Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter, as you know. And I own nothing of the bands mentioned in this chapter.
a/n: SORRY! This chapter took SO long to write! There are probably lots of spelling errors, and I'm sorry! I will try my hardest to get the next chap up sooner. But this chapter is pretty long, so that should make you happy. And in this chapter, I have included mentioning to a few of my favorite bands. I know that they are all American bands, and Harry Potter and friends live in Britain, but I needed something to put there. I don't know any European bands so... I just put in American ones. It has nothing to do with the plot, I just needed something that Draco and Hermione had in common. Thanx again.
I also want to thank tweekerweasel and xoxobriTtAnyxoxo13 for putting me on their favorite authors list. THANX SO MUCH!!!
Chapter 5 – New Problems Arise
Hermione woke early the morning after the meeting. She had slept restlessly and was tired. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind off Draco. She also couldn't help but think about how much she liked the sound of his name; his FIRST one.
She also couldn't help but feel the betrayal building deep inside her. What would her friends say about her hidden 'friendship' (if you could call it that) with Draco? Hermione knew that she couldn't keep this a secret for long. She would at least have to tell Ginny. She couldn't loose her best and only female friend over something that Hermione lied about. She wouldn't loose her friends over Malfoy.
Hermione lied there a little while longer, and when the first rays of sunlight filled the room, she got up. She showered, enjoying the steaming water running over her, calming her muscles. She washed her hair with her favorite vanilla shampoo and conditioner, and then used her strawberry body wash.
After her shower, Hermione chose her outfit. Low-rise jeans and a t-shirt with the Muggle band Linkin Park emblazoned on the front. She charmed her hair and put it up in a messy bun. Doing her make-up, and picking up her robe and bag, she decided to go to breakfast.
It was still early, and she figured no-one would be there. A perfect time to leave her to her thoughts, when she realized that there wasn't much to think about. Yeah, she and Draco were secretly meeting, but not to do 'bad' things. She wasn't doing anything wrong. No one had any right to be mad at her. So she decided to go and wake Harry, and they could go to breakfast together.
Hermione walked down the corridor to Harry's room. She knocked on the door and when she didn't hear an answer, she pulled out her wand.
"Alohomora."
She heard the lock click and turned the doorknob. She went in quietly and noticed that the lump in ht sheets meant that Harry was still in bed.
Hermione set her bag down in an arm chair by the fireplace and when to Harry's bed. She crawled up on it very carefully, then stood up. The lump stirred a little, but kept on sleeping.
She waited a little bit, then mentally counted to three and jumped. She kept jumping until the lump that was Harry started yelling. Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, but when Harry's head poked through the sheets, she let loose.
"Harry! Time to wakeup! Get up Harry!" she screamed.
It took Harry a while to figure out what was going on. When he saw Hermione standing above him, he could have committed murder. He threw a pillow at her and she yelped and jumped off the bed.
Harry sat up. "What the hell are you doing, Hermione?"
Hermione got back up on the bed and started jumping again, "Waking you up," she said, simply, still jumping.
"What time did you get up?!" Harry questioned, rubbing his eyes.
"I dunno, 4:30, I think."
"So, what possessed you to wake me up?"
"I dunno, you just needed to get up, you were going to be late," Hermione said.
Harry looked at his alarm clock. His jaw dropped, "Late? At 6:30? How was I going to be late?"
"I dunno, I just needed a good excuse." She jumped some more, "You have to admit that it was better than the stupid alarm clock buzzer."
"I will give you that one." He got up and out of bed. He was only wearing a pair of blue boxers, but he didn't mind Hermione being there, she had seen him in just boxers before. He headed to the bathroom. Hermione sat down in an armchair, and waited for Harry to return. He did, shortly after, showered and ready to go.
"What time is it?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked at her watch, "10 'til 7."
"Shall we go wake up Ron? He won't be up yet," Harry suggested.
"Sure, we can give him the same treatment I gave you. It was most affective," Hermione winked.
They grabbed their bags and headed out the door. Harry locked his door and they went to Ron's room.
Harry knocked quietly on the door and waited for an answer. When he heard nothing, they unlocked the door and went in.
Even without the fire going or any lanterns lit, Ron's room was a bright orange.
Hermione shed her wizards' robe and placed it with her bag by the door. Harry did the same.
They tip-toed quietly over to Ron's bed, but found something neither expected.
Instead of one lump in the sheets, there were two. Ron's sleeping torso stuck out of the sheets, and the figure of a girl lied across his chest.
Hermione and Harry exchanged looks of terror from what they had walked in on.
Ron was sleeping soundly, as was the girl next to him. Lavender Brown looked as content as could be, lying next to Ron.
Hermione motioned to Harry to go outside so they could talk. They quietly left the sleeping couple and exited into the corridor, shutting the door behind them.
"When did this happen?" Hermione asked Harry.
"I don't know, this is new to me too! I had no idea that he even liked Lavender! I thought he liked you!" Harry said.
"Well, what should we do? Wake him up, or just go on like nothing happened?" Hermione rubbed her forehead in thought.
Harry stayed silent for a minute, thinking, then answered, "We'll give him one day. If he doesn't tell us by then, we confront him about it. Sound good?"
"I guess. This is all so weird," Hermione said, sitting down with her back against the wall.
"Wait here, I will go back in and get our stuff, and then we can go down to breakfast. Hold on," Harry mentioned, before quietly going back inside the 'Love shack'. He returned and handed Hermione her robe and bag.
They walked down the hall and into the Gryffindor Common Room. It was empty except for someone's pet cat lying on the rug, in front of the fire. Harry and Hermione exited through the portrait hole and went down to breakfast.
As they walked, both were silent. They let the thoughts of what Ron may have been doing roam in their minds. When they reached the Great Hall, they found only a few students eating. They crossed to the Gryffindor Table and sat at their usual spots.
As Harry was helping himself to some oatmeal, he noticed Hermione's shirt, "What's Linkin Park?" he asked.
"Oh, it's a Muggle band, I found over the summer last year. They are really good," Hermione explained, "I got this shirt at a concert I went to at the beginning of vacation."
"Cool, I will have to hear them sometime," Harry said.
"Yeah, you will."
They chatted, trying to keep the thoughts of Ron out of their mind, when a specific red-head entered the Hall. He walked to where Harry and Hermione were sitting and sat down beside them."Hay guys, why are you here so early?" Ron asked, helping himself to some toast.
"Oh, I woke up early and I didn't want to come to breakfast alone, so I woke up Harry," Hermione said as casually as possible.
"Hermione, you wound me. Why did you wake up Harry and not me?" Ron looked genuinely put-out.
"I figured you would want to sleep. And I had a feeling that Harry was already up, and I was right. So we let you sleep," Hermione said, with a quick glance at Harry.
"Oh, I ...," Ron started, but just then Lavender entered the Hall. She walked behind Ron and trailed a hand across Ron's back as she passed. When Ron looked, she winked.
"What was that about?" Harry asked, trying to sound as if he didn't already know.
"I have no clue," Ron lied badly, "How much time do we have until AIT?"
Hermione looked at her watch, for what felt like the millionth time this morning, "About a half an hour."
"K, thanks. I gotta go to the library for something really quick," Ron lied again, "I will see you in AIT."
"Ok, see you..." Harry called after him.
"What is up with him?" Hermione asked when Ron was out of the Great Hall.
"I don't know. But I do know that he is going to feel pretty stupid when we tell him that we know that he lied to us," Harry stated.
"I didn't even know he liked Lavender," said Hermione, helping herself to some eggs.
"Me either," Harry said, "Oh, do you feel better?"
"What?"
"Your headache? Is it gone?"
"Oh..." Hermione said, feeling stupid, "Yeah, I'm fine. It went away after I lied down last night."
"That's good. Ron and I went and checked on you about half an hour after you left, and you didn't answer, so you were out like a light," Harry said, smiling.
"Yeah, out like a light..." Hermione trailed off, thinking of what she was really doing. The pang of guilt washed over her again.
Just then, the Slytherin that she was thinking about came through the double doors. For a fleeting second, Hermione's chocolate brown eyes met with his steel gray ones. They both looked away at the same time. Hermione desperately hoped that Harry hadn't noticed. When he didn't say anything, she knew she was ok.
Owl post came in, and Hermione and Harry spent the rest of breakfast looking over the Daily Prophet. Surprisingly, nothing interesting was going on, so Harry and Hermione left for AIT.
With all the commotion of the owls, they didn't notice Lavender leave shortly after Ron did.
When they arrived at the classroom, Ron was already there, looking mussed. His hair was tangled and he was breathing heavily. Hermione pushed her thoughts aside as class started.
Class went my smoothly, and the students had time to do their homework. As always, Hermione was finished with time to spare.
As the bell rang, Hermione accidentally on purpose dropped her book bag and her things spilled out. She bent down to pick it up, and noticed Harry and Ron waiting for her.
"Just go on, you will be late if you wait for me," she said, and the two boys left.
Hermione straightened up to see Draco standing in front of her. Luckily Professor Shacklebolt had left, so no one could see them together.
"We are still on for our meeting, then?" Draco asked, smoothly.
"Of course, why wouldn't we be?" Hermione asked.
"I dunno, maybe you chickened out," Draco teased.
"Why do you think I dropped my stuff so Harry and Ron would go on without me?" Hermione said, coolly.
"Well, aren't you the sly little Gryff?" he smiled, "That's my job, as I'm in Slytherin."
"Ok then, Mr. Sly Slytherin, we should be studying, not talking."
"I was waiting for you to pick up your things," said Draco.
"I've been done for a while now."
"Let's go then," he led her out, "Where to?"
"Library or Room of Requirement," Hermione said, without thinking.
"Room of Requirement? What's that?" Draco sounded interested.
Hermione knew she had already screwed up. Might as well tell him, he will get it out of me somehow if I don't, She thought.
"Seventh floor, opposite the tapestry showing Barnabas the Balmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet," Hermione said.
"Why haven't I heard of this?"
"Not many people know about it. We used it for our DA meetings last year," Hermione explained.
Draco looked surprised that she had told him.
"I wouldn't have bet money that you would have told me that little fact," Draco said, honestly.
"I figured you were going to get it out of me anyway. So why lie?" she replied, "To be honest, I wasn't thinking about who I was talking to when I suggested to Room of Requirement. I guess you aren't acing like yourself and I forgot that you could be a threat."
"I wouldn't do that," Draco whispered, more to himself than anything, but Hermione heard it, and decided not to say anything.
They walked on in silence, and soon they came to the hall.
"Ok, now just think about what you need the room for and a door handle will appear on the wall," Hermione explained.
Draco closed his eyes and a second later a door handle appeared. Hermione walked forward and pulled. She half expected a dungeon type room and was surprised to find a cozy room with a fireplace and bookshelves all along the walls. A stereo was in one corner and in front of the fireplace was a couch.
If this is any indication to the real Draco, he's not as bad as I thought, she thought.
Draco, apparently, thought it hadn't worked, and still had his eyes shut tight.
"Hey! It worked, you can come in now," Hermione called to him.
Draco opened his eyes and walked in, nodding with approval.
"This is too cool. Wonder how it works," Draco thought out loud.
"Why does Drakie Wakie want one?" Hermione teased.
"As a matter of fact, Granger, I wouldn't mind having one. It would be useful at home, and the knowledge of how it works would be useful as well. Because then you could use it for other things, like maybe a Box of Requirement, that fulfills your wishes," Draco said.
"I will agree with you on that one."
"Figured you would."
Hermione crossed the small room and set her things on the table, then wandered over to the bookcases. There were all kinds of books on Aurors. Perfect for what they needed.
Draco went to the stereo and looked over the CDs. "What do you like to listen to?"
"Umm..." Hermione thought, "About anything, you can choose."
Draco looked over the CDs and chose one of his favorites: Linkin Park. Soon the sounds of 'Breaking the Habit' filled the room.
Hermione looked up from the book she was flipping through to look at Draco. She unbuttoned her robe and held it open for Draco to see.
"How did you know I liked Linkin Park?" she asked.
Draco looked at the girl holding her robe open and noticed her shirt, "I didn't, they are just one of my favorites."
"Mine too, who else do you like?" Hermione crossed the room and set her robe on the floor, and took a seat on the couch. Draco followed.
"I like a lot of bands: rock, like Linkin Park, Nickleback, some of the new bands like The Killers, Modest Mouse, and Franz Ferdinand. I also like the old stuff too, The Eagles, The Doors, stuff like that. Most of what I listed to is American though, I just think there is more variety, but sometimes I like our music too," Draco explained.
"Wow, it's like hearing myself talk. Those are some of my favorite bands, especially the Eagles. Mum and Dad used to listen to them when I was little, and I had no choice but to like them. I also like American country like Toby Keith. But my favorite band of all time is Sister Hazel," Hermione said.
"What do they sing?"
"They aren't extremely popular, and you probably have only heard of one of their songs. But last summer, I went to one of their concerts and fell in love!" said Hermione.
"Hmmm... do you have a CD of theirs, I always like hearing new things," asked Draco.
"Yeah, but it's in my room. I will bring it tomorrow."
"Ok."
Hermione looked at her watch, "Oh my gods, we only have twenty minutes left. We should get to work."
She pulled out her notes from class and they sat for the remainder of the time actually studying. When the bell rang, they gathered their things and headed out of the small room to lunch.
Heads turned in their direction and Draco decided that it was enough. He excused himself from Hermione and headed towards the dungeons, leaving Hermione alone.
Or at least until Ginny showed up.
"Why were you walking with Malfoy?" Ginny asked as they walked.
Hermione thought whether it was the time or not to tell her only girl friend.
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Ron or Harry," Hermione said.
"That depends on what it is, Hermione," said Ginny, looking stern.
"Fine then, I won't tell you and you can go running to Harry and Ron. I don't care," Hermione said heatedly.
"Fine! I won't tell Harry or Ron!"
Hermione stopped walking and pulled the younger girl into an empty classroom.
"Ok, yesterday I lied when I said that I was going to stand up Malfoy. He stopped me yesterday after AIT and asked for my help. I agreed and we had set up a time to meet. I didn't want to tell Harry or Ron, or YOU for that matter, because I needed to figure out what was fully going on myself first. He's changed, Ginny, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe it. Why else would he ask for MY help, of all people?" Hermione explained.
"Maybe it's a trick. Malfoys do things like that."
"Look, after spending time with him, he's not half bad. He could be a LOT worse. He hasn't said one mean thing to me. He's changed! You have to trust me!"
"I trust that you know what you're doing. I don't trust him," Ginny turned and walked out of the classroom and on to lunch.
Hermione hurried after her, and caught her arm, "You aren't going to tell Harry or Ron, are you?"
"No, Hermione, that will be up to," Ginny said, yanking her arm away and kept walking.
Hermione slowly walked back to Gryffindor Tower. She didn't feel much like eating, and went back to her room.
She put in a Sister Hazel CD and lied on her bed.
I won't be so hard on me today
I start to take myself so seriously
Shouldn't be so hard just to be effortlessly
It shouldn't be so hard to keep it together
It shouldn't be so hard to say the right things to you
It shouldn't be so hard just to be effortlessly
Weightless worries fall away
Wasted pools of energy
I want to know
I want to breathe
Effortlessly - just be
I want to be effortlessly
I want to be
It shouldn't be so hard to be inspired
It shouldn't be so hard just to write this song
It shouldn't be so hard to be wrong or to agree
It shouldn't be so hard to change the world
It shouldn't be so hard just to change your mind
It shouldn't be so hard just to be effortlessly
Weightless worries fall away
Wasted pools of energy
I want to know
I want to breathe
Effortlessly - just be
I want to be effortlessly
I want to be
I won't be so hard on me today
I start to take myself so seriously
Shouldn't be so hard just to be effortlessly
Effortlessly
I want to know
I want to breathe
I want to simplify my needs
I want to live inside this moment
And just be effortlessly
Just be
I wanna be effortlessly
I want to be
Draco entered his room. He didn't feel like eating, mostly because of all the feelings swimming inside him. Being raised by his fath... that man... he was taught never to show feelings, to keep them bottled up. And most of all never let anyone get close to you. Draco had broken those rules. He was letting Hermione get close to him. But that was all part of the plan.
Letting her get too close wasn't part of the plan, dumbass!
I can't help it; I don't know why I hadn't noticed how soft her eyes were...
Shut up! You are disgusting me! No Malfoy will EVER like a Mudblood. And that's what she is: a Filthy Mudblood.
The two Dracos fought.
Lucius would never have to know...
The fuck he won't! What are you going to do? Betray your father and the Dark Lord?
That man is not my father! Not after what he has done to the only thing I've ever loved.
Your mother wants you on the Dark Side! She doesn't want you to fall in love with a Mudblood, and you know it!
How?! How do I know that? The only time I ever get to talk to her about meaningful things, Lucius steps in and performs the Cruciatus on both of us. I never get to actually talk to her.
What the fuck is going on with you? You are becoming sentimental! It's that Mudblood that's doing it!
"No! She has nothing to do with it!" Draco yelled, "I'm just so fucking tired of being me!" He threw his alarm clock against the wall.
Hermione heard a noise come from Draco's door. She went to it and listened, but heard nothing more. She decided to check on him anyway.
She took the remote to her CD player and shut it off and grabbed her robe and set off down the passage way.
I have to get out of here, Draco thought.
He grabbed his robe and left the room.
In the Slytherin Common Room, Crabbe and Goyle sat talking about something.
"Are you to up for our old games?" Draco asked the two.
"You mean?"
"Yea, I'm skipping Potions. I've got a lot of shit going on, you guys got anything good?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, Marcus Flint hooked us up with a new potion. He said it's guaranteed to keep you flying high for a few hours," Crabbe explained.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go to the Forest," Draco said, as he led them out.
Hermione reached Draco's end of the passage and went through the door. She found an empty room. She looked for any sign of where Draco might be and saw the smashed alarm clock on the floor.
That explains the noise, she thought.
Hermione didn't find any information on where he might be, so she headed back up the passage and went to Potions.
She entered the classroom and got all the supplies together for the Veritaserum. Class started and still Draco wasn't there.
10 minutes...
15minutes...
Half hour...
And still he wasn't there.
Hermione copied the notes from the black board for both of them. And, having her mind on other things, she messed up the potion. She added the ingredients in the wrong order, but luckily she knew the counter-curse to fix it and the potion was set straight. After that, she read and re-read each line of the instructions so as not to make the same mistake twice.
Finally class was over and Hermione cleaned up the supplies and was headed to Transfiguration when she bumped into Draco in the hallway.
"Why if it isn't little Miss Mudblood, Granger?" Draco drawled.
Noticing something was up Hermione asked, "Draco what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Mudblood. I've never felt better," Draco said.
Just then, Draco closed his eyes momentarily and swayed on the spot. He thrust his hand out against the wall to steady himself.
Hermione new something was very wrong, "Draco, what did you do? Because whatever it is, it's not agreeing with you and it could be fatal!"
"I'm fine! Just fuck off!" Draco yelled.
Hermione seriously considered leaving him there, but thought better of it.
"I have to get you to the Hospital Wing. You need medicine or something!" Hermione tried to lead him down the hallway, but he threw her off him.
In the sudden action of throwing her off, another wave of dizziness came over him and he swayed. He knew he needed help, but this all started because of her and he didn't want her help, but right now, she was the only one who was going to.
"Fine, but I don't think I can make it to the Hospital Wing," Draco said.
"Can you make it to your room?" Hermione asked.
"How do you expect to make it through the Slytherin Common Room? Just prance through?" Draco inquired.
"Like this," Hermione said matter-of-factly. She performed the Disillusionment Charm on herself. Draco knew what she had done, but in his 'state of mind' he was still surprised as he watched her disappear.
Hermione took Draco's arm and led him down the hall.
"Which way is the Slytherin common room?" Hermione asked.
Draco was going to give a smart-ass answer, but knew it wouldn't be good, "Second door on your right will take you to the hallway."
"Ok, thank you."
Draco's potion was starting to wear off, but at a pricy cost. He was getting dizzier and dizzier every moment, and was starting to feel light-headed. If it wasn't for Hermione holding him up, he would be a heap on the floor.
She led him down the hallway, and through the door and into another hallway with portraits all along the walls. She was about to ask if they all led to rooms, but Draco swayed again. She turned to face him and his eyes closed.
She tapped his face with her hands and said, "Draco, come on, stay with me! Which portrait leads to Slytherin?"
Draco opened his eyes and said, "The one with a great serpent on it. The password is 'Pureblood'."
Hermione scoffed but didn't say anything and led him to the portrait, then turned back to him.
"Draco, you are going to go in first, and I will follow ok?" she asked.
"Yeah, ok."
Hermione turned back to the portrait and stated 'Pureblood' and watched it swing open. She nudged Draco to enter, and followed closely behind.
Despite her situation, Hermione couldn't help but notice how much the Slytherin Common Room differed from Gryffindor. It was so cold!
Hermione watched the heads turn as Draco entered the room and watch him cross to the door. Everyone seemed to notice something was up, but no-one did anything about it.
When Draco came to the door he opened the door and went through and waited for Hermione before closing it.
Draco swayed once again and his eyes rolled back. He was about to fall when Hermione caught him. She was either going to have to drag him to his room or levitate him.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Draco lifted a few inches off the ground and Hermione led him to his room. Luckily the door was unlocked and Hermione entered, and levitated Draco to his bed.
As he lied down, she could tell she needed to keep him coherent. So she started talking.
"Draco, what did you take? Was it a Potion or a Muggle drug?" Hermione asked. She figured it was a drug, because she had been there before.
"It was a potion. Crabbe and Goyle gave it to me. Said Marcus Flint had it," Draco said.
"Do you know what it was called?" Hermione asked.
"Ummmm..." Draco tried to remember what it was.
"Draco I need to know everything you remember about it so I can figure out what to do," Hermione said.
"It was bright yellow and...." Draco tried his hardest to remember.
FLASHBACK START
"So, what's going on with you that you had to come to us? You haven't talked to us all summer," said Goyle as they walked to the Forest.
"Never mind. Just a lot of shit with my father," Draco spat the last two words as if they were poison.
"So he's out of Azkaban then?"
"Of course he's out of Azkaban! They didn't even keep him in there for a week," Draco said, annoyed.
They reached the edge of the Forest and Draco sat on a stump. He watched as Crabbe prepared the yellow potion. When he was done, he handed Draco his share.
"What exactly is this?" Draco asked before drinking any.
"It's called Lucifer's Draft, said to be concocted in the fires of Hell itself. I haven't tried it yet, so we are in this together." Draco took a sip and remembered nothing more.
FLASHBACK END
"Lucifer's Draft!" Draco yelled.
Hermione had been looking in every book she could think of and was startled when Draco yelled.
"What?" Hermione asked him.
"Lucifer's Draft, that's what it was called. It was bright yellow, and Crabbe said that it was said that the potion was concocted in the fires of Hell itself. Other than that I don't know anything else," Draco said.
"Draco, this sounds bad! I'm going to go back up to my room and get Ginny and she will watch you while I look for the antidote. I will be RIGHT back ok?" she asked. She was worried about leaving him by himself, but she had to get help.
"Ok," He laid back and closed his eyes.
Hermione ran up the passage to her room and ran into the Common Room. Ginny was nowhere to be found, but she noticed some 5th years sitting by the fire.
"Do you know where Ginny went?" she asked one of them.
"Umm... I think she is in Charms right now," one of the girls said.
"Ok, thank you very much," Hermione said and she ran out of the Common Room.
She hurried down the corridor to the Charms room. She entered quietly and went to Professor Flitwick who was watching his students perform the Summoning Charm.
"Excuse me Professor, but could I have Ginny Weasley come with me? I'm afraid she won't be returning this hour. I have to talk to her about her Prefect duties. I'm sorry about the inconvenience," Hermione asked politely.
"Of course Miss Granger. Today was a review day anyway, so she won't be missing anything. She is doing very well," Professor Flitwick stated.
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said before walking over to Ginny.
"Ginny, could I talk to you? Bring your things," Hermione asked.
"Uhh, sure, is something wrong?" Ginny asked as she gathered her things.
"No, nothing is wrong, I just need to talk to you," Hermione said.
They walked out into the hallway and Hermione made sure no-one was around.
"Ok, Ginny, something IS wrong, but it has nothing to do with your family or Harry or Ron or anybody, I just need your help," Hermione started.
"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ginny was starting to get worried.
"I will tell you exactly what's up when we get there, but right now we need to RUN to my room!" Hermione said.
"Umm.... Ok," Ginny said, and they set off at a run.
Through the Gryffindor Common Room and into Hermione's room, they ran.
Hermione stopped before going down to Draco's room.
"Ok Ginny, you know how I told you that I was helping Malfoy? Well, now I am REALLY helping him, I mean, if I don't do this, he may die," Hermione said frantically.
Ginny thought about what she may be getting into, but Hermione was one of her best friends, and she needed her.
"What do I have to do?" Ginny asked skeptically.
"Oh my gods, thank you Ginny! Thank you so much! Ok. We are going to go into his room... just wait I will show you," she added to Ginny's questioning look, "and you just need to stay there and keep him awake while I go and find the antidote."
"How do I keep him awake?" Ginny asked.
"Just keep him talking, he probably will be cold to you at first, but try and forget it's Malfoy," Hermione told her.
"Ok, let's just go," Ginny said.
Hermione led Ginny into her room, but she didn't have time to look around. Hermione led her straight to the 'mystery' door and down the earthy passage. Ginny was confused about what was going on but didn't say anything, just kept running. Finally, the passage started to even out and Ginny could see another door.
Ginny opened her mouth to speak when she saw Draco's room, and him lying on the bed.
"Ask questions later ok?" Hermione said.
Ginny nodded and followed Hermione to Draco's side.
Hermione bent over him and shook him awake.
"Draco, I'm back," she said.
"Ok," uttered Draco.
"Ginny is going to keep you awake for me while I go and find the antidote. You need to stay up or the potion might take hold of you. Can you do that for me?" Hermione almost pleaded.
"Yeah, sure."
"Ginny, I'm going to go to the Library first and see if they have anything, and if I don't find anything I will go to the Hospital Wing. If something goes wrong with him, say 'Grythin' and my wand will go crazy and I will come right away. Remember, just keep him talking," Hermione told Ginny hurriedly.
"Ok, got it," Ginny said. She went to Draco's side and spoke to him, "Hey Malfoy, how is your Quidditch team this year?"
Hermione left Ginny with Draco and went back up the passage, through Gryffindor, and to the Library.
Hermione went to the Potions section and looked up Lucifer's Draft, and found nothing in 4 books. Finally, she found a lead.
"'Lucifer's Draft, concocted in the fires of Hell, is guaranteed to keep it's drinker in a state of pleasure. Warning: side affects include dizziness, unconsciousness, and in some cases death. DO NOT TAKE IF YOU ARE UNDER 25, lethal to younger individuals.'" Hermione read aloud.
Great, I HAVE to get to the Hospital Wing! she thought.
Hermione shut the book and put it back on the shelves and ran for the door. If she were any other student, Madam Pince would have asked what she was up to, but Hermione and Madam Pince had an unspoken agreement not to get into the others business.
Hermione ran down the corridors and up the stairs as fast as she could. Dinner was going to be over soon, and she had better hurry to avoid traffic and questions. She ran faster.
Finally, she came to the Hospital Wing entrance and she opened the door and ran straight to Madam Pomfrey's office.
"Madam Pomfrey, do you happen to have..." Hermione panted, "an antidote to a potion called Lucifer's Draft?"
"Well, yes I do, but who has been taking it? It is lethal to those under 25," the nurse said.
"Yes, I know. Nobody has been taking it. I am doing a scavenger hunt for Professor Snape, he said he told you about it," Hermione lied quickly.
"Oh, well, he didn't tell me anything about it, but it sounds like something he would do. Hold on while I get it for you," Madam Pomfrey went into her office again.
Hermione got out her wand out and when Madam Pomfrey handed the small vile to her, she held the wand up and cried 'obliviate'. The nurses eyes glazed over and she looked at Hermione as if she didn't know who she was.
"Can I help you dear?" she asked.
"No, thank you," and Hermione turned on her heel and ran.
Oh no, I could be in SOOOOO much trouble for that! But it's for a good cause right? Oh, I hope so, she thought.
Hermione ran through the corridors. Dinner was over and a crowd was in the Gryffindor Tower. She narrowly missed Ron and Harry, and slipped back into her room. Down the passage way and into Draco's room again, she ran.
"Ginny, I have the antidote, but I had to erase Madam Pomfrey's memory to do it!" Hermione almost cried.
"Oh my gods, Hermione, that isn't good!" Ginny said.
"I know, but otherwise she would have asked Snape why I needed the antidote. I told her Snape was having us do a scavenger hunt," Hermione said as she measured out how much Draco needed.
"Good thinking, but what happens if someone finds out?" Ginny was getting worried.
"Nobody was in the Hospital Wing, luckily. So, how has he been?" Hermione asked.
"Well, you were right, he was cold at first, but when we started talking about Quidditch, he seemed to forget I was a Weasley. He has stayed awake since you left," Ginny said.
Hermione had the right measurement, and turned back to Draco. His eyes were closed. Hermione hurried to his side.
"Draco? Draco! DRACO!!" she cried, "Wake up! Come on!"
Ginny went to his other side and tried to shake him awake. It wasn't working.
Hermione opened his mouth and poured a little of the antidote down his throat. He seemed to be conscious enough to swallow it, because he did. Hermione poured the rest. He swallowed.
"Draco, come on, stay with me!"
Hermione watched as Draco's eyes fluttered open.
"Draco?"
His eyes shut again. Hermione shook him and shook him, but he didn't move.
"Ginny, go get Dumbledore! Quick!!!" Hermione screamed.
Ginny ran from the room and up the passage.
Hermione kept trying to get Draco awake again, but nothing worked.
Then, about 10 minutes after Ginny left, Draco opened his eyes and looked into Hermione's."Hermione," he whispered, and his body went limp and his breathing stopped.
a/n: (Dodges tomatoes) sorry for the cliffy, but I needed to do one sometime. I will get on writing the 6th chap tomorrow and I will have it up here asap.
Thanks for reading! This chap was 17 pages long in Word at size 10 font! woo hoo! I also have a blog now so look there for updates on my story. Heres a link: or you can go to my authors page and click on homepage.
Thanks once again! I love you all! Oh, and don't forget to review, they are my fuel source and if you review I promise to have the next chapter up sooner!