Chapter Nine: Get Hermione!
Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing.
A/N: I know I
advertised this fic as Herm/Draco, but it's been hard to find the
ambition for it, and I think that phase is over, and I really doubt I
could do it justice without that. So go ahead and yell and scream and
hate me forever, but I'm not going to go that way with this fic. I
guess you won't know who Hermione will end up with after all.
You'll just have to keep reading, xD. But you'd do that anyways,
right? puppy eyes Love you guys!
-Scarlett
&()&()&()&
Hermione ran through the halls, led purely by memory as her eyes threatened to close, Draco following at her heels, finding it very hard to match her desperate, last-trace-of-adrenalin sprint.
"Granger! Slow up! You're going to run into something if you can't see where you're going!" Draco yelled ahead, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh, just try to keep up, Malfoy! We're almost there," Hermione huffed, not wanting to break her sprint in fear of collapsing to the ground.
The early morning sun had just begun to rise, letting light leak in through the arched windows of the passage the two students raced through, a shortcut Ron had found last year after making a few wrong turns. The fresh, crisp September-morning air cleared Hermione's head, slowing the thoughts racing around her head and organizing them. The fresh scents of flowers and various shrubs in the forest filled her up, and gave her some sort of natural high. Allowing her eyes to close momentarily, she dreamed she was laying gracefully in a rose garden, layers of white silk enveloping her body, her brown hair tumbling down her back in curls rather than a nest, petals scattered on the soft, vibrant pillows she lounged on, a bird singing a sweet song in the distance…
"Hermione!" Strong arms caught her before she fell to the ground, jostling her awake.
"Hm?"
"You were asleep on your feet, quite literally."
"Oh," she said with a sheepish grin, "sorry about that. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Seriously. Imagine what it would do to my reputation," Draco muttered, dusting off his robes and Hermione got to her feet.
"Don't forget that punch I threw in the third year, Malfoy," Hermione said with a hinting tone of malice.
"Didn't know you'd had it in you."
"You'd be surprised what you don't know."
"You'd be surprised what I do know," Draco said, his voice hinting at something they didn't exactly teach in the textbooks.
"Ugh, I did not just hear that," Hermione spat, disgusted.
"Believe what you wish."
"I will. Alright, we're here."
The two students bent over, hands on their knees, and breathed heavily for a moment before regaining their composure.
"Oh my…"
"What is it, Granger?" Draco huffed. "Does my perfection shock you?"
"No, no," Hermione said, a look of concern on her face as she crossed the hall. "Look at these marks…"
Draco followed her over to the door, and tried to suppress a small gasp. The door that was usually perfectly polished had deep claw marks embedded in the wood, and thin strips of wood that had been scraped off had fallen to the floor. Hermione ran her fingers over the deep scratches, her eyes squinted in thought, but it was obvious nothing was coming to her.
"Ow!" Hermione tore her hand away from the door and pulled out a small sliver of wood as Draco let out a snigger of satisfaction. "You think they'd be able to hear us if we yelled? I mean, the door's here, so the room must be in use, right?"
"I think that's how it works. Not sure if they'll hear us, though," Draco told her.
"Fred! George!" Hermione yelled the twins' names. "Open the door! We need to talk to you!"
The two students listened for any sign of movement behind the door, and both laughed at the thump of someone falling on the ground, and the corresponding "Aah!"
"Who's we?" a voice finally said from behind the door.
Hermione looked at Draco before answering, "Hermione and Draco."
"Malfoy?"
"He promises to be good," she informed them, boring her eyes into Draco's.
"Does he, now?"
"Yes, he does," Hermione confirmed, speaking for Draco, much to his annoyance.
"Then I see no reason not to let them in, Fred," a second voice said.
The door creaked open, and an eye appeared, sizing them up, as if to make sure they were who they said. Moments later, the door opened all the way, revealing a well-furnished, red and gold colored room.
"Typical Gryffindor," Draco muttered under his breath.
With a sweeping of his arms, Fred gestured to the room, welcoming them in. The room was furnished with two matching twin beds, two desks, both covered with papers, a magnificent fireplace, a couch and two chairs, and a bookcase covering the expanse of one of the long walls. George was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, which housed a roaring fire that was too big for the actual fireplace and the amount of logs placed under it, but somehow kept burning, probably by magic.
"Welcome to our not-so-humble abode. What can we do for you?"
"Fred?" Hermione asked, exasperated. "Have you even seen your door?"
"Yes, thank you, but between you and me, Hermione," Fred said, leaning in to her ear to whisper, "we need to work on your pranking skills."
"Fred! That was not a prank!"
Draco rolled his eyes and started wandering the room, leaving Hermione to do the explaining. He ran his fingers along the books in the bookcase, reading the names to himself as they flashed by. A Guide to Guilt, Pop Goes the Firecracker, Annoying the Annoyed, 101, and How to Mentally Scar the Heads of Houses.
"Might have to read up on that one", Draco thought to himself, plucking up the book only to stare at its tiny text and scribbled pictures before putting it back done. "On second thought, maybe I won't."
"What I would give for that cup of hot chocolate. Or coffee, as Granger said. Whatever it is. Sounds good… yes… good…" Yawning, Draco sat down on the nearest cushion, and didn't even notice when his eyes started to close.
&()&()&()&
"So, let's recap," George said, hands on his knees, leaning into the conversation. "The staff is gone, the ghosts are gone, the pictures are gone, the moving statues are gone, the house elves are gone, and there are dangerous things on the loose around the school."
"That's all we know so far," Hermione confirmed with a nod.
"Great!" Fred exclaimed with sarcasm, slapping his hands on his knees and standing up, forcing his twin and the head girl to look up. "Just Jolly. Magnificent, even."
"Oh, Fred, calm down," Hermione said with a hint of concern.
"Calm down?" Fred exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair. "You really think that a bunch of rowdy kids can take care of themselves for more than an hour? In no time there'll be kids who ought to be in the hospital wing, but there'll be no Madame Pomfrey to take care of them! That'll happen without another freaky attack from lord-knows-what!"
"Fred," George said, standing up.
"Harry's in no condition to be worrying about this on top of everything, and Ginny's too young, and Ron'll make a mess of things," Fred said, his voice and anxiety growing.
"Fred!"
"And should we really let those Slytherins take any charge at all? Lord knows what'll happen to the school. No, wait, I know! KABOOM!" His arms were up in the air, flailing around, as if imitating a volcanic explosion.
"FRED!"
"And- what?"
"Calm down, Fred," Hermione told him as she stood up. "It's not all that bad."
"Yes, it is."
"Fred." George put his hand on his twin's shoulder. "Open your eyes. You see Hermione right in front of you? What do you think would go wrong with her in charge?"
Fred blinked and breathed in and out slowly. "Sorry, sorry."
"No problem, dear brother. The stress of the shop has gotten to you, and you took all that out on us. Not saying that it was enjoyable, just excusable."
"I suppose you're right," Fred admitted with a guilty smile. "Sorry."
Hermione looked around and smiled before meeting their eyes. Leaning in, she put her head between theirs and whispered "turn around."
The sun caught the highlights in the twins' hair as they turned around slowly and put their hands up to their mouths simultaneously as they stifled giggles. Putting her arms around the twins, Hermione smiled and spoke softly.
"There's a sight I'd never thought I'd see," she said.
"I don't suppose either of you have a camera?" Fred asked, the mischievous glint back in his eyes.
"This is the Room of Requirement," Hermione reminded him as she lifted a camera off a nearby table. "It already knows all you'll need."
"I think you deserve to do the honors," George said with a smile.
Hermione curtsied and thanked him as she strode over to the side of the bed and positioned the camera. Smiling to herself, she pushed the button as hard as she could, allowing it to click at a horrendous volume, specified to wake the sleeping boy.
"Hm? What?" Draco murmured as he woke to the sound of three people giggling. Opening his eyes, he stiffened. It wasn't the giggling, or the prospect of falling asleep that embarrassed him. It was the fact that he was curled up under Gryffindor covers, cuddling a maroon pillow with a gold lion embroidered on it that nearly petrified him. Jumping out of bed, he quickly smoothed his robes.
"I trust we will never speak of this again," he said, glaring at the others. His face rapidly changed colors from unnatural crimson to unnaturally pale, even for him, when he saw the knowing smiles on their faces.
"Too late," Hermione taunted, waving the already-developed picture in his face, jumping back when Draco tried to snatch it from her fingers.
"Oh, how I wish you'd do us all a favor and just go drown yourself in the lake," Draco seethed.
"You're just saying that to be nice," Hermione replied swiftly with a smile caked in fake sweetener as she led them out the door, wand in hand.
"She's good," Fred whispered to his counterpart as they followed the two seventh years out of the room.
"Clever can only get so far. We both know it takes the trick you get you in," George said with a smile and a nudge.
"That we do. That we definitely do."
&()&()&()&
Harry slouched down the wall, legs curling beneath him, as he let out a long sigh of relief.
"I wasn't sure we'd be able to hold that last spell long enough for it to take hold," Harry admitted to the group before him, all of which nodded. Everyone else's legs had buckled, willing or unwillingly, and they all sat in the circle they'd been instructed to stand in to perform a certain spell.
"The stuff Hermione book-marked in these texts is hard stuff… I'm not sure it's meant for students to do," Ginny said, looking up from the said textbook.
"Well, whomever it's meant for, we still have to do it," Seamus said resignedly as he lifted himself, with much effort, off the ground and looked for the others to do so.
"Oh, come on," he said, rolling his eyes. "How many more do we have to do, Ginny?"
Ginny sighed, "At this rate, we'll be working until sundown in order to get the stronger basics done. Touchups will probably be needed tomorrow." The group groaned loudly.
"Right. So lets get going," Seamus said, offering a hand to Dean, who'd been sitting next to him. Lifting up Dean, he looked expectantly to the rest of the group, and, by sending them waves of impatience and that you-should-be-guilty look, got them all to stand up but Harry.
"One moment. I think I thoroughly deserve this break," he informed them, eyes closed, pointer finger up signifying the 'one moment'. Seamus looked to Dan and smiled, and before anyone could have seen the smile, the two boys grabbed a hold of Harry's upper arms and hoisted him up, much to his dismay.
"Come on, Mister Boy-Who-Lived. You can handle ol' Voldie, you can handle a few spells," Seamus said, trying to lighten his spirits. When he saw his joke had earned a smile and new determination from Harry, he knew that it had paid off.
"Alright," Ginny sighed, "The next one is even more complicated complicated…"
"Ginny, unless we get more people, I don't think this group is going to be able to do any more spells for a while," Harry said, shaking his head.
Ginny though for a moment before spinning around and facing Jimmy Peakes, another Gryffindor, who'd been able to make it to a class all the way across the castle after oversleeping in record time.
"Jimmy, I need you to go and get Hermione. You know who she is. Here," Ginny fumbled in her pockets. "Use this."
Ginny held out a map and whispered "I solemnly swear I am up to no good".
"Woah, this is awesome," the boy said, entranced.
"Ginny, where did you get that?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Sorry, Harry, I needed it the other day to find someone. I hope you don't mind."
Harry shook his head and smiled, "I ought to keep a better eye on my stuff."
"Now go, Jimmy! Go!" Ginny quickly shooed him out of the common room to go and find the head girl.
&()&()&()&
Lavender stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hand on her hips, surveying the scene before her. She'd finally finished her lists of things that needed doing, who should do what tasks, how many they had to feed, and what meals they should make. Everyone had shed their robes and gotten right to work preparing food for the day's meals. Wiping the flour from under her eyes, Lavender sighed and ran over to, once again, stop Neville from burning the scrambled eggs they needed for breakfast.
"Hey, Lavender?" called Natalie.
Lavender quickly took the frying pan off of the stove before replying, "Yes, Natalie?"
The young Gryffindor strode over with a look of concern on her face.
"How are we going to get the food on the tables?"
Lavender stopped where she was, frozen on the spot, as she realized what she'd overlooked. They couldn't possibly bring all of this food up from the kitchens without it turning cold, or being dropped.
"Lavender?" Neville asked, trying to scoop up the eggs from the pan the girl was holding.
"Oh, sorry, Neville."
"No problem."
Susan strode over to where Natalie and Lavender stood, wiping her hands on a dishrag.
"What's wrong, you guys?" she asked when she saw the looks on their faces and their awkward stances.
"Susan, do you know how the house elves get the food from the kitchens to the tables?"
Susan thought for a moment before answering. "I think I read it somewhere in Hogwarts, A History, but I honestly can't remember."
"Hogwarts, A History… that sounds familiar," Lavender mused.
"Isn't that that book Hermione's always rereading?" Neville asked, looking up from his eggs, and consequently burning them.
"Yes, yes!" Lavender clapped her hands together and jumped. "Someone go get Hermione, quickly now! Breakfast is almost done!"
&()&()&()&
"AAH!" Pansy screeched, leaping away from the curtains in the boys' dormitory.
"What is it, Pansy?" Romilda asked, running over to her.
"What are those things?" Pansy pointed a quavering finger at the curtains, which had started to move.
Romilda grabbed a broomstick someone had laid out on the floor and poked at the curtains, ducking and screeching as a miniature elephant creature with wings flew out and bared its teeth before flying back into the curtains.
Crabbe, who had been watching the scene, flexed his arms and grunted. "I'll get rid of 'em."
Pansy clutched her manicured hands onto Romilda's tiny arm, and the girls backed up, still clutching each other. Their eyes were wide with fear, but, sadly, none of the admiration Crabbe was volleying for. He was just one of those guys who was overlooked, no matter how hard he tried. Which, admittedly, wasn't very hard.
Reaching out his brute-like arm, he grabbed the bottom of the dark green curtain stained with spots of who-knows-what, and lifted it up, snapping it to get the creatures out. And it did, alright. They buzzed around frantically for a moment, and most of them found the other curtain quickly enough, while a few decided to go after their attacker. When Crabbe saw their tiny, sharp fangs, he first laughed, but his eyes soon grew wide as he saw them coming after him, and he turned around to run, but caught his foot on the dropped broomstick, and he fell ungracefully to the floor with a loud thump.
The two girls screeched and backed into a corner, closing their eyes.
"No, no, no, don't let them get me, don't let them get me," Pansy pleaded to no one, and Romilda whimpered beside her. When the buzzing stopped, the two girls opened their eyes to see Crabbe slowly standing up, his eyes puffy, his skin bearing tiny scratch marks and spots of blood. He looked himself up and down.
"Guess I dint get 'em," he said with a shrug, and winced while doing so.
"Oh, dear," Pansy gasped. "CREEVY!"
There was a thump in the next room over, and soon the younger Creevy appeared, dusty from head to toe.
"Yeah?"
"Creevy, go- go get Granger," Pansy said, breathing a bit heavily from the scare, and still not taking her eyes off of the older Slytherin.
"What? I can't hear you."
"Go get Granger!" she yelled, tightening her grip on the other girl as Crabbe's scratch marks started swelling up at a rapid pace. Dennis looked for what she was looking at, and as soon as he saw the feared Slytherin, he dashed out the door, but not before his robe managed to get snagged on the corner of it. The door closed, and those inside heard a small thump before the door opened again slightly and the piece of fabric disappeared.
"She'll know what to do, right, Romilda?"
The Gryffindor nodded before realizing Pansy couldn't see her.
"Yeah, she'll know. She always does," she said, more to her own comfort than that of the Slytherin's.
&()&()&()&
Walking down the hallway, Hermione had decided to walk ahead of the group. She found that here it was easier to just to drown out the ferret's complaints and not listen. It took great effort to put each foot forward, and she couldn't imagine how Draco managed to do that, and talk at such a rapid, annoying pace. Though his words had turned into mere buzzing, they were still dreadfully annoying. When had her feet gotten so heavy? They weren't swollen… it must be her boots. Maybe she stepped in something, and hadn't realized it. No wonder they were heavy. Hermione looked down at her shoes to see what was on them, and immediately became dizzy as blood rushed to her head. She reached out and grabbed the unlit candle bracket on the wall to steady herself. George- or was it Fred?- asked her something, but his word's were just buzzes, like Draco's. Thumping told her someone was running. Her eyes went in and out of focus, and she blinked to try and refocus them, but it didn't help. The stones on the floor began swimming, and soon they weren't separate any more, just one big gray slab on the floor. Everything grew dark, and she realized what was happening. Her body was shutting itself down. She hadn't allowed herself to sleep… Oh, stupid Hermione! Stupid, stupid, stupid… stupid… stu… pid… With a yawn, she fell to the floor, and this time, no one was there in time to grab her.