Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Chapter 13: Making Plans
DISCLAIMER: it aint mine. k?
A/N – Hopefully a few things will be cleared up in this chapter, and if not then they will be in the next chapter.
Her head was pounding and her throat was raw from throwing up. She hadn't left her bedroom in over 24 hours and her clothes were dishevelled, and her hair bushier than ever.
She had really thought Harry had loved her. Not only did Harry not love her, but the guy she'd been shagging for the past couple of weeks wasn't Harry. She had a very strong suspicion who it was though.
She caught sight of a picture on her bedside table that Colin Creevey had taken of the trio a few months before. None of them had noticed him standing there with his camera, but the tiny figures of Hermione and Ron in the picture were having a silent argument in the common room, while Harry sat just ignoring them, writing an essay, until Ron threw a balled up piece of parchment at her, which missed and hit Harry instead. The tiny Ron and Hermione froze, waiting for Harry to start silently yelling at them, but instead, his face broke into a huge grin and he threw the parchment back at Ron, before starting to roll up another ball.
It was like her own little movie. She still didn't understand how Colin had managed to get the figures in the picture to play out what had actually happened. But when he'd developed it she'd begged him for a copy, feeling that it summed up their friendship.
Wait a minute? Why am I letting him do this to me? I have faced down Lord Voldemort. I'm not going to let some Ferret defeat me. That bastard is not going to know what hit him. And then I am going to save Harry for a change.
Twenty minutes later Hermione sat on her bed, a towel wrapped around her body, wet hair trailing over her shoulders. She'd opened the windows wide to let some clean air into the room and some of the stale smell of vomit out.
Unfortunately, since it was –10 degrees outside, this meant that she was freezing.
She barely noticed her shivering however as she ran through her plan for the next couple of days.
Since finding out about the Polyjuice Potion all she'd thought about was all the little clues, like getting mad whenever she badmouthed Malfoy, sleeping with Toni, and getting Trevor's name wrong, to name but a few. Not to mention her dreams. And if she wasn't thinking about those things, she was thinking about how she'd let him touch her… For a supposed genius she'd done a pretty good impression of an idiot lately.
She dressed quickly, shivering in the breeze from the windows, her careful plans running through her mind as she threw on her favourite jeans and black tiger print t-shirt.
She was going to show that slimy arsehole exactly how much she'd learnt in the DA.
He'd wanted her to fall in love with him, he hadn't wanted her to start stalking him.
Ever since he'd returned to the common room she hadn't left him alone, fawning all over him
Ron, apparently disgusted by this display of affection had gone to the hospital wing to beg Madam Pomfrey to let him see his little sister. So, now I've gotten rid of two of them, how the hell do I get rid of this one?
"Mione, I've got to go to the library to do an essay for Professor Snape," he stood from the sofa he and Hermione were sitting on.
"I'll come with you and help," she stood too.
"No, I'm sure you've probably seen enough of the library these holidays, you don't have to help me." Why won't she just go away!
"But I always help you with your homework, Harry, don't you remember? Besides, after what happened to Ginny did you really think that I was going to let my boyfriend out of my sight for even a minute?"
Who knew such a good idea could backfire like this? It would have been so much easier if I could have just killed the mini Weasel, actually… He amused himself with thoughts of what it was going to be like once he'd drank the potion and was finally powerful enough to get rid of the Golden Trio and all of their little groupies.
Hermione enjoyed watching the false Harry squirm while pretending to do his homework. And while he was desperately trying to look like he actually cared about Harry's homework, Hermione was talking the opportunity to think about why Draco had pretended to be Harry.
It had something to do with that potion he was obsessed with, but what? Obviously the potion wasn't to turn frogs pink (gee, Hermione, you think?) so what was it for?
Muttering an excuse to Draco, some things were more important than torturing stupid bastards, as fun as that was, she ran up to the empty common room and removed her wand from her pocket.
She, once again, placed it into the cauldron and apprehensively whispered the word "revelio." Placing her wand on the nearest piece of parchment – Ginny's transfiguration homework – shining letters ran from it, spelling out inamorata potency potion.
Before she could make her way back to the library to try to figure out what the hell it did, Ron came beaming into the room.
"Madam Pomfrey says she's going to be ok!" He announced loudly to Hermione, who ran to give him a hug at this news.
"She's still not awake yet but whatever it is it should wear off in about two or three days! We can go see her now!"
The rest of the day was spent beside Ginny's bedside chattering away to her, even though she couldn't talk back to them – much as she'd love to.
For god's sake you two idiots! What the hell are you doing sitting there just watching me lie here like a complete potato or something when you should be out there killing Malfoy? Oh…oh dear…I need to pee…
That evening, however, was when Hermione's plan came into motion.
Grasping the Marauders Map in her hand she made sure the invisibility cloak covered her fully as she made her way to the library.
She noticed with a pang of guilt that the dot labelled Harry Potter was still in the Room of Requirement (I officially hate hormones! I am never falling in lust again!). But she couldn't let herself be distracted by the thought of Harry until she'd found out what Draco was up to. Then she'd go get Harry.
After at least three hours of wandering through the restricted section, reading anything that looked as though it might have anything useful in it, she finally found what she was looking for.
The Inamorata Potency Potion is one of the strongest potions known to wizards. Believed to have been invented by the dark wizard Grindelwald before his untimely demise at the hands of Albus Dumbledore, this potion brings immeasurable power to the drinker. However, it must be brewed by a witch or wizard who truly loves the drinker. A drop of the brewer's blood is added to the potion just before it is drunk, sealing the potion with the incredible natural magic contained in their love. This is where Grindelwald failed – he had nobody to love him. If brewed incorrectly, the consequences of the potion can be dire and unpredictable, documented cases range from the drinker falling madly in love with the brewer and craving them every second of the day, to the drinker becoming a part vampire – merely needing the blood of the brewer, rather than any blood, to the drinker simply disappearing or dying.
So he's going to drink my blood is he? Bastard. I never liked ferrets anyway. He's going to wish he'd never met me. Which one will happen to him? Hope he just dies or disappears, I don't really fancy being stalked by the Malferret.
Sighing, she just placed the book back on the shelf and wandered up to the Room of Requirement. It didn't change anything, her plan was still the same. This just meant that she knew what she was up against.
Using the alohomora charm, she entered the room to be presented by an all too familiar sight. Harry lay on a bed she'd seen a dozen times, in a room she'd stood in a dozen times. Casting an uneasy glance at the end of the bed, where the other Harry usually stood, she padded apprehensively towards it.
"Harry?" She was practically sitting on the bed now, reaching over to shake Harry's still form. "Harry, please wake up. You've got to wake up. Please!" Tears spilled down her face as she tried to rouse him, even though she knew it was useless.
Resigning herself to the fact that what she had to do couldn't wait until she found a way to wake up Harry, she forced herself to stand and walk away from him, although it almost broke her heart to leave him lying there, looking so small and frail in the large bed, something she never thought she'd see Harry as being. He was always so commanding.
Her tears flowed faster as she whispered five words to him before leaving the room and re-locking it behind her.
Those words echoed through her mind as she ran back to the Gryffindor common room.
I swear I'll kill him.