She'd never been touched there before and even though she'd been embarrassed, she couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Hermione?" Sorcha asked. Hermione snapped back to the conversation at hand. "What were you thinking about?" Sorcha teased, "You had a Look on your face."
"Nothing," Hermione replied. "Ginny, if you're asking me if I think you should sleep with Harry, then you shouldn't do it. When you're ready, you'll know and you won't need to ask anyone."
"Hermione, I have to admit, that was just a ploy to get you to tell us how Malfoy was in bed," Ginny clarified. "Harry and I have been sleeping with each other since school started."
"Geez, aren't you two moving with the speed of special Olympic hurdlers? I mean, gosh, I've heard of people taking their time, but you two take that to new heights," Sorcha joked.
"You are moving a little fast," Hermione agreed. Ginny shrugged.
"It hasn't hurt anything," she said. The girls finished their butter beers and headed out the door. Unbeknownst to them, Pansy and Breena had been sitting in the booth behind them.
"So, the little Weasley's developed a taste for the forbidden fruit," Breena mused, "and Hermione still isn't putting out. Poor Draco, he must be dying."
"I'm sure he's just fine. He's 'sooo happy' with her," Pansy remarked bitterly.
"Maybe we could speed things up a bit," Breena wondered aloud. Pansy glared at her friend.
"I don't want Hermione to get hurt," Pansy pleaded. Breena shrugged.
"Who said anything about hurting her?" Breena asked. "I just wanted to give her a little push."
"How do you plan to do that?" Pansy asked. Breena just smiled knowingly.
* * *
Draco wandered into a dimly lit jewelry shop. As his eyes adjusted to the light he was able to see the glass cases filled with glittering jewels. He took his time looking at everything. 'You've made this rather difficult' his thoughts aimed at the Dark Lord. buy her a ring came the reply. Draco's eyes traveled over the selection. Nothing there seemed fitting. He left the shop feeling rather cheated.
"If you hadn't already bought her everything in creation, that wouldn't have been so difficult," he snapped aloud. If you didn't care about her so much it wouldn't make a difference the voice mocked. Draco scowled irritated. He headed off to find another jewelry store.
* * *
"Try this," Sorcha suggested, tossing a g-string at Ginny. The girls were browsing through the underwear at Madam d'Amour's. Hermione was a little overwhelmed at the huge selection. There was every kind of underwear you could think of in almost every color and pattern imaginable. She wandered through the store taking in all the sights.
"You know," a voice cut through the layers of satin and lace, "Draco's favourite colours are black and green." Hermione looked up to see Breena and Pansy standing in front of her. She smiled shyly at them, feeling out of her element completely.
"Hi," she murmured sheepishly. Pansy and Breena took her hands and led her to the back of the store where the excruciatingly revealing underwear was located.
An hour later Hermione left the store with Pansy, Breena, Sorcha and Ginny, her cheeks glowing bright red just knowing what was in her bag. Even though just about every other girl from Hogwarts carried the same bag, Hermione just knew that everyone could see what was in her bag and was thinking less of her for it. Sorcha and Ginny talked on and on excitedly about their next stop where they would look for something to wear to the Halloween Ball.
The girls looked at almost every outfit in the store. Ginny found something rather quickly even though she was limited to a modest budget. Sorcha was a little more discriminating and found something after an hour or so. Hermione, Breena, and Pansy however, took their time and still couldn't find anything. They left the store empty-handed.
"That's alright, we'll find something in London," Breena mused. "Maybe we'll hit Versace."
"For Halloween? Isn't that a bit superfluous?" Hermione wondered aloud. The other girls shrugged. There was little discussion as the girls headed back to Hogwarts.
* * *
Draco woke up the next morning to find another gift on his nightstand. Not for you, for Hermione the Dark Lord intoned. save it, you'll need it later came the instructions. Draco shrugged and put it in the bottom of the trunk without bothering to look at it.
He managed to get through his classes bored out of his mind. Somehow he couldn't concentrate. After his last class he hurried to McGonnagall's classroom, where they were planning the going away party for Breena and Sorcha, and the Halloween Ball. He took a seat next to Hermione and waited for the meeting to begin.
"You know, I have a cousin who lives in the United States, and she said that for their dances they elect people to a court, and then everyone votes for a king and queen," Pansy suggested. The others talked the idea over.
"How would we decide who got to be on court?" McGonnagall asked. "Based on marks, or teacher recommendation?"
"No, no, the students vote," Pansy explained.
"It sounds like a popularity contest to me," McGonnagall mused. Pansy shrugged.
"I think it sounds like fun," Hermione seconded. Pansy shot Hermione a thankful glance. Two hours later, they'd planned the entire dance as well as the party.
After the meeting broke up, Hermione hurried back to her Dorm to do her assignments. Looking over her assignment sheets, she realized she'd already completed them. All of them. She descended to the common room to talk to the others.
"Is it just me or were we given an unusually short list of assignments this week?" Hermione asked her friends who were sitting in front of the fireplace.
"Even I have them all done," Ron replied. Hermione raised an eyebrow but declined to comment at that remark. She decided to walk down to the library and see if there was anything interesting to read.
She found herself settling in with an old copy of Hogwarts, A history, even though she owned her own copy upstairs. What Hermione really wanted was some kind of distraction from the current happenings, not something that required a lot of thinking or effort. Her solitude was interrupted after a few blissful minutes when Draco sat down next to her at the table. He didn't say anything, just watched her read. After a few minutes she put the book down to look at him.
"Yes?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Nothing, I was just watching. You look so peaceful when you read. Just like when you sleep," he explained. Hermione smiled.
"It makes me nervous when you watch me," she replied. He shrugged and got up to leave. "You don't have to go, I'll put the book down."
"I don't want to interrupt," he decided. Hermione put the book back and followed him out of the library. They walked out to the courtyard which was mostly empty because it was chilly out. Draco sat down on a stone bench, and Hermione sat beside him.
"Have you had anymore dreams?" Hermione asked, only half wanting to know the answer. Draco shrugged.
"They're just dreams, they don't mean anything," he replied. "What does it really matter?"
"I was just making conversation," Hermione said softly. Draco nodded, but didn't say anything else. They sat in silence for a while, just observing the leaves gathering in the courtyard. The leaves had all turned to shades of copper and crimson and the trees were beginning to look bare.
"It'll be a harsh winter," Draco said absently.
From a window in his office, Draco's words were just audible to Professor Dumbledore. Albus turned from the window to face the half-written letter he was drafting to the school governors.
"If only you knew how harsh it will be," Dumbledore murmured to himself as he sat down at his desk. He wasn't sure how to explain to his superiors why he was closing the school at Christmas. In fact, he wasn't sure he could explain it to himself anymore. The dream he'd had was so vivid it had been almost like he was actually living everything he was seeing, and perhaps that was exactly why he was so frightened. The images haunted his real dreams to the point that every time he closed his eyes the frightened faces were the only things he could see. For a grown man, he felt like such a coward.
After finishing his letter he peered back out his window to see if Hermione and Draco were still in the courtyard. They seemed so innocent sitting there that Dumbledore questioned his natural instinct to pull the two apart. None of the teachers thought Draco and Hermione should be involved romantically or even just as friends. "Hermione is one of our best students," they pleaded. Somehow they all seemed to go silent when Dumbledore reminded them that Draco Malfoy also was one of their best pupils. Just as Malfoy treated other students differently because of their muggle-born lineage, Malfoy was looked at differently because his father was a notorious death-eater. Dumbledore closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool stone window frame.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore had the wisdom to know that the concerns expressed over Hermione and Draco's relationship were justified. Though Draco himself was no death eater, he was coming of age soon enough to become one. And while that was something to worry about, the real threat came from Draco's father. Lucius wanted such big part in Draco's life that he was willing to anything to keep Draco from disobeying him. If Hermione had the misfortune to come between Lucius and Draco, well, Dumbledore didn't want to think about the possibilities.
At any rate, it wouldn't be Draco who was the bad influence on Hermione. Severus Snape had confirmed Dumbledore's concerns when he had come in worried about illegal potions. Dumbledore now knew that Hermione had, at some point, met the Dark Lord and was now under his influence. This in and of itself wasn't so terrible, countless other Hogwart's students were also under his influence - any of the students whose parents were death eaters or who were at one point death eaters. Even the blessed Harry Potter was to a certain extent influenced by the Dark Lord. After all, he had accidentally transferred some of his qualities to Harry as an infant.
Harry was another student Dumbledore had to worry about. He had requested that Snape mute the effects of Harry's curse scar because without it, the mere presence of anyone under the Dark Lord's influence would be enough to make it ache. Someone like Hermione who obviously had a much larger role to fill that just that of a death eater would triple the effects of that scar to the extent that Harry wouldn't be able to handle it, as they'd already seen earlier that week.
But this wasn't about Harry. Harry's destiny had already been laid out for him. This was about Hermione. Hermione Granger had shown great promise through out all of her school career. She was one of the most self- motivated students and all her hard work paid off. She was a top contender for Head Girl, if she ever got a chance to return to Hogwarts after the Dark Lord returned to power. Because there was no doubt that he was returning to power. He'd lain low for a year after regaining his life, but he hadn't been idle certainly.
Even the top ministry workers were reconsidering their positions. Patrick Turston wasn't the only one fleeing for the "safety" of the United States. The U.S. Ministry was gladly welcoming all of the European Ministry workers who were afraid of the Dark Lord.
Dumbledore's eyes flipped open suddenly, looking down on Draco and Hermione who were lying in the grass. Though only Dumbledore could see it, as Draco leaned over Hermione to kiss her a circle of dead grass appeared around them. The longer they kissed the wider the circle became, killing all other living things in its path. Dumbledore closed his eyes again to see the screaming, frightened faces that haunted his dreams. Why hadn't he seen it before?
* * *
Harry and Ron sat in the Gryffindor Common Room by the fire, talking about their Quidditch practice. The season was going well for Gryffindor, and Professor McGonnagall was talking about making Harry the captain next year. They were undefeated so far, but they were playing Slytherin on Saturday, so they were enjoying it while it lasted.
Hermione came into the Common Room just then, interrupting their conversation. Harry motioned for her to come over and sit with them.
"We haven't seen much of you lately, Hermione," Harry started. Hermione shrugged.
"You've been spending an awful lot of time with Malfoy lately," Ron added. Hermione raised an eyebrow, realizing where the conversation was headed.
"We just want to be sure you're not going to get hurt," Harry added quickly. "Just because we don't like him doesn't mean you shouldn't see him, we just know his reputation as well as everyone else, and don't want to see you end up hurt."
"I think I can take care of myself, Harry," Hermione stated flatly. "But thanks for your concern." Hermione got up and left the common room again. Harry sank back into the sofa.
"That went well," Ron remarked. Harry rolled his eyes.
* * *
Hermione headed for Myrtle's bathroom. She was supposed to meet Pansy there in an hour to fix her hair, she might as well go early and keep Myrtle company. As luck would have it, Pansy and Breena were there already working on Pansy's hair. Hermione came in and sat on the sink next to Pansy.
"She's adding layers," Pansy explained. Hermione nodded. Breena stopped suddenly.
"Wait, if you're a prefect, why are we doing this in here and not in the prefect's bathroom?" Breena asked.
"Because you're not allowed in there," Hermione replied. Breena shrugged.
"I don't see why anyone would have to know," She stated, working on Pansy's hair some more. Hermione thought about it for a minute.
"Alright, meet me there tonight at midnight," Hermione decided, then left before she could change her mind. Breena smiled, but Pansy just stared straight ahead.
"You shouldn't take advantage of her like that," Pansy intoned. Breena shrugged.
"Why not? We're not hurting her," Breena took a final snip at Pansy's hair. "Done." Pansy flipped her head over and muttered a hair-drying spell then turned to look at herself in the mirror.
"I guess you're right," Pansy agreed. "We're not hurting anything."
Hermione awoke the next morning in a daze. The day before had been one surprise after another. It seemed everything was happening so fast, like a blur. She was scheduled to go to Hogsmeade that afternoon with Sorcha and Ginny, so she hopped out of bed to get dressed.
Doing so, she noticed a large package by her bed. She sighed, recognizing the familiar black wrapping paper. She didn't wonder anymore how the Dark Lord kept his followers loyal; he just bought their devotion. As the thought crossed her mind a pain in the back of her neck appeared, like something had burst. She sat down to steady herself.
"Sorry," she retorted. He had apparently been offended by that last thought. I only give presents to my favorites he informed her. You'll need all these things later on he added. Hermione didn't bother to wonder how jewelry would come in hand later. She opened the box to find, not only an elaborate diamond bracelet, but also a matching necklace, earrings, and a tiara. Hermione could hardly believe her eyes. Try them on he urged. Hermione closed the box and buried it in the bottom of her trunk and locked it. "Someone might see," she explained. Very well he agreed. Hermione grabbed an outfit for the day and hurried down to the prefect's bathroom to take a bath.
As she soaked in the bubbles, she wondered what the day had in store for her. She hoped it was quieter and calmer than the previous day. She dried off and, looking in the mirror, made a mental note to ask Pansy to fix her hair. The highlights and straightener were starting to come out. Hermione pulled on the casual green velvet robes she'd picked out. Thanks to Pansy, Hermione now had enough outfits, both by muggle and magic designers, that she never had to wear the same thing twice. Hermione decided to pull her hair up messily, and try a new makeup spell she'd seen.
After she was happy with her look, Hermione hurried to breakfast. She was worried about Harry and hoped someone would have some news. Thankfully, Harry himself was at breakfast.
"Madam Pomfrey had Snape make me a special potion so I couldn't feel it anymore. Dumbledore said there was no reason it should hurt so bad, since Vold- you- know- who was nowhere near me," Harry was explaining. Everyone at the table was listening intently with concerned looks on their faces.
"What if You-Know-Who is around? What then?" Ron asked.
"I won't feel it anymore," Harry replied. "Which is okay, all it does is mix me up and make it harder to concentrate."
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Sorcha said. The others nodded in agreement.
* * *
Draco was awake early. He sat in bed thinking about the announcement Dumbledore had made the night before. The school was closing after Christmas. As much as he hated to turn to his father for anything, he was currently drafting a letter to him asking if he knew what was going on.
While he sat there writing, a rustling noise outside the thick green velvet curtains of his bed interrupted his thoughts. He peered out to see a large box on his nightstand. Draco grabbed the box and opened it eagerly to find two new dress robes. Both were made of black velvet and lined with green satin. They were nicer than any of the robes he owned, which made him wonder where the Dark Lord had found them. Draco crawled out of bed to try them on.
As he stood admiring himself in the mirror, his image went blurry and then he was back in the dream he'd had before. On all his sides were people with frightened expressions on their faces. He was walking past them to make an announcement. Ahead of him another figure came into his realm of vision. He couldn't make out who it was, they were too far away.
A door in the common room slammed and Draco was looking at himself in the mirror again. He shook his head and took the robe off, folding it neatly to place in safely in his trunk.
* * *
Hermione, Sorcha, and Ginny hurried into Three Broomsticks to warm up. It was unseasonably cold outside, and they were freezing. They slid into a booth with their packages and chatted about the rest of the afternoon.
"So, Hermione, I need some advice," Ginny changed the topic out of nowhere. Hermione raised an eyebrow, a skill she'd recently discovered. "It's about Harry. You know, we've been together for a while and all, and-"
"What?" Hermione was shocked. "When did this happen?"
"Before school started. He was at my house all summer, and when he came back from the twins' house we decided to give it a shot," Ginny explained, blushing a deep crimson. Hermione couldn't believe she'd missed something so crucial. "Anyway," Ginny pressed on," What I was wondering was if it hurt when you lost your virginity?" Ginny bit her lip, waiting anxiously for Hermione's reply. Hermione was more shocked than before, if it was at all possible. What gave Ginny the impression that Hermione had ever done, well, that?
"Oh, well, Ginny, I haven't exactly, I mean, I'm still, er-" Hermione spluttered. She blushed furiously, rivaling Ginny's earlier coloring.
"What?" Ginny and Sorcha burst at the same time.
"How can Draco be interested in you if you two aren't - well, I mean, He's not exactly. What I'm trying to say is-" Sorcha tried to find words.
"We just sort of assumed," Ginny clarified. Hermione shook her head.
"No, I haven't. And not with Draco. He's a very nice boy, but I'm just not interested in that right now," Hermione clarified. She felt like she was lying. It wasn't that she wasn't interested, she was just scared. She'd barely even kissed a boy before Draco, and she'd certainly never done anything more than just kiss. Yet somehow her thoughts drifted back to Potions when Draco's hand had been so close to her most intimate place. She'd never been touched there before and even though she'd been embarrassed, she couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Hermione?" Sorcha asked. Hermione snapped back to the conversation at hand. "What were you thinking about?" Sorcha teased, "You had a Look on your face."
"Nothing," Hermione replied. "Ginny, if you're asking me if I think you should sleep with Harry, then you shouldn't do it. When you're ready, you'll know and you won't need to ask anyone."
"Hermione, I have to admit, that was just a ploy to get you to tell us how Malfoy was in bed," Ginny clarified. "Harry and I have been sleeping with each other since school started."
"Geez, aren't you two moving with the speed of special Olympic hurdlers? I mean, gosh, I've heard of people taking their time, but you two take that to new heights," Sorcha joked.
"You are moving a little fast," Hermione agreed. Ginny shrugged.
"It hasn't hurt anything," she said. The girls finished their butter beers and headed out the door. Unbeknownst to them, Pansy and Breena had been sitting in the booth behind them.
"So, the little Weasley's developed a taste for the forbidden fruit," Breena mused, "and Hermione still isn't putting out. Poor Draco, he must be dying."
"I'm sure he's just fine. He's 'sooo happy' with her," Pansy remarked bitterly.
"Maybe we could speed things up a bit," Breena wondered aloud. Pansy glared at her friend.
"I don't want Hermione to get hurt," Pansy pleaded. Breena shrugged.
"Who said anything about hurting her?" Breena asked. "I just wanted to give her a little push."
"How do you plan to do that?" Pansy asked. Breena just smiled knowingly.
* * *
Draco wandered into a dimly lit jewelry shop. As his eyes adjusted to the light he was able to see the glass cases filled with glittering jewels. He took his time looking at everything. 'You've made this rather difficult' his thoughts aimed at the Dark Lord. buy her a ring came the reply. Draco's eyes traveled over the selection. Nothing there seemed fitting. He left the shop feeling rather cheated.
"If you hadn't already bought her everything in creation, that wouldn't have been so difficult," he snapped aloud. If you didn't care about her so much it wouldn't make a difference the voice mocked. Draco scowled irritated. He headed off to find another jewelry store.
* * *
"Try this," Sorcha suggested, tossing a g-string at Ginny. The girls were browsing through the underwear at Madam d'Amour's. Hermione was a little overwhelmed at the huge selection. There was every kind of underwear you could think of in almost every color and pattern imaginable. She wandered through the store taking in all the sights.
"You know," a voice cut through the layers of satin and lace, "Draco's favourite colours are black and green." Hermione looked up to see Breena and Pansy standing in front of her. She smiled shyly at them, feeling out of her element completely.
"Hi," she murmured sheepishly. Pansy and Breena took her hands and led her to the back of the store where the excruciatingly revealing underwear was located.
An hour later Hermione left the store with Pansy, Breena, Sorcha and Ginny, her cheeks glowing bright red just knowing what was in her bag. Even though just about every other girl from Hogwarts carried the same bag, Hermione just knew that everyone could see what was in her bag and was thinking less of her for it. Sorcha and Ginny talked on and on excitedly about their next stop where they would look for something to wear to the Halloween Ball.
The girls looked at almost every outfit in the store. Ginny found something rather quickly even though she was limited to a modest budget. Sorcha was a little more discriminating and found something after an hour or so. Hermione, Breena, and Pansy however, took their time and still couldn't find anything. They left the store empty-handed.
"That's alright, we'll find something in London," Breena mused. "Maybe we'll hit Versace."
"For Halloween? Isn't that a bit superfluous?" Hermione wondered aloud. The other girls shrugged. There was little discussion as the girls headed back to Hogwarts.
* * *
Draco woke up the next morning to find another gift on his nightstand. Not for you, for Hermione the Dark Lord intoned. save it, you'll need it later came the instructions. Draco shrugged and put it in the bottom of the trunk without bothering to look at it.
He managed to get through his classes bored out of his mind. Somehow he couldn't concentrate. After his last class he hurried to McGonnagall's classroom, where they were planning the going away party for Breena and Sorcha, and the Halloween Ball. He took a seat next to Hermione and waited for the meeting to begin.
"You know, I have a cousin who lives in the United States, and she said that for their dances they elect people to a court, and then everyone votes for a king and queen," Pansy suggested. The others talked the idea over.
"How would we decide who got to be on court?" McGonnagall asked. "Based on marks, or teacher recommendation?"
"No, no, the students vote," Pansy explained.
"It sounds like a popularity contest to me," McGonnagall mused. Pansy shrugged.
"I think it sounds like fun," Hermione seconded. Pansy shot Hermione a thankful glance. Two hours later, they'd planned the entire dance as well as the party.
After the meeting broke up, Hermione hurried back to her Dorm to do her assignments. Looking over her assignment sheets, she realized she'd already completed them. All of them. She descended to the common room to talk to the others.
"Is it just me or were we given an unusually short list of assignments this week?" Hermione asked her friends who were sitting in front of the fireplace.
"Even I have them all done," Ron replied. Hermione raised an eyebrow but declined to comment at that remark. She decided to walk down to the library and see if there was anything interesting to read.
She found herself settling in with an old copy of Hogwarts, A history, even though she owned her own copy upstairs. What Hermione really wanted was some kind of distraction from the current happenings, not something that required a lot of thinking or effort. Her solitude was interrupted after a few blissful minutes when Draco sat down next to her at the table. He didn't say anything, just watched her read. After a few minutes she put the book down to look at him.
"Yes?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Nothing, I was just watching. You look so peaceful when you read. Just like when you sleep," he explained. Hermione smiled.
"It makes me nervous when you watch me," she replied. He shrugged and got up to leave. "You don't have to go, I'll put the book down."
"I don't want to interrupt," he decided. Hermione put the book back and followed him out of the library. They walked out to the courtyard which was mostly empty because it was chilly out. Draco sat down on a stone bench, and Hermione sat beside him.
"Have you had anymore dreams?" Hermione asked, only half wanting to know the answer. Draco shrugged.
"They're just dreams, they don't mean anything," he replied. "What does it really matter?"
"I was just making conversation," Hermione said softly. Draco nodded, but didn't say anything else. They sat in silence for a while, just observing the leaves gathering in the courtyard. The leaves had all turned to shades of copper and crimson and the trees were beginning to look bare.
"It'll be a harsh winter," Draco said absently.
From a window in his office, Draco's words were just audible to Professor Dumbledore. Albus turned from the window to face the half-written letter he was drafting to the school governors.
"If only you knew how harsh it will be," Dumbledore murmured to himself as he sat down at his desk. He wasn't sure how to explain to his superiors why he was closing the school at Christmas. In fact, he wasn't sure he could explain it to himself anymore. The dream he'd had was so vivid it had been almost like he was actually living everything he was seeing, and perhaps that was exactly why he was so frightened. The images haunted his real dreams to the point that every time he closed his eyes the frightened faces were the only things he could see. For a grown man, he felt like such a coward.
After finishing his letter he peered back out his window to see if Hermione and Draco were still in the courtyard. They seemed so innocent sitting there that Dumbledore questioned his natural instinct to pull the two apart. None of the teachers thought Draco and Hermione should be involved romantically or even just as friends. "Hermione is one of our best students," they pleaded. Somehow they all seemed to go silent when Dumbledore reminded them that Draco Malfoy also was one of their best pupils. Just as Malfoy treated other students differently because of their muggle-born lineage, Malfoy was looked at differently because his father was a notorious death-eater. Dumbledore closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool stone window frame.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore had the wisdom to know that the concerns expressed over Hermione and Draco's relationship were justified. Though Draco himself was no death eater, he was coming of age soon enough to become one. And while that was something to worry about, the real threat came from Draco's father. Lucius wanted such big part in Draco's life that he was willing to anything to keep Draco from disobeying him. If Hermione had the misfortune to come between Lucius and Draco, well, Dumbledore didn't want to think about the possibilities.
At any rate, it wouldn't be Draco who was the bad influence on Hermione. Severus Snape had confirmed Dumbledore's concerns when he had come in worried about illegal potions. Dumbledore now knew that Hermione had, at some point, met the Dark Lord and was now under his influence. This in and of itself wasn't so terrible, countless other Hogwart's students were also under his influence - any of the students whose parents were death eaters or who were at one point death eaters. Even the blessed Harry Potter was to a certain extent influenced by the Dark Lord. After all, he had accidentally transferred some of his qualities to Harry as an infant.
Harry was another student Dumbledore had to worry about. He had requested that Snape mute the effects of Harry's curse scar because without it, the mere presence of anyone under the Dark Lord's influence would be enough to make it ache. Someone like Hermione who obviously had a much larger role to fill that just that of a death eater would triple the effects of that scar to the extent that Harry wouldn't be able to handle it, as they'd already seen earlier that week.
But this wasn't about Harry. Harry's destiny had already been laid out for him. This was about Hermione. Hermione Granger had shown great promise through out all of her school career. She was one of the most self- motivated students and all her hard work paid off. She was a top contender for Head Girl, if she ever got a chance to return to Hogwarts after the Dark Lord returned to power. Because there was no doubt that he was returning to power. He'd lain low for a year after regaining his life, but he hadn't been idle certainly.
Even the top ministry workers were reconsidering their positions. Patrick Turston wasn't the only one fleeing for the "safety" of the United States. The U.S. Ministry was gladly welcoming all of the European Ministry workers who were afraid of the Dark Lord.
Dumbledore's eyes flipped open suddenly, looking down on Draco and Hermione who were lying in the grass. Though only Dumbledore could see it, as Draco leaned over Hermione to kiss her a circle of dead grass appeared around them. The longer they kissed the wider the circle became, killing all other living things in its path. Dumbledore closed his eyes again to see the screaming, frightened faces that haunted his dreams. Why hadn't he seen it before?
* * *
Harry and Ron sat in the Gryffindor Common Room by the fire, talking about their Quidditch practice. The season was going well for Gryffindor, and Professor McGonnagall was talking about making Harry the captain next year. They were undefeated so far, but they were playing Slytherin on Saturday, so they were enjoying it while it lasted.
Hermione came into the Common Room just then, interrupting their conversation. Harry motioned for her to come over and sit with them.
"We haven't seen much of you lately, Hermione," Harry started. Hermione shrugged.
"You've been spending an awful lot of time with Malfoy lately," Ron added. Hermione raised an eyebrow, realizing where the conversation was headed.
"We just want to be sure you're not going to get hurt," Harry added quickly. "Just because we don't like him doesn't mean you shouldn't see him, we just know his reputation as well as everyone else, and don't want to see you end up hurt."
"I think I can take care of myself, Harry," Hermione stated flatly. "But thanks for your concern." Hermione got up and left the common room again. Harry sank back into the sofa.
"That went well," Ron remarked. Harry rolled his eyes.
* * *
Hermione headed for Myrtle's bathroom. She was supposed to meet Pansy there in an hour to fix her hair, she might as well go early and keep Myrtle company. As luck would have it, Pansy and Breena were there already working on Pansy's hair. Hermione came in and sat on the sink next to Pansy.
"She's adding layers," Pansy explained. Hermione nodded. Breena stopped suddenly.
"Wait, if you're a prefect, why are we doing this in here and not in the prefect's bathroom?" Breena asked.
"Because you're not allowed in there," Hermione replied. Breena shrugged.
"I don't see why anyone would have to know," She stated, working on Pansy's hair some more. Hermione thought about it for a minute.
"Alright, meet me there tonight at midnight," Hermione decided, then left before she could change her mind. Breena smiled, but Pansy just stared straight ahead.
"You shouldn't take advantage of her like that," Pansy intoned. Breena shrugged.
"Why not? We're not hurting her," Breena took a final snip at Pansy's hair. "Done." Pansy flipped her head over and muttered a hair-drying spell then turned to look at herself in the mirror.
"I guess you're right," Pansy agreed. "We're not hurting anything."