Disclaimer- I don't own squat. Sue me not.
N.B.- I am perfectly aware of the fact that Blaise Zabini is a boy. However, in this story he is a she. Yes, I know that's not correct, but for the sake of the plot, JUST GO WITH IT.
STILL WANTED- Beta. Must have AIM and be a frequent checker of e-mail.
A/N- I'm sorry that it took me awhile to update. I would have gotten this out a few days ago, but I couldn't come up with a title. Sorry about that! Well, like I said last chapter, the story is really picking up now. It's not that the plot will be faster, but the updates should be much more frequent. Other than that, I have nothing to say. Please, if you haven't read them already, READ THE NOTES ABOVE!!!!!!!!!! Now, without further ado... ON WITH THE MADNESS!
-Killing Me Softly-
-Chapter 5- Believe or Not-
Hermione flew down the corridors, up the stairs to the entrance hall, then through the passage to the head's dorm. As she went she kicked off her shoes, the strappy sandals now uncomfortably tight. Her hair was lengthening and lightening, wild and frizzy tangles flying off her face as she ran. She had felt the shoes tightening and noticed Draco beginning to look slightly shorter around the time he had yelled at her that he hadn't ever wanted to be a Death Eater, and she had fled, hopefully before he noticed anything.
'He didn't want to be a Death Eater...' Hermione thought, bewildered. 'The world is so confusing... Everything's all upside-down like... OW!' She slammed into a wall. 'Oh hey, I've reached the dorms!'
"Firith Elenath."
"Mya! Where've you been love?"
"Firith Elenath. And you know I hate that nickname," Hermione said irritably.
"Tell me where you've been and I'll let you in," the mermaid said stubbornly.
"I went home for Christmas."
"Then why are you back so soon? Christmas hasn't come yet," the mermaid questioned suspiciously.
"If you could keep a secret I'd tell you. Sadly, you can't. Now, Firith Elenath."
The mermaid sighed and swung forward, letting Hermione in. The girl dashed up the stairs to her room and banged open the closet door. Blaise was rubbing her eyes groggily and yawning widely. Hermione took the opportunity and hit her with a selective memory charm so she wouldn't remember what had happened, then shoved her out the door.
A quick look in the vanity mirror fully confirmed that Hermione had changed completely back to normal. Her nut-brown hair was now it's full length, down to her waist, and wildly curly and frizzy. Contrary to popular belief, her hair was not bushy. People still called her bushy-haired, but that was only because when she was younger her hair had been short, causing her extremely curly hair to appear bushy. Now that it was longer it was just very thick... and frizzy... and curly... but definitely not bushy.
'Hmm, it's not as frizzy as it was before I changed. Must have been something in Blaise's shampoo...' Hermione thought. Twisting around to look at her back she still saw the scars she hat obtained in a run-in with Death Eaters the previous year. 'Dang. I was hoping those would have gone away, but then again, why would they?' Her hands were back to their normal graceful, yet hard and calloused, selves and her skin had returned to its lightly tanned color.
"Good as new," Hermione said contentedly, then snorted at the stupid saying. She flopped down on her bed with a sigh.
Crookshanks, who had been lying there, stalked up to her head and curled up on top of her chest.
"Hey sweet," Hermione cooed. "Did you miss me?" Crookshanks purred in response and she smiled. Stroking the beast absently her thoughts turned again to Draco. The way he had said it... it sounded as if he already was a Death Eater. Then again, would it really be all that surprising if he was? 'He is in seventh year after all,' Hermione reasoned. 'And his father has probably been preparing him for the big event since he was born.' She heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Argh! Crooks, it's all so confusing! The world's most anal, self-centered, conceited, most-likely-Death-Eater doesn't support Voldemort! IT DOESN'T WORK!" She buried her face in Crookshanks' long hair and screamed, then, considerably calmer, she gently pushed him off her chest and went to change for dinner.
A few minutes later she was sweeping down the stair case, clothed in a faded and torn pair of blue jeans and a loose, long-sleeved, white shirt with an intricate light blue design at the wrists and neckline. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, stuck through with a fluffy black quill.
As she walked down the corridor she passed Draco, presumably heading up to the dorm. He smirked at her infuriatingly, as he had so many times before, but for some reason this time it made her feel strangely... fuzzy.
'Stupid hormones... Ferret Face isn't supposed to spark fuzzy feelings...'
Says who? a little voice in Hermione's head questioned.
'Says ME.'
All the other girls think-
'Since when did I become all the other girls?'
Well, you never were, never will be, but-
'But nothing!'
By the time Hermione had, for the time being, settled her argument with herself she had reached the Great Hall. She went thought the double doors and sat down at her usual seat. "Potatoes!" she cried excitedly. Ginny, who was sitting next to her, look at her oddly, but then merely shrugged and went back to her steak. Meanwhile Hermione was busy piling potatoes, carrots, and soy meat onto her plate. Normally her appetite was small, but she was hungry today. After all, she had been eating close to nothing for the past three days.
She dug into her food with great enthusiasm. As she pierced a carrot with her fork she listened contentedly to Ginny's rambling. She was talking about some completely random subject, as usual. It was difficult to follow the tirade of thoughts that constantly streamed from the redhead's mouth, but when you managed to keep it all straight the girl was really quite funny. Really what she was saying wasn't hard to understand, but she spoke incredibly fast. Her sense of humor was light, bubbly, and rather blunt. It contrasted nicely with Hermione's dramatic sarcasm and subtle, yet at the same time not so subtle hints at humor.
When both girls were through with eating Ginny dragged Hermione outside, claiming the she spent too much time in the library and that she should come out and play in the snow.
"Snow?" Hermione questioned, confused.
"Yup. Didn't you notice? You need to get outside more... It snowed in the middle of the night. The lake hasn't frozen over yet, so no ice-skating today, but by the end of break it should be frozen and we can go skating together. It really has been a late winter this year. I mean really, this was the first settling snow of the season. Hey, do you thing you could get Harry to come skating with us?" Ginny finished bringing Hermione up to date on the weather with a hopeful question.
"I can try," Hermione responded as she transfigured her clothes into something warmer. Ginny, who was already clothed appropriately, barely let her finish before she dragged her down a pathway to the edge of the lake.
"Come make a snow angel with me!" Ginny cried, flopping down in the snow. Hermione lay down beside her and both girls proceeded to swish their arms and legs back and forth in the snow.
-End Chapter 5-
Oh my goodness, I can't believe I just finished my fifth chapter. I know it's rather short, but I'm having a bit of a writer's block. I know where I need to go, but I can't exactly get there. Argh. The song Believe or Not is by Nickelback. I've never heard the song, but I found the lyrics on the web. Don't ask me why I chose it for this chapter, I just thought it fit. Anyhow, review! It'll make me happy.
A little hint: there's something in this chapter that's very subtle, but also rather important. It's not crucial that you figure out what it is, but still, I worked very hard to find exactly the right moment to change what I did. I'm not giving any hints (beyond what I already have), but just know it's there. If someone figures out what it is they get a cookie. A cookie counts for three reviews in the MMU count. Big points. Oh, if you want to know what MMU is simply visit my lookup. I have a full explanation of what it is there. So, guess, guess, guess! Or just simply... REVIEW!
THANKS-
Kristen- You're lucky. I already had this chapter written when I got your review. Special like... Hmm, one must wonder how often you tell people you love their stories... Ah well, I'm to cynical for my own good. Sorry if I weird you out or anything. Anyhow, thanks for the review!
Black rat- I'm not sure whether or not to be insulted by the fact that you think every month or two is frequent. WHY THE F- WHY THE BANANAS WOULD I DELTE THIS!!! Where on earth did you get that idea?
Akgurl61690- Thanks very much. I know Blaise is a guy, I always have, but I needed a person for Hermione to impersonate that wasn't Pansy, and I felt Blaise was the best person for the 'job'. Thanks for the review!
LLLLLLLLL.- Hey hon. Thanks for the review! Although... I would appreciate it if you wouldn't review if you don't have anything to say. At least give me an empty compliment and yell at me to update. Thanks. Also, it's have, not haff. Kisses!
blackhorse darkrider- Hey. Glad you read her stories. BTW, I think there's a spelling error in your bio. You may want to check up on that. Thanks for the review!