A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is so late in coming, I had finals! 19 credits in my senior semester, you know how it is! I had this massive programming project (did you ever doubt I was a Computer programmer, I mean come on! Talk about a nerd!) not to mention a massive bout of depression coupled with a lack of any sort of motivation, and a complete shut down of my ability to write creatively. So… you know what that means! Give my self esteem a boost… my ego a stroke or two…and REVIEW!
Chapter Twelve: The orb of elements
"Why don't you carry her then Zabini, Granger is no pixy!"
"Don't you dare drop her Malfoy!"
"This is all your fault anyhow, Malfoy, if you hadn't made her go she would've never…"
"Shut up, we're here!"
Madame Pomfrey jumped up from her evening cup of tea as she heard the shouts that warned her of trouble about to walk into her ward, and made her way to the door.
"What on earth!" She yelled, as a strange mix of students burst through the door to the hospital wing.
Draco Malfoy carrying Hermione Granger, followed by Blaise Zabini, Ginny and Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson. They all tumbled into the hospital wing in their hurry.
"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey yelled.
"Hepatyphus… Snape gave her Pepper up potion…" Blaise said quickly, helping Malfoy and Ron put Hermione on a bed.
"He what!" She screamed, furious. "Idiot man!" Pomfrey yelled as she bustled over to Hermione and checked her vitals with a flick of her wand. "What else has she had today?" She asked sharply.
"Nothing to eat, just a bit of tea this morning and some juice at lunch. I don't know if she had anything at dinner." Ginny supplied sullenly.
With a sharp flick of her wand, Madame Pomfrey conjured a bucket.
"Water, cold, quickly. No magic." Pomfrey demanded.
Ginny snapped to it, running to the bathroom and coming back seconds later with the bucket full of ice cold water. As soon as the nurse had it in her hands, she dumped the lot onto Hermione, who screamed and sat bolt up right with shock.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, do try to stay with us, Ms. Granger." Pomfrey said, placing the bucket onto Hermione's lap. "Sorry about this dear." The nurse added, before shoving her finger down Hermione's throat. Immediately Hermione started to gag.
"Hey!" snapped Harry, but Blaise held him back, shaking his head.
The nurse only removed her hand when Hermione keeled over and retched into the awaiting bucket in her lap.
"Ew." Pansy said, her nose scrunched up in disgust.
Ginny stepped forward and pulled Hermione's dripping wet hair out of her face and into a quick pony tail.
"Again." Madam Pomfrey said, pulling Hermione's head up by the newly gathered pony tail, and shoving her finger down the poor girl's throat. Again Hermione gaged and retched, and only after a third try where nothing came up, did the nurse seem satisfied.
Madame Pomfrey bustled over to the bathroom, to do away with the onerous bucket.
Hermione fell back against the bed, utterly spent.
Ginny left her side for a moment to retrieve a wet cloth from the bathroom. She started cleaning Hermione's face with it and tutting, just like her mother did.
"Are you alright Hermione?" Ron asked worriedly.
"No." Her voice was very hoarse.
By the time Madame Pomfrey returned, Hermione was shaking violently with chill.
"Let's get you out of those clothes." Poppy said, then turned pointedly to the boys. All of them went slightly pink and backed away.
Ron and Harry, having had lots of experience with the hospital wing, retrieved the privacy blinds from the back of the ward and placed them around Hermione's bed. They then joined the other two boys, on the other side of the blinds, leaving Pansy, Ginny, and Madame Pomfrey to peel Hermione's sopping wet clothes off of her.
Pansy appeared a few minutes later, holding a robe in her hand and wearing a smirk.
"This yours Zabini?" She asked lightly, her eyes filled with mirth. He chose to give her a cold look, rather than answer her.
Pansy tossed it to him, then proceeded to the back of the ward where a dresser held the hospital pajamas. She grabbed a pair and went back through the curtains, where, from the sound of it, Ginny was having some difficulty getting Hermione's shirt off.
Ten minutes later, Ginny pulled back the curtain closest to the boys and motioned for them to approach.
Madame Pomfrey was piling blankets upon blankets on top of Hermione, who was shivering uncontrollably now.
"Hypothermia…." The nurse sniffed. "If only she hadn't taken that potion! It's made everything ten times worse."
Draco made an impatient noise.
"Will Hermione be alright Madame Pomfrey?" Ron asked.
The nurse didn't answer, but simply turned away, hiding a grave look.
"Weasley." Blaise said softly, looking at Ginny. "You've had hepatyphus?"
Ginny nodded, never taking her eyes off Hermione.
"Would you be willing to second Granger?" Blaise asked seriously.
Madame Pomfrey turned around sharply.
"There will be none of that!" she snapped at Blaise. "I absolutely forbid it. Put such thoughts out of your mind." She told him and then looked pointedly at Ginny.
"What does that mean, second her?" Harry asked, looking at Blaise.
"It's when you take on the disease for yourself." Blaise answered. "As a survivor of hepatyphus, Weasley has an immunity, and is better equipped to fight the disease than Hermione, who has no immunity and who has taken a magical potion which is sure to feed the disease."
"A better name for it is suicide. The amount of magical energy required to second someone, no… it isn't possible. Ms. Granger will have to fight this battle herself." The nurse snapped. "Now, if you are all quite finished, I can see to my patient. Please leave so she can get some rest."
"I'm not leaving till I know Hermione will be alright." Harry snapped, then turned to Blaise. "What has to happen, when you second someone?"
"You heard Madame Pomfrey." Croaked Hermione, half conscious, from the bed. She attempted to smile at all of them. "Thank you… I'll be alright."
"Sleep Ms. Granger." Madame Pomfrey said, pulling the sheets right up to her chin, and then turning to the group. "Out." Her voice was stern.
Harry and Ron didn't budge.
"Out!" Madame Pomfrey's voice was more insistent. "She needs rest!"
The only response Harry gave, was to plant his feet and fold his arms over his chest resolutely.
"Mr. Potter, who is the medical professional here, you or I? Please stop being so insolent and trust me to see to my patient. You may rest assured we'll do everything in our power…. Everything… to see Ms. Granger healthy." Harry's resolution cracked a bit, but he didn't move. "Could you please fetch Professor McGonagall for me?"
Harry sighed, and looked over at Hermione. Again, she attempted a weak smile, and nodded at him. Harry nodded back and turned around.
After a regretful "Feel better Hermione." Ron and Ginny followed.
Blaise and Draco were looking at each other, Pansy noticed, as though having a silent conversation. Draco nodded at Blaise, and turned to Hermione, frowning.
"Don't die, mudblood." Draco muttered, more like a threat than a wish, and strode from the room, Pansy in toe.
"Really!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed at hearing such vulgar language. "The pet names friends use today!" Blaise snorted at the woman's obvious misunderstanding.
"I want you out as well Mr. Zabini." Pomfrey said, her tone a bit softer now.
Blaise's new social life was the largest topic of the recent staff meeting, and while most of the staff were despondent to hear of his girlfriend, Madame Pomfrey thought it would create a productive change in the boy.
Blaise stepped forward and looked down at the brunette girl.
"I'm sorry about this Hermione, it's all my fault." Her lips were blue and her cheeks were slightly green, it didn't look as if she'd last the night. Even so, she gave a small smile.
"My fault." She insisted weakly.
"We'll see." He replied enigmatically, and left the ward.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"What are we going to do Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked mournfully.
The hospital wing was unnaturally silent for the amount of people in it. The moon light crept through the tall glass windows, illuminating a shivering figure, curled beneath a dozen thick blankets. A plastic tube, the like of which was never seen at Hogwarts, was trailing from the needle in her arm, to a bag of liquid hanging from a pole. An intense feeling of cold prevented her from sleeping properly, although she'd never felt more tired in her life.
Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sinistra, and Dumbledore, in addition to Madame Pomfrey were looking down on the brightest student in school, now wasting away in the bed before them. The teachers were behind a magical screen which shielded them from being heard or seen, so as not to disturb the student in question.
"There is little that can be done at this point. Hepatyphus is not something that can be battled through normal means. Not even phoenix tears can help Ms. Granger at this point. Poppy, have you administered the muggle anti-biotic?"
"Yes sir, and she's getting intravenous penicillin, glucose, and potassium chloride, the standard muggle cure for Typhoid fever. The viral strain which causes Typhoid is the closest muggle equivalent to Hepatyphus, but even if this was simply normal Typhoid or scarlet fever… the penicillin takes three days to take effect. I doubt Ms. Granger makes it that long."
"I will pose as the second." Snape declared, taking everyone by surprise.
"You'll what!" ejaculated Professor McGonagall. "You'll do no such thing! If anyone of us will act the as second, it will be me!"
"You were not the foolish idiot who administered Pepper up potion, knowing full well that Ms. Granger had just been in contact with a carrier of the disease. No, I alone claim responsibility for her current state, and I alone will see to curing her."
"I do not think that will be necessary." Dumbledore was smiling, his eyes twinkling, as he surveyed the door to the hospital wing.
The other teachers directed their attention to the door, which seemed to be standing open of its own accord.
"Stupid boy, I told him already…" Madame Pomfrey began but fell silent when Blaise Zabini materialized from thin air.
Every teacher was struck dumb with shock.
Blaise walked quietly across the hospital wing, past Hermione's bed and all the way to the opposite wall where a door stood, leading to Madame Pomfrey's office and personal quarters. Blaise tapped the door several times with his wand, locking it and warding it against sound.
He turned around and called:
"All clear."
The door to the hospital wing, which had remained opened of its own accord after Blaise entered, opened wider now.
The teachers listened as several pairs of feet made their way into the wing, shutting the door quietly behind them.
With a flourish of silvery material, Harry Potter, Ron Weasely and Draco Malfoy appeared from beneath the invisibility cloak. None of the new comers could see nor hear the teachers, who were still hidden behind the screen.
"What on earth!" Snape hissed, his mouth open in disbelief.
The three boys took several steps away from each other, having stood far too close to hide under the cloak.
Harry went to the door they'd just walked through and tapped it to silence and lock it just as Blaise had done.
Ron and Draco made their way to the center most bed on the right side of the ward, where Hermione Granger lay, illuminated by the moon light.
"Curiouser and Curiouser." Professor McGonogol said, eyeing the frown on the blond boy's face.
"What is that thing?" Draco drawled, pointing to the bag of clear liquid hanging from the pole.
"Probably some type of wash." Blaise said, joining the others. "To clear the tube of the antibiotics."
"Sorry?" Asked Ron.
"Antibiotics are used to cure diseases, like scarlet fever." Harry supplied, completing the group circled around the sick girl.
"Potter shouldn't be in here, he could get sick from her." Madame Pomfrey admonished. "We need to put a stop to this, what ever they are planning to do."
Dumbledore smiled.
"I do not think they plan to use one of them as a second. Unless I am very much mistaken, they have found another way to cure Ms. Granger." He replied, giving the other teachers a look that said quite plainly: "Do not interfere."
"Where does the pipe go?" Malfoy said, bending in to examine the clear plastic tube, which disappeared under the many blankets covering Hermione.
"Into her arm, I expect." Harry answered.
"What!" Draco and Ron exclaimed at once, then they glared at each other with hatred.
"Some sort of muggle torture?" Muttered Malfoy, now eyeing the intravenous with disgust.
"It's a better cure than what wizards can do, and under normal circumstances would help a great deal.. but because of that potion…" Blaise trailed off, and shrugged.
"Alright, let's get on with it… I don't have all night, and I'm not trying to get caught. If people found out I was helping to save Granger.. AGAIN, I think I'd die from the shame." Malfoy drawled.
"I'll be sure to tell everyone, then." Ron spat. "You didn't have to come at all!"
Malfoy made an impatient noise.
"You're the one who wouldn't let me ask your sister instead." Blaise muttered angrily. He didn't like Malfoy being here anymore than Ron liked it.
"I'm not letting my little sister perform the dark arts!" Ron spat, folding his arms over his chest. "And it wasn't as if we had to beg him…" Ron pointed to Malfoy and added, rather nastily: "Seemed rather eager to me."
"I need to make sure Granger stays alive until she pays me back…. I didn't suffer all that embarrassment the first time not to get anything for my trouble. Besides, what she's got to do is important." Draco explained, as though Ron were a very thick child.
Ron's hands curled into fists and he approached Draco menacingly.
"You'd better not call on that life debt, cause you'll need Hermione to save you from me." He promised.
"If you two are going to fight, do it out side so we can get on with it." Blaise said in a bored tone.
"Ron, we're here for Hermione." Harry reminded his friend, though in truth, he'd like nothing more than to pound Malfoy's face in. Still, Blaise said they needed four people, and Ron flatly refused to let Ginny perform the spell, so Malfoy was their only option.
Ron backed down, but the redness did not leave his face or ears.
"I think we should move the bed to the center of the room, so we've got more space. " Blaise advised, looking around critically.
Ron took hold of the bed and started to pull it, but the wheels wouldn't turn.
Malfoy sighed, rolling his eyes, and pressed the petal on the side that would lift the bed's brake. The wheels sprang into movement, and Ron nearly fell over from the suddenness of it.
"Malfoy!" Harry snapped, but stopped after receiving an admonitory glare from Blaise.
Ron straightened, his whole head flaming red now with embarrassment and anger.
Malfoy replaced the brake pedal once the bed had been positioned and stood back, smirking in triumph.
Blaise swung his school bag off his back and started removing items from it. First, he brought out a clear glass sphere, the size of a marble. Next, he took out a small pyramid, made from granite. After that he took out a stack of cards, twice as long as playing cards, with Asian hieroglyphs on each leaf; He removed four cards from the stack and replaced the rest in his bag. Finally he removed a thick and old-looking book, with a worn black leather cover, and yellowing frayed pages.
Blaise straightened up, holding only the glass sphere in his hand, and leaving the other items on the floor. With it, he approached the bed.
Hermione was sleeping fitfully. She had stopped shivering- never a good sign when it came to hypothermia- and was looking distinctly blue in the moon light. She was curled into a fetal position on her right side, looking like a large and shapeless lump under all the blankets.
Blaise knew he needed her in the alter position, on her back. He frowned, reluctant to wake her. He would much rather she never knew he took part in this effort. He sighed and reached down to wake her.
"Hermione." He said, shaking her shoulder lightly.
"What are you waking her up for?" hissed Malfoy, annoyed. He too didn't want her knowing he had had a hand in it.
But Hermione was moaning faintly and opening her eyes.
"Blaise?" Her voice was horse, and her lips were cracked.
"Turn onto your back." Blaise whispered, and helped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"What's going on?" Hermione attempted, then coughed a little weakly. Ron appeared with a glass of water, and helped Hermione sip a little.
"Thanks." She smiled, still mostly asleep.
"Hermione, you've got to stay on your back, as still as you can, alright?" Blaise said.
He then placed the glass sphere on top of the blankets, right over her heart.
"What…"
"Shh…. You'll see." He said, and walked back to his pile of things.
Blaise bent to retrieve the book. He opened it and flicked to the right page.
"Right." He said, his brows creasing in thought. "The four points pyramid has to go on the floor right beneath the spot we want the energy to be concentrated on. So, it should go on the floor under the bed, right under Hermione's heart." Blaise said and indicated that Harry should pick up and place the pyramid in its proper place.
Harry did so, placing it directly beneath Hermione's heart, with Ron's help in its positioning.
As soon as Harry's hands left the pyramid, it glowed and started to spin on the floor. It came to an abrupt halt, and rays of blue light burst from each of the five points. The rays continued through solid objects, pointing out the four directions, North, South, East and West, and the final ray went straight up, through the bed and right through Hermione's heart. The ray stopped at the sphere on her chest, but caused the sphere to float upwards, several feet above the half-conscious girl.
"Perfect." Blaise said, bending down to retrieve the four cards. "Each of you, take one of these and lay it on the floor at a precise distance from the pyramid, to form a perfect square." Blaise advised, keeping one card for himself, and handing out the other three.
The four boys laid a card on the floor, precisely five feet from the granite pyramid, at exactly the same time. When the rays of light touched the cards, they bended and joined at the glass sphere precisely five feet high, right above Hermione's heart. The rays formed a pyramid of blue light.
"What is this, Albus, what are they doing?" McGonagall asked suspiciously. "It isn't any thing…" she gulped. "Dark… is it?"
"Not yet, it isn't." Snape replied, but he was eyeing the book in Zabini's hand critically, knowing it held nothing of the light in its pages.
Each boy took his position at each corner of the pyramid. Blaise stood at the north corner, Harry at the south, Draco at the east, and Ron at the west.
"Hermione, you have to stay still, as still as you can. Don't talk at all now. It'll all be over soon." Blaise advised seriously.
She didn't respond, nor did she move.
"Draw your wands." Blaise ordered, and they all took out their wands. Following Blaise's lead, they pointed their wands to the apex of the pyramid of light, where the clear marble was connecting the five rays.
Blaise looked down at the book in his free left hand.
"Four corners, four elements, four powers do we call." Blaise intoned slowly.
"Four powers to gather, return to us from myth." Ron said, concentrating on the orb.
Wind appeared from no where, gathering in a spinning vortex around the boys, causing papers and cotton swabs to take flight.
"Four forces of nature, on this orb befall." Harry said.
"Four elements, join and form a fifth." Draco said, slightly bitterly. "Seiryu of water, bringer of life."
"Gaea of earth, nurturer of fertility." Harry said.
"Sylphi of wind, protector of growth and change." Ron's face was contorted in determination.
"Hyuri of fire, proctor of destruction and death." Blaise said, his eyes as blank as his voice.
The four wands were now glowing, red, yellow, green, and blue, a color for each element. The sphere at the apex of the pyramid was now glowing white.
"An amulet, imbued with the power of the elements?" Asked Professor Sinistra. "But how will that help?" She was completely perplexed, as were the other teachers.
Only Dumbledore continued to smile knowingly, his half-moon spectacles reflecting the light from the glowing orb.
The wind in the room picked up, currents of air glowing different colors as the tendrils of magic gathered inside the chosen vessel, the orb above Hermione's heart.
Hermione herself, was feeling close to vomiting again. She was not feeling remotely cold anymore, but had started to sweat profusely under all the blankets. She wanted to remove them, but vaguely remembered Blaise telling her to stay as still as she could. But the light coursing through her chest was filling her body with sickness and heat, and furthered her desire to retch. A dull ache was also gathering at every inch of her body, growing in pitch and sharpness. She tried to stifle a moan.
"Just a little more now!" Blaise told them all, watching Hermione's face contorting with discomfort. "It's going to hurt, but it'll be alright, just bear with it." Blaise called through the wind.
But the pain was becoming more than she could bear. White hot knives were piercing every inch of her flesh, making her eyes water, and causing her to shriek against her will.
"It hurts!" She cried, her back arching involuntarily, through a muscle spasm.
"Blaise, we've got to stop it!" Ron called, his eyes wide. "It'll kill her."
"No! Keep going, don't stop!" Blaise threatened.
"Albus! We must stop this, quickly!" Shrieked Madame Pomfrey. "She'll die!"
McGonagall was tearing up.
"No! stay where you are. Mr. Zabini knows what he is doing." Dumbledore ordered sharply.
Small, faint dots of red light, like tiny bits of glitter, were appearing on Hermione's skin and floating upwards towards the orb above. Once the red glitter touched the orb, it would sink through the glass to rest in the center.
Hermione was shrieking full out now, crying in pain, her back arched as she struggled to get away from the light penetrating her chest. More and more bits of red glitter were appearing on her skin and floating up to the orb, so that it was starting to glow red instead of white.
"They are luring the hepatyphus out of her by baiting it with a stronger magical power: the amulet!" Snape yelled, above the roar of wind. He was completely amazed, and more than a little impressed at the ingenuity of the plan.
"That red light…then!" Sinistra gasped, realizing the implications.
"Blood." Snape confirmed with a wry smiled. "Dark arts indeed."
"Almost!" Blaise yelled. "Just a little more!"
The red glitter was thinning out now, as the magic in the room grew to such a pitch that the windows rattled from the wind and power.
Soon, the last three sparkling bits of red glitter left Hermione's body and made their way towards the orb. Before they reached it, Blaise yelled:
"NOW!" And pulled his wand away. The others pulled back, and the orb at the apex of the pyramid of light issued a shockwave as the tendrils of light broke apart. The three stray particles of red-glitter were forced back down to join the body it had just left.
The wind which had gathered around the orb was forced outwards as the magic they'd summoned rushed back to equilibrium, shattering the glass windows of the ward, and any other breakables in ten foot radius.
The wind died away right after that, and when the din quieted and the glass settled, the ward was completely silent.
Harry looked around in shock, unable to believe what had just happened.
Shards of glass covered all the floor and beds on the right side of the room where the windows had shattered. Bits of parchment littered the floor, along with other debris the magical wind had scattered. Moon light still shone through the windows, now glassless, onto Hermione.
Hermione herself was unconscious again, completely spent from the exertion of expelling the disease.
"You stopped the spell before we'd trapped all of it." Draco said quietly. "Why?"
"I want her to have an immunity. She can't have one if she doesn't beat the disease with her own body…" Blaise replied, just as quietly. He stepped forward so he was next to the bed.
The tiny orb was sitting on the bed covers, giving off a faint red glow. Bits of gold churned inside the red-liquid center, trying to break free.
Blaise reached out a hand, but retracted it as though burned.
"It's hot." He said, shaking his hand.
"98.6 degrees, I expect." Harry added.
"How do you know that?" Ron asked.
"Temperature of the body." Blaise said before turning around and examining the ward with a frown.
The large windows that took up the entire right wall of the ward up to the ceiling were glass-less. Parchment, towels, and other types of debris were scattered among the tiny shards of glass that blanketed in the floor in little sparkling mounds. The privacy screens the girls had used to change Hermione had been thrown to the floor in the heavy gale, and sat broken and torn. In short, the ward was completely wrecked.
"Let's get this placed cleaned up, before Pomfrey tries to come in and has our heads." Harry advised, and he and Ron set to work.
Blaise was busy picking up the artifacts used in the spell, so only the teachers noticed the way Draco Malfoy was now inspecting Hermione, to make sure what they had done had worked.
He belt low over her, examining the color of her cheeks and checking her pulse. He put a hand over her nose to check if her breathing was even and steady. Looking satisfied with the result of his inspection, Draco lifted the bed's break and set it into its proper spot. Then, with a wave of his wand, he set the privacy screens to rights, and positioned them around her bed as they had been before. The two were now relatively screened from the others, but he still looked around to make sure the others were not observing him.
Draco looked down onto the sleeping girl's face. Something about seeing her there, helpless and unconscious, made him extremely uncomfortable. He would never admit to feeling guilty about her current situation. It was, after all, her decision to interrupt Blaise and wake Snape. So what, if he hadn't added enough wormwood to keep Snape asleep, as the potion was supposed to….. if she had just been discrete none of this would have happened.
Draco frowned. So much for his first great attempt at heroism and achieving glory! Granger just had to ruin everything for him by laying there and looking so much like she had that night they'd brought her back from the ministry at the end of last term… so… so close to death. Unable to keep his eyes on her face, Draco turned his attention to the orb, still sitting on the sheets above Hermione's heart and glowing faintly.
The teachers looked on as Draco drew his wand and tapped the orb. He then reached down and picked up what looked like a loop of silver. At the end of the loop, attached by a silver claw shaped like a dragon's foot, was the orb.
"A necklace?" McGonagall asked, perplexedly.
"That orb was imbued with the power of the elements… hepatyphus or not, it remains a powerful magical amulet." Snape said.
Draco unclasped the silver chain, and- hesitating as he made sure no one was watching him for a third time- fastened the chain around the sleeping girl's neck.
"This doesn't mean anything." He whispered as he did so. "I'm not taking responsibility for how you are now, it's your fault you almost got caught. It's your fault you're like this." He continued determinedly. His face bore a hard expression, but softened as she continued to sleep. "It's your damn fault… you stupid mudblood." But there was no conviction in his voice. "Don't get hurt again." He threatened, then –frowning- he joined the others to pick up the ward.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
And now, the reviews:
TO EVERYONE: Some people have expressed an Interest in a Blaise/Hermione story. This is going to be Draco/Hermione… but your reviews got me thinking about writing a Blaise/Hermione story. I've written an outline.. but I want to know first how many people would be interested in reading it.. Most people don't like Character/OC stories. Leave me a review and let me know, please!
Nevermind: Sorry, not much romance till near the end of the story. This book is more about a romantic confusion. In the sequel (The Devil's Respite) the romance will be more concrete. Thanks for the loyalty, however. Appreciate it.
Lady Avi: Yes I'll finish. Sorry I can't write much faster, I'm too paranoid over errors and I don't have a beta.
Cuznhotie: I wasn't sure what to do about that part… (Draco protecting Hermione) it just seemed so lame, but it was necessary. I want it to be clear that Draco has a saving people thing too… that he too wants to be a hero...I suppose the soppiness was unavoidable. Thanks for the review.
The damaged rose: Sorry, your email was cut off… if you've got it listed under your bio I'll try to give you a ring. Yes I have major writers block. I know what I want to happen, the outline for this story, and it's sequel are completely written out, but I'm just lacking in the ability to write. Dialog is not my strong suit.. and that's the part I'm on. I'm glad you like Blaise… and actually, he is a Mary Sue, because I based him off of myself, somewhat. People are always telling me I'm so evil and sarcastic and difficult to know and become close too… I thought I'd make a pretty cool villain, or if not, an excellent Slytherin. (That's the house I was sorted into.) BTW, this is a Draco/Hermione story.
Dizzy dragon: I know! I hate how nice Draco is being.. especially in this chapter, what a ponce! I tried to make him mean, but I need him to do some OOC things to further the plot. Don't worry, he'll go back to being a ass in later chapters. Make sure to keep me in line, and don't let me write the characters all wrong!
Sunday morning: Thank you for three reviews. I try.
Swoosh: Thanks, I try. I spent a while in ESL, believe it or not, and was very frustrated with my lack of ability to communicate with people.. I feel that being able to articulate yourself well is the most important ability one must master. As my husband likes to quote: "Say what you say." (eminem) Try taking IB English, it really really helps with the vocab.
Star angel: Actually, I abhor TV with all my heart and soul. So no, I've never considered it. I have considered writing fiction, or screen plays for films. But my sister is a film producer in Rotterdam, and everyone says I'm just like her and it's really annoying being compared to her all the time, so instead I'm a professional computer nerd and I write on the side. That's way more info than you were hoping for isn't it.
Kate-felton: sorry, you'll have to hold out longer for romance. Sorry for the late update too.
Shoe-malfoy: WOW! Thanks so much for pointing that out! As soon as I read your review I corrected it. Keep me in line with reviews, right?!
Elizabeth: It's hardly as exciting or well written as the sixth book. I really hope the ending of this one isn't as anti-climactic, at least. Thanks for the review, it really made me feel better, sorry the update took me so long.
Ehlonna, Harrys lover, pinkchiklet, hand of vengeance, fallen angel of hell, candygoddess, xeledhwenx, Bludiamond, Sarah143 THANK YOU!!!!