Chapter 13
"Granger, wake up. The house-elves are born to be servants. Why oh why do you keep insisting they get freed?"
"Because it's only fair, Malfoy! They do so much for us, and what do they get? Nothing!"
Draco groaned. "Working is their payment! They're HAPPY doing that. Your trying to free them makes them UPSET and INSULTED. Get it?"
"I'm not going to stand by and watch poor innocent house-elves be persecuted!"
"I ought to report you to the headmaster."
"Why?"
"You just called him a house-elf persecutor."
"W-what?" Hermione spluttered. "I didn't mean it like that!"
They were outside Harry's Divination classroom. Draco had just inhaled the last of the treacle tarts as he teased Hermione.
"Then what else could you have meant? Dumbledore keeps house-elves. You said you want to free house-elves so that they'll no longer be persecuted. Connect the dots."
Hermione looked annoyed. "Dumbledore is not the point, Malfoy!"
"Of course he's not the point. He's the house-elf persecutor." Draco grinned. Toying with Hermione was so much fun.
"Malfoy!" Hermione looked more and more peeved—and a little scared. "Back to the elves! Anyway, they still ought to get SOME form of recognition for their services!"
"And what'll they do with the pay, if they are paid?" Draco asked. "What'll they do with that money?"
"They'll get themselves some proper clothes, a well-deserved vacation, perhaps some medicines…"
"Not all of them are fond of wearing tea cozies for hats or mismatched socks. Besides, what, you expect the Ministry to build them a special house-elf shopping center? Thereby possibly ushering in a new wave of crime?"
"I—"
"And they'll go insane having nothing to do if you send them off to a beach in Tahiti. They're not for lounging around and building sand castles. Besides, if they need any help, isn't Madam Pomfrey good enough?"
"What about those under the tyrannical rule of abusive owners? I highly doubt those have a nurse to care for them."
"That's why house-elves have their own magic. Granger, they are not completely defenseless. They can take care of themselves. They don't need a nosy human—like, say, you—to pamper them. It just irritates the hell out of them."
Hermione was breathing in short, rapid gasps, which meant two things: she was either ill, or trying to keep from strangling him.
"Like an annoying, loudmouth bug, scurrying around their floors…oh, this is a better example: like the way I'm irritating you now," Draco finished smoothly, leaning against the wall as he savored another victory. "Face it. You know I'm right."
It was then that the door to the Divination classroom flew open and the Gryffindors came hurrying out. It was too late for Draco to hide—the students had suddenly come to a stop, staring in bewilderment at the Slytherin boy.
Harry and Ron advanced to the front of the crowd, wands out and raised.
The Weasley immediately rushed to Hermione's side. "You OK?"
Hermione nodded. "I'm perfectly fine."
Harry's eyes blazed with power as he advanced on Draco, who drew his own wand.
"Harry!" Hermione called. "Harry!"
She quickly stepped between them, her back to Draco, her eye meeting Harry's.
"Calm down," she told him. "He's not worth it."
Harry resheathed his wand, but the anger in his green eyes had not dissipated.
"It's not smart to antagonize me, Malfoy," he hissed, his voice so low that only Draco could hear, and dangerous. "I don't care which side you're on—mess with Hermione and you deal with me."
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Hermione and Draco met up again just before bedtime in the corridors. Hermione glared at him as she shifted her mountain of books to her other arm.
"Ah, my favorite Mud—Gryffindor," he drawled. "How was the library? More pro-elf literature?"
Hermione briskly brushed past him…thereby allowing the books she was carrying slam hard into his chest.
"Owwww!"
The Gryffindor girl had a wicked smile on her face. "Oh, I am so sorry, Malfoy. Purely an accident, of course…"
With that, she went on her merry way, leaving a coughing Draco behind.
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It was just another day on the job. Draco and Hermione had skipped Arithmancy again to stake out the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
As Hermione opened the door, her wand fell to the floor.
Harry was lying spread-eagled on the floor, his green eyes blank.
Draco entered after her. "What on earth—AAAAAHHHHH!"
He jumped about six feet into the air.
Hermione's hands were shaking.
Draco struggled to calm himself down and think rationally. "Wait…OK…but…he's in Divination right now…no way could he—" Draco sucked in a breath as realization struck, filling him with relief. Retrieving his wand from the floor (he had dropped it when he screamed), he shouted, "Eeek, Riddikulus!"
The boggart, which had just morphed into a hippogriff, disappeared with a loud "Poof!"
Draco turned back to Hermione, who, to his complete and utter shock, was crying.
"Oh great. Yep. Exactly what I need."
He very tentatively poked her in the back. "Granger."
She did not respond.
"Granger! The boggart's gone!"
She cried harder. He groaned. He was NOT equipped to handle bawling!
"Granger, if you don't stop, I'll hex you."
Realizing he was having no effect whatsoever, he tried a gentler approach, although every fiber of his being protested against this.
"Granger, Potter's safe a few doors away. It was just a boggart. Understand? A boggart."
Hermione finally dared to open her eyes. She sniffled a bit, but it appeared that she was done with her crying jag for now.
Draco breathed.
"But why set a boggart on Harry?" she asked, her voice still thick as she stepped closer to the spot where the boggart had been. "I mean, he knows perfectly well how to handle them—"
They suddenly heard a dull "Twang!"
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A/N: THERE IS NONE WHO DESERVES PRAISE MORE THAN MY LORD JESUS CHRIST!
And to my reviewers:
Sacagawea- Thanks:) This one's longer now, though…
Ehlonna- Well, they're not quite almost-friendly yet—they're still enemies: arguing, calling each other names, "accidentally" hitting each other with big stacks of books… :)
Goodybad- Thanks:) The next couple of chapters will be focusing on Draco and Hermione, but there'll quite a bit of Harry/Ginny soon…
Cold-eyes-for-you- I never said I'm completely cutting pranks out of the story…who knows, I might decide to put something in… ;)
Delayed Action Ninja- I'm very sorry, but the next chap will contain something you might like… ;) No kissing for a good long while, though, because I'm saving that.
Marina- Thanks:) And I'll be glad to do so
Alcapacien- We-ell, Draco really was just going to tell her about the truce thing. He, sadly, is not yet in love with her, and does not even like her as of now...but things will change, though it'll be a while.
Crimson Girl- Oh, I hope you won't give up on me too soon…the next chapter's pretty good, if I may say so myself. ;)
MissDitzy- Thanks for the input:) And yes, the Death Eaters were taken to Dumbledore.
Coming up: Heroic Draco…