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: Ma Cherie :

: Chapter Five :

Hermione couldn't suppress the smile on her face as she held the parchment in her hand. It was a response from her finicky, sour, yet strangely alluring mystery man. She opened it up to find the page filled with a surprisingly neat cursive. Sitting down on the bed, Hermione eagerly drank up each word

Chime, Cherie

And bind my heart

You sting of sweetness

But who would have thought

All the waters of the Nile

Can't deny what's happened

Don't play the tragedy

And live like Juliet

I need to know

Who you are

Hermione reread what appeared to be a poem several times. The cadence was so glaringly halting yet it drew her in and made her read the poem several times, not unlike the personality of who penned it. Did he write this? He must have figured out the riddle. And so quickly, Hermione mused, impressed. And she did like the poem. He was clever; she'd give him that, playing around with the old joke of the Nile. Clever but not subtle.

She'll take his advice, though. Hermione was hardly going to willingly fall into tragedy like Romeo and Juliet but she wasn't going to end this game this soon either.

My, how you persist!

Answer me naught, you receive none in return

Is this how you will play the game?

No, shed the attitude and reap the rewards.

Short, simple, to the point. Only one astute would find her answer loud and clear in the message, although it was pretty clear what it was judging from the context. Hermione shrugged. She always liked to add a little something to her letters. As she watched the owl disappear into the night sky, Hermione smiled with satisfaction.

ooooooooooooooooooo

"What'd she say?" Zavier asked.

"There has to be something more to this," Draco said, stubbornly. "And she hasn't refused to tell me who she is."

"Yes she has," he said. "Look right here: answer me naught and you will have none in return."

"But she hasn't asked me anything so technically she hasn't refused me yet. Which is why there has to be something else in here."

"Maybe you're just neurotic and there is nothing else but a glaring rejection." Draco scowled.

"This is so bizarre," Draco said, rubbing his eyes. "This has never happened to me before." Zavier yawned.

"You are strangely obsessed with someone you've never met," Zavier agreed. Draco lazily hit his friend on the shoulder.

"I'm not obsessed, exactly. She's just different. In a good way."

"And what good will that do if she doesn't even want to tell you who she is?"

"She hasn't refused," Draco said, again. Zavier shrugged. Draco was being a drag and it was a perfectly good day.

"Let's play go ride out over the lake," he suggested. Draco stood up. If Ma Cherie wasn't going to reveal herself to him right as this moment, Zavier was right in that there was no point to waste a perfectly good day.

It was only after a long day of goofing around with the Quaffle, playing over the serene lake, undisturbed by the squid that day, and a nice long shower, did Draco give the note another look. It stayed on his mind all day, of course, but he stubbornly refused to give it another thought.

Now, sitting down on his bed, his wet hair slightly dripping onto his shoulders, Draco studied the note.

And found her answer.

It was clear, a little too clear, something like a slap in the face. By taking the first word of each line and stringing it together, Draco got his response: my answer is no. Would she really refuse him?

He couldn't stand for this. He wanted to know who Ma Cherie was. He needed to know who it was that had the ability to capture his heart with mere written words. Ma Cherie should know that Draco normally got what he wanted and a simple, curt sentence wouldn't stop him now.

ooooooooooooooooooo

It was nearly midnight when Hermione found an owl tapping on her window. She opened it and the owl rested on her arm, looking at her expectantly, wanting to be off to the owlry.

Hermione noted faintly that the Pink Lady must be disappointed that her mystery man used an owl this time. Smiling, she untied the parchment from the owl and let it go. She had been wondering all day whether her negative response would be taken well or not. Either he would continue to pursue her or would give up. If it were the latter, Hermione admitted that he wasn't quite worth her time then. Well, now was the time to know.

She unrolled the parchment.

Your answer is no and my response to yours is also a no. Two negatives? That would make a positive. Childish logic? Perhaps your renowned wit can save us from my immaturity. Now...tell me who you are.

Hermione smiled. How very excellent.

ooooooooooooooooooo