Chapter Six
Hermione sat in the empty classroom. She couldn't believe she was back here. Why am I still working with the sleaze-ball? Why am I here waiting for him? I should just go back to the common room.
With determination, she stood and walked to the door. Halfway there, she was stopped by the door creaking open.
"Where're you going?" Malfoy asked, shutting the door behind him.
"I was leaving."
"Leaving? I didn't say you could leave."
"I don't follow orders. I make my own decisions. You don't control me, Malfoy…No one controls me."
"Alright then, leave…Leave me to get rid of Potter. Let Potter continue hurting you. Let your life be ruined by leaving." He stepped aside and bowed with a gesture to the door.
Hermione glared at the Slytherin. It's not often a Slytherin makes sense, especially a cocky one. "Fine," she said roughly. "I'll stay."
Malfoy straightened and spoke softly. "Good…'Cause I can't do this alone."
Hermione relaxed and struggled to keep back a smile.
Malfoy grinned largely at her. "Come on, we have stuff to talk about."
"Stuff like what? We'll never be able to get Harry to confess again. Not only that, but we need someone on our side for him to confess to."
Malfoy led her to the desk. "That's just it; we're going to get the proof we need sooner than we thought. First of all, we have to test this quill to make sure it still works and to see how accurate it is, then—"
"Wait a minute," Hermione interrupted.
"What?"
"I just thought of something."
"Well?"
"How are we going to prove that this is an actual recording, and that we didn't just write it?"
Malfoy stopped, and Hermione could see him thinking. "Good point. Very good point. Maybe we can get him to confess in front of Dumbledore."
"Oh, yeah, like Harry's going to tell Dumbledore that he's changed sides."
"Another good point. So, now what? That was our best plan."
"That was our only plan," Hermione corrected bitterly. "So, how are we going to convince Dumbledore that Harry's different?"
"It's not me who needs convincing," a soft voice said from the door.
"Dumbledore!" Malfoy exclaimed.
"Mr. Malfoy."
"You mean you know that Harry has changed?"
Dumbledore solemnly nodded. "I feared this would happen. The power of black magic is too irresistible for anyone. It was just a matter of time; although, I had expected Harry to last longer than he did."
Hermione's brain worked to connect pieces. "If you know the truth, then the Minister must know what has happened, which means we don't have to do anything."
"I am sorry, Miss Granger, but you are incorrect."
"Granger wrong? Let's mark this on the calendar!" Malfoy said cheerfully.
Hermione glared at him briefly before turning back to the headmaster. "What do you mean I'm wrong, Professor?"
"It is true that I know, and it is true that Cornelius knows, and, surprisingly, he believes me. However, we need proof that Harry has changed so we can do something about it."
Malfoy jumped up. "But there is proof! This is the first time anyone has changed Houses! No one has climbed this quickly to the Dark Lord's side! You can see it in his eyes that Potter's changed!" he said excitedly.
Dumbledore raised a hand to silence Malfoy. "Yes, I know all these things, Mr. Malfoy, but in order for us to do something about Harry's situation, we need to gather real proof."
"And a recording of a confession is not enough, is it?" Hermione asked, disappointed.
The headmaster shook his head. "No. I am afraid we are going to have to take more drastic measures."
Malfoy's eyes widened, and he grinned from ear to ear. "Drastic measures?"
"Malfoy, I think you're getting too excited about this," Hermione said dryly.
"What? I'm a Slytherin."
Hermione rolled her eyes to Dumbledore. There was a brief silence before, "What do we need to do, Professor?"
The two students watched their headmaster leave the room.
"I'm surprised he gave us a plan," Malfoy commented.
"I'm surprised he didn't punish us."
"Well, Ol' Dumbledore's alright. I guess."
The room filled with an uncomfortable silence as they looked at the pieces of parchment spread out on the desk.
Hermione raised her eyes to gaze at the top of Malfoy's head. She had learned more about Malfoy these first two days of school than she had these past six years. It's true: He is the epitome of a Slytherin, even his reasons for teaming up with a Muggle-born Gryffindor are Slytherin. He is focused on himself and getting what he wants. But there are times when—He'll say things to her, and it's not just what he says, but it's how he says it. And it's the way he looks at her: His stormy eyes used to lack emotion, but, now, she can see everything he is feeling in his eyes. Hermione's thoughts flew to the moment in the closet earlier that day. What would have happened if they had kissed? Maybe she should have let him kiss her…No, what was she thinking? Her kiss Malfoy? He's a Slytherin; she's a Gryffindor. He's a snobby pure-blood; she's a common Muggle-born. He's destined to be a Death Eater, and she's working to be in the Ministry, perhaps even Minister. There was no way they could be together.
Malfoy lifted his head and looked into her eyes.
Or is there?
"What?"
Hermione was brought out of her thoughts. "Huh?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I was just thinking," she responded quickly, hoping she hid her embarrassment.
"About what?"
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she thought of what to say next. Her brown eyes looked steadily into Malfoy's. "Do you think we can do it?"
The other shrugged. "I don't see why not. I mean, it'll take some work, but that's kind of expected. Plus, the smartest girl in the school is on the team."
Hermione was taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"Well, you are Head Girl, and I'm sure your grades are higher than the Head Boy's."
She smiled. "Do you really mean that?"
"Well, sure. It's fact. Everyone knows it."
Hermione's face fell. "Oh, I see," she said glumly.
"What? What did I say?" Malfoy asked with concern and confusion on his face.
"You just said the truth like you always do: You tell the truth in such a way, that you burst people's bubbles. You're just being you, so don't worry about it."
"Well, I'm sorry for being me," he said sharply, then he paused. His tone softened with his next statement. "That is, if me being me hurt you, then I am sorry."
"No. Don't be sorry. You can't apologize for being yourself." I like you exactly the way you are. I wouldn't change anything about you, she thought as she looked directly into his eyes.
"Oh. Well, then."
Again, the awkward silence filled the room.
"So, about the plan," said Hermione when she couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Right, the plan. While we can do it, it seems kind of complicated to me."
"It's actually quite simple, really. You lead Harry to a room where Dumbledore is waiting. We lock him in there, tie him up, and I give him the veritaserum I have mixed up. The Minister and some aurors will also be present, and we ask Harry questions, and we prove that he's changed."
Malfoy looked at her skeptically. "It sounds kind of complicated."
Hermione sighed. "We kidnap Harry, give him veritaserum, and he confesses in front of members of the Ministry, then he gets taken away."
"Okay, when you put it like that, it seems really simple."
"That's because it is!" she exclaimed in exasperation.
Malfoy grinned.
"What are you smiling at?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You're kinda cute when you get annoyed. Why didn't I notice it before?—I mean, as often as I've annoyed you, you'd think I'd notice."
"Well, I wouldn't get annoyed if you—What?" Hermione smiled. "What did you say?"
"I just said you're kinda cute."
"You did?"
"Well, I mean, cute for a Gryffindor Mudblood," he said quickly.
The witch rolled her eyes and groaned. She could feel a headache coming on, which meant she was going to get cranky soon. "Okay, here's a plan: Why don't we get back to the maps?"
"What are we doing again?"
Hermione took a deep breath to help control her anger. "We are figuring out where Harry will be so we know what room to take him to."
"Okay, so when are we going to do this?"
She made a guilty face. "I don't know. We have to hear from Dumbledore when the Minister and the aurors will be able to make it. But we need to know where, so we're going to find all possibilities."
"Well, this will be fun," Malfoy said dryly.
"I would rather wait
until we knew when, as well, but as soon as we find out, I need to
work on the potion, so I won't be able to help you find a room,
so—"
"We need to do it now."
"Exactly. Now, are all your classes with Harry?" she asked, standing up and arranging the maps.
Malfoy nodded. "Yeah. Every single one of them. And now, he hangs around Crabbe and Goyle, which means he's always around me. So, I know where he is at every waking moment."
"Which is exactly why you're perfect for this job." Hermione smiled at him.
As the two worked, the night sky outside the windows grew steadily lighter. They tracked Harry's footsteps with color-coded footprints. They traced, retraced, discussed, and traced again.
Finally, just as the first candle burned out, and the sky was noticeably brighter, Hermione's quill fell from her hand in the middle of her notes as her brain finally slept.
She slept and dreamed. She dreamed of the way she and Harry used to be, the way he would hold her and kiss her. She was smiling at Harry as he hugged her close. She was reaching to kiss him, and he was lowering his lips, as well. His mouth was slightly parted, but it opened wider and wider and wider until it was larger than any mouth could naturally be. Hermione stepped back in fear and watched with open eyes, unwavering, as Harry's mouth filled with a black shadow that emerged as a giant serpent. It raised its head as it continued to slither from his mouth. Its red forked tongue flickered in Hermione's direction. It readied its head to strike. Hermione saw it coming faster than possible. She saw it getting closer and closer, but she didn't move. She braced herself for the strike, the hit, the teeth, the poison. She was ready. The snake's fangs came for her face, but she still didn't move. Hermione just stared into the snake's red eyes. She could see the fire and the hatred swirling together. She knew she should've been scared, but she wasn't. She seemed to know something about this serpent escaping Harry's mouth. The witch held her ground as the snake got so close, its tongue could touch her nose. The witch stood still until the snake itself stopped, cautiously eyed Hermione, and slowly closed its open jaw, barely missing her nose. She continued to stare into the eyes and watched as they gradually faded from bright, fiery red to cold grey. Hermione felt confusion for the first time in the presence of this serpent. It gazed a little longer into Hermione's eyes, then turned and slithered away.
"Hermione…Hermione…Wake up," a voice said softly.
The witch blinked her eyes and tried to focus as her environment faded away to black.
"Hermione."
She opened her eyes to focus not on the warm, bright environment she had left, but on the dark, cold walls of the empty classroom, and, lowering her eyes, she saw the familiar grey eyes from her dream. But they were different.
They were full of concern and worry.
Hermione blinked her eyes to alertness. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"
"We have a problem," Malfoy said simply.
"Well, what is it?"
Malfoy said nothing but turned his eyes in the direction of the door.
Hermione raised her head in confusion and followed his gaze. There stood Harry, Crabbe, and Goyle.
