PART FOUR

All It Takes is a Spark to Start

It wasn't every night that I saw the premonitions. They went random on me, and each one was similar, yet somehow different than the last. I still couldn't understand them, but all I knew was that they were trying to tell me something, something I felt I should know right away before it was too late. The second premonition came when I was just about to climb into bed. I grabbed my blanket and then I felt the flashing, blinding pain again. Then I saw the very same things I had seen in the first one, yet now the crest that stopped in front of me was the Slytherin crest. A bob of blond hair flashed before me, and then a pair of narrow, red eyes…green light…then the distorted screams…and blood splattering everywhere…and the words, "After…sixth…serpent…" were heard before it faded away. Everything began to spin, and when it all stopped, I saw myself standing before a lush forest, and these words were flashing brightly in mid-air: A New Power Shall Rise Again.

***

"Harry, are you okay?"

Harry shook his head and looked at the girl sitting beside him on the grass. She placed her hand over his and looked worriedly at him. "You've been staring at that rock since we got here."

He smiled. "Sorry, Cho; I just…didn't have a good night's sleep last night, that's all. Nightmares. Weird ones."

Cho didn't answer for a while, and then she smiled knowingly. "You're worried about Hermione, aren't you?"

At this, Harry immediately raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. "How did you—"

She shrugged. "I know you're wondering why she suddenly got detention with Draco Malfoy a couple of days back. Because she won't tell you and Ron the reason."

"Well…"

Cho smiled again. "Harry, it's okay. If Hermione doesn't want to tell you guys, then there's nothing to be worried about. You've been best friends since your first grade. She would never keep anything from you and you know that. She'll tell you guys soon enough, when she's ready. Besides, I'm sure that whatever she's hiding is for the best. She's never done anything to let you guys down before, right?"

Harry sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just that she hasn't been acting like herself since she got detention, and at History of Magic she acts all sleepy around us. Like she's dazed or something."

"Who doesn't?" Cho took Harry's hand and pulled him up from their sitting position on the grass. "Look, her detention ended last night, right? So she's probably back to normal by now. And don't mind the glazed look at History of Magic; I'm sure she's just as sleepy as everyone else in Binns' class is. Take Malfoy for example. I don't take History of Magic with Gryffindor and Slytherin, but I, for one, know that Malfoy doesn't even move a lip muscle to insult any of you during History class, because he's just as dazed as everyone else. And don't ask me how I knew that. Now," she grinned. "Let's head back to the school and get you some breakfast, okay?"

Harry smiled at her. He knew that Cho was a year older than him, but blimey, he really was lucky that Cho was chosen as an exchange student for Beauxbatons in the beginning of her sixth year at Hogwarts, and so she had skipped that year and when she came back to Hogwarts, Harry was already in the same year level as she was. And now, she was Harry's girlfriend, and Harry couldn't be happier. He nodded. "Okay."

***

Later that morning Hermione dragged herself out of first period Transfiguration, telling Harry and Ron to go on ahead and that she'd catch up with them at History of Magic. And she nodded lazily when they asked her if she was feeling okay for the millionth time.

She walked down the corridors, feeling like it was already the end of the day and she'd just taken enough exams to last her a lifetime. She was so tired, and she didn't like the idea of having another session with the so-called boy-who-didn't-make-her-sleep-the-whole-night. She didn't even understand her feelings for him yet, and she definitely regretted assuring him the night before to meet up.

But even if she hadn't asked him to meet her in the study at detention last night, she still had the duty to attend the session. The last thing she needed right now was get another detention with him for skipping the tutoring.

She muttered the password and stepped inside, surprised to see him already there. For the past few days, it had always been she who was the first to arrive.

At the sight of him lying down lazily on the couch, one leg hanging loose and his hands behind his head, staring into space, she immediately felt the annoying butterflies in her stomach again, and then the jitters started as she made her way towards him. Now she felt more awkward than ever.

She plopped down on the other couch and sighed, dropping her books aimlessly on the carpeted floor. She'd never felt worse in her entire life. Malfoy must've noticed her sudden lack of enthusiasm and organization, because his head turned to look at her.

"You look terrible."

She jerked at the sound of his voice, and she found herself feeling hot. She forced herself to look at him and snap back a comment for his frankness, but the words died on her throat when she made eye contact. She opened her mouth, but no words came out because all her skipping heart could do was send girly mush to her brain, saying, "Omigawd, look at those gorgeous eyes."

So instead she just swallowed and turned away from him, without saying another word. She heard him snort, probably weirded out at her alienated act. Great. Just what she needed. To make a fool of herself.

For a long time, neither of them moved, and she wondered why he wasn't studying on his own like he usually did. Maybe he was sleeping…?

She sneaked a glimpse at him and saw that he was still absently staring at the ceiling. What could he possibly be thinking? Slowly, her eyes made their way to the bandage on his right hand that was poking out behind his head where his hands were. The bandage was fresh again and there was no sign of blood on it. Where had he gotten that cut, anyway? And why didn't it seem to be healing?

All of a sudden her thoughts were disrupted as she heard Professor McGonagall's voice utter the password at the entrance, and she and Malfoy hurriedly stumbled off the couches and towards the table, scattering books on the desk and opening them to random pages.

They sat down just as McGonagall entered, and Hermione immediately pretended to point at something on the book in front of Malfoy, saying, "And that was how the war of the golems ended."

McGonagall smiled at them and took a seat on one of the empty chairs. "I see you've covered the Golem War of the Mountains. Very impressive," she said, and Malfoy tried not to look like he didn't know what the heck she was talking about. "I'm sure this will then be a piece of cake to you, won't it, Mr. Malfoy?" And she handed him a stack of parchment.

He stared at it in shock. "A…a test?"

"Yes. A test. To see how much you've improved since Ms. Granger started tutoring you," McGonagall motioned to Hermione, who smiled nervously. "I'm sure it will be of no problem at all, don't you think? I expect this exam to be submitted to me no later than tomorrow before your first period begins. Are we clear on this, Mr. Malfoy?"

He swallowed. "Yes, Professor."

"Very well." She stood up. "Carry on!" And she made her way towards the entrance. As soon as she was gone, Hermione immediately turned to Malfoy with a worried expression on her face. For the first time since the session started this morning, her brain was working well enough for her to know what to say.

"Okay, if you flunk that quiz, they'll ask Hagrid to feed me to Fluffy, wherever he may be. So tell me honestly; do you have any idea what to answer?" she asked, pointing at the parchments Malfoy was holding.

Malfoy didn't say anything, but by the way he was staring at the test like the Snitch was embedded on it, Hermione already knew the answer.

***

"Queen to C5."

"Knight to E3."

"Pawn to A4."

"Ha! Checkmate! I win again, Harry!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry groaned for the umpth time, and Ron began dancing around the common room, bragging about his 12th victory. Their friends Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were also playing Wizards' Chess on a neighboring table, turned to look at Harry.

"Blimey, Harry! What's gotten into you tonight?" Seamus taunted.

Harry sunk into his seat and covered his face with his hands, muttering a muffled, "I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Ron was explaining his tactics to Dean, who was saying "Wicked!" in a mock tone to amuse Ron. Seamus laughed.

"Don't you boys have anything better to do than play chess? Am I the only one who remembered that we've got an essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts due tomorrow?" Hermione held up her parchment and quill.

Harry sat up in his seat and stared at her. "I thought you said you'd already finished yours."

She looked at him. "I…I did?"

"Yeah, you did," Ron piped in. "I remember we both asked you this morning at History of Magic, and you said yes."

"Oh, History of Magic, right." She looked down. She'd almost forgotten about the Dummy. "Well, yes, I finished it, but I read through it and it kind of stank, so…I'm writing it over again," she lied.

"What? Where's the old one? Share, Hermione!" Ron whined.

Hermione pouted. "If you want the essay so badly, I suggest you start finishing yours right now."

Ron groaned. "But mine's eight inches short!"

"You've had a whole week to finish it!"

Harry laughed as Ron stomped up the boys' dormitory to get his essay. Hermione turned to him. "And what are you laughing at, Harry? Are you finished with yours?"

"Er—I will be in a minute." He gave her a goofy grin.

Hermione shook her head and went back to her essay, looking at what she'd written so far. The Loch Ness Monster, she read, though enormous in size, is terribly hard to find. It is a rare chance that an ordinary Muggle can catch a glimpse of this fascinating undersea creature, no matter how deep down the sea the Muggle may go. This is due to the Loch Ness Monster's insatiable appetite for—believe it or not—Acid Pops, which can only be bought at the sweets shop Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. The Loch Ness Monster gulps down the Acid Pops, burning a temporary hole in its tongue, to keep it warm as it rests on the cold ocean floor. This fact has long been well known to the wizarding world, but although it seems easier now to lure the Loch Ness Monster, no wizard or witch has had the heart to try and capture one of these rare creatures. Wizard divers merely lure the sea-dweller out and admire it while it savors the Acid Pops, for despite its size and ferocious appearance, the Loch Ness Monster—if left undisturbed—is completely harmless.

Hermione smiled at her own work and positioned her quill to write some more, but just then the portrait of the Fat Lady at the entrance to the common room swung open, and Ginny Weasley climbed through the portrait hole. She walked towards them, looking all clammy.

Harry looked up at her. "What's wrong, Ginny?"

"Er…nothing, Harry; I'm just…not feeling too good." She turned to Hermione and put a hand on her shoulder. "I need to talk to you," she whispered in an urgent sort of way.

"Not now, Ginny, I need to finish this essay. Two more inches to go."

"But Hermione…" she pleaded, and Hermione sighed and allowed herself to be pulled away from the boys and towards a corner of the common room.

"All right, what is it?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

Ginny looked apprehensively at the portrait hole. "Someone outside wants to see you."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow. "Someone…wants to see me?"

Ginny nodded. "He says that if I tell anyone else but you about this, he'll have me hunted down."

All at once comprehension dawned on Hermione. She knew who it was, and she didn't have to say it.

Ginny continued. "I'm worried about you, Hermione. What does he want from you at this hour of the night all of a sudden? I'm afraid he might do something drastic, just because you got him into detention for some reason—"

"I did not get him into detention. We weren't together. We just…happened to get detention at the same time for doing completely different things at completely different places," Hermione responded hastily.

"Okay, whatever the reason is, I'm still worried. Do you want me to tell Harry and the others to watch for you?" Ginny asked.

Hermione paused. What could he want from her? Unless…

"That won't be necessary. I can take care of this." She looked at Ginny seriously. "Just promise not to tell anyone about all this, okay?"

Ginny nodded. "Okay…but be careful."

She smiled. "I will. Tell Harry and the others I had to go to…McGonagall's office." And she climbed through the portrait hole.

Malfoy was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, one foot up the wall, waiting for her. When she emerged from the portrait, he pushed himself from the wall and walked towards her.

Hermione swallowed, willing herself to act normally around him. "What is it now, Malfoy?" she asked, although she practically already knew the answer.

Malfoy shoved his hands into his pockets. "Listen Granger, I know you already know why I came here, so stop being so stuck-up because I don't want to say it."

Hermione found herself grinning. Malfoy's weakness is asking a favor? A real favor? "Oh, I don't know. Can you elaborate on that a bit?"

"C'mon, Granger; don't make me say it," he said, almost pleading.

But she was definitely enjoying this. A while ago at their session after McGonagall gave him the test, the two of them pretty much hadn't spoken to each other until the session ended. She knew Malfoy didn't know how to pass the test, but he hadn't asked her anything, either. So she figured that he must've had an idea on how to pass. But he couldn't cheat; all Hogwarts' exams were bewitched so that the quill would be repelled if the students were cheating. So she knew that Malfoy definitely couldn't answer the test with his book lying open beside him. And now…

She could feel her insides squirming again as she watched his helpless expression, although he was trying his best to hide it behind his usual frown. "I'm sorry, Malfoy; but I don't understand what you mean."

Malfoy sighed in frustration and threw his hands in the air. "Okay, okay! I need your help for my test! Happy now?"

Hermione grinned mischievously. "Oh! So that's what you're talking about!"

***

It struck me right after Charms class. I felt the pain and I stopped halfway out the door. This time, nothing was clear at all. Everything I had seen before all whizzed past in a blur, and there was a strange ringing in my ears. It grew more distinct…and then I heard it: "A new power shall rise again, greater and more powerful than ever before." I snapped. It was the shortest vision, yet it was the most terrifying of all. I couldn't get it off my mind…even as I went back to the common room and up the dormitory that night. It lingered. It stayed. It haunted me. It was all my mind could see.

***

Hermione tugged at a few strands of her hair nervously, then clutched her books tighter to her chest as she made her way to the study the following morning. She wasn't feeling too good, partially because she had only slept for two hours (after thinking about Malfoy too much), and partially because she was nervous about Malfoy's test. She did all she could the night before to teach him everything he had needed to know, but she doubted whether or not he'd be able to remember everything she taught him. After their tutorial last night, he'd gone straight to the Slytherin common room to answer the test, and Hermione went back to her room, feeling anxious for him. She didn't know how he fared, and she was genuinely troubled that he might fail, not because she knew she'd be punished as well, but because she knew that passing History of Magic was very important to him. And she didn't even know why she was actually, truly worried about him.

She exhaled heavily to release her tension as she approached the secret entrance. Her nervousness just added up because she felt all jittery at the thought of having to spend time alone with him again. She'd learned not to deny her feelings that she really was attracted to him after giving it much thought, but still she couldn't help but feel insecure about her new emotions. Surely she didn't want to fall for him, but perhaps this was only a teenage crush, just simply an attraction. She would never really feel deeply for him, would she?

But whatever the case, she knew for a fact that she was attracted, and she was willing to let it stay that way. She would not let it go any further than that. This, she assured herself, would definitely go away sooner or later.

She cleared her throat and said the password, taking a deep breath again as she entered. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him already there again, in the same position as when she caught him there the day before.

She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts, and she lay down on the other couch as well, imitating his position. She battled with her emotions and reasons for a while, before finally deciding to ask him how the test went instead of suffering inner torment of not knowing how he fared.

She turned to look at him. "Hey…how did the test go?"

He shifted in his position, but still didn't look at her. "Fine."

Unfriendly. Still unfriendly. Was she the only one who had changed her feelings when they had the mud fight two nights ago? Did he still think of her as the same 'Mudblood' he always taunted? Or had he also somehow changed the way he felt? Hermione didn't know for sure. He really hadn't teased her since the last night of their detention, but he really hadn't been all that pleasant either. Maybe it was only she. "Do you…think you'll pass?"

Malfoy didn't answer for a while, but then he said, "I doubt it."

At this, Hermione had never felt guiltier in her entire life. She sighed. "Listen, I'm really sorry if I haven't really done my part these past few days in tutoring you, and I know it's my fault that you'll most probably fail the test, so…" she swallowed. "I was thinking maybe…er…we should have another session every night after dinner."

She bit her lip, expecting him to glare at her or tell her she was nuts or say he'd rather die than have another session or simply say anything at all to make it a hurtful rejection, but with each second of his silence, she could feel herself relax bit by bit. What was he thinking? Was he considering the thought? Would he actually accept it? It was for his own good (although it was also for hers as well; not only would she be able to finally fulfill her responsibilities, but she'd also get to spend more time with him)…or was he simply thinking of the best words to say to rub it in her face that he didn't want to?

And finally, after the long silence, he sighed. "Whatever, Granger."

I'll take that as a yes, she thought, biting back a smile. That wasn't exactly the kind of acceptance she was hoping for, but it was definitely a start.

Yep, she grinned. Definitely.