Chapter 9

Hermione skipped up the path to the to the picturesque cottage. Why, it was so lovely, she wouldn't mind living there. She giggled to herself, her good mood not dampened by her fall in the forest and began to sing:

We were strangers starting out on a journey

Never dreaming what we'd have to go through

Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing

At the beginning with you.

No one told me I was going to find you

Unexpected what you did to my heart

When I lost hope you were there to remind me

This is start

And life is a road and I want to keep going

Love is a river I want to keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever, wonderful journey.

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I want to be standing at the beginning

With you.

We were strangers on a crazy adventure

Never dreaming how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand, unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you and

Life is a road and I want to keep going

Love is a river I want to keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever, wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I want to be standing at the beginning

With you.

I knew there was somebody somewhere

Like me alone in the dark

Now I know my dreams will live on I've been waiting so long

Nothings gonna tear us apart and

Life is a road and I want to keep going

Love is a river I want to keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever, wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I want to be standing at the beginning

With you.

(A/N Sorry for the long song but I figured I should put something in that showed Hermione's feeling for Draco even if they're not apparent to her but she's thinking about him subconsciously)

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Lucius tensed when he heard her clear, sweet notes lilting as she flounced up the cobblestones.

She had taken a long time to get here and the hour of the polyjuice-potion was running out. He

only had three minutes to turn her into a frog and get out before Draco came. Hopefully she

would come right over to the bed, as he needed to be close to her to perform the spell.

Suddenly the door was flung open with great exuberance and a laughing, smiling, quite pretty

actually, Hermione stepped into the room. At the sight of "Will" in the bed her face fell and it

looked as if a catastrophe had just occurred. "Oh! Will!" she cried, slowly approaching the bed,

"what are your symptoms? I'm sure I can whip you up a potion that will make you feel better. I

read all about them in Magical Herbs and Remedies. I know I can make you feel better."

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"I'm feeling poorly, sweetheart," said Lucius inwardly smiling smugly. "My throat hearts a little,

and my rheumatism is bothering me something awful."

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Sweetheart? Hermione stopped in her tracks. Will never called her sweetheart. Why, the only

way he addressed her was Girl, Woman or Draco's precious pet. Hermione knew he meant the

terms endearingly and so was not bothered by there use. She shrugged, maybe the name slipped

because he was sick.

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Lucius cursed to himself. What had he done wrong? He had seen the slight pause in her feet.

Why had she hesitated to come closer to him? She probably wasn't too fond of Will. That was

all, the ribald, old man. "Honey, come over here, let me get a better look at you." Lucius didn't

want to risk getting out of the bed in case the polyjuice potion wore off before he had

transformed her into a frog.

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Hermione's eyes widened at the sound of another endearment. Something was wrong with Will.

The raucous, loud, dear man would never act like this. Just as her eyes had widened they began

to narrow. His eyes weren't bright blue, they were grey: a cold, proud, severe grey. She gasped

aloud and began to walk backwards, running out of room and almost hitting the mirror. Lucius

realized that she must have noticed something different and sprung out of bed. Hermione, afraid,

shrank back against the tall, silver-gilded mirror. She suddenly recognized the man advancing on

her. His hair had returned to its silvery-grey colour, his hands were smooth from never doing any

work, and his back straightened to bear his pride. Lucius raised his wand and directed it at

Hermione. She instinctively reached for her wand in the back pocket of her skirt but it wasn't

there. She tried to comprehend why it wasn't in place and came to the conclusion it must have

fallen out of her pocket when she had tripped in the woods. Knowing she had no chance to stop

the ruthless man who was towering over her she stood a little taller and stared at him, prepared

to meet her fate.

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"Well, well. Gryffindor pride I see. It will not get you too far, you see, my pretty little mudblood.

I do not permit my son to fraternize with such society and for breaking my rules you'll have to

pay the price." With these last words he began the incantation, "fro gre –"

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A/N And that's where the action starts. Cliffie ending, i know. Please read and review.

Thanks to reviewers:

Alenor – I am reading Highly Unusual it's good. Most librarians are nice. Just this one was scary. Those old rheumatic people thank God for predictions. Frogs Forever!

MageAurian – I am writing, and here's the next chapter. All I need is some Jaws music.

Madnutterfan – Don't be put off Draco!!! I made him so nice in this story. Just Lucius is evil.

Xsilentxonex146 – I'm updating today which is right now. Lol

Dumdumditz23 – We need a bit of a crisis in the story. Sorry Hermione.