Title: Dare You To Move
Author: Mjade
Summary: My third Draco/Mione fic. Hermione Granger is feeling left out by the people she once called friends . . . but her dreams are all about to come true.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter but the idea of this story, the two Slytherins: Mason Deimos and Don Gears, and the Gryffindor: Lucinda Lucent, are mine.
Rating: PG-13/Romance
Author's Note: OKAY! I HAVE A PERFECTLY GOOD REASON WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG! MY sob COMPUTER sob BROKE sob DOWN sob!!! What? It's TRUE! Honest! It was infected with some weird virus called spyware or something...I forget. AND NOW IT IS BACK!!! I am so happy! I had the worst withdrawal symptoms ever! I tried to work on this chapter in school but I had soooooooo much work! I HATE S.A.T. EXAMS! I really believe it stands for Sadists Against Teenagers! ARGH! I HATE FINAL EXAMS, as well! I'm so glad it is over but I still have to assemble my IB Theatre porfolio and get it done by January! Oh well, anyway I hope you read this chapter and like it. Please don't forget to review! They mean so much to me!
xeledhwenx- Well, I'll definitely write more! I'm also glad that you agree that stories should go slow at first. Well I hope you read this chapter. My story is certainly starting to move!
nichole-sumpter- I'm glad you love it! I tried my best to hurry it up although my stupid computer broke down, so here it is!!!
blonk- Thanks for not flaming me! LOL! They really rely on chapters where nothing happens? Well, I don't really believe that's true but thanks anyway! R/R!
corditheoddball- Droll moments, huh? Good, the story is suppose to be amusing and humorous! NO!!! Don't do US History!!! Ugh...you won't enjoy it! When it gets into Democratics and Republicans it's really boring. I only took it so I could get into a US college! Well, putting that aside...thanks for your review!!!
Aisha- What exactly can't you believe? Oh come on, there is hidden passion there! I'm just trying to unleash it! Draco and Hermione belong together, there's no question about it! LOL!
Angelsparkle006- THANK YOU! THANK YOU! And THANK YOU!
SwTnDrEaMyPnAy03- Thanks for revieweing again! Man, I love Italy too! Well, I've never really been there but I heard it's beautiful! I believe Venice is the 'city of love', not so much Paris but I've been to France and it's also beautiful. SIGH! Amore. . .
And TO ALL MY OTHER REVIEWERS: Aquarius Chik 101, average jane, ShimmeringEvil, and Fiona McKinnon!
It is better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all. . .
- Alfred Lord Tennyson -
Severus Snape, in robes of black, sat at the Head table, resting his chin on his right hand and gazing sulkily at the dance floor. He very much disliked Hogwarts' social affairs. He respected the Headmaster's decision on how he headed the school but he really really hated attending Christmas Balls full of lights, full of chatter, and full of 'dunderheads', as he liked to call the students. He would rather just be in his own private quarters writing up the agenda for his next Potions class or in the dungeons devising a new solution of Veritaserum. He wouldn't even be present if attendance wasn't mandatory or out of respect for Dumbledore.
I think I'm getting a migraine, Snape grimaced as he started rubbing his temples. He glared at Lupin who was smiling cheerfully beside him. Lucky for him there's no full moon, tonight. . .
Snape's thoughts trailed off as he spotted a large tawny owl---no it couldn't be an owl. A bird, the size of a swan, spreads its great crimson wings and was flying straight towards the Head table, with long golden tail feathers and gleaming talons.
It was a phoenix.
The crimson bird swooped past the Great Hall carrying what looked like a roll of parchment in its claws. In no more than a minute, the phoenix appeared above the Head table and dropped the letter in front of Snape and immediately flew away through an open window.
Snape whipped his head around and scanned the dance floor frantically. However, to his astonishment, nobody seemed to have noticed the great bird. He looked beside him and saw that Lupin continued grinning and seemed oblivious to what had happened as well. It was as if a phoenix soaring through the Great Hall was an ordinary occurrence. Snape turned back to the object the phoenix had dropped in front of him. He took the roll of parchment in his hands, his pulse slightly quickening. He already knew that the appearance of the phoenix was proof enough and gave him no reason to doubt that the letter he held came from the Order. Snape tentatively untied the string and unrolled the parchment and his breath caught in his throat. The thing they had been dreading had finally. . .
Lupin had noticed Snape's sharp intake of breath and turned to him. "Is everything all right, Severus?"
Lupin was startled when Snape abruptly rose to his feet. "Lupin, we must find the Headmaster." He stepped off the platform and strode quickly to the dance floor with a perplexed Lupin jogging to catch up with him.
"Severus, what is it?" Lupin asked when he reached him.
"Where is Dumbledore?" Snape said scanning the hall.
"Over there, dancing with Professor Sinistra," Lupin replied, nodding his head towards them.
The two professors walked over to where Dumbledore was, Severus' stride slightly faster, and stopped right in front of him.
"Severus, Remus. It is about time the both of you joined in on the festivities," Dumbledore said, beaming.
"Well, professor. . ."
"Headmaster, an urgent word with you please," Snape interrupted Lupin.
Dumbledore's face turned into an expression of concern. "Of course," He said, then turned to Professor Sinistra. "Please excuse me, Stella."
Snape led them away from the dance floor, through a group of giggling Hufflepuffs, around the round tables, until they were outside the Great Hall. Snape then closed the massive doors and turned to Lupin and Dumbledore.
"Has something happened, Severus?" Dumbledore asked him.
"Yes, Headmaster," Snape said, then held up the rolled piece of parchment. "I just got a message from the Order."
He hesitated.
"There has been an attack."
"Lumos," a voice whispered. A bright light appeared at the tip of her wand and illuminated her face.
Draco froze on the spot as he saw her lift her wand. He watched as her brown eyes focused on him and her facial expression turned to one of puzzlement. For quite some time, they just stared at each other in an awkward and uncomfortable silence, save by the groaning and wincing of nearby paintings from the light produced by the girl's wand.
Draco studied her for a while. She was wearing Muggle clothes: a lavender sweater which was worn over a long sleeved white blouse, Draco guessed, since the collar and cuffs of the shirt were showing, and denim pants. She looked different somehow, not physically, but the bookworm air that she usually carried around with her seemed to have lessened considerably. There probably was a different side to her after all. A certain side he had caught a glimpse of last Monday. A certain side that intrigued him.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded, finally breaking the silence.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I should ask you the same question."
"Well, you aren't at the ball," Draco said.
"And since you're here, neither are you," Hermione replied.
Good point, Draco thought. At least I've found Don's missing girl. He frowned. Well, this was odd. It always was odd. Why does he keep running into her, nowadays? Last year, they barely spoke to each other--- not to mention, they hardly ever saw each other, either. Why was it different now? What had changed?
Draco felt Hermione suppress a sigh as she was fixing the cuffs of her shirt, and he turned to look back at her.
Draco smirked and crossed his arms. "What, couldn't find a date to your spectacular Christmas Ball? Have Potter and Weasley finally grown tired of their precious Granger?"
Hermione suddenly became very interested with something on the floor and mumbled, "As a matter of fact."
Huh? Draco's smirk turned into a perplexed frown. Well, that was one answer he wasn't expecting. What the bloody hell is she on about? What happened to her infamous Gryffindor pride?
Draco realized she was already walking away from him.
"Hold on, Granger" Draco said.
Hermione stopped and turned around with an impatient expression on her face. "Yes?"
"Where are you going?" Draco asked her.
"The library," Hermione said gesturing down the corridor to her right. "I would have taught that was rather obvious. After all, that's the only reason people go through this hallway," She stopped and gave him another glance. "What are you doing, then? It's hard to believe you're just aimlessly wandering around Hogwarts."
What? Draco blinked. He felt a bit irked by the fact that she knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had no idea where he was going.
"So what if I am? It's not like you're on patrol duty tonight. What, do you normally spend your nights frolicking in the library?" Draco said.
"So what if I do?" Hermione countered. "None of that matters to you." She turned and began walking towards the library again.
"How are you supposed to get inside?" Draco called out causing her to stop again. "Alohomora won't unlock the Hogwarts library doors. A much stronger spell has been placed on those locks since the Gremlin Break-in in 1672. You'll need a key to open them."
Hermione spun around to face him, her expression turned from one of annoyance to astonishment. She beamed, "You have read Hogwarts, A History!"
Draco smirked inwardly. "Oh come now, Granger. Don't sound so surprised just because no one else has read that boring book aside from me. You don't have to be a bushy-haired know-it-all to be able to read Hogwarts, A History," Draco said, while Hermione glared at his remarks. "Besides, the book is Potter-free!"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Well, I guess you don't have to be a fair-haired arrogant ferret to be able to tell that you're a total git!"
Okay, this wasn't exactly going the way he had hoped. Draco still wouldn't apologize to her but, however it pained him to admit it, he needed her.
She turned around again and continued walking down the hallway.
"Wait!" He shouted at her.
Hermione stopped in her tracks once again. She turned once more to look at him and sighed exasperatedly.
"This is getting really old, Malfoy," She told him. "Any reason as to why you are preventing me from reaching the library?" She took something shiny out of her pocket and showed it to him. "I already have the key, okay. There are some advantages to being Head Girl, you know."
"Yes, I am well aware. Thank you for that rather useless information---" Draco stopped before he said anything relating to an insult. He sighed silently. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the other day---"
"What about it?" Hermione said sharply.
Draco clenched his teeth. "I was rude, okay and I know I was being difficult," he drew in a breath, "I really want to pass my classes this year and, as much as it pains me to say this, you are the only one who can help me."
Ugh, tell me I just didn't say that. He had never felt so degraded in his life. Wasn't apologizing suppose to make you feel better? Well, okay it wasn't exactly apologizing but that is all Granger is going to get.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Um. . .I'm sorry, could you say that again?"
Draco gritted his teeth. "Come on, Granger. You know what I said."
"I'd still like to hear it," Hermione replied.
Why that filthy, little--- "I need to pass seventh year, and you're my only hope. Clear enough for you? I promise I won't call you Mudblood and I promise that I'll try not to be rude when you are tutoring me. But being arrogant and good-looking---well, there is really no cure for that, is there?" Draco's smirk returned to his face.
Hermione rolled her eyes again.
"So," Draco said. "What do you think?"
Hermione looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care what this certain Mudblood had to say, and now you're telling me 'The Great Draco Malfoy' wants to know what I think?"
Draco glared at her. She wasn't going to make this easy, was she. "Yes, yes. Yes Granger, I'd love to know what you think!" He said, seething.
Hermione smiled. "Well, it's not exactly the apology I was hoping for. . .but it'll have to do."
From the Journal of Draco Malfoy:
11/13
I can't believe this! I can't take anymore of this humiliation! I'm not used to it. . .Malfoys aren't meant to get used to it. At least Granger accepted but I still feel like crap. Man, this is terrible. Who ever said "apologizing makes you feel better", because frankly, it's total bollocks. It wasn't even a proper apology, but it was an apology nonetheless. Now, I am arguing with myself. I thought I said I wasn't going to apologize to her, but even Granger recognized what it was. Why else would she give me a second chance. Well, to tell the truth, I'm rather relieved she gave me another chance, even if it wasn't what I wanted. True, I needed it but. . . Oh come on. Sometimes what you need is not always what you want. Arsenius Jigger's Guide to Magical Potions---this is quite a book Granger gave me. According to her, it helped her pass the Potions O.W.L.s. I have a feeling that she would have passed without reading this insanely long book. She may be a Muggle-born but she isn't stupid, I'll give her that. Now Potter and Weasley. . .well, that's another story.
It was a snowing Saturday morning, as Hermione and Justin went down to the Great Hall. A long roll of parchment and a quill hovered right in front of them as they entered through the doors. On top of the parchment read:
Several names were already listed down. Hermione took the quill in her hand and printed her name.
"Are you staying over the holidays again?" Justin asked her.
"Yes. I bet Ron and Harry are staying, as well. Besides, I think Professor Dumbledore would like it if the Heads stayed over during the Christmas Holiday. I mean, you don't have to Justin. It's not a requirement," Hermione told him.
"Nonsense," Justin said as he took the quill from Hermione. "If you're staying, I've got no reason to go home."
They went there separate ways as Justin headed to the Hufflepuff table and Hermione sat down to breakfast at the Gryffindor table. The long table was laden with large bowls of porridge, dishes with eggs and sausages, plates with toast, pudding, ham, and bacon froise that was served with mushrooms. She was scooping scrambled eggs onto her plate and pouring herself a cup of hot tea when Lucinda and Ginny sat down across from her.
"Are you feeling better, Hermione?" said Lucinda.
Hermione wondered what in the world she was talking about as she nibbled on her French toast.
"Yeah, are you okay?" Ginny asked her as well. "Lucinda and I were wondering why you weren't at the ball. Then Padma said that Justin told her that you had come down with the flu."
"Did he? Oh, I'm okay now," Hermione smiled. She made a mental note to thank Justin later. He truly was the best friend a girl could have.
"Hey, you never told us you were sick," Ron said, as he sat down. He grabbed a bowl and started shoveling porridge into it.
"It was just a cold. No big deal," Hermione said.
"We missed you at the ball. You and Justin did a great job, by the way," Harry said, as he settled in between her and Ron.
"Thanks," Hermione said.
Just at that moment, hundred of owls streamed into the Great Hall signaling that the mail had arrived. They rounded the vast tables looking for their recipients, dropping packages and envelopes to their owners.
"Ow!" Ron exclaimed as something furry bounced off of his head into his bowl splattering some contents of porridge onto his face. "Pig!" Ron said, picking up the small owl. However the owl flew away from Ron and started zooming across the hall, hooting shrilly. Pigwidgeon had dropped an envelope, probably a letter from Mrs. Weasley, and a rolled up issue of the Daily Prophet, which Ron had set aside so he could finish his breakfast. "Bloody bird," Ron muttered as he searched the table for a spare tissue.
As the Hogwarts students read their letters or opened their packages, the usual loud and friendly chatter turned strangely into excited and frightened whispers, Hermione noticed. She turned around to check the other tables when she saw Luna Lovegood running up to them, her protuberant eyes wider than they usually were.
"Look, look! Read this! I just got this issue of The Quibbler!" Luna said frantically, considerably differing from her dreamy manner. "Er… by the way, Ronald. You got porridge on your face."
"Gee, thanks for pointing that out, Luna," Ron said sarcastically.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione! Take a look at this," Neville, who was nearby, said urgently, as he read the large bold letters of The Quibbler, which Luna held out.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione went rigid as they stared at the headline:
Devastated Town North of Dunquin, Ireland
Hermione reached over and grabbed Ron's rolled up issue of the Daily Prophet. She untied the string, hastily unrolled the newspaper, and her eyes widened as she read the top of the page:
"Harry! Ron! Listen to this," Hermione said as she started to read the article on the newspaper:
The attack started at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday when over fifty Death Eaters invaded the small Muggle town. The attackers were believed to be using Unforgivables and other dark curses and killing and injuring everyone in its path. The Ministry of Magic was notified of this attack three hours after it had happened. Several Aurors and Ministry officials were sent at once to inspect the site at approximately 1:00 a.m. this very morning.
Kingsley Shacklebolt stated, "Countless dead bodies of men, women, and children are scattered in the streets of the small town and we are still searching for any survivors under all this wreckage. There was no sighting of Death Eaters after the attack but confidential information lead us to deduce that they are heading towards northern Scotland. We strongly advise that people take extra care, for it is most possible that another disastrous event will occur."
However, a Ministry Insider voiced a different opinion, "We believe that there is no reason to caution people or cause alarm in other parts of the United Kingdom. We know that the Minister of Magic will do everything in his power to ensure this will not happen again. He has said that 'since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been vanquished last year by our young Harry Potter, it will be less difficult to catch Death Eaters however faithful they may still be to the Dark Lord.' We advise people not to panic and have faith in the Ministry of Magic."
Reporters have informed us that the village consisted of 200 inhabitants and there have been 139 casualties, most of them having been Muggle. 40 people were injured and about 20 who are still missing. Survivors are still being searched for in this small Irish town that was annihilated yesterday night. It has been a great tragedy in Ireland and we encourage people to pray for the souls of the deceased and the survivors living in the peninsula. We hope that the Ministry of Magic will ensure that this massacre will not happen again.
Harry paled considerably. Lucinda and Ginny exchanged nervous looks. Ron appeared shocked by the news and Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in deep thought. Luna was still talking though.
"That's rubbish!" She said. "It says here in The Quibbler that the Ministry of Magic found out five hours after the attack, not three."
Neville Longbottom who was sitting on the other side of Hermione said fearfully, "Harry, do you really think---"
Just then Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas raced down the table and called out to Harry.
"Hey Harry, mate! Did you hear what happened near Dunquin?" Seamus asked him.
"Yeah," Harry forced out, his voice sounding awkward. He was still a bit shaken by the news.
"I guess the rumors are true," Dean Thomas said, a frightened expression on his face. "Hey mate, are you okay?" He said after awhile.
Harry nodded dumbly.
Ron looked at Harry. "What do you reckon we should do about this?"
Harry still seemed unable to form intelligent words so Hermione answered for him. "I guess there really is nothing we can do, except---we have to recruit more people into the DA. I mean, if that's okay with you, Harry?"
Harry looked up at her. "I don't know, but you're right, Hermione. There is nothing else we can do," Harry sighed. "Yes. Its about time Dumbledore's Army crawled out of its hiding place."
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office, Professor Dumbledore was on his knees and sticking his head into the fireplace. He took a pinch of Floo powder and the fireplace was instantly lit with emerald-green flames as he said loudly and clearly, "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!"
The Headmaster's head underwent a spinning sensation, then he found himself looking up out from the kitchen fireplace of the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters. A black-haired witch leaped out of her seat as she saw Dumbledore's head hovering among the dancing flames.
"Albus!" The witch exclaimed.
"Ah, Miss Jones," Dumbledore said, recognizing her.
Dedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge who seemed to be reading the Daily Prophet jumped and turned around at the sound of Dumbledore's voice.
"Albus, I assume you've heard---" said Elphias Doge, a wheezy voiced-wizard.
"Did you know that---" Dedalus Diggle started before Hestia Jones cut them off.
"Yes, yes. Of course, he knows. I had Arthur Weasley's son send a message to him," Jones said impatiently to them. Then her face turned into a worried frown. "Albus, I have to tell you: Kingsley has reason to believe that the group of Death Eaters is moving towards Scotland and they are led by---"
"Yes, Hestia. I expected that much," Dumbledore said grimly.
"Well, there's no way we can convince Fudge of that. Nothing can get through that thick skull of his," Diggle said, grasping his top hat.
"I have no intention of convincing Fudge at the moment, Dedalus," Dumbledore said, then turned to Jones. "Hestia, where is the rest of the Order?"
"Well, I'm not sure where Emmeline Vance and Arthur Weasley are, but last I heard they were at the Ministry," Jones told him. "However, Kingsley and his team are still at the attack site in Ireland."
"Hestia," Dumbledore started.
"Yes?"
"Get me Nymphadora Tonks."
A/N: Finally something happens! Oh bliss, oh rapture! Oh rapture, oh bliss! LOL! Sorry, I had to refer to HMS Pinafore even if I don't like that play! Well, this chapter makes up for that totally boring one I wrote before. Well it's a few days till Christmas. It's 2:00 in the morning, I'm half-asleep so it wasn't my best chapter. Well, within the next hour I'll be able to leave for the holiday! You know what you can do? Review my chapter as part of my Christmas gifts! I'll be forever grateful!
YAY! I've finished my exams and now I'm off to vacation again! Yeah, sorry guys, I'll try to get the next chapter up before February hopefully! School starts Janaury 10! Ugh...life is not fair!
Well if anyone cares how my exams went---well it was MURDER!!! English wasn't too bad, but honestly there was no oxygen in that stupid gym!!! Anyway, I had to sit down and write an essay about Bilingual Education! It was fairly easy since I'm bilingual as well! Then Math! It was the worst! I REALLY HOPE I didn't fail it! It's not suppose to be hard! It's just a bunch of numbers! But what do I get? A bunch of word problems! Yikes! Math is suppose to be EASY! Then there was Anthropology, one of my fave subjects and I had to write this report but it was usually more about personal experiences so I didn't have to memorize all the research I did. However, it took me a bloody several minutes to interpret the directions. Why can't teachers be more straightforward? Honestly! And then there was the IB Biology Exam! DUN! DUN! DUN! But strangely enough, it was less difficult than I had anticipated, I mean, it being IB and all! But it was super long, I think my legs became numb after awhile. LOL!
So now I have those College Apps. to do! I hate filling them out, they have the most stupid questions! I don't even want to go to the states for college. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful or anything, I mean I have the chance to study over there, after all. However, I rather want to continue studying here since its my home or somewhere in Europe like Florence or Venice or probably Scotland. After all, I have to search for my soulmate over there. Just kidding! It's a very long story! Only my friends would get it!
I'll be back in two to three weeks so HAVE A HAPPY AND MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A FABULOUS NEW YEAR! GO 2005!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!
- Mjade