Chapter Five: WHAT??!!
The next week past by quickly with much planning and anticipation of the next week. Everyone in the house seemed to be overly tense and tampers were running short. Even the twins stopped their shenanigans so that they wouldn't be hexed beyond belief by the rest of the members of the house. Ginny practiced her healing relentlessly on self inflicted wounds by volunteers who happened to be running in short supply. It wasn't all that easy to convince someone to break their own arm twice. Hermione, Ash, and Kat trained as much as they could to make each transformation faster. Draco occasionally helped the twins with their infiltration plans since his father had taken him to all of Voldemorts' hiding places as a child.
Soon the sun had begun to set on the ninth day at the Malfoy Manor. Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Draco sat bored in the main room of the secluded wing. Fred and George were talking in low tones in a corner, Harry and Ron were playing exploding snap, Draco was reading, and Hermione was painting Ginny's nails.
"All done! Okay whose next?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.
She looked around at the room and saw everyone's nails painted a bright red. It turned out that Hermione could be very persuasive when she was bored. She continued to look around and saw that Draco's nails had not yet been painted. With a mischievous grin she walked up behind the couch he was reading on and stared at him from behind. Ginny began to giggle when Hermione slipped her arms down onto the book Draco was reading and snatched it away. He turned around and gave her an odd look.
"What was that for? I didn't do anything!" Draco said, cautiously eyeing the bottle of bright red nail polish in her hand.
Hermione leaned down and whispered in his ear so that no one else could hear.
"Remember by the pool…you owe me…" she whispered.
Harry and Ron had now become intent on watching what was going on as Draco's jaw dropped and he shook his head swiftly. His eyes had a sort of glaze and it was obvious he knew what she wanted to do. Hermione gave him the best puppy dog look she could manage; being able to turn into a wolf did give her some advantages. Draco rolled his eyes as she continued to look at him.
"Okay. Hurry up though." Draco said in a strained voice.
"Really??" Hermione asked happily.
"NO!" Draco yelled as he got up and ran behind the couch opposite the one he had previously been sitting on.
Hermione scowled and followed closely. Draco gave her a 'You wouldn't dare!' look. She ran quickly behind the couch and when he leaped onto the couch to avoid her she followed. Much to her surprise she landed right on top of him. Both turned a deep shade of crimson but neither moved. All the sounds of laughing seemed to block out and it felt eerily quiet.
"Uhh…."they both whispered.
Hermione cleared her throat and slowly got off of him, muttering sorry a few times. A nervous laugh escaped Draco's lips before he sat up and offered his hands. Again Hermione cleared her throat and knelt down to slowly paint his fingernails with shaky hands. Soon she had returned to normal and finished his nails. Harry and Ron were having a lot of fun with the nail polish on, probably more than they should. But then one can't help but laugh when your best friends pretend to be super models and prance around like idiots. Even Mrs. Weasley seemed to enjoy the little show they were putting on when she came down the stairs.
At least two hours had passed quickly but still Fred and George sat in their corner. By now the rest of them had contented themselves with sitting in the middle of the floor. Ron and Harry eyed the twins carefully.
"What do you reckon they're up to?" Harry asked.
"Still planning. I told them about secret passageways into Vol- He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's hiding place." Draco replied calmly.
"Either that or plotting how they're gonna use their new inventions on you guys!" Hermione said with a laugh.
Harry was just about to retort when a strange black owl flew in through an open window and dropped an envelope into Hermione's lap. She nervously looked around at al of the anxious faces staring at her from all angles. She slowly tore open the envelope and frowned when she read it.
"What?" Draco asked nervously.
"I've got to go." Hermione said.
She dropped the letter and walked toward the front door. Everyone watched her nervously and waited as Draco read the letter.
"Oh God no…" ha said as he shook his head and ran after Hermione.
The letter was passed around to everyone who in turn ran out to stop Hermione from doing anything stupid. As they reached the doorway they saw Draco wrestling Hermione, in her wolf form, to the ground. Hermione was growling and snapping, though she knew she wouldn't hurt him even if she wanted to. Fred and George rushed to help. Hermione changed back and let out a strangled sigh. Fred and George got up and shook their head.
"You're a bit tougher than Ron, you know that Hermione." They said as the rest of the group headed towards them.
"What are you doing Hermione?!" Draco asked breathlessly.
"It doesn't matter! What does is why you stopped me!" Hermione said angrily as she struggled underneath him.
His grip tightened on her as he kept her pinned to the ground. She let out a frustrated growl and glared at him. The others had quickly surrounded her so that she couldn't get away, even if she escaped Dracos' grip. Hermione finally broke down and tears flowed down her cheeks as she sobbed her heart out. Draco sighed and helped her to her feet as she wiped away some of the stray tears.
"Hermione…everything's gonna be okay." Ron said.
"Yeah don't worry. Nothings going to happen." Harry said confidently.
"Voldemort has my parents…how can nothing happen? Why me? Why my parents?"
Everyone remained quiet as she continued to mumble under her breath. She started to move even further away from the Malfoy Manor but they refused to let her go anywhere. Being as stubborn as she was they knew she would head straight for Voldemorts hiding place. She may have been able to turn into a wolf but nothing could protect her from the Death Eaters.
"Hey, come on back to the house and…we'll come up with a plan. Don't worry. We'll get 'em back." Draco said as he lead her and the others back to the house.
For hours Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ron, Kat, and Ash sat in the living room. Draco was trying desperately to comfort her. Kat and Ash were still in a state of disbelief, as were Ron and Harry.
"Shhhhhh, shhhhhh, its okay Hermione…its okay…we'll be okay…" Draco said as he stroked her hair.
"I want…to talk to Ron…" Hermione whispered through sobs.
Draco stopped talking to her and walked over to Ron. He gave him a slight glare before telling him that Hermione needed to talk to him. He watched as the red head walked over to her and sat on the couch with her. Why did she need…no want…to talk to Ron? Hadn't he treated her like scum?
"Ron…I…" Hermione said as more tears flew down her cheek.
"I'm sorry Hermione. Sorry about everything. Sorry about being a jerk, sorry about your parents, I'm just really sorry." He said quietly.
Hermione let herself fall into Ron and cry, the same way she had done with Draco, only this was her friend. He wasn't…well…who said that Draco wasn't just her friend?
"Um…Ron…why? Why did you do that anyway?"
"I wanted to keep you safe but…I guess you being stubborn like that I wont ever be able to do that. You're my best friend and I don't want you hurt. You know?"
"Thanks Ron. Hey could you maybe…get Draco back over here?" she asked.
Ron rolled his eyes and went to convince Draco to go back and sit with her. After ten minutes Draco still wouldn't go. Ron shrugged at Hermione in obvious surrender. She wouldn't give up that easily though.
"Draco. Please?" Hermione asked.
"No!"
"Please?"
"Come on just go sit with her! You know you want to. I saw that look on your face while you were over there!" Kat yelled.
Draco opened and shut his mouth like a fish out of water. Hermione grinned and threw a pillow at him. He looked at her in an offended way and then gave her a look before he headed towards the stairs. Kat laughed as Hermione got up and chased after him once again.
"Man I can't wait to see how their kids are gonna act." Ash said.
"How do you know if they even like each other?" Harry inquired.
Upstairs Hermione had found Draco in his room and sat down on his bed. She let her feet dangle off the end and swung them back and forth.
"So…this is your room huh?" she asked.
"Yeah. Why are you even up here?" Draco responded a bit coldly.
"Ooh touchy!" Hermione said as she playfully hit him on the arm, "Last time I checked it was rude to not comfort a girl in distress."
"Hah. Yeah well you have Ron for that don't you?"
"What on earth are you talking about? Ron and I aren't involved if that's what you think. We might be friends again but…that would never happen."
Draco stood silent for a few seconds and then sat down beside her. She smiled a bit and he grinned.
"Thanks…for um stopping me earlier. I don't know what I was doing. I was just so…"
"Hysterical?" Draco offered.
"Yeah…thanks." Hermione said offhandedly, "Well I'm going back downstairs. I rather like sleeping out there."
She stood up and walked slowly out of the room and back into the living room. Hermione plopped herself down on the couch she had previously been sitting on and sighed. Everyone else had occupied themselves fro the moment so she sat waiting for something to happen.
"Hey Hermione! Up for a walk?" Ron and Harry yelled.
"Yeah sure! Be right there!" Hermione replied.
She called a piece of parchment to her and wrote a quick note saying she was out with Harry and Ron. With a heavy sigh she got up and went to where she heard Ron's voice coming from and spotted him standing with Harry. They gestured towards the door and she followed closely. The cool night wind blew around them as they got farther from the house. Hermione just followed, assuming they wanted to be out of earshot or something like that. Finally they reached a large tree which they gathered by.
"Hermione…" Ron said.
"Yeah?" Hermione asked.
"I can't believe…that you fell right into our trap." Ron said.
"What? I…don't understand. Is this some kind of joke?" Hermione asked, worry beginning to etch into her voice.
She turned to look at Harry but found that he was not there. Instead Pansy Parkinson stared back at her. Hermione gasped and turned back to Ron but found Vincent Crabbe there instead. Her heart raced when she finally figured out what was going on. They were going to take her just like they had taken her parents!
Back at the mansion just after Hermione leaves with fake Harry and Ron
"Harry what are you doing back so soon?" Draco asked casually, "Did Ron have something to talk to Hermione about?"
"What are you talking about? Me and Ron have been upstairs for almost an hour. We haven't even talked to Hermione since she left with you." Harry replied as he gave Draco an odd look.
Draco's mind began to piece together the puzzle and soon he had figured out what was going on.
"Come on!" He said grabbing Harry's arm."
"Where are we going?" Harry asked.
"Yeah where are you going?" Ron asked form the stairway.
"COME ON! If we don't get out there quick Voldemort will have Hermione too!"
Those simple words seemed to give them all an added boost of agility because they had gotten almost all the way to the tree in a matter of seconds. Pansy whipped around and almost drew her wand but the others were too quick for her.
"Put it down Parkinson." Draco said furiously.
"But-"
"I said put it down!" Draco yelled.
Pansy's wand fell to the ground and she backed away from Hermione. Harry joined in and turned to look at Crabbe who was standing right behind Hermione. Before Harry could say anything the bloke had already pulled out a knife and held it close to her throat. Hermione's look of fear increased when she saw the glint of the moonlight on the knife. Her eyes squinted and she saw a full moon reflecting on the sharp blade. She smiled at her three friends and winked. They gave her an odd look but when she started to convulse Harry and Ron recognized what she was doing. They had seen this in real life only one time before…
A/N: HAH! Nooowww I'm getting somewhere! Hehe I bet your know what she's doing huh? Or maybe you don't….who knows! Lol weeeellll I should be going now. Get to writing the next chapter! See ya!
Emma
