Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

AN: Who doesn't love Napoleon Dynamite? LOL. Well here's another chapter!

Chapter8: The Mystery Unfolds

Ginny lead the way toward the kitchens checking the map every so often for signs of higher authority. Everyone was so used to the Great Hall being full of chattering students that when they exited out if the corridor, it was a sigh of relief.

"I've never heard the Great Hall so quiet!" squeaked Cho.

"Yeah, it was almost creepy," shivered Hermione.

Harry approached the giant painting of fruit and tickled the pear. It let out a little giggle and the portrait swung open to reveal the kitchens. It was also oddly quiet to Harry; normally it was full of house elves barking orders at each other. But today there wasn't a house elf in sight. "That's strange."

"What's strange?" asked Draco.

"Well, normally this place is swarming with house elves," Harry frowned. Beside him Hermione let out a gasp.

"Maybe Dumbledore's set them all free!" She smiled excitedly.

"I doubt it 'Mione," frowned Ginny as she gave Hermione a one-armed hug.

"Well are we just going to stand here like idiots, or are we going to find something edible in this place?" asked Draco. He made his way over toward the giant glass refrigerators. Everything you'd want in a refrigerator was there. He opened the door and grabbed an apple and instantly another apple appeared in its place.

"Any special requests?"

"Ham sandwich," said Harry.

"Turkey pot pie," said Ginny.

"Spaghetti," said Cho.

"Not hungry," said Hermione, "unlike some people I'm more trustworthy than others!"

"Oh, blow it out your rear end," said Ginny. Hermione opened her mouth in disgust then started laughing. Pretty soon everyone was laughing and Harry's pumpkin juice was coming out of his noise. This made everyone laugh louder and harder.

They sat in silence consuming their food like pigs, all accept for Hermione who sat in silence sipping her butterbeer and staring at the Maurader's Map. Harry couldn't take it anymore the silence was killing him and so was his curiosity.

"Cho, why are you in detention?" Hermione looked up startled that the silence was broken but Ginny and Draco looked relieved. Cho continued to stare at her plate and twirling her spaghetti. "Cho?"

"I heard you," she snapped. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and leaned back in her chair. The silence was tense and exciting as everyone waited for the reason she had to be stuck in this situation with them; even though right now the situation was rather enjoyable. "I got caught."

"Doing what, Cho?" asked Hermione gently.

"I was the one who put the Gryffindor Quidditch Team's Broomsticks under the Dismemberment Charm." Harry was fuming; she was the one who turned his Firebolt, one of the few things that Sirius gave him, into a pile of woodchips. Ginny had gotten up out of her chair and was pacing back and forth trying not to scream and rant at Cho. Draco however, was utterly delighted.

"I underestimated you Chang! You now have my full respect," He reached over and gave her a pat on the back. Cho wiggled free of "the pat" and stared at Harry, who was staring at his half-eaten ham sandwich. She could see the fire behind his eyes.

"Look, Harry, Ginny," she began quietly, "I'm not proud of what I did, and I'm so sorry that I destroyed your possessions."

"Is that all you're going to do?" asked Ginny angrily, "Just going to say you're sorry and expect us to say it's okay?"

"No, no! See I've been selling my drawings so I could get the money to buy you both new broomsticks!" Cho smiled hopefully. "I've raised over 50 galleons so far! And I got some money from my parents so I'm going to get you all Nimbus 2000's!"

"Really, a Nimbus 2000?" asked Ginny who perked up a bit. Cho smiled.

"Really. The best ones I can get!" Cho looked at Harry. "Did you hear that Harry?"

"I heard you Cho, and that's very kind of you to buy us new broomsticks but I don't want one." Harry stared at the floor and ran his fingers through his hair.

"If it's a Firebolt you want I get you one of them instead," Cho replied hopefully.

"I DON'T WANT ANOTHER BROOMSTICK! OKAY? Do you understand that?" Harry shouted at her sending an echo around the kitchens. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.

"Harry," she said cautiously, "I know that you don't want another broomstick because Sirius got you the one you had before, but how are you going to play without a broomstick?"

"I don't know Hermione," Harry whispered, "I don't want to think about it right now." Harry turned to face Cho, who was in tears. "Cho, I'm sorry that I screamed at you, but you have to understand that the broomstick I had can never be replaced."

"I really am sorry I did that Harry," she said, "Maybe if I had known that it was so important to you then I probably wouldn't have touched the broomstick, or any of the broomsticks."

"Oh,yes you wouldhave," said Draco fully irritated with all the mushy forgiveness being spread around, "Obviously you knew that each broomstick was valuable to each player already!"

"What are you getting at Malfoy?" asked Ginny.

"Think about it! A broomstick is not exactly something you can buy everyday, even when you're as wealthy as I am," Draco said sending everyone into a defensive rage about how he didn't have to gloat about being wealthy, "I WASN'T GLOATING! I said it because it's true. I am wealthy, okay? I'm not going to pretend I'm not just to please you lot!" Everyone was silent.

"I believe you were trying to make a point earlier," said and impatient Ginny.

"Anyways, everyone here who owns a broomstick will agree with me when I say the are already valuable to them, whether it's sentimental like Potter's ,or it's physically like Weaslette's! It wouldn't have made any difference in how much each person thought it was important to them, you would have destroyed them anyways!"

"As much as I hate to agree with Malfoy," said Hermione, "He's got a very good point."

"I do?" he asked stunned, "Er, I mean of course I do!" He didn't see it but Hermione flashed him a small smile.

"Okay so now that we've proven that Cho is cold and heartless," said Ginny, "Just kidding Cho don't worry. Maybe we should start heading back."

Everyone agreed and they made there way out of the kitchens and through the empty Great Hall. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the map.

"What? What is it Gin?" asked Harry.

"Snape's a floor above us and it looks like he's making his way to the classroom!" Ginny said.

"We need a shortcut then," said Draco, "Follow me!"

"Why should we follow you? You could be leading us somewhere else!" said Ginny.

"Um have you forgotten Weasly that I'm in detention too? And that even though it's Snape, I could be grilled alive too?"

"Right."

"Now come on! The Slytherins always take this way to get to Transfiguration faster," he shouted behind him as he sprinted through a side door and up five sets of stairs.

Everyone ran on his heels down a dark hallway with no paintings on the walls. It was so dark that they couldn't see two feet in front of them and they had to trust Draco's directions, something the three Gryffindors would have trouble to admitting to later. They came upon a door and Draco whispered to slowdown and keep quiet as we went through the doorway. The door was behind a wall curtain that had a gruesome design of goblins slaughtering each other in battle. Hermione let out a small sound of disgust as they went past it.

Once Ginny gave them the signal Draco led the way toward the Transfiguration classroom. As they were rounding the corner Hermione let out a small gasp. They all ducked back behind the corner. Snape was coming their way. "Now what?" asked Cho quietly.

"You guys go this way and I'll distract him," Draco said.

"What? No way man we're in this together!" said Harry.

"Are you insane Potter? Don't try and play the noble one, let me take the wheel," Draco said. Harry stared at him utterly confused as to why Draco would try and save them. "Go!" They reluctantly ran the other way and made it safely into the Transfiguration classroom wondering what Draco had in mind when he said "I'll distract him".

Author's Note: HA HA! CLIFFY! Sorry for taking so long on updating, I'm trying to make this story a little bit of my own rather than fully loyal to The Breakfast Club. So, yeah. I'm working on the next chapter now so that should be out soon after this one! Hope you enjoyed it! And don't forget to review! Please!