Chapter 4: Console the ferret?!

Hermione was in her room, trying to decide what to wear for tonight when an eagle owl swept gracefully into the room. She stared at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out why it looked oddly familiar.

"You're Draco's owl aren't you?" she asked it. "What are you doing here?"

The owl hooted and stuck out its foot. She took the letter, and sat down on her bed to read it.

Miss Granger,

I have decided to write you versus Harry and Ron because I know you have an open mind.

Draco is not how you think he is. For the most part, he was forced to treat you, Harry, and Ron rudely, due to his father's expectations of him.

His father was abusive. He beat Draco and his mother many times, but liked using daggers and the Cruciatus curse the most. While Draco was away at school, his father took all his anger out on her. She is covered head to foot in bruises, open wounds, dagger marks, and curse marks. He hid it well though, using concealing charms on her, then ultimately the Imperious Curse, so she wouldn't tell.

Draco arrived home today from a holiday with the Zabini's, to find his mother in this condition. He blames himself for letting this happen, and if very angry with himself, and his father.

Miss Granger, I believe he needs to talk to someone his age. I am writing in hopes that you will put your past feelings aside, and help your fellow student in need.

Please do not say anything about this to Ron or Harry just yet. I will tell them when the time is right.

Albus Dumbledore

"He wants me to do what?!?" she screamed, causing the owl to fly to her mantle top. She ignored the owl and reread the letter

"He wants me to...to..." she searched for the right word. "Console Malfoy?! Is he out of his blooming mind?!?!"

The owl clucked his beak, obviously thinking that she was out of her mind, talking to herself.

She glared at the owl, then the letter, then her watch.

"Bloody hell!" she said, realizing that she had roughly ten minutes to get dressed and out of the house before Harry and Ron came. For some reason she couldn't even explain, she didn't want the two knowing what she had done every night since summer holidays began.

She jumped off the bed and ran over to her armoire, and pulled out a black miniskirt and a red halter top.

"You're just going to have to wait until I get back for your answer," she told the owl, which was ruffling his feathers impatiently.

She pulled on her outfit, then pulled her wand out of her cloak and whispered "Perfectus," and closed her eyes. The charm did her hair, make up and nail polish for her, which she found very useful. After a few seconds she opened her eyes again, pulled on a pair of three inch heels and some jewelry. When she was finished she looked at her mirror to check her self over.

In the short amount of time she had been out of school for holidays, her body had changed dramatically. She now had curves where she used to be straight and had filled out where she had been practically flat. She had cut her hair shorter, and it seemed to have tamed it down, because it flowed down her back in smooth curls instead of looking bushy.

But now it was up in an elegant bun, a few tendrils hanging down to frame her face. Her makeup was flawless and subtle, but her lips were done in what she decided to call a Kiss-me-red.

She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow at her reflection. Instead of looking like she was going to go clubbing, she looked like she was going on a date to a classy restaurant.

What the hell? She thought.

She raised her wand to change it, but stopped when she heard to loud pops from downstairs. She sighed. Harry and Ron just apparated into her living room.

Shit. She thought, glancing around her room. Bloody brilliant. Now how are you going to get past them?

She looked around again. There was no way she would be able to get past Harry and Ron, so that ruled out escaping through the door. The last time she had snuck out of her window her shirt had caught on a branch and ripped in half. That ruled out the windows. Hermione sighed, seeing her only escape route. The fire. And seeing as she didn't know any magical clubs she'd have to do what Dumbledore asked. Go console Malfoy.

She threw her cloak on and shoved her wand in one of the pockets. Then she grabbed the letter off the bed and walked over to the fireplace.

"I guess you and Dumbledore win," she said quietly to the owl, throwing some of the floo powder from a jar on the mantle into the fire. "I'll go try to console Malfoy."

The owl hooted and jumped onto her shoulder. She stepped into the fire. She heard Harry and Ron's footsteps on the stairs. She steeled herself for what she was about to do. "Malfoy Manor." She said clearly.

She disappeared with a roar of the fire. She never saw her door open seconds later. She didn't see the look on Ron and Harry's faces when the two stumbled over themselves in a rush to get to the fire place. She never saw the look of confusion when they realized that she had said "Malfoy Manor." She never saw any of it.