Chapter 13: Back at school again
Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for keeping up with the story so far. Here are the answers to your reviews:
*~*Crippled Butterfly: ta for the compliment. Keep reading
*~*Paprika90: ahh thank you. And yes, here be the next chapter.
*~*ILUVRONWEASLEY: yes you do think too much.
*~*sarah: It's exciting isn't it. They don't realise she's their daughter, but they could see it was her from another memory they had. See what I mean?
*~*ghypscee: I think I spelt it right. Anyway, thank you very much for everything you said. I've got a bit of a confidence problem (did you notice?). And yes, I'll keep up my work, I think I might actually finfish this fanfic. My first finished fanfic. I can see the sun over the horizon.
*~*bombshell: will do. Sorry this took so long, by the way. School starting up again here in Aussie, and all of that. :S
*~*coolcat411: Well I'm doing my best to have a bit more traditional Malfoy in here. Tell me what you think.
*~*Serena: thank you. Sorry this took so long.
*~*electra: yeah Malfoy's in here. I suppose when I post this I'll have to tell you, via something, that I've updated.
I must warn you all, this chapter might be a little short. Depends on what I decide to do. We'll see what happens.
Disclaimer: Well I now own a hideous new diet that I have to do. I might have to ban myself from chocolate for another week, just while I'm getting started on it. I dunno. We'll see. The curses of being fat.
OK, let's begin, shall we . . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hogwarts was looking beautiful and sharp on the horizon, just like it always did. Hermione was feeling kind of excited. There were many really exciting new classes due to start the next day. Also, many new things for her and Malfoy to plan doing. She was trying vaguely to remember what holiday Malfoy had proposed a celebration to next. Valentines Day, she thought he said. Odd, because Malfoy wasn't really the Valentines Day type.
They arrived, along with the rest of the school that were on the train, to the Great Hall in time for dinner. Just the way Ron liked it.
Everyone that was in the school greatly welcomed the people who had just returned. After everyone had found seats in the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore stood up and smiled warmly at them all.
'Nice to see those of you that are back are back nice and well, and everyone else is looking refreshed and ready for another term of learning. And now, dig in!'
With that, the plates in front of them magically had food on them, and everyone began eating with gusto. Hermione smiled to herself. She was back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day Hermione woke up reasonably early. Feeling refreshed, she put on her school uniform, and went straight down to the Great Hall, after rechecking her timetable. Potions first.
She entered the door to the Great Hall, and noticed a lot of people were sitting at the Slytherin table. Interesting, she thought, narrowing her eyes at all of them.
'Hey Granger!' yelled Pansy Parkinson. 'Go crying to your mother after the Ball. What happened? Didn't lose your glass slipper?'
Several Gryffindors who were walking by heard what Pansy had just said, and turned to watch Hermione, and see what she was going to do.
Hermione had her head in her hands. To an innocent bystander, one would have thought she was crying. She wasn't, however. She was laughing. What Pansy had said was so . . . so . . . STUPID. . .
'Pansy,' said Hermione, looking up. 'That has to be the most ridiculously stupid, unwitty, and just plain pathetic thing I have ever heard anyone say in my life. I'm not even going to credit it with any sort of retaliation.'
Pansy, after a moment, figured out what Hermione had said. By the time she had figured it out, however, Hermione had scarpered. She walked towards the Gryffindor table and gladly grabbed the toaster muffin that was in front of her. She was fully not in the mood for getting angry with the Slytherins this morning.
15 minutes later Harry and Ron entered the building, wondering why Pansys' group was looking at them even more evilly then usual that morning. They took seats next to Hermione and enquired as to the presence of said evil stares.
'Perhaps she thought you were a hideous monster or something. Given her stupidity, it wouldn't be very surprising,' replied Hermione.
'. . . right.' Replied Harry, taking a bowl of porridge.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Half an hour later Hermione entered the Potions dungeon, to find it just as gloomy and depressing as it had always been. She sighed and took her regular seat, waiting for Malfoy to arrive, wondering whether or not Snape had marked their latest essay on fire-potions (a handy draught casing the drinker to create fireballs in his or her hand, to hurl at enemies. Hermione commented in her essay the potion would be helpful in the war against Voldemort.)
Malfoy swaggered easily into the room a few moments later, looking his usual smug self. When he saw Hermione, however, his face broke out into a grin, and he made a beeline towards her.
'What did you do?' was the first thing he asked.
'What do you mean?' asked Hermione, confused.
'What did you do to Pansy?' Malfoy continued. 'She couldn't stop bloody bitching about you for the whole of breakfast. Usually I can get her to stop bitching about you when I bring the topic of the latest issue of Dark Lord Destruction into the conversation. This morning I must have tried it, like, 5 times, and it didn't work. So come on, out with it.'
'I merely stated a few things that, if not said then, would be said by someone else in a more hurtful way.'
Malfoy gave her the sideways glance, whilst leaning across the table. Hermione grinned innocently. He shook his head and settled down into his seat.
'Anyway, how were your holidays?' he asked.
'Good,' she said. 'Very good.'
'And your parents? How are they?'
Hermione grinned from ear to ear at that question. 'Oh Malfoy,' she said in response. 'They're getting better! My mother. . . she almost recognised me! I talked to them for almost 2 hours! Mum remembered this song she use to sing to me and, oh, it was wonderful.'
'Sounds like you were under some great Veela trance.' Replied Malfoy slyly.
'It was very much like that,' replied Hermione earnestly.
'All right, settle down, everybody.'
Both of them whipped round in their seats to see Professor Snape walking coolly towards his desk. He looked around at them all slowly.
'Well . . . I see none of you are sustaining any great injuries. . . pity.'
Most non-Slytherin people glared at him then. The Slytherins knew they were generally appreciated and didn't find this necessary.
'Anyway, to mainly make sure that your heads haven't turned to mush (as is very likely), I'm getting you all to make me an illusion potion. This potion, if brewed VERY precisely, will create an illusion in front of the drinkers eyes, and cause them to lose all sense of where they are. If anyone here is considering a career in the medical profession, this is a handy one to know about. The drinker gets the illusion that everything will be all right.'
Don't you know it's gonna be, all right . . . thought Hermione to herself.
'Ingredients in the cupboard, or with you, instructions on the board. You have an hour. To be tested within the last 10 minutes of class,' concluded Snape.
Hermione began setting up the Cauldron while Malfoy got the ingredients. It was very convenient both of them were ace Potions students. It gave them a chance to talk a little bit more, rather then bite their tongues, furiously concentrating.
'I was wondering,' said Hermione, tossing some short-stemmed rootgrass into the cauldron, causing it to light up and go bright orange (odd, because the grass was green), 'What was your proposition for the next Prefect-body-run celebration?'
'Oh yes,' replied Malfoy, smiling. 'Valentines Day. Remember that disgusting thing Lockhart did for us in Second year, with all the pink and the funny gnome-like things with the love-poems. . . and the funny one the Weasley girl gave Potter. . .' he chuckled to himself. 'Good times.'
Hermione pulled a face then, mainly because she hadn't thought it was that stupid, but also because she was counting the number of times she stirred. 'Yes, she said, placing the wooden spoon beside the cauldron. 'What about it? Surely you don't intend on doing something similar?'
'Not exactly,' said Malfoy, chopping up an Albanian drop-lizards tail.
'Well, what then?' asked Hermione, growing more curious.
'OK, I had an idea, what we should do a mockery day.'
'Mockery?'
'Yeah. You know where you take something and you make it funny and stupid-'
'I know what a mockery is Malfoy. What would we be mocking though?'
'Well,' said Malfoy, throwing a Shrivelfig into the cauldron and causing the potion to explode. This gave him a thrill. Several other people were doing the same thing. The smoke had to be bright blue though. Some peoples' were tinging slightly purpley. Too much Shrivelfig skin, Hermione though silently.
'Because it's Valentines Day,' said Malfoy, stirring the potion. 'We ought to mock love.'
'How would we do that?' thought Hermione, thinking of a cartoon she once saw of Romeo and Juliet. The end part involved the messenger saying to Romeo 'That Juliet. Has a nice ass. Dead though,' and Romeo going 'FUXOR!! Well, she still might be a good lay. . .' Victors cousin from Australia, a muggle, had found it, and sent it to Victor, who had sent it to her. Hermione hoped that by mockery, malfoy didn't mean quite like that.'
'That's what we need to figure out. We could start off by making all the decorations blue, or something like that, and having people dress up as famous couples in time, but having them mock the particular couple. Like, say they chose Romeo and Juliet. We could have them with a dagger pointed at Juliets heart, or something like that. Crude I know,' he added, seeing Hermiones facial expression, 'But it was just an example.'
'Well,' said Hermione, 'It seems like a good idea. We ought to discuss it with the other Prefects.'
'Will do,' said Malfoy. 'I'll organise for a meeting tomorrow evening.'
'OK.' Hermione carefully ladled the potion into two drinking glasses. 'Anyway,' she said. 'You never told me how your Christmas holidays were, while I wasn't here.'
'Fairly boring actually,' replied Malfoy. He was busy banishing the cauldron and spoon to where the sinks were. 'I walked around, read, wandered around some more. At one point I went to Hogsmeade. Found a beautiful lookout-'
'Attention,' said Snape quietly, but not quietly enough for anyone to not hear. 'I trust all your potions are done. I'd now like you to test them. 5 minutes each, then your partner must give you an antidote. There's a spray can of it on all your benches. You spray two sprays into their mouths, and they'll be fine. Provided you've done the potion right.' Snape added the last part in such a way that several people got chills in their spines.
Hermione and Malfoy looked at each other then.
'You wanna go first?' Hermione asked.
'Yeah yeah,' replied Malfoy, grabbing a glass and drinking it down.
The next 5 minutes Hermione found very amusing. The effect of the potion was such: almost instantly after taking it, the drinker would get a sudden overwhelming illusion that everything was going to be all right, and that everybody loved them (in a platonic sense, of course). Hermione spent said 5 minutes keeping Malfoy sitting there, wishing that video cameras worked in Hogwarts campus so he could record Malfoy going 'La di da . . . everything's rosy, isn't it, Hermione?' The fact that he called her by her first name was, alone, an admirable feat. It was with a heavy heart the Hermione had to spray some of the antidote in his mouth 5 minutes later.
'How do you feel?' she asked.
'Um . . . good, I guess,' he said. 'Your turn.'
Hermione took the other glass and drank. The potion tasted mainly like shrivelfig (a slightly acidic, lemon-y flavour. Not too bad if there's something sweeter with it).
She then suddenly felt something similar to a wave of bliss. She looked around and saw hearts and flowers and rainbows. She smiled happily.
'Wow, everything's so pretty,' she said to herself. She felt so relaxed. . . she'd never felt this good in a long time. Not since June, in fact. Hermione felt a hand push her back down into her seat.
'Malfoy? Is that you?'
'Yes, it's me.'
'I want to tell everyone how much I love them. I think I'll go and do that -'
'Oh no you don't,' Malfoy replied. 'You're staying right here.'
'OK!' replied Hermione, not really caring. 'I love you too, you know Malfoy . . . or would you rather Draco? It doesn't matter. . . as long as you know I love you.'
'You're weirding me out here Granger,' replied Malfoy, raising a singular eyebrow.
Hermione giggled. 'Weirding out's fun, isn't it?' she asked.
Malfoy picked up the spray can of antidote and was about to use it when Hermione saw it and said 'Hey look! Water!'
'This is medicine Hermione,' Malfoy replied, squirting it into her mouth.
Hermione then suddenly felt an ultimate snap back into reality. It wasn't painful, and Hermione still felt sort of light and airy, but she also felt a tad disappointed. That had been nice.
'Welcome back,' said Malfoy coolly.
'Thank you,' replied Hermione. She filled two little bottles with the potion, and gave them to Professor Snape, feeling slightly downhearted. She couldn't quite remember what she'd said. She didn't really think she wanted to know either.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That evening as Hermione was walking towards the dinner table, Malfoy approached her.
'Can you talk to Susie, Edward and Portus? I've handled everyone else.'
'Sure,' she replied. 'What time was it?'
'5, I said to the others.'
'All right. I'll do that. Did you check Quidditch schedules?'
'Yes. Gryffindor are practising tonight.'
'Ahh. OK.'
Hermione walked past him and began heading back to her table.
'The next math is Saturday, you see?' Malfoy yelled to her.
'Who's playing?' asked Hermione.
'Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.'
'Oh.' Hermione sat down at Gryffindor table, thinking 'snap'.
'Hey Hermione,' said Susie, taking a seat opposite her. She appeared slightly breathless.
'Hi,' Hermione replied. 'What have you been doing?'
'Racing each other,' replied Edward, sitting down opposite Susie. 'Susie beat me every bloody time, of course.'
'I'm a natural Chaser, Edward. It runs in the Bellnak family. . . minus my father.'
'I see,' replied Hermione. 'Anyway, are you both free tomorrow at 5?'
Susie and Edward looked at each other. 'I guess. Why?' asked Edward.
'Because Malfoy wants the Prefect body to have a meeting about Valentines Day.'
'What?' asked Susie, nearly choking on her Pumpkin juice. 'You want to celebrate that ridiculous festival?'
'That's the golden part,' said Hermione. 'It's a mockery day.'
'Ooh!' said Susie, sounding thrilled. 'A mockery day is A-OK by me!'
'As I knew it would be,' replied Hermione, who noticed Portus, then ran off to tell him about it as well.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
OK, that would be all for this chapter everyone! I'm sorry it's so short, but it really was only a filler-in chapter for the next one. Chapter 14: Unexpected Events. A very serious chapter this one. Stay tuned.
*realises shouldn't have built up such a climax, just in case chapter isn't a roaring success*
And also, I wish to give a story a huge plug. My good friend on fictionpress.com, Rachael W, has just published a new story. I advise everyone to check it out. It's very very well written.
Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for keeping up with the story so far. Here are the answers to your reviews:
*~*Crippled Butterfly: ta for the compliment. Keep reading
*~*Paprika90: ahh thank you. And yes, here be the next chapter.
*~*ILUVRONWEASLEY: yes you do think too much.
*~*sarah: It's exciting isn't it. They don't realise she's their daughter, but they could see it was her from another memory they had. See what I mean?
*~*ghypscee: I think I spelt it right. Anyway, thank you very much for everything you said. I've got a bit of a confidence problem (did you notice?). And yes, I'll keep up my work, I think I might actually finfish this fanfic. My first finished fanfic. I can see the sun over the horizon.
*~*bombshell: will do. Sorry this took so long, by the way. School starting up again here in Aussie, and all of that. :S
*~*coolcat411: Well I'm doing my best to have a bit more traditional Malfoy in here. Tell me what you think.
*~*Serena: thank you. Sorry this took so long.
*~*electra: yeah Malfoy's in here. I suppose when I post this I'll have to tell you, via something, that I've updated.
I must warn you all, this chapter might be a little short. Depends on what I decide to do. We'll see what happens.
Disclaimer: Well I now own a hideous new diet that I have to do. I might have to ban myself from chocolate for another week, just while I'm getting started on it. I dunno. We'll see. The curses of being fat.
OK, let's begin, shall we . . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hogwarts was looking beautiful and sharp on the horizon, just like it always did. Hermione was feeling kind of excited. There were many really exciting new classes due to start the next day. Also, many new things for her and Malfoy to plan doing. She was trying vaguely to remember what holiday Malfoy had proposed a celebration to next. Valentines Day, she thought he said. Odd, because Malfoy wasn't really the Valentines Day type.
They arrived, along with the rest of the school that were on the train, to the Great Hall in time for dinner. Just the way Ron liked it.
Everyone that was in the school greatly welcomed the people who had just returned. After everyone had found seats in the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore stood up and smiled warmly at them all.
'Nice to see those of you that are back are back nice and well, and everyone else is looking refreshed and ready for another term of learning. And now, dig in!'
With that, the plates in front of them magically had food on them, and everyone began eating with gusto. Hermione smiled to herself. She was back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day Hermione woke up reasonably early. Feeling refreshed, she put on her school uniform, and went straight down to the Great Hall, after rechecking her timetable. Potions first.
She entered the door to the Great Hall, and noticed a lot of people were sitting at the Slytherin table. Interesting, she thought, narrowing her eyes at all of them.
'Hey Granger!' yelled Pansy Parkinson. 'Go crying to your mother after the Ball. What happened? Didn't lose your glass slipper?'
Several Gryffindors who were walking by heard what Pansy had just said, and turned to watch Hermione, and see what she was going to do.
Hermione had her head in her hands. To an innocent bystander, one would have thought she was crying. She wasn't, however. She was laughing. What Pansy had said was so . . . so . . . STUPID. . .
'Pansy,' said Hermione, looking up. 'That has to be the most ridiculously stupid, unwitty, and just plain pathetic thing I have ever heard anyone say in my life. I'm not even going to credit it with any sort of retaliation.'
Pansy, after a moment, figured out what Hermione had said. By the time she had figured it out, however, Hermione had scarpered. She walked towards the Gryffindor table and gladly grabbed the toaster muffin that was in front of her. She was fully not in the mood for getting angry with the Slytherins this morning.
15 minutes later Harry and Ron entered the building, wondering why Pansys' group was looking at them even more evilly then usual that morning. They took seats next to Hermione and enquired as to the presence of said evil stares.
'Perhaps she thought you were a hideous monster or something. Given her stupidity, it wouldn't be very surprising,' replied Hermione.
'. . . right.' Replied Harry, taking a bowl of porridge.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Half an hour later Hermione entered the Potions dungeon, to find it just as gloomy and depressing as it had always been. She sighed and took her regular seat, waiting for Malfoy to arrive, wondering whether or not Snape had marked their latest essay on fire-potions (a handy draught casing the drinker to create fireballs in his or her hand, to hurl at enemies. Hermione commented in her essay the potion would be helpful in the war against Voldemort.)
Malfoy swaggered easily into the room a few moments later, looking his usual smug self. When he saw Hermione, however, his face broke out into a grin, and he made a beeline towards her.
'What did you do?' was the first thing he asked.
'What do you mean?' asked Hermione, confused.
'What did you do to Pansy?' Malfoy continued. 'She couldn't stop bloody bitching about you for the whole of breakfast. Usually I can get her to stop bitching about you when I bring the topic of the latest issue of Dark Lord Destruction into the conversation. This morning I must have tried it, like, 5 times, and it didn't work. So come on, out with it.'
'I merely stated a few things that, if not said then, would be said by someone else in a more hurtful way.'
Malfoy gave her the sideways glance, whilst leaning across the table. Hermione grinned innocently. He shook his head and settled down into his seat.
'Anyway, how were your holidays?' he asked.
'Good,' she said. 'Very good.'
'And your parents? How are they?'
Hermione grinned from ear to ear at that question. 'Oh Malfoy,' she said in response. 'They're getting better! My mother. . . she almost recognised me! I talked to them for almost 2 hours! Mum remembered this song she use to sing to me and, oh, it was wonderful.'
'Sounds like you were under some great Veela trance.' Replied Malfoy slyly.
'It was very much like that,' replied Hermione earnestly.
'All right, settle down, everybody.'
Both of them whipped round in their seats to see Professor Snape walking coolly towards his desk. He looked around at them all slowly.
'Well . . . I see none of you are sustaining any great injuries. . . pity.'
Most non-Slytherin people glared at him then. The Slytherins knew they were generally appreciated and didn't find this necessary.
'Anyway, to mainly make sure that your heads haven't turned to mush (as is very likely), I'm getting you all to make me an illusion potion. This potion, if brewed VERY precisely, will create an illusion in front of the drinkers eyes, and cause them to lose all sense of where they are. If anyone here is considering a career in the medical profession, this is a handy one to know about. The drinker gets the illusion that everything will be all right.'
Don't you know it's gonna be, all right . . . thought Hermione to herself.
'Ingredients in the cupboard, or with you, instructions on the board. You have an hour. To be tested within the last 10 minutes of class,' concluded Snape.
Hermione began setting up the Cauldron while Malfoy got the ingredients. It was very convenient both of them were ace Potions students. It gave them a chance to talk a little bit more, rather then bite their tongues, furiously concentrating.
'I was wondering,' said Hermione, tossing some short-stemmed rootgrass into the cauldron, causing it to light up and go bright orange (odd, because the grass was green), 'What was your proposition for the next Prefect-body-run celebration?'
'Oh yes,' replied Malfoy, smiling. 'Valentines Day. Remember that disgusting thing Lockhart did for us in Second year, with all the pink and the funny gnome-like things with the love-poems. . . and the funny one the Weasley girl gave Potter. . .' he chuckled to himself. 'Good times.'
Hermione pulled a face then, mainly because she hadn't thought it was that stupid, but also because she was counting the number of times she stirred. 'Yes, she said, placing the wooden spoon beside the cauldron. 'What about it? Surely you don't intend on doing something similar?'
'Not exactly,' said Malfoy, chopping up an Albanian drop-lizards tail.
'Well, what then?' asked Hermione, growing more curious.
'OK, I had an idea, what we should do a mockery day.'
'Mockery?'
'Yeah. You know where you take something and you make it funny and stupid-'
'I know what a mockery is Malfoy. What would we be mocking though?'
'Well,' said Malfoy, throwing a Shrivelfig into the cauldron and causing the potion to explode. This gave him a thrill. Several other people were doing the same thing. The smoke had to be bright blue though. Some peoples' were tinging slightly purpley. Too much Shrivelfig skin, Hermione though silently.
'Because it's Valentines Day,' said Malfoy, stirring the potion. 'We ought to mock love.'
'How would we do that?' thought Hermione, thinking of a cartoon she once saw of Romeo and Juliet. The end part involved the messenger saying to Romeo 'That Juliet. Has a nice ass. Dead though,' and Romeo going 'FUXOR!! Well, she still might be a good lay. . .' Victors cousin from Australia, a muggle, had found it, and sent it to Victor, who had sent it to her. Hermione hoped that by mockery, malfoy didn't mean quite like that.'
'That's what we need to figure out. We could start off by making all the decorations blue, or something like that, and having people dress up as famous couples in time, but having them mock the particular couple. Like, say they chose Romeo and Juliet. We could have them with a dagger pointed at Juliets heart, or something like that. Crude I know,' he added, seeing Hermiones facial expression, 'But it was just an example.'
'Well,' said Hermione, 'It seems like a good idea. We ought to discuss it with the other Prefects.'
'Will do,' said Malfoy. 'I'll organise for a meeting tomorrow evening.'
'OK.' Hermione carefully ladled the potion into two drinking glasses. 'Anyway,' she said. 'You never told me how your Christmas holidays were, while I wasn't here.'
'Fairly boring actually,' replied Malfoy. He was busy banishing the cauldron and spoon to where the sinks were. 'I walked around, read, wandered around some more. At one point I went to Hogsmeade. Found a beautiful lookout-'
'Attention,' said Snape quietly, but not quietly enough for anyone to not hear. 'I trust all your potions are done. I'd now like you to test them. 5 minutes each, then your partner must give you an antidote. There's a spray can of it on all your benches. You spray two sprays into their mouths, and they'll be fine. Provided you've done the potion right.' Snape added the last part in such a way that several people got chills in their spines.
Hermione and Malfoy looked at each other then.
'You wanna go first?' Hermione asked.
'Yeah yeah,' replied Malfoy, grabbing a glass and drinking it down.
The next 5 minutes Hermione found very amusing. The effect of the potion was such: almost instantly after taking it, the drinker would get a sudden overwhelming illusion that everything was going to be all right, and that everybody loved them (in a platonic sense, of course). Hermione spent said 5 minutes keeping Malfoy sitting there, wishing that video cameras worked in Hogwarts campus so he could record Malfoy going 'La di da . . . everything's rosy, isn't it, Hermione?' The fact that he called her by her first name was, alone, an admirable feat. It was with a heavy heart the Hermione had to spray some of the antidote in his mouth 5 minutes later.
'How do you feel?' she asked.
'Um . . . good, I guess,' he said. 'Your turn.'
Hermione took the other glass and drank. The potion tasted mainly like shrivelfig (a slightly acidic, lemon-y flavour. Not too bad if there's something sweeter with it).
She then suddenly felt something similar to a wave of bliss. She looked around and saw hearts and flowers and rainbows. She smiled happily.
'Wow, everything's so pretty,' she said to herself. She felt so relaxed. . . she'd never felt this good in a long time. Not since June, in fact. Hermione felt a hand push her back down into her seat.
'Malfoy? Is that you?'
'Yes, it's me.'
'I want to tell everyone how much I love them. I think I'll go and do that -'
'Oh no you don't,' Malfoy replied. 'You're staying right here.'
'OK!' replied Hermione, not really caring. 'I love you too, you know Malfoy . . . or would you rather Draco? It doesn't matter. . . as long as you know I love you.'
'You're weirding me out here Granger,' replied Malfoy, raising a singular eyebrow.
Hermione giggled. 'Weirding out's fun, isn't it?' she asked.
Malfoy picked up the spray can of antidote and was about to use it when Hermione saw it and said 'Hey look! Water!'
'This is medicine Hermione,' Malfoy replied, squirting it into her mouth.
Hermione then suddenly felt an ultimate snap back into reality. It wasn't painful, and Hermione still felt sort of light and airy, but she also felt a tad disappointed. That had been nice.
'Welcome back,' said Malfoy coolly.
'Thank you,' replied Hermione. She filled two little bottles with the potion, and gave them to Professor Snape, feeling slightly downhearted. She couldn't quite remember what she'd said. She didn't really think she wanted to know either.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That evening as Hermione was walking towards the dinner table, Malfoy approached her.
'Can you talk to Susie, Edward and Portus? I've handled everyone else.'
'Sure,' she replied. 'What time was it?'
'5, I said to the others.'
'All right. I'll do that. Did you check Quidditch schedules?'
'Yes. Gryffindor are practising tonight.'
'Ahh. OK.'
Hermione walked past him and began heading back to her table.
'The next math is Saturday, you see?' Malfoy yelled to her.
'Who's playing?' asked Hermione.
'Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.'
'Oh.' Hermione sat down at Gryffindor table, thinking 'snap'.
'Hey Hermione,' said Susie, taking a seat opposite her. She appeared slightly breathless.
'Hi,' Hermione replied. 'What have you been doing?'
'Racing each other,' replied Edward, sitting down opposite Susie. 'Susie beat me every bloody time, of course.'
'I'm a natural Chaser, Edward. It runs in the Bellnak family. . . minus my father.'
'I see,' replied Hermione. 'Anyway, are you both free tomorrow at 5?'
Susie and Edward looked at each other. 'I guess. Why?' asked Edward.
'Because Malfoy wants the Prefect body to have a meeting about Valentines Day.'
'What?' asked Susie, nearly choking on her Pumpkin juice. 'You want to celebrate that ridiculous festival?'
'That's the golden part,' said Hermione. 'It's a mockery day.'
'Ooh!' said Susie, sounding thrilled. 'A mockery day is A-OK by me!'
'As I knew it would be,' replied Hermione, who noticed Portus, then ran off to tell him about it as well.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
OK, that would be all for this chapter everyone! I'm sorry it's so short, but it really was only a filler-in chapter for the next one. Chapter 14: Unexpected Events. A very serious chapter this one. Stay tuned.
*realises shouldn't have built up such a climax, just in case chapter isn't a roaring success*
And also, I wish to give a story a huge plug. My good friend on fictionpress.com, Rachael W, has just published a new story. I advise everyone to check it out. It's very very well written.