Delusion 13
A/N: Had final exams, but now am free to write (for two weeks at least… then I have to go out of town). Sorry for the delay!
Justin Finch-Fletchley was enjoying a lovely read that Neville had given him, something nice about herbology. Safe, reliable, interesting…he ran a hand through his curly mop of hair and sighed in pleasure.
He really did love reading about plants. Suddenly he heard a noise from outside the common room (which had up till now been absolutely serene). It was a muffled sort of "eep!". Ever the good guy, Justin threw the book down and half-walked half-ran to the entrance and peeked out.
Just Hannah Abbott stood there, looking shaken. "Are you okay?" Justin asked the poor girl, although they weren't very close.
She gasped when she saw him and turned in the other direction and marched away. Before Justin could comprehend this she abruptly turned right back around and came up to him. "Hi, Justin," she said, her breathing fairly normal.
Well. He didn't quite know what to say. "Are you okay?" he finally repeated after much hesitation.
She nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
He scratched his head. Had he imagined the whole thing? "Er… never mind," he sighed in desperation. She gave him a puzzled look but said nothing.
"Are you going into the common room?" she finally asked.
This is awkward, Justin thought unhappily. "Um, yeah, I guess." Well, now at least he had something to do. He led the way into the common room and noticed with much unease that she followed him right in. That Abbott girl was a strange one, she was. He didn't much like her and couldn't understand how his friend Ernie Macmillan was dating her.
He'd just settled down with his lovely book when she began to talk again. "Oh, what's that your reading?" she inquired. Polite enough, and Justin couldn't just ignore her.
"Just this, um, Herbology book. I like Herbology a lot," he stammered. Talking to girls was not one of his strong points. Especially weird ones.
"Really?" her eyebrows shot up. "Do you like, um, Neville? He's into Herbology too."
Justin nodded, relieved that at least there was something to talk about if she insisted on following him around. "Yeah. Neville and I are pretty good friends."
Hannah swallowed audibly and continued. "So, say if Neville was, um, into Hermione Granger what would you do?"
Justin shrugged. "I dunno. I wouldn't really do anything. Neville can fancy whoever he wants to fancy, right?"
Hannah looked rather disappointed for a moment but then quickly steered the conversation into another route. "So, who do you fancy, Justin?"
"Um… I don't know?" Justin began timidly.
"Of course you do. Tell me now," Hannah demanded, giggling slightly.
"Seriously," Justin pleaded. "I really don't know."
"You fancy… you fancy… Millicent Bulstrode, don't you," Hannah said quickly.
"What? NO!" Justin yelped, thoroughly flabbergasted. "Of course not! How could you even suggest… my gosh, I'd do Pansy Parkinson, Merlin save my soul, before I'd ever fancy Millicent! You're a sick girl!"
Hannah smiled demurely and didn't seem affected in the least by Justin's sudden outburst. "Sorry, Justin," she apologized, "but I had to. I'm so sorry, please forgive me! Love ya now I have to go find me some..." she trailed off and hurriedly exited the common room.
What? What had he said? Crap, Justin thought wretchedly, I'm never going to get any girls.
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"Mother of Merlin, where is that girl?" Pansy demanded, giving Sally Anne a look. "I knew I shouldn't have left the terrorizing up to you!"
Sally Anne scowled. "Oh, stuff it, Pansy. I did a perfectly good job of scaring the shit out of her, just you wait. She'll show. And she'll have dirt on Finch-Fletchley."
Millicent bounded up to the two girls, who were waiting in a secluded hall. "There you guys are! Someone's looking for you!" She lowered her voice and giggled, "It's a Hufflepuff. What are we going to do to it?"
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Millicent, grow up. Hufflepuffs aren't toys or pets, okay? They're people, like us. Only stupid people. Where is that damn girl anyway?"
A meek, tiny cowering girl stepped out from behind Millicent. "I-I-I…t-t-tried my b-b-best," she stuttered softly.
"Christ, Abbott," Sally Anne growled, "Stop with the nonsensical stuttering. We don't need it. It's not like we're evil villainesses or anything. Well, not yet," she paused. "What'd you get on that Finch-Fletchley kid anyway?"
Hannah sighed and whipped out her wand. "Look, I used a simple recording spell."
The girls fell silent as Hannah forced her spell to replay itself. Soon they heard Justin's voice. "I'd do Pansy Parkinson…" Justin was saying.
Pansy yelped. "Okay, just for that, we're so murdering him."
Millicent turned green. "We can't Pansy. My dad would kill me if he found out I was killing people! He says that nice girls don't go around doing that stuff."
Sally Anne gave Millicent an odd look. "Your dad's really weird," she finally said.
Suddenly Pansy let out a growl. "Get back here, Abbott," she barked. "Thinking you can sneak away when we quarrel? Nice try. Just for that I'm gonna send you back wishing you never came."
"Funny, Pansy," Sally Anne remarked coolly, "but I think she already felt that way."
Hannah trembled. "Of course not," she chattered. "I wanted to come."
"And you lie on top of that?" Pansy glared. "A lying Hufflepuff. How wonderful. Tell me more about Finch-Fletchley."
"Well, um, he's into herbology…he likes to read, um, what else… he, er, might fancy you Pansy… after what he said, you know? Um, ok, he likes Gryffindors. I think he's scared of Harry Potter," Hannah said quickly.
"It looks like she's pulling this out of her arse," Millicent pointed out, making a good observation.
"No, no, hold on," Pansy replied, holding out a perfectly manicured hand to shush Millie. "I agree she's probably bullshitting but there's some truth in there. Even if there's not it's reason enough. Let's see… I'm getting an idea, getting an idea! You, Abbott, leave!"
Hannah ran.
Pansy turned back to her girls. "Okay, okay. So let me think a little bit and then let's plan something out. Sally Anne, you think too. And nothing disgustingly morbid. I'm not some sick sap."
Sally Anne sighed but for the most part seemed compliant. At least you think you're not…
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Harry didn't quite know what to do. How in the world was he supposed to put Hermione with, disgusting as it was, Malfoy? How was he supposed to do that and not go absolutely stark raving mad?
He'd rather see Hermione with Finch-Fletchley than with Malfoy.
Then again, she had been really, really bad lately. And mean. And awful! He remembered with distaste the way Pansy had explained that bet. Hermione had worked with Malfoy just so Harry couldn't get with Pansy. Well, she had it out for him, so he deserved to give her some major payback.
It was just that… he didn't quite want to pay her back like this. For all he knew she'd like it. She'd already slept with him (Oh his poor mind!) and… canoodled with him and what not… so by golly, maybe this idea wasn't the best one.
So what could he do? What would show Hermione that she could not, under any circumstances, mess with him in such an awful manner? Well, what had Hermione done to him? He made a list in his head.
Well, he didn't really want to humiliate Hermione. She was probably drugged up with something that git Malfoy had snuck into her drink. And he did not want to sleep with her archenemy; he did not play on that side of the Quidditch pitch! Wait, though. Malfoy was no longer her archenemy. So who was? Ah, probably one of those Slytherin girls. Well, he was not about to fuck Millicent, that was out. That left the deterrence of true love.
Oh. Oh. What if, what if by some totally bizarre twist, Hermione's true love was Malfoy? Shit! A crazy idea began to form in Harry's brain. He had to stop it. Had to pull them apart from each other…
His new plan: making Hermione and Malfoy hate each other. Big time.
He'd tell Pansy later.
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Hermione threw the parchment at Draco. "You are so annoying!" she yelled. "This is obviously the handiwork of idiots! And there are only two houses that could produce someone with such atrocious spelling! Don't you get it? It's not a Gryffindor because I don't recognize the handwriting, and it's not a Ravenclaw because they are really smart! It's obviously either a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff!"
"You did it again!" he roared back. "Don't put those houses together! Hufflepuffs are disgusting creatures and they don't need to be anywhere near the power that is Slytherin! And that is not a Slytherin's handiwork, don't you think we're a little more cunning than that?!"
"No you're not! This is definitely a Slytherin! In fact I bet it's Pansy Parkinson or something! Huh, huh, how do you like that? I'm blaming your girlfriend!"
He stood up, the grey eyes blazing. "She is not my girlfriend, Granger," he spat in anger. "Not at all. And if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving. We are not working together. You can find out by yourself because honestly, I do not care."
Hermione seethed in anger as Draco exited the library with a bang, earning a harsh reprimand from Madame Pince. "Oh, how I hate him," she muttered under her breath. "I hate him. I hate him. I hate him!" In frustration she threw the book (How to Determine if You are Being Stalked) on the floor and let out a small but tyrannical yell.
Promptly Madame Pince was by her side. "Miss Granger," she said primly, "if you cannot control yourself, please leave. This is a library. We must be quiet."
The second time! The second bloody time she was kicked out of the bloody library because of that bloody son of a pureblood prat! She stomped out of the library and vowed to find him and hex him until that stupid blonde hair was no longer recognizable.
Tramping down the hall in anger, Hermione muttered innumerable curses under her breath and hissed at anyone who passed by. "Is she drunk?" she heard a fellow seventh year say. His friend replied, "I dunno… I thought she didn't touch the stuff." Clenching her fists, Hermione vowed not to commit murder and carried on towards the Gryffindor tower. But of course, as her ill luck would have it, Harry happened to come on by just as she turned into a corridor. Blimey. He looked rather upset and he was panting heavily.
"Hermione," he greeted her in a strangled, odd sort of voice.
She raised an eyebrow in concern. "Are you feeling okay, Harry?"
He nodded. "Oh, I'm totally fine. How are you?"
Giving him a peculiar glance, Hermione answered, "Um, I'm okay… why?"
"What's wrong with asking someone how they're feeling? Do you have a problem with courtesy, Hermione?" he erupted.
"Wow there, Harry, calm down," Hermione soothed in the most calm manner she could muster although part of her wanted to simply bolt. Harry looked absolutely crazy.
"I'm sorry Hermione," he apologized quickly. "I'm feeling a little off. Rainy weather just doesn't suit me."
"Harry, sweetie, it's quite sunny out," Hermione clarified ruefully.
"Damn weather always keeps changing on me!" He started to yell, but quickly lowered his voice until it was in a normal range. Hermione noted that his voice seemed to squeak angrily every time he was blimmin mad.
"So, um, I hope you're feeling better," Hermione changed the conversation.
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"Yeah, I'm lovely. You know, the other day, Malfoy was being mean to a Muggleborn," Harry decided that now, in the corridor speaking with his ex-best friend (well, for now at least) was the best time to start his plan. Ooh, she was going to be pissed…
She gave him another really weird look. "Um, so?"
Harry gaped. Um, so? What did she mean, "so"? So? SO? This was a girl who championed for the rights of house-elves and if her ex-boyfriend, the boy she was madly in love with, made fun of her own kind she said, "Um, so"? What was the world coming to! Gods, he had corrupted her even more than Harry had thought. She was immune to his flaws! The first sign of true love!
Harry felt bile rising up in his throat but he forced it down. It's okay if Hermione's in love with your archenemy, he told himself, because when I get through they're going to hate each other…
"It was horrid. He called her a, you don't mind if I say it, right… a mud blood! I wanted to hex him but it was too much effort," he began again.
"Yeah, well he's not worth much. Don't bother. I've tried to get him to stop with that whole muggleborn thing but he won't, so whatever. Don't lose your cool," she responded with a shrug.
Harry felt rage burn inside of him but swallowed it down again. "Hermione," he protested, "he...is really mean to house-elves!"
Hermione frowned at him. "Harry, um, we kind of found out about that in second year…you know, Dobby and stuff… it's old news now. Why don't you go take a nap? You're acting very funny, and I don't mean it in the ha-ha way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Draco Malfoy, ok?"
Harry stared at her as she walked hurriedly away from him. He was being left behind for Draco Malfoy. Oh this was so much more serious than he had originally thought! Not only did she casually overlook his multiple flaws (and he had only brought the most important ones up), she was going to look for him now? But why? He thought they were over!
Oh, dear. This was going to be so difficult.
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Justin was just stepping out for a cool, refreshing walk in the nice, sunny weather when a blonde and very angry blonde came running up to him. Justin froze in terror. Oh no it was that vile… evil… crazy Malfoy!
"Don't hurt me!" he squeaked.
"Don't hurt you? How dare you mess around in my social life, you lowly Hufflepuff half-blood!" Malfoy screeched.
Justin looked up in fear and gulped. "I don't know…shit, it's not going to help me if I tell you I really don't know what you're talking about, is it?"
Malfoy smiled sadistically. "Not in the least."
"Don't kill me please!" Justin cowered.
"Oh, no, no, no," Malfoy grinned. "I don't believe in killing."
If Justin wasn't so terrified he would've snorted but he kept shut. "What're you going to do?" he asked in fear, even though he really didn't know what was going on. Lately everyone had been so weird!
"Let me contact that other person that you have rudely involved in this mess, and then I'll tell you. I don't need you to set me up, although, I must say, your judgment isn't hideous. But you are! Now out of my sight, cretin!"
Justin ran, confused, upset, and scared. He had to do something...had to ask someone. Aha! Hermione Granger, the smartest girl in the school, would surely protect him! Breahting heavily he scuttled off to find that girl, not knowing how deeply he was about to get involved.
A/N: Anyone see the major D/Hr moment?? It excited me! So, anyway, a couple of people asked me for e-mail updates, I guess I can do them… so um, leave your e-mail address if you want to be added to my list.
Thank you so much for your reviews! Almost 300! Yay! Once again, I'd love your input on how the story is turning out.