(A/N: I am very sorry for this taking so long to update, I promise that I
will try to update chapters 4, 6, 8 etc quicker. In case you hadn't
guessed, I am the co-writer Cazza, and I hope that you don't find the
different styles to annoying.)
Disclaimer: if you haven't guessed that we're not J K Rowling then you shouldn't be reading this.
It was decided that the first step of operation get-Draco-Malfoy-back-for- all-the-evil-and-despicable-things-he's-ever-done-and-put-him-in-his-place was to study him for the first few days so they could get a better picture of his likes, dislikes etc. Actually, that was the second step, as the first was to find a shorter operation name. The following morning the trio went downstairs for breakfast (Ginny refused to get up before 8 o'clock), keeping an eye out for Malfoy. He was nowhere to be seen in the Great Hall, although Crabbe and Goyle could very easily be seen as the others at the Slytherin table had slid down the far end to protect their robes from flying food.
They seated themselves at the Gryffindor table, helping themselves to large portions of porridge and toast, though not on the same plate, with Hermione glancing at the door every now and again, but her 'love' did not show up. After breakfast was Herbology with Hufflepuff, so the plan had to be put on hold until they actually saw the target. The lesson went well, except for one of Ron's mandrakes, which had acquired a horrible cold and kept jet- propelling itself back out of the flowerpot after he planted it with what would be deafening sneezes had they not had their fluffy earmuffs on. Tired and covered in earth from trying to catch the airborne mandrake, the three traipsed from the greenhouse to the castle, with Hermione leaving to go to Ancient Runes.
Divination was as boring as always, except as it was Professor Trelawny's birthday she had decided to burn several sticks of special, extra strong incense which not only could be smelt halfway along the corridor but hung at the top of the classroom in thick purple smog, clogging the lungs of anyone unfortunate enough to stand up. After what seemed like several years the bell rang and Harry and Ron dashed for the trap door, emerging from the room in wheezing fits. After managing to get an ample supply of oxygen to their lungs they made their way to the common room, eager to find out whether Hermione or Ginny had had any luck finding anything about Malfoy.
Neither had seen him. Hermione made the comment that now even when he's not around he's annoying them. It was Defence Against the Dark Arts next, so there was no chance of finding him then. Ron suddenly dashed about, muttering some un-typable words and frantically snatching up parchment from the table. All of a sudden he yelled and jumped backwards as a startled Crookshanks shot from underneath a pile of parchment, hissing as his bed was disturbed. A curious Hermione enquired as to what exactly he was doing. In between profanities he said something about realising his homework wasn't in his bag and he couldn't remember where he'd left it. Hermione picked up a crumpled piece of parchment with chew marks from under the table and held it between her thumb and index finger, 'is this it?' she asked. He glanced up from his current position, being upside-down on the armchair whilst peering underneath and heaved a sigh of relief. It was indeed his homework, though slightly dog-eared, and he rammed it in his bag just before the bell went to signify 5 minutes 'til lessons.
Defence Against the dark Arts was also uneventful apart from the 3ft long homework essay they received. Harry had not been at all pleased, he already had enough homework to cram in between Quidditch practice, without adding to his load. Still muttering under their breath it was a rather grumpy group that made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
Their mood was not helped by the cheerful Ginny that greeted them and announced that she had no homework. They tried to forget their sorrow by gorging themselves, and although Ron seemed slightly better for the tons he consumed, they remained gloomy when they considered the prospect of 2 more lessons before the end of school. Ginny had been somewhat put out at their negativity, although halfway through lunch she suddenly announced 'I have something to tell you that will definitely cheer you up!' The three looked up doubtfully but when she continued 'Draco Malfoy has just walked in!' their doubtful look turned into disbelief. Why should they care whether Malfoy had walked in, and why should it cheer them up? It dawned on Hermione first, and she suddenly went 'ooooooooh!' and turned in her seat to look at him.
There was no mistaking that white-blond hair or that slight smirk. Hermione studied him carefully, watching how he worked amongst others. He seemed very confident and popular, although she already knew that. Suddenly, she overheard him say about the dreadful performance of the Hogsmeade Hunters in their most recent match. He obviously took an interest in Quidditch, wait, she knew that too! Apparently he was not very deep, and everything about him was well known to the public. 'Well, duh!' she thought. She could have realised that for herself, she didn't need the ferret-boy around to show her he was totally shallow. Maybe the second step of the operation wasn't such a good idea, after all, what was the point of wasting a few days, when they could start with the fiendishly clever plan of hers properly? She turned to the rest of the group with her suggestion when Ron spoke instead; 'I think we know all we need to about our peroxide pal, I mean he is so one- dimensional. Why don't we just get on with breaking his almost non-existent black heart?' the rest of the group nodded in agreement, feeling that at least the knowledge that they were going to get Malfoy would help them through the rest of the day.
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly at Ron when he voiced her idea before her, although she smiled inwardly, thinking how observant he could be when he wanted to be. All through the next two lessons, the 3 felt anticipation bubbling through them, and evil pleasure welled up even more every time they thought about how stupid Malfoy was going to look after all this. Hermione was planning her tactics, well, she was until Ron stole the piece of parchment and exclaimed 'oh my god Hermione, you're strategising!? This is supposed to be fun for us, don't spoil it!' so she had to put her campaign away. After school finished the 4 met up in the Gryffindor common room and sat round a circular table near the fire, doing their homework as quickly as possible so they could route out Malfoy and put their wicked plan into action. How they were going to commence with the plan they had no idea, but hey, that's for the next chapter!
Disclaimer: if you haven't guessed that we're not J K Rowling then you shouldn't be reading this.
It was decided that the first step of operation get-Draco-Malfoy-back-for- all-the-evil-and-despicable-things-he's-ever-done-and-put-him-in-his-place was to study him for the first few days so they could get a better picture of his likes, dislikes etc. Actually, that was the second step, as the first was to find a shorter operation name. The following morning the trio went downstairs for breakfast (Ginny refused to get up before 8 o'clock), keeping an eye out for Malfoy. He was nowhere to be seen in the Great Hall, although Crabbe and Goyle could very easily be seen as the others at the Slytherin table had slid down the far end to protect their robes from flying food.
They seated themselves at the Gryffindor table, helping themselves to large portions of porridge and toast, though not on the same plate, with Hermione glancing at the door every now and again, but her 'love' did not show up. After breakfast was Herbology with Hufflepuff, so the plan had to be put on hold until they actually saw the target. The lesson went well, except for one of Ron's mandrakes, which had acquired a horrible cold and kept jet- propelling itself back out of the flowerpot after he planted it with what would be deafening sneezes had they not had their fluffy earmuffs on. Tired and covered in earth from trying to catch the airborne mandrake, the three traipsed from the greenhouse to the castle, with Hermione leaving to go to Ancient Runes.
Divination was as boring as always, except as it was Professor Trelawny's birthday she had decided to burn several sticks of special, extra strong incense which not only could be smelt halfway along the corridor but hung at the top of the classroom in thick purple smog, clogging the lungs of anyone unfortunate enough to stand up. After what seemed like several years the bell rang and Harry and Ron dashed for the trap door, emerging from the room in wheezing fits. After managing to get an ample supply of oxygen to their lungs they made their way to the common room, eager to find out whether Hermione or Ginny had had any luck finding anything about Malfoy.
Neither had seen him. Hermione made the comment that now even when he's not around he's annoying them. It was Defence Against the Dark Arts next, so there was no chance of finding him then. Ron suddenly dashed about, muttering some un-typable words and frantically snatching up parchment from the table. All of a sudden he yelled and jumped backwards as a startled Crookshanks shot from underneath a pile of parchment, hissing as his bed was disturbed. A curious Hermione enquired as to what exactly he was doing. In between profanities he said something about realising his homework wasn't in his bag and he couldn't remember where he'd left it. Hermione picked up a crumpled piece of parchment with chew marks from under the table and held it between her thumb and index finger, 'is this it?' she asked. He glanced up from his current position, being upside-down on the armchair whilst peering underneath and heaved a sigh of relief. It was indeed his homework, though slightly dog-eared, and he rammed it in his bag just before the bell went to signify 5 minutes 'til lessons.
Defence Against the dark Arts was also uneventful apart from the 3ft long homework essay they received. Harry had not been at all pleased, he already had enough homework to cram in between Quidditch practice, without adding to his load. Still muttering under their breath it was a rather grumpy group that made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
Their mood was not helped by the cheerful Ginny that greeted them and announced that she had no homework. They tried to forget their sorrow by gorging themselves, and although Ron seemed slightly better for the tons he consumed, they remained gloomy when they considered the prospect of 2 more lessons before the end of school. Ginny had been somewhat put out at their negativity, although halfway through lunch she suddenly announced 'I have something to tell you that will definitely cheer you up!' The three looked up doubtfully but when she continued 'Draco Malfoy has just walked in!' their doubtful look turned into disbelief. Why should they care whether Malfoy had walked in, and why should it cheer them up? It dawned on Hermione first, and she suddenly went 'ooooooooh!' and turned in her seat to look at him.
There was no mistaking that white-blond hair or that slight smirk. Hermione studied him carefully, watching how he worked amongst others. He seemed very confident and popular, although she already knew that. Suddenly, she overheard him say about the dreadful performance of the Hogsmeade Hunters in their most recent match. He obviously took an interest in Quidditch, wait, she knew that too! Apparently he was not very deep, and everything about him was well known to the public. 'Well, duh!' she thought. She could have realised that for herself, she didn't need the ferret-boy around to show her he was totally shallow. Maybe the second step of the operation wasn't such a good idea, after all, what was the point of wasting a few days, when they could start with the fiendishly clever plan of hers properly? She turned to the rest of the group with her suggestion when Ron spoke instead; 'I think we know all we need to about our peroxide pal, I mean he is so one- dimensional. Why don't we just get on with breaking his almost non-existent black heart?' the rest of the group nodded in agreement, feeling that at least the knowledge that they were going to get Malfoy would help them through the rest of the day.
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly at Ron when he voiced her idea before her, although she smiled inwardly, thinking how observant he could be when he wanted to be. All through the next two lessons, the 3 felt anticipation bubbling through them, and evil pleasure welled up even more every time they thought about how stupid Malfoy was going to look after all this. Hermione was planning her tactics, well, she was until Ron stole the piece of parchment and exclaimed 'oh my god Hermione, you're strategising!? This is supposed to be fun for us, don't spoil it!' so she had to put her campaign away. After school finished the 4 met up in the Gryffindor common room and sat round a circular table near the fire, doing their homework as quickly as possible so they could route out Malfoy and put their wicked plan into action. How they were going to commence with the plan they had no idea, but hey, that's for the next chapter!