A/N Ok you guys, here's the next chapter just for you. Did you like the last one? I kind of did and that's saying something! Anyways, I'm sorry I don't update as much, I have been busy! Well, here we go!
Disclaimer: Ok, once again, I deny owning anything you are reading. J.K. Rowling is a fantastic writer and I could never take her place. The people are based on real living breathing, walking people. Except Mr. Snuffles and the old lady.... They're mine! All mine!!! Well, I'll share them with you guys.
The next day dawned bright and sunny, but no one was in a cheerful mood. Everyone had lost out on sleep and was awakened early by the sound of a very unhappy actress down the hall that had gotten the wrong breakfast order and had therefore upended it on the poor room-service man's head.
Alex groaned and rolled of the bed, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Her whining woke Rosie up, who through a pillow down at the lump at her feet. Maggie had been sleeping on the pillow and jumped onto Rosie's stomach once the pillow moved. Hermione bustled into the bedroom, smiling gently.
"Get up, you two. The guys are waiting and are not too happy. They're hungry and we're holding them up." When neither girl responded Hermione sighed and grabbed a pillow, as quietly as she could. She then ran up to the bed, jumped over Alex and smacked Rosie smartly in the head. "Pillow fight!"
"Oh no you don't!" Alex screamed from the floor and hit Hermione just as Rosie sat up straight, wild eyed with surprise. They continued to scream and laugh and beat each other senseless with the feather pillows. That is, until the boys came running in.
"What's all this noise? It sounds like someone being tortured in here." Chris exclaimed from the doorway. Billy and Draco entered behind him.
"What is this, bloody Christmas?" Draco said in disgust as feathers flew in front of his eyes, obstructing his vision. Through the cloud came one of the girls with a pillow. Draco ducked just in time and Alex hit Chris in the arm.
"Hey!" he said grabbing her around the waist and stealing the pillow. He smacked her with it as a grin spread across his face. Billy just stood there like an idiot, until Rosie came up behind him and hit him in the back. Then he went down on his knees and crawled away in search of another pillow. Rosie pummeled him all the way.
Draco had to yell to be heard. "Stop! Stop this madness right now, I say! Haven't any of you noticed Hermione's not here?"
"She was here a minute ago." Alex offered as Chris helped her pick feathers out of her messy brown hair. "She was the one who started this 'madness' Draco."
Rosie snickered at Alex's imitation of the grumpy blond. He turned towards her with glittering eyes and she fell silent. He silently moved through the clouds of feathers and began to search for Hermione.
Alex grabbed her clothes off the side table, blushing wildly as she suddenly realized she was still in her pajamas. She moved toward the hall. "I'm going to go shower real quick ok?"
When the only complaint came from Rosie saying she wanted to shower first, Alex stuck out her tongue and walked towards the bathroom again. She stopped at the closed door and listened. The shower was running and someone was singing. She knocked. "Hermione, are you in here?"
"I'll be done in a minute." Came the reply from the young witch inside.
Alex sat on the floor outside the bathroom and called to the party in the living/bed room. "You can stop searching now. She's in the bathroom taking a shower."
Chris came out and stood next to her. He stared down at her, sitting there on the ground, frowning slightly. "What's wrong?"
Alex jumped, not realizing he was there. "Oh, nothing, I was just thinking."
"When are you ever not thinking?" Chris asked with a small sigh. Before Alex could ask what he meant by that, the door burst open and Hermione came shooting out. She looked around and met Alex's eyes with her wild brown ones.
"I have to go out for a moment. I, uh, I need to think and stuff ok? Tell Draco I went for a walk. I'll be back soon!" Then before another word could be spoken, she rushed out the front door, her hair still wet.
Alex stood and turned to Chris. "I am going to shower now. Do you think you could tell the others Hermione's message?"
"Yeah, sure... anything." He said softly, looking away from her and beginning to walk towards the others. "See you in a few then."
Alex didn't hear him; she was in the bathroom already.
When everyone was finally done showering and Hermione had returned, though she remained distant and quiet with everyone, they were finally ready to go eat. Draco fell back to walk with Alex, as Hermione had been avoiding him since last night.
"Alex, you and Hermione have become best friends, haven't you?" he asked softly.
"Well, I consider us friends." Alex said staring at him, confused.
"Maybe you know then. She's been avoiding me all day, Alex. I don't know what's wrong or what to do. I'm afraid she must be mad at me." When he caught Alex's small smile, he demanded to know what was so funny.
"Nothing really, it's just... I never expected to hear those type of words leave Draco Malfoy's mouth... talking about Hermione no less!" She looked away, up at Hermione walking beside Rosie quietly. "She had a hard night, you know. That dream was no laughing matter. I think she's staying on her toes. You know, being careful of everything and everyone. I think we have to let her heal and recover on her own."
Draco merely nodded and walked beside her in silence. Chris looked back at them several times, his eyes clouded with confusion. Finally, they reached the big Dining Hall in the Hotel. They were seated immediately in the nearly empty room. It was very late for breakfast.
While everyone else ate, Hermione pushed her eggs around her plate in repetitive motions, as if they were performing a dance. Her eyes seemed glassy and far away. Finally after watching her like this for several minutes, Alex put down her fork and stared at her silently. Seeing Hermione like this made her very upset and she felt that she wasn't hungry and she was upset and in pain... she felt like Hermione.
"Hermione, stop it!" She cried out suddenly. Hermione looked up in shock. The girls had twin pairs of tears sparkling in their eyes. Alex choked out the words that had been on her chest all day, "It hurts Hermione. You know it does and you're doing this to me too. Try to relax a little and do us all a favor, please!"
Hermione was the only one who knew all of what she was saying. She merely looked at Alex, knowing that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cheer herself up enough to release Alex from the feelings coursing through them both. "Wish I could."
Without a word, Alex stood up and left the table. She crossed the room and passed through the double doors, startling Mr. Jenkins, the man they had met the day before. Without a word, Chris and Rosie stood simultaneously.
"I'll go, you stay here. I'm done eating anyways." Chris said. For a moment, Rosie looked like she was about to protest, then she looked down at her plate and at Billy and sat slowly. Chris left the room and hurried to chase Alex.
The group sat in silence for a moment then, Draco and Billy resumed their chat about tennis. Hermione closed her eyes, concentrating hard on Alex. Slowly, images came to her and she saw what Alex saw. She reached out blindly and touched an arm...Billy's. She put a finger to her lips and he must have saw because he hushed up immediately. Now, she could hear, faintly, what Alex heard.
Alex sat on the balcony seat overlooking the busy streets of London. A faint breeze muffled her hair and far below, the sounds of cars and people wafted up to her. She heard the door slam and knew someone was in the room with her. Sure enough, a hand touched her shoulder and Chris's voice filled her ears.
"Hey, you ok? I mean, you have been acting just as weird as Hermione all day, and after that little thing downstairs... I don't know what to think Alex. What's going on?"
Alex looked down at her hands in her lap. She hated to lie to Chris, but she couldn't tell anyone about the strange bond. "I hate it when others are upset. I can feel their feelings and I hate it. It's really hard with Hermione because she has so many feelings... and none are good."
"Things will turn out right, don't worry."
"I hope so."
The phone rang.
Hermione opened her eyes, satisfied. Alex hadn't mentioned the bond... good. No one needed to know... yet. Without a word, she stood remembering the telephone ringing. She wanted to know who it was. She turned to the others, "Something tells me we should go back to the room now."
"Good!" Rosie said jumping to her feet. After being bored to death by Billy paying all his attention to Draco and tennis, she was looking for any reason to do something. The two girls walked back, leaving the boys to slowly make their way along, still chatting away. Rosie laughed in the hallway and told Hermione, "They're worse then us girls!"
As they entered the rooms they were using, Alex's voice could be heard as she talked to someone on the phone. "Yes Ma'am, we are enjoying ourselves very much. Thanks again for doing this for us, we had been worried. Oh yes, Ma'am, Hermione is right here. Yes Ma'am."
Without a word but a big smile, Alex passed the phone to Hermione, who took it and nervously pressed it to her ear. "H-hello?"
A familiar voice filled her ear. It was Mr. Jenkins's/Snuffle's employer. "Hello there dear. It's just me checking up on things. Is this Miss Hermione Granger?"
"Yes Ma'am, this is her."
"Charming, absolutely charming to be speaking to you dear. From what I hear everything's alright there and that's grand. Just letting you know you can stay there as long as you like. I am having the hotel put it on my tab. Now, I'm very sorry we couldn't chat longer but I'm very busy, you see. I'm afraid I may not get a chance to call again."
In the background Hermione could hear another phone ringing and someone knocking at the door. She must be on her cell phone. Hermione shook herself and said, "Alright, it was nice talking to you and thanks again for doing this for us, it means a lot."
"Oh no problem dear. Now I have to go. So TTFN and oh, I nearly forgot. I do hope the books are as accurate as humanly possible dear. It's so hard to believe a Malfoy."
Without another word, she hung up and left Hermione standing there with her mouth open slightly as the phone slipped from her grasp.
A/N Oh, I'm sorry to end the chapter, it was just getting good wasn't it. Well, I hope that raps up one of the problems I have presented my self with. I hope you liked it and as always, read and review, please!!!! Love you all very much!!! -