Disclaimer-I don't own anything
gazy - I know that Voldermort and Lucius are, well, evil, but wouldn't you be nice if you were dying and needed to find a replacement? Draco could possibly be even more rebellious if they were hostile toward him so it's just a way to establish a feeling of, dare I say, comfort and mentor-ship. And I think Lucius is kinda happy and proud of Draco since he is going to become the next Dark Lord. Being in good dibs with the Master can give you possible benefits in the future. Just my opinion and what my scrawny brain came up with. And I'm a Christmas person, I got some pretty nifty stuff. You?
Chapter 9
Announcements and Drawbacks
When Draco returned to Hogwarts the following evening, everything was different. The poor lad felt as if everyone was staring at his newly branded arm. He, of course, had received the Dark Mark, as all the other Death Eaters had when they joined the force, but it felt strangely odd walking around with a unremovable tattoo that could mean his death if he showed it to the wrong person. He became slightly paranoid as whispers spread. Though weren't about our favorite Malfoy, he didn't know that and wouldn't believe anyone who told him otherwise.
People were, for a fact, were talking about the upcoming holiday, Halloween. The rumors that were going around were about a ball to be held that evening by the Headmaster. Two weeks away, it was, and Dumbledore should be announcing the festivities soon, if they should exist.
It turned out, that they did, in fact. That Monday, two days after Draco's rendezvous with Voldermort, Dumbledore announced it at breakfast. He stood, and raised his arms. A hush came over the rambunctious students as if all of their mouths were zipped together at the same time. You could hear the late-seasoned crickets groaning outside as the students anxiously locked their eyes on the headmaster.
"Students," he started quietly, "I understand there have been rumors spreading around about a ball this Halloween. There have been many versions, none of them exactly true. But I do have the pleasure of announcing Hogwarts' first Halloween Ball in over twenty years."
The students shouted with excitement.
"Wait, wait, let me finish please," the silence once more took over, "This ball includes dinner at 8 o'clock an dancing until midnight, however, anyone under fourth year must retire at ten, unless, of course, you are in the company of one of the elder students. Please, feel free to wear costumes, but I do ask for appropriateness. You may return to your meals."
The crowd at once became alive with talk of the ball, although some of the first, second, and third years looked quite depressed. None of this amused Hermione though, as she sat eating across from her two best friends. The two adolescent boys viewed the evening as a second chance, and were determined to find good dates compared to the Yule Ball almost two years ago.
Hermione usually didn't find interest in such petty events. Besides, she really needed to work on her project with Malfoy. The Hogsmeade weekend had set them behind schedule, so she and he really needed to get a move on things.
That afternoon, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Stults was introducing the concept of more effective counter charms and jinxes. Her first example was the Patronus Charm.
"Ok class," the woman begun, "the first Patronus was conjured by a French man by the name of Fernando DeBerough in, can anyone tell me the date?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"1293," she said, happy that she, once again, knew the answer.
"Very good, ten points for Gryffindor. I'll give you ten more if you tell me what he produced."
Hermione thought for a second then said, sure of herself, "It was a bear."
"Very good. Every person's Patronus appears as something different. Yours could be a lion, a wolf..."
Professor Stults's smooth voice faded in Hermione's mind as her mind began to wander. Most of the Gryffindors became bored as well, learning most of this already in D.A. last year. The rest of the day promised boring classes to the girl, so she began looking forward to her meeting with Malfoy, which always promised something spontaneous and exciting.
That evening, she arrived in the designated classroom five minute before nine. Time passed and soon it was nine o' clock, then 9:05, and 9:15. There was no sign of Malfoy.
Hermione began to pick up her things to leave, but Draco did appear, 20 minutes late. He was pale and breathless and overall looked quite ill. He walked briskly into the room and took a seat across from Hermione, oblivious to her presence until she spoke, "Draco, my God are you alright?"
He raised his head sharply took look at her. His grey eyes were raw with emotion, but immediately resumed their stone-like nature.
"It's nothing of your business, Mudblood, so why don't you keep your big nose and bushy hair out of that which doesn't concern you!"
Surprised by his reaction, Hermione responded with the first thing that came to her mind.
"Well, if you are going to have that attitude, Malfoy, you can do the rest of this project by yourself!" she said with fury and got up to leave.
"No!" he yelled with such authority Hermione was almost frightened, "You will sit your ass back in that chair and do your share of the work!" When she didn't move, he added, "Now Mudblood!"
She sat in her chair, "What has gotten into you, Draco? I thought we were past all this nonsense," she said icily.
He looked at her for a moment, his glacier eyes slowly melting their ice, and stormed out of the room mumbling an almost inaudible "Sorry", leaving a very confused and teary-eyed girl behind.
His odd behavior continued throughout the week, but they still managed to get some work done amidst the constant battles.
As if the inner workings of Draco Malfoy weren't enough to ruin Hermione's week, she had been forced to go to the ball with Ron as her date. The day after Dumbledore's announcement, Ginny had informed her that her brother might ask her for an assured "Yes" as the answer. Hermione contemplated turning her best friend down, but when the moment came she chickened out and agreed. Of course now, she had to find a costume, and no ideas had come to her as of yet.
"Ginny have you come up with any ideas?" she asked her friend one evening in the common room. The fifth year was going with Harry, and she couldn't be happier.
"No, but we can look at Hogsmeade this weekend. I like fairies, though. Maybe a little dress with some wings would do the trick. Oooh! And a pretty wand."
"You already have a wand, Ginny," Hermione pointed out indifferently.
"So, I could use a new one anyway. Have you thought about it anything?"
"Maybe I could be a witch."
Ginny sighed, "No, you are a witch for goodness' sake. Besides, you have to be something mischievous, sexy-."
"I don't do sexy," Hermione interrupted.
"Oh come on, that's what Halloween's all about. Becoming something you aren't. Unleashing the woman within."
"Ginny?"
"Yes?"
"You're scaring me."
"Fine, but you'll break my brother's heart," Ginny said quietly and looked away from her friend.
"What? Because I don't want to dress up for something I didn't even want to go to in the first place?"
"Yep."
"You Weasleys amaze me."
"Thank you, it's my pleasure."
Author's Note: So there's going to be a ball, hmm. Interesting. There may even be a little romance in the next chapter, so prepare. I'm going to try to get in another chapter before school starts, and then begin a schedule. I think that Friday will be the day for this and "Reunion" which I encourage you to read if you like L.J. Smith. Until next time....
gazy - I know that Voldermort and Lucius are, well, evil, but wouldn't you be nice if you were dying and needed to find a replacement? Draco could possibly be even more rebellious if they were hostile toward him so it's just a way to establish a feeling of, dare I say, comfort and mentor-ship. And I think Lucius is kinda happy and proud of Draco since he is going to become the next Dark Lord. Being in good dibs with the Master can give you possible benefits in the future. Just my opinion and what my scrawny brain came up with. And I'm a Christmas person, I got some pretty nifty stuff. You?
Chapter 9
Announcements and Drawbacks
When Draco returned to Hogwarts the following evening, everything was different. The poor lad felt as if everyone was staring at his newly branded arm. He, of course, had received the Dark Mark, as all the other Death Eaters had when they joined the force, but it felt strangely odd walking around with a unremovable tattoo that could mean his death if he showed it to the wrong person. He became slightly paranoid as whispers spread. Though weren't about our favorite Malfoy, he didn't know that and wouldn't believe anyone who told him otherwise.
People were, for a fact, were talking about the upcoming holiday, Halloween. The rumors that were going around were about a ball to be held that evening by the Headmaster. Two weeks away, it was, and Dumbledore should be announcing the festivities soon, if they should exist.
It turned out, that they did, in fact. That Monday, two days after Draco's rendezvous with Voldermort, Dumbledore announced it at breakfast. He stood, and raised his arms. A hush came over the rambunctious students as if all of their mouths were zipped together at the same time. You could hear the late-seasoned crickets groaning outside as the students anxiously locked their eyes on the headmaster.
"Students," he started quietly, "I understand there have been rumors spreading around about a ball this Halloween. There have been many versions, none of them exactly true. But I do have the pleasure of announcing Hogwarts' first Halloween Ball in over twenty years."
The students shouted with excitement.
"Wait, wait, let me finish please," the silence once more took over, "This ball includes dinner at 8 o'clock an dancing until midnight, however, anyone under fourth year must retire at ten, unless, of course, you are in the company of one of the elder students. Please, feel free to wear costumes, but I do ask for appropriateness. You may return to your meals."
The crowd at once became alive with talk of the ball, although some of the first, second, and third years looked quite depressed. None of this amused Hermione though, as she sat eating across from her two best friends. The two adolescent boys viewed the evening as a second chance, and were determined to find good dates compared to the Yule Ball almost two years ago.
Hermione usually didn't find interest in such petty events. Besides, she really needed to work on her project with Malfoy. The Hogsmeade weekend had set them behind schedule, so she and he really needed to get a move on things.
That afternoon, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Stults was introducing the concept of more effective counter charms and jinxes. Her first example was the Patronus Charm.
"Ok class," the woman begun, "the first Patronus was conjured by a French man by the name of Fernando DeBerough in, can anyone tell me the date?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"1293," she said, happy that she, once again, knew the answer.
"Very good, ten points for Gryffindor. I'll give you ten more if you tell me what he produced."
Hermione thought for a second then said, sure of herself, "It was a bear."
"Very good. Every person's Patronus appears as something different. Yours could be a lion, a wolf..."
Professor Stults's smooth voice faded in Hermione's mind as her mind began to wander. Most of the Gryffindors became bored as well, learning most of this already in D.A. last year. The rest of the day promised boring classes to the girl, so she began looking forward to her meeting with Malfoy, which always promised something spontaneous and exciting.
That evening, she arrived in the designated classroom five minute before nine. Time passed and soon it was nine o' clock, then 9:05, and 9:15. There was no sign of Malfoy.
Hermione began to pick up her things to leave, but Draco did appear, 20 minutes late. He was pale and breathless and overall looked quite ill. He walked briskly into the room and took a seat across from Hermione, oblivious to her presence until she spoke, "Draco, my God are you alright?"
He raised his head sharply took look at her. His grey eyes were raw with emotion, but immediately resumed their stone-like nature.
"It's nothing of your business, Mudblood, so why don't you keep your big nose and bushy hair out of that which doesn't concern you!"
Surprised by his reaction, Hermione responded with the first thing that came to her mind.
"Well, if you are going to have that attitude, Malfoy, you can do the rest of this project by yourself!" she said with fury and got up to leave.
"No!" he yelled with such authority Hermione was almost frightened, "You will sit your ass back in that chair and do your share of the work!" When she didn't move, he added, "Now Mudblood!"
She sat in her chair, "What has gotten into you, Draco? I thought we were past all this nonsense," she said icily.
He looked at her for a moment, his glacier eyes slowly melting their ice, and stormed out of the room mumbling an almost inaudible "Sorry", leaving a very confused and teary-eyed girl behind.
His odd behavior continued throughout the week, but they still managed to get some work done amidst the constant battles.
As if the inner workings of Draco Malfoy weren't enough to ruin Hermione's week, she had been forced to go to the ball with Ron as her date. The day after Dumbledore's announcement, Ginny had informed her that her brother might ask her for an assured "Yes" as the answer. Hermione contemplated turning her best friend down, but when the moment came she chickened out and agreed. Of course now, she had to find a costume, and no ideas had come to her as of yet.
"Ginny have you come up with any ideas?" she asked her friend one evening in the common room. The fifth year was going with Harry, and she couldn't be happier.
"No, but we can look at Hogsmeade this weekend. I like fairies, though. Maybe a little dress with some wings would do the trick. Oooh! And a pretty wand."
"You already have a wand, Ginny," Hermione pointed out indifferently.
"So, I could use a new one anyway. Have you thought about it anything?"
"Maybe I could be a witch."
Ginny sighed, "No, you are a witch for goodness' sake. Besides, you have to be something mischievous, sexy-."
"I don't do sexy," Hermione interrupted.
"Oh come on, that's what Halloween's all about. Becoming something you aren't. Unleashing the woman within."
"Ginny?"
"Yes?"
"You're scaring me."
"Fine, but you'll break my brother's heart," Ginny said quietly and looked away from her friend.
"What? Because I don't want to dress up for something I didn't even want to go to in the first place?"
"Yep."
"You Weasleys amaze me."
"Thank you, it's my pleasure."
Author's Note: So there's going to be a ball, hmm. Interesting. There may even be a little romance in the next chapter, so prepare. I'm going to try to get in another chapter before school starts, and then begin a schedule. I think that Friday will be the day for this and "Reunion" which I encourage you to read if you like L.J. Smith. Until next time....