Remembering the Horrors

Stella Malfoy

Well, I guess my plan to get Daddy and Hermione together has failed. I thought I was making some advances, but I've lost all hope. I guess I'll have to accept the fact that Elizabeth is my new step mom. I'm never calling her "mom," though.

Well, my memory was altered when I was kidnapped, right? And I forgot anything having to do with the plotting/ransom/etc. However, I was in the bathroom, staring at the marble counter when I remembered something.

I looked at my arm and saw a scrape… then I looked at the counter, then at the vent on the wall. "After that's taken care of, we'll write a ransom note for that obnoxious nanny to find." Elizabeth laughed. "And we'll demand a ton of gold and let someone else pick it up for us. Once we've got that, we skip town and dump the girls off somewhere."

I don't know why or how, but I remembered everything. I recalled Elizabeth and Ginny's plotting. I remembered going into the mansion and thinking it was oddly quiet. I remembered being grabbed from behind, with Luna screaming in the distance. I remembered Ginny laughing and Elizabeth saying how she let all the servants have the afternoon off. I remembered being knocked out and waking up in the forest near Hogwarts, tied to a tree. I remembered getting nothing to eat or drink for four days. I remembered trying to untie my sister and getting knocked in the head with a rock. I remembered other stuff, too, but it was too horrible to repeat.

What would I do with my new information? Well, I figured I'd save it for the most opportune moment. (I really need to get these terrible phrases from terrible Disney movies out of my head.)

I got up on the counter and pressed my head to the vent. I couldn't hear anything, and I decided that wasn't bad. I didn't want to hear more of Elizabeth and her evil friend's plotting. I also realized that Elizabeth was obviously at the rehearsal dinner. I was supposed to be there, too, but I needed a break.

"Where have you been?" Luna hissed when I returned to the table.

"Bathroom." I said simply.

"You missed it!" Luna cried with wide eyes. "Hermione and some guy got into a fight!"

I looked at the seat across from me and realized that it was vacant. "Was it her fiancé?" I asked with interest.

"Her what?" Luna questioned.

"Never mind."

I got out of my chair and ran towards the gardens. I knew that people went there when they were upset. It seemed to be a natural thing; everyone who came here or lived here went there for comfort.

"Granger, it's okay." I heard my dad say softly. I hid in the closest bush, wanting to see what they would do without them seeing me.

"No, it's not! I'm practically running your wedding!" She said with tears running down her cheeks.

"Granger, you're not ruining anything. It's that damn Weasley who started it." My dad assured her.

"Well, I'm thoroughly embarrassed now! I can't go back in there."

"Sure you can. No one will mention it, I swear. They've probably began talking about the dress or something by now, anyway."

"Why is Ron even here?" Hermione asked. "He's not in the wedding."

"Well, apparently, Elizabeth thinks some of the pureblooded families should attend this dinner, too." Daddy muttered. "I don't know why. Come on, we'll go back inside."

"No, wait." Hermione said softly. "I need to talk to you for a moment."

"What is it?" I saw that Hermione and my dad were sitting on the same bench, now, and she looked incredibly sad.

"I just… I…" She took a deep breath and said the next part really quickly. "I can't forget you. I can't get you out of my mind. And you're going to be married tomorrow, and I just want one kiss. Just one and I'll be able to get you out of my system. I'll never think of you again if you just give me one more…"

At that moment, my dad leaned in and kissed Hermione on the lips! I wanted to start cheering, but I didn't want to "ruin the moment." They remained kissing for a long time. I don't know much about it, but I assume you have to breathe when you're doing that, but they didn't seem to do anything but kiss each other.

After several minutes, they pulled apart, and a tear trickled down Hermione's face. No one said anything. My dad wiped away her tear with his thumb and rose from his seat.

I knew he had to walk right past me to get inside, and I assumed he would see me. So, I quietly and quickly ran into the house. I walked down the dark hallway, away from the party. I didn't want people to see me come rushing in from the gardens.

As I turned a corner, a man with bright red hair stood against the wall. He didn't look like a very cheerful person. "Who are you?" I demanded.

"Ron Weasley." He said, looking at me. "Who are you?"

"Stella Malfoy." I said smugly. "Wait a minute… you're Weasley?" I asked slowly.

"That's right." He bent down to look at me better.

I took advantage of that and slapped him hard across the face.

"Ow!" He yelped, jumping away from me. "What in the bloody hell was that for?"

"You cheated on Hermione!" I said angrily. "I've heard all about the things you did!"

"What would you know, anyway?" He laughed. "You're only, what, five years old?"

"Eight in a month." I corrected.

"Whatever."

"I may only be seven, but I know a lot of things." I said.

"Really?" He asked with interest. "Would you happen to know how your father treats Hermione?"

I smirked. "Well, anyone can see that, you know." I began. "They obviously are in love with each other but they deny it because my daddy's getting married and well, Hermione's a muggle."

He looked at me, a shocked expression on his face. "What makes you think that?"

"Hermione's told me a few times that she always—and still does, mind you—thought my daddy was 'gorgeous.' That's the word she used, too." I paused. "Oh, yeah, and then there's the kiss I just witnessed. I think that may have made me think that."

Ron looked like he was going to kill someone. I hoped that someone wasn't going to be me. So, to ensure that I would live to see the age of 8, I ran back into the dining room, positive he would follow and make a big scene.

When I got back in my chair, I noticed my dad and Hermione were back. They were talking and laughing and no one could tell what had happened in the gardens. Several minutes later, Ron came back in the room. He looked at me and then at my dad. I gulped.

"This is going to get ugly." I whispered to Luna who just shrugged and took a spoonful of soup.

"It can't be any worse than what you missed." Luna said slowly. "That guy asked Hermione if she found anyone better than him yet. Then she said that she didn't but she will, and he got mad. He said that she'd never replace him and that he was meant for her. It was kind of scary. Then Hermione took out her wand and they looked like they were going to battle!"

"Hermione!" Ron yelled from across the table. Everyone grew silent. I waited for the curses to come, but Ron didn't pull out a wand.

"What, Ron?" She asked with a sigh.

"I need to talk to you. Alone. Outside. NOW!" He ordered.

She got out of her seat and followed him out the door. My dad stared after them, but then turned to his plate. Everyone began chattering again.

I, however, wasn't interested in neither the food nor the conversation. I made sure my dad wasn't watching, and I made a beeline for the door.

"You bitch!" Ron exploded at Hermione.

"What did I do now?" She asked dangerously.

"You've been having an affair with Malfoy!"

"WHAT?" She asked, shocked. "I did no such thing!"

"Oh, right." Ron muttered sarcastically. "Like I should believe you."

"You don't have to, Ron." Hermione said. "You can believe what you want… but…"

"Just answer this one question." Ron demanded. Hermione didn't object. "Have you ever kissed Malfoy?"

She looked at the ground. "Yes."

"HOW MANY BLOODY TIMES?" Ron yelled with rage.

"That's two questions." Hermione said dully. I almost laughed.

"You're avoiding the question." Ron warned.

"I don't know!" She responded. "I can't just rattle off dates and times!"

"So then they mustn't have meant anything to you." Ron stated.

"No." Hermione shook her head and looked into Ron's eyes. "They meant everything to me."

I, however, was more blown away than Ron was. Ron went totally ballistic, but all I could do was stare with my mouth hanging open. If Hermione felt that way, why wasn't she stopping the marriage? Why didn't she say something! Why didn't I notice?

I guess my plan worked better than I realized! No. My conscience mumbled. You didn't cause it. It just happened. Well, I suppose that's probably true.

I knew then what I needed to do. I needed to stop the wedding. It was wrong; and everyone knew it. Even Grand-ma-ma objected to it. Wait; objection…. the priest always asks if anyone objects to the marriage!

Oh, that was my opportune moment alright. And it was Hermione's, Grand-ma-ma's, Luna's, and probably even my Dad's. The only question was who would be the first to object?

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! PLEASE review! I was surprised and flattered that no one had any criticism for me!

Review Responses:

Scottishbabe110: I couldn't come up with a good ghost story without it sounding like a total cliché, so I just had her start it and get interrupted. I think it worked, though.

Edonil: Wow, thanks! That's a huge compliment, seeing that there are over 190,000 fics in the Harry Potter department alone!

Kylie Athens & EmilyEB: Thanks! I don't want this to be too much like the Parent Trap, so you won't find any big interruptions by Stella.

Letty: I wanted him to seem cold… because he's so well, heartbroken, that he's trying to convince himself that he never loved her anyway.

Jess: That made me laugh. Thanks!

charretier: That's sort of what I was going for… I was really satisfied with the way I ended that chapter.

And all the rest of you, though there's too many to name all of you: THANKS! I hope you enjoyed it! Those of you who guessed that "some guy" was Ron deserve some applause. Please review!