Rhyann had managed to avoid being alone with Harry again over the next week. She remained up in her dorm to practice her astral projection and always made sure she had at least one of her house mates with her when she went to meetings. She could see by the way he looked at her, he knew that she was avoiding answering his questions. She would let him think as he wished for the time being until she thought of something to tell him that would sound plausible but not something that would make him want to get involved to rescue her or anything.
As well as avoiding the scarred Gryffindor, the dreamer was getting better at losing the Mulciber twins. That night after she first found out what they were up to, she had given them horrible nightmares. She could hear Imene's screams echoing up from the bottom floor of the dungeon dorm where the first year girls slept. For good measure, she continued the next few nights with equally as terrifying dreams. The brats were so tired that they had no energy to be following her about.
She suspected Draco might guess that she had been giving the twins nightmares, but he did not say anything to her. Rhyann knew that if he did ask why and she told him what she knew, Draco would have to admit to sending them to watch her himself. Of course, he was not about to do that. So he did not even breathe a word about his cousins and ignored them if they came up to him if she were around.
The fragile peace between the two of them did not last much further into October though. The second Wednesday in the month, Rhyann was up on top of the Astronomy tower doing some extra work for class. Professor Sinistra had always been impressed with her knowledge of the night sky and had assigned her the most lengthy of projects. She did not mind all that much though. It was one of the subjects she did thoroughly enjoy along with the solitude in the in the starry night as well.
Rhyann heard the footsteps coming up the spiraling stairs and did not jump when she felt the strong arms surround her, pulling her close. Draco laid a dozen kisses along her neck and nuzzled her affectionately. "You feel cold, love. You've been up here long enough to turn your fingers blue. You best let me bring you inside to warm you up."
She chuckled and twisted her head back to kiss him lightly. "In a few minutes. I'm almost done with this."
Kissing her back, he then released her to let her go finish the last bit of her work. He took in a deep breath of the cool night air and gazed out over the grounds. "Hurry it up or else I'm going to get turn blue too!"
"Please." She rolled her eyes slightly and looked through the telescope lens at a nursery of newborn stars. "You're too hot blooded. You could apparate to the north pole and still think it only slightly chilly."
He laughed quietly and leaned against the wall. "Preparations for the tournament are going perfectly. There will be a dozen teams playing including the four from Hogwarts. Of course, we'll have to place a time limit on matches so we can get them all done in the course of the day, but it'll give me a chance to catch the snitch every time." Draco drawled on confidently. "Minister Scrimgeour wrote to say that he will spend the whole afternoon here now. Though there will be other equally as important people there we need to impress as well. How are the firework plans coming along?"
"Good, good." Rhyann replied, scribbling down some coordinates and descriptions. "They will arrive a week before the tournament which will give us enough time to sort through and get them ready."
"Your team should be ready to light them right after the final game of the day when Slytherin wins. It'll be dark enough by then." He continued on. "It will be perfect to tour around the pitch victorious with the fireworks and Snape can have the serpent summons following us as we do. He said it was impressive, didn't he?"
"He didn't say anything at all." She recorded the last of what she needed and rolled up the parchment, stowing it away in her book bag along with her quill. The petite teen then stood up with bag in hand, indicating she was done now.
"Then that means it's good." Draco nodded once and took her free hand. He held it between both of his, rubbing it to warm it up as they went back inside to make the descent down the stairs. "I need your help with one more project too."
Groaning quietly, Rhyann shook her head. "Draco, you do realize that I barely have enough time for things as it is? I can't handle another project. There's plenty of people in Slytherin to do something if you want it done."
"No one else can do this except for you." The blond stated. "I need your help with that mudblood. She is making it very difficult to do my job properly as Head Boy. I want you to get her to do as I tell her. Or better yet, just get rid of her like you did last school semester."
The dreamer narrowed her dark eyes at him. "I'm not doing any such thing. You're capable enough of doing what you want to do. I won't have anything to do with messing around with Hermione this year."
"I could push her down a set of stairs like you did, but it's far less suspicious if you do something." Draco kept her hand in his as they reached the bottom and exited the tower.
"Draco!" She hissed at him and pulled him to the side, glancing down both ways of the hall. All she saw was the wispy form of one of the resident ghosts disappearing through a wall. "Watch what you're saying! Who knows who might be listening!"
"Oh, no one is listening, Rhyann." He huffed and leaned towards her, resting a hand on the stone wall. He lowered his voice nonetheless. "I need you to do this for me. The bitch is driving me nuts! Everything I suggest, she goes against. She's always nattering at the Prefects and wants to have more muggle and house-elf awareness in the school. It's a bloody ridiculous idea! No one wants any more of their taint around here. We have enough of it with mudbloods like Granger around."
Sighing, she folded her arms. "You know she can't do anything without the majority of the votes from the Prefects. Plus she had to get the permission of the Headmaster and the Heads of the Houses. There's no way that's going to happen. Just bribe some Prefects to side with you and keep her busy or something."
"You don't understand what it's like to have to put up with her all the bloody time!"
"Have you forgotten I'm the one that had to befriend her? I know full well what Hermione is like." Rhyann stiffly reminded him.
"That's why I want you to help me. Just nudge her sleeping mind, get her to lay off the bloody muggle and house-elf crap. If you don't want to, talk to her. Just get her to stop it! Everyone's tired of hearing her go on about it!" He growled his frustration and then leaned in so that his forehead touched hers. "I prefer to bribe you much more than those idiot Prefects." Draco kissed her and murmured seductively, "I'll make it worth your while."
Placing her small hands upon his chest, she gave him a little push back. "Don't do that! I'm not going to help you with this. It's only one mudblood. Surely you can handle that yourself."
His handsome face hardened. "Don't make me have to pull out the big cards, Rhyann. I don't want to have to play those. Just do what I ask. It won't take you but a few minutes."
Her hands curled up into fists upon his chest. "The big cards! You would stoop to that level over something as stupid as this!" Rhyann gave him her own cold expression. "I'm sure your father would not like you running to him because I won't help you with this. Tell him I'm not doing what you want and I'll tell him you're incapable of handling one nattering mudblood."
Draco glared at her for a moment. A dangerous glint in his gray eyes and then slammed his fist onto the wall where he had been leaning. "Dammit, Rhyann! Granger's driving me bloody insane! I have too much on my mind. I won't pull out the big cards, okay? Just help make things easier for me."
"No." She replied coolly.
Letting out a roar of aggravation, Draco stormed off down the hall and left her behind. Rhyann did not move until she was sure he was far enough away. She did not expect him to come back. Probably in the morning, he'd be acting like nothing happened.
She would not tell him that he probably could have convinced her to do something if he were not so selfish and arrogant about it. If he would have asked her nicely instead of bringing in the big cards' or tried to bride her with his affections, she would have done it. The dreamer had heard Hermione go on about treating house-elves better and granting them freedom to do as they want, claiming they were slaves. Thankfully she had only had to listen to a bit about muggle awareness and using muggle technology to help make things better at Hogwarts. She knew it was only because they both took Muggle Studies together and she heard enough in that class. In her mind, there wasn't anything they couldn't do better with magic. Muggle ways were below them.
Rhyann headed off in the opposite direction that her boyfriend had went. It took her outside, but she did not mind a walk in the brisk night air. She even decided to take one of the longer routes around the school to get back to Slytherin tower. She had went halfway when she heard several birds squawking in panic and taking off from the perches in the Forbidden Forest. She could only see their shadows and lots of wobbling treetops. Yet from what she had heard, those were a lot of birds.
She stood where she was for a few minutes, wondering what could have frightened them. It was fairly close to the edge of the forest. There were horrifying creatures in those woods, she knew, but she could only guess what might have chased the birds from their perches. If it, indeed, was only one thing. From how many trees had been moving, it would have been a whole lot of things.
She was about to start walking again when she saw something emerge from the forest. Rhyann recognized the hulking figure at once as Hagrid. He was moving at a fast pace, too, up towards the castle. She had not seen him often this semester. There had been two classes where he attended to show off a dog-sized creature that looked like a ball of dirty hair called a Trezznor and a baby rock golem which he had named Lode. Golems were thought to be extinct in England. Where he got these creatures, no one ever knew, but at least Professor Grubbly-Plank had hers all licensed and approved by the Ministry. And what he was doing besides teaching, one could only guess.
Rhyann did not think that Hagrid could have made all that fuss in the forest himself. She stood where she was, unmoving, until the half-giant disappeared into the castle. He had been mumbling something and she had heard Dumbledore's name in there. Obviously that was whom he was going to see.
She did not miss Hagrid teaching the Care of Magical Creatures class. Grubbly-Plank was much more comprehensive than he was and she did not favor one House over another as he seemed to do. Draco had told her that one year he was attacked by one of Hagrid's creatures, a hippogriff. He had been horribly wounded and there were the faint scars to prove it, too. The half-giant was one of Dumbledore's greatest supporters and a friend of Potter's as well. It was no wonder that he favored the Gryffindors.
She soon came to the entrance she was looking for and re-entered the school. Rhyann had stuck her hands up her sleeves to keep them warm and hugged her bag against herself. Now back inside, she withdrew her hands and carried her book bag properly. Then she was almost run over by two boys tearing down the corridor!
Rhyann stumbled back against the wall, cursing them under her breath. Once the boys were out of sight, another set of footsteps followed and the Head Girl appeared with her face screwed up with anger. "I know who you are! ROGER DAWSON AND STEPHEN LYNDON! Don't think that running away will get you out of detention! TOMORROW NIGHT AT 7:00!"
Hermione finally noticed the petite brunette and hurried over to see to her. "Oh, Rhyann! Are you alright!"
"Yes, I'm fine. I was just nearly run over by those two brats." The dreamer muttered, giving the other witch a tight but reassuring smile.
"Oh good. I'm glad you're okay." Hermione sighed heavily and leaned on the wall next to her. "Those two were painting obscene things on portraits. Mr. Filch has been trying to catch them for a few nights now. He didn't know exactly who they were, but I do. I hope they heard me call out their names so they know how much trouble they're in."
"You yelled pretty loud. I think they heard you."
The Head Girl gave the other an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about that, really, I am."
Rhyann pat the other teen on her shoulder. "You needn't apologize, Hermione. It wasn't your fault. Some of these brats just don't have the proper respect for things as they should." She'd suggest a good whipping if she didn't think it would horrify Granger.
"Thank you, and yes, there are more and more things showing the lack of respect some students have for the school. I never seen so much as just a Prefect, but this year, it's gotten much worse. It's really hard to keep up with things." She stood up straight and smoothed her robes, trying to look a bit neater. "I would like to get to more meetings but I haven't time for those either. Even with a schedule, things just keep popping up."
"I'm sure they do, especially when the one that's suppose to be helping you - the Head Boy - is only concerned with what he wants to do." Rhyann started walking again and let the Gryffindor fall in pace with her.
Hermione let out a little groan. "I don't mean to speak badly of your boyfriend, Rhyann, but he is making it very difficult for me to do my job. I'm trying to enlighten and improve the school, trying to promote House unity, but he blocks me every step of the way."
"He has told me the same thing of you trying to prevent him from doing his job." Rhyann could not suppress a bit of smile. "The two of you are so strong willed and of different minds, it is no doubt you're butting heads over everything."
"You can't believe how frustrating he is!"
"Oh, I bet you I can." Rhyann knew no one else had a clue just how much she could sympathize with that.
Turning in mid-step, Hermione faced the shorter witch. "Do you think you could talk to him for me? Convince him to try to work with me instead of against me? It would really help me out. It would help Hogwarts. I'm sure the professors are tired of mediating our meetings because it always ends up with us yelling at each other. You're the only one I know who has any influence over Draco."
Rhyann stopped and clasped her hands behind her back with the book bag gripped firmly in them. "You know, earlier this evening, Draco approached me asking my help in convincing you to cooperate with him. I told him that I wouldn't help. You see what a position this places me in? I can't say yes to you now. Yet it seems both of you want to get along… enough to do your jobs properly, of course."
"Yes. I understand." Hermione sighed and then continued walking. "I shouldn't have asked you anyway. That was wrong of me to put you between me and your boyfriend."
"Don't worry about it." Rhyann said reassuringly. At least the Head Girl was more reasonable and apologetic than the Head Boy. She was almost tempted to help out Hermione, but she would leave those issues to sort out between themselves. She had enough to concentrate on her own.