AN: Hey, hey! Hope ya'll enjoy this chappie. I enjoyed working with this one, so hopefully it's up to you all's standards, eh? If it is or isn't, review it! Tell me what's up with it and what you think. Reminder: I love reviews! They make me smile and not to mention want to write more. -
Shout out to all my lovely reviewers: DeMiGoD714, Nelly22, glory12783, EndlessDeviltry, Zoey, regina-terrae, Chillkat, devilserpent, Sarah, hermyblack, Manda, vikesgirl, TheElven1, Kel, Janine, mystifiedbynature, and Voldie On Varsity Track
Chapter Nine: Into the Forest
The week went by quickly. The dreaded night of detention loomed ever closer for the unsettled Heads. Hermione hadn't spoke much to Draco since Monday night; he hadn't spoke to her either. In all honesty, neither had spoken to anyone much since the fateful night. They were constantly wrapped up in their troubled thoughts. The two didn't even look at one another anymore. The times they did speak were only times when it was inevitable, but then it was only a, "can you pass the dragon's blood?" or "do you have those notes?" Never beyond necessity did they talk.
They were now in the Potions classroom. Most of the students sat around idly because they had completed the assigned work; others were still scribbling furiously and glancing wistfully at the others. A simpler assignment was given that day, because the Potions Master was looking a little off color. Not that his pale skin had much color to it anyway.
Hermione finished her extra three inches on the foot-long essay on Ways to Fight Veritaserum. A long sigh escaped her pink lips when she caught side of the clock above the door. Time seemed to tick by sluggishly.
Her hair was pulled back in a bun that had dropped strands of her chestnut locks throughout the day. She propped her head on her arm and gazed around the room, bored.
Draco was leaning back in his chair hazardously. One are was thrown across the back of the chair lazily. He too was watching the clock.
Snape had informed them during lunch that they were to dress in old clothing because they were going into the Forbidden Forest. He was having them collect glowworms for Professor Lupin's potion.
No one had noticed the strained silence between the two Heads. Most thought they were just tired after the night patrols, which were only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Everyone else didn't even realize that they were completely silent with each other.
'It's going to be a long night,' Hermione sighed inwardly as she began to shove her books into her bag, 'At least there's a full moon tonight.'
Draco shot off and out the door when the bell hit its first odd note. Hermione followed him out slowly with the rest of the class. She headed up to the common room wearily. She hadn't had a restful night's sleep since her first dream. She was woken night after night by the eerie flight through a dark forest.
She trudged up the last flight of stairs and headed for the portrait. Her mind was wandering, so she barely paid attention to where she was going. When she looked up at the painting, she turned quickly blushing furiously.
David and Lia were in a rather compromising position. Lia sat in David's lap kissing him hotly with unhidden love.
"Umm…excuse me…" Hermione stammered embarrassed. She heard a loud yelp and frantic scrambling.
A faint smile touched her lips.
"Err…umm…Miss Granger?" Lia squeaked in an unusually high-pitched voice.
Hermione turned around bashfully. A smile broke her façade when she saw the bright crimson both of the people were turning. David wore a sheepish smile. Both were standing in opposite corners of the frame.
"Lion's gold, Serpent's silver," she said quirking a ginger eyebrow at them in silent humor. The portrait swung open faster than it normally did.
Hermione walked in and dumped her heavy bag on the study table. A quick glance around the room told her that it wasn't occupied. With a small shrug, she left for dinner in a small hurry, hoping to get some food before she had to leave for detention.
Nelly22 mystifiedbynature devilserpent DeMiGoD714 TheElven1 glory12783
Draco watched the girl entering the Great Hall with interest. His silver eyes were locked on her petite form all the across the room. He watched her sit down beside Potter with a small smile. Something twisted in his stomach uneasily.
Feeling a small hand on his shoulder, he looked up into the face of Pansy as she used him for support to sit down. Her aqua eyes swirled with what looked like an upcoming storm.
"What is up with you lately, Dray?" she asked finally settling herself down between him and Blaise. Her small hand withdrew from his shoulder and went to picking out a meticulous meal.
"Nothing, Pans," he answered not looking at her. He was trying to see around the large form, which was Crabbe, who was now blocking his once clear view of the Golden Trio. Well, mainly Granger…
"Draco Malfoy, don't you lie to me!" Pansy scolded in a high soprano, "It's bad enough that you're no longer around to talk to me, but when you can you won't."
"I'm sorry, I just don't have much time, and I think a lot lately…"
"Oh, and what would that be about? Surely not school; you've never had to think much in it before," she said curiously. Her light greenish blue eyes peered at him from beneath her long lashes.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked leaning towards her slightly. He wore a smirk hoping to throw her off, so she wouldn't ask. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Giving him a wicked smile, "Yes, I'd really like to know what goes through Master Malfoy's brain, since he isn't so obliging to share without making his dear friend beg," she replied.
Draco let out a long sigh. He should have known Pansy wouldn't be easy to throw off. She never had been.
Leaning in closer almost inconspicuously, he said it almost inaudible.
Raising a skeptical platinum brow, she looked at him with a cool calculation. "Really, now?" she rolled the words out of her mouth. What he said had launched her brain into thinking.
"Yes," he said looking up as his over large goon reached for a roll. He spotted the dark head he was looking for and watched what was occurring with amusement. Obviously, Granger and the Weasel were getting into it again. They had already caught the attention of several students of the other tables.
"Why?" Pansy asked not noticing his sudden lack of interest in their conversation.
She turned her attention away from her macaroni to her now silent confidant. Pansy rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Draco, you're looking at forbidden flesh," she informed him when she placed her brightly polished, nailed hand in front of his face.
He looked at her with an awkward smile. The boyish grin he gave her only when embarrassed at being caught.
Suddenly his eyes went round and wide. "What time is it, Pans?" he asked. Without waiting for her to look, he pulled her wrist up to examine the numerals on her glitzy watch.
"Oh, shit!" he exclaimed, "I've got detention in ten minutes! I'll talk to later, aight, Pans?" he asked, without waiting for her reply her took off towards the door at full speed.
But before he ran out the large doors, he turned towards the Gryffindor table. "Oi, Granger! Detention!" he shouted across the large room
Every head swiveled towards him at his extremely odd outburst towards the Gryffindor girl. Then, almost on automatic they swung towards Hermione to see her reaction.
Hermione's eyes went wide, as she remembered. A blush reddened her creamy cheeks noticing the entire student body's eyes on her. Making her excuses to her friends, she took off after the Slytherin boy.
By the time she got up to the room, Draco was already dressed and waiting to leave with her. She gave him a thankful smile and dashed up her staircase.
In her rush, Hermione grabbed for an outfit without a glance. She pulled the faded and holey jeans on and slipped the old button up plaid shirt. She twisted her hair up into a sloppy bun and crammed her feet into her favorite outdoor shoes, moccasins.
As she ran down the stairs, Hermione buttoned her shirt up with nimble fingers. She left the top three undone for breathing room.
Draco was waiting for her at the bottom, he quirked a brow at her odd choice of clothing, especially her moccasins on dainty feet. He had watched her bounce down the stairs half dressed in amusement. Being a teenage boy, he couldn't help but appreciate the view and the bounce nonetheless.
"Thank you for reminding me, Malfoy," Hermione said half surprised at her own words and out of breath from her quick change. It felt odd talking to the boy, particularly because of the uncomfortable silence that flowed between the two almost contagiously.
"No problem, Granger," Draco said smirking at her sideways. He realized the he wasn't in the mood to argue, so kept his tongue civil.
The two rushed down the many flights of stairs to the front doors. Crossing the damp school grounds, they met Professor Snape in front of Hagrid's small hut. The dark man was nearly invisible in the shadows.
"Okay, now that you're both here, you will begin. Tonight you will be going to the Willow Grove in the forest. Go straight ahead then when you come to a fork go left. It is your job to collect glow worms for a potion I must make for our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." He handed them each a large silken sack. "These are what you must hold them in. The sacks have a lightening charm on them, so you won't be burdened with the load. Have a nice night. Detention is over when you feel like you can't carry anymore of the worms," he said giving them an oddly sardonic smile.
The two set off into the forest with dampened spirits. They trudged through the humid undergrowth in silence. Halfway into the misty foliage, Hermione gave up trying to see where she was heading. She had eventually even lost sight of Draco.
Cursing silently under her breath, she pulled her wand out from her robes. "Lumos," was the single word she uttered, before a painfully bright light sparked on the end of her wand. She rubbed her eyes with her spare hand, forcing them to adjust to the sudden light.
The Head Girl let her thoughts drift to Snape's words. Thinking them through she caught a glimmer of the man's rare sense of humor. 'That git! Telling us detention is only over until we can't carry weightless packs!' thought Hermione with a small smile.
She looked up to find the silver head of the Head Boy. But it wasn't there… Looking around quickly, Hermione took in the misty path surroundings. He wasn't in sight.
"Malfoy!" she shouted frantically looking around, "Malfoy!" The Forbidden Forest was fine as long as one wasn't alone, but one never knew what creatures lurked in the darkness.
"What, Granger?" Draco said in an almost annoyed tone. He came around a sharp bend in the path, searching for her small form. Spotting her, he walked back along the path towards her.
"Why'd you run off?" she gasped in surprise as he came extremely close. She remembered the little boy that had once feared the dark trees more than she.
"Well truthfully, Granger, I didn't mean to. I didn't even know where you were til you yelled. And honestly, I wish you hadn't done that. Attracting attention to yourself in here isn't exactly the wisest thing you've ever done," Draco said looking at her with deep silver eyes.
The little boy he had once been, he was no more. The eerie forest that had frightened him as a child, no longer did as a man. He had most definitely scared Hermione, who wasn't the most comfortable in the dark. And as he said, her yelling in the forest wasn't the smartest move. It was a full moon. Werewolves would be about, along with the other ghastly creatures of the wood.
She nodded in understanding, giving him a wane smile. Hermione followed him closely from then on, always keeping the blonde in the small circle of her pale light.
"Granger, get in front of me already!" the boy exclaimed after she stepped on his heels for a third time, "I can't take you constantly breathing down my bloody neck!"
Hermione looked up at him with a sheepish smile. She was pushed lightly in front with a large hand. Her steps faltered, before she regained a small amount of Gryffindor courage that pulsed through her veins.
Trudging on they came to the fork and as told took the left side path. The terrain began to slope slightly, and the two's progress slowed. Reaching the top of a hill, Hermione took in a sharp breath at the view below them.
Expanding for near a mile was a large gap filled with hundreds of weeping willows. In the middle of the clearing was a calm pond. What made it spectacular though was the dozens of tiny glowing worms clinging to the bark of the willows. They gave off a beautiful, mystic golden glow.
The glowworms gave off their light because of the high-energy magic coursing through their tiny bodies. Both students knew not to squeeze the little insects, lest they wanted powerful magic to explode in their faces.
Hermione took off down the hill in a brisk jog. Draco watched her run between the drooping branches with amusement. Her dark hair bounced behind her. She started picking the little insects of gently. She almost felt sorry for the little golden creatures until one turned around and bit her fingers. With a shriek, she dropped the offender and examined her index finger carefully. The small puncture wound was bleeding but not like any ordinary cut. Hermione's blood was changing color, slowly going every shade of the rainbow.
"Oh bugger," she said not daring to suck on the cut, pulling out her wand she said, "Repairo dermis." The cut stopped bleeding quickly and the skin sealed up the little bite.
"Where did you learn that? Planning to be a Healer, Granger?" asked Draco standing in a tree not far off. He was balanced cat-like on a branch picking at the bugs.
"No, I'm actually more interested in a teaching career. But I did go to Madame Pomfrey last year to learn a couple of useful spells."
"Are you really? I am too," Draco said dropping a small handful into his bag.
Hermione looked at him in surprise. She couldn't see Draco Malfoy, Prince of Darkness, as the sort to want to work with children. But then again, Professor Snape never struck her that way either.
The two worked in silence once more. The air was only broken by a few sharp gasp from Hermione when the glowworms decided to bite her. Amazingly, it seemed Draco didn't have difficulty with them at all. He laughed his rich melodious laugh each time she gave a peep. After a while, it was Draco, who broke their peaceful silence.
"You know, Granger? I'm sorry for calling you a mudblood for all of those years."
Hermione looked up at him rather cynically. "Is that because is it was a lie, Malfoy, or because you truthfully are?"
"Both in a way, but mainly the latter. I've realized that it was only because my father told me it was correct to. I know now that it isn't, because some of the most powerful witches and wizards are half-blood or less. Voledmort himself is only half-blood, but the quack believes that his own kind are lower than dirt," Draco said with a small shrug, "But now, after years of picked fights and names hate, replaced that mere uncertainty I had in the beginning. I never even received a small pat on the head for doing any of it, but I always wanted to make my father proud."
Hermione listened quietly to all he said. It amazed her that the one person that she had always felt heartless and unfeeling thought so true. It amazed her that the same person she wouldn't have told anything to in her life now was telling her some pretty deep feelings. She also felt a strong pull to confide in him, something she never felt with Harry or Ron.
"I've never hated you, really, Malfoy. It was mainly a feeling of loss and anger I had towards you. Just because you insulted me and my friends, I never even tried to say anything to you," she said softly, "Finding out that I am in fact a pureblood this year was a major change for me. It hurt me to think of all the taunting I went through was a horrible lie." She never even said it had been just from him, but she didn't have to. He understood.
A short silence settled in again. Both worked thinking their own thoughts. But again, it was Malfoy who broke the silence.
"Err…Granger?" he started uncomfortably, "About the other night…" For once in his life, Draco Malfoy was at a loss for words.
Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry about that, really I am. I wasn't meaning to get so emotional on you either."
"That's not it. I don't regret it is the thing, Granger," Draco said quietly, "I don't know what to do anymore. I was raised to keep my emotions hid, but around you, I can't. It's like your very life mocks everything I've know. You've attracted because of that, but I react to you negatively because of what everyone thought you were. I don't know how to handle my emotions lately. I don't know what they even are. I can't tell Pansy, because then I would have to explain everything to her."
Knowing how she felt, she gave him a bright smile. "Sounds like you need a confidant, Malfoy."
A genuine smile lit up Draco's usually stony face. "I believe I do."
"Now, it's Hermione if you don't mind. I never minded Granger, mind you, but I don't like having to be caught up perpetually in the male's way of acknowledging competition," she said brightly.
"Hermione, then," Draco drawled in his deep voice. Hermione shivered at the way it rolled off his tongue. "And I'm Draco, if it's no trouble."
"None at all… Now, I think we can head back to the castle," she said indicating the bulging bags both held.
The two set off back through the forest, no longer bothered by the dark. They talked all the way back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Quietly a dark figure followed them back to the school. He had heard everything.
AN: I just had the greatest idea!!! All my excellent reviewers, that review all the time or even just more than once, shall get the prize of…(drum roll please!)…(I said drum roll!)…getting their name (or at least their screen name) placed between point of view and time shifts!!! Isn't it the grandest prize ever? Like who wouldn't wan their fabulous name in my ever so excellent story? If you say not me…I curse you! LoL!! If ya'll have noticed that this is a pathetic attempt to make reviewing for me fun…cookies to you! Cause you can so see through my twisted little schemes. Love you people! B'bye, now!