A/N: A special thanks to my first reviewer Ash! This chapter is for you:
A Leaf Changes Color- Chapter 3 ~To Diagon Alley We Go
Hermione was abruptly awoken the next morning by Ron who seemed to be yelling at the top of lungs. Stretching, Hermione listened more closely but could not discern any actual words coming from Ron. Deciding she may as well get up as it was impossible to go back to sleep now, she dragged herself out of bed, grabbed her toothbrush, shampoo, and some clothes, and headed to the shower. Hermione turned on the hot water full blast and let it burn away any sleepiness she still possessed. She slowly began to wash away the grime of the previous day, chuckling to herself as she could still hear Ron yelling. Finishing her wonderfully refreshing shower, she stepped out and decided to dress in Muggle clothing for the day, because robes were simply too hot to wear at this time of year. After brushing her teeth, she pulled on some rather low and tight fitting jeans (buying them at the discretion of Ginny) followed by a simple yet elegant tank top that covered her enough to be modest, but leaving a little to tease. After applying a very small amount of make-up, Hermione simply brushed her long auburn locks and let the permanent potion do its thing.
Satisfied wither appearance, Hermione left the bathroom to find a very disgruntled Ginny sitting on her bed. "What's up Gin?" Hermione casually asked? "Oh nothing, except that Fred and George stopped by this morning and decided to hex Ron to sound like a banshee every time he opens his mouth, and they have now conveniently forgot the counter-curse," she replied in a testy tone. Hermione laughed out loud to this, but immediately stopped after getting a look from Ginny. "It's not funny you're right," Hermione quickly said. Ginny shrugged, allowing an ever so slight smile to grace her lips. "Well, might as well go get something to eat before the banshee gets to it," she said, as both girls started laughing as they walked downstairs.
Ginny and Hermione entered the kitchen to a very flustered Mrs. Weasley attempting to both get breakfast on the table and calm Ron down enough to not open his mouth anymore. It wasn't until Luna walked right up to Ron and placed a wet one on his lips did he shut up, and Mrs. Weasley quickly muttered a few choice words that cured Ron instantly. "Thank you very much dear I do believe that did the trick," said Mrs. Weasley, handing out a rather large plate of toast around the table. "No problem Mrs. W," replied Luna, winking at a blushing Ron. "Ah Harry there you are! Are you ready to go to Diagon Alley everybody?" Mrs. Weasley asked the lot. She was responded with a multitude of "yeahs" and excited smiles from everybody. Mrs. Weasley then handed every one their respective letters, all of them scrambling to finish their breakfast.
It wasn't until Hermione got up from the table that everyone noticed her ensemble. She received open mouth stares from all the males in the room, save Mr. Weasley. Ron received a punch in the stomach from Luna, and Ginny, who still fancied Harry, decided to kick him from under the table anyway. Both boys gave grunts, and the twins continued to stare and give catcalls just the same. "Stop it boys! Hermione is a growing girl and has nothing to be ashamed of," scolded Mrs. Weasley, much to Hermione's embarrassment. Everyone just giggled behind their hands as they all headed for the fireplace to Floo, much to Harry's distaste.
"Alright Ron, you and Luna go first dears," said Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Luna both grabbed some Floo Powder and shouted "Diagon Alley!" to the green flames simultaneously, both disappearing in the fireplace. "Okay you next Harry and Ginny," said Mr. Weasley as he pulled on his coat. Everyone had taken a page from Hermione's book and decided to wear Muggle clothing. On this particular morning Mr. Weasley was wearing bright purple golf pants with a moth-eaten Weasley sweater with an "A" on the front, along with a coat that seemed to have been a patchwork quilt in a previous life. Trying hard not to laugh, Hermione watched as Harry and Ginny too disappeared into the flames. "Alright and now you Hermione," called Mrs. Weasley, snapping Hermione out of her daze. Hermione noted that she was the only teen not traveling with a partner, as Fred and George had already Apparated out. Sighing quietly to herself, she picked up a handful of powder, threw it into the fire, stepped in and was about to yell "Diagon Alley" when Errol, the family owl, came zooming through the window, hitting Hermione in the chest. Knowing that the Floo Powder only worked for so long before the fire would return to normal and probably burn Hermione to a crisp, she tried to throw Errol out. Mr. Weasley quickly grabbed Errol, and without thinking called out the name that was noted as the return address on the letter. Questioningly, Arthur said, "Malfoy Manor?"
Draco Malfoy woke with a start when he heard a high-pitched scream coming from his mother's room. Bounding from his bed brushing off the fact he was only in his boxers, Draco ran as fast as he could down the hall to his mother's quarters. Opening the door he immediately saw his mother quivering in her bed pointing at the fireplace. Looking across the room, Draco saw something rather large moving around in it. Grabbing the nearest thing he could, which just so happened to be a flower vase, he cautiously approached the fireplace, vase raised above his head. Soon he heard coughing and sputtering coming from the mysterious figure, and Draco could tell it was that of a female. Just as Draco was about to strike the person, he heard his mother yell, "No!" form across the room. Turning his head back to look at her, he did not realize the intruder scramble out of the fireplace and retreat to the far side of the room and cower in the corner. "It's just a young girl!" his mother called, as Draco turned back to see that the girl was missing from the fireplace. Turning around in a fast circle he saw where she went to and angrily approached her. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my mother's room?" he demanded. "Malfoy?" was the only response he got. "What the-," but Draco was cut off as Hermione Granger herself stood up, brushed all the soot off her, and glared angrily at him. "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing you bastard?!?" she yelled. "What am I doing? Excuse me Mudblood but I do believe this is my house and you have just broken into and scared my mother half to death!" he screamed back at her.
As they continued to scream insults back and forth, neither realized the state of dress the other was in. It wasn't until Narcissa cleared her throat loudly that either stopped an looked at her. "Please excuse me for the interruption but I am rather hungry and you two are blocking the way to the door," she said airily, as both immediately scrambled away from each other and stared at Narcissa. "Thank you very much," she said, "and dear I have no idea who you are but you are more than welcome to eat breakfast here with us this fine morning." "Oh no she's not mother!" Draco yelled. "I'll have you know that she's a filthy Mudblood who is currently befouling our home with her mere presence right now!" he screamed. "Draco!" his mother said angrily, "you will never, ever, speak about a lady like that ever again do you understand me?" "Yes mother," he grumbled, much to the delight of Hermione. "By the way dear I am Narcissa Malfoy," she said, "and who might you be?" "Hermione Granger, ma'am," Hermione responded politely. "Excellent, now how about you join me downstairs and tell me how you happened upon this place hmm?" relied Narcissa with a motherly tone. "Oh thank you but I really must be getting back, I'm sure everyone's worried about me..." started Hermione, but stopped when she saw that Narcissa would not budge. Reluctantly Hermione followed the older woman, vowing to get back as soon as possible.
As soon as the women left the room, Draco openly gaped to himself. He still could not believe what had just happened, and was furious with his mother for scolding him in front of a Mudblood. Seconds later Draco thought on the outfit Hermione was wearing, and inwardly smiled at how nice she had filled out over the summer. He sighed aloud and retreated back to his room to get dressed.
Meanwhile back at the Weasley household, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were frantically running about the house trying to figure out what to do. Ron had just come back through the fireplace to say that Hermione never showed up. You see, as far as the Weasley's knew Hermione had went to Diagon Alley as planned, neither realizing that Arthur had caused her to unexpectedly arrive at the Malfoy Manor. Upon opening the letter, Arthur found that it was from Narcissa asking Arthur to forward an important document to the Ministry of Magic for her. What were they to do?
A/N: Yay three chapters up! Just the very beginning bits of the plot begin to unfold now, hopefully a bit more by tonight! Please Review, your opinions mean a lot!
A Leaf Changes Color- Chapter 3 ~To Diagon Alley We Go
Hermione was abruptly awoken the next morning by Ron who seemed to be yelling at the top of lungs. Stretching, Hermione listened more closely but could not discern any actual words coming from Ron. Deciding she may as well get up as it was impossible to go back to sleep now, she dragged herself out of bed, grabbed her toothbrush, shampoo, and some clothes, and headed to the shower. Hermione turned on the hot water full blast and let it burn away any sleepiness she still possessed. She slowly began to wash away the grime of the previous day, chuckling to herself as she could still hear Ron yelling. Finishing her wonderfully refreshing shower, she stepped out and decided to dress in Muggle clothing for the day, because robes were simply too hot to wear at this time of year. After brushing her teeth, she pulled on some rather low and tight fitting jeans (buying them at the discretion of Ginny) followed by a simple yet elegant tank top that covered her enough to be modest, but leaving a little to tease. After applying a very small amount of make-up, Hermione simply brushed her long auburn locks and let the permanent potion do its thing.
Satisfied wither appearance, Hermione left the bathroom to find a very disgruntled Ginny sitting on her bed. "What's up Gin?" Hermione casually asked? "Oh nothing, except that Fred and George stopped by this morning and decided to hex Ron to sound like a banshee every time he opens his mouth, and they have now conveniently forgot the counter-curse," she replied in a testy tone. Hermione laughed out loud to this, but immediately stopped after getting a look from Ginny. "It's not funny you're right," Hermione quickly said. Ginny shrugged, allowing an ever so slight smile to grace her lips. "Well, might as well go get something to eat before the banshee gets to it," she said, as both girls started laughing as they walked downstairs.
Ginny and Hermione entered the kitchen to a very flustered Mrs. Weasley attempting to both get breakfast on the table and calm Ron down enough to not open his mouth anymore. It wasn't until Luna walked right up to Ron and placed a wet one on his lips did he shut up, and Mrs. Weasley quickly muttered a few choice words that cured Ron instantly. "Thank you very much dear I do believe that did the trick," said Mrs. Weasley, handing out a rather large plate of toast around the table. "No problem Mrs. W," replied Luna, winking at a blushing Ron. "Ah Harry there you are! Are you ready to go to Diagon Alley everybody?" Mrs. Weasley asked the lot. She was responded with a multitude of "yeahs" and excited smiles from everybody. Mrs. Weasley then handed every one their respective letters, all of them scrambling to finish their breakfast.
It wasn't until Hermione got up from the table that everyone noticed her ensemble. She received open mouth stares from all the males in the room, save Mr. Weasley. Ron received a punch in the stomach from Luna, and Ginny, who still fancied Harry, decided to kick him from under the table anyway. Both boys gave grunts, and the twins continued to stare and give catcalls just the same. "Stop it boys! Hermione is a growing girl and has nothing to be ashamed of," scolded Mrs. Weasley, much to Hermione's embarrassment. Everyone just giggled behind their hands as they all headed for the fireplace to Floo, much to Harry's distaste.
"Alright Ron, you and Luna go first dears," said Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Luna both grabbed some Floo Powder and shouted "Diagon Alley!" to the green flames simultaneously, both disappearing in the fireplace. "Okay you next Harry and Ginny," said Mr. Weasley as he pulled on his coat. Everyone had taken a page from Hermione's book and decided to wear Muggle clothing. On this particular morning Mr. Weasley was wearing bright purple golf pants with a moth-eaten Weasley sweater with an "A" on the front, along with a coat that seemed to have been a patchwork quilt in a previous life. Trying hard not to laugh, Hermione watched as Harry and Ginny too disappeared into the flames. "Alright and now you Hermione," called Mrs. Weasley, snapping Hermione out of her daze. Hermione noted that she was the only teen not traveling with a partner, as Fred and George had already Apparated out. Sighing quietly to herself, she picked up a handful of powder, threw it into the fire, stepped in and was about to yell "Diagon Alley" when Errol, the family owl, came zooming through the window, hitting Hermione in the chest. Knowing that the Floo Powder only worked for so long before the fire would return to normal and probably burn Hermione to a crisp, she tried to throw Errol out. Mr. Weasley quickly grabbed Errol, and without thinking called out the name that was noted as the return address on the letter. Questioningly, Arthur said, "Malfoy Manor?"
Draco Malfoy woke with a start when he heard a high-pitched scream coming from his mother's room. Bounding from his bed brushing off the fact he was only in his boxers, Draco ran as fast as he could down the hall to his mother's quarters. Opening the door he immediately saw his mother quivering in her bed pointing at the fireplace. Looking across the room, Draco saw something rather large moving around in it. Grabbing the nearest thing he could, which just so happened to be a flower vase, he cautiously approached the fireplace, vase raised above his head. Soon he heard coughing and sputtering coming from the mysterious figure, and Draco could tell it was that of a female. Just as Draco was about to strike the person, he heard his mother yell, "No!" form across the room. Turning his head back to look at her, he did not realize the intruder scramble out of the fireplace and retreat to the far side of the room and cower in the corner. "It's just a young girl!" his mother called, as Draco turned back to see that the girl was missing from the fireplace. Turning around in a fast circle he saw where she went to and angrily approached her. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my mother's room?" he demanded. "Malfoy?" was the only response he got. "What the-," but Draco was cut off as Hermione Granger herself stood up, brushed all the soot off her, and glared angrily at him. "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing you bastard?!?" she yelled. "What am I doing? Excuse me Mudblood but I do believe this is my house and you have just broken into and scared my mother half to death!" he screamed back at her.
As they continued to scream insults back and forth, neither realized the state of dress the other was in. It wasn't until Narcissa cleared her throat loudly that either stopped an looked at her. "Please excuse me for the interruption but I am rather hungry and you two are blocking the way to the door," she said airily, as both immediately scrambled away from each other and stared at Narcissa. "Thank you very much," she said, "and dear I have no idea who you are but you are more than welcome to eat breakfast here with us this fine morning." "Oh no she's not mother!" Draco yelled. "I'll have you know that she's a filthy Mudblood who is currently befouling our home with her mere presence right now!" he screamed. "Draco!" his mother said angrily, "you will never, ever, speak about a lady like that ever again do you understand me?" "Yes mother," he grumbled, much to the delight of Hermione. "By the way dear I am Narcissa Malfoy," she said, "and who might you be?" "Hermione Granger, ma'am," Hermione responded politely. "Excellent, now how about you join me downstairs and tell me how you happened upon this place hmm?" relied Narcissa with a motherly tone. "Oh thank you but I really must be getting back, I'm sure everyone's worried about me..." started Hermione, but stopped when she saw that Narcissa would not budge. Reluctantly Hermione followed the older woman, vowing to get back as soon as possible.
As soon as the women left the room, Draco openly gaped to himself. He still could not believe what had just happened, and was furious with his mother for scolding him in front of a Mudblood. Seconds later Draco thought on the outfit Hermione was wearing, and inwardly smiled at how nice she had filled out over the summer. He sighed aloud and retreated back to his room to get dressed.
Meanwhile back at the Weasley household, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were frantically running about the house trying to figure out what to do. Ron had just come back through the fireplace to say that Hermione never showed up. You see, as far as the Weasley's knew Hermione had went to Diagon Alley as planned, neither realizing that Arthur had caused her to unexpectedly arrive at the Malfoy Manor. Upon opening the letter, Arthur found that it was from Narcissa asking Arthur to forward an important document to the Ministry of Magic for her. What were they to do?
A/N: Yay three chapters up! Just the very beginning bits of the plot begin to unfold now, hopefully a bit more by tonight! Please Review, your opinions mean a lot!
