AN: I think this chapter has a weird Breakfast Club affect on it. Read it and you'll see what I mean.
"What do you mean by that!"
"I mean that it's a diversion. Look around! We've already determined this room was a parlor, but it was probably more than that. It has the arca sublimis spell on it." I turned to Hermione. "You do know what that is, right?"
She glared. "Of course I know what that is."
"Well, a few minutes ago you didn't know how to use lumos so I don't want to take anything for granted."
"Make people happy then lock them in a room. It makes sense that the Black's would put something like this in their house, it's an easy way to trap their enemies; lure them into a parlor that makes them very happy and take the door away right under their noses. The best part is you don't have to waste any time on drinks."
"Yes, well, as unbelievably fascinating as your cynicism is, we're stuck here now and we have to find a way out."
"The only real way out is if someone opens the door from the outside. Any other doors will take us deeper into the labyrinth and we'll never get out."
"So we wait."
"We wait," she confirmed.
"That's a great plan, genius really," I said sarcastically. "The thing is, nobody knows we're here."
"Someone's bound to notice we're missing."
"Yes, they're bound to notice that we're missing, but they won't know where! They're not going to know that we're in the bloody room or even in this bloody house!"
"There's nothing we can do about it now so I suggest you either stop panicking or shut up!"
"Panicking? I do not panic."
"Then you're a great actor."
"On second thought, yeah, I do panic...especially at the thought of spending the rest of my life with a self righteous bitch like yourself!"
"Let me see if I can remember that spell Moody taught me. You remember, right? The one that turns you into a bouncing ferret!"
"Oh Merlin! I'm going to be spending forever with Granger. Kill me now!"
"Only if you insist."
"You would, wouldn't you? Off me like that?" I noticed her look down at me, trying to hide her thoughts. "No, don't be ashamed. That's not a really unique notion. My own father would off me if the price was right." The second the words came out my mouth I regretted them. It was too much information, especially to reveal to someone who was a virtual stranger. The stranger remained quiet for a moment.
"I wouldn't off you," she said so quietly that it was almost a whisper.
"I know you wouldn't," I replied warmly.
"Would you kill me?"
That question came out of nowhere and caught me off guard. Given the chance, would I kill Hermione Granger?
"Strangely enough, I don't think I would." I didn't really hate her, so I really had no reason to want her dead. I admired her too much to hate her. She was a clever and powerful witch and she could hold her own on the battle field, even sans auror training. I suppose that those should have been reasons enough to want her dead, but for some inexplicable reason they did not constitute murder in my mind.
"That's good to hear." There was a pause. "Why are you here, Draco?"
"Honestly, I don't know."
"You're lying."
"Out of my arse." I grinned.
"Seeing as I don't think an interrogation would be of any use, what do you propose we do until help arrives?"
That was too easy. I raised my eyebrows suggestively. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm married."
"Now that you mention it, I've been meaning to discuss your poor taste in men."
"Excuse me?"
"Weasley? I'm sure that even you can do better than him. You definitely have horrid taste in men."
"I said no to you, so that should give me points."
"Stop trying to fight it; you want me," I said with mock seriousness, making her giggle.
"Draco, we need to get out of here."
She was right, but how? There was no telling how long we had been stuck in that room or how long we would be stuck. Zero hour was quickly nearing with each passing second, but the two us were sitting ducks in this doorless room from hell. I constantly scolded myself for not being able to detect the trap sooner. I wracked my brain for a solution but came up blank.
"You said it yourself: we have to wait for someone to find us," I replied patiently.
"But there's got to be a way out! We can't wait in here forever!"
"If there was an easy way out this spell wouldn't be very effective, would it?"
She thought for a moment. "I suppose not, but this is driving me mad with worry. For all we know, everyone's already dead."
At this moment, to my surprise, she began to cry softly. I had never seen Hermione Granger cry. This is not to say that I think she had never cried, but only that I had never seen her cry. This put me in quite an awkward situation: what should I do if one of my mortal enemies starts crying. The normal answer would be to laugh, but because I had formed a sort of twisted bond with Hermione this normal answer would not work. The next time a brought my eyes toward her, she was crying slightly harder.
"Erm...are you okay?" was my awkward response.
"I'm sorry, I just can't take this for much longer. I keep thinking that something has happened to Ginny, Harry, or...Ron." After she said that last name she began to weep harder.
I finally realized that in this room, at least, Hermione Granger was not my mortal enemy or a Mudblood. Instead, she was simply a girl. I tentatively put my arms around her tiny, shaking body. When I was sure that she wouldn't pull away, I hugged her tighter as she continued to weep into my shoulder.
"Everything's okay. We'll get out of here before you know it, don't worry." I whispered these and other promises to calm her. Shortly after, her crying stopped altogether.
"I feel so stupid. When did I become such a wimp?"
"Shh, your not a wimp," I reassured her softly. "Worrying about the ones you love does not make you a wimp." For some odd reason she was still leaning on my shoulder, but I wasn't about to complain.
Click She and I both stiffened with fear and guilt. Someone had found us at the worst possible moment.
"Hermione?" A pained voice came from the door. It was Weasley.
AN: I'll try to update soon. Tell me what you think!