Disclaimer time - ok . . .blah, blah no, I do not own Draco (much to my great dismay), Hermione or any other characters you may recognize, if I did the movies would get far more interesting, trust me. I need to say thanks to, Heather, my amazing beta reader, who brings a sense of order to my overly excessive use of adverbials, an almost obsessive impulse to insert commas and the ever-irresistible run-on sentences, I'm so fond of, and without whom this story wouldn't be nearly as readable ;) And of course, any typos & grammatical errors are, as usual, my fault . . . sorry. Sorry for the insanely long delay – between fires, injuries, lak of internet access it's been a rough past few months, let's hope everything will be better in the new year.
Anyway, such a long AN – I'm sorry, let's get back into the story .
Chapter 35 – Oooohhhh . . . Fight Scene
"She's hardly a member of the Order, Sirius." Snape commented, his voice bored and vaguely critical.
"Neither is your piece of fluff, but you don't hear me bitching, do you Professor?" Sirius retaliated, his demenor dripping with scorn.
Eyes narrowed, the potions master stared his former classmate down. "Perhaps not, but she is an auror and soon to be a member, unlike this one night stand of yours." Snape bit back.
"Oh, so that's how it is, Snape?" Sirius made a momement towards him. "Well, my fiancé – "
"Oh my god, enough!" Madison cut in, smacking Sirius in the chest. "First of all, I can speak for myself. Secondly, I think you're doing more damage than good." She glared at him for a moment, before sighing. "Anyway," she turned back to the others in the room," For anyone who's interested, my name is Madison, Madison Grimshaw."
Smirking, Infinity stepped in front of Sirius and held out her hand. "Glad someone around here is thinking. Nice to meet you, I'm Infinity Owens, filling in as the professor of Arthimancy and well, I'm with him," she gesturing at Snape, "although at the moment, I'm not entirely sure why."
"Likewise." Madison smiled at her, shaking her hand. "Now if these two can behave themselves for one minute, maybe we might find out what this is all about?" She looked around, not entirely sure who called the meeting or the proper protocol, if any.
"Ah, yes and I believe Professor Snape called this meeting." Dumbledore commented, as he strolled into the room, his eyes twinkling curiously to Madison's bemused expression. Glancing around the room, he smiled gently and briefly introduced himself to Madison. "And now that we all know who everyone is, what was it that you wanted to tell us, Servus?"
Casting Sirius a baleful glare, he gathered the remnants of his dignity back and calmed himself, before he spoke. Directing his words to Dumbledore, Snape explained what Draco had told him.
"So wait a minute, that little bas-" Sirius began and stopped abruptly, as an elbow suddenly slammed into his ribs. He caught the intent glare in Madsion's eyes and gritted his teeth before beginning again. "All right, so Malfoy cast Revelre Seele, a dark spell, on Harry and supposedly saw - what, a curse on him? And we're supposed to take his word on this? Tell me, Snape, did you cast Revelre Seele on him too? What do you think about this, Dumbledore?" He waved a derisive hand towards Snape.
Snape's brows drew together in objection. "I don't like your tone, Black. Say what you want about me, but leave Draco out of this. He didn't have to come to me, remember."
"Oh like a Malfoy would do anything out of the goodness of his heart? Don't make me sick . . . assuming he didn't cast the supposedly curse himself, he never would report it if there wasn't something in it for him. " He scoffed.
Clenching his wand tightly, Snape was quick to retort. "What could possibly be 'in it' for him? This is just another example of your paranoia – "
Infinity, taking a page from Madsion's book, stomped on his foot and at his startled glance, feigned a look of surprise. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Servus. Is the pissing contest not over?" She folded her arms over angrily across her chest. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Seriously, we've been out of school for what, almost two decades? You're adults, you want to hate each other until the end of time, feel free, but maybe for once you can put aside your own history and remember why we're here!"
"Draco and Harry are still just teenagers – stupid, opinionated, stubborn, and convinced of their own immortality, but still children. And while you two are busy holding grudges over things that happened so long that I can barely remember, between Voldemorte, Lucius and Gage, they're going to get themselves killed. Is that what you want?" She demanded, glaring at each of them in turn. "Because if it's really going to take a wizarding duel to settle this before we can get to work, than just say the word and I will happily kick both of your asses!"
The vial of Veritaserum safely secured in his pocket, Draco was walking slowly through the halls of Hogwarts, trying to put a plan together that involved spending the least amount of time actually in her presence. He briefly toyed with the idea of involving Hermione, but immediately rejected the thought, because knowing her she'd object to the idea of using it on anyone, even Pansy. In the end, it wasn't worth the grief she'd give him, so it'd be better to apologize after the fact than argue the ethics of it beforehand. Hearing voices up ahead, he slowed down even further until he reached the room they were coming from. Draco leaned up against the wall, next to the door, tapping it with his wand "Sonorous plaga," and listened in.
/inside the room/
"Have you lost your mind? How the hell am I supposed to get Hermione to go anywhere with me? She hates me, remember, almost as much as I hate her." Pansy complained bitterly. Working with a Gryffindor was so beneath her and having to work him "the boy who lived," of all people was just adding insult to injury. When this was all over, Draco had better learn to appreciate her.
He stared at her blankly for a moment, before shaking his head in frustration. "Ok, can you shut up for one moment and listen to me. I'm going to use really simple words for you. I'm going to go after Hermione, your job is to distract Draco and keep him away from the two of us, until I'm ready. Can you handle that or not?"
"Don't you dare condescend down to me, Potter!" Her voice dripped with her obvious disdain. "Of course, I can do that, but that isn't what you said before, so make up your fucking mind."
Rolling his eyes, Harry gritted his teeth. "Whatever Pansy, all you have to do is drag him off when I tell you to." Under his breath, he muttered, "even you should be able to understand that much."
She turned around as if startled, "Don't even fucking start with me! Gage's orders or not, I won't tolerate being insulted by you. Piss me off enough and I'll go straight to your little mudblood and tell her what you've been up to – "
Before she could finish the sentence, Harry had painfully grabbed her arm, twisting it so that her sleeve rose slightly. "Threaten me and you won't have to worry about Gage, Parkinson. You will keep your mouth shut or else . . . " He let his words trail off as he tapped his wand against the now exposed mark tattooed into her skin. "Just do as you're told and this won't go any further." He blatantly lied to her, knowing that before this was over that she would likely come after him because of Draco, but he'd deal with that later.
His head tilted slightly and ears perking at a noise, he though he heard outside. "We'd better go, I think someone is coming," his voice was low, as he let go of her and walked towards the door. Rubbing her arm Pansy cursed under her breath and followed him out, glad that this 'meeting' was over.
/ back out in the hallway/
Draco abruptly dropped his spell and made his way out of sight before the door opened. Waiting until they both went their separate ways, he turned the corner heading towards the great hall. After all, it was time for lunch and he had plans to be made.
Sitting at the Slytherin table he didn't see Hermione, but since both Potter and Pansy were in sight, he wasn't too worried. Whatever they might be up to seemed to still be in the planning stage, although the very mention of Gage was enough to set him on edge. At least he knew who the bastard had met the other night. He'd be willing to bet that Weasley was the second "unknown person" in the forest that night. Dammit. Draco knew that he should have killed Gage when he had the chance.
He quickly scribbled a note to Hermione and used a sealing spell, which got him more than a few interested glances from around the room. Looking around intently, he caught Seamus's eye and pointedly tilted his head towards the open doorway, smirking when he saw the long-suffering look of resignation cross the Irishman's face. Then he got up and walked out of the room, leaning up against the stone wall just out of sight of any curious onlookers from inside the hall.
"I'm almost afraid to ask what's wrong with you," he commented, amused by the look of painful expectation on Finnigan's face.
Seamus looked up at him, startled. "You mean that you're not going to bitch me out for not telling Hermione you were going to be late that night?"
"Umm . . . no, I hadn't planned on it. Why? Do you really want me to?" Draco asked curiously, apparently all too willing to do it for Seamus' liking.
"No!" He sputtered out, "of course not!" His eyes narrowed as Draco's smirk widened. "I really hate it when you start fucking with me like this . . . " He grumbled, relaxing slightly.
"Hey, what can I do when you're such an easy target?" Draco shrugged casually.
"Well, ok, if it isn't that, than what do you want?"
"I have a note, I need you to give to Hermione." Draco tossed him the tightly wound scoll.
Catching the scroll in one hand, Seamus started complaining. "Oh c'mon Malfoy. Do I have the word lackey or messenger written on my back? I mean, of all people, why do you always hit me up for this shit?"
Draco broke out into a brief but wide grin. "What can I say, Seamus? You're '
In the very rare number of people who actually talk that I'm fairly confident aren't death eaters. Sorry to say, but this time you're the dog pageant winner.
"Oh thanks, I win the best of the worse . . . that makes me feel so much better about it now," he threw back sarcastically, shrugging in rueful amusement. "Alright, fine. I'll do it, but you seriously owe for this. You have no idea how hard Hermione can be to track down sometimes."
"Yeah, ok. Next time you get a shipment, just let me know and I'll cover it." Draco offered.
"It's a deal, mate." He raised one hand, as he turned and walked off.
Smirking, Draco decided to ditch the rest of his classes for the day. He had plans to make and made his way back to his room, which is where Hermione found him a few hours later.
Walking into the room, she could barely hear herself think. Shaking her head, she dug through a pocket in her robe until she found her wand and cast a silencing charm.
"What the fuck?" From off in the corner of the room, Draco raised his head, half twisting, wand raised until he saw Hermione, standing just inside his room with an painful expression on her face.
"Are you deaf yet?" She asked him, a vaguely disapproving note in her voice.
He laughed at her. "Hey, I happen to love this song, if you want but I'll turn it down for your delicate Gryffindor ears. "
She rolled her eyes at him, walking further into the room. "Dare I ask what you're blasting so loud?"
" 'The Outcast,' by Dropkick Murphys. It seemed singularly appropriate under the circumstances." He tossed his wand onto his desk cluttered with half opened books and unraveled scrolls and stood up, stretching slightly.
Admiring the taut muscles displayed by his worn t-shirt, Hermione sat down, one eyebrow arching delicately as she waited for him to explain.
"I've got an interesting bit of news for you, but until I figure it out exactly what's he's plotting with Pansy, I need you to avoid Potter for awhile."
She stared at him for a moment, eyes open wide. "Well, someone's been busy, I see. Care to explain that for those of us who are obviously out of the loop?"
Grinning he collapsed next to her on the bed, pulling her down with him. "You're not the only one out of the loop, since I'm not entirely sure what their scheme is yet, but it involves Pansy distracting me so Harry can get you alone somewhere to do Merlin only knows what. Fucking wanker!" Draco sneered almost purely out of habit, as he started slipping off her robe.
Hermione impatiently shrugged him off of her, sitting back up, leaving Draco lying on his back, her robe still in his hands. "That must have been what Ron wanted to talk about with me. Dammit, I wonder if I can track him down," she mused out loud.
"You're not even listening to me, are you?" He asked, sounding a bit piqued as he propped up on one elbow.
"Of course I am." She responded automatically, wondering where the Gryffindor Keeper might be at this hour while she gathered her bag off the floor where she had dropped it earlier.
Pushing himself up, Draco rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's continued preoccupation with the two morons. "If you think that you're going to go and ask the Weasel what's going on, then I'm afraid that I'll have to object." He spoke calmly, but quite distinctly, his voice clearly brooking no dissent.
She turned towards him, an apologetic smile on her lips as she stood up. "Objected noted, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to disappoint you. Don't worry, I'll find Ron and find out what's going on, then I'll come back and we can figure this out."
"Not going to happen." Reaching across the bed, he caught her hand and tugged her backwards until she fell back onto the bed. "Now that I've got attention," he placed one finger across her lips when she opened her mouth to protest, "let's think about this logically, okay? What makes you think that he isn't working under Potter's orders, hmm?"
"That's it, Draco," she mumbled, pulling his hand away her mouth. "You are the most paranoid person that I know and believe me, considering some of the people I know, that is saying quite a bit. I know you dislike Ron, but he is occasionally capable of independent thought."
"Whether he is or isn't is irrelevant. Other than Potter's plans with Pansy, he's also dealing with Gage – two known deatheaters, I might add. And then there's the dark taint to Potter's aura to consider as well. Whatever he's up to is dangerous, Hermione. It's too risky to take the chance that Weasely isn't involved, voluntarily or not."
Closing her eyes for a moment, she absorbed his words, before looking up at him seriously. "You think he might be under the Imperious Curse?"
He shrugged his shoulders, lightly brushing her hair out of her face. "Don't know," and don't care really, he thought to himself. "I wasn't really looking for the signs this morning, but with Gage in the mix . . . Yeah, it's a possibility."
"Great," she sighed, her body falling limp. "Got any more good news for me?"
Draco was too restless to sleep and since Hermione had crashed awhile ago, he tucked the blanket around her and decided to go out for a walk, after securely hiding the vial Snape had given him somewhere a curious Gryffindor wouldn't find it. The night air was cool and refreshing as he wandered aimlessly through the Hogwarts grounds. Patience was never his strong suit and just waiting for whatever trap Gage was planning to trigger was against his nature, but under the circumstances he didn't have enough information to act one way or the other. Frustrated, he stopped to light up a cigarette.
"Sneaking off school grounds, Malfoy? Why does that not surprise me?"
He stiffened slightly, took a deep drag off his cigarette, before dropping it and crushing it with heel of his shoe. Draco casually turned around, smirking slightly. "I think the better question, is why are you sneaking back onto school grounds? Meet anyone interesting out there?" He gestured with his wand to the Forbidden Forest.
"Don't turn this on me." Harry demanded.
"But how can I resist, when you make it so bloody easy?" Draco sneered, arrogantly strolling until he was just a few feet away from his adversary.
"I'm warning you, Malfoy, for the last time. Leave Hermione alone or else . . . " He played with his wand menacingly.
"Or else?" Draco grinned widely. "That's the best you've got?" He snickered, "Well, that explains why you never got anywhere with her. Apparently, Potter, you're just not man enough for her."
Harry was frozen in disbelief, the damning implication that the Slytherin had made hitting him hard, with all the impact of a stunning curse. His head shook in denial. "Only in your dreams, Malfoy."
"Don't have to dream about it, mate, when I've got the real thing in my bed every night Hell, I'd be there now, if she hadn't fallen asleep, guess I must have exhausted her . . . " His words trailed off suggestively as he arched an eyebrow, his eyes darkening with a palpable hunger.
"She'd never be with someone like you." Harry ground out his words, teeth clenched.
"Oh, but she is. And she loves every minute of it." Draco laughed, leaning back a moment on his heels, his wand out of sight as he thrust both hands into the front pocket of his ragged black jeans . Draco stared at him intently. "What, you think she's dying to be with you?" The laughter echoed about the dark for a moment, before fading away and being replaced by an unsettled silence. "Damn, it must really eat you up inside, Potter."
Harry's fingernails dug deep into the palms of his hands, drawing blood. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Draco shrugged and tilted his head, leaning in close. "You can believe whatever you want. I know how fucking wanting she is, I smell it, I taste it, I consume it . . . you don't and you won't, mate."
Harry snapped, his wand falling unseen to the ground as he launched himself forward, his balled up fist slamming wildly into Draco's face, temporarily knocking the his smirk off. The next punch was blocked, Draco easily anticipating the furious Gryffindor's action and turning it to his advantage, landing one or two solid punches and easily kicking Potter's legs out from under him. Harry, unused to physical conflict, was on his back. The air was knocked out of his lungs, his glasses sent flying only Merlin knew where and he stared up, squinting, to see Draco backing away, the cocky grin firmly in place.
Silver eyes stared into cold green depths. Draco's voice dropped to a low menacing growl. "Yeah, she likes to fuck...almost like she was designed for it. Designed for me. Those long legs, tight little body, that mouth that would drive any man wild . . ." Draco brought one hand up to wipe the blood flowing from his split lip. His face hardened as his cold eyes fixed on the glowering Potter. "You really should be thanking me. You couldn't handle her anyway."
"Touch her, Malfoy, you just touch her and . . . "
"Too late, thought we'd established that fact," Draco shook his head. "But then again, you never were one to listen to what you didn't want to hear."
Still sprawled out on the ground, Harry gave up trying to feel out his wand or glasses and simply sprung forward, tangling his fists in the dark fabric that he assumed was Draco's coat, and shoved him up against a stone pillar. "What do you want? Just tell me what the fuck you want!"
"Simple," Draco stated, breaking the dark haired wizard's hold and beating him back with a few well aimed punches that sent him hurling into the side of the fountain. The blow was hard enough to stun the Gryffindor, but not knock him out entirely and Draco slowly backed away. "I already have what I want."
Draco watched him for a moment, with no small amount of satisfaction, before glancing at his bruised knuckles. Granted, he hadn't gotten any new information out of Potter, but kicking his ass was almost better – perhaps stupid in the long term, but immensely gratifying. Seeing the dazed expression on Potter's face clearing slightly, he figured it was time to leave and turned, making his way back to his room.
By the time Harry pushed himself off the ground and had recovered his wand and glasses, the blonde was gone. The courtyard was empty as was the surrounding grounds and a quick sweep of the general area turned up nothing. Draco had managed an impressive and highly annoying disappearing act, sneaking off somewhere to do only Merlin knew what. Maybe it was the crude description of Draco's relationship with Hermione that incensed him. As bad as things had gotten between the two of them, he couldn't believe – no, he refused to believe for one minute that she had lowered herself to lay with something like him. The idea was horrifyingly sickening and he was convinced that the son of a fucking deatheater bastard was lying, he had to be.
Draco had to be lying, he had to be.
That one statement of denial held at bay the pure rage that consumed Harry as he made his way through the halls of Hogwarts. He could live with denial until he found Hermione, had her firmly in his grasp and under his protection. Then the nonsense would end, Draco's lies would be verified as nothing more than that and perhaps the Slytherin's real scheme would be revealed. He didn't go through all this shit of breaking up with Pavarti and making deals with deatheaters to lose her now. If he could get into the girl's dorm, he'd storm into her room – Lavender and Pavarti be damned, but since that was an impossibility, he decided to catch her first thing tomorrow morning. He had allowed this situation with Malfoy to go long enough, it was time to bring the Slytherin down.
TBC
sonorous - Latin for loud and plaga – Latin for zone
dog pageant winner – an inside joke between some of my friends. Winning it is no particular honor, you're the best of the worse, so congrats, lol.
For those looking for the lemon chapter it's available on my LJ (livejournal) and I'm making the link my homepage on my user info to make everything easier for all of us.
Ok . . . as usual, if you've left me your email, then I've added you to my mailing list for this story, so you get a happy little email each & every time I update, if you didn't get one, well obviously I don't have your email or I missed it somehow. If you review this chapter & leave your email in the review or I can get it off your profile, I will gladly add you. And don't forget . . . Reviewing is Good Karma! So please, read, enjoy & if you didn't hate this chapter then please review ;) Unless you're a writer, you will never understand how inspiring your reviews really are to someone like me, so until next time, thanks :D