Chapter 10: Panic!
"What?" Hermione mumbled.
"Draky? Is that you?" came a high-pitched voice.
"Shit!" Malfoy hissed.
"Huh?" Hermione mumbled still a little dazed.
Malfoy tried to get up but the sleeve of his shirt was caught on a piece of armour. He tried pulling but the material didn't rip.
He heard footsteps coming fast up the corridor. "Fuck!" he tried pulling harder.
Hermione pushed the armour off of her and was about to walk away when she heard Malfoy swear and saw him tugging on his shirt. Thinking about leaving him there she had second thoughts.
'Maybe I can corner him into telling me why he kissed me if I help him'
Hermione rushed to his side. She looked at his caught sleeve. Hermione slipped two of her fingers onto the hole and pulled sideways so that it grew bigger.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! This is my good shirt!" Malfoy complained.
"Do you want to be caught by pansy trapped by a suit of armour?" Hermione looked up and stared straight into his eyes.
"What are you waiting for woman? Keep tearing!" he cried panicked as he heard the footsteps quicken even more.
Hermione was now able to slip in her other two fingers and she pulled. The piece of armour clattered to the floor. Hermione pulled Malfoy up and dragged him into a secret passage way that only she knew of (it was magically hidden from Harry's map, plus she liked it to be her own personal space to disappear into so she didn't tell them of it).
"Granger what the…?" he was cut off by Hermiones hand clamped over his mouth as she quickly stuck her hand out side the tapestry, waved her wand so that the armour returned to it's normal state and then pulled it back in quickly and unnoticed as Pansy approached them.
Pansys feet stopped right outside. They heard her sigh and she kept on walking. Hermione kept her hand over Malfoys mouth in case Pansy came back. Malfoy, not wanting her hand there anymore, stuck his tongue out and licked Hermione's hand. She gave a small squeal and her hand flew off and she quickly wiped it on her skirt.
'Wait, a skirt?' Hermione looked down and saw she was in her favourite pieces of clothing, even though none of them matched, that Brett had helped her pick out.
"Ok, this is weird." She mumbled.
Malfoy saw her looking at her clothing. "The spell has a weird side effect. For some reason when you comeback you end up in your favourite clothes and might I saw wow Granger! Didn't know you had it in ya."
Hermione was wearing a tight blue halter-top, a black plated skirt with chains hanging off of the black leather belt and her favourite combat boots with buckles up the sides. She whipped her wand at herself and her top changed into a black and silver top with leather straps that crossed over on her back and had a zip up the front of her top. She kept her skirt and boots. A silver choker necklace appeared on her neck and black fish net gloves appeared on her hands, Hermione had cut the fingers off to give them a 'look'.
"That's more like it," she murmured.
She looked at him and saw he was in muggle jeans and a black t-shirt with a large sword, roses and a sort of banner with the words 'Since 1952, first name in the Water' in it. In big letters 'O'Neill' was sprawled across the sword and the roses.
"Well, I didn't know you knew of the surfing company O'Neill. Isn't that a muggle thing?"
"Yeah and? I just really like these clothes."
"Eh, fine with me."
"So where does this lead to?"
"How about I show you," Hermione walked down the dark corridor and stopped in front of a wooden door with no handle.
"Control your destiny, or someone else will," Hermione said at the door.
"What are you…?" a handle appeared on the door and Hermione opened it.
She looked at him and smiled. His mouth formed an 'o' of understanding and followed her through the door.
"This is a secret place that I found in third year. I come here to think and to get a little privacy from my controlative friends. Oh yay, I just made a new word!" she clapped her hands and jumped up and down. When she saw his weird look she stopped.
"Some of the greatest minds in history have come here in their school years. What you do is you make up your own password and then the room changes to your own personal style. This room helps you think and sort out your thoughts. You have to be careful sometimes as it make you act out things that you are too scared to do in public."
Malfoy nodded and looked around. The walls were midnight blue with gold designs lining the walls. The roof was an image of the night sky on a full moon, a guitar rested in its stand in one corner along with some electronic gear. A desk was up against one wall with a laptop, some stationary, paper, a lamp and an empty photo frame were cluttered on it. Hermione walked over to a beanbag and plonked down. She closed her eyes and relaxed.
Malfoy walked over o the desk and looked at it. He picked up the photo frame and saw no photo.
"No photo?" he asked holding the frame up.
"Nope."
"Why?"
Hermione opened her eyes and looked at him, "dunno, I guess I haven't found a picture good enough to put in it."
The ceiling changed from a night sky to a far off galaxy with shooting stars.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she sighed.
Malfoy looked up and agreed. He sat in the other beanbag and watched her watch the ceiling. Her eyes enchanted by the swirling colours. That's when he noticed behind her was a stereo system with a stack of cds. She noticed him staring behind her.
"They're a stack of demos. They're not very good," she said hoping he didn't want to play one.
"Cool, can I have a look?"
"Knock you self out."
Malfoy walked over and looked through the demos. They were all by a band called Evils Warriors.
"Weird name," he mumbled.
"My brothers idea." Hermione said walking up behind him.
"Can I play one?" he asked unsure.
"Er, ok." Hermione loaded the cd in his hand.
The music started and then Mike started singing.
I woke the other day
And saw my world has changed
The past is over but tomorrow's wishful thinking
I can't hold onto what's been done (whoa)
I can't grab onto what's to come (whoa)
And I'm just wishing I could stop, but
Life goes on
Come of age
Can't hold on
Turn the page
Time rolls on
Wipe these eyes
Yesterday laughs
Tomorrow cries
Memories are bittersweet
The good times we can't repeat
Those days are gone and we can never get them back
Now we must move ahead (whoa)
Despite our fear and dread (whoa)
We're all just wishing we could stop, but
Life goes on
Come of age
Can't hold on
Turn the page
Time rolls on
Wipe your eyes
Yesterday laughs
Tomorrow cries
With all our joys and fears
Wrapped in forgotten years
The past is laughing as today just slips away
Time tears down what we've made (whoa)
And sets another stage (whoa)
And I'm just wishing we could stop
Life goes on
Come of age
Can't hold on
Turn the page
Time rolls on
Wipe these eyes
Yesterday laughs
Tomorrow cries
"Cool," Malfoy breathed.
"Yeah. The chords can get pretty hard in some of the songs we play."
"You…you play? In a band? In that band?" Malfoy stuttered.
"Yep. I play the guitar and in some of the song I sing. Choose another cd. Surprise me. I'll play my parts in the song." Hermione slipped the strap over her head on her guitar and turned on the amplifier and speaker.
Hermione started strumming the guitar concentrating on the words and Chris's beat timings on her drum set.
Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet
Every roommate kept awake
By every sigh and scream we make
All the feelings that I get
But I still don't miss you yet
Only when I stop to think about it
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
Hermione closed her eyes and kept on playing.
Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet
Only when I stop to think about it
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
Only when I stop to think
About you, I know
Only when you stop to think
About me, do you know
Malfoy looked at her in interest, as she played, moving with every strum of her guitar and the beat of the song.
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
You hate everything about me
Why do you love me
I hate
You hate
I hate
You love me
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
Hermione opened her eyes and saw him looking at her. She stared back and lifted the strap over her head and placed the guitar on a beanbag in the corner without breaking eye contact. She walked over to him, reached behind him and stopped the music before it went onto the next song. They were still staring at each other.
Hermione's heart was pounding in her chest and so was Malfoys.
Before he could contain himself he quickly bent down, kissed her, held it, and then stood back up. She continued to look at him but the spot where she was, was soon vacant as Hermione took off down the passageway and out into the corridors.
"Granger!" Malfoy yelled as he ran after her.
Hermione just kept on running. She didn't know why she was running. It was just and instinct to do when she didn't know what to do in these kinds of situations. Hermione tried running down one corridor. The bell rang and students came streaming out of the classrooms, including Harry and Ron. She stopped in her tracks.
"Hermione! We've been so worried," they yelled and began pushing their way through the crowd towards her.
"Granger," came Malfoy's voice behind her.
She gave a yelp and pushed towards Harry and Ron but she rounded them and kept running once they were passed her.
"Granger!" Malfoy yelled as he saw he bolt around the corner.
"Malfoy! What did you do?" Harry yelled and tried to grab a hold on Malfoy.
"Piss off Potter," he shrugged them off and continued after the fleeing girl.
Hermione passed more students and spotted a classroom door that she knew would be vacant. She pushed the door open and ran inside, slammed the door shut, and locked it with all of the locking spells she could think of, even the ones she had made herself (they're illegal spells as she hasn't registered them yet). Hermione lent her back against the door and slid down, breathing deeply causing her chest to rise up and down.
BANG BANG BANG
"Granger let me in!" Malfoy yelled yanking on the door handle.
Hermione didn't reply.
"I know you're in there," he said calmly.
Still Hermione stayed silent and listened to him sit on the ground and lean against the door like she was.
"Listen Granger…I don't know what happened. In the hospital wing…I, I think…it felt like my body was taken over by something…and back there in…that, that ah…room thingy…I don't know wha…I mean…I, I…I guess what I'm trying to say is that…oh I don't know…I guess that I should say sorry, but you see…I, I've never had to say sorry to anyone…my father made sure of that…I guess I don't know what I'm suppose to do in these situations," Malfoy explained stopping every so often to place his words.
Hermione listened to him speak. She was still so confused to why he had kissed her, TWICE, all in the same day. She chose not to answer him, make him think he was talking to a locked empty classroom.
"Granger? Granger? Granger! I know you can hear me! Fine, if you're gonna be like that…" He yelled and muttered while he was getting up, "God, I can't believe I like her!"
Hermione's heart skipped a beat. He liked her. Could it be true? Has the Slytherin Prince really fallen for the Gryfindor Golden Girl? Hermione shook her head at the crazy thoughts. She got up and unlocked the door. Hermione checked that he wasn't there and headed up towards the Gryfindor Common room.
It was getting dark. They had spent almost all of the day in the hospital wing and the forest. Hermione seemed to always be running away from Malfoy and yet he was always after her.
The corridor grew darker, much faster and much more than it should in a castle than normal. A noise came from ahead, like the scraping of boots on the floor. Heart rate going a million miles an hour she took a step backward. When it came to suddenly darkening corridors and scary noises in front of her she was scared out of her wits and yet when it came to facing Voldemort, his band of Death Eaters and everything like that she was as brave as she could ever be.
Hermione turned to go back along another way when the noises changed position. Once again they were in front of her. Panic tried to take over her body but she pushed in down. She searched for her wand. When she pulled it out of her pocket it was knocked out of her hand with great force. Her whole body froze over, leaving her hand motionless in the dark in front of her still clasped in a fist as if the wand was still there.
A hand reached out and slowly rapped it's long fingers around her hand. Rings shone in the none existent light. Hermione's body was being racked by shudders from her breathing. Coming to her senses she tried to pull her hand away from the thing but it just tightened its grip. She was stuck, gripped by the creature, trapped by its bony hand in a death grip that could not be undone.