Disclaimer: As I have said, I don't own anything in this fic. Except for the plot.

I'm not that sick now, thank God! I was rather tired this morning, had to go present at school along with the rest of the club (Drum Corps). I think I sweated out all my sickness!lol. Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter. It's not much and it's long and rather unusual. Hope you'll enjoy this. Read on!!

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-Chapter 7: No Beard-

"Wait, I know why you waited for me rather than going on your own." Hermione said as she stopped on her spot. Draco raised an eyebrow "You don't know where the kitchens are, do you?"

He looked the other way.

"Aha! I was right!" she exclaimed smugly.

"Humph...whatever" Draco said as he quickened his pace, about to turn to the corridor to his left.

Hermione cleared her throat. Draco turned his head to look at her and glared. She was pointing her thumb to the right corridor. Draco turned and walked to her and stopped right in front of her.

"Alright, I don't know where it is, but I know you do. I've heard of your little parties at Gryffindor tower, I bribed a 2nd year once into telling me what you do in that tower of yours" Hermione looked appalled. He smirked.

"Goes to show what spoiled brats do with their money while poor children are out there begging on the streets" She glared at him.

"Huh?"

Hermione shook her head. She forgot that Draco mustn't have seen poor children beg on the streets since she herself never even saw poor witches and wizards. Unless you count the Weasleys, but they still had money for the family, and she was sure they never beg on the streets.

"Nothing, it's a muggle thing" she said, still glaring at nothing in particular and then continued walking down the corridor, leaving him to trail after her.

"So, what did that mad man tell you?" Draco started just to lighten the mood.

"He is not mad, he's a brilliant wizard if you must know" Hermione replied irritably, they were now close to the kitchens.

"He's mad, he is a werewolf after all"

"Just because he is a werewolf doesn't mean he's mad. Besides, it's not like he has a choice to be one" she crossed her arms with her head held high and walked faster as they were a corridor away from the painting of the fruit bowl now.

"Sure..." he said sarcastically.

Clunk

"Draco I-" she stopped as he abruptly stopped and covered her mouth with his hand.

Clunk. Clunk

Hermione gave her a questioning look and was returned by placing his finger to his mouth, signaling her to be quiet. He stayed still and looked around, his hand still covering her mouth.

Draco looked around once more then took his hand back. She pulled Hermione slowly and started walking again, still signaling her to keep quiet.

Clunk. Clunk

Draco and Hermione both turned their heads to their back seeing nothing.

'What the hell is making that clunking noise?' Draco thought to himself.

Both continued walking, heads facing their back. They were walking backwards.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk

The clunking noise has gotten faster, both of the teenagers set off in a run still backwards. Draco pulled Hermione sharply to a corner and both leaned on the wall gasping for breath. They arrived at the corridor where the painting was hung. Hermione could tell, the huge painting was at the end of the corridor they were in.

Clunk. Clunk

Hermione looked at Draco, whose face was twisted. Hermione looked at him confusedly, then her face twisted too, as a horrible smell just entered her nose. She clasped her hands over her nose and gave Draco a sickening look. It was the smell of...fish?

'That's not me!' Draco whispered to her.

"Ahh...that be me, me lady" a voice with a weird accent said from Hermione's other side.

Hermione turned around to see no one.

"Down here!" the voice said again.

Hermione looked down to see a very weird sight. It was a house elf, but definitely not an ordinary one. It was...a pirate house elf?

Hermione eyed it carefully, polka dotted handkerchief tied like a bandana around its head, black quilt around his tiny body, brown belt, the pirate accent, a silver hoop earring on his left floppy ear, a black eye patch, and...

'...a wooden peg leg' Hermione thought to herself. 'So that's what made those clunking noises' she rolled her eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" Draco asked rudely from behind her. Hermione elbowed him by the stomach.

"Umm...hi! W-who are you?"

"I be No Beard, but yee can call me Noby or Nobs" the house elf bowed deeply at Hermione and Draco.

"Okay, N-Noby" Hermione said unsurely. She never met or even saw a pirate house elf, and she just can't help but wrinkle her nose from the awful stench. "Uhh...Noby, by any chance could you tell me what that smell is?"

Noby reached under his quilt and pulled out a huge dead fish.

"I was testing me new spear," he said as he pointed his thumb to his back where a small stick with a sharp tip stuck out "I got this beauty in the lake" he held up the fish in front of them looking proud.

Hermione thought she was about to faint, the smell grew stronger, and the fish – she noticed - was turning to a moldy green. Draco, on the other hand was giving him a 'look'. He couldn't get how a little house elf with a little sharp stick get such a huge fish. Hermione cleared her throat.

"W-well, congratulations for your catch!" she smiled awkwardly. Draco knew she was trying to hide her expression of disgust with a smile.

"Why are you here anyway?" Draco asked as she walked in front of Hermione, relieving her of her misery from the smell.

"I be a new house elf here at Hogwarts," he said starting to look grave as he looked down. "Me master was killed during the war"

Hermione was looking over from Draco's shoulder and can't help feel bad for the house elf as she saw his expression. Draco on the other hand looked at him suspiciously.

"Who did you work for? A Death Eater?" he asked.

"Why no lad, me master was Mr. Shacklebolt, he be an Auror" he said more grimly as he took his bandana and held it to his chest.

"Shacklebolt?" Hermione repeated. "Do you mean Kingsley? But, h-he didn't die during the war"

"No, no me lady. Master Kriston be my master, Mr. Kingsley's cousin" Noby said as he re placed his bandana on his head.

"Oh, I didn't know he had a cousin. Sorry"

"That be okay me lady. Yee mean no harm, and why yee be here in these parts of the castle?"

"We were going to the kitchens to get food until you little runt came along and-" Hermione elbowed Draco yet again.

"Don't be rude!" she whispered to him. Draco crossed his arms.

"We were going to the kitchens to get some food Noby, if you don't mind can we pass and go there?"

"Sure me lady, let Noby take you there"

Noby started clunking his way towards the painting. As they arrived in front of it, he made a hand gesture and bowed. Hermione smiled at him then made a face as she faced the painting, the smell of the dead fish was still pretty strong. She tickled the pear and the painting swung open, revealing busy house elves.

"Lads!" Noby shouted over the noise of the clinking china and the sizzle of the food being cooked for dinner. The house elves stopped and gathered around Noby. "They be- err..." Noby stopped and looked at Hermione and Draco.

"Hermione and Draco" Hermione whispered to him.

"They be Hermione and Draco, and they be needing lots of food" after this statement, the house elves scattered around, each bringing them both something to eat and drink.

"Now this I like" Draco said, looking over at all the offerings. Hermione rolled her eyes while Noby gave the stinky fish to another house elf who made a disgusted face. Both were then lead to a near by table where the elves placed the food on in turns.

Hermione sighed, she had given up on S.P.E.W. right before the war. She had known that the house elves like the labor, Harry and Ron told her every time she tried to get recruits for the organization, but she just can't help feel sorry for the bug-eyed things.

She hadn't realized that she was staring out into space until there was a burping noise in front of her. She shook her head and saw Draco across the table from her who was already munching in on every piece of food he could get his hands on.

"M-miss?" a familiar quivering, squeaky voice said from her side. Hermione turned and grinned.

"Dobby!" she practically shouted. The house elf ducked under the table and started to tremble.

"What did you say?" came Draco's questioning voice from across the table.

"Dobby" Hermione repeated. She then felt someone tug her skirt from underneath her. "What is it?"

The house elf vigorously shook his head at her direction. Hermione looked at him, puzzled by the house elf's actions.

"You mean my Dobby? My house elf?" Draco said still with a questioning voice.

"Yes, he's under the table" Hermione replied as she looked back underneath the table.

Dobby looked horrified as his eyes went even bigger than usual, then the unexpected happened, he fainted.

x

"Professor? Are you in here?" Harry and Ron said in unison as they entered the DADA classroom.

"I'm in here!" came the voice of Lupin from his office, which was up the short staircases at the end of the classroom.

Harry and Ron jogged up the stairs and into the room to find their short time professor but long time friend...playing?

Remus Lupin, professor of the DADA class, in one corner of his office, playing wizards chess against the chess itself.

"Cool!" Ron exclaimed as he pulled a chair and sat down on it in the middle of the table.

"Professor?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Yes Harry?" Lupin replied without looking up as he made his move. "Pawn to E4"

The bishop from the wizard chess set moved to the designated place and smashed the opponent's knight.

"Wow professor! How did you make it play against you?" Ron asked, both amazed and jealous at the same time. "Mine never does that"

Lupin looked up and smiled at the amazed redhead.

"Just a gift from a friend" he looked back down "Queen to D6, checkmate" the opponents king took its sword and stabbed itself and fell into pieces on the board.

"Your good" Ron nodded while studying the board.

Lupin grinned as he took all of the broken pieces and placed them back on the bard in a pile. He took out his wand and pointed to it to the pile of shattered pieces.

"Reparo" the pieces slowly moved around and formed back into its original shapes. After everything was in order, Lupin pocketed his wand and waved his hand. The chess pieces moved around yet again to their respective places. "So, why are you here?" he asked as he stood up from his chair and walked towards his desk and half sat on it.

"Did you see Hermione?" Harry asked as he looked over to Ron, who was still staring at the chess set. As Harry sees it, he seems to have the urge to move the pieces and play.

"Indeed I did Harry" Lupin smiled at him as he moved around his desk and sat on the huge chair behind it.

"And?" Harry asked getting more eager as he spoke.

"Your wrong..." his professor said serenely.

"What? B-" he stopped as Lupin raised a hand in front of him, signaling to hear him out first.

"...for now." Lupin smiled "I haven't noticed anything change in her except for her appearance and her being friends with Malfoy" Harry sighed at this. "Look Harry, as I've said it's only for now. I have been here for only a day and I've only seen and talked to Hermione once, so I wouldn't know for sure until we just move on and see what happens. Just be patient and I'll try to talk and help her out for you, just like you asked me when something really does happen, okay?"

Harry nodded and smiled at him. He thought about writing to Sirius about this but he knew he would right away owl Hermione that she had done wrong or maybe come to Hogwarts and tell her himself. If he finds out that Draco is a part of all of this, he might even blame him that he got her under the Imperius curse or another. He was always very judgmental especially to his rivals. And since Draco is the son of Lucius, Snape's prized student, and Harry's rival, he would probably plot ways on killing him in revenge to Lucius and Snape.

'Kind of reminds me of Ron' Harry thought and smiled to himself.

"Bloody hell!" thinking of which, the particular person he was thinking about exclaimed from the corner of the room. "This thing is wicked! It bloody beat me!" Ron exclaimed yet again.

Harry and Lupin gave him a 'look'.

"What?" he asked naively. "The bloody thing beat me!"

Harry rolled his eyes as Lupin laughed.

'I think I'll write to Sirius when the right time comes' Harry thought and laughed along with his professor.

x

"Dobby?" Hermione asked the house elf who was now laid down on the carpet by the crackling fire of the kitchen.

"Dobby be the softest of the soft among the house elves I met" Noby said, nodding his head.

"I still can't believe my house elf works here"

"Oh suck it up Draco," she replied as she continued fanning Dobby with her hand "he's not your house elf anymore"

"I know, Potter gave him a sock during our 2nd year, father told me. He went nuts that day, he scolded me in the Slytherin dungeons for not being better at Potter" Draco glared at the fire at the thought of his father. "I hate that old loon"

Dobby moved.

"Dobby?"

"M-miss?" the house elf squeaked out.

"Yo ho! He be awake now," Noby said with his jolly pirate accented voice.

"Noby!" Dobby exclaimed, as he quickly stood up from the rug and walked towards the pirate house elf. "Sorry for fainting"

"That be okay mate, it is not yee fault"

"But it is, Dobby is so easily scared by Dobby's former m-" he stopped as he saw Draco sitting on a couch behind Noby, and then ran behind Hermione.

"Dobby? What's wrong with you?"

"Former master has come to take Dobby miss, don't let him take Dobby away" he trembled behind her.

"Don't worry Dobby, Draco's different from his father, and Lucius is dead now"

The house elf was still trembling but not by much anymore when Hermione said Lucius was dead.

"No," Dobby said shaking his huge head "Draco is the same, the same" he snuck a peak at Draco and was met by his stony glare. "Ahhh!!!" the house elf screamed as he hid back behind Hermione.

"If you must know, you pitiful house elf" Hermione glared at him. He rolled his eyes. "Dobby, I'm different from my father, so don't worry, besides, I can't kick you around, I don't own you anymore"

It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. That wasn't the kind way of saying it, but it was satisfying coming from Draco Malfoy, and Dobby seemed to think so too as he now stopped trembling behind her and walked in front of her towards Draco.

"Dobby is still sorry sir for-"

"Righhttt..." Draco said before the house elf could finish as he took a loose thread from his robes.

"But sir Dobby is really-"

"Look, you little r-" he stopped as Hermione gave him another glare "Dobby, it's alright, everything's alright, really. You don't need to apologize, I'm nothing like my father, so it's okay"

Dobby smiled up at him and hugged his leg. Hermione grinned as Draco glared.

"Ayy," Noby said as he made a sniffing noise "a friendship brought back" he continued sniffing as he clunked away towards the other house elves.

"Thank you sir!" Dobby said cheerfully as he still held Draco's leg.

"Umm...Dobby? Can you come here a sec.?" Hermione called out to the elf. Draco looked like he could strangle Dobby by the way he was looking at him. Dobby stopped in front of her. "Who is Noby to you?" she asked curiously. She had noticed that the other house elves seem to have given him high respect above all the others.

She looked over the house elf's shoulder to see the pirate house elf talking to Winky who now seem to be normal than the last time she saw her.

"Noby is a great house elf miss, Dobby and others respect him so much for his great service to his master. Noby is very loyal to his master and tried to help his master in the war even though Noby knew he an do nothing"

Hermione nodded and slowly stood up.

"Thank you Dobby," she said then turned to face the still glaring blonde "c'mon Draco, we better go now"

Draco still glared at her for no reason but Hermione just grinned at him.

'If I didn't have to win this bet, and if she weren't so pretty, I wouldn't have let her go away with all this' Draco thought regretfully to himself as he walked out of the portrait. Hermione was still inside, saying her good byes to Dobby and Noby.

"Malfoy!" someone shouted from the other end of the corridor. Draco turned to look and glared at what his gaze fell on.

-End of Chapter-

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Reviewers!

Lothliana: It's okay, and I'm glad you still love it!

kk: Thanks!!

dramaqueen72: Don't worry, more of the both of them together will come...

Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot: Cool, im flattered!!lol. Yeah, I miss Sirius too!! I wanted adults to be involved in this fic. and I'd rather Lupin and Sirius be the ones than others.

funny love: Fellow Lupin fan!!lol. I really wanted him to be in this.

XxPaDfOoTiExX: Thank you again, and I will update as much as I can.

Dragonblood: I love Dm/Hg fics. too! And don't worry, I will never leave this story behind, I'm not like other writers, I will surely keep you informed on what happens next. Esp. if I get a lot of reviews...

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Hey guys!! I actually really wanted to make this rather unusual chapter.lol. I hope you enjoyed it!! The upcoming chapters will compose of hint hint less 'love' between Draco and Hermione, than the others had. Please R and R!!! Toodles!

-DragonPrincessRhean-