Thunder and Lightning - Part 3
She watched him disappear through the portrait hole and let out a huff. 'Well fine. Nothing like a little denial to get you to sleep at night. Damn him.' Hermione wandered back to the near desolate Gryffindor common room and talked with Harry and Ron for about an hour. She thought it would take her mind off of last night. Truth be told, she wanted to take her mind off Malfoy and what happened last night. What else could have compelled them so strongly to do what they did? 'If it was a spell, who would want to do that to us?' she thought. 'Was it some kind of joke? To get the two people who are so opposite…to force them to…to…oh, Lord.' Just thinking about what they had done was making her blush.
Her face was red to such a point that Ron asked, " 'mione, are you alright? You look a little flushed."
"Uh, fine Ron. Just tired I guess. Suppose I'll turn in."
"Might as well get some sleep too," Harry said, "there's not much going on down here tonight."
"Right mate," Ron said. " 'night 'mione."
"Goodnight Harry…Ron. See you both in the morning."
"Breakfast at 9:30?" Ron asked.
"Sure." Hermione took her bag and headed to her room.
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He paced his room for an hour before attempting to go to bed. Then spent the next hour or so wide-awake and staring at the canopy overhead. It was only when he finally started to doze that he heard it in the distance. A low rumble…the start of the storm. He sat up, startled, his heart pounding in his chest. Malfoy immediately snatched his wand off the bedside table and closed the drapes that hung around his bed. The next rumble was a little louder and a slight flash of light followed; the storm was clearly heading towards them. He didn't want what happened last night to happen again. But with that second clap of thunder he could feel it start to pull him. But how to stop it?
Thunder sounded again, even louder…closer. Out of sheer panic he pointed his wand at his torso and recited, "Plenus somes redimio." Suddenly leather straps wrapped around his ankles and wrists securing him to the bed. He practically laughed with relief. If he couldn't get up from the bed, there was no way he could move when summoned by the thunder. No way possible to meet Granger, and if he couldn't meet Granger, he couldn't snog her.
As the storm moved closer, the pull grew stronger. He had lost count of how many times the thunder sounded and the lightning flashed back. At one point he found himself straining against his bonds, but he thanked Merlin that they held fast. He watched as the lightning silhouetted the room outside of his curtained bed. With each flash he could make out his desk, and the other two beds in the room. Another flash and this time, something caught his eye by the doorway…some movement. A figure had entered the room. He hoped with everything he had that one of his roommates had gotten up, unable to sleep due to the storm. But unfortunately, he knew deep down inside that it was wishful thinking. His fears were realized when, with the next flash of lightning, the figure silently pulled back the bed curtain to reveal Granger standing next to his bed.
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Her roommates already asleep, she got herself ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Unfortunately, Hermione would not find sleep anytime soon, for in the distance she heard it…a low rumble. Her heart leapt in her chest. Was it possible for someone to be fearful and excited at the same time? For as much as she was afraid of the force that called to her, she was intrigued and excited by it. Did it have anything to do with fact that this unknown force pulled her and Malfoy, the most eligible single male of her year, towards each other? She firmly told herself 'no' to that question, but unconsciously, she knew she was lying to herself. Of course she was loving the fact that this, this…thing had her somehow connecting with Malfoy on a very naughty level. On any normal day, Malfoy was completely unattainable - a fact that she realized in first year when he found out she came from a muggle family. But now? Now, some force had made him hers and she was so not going to complain about it. Question it? Sure. Analyze it when she finally figured out what it was? Absolutely. But until this spell or charm or whatever it was had run its course, she would revel in it. She would love the fact that she, and most specifically Malfoy, couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.
But would last night's occurrence happen for a second night or was it a one-time thing? She would just have to wait and see. So she lay in bed, flat on her back trying to relax and let herself fall asleep, despite her mind going a mile a minute. But when the first flash of light came, she obeyed its call like she did the night before. Hermione sat up, left her bedroom and walked back down to the common room. The dim firelight cast the room in sharp shadows. She hardly noticed any of it, just continued on through the portrait hole and followed the light's guided path. Down, down, down she went until she reached her destination. The dungeons; outside the Slytherin common room to be exact - the very spot that Malfoy had left her a few hours earlier, standing in front of the Slytherin portrait.
Hiding in the shadows of the dungeon she waited. This deep in the castle she could not see the light that flashed steadily outside, but she could hear and feel the thunder as it pulsed throughout her body. And though she didn't understand what the thunder said, she knew enough to know that whatever she was feeling, Malfoy would be feeling the same. But what she didn't understand was what could be keeping him. Last night they met at almost the exact same time. She had been standing here for almost ten minutes and he still hadn't appeared.
The pull was getting stronger, practically beckoning her beyond the portrait. Her heart pounded faster and her skin tingled with want. But there was nothing she could do. She didn't know the Slytherin password so she was stuck where she was until Malfoy came to her. 'What was keeping him?' she questioned to herself as she began to pace.
There was no way Malfoy could stop that kind pull without doing some kind of strong counter-spell to overcome it. But which counter-spell? He would first need to know the spell that caused the pull. And besides, if he performed the correct counter-spell, why was she still being affected?
She was about to tap on the sleeping portrait when she heard soft voices at the end of the corridor. Someone was coming. She hid deeper in the shadows and waited. A few moments later, two Slytherins rounded the corner and stood before the portrait. Hermione lurked forward and heard the boy whisper, "domus ut slithers sceptrum," and then watched as the portrait swung open. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'That's the password? The house that slithers rules? Who comes up with this stuff?' But what the password was didn't matter. What did matter was that she knew what it was. She waited a few more minutes after the portrait swung closed and then stood before it. Hiding in the shadows as not to reveal her true house status, she whispered the password. The groggy Slytherin in the portrait grunted and swung its picture open for admittance. Hermione slunk in and quickly took in her surroundings.
Thankfully the common room was empty. The lightning must have flashed outside for the sizzle of its effects surged within her. The pull was even stronger here than it was in the hallway. It compelled her forward and guided her through the common room and down a hallway with multiple doors. For a split second she panicked. How would she know which door opened into Malfoy's room? But then the lightning and thunder spoke again and she was drawn to the door at the end of the hall. Hermione took a deep breath, turned the handle and, for better or worse, followed her call into the room beyond. She looked quickly to the two beds across the room. Nott and Zabini, thankfully sound asleep. She turned to the third bed in the room. Its plush green velvet curtains drawn, cocooning the boy inside in security, all be it, a false sense of security. With the next flash of light she silently reached forward and pulled back the curtain revealing Malfoy lashed to the bed.